iron warrior
SOC-12
3D modelling is not, despite what a lot of people tell you, easy. At least not easy to learn to do right.
It is hard and frustrating, taking up a lot of time.
Still, a lot of people would like to be able to do at least presentable 3D models of things for their own games if nothing else. I'm posting this to help them. If someone thinks this is the wrong forum for it, I hope they aren't offended. I wanted to reach as many people as possible.
Here's a link to a youtube video tutorial that walks you through the complete process of creating a SF type ship using the free program blender 3d. It uses the 2.4x version and blender is currently in transition to a new paradigm that is notably different, but the current blender version is still available and usable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9rJNZWtGRU
The video is the first in a series stretching over 30 parts, but I used it and it helped me in blender tremendously. You'll learn to use a lot of very powerful modeling tools and, in the end, after many hours and a lot of work, you will have a #d model of a vehicle useful in traveller which you can them design using the vehicle design rules of your choice. It's clearly at atmospheric only vessel, not a spacecraft of any sort, and it is likely a subsonic aircraft.
Nonetheless it would be a useful vehicle for a moderate tech world that had, say, vehicular scale fusion power plants and room temp superconductors. It could be a locally produced air patrol/ground attack craft.
As you follow the tutorial series you'll even be able to make changes to the vehicle design. My personal recommendations would be to leave the side mount positions in place which the tutor deletes late in the process, and use them to mount missile pods or other modular components onto, making this a multi-role aircraft capable of a variety of missions.
I'd add some sort of spotlights and sensor mounts/panels to the front end as well, and model some fixed landing gear to the underside. As you follow the tutorial and actual make the model, you'll learn how to do all this pretty well. I did.
I'm doing my own version with some of the things I've suggested. One person sneered at the craft, claiming it would "spin like a top" if really built. I'd say that given fusion power and practical superconductors the craft was stabilized by internal superconductor based gyroscopes.
So if you've ever looked at some of those cool renders of 3d stuff for traveller and wanted to do some of that yourself, and you're willing to put in the time and effort, here's a good place to start. Obviously you have to have blender 3d, version 2.49b to start, you get it free at www.blender.org.
Good luck if you decide to try this.
It is hard and frustrating, taking up a lot of time.
Still, a lot of people would like to be able to do at least presentable 3D models of things for their own games if nothing else. I'm posting this to help them. If someone thinks this is the wrong forum for it, I hope they aren't offended. I wanted to reach as many people as possible.
Here's a link to a youtube video tutorial that walks you through the complete process of creating a SF type ship using the free program blender 3d. It uses the 2.4x version and blender is currently in transition to a new paradigm that is notably different, but the current blender version is still available and usable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9rJNZWtGRU
The video is the first in a series stretching over 30 parts, but I used it and it helped me in blender tremendously. You'll learn to use a lot of very powerful modeling tools and, in the end, after many hours and a lot of work, you will have a #d model of a vehicle useful in traveller which you can them design using the vehicle design rules of your choice. It's clearly at atmospheric only vessel, not a spacecraft of any sort, and it is likely a subsonic aircraft.
Nonetheless it would be a useful vehicle for a moderate tech world that had, say, vehicular scale fusion power plants and room temp superconductors. It could be a locally produced air patrol/ground attack craft.
As you follow the tutorial series you'll even be able to make changes to the vehicle design. My personal recommendations would be to leave the side mount positions in place which the tutor deletes late in the process, and use them to mount missile pods or other modular components onto, making this a multi-role aircraft capable of a variety of missions.
I'd add some sort of spotlights and sensor mounts/panels to the front end as well, and model some fixed landing gear to the underside. As you follow the tutorial and actual make the model, you'll learn how to do all this pretty well. I did.
I'm doing my own version with some of the things I've suggested. One person sneered at the craft, claiming it would "spin like a top" if really built. I'd say that given fusion power and practical superconductors the craft was stabilized by internal superconductor based gyroscopes.
So if you've ever looked at some of those cool renders of 3d stuff for traveller and wanted to do some of that yourself, and you're willing to put in the time and effort, here's a good place to start. Obviously you have to have blender 3d, version 2.49b to start, you get it free at www.blender.org.
Good luck if you decide to try this.