Ships & OCD, and other Design-Flaws normally unnoticed

[Solko]

WHAT THIS POST IS ABOUT:
Basically how my OCD (Obsessive–compulsive disorder; in my case it comes in the form of me not really like asymmetrys), makes me itchy when I see certain Ships in this game, leading me to not want to own them (and thus not spending money on stuff like ship-kits).
Note: This is not a threat in the form of "please me or I don't give you my money", but rather customer-feedback.
Since there is a microscopic chance of someone at Frontier reading this very post and - despite it's oddity - passing it on to the related team(s), I decided to give it a try and write down what is bothering me for a long time now.
To every poor soul who is currently reading this: I am sorry. My OCD made me write this. -_-

DISCLAIMER:
This is mostly aimed at the Frontier Team responsible for the Ship-Designs, but feel free to add your own comments. I am well aware that I am pointing out a First-World-Problem, btw.
I am expecting mostly comments along the lines of:

Spoiler

- You're an Idiot for having this problem! - (I know, but thanks for the reminder.)
- I don't see the problem.... - (Good, then you're at least not an idiot (see previous line))
- Get over it! - (Sounds good - doesn't work.)
- There are far worse problems in Elite Dangerous, FDev should focus on those - (Err, the people responsible for the ships designs are most probably not responsible for solving those, so no harm done, as far as I can tell)
- There are far worse problems in the world then THIS! - (Yes, and it appears you, like I, choose to rather hang around in the forum for a Computer-game to discuss something else instead; I asume you are not going to fix them, either, do you?)
- Frontier is not going to listen, anyway, so why bother? - (Maybe the DO listen, but only to the more constructive threads and posts?)
- Frontier is not going to understand what you want from them! - (Maybe, but then I am to blame, as communication offers the potential for misunderstandings at both ends)
- (various other comments questioning my intellect, my personal taste, or Frontiers competence)
- What I am not expecting is constructive comments, or even agreement!

ON THE TOPIC:
As stated above, asymmetry kind of make me itchy. Some formes more then others.
(This is totally an OCD-thing, but certainly not the worst for an OCD can have.)
Asymmetry to me is basically what the loose cables in the Anaconda (AND now the Krait, too) are for The Yamiks... .

For me, all ships fall in 3 categories:
- I use it for it's performace
- I use it because I like it's design (look and feel... AND sound)
- I use it because I like both design and performance

Unless the basic design is sound to me, I will not buy a shipkit for it.
Because I buy shipkits to make a good looking ship even better looking.
And this is - for me - not the case, if there is something in the basic ship-design that I can not stand.
Exceptions exist, but are rare - if a ship is designed to be utilitarian from the start, it doesn't bother me as much as if a ship is designed to look good.

Let's take the Krait for example:
I absolutely adore the design (if anyone wonders: to me it is NOT a utilitarian design, but rather designed to look good).
I especially dig the overall symetry, and there is only one thing that keeps me from falling totally in love with that ship:
the fact that the symetry is broken. At the back of the Krait:

Yes, I am speaking of the door at the back of the ship, and how it is off-set.
YouTubers like CMDR Plater have commented on this with words like "Ouh, interesting", of which I am not a hundred percent sure it is ment as a compliment.
For me, it breaks the design.
Especially since the first design of the ship looked much coooler in that regard:

The same "problem" I have noticed in other ships, mostly the Viper and it's off-center antennae at the front.

I really like the Viper MKIII, and would still fly it today, if I could remove those things, or at least put them in the center.
The Ship-Kit unfortunately does not fix this.

Some more ships have this issue, like the Eagle where the only Utiliy-Mount is on the right side, and the left side is left empty
Why note have two? Yes, I know, gameplay - Eagle OP.
All ships have asymetries build in, some more, some less noticable.
The lesser they are noticable, the lesser I care.

And yes, I know many ships have the pilot's seat either on the left or the right side of the cockpit.
This kind of botheres me too, as I am expecting the pilot of the ship to sit in the center of the cockpit.
But this is something I can get over - at least to an extend.
In the Fer-de-Lance, it is just to much - I only recently re-bought this ship to test it's performance (which is amazing).
And I can't still get over this support-strut that is almost in my face:

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC: OTHER DESIGN-FLAWS:
While I am at it, there are other problems - some stated by other players, that I have to agree with.

Challenger not accepted:
Some YouTubers have reviewed the Challenger, and some dislike the design. I agree.
I think the forward main fuselage seems just a bit to... voluminous in relation to the ship as a whole.
It was ok on the Chieftain, since it had two engines at the forward wings.
Somehow the Ship reminds me of a catfish, though, and I would have liked to see the forward main fuselage to be flatter:

Well, something like this, anyway... .


Cockpit-internal light (Krait and other ships):
There are lights left and right in front of the pilot that are apparently there to blind the pilot. I see no other use for them.
This has been brought up by a player using a VR-Headset, and while I do not have one, I agree with his point.

Sound-design (various ships):
Actually not a flaw as such, but a matter of taste.
The sounds some ships make while just maneuvering (roll, pitch, etc.) can get old rather fast.
I call those "feedback-sounds", as they are obviously not produced by the maneuvering thrusters, and are intended as an acoustic feedback to the player.
Also: The boost sound of various ship get old rather fast (for me), too
The Boost-Trumpet of the Viper MKIV for instance, but also the boost sound of the Krait is not among my favorites.



CONCLUSION: MY LITTLE "ONE-CAN-DREAM"-WISHLIST:

A separate Krait Shipkit with only reworked door-area and a symetrical Door - this can even be two doors in mirrored fashion:

(I assume the internal design of the Krait is already done, so the second door could only be a door to a small storage locker)

But please NOT as part of the regular upcomming ship-kits tail-section, as there might be something cool in that tail section that I might like to have in ADDITION to a reworked door-area.
(Yes, I would pay for this separately, as long as it is not the price of another shipkit.)

A different shipkit for the Viper (or the current one, altered), that allowes us to get rid of that antennae (the holes in the current ship kit's front section would need to be filled up, though)

Can we have an engineer in game that can re-build the cockpit of the Fer-de-Lance to have the pilot in the central position?
(Wouldn't mind that for other ships, too, but the Fer-de-Lance is the most extreme case; yes, this could be a shipkit)
Also: an engineer that allowes us to clean up the cockpits (Anaconda and Krait - the cables! why are they all over the place? This is the future!)

Allow players to switch of cockpit internal lights in the functions-tab
Allow players to switch off feedback sounds for maneuvering thrusters, engines, and boost (on an individual basis); also: alternative sound-packs ?

I assume a drastic redesing of the Challanger as suggested by my picture is out of the question...?
... so is adding a second ultility mount to the Eagle's ?


I apologize for this little pseudo-rant, but I had to get this of my chest.

 

[Teh Smoo]

You don't need two rear doors. That's a silly thing to complain about. Even for realism purposes, it would make enough sense, and you'd have suits or whatever, since in a reality, space legs would be a thing.

BUT- hard agree on cockpits with central pilot seats. My NPC crewmember is a freeloader anyway, who sits somewhere in back, eating chips, and waiting for a fighter deploy. AND DOING NOTHING ELSE.

The rest of the seats can sod off, I want to sit in the center of the bridge.

 

[znôrt]

first of all, a disclaimer: i don't read disclaimers.

with that out of the way, i skimmed across your complaints and none of it constitutes a flaw imo. matter of taste.

final advice: don't fly what you don't like. simple as that.

(and don't mess with the eagle or the fdl. they're both perfect even if you can't appreciate it.)

 

[metatheurgist]

Dude, do you live in a symmetrical house? Just wondering how you cope.

 

[Nero Tacitus]

And then FDev had the idea to sell customizable cockpits.

 

[varonica]

WHAT THIS POST IS ABOUT:
Basically how my OCD (Obsessive–compulsive disorder; in my case it comes in the form of me not really like asymmetrys), makes me itchy when I see certain Ships in this game, leading me to not want to own them (and thus not spending money on stuff like ship-kits).

I'll never buy an ASP, it's not OCD, I just hate the looks of the thing.

But asymmetry? I don't have an issue with that in the context of space ships in airless space, however atmospherics will throw the balance off, the wrong asymmetry will make your ship want to turn or flip over all the time, balanced asymmetry is ok though, just as long as it looks good, that's all I ask. The Krait looks good, so I will probably get one. I have a Python I never fly now but I am keeping it because it looks good, no other reason.

 

[Bacalao]

You don't need two rear doors. That's a silly thing to complain about. Even for realism purposes, it would make enough sense, and you'd have suits or whatever, since in a reality, space legs would be a thing.

BUT- hard agree on cockpits with central pilot seats. My NPC crewmember is a freeloader anyway, who sits somewhere in back, eating chips, and waiting for a fighter deploy. AND DOING NOTHING ELSE.

The rest of the seats can sod off, I want to sit in the center of the bridge.

And then FDev had the idea to sell customizable cockpits.

I would pay way more than a couple buck to move the cockpit seat of the Python, FdL, Cobras, Cutter and Clipper to the center, then I could stand to fly the damn things, as it is I just can't, it's like fingers on a chalkboard trying to stare through the struts, feeling the ship roll awkwardly around a center I'm not sitting in...ugh.

 

[Nero Tacitus]

I would pay way more than a couple buck to move the cockpit seat of the Python, FdL, Cobras, Cutter and Clipper to the center, then I could stand to fly the damn things, as it is I just can't, it's like fingers on a chalkboard trying to stare through the struts, feeling the ship roll awkwardly around a center I'm not sitting in...ugh.

I have the same problem, and I'd sincerely love if FDev would bloody listen the community and just centre their cockpits. In the interim, I fly my FDL my imagining I'm in my car; it's not centered, but it doesn't bother me because I know it's functional. I just pretend the FDL's setup is functional, in its own stupid, ridiculous, completely nonfunctional way .... GOD DAMN IT FDEV!

 

[StalkerMac]

I don't have a problem with the asymmetry personally as I use the center dot from the options menu. But I would agree it makes it easier on the eye to center the cockpits given that the issue is bothering people FDev need to look into it or as mentioned already, make available customised cockpits for sale.

Also can we have more effort to make different dashboards for different ships instead of the same setup format.

Fly safe Cmdr's
o7

 

[PocketPsycho]

Hate to break it to you OP but there's very little in life that actually is symmetrical, even the human form isn't symmetrical.

 

[CMDR Nellas]

symmetry is overrated and boring

i wonder how a single person managed to get so worked up over this to make a such a post full of implication of unsymmetric things being "broken" "flawed" ect ect
the only thing broken and flawed might be op's perspective of things.

cheers

 

[KarnakDeLuc]

Your OCD issues - Others Artistic nature.

After reading through your post of your issues with your OCD, it seems more like your trying to critique someones artistic modeling capabilities based on an idea of how YOU think it should be. But Art is a form all of its own, and should not always be restrained or constricted by anyone else's views of conformity for perfection, symmetry, or equality, as Art in any form is unique to the artist.

 

[Orvidius]

Before someone complains about the colloquial use of the term "OCD" -- What the OP is really talking about is perfectionism.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, there are several ship flaws that really bug me, and it's due to geometry issues, not asymmetry by design as such.

For instance, The Python's hull textures show through into the engines:

And the Type-7 has some missing geometry on the left side, in a small sliver along the edge of a panel, that lets you see straight through to the skybox:

 

[Turjan]

Let's take the Krait for example:
I absolutely adore the design (if anyone wonders: to me it is NOT a utilitarian design, but rather designed to look good).
I especially dig the overall symetry, and there is only one thing that keeps me from falling totally in love with that ship:
the fact that the symetry is broken. At the back of the Krait:


Yes, I am speaking of the door at the back of the ship, and how it is off-set.
YouTubers like CMDR Plater have commented on this with words like "Ouh, interesting", of which I am not a hundred percent sure it is ment as a compliment.
For me, it breaks the design.
Especially since the first design of the ship looked much coooler in that regard.

The door thing is an interesting point for sure. There's a lot of symmetry in Elite ships in general (oh btw, talking of symmetry and your preferences therein, I'm betting you never flew this favourtie ship of my own from "Tachyon : The Fringe" then... )

Spoiler

Sorry if that offended your OCD eyes there...

So yes - back to symmetry!
The offset rear door in the Krait is very "Hmm...." for two reasons to me :

1.) There's a perfectly good set of stairs attached to (nay, actually embedded in) the front landing strut...so why the need for the back door?
Back doors do actually show up on a lot of Elite ships, especially the bigger ones where the ship's mere size makes having multiple access hatches not just desirable but logically necessary. But having one as well as a set of stairs that lead directly to the the cockpit does make slightly less sense. On teeny ships like the Eagle though, that actually makes more sense, because there isn't room to swing a trumble in the Eagle's cockpit, so if anyone other than the pilot wants access to the ship, a secondary hatch is useful. But for a mid-sized ship like the Krait with three bridge seats and a broad set of stairs at the front, the rear door is less meaningful - at first sight anyway. The other thing about rear doors is that (to date anyway) such doors do tend to be centrally placed in the aft hull.

2.) So here's the main thing - why is the Krait different? Well, the Krait's rear access hatch is a lot more detailed than we've seen on previous ships. A lot. One might almost say unnecessarily detailed in fact...until one factors in the idea that as this is a new ship, certain parts of the exterior have sepcifically been designed to withstand close inspection by the player. But wait - we can't actually get our camera that close to the rear hatch, so why does it need to be so detailed?

Yes.... why indeed?

Could it be perhaps because the devs are expecting us to be able to more closely examine that hatch in the near future? For example by, say, walking up to it? With our space legs?

Which would also explain the asymmetry.
As yet, we are not privy to what's actually inside the ships we fly, beyond what we can see in the cockpit. Perhaps the asymmetrical rear access hatch design is to accommodate the fact there's a fighter hangar behind it, and the hangar has its own needs in the form of launch & refuelling lines that might necessitate the offset placement of an access door?

Only time will telll....

 

[Nero Tacitus]

symmetry is overrated and boring

i wonder how a single person managed to get so worked up over this to make a such a post full of implication of unsymmetric things being "broken" "flawed" ect ect
the only thing broken and flawed might be op's perspective of things.

cheers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy

 

[PocketPsycho]

The door thing is an interesting point for sure. There's a lot of symmetry in Elite ships in general (oh btw, talking of symmetry and your preferences therein, I'm betting you never flew this favourtie ship of my own from "Tachyon : The Fringe" then... )



Sorry if that offended your OCD eyes there...

So yes - back to symmetry!
The offset rear door in the Krait is very "Hmm...." for two reasons to me :

1.) There's a perfectly good set of stairs attached to (nay, actually embedded in) the front landing strut...so why the need for the back door?
Back doors do actually show up on a lot of Elite ships, especially the bigger ones where the ship's mere size makes having multiple access hatches not just desirable but logically necessary. But having one as well as a set of stairs that lead directly to the the cockpit does make slightly less sense. On teeny ships like the Eagle though, that actually makes more sense, because there isn't room to swing a trumble in the Eagle's cockpit, so if anyone other than the pilot wants access to the ship, a secondary hatch is useful. But for a mid-sized ship like the Krait with three bridge seats and a broad set of stairs at the front, the rear door is less meaningful - at first sight anyway. The other thing about rear doors is that (to date anyway) such doors do tend to be centrally placed in the aft hull.

2.) So here's the main thing - why is the Krait different? Well, the Krait's rear access hatch is a lot more detailed than we've seen on previous ships. A lot. One might almost say unnecessarily detailed in fact...until one factors in the idea that as this is a new ship, certain parts of the exterior have sepcifically been designed to withstand close inspection by the player. But wait - we can't actually get our camera that close to the rear hatch, so why does it need to be so detailed?

Yes.... why indeed?

Could it be perhaps because the devs are expecting us to be able to more closely examine that hatch in the near future? For example by, say, walking up to it? With our space legs?

Which would also explain the asymmetry.
As yet, we are not privy to what's actually inside the ships we fly, beyond what we can see in the cockpit. Perhaps the asymmetrical rear access hatch design is to accommodate the fact there's a fighter hangar behind it, and the hangar has its own needs in the form of launch & refuelling lines that might necessitate the offset placement of an access door?

Only time will telll....

I had a similar thought after seeing the Krait and it's reveal trailer, it really does look like FDev is starting to lay some groundwork towards spacelegs, it'll probably be ages off but it has to start somewhere.

 

[Tygra]

I had a similar thought after seeing the Krait and it's reveal trailer, it really does look like FDev is starting to lay some groundwork towards spacelegs, it'll probably be ages off but it has to start somewhere.

They'll never add space legs.

They can't even fix the UI that's been busted since 3.0 beta, and the mailbox that's been broken forever. You think they can manage legs with new content...

HAHAHAHAHA......... no.

 

[Daish]

Interesting point by the OP I guess we all have our good points and bad points on ship design, and yes their are players out their that actually like the T10 or diamond back, I know crazy right :

The Krait yes the door offset thought centre would be better I always wondered why its always lit up not sure if that was some form of tease to space legs but probabaly just a unforeseen mechanic issue.

my biggest gripe is ship design though more so with the added Challenger personally what a waste time and I think lazy approach by the devs, not unlike other rehashed ships for example T9-T10 - Diamond back exp-Scout - Fed assault ship-dropship-gunship, chieftain -challenger, I cant see any point in only making players go OOOoooooo new ship coming, and when it drops it's like Oh another rehash, now there is talk of a crusader and krait phantom please not rehashes as this will be pure lazy design team. but I will wait and see on that.