2018 - Back to the Drawing Board!

Back to the drawing board! Or, in this case, the backpack full of notes and sketches I’ve been working on. It’s too damn confusing and difficult to find the information I need, and hell – we all need a hobby. Apparently mine is going to be organizing this mess, until I can start building the pieces!

While we've been in the process of locating and procuring a new building for living and working, I'm drawn back to the project. While I'm not sure I'll have enough space for my grand design, I'm sure there will be SOME kind of sim setup. Eventually...

So, might as well go back to where it all started:
 

The original sketches. 2014

Design aesthetics are all based on ANALOG controls - the best sci-fi sets and cockpits rely on lights and switches to provide a sense of control and complexity. Touch screen displays are awesome and doable with cheap tech available now, but it just doesn't "feel" right to me - give me some green and blue lights and tons of switches! I’ll take blinking mystery panels and clunky boxes over smooth, digital flat panels any day.

Here's one of my favorite concepts - the side control "pad", connected to a pivoting arm off of the main pilot's seat. Multiple planes, chunky keys and a usable MFD within easy reach.

Of course, conceptual stuff is so easy to throw down on a piece of paper - but HOW do I actually CREATE something workable?

I have a 3D printer that frankly needs a little tweaking and love, so I can't really rely on that as a design tool - yet.

I have a desktop CNC machine I bought for waaaaay too much money that works only with proprietary software.

And did I mention that as of right now I have only the limited space for a small work bench and all of my really useful tools are deep in storage.

Ah, well... I can try to design something in software (CAD/CAM and 2D Design) until I can move to real tools.

Various ideas for wall panels and "fill" for the space.

 

Since the original design ideas were for a room-like space to create a full "cockpit", I considered all the elements that would flesh out the environment. Various panels and decorations (hopefully with interactive elements) were developed and as time goes on, I will attempt to incorporate them into whatever design and space works for the space available. It's not like I can dedicate an entire room in almost any of the places I have looked at so far - so how can I incorporate the immersive elements if I'm not even sure how much space I will have available?

It’s all just on paper – plan on having a LOT of room, and scale back as necessary. I'd rather have more ideas than I can use, than stopping design and production to create more.

I’ll be focusing on trying to group all the different notes and drawings into sub-sets, from lore and back-story elements to electronics and display ideas to programming and integrating real-time light and sound feedback.