Ships & Modules

OK, the new Reaper design made me question whether the graphic designers are paying attention to racial design consistency for ships. The other rookie ships were fine, but the Reaper was so far out of the Minmatar design philosophy it was shocking.

So, here is a suggestion:
Designers please compile a list of adjectives describing each race and check your new designs against those adjectives
For example

Caldari - we are the most hi-tech and want to show off our technical superiority with hi-tech jet looking designs
-Straight edges
-Hitech, lots of electronics, lights, antenna
-Silver finish
-Assymetric (actually I hope this is no longer followed as it makes Caldari look terrible)
By this measure, the Caldari rookie ship is pretty much in line, hi-tech, straight edges.
Good job here.

Minmatar - we are tough and spartan so we only need the essentials on our ships, minimalist with some tribal motifs
-Boxy, Girder-y
-Unfinished Rusty Third World Iron Girders
-Sails (Solar Panels?)
-Think of steel superstructure of skyscrapers, steel girders
-Industrial Crude/unrefined
By this measure, the Minmatar rookie ship is very much out of line
Its too curvy, the sails don't look like the others in the ship line
It looks too refined compared to the industrial crude feel
And the guns are too large

Gallente - we are refined and cultured, our ships look like sculpture to spread our cultural superiority
-Curvy, no sharp edges
-Bulbous
-Greenish
-Bomber-like cockpits, sometimes at the side like the Millennium
The middle of the rookie ship has too many straight lines and a bit too hi-tech, it looks Caldari-like
However, it is saved by the cockpit that looks bulbous and curvy, so it remains consistent
Just watch not to add too many straight lines in the future

Amarr - we are the dominant race, our ships project our might like tough golden battering rams that will smash you
-Golden
-Lights
-Armored shell (golden) all over, built to take a hit
-Ornate detail
-Phallic or Beak/Hawk-like shape battering rams
You nailed it. Looks completely Amarr

Just my 0.02 ISK. Don't want to see any more new ships that totally do not look like they came from the race.
It breaks immersion.
So please add a "Racial Ship Design Consistency" check to your ship design process.

Yeah, I saw that over the stream. It shocked me that they don't see Reaper is off.
If it was just slightly off, I wouldn't bother, but it looks so far off from Minmatar it is troubling.
It showed they don't have any process to think through or check for racial ship consistency.
The talent and skill is certainly there shown by the Caldari and Amarr ships.
That's why this post. not a criticism. Just a suggestion to CCP.

No it shouldn't, it's a committee work where each party designs their part without consulting each other; Caldari capitalism at its finest.

Not sure what all the upset is about. Minmatar ships look like crap. The reaper still looks like crap. Just because someone decided a cockpit should actually consist of one part does not make it less minmatar, just slightly smarter design.

agreed, the new scorpion looks incredible, as does the tengu and the merlin, which are all symmetrical

Ships should not look like animals. Especially animals from Earth, a place where we havn't been in over 20,000 years. This is not beast wars or something.

Re: Gallente, curvy and bulbous can give rise to many many beautiful shapes and designs, definitely not just a potato.
Myrmidon, Megathron, Moros are no potatoes. Look at Boticelli, very beautiful sculptures using curves and bulges.
To me, Gallente ships look like they were sculptured, like works of art.

Re: Caldari, straight edges and hi-tech is very loose direction, within it you can have a very wide variety of ships. There is the Drake but also the Tengu. And it is not dull grey, but shiny silver like modern fighter jets. But yes, I hate the assymetric look and I doubt too many people want to keep that. In my mind, Caldari look the most like Terran ships in Starcraft. Or AWACs, modern aircraft.

Re: Amarr, what problem do you have with gold and phallic/avian looks? These shapes suggest power and dominance, which is valued in the Amarr race. Always a crowd pleaser. Sort of like the space Romulans. Pretty sure there is a very wide variety of shapes that can work within that design paradigm.

Anyway, its up to the artists. As long as there is some effort to harmonize new designs with some characteristics of what went before. They do not need to adhere extremely closely to the characteristics, but at least make some effort so new designs do not look out of place in the ship line.

Ah, actually the problem may be only that the artists don't have a clear vision of the Minmatar line.
Well, just my opinion is Minmatar empire is a Tribal Third World Empire so the ships should look functional but not slick as costs are saved on anything not necessary.
Think the steel girders and scaffolding of buildings and skycrapers without the slick exterior.
It may help if people articulate what it is that makes Minmatar look Minmatar.

I have to agree that the new sac/maller looks abit out of place ... it doesent look bad but like the previous poster said ... Too much caldari in the mix.

There would be simple fix to it thou. Just add the similar finish bling like in the punishers .. this "rune" sidepanel and proper golden sidepanels ... not just the booring desert camo yellow.

Good point.
Yes, the ship design characteristics should portray the race's philosophies.

Caldai = Technological superiority
In a competitive corporate culture like the Caldari, there would be a constant arms race for technology.
Therefore new Caldari ships would constantly look more and more hi-tech, like modern fighter jets.
Its all about who has the most advanced looking craft around.
I think the devs seem to have no problem with Caldari as their culture is close to Earth culture!
The problem is most of the stuff they do look Caldari-ish.

Gallente = Cultural superiority
The Gallente on the other hand are French descendants and would probably place a premium on culture and style.
Their ships are a way to show their artistic sculpture, not just function.
It must look like a curvy sculpture and show cultural superiority.
The odder and more innovative the better, it shows the free liberal principles of the Federation.
Forget functionality and straight lines, that is so pedestrian and boring. Let the cruder cultures do those.

Minmatar = Spartan warrior macho
The Minmatar are tribal warriors who pride themselves on their resilience.
The bare-bones configuration of their ships show they do not need the comforts of softer races.
Too slick finishing or blended lines makes Minmatar look like Caldari.
Minmatar needs to look a bit more rough and tumble. Think aggressive space motorcycles.
One way to make Minmatar look better is to use more tribal flourishes on their ships.
This makes their ships look more interesting yet distinctive.

Amarr = Willpower and glorious history
The Amarr are strong willed. Their ships should look like golden armored battering rams that can last for decades.
Their tradition is long and a source of pride, so traditional flourishes should be on their ships.
If an Amarr ship does not look like it can crash into other ships and demolish them, it is not Amarr.
Also, watch out for making Amarr ships look too hi-tech. It makes them look Caldari.
Amarr can upgrade their technology, but do not need to show it off on the outside of their ships.
Proud unchanging tradition on the outside in gold.

Maybe this helps.

Would knowledge get lost as a whole? 6000 years ago people drew and wrote about mythical creatures with all kinds of horns, wings, etc. and we still know about it despite of conflics being bigger than anything before, civilizations getting lost, etc. It's not that unrealistic. It's still about three to four times that time span, however there are more people and more ways to preserve that knowledge.

As for Minmatar hulls, I'll simply wait what they have in mind. Looking at the minmatar V3 ships (Tornado, Reaper and Hound concept art) I can clearly see what they have in mind. They indeed want to get rid of some of the very simple shapes. Is it bad? No, they just don't want the new models to look odd or old again. You can add a cube to that ship to keep it looking "rough", but at the same time these days this looks "cheap" or "dated", so they add more polygons to the edges, making them a bit more round whole still keeping them quite edgy (in comparison to Amarr and Gallente). Same is true for solar sails (compare the Tornado with the Tempest and you'll clearly see the difference and where they're heading) and other elements (e.g. antennae).