Arrow class Reloaded

Lynx

Spaceman
Our Arrow model which was seen on some earlier screenshots had some serious smoothing issiues and other errors and ass-ugly textures so we decided it's time to turn our attention to that model. Now it's fixed. :)

For those who don't know the Arrow:

The F-96B Arrow, the premier ConFleet light fighter, was initially designed as a pure reconnaissance fighter that relied on speed rather than weaponry and early manufactured versions were deployed with Special Operations Command. However, by the conclusion of the Battle of Terra, ConFleet’s entire inventory of Ferret and Epee light fighters was virtually exhausted and the Space Force required a new ship to replace them. This is the fifth model throughout the last 500 years of the Confederation to be called the Arrow.

With a good percentage of Confed’s shipbuilding shattered from the Battle of Terra, there were precious little resources available to construct both fighters and capital ships. Cost and lack of facilities made BuShips desperate for cheaper and economical designs; thus, when the task of replacing Confed’s light fighter inventory fell upon BuShips, they saw fit to simply modify an existing fighter for mass production rather spend precious money and time in R&D for a new ship. The choice came down to either the F-96A Arrow or the F-71A Stiletto in a heated contest which the Arrow won due to its better weaponry, speed, and agility.

The new Arrow model, which excels in both reconnaissance and point defense, became known as the F-96B. The Arrow’s design and features incorporated the lessons learned from design flaws in the Epee and Ferret. The Arrow packs more armor than the Ferret and more than twice as much as the Epee and its energy shields incorporate a new generation of phase shielding that rated stronger than that of the esteemed Broadsword torpedo bombers.

Up until the Arrow, all of the Confederation’s light fighters only carried two beam weapons or mass-driver gatlings and no more than four missile hardpoints. However, the new Arrow variant boasts twin laser cannons and twin ion guns as well as eight missile hardpoints. A slight reduction in fuel capacity, range, and endurance comes as a cost for all that firepower, but these traits were still a marked improvement over the Epee and Ferret both.

Currently the fastest and most agile fighter at Confed’s disposal, the Arrow has proved itself highly maneuverable with an uncanny ability to perform the “autoslide” combat maneuver, thanks to its next-generation thrusters. A highly aggressive little fighter that a pilot straps on to, rather then into, the Arrow has become a favorite of any pilot who prefers sheer flying technique over raw firepower (heavy fighter pilots tend to think in opposite terms) to overwhelm and defeat the enemy.

arrow3d.jpg
 
Now that's what I call some smooth lines....god I love the shark mouth on the front...run kittys run...
 
SpaceDrake said:
A month of inactivity, and then raw tastiness. Awesome work guys.

Who says we had been inactive in this time ? It's rather the contrary, we were to
busy to even post a tiny update here (and we want to tease you a bit ) :D
 
I am. :D

That's no bumpmapping, just a simple texture. I didn't use any effects on that render. What you'll see here is exactly what you'll get in WCS(plus a metal shine for the hull, reflective cockpit glass, glowmaps, etc ;) )
 
Judging from this and the Hellcat pictures, I'm assuming you guys got the whole smoothing issue on surfaces thing figured out?

Looks nice, though something about the canopy makes me tilt my head.
 
Love the model, but one question, after making the rest of the model so nice and detailed why do you make the guns nothing more then just simple cylinders? This seems to be a trend with your recent remodelling efforts.
 
It would simply be a waste of polies. I mean, we are not creating professional WC-Renders here, but we create a Action-based Space-Flight-Simulator, so we have to look a little that the model don't break the game-performance.

Of course we could create a 3000 polygon Arrow-Fighter, and it would look awesome, but then the game-play on a medium-class PC will shortly become a pretty diashow when a dozend of them cruising around in the area, and I'm quite sure that you guys are not interested in that.

Besides that, while playing, you wouldn't have the time or the view-angle to watch such minor details. You will be busy enough staying alive. :D
 
hmm... hlp has been down for 4 days in a row. I advise the WCS team to temporaly switch to the internal here on CIC
 
I say, let's wait till tomorrow. Looks like those gamespy-suckers don't fix servers
on sunday :(

But when we start again using a second forum things might get messed up.
Besides that, since I now have a new computer I lost the bookmark-entry, could
you mail me the link to the alternative forum here ? I think I still now the Password
though.
 
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