Ship design, spec sheet 2

[Schmendrick]

We're choosing a form for the Ironseed; this is the second of two pages of possibilities from our concept artist. (Check here for the first page.) Tell us what you think of the various forms!

Full-sized version of the sheets are available on this blog post.

pg2 reduced.jpg (14.61 KiB) Viewed 235 times

[Therlun]

To be honest, I don't like any of those. Too round, too shiny, too clean.
They look like one of those "ultra modern" cars every firm designs but no company ever actually sells.
Like an iPod, or the new Star Trek. Only lens flares are missing.

Neither version does look anything like a practical ship that spent thousands of years in transit.

Sorry for being so negative.

[Schmendrick]

It's ok to be negative, if it's honest feedback (and you aren't just bashing the game in general. )

But you should keep in mind as you look at these that these are just rough silhouettes. Think of them as a stick figure sketch before drawing a portrait, or as prototype sketches for the Ironseed before it was even built in its factory, long before the game itself starts. The finished product will be more detailed -- and more dirty.

[DkTempest]

Round is good, makes the Asteroids bounce off.. As for the shininess well, these thing haven't been textured yet. And, the texture itself is going to make a big difference in how something look. Those spec are just shape guideline from what I understand.

Hehe, and when it comes to Artistic design, you'll never please everyone either.

[shaddam]

interesting ship-designs.... reminds me on the the homeworld art-work... i like it

[nuke_bloodaxe]

Initial days by the looks of it I personally liked ship 10, looks like it'd be able to handle a RAM scoop and several large weapons + a docking port.

What sort of scale are we looking at in terms of the ship size for the final product? [A few Kilometres?]

[Schmendrick]

Yes, a few kilometers. We're not sure exactly how big at the moment, but since this is largely a flavor issue (what really matters is relative size of different ships, since any ship will be dwarfed by any celestial object anyway) we're not really worrying about it too much yet.

[ktulu]

I generally like the 10th image, as well as the 7th from spec sheet 1. They seem a bit ominous and symbolic, looking like a giant key. It is kind of symbolic (the seed of iron being the key) and a bit religious looking. At least that's a kind of vibe I'm getting.

Also, part from the original game's artwork, part from the story and vibe of the game, I've always imagined the ship as a very heavy, gritty structure. Very steel and bolts and not so much design flashy (in the end, there's really no bodily crew to run about and have living quarters per se).

I'm pretty tired of the classic industrial design of spaceships, looking like giant oil rigs, of most of the popular game and movie franchises so I'm always for something new.

At least, my personal preference would be to use some of those designs (but maybe consider a few others) with a very black, dark texture. I just think the Ironseed should be very dark but not that shiny or reflexive.