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Community Meeting

In Discord Voice 1
In Discord Voice 1

Elysian ship brainstorming.

Why this thread?
At this point there is no real standard for Elysian ships in terms of looks. We have a little idea for them, but there is no "official" idea how the ships are supposed to look. For instance, are they blocky? or are they completely organic? Or a mix between organic and tech?

Some examples of Elysian ships
https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:avenger
https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:crataeis
https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:concordia
https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:nariel_battlecruiser https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:evangelist https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:planetary_defence_satellite
https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:planetary_defence_drone
https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:thunderbolt https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:lanethron https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:thantros https://wiki.stararmy.com/doku.php?id=elysia:rampart

What should we do?
List ideas for the Elysian ships in terms of looks. For instance, we know that they are a hybrid of Tech and organic looks, but for a good idea how the ship graphics should be, we are going to need examples or idea's how to mix the two. Are they for example, mostly organic with only limited tech?

Going further then that. We are going to need some quick drawings of the ships. Both listed here and the other ships listed in the wiki. Everybody with a hand to hold a pen, pencil, mouse, etc. is allowed to doodle something for the ships. Heck if you can only draw weapons go doodle those.
 
Click to expand...
I've always thought of their ships as having smooth curves with white or pastel hulls and blue engine glows. Think Angels and Easter eggs. Elysians are one of the oldest factions on the site because we were fighting them when the Star Army RP began. This means there should be some old descriptions in the archives. But that aside, Aendri is interested in an Elysian relaunch that would eventually make them a played, independent faction again. So we should look to the future and we can tweak things to fit our needs and design new ship classes if we want.

Since we're brainstorming, nothing is too silly. So how about a ship whose rolling white hills of hull has a superstructure that looks like a Greek or Roman temple?
 
The side of the ship's hull could be marked with designs that would be unique for each vessel. It could tell a story or be a symbolic scene that of the ship's purpose. This could be a reference to Elysian's social identity and the Roman/Greek feel.
 
Little thing from me.

For the hull the Elysians use Scale armor. However. Which one represents scale armor better

Regular scales?
aimg441.imageshack.us_img441_5989_scales.webp


Bumpiness?
 
Either works for me. I think traditionally I'd envisioned the first image but there's nothing wrong with the second either.

I was also thinking: Roman temples were actually pretty colorful in their day. Maybe we should think about more than just white. I like the idea you have about unique patterns.
 
I spoke with Aendri on the IRC and the second one is more or less what he had in mind as the scale armor texture for the ships.

Stuff like that is possible to add on a later date as I don't use a diffuse map at the moment. So technically the ships can be all sorts of Color.

The second texture might be something for civilian ships. As its a less controlled growth compared to the scale armor. You don't see civilian cars running around with radar absorbent paint now do we?
 
What if you have the main outer parts have the scale and then alt-color "detail" sections using the bumpy texture, located in places where, on a machine ship, the greebles would normally go?
 
I could do that for the beam eyes on the hull. Problem is that most of the Elysian's ships are grown and not build. So whereas a normal ship gets designed from the outside in the Elysian's are more likely to first design the insides and then build an living outside around that.

So technically having greebles on the hull would mean tech that was added at a later date. But most of the time I expect the Elysians to make a organic shell for that tech so it does not look out of place.
 
It'd be more like the joints on a crab or insect whereas the scale texture would cover the main exoskeleton.
 
Yeah an exoskeleton type of armor would allow for stuff like that. But why have exoskeleton armor when you can have a fully grown ship hull. Could be used for ships that have a moving component though.

edit, the exoskeleton could work for stations though. as that would allow for a thicker armor without having to worry about carving out entrances.

Edit2:

Just finished looking at the Elysian ships currently in the wiki.
And some things I noticed.

Every Elysian ship is very sleek in terms of looks. Most of the time they are at least 2 times their width. The height is nearly always (1 instance of it being not) Way smaller then the width.

No real info about how the ships are actually built. Some references to their organic construction but not how they are grown etc.
 
Could the organic hull be able to hold ink? You could implant colors on the exposed patches just as we apply tattoos on our skin. Although I know little about the ship's biology, an organic structure would have veins that would be visible near the surface. There could be a faint glow from them that would add coloring to the exterior.

If they're grown, they could be genetically engineered and mature in a giant...womb. (holds back food)
 
coloring the armor is pretty easy. Technically its just adding pigment. However I don't think its something that is doable before the ship is fully formed. DNA can be altered but I don't think to such an degree.

And yeah we need to have a description of how the ships are build.
 
I'm not the FM. But judging from the wiki pages with smooth lines and scale armor that seems to be the best course of action.

Still, that leaves me to wonder how shipyards look, or going to work
 
The shipyard would have to be mostly organic and need a source of minerals and nutrients to convert into energy for the ships. The resources could be shipped in and the shipyard could be embedded in an asteroid so the yard would be protected.
 
Yeah, I was thinking about the nutrient point.

The meat that they cut out of the ship is most likely used for nutrients for the growing ships.

Cannibalistic ships... Heck, why not.
 
I mean in the construction process (the link above). Would military ships require more time and effort in the shipyard than a civilian ship; any special steps needed to make it battleworthy?
 
RPG-D RPGfix
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