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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 11:36 am
by thanto_
The darkest sections are still far too dark. Try lightening up the gradient.

Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:37 pm
by th15
Yea definitely, though I suppose it could be simply because of different monitor settings.

Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:29 pm
by thanto_
That, or some of the colors go below 0F. Way too dark.

Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:45 am
by LactoseTolerant
th15 wrote:Yea definitely, though I suppose it could be simply because of different monitor settings.
It probably is, I have a laptop with the brightness at maximum. I'll try to get a new image up in a few days and reduce some clutter.

Edit: I've looked at other ship images and there is no background grid. How can I remove it in a screenshot?

Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:43 pm
by jwa8402
Simply make a black image and set it as the background... You can set whatever you like as the background, be it a different scale grid or an image for making fanships.

Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:54 pm
by Arcalane
LactoseTolerant wrote:
th15 wrote:Yea definitely, though I suppose it could be simply because of different monitor settings.
It probably is, I have a laptop with the brightness at maximum.
Ech. That's actually kinda bad for your eyes, I think.

Ed: A quick good test, actually, is to compare the background colours of posts here on the forum. They go in an alternating pattern of light grey and a somewhat darker grey. If you can't easily tell the difference, you should probably experiment with your brightness/contrast. If they're both white, then you should definitely adjust the brightness/contrast.

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 3:05 pm
by LactoseTolerant
I guess that's the end of the Scimitar... I lost all my data in a disk reformat, no backup files.

So I present the next best thing.

Small Fighter
(Removed for further edits)

Small Frigate
(Removed for further edits)

Cruiser
(Removed for further edits)

Support Droner
Image

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:13 pm
by MagusZero
...Well, I like the last one. Not perfect, but at least a bit different than the usual fare.

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:27 am
by LactoseTolerant
Got something transforming coming, but how does one take a animated screenshot?

Edit: I got the frames, but i'm having trouble compacting it into a GIF and uploading it. Any suggestions?

It basically goes from this:

Image

To this:

Image

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:58 am
by Sponge
LactoseTolerant wrote:Got something transforming coming, but how does one take a animated screenshot?
Generally, one begins by reading the goddamn manual. From there, it's a matter of:
The Goddamn Manual wrote:There is a new option to capture a set number of frames. Press Shift + F9 to use it. As with normal screenshot, you will be able to pick a rectangular area. Unlike the normal screenshot option, rectangle dragging will start immediately, without the need to press lmb (so your mouse cursor should already be where you want it to start prior to pressing Shift + F9), and you can confirm by pressing lmb or abort by pressing rmb. Upon confirmation, you will be presented with a dialog that will let you specify how many frames you want to capture, after which there will be a dialog for frameskip (0 for no skip). Once you press Ok on the second dialog, capturing will begin. You can abort it by pressing F9 while its running. Mind you, capturing frames is slow, especially with large capture areas and/or with big ships. Each frame will be output as .png into 'SMFrames' directory.
As a final step, you should vow to consult the goddamn manual more frequently, and then thank Kaelis for putting it together so that the entire goddamn community could aptly ignore it.

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:49 pm
by LactoseTolerant
Too many conversions, but the general idea is there...

Image

C&C?

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:16 pm
by X-14
This looks really good. After itself the ship had transformed, it looks anyhow like a Mecha. I find the colour pattern really cool made. Above all, the depth of the ship is effective really well.
Nice Work

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 5:12 am
by LactoseTolerant
Image
BUMP

New and improved!

NOTE: I am still having trouble uploading an animation of the transformation sequence, does anyone have suggestions to how I can? Photobucket and Imageshack refuse the .GIF due to it's size... somehow.

From this:
Image

To this:
Image




Backstory:

LOS-x101
After the failure of the previous model, LOS-x100 at the Battle of Chaucer, ZGC (Zero Gravity Confederate) drastically changed objectives of it'e SWD (Super-Weapons Development) department.
The LOS-x100 had been designed around the prototype ISIS-150 impulse beamer. Due to the power demand of the ISIS-150, the LOS-x100 was layered with capacitors to meet the needs of the ISIS. Drawing from these capacitors, the ISIS-150 was able to sustain up to four minutes of focus fire, and up to 50,000 km range. However, when the LOS-x100 was scrambled for it's maiden battle, multiple factors caused it to fail drastically. Due to numerous minor defects in the capacitors, the overall reliability of the energy grid was compromised. Around 34% of the capacitors ruptured within 1 minute of firing, shortening the burst length and maximum range. To make matters worse, oscillating energy levels fractured many of the ISIS-150's focal crystals, tampering with the beam. In addition, one of the crystals fractured in a way that it deviated the pulse into the starboard side of the ship, damaging components and disabling more capacitors. 6 hours into the Battle of Chaucer, 92% of the capacitors had failed or been destroyed, leaving the LOS-x100 immobilized on it's maiden voyage.
8 hours after the beginning of the battle, FLC (Fleet Logistics Command) ordered a formal retreat, and to also scuttle the LOS-x100. As if it knew it's fate, the LOS-x100 had been overcharging it's PL-Hydrogen reactors, unable to direct the energy to holding capacitors. Around 9 hours after the battle, the dual reactors reached critical pressure and detonated, taking out enemy boarding crews 40 km out.

With the dramatic failure of the LOS-x100, ZGC lost many of it's shareholders and contractors. In a aggressive foray to regain customer trust and interest, ZGC immediately commissioned the SWD to start development on the LOS-x101.
In the shadow of the failure of the LOS-x100, SWD designed the LOS-x101 as a combat-support capital ship with an unorthodox superweapon. With the old adage that "the best weapon against the enemy is the enemy himself", SWD built from scratch a capital-class Gravbeam projector. Instead of directly engaging the enemy with conventional munitions, the Gravbeam would be used to shove large capital ships into other ships, causing collateral damage and breaking up formidable formations. To combat Newton's 3rd Law, SWD incorporated "anchoring" pylons that would deploy before the LOS-x101 activated it's Gravbeam.
To meet the power demand of the Gravbeam, SWD developed their own capacitor and reactors. Two GS-Thorium reactors provided enough energy to shove battleships to distances over 15,000 , at a distance inverse to the target ship's weight. For more pushing and longer thrusts, two CL-Actinium capacitators held reserve energy.

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 8:37 am
by MagusZero
Aha, now that one I like.

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 1:06 pm
by jwa8402
How many layers do you have in the gif? It shouldn't be that large... half a dozen otta show the transformation well enough if you skip every couple of frames. shift control f9 are the controls for future reference.

I hate you for using that gif by the way :x As far as the ship goes, there are parts that are rather decent, but the nose bothers me with its poorly thought out repetition. Transformable ships are certainly too ambitious for me though so keep working on it.