> On Tuesday 30 August 2005 09:25, Ground Zero Games wrote:
My main fleet is the NSL - blocky, ugly and not a sign of aerodynamic
design anywhere. However, they still have an up/down design (I'm
failing to remember the correct term): bits of the ships dangle down beneath
the 'centre' but not up above it. The IJN also have a big problem here, making
it looks like they were designed for a gravity well.
I quite liked the thin necks of the NAC - made it look like the
engines, reactors and other 'dirty' bits were being kept well back from the
crew quarters (a bit like Discovery in 2001).
> On Aug 30, 2005, Ground Zero Games <jon@gzg.com> wrote:
> How d'you like your starships, fried or boiled..?
I like it both ways. I like different fleets to have a very different feel and
look to them, especially in a generalized game like FT. The distinct looks of
the SV, Phalons and KV are an essential appeal. Within the Human lines I like
higher differentiation, even if the general design themes are similar due to
human tech.
I think the UN, IJN, and NI have very distinct feels from each other
(even though the NI and UN fore-hulls bear passing resemblances - The
NI have a more "pulp-age" streamlined look. I think the new NAC and
ESU are slightly less distinct from each other (And the IJN), but I don't
dislike them. Given a choice of ESU fleets, I'd probably stick with the older
minis myself, but that's my personal taste.
N-ohm (Variable Resistance)
> Jon wrote:
> In general, do you prefer your starships to be smooth and sleek
I'll take two over-easy, urm, I mean blocky and complex, please.
BTW, anyone know why the list keeps scrubbing my posts?
Scott "Mercy is the mark of a great man. [stab] Guess I'm just a good man.
[stab] Well, I'm okay."
I like them all ways I have to say. I absolutely love the new ESU ships and
the old NSL ones. I think it would be nice to have another alien race in there
that follows completely different design principles. I also agree with what
someone else said about the NAC ships looking like the bridge is detachable
and a long way away from things that might go "bang", like the reactors and
engines:) I think that's a very valid design doctrine. Personally I've never
found the necks on them to be flimsy or difficult to assemble. I think on the
whole that non atmospheric starships would be blocky, practical and not
necessarily even symetrical. I like some of the Star Trek ships and the Minbai
ones. But they're designed for TV to look good, or menacing, or to be simple
to understand (How many average Joe theatre goers could get their heads round
the idea that the big hoop thingy with the Alien eggs in was A SPACESHIP!).
Hmmmm that's an idea maybe. Anyhoo keep up the good work Jon, I say, but
another "Hard science" alien race would be nice!
War! What is it good for? Er.....gaming
> On 8/30/05, Ground Zero Games <jon@gzg.com> wrote:
Damn, beat me to it.
I like both blocky and smooth ships but my personal taste hates ships that are
not symetrical.
Jon, I have a question for you: What's the difference between plastic and
metal for you and GZG Games?
I can't paint to save my soul. I steal a joke from Blazing Saddles:
"See this hand? Steady as a rock. But I paint with this hand. *quivering
hand*" So I prefer grey plastic (can leave unpainted), prepainted plastic, or
I bribe others to paint for me. (no kids yet.)
I'd love to buy more from you but I just can't do anything with it. Even the
paper starship interiors I make come out, well, badly.
(Yes, this also means that I'm a computer engineer that has had his soldering
license suspended. I wirewrap prototypes.)
I would say that I like all manner of starships for different reasons.
Sleek and smooth is great for aliens or high-concept sci-fi, when you
are trying to set apart your ships from what we all recognize as human.
Blocky and more "useform" is good for when one is trying to establish either a
sense of overbearing or maintaining a connection to the current paradigm of
what we know as human technology.
There are in-betweens of course. Humans can have sleek (couriers,
blockade runners, spy ships and scouts) and aliens might have big chunky
battlewagons.
Speaking of Battlewagons. I would love to see a fleet of truly "brutish"
vessels. Fat and solid, ominous in their bearing.
Eli
> > On 8/30/05, Ground Zero Games <jon@gzg.com> wrote:
B5
> > Earth Alliance)?
Many, many thousands of pounds..... ;-)
The origination costs for even a single sprue of plastic miniatures are HUGE.
> I can't paint to save my soul. I steal a joke from Blazing Saddles:
Well, starships can be the easiest things to paint - spray them in
grey or white primer, flick a drybrush over them if you wish, pick
out just a few details in bright colours and there you go - a
perfectly acceptable starship for the table!
Jon (GZG)
> (Yes, this also means that I'm a computer engineer that has had his