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[xenoargh]

The Freightliner; a medium-sized dedicated freighter.

The design idea here is that the rear, cargo-bearing part, separates from the front, engine part, when it reaches a space port.  A basic AI then pilots the cargo at slow speeds to the proper location to be unloaded and reloaded onto atmospheric transports or down an umbilical.  

It also means that the ship can eject the rear part while in combat, suddenly becoming a much faster, more compact ship with considerable punch, if lousy armor.  Needs to be seen on dark for the full effect

[Clockwork Owl]

The Freightliner; a medium-sized dedicated freighter.

The design idea here is that the rear, cargo-bearing part, separates from the front, engine part, when it reaches a space port.  A basic AI then pilots the cargo at slow speeds to the proper location to be unloaded and reloaded onto atmospheric transports or down an umbilical.  

It also means that the ship can eject the rear part while in combat, suddenly becoming a much faster, more compact ship with considerable punch, if lousy armor.  Needs to be seen on dark for the full effect

Nice idea. Inspired by Gemini-class I guess?
That containers makes it look more like a space ad hanger tho...

[xenoargh]

Well, I was trying for a look similar to modern freight trains, where they're all covered in patterns, designs and graffiti

[Clockwork Owl]

Well, I was trying for a look similar to modern freight trains, where they're all covered in patterns, designs and graffiti

How about rotating those containers 90 degrees? To keep its style but make the 'ads' less important. Try various arrangements.

[xenoargh]

That's a thought; the more I look at it, the more I agree that, at least from that default POV, it's just not coming across the way I'd like

[603bill]

I've had a mod idea floating in my head for a while and decided to finally make a ship for it.  It's still WIP, but I need ideas for greebles and advice on shading, and all that other stuff.

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[Sproginator]

I've had a mod idea floating in my head for a while and decided to finally make a ship for it.  It's still WIP, but I need ideas for greebles and advice on shading, and all that other stuff.

A nice start! Keep working on it!

[603bill]

Thanks for the encouragement Sprog !  My current issue is just a lack of ideas for decorative bits.  I'll keep thinking on it.

Here's after about an hour of experimenting.

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[603bill]

Tried some shading.  Thoughts?

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[Clockwork Owl]

Tried some shading.  Thoughts?

1. Bridge and turret slots need shading.
Bridge should be elavated and I recommend lowering the weapon slots a bit.
Vanila starsector shading is done with a light source in upper front of the ship. Which means the slope facing bow is brighter, while the one facing aft is darker. Those facing starboard and port, if in same degree, have same brightness.

2. Engine could be better with some work.
The dark slopes facing aft are meant to be propulsions, right? I recommend, unless you have a solid concept about how your ship's propulsion will look, to stick with vanila propulsion design. It's not that hard.
( Hint: They're basically iron pipes )
That is not to say to change the entire design concept. Just the engine part.

3. Turrets might overlap.
Make sure you keep enough distance between turrets. They might overlap one another when weapons are installed.

Hopefully, somebody else will advise about greebling. I'd just say to look at some vanila sprites.

You must have noticed me saying to follow vanila stuff over and over. Since your sprites are meant to be used in a game, it is important to blend naturally with the ones already exists.

Overall hull design is not mine to judge. I won't say it is too boxy, or anything. It's up to you and looks fine.
And as Sproginator said, nice start!

[603bill]

Thanks for the tips Aron! 

About the engines though, I'm want to make them look like vents in the armor, so I don't think I could use vanilla engines for that.

And the turret overlap will probably only be a problem on that first ship, the rest wont have so many guns tightly packed.  It's just that was the only turret layout I was happy with for it.

[whatdoesthisbuttondo]

Tried kitbashing with the vanilla Falcon/Eagle sprites, the idea is to create a fast assault cruiser.

I'm leaning towards the version with the extra frontal hardpoints as it has a more compact look overall, but the version without them does look 'faster'... 

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[Xanderzoo]

That's actually a pretty nice kitbash. I prefer the one on top, but it really depends on how much firepower you want the ship to have.

[Doogie]

There's a bit of an awkward transition in lighting between the front prongs and the main body.
Also, take the hard points on the top one and slide them down so the front prongs, it'll look better and even more compact.

[whatdoesthisbuttondo]

@Xander:

I was going for a Falcon variant with two additional small energy turrets, inheriting the Falcon stats -5 top speed, +12 OP, around 45-60 degree reduced shield arc (with slightly less flux/dmg) and a little extra dissipation for the additional turrets. Basically converting the ship to a fast brawler geared towards a beat-retreat-repeat routine.

The additional front hardpoints were pretty much a desperate move to try and make the front section look less empty.

@doogie:

Thanks for the suggestion, I do like that a lot better actually. The awkward lighting was a result of the front section being constructed from the inner middle to front parts of the Falcon, which is a little more elevated. It still looks a bit weird, I guess that can only be fixed properly with a decent image editor, I'm currently using Pinta.



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