STEP B Y STEP
The different stages of designing a ship
1 BLOCKOUT This is the first stage. The artists will draw rough sketches called ‘blockouts’ in 3D software, which help establish the basic shape of the craft being designed. “The nice thing about working in 3D is that we can check the design out from every angle,” says Chris Gregory, art director. “But we don’t texture them, because that can be a little misleading. You can be seduced by the fact that it’s shiny. You need to get the basics right before the details.”
2 IDEATION Once the shape has been settled on, the artists then focus on the details, such as how the landing gear will function and where the engines are placed. A ship can go through dozens of iterations at this phase until it clicks. “We also want the front of the ship, its face, to have a representative character that feels right. For the Chieftain, we wanted it to beefy and imposing, and we might think of something like a rhino.”
3 PAINTOVER The 3D models are then sent over to the concept artists, who paint directly over the blockouts to get a sense of how the ship will look when it’s flying around in the game. They also add details like lights and heat vents to help them understand how the ship will operate. “Our artists are getting good with the 3D software, which means they can test things to do with linkages and pistons without having to send it back to us after the paintover.”
4 KITBASH In sci-fi movies, particularly from the ’70s, effects studios like Industrial Light & Magic would ‘kitbash’ their ships using model kits for planes, tanks, battleships. Frontier does something similar, sticking 3D elements to the blockouts to give them depth and fidelity. But it’s only a visualization tool: None of these premade objects will make it into the game. “In the same way it allowed those guys to throw shapes together, it allows us to quickly establish the details of the ship.”
5 COCKPIT The cockpit can go through as many iterations as the ship itself. The shape of the canopy is carefully considered, because this what pilots see the most. It has to look good and function well. “When designing the cockpit we’re thinking about the seating position, working out the camera view, and making sure the struts aren’t too heavy. We put a rough model in the game, then the designers play it and give us feedback on how it functions.”
6 FINAL MESH When the design is finished, the artists will create the final 3D model, which has to be highly precise. “Our models are really tidy and we never waste any polygons. The density of the mesh has to be consistent all over, and we’ll create multiple versions with different levels of detail, so when you see it close up it’ll be super detailed, but when it’s a dot in the distance it’s not. A lot of finesse and detail goes into the panel lines and how they connect up.”