OK. For anyone still cuddled up in their cave, official photos of the TPG Destroyer, as it's being called by our "source" ( http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/1/12094 ) have now been released. A rehashed photo for discussion is as follow:



(Image clipped for size consideration--see above source picture for full size and extra angle.)

That looks dandy. Now, we need to analyse, after the facts, the accuracy of intelligence work we've done in order to better ourselves for any futur spy shots.

For reference, the "spy shot" thread is here: http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/1/11499?page=1

=======================
Grainy outputs
=======================

The original spy shot was very low in details. Many people tried to toy with hue/saturation/brightness settings to try to gain a bit more clarity of the shot. But, any way you looked at it, none really gave much more information. Notables are

Roguelazer's sharpening test:



And RelayeR flipped image, noting that we could all be viewing this from a bad angle:



It turns out we weren't. The spies who took the shot probably didn't realize space has 3 dimensions.

RelayeR then went for an encore with:



wich didn't help much more.

Cunjo went a bit further and tries to soften the images a bit to try to extrapolate pixel information:


This yielded a more interesting image, but didn't really give out much more details.

=======================
Funky analysis
=======================

LeberMac pioneered LSD-enhanced image analysis techniques ( http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/1/11499?page=2#136357 ) by providing his own "vision-enhanced" take on the spy shot:



Much credence is hard to give on the output of that image. Though, the technique sounds... amusing...

=======================
Model reconstruction:
=======================

A few, well versed in graphic arts, went as far as to try to reconstruct the model by looking at the spy shots and extrapolating on various existing designs and concepts known to the VO universe.

The most notable ones are from:

Roguelazer's 3D renditions:


And Cunjo's linearts depicting possible wing tip details:


wich is quite accurate given the original spy shot.

Now, model reconstruction and comparison aren't always good and one such attempt, by yours truly, was pretty far off:



(I offer no apology for this shoddy attempt but will exercise a bit more precaution next time. Maybe.)

The very best model reconstruction we had seen was from Harry Seldon with this exquisite model:



Harry, CoI would hire you for intel work shall you be available for consultation work!

=======================
Comparison:
=======================

Tumblemonster's Trident shot was the first size comparison post wich could suggest overall size of the TPG Destroyer:



with hints from momerath ( http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/1/11499?page=6#136788 ) we can easily make out the overall size of the thing. We have yet to see actual ship size so it'll be nice to compare when we actually see it in space.

=======================
Post-mortem
=======================

So, given the above, I think that comparing size with other ships might prove useful in overall design reconstruction.

Model reconstruction was the most accurate way of depicting possible ship design, while image adjustment through filtering and hue/saturation/brightness proved not very useful, in this case.

Good job all, most especially Harry Seldon, for a job well done.

As for Leber's attempt, it's filed in the same cabinet as mine.

Review your images and comment on other people's work bellow.

Bwahahahaha ha haaaa....

What's up with the railroad tracks coming out of the back? Those look goofy.

It also looks like the fuselage in between the engines just got forgotten about, both model-wise and texture-wise. That looks sloppy.

Hey I think they're cool... stabilizer fins, cargo racks or something. Like the Maud... or a jellyfish :p

/me agrees with harry about the fuselage between the engines... kind of filler space-ish. I don't think there's anything wrong with the model, but the texture could use a little noise in that area. Also bear in mind the turrets have to go somewhere and it may make a good spot for a gun deck.

why you have to post the softened one eh? lol.

the original noise reduction shot was better... or even the sharpened one, but meh.

BTW, I think Harry's version looks more interesting than the actual product =P

Because it was the only softened image wich gave a more appreciable image. There were plenty other contrast-enhanced images and, from one to the next, neither would give any more details or clue.

So, a more polished image seemed nicer to compare the wide range of work being tried to explore the spy shot.

LeberMac is quite worried about the "tracks" behind it eh? Saw his post in 3 different thread!

I think it's probably just an artifact of image compositing. perhaps, in-game, this will be alpha-ed out with those blue blinking neon lights for docking bays??

Though, it's been mentioned already that there would be NO docking bay on this ship.

I'm confused. How are we to enter this ship? Two from same station dock?

no docking bays?? doesn't seem practical...

No docking bays means you choose it from the "select ship" button, instation. And it has been noted that so far all capships are single-crew. My guess is that once the owner jumps aboard, he will invite other players aboard, and said players will have to be inside the same station the owner was. That would mean that if the ship goes boom, everyone inside goes boom, and there's no chance to bail out before that happens. Then again, this also means facing such a ship is facing many players at a time, unless the owner is dumb enough to go flying by himself.

I still think it's upside-down so we will all fall prey to the misalignment of the universe! :P

[edit] Excellent debriefing, mgl_mouser!