Defiance's Eyecandy Thread

Though I was thinking of having the same kind of "holes" - dunno how to call them properly - you have on the sides, but on the front side, being corners instead of rectangle, if you see what I mean.
I think I get what you're saying but you might want to sketch something up for me on this one.
 
Heh, I'll try to get something tomorrow. :)

In the meantime I tinkered a bit with the design. Moved the superstructure back a bit to align it with the ribs in the hull, added scoops at the bow, the torpedo tubes and spinal rail gun. I also added engines and added some greebles. Didn't add the VLS launchers yet.

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In the meantime I tinkered a bit with the design. Moved the superstructure back a bit to align it with the ribs in the hull, added scoops at the bow, the torpedo tubes and spinal rail gun. I also added engines and added some greebles. Didn't add the VLS launchers yet.

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Pretty nice and definitely a successor to the movie's cruiser. However, could it be possible to have one version without the spinal gun and with a superheavy turret instead? I'm asking that for gameplay purposes, as having a spinal gun while having heavy turrets at the same time makes it a bit hard to program the attack patterns effectively, as people saw with the Tallahassee cruisers and their plasma gun. Though that doesn't mean it's impossible, I'll try that later on. But if the spinal gun sub-mesh could be removable from the main model, it would give the opportunity for working sithout it at first and then get it back if I can work something out for it.
 
Did you want the turret under the bow in place of the spinal mount? Alternatively you could just leave it on the mesh and assume its a navigational deflector or something.
 
Did you want the turret under the bow in place of the spinal mount? Alternatively you could just leave it on the mesh and assume its a navigational deflector or something.
Yep, I was thinking of a position kinda like the main cannon on a helicopter gunship like the Apache, if you see what I mean. Of course, not as agile and probably bigger than such a cannon. ^_^;
 
The #1 thing I never liked about WC4, the pirates and the fact that they seemingly gotten their hands on top-military hardware. Granted, not Confed's most recent fighter but still its a powerful bucket of bolts. Real-world comparison would be Somali Pirates using a F-16 Fighting Falcon instead of small boats.
 
The #1 thing I never liked about WC4, the pirates and the fact that they seemingly gotten their hands on top-military hardware. Granted, not Confed's most recent fighter but still its a powerful bucket of bolts. Real-world comparison would be Somali Pirates using a F-16 Fighting Falcon instead of small boats.

I don't think it's that unrealistic. Look at ISIS today driving around captured Hummvees, APCs and even a few freakin M1 Abrams main battle tanks - it happens. Whereas a modern fighter jet today requires extensive training and a qualified crew to operate, we see in Privateer that single civilians manage to operate high performance space craft relatively solo (thanks to automation, robotics, etc). It seems that operating a "fighter jet" in 2670 is a bit more analogous to running a high performance land vehicle today.

Consider the post war galaxy to be full of millions of surplus military grade space ships, not to mention millions of war veterans who know how to operate these machines but are suddenly out of work and trying to make a living.
 
What's a pirate Thunderbolt pilot's favorite type of socks? Arrrrrrrgyle...(rimshot!)

Consider the post war galaxy to be full of millions of surplus military grade space ships, not to mention millions of war veterans who know how to operate these machines but are suddenly out of work and trying to make a living.

You also probably have even more out-of-work technicians and ground crew willing to freelance their skills to keep them flying; some are probably not too picky about the source of their income.
 
Don't forget our second meeting with the ex-pilot from the WC4 intro. He didn't get recruited into the BL, nor is he back in Confed. We can only assume that the pirates we had met earlier in the game were in many cases pilots like him, recruited by Tolwyn's folks into various proxy organisations, given equipment, and then cut loose with some basic instructions. The whole point for Tolwyn was to create a case for large-scale military intervention. Promoting piracy was very much a part of the package, because if all else failed and Confed refused to go to war outright against the BW, at the very least Tolwyn could then say that an intervention is needed because the BW are a failed state incapable of controlling their own space.

In short - the reason pirates are flying around in Thunderbolts circa 2673 is the same as the reason pirates were flying around in Talons circa 2669: because someone in Confed illegally sold or handed over surplus fighters, no questions asked.

The real question with regards to pirates concerns the silliness of their modus operandi as seen in both Privateer and WC4: blasting ships is not an effective way to get rich, even if you occasionally might be able to tractor in some cargo that survived destruction. Where are the boarding parties and stuff?
 
I always figured they used the fighters to disable the freighters or use the threat of destruction to make them heave to, then use their frigate to dock and grab the goods.
 
Seems logical, and from the transport controller inm the intro movie "we will heave too and prepare to boarded; you must break off your attack"

3 mins in
 
Me Piratical ways continue mateys! Here's everybody's favorite suicide sled from Martina Nostra, the Razor! Ready to harass enemy convoys and waylay scouts at your leisure.

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@L.I.F. - IIRC this is the last of the BL faction "pirate" fighters, correct? I don't think Flag Commander has a pirate arrow, it defaults the BL's to the cloaking arrow. Did we want the regular pirate arrow as well?
 
Me Piratical ways continue mateys! Here's everybody's favorite suicide sled from Martina Nostra, the Razor! Ready to harass enemy convoys and waylay scouts at your leisure.

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@L.I.F. - IIRC this is the last of the BL faction "pirate" fighters, correct? I don't think Flag Commander has a pirate arrow, it defaults the BL's to the cloaking arrow. Did we want the regular pirate arrow as well?
Yep, that's the last one. We might get a Pirate Arrow, but its presence would be quite redundant, since the Arrow already plays the role of the light fighter and the Cloaking Arrow is a better scout for everything.
 
If you're looking to do more pirate fighters and you're not opposed to doing a kit-bash, I've got specs for three new designs for Elegy that I've been needing to make models (and now silhouettes) for. Just saying...

IIRC, in the Saga Prologue, you see them flying Demons and they have a Caernarvon-class frigate they use as a command base.

But yeah, the pirates in WC4 field the Arrow, the Thunderbolt and the Razor.
 
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