You know, the strang thing is I've just copy/pasted the link into the body of the message, and it almost always shows up as linkable.


Garth L. Getgen

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 06:12 pm: Edit

Garth, IF you copy a full URL that can happen.

I think it looks for the three W's.

By Gary Plana (Garyplana) on Sunday, April 16, 2006 - 10:36 am: Edit

In my experience, Loren, the BBS looks for the http://

By Eulis Hill (Starlocke) on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 06:02 pm: Edit

Very nice.
I should have started browsing these messages years ago!
anyone come up with a general rule of thumb for cubic yards/hexes or volume per space off the SSD's yet? I don't know that I can re-read all the info on the message boards but I will browse a bit

Thanks

By Nick G. Blank (Nickgb) on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 07:56 pm: Edit

A given volume per SSD box doesn't neccessarily work out. The easiest to do is a cargo box, as that is defined to hold so many shuttles/drones/T-bombs/tribbles/whatever.

Anything else on the SSD represents capacity, not necessarily systems. For example, hull boxes have to account for quarters, meeting rooms, mess halls, bowling alleys, rec rooms, etc... It really represents how much damage these things can absorb, and that depends on how structurally sound they were built (which can vary ship to ship).

Other things like transporter boxes have to represent regular transporters, cargo transporters, emergency transporters. There is more than one way to divide this up.

In the end, it is best to make sure everything included on the deck plan agrees with the SSD, but there are few hard and fast rules. Gorn decks will be taller than Hydran decks, and so on.

The only things I try hard to match up is the relative size of the ships based on comparing the miniatures.

By Eulis Hill (Starlocke) on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 08:51 pm: Edit

Thanks
I suppose further discussion is moot until GURPS vehicles releases.
Is anyone else using CC2 for creating deck plans?

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - 10:31 pm: Edit

Eulis,

Just about any CAD or House Plan program can work. I'm working with FloorPlan Plus version 2, mainly because that's what I'm comfortable using. See link to a screen shot in my recent post. There are many options. But if you want to submit plans in a format that Steve Cole (aka SVC) can edit, there are only a very few options. SVC uses MAC computers exclusively. If I recall, Nick Blank and Gary Plana found a program called SmartDraw that can export files to a format SVC can import into his MAC.

I found a pretty cool web site a few nights ago:

http://chem.csustan.edu/jtb/PLANS/plans-index.htm

This site has exstensive advice on drafting deck plans and some completed ships. I'd love to see what he plans to do with this one:

http://chem.csustan.edu/jtb/PLANS/SUPERSHUTTLE/supershuttle.htm


Garth L. Getgen

By Gary Plana (Garyplana) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 03:04 am: Edit

The problem is that as ADB uses Macs, they have to get drawings in a particular, VERY specific format. Otherwise no go.

The ONLY program that runs on a Wintel PC and creates ADB-digestable files is called SmartDraw. Importing drawings that are in DXF (or other standard formats) into Smartdraw has had mixed results, mostly towards the bad end of the compatibility scale.

I wish there was another approach, but nothing else works.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 10:39 am: Edit

Well, you can get Macromedia Freehand.

By Gary Plana (Garyplana) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 11:32 am: Edit

Yes, you can, Loren. For $400. How many people are willing to spend that much money to do deckplans?

Not to mention the learning curves -- plural: figuring out the software, and making something that SVC will accept?

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 11:39 am: Edit

Well, check into Macromedias competative upgrade rules because since I had an old copy of Corel Draw (9) I got Freehand MX for about $150.00.

I'll admit that I haven't got over the learning curve with it yet but I've been distracted from it a lot too.

By Eulis Hill (Starlocke) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 12:39 pm: Edit

what are the odds we can get SVC to use a windows emulator to run CC2?

By Will McCammon (Djdood) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 01:15 pm: Edit

Eulis -

I would put those odds at about 0.00%.

SVC seems to stick to what he views as "it works". Mac OS9, and the software apps they already have.

There is no way you're going to get him to go near anything Windows unless there is no other way to address a need.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 01:25 pm: Edit

Well, ADB IS going to be getting a heavy duty PC to smooth out some issues in the office but I still doubt that we will find SVC working on it much.

Still, there was this one guy who was working up a fantastic set of plans in Corel Draw. He couldn't handle the initial stumbling blocks and deleated the whole file, never to return to the boards. His art was such that SVC said he would have spent the effort to find a way to work with his files but the guy threw a tantrum so early in the process that SVC didn't get a chance to see them in time. A real shame.

ANYTIME you want to produce something for ADB, listen to the retun input and try to make it fit into THEIR universe. Take making YOUR idea work in THEIR universe as a creative challenge. Additionally, you need to try and make things as easy on them as possible, check your own spelling, use file formates already known to work if possible, try to get to points quickly in e-mails etc. (the ADB guys love a good chat but with over a thousand people wanting to chat daily they much work to stick to business as much as possible)

A lot of the work of creating a deck plan isn't just in the actual drawing but in the planning. So if you use another program but create a really good deck plan it will probably be worth finding a way to make it work.

By Eulis Hill (Starlocke) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 02:51 pm: Edit

I am going to check CC2 and CC3 (soon to be released) file formats and see if they can save to at least an intermediate program.

By Eulis Hill (Starlocke) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 02:54 pm: Edit

oops, what is the specific format? I re-read and either missed it or am blind

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 04:19 pm: Edit

We have to be able to edit the file in case we find a mis-spelled word at the last second and you're out of town. Best is Freehand8 for Mac. Anything else is iffy. Nick uses some PC program which sort of works, but I have to reset the line weights and the fill colors about 30% of the objects. Easier than drawing it myself.

By Gary Plana (Garyplana) on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 08:19 pm: Edit

ADB requires Encapsulated Postscript, .EPS format.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 10:02 am: Edit

Are there deck plans for the Skiff and/or Modular Courier from CL #23? Didn't I see something like them from Steve Jackson Games and/or Traveler??


Garth L. Getgen

By Nick G. Blank (Nickgb) on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 01:05 pm: Edit

Garth, here:

Modular Cutter:

http://www.warehouse23.com/item.html?id=SJG6620

Skiff (Sulieman class):

http://www.warehouse23.com/item.html?id=SJG7505

I have both of them.

And other gurps traveller deckplans:

http://www.warehouse23.com/search.cgi?keywords=traveller+deck+plan&x=17&y=8

By Nick G. Blank (Nickgb) on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 01:09 pm: Edit

Well, that last one didn't work, but if you type

traveller deck plans

into the search box you should get them all.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 03:24 pm: Edit

Thanks, Nick. I found that I do have the Modular Courier (book, not table-top plans) afterall. I also have the Beowolf and Def Boat plans. But I don't have the Skiff plans.

How realistic do the Skiff plans look?? How big do they say the ship is?? Thanks.


Garth L. Getgen

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Monday, May 29, 2006 - 09:56 pm: Edit

NICK BLANK: Please take a look at my post in the Light Weight Star Ship topis, 29 May 2006 @ 09:43 PM. I'd like to get your thoughts on the plans I linked to in my message.

Also: I did find the Skiff plans in a book at the store. I was somewhat underwhelmed and so did not buy said book.


Garth L. Getgen

By Nick G. Blank (Nickgb) on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - 06:41 pm: Edit

The gurps plans are pretty simple, but the set of actual plans (not a book) for the skiff had three large sheets that each showed 1/3rd of the design, and when all spread out on the floor you get the whole ship. It then had 3 or 4 variants (different sheets) for different internal arrangements like cargo, VIP, etc...

Hey, aren't you supposed to be working on those Police cruiser plans?

However, the attack boat you have there looks similar to an idea I had for a Fed "PF", but didn't take past the exterior views. I wasn't happy with it.

But that does remind me of another really cool ship I drew, that maybe I can steal some of the lines from for a smaller civilian ship. Maybe I'll play with that old design again...

Anyway, don't treat the secondary hull as secondary, make it a little bigger and an extension of the saucer (i.e. level with it). Think of the frigate from the Starfleet Command computer game. Then make the engine struts more horizontal (but still sticking upwards a bit). That might look better.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Friday, June 02, 2006 - 12:16 am: Edit

Nick Blank, do you still have a copy of Floor Plan Plus v2?? If so, I can e-mail you the file for the A-boat. I can't quite visualize what you're describing about the aft hull / warp drives.


Garth L. Getgen