Originally posted by TIMNUS:

Im not new to creating ships in space engineers, but after seeing these ships I have realized I have much to learn. I always have an idea of a ship in my head but it usually either becomes something completely different or I give up because I feel that my ship has lost purpose. The ships I make look pretty good on the outside usually but on the inside they feel very open and empty while these ships seem to be very deliberate and and full of purpose.

Any tips on what process to use when building a ship?

Hmm, perhaps try building the hull to a style you like first and try to cram it with what you want. That's what I do, as the exterior is the 'face' of the ship; got to prioritize thruster placement and weapons first!

My style is very realistic in therms of design profile. A lot of my ships look like current-day warships with long, slender hulls and very little pertruding elements (think exterior thrusters, or sections of the ship that can easily be cut off.) That doesn't mean my ships are better per se, but it's my style and I like it for what it is.

Finding you style is no easy task: you could go on and build all kinds of different ships - that's fine, but if you like series, a style is reccomended.

Anyhow, just build and don't stop. I have 3K hours for a reason in SE alone ;)

Also, I know you posted this in September, but I don't get notifications for Discussion posts like this for some reason. Hopefully this is still relevent! :D

Oh thanks! I just saw this now and yep it's still relevent. Thanks for feedback! I'll definitely try building like that sometime. Usually i build my ship in sections, making the exterior and a low detailed interior in each, then i go through and add detail to the interior. I made three ships like this after posting my question and I'm pretty proud of the ships I made, but they were still pretty empty in areas, and that led to me just filling areas in with armor, which really slowed the ships down. I'll keep your technique in mind when i build my next ship. :D