Welcome to the continuing monthly EVE Blog Banters and our 66th edition! For more details about what the blog banters are please visit the Blog Banter page.
Caldarification
The art team has been working on many art assets recently and there has been talk of the "Caldarification" of Eve related art. Recently examples have been the WIP images of the Thrasher class destroyer redesign and the citadel. Do we need to keep the lines between the races designs clear cut or is some blending of more generic sci-fi styling a good thing? Should Matari be flying/floating scrap heaps? Should Gallente be 'all about the bass'? Or is a bit of generic sci-fi styling needed to bring new life to our important internet spaceships even if it leans a bit to Caldari?
The art team has been working on many art assets recently and there has been talk of the "Caldarification" of Eve related art. Recently examples have been the WIP images of the Thrasher class destroyer redesign and the citadel. Do we need to keep the lines between the races designs clear cut or is some blending of more generic sci-fi styling a good thing? Should Matari be flying/floating scrap heaps? Should Gallente be 'all about the bass'? Or is a bit of generic sci-fi styling needed to bring new life to our important internet spaceships even if it leans a bit to Caldari?
-o0o-
BB66 - More Red Dwarf, Less Caldari
I posted regarding the Thrasher redesign a while ago. I am concerned with Caldaification of the ships and structures. I previously posted this picture of various concept ship art from four different games. We have below Eve Online, Star Citizen Soon, Mass Effect and Elite: Dangerous. Can you identify which is which?
OK, if you are reading this blog then you are going to pick out the Eve ship straight away. However my point is that only the Eve Online ship really stands out from those above.
I agree that some of the design philosophy is moving towards the generic sci-fi designs. Look at the Blackbird. I mean the original Blackbird. It was boxy and totally and utterly not symmetrical. Whilst its not 100% symmetrical these days, it's a lot more generic sci-fi spaceship looking. Eve doesn't need to be. Sci Fi doesn't need to be!
There is no atmosphere in space. There is no need for sleek designs and aerodynamic flowing contours. They don't need to be symmetrical. They don't need to be based on 21st century concepts.
OK, so I guess my design guidance would be remember to keep to the race's roots...
Gallente - Organic, green, looks more grown than build. Is not sleek as there is no atmosphere. Space potatoes can potato in a vacuum. A Thorax should get a raised eyebrow! Think Battle Beyond the Stars!
Minmatar - An explosion in a rusting scaffolding pile. Like real works of art, their starship engineers never finish, they just abandon them. Function over form. Bits bolted to the outside with external wiring and conduits, steaming exhausts and weapons bolted haphazardly everywhere because 'F*** you'. The duct tape might not be visible but you know it's there. Its bristling with guns and its rusty, very rusty!
Amarr - I love gooooooooold! Sleek, pointy and shiny. Form over function. Flying cathedrals - because they can. Works of art with fancy designs and trimming. This is actually a good point. I personally do not like the look of most Amarr ships, but I really want them to follow their traditional design.
Caldari - Terran-ish. Generic sci-fi spaceships 101. Hard lines. Fighter jets. If you want a design thats hard to guess which spaceship game it belongs in, it should probably be Caldari. Think Caldari or any of the terran based ships from SG:1.... or a little Asgard I guess?
So please, lets keep our racial ships instantly recognisable and not go too far down the sleek and terran 21st century design route. We don't want them all laning to Caldari/Mordu's Legion.
I hate hearing there is no atmosphere so we don't need sleek. While its true you don't need to worry about things such as drag you do need to worry about your thrust vectors. I used to hate looking at a lot of the old caldari models like the condor and the moa because their engine thrust vectors didn't pass through the center of mass of the ship. Therefore the ship shouldn't fly straight. So symmetry as far as shape is not important, but symmentry as far as mass in relation to the engines is.
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