New Grelfucan Starships

[Lord Commandant JaceLord Commandant (MSI)]

*never could do these starship intro's so...*

DD:

I have a sketch that I based this design off of but it won't let me upload it. The sketch is cleaner, I suppose, but I figured that with the 1 stud:10 meters scale I might as well try.

It's...not...terrible, but it's not exactly good, either. I used curved/angled bricks for the angular areas rather than Star Destroyer-style panels and hinges or really any kind of SNOT technique. I just figured I'd give you an idea of what the new line of ships I'm working on looks like.

I'm more likely going to make a bunch of mini models with a 1 stud:50 meters scale (give or take) to go with the eventual AutoCAD multiview renders.

Specs:
Length: 520 m

Armament:
-5 Dual Turbolaser turrets
-10 Turbolaser cannons
-24 Laser cannons
-11 Mass-driver cannons

Speed:
Class 2 Drive
Class 15 Drive (Backup)
80 MGLT
1,730 km/h

Defense:
1,930 SBD
1,132 RU

(Yes this is using Star Wars measurements it's what I understand/am familiar with.)

[Star-HunterCEO]

The basic profile looks good and the design has potential - but the total lack of details gives the impression that this is a work-in-progress moreso than a finished ship. I would encourage you to experiment with visible weapon placements and some hull detailing/greebling.

Interested to see what's coming up in the future - the AutoCAD renders would certainly be breaking new ground!

[LonestarCaptain (PCG)]

I am assuming this is, as S-H put it, a work in progress, so I will save my constructive criticism for later.

In the meantime, I think you have a great basic design! Looking forward to updates.

[Lord Commandant JaceLord Commandant (MSI)]

The basic profile looks good and the design has potential - but the total lack of details gives the impression that this is a work-in-progress moreso than a finished ship. I would encourage you to experiment with visible weapon placements and some hull detailing/greebling.

Interested to see what's coming up in the future - the AutoCAD renders would certainly be breaking new ground!

The model is very much a work in progress, more to show the general shape of the ship than anything else. I can, however, work on weapons placements and attempt to add some greebling to the hull, but no promises.

The AutoCAD render, given that it'll be a 1:1 scale, will be much more detailed, even as a wireframe render. Meaning it'll be a bunch of lines and no real surfaces, but still give you a good idea of how the ship will look.

I am assuming this is, as S-H put it, a work in progress, so I will save my constructive criticism for later.

In the meantime, I think you have a great basic design! Looking forward to updates.

Yes, it's a WIP. Just a bit of a teaser to show everyone the general shape of the series of ships and such. I don't have the power or space on my old laptop to run AutoCAD and my new one caught a nasty virus we're still working on fixing.

[Lord Commandant JaceLord Commandant (MSI)]

Here it is with weapons (I couldn't figure out how to get the same armament on the bottom, so...)

DD w/ Weapons:

Obviously there are a lot of weapons and not a single one of them are proportioned to the ship itself. But the general idea was to kind of incorporate the design of 20-century battleships in regards to the three-gun turrets on the top, with a bunch of smaller weapons for smaller/closer ships and fighter craft. The grey tubes are warhead/projectile launchers, firing torpedoes, missiles, flak canisters, and grapeshot (a bunch of large metal spheres designed to deplete enemy shields).
And, of course, engine nacelles.

[Andre TholvelCEO]

I can see where this design is going, but it feels like a step backwards in the evolution of PCG ship design. I realize you even pointed out yourself that the weapons are totally disproportionate to the ship itself, but it's really hard to see how you're going to make it all fit.

[Lord Commandant JaceLord Commandant (MSI)]

Keep in mind that I'm not part of the PCG. I guess with this I just kind of spammed weapons onto it, rather than taking my time to see what looked good/what fit the ship's design. But also recall that the Grelfucan's don't have the same kind of technology the rest of the galaxy does since it only recently (compared to everybody else) started using newer energy weapons.
Besides, who said using the classics that work is a bad thing?
I'll try to work on it sometime, around all the other ump-teen dozen things I have to do...

[PXRRecruit (No Affiliation)]

WELL, well, well. Me, being the incredibly unintelligent person that I am, deleted my entire post.

SO, basically I said that I liked your overall ship design, the thrusters are a bit small, the small guns should be removed or replaced, and the large guns look insanely epic. Yeah, I said quite a bit more, but you get the idea. xD

@Supe: I personally don't find any issue with the large number or size of weapons of ships. The PCG could always put on bigger guns... Anyway, I tend to be a bit grateful for some of my ~100-150m long cannons; they've done a lot for me.

[Dino27Captain (PCG)]

I'm looking forward to the CAD rendering... the shape is very pleasing.

[Lord Commandant JaceLord Commandant (MSI)]

WELL, well, well. Me, being the incredibly unintelligent person that I am, deleted my entire post.

SO, basically I said that I liked your overall ship design, the thrusters are a bit small, the small guns should be removed or replaced, and the large guns look insanely epic. Yeah, I said quite a bit more, but you get the idea. xD

@Supe: I personally don't find any issue with the large number or size of weapons of ships. The PCG could always put on bigger guns... Anyway, I tend to be a bit grateful for some of my ~100-150m long cannons; they've done a lot for me.

I used the smaller cannons (I'm assuming you mean the "closed wrench" piece on a stud) because anything larger, to me, didn't look right. They're supposed to be smaller weapons for smaller, faster targets.

As for the big cannons, like I said, battleships, dude. Just like the Iowa-class', to proportion at least.

I'm looking forward to the CAD rendering... the shape is very pleasing.

Yeah, I'm thinking that just going with a four-view AutoCAD rendering is the best idea, given all the detail I can potentially put into them, and the fact that I know I'll get the exact shape I want out of AutoCAD, which isn't as true for LDD.
Not to mention AutoCAD, no matter where I've used it, has never failed me. LDD has tried my patience almost since the day I downloaded it.

[PXRRecruit (No Affiliation)]

Or the 46 cm/18.1 in. 45 cal naval guns on the Yamato class.

[Andre TholvelCEO]

Well, PXR, there IS a difference between "big" and "out of proportion." xD I have no problem with "big," I have some guns that would please even you on the Sentinel.

[Lord Commandant JaceLord Commandant (MSI)]

Hey guys, new ship coming out of the yards!

Ferociter-class Light Cruiser:

And I changed the destroyer verrry slightly:

Animosus-class Destroyer:

Supe, you'll be happy to know that these are both on the 1 stud:10 meters scale. Their drawings, on the other hands...

Drawings:

As you can see, drawings don't always end up like the actual model, and sometimes I like the model better than I do the drawing, so I use the drawing as a basis for the model. This is usually easier because it's mostly easier to manipulate the design in LDD despite the fact that I can't get the hinge tool to work anymore, but sometimes things like proportion and detail just don't work as you could see when I posted the destroyer with a bunch of weapons, which is why I'm going to start using AutoCAD renders of my designs to make sure I get all the details I want out of these designs.

That being said, I really like how the light cruiser turned out - it really looks like a beast of a warship, even though it's not even a half-mile long. You'll obviously see some inspiration from Halo's starships (the fact that it's got a big cannon stickin' out the front's a dead giveaway), and this actually kind of looks like the UNSC Infinity, which is ironically the UNSC's largest vessel, and the light cruiser acts as an escort for capital ships.

I'll be working on the heavy cruiser's model next, and then hopefully the battle cruiser and battleship's drawing, followed by their models. Luckily there's not much difference between those two.

[Dino27Captain (PCG)]

I like them, and am looking forward to the final versions.

[Lord Commandant JaceLord Commandant (MSI)]

I like them, and am looking forward to the final versions.

Right now these are the final models, Dino...I'll get around to the AutoCAD renders once Dex - I mean, my Dell laptop - is fixed. Right now I'm stuck with Toby - my old Toshiba - until such time as Dex is working.

...And yes, I name my technology. Usually for when I'm yelling at said device for not working properly.

[Dino27Captain (PCG)]

....

LOL!!!!!



I meant the AutoCAD "models." I know that these are just test pieces/works in bricks for the "final version" in the final medium.

[Andre TholvelCEO]

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about these. They have a look to them like they COULD be total beasts, but some parts-- like the bottom of the aft section of the light cruiser-- give me a feeling like they're bulky in a bad way, if that makes any sense. I'm sure your vision for them will be way more clear in the AutoCAD versions. xD

[Lord Commandant JaceLord Commandant (MSI)]

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about these. They have a look to them like they COULD be total beasts, but some parts-- like the bottom of the aft section of the light cruiser-- give me a feeling like they're bulky in a bad way, if that makes any sense. I'm sure your vision for them will be way more clear in the AutoCAD versions. xD

Could you explain that, Supe? The part I underlined, I mean. Obviously I hope to streamline these in the AutoCAD versions, but they're going to roughly retain these shapes...

[PXRRecruit (No Affiliation)]

I like the Halo-y feel to them and the mass driver sticking out the nose of the light cruiser. I like the engine blocks and can't wait till the AutoCAD drawings. Looking forward to more ships!

On a side note, I wish you would make a finalized version in LDD as well; they have a lot of potential and the overall shapes look excellent. Regardless, I really want to see the AutoCAD variants!

[Lord Commandant JaceLord Commandant (MSI)]

I like the Halo-y feel to them and the mass driver sticking out the nose of the light cruiser. I like the engine blocks and can't wait till the AutoCAD drawings. Looking forward to more ships!

On a side note, I wish you would make a finalized version in LDD as well; they have a lot of potential and the overall shapes look excellent. Regardless, I really want to see the AutoCAD variants!

If I thought I could figure out who to get the weapons in there proportionately, and to make the shape of the ships less...blocky, I guess (ironic given that these are all called 'bricks' ) I would keep working on them in LDD. But I don't feel skilled enough to try that with a ship. Tank or other vehicle at roughly minifigure scale? Sure. But not something like these...

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