Repetition Stresses Image Details - RSI Concept Breakdown (September 10, 2012)

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Some of you may have been wondering why I left out one of the concept images in the previous update. You were probably wondering where that nifty carrier from the 'enlist' page was. In actuality, it was all for a purpose for I am using it as an excuse to talk more specifically about the images themselves!




This carrier concept seems nicely detailed and reminicent of the early Wing Commander carriers. Considering the Privateerish concept we highlighted yesterday, does this weight the chances in favor of a Wing Commander style game?

Also, something was nagging me about the image after I had stared at it for a while and my focus seemed to drift over little "carrier" title block on the bottom right. The writing is so blurry but the shape seems so familiar. I was reminded of my time scouring the web for Outlander information.

One of the concept artists that worked on Outlander was recently featured on Kotaku and is probably why my memmory made the connection, but is it possible Chris Roberts went all out and got Ryan Church - of Star Wars episodes 2, and 3 fame to sketch up these amaizing images? I'm just throwing this out there so judge for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments.





Now let's look a little closer at the rest of the images... The majority of these images seem to be elements of a ship. In fact the file name from the RSI website on the bridge image actually had "Wing Commander" in the filename - for a while anyway.

Personally I think that bridge image reminds me alot of the bridge of the Concordia in Wing Commander 2 as well as the TCS Victory's bridge in Wing Commander 3. The hallway is generic enough, but still in line with the Wing Commander style. Both images have the ship orbiting a planet, and oddly the bridge seems to have an altitude gauge on the one of the large screens.

The deck image shows what looks like a detailed layout of some kind of capital ship or starbase... the various decks look like they're connected by a vertical tube that I would guess is an elevator. Again, I'm reminded of the way the player hunted around the TCS Victory in WC3 in search of the next story videos.






The following images could be interpreted a number of ways but it's interesting that the map image lists Sol for earth and has a hexagon patern around what looks like a jump-line between it and the "Croshaw System." Are the temporary names? Or hints at something more?

The pod could be anything... Is it a bomber's turret? The nose of a wierd fighter? An escape pod? A futuristic latrine?




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Original update published on September 10, 2012
 
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I do believe you're right in picking those concept shots as Ryan Church. Went looking at his website again today. He's done some fantastic work. Take a look at his concept art for the bridge of the Enterprise on the new Star Trek movie.

presentstartrek-39.jpg


Notice anything familiar between that image and the bridge concept for this new game?

wingcommanderBRIDGE1-copy-740x300.jpg


I'm leaning more and more back towards thinking this is, in fact a Wing Commander game. Ryan Church is one of the biggest names in Hollywood when it comes to science fiction / future tech design. I'm smelling a rather large budget here... :cool:
 
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It reminds me of the lower level of the Vesuvius's bridge we see in WC4. It's lacking that raised platform Tolwyn stood on during the battles.

Looks damn gorgeous though!
 
It reminds me of the lower level of the Vesuvius's bridge we see in WC4. It's lacking that raised platform Tolwyn stood on during the battles.

Looks damn gorgeous though!

That was my impression also. I think it looks more like the Vesuvius's bridge than the Concordia's.
 
A couple of things have occurred to me...

Why does it have to be a Privateer OR a Wing Commander game?

With the resources available with todays tech, why could a game not incorporate both?
Go fight for humanity on the frontier, or go trade and explore.

Or.... with the Wing Commander IP tied up with EA, I'm guessing it would be possible to go back and do a prequel using the Pilgrims, would it not?

This is like watching Lost, except this will actually have a point and a pay off :)
 
Why does it have to be a Privateer OR a Wing Commander game?

Probably because we're all hoping it's not a Freelancer game... ;)

Actually, the more I'm looking at it, and the more I remember from both universes, the more I'm convinced it won't be either; it'll be something unique and cool, and ultimately expensive (because I'll have to update my computer to something approaching the standard for gaming in the early 2010s instead of the late 1990s, finally).


As long as it's not another damn MMORPG, it'll probably be cool.
 
I would be very surprised if it wasn't an MMO... imagine if all the privateer or freelancer NPC ships were flown by actual people!

You would just have to cut down on the in-space chat - I don't want my cockpit with an always-open chat window full of 12 year olds insulting everyone. In my mind the biggest drawback with MMO's; people break the universe by talking too much about nothing. I agree though, I imagine it will be a completely new and unique universe.
 
Notice anything familiar between that image and the bridge concept for this new game?

In case I was a little too cryptic in my last post - take a look specifically at the computer displays. The same "altimeter" exists in both paintings. Looks to be a pretty typical stand-in device used by Church to represent generic computer displays.
 
I would be very surprised if it wasn't an MMO... imagine if all the privateer or freelancer NPC ships were flown by actual people!

See, that would be a problem for me...an AI NPC won't unexpectedly jump you unless that's the way it's been programmed. And I know that a lot of folks out there are far better pilots than I am. Even if they flew on my wing, I'd probably never get any kills... :(

I'm not saying it shouldn't have a multiplayer element, but it would be nice to see a good single-player campaign.
 
Given how much Chris continues to talk about cinematic storytelling, I think its highly unlikely you won't see a singleplayer campaign.
 
I hope so. It is going to depend on who's backing him up financially; I can see it if he's doing that himself.
 
In my mind the biggest drawback with MMO's; people break the universe by talking too much about nothing. I agree though, I imagine it will be a completely new and unique universe.

Good post, hits the nail right on the head - a multitude of otherwise great online arenas are ruined by folk with microphones and headsets who insist upon consistently talking/making obnoxious noises/forcing their taste in music upon you. I'm sorry to rant but if it wasn't for this I'd certainly do a lot more online gaming. Yes, often the option exists to block these types but it seems there's a never ending supply.

That said, I'd like to think the space sci-fi types might be a little different/more mature than the youngsters who play GTA online.

...And yes, the concept of an open ended Privateer style sector with other players really flying some of the ships you encounter is tantalising. I know it's been done already but never in our universe.

This could easily be achieved with a specific online setting, and keeping the rest of the game and storyline offline - it's been done plenty.
 
So, since this thread was first posted we've confirmed that it was indeed Ryan Church's name on the carrier concepts... Looking at the concepts released today I noticed something peculiar about one of the enemy fighter concepts in particular:
emeny-fighter-side-view-render.jpg
When you look at the bottom left you can see someones stamp/signature. That someone is Jim Martin who has done work on Star Trek DS9, Starship Troopers, Contact, and S:AaB! Here's his portfolio website: http://jimmartindesign.co/index.html and his blog site: http://martinconceptart.blogspot.ca/
 
Nicely picked up, AD. :) Another talented concept artist, which is great news. IMHO - poor ship design is one of the biggest faults of many of the "modern" space sims that have come and gone. These are already looking far more iconic and less generic than the typical ship, which is fantastic. :)
 
BTW - anyone who watched DS9 would be familiar with Jim's work - he designed the Runabout and the USS Defiant. :cool:
 
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