http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/CenturionAlpha2.jpg

Alpha two released. Figure about four more until beta hits, then beta will be all about getting the other quality stepped versions in line. The next four alphas should come somewhat quicker, thanks to getting the software dialed in.

This is the part where suggestions are best suggested.

Well, Fediroc it could be introduced as new model and replace old one.
Kinda like what happened with ec88 being replaced with 89 with same stats
wraith being replaced by revenant also with same stats.

The size would make it a replacement for either Hornet or Warthog...

What are those bulbous things that look a bit like exhausts in the fore part of the ship?

Like I said, the cockpit size can be changed. Increase the size of the cockpit, and viola! It looks like the rest of the ship is smaller. It's all dependant on what size -looks- right, at the end of the day.

The bulbous things is a thruster pack, one per side. They're angled to the inside to allow better side armor protection. Note how they're nestled in there.

I fear that the ship might lose much of its grace (it certainly looks nice to me) if the cockpit were larger, but perhaps a mock-up employing variously sized cockpits would come in handy?

I still think your ship is not the 'cockpit with engines and gun mount' that the Centurion represents so well (cf. a shot of the Centurion), thus my reluctance to see it as a replacement for it. Then again, maybe the centurion with all its variants could use an image change.

Alpha three:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha3a.jpg

Some weathering done. Figure about 50% complete. Sorry about the graininess, a higher-quality soft shadow render would have taken a lot longer. This one took about thirty minutes.

Whats left:
-Remove texture mirroring for opposite airfoil - I want the airfoils to have independent weathering.
-UV map and texture thruster packs
-UV map and texture engine packs
-Get around to modeling the underslung weapons bay(less than ideal location, but judging from where the weapons originate from, it must be done)
-clean up the damn project folder. currently at 292 files and 1.31 gigs.
-sleep

Toshiro, I understand exactly what you mean. Agreed, this doesn't look anything like the original Centurion. I made this decision based on the stats of the cent as provided by the wiki. It has 8 cargo space as compared to the Vultures 2, that alone accounts for a ton of volume(pun only slightly intended). Actually, the original concept had the cockpit quite a bit larger, and the foils extending out about a third farther. At the end of the foils, they would "grasp" the single cannon, would would appear quite large. That lends itself more to the "man, cannon and bigass engines" concept you mention, but was discounted for a set of reasons:
1: Such a foil would be even less plausible for the story I had arranged for it.
2: the cannon location would be difficult to coincide with the exit vector on the current model.
3: The large cockpit, while tested, look rather comical. I will make some additional renders showcasing different cockpit sizes after I wake up.

Thanks for the feedback! It helps quite a bit.

sleeptime.

(edit. I forgot to mention that the major centurion variants will be represented. no huge changes until we get to the "stripped" model. :P)

I don't know. I think that it doesn't look enough like the Centurion to me. I think that you need to tone down the changes a bit.

Hmm. Now I look at it some more, it looks much like a cockpit, two huge engines and some cargo space. An excellent courier ship, also capable of delivering quick, surgical strikes (extended weapon ports), but not much like the almost minuscule shape of the Centurion. I still think it would nicely replace the Warthog. There has also been some discussion at an earlier point in tim that the 'hog looked very similar to the BSG Viper, although entirely unintentionally. This model would make for a nice replacement, in my opinion.

Edit: The only link between the two parts of the fuselage are the filigrane protrusions from the cockpit, right? Perhaps that would need some revisiting?

I lied about sleep.

Points taken, I'll seriously consider making this a 'hog replacement. I was taken aback by the Hogs similarity to the Viper, just like 90% of people who have also gazed upon it's tri-foil configuration.

Toshrio, since the port-side foil is a copy of the starboard-side foil, the foils need to be almost completely done before the bridge can take place. Well, they can happen sooner, but if any positioning changes occur, they will be harder to mirror on a linked object. I'm also thinking about linking via the thrusters.

(edit, just to be clear, even if I do decide to consider this a 'hog replacement, I will continue to call it the Centurion remodel due to internal reasons. that'd be a helluva lotta files to rename.)
(edit2: feedback needed. The chipping of the blue paint, crap, brilliant, or somewhere in-between?)

There will be no replacing of the 'Hog model :P

Least of all with this split-tail ragnarok looking slop.

IMHO, the revised design still screams Viper. "But IRS", you ask, "that looks nothing like a BSG Viper!" Of course it looks nothing like a BSG Viper- Instead of the BSG Viper, it looks like the Gradius Vic Viper.

SHOOT THE CORE.

I like the fact that you continuously say WHEN the centurion design is altered to your design... not if.

I happen to like the centurion quite a lot, and I have spent quite some time learning how to kill and especially die efficiently in that design. Explain to me why we should change all that again? The way the ship's cross section is makes a lot of impact on how you fight with it, and your desing here will NOT handle the same way a current centurion is supposed to be handled. So, pipe the design somewhere else than my beloved Rev C please.

btw, your design looks cool, if it arrives as the Mustang or whatever name sounds fantastic, I may even fly it

I think this should definitely replace an old ship, just not the Centurion. That ship looks like a fast interceptor, and the name Centurion doesn't quite fit. It seems to me that such a small company did a very good job putting together basic, generic models that look passable, but their main point was so that there would just be something to fly until they could improve the models. I'm not fond of the look of the HAC, and the Trident needs tweaking, but the other cap ship models, which I think were done by a professional graphic artist, are very cool. You are right on when you talk about eye candy drawing an audience, and gameplay keeping them. Keep up the good work.

Your new shots are very nice, but I also have something to say about the cockpit. I think you could increase its size in relation to the rest of the model and it would improve the look. The cockpit is just dwarfed and looks out of place. Maybe if it was about 20% bigger in relation to the rest, and more angular. It's ok if the airfoils or whatever are slightly farther apart.

I do like that you've included actual maneuvering jets! No more mystery of how that works. They look a bit like tumors, but that can be tweaked and I love the idea. It's a very cool looking ship over all.

Sorry about the mirroring problem, should have thought of that ¬.¬

Chaos, why would you make the cockpit more angular? I find it a nice contrast to the Khris-like shape of the foils, no need to make it all look like an 80s car ;) As for the thrusters, they don't look as if they were finished to me... and neither do the engines. I would also change the eight little winglets at the end of the engines into two fins each, running along their middle (think F-15, but not as big).

As a used to be a only centurion pilot, I kind of like the idea of the model being updated, and I do like your ship, and as long as it is as small as the current cent I have no problem with the current render apart from the chipped paint.

Why would a new ship have chipped paint?

To be perfectly honest, the design harkens back more to being a Vulture replacement than a very appropriate one for the Centurion, what with its wide profile from the top compared to the front, and all.

I do like the model though (although, contrary to an earlier accusation, it looks more like the CDX Starworks "Defender" Intercepter than the Scoutship).

Yoda, chipped paint is probably inspired by the old Star Wars. In this case also, it's easier to make a model look realistic if it's got some wear and tear; if there are no flaws it's harder to fool the eye with animation. That's why in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Dr. Sid looked so realistic but no one else did: he had nasty old man skin, plenty of flaws to distract the eye from the illusion. (Please don't tell me Advent Children was better, FF:TSW is my only experience with FF, I'll see AC eventually.) Also, how long before your paint is chipped, with all that space debris?

You're right, toshiro, I don't think those features look finished, and your fin suggestion is a good one. I just think the cockpit gets lost in there, and needs something to make it stand out. Maybe not make it angular, maybe make it elongated a bit. Put a few sensor-looking instruments sticking forward from underneath it.

Wow, opinions seem to be flooding in! Let's see.

Azumi: I'd be delighted if you'd point out where I have said that this ship will be in the game. On the other hand, I could have probably been a little clearer. I have done artwork for games before. Games a lot simpler than this one. Not only is there a LONG way to go before it can be considered "game-ready", I'm not saying if I'm going to be willing to do that. On their side of the fence, there is absolutely no reason they would want to work with me. So, there's very little chance of this mesh being introduced into the game without a lot of work by all parties involved. Next point.

Chaos: Glad you like the exposed thruster concept. Don't worry, they're not done, and they will look much better soon. I'm right there with you - Guild deserves a ton of respect with what they've been able to do with such a small crew. The cockpit sizing will be looked at shortly(with a bunch of renders for you guys to see the difference!) Also note that the cockpit is only really 70% done.

Toshrio: I kind of like that idea. If you guys were able to see the ass-end of the ship, you'd see that the engines end in four nozzles each. I'll get a rear-end render going before I head out to run errands. Hrm. Now that I think about it, I wonder if it won't end up looking way too much like the A-Wing with dual fins. Only one way to find out, expect a test render later.

Yoda: Thanks, I was planning on this thing being rather small. The cockpit snafu really does throw off the scale. Chipped paint ... ahh, chipped paint. I have a love-hate relationship with it. On one hand, it's hard to make the model look super realistic without it. On the other hand, it makes no bloody sense.
I will note, most of the ships currently used by VO use rust-type weathering. There's only one thing I dislike more than chipping paint weathering, and that's overuse of rust. Choose your poison. I will say that very little weathering happens most of the time. Ion storms, however, blacken hulls and peel even the most resistant paint right off. Hence why most of the damage is arranged towards the front.

vIsitor: I have a specific plan in mind for the Vulture. Now that you mention it, it did come out looking a lot like the 'ol Defender. Maybe I should go ahead and move the cannon to between the wings to nix that.

(edit: Toshrio, thanks for touching on one of my favorite design ideas, one I am trying to build into this. Nothing is more interesting to me than smooth shapes that blend in with angular shapes. I find it very fitting for a space theme, and extremely fitting for a once aerodynamic shape modified for the rigors of space combat)

We need some asymmetrical ships.

I think the capships should be more asymmetrical. Fighters may not be. Depending on whether or not we like to pretend that they can still go low-orbit, high altitude, or even fly in the low-altitude soup.

But from a aesthetics standpoint, i'm right there with you.