How do you design your ships?

[Paprika]

can you share your tips? do you draw on paper before building? do you just build exterior hull first, or you start with interior?

[AlienXtream]

honestly, i would like to know too. i think its just a lot of practice from SE translating over to this game but im sure there are at least a few people that are "that good" in general. reference is for sure critical though, be it copying a fictional (or real) ship or "kit bashing" things you've seen before on the fly.

you can possibly try an approach similar to how a 3D artist would go about designing something without a reference. start out just blocking it out. use the fewest cuboids you can to approximate a basic form. e.g. cockpit, engines, "body". then its divided up into smaller more practical chunks. then you can go to a separate grid and, using the same dimensions as the segment you are working on, create another cage to start prototyping designs. if you are going for something like an X-Wing or a Y-Wing then start with the outboard engines as they, as well as the cockpit, are the most noticeable elements.

[trashprince]

I usually flesh out a basic version of the interior first; hallways, rooms etc. and then build the hull around it. Keep in mind that I actually haven't finished building a full ship yet. It's very time consuming.

[Admiral Fray]

I made some ships from sketches I made in high school. I have the shape and size in mind, so I begin to build it. sometimes I have to delete some parts and do again to obtain the desired shape and proportions. but it's very time consuming.

[Reason]

I dont use anything I build my ships off my own ideas form old books storys I wrighten as a child.

[HardlyLivin]

I usually build the exterior of the ship first based off of previous designs I've made but with further improvements over the last build, then I work in the interior based off of the building room the hull has given me. I noticed that over time, the more building games I've played the better I've gotten and the more design ideas and tricks I've learned. I always thought of building in games like these to be a skill that has to be learned and practiced.

I'm not an expert by any means but I went from being unhappy with my builds to being properly proud of them, yet I still don't consider them workshop worthy (I don't think I'm at that point yet)
However if I'm ever stuck on what to build next I google drawings or art of starships if I ever need inspiration for a new design. I don't make copies though, I only take inspiration from certain design elements.

The biggest ship I've ever built was in SE. It was a destroyer-ish ship (not sure of the actual terminology) at a little over 560ft in length and about 120ft wide. After building that I won't build anything bigger given just how time consuming it was. I can only imagine how long it takes to build some of those massive mother ships you see on the workshop for SE. Granted all of my builds happened in survival so that probably slowed me down some.

[Reason]

Originally posted by HardlyLivin:

I usually build the exterior of the ship first based off of previous designs I've made but with further improvements over the last build, then I work in the interior based off of the building room the hull has given me. I noticed that over time, the more building games I've played the better I've gotten and the more design ideas and tricks I've learned. I always thought of building in games like these to be a skill that has to be learned and practiced.

I'm not an expert by any means but I went from being unhappy with my builds to being properly proud of them, yet I still don't consider them workshop worthy (I don't think I'm at that point yet)
However if I'm ever stuck on what to build next I google drawings or art of starships if I ever need inspiration for a new design. I don't make copies though, I only take inspiration from certain design elements.

The biggest ship I've ever built was in SE. It was a destroyer-ish ship (not sure of the actual terminology) at a little over 560ft in length and about 120ft wide. After building that I won't build anything bigger given just how time consuming it was. I can only imagine how long it takes to build some of those massive mother ships you see on the workshop for SE. Granted all of my builds happened in survival so that probably slowed me down some.

no kidding! my Starbase is taking an eternity to build.

[zorro_101]

I have been making space ships based on there functionality and size.
I am sharing them on the workshop so I will include some links.

Example 1: A single-seated light fighter would have requirements:
-cockpit (1 occupancy)
-shield (25k-100k)
-weapons (4-8 small low to no heat)
-no turrets
-use small hull blocks and large blocks only if design allows or required to cool ship
-short range warp with on/off switch
-speed 200+mps based on power and ship size
-light speed 2000+mps based on power and ship size
-cover all systems with armor blocks and so on.

I am still experimenting on cockpit location...front or top or bottom or hidden with camera...and over powered or under powered with on/off buttons for systems. So less than light speed thrusters can be turned off during a dog fight so more power goes to weapons.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2287631315

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2280787997


Example 2: Small camper shuttle:
-2 seater
-some shield based on space
-good warp distance
-no weapons
-a sleeping area
-a sofa
-a cooking area
-a toilet/ shower area
-an awning
-large blocks with small blocks to assist design
-gravity unit with on/off switch

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2288771343

Keep building:)