LostAmongStars' Creations:

Let's face it, the main attraction of BSF is building your own ships. Share them! If you need help, check the Shipmaker Info & Help forum a little ways down.

Moderators: th15, Moderators

LostAmongStars
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 1:27 pm

LostAmongStars' Creations:

Post by LostAmongStars »

So, here's my first crack at building custom ships--not part of any particular fleet yet, just some ideas I had floating around in my head. Let me know what you think! :D I know the backgrounds aren't anything special--still learning how to add custom backgrounds, and I know the green isn't exactly attractive--still trying to figure out where and how to color everything, so if you have any tips on that, I appreciate it :) Also (and yes I'll post this question in the respective section if I can't find it), just in passing if anybody knows, how do some people get that more "matte" look to their ships? Right now mine just looks like a green blueprint, but I've seen some that look more--realistic, for lack of a better term. Thanks!

EDIT: This is now going to be the thread where I post all my ships--as this shipbuilding thing is addicting, as I'm sure you all know ;) Much randomness will be had here. Feel free to comment, criticize, or don't, as you see fit. But I like teh feebacks. Helps me improve :)
Attachments
A personal fighter--the Thundersabre-class strike fighter.
A personal fighter--the Thundersabre-class strike fighter.
A civilian passenger transport--the Stilletto-Class
A civilian passenger transport--the Stilletto-Class
My first battleship--the Cat's Eye
My first battleship--the Cat's Eye
Last edited by LostAmongStars on Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Danny420Dale
Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Posts: 1344
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2007 2:28 pm

Re: My first stab at shipmaker--

Post by Danny420Dale »

Not bad for first ships out the dock. You'll definitely want to work on colors, however.
robots rock
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:43 am

Re: My first stab at shipmaker--

Post by robots rock »

(I am probably unqualified to say any of this... take it with an ocean of salt)
Firstly, apart from the color and what look to be mostly stock parts, I can't really spot much wrong. That is my opinion and will probably be contested, but again, apart from color and the parts, there isn't anything wrong with them.

Second, (Take this seriously) there is a color palette on the bar on the left of the shipmaker screen, and if you haven't already, download the sprite pack off one of the links Here. It will let you make your ships much nicer.
Creator and Ruler of PACIV
Holy Elephant Poo! It works on my school internet!



Latooni: "I like to imagine every australian snipes for a living"

Keep your head down. I can see you from here.........
User avatar
Majicnanas
Captain
Captain
Posts: 355
Joined: Thu Mar 07, 2013 8:45 am
Location: United States

Re: My first stab at shipmaker--

Post by Majicnanas »

If you don't have the latest BSF Build, download it. Also consider the ship maker repack for more sprites then you know what to do with.

For your "matte" question, those sections we use are from other sprite packs, the ones you used, which are stock, are vanilla. They aren't recolored stock sections. If it makes sense.
Add me on steam @majicnanas
User avatar
Necrontyr1998
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Posts: 972
Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:30 am

Re: My first stab at shipmaker--

Post by Necrontyr1998 »

Shapes: good!
Section work: good!
Colours: you need more shades here. The best way to colour a ship is to use a grey or dim colour as a base and then build it up with coloured sections for armour (then highlights if you want). You will also want to have many shades of each colour.

Overall: great start into the world of ship building!
Deus Est Mechanicus

Owner of 'The Novian Empire', a Delphinius Gulf Wars faction.
Fleet Version 1.8 is finally available for download!
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=7081
LostAmongStars
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: My first stab at shipmaker--

Post by LostAmongStars »

Thanks everybody for the helpful critiques and advice. I did what you said--went out, DLed the latest shipbuilder and repack--and now have more sprites than I could ever hope to use. And I thought I was going to learn how to put together modules and weapons within my lifetime! I'll be figuring out new section combinations until my hair turns grey! :lol: Okay. So, on to the new shots--this is what I have done so far with the new stuff...Hopefully this is a bit of an improvement.
Attachments
The Cat's Eye Mk.II, re-envisioned and updated!
The Cat's Eye Mk.II, re-envisioned and updated!
Thundersabre Mk. II--going to shrink it down to about a quarter of that size so it looks like you could fit about a dozen of those in the Cat's Eye or so--it's only a personal fighter after all.
Thundersabre Mk. II--going to shrink it down to about a quarter of that size so it looks like you could fit about a dozen of those in the Cat's Eye or so--it's only a personal fighter after all.
robots rock
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:43 am

Re: My first stab at shipmaker--

Post by robots rock »

Scary cool looking
It's scary that they are that cool looking.

Have you looked around the forums a bit? If you have, you will have probably noticed that most of the ships have a sense of depth. To achieve this, think about where the light is on your ship and which bits are behind what. You probably aren't going to be using glows for a bit (I'm only starting with them), at least until you have everything else sorted out.

Try to make the middle of a ship a bit lighter and the edges or bits that are supposed to be "below" the rest a bit darker...
Creator and Ruler of PACIV
Holy Elephant Poo! It works on my school internet!



Latooni: "I like to imagine every australian snipes for a living"

Keep your head down. I can see you from here.........
LostAmongStars
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: LostAmongStars' Creations:

Post by LostAmongStars »

Yay! New ship! This is the A.R.N Diplomat, a high-class transport for the ubiquitous stellar diplomats, VIPs, attaches, and other people who can afford to traverse the stellar black in style. With its twin lateral observation pods, passengers can be assured that their credits have purchased them a view that is unrivaled as they travel. Armed with a compliment of light point defense weaponry (to come later) and lightly shielded, this craft relies more on its speed and maneuverability to get it out of any sticky situation, rather than duking it out with any adversary.

A quick question to anyone who knows: Can you alter sprites of modules (shields, demeter launchers, etc?) I want to shipwright-ize my shields so they don't stick out so much. :P
Attachments
SMscreen014.png
LostAmongStars
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: LostAmongStars' Creations:

Post by LostAmongStars »

New ships, along with an updated Diplomat.
Attachments
The A.R.N. dreadnought Adjudicator--a powerful ship that forms the spearhead of any battlegroup it is tasked to.
The A.R.N. dreadnought Adjudicator--a powerful ship that forms the spearhead of any battlegroup it is tasked to.
Vrellian Allegiance Strike fighter--haven't figured out a name or arms for it yet--just a base design.
Vrellian Allegiance Strike fighter--haven't figured out a name or arms for it yet--just a base design.
The A.R.N Diplomat--I strengthened the struts leading to the observation pods--looked more realistic, I thought, and gave it some point defense.
The A.R.N Diplomat--I strengthened the struts leading to the observation pods--looked more realistic, I thought, and gave it some point defense.
LostAmongStars
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: LostAmongStars' Creations:

Post by LostAmongStars »

Any comments, guys? I see you're viewing things--but no comments...are they that bad? :P
robots rock
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 75
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:43 am

Re: LostAmongStars' Creations:

Post by robots rock »

Adjudicator is a bit blocky but not too much wrong (or right), strike fighter is kinda a tiny basestar and the diplomat hurts my eyes.....
Creator and Ruler of PACIV
Holy Elephant Poo! It works on my school internet!



Latooni: "I like to imagine every australian snipes for a living"

Keep your head down. I can see you from here.........
Doogie12
Admiral
Admiral
Posts: 1508
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:14 am
Location: Castle Anthrax

Re: LostAmongStars' Creations:

Post by Doogie12 »

There's nothing that's inherently god-awful, and no major mistakes as far as I can see, but you don't really have anything "good" either.
naysayers will be shot
jwa8402
Admiral
Admiral
Posts: 1988
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:09 am

Re: LostAmongStars' Creations:

Post by jwa8402 »

The second one, the fighter, would look better as a station or defense satalite imo...The third might be OK, but it is far too dark and lacking in shading. Make the wings lighter, then the main body a bit lighter than that.
Netharis
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 61
Joined: Wed May 29, 2013 12:42 am

Re: LostAmongStars' Creations:

Post by Netharis »

I would consider the strike fighter to be the best in terms of section usage and shape (probably colour-wise as well) thought it seems a bit too... solid to be a mere fighter.
The diplomat is hard to judge considering most of it is too dark to see on my screen, but from what I can tell the sectionwork is decent; I don't think the bright yellow bits look good against the almost-black rest-of-ship.
Lastly, while the adjudicator looks the most practical, it's also the least attractive looking of the three; it's essentially a large grey slab. You might want to try using varying shades of grey to give a sense of depth to your ships.

It appears that you've made some effort to align the internal details from section to section with pixel-perfect precision. There's nothing wrong with doing this, but I believe that it shouldn't be a priority when putting ships together. Not only will it be pretty difficult, sections will look odd and out of place in the event that they don't align internally.

Two Three things i'll end with:
1) Press backspace before taking screenshots to reset the screen to default zoom. This keeps lines crisp-looking and allows for easier size comparison between ships.
2) Try building a ship using shiny (kae_shn) sections; I personally find them easier to build with.
3) I can see progress between these and your first ships. Keep building!
LostAmongStars
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 1:27 pm

Re: LostAmongStars' Creations:

Post by LostAmongStars »

Whoa! I go out of town for a few days and there are replies everywhere! Thanks for the tips, guys. I'll definitely try to make use of them :)
Post Reply