Design Me a Ship

My designs are crude and lack artistry

from GalCiv2 Forums

Would anyone like to design a ship for me?

It's called the "HMx" series; that stands for "Huge Missile Hull Template".  In the series will be the "HMS", "HMPD", and "HMA" variants, each with their own version number to denote upgrades.

I think the highest I've ever gone was the "HMPD 13".

 

All huge ships that carry missiles will wear this design.  It uses the first huge hull, the most slender one, with the two flat forward protrusions to either side of the front fuselage.

My current design has what are supposed to be dorsal and ventral turrets with a little radar dish on top, but it looks like a 3-year-old put it together.

Anyone with a more artistic eye want to realize this in a little more depth?  Oh, and is there some kind of file exchange around here for ship designs?  And what files are needed to copy a design into the game?

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Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Although I am not a particularly skilled ship builder (preferring to play the game) I think you should probably put up some pictures of your designs to give people an idea of what you're looking for. In particular, saying "the first huge hull" doesn't help much as there are five sets of hulls; which set do you mean?

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Ship templates go in the My Games\GC2TwilightArnor\shiptemplates folder (assuming you're playing TOA).  Each template makes two files, one with an XML extension, the other with a SHIPCFG extension.  Also see here for more detailed explanation and here for an example of a decent Terran ship template pack.

Personally, my preference is to use or build missile ship templates which allow for relatively easy mounting of missile weapons, typically in broadside configuration.

The best thing for that is to use the three-pronged style component on another component which has lots of similar and evenly-spaced hardpoints (red arrows) in a row.  Place one missile on the end of the three-prong, and then adjust the direction of the three-prong.

By reversing the Z-axis on the three-prong you make anything on it go inside the hull, but by then reversing the Z-axis on the weapon you make the weapon component visible again, though now it pokes out from the hull.  This doesn't work in every situation, but it does pretty well a lot of the time.

You can adjust the scale on the three-prong and the weapon component to taste, but obviously you don't want to do that for each one, so click the original component to set the right scale and facing before you place a new component of the same kind.

You may have done this already anyway but I thought it was worth mentioning.

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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Thanks for your replies.  I'm still playing vanilla DL for now.  I guess everyone else has moved on?

I'm actually pretty good at manipulating components.  It became easy once I figured out to put structural and positioning elements "inside" elements meant for visual consumption.  I can do neat things like put engines partially inside the hull or have domed elements that merge smoothly and seamlessly with the hull.

 

I just don't have a very artistic eye.  My designs look too busy yet at the same time primitive and amateurish.  I didn't used to think they were all that bad until I saw what you guys were doing.

 

How do I upload my ship designs so you guys can have a look?  Or should I even bother until I spring for the expansions?

Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

It'd probably be easier to take screenshots in-game (Ctrl+Printscreen) and then put them on free image hosting.  Same place your saved games are stored you'll find a Screenshots folder.

Ship designs do not work very well across expansions.  That's not to say you can't make the same design in DA or TOA, just that you'll likely have to start from scratch.

Dark Avatar gives access to the generic cube hulls, which allows you to build your own hull using just the style components.  I'm fairly sure TOA is when rotating ship pieces came into play.

I wouldn't feel too bad about your designs.  It takes time to figure out good-looking combinations.  Sometimes the best use of components is to act as a base on which to overlay other components.  Some components look best when mounted in pairs (wings, nacelles, and engines come to mind) or when they're rotated 180 degrees on a particular axis.