Topic: USS Alabama new BB WIP 11/26 (image heavy)

[OlBuzzard]

here is the first step ...  AV is optimizing it for me ( a step I have yet to learn).

Please note:  This a bash based upon two models from the GAW mod. 
1.  The Enterprise  ( Connie refit ) (primary hull and nacelles)
2.  The Odysseuss  ( neck and pylons )

I looked to find a file that listed the credits for these models ..  but they are simply not there.  ( I need to clear this up please ).

there are a number of my own parts added to this (made from scratch) ...

at any rate here is a sneak preview:

[Norsehound]

I'm not a fan of squashed lower hulls (I like circular and round ), but I'm interested to see what becomes of this.

[Chris Johnson]

It looks nice.  Although I do have some suggestions (mainly matters of taste), I'd rather not state what they are this time as it's your ship and it's being made in your image, OlBuzzard.

[Magnum357]

Nice design.  I like it a lot, and using standard TMP engines (or FWP-1 if your refering to FASA) really helps show how big a vessel this is.

[OlBuzzard]

yeah ...   she's a biggie alright.  The primary hull may need to be reduced just a tad ... (though I'm not 100% convinced one way or the other just yet.)  By the time we get done she will also have twin shuttle bays. 

I'm not a fan of squashed lower hulls (I like circular and round ), but I'm interested to see what becomes of this.

I understand where you are comming from (though I personally don't agree ... and that's cool ) .. BUT ..  it seemed to be the best way to get the triple impulse engines to mount and merge smoothly  without adding a lot of unnecessary "stuff" to the primary hull.

also:
 

It looks nice. Although I do have some suggestions (mainly matters of taste), I'd rather not state what they are this time as it's your ship and it's being made in your image, OlBuzzard.

please don't feel this way ...  I'm still learning ...  I try to evaluate most (if not all) suggestions.  You may be seeing something I don't.  If I were as experienced as someone like WZ or P81 ...  that might be a different story. 

For example:  there are three things I'm not 100% on :

1.  the way the 2nd set of nacelles are mounted.
2.  the over all size of the primary hull.
3.  the rear taper around the shuttle bay (already being cleaned up and corrected)
and yes !  I challenge my self every time I look at something I work on to see if there is something I can do different ... or better in order to get the best possible results.  I know my work is limited to bashing right now ..  but the harder I push to make the few models I do get done ... the better chance I stand of understanding what it takes to produce a quality product for everyone to enjoy.

Please  ...   feel free to offer your suggestions.  I can not always guarantee the final out come ...  but I can and will read them.

[ModelsPlease]

IIRC Buzz those are P81 models bashed by Knox 1711. I have an idea for yoiur ship that I'll WIP up and PM to ya to look at. Mind you, I don't have the parts done like yours I'm just using what i have on hand to show positioning  .

-MP

[OlBuzzard]

cool ...   

I'll be looking for it !

OH BTW.....   I'll be sure to credit the mesh as originals from P-81 and Knox1711 ...  bashed by your truely.  The textures will be 100% from yours truely.

thanks bud !

[J. Carney]

Questions:

How high is the 'rollbar' going to be above the ship? In that picture, it looks like the spoiler on Richard Petty's old Plymoth.

Comments:

First:
I think that the 'squashed' look is perfect for her. The BB-60 Alabama (and the other 3 South Dakota's) was also 'squashed' compared to other battleships in our fleet; the Washingotn Treaty limited her maximum tonnage, and thus meant that a lot of equipment had to be packed onto a smaller hull to preserve their capibilities.

I like the thick, short, 'squashed' look- it relates well to the name and heritage of the ship. The South Dakotas had a part of the 1st deck shaved off their forecastle and stern to save weight... looks a lot like what you've done here.

Second:
Three impulse engines? Did you look at the South Dakota specs before doing this, or was that unintentional? The BB-60 Alabama has three screws... again, nice coincidence that make the two designs seem related.

I also like the double-mount warp engines that you have there- it also hints at the kind of weight-saving modifications that the Alabama and other South Dakotas had built into their designs. Something nice to add into the backstory, maybe... like how these ships were limited in displacement by some treaty or other and thus had to be constructed differently than other Fed ships, which generally ony had one engine per nacalle strut.


OVERALL:

With the little coincidences that I'm seeing in design when compared to the BB-60 and the general tough apperance of the ship, I absolutely love the design.

The name fits the ship... and I definately have get it when you are finished!!!

[OlBuzzard]

Thasnk bud ..

OH BTW...  yes ...  we did a little research !  Including the discovery of her earning 9 battle stars ... 

Good observation on the roll bar ...  but it's actually of another ship ( the Odyessuss ) .....and believe it or not ..  I lowered its profile my " mashing down the center" before mounting the weapons pod.  This also makes the pod a little less easier to hit from a side or frontal shot (lets face it ...  who in their right mind would want to face this thing head on !)  I will review you observation this evening when I get home.

[J. Carney]

OH BTW...  yes ...  we did a little research !  Including the discovery of her earning 9 battle stars ...

And no casualties from enemy fire during the war either.

And she even got to take a pot-shot at the Tirpitz once when she was escorting convoys to Murmansk. When you look at the two, they are almost perfectly matched, right down to armor, gun size, and number of weapons... it would have been an interesting gun duel.

[OlBuzzard]

OH BTW...  yes ...  we did a little research !  Including the discovery of her earning 9 battle stars ...

And no casualties from enemy fire during the war either.

And she even got to take a pot-shot at the Tirpitz once when she was escorting convoys to Murmansk. When you look at the two, they are almost perfectly matched, right down to armor, gun size, and number of weapons... it would have been an interesting gun duel.

Didn't the Alabama, the South Dakota and the Mighty Mo have advanced radar.  Seems like there was one other one as well that fought at Savo against a Japanese task force that was pushing toward Australia.  There were basically only two big ships ...  BB's  the Enterprise and a handfull of tin-cans (DD's).  One of the Admirals in command of his BB's was not that good and really screwed up bit time.... but the 2nd ..WOW !   The one Admiral I'm thinking of knew how to use radar very well and essentially kept the Japanese at bay  while American aircraft from the Enterprise whittled away at the task force.

[J. Carney]

OH BTW...  yes ...  we did a little research !  Including the discovery of her earning 9 battle stars ...

And no casualties from enemy fire during the war either.

And she even got to take a pot-shot at the Tirpitz once when she was escorting convoys to Murmansk. When you look at the two, they are almost perfectly matched, right down to armor, gun size, and number of weapons... it would have been an interesting gun duel.

Didn't the Alabama, the South Dakota and the Mighty Mo have advanced radar.  Seems like there was one other one as well that fought at Savo against a Japanese task force that was pushing toward Australia.  There were basically only two big ships ...  BB's  the Enterprise and a handfull of tin-cans (DD's).  One of the Admirals in command of his BB's was not that good and really screwed up bit time.... but the 2nd ..WOW !   The one Admiral I'm thinking of knew how to use radar very well and essentially kept the Japanese at bay  while American aircraft from the Enterprise whittled away at the task force.

At Savo, it was the South Dakota and the Washington. And yes, the whole class had advanced radar- though not as good as the Iowa.

[OlBuzzard]

OH BTW...  yes ...  we did a little research !  Including the discovery of her earning 9 battle stars ...

And no casualties from enemy fire during the war either.

And she even got to take a pot-shot at the Tirpitz once when she was escorting convoys to Murmansk. When you look at the two, they are almost perfectly matched, right down to armor, gun size, and number of weapons... it would have been an interesting gun duel.

Didn't the Alabama, the South Dakota and the Mighty Mo have advanced radar.  Seems like there was one other one as well that fought at Savo against a Japanese task force that was pushing toward Australia.  There were basically only two big ships ...  BB's  the Enterprise and a handfull of tin-cans (DD's).  One of the Admirals in command of his BB's was not that good and really screwed up bit time.... but the 2nd ..WOW !   The one Admiral I'm thinking of knew how to use radar very well and essentially kept the Japanese at bay  while American aircraft from the Enterprise whittled away at the task force.

At Savo, it was the South Dakota and the Washington. And yes, the whole class had advanced radar- though not as good as the Iowa.

YUP ..  and they were faster than their predicessors as well !

[Dizzy]

Actually, thats a pretty decent design. I'd need to see more angles to be critical, but overall its a fantastic start... The impulse engine placement causes concern, tho... If you have more angles pics I'll get down to it. Nice start tho!

[OlBuzzard]

Thanks Dizz

BTW..  please note that by the time we are done "tweaking" the nacelle placement ...  they will not be in a bad position with the impulse engines.  (Seems like I remember a statement you made waaaaay back on he old Taldren forums concerning that ...  and I agree to a point.  It's better to have them clear of the impulse engines.  It should also be noted that the reason I placed them  where they are ...  the way I did ..  They should be spaced such that there is no interference with other ship operations or each other.

[ModelsPlease]

IIRC Buzz those are P81 models bashed by Knox 1711. I have an idea for yoiur ship that I'll WIP up and PM to ya to look at. Mind you, I don't have the parts done like yours I'm just using what i have on hand to show positioning  .

-MP

Oh heck I'll just post the idea here for nacelle placement on your BB

[atheorhaven]

here is the first step ...  AV is optimizing it for me ( a step I have yet to learn).

Please note:  This a bash based upon two models from the GAW mod. 
1.  The Enterprise  ( Connie refit ) (primary hull and nacelles)
2.  The Odysseuss  ( neck and pylons )

I looked to find a file that listed the credits for these models ..  but they are simply not there.  ( I need to clear this up please ).

I can help with the credits for the Enterprise at any rate, I helped Nanner on it. 

p81 parts, p81 textures modified by myself.  Anything in the mod that has colored illumination maps, I provided. 

Same with the Miranda, Belknap, Invincible, and several others..

[OlBuzzard]

here is the first step ...  AV is optimizing it for me ( a step I have yet to learn).

Please note:  This a bash based upon two models from the GAW mod. 
1.  The Enterprise  ( Connie refit ) (primary hull and nacelles)
2.  The Odysseuss  ( neck and pylons )

I looked to find a file that listed the credits for these models ..  but they are simply not there.  ( I need to clear this up please ).

I can help with the credits for the Enterprise at any rate, I helped Nanner on it. 

p81 parts, p81 textures modified by myself.  Anything in the mod that has colored illumination maps, I provided. 

Same with the Miranda, Belknap, Invincible, and several others..

Thanks bud ... .  Looks like so far all we will be using will be the mesh.  Any idea about the Ody ?  Was that Knox1711? 

I just want to make sure we do this right.

[Klingon Fanatic]

  Not bad at all gentlemen.

The Odysseus was made by Khaliban and I think his permission requirements are posted IIRC.

Well done.

KF

[OlBuzzard]

I think what I'm going to do in order to expedite releases of all my WIP stuff including this one will be to get things ready to up load ..  and let who ever wants to prep them for use in what ever game do so as needed.  Those models will be as follows:

1.  USS Alabama (BB)
2.  USS Titan refit (DN or heavy CA depending upon interpretation of applied Pocket Book data ....  personal interp is DN-X.  See released notes with model regarding weapons, power core, and maneuverability.)
3.  USS Bass Master refit (X-CL)
4.  USS Mako  (X-CA)
5.  Star Base 777
6.  USS IOWA  (late TMP early TNG cross  "BB", concept sketch stages only)
7.  X-29 Fighter (Custom designed fighter craft from the "L.A.S.T. Patrol" .  My first complete mesh from scratch ...  already WIP).[Please note:  this vessel is under copy right.  I  will release a version that will be closer to ST design that will be available as long as it not modified or borrowed or bashed.  It's part of a manuscript we wrote, ( and have the copy rights to)  a little over 20 years ago. 
8.  USS Hope  (Armada based hospital/medical vessel)

Sorry to tag this on to this thread ..  but it seemed as good a place as any.  This should help to expedite the release of all of these models  (as opposed to waiting for them to be converted, hard pointed etc.)