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Author Topic: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)  (Read 18210 times)

nomadic_leader

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #30 on: June 07, 2017, 11:03:24 AM »

What qualities should a mascot ship have (in my opinion, in no particular order.)

Uniqueness Should be something that has a unique starsector look, not a star wars shape (eagle/falcon) So onslaught would be good.

Correct role should typify experience of starsector. The game still doesn't know what it's about though. Is it about being a scrappy hobo smuggler? Eh, its so easy to get a big fleet with derelicts and low prices of ships now. Is it about having an uber fleet? One thing that's universal is NOT STARVING OR RUNNING OUT OF GAS IN SPACE. So a support-ish ship that balances combat abilities.

Good sprite aesthetics. The sprite should actually be well drawn and convey volume and shape, not just a mass of pixels. The quality of sprites has improved since the game started, but a lot of the early ones are meh. It should be a more recent or upgraded one.

Cuteness A mascot should be cute and relatable. That's why religions have more relatable saints, prophets, messiahs as their mascot, as a middelman for the 999-armed all powerful super being backing them up. An onslaught or big ships are not cute. So probably frigate size. The problem is all the small sprites have way too much details and just look like pixels, in most cases.

So I think the winner is...

THE MUDSKIPPER

-Cute underdog
-Okay sprite for a frigate, not obviously derivative of star wars etc
-Both represent the balancing act between support and combat (Skipper Mk II)
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SCC

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #31 on: June 07, 2017, 11:06:40 AM »

Why would we want flying gauss cannons with spare gauss cannons in cargo bays as a mascot?
I'm not sure, but though Apogee and Odyssey's sprites are somewhat old, they're still unique and good looking.
By the way, we aren't in Japan, we're allowed to have hardcore mascots. Onslaught is hardcore and ok for a mascot.

Megas

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #32 on: June 07, 2017, 11:57:47 AM »

The ship needs to be iconic.  Examples from other games:  Sapphire yacht in Transcendence.  Endless Sky may or may not have a mascot, but the Berserker (an interceptor one step above the starter Sparrow) is the app icon.

For id FPS, probably either Cacodemon or Cyberdemon for classic Doom.  Likely Shambler for Quake.

Nobody wants to pilot a weak ship appropriate for a helpless civilian or villain mook.  That rules out stuff like shuttles or Hound.

If you want a relatively early ship that is somewhat heroic, well-balanced, and iconic of Starsector, Hammerhead is the best fit.  If you want a frigate instead of a destroyer, maybe Wolf since that is classic, somewhat common, and is one of the starters.  If you want something rugged and more civilian, Wayfarer could do it despite being a relative newcomer.

If you want powerful bad boy with an attitude, like Darth Vader from Star Wars, Cyberdemon from Doom, Shambler from Quake, or Ur-Quan dreadnought from Star Control, as well as iconic of Starsector, Onslaught is the best fit.

If you need a second bad boy to go head-to-head with Onslaught, like Freddy vs. Jason, Paragon is probably its best fit rival.
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intrinsic_parity

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #33 on: June 07, 2017, 12:16:09 PM »

I think the problem with frigate size ships is that a big portion of the sprite is covered by weapon sprites, so different weapons completely change the look of the ship. It should definitely be destroyer size or bigger. My vote would be on apogee or hammerhead.
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nomadic_leader

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #34 on: June 07, 2017, 12:39:26 PM »

The thread isn't about icon of starsector, but mascot. What is a mascot?

A mascot is not a champion. Achilles was not the mascot of the greeks. Agamemnon was not the mascot either. They would have been disgusted at the notion.

This is a mascot:


 They are a goofy sidekick that mostly emphasize good qualities by counterexample, not example.

Onslaught is not your mascot.

You are mascot of the onslaught.
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Drokkath

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #35 on: June 07, 2017, 01:41:56 PM »

Indeed the ship needs to be iconic, so I thought of Fallout 1,2,Tactics,3,NV and the 4th game main icons for a moment. All have (except New Vegas) one thing in common: Powered infantry armor's helmet faces. In Fallout 1 the strongest armor in the game is the T-51b, in the second game it's the Enclave's insect-faced post-war advanced power armor aka APA. You probably get the picture where I'm going with this: Something unique, agile, fast, highly mobile but with high endurance, high health/armor, strength, power and weaponry. Hammerhead pops up in my mind yet again.

I tried flying a XIV variant of Onslaught today in simulation's battle to see what all the rage about it is and when I say flying what I really mean in case of the Onslaught is slug-slow turns and a short and fast burst of a burn drive along with extra guesstimating not only the target's trajectory but your own projected vision of where the ship should be to fire accurately at that general point B or C direction at hostile ships. Took down two other Onslaughts with my own unaltered XIV variant and ended up using the ship's own armor plating as a shield as I ran out of the usual normal energy shield protection faster due to high flux build-up from the attacking ships. Now I know why Onslaught is all the rage in general across the game's community. Speed and turn rate is just awful but once you get the ship eventually turned and moved either left or right and forward and finally get to fire from the broadside or even better when all the fore is aimed at a hostile ships.. yeah, brutal display of force and carnage indeed, yikes. I mean ended up using the ship's own armor plating as it's main defense while getting the nasty end from the other two Onslaughts. Gotta be mivonks-to-the-wall crazy to pull that off in any other ship and still survive with only minor scratches on the hull. o_o Good thing is I'm mivonks-to-the-wall crazy myself, but still.. Woah!

Oh right, the mascot thing, I agree. I already wrote the post on the icon subject so, eh. Somehow the topic rolled on the icon subject so pardon me on going further. :-X 'scuse me.
« Last Edit: June 08, 2017, 01:04:53 AM by Drokkath »
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For I dipt in to the future, far as my gazer eye could see; Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be.

tinsoldier

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #36 on: June 07, 2017, 02:09:21 PM »

The conquest, not only is it the picture google has when you search "starsector" it is also alex's twitter avatar.

Other than that, The apogee is certainly up there. one of the most recognizable ships, and it is on the home page.


Spoiler
[close]

Spoiler
[close]

I didn't specify image search! :^)



Google is obviously customizing your results based on a history of "Conquest space-porn" searches you've made.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2017, 02:13:14 PM by tinsoldier »
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SCC

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #37 on: June 07, 2017, 02:10:57 PM »

@Tinsoldier you really shouldn't add your comments inside quotes, you should make them after a "[/quote]" (last one) or, at least, differentiate your comments from the rest of the quote.

tinsoldier

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #38 on: June 07, 2017, 02:13:49 PM »

@Tinsoldier you really shouldn't add your comments inside quotes, you should make them after a "" (last one) or, at least, differentiate your comments from the rest of the quote.

Just didn't scroll down far enough, thanks for the heads-up.
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Gothars

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #39 on: June 07, 2017, 02:35:54 PM »

The thread isn't about icon of starsector, but mascot.

Good point. Another one for the Hound, I believe :)


balls-to-the-wall crazy
space-porn

Language, please.
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tinsoldier

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #40 on: June 07, 2017, 02:52:38 PM »

space-porn

Language, please.


Sorry, adult-themed photography of disrobed spaceships.
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Dri

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #41 on: June 07, 2017, 03:10:38 PM »

Hehehe, I know it is generally frowned upon to discuss moderators but Alex and Gothars do seem a mite overzealous at times... ;)
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Wyvern

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #42 on: June 07, 2017, 03:14:59 PM »

Hehehe, I know it is generally frowned upon to discuss moderators but Alex and Gothars do seem a mite overzealous at times... ;)
No, actually, I don't agree.  In fact, I personally wouldn't consider overzealous to outright delete the offending posts.  (Yes, posts plural; when you get a slap on the wrist for making statements that aren't in good taste, digging a deeper hole is not the appropriate response.)

Edit: ...Come to think of it, this post is at least a bit off topic, and I wouldn't mind if it gets deleted along with the previous six or so.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2017, 03:17:29 PM by Wyvern »
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PCCL

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #43 on: June 07, 2017, 03:16:56 PM »

Hey, it's alex's (virtual forum-shaped) house. His rules, I say...

As far as gothars goes, I'm sure alex agrees with what he's doing... If not I suspect we hear about it sooner rather than later
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Alex

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Re: (Un)Official Starsector Mascot Ship(s?)
« Reply #44 on: June 07, 2017, 03:20:58 PM »

Hehehe, I know it is generally frowned upon to discuss moderators but Alex and Gothars do seem a mite overzealous at times... ;)

Yeah, please don't - really not something I want to have a discussion about, very much an "is how it is" situation.

... and, yeah, @tinsoldier: that's ... not the most well-considered response.

As far as gothars goes, I'm sure alex agrees with what he's doing...

110%.
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