Request Battletech Dropship

[Andy44]

Spherical first? Sounds cool. Probably also an easier mesh to make, too.

 

[Brycesv1]

unions are easy. big egg, a few extrusions for panels and hatches, and large engine cones on the bottom. even though they might be functionless, should weapon mounts be modeled?

 

[Urwumpe]

unions are easy. big egg, a few extrusions for panels and hatches, and large engine cones on the bottom. even though they might be functionless, should weapon mounts be modeled?

Yes, and if you can, allow yourself some artistic freedom in making them look a bit useful.

The weapon turrets on a classic Union (est. 2708):

1x PPC (Nose)
2x AK-5 (Nose)
2xLRM-20 (Nose)
2x Medium Laser (Nose)
1x PPC (one on each forward side)
2x AK-5 (one on each forward side)
2xLRM-20 (one on each forward side)
1xLarge Laser, 2x Medium Laser (one on each forward side)
1xLarge Laser, 2x Medium Laser (one on each aft side)
1xLarge Laser, 2x Medium Laser (aft sector)

 

[Brycesv1]

since the ship itself is little more than a flying egg, the weapons could be modeled with extremely high poly counts. wich is great considering my OCD-esque attention to detail

 

[Urwumpe]

since the ship itself is little more than a flying egg, the weapons could be modeled with extremely high poly counts. wich is great considering my OCD-esque attention to detail

:lol: Have fun. But also pay attention to the doors. And if you can create meshes for the mech bay, I wouldn't complain.

Animating the landing gear might be harder...but I think I can solve this.

 

[Brycesv1]

too bad we cant have hardened decks for OCGO cars to drive up a ramp into the hangar bay. it also might be fun to add a jenner or locust with a walk cycle animation just for kicks but i think it would look really funny with rocket acceleration.

apon further thought: we could also make some APCs and hover transports. i know iv seen images to use as refrence

 

[Urwumpe]

too bad we cant have hardened decks for OCGO cars to drive up a ramp into the hangar bay. it also might be fun to add a jenner or locust with a walk cycle animation just for kicks but i think it would look really funny with rocket acceleration.

apon further thought: we could also make some APCs and hover transports. i know iv seen images to use as refrence

Yeah. And a Fortress drop ship to deploy them. Or a Outpost...

But lets start with the spaceflight basics first... there are also aerospace fighters, but these would require a different DLL for implementation.

 

[Andy44]

FOr a minute I was trying to remember what the heck an "AK-5" is, then I remembered it must be an Auto Cannon 5 abbreviated in German. WHere I come from an "AK" is a Kalashnikov rifle! :lol:

I assume these will include attachment points for Mechs in the bays?

 

[Urwumpe]

I assume these will include attachment points for Mechs in the bays?

Right, and also attachments for launching/recovering fighters. Docking ports would be limited to drop ship/jump ships interfaces. This saves a lot of trouble.

But for the mechs, I would need meshes, meshes and meshes... without a mesh as reference, it would be almost impossible to develop the DLL.

The interface is a cfg file adaption of the Spacecraft3.dll, with some special animation triggers. Also, the user interface will have a more big ship oriented user interface - you play as captain and delegate the tasks.

 

[T.Neo]

*cough* wings3d *cough*

Seriously, do you have to advertise that every time someone asks about modelling programs? It gets annoying.

the learning curve is rather shallower than for Blender

That is to be expected, since Blender has a learning curve so steep it goes past 90 degrees...

WHere I come from an "AK" is a Kalashnikov rifle! :lol:

:lol:

Let me guess... the place you come from is called "Earth", right?

 

[Urwumpe]

On an other hand: What do you all think about using a general 2D cockpit in the module for all drop ships? Maybe with special stations that are only enabled if a feature is present in the spacecraft description.

Would be simpler as a general VC and looks better as the generic cockpit.

 

[mc_]

What kind of payload is going to be supported?
The dropship looks like a perfect ship to transport heavy stuff from planet to orbit and back, so, who knows, what kind of cargo is possibe?

 

[Urwumpe]

Practically UCGO payloads, I plan to use it as base.

 

[mc_]

Is it possible to make a mech using UCGO?

 

[Urwumpe]

Is it possible to make a mech using UCGO?

Yes, but pretty useless. I plan to add special support for Mechs in the DLL, by using attachments. The Cargo will be limited to consumables, Ammo and spare parts.

 

[n122vu]

I think you should each pick a ship, one gets the Union, one gets the Leopard, then roll for initiative to see which one you make first

 

[Urwumpe]

I think you should each pick a ship, one gets the Union, one gets the Leopard, then roll for initiative to see which one you make first

:rofl:

Yeah. And maybe make texturing checks (2D6) for each group. :lol:

 

[Brycesv1]

That is to be expected, since Blender has a learning curve so steep it goes past 90 degrees...

that sounds familiar... oh wait. that's like a game i play.

 

[mc_]

How it goes?

 

[Urwumpe]

How it goes?

I work towards having a first prototype off the code forge this weekend, nothing too fancy, but enough for testing and writing configuration files. Nothing I would consider a finished add-on. But maybe enough to get more feedback.