Ship Design

from GalCiv2 Forums
Below is a screenshot of a ship I created. Pretty neato stuff If I can float my own boat. Trouble is it wasn't... easy. Certain peices have to be used here and there, other odd pieces there and here.

The legs were the killer. They're not right and I can't make them right because of the pieces just don't work the way I want them to. I would have liked for the legs to be angled away from the bow and stern, like you would see on a real spider. At the moment they run parallel to the ship hull as you can see.

This is because when you stick one piece to another, it takes on the orientation, or something, of the first piece. This is handy sometimes, but can also result in some very whacked out (and potentially cool) designs.

SO!

(Er, before the fanboys flame my constructive critisism, kudos for creating an editor allowing ship designers to get even this far though!)

However if there is time before finalisation, I'd like to suggest some additional features for the ship designer. Firstly the red dots... They get mighty crowded sometimes. Can something be done about that? Perhaps a size reduction. Secondly some red dots are misaligned when compared to the opposite side of the ship (I've mentioned this before). Thridly I think the designer would allow some real way out and cool designs if components could not only be resized, but also re-oriented.
ideas
18,824 views 26 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Nice design!
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
One very plain hull for each ship size would also be handy. Plain as in practically a cylinder with a pointy bow and an engine on the stern.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
How did you color it? Am I missing something on the design screen?
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
He's playing as an alien race. They get different colors.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
Oh, I got excited for a minute there. How hard would that be to add? Custom decals, colors & such.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
Try a custom civ. I don't think I'll ever go back to playing anything else
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
that is badass
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

Smaller Dots: Should be no problem...perhaps we can even make this a slider option.

Re-Orienting Components: This...is a toughy.  Don't get me wrong, it's be AWESOME, but it would take alot of time and require a major overhaul in the ship design format, so I don;t think it'll make it in  Sorry.

HOWEVER, what we CAN do, is make some small "Reorientation" structures that take a hartpoint that points 'left' and make it point 'Up', or one that points 'Up' and you want to have point "Down".  This would give used a bit more creative flexability without totatlly changing the format.

Colors: Yeah, you can set the colors of your ships in the Custom Races option, but not on a per ship basis...sorry 

Oh, and that's a cool lookin ship!  I can't wait to get the library up and running so more people can upload and share their creations!

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
BoogieBac:

Before I start officially asking for it, I want to make sure that there won't be a way to approximate what I want in the tools already planned.

What I want is a way to have a library of empty hulls (just a hull plus extras), and then be able to use them as templates for ship designs. If a single design can be "upgraded" to two different designs (not sure how to handle existing ships based on the starting design if this is allowed, but it doesn't matter for this case) that would allow for it. Upgrade the empty hull to the equipped ship that you actually want, never actually building any of the empty hulls. That's the way of doing this I can think of that integrates into the existing UI in the cleanest method.

Anyway, was wondering if anything like that was planned.
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
HOWEVER, what we CAN do, is make some small "Reorientation" structures that take a hartpoint that points 'left' and make it point 'Up', or one that points 'Up' and you want to have point "Down". This would give used a bit more creative flexability without totatlly changing the format.

Isn't already one component doing something similar? the 5th extra?
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top

Popup: We'll be making a crap-load of these types of designs for the AI (opposed to putting in logic for making cool designs), so I don't see any reason that we couldn't make those accessable to the planet, or have you just press a "Randomize" button that pulls one of these designs up.  Depends on time, i suppose.

P.Pheonix: Yeah, there are a few that kinda do this, but we'll be making very small ones that won'd be more than a nub.  RIght now any items that reorient your peices are big enough to be jewelry on their own.

Hopefully we'll have a few of these in the next beta for you guys to play with.

Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
Thanks Boogie!

Popup Target, that's a fantastic suggestion! I hope Boogie and friends can implement it for us!
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
P.Pheonix: Yeah, there are a few that kinda do this, but we'll be making very small ones that won'd be more than a nub. RIght now any items that reorient your peices are big enough to be jewelry on their own.


Cool! Just what the doctor ordered.

What I want is a way to have a library of empty hulls (just a hull plus extras), and then be able to use them as templates for ship designs.


Seconded, and great to hear that a similar feature will be incorporated.

Oh, and that's a cool lookin ship! I can't wait to get the library up and running so more people can upload and share their creations!


Cheers.

HOWEVER, what we CAN do, is make some small "Reorientation" structures that take a hartpoint that points 'left' and make it point 'Up', or one that points 'Up' and you want to have point "Down". This would give used a bit more creative flexability without totatlly changing the format.


Yes please. I know it's a bit of work but I think the user and dev created ships stand to benefit. There are always a few people who create standout designs and I reckon the more felxibility you give the masses, the more chances there are of creating something very cool.
Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
That's a cool ship.
Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top
Hi, I have some suggestions here(some have been send already, but maybe not a bad idea to write them al in the same place) :
...However if there is time before finalisation, I'd like to suggest some additional features for the ship designer. Firstly the red dots... They get mighty crowded sometimes. Can something be done about that? Perhaps a size reduction. Secondly some red dots are misaligned when compared to the opposite side of the ship (I've mentioned this before). Thridly I think the designer would allow some real way out and cool designs if components could not only be resized, but also re-oriented. (ROGERANO)
...One very plain hull for each ship size would also be handy. Plain as in practically a cylinder with a pointy bow and an engine on the stern.(ROGERANO again )
...Oh, I got excited for a minute there. How hard would that be to add? Custom decals, colors & such.(PLANETIDIOT, nice name =P)
...and my own ideas for costumising ships: many premade hulls, they should be more easier to redesign/costumise; I understand the colors are to be chosen by game beginning (how many at the same time? I hope min.3), but it would be nice if we could choose the variants of the same colors(like: white ,gold, black .Witch should be the main color? golden hull for a peaceful-tech oriented race with white+black markings, or a black one for a pirate with white markings and golden guns);
and i would like unique, costumisable symboles/markings for ships,planets,the empire(kingdom or what else), even change the color of energy guns (think of golden ship with silver laser beams and markings ), the players should have the ability to buy/spy/get in war ship designs(hulls etc) from other empires/races for own use.
AND an extra,
i don't want to write ideas again so i write this race concerned here: I would like to have combined(hybrid ) races.Think of humans who prosper is peace with an alien species(like half-elves in fantasy),they could be created at begin,or changed in-game when you have good relations with that race, or you have conquered it, BUT only with one race would this be aviable, so no mish-mash(if i write this good) will happen.
I hope you like the ideas, and you can still use them .

p.s.: (sorry for failures, english is foraign to me, I'm Hungarian )
Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top
VERY cool ship.
Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top
Firstly the red dots... They get mighty crowded sometimes. Can something be done about that? Perhaps a size reduction.

Well, that was done in the latest beta. And some can be very difficult to spot.
Reply #18 from Stardock Forums Top
Well, that was done in the latest beta. And some can be very difficult to spot.


I agree, the current red dot size is pretty fiddly and small, maybe re-enlarge them to half way between the original size and the current?
Reply #20 from Stardock Forums Top
Sorry for jumping this wagon late, but that is a nice design. I can't wait for the game to be released and a section on this site be dedicated to user ship designs. That would be a neat thing to have.
Reply #21 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Not being in-beta, I'm curious...

Are these designs PURELY aesthetic and functionless? Or do adding, say, 'wings with missile mounts' increase cost and space? 'cuz I'd sure love the latter. Even a tiny increase in cost for a tiny (decimal) increase in HP from each mounted accessory would be fun. An expensive add-on holding (e.g.) a special sensor pod or external missile pod, which increases the ship's cost and effectiveness but not HP (since it is outside of the armor and main hull), would certainly add variety!
Reply #22 from Stardock Forums Top
Are these designs PURELY aesthetic and functionless

Well, it is purely aesthtehic but allows you to have more hardpoints were to put engine/attack/defense/ various module.

You have the extra that cost nothing to add and take no valuable space. All others things (engine/attack/defense/ various modules) take space and cost something, And the hull you have chosen as a determined space (based on the hull and your miniaturization techs) for filling functionnal module.

And BTW, the missile mounts are weapons. So they take space and cost something
Reply #23 from Stardock Forums Top
Hmm....
I think Rogerano wanted to recreate the Shadow ship from Babylon 5, no?
Reply #24 from Stardock Forums Top
I think Rogerano wanted to recreate the Shadow ship from Babylon 5, no?


That's what it looked like to me. And a good job of it, too!
Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top
Yeah I guess it does, sorta But that wasn't my intent. I was playing the Thalan and so all my designs were supposed to have insectish looks. This is one was meant to look like a spider Trouble is there aren't enough spindly bits in the extras section at the moment. Wonder if it's possible to add custom pieces?