Why are ship designs so.... boring ?

[Klaus Schwab]

Sidewinder, Cobra and Fer De Lance all looks like cheese wedges.. I know this is sticking to Elite's heritage but what's the excuse for the rest ?

The Anaconda and Viper are the only cool looking ships imo the rest just lack... character. Comparing the games ships to EvE and Star Citizen (shock horror don't bite my head off for mentioning them) the ships are extremely boring to look at.

Not to mention the interiors are basically mirrored.. When are we going to get some asymmetrical ship designs that have more circular shapes and designs ?

(Hopefully they're not 100 of millions that we have to farm months for though)


Here's an example of something with a bit more character imo

http://www.creativebloq.com/sites/creativebloq.com/files/images/2011/11/TDW137.t_tips1.tip4_.jpg.jpg


Or perhaps more alien like architecture ?

http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2012/267/3/e/sophon_spaceships_by_metamorphestlk-d5fql43.png

[Xero]

I like the ship designs. Not so much the ones you linked tho :/

[Squix]

Asset-Design is very expensive nowadays. They could have made a community contest though to find new designs without having to spend 50.000$ or more per ship (yes, that is what a quality ship costs in the making).

Also - no offense - but the game needs more than pretty ships to actually call itself a "game" at the moment ^^

[OJ191]

I like the ship design. Maybe not having several of them quite so similar, but I believe those designs are all canon from previous games so nothing they can really do about it.

[1500]

I like ED's ship designs, and can't stand SC. SC is just a bunch of air plains in space, with extra pointless bits added on, i mean really an air break for a space ship hahahaha.

I am sure that as time goes on and FD start adding more ships they will break from their historical models and branch out. ED's ships look functional, and have the right size, they look like something a company would put into space.

I really like the first ship you linked, but the others do not fit in with ED's art direction. But then again we don't know what the Thargoids (only alien race we know about) ships look like so you never know.


http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Thargoids

You also perhaps have not seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jhLeojANZc

[Bakamoichigei]

Originally posted by Wattzy:

Sidewinder, Cobra and Fer De Lance all looks like cheese wedges.. I know this is sticking to Elite's heritage but what's the excuse for the rest ?

Son, do you even space? The basic polygonal shapes of the craft simplify the calculations required for Frame Shift, reducing the computational power required. (Computers take up space, add weight, generate heat, and suck up power in proportion to their computational capacity.) How they even let you pilot a ship is beyond me.

[Klaus Schwab]

Originally posted by GPMoDBakamoichigei:

Originally posted by Wattzy:

Sidewinder, Cobra and Fer De Lance all looks like cheese wedges.. I know this is sticking to Elite's heritage but what's the excuse for the rest ?

Son, do you even space? The basic polygonal shapes of the craft simplify the calculations required for Frame Shift, reducing the computational power required. (Computers take up space, add weight, generate heat, and suck up power in proportion to their computational capacity.) How they even let you pilot a ship is beyond me.

How does designing a ship like a block of cheese simplify space calculations ?

[Squix]

If the shape is absolutely regular with no edges the values for Frame Shifting are easily calculated by the computer, since the shape is defined by a more simple mathematical equasion.

[Klaus Schwab]

Originally posted by Squix:

If the shape is absolutely regular with no edges the values for Frame Shifting are easily calculated by the computer, since the shape is defined by a more simple mathematical equasion.

So because of that jargon we have to have boring looking ships

*sigh*

[Squix]

I think a wheel of cheese with a cockpit on top and the whole inside being customizable would be pretty exciting ^_^

[Xero]

Originally posted by Wattzy:

Originally posted by Squix:

If the shape is absolutely regular with no edges the values for Frame Shifting are easily calculated by the computer, since the shape is defined by a more simple mathematical equasion.

So because of that jargon we have to have boring looking ships

*sigh*

Boring in your opinion anyway... I find them intresting enough. Then again, i care less about how a ship looks and more about what it can do.

[Squix]

I will just mention the game here - I think Star Citizen is more about the cosmetic aspect of having super-duper highres ships made by professional peeps that also designed star wars ships.

I dont think Elite's task is to focus so much on the ships. Though anything else is missing also, but thats another story. Mostly you dont look at your ship though, so spending lots of money on other (better?) models would be a waste.

[LupisVolk]

Hey leave my cheese grater/block of cheese ships alone!

[Limmin]

I would suppose ships are symmetrical and "aerodynamic" looking because of upcoming features...atmospheric flight and planetary landings.

[B33 ENN]

I like the ship designs. They look functional and realistic, Minimal in the way a spacecraft would have to, to maximise volume and structural integrity, yet minimise material and mass.

[Chaunsey]

they look fine to me, and some are downright beautiful, have you seen the orca and clipper?