Ship designs

[SomberFlight]

my ships always turn into a brick at the end. there is not much wrong with it they're like a turtle ship... but.. i would like to create something that looks nice.. any ideas how to build a.. ''sci-fi sick af'' looking kinda ship? and also .. bigger guns/turrets? i feel like the turrets are too small to be on size i build.

[Snoweh]

Using corner blocks helps a lot, The corner and slope blocks in this game are incredibly flexible (and can also cause some huge headaches, lol)

I'd only call myself an average builder, so I can't say if this is the 'right' way to do it, but I've always built all my systems first, like my generators and shields and such, and then built a skin around it, of hull and armour.

Then again, there are some people who build amazing ships, in games like SE, that I know build the style and skin of their ship first, and then put the innards wherever they fit.

I think the best advice I can give you, is to go look through the screenshot gallery for the game, as well as at things like sci-fi concept or game art for other games. It'll give you some cool ideas, and the screenshots can teach you how to do various cool little things.

Like, I built this ship:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856510284
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856510273
and this ship:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856510939

after looking at these ships in the workshop (they're really awsome! that's why I wanted to make tribute. Copying is the highest form of flattery ;)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=852318236



Details can add a lot of punch too, though they can add a lot of time to your build. I've been working on making cool con towers for my ships lately, and I think it adds a lot to them.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856505122

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856492807


tl;dr Use lots of corners and angles. look at other people's ships for ideas, inspiration and figuring out how to do things. and add little details, because they make a big difference.

Though, I have a feeling some poeple might disagree with me.

[SomberFlight]

Originally posted by Snoweh:

Using corner blocks helps a lot, The corner and slope blocks in this game are incredibly flexible (and can also cause some huge headaches, lol)

I'd only call myself an average builder, so I can't say if this is the 'right' way to do it, but I've always built all my systems first, like my generators and shields and such, and then built a skin around it, of hull and armour.

Then again, there are some people who build amazing ships, in games like SE, that I know build the style and skin of their ship first, and then put the innards wherever they fit.

I think the best advice I can give you, is to go look through the screenshot gallery for the game, as well as at things like sci-fi concept or game art for other games. It'll give you some cool ideas, and the screenshots can teach you how to do various cool little things.

Like, I built this ship:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856510284
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856510273
and this ship:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856510939

after looking at these ships in the workshop (they're really awsome! that's why I wanted to make tribute. Copying is the highest form of flattery ;)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=852318236



Details can add a lot of punch too, though they can add a lot of time to your build. I've been working on making cool con towers for my ships lately, and I think it adds a lot to them.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856505122

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856492807


tl;dr Use lots of corners and angles. look at other people's ships for ideas, inspiration and figuring out how to do things. and add little details, because they make a big difference.

Though, I have a feeling some poeple might disagree with me.

yea i love SE( i have it ) even though i'm not much of a space engineer myself. thank you for the long .. guide? btw :p i've been looking at the ship designs from other games (especially Eve) all day but i guess i lack the imagination :p thanks for the references

[KIADevil]

Snoweh you know that you can share them right

[Snoweh]

Originally posted by Alexander:

yea i love SE( i have it ) even though i'm not much of a space engineer myself. thank you for the long .. guide? btw :p i've been looking at the ship designs from other games (especially Eve) all day but i guess i lack the imagination :p thanks for the references

Heh, sorry about the length of the post. I guess I got a little too excited to show off some of my ships =P

I've played a lot of SE ^^ I havent lately though, trying out other space games.

I don't think it's a lack of imagination on your part, it's jsut that when you have to juggle so many mechanics, it can be hard to actually make something.

Once you've put more hours into the ship designer, you'll probably find it's easier to make good looking stuff.

Originally posted by KIADevil:

Snoweh you know that you can share them right

what do you mean? Share the ship xml's or something else? Like a better way to share screenshots?

[shiny_dirk]

this is the first actual ship ive taken my sweet time to build on, handling-wise its a dream compared to the brickships i used before. the 2nd screenshot is for the thruster placement, i put them that way all over the ship, thats the main reason it handles so well.
half the space on the big engines in the back is empty for flexibility adjusting

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856533227
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856495428

[SomberFlight]

Originally posted by shiny_dirk:

this is the first actual ship ive taken my sweet time to build on, handling-wise its a dream compared to the brickships i used before. the 2nd screenshot is for the thruster placement, i put them that way all over the ship, thats the main reason it handles so well.
half the space on the big engines in the back is empty for flexibility adjusting

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856533227
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856495428

thats a nice looking ship.. i've worked on a ship before leaving home but she looks kinda like a... trireme. and she's still more like a brick than anything else. (she looks like a trireme because of the bow. which makes a really good fore guns port)

[Klingenmeister]

First I thought, that ship building in this game would be way more easy and detailed than in SE and Empyrion, but I ran into an (expected) problem. My wish for powergaming got stronger than my wish to design pretty ships, and my first ship turned into a very effektive and blank combat brick.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=851431282


Then I tried some more pretty design with the conclusion, that I cant combine pretty ships with acceptable stats.

So I thought, if you only can design combat strong bricks, dont try to build pretty ships, just make your bricks more beautiful
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856817973
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856822903

"We are the borg. Resistance is futile."

[SomberFlight]

Originally posted by Klingenmeister:

First I thought, that ship building in this game would be way more easy and detailed than in SE and Empyrion, but I ran into an (expected) problem. My wish for powergaming got stronger than my wish to design pretty ships, and my first ship turned into a very effektive and blank combat brick.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=851431282


Then I tried some more pretty design with the conclusion, that I cant combine pretty ships with acceptable stats.

So I thought, if you only can design combat strong bricks, dont try to build pretty ships, just make your bricks more beautiful
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856817973
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=856822903

"We are the borg. Resistance is futile."

its just an armoured brick with guns on it is so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ practical and good in this game. lol

[CMDR Sweeper]

Well, you are always short on time when you sit down and start building.
Xsotan and the pirates always tends to drop by mid building, so you need something temporary to defend yourself in that case.

[Strilter]

Just some general guidelines...

1.) Asemetrical shapes tend to look more interesting
2.) have sunken and extruded portions of your ship, no giant flat edges unlesss you lead up to it with some form of angled slope
3.) to look good you need parts that don't necessarily serve a function just add a few holes or extraneous shpaes here and there.
4.Curves done correctly look friggen awesome.
5. make it your own, the less star treky, space citizeny, e.v.e y the ship looks the more interesting it will be.

[DarkHoodness]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=852797737
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=854931806

The ship builder is so versitile that nearly any shape of ship is possible - Don't have to build a cube to balance vanity and practicality. Depends how long you want to spend building a ship, I guess. :P

For me, it's almost a type of art, and part of the fun. I'm also liking what I see others come up with, like Snoweh's awesome vertical ship. :)

My tips:

* I've made a grid in MS Paint. Once I have an idea for a ship, I plan some 2D designs on that to get an idea of shape and size.

* I base my ships on 0.5 sized grids, or smaller - Allows for higher "resolution" with fewer resources (though uses more blocks, and polygons - Which may affect framerate).

* Copy and Paste reduces workload, combined with axis flipping and rotation.

* Try combining different sizes of block or angled block to make different shapes. Quarter of a "circle" can be made from: Cube 1x1, slope 2x1, slope 1x1, slope 1x2, cube 1x2.

* It's possible to build a ship in a Creative mode galaxy with unlimited resources, save it as an XML, then spawn it in a Survival mode galaxy by using the "Apply Plan" function over an existing ship, provided you have the resources (the game will tell you how many you need if not)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=854931916

You can use "stacks" of 0.01 thick thruster sheets to increase a ship's yaw, pitch, roll and braking performance while using less space, allowing for even more creative freedom - They'll even work like that while tucked away inside a hull so long as there's space infront of them.

It seems a bit cheaty though and I get the feeling this will be patched out at some point. Space Engineers solved this "exploit" by having thrusters damage blocks, yet making it optional in world settings. But they did allow engines to face any direction other than backwards. :)

[Snoweh]

Originally posted by DarkHoodness:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=852797737

For me, it's almost a type of art, and part of the fun. I'm also liking what I see others come up with, like Snoweh's awesome vertical ship. :)
)

Thanks ^^ loking back at that post, it wasn't quite clear who's ships were whose though, I worded it kinda weirdly. Though since they're labeled by author it's probably fine. Just to be clear, the Harbringer inspired my two fin ships (which are really fun to build) So the credit should go to him.I only uploaded the screenshot to demonstrate the point.

I feel like the builder is so versitle though, that you almost get too overwhelmed by all the options you have at times. It can also lead you to making shapes, and then not knowing how to connect them back up to the rest of the hull, if you know what I mean.

Also, building in creative, and then exporting to your main game is an excellent tip, I should have mentioned it. It's what I do myself. (I don't know how to use the copy and paste tools though)

Also, I really like that second screenshot, Maybe I should try something with wings, it seems like it would give you more room for brakes.

[Studio Ghibli]

Bumping so people can look at that beautiful Homeworld ship.

[SomberFlight]

Originally posted by DarkHoodness:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=852797737
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=854931806

The ship builder is so versitile that nearly any shape of ship is possible - Don't have to build a cube to balance vanity and practicality. Depends how long you want to spend building a ship, I guess. :P

For me, it's almost a type of art, and part of the fun. I'm also liking what I see others come up with, like Snoweh's awesome vertical ship. :)

My tips:

* I've made a grid in MS Paint. Once I have an idea for a ship, I plan some 2D designs on that to get an idea of shape and size.

* I base my ships on 0.5 sized grids, or smaller - Allows for higher "resolution" with fewer resources (though uses more blocks, and polygons - Which may affect framerate).

* Copy and Paste reduces workload, combined with axis flipping and rotation.

* Try combining different sizes of block or angled block to make different shapes. Quarter of a "circle" can be made from: Cube 1x1, slope 2x1, slope 1x1, slope 1x2, cube 1x2.

* It's possible to build a ship in a Creative mode galaxy with unlimited resources, save it as an XML, then spawn it in a Survival mode galaxy by using the "Apply Plan" function over an existing ship, provided you have the resources (the game will tell you how many you need if not)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=854931916

You can use "stacks" of 0.01 thick thruster sheets to increase a ship's yaw, pitch, roll and braking performance while using less space, allowing for even more creative freedom - They'll even work like that while tucked away inside a hull so long as there's space infront of them.

It seems a bit cheaty though and I get the feeling this will be patched out at some point. Space Engineers solved this "exploit" by having thrusters damage blocks, yet making it optional in world settings. But they did allow engines to face any direction other than backwards. :)

i agree with the engines part. thanks for the details i'll try the suggestions

[Scynix]

Snowehs desgns are really good.

Honestly, if anyone has any doubts Avorions ship builder, check out the ridiculous designs people have made in Starmade which has a much worse ship designer.

As snoweh ,entioned earlier, corners help a lot. Another neat function is in the dev video for building a ship. You can copy-pastah a segment of blocks, and the newly pastedsegment, as a group can be manipulated with the wasd/yx contols like individual blocks.