Test Server Feedback

Just..... just, please tell me that if you ever do anything to the Ferox, you'll only smooth it out. That shape is legendary, and Ferox pilots adore it. If it changes a little, in the name of looking more badass, great. But don't go too far with that one. Learn from the Moa redesign.

Overall the ships seem to be improving, but I must insist that the Hyperion - and all the former tier-3 battleships - desperately need texture updates. Every new advancement of the lighting/rendering system makes these four ships show their age more and more. Especially on the Hyperion (which is why I mentioned it by name at the start), you can see where details were able to be fudged under previous lighting systems (especially the narrow part in the front half of the ship) only to have those fudged details harshly illuminated in the new system. Please please please fix it - not just for the Hyperion, but for the Rokh/Abaddon/Maelstrom as well.

Other than that, my general feedback is that this new rendering system is very interesting. Minmatar ships, now that they're (mostly) in all look pretty amazing - especially the Tempest and Vargur (although I do take some issue with making the Republic Fleet camo even more camo-y and still don't understand why we need camo in space) - but I do want to insist that with "dirtier dirt, matter matte and glossier gloss" comes an increased need for careful discretion in where these things are used. There's a line where "dirt" becomes "junky", "matte" becomes "plastic" and "gloss" becomes "silly", "cartoony" or "chrome-plated".

The Nighthawk looks ridiculously filthy. Please remember to wash the space-mud off of it after you use it to go rally racing. Caldari Navy ships look, to me, as if they've been somewhat haphazardly painted with varying shades of blue much the way a junky old used car might be. Ishukone ships vary widely, but the Ishukone Moa (is that the Eagle? I don't fly much Caldari) looks like it was forged by bankers from a brick of solid gold. Lai Dai ships overall look good.

Gallente ships, by and large, are indescribably shiny. Duvolle ships (Kronos, Nemesis, Deimos, et al) have been hit especially hard by this - what used to be dark, foreboding ships are now silver and yellow, shining like a plastic cereal-box toy. The "G" in Gallente clearly means "God dayum, that's glossy".

Amarr ships seem alright, though some appear to fare better than others depending on ship age (Apocalypse fares very well, Abaddon fares less well) and how much detail exists (Armageddon is an old ship but fares well due to an uncomplicated model unlike the Abaddon's) and the gold trim, as someone else stated, could be more "imperial Issue on TQ Gold" and less what it is now. Edge the white hull plating back somewhat towards how it is on TQ and brighten the black trim on Amarr Navy Issues so we can see some detail (or simply reduce the sheen on it).

For my last point, I'm going to echo someone else's sentiment from earlier in this thread: It would be delightful if we could be shown new models early enough in the development cycle for our feedback to mean anything or be of any use. The Caldari ship lineup in particular is showing very little consistency now that the "caldari aesthetic" seems to be shifting away from the Scorpion/Ibis/Moa sorts of designs and drawing on Lockheed-Martin like Mordu's ships.

Look at the old blackbird.

Look at the new blackbird.

How can anyone honestly say that they prefer the old one?

It all looks great, apart from the Kaalakiota ships, they need the black back.

This was not a spaceship, this was a flying automatic spam forwarding server more than anything.

Same can be said of the new model.

I've seen that you added some fancy stuff to the belly of the Onyx. Is there some hope that you do the same to the Eagle as well and get rid of the current additions to the hull?

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Ishukone Watch ships need to be sprayed with more black. Still.

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I'm still unsure about the dust, dirt and rust on the Kaalakiota ships.

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Laidai ships also accumulated rust (see the outermost hard point on the Hawk wings). How can there be rust on a ship in space? Not to mention the lack of oxygen, but letting a combat ship rust or wither away that much is extremely irresponsible.

I like the new graphics. They are higher quality and well executed.

However I have a stylistic objection. The Minmatar have always had a "junkyard" vibe to them yet their ships are polished new. On the other hand the Caldari are the ones that get the dirty, in need of cleaning, Nighthawk.

So-- some quick thoughts. I looked through most of the ships via the market. The KK ships' red detailing looked a bit washed-out; I'd definitely increase the saturation by a tad so that the red is more crimson than brick.

Also, the Guristas ships I looked at looked fairly flat; I'd perhaps recommend adding a bit of green to the coloring overall, or darkening them. As it stands, they look a bit like sun-bleached toys. :/

Geddon front looks kinda washed out and has lost depth.

The ice blue lights on Khanid and Amarr navy ships will be greatly missed by this capsuleer.

Enyo/Ishkur look great but a little too polished/perfect. Needs some nooks and cranny if you know what I mean.

The new Falcon/BB is the work of a mad man! Just ... great!

The Echolon looks bugged atm.