Subset Games Forum

Thanks for all the advice, this should really help quite a bit. Several of the inconsistencies between my image and the one you found are because I've been referring to screenshots of cutscenes from the original game, while the one you found look like something out of a mod somebody made for a newer game. If I don't take all the elements from this, I'll certainly try to incorporate quite a few. I am going to do the shading once I'm completely certain everything else is in order, that should bring the 3D look out when it happens.

Once again, thanks for all the help. I'll try not to bug anyone on the forum for a while for the rest of the time I'm working on this. I may actually be able to get this to TaxiService level quality after a few weeks, now that would really be something!

What am i, a benchmark??? Lol, I feel honoured. If i could blush, i would.

NarnKar wrote:I could be talking bullshit and not even realize it.

Whatcha talkin' about? That post was solid advice!!! (zero conflict of interests detected in this statement)

Yesterday I searched for references too! Check out this collection of images and also these instructions! They're for a Kodiak paper model. (it's so cool!!!) They might help you better grasp the hull's shape.

I never played C&C, but i fell in love with this ship's design! I've been meaning to post something about it to help but, believe me, I've been SO busy with work and other irl problems this week. >.< (offtopic: If you happen to bump into another car in italy, be sure to compile a CID at all costs!!!!)

Also, about this...

NarnKar wrote:Don't worry about adding patches, unless your Kodiak actually does have patches all over it. Adding depth to the image and giving it proper shading should give it plenty of visual interest--and if that's not enough, you can add a patch here and there, or a greeble (mechanical bit) too.

I agree completely. I wanted to point you to the Hooker as well, 'cause i encountered your problem too!

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In this old screenshot you can see how the surface of the hull is covered with random lines that emulate panels. They have been added at the end of the linework to make it a little less uninteresting. (...To be honest, i don't really like what i came up with in the end. In the update i'm supposedly going to release for this ship, i am going to change its color from yellow to grey, and add some strips and numbers in an orange paint. probably.) Paint strips are also another thing that helps in covering up large empty areas! ...But in your case it's probably not an option, at least for the main layout.

This may sound a little crazy but when i draw a ship's plating I try to think about how the panels would actually be fabricated and assembled together. I mean, I try to repeat shapes when possible and try to make the plating look like it's built that way for a reason. This is most noticeable in this other unfinished hull I made: (which could be considered the Hooker's ancestor XD)

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The idea here was to make a modular spaceship. Different layouts might've had different structures completely. If you notice, the panels are either repeated or very similar in design.

Oh! Also notice the bolts. I mean those black pixels placed in specific spots around the panel lines.
Like... I love adding those! I think they add a lot of depth into a ship's design. My advice is to try being consistent with their placement. In these hulls they're mostly around panels' corners, but sometimes you might have to put them along a straight line. In that case, try to keep the distances between each bolt the same around the whole hull. And of course, also the distance between each bolt and each line. I mean, if you use a 2-pixel distance, keep using it everywhere (except when you shouldn't for perspective reasons... but yeah)

Anyway...

Chrono Vortex wrote:I'll try not to bug anyone on the forum for a while for the rest of the time I'm working on this.

Dude! No! You *should* bug everyone! Or, well, i mean... you can bug me, at least? Feel free to ask whatever! I am sure you will do a great job if you take your time, and i'm willing to help you if (and when!) i can. I want your ship to be awesome!!!



PS: OH OH another thing!!!! The first thing I do when making a ship is design its rooms layout. Superluminal is a dream came true for me. Most if not all of my ships were designed starting from the room layout!
What i'm trying to say is, try deciding what your rooms will be first, and then draw your hull around them! Keep in mind that the rooms and floor will cover your hull, and what you draw below it won't be visible throughout most of a game..!
You should also compare your and the original ships' sizes. It's best not to go over the size of a fed cruiser ...i think!
Looking at the original ships can be vital to try keeping a consistent style. My hulls tend to differ significantly from the original style, so be sure to base yourself also on the originals!

Random protip: the eyedropper tool can be used to check for hard-to-spot gradients on a ship's hull. Try to go over the Kestrel with it and see the different shades of grey!


PPS: ...and argh, there's more. To add even more depth i often add asymmetric details, like a missing panel on one side or the signs of an explosion..!
In any case, you can check more hulls of mine from an old post from this very thread, or from my signature. The Hooker is not in it yet because it's too OP. i want to patch it first. There's also this thing that i haven't released yet.
Sorry if this post was too long-winded or written like crap!


PPPS: What program do you use, by the way? I don't remember if you said it somewhere or not. If it's photoshop i can give you soooo much help. You would be overrun by all the help. I can already hear you crying "Help! I'm being crushed by all this help! Somebody, please! Stop taxi from helping meeeeeeeee!"

Well, you already did that on the other ship but... yeah, couldn't resist visualizing the appeal of shaded plating when seeing your preview.

Sweat unholy baby monkey turds TaxiService, that post was huge! I didn't expect half as much help as I've been getting. It's definitely going to take some time (several weeks to a month, I'm predicting), but I'll get all these problems fixed eventually. These posts are gonna make fantastic references while I work. As for the photo editor, it's effectively GIMP, just called something else which I can't remember at the moment.

I got a lot more done on the Kodiak than I thought I would so soon. I suppose it's the shading that's really gonna eat up my time. I wanted to get a second opinion on what I've added so far.

[Got rid of that old image, a newer one is... somewhere else.]

I have a lot of panels facing toward to front of the ship, and from what I can tell no ship hulls shade parts facing in that direction. I really want to indicate their position somehow though, would it make scene if I made them brighter? I'm also still worried about the overall detail level of the ship, am I missing anything? I really want to get this thing as detailed as something like The Hooker (you should rename that thing to The Freudian Banana Peel). Not sure if I should have turned some of the lines green, that may have been a mistake. Also, I tried to alter the inner engines so they looked like they're actually a part of the ship, but the back end is at such a different elevation than them that it didn't seem to make sense to take the lines away. Because I'm using elements from both versions of the Kodiak (as seen in the reference images), I think I'm gonna wind up calling this the 3.5A in the selection menu.

The green lines on my diagram were just for demonstration purposes; FTL's style uses black lineart, and that's probably what I'd recommend. (More advanced pixel art wouldn't even bother with lines and just show depth with different color regions, but I am not that skilled.)

As for the glowing, I'd advise against it, unless the pieces are actually glowing.

Sleeper Service has this nice FTL shading diagram, which I found somewhere at the beginning of this thread:

A good starting point for shading might also be creating a color palette for you ship. To have a range of shades to work with. Few ships in FTL are shaded via gradients, many use a set amount of colours and some very light gradient as a finishing touch. Once you have a defined a range of colors you basically just have to image how the ship is lighted and which sides will be illuminated and which shaded. It helps if you have a clear picture in your head of how the ship would look in 3D.

Chrono Vortex wrote:I'm also still worried about the overall detail level of the ship, am I missing anything? I really want to get this thing as detailed as something like The Hooker (you should rename that thing to The Freudian Banana Peel). Not sure if I should have turned some of the lines green, that may have been a mistake.

The lines stand out cause they are very saturates. They also don't fit very well into the rest of the ships color range. How to work with color is somewhat hard to explain, but there are some decent tutorials on the topic... http://opengameart.org/content/chapter-5-color-palettes for example is ok I guess. Its a big topic and I'm not sure how deep you want to get into this.

There is also one on lighting and shadows: http://opengameart.org/content/chapter- ... -and-light

I revised the Hooker's hull for that upcoming update. (which i desperately hope to release in a timely fashion...)



It's still missing the artillery cannon. I'm going to make those copper rings in the thruster change colour as it charges up, as if they're getting hotter or something. I already did something like this on the Moke, but it should look better this time.

Thoughts? Is it too noisy maybe? I mean, too detailed? I am not so sure about that sort of hatch on the back anymore...

TaxiService wrote:Thoughts? Is it too noisy maybe? I mean, too detailed? I am not so sure about that sort of hatch on the back anymore...

What is this "too detailed" you speak of? I'm not sure if this is intended, but the big plate near the center seems to have a vanishing point, which I haven't seen anything else in FTL do (maybe I just haven't been looking close enough). I'm certainly not the best judge of artistic quality, but besides that it looks pretty good to me.

Let me elaborate on the too-detailed concept. My goal is (or was?) to make ships that looked like they could fit in the game's universe. I love adding details to hulls though, and after i saw that FTL Remastered mod I started using dithering for shades too. In time my hulls' style became increasingly different from the originals. : \ When modding a game I usually try to stick to its art style as much as possible, but i'm starting to get a personal style for my hulls and I don't know how to feel about that. >.<

the big plate near the center seems to have a vanishing point

Aw, crap! I see what you mean. I meant it to have a shape like this. The vanishing part is actually meant to be a slope! Like a truncated cone cut in half and... wait, drawing it will be easier than explaining. XD





I guess it's not an easy shape to portray..? The lighting could surely look better... (honestly, I'm not that good when it comes to shading things!)
I've always thought about that plate's role in the hull. I mean, it doesn't really even have much of a function. I'll try making its shape stand out more, and replace it with something less confusing if necessary. :V Thanks for the pointer! How's your hull coming along anyway?


EDIT: PS: you can read that ¡yeah! upside down too. lol