Pioneer dev forum

Middle top :)

I have three issues with the current DS Miner:

* The UV dosnt seem to gel with the other ships - it looks a out of place.
* The nose looks a little odd. From your earlier sketches I gather the nose contains "mining equipment" which is a nice touch but it isnt obvious in its current state.
* The bridge kinda looks like a 1960's robot head - sorry to whoever designed it in the first place /:)

I was looking at it the other day and it does have quite a lot of nice detail. I think a UV refresh alone could make quite a bit of difference.

Bowfin works well on two fronts - its a fish, and, it makes me think of medieval weaponry! I like the shape of the model. Relative to the concept art, it suits the reduction in nose taper as it makes the rear less bulbous (not that it was really a problem in the first place). The cockpit seems quite a bit larger than the concept art which makes the ship seem significantly smaller. I also liked where you had the missile tubes on the sketch - I dont know why, they just felt right where they were :)

Also, getting your students to make an UV for it - genius!

I have similar feelings about the current DSMiner.
I re-UV-ed it a while back, so at least there could be a baked AO on it but didn't changed the textures apart from baking. I inteded it as a temporary fix anyway.
I think it's details are quite random, as in random tapering extrusions and intrusions to have detail. On my new version I tried to be more sensible and clean, although some parts still look a bit random around the bridge area.

And maybe even Tanker version:

I was thinking about this one a little more - have you considered using spheres instead of cylinders (or bundles of cylinders)? The large tanks don't feel quite right. In my mind spheres feel more "sicfi" akin to the style of Space 1999.

From a practical point of view I would see separate spheres/tanks having more advantages over a single large tank. Multiple types of "cargo" for example and increased resilience to meteorite(meteoroid?) damage.

Just a thought :)

A quick sketch of an OPLI space-only shuttle. Inspired by an ancient arthopod.

A hull shape idea in sketchfab - This one is a fighter but I have a version of it in my head as a medium/large transport...

https://skfb.ly/IKS8

Nice. The four engine exhaust thingys looks very russian.

Yes, it looks quite interesting. It has a certain Streamline Moderne vibe, but with a socialist twist. Which is a good thing if you ask me.

The back of the main fuselage feels a bit odd. I think it terminates a little bit too abruptly. Some detail could go there, like some kind of support structure that holds the nacelles, or something.
And maybe the nacelles could have less smooth tapering towards the front.
I couldn't resist doing a quick drawover:

On this sketch I made the front of the fuselage a bit asymmetric, kinda like the shape of a Guppi.
I've added a barrel to that orb, I assumed that's a gun mount. And I also moved it back a bit.
To the back I've added some tapering, which holds an RCS cluster.
I've changed the shape of the nacelles a bit too, and shrinked the thruster bells too. And added the typical Kaluri fins too. (Since you named it after a fish, I assumed it's a Kaluri craft)

Damn it! Why is it when ever you put a pen to one of my attempts it always looks better!!! I really like what you are suggesting. I still hadn't figured out what I was going to with the turret but it was along the lines of what you have drawn. I this was largely me learning how to better handle subserf and intersection so not a full project in itself yet - I just wanted to get the hull shape down somewhere before I forgot :)

After I put all ships in a file and checked which manufacturer has what in terms of size, I dusted off one of my early ALBR sketches (should be somewhere in the beginning of this thread), redrew it and made quick 3D blockout.
So let me introduce Sador:
It's somewhere in the Ballpark of the Bowfin for size, so a Ligth/Medium fighter. Two seater by default. Space-only and atmo-capable versions.
The model is quite low quality, only serves to show the basic shape and proportions. It's up for grabs for anyone who want to model it, I won't be starting it until I finish the ships already in the works, I promise.

Absolutely love it - this could turn out to be one of my favorites! :)