Topic: U.S.S. Merlin - Sorcerer Class X Era Heavy Cruiser

[Wicked Zombie]

Hopefully the server will be up more than once this week for it be downloaded:











Atolm came up with the 'rail-phaser' idea and I salvaged/modified the engines from an older model of the U.S.S. Kirk which I never finished (and have no reason to with LC's s flying around).

[GotAFarmYet?]

I just hope it is up long enough for me to finish downloading!

nice looking ship by the way.

[Chris Johnson]

Very wonderful a job, WZ.  I really really like this Excelsior variant, and it seems the lineage of the Excelsior-class is logical a choice for an X-Cruiser design for the TMP-era, especially since the Excelsior seemed to fit to be an X-cruiser due to its new tech at the time.  At least in my opinion. *shrug*

Very well-done.  I will go download this.

[Merlinfmct87]

 

Did you make that for me--don't answer that, I love it anyway.

THANK YOU!

Merlinfmct87

[Dizzy]

I always have a problem with the fed designs that place the impulse engines on front of a warp or pylon. Looks like this one is close...

Nice design, WZ, I'll D/L it and see.

[Klingon Fanatic]

Rail phasers. Wow, what a cool idea for a transition of tech from TMP to TNG era phaser arrays Azel.

Thanks for sharing WZ45.

[MrCue]

We have excelent uptime.
http://www.battleclinic.com/docks/upload.php

[Dizzy]

Ok, it passes. The impulse engines are clear of all obstructions... Barely.

Interesting on the shortness of the warp engines. That and the tie in between eras. Unique ship. Wtg.

EDIT: Others have complained b4 and they actually alerted me to the design issue. Surprising how many excelsior type feds are built that have the impulse placed right in front of the warps and pylons...

[OlBuzzard]

Ok, it passes. The impulse engines are clear of all obstructions... Barely.

Interesting on the shortness of the warp engines. That and the tie in between eras. Unique ship. Wtg.

EDIT: Others have complained b4 and they actually alerted me to the design issue. Surprising how many excelsior type feds are built that have the impulse placed right in front of the warps and pylons...

Hmmm   and all this time I thought it was just me .....  BTW.. it should be noted that some of those are pretty good sized impulse engines at that ..  and to be positioned that way..  Ya cant help but to wonder!

BTW  ...  WZ  ..  top notch stuff as always.  I have always had a certain fondness for the "X" class.  Great detail sir !

[Starforce2]

that totaly rocks.

[S33K100]

Exceedingly cool, so cool, I'm gonna download it now when I should be reading my law textbook on employer's liability, seriously it's really cool.

P.S. please, please, please, please, please, please, please say that that Excelsior silhouette is there for a reason beyond size comparison, like maybe you've got one under wraps or something.

Anyway, off to blow up some pirates (just got a copy of OP after every chain of shops told me there were no copies left in the UK )

[Dawntreader]

Cool.  Going into OP now.
Please may I use a picture of it in my signature.

[Don Karnage]

cool hybrid of the x-era and excelsior class, is it aivalable to download?, also here something that cold be cool, for the tos era a mix of old tos and the x-era before the refit of the enterprise like a prototype engine and designe?.

[kingconstantine]

beautifull sir...(hmm x era eagle perhaps lol)

[Dizzy]

WZ, the design concept puzzles me. Im impressed with the model, which is why I am curious. I see the engine size and design being a step between that of the Ent and Excel., but you have tng type phaser mounts. It's all so strange given the sorcerers size and configuration and cross tech design. It fits, and then it doesnt. Did you have any other design ideas in mind when you were making it, or how the size and texture configuration was goona be? And what similarities did the Kirk and this one share? What LC's are you talking about concerning why the Kirk didnt ever get completed. What does/did the Kirk look like?

Edit: Oh, and wether it was intentional or not, the perspective shot showing the neck as it trails from the saucer to the aft hull... very Sovereign like. Very smooth.

[Starforce2]

WZ, the design concept puzzles me. Im impressed with the model, which is why I am curious. I see the engine size and design being a step between that of the Ent and Excel., but you have tng type phaser mounts. It's all so strange given the sorcerers size and configuration and cross tech design. It fits, and then it doesnt. Did you have any other design ideas in mind when you were making it, or how the size and texture configuration was goona be? And what similarities did the Kirk and this one share? What LC's are you talking about concerning why the Kirk didnt ever get completed. What does/did the Kirk look like?

Edit: Oh, and wether it was intentional or not, the perspective shot showing the neck as it trails from the saucer to the aft hull... very Sovereign like. Very smooth.

if  u look really   close at the dark ring on the  dorsal  saucer you'll see little   yellow trapizoids   with a pair of  tmp  turrets on them. It doesn't have tng arrays near as  I  can  figure.

And he's refering to the James T Kirk by LC Amaral, the model is done and out for BC, likley darkdorne doing the sfc version after those ambassadors are finished. It's on BCfiles if you   want to have a look.

[wulf111]

Great looking ship i especially love the nacelles awsome design im looking forward to flying this baby

[Kaenyne]

OUTSTANDING!! 

[Wicked Zombie]

Dizzy: I was referring to LC Amaral's U.S.S. James T. Kirk (an Atolm design) which he made for BC and was recently converted to SFC by DarkDrone. It should still be on sfc3files.com. I had started my own version a year ago that never got finished and found the remnants of it to use for parts. The Merlin hardly has any resemblance at all to the Kirk and I modified the engines to make them more distinctive.

The impulse engines clear the warp nacelles from all angles, unlike Enterprise-B based ships that have the impulse exhaust flowing right into the bussards (which incidentally, also don't clear the saucer making them relatively useless).

Also, as stated already, the Merlin doesn't have arrays but 'rail phasers'. The phaser emitters move along the track, increasing their firing arcs. TNG arrays are the next logical step since instead of moving the emitter, they 'move' the beam. The registry number and technology set the ship after the Excelsior. X-Ships have always struck me as being in the gray-area of design lineage. Starfleet probably wouldn't design a totally brand new ship just to test out their X-tech so they would've borrowed from pre-established designs to reduce the production costs (and to cut losses should the new tech turn out to be a flop).

Dawntreader: Yeah, feel free to use it in your sig.

Marauth: As I'm so fond of saying, you'd be surprised what I have stashed away on my HD...

[Core]

be very carfull not to lose it

[Starforce2]

you ought to  open a section of your site just for your stash, just dump it all in.

[Wicked Zombie]

What would be the purpose of that? Half my 'stash' isn't even worth the effort, or at least needs severe alterations. The other half are semi-finished ships that need either textures or minor adjustments, and I don't release anything until it's completed. Whatever is up for download is the version I intended to be out there (until I update it of course). Offering up something that isn't finished or up to (my) standards, or something that I wouldn't even use on my own model seems kinda hypocritical. It's kinda like saying, "Yeah, this part sucks and I wouldn't be caught alive using it on my ship...here guys, you can have it."

[Starforce2]

hey,  one mans trash is another mans treasure...

[Dawntreader]

I still have some of your old ships.  Not bad.  Definetely better than what I can do.  All I can do is re-arrange parts to make new ships.

[Sandman3D]

Awesome design!! LOVE those rail phasers...this definitely would make a helluva strike cruiser!!!

[S33K100]

Well I hope we get to see some of your stash in the future when you have the time/inclination to finish them off.

P.S. I gotta ask if you could put up a couple of the parts from the Merlin without holes in them? Specifically the secondary hull without the big hole in the neck area, and the big hemispherical dome that supports the nacelle struts, I'd really like to use this to remake some old kitbashes I did using P81's Excalibur but the parts wouldn't work right now with all the gaps.

[kingconstantine]

well shat can i say mate.  shes beautifull.  wasent keen on the nacels at first....cos im a misserable old git who hates change...but they have grown on me and i think shes beautifull

[Dizzy]

Also, as stated already, the Merlin doesn't have arrays but 'rail phasers'. The phaser emitters move along the track, increasing their firing arcs.

LOL! Funny as hell... but yeah, it makes sense, hehe.

The registry number and technology set the ship after the Excelsior. X-Ships have always struck me as being in the gray-area of design lineage. Starfleet probably wouldn't design a totally brand new ship just to test out their X-tech so they would've borrowed from pre-established designs to reduce the production costs (and to cut losses should the new tech turn out to be a flop).

U know, I like that, and the model, and I think that a whole series of ships like that should be made for every class hull. I'd very much like that theme there to be my X-tech ship mod. It is very distinctive. Very appealing and your explanation of how it all fits sounds good. 

[Dizzy]

It's kinda like saying, "Yeah, this part sucks and I wouldn't be caught alive using it on my ship...here guys, you can have it."

hey,  one mans trash is another mans treasure...

HAHAHAHA!

[Wicked Zombie]

Don't expect me to make a habit of this:

http://members.aol.com/wickedzombie45/myhomepage/xca_hull.zip

I actually prefer not cutting into the hull and welding everything together, but I do end up doing that on a number of occasions. It makes creating textures easier since you have an 'outline' of where the parts intersect, and it also prevents any 'flickering' or overlapping polygon issues. The bad side of this is it increases the polygon count, makes altering the ship a real gripe since the parts are interlinked, and, obviously, makes kitbashing trickier.

[Lord Schtupp]

Sweet!

[S33K100]

Don't expect me to make a habit of this:

http://members.aol.com/wickedzombie45/myhomepage/xca_hull.zip

I actually prefer not cutting into the hull and welding everything together, but I do end up doing that on a number of occasions. It makes creating textures easier since you have an 'outline' of where the parts intersect, and it also prevents any 'flickering' or overlapping polygon issues. The bad side of this is it increases the polygon count, makes altering the ship a real gripe since the parts are interlinked, and, obviously, makes kitbashing trickier.

Thanks a million dude, I don't expect anything as you've already done so much cool work, anyway - off to work on some mutilations of your ship.

[markyd]

Can I just say.................. AWSOME!!!!!!!!

Great work man.... I love this model.... very nice piece of work!

[Age]

   That is really nice and when will it get used in a shiplist sometime.It seems that most of the models don't get used that are posted in here.

[Rod ONeal]

   That is really nice and when will it get used in a shiplist sometime.It seems that most of the models don't get used that are posted in here.

Most people just snatch'em up and put them into their own game. You can add it as a new class to your game for your own single player use (use shipedit to add it to your shiplist), or just replace one of the stock models and not have to muck-up your shiplist for MP use. For example, rename it to fdn (the folder, model, and brk.mod) and replace the stock fdn in your models folder. When you fly any fed BCH (For some reason Taldren reversed the names of the models for the DN and BCH classes) you'll have WZ's shiny new model there.

[S33K100]

Exactly, I'm using this in place of my FCX (kind of makes sense) though I still have to redo the weapons in shipedit because it doesn't use the proper UI

[Wicked Zombie]

It was either that, or making mod files for all the games (1, 2, OP, and 3). Since OP is the only game with any XCA UI's, they wouldn't be supported in the previous SFC's so I just kept it as compatible as possible.

[Dizzy]

   That is really nice and when will it get used in a shiplist sometime.It seems that most of the models don't get used that are posted in here.

Do you even play the dynaverse age?

[S33K100]

It was either that, or making mod files for all the games (1, 2, OP, and 3). Since OP is the only game with any XCA UI's, they wouldn't be supported in the previous SFC's so I just kept it as compatible as possible.

I don't mean any offense WZ, I understand compatibility is an issue and I can alter the shiplist myself so I'm not affected; and I never play games online anyway.

[markyd]

*bump*

Cos this is awsome... and I have had a couple of people asking if I had seen it... I dont know why they dont post themselves... but so you know you have allot of fans who take and dont comment 

Great work buddy

[USS Mariner]

I really like what you've done with the Merlin-class (Sorry, but "Merlin" class makes more sense, and allows a totally "magical" naming motif wihtout booboos ,) but I think it needs bigger nacelles. Not that the current ones are horrible, they aren't, but I think they could use some fattenting up to balance out it's looks.

Also, the Merlin could use an Impulse Deflection Crystal or two for it's warp core and impulse engines (unless your telling me that the two blue "slits" on the saucer back are X-Era versions. If not, then what are they. Arbouretum windows? Rec deck?)

I can't wait to see it's X-Era companions.

[Wicked Zombie]

The blue lights on the Sorcerer class are indeed the impulse crystals - the texture for them is named 'impdom' afterall. The engines only look short from the side view, and seeing the ship at that perfectly flat angle only happens in side renders. Fattening the engines is a matter of personal taste and actually doing that would require modifying the pylons as well in order for the nacelles to clear the impulse exhausts.

[Starforce2]

actualy I think the nacelles are one of the best parts of the model. Always though the X nacelles were kinda neat looking, through poorly done in the stock models, better as gafy retextures/p81 nacelles and now seeing this version...I don't think they can get any better.

[S33K100]

The blue lights on the Sorcerer class are indeed the impulse crystals - the texture for them is named 'impdom' afterall. The engines only look short from the side view, and seeing the ship at that perfectly flat angle only happens in side renders. Fattening the engines is a matter of personal taste and actually doing that would require modifying the pylons as well in order for the nacelles to clear the impulse exhausts.

Of course if he wanted he could remove those impulse engines and retexture the saucer shuttlebay as a single impulse engine and say the clam-shell cargo bay at the back is the main shuttlebay. I think the nacelles are one of the best features anyway, and their relatively small length leads from the Excelsior's 'the captain has masculinity issues' nacelles into the ambassador's rather diminutive nacelles which were about as stocky as you could get for Fed nacelles.

[wulf111]

will this be relaesed soon i want to fly her



Never mind i got her now thanks for this awsome ship WZ

[Centurus]

The Sorcerer Class was already released.  It's been up for download for about a week or so now.

[S33K100]

He already knew - it was in his post. ROFL

[Hollis J Wood]

looks really good old boy, I am impressed.