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WIP Firefly - Serenity: Custom Starter Ship + Micro-Dungeon

Discussion in 'Planets and Environments' started by SickBoy, Dec 16, 2013.

  1. SickBoy

    SickBoy Guest

    (FYI: The reason I posted this in Planets & Environments is that it is intended to be a modding resource for biome makers, primarily, and there isn't yet a section for "ships". If this isn't the right place, feel free to move it)

    In every sandbox game I get (Garry's Mod, Terraria, Minecraft, Blockland, etc) I try to make a decent looking, functioning, and RP-capable recreation of Serenity (A Firefly class smuggling/small-crew transit/all-around-best-thing-ever ship from the show "Firefly" and movie sequel "Serenity", for those that don't know). Until now things have looked bleak. Nothing really had what I needed, or worked in a way I liked... at least not without requiring massive modding on my end with textures, lighting, entire mechanics, etc.

    But then came Starbound, and my hopes started to go up! Pretty much everything in the vanilla game seems like it will work amazingly with my ideas, and the whole game concept fits decently with the Firefly universe. My progress so far seems to indicate that this may just be the first time I've been able to make a satisfying Serenity.

    Right now the mod is a WIP, and has no download yet, but I thought people may be interested in seeing what I have so far. My plan is to make release both a sandbox ship version & micro-dungeon configuration (for use by biome/planet makers).


    DOWNLOADS
    • None yet.
    WHAT I'VE DONE SO FAR
    Ship size (in pixels/blocks): 156w x 45h

    v0.3
    • A LOT has changed. This was my first major pass (more like 100) at making the ship as atmospheric, RP-friendly, and detailed as possible (without going overboard and making it look ultra-cluttered... it's a fine line, I'm finding).
    • Image below shows my next "to-do" list. Going to be starting the lounge area from scratch, so it's going to be a few iterations before it's looking good.
    [​IMG]



    v0.2.5
    • Attached boosters
    • Another lighting pass all around... still a few things I'm unhappy with, but it's getting there (and fyi: the hallway with the crew quarters is actually lit by slightly flickering lights... it looks much better in-game)
    • Initial quick pass at detailing the kitchen/eating area
    • A lot of minor tweaks here and there
    [​IMG]

    v0.2
    • Ship working in-game (all configured in json)
    • Major tweaking of the core design to be more gameplay-friendly
    • Initial pass at lighting
    [​IMG]

    v0.1
    • Initial pixel (micro-dungeon style) planning
    • Initial scale checks to make sure players can fit where intended, etc. (at least in theory)
    • Initial pass at background details
    [​IMG]


    WHAT IS NEXT ON MY TO-DO LIST
    See the most current version's preview above for the next-pass plans.


    WHAT IS BEING BRAINSTORMED/CONSIDERED
    • Asteroids for farming/space debris. I was thinking of having them as far from the ship as possible, so as to allow warping with no (or at least minimal) asteroids showing on the screen. Plus, for a 'landed' version used as a micro-dungeon, asteroids may not be desired. They'll definitely be optional.
    • At least one of the shuttles, probably "hovering/in-flight" since docked may look crappy... may be able to be an option, if this ends up becoming a big enough mod for me to want to make dozens of versions of the ship to accommodate all the optional stuff, opposed to just letting people modify it how they want in-game
    • (long-term) Uniquely configured NPCs for the micro-dungeon version of the ship, each a memorable character (this is probably outside of the scope of this particular project)
    • (long-term? I need to look into it) Wiring for controlling whatever needs it (room lighting on/off, certain doors, lighting for engine on/off states, etc.)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 18, 2013
  2. GabrielARC

    GabrielARC Void-Bound Voyager

    You bloody crazy browncoat. I've been making serenity for my spaceship using a mod. Im half done and I allready see I did a horrible job
     
  3. Dead Squirrel

    Dead Squirrel Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    Looks like Serenity is a popular ship-in-the-making. Been workin on one since just after beta released. Now I see pixel art in my sleep D:

    Looks good, SickBoy! Good luck!
     
  4. Kelad

    Kelad Astral Cartographer

    Shiny. Now we just need someone to make an ugly hat.
     
  5. Dead Squirrel

    Dead Squirrel Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    But a very brave hat too.
     
  6. SickBoy

    SickBoy Guest

    Here's the progress so far, let me know what you think. A lot was tweaked after a ton of iterations, and I think it's starting to look at least somewhat respectable. Obviously there is a lot more to do (like decorations), but it's heading in a good direction I think.

    [​IMG]

    I still have a few core things left to do in some of the rooms, lighting isn't quite how I want it just yet ( primarily in the engine room), and I need to add all kinds of piping, etc. to the nooks and crannies.

    The kitchen/meal area and cockpit have had the least amount of attention so far, so that's what I'll be focusing on next... and once I figure out how to pre-config painting of blocks I'll be tweaking the coloration of certain rooms to be a bit more dramatic.

    Also, all I can think of while working on the engine room (another one that needs a lot of work) is "Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?". Doesn't help that I'm marathoning the show again while working on it.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 16, 2013
    GabrielARC likes this.
  7. GabrielARC

    GabrielARC Void-Bound Voyager

    :up::up: Great job bro. if thats getting made into a spaceship looks like i can quit my WIP

    PS: It does help by giving inspiration to the build

    PSS: You could put a red alarm light in the airlock :)
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2013
    donutlover9 likes this.
  8. SickBoy

    SickBoy Guest

    It is a working spaceship already, in fact. I'm doing my editing via default ship .structure files and the corresponding block png, so all my in-game testing is being done on the ship version. It works just fine right now, even though I still have a lot more to do.
     
  9. GabrielARC

    GabrielARC Void-Bound Voyager

    Any chance you need someone to thoroughly test her? I mean she may not look like much but Ill give her love and know she wont fall out of the sky :D
     
  10. SickBoy

    SickBoy Guest

    I'm just about to the point where testing from others would be needed (main post updated with the latest progress, by the way).

    Since decorating is a pain in the butt to mess around with using the .structure and PNG files, I'm going to start decor-testing in-game and make the changes to the files as I go. The ship seems to work just fine right now, but I need to test out actually going to other planets (teleporting down to planets and whatnot works at least). I'll do that right now, and if it works and I get some basic decor in I'll upload an initial version for testing/suggestions.

    The first version I'll be releasing is a replacement for the default human ship (though it's easily convertable to other races). It'll require a new game and *may* not be something that works very well with previous saves. Also, in the first version everything on the ship will be breakable. I will probably release a version where it's all unbreakable, for those that want a ship they don't have to worry about accidentally destroying when testing weapons/etc.

    Once the details are hammered out using the ship version, I'll release the ship + micro-dungeon. No point in having both right away since this is still a WIP with a lot of progress left to be made. I also still need to figure out if painting blocks and wiring can be done in the .structure file (I have some awesome plans for 'going dark' modes, etc. that may be fun for roleplaying, but wiring is needed). If anyone has any info on how to do that, please let me know! So far I haven't found anything about it.
     
  11. GabrielARC

    GabrielARC Void-Bound Voyager

    Sweet. cant wait. looks like ill have to remove my custom ship mod now. it'll be worth it.

    PS: looks freakin sweet by the way bro
     
  12. SickBoy

    SickBoy Guest

    v0.3
    • A LOT has changed. This was my first major pass (more like 100) at making the ship as atmospheric, RP-friendly, and detailed as possible (without going overboard and making it look ultra-cluttered... it's a fine line, I'm finding).
    • Image below shows my next "to-do" list. Going to be starting the lounge area from scratch, so it's going to be a few iterations before it's looking good.
    [​IMG]
     
  13. GabrielARC

    GabrielARC Void-Bound Voyager

    looks sick. Cant belive your making me wait for this. The engine looks fan-fu**ing-tastic! You say making it more RP able, do you...per chance RP?

    PS: Throw a few vertical storage locker in the storage room near theend of the neck with a lightbulb or two. just a idea
     
  14. SargonRose

    SargonRose Void-Bound Voyager

  15. GabrielARC

    GabrielARC Void-Bound Voyager

    I think he used the bottom blueprint for the guide
     
  16. Dead Squirrel

    Dead Squirrel Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    That "Utility room" under the Cockpit is technically where the reverse thruster and spare fuel tank would go. You could set it up with some liquid storage and throw a second Fuel Gage in there. (Cause it'd be nice to fill 'er up from the front and not run all the way to the back when you run outta gas)
     
  17. CaptainKobold

    CaptainKobold Pangalactic Porcupine

    That is very cool. Would you be planning on filling it with all of the various amenities you are discussing or simply posting as a guide for what furniture would be best to go where?
     
  18. SickBoy

    SickBoy Guest

    I did indeed. Though I have a ton of other, better reference material now... which is why I spent the last 12 hours screwing with trying to redesign the back end so that I have support for stuff I forgot. The problem with a proper recreation is that Starbound isn't 3d, obviously, so I have to get creative with what I think feels right for room placement.

    At the very least, I've moved our favorite mechanic's bed up to where it should be, and am turning the previous nook into passenger dorms (how the various rooms in the section of the ship connect will be quite different too, though they'll be more accurate to the ship flow). I'd really like to be able to have at least two of them, but without completely overhauling the entire ship so that it's scaled up a bit (which would mess up the *feel* of the scale when playing), I may just have to settle with one.

    Ah, ok. Though I'm not particularly designing the ship for ease of use (it's intended to be RP-centric with how items are placed, so stuff is spread out), but since it's supposed to be a spare fuel tank anyways there's no harm in adding it.

    Everything mentioned is essentially a quick "to do" list for the next version. Of course, I ended up getting distracted trying to fix the engine room stuff mentioned above, but once I settle on that things will start moving quickly again.

    I basically take a screenshot of my current setup (so that I don't end up running around the ship, not doing anything productive... which is often the case), then critique it.. then I do a pass at fixing those critiques. Rinse and repeat.
     
  19. GabrielARC

    GabrielARC Void-Bound Voyager

    Craving new pictures. must get started on my lp
     
  20. Wydraz

    Wydraz Void-Bound Voyager

    I wonder that since the lounge is sort of across from the med bay (on the show), it should be on the same level. But I can see there really isn't room at this scale. Maybe you could make the tail end a few blocks longer and the med bay a couple of blocks smaller. On second thought, that would be a lot of work, and I like it just fine (and I want to play in it sooner rather than later).

    Keep up the good work. Best version I've seen so far!
     

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