thats no top priority of course ... but since the current barge is of rather low quality - especially regarding the skin - this revised mesh might put an end to that.
it shares the general features with the current barge - but with a lot more detail.
the mesh does not show the propulsion system or the attached transports. - the final version would add four heavy lifter on the four studs on the bottom of the barge as propulsion - and a train or transport docked at the mooring fixture as well as one or two armoured transports in the docking bays.
since this "ship" operates in deep space, i have attached a small biodome to it and a large habitat section. - also the whole refinery section is a lot larger now.
well - that only concerns very few people - and yes, the biodome is supposed to be hitboxed, but no worries, it won t be harder to fly it through rocks.... ( which is probably a lie )
the current model isn t bad - meshwise - ... i just applied extremely low resolution textures on it, which is a little annoying - and its easier to retexture a new mesh than retexture the old one.
I really don't see the point in constantly replacing current models, it really destroys any kind of continuity in the mod.
I mean, if someone proposed a new Liberty Cruiser, people would yell and shout and generally say no, even if it is a better model. People like the old one, so why remove it?
Add this in as another Barge, perhaps have 2 variations of the Barge (update the old one and include a new one) with 2 different functions.
Maybe one more focussed on being a mobile refinery etc and one more focussed on being a huge mobile storagespace/station.
Really, it's just getting silly with the number of replacements now. No one in their right mind would replace so many ships of this size every half-a-year, just doesn't make sense.
It doesn't take away from what the Barge currently has but considering the sheer size of the vessels and how specialised they really are, it just seems a bit odd that every Barge throughout Sirius has suddenly gained all the above, at the same time.
Updating the older barge slightly, maybe just with a new texture, and also having this one might be an idea. Maybe charge an extra 200 million for this barge whilst adding maybe 1000 more cargo.
In terms of Modsize, another mesh may take at most 700kb, a tiny amount in the end. The Persephone itself has 492 and the Imperial Yacht, possibly the most beautiful ship in the mod, has only 420. Both are extremely good models, yet optimised very well.
Unique ships like this are great, really are, but some variation in them could be even better.
It looks nice, though i dont see the need for the bio-dome, ive always seen the barge as more of a mobile refinary/storage facility, meaning that it would be mostly automated and have a small crew, not enough to demand a bio-dome (thats something that should be kept for Juggernauts, as in RP they have a civilian population).