Hello. A couple of users here at SciFi-Meshes have asked about the free version of TrueSpace (version 3) and how to use it to build a simple to moderate 3D model like the USS Enterprise.
I'm not an expert but I can pass along a few tips.
Let's get acquainted with your new application. I may use my own terms for a lot of this, so bear with me.
The defaults for TrueSpace should be pretty much as you see in the image. I'm going to call the main screen your main work area/screen or window. The toolbar in default configuration will open along the bottom of your work area and the viewing options are on the lower right hand side of the screen.
I'm going to use Alan Sinclair's Enterprise blueprints because IMHO, they are the best out there but you may use whatever you choose.
Alan Sinclair Charles Casimiro Franz Joseph (I think these are the plans Vektor used for his excellent Constitution Class starship!)
We're going to start with the spline tool, object subtraction tool and lathe tool create the saucer section hull. There are multiple ways of doing this and mine is not necessarily the best but it will give you ideas as to how to use these toolsets in TrueSpace 3.2.
To use a set of blueprints, you could map the plans to a correctly proportioned primitive plane and tell TrueSpace to render everything with textures in place in 3D mode so that you can see the entire set of plans at once but if you're working with little RAM, this might be a rather sluggish option.
I started by viewing and making a screen capture of Alan's drawing of the saucer section.
After cleaning up the image, I saved it as a .bmp and right mouse clicked on the
Show Background icon.
This will give you access to the
Show Background toolset.
Click on the blank input box to the right of
Background, click the
Show Background button and select your correctly proportioned plans. I run my monitor at 1280 x 1024 so the background image I use is 1280 x 1024. This avoids distortion.