That Fer de lance, though!

Herewego

Herewego
The Fer-De-Lance was a dream ship to see in the original Elite - now to own one - hope its one of the 5 promised backer ships
 

Oddball_E8

Oddball_E8
I like the new concept.

One thing people need to keep in mind is that when the older games were made, they were very limited in what shapes they could make ships.

So if they just make "copies" of the originals, we'll just end up with a bunch of blocky triangular ships.

It's better they modernise the designs a bit.
 
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Razorwire

Razorwire
Oddball_E8 said:
... if they just make "copies" of the originals, we'll just end up with a bunch of blocky triangular ships.

It's better they modernise the designs a bit.
Click to expand...

Truth. However.. The early concepts for the adder had echoes of the old classic polygon wedge, the one in game looks nothing like it. The viper, cobra, anaconda, python and eagle all show their roots.

Modernising a bit and completely redesigning are very different. I see very little of the classic FdL in the newsletter peek, and nothing in the Adder.

elite-dangerous-adder.jpg


Oddball_E8 said:
I like the new concept...
Click to expand...

I like the newsletter concept as a ship, just not as a Fer de Lance...
 
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Weps

Weps
One other thought: the ship is probably already modeled and textured by now. Even if it's not done, they have probably started working on it and the wireframe is already set. They have only shown the drawn concept because the actual ship needs to be a surprise more or less, or perhaps they will show renders of it in a future newsletter. So a change is not going to happen, not after work has been already put in.
 

Razorwire

Razorwire
Weps said:
One other thought: the ship is probably already modeled and textured by now. Even if it's not done, they have probably started working on it and the wireframe is already set. They have only shown the drawn concept because the actual ship needs to be a surprise more or less, or perhaps they will show renders of it in a future newsletter. So a change is not going to happen, not after work has been already put in.
Click to expand...

So release it as the Mamba, or the Epsilon Pattern Heavy Fighter, and work on a separate super-sexy needle-nose Ferdie.
No-one would have batted an eyelid at the Adder if it had been called the Transporter.
 

Starbuckz

Starbuckz
looks like a stretched and thinned out adder.... doesn't seem like a fighter, booooring! I want a interceptor class tie fighter :D
 

Tony Spaniels

Tony Spaniels
orfeboy said:
I realise that FD want to keep similar traits between manufacturers but this latest ships is just another in generic boring design. Don't get me wrong. This design is beautiful if it were only an isolated case but the problem is it is not. We had the hauler and it was a generic shuttle like craft and I was willing to accept that since it is afterall a hauler and it shoud look like a space Lada.

But then they took a perfectly good concept design of the Adder and turned it into yet another generic space shuttle super hauler. No imagination here at all and totally dispelled the Adders own charm. It was an awful looking ship but we loved it because it was so ugly. It was like a vintage out of date design.

But now we have yet again another of the same. Like I said already, as an isolated case this would be a good design but lately all we are seeing is the same generic shape being rehashed again and again. This ship looks more like a Mamba than anything else.

Please FD, remain true to the original Elite and lose the wings. Otherwise, if you ever should give us ships like the Mamba we will have yet another ship that looks like this again!
Click to expand...

I agree with you totally mate. Call me a purist but I think its a pity that FD have moved away from the iconic hull shapes of the FDL, the Adder and to an extent the Asp (those fins! ). Besides the beauty of the original design (in my eyes) there was also a strength in these shapes in that you could recognise the ships immediately, and from that came personality. The test for the art and design team would be how to modernise the ships but maintain this personality much like they have with the Cobra for example.

How'n'ever whats done is done and I wont grumble. I do find it odd though that they've taken this decision and assume there must be a logic to it that Im missing. DB is as purist as it comes so if he's happy to lose the famous FDL/Adder/Asp (a bit) iconic design then there must be a damn good reason for it.
 

Cryptonomica

Cryptonomica
Razorwire said:
...The early concepts for the adder had echoes of the old classic polygon wedge, the one in game looks nothing like it. The viper, cobra, anaconda, python and eagle all show their roots.

Modernising a bit and completely redesigning are very different. I see very little of the classic FdL in the newsletter peek, and nothing in the Adder.

elite-dangerous-adder.jpg


I like the newsletter concept as a ship, just not as a Fer de Lance...
Click to expand...

Yes, the thing they did with the Adder as far as I can tell, was to make the front too curved, and the hull too triangular. As others have said, probably to make it look like it's derived from the Hauler.

The trianguality in their Fer-de-lance concept (due to the rear "wings") is probably for the same reason, but makes it look totally different from the original, which has a very iconic shape.

It's a shame, as they have done such a great job with the Cobra, Sidewinder, Eagle, Python and Anaconda. These ships should be instantly recongnisable to anybody who has seen them in the original games.
 

Defacto

Defacto
I really think a better approach would have been if they just made the Adder and FDL FaulconDeLacy ships and designed completely new ships for ZP that fitted the style of that brand. But now it's too late for that kind of decision anyway...
 

Poseidal

Poseidal
The Fer de Lance was a Zorgon Peterson Group (ZPG) from the start though (unlike the Adder).

This new design is more similar to the original FDL than the Adder is to the old Adder.
 

mikelowndes

mikelowndes
NullAndVoid said:
Am I the only one who doesn't like it?
Can we have that instead.
Click to expand...

Me too. They seem to have put the original FdL-like out as the Python, which to me should have been a space pig. I expect the FdL to be a big, mean, angular beast like a Lambo, OR something based on a the Orca shape but a lot meaner, not a stretched Adder. Frontier are trying to give the ships Manufacturer consistency, but in this case I disagree.
 

Katkon

K
Rubbernuke said:
A quick Photoshop with the bits I dislike removed:

FDL.png


I'm not a big fan of the wings, but I do see the design 'family' with the Adder / Hauler. The above has more in common with a powerboat design which exudes a feeling of expensive power:

powerboat.jpg
Click to expand...

I think this looks great. Of course, I'd love it if FD would take inspiration from something other than triangles and powerboats once in a while, but your rendition is much better than what may otherwise be mistaken as a hauler or adder from a distance.
 

Matnik

Matnik
Following this thread, I think one of the great features the could have implemented was being able to change the physical shape of ships through external parts, just to add a bit of variety, but I appreciate this would be difficult to add at this point.
 

silence please

S
I wish it was a more intimidating design, closer to the original's elongated aggressive look (sort of shaped like a coffin in a way). Seeing one of those in a group of pirates in the original was always alarming.
 
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