wire frame graphics skin

I kitted it out as close as possible to its 8-bit forebear, so if memory serves it has twin burst lasers (closest to the visuals of BBC Elite), 4 torpedoes, an ECM, 34T of cargo space, a below-optimum FSD and a shield booster in lieu of the "extra energy unit" that could be fitted to the '84 Cobra. No Engineering. The one concession to 30 years of progress was a single SRV bay and ADS.

The last time I flew it, it could just about hold its own against one or two low-tier NPC pirates. Anything else and all it could do was run away. Although now I come to think of it there have been some additional slots given to most ships and the ADS is integrated, so there may be room in there for a small fuel scoop which would extend its usefulness a bit. Fuel scooping was something I rarely did in classic Elite. Maybe I should give this old build another sortie. She's never been to Sol, which is something you couldn't do in Acornsoft Elite (although it was mentioned in the novella) so maybe I'll do that.
Kudos for that, I like your sense of nostalgia.
 
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would you get a paint job without owning the ship if it was a limited edition?
I did that with at least some of the non-Cobra wireframes. I remember being quite disappointed that when I eventually tried the Python and Fer-de-lance I didn't really take to either of them (although to be fair the Ferdie does look great in wireframe*). And when I finally got an Anaconda, which I love, I found that I didn't like the wireframe skin anyway.

But I'm a bad test case. Even knowing what I now know, I'd probably have bought them all anyway. I'm normally quite resistant to sales pressure but I do have a weakness for strict limited editions. I'd rather have them and never use them, than risk one day changing my mind and not having them. Yeah, I'm a mug.

I'd love it if FD would bring out a really, really amazing limited edition paint job for the Federal Corvette. I've only flown it in betas and it's the only "endgame" ship whose design I really don't like. I'm not a combat-oriented pilot so its potency as a gun platform has never been enough to sway me towards completing my Federal rank progression. Even the ship kits are too vanilla to inspire me. But a really nice limited paint scheme, maybe a camo to break up the dull lines, might be enough to persuade me to buy. Then I'd have motivation for wanting to own one.

*That's what I'm talking about. I've always been disappointed that the FDL -- like the Adder -- looks so unlike its 8-bit inspiration, and maybe that influenced my relationship with it, but I never got on with it as a combat ship either. Its handling is odd compared with the lighter combat-oriented ships and I struggled with the offset seating and canopy. But for some reason that wireframe skin really works. It doesn't do much to convince me there's an actual linear heritage between the 8-bit and ED variants, but there's something about the triangles-within-triangles design that seems to emphasise the raw aggression of an already madly overpowered gunship. It's like it's saying, "This is my business end and you don't want it pointed at you."
 
I have done so already. I know I have the gold Python and I believe that I have a wire-frame for the same. Still no Python yet.

I have a Ferrari key ring. Is it a psychological aspirational driver? People buy a clothes a size smaller so they try to loose weight. This doesn't work with shoes but some women just buy them to keep them in the cupboard!
 
did you know that 'solid' ships would have been possible on the original. Here its running with wireframe 'sklins'


does 'filled' ships improve the game?
 
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I have done so already. I know I have the gold Python and I believe that I have a wire-frame for the same. Still no Python yet.
Too bad they screwed up the Python wireframe paintjob, having painted the side view on top of the ship. (n)
Adding to the insult, they're totally incapable of admitting and correcting their mistake, in a typical arrogant british way. :mad:
 
Too bad they screwed up the Python wireframe paintjob, having painted the side view on top of the ship. (n)
It's not exactly the side view either -- that would have all of the central lines meeting at a single vertex. It's just wrong. It may even have been a deliberate choice, to avoid another set of broken lines going through the heat sink panels. But FD being FD they have never addressed the concerns one way or another so we'll likely never know. It just looks bad though. Once seen, never unseen.
Adding to the insult, they're totally incapable of admitting and correcting their mistake, in a typical arrogant british way. :mad:
To be fair that's not all of us. Just some of us, especially software companies and members of the Cabinet.

If I had to take a punt, and assuming it is an error and not a choice, I'd put my money on this being a management issue rather than a developer issue. In my experience creative types -- yes, even Brits! -- like to get things right, and generally aren't afraid to admit when they've made a boo-boo especially when it's relatively simple to correct. On the other hand administrative people like to put ticks in boxes and move on, never to revisit old stuff if it can be avoided. I bet the art department acknowledges the Python problem, to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if a corrected version is sitting in someone's development folder right now. Whether it makes it into the game is another story.
 
I've rather like the white wireframes (not so much the gold ones) and have:
cobra
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asp
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(incorrect) python
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Anaconda
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(not the best pics I appreciate!)
would you get a paint job without owning the ship if it was a limited edition?
I've bought the FDL but don't have the ship, just in case I decide to get one and the wireframe isn't available.
 
did you know that 'solid' ships would have been possible on the original. Here its running with wireframe 'sklins'


does 'filled' ships improve the game?
You know that second vid of the "unreleased" version is actually Arch Elite. I played that a lot and haveaa copy on original discs somewhere round here. Dont have the Archemedes to run on any more though and risc os on RPi wont run it.
 
For the python the nose is correct, what they've done for the rear is put the side view on top or rotated it by 90 degrees, whatever makes sense to you.

I did the following when it was released, top view of what FD have done in ED on the left, what it should look like on the right:

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Yes, in silver and gold trim for the wireframe itself.

For the angled ships they are some of the best skins available imo.. think python and anaconda.
 
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