OT: Eric Henry & a picture

[AgentZero]

Just wondering if anyone has heard from Eric Henry from the old SE4 mailing list? He was also one of the artists responsible for a good amount of the artwork in SE4 and sort of my mentor in Bryce. If anyone has heard from him, or he happens to be cruising around under some clever alias, please let me know...

Aside from that, I've been fiddling around with a new shipset and while I'm reasonably pleased with how it's going, I feel like it's missing something. So far all I've got done is an Escort, so have a look and tell me what you think.

[Atrocities]

No, we have not. Not so much as a peep. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[Ed Kolis]

Nice escort! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

[Aiken]

Nice indeed, but it looks incomplete. Don't know why, though.

[Atrocities]

Cool escort, looks impressive.

[Kamog]

That ship looks very good! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[AgentZero]

aiken said:
Nice indeed, but it looks incomplete. Don't know why, though.



Yeah, see, that's the problem. I've got the same feeling about it. Something just isn't quite right but I can't figure out what. Anybody have any suggestions?

[narf poit chez BOOM]

I like it too. I think the incomplete feeling comes from the huge front end and the skiny back end.

[Atrocities]

Its a nice concept for sure. I hope you complete the set.

[Raging Deadstar]

Nie Escort.

How about placing something on the back to offset the "incompleteness." I've always wanted to see a shipset with solar sails on the ships or something like that.

[AgentZero]

Hmm. I know I have to do something to the back to offset the size of the front, but Solarian ships are big, chunky bruisers built to survive serious punishment, so I don't think something as fragile as a solar sail would really fit with the concept. I think I'll come back to it when I'm putting the finshing touches on the set. In the mean time, what do we think of this Light cruiser (attached)? I still have a few finishing touches, such as adding 'windows' along part of the gun deck, but otherwise it's more or less done. Unless anyone can think of anything else?

[Aiken]

Good. But these guns remind me a ... b&w lollipops http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/confused.gif
Of course, it's just my pervent perseption, but... probably different texture? Turning them into the Big Freakin Guns (mean making them larger)?

[AgentZero]

Exactly which ones remind you of lollipops? All of them or one in particular? And it's only a light cruiser, the BFGs will show up starting with the Battle Cruisers...

[Aiken]

Those on LC and escort. It's a alternate black and white rings on guns that make them look like lollipops (or ice cream). Then again it's just my impession, nothing else.

PS: I like lollipops (and ice cream), that's the reason I think http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[AgentZero]

Dear God, you're right! The Solarians aren't feared protectors of the Galaxy, they're bleedin' ice cream salesmen! What have I done?! Seriously, don't worry about offending me or anything like that by telling me things don't look right with the ships. That's why I post things up here.
Anyway did a fixer-uper so have a look. This time it's a Destroyer since I accidentally overwrote the LC and now I gotta start all over! I'm going to be changing the guns so they look a little better by tapering the ends and hollowing them out but that can wait til another day.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Hate to tell you this, and it might be just candy talking, but the guns now look like a line of nerds painted white and glued together.

* Nerds are also a type of candy. Don't ask me why.

[Aiken]

Salvo of homing explosive candies is deadly, you know http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[AgentZero]

OK, seriously guys, you need to cut down on the sugar. I think it's affecting your minds. Nerds!? Seriously man, I'm worried about you.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

What?? They really are also a type of candy. Little lumpy green and red colored things.

[Kamog]

Nerds are mostly sugar. If you look at nerds closely, you'll see that the beads of candy consist of grains of sugar stuck together with some color and artificial flavor. You can actually see the bits of sugar. Bad for your teeth (I know from experience!)

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Two words: 'Cotton candy'

[AgentZero]

I know what nerds are, candywise, it's more the fact that a lopped off pyramid shape reminds you of wierd lumpy candy. I'm also worried about the fact that a discussion on a missing friend and cool spaceships has become devoted to candy.

[Parasite]

On the ES, I think that all the really cool detail makes it look like the front of a much larger ship. The sharp square back end of the hull adds to the "I've been cut off" effect.

On the CL, I thought you could get it back by saving the uploaded file, but then realized it that DOGA (or whatever) would most likely not be able to use that as a readable format. Oh well.

[AgentZero]

Yeah, I was sorta thinking the same myself. I'm thinking I'll add something to the engines to widen things out a bit, but that'll have to wait till the weekend since work's keeping me far too busy.
And I wish it was that easy to get the LC back, but looks like I'll have to start over (I use Bryce 4, BTW, which is a fair bit harder too use than DoGA but you get a lot more freedom to do what you want). Won't be too bad though, since I base each new hull on the one that came before it, so I just have to take the Destroyer hull and add in the bits that made it a LC...

[AgentZero]

OK, did a fixer upper on the ol' Escort. So, what do you thinks?

[Kamog]

Looks good! The back of the ship looks better than before. Nice work! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[AgentZero]

Thank you kindly. Finally got most of the shipset sketched out, thanks to a slow day at work, so hopefully work should progress a bit quicker now. Wait till you see the Solarian Dreadnought. Not something you want to run into in a dark alley. Or a bright sunny square surrounded by lots of people, for that matter. ;-)

BTW, I'm still trying to figure out what Solarian fighters should look like, so if anyone has any suggestions based on what they've seen, please let me know.

[AgentZero]

Doin a bit of a rethink on the Solarian shipset. I've updated the Escort, Frigate & Destroyer. Attached is the new destroyer. I'm just wondering, do you prefer the old one or the new one?

[Aiken]

I think that engines on previous destroyer were cool.

[AgentZero]

Yeah, but I don't really feel like they fit with the theme of the shipset. The Solarian ships are mostly all flat surfaces with very few curves, so having these rounded engines didn't seem to work for me. Might keep the roundy engines for the fighters, though...

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Like it.

[AgentZero]

Good good. Got the Light Cruiser updated now, and hopefully the guns' 'Nerd Syndrome' has bee successfully dealt with. By the by, is anyone out there at all interested in giving me a hand with the AI files for this shipset? Never really got the hang of doing it myself...

[TerranC]

Nice. Keep up the good work. *Insert a thumbs up smilie here*