14
$\begingroup$

I'm not quite sure if this question fits in with worldbuilding but I have honestly no idea where else I would ask it.

I've recently stumbled upon a 'ship designer' tool that allows you to build and design rather neat looking starships by selecting various parts and placing them, then eventually exporting the model. I've been using this in a multiplayer roleplaying game in Aurora4x to bring some life to my ship designs.

I'm wondering if there are any more tools like this out there? I haven't been able to find any with some google searches. 2D or 3D, doesn't really matter. I'm sorry if this question doesn't fit in this stackexchange.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
4
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ I think you'll maybe have better chances of success in graphicdesign.stackexchange.com $\endgroup$
    – miep
    Commented Mar 1, 2019 at 17:05
  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to the site Nick, this question is fine here, though as @miep mentioned you may want to check on the gd site as well. Your question does need to give us some parameters, meaning, what functions would the ideal software have for your use case. If there are multiple options out there your requirements allow us to pick a "best" answer. Please edit and update. $\endgroup$
    – James
    Commented Mar 1, 2019 at 17:59
  • $\begingroup$ download.blender.org/release/Blender2.76 this might be useful $\endgroup$
    – Elias Rowan Albatross
    Commented Mar 1, 2019 at 18:28
  • $\begingroup$ If you want to try out spaceship designs, I’d like to suggest Kerala Space Program, which I think does an excellent job of it. $\endgroup$
    – James McLellan
    Commented Apr 27, 2021 at 16:09

7 Answers 7

Reset to default
8
$\begingroup$

http://aero.go.usu.edu/mu5/ a program with many premade parts to choose from and assemble them as you wish.

https://freecadweb.org/ a 3D design software that allows you to build from scratch, there are several, far better programs for this but this is the best free one i can find. other than inventor pro which you could look into here: https://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/inventor-professional

http://ship.shapewright.com/ a simple, online, random ship generator

https://github.com/a1studmuffin/SpaceshipGenerator/ a complex, downloadable random ship generator

some of these are harder to use than others and some are way simple, in my opinion the last one is the best option so try it first

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ This answer would probably be better if you Edit to explain a little bit about each. As it stands, should the content on the linked pages change for any reason, this answer will be meaningless. $\endgroup$
    – user
    Commented Mar 6, 2019 at 8:10
  • $\begingroup$ I'll edit in the morning, I'm just heading to bed. Thanks for the advice! $\endgroup$
    – Elias Rowan Albatross
    Commented Mar 6, 2019 at 8:28
5
$\begingroup$

I'm a 3D Generalist, and I'll give my quick thoughts:

Any decent 3D DCC (Digital Content Creation) tool will handle this task well, whether it's Modo, Blender, Maya, 3DS, Lightwave or Cinema 4D: Blender's free, Modo is super-artist friendly, Maya & 3DS are the 800-lb gorillas as they're Autodesk.

All of 'em would work - for me, I'd choose to do this in Modo - but that's just my personal preference based on workflow and skillset.

Made by me, with Modo:

https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/012/093/365/large/gerard-falla-experiment-01.jpg?1533004330

https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/016/080/830/large/gerard-falla-toy-05.jpg?1550810955

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ These are all great tools, though I personally am accustomed to Autocad or Rhino. but both of these cost. still an idea though. $\endgroup$
    – Elias Rowan Albatross
    Commented Mar 2, 2019 at 2:42
3
$\begingroup$

Kerbal Space Program with the Realism Overhaul and Procedural Everything mods. There are also thousands of free mods for various parts.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
3
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ +1 for Kerbals! To the mon, Alice! $\endgroup$
    – nijineko
    Commented Mar 6, 2019 at 18:27
  • $\begingroup$ @nijineko mun not mon $\endgroup$
    – qazwsx
    Commented Mar 6, 2019 at 18:55
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks! Appreciate the reminder. $\endgroup$
    – nijineko
    Commented Mar 7, 2019 at 17:47
2
$\begingroup$

Blender

Blender is a free, open source 3D application. If you're not looking to model a spaceship from scratch, you could find some models online and arrange them to create your ship.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
3
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ It should be noted, however, that Blender has a bit of a steep learning curve. It's incredibly powerful, but not the easiest thing to learn. $\endgroup$
    – Andon
    Commented Mar 2, 2019 at 2:36
  • $\begingroup$ @Andon, look at BforArtists, it is Blender with a friendlier gui $\endgroup$
    – wetcircuit
    Commented Mar 2, 2019 at 4:32
  • $\begingroup$ @Andon This is true, that is why I suggested a randomised ship creator that uses the blender image, I didn't want to require the inquirer to take the time to learn a new art, for say. $\endgroup$
    – Elias Rowan Albatross
    Commented Mar 6, 2019 at 16:25
2
$\begingroup$

Not a tool-software, but a game: Space Engineers
It is sadly not open source or free2play, but you can build starships to your liking, and the attached Steam workshop features thousands of different designs.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
0
$\begingroup$

Fractal generator.

If you want Apollo-looking or Battlestar Galactica type ships, other answers have those covered.

If you want semi-organic looking things that might have been discovered in a nebula and turned into a spaceship, or grown from crystals in the atmosphere of a gas giant, you could start with fractals.

http://usefuljs.net/fractals/

nova fractal

This is the Nova fractal. You can imagine its magnetic meteor shield there on the right. I am hanging out in the bar, back on that tail part.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
0
$\begingroup$

Lego If you happen to have lego (or similar) pieces lying about, just playing around can give you some nice spaceship-y forms. It's probably easier to build really small (think microfighter) models than ones that fit the minifigs to scale. I find aiming for a certain aesthtic (like star wars) but letting the pieces most close at hand guide you can give nice but unexpected results. Either use the piece directly as a game piece or take a top-view foto and cut the background, giving you a 2D-image.

Pencil & Paper forces you more to think before you draw, or use the eraser a lot, but is a time tested method to develop ideas.

Hot glue and cardboard is also a quick way to build huge models, though it's hard to make them look neat. It's also harder to undo things you don't like and advisable to work from plans, though you certainly can just glue stuff to your model until it looks right - this too could be a way to arrive at something a bit unplanned.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .