Imperial Presence

[Okwa]

This image shows a Tar'ad-Class cruiser of the Imperial Jaffa Navy of the Free Jaffa Empire, on its landing platform on some young colony of the Empire. The colony is already so well established that the square with the landing platform is surrounded by a wide colonnade, behind which several buildings of the local colonial authorities, courts and governmental bodies are located.

After the two councils of the System Lords, the Council of Minor Lords and the Council of High Lords, had overthrown the second Supreme System Lord, the tyrant Chabrias, power over the empire was officially handed over to Chabrias' widow, Bastet I. As a consequence of Chabrias' tyrannical rule, however, most of the ruling family's power was transferred to the two councils. In particular, control over the military in general and control over the Ha'taks in particular passed to the councils. However, the Supreme System Lord Bastet I was granted a say, particularly with regard to the deployment of the cruisers. This right was deliberately used by Senun'Nai Bastet I to preserve the last remnants of the power of the Supreme System Lords. In doing so, she established the Tar'ad-Class as the symbol of the Supreme System Lord itself, while the Ha'tak became the symbol of the Empire as a whole.

In the meantime, i.e. up to the present time of the AU of the 4th century AYR/24th century AD, the political conditions in the Empire have improved, so that a stable balance of power has been established between the Supreme System Lord and the two Councils of System Lords. As intended by Senun'Nai Bastet I, the Tar'ad-class cruisers have become recognized and respected by the people of the Empire as a symbol of the Supreme System Lord's power and protection.

All capital ship types of the Jaffa states, especially the Nation and the Empire, function primarily as mobile garrisons and bases for the central government. Of particular relevance in this context are the Tar'ad-Class Imperial cruisers. There is a pyramid on every major world of the Empire, where the representatives of the highest Imperial authorities and the local units of the personal guard of the Supreme System Lord are stationed. This applies in particular to the Imperial courts and the tax and customs authorities. The pyramid is actually a landed but always ready-to-launch Tar'ad-Class cruiser that serves not only as the seat of the local Imperial authorities, but also as a base of planetary defense. The importance of these facilities for the protection of the population is particularly significant in young colonies, as can be seen here. In the centuries since Bastet I, the cruiser's skyward-pointing weapons have therefore become the symbol of Imperial defense of the local population.

After all, the weapons of the landed cruisers are the initial form of planetary defense for a new colony; and they act as the last line of defense for any kind of Imperial world. The military and symbolic importance of the Tar'ad cruisers for the protection of new colonies is so great that the construction of a "Temple in Honor of the Supreme System Lord" - as the temple-like landing platform of a Tar'ad-Class cruiser is called in Imperial parlance - is the first act in the founding of an Imperial colony. Due to the ability to produce faster and in greater numbers than the larger Ha'tak or even the larger Mah'arib and Mit'ras-Class, the Tar'ad-Class is ubiquitous in Imperial space and on Imperial worlds in the 4th century. As a result, these cruisers take on a prominent symbolic importance as a symbol of Imperial authority, surpassing the significance of the Imperial Ha'tak. For the inhabitants of remote worlds that lie off the established trade routes, they even represent the only physical link to Imperial glory.

@Support

[Support]

@Okwa I love the story and the model May I ask you to render it again but with a sunset like lighting, maybe around 10 deg elevation for the sun? and the sun more to the back, like 30 deg offset from the line of sight? I'm very curious to see the difference as you always have the sun way up and we never get to see the model near sunset. Please

[Support]

@Okwa oh, and I'm working on a new feature, ocean. So instead of using a normal map to simulate water, this one will truly be one and no repeating patterns like a normal map would...

[Okwa]

@Okwa I love the story and the model May I ask you to render it again but with a sunset like lighting, maybe around 10 deg elevation for the sun? and the sun more to the back, like 30 deg offset from the line of sight? I'm very curious to see the difference as you always have the sun way up and we never get to see the model near sunset. Please

Many Thanks. Sure, I'm happy to do that. Here's the same image as it would look today, July 27, at 7 pm.

OMG, Michael. This looks really really good!!!

[Okwa]

@Okwa I love the story and the model May I ask you to render it again but with a sunset like lighting, maybe around 10 deg elevation for the sun? and the sun more to the back, like 30 deg offset from the line of sight? I'm very curious to see the difference as you always have the sun way up and we never get to see the model near sunset. Please

Many Thanks. Sure, I'm happy to do that. Here's the same image as it would look today, July 27, at 7 pm.

OMG, Michael. This looks really really good!!! P.S. How did you get the sun to work like that, or is that also a new function?

[Support]

@Okwa I think it looks better this way Chris. There's more shadows which enhance the 3D depth.

I didn't do anything to the sun except set its scale to 2 and the glare to 10.

[Okwa]

@Okwa I think it looks better this way Chris. There's more shadows which enhance the 3D depth.

I didn't do anything to the sun except set its scale to 2 and the glare to 10.

I have to admit, I ignored the "Set by mouse click" button for a long time because it didn't work at some point. That's why I was surprised how you managed to point the camera exactly at the sun. I couldn't resist and took a version with the sun exactly over the top of the pyramid.

[Support]

@Okwa The mouse click to set the sun was used for the environment map when the map had a sun. But I changed it to make it work regardless. I see a black dot at the center of the sun in your render, a bug? I'll have to check that out!!!

It look really cool with the sun on top of the pyramid, maybe make it bigger and more glare but still leave it to see the sun's edges a bit? making it look more alien? even change the sky color? just saying, I always like to try all kinds of stuff see what happens, like a kid

[Okwa]

@Okwa The mouse click to set the sun was used for the environment map when the map had a sun. But I changed it to make it work regardless. I see a black dot at the center of the sun in your render, a bug? I'll have to check that out!!!

It look really cool with the sun on top of the pyramid, maybe make it bigger and more glare but still leave it to see the sun's edges a bit? making it look more alien? even change the sky color? just saying, I always like to try all kinds of stuff see what happens, like a kid

I have to admit, until I posted the image, I thought it was just a smudge on my screen. I really can't tell you where that dot is coming from.
Honestly? I'm glad you changed this function.

[Support]

@Okwa I moved my post to a new topic.