Aslan : decent pictures at last... but Tripwire...

[Ishvar]

At last decent pictures for a Traveller book. I know that pictures are what costs the much but they are really important to get a feeling about the game and its universe. To the exception of the ships in the core rulebook, the pictures of Mongoose Traveller books have utterly failed to convey a proper mood or idea about the universe, as far as I am concerned. Many of them are so ugly, or in the better case so bland, that no picture at all would often have been better.

Aslans come as a relief, at last, a sourcebook I can appreciate the pictures. At last pictures conveying a mood and a feeling that the action takes place in the far future. Aslans are sometimes a bit too "lion like" for my own taste but at least the pictures are good to my eyes.

But Tripwire is a step back, page 17, 26, 31, 44, 48, 57 and 68 (and I am very kind with some others) hold pictures that have no place in a professional book, I mean a book that is sold to earn a profit.

This explains why I am very reluctant to buy books about civilian and military vehicles or to buy the Central Supply Catalog. If the pictures are bad, the books are of almost no use to me as I don't care about the game system (I am using my own).

So please, let Aslans set a standard and give us some good pictures in every book.

And please, remember we also need good pictures for 2300AD.

 

[Rex]

My only real gripe with the Aslan Art, was the number of times the Finger Count was screwed up (though, as many cats have more "fingers" then they should, I just played it off as a cat thing). Also, I would have liked some Dewclaw pictures really.

I didn't really didn't find that much fault with Trip Wire (though I was underwhelmed with Scoundrel), but yeah I can see the point there. I liked the Adventure though, even if it does need some GM shove here and there.

~Rex

 

[Ishvar]

I have also noted a few fingers that should not be there, and you are right the dewclaw is not represented.

 

[IanBruntlett]

But Tripwire is a step back, page 17, 26, 31, 44, 48, 57 and 68 (and I am very kind with some others) hold pictures that have no place in a professional book, I mean a book that is sold to earn a profit.

I'm actually running a OTU Traveller campaign and the current campaign book I'm using at the moment is Tripwire. As the weeks and gaming sessions pass, I'm making notes/errata. I've made copious notes to the Tripwire book, to make life bearable while running a very fluid game. I spent hours last night re-reading Tripwire and making notes for quick reference for running the game today, time that could have been avoided if the book was structured differently.

Like I told a friend who's new TV is more than twice the size of mine... Sci-Fi books have the best graphics because they rely on the mind for them

Seriously, though, IIRC, Mongoose' approach to the Traveller line is to develop and publish core rules supplemented by a collection of universes (OTU Spinward Marches being one of them). I'm more concerned with book matters (e.g. having an index at the back that actually lists NPCs, planets and systems).

To summarise : Tripwire is good sci-fi fun, even if it is one of the most demanding modules I've GMed so far. I haven't shown people the art from Tripwire but I've given out photocopies of maps & messages.

 

[Treebore]

I only have Civilian Vehicles handy, but the art in there all looks to be CGI creations, and is not too bad for being black and white. However, I prefer B/W, when it is well done. The B/W art done for the vast majority of Traveller has been very "average", rarely anything exceptional.

The shading/greyscale has been really pathetic.

 

[Mongoose_Will]

Just as a point the Dewclaw is on the cover
(not that that makes you feel any better)

Central Supply Catalogue has some really attractive art if i do say so myself.

it might not be all to your tastes but some of it is really exceptional.

 

[GJD]

I was leafing through one of the books (Scoundrel or Agent I think) and some of the CGI art for the ships was terrible. Apologies to the artist, but they seemed to be flat, uninspired, bump-mapped lumps that bore only passing resemblences to the dekplans. Eucch! I have a very passing ability with CGI, but I'm pretty sure I could do better than them! Considering the real talents there are out there, not only just in CGI, but in Traveler related CGI (Jesse DeGraff, Laurent Esimol), I think Mongoose is really missing a trick.

G.

 

[AndrewW]

I was leafing through one of the books (Scoundrel or Agent I think) and some of the CGI art for the ships was terrible. Apologies to the artist, but they seemed to be flat, uninspired, bump-mapped lumps that bore only passing resemblences to the dekplans. Eucch! I have a very passing ability with CGI, but I'm pretty sure I could do better than them! Considering the real talents there are out there, not only just in CGI, but in Traveler related CGI (Jesse DeGraff, Laurent Esimol), I think Mongoose is really missing a trick.

G.

Well, that would have to be the deckplans have only a passing resemblance to the images as the images are done before the deckplans.

 

[Rex]

Just as a point the Dewclaw is on the cover
(not that that makes you feel any better)

Central Supply Catalogue has some really attractive art if i do say so myself.

it might not be all to your tastes but some of it is really exceptional.

Well I KNOW it's on the cover, but so are extra fingers, and that claw doesn't fit the description very well, since a Dewclaw folds up jack knife fashion, and that thing if it did so, would be sticking out in very odd locations, and certainly, isn't fitting into any sort of glove.

Now, being a practitioner of a fighting art that uses a lot of knives and karambits, I can visualize what the dewclaw SHOULD look like, by the written description, and how an Aslan would fight with it, over their normal claws and teeth as well, but the Cover art, doesn't present it the way it's described really.

The Art present makes the dewclaw look like some sort of giant blade extended wolverine fashion, which certainly, doesn't fit the description well at all.......It should, be something shaped as this:

Standard Grip.....

Or inverted...

For those not knowing what a Karambit IS : http://www.knifehaggler.com/the-5-most-gruesome-karambit-style-knives/

Which, especially the folding ones, is very much the perfect description of the Aslan Dewclaw and how it's shaped and how it folds up....

Fighting with a Karambit is often described as Knife Boxing. Vastly different then Knife Fighting. This picture will show you two of the proper stances, which as you can see, would certainly fit the Aslan :

So in short, I while I like the over all Art of the Aslan book a Lot, I think the ball got dropped when it came to the dewclaw. Other then that, spiffy book.

~Rex.....is on that Knife blog somewhere, hidden and well armed heh....

 

[AWu]

Sorry tu resurrect old thread but i have Aslan Art question.
Throughout the book Aslan are illustrated using particular gun, that have business part much wider than grip part, and what seems to be 3 barrels.

Now this seem specific, and consistent, but nothing in Aslan weapons chapter looks like that, nor is described like that.

So what is it ?

 

[Ishvar]

Sorry tu resurrect old thread but i have Aslan Art question.
Throughout the book Aslan are illustrated using particular gun, that have business part much wider than grip part, and what seems to be 3 barrels.

Now this seem specific, and consistent, but nothing in Aslan weapons chapter looks like that, nor is described like that.

So what is it ?

I suppose that the artists have not been briefed thus far. I don't think that the pictures are really reflecting the "reality" of Aslan designs. The law of physics are such that the Aslan weapons are certainly very close to the human ones, just imagine them a bit differently in order to accomodate to four fingers instead of five and an overall bigger body size. I imagine Aslan weapons, especially those held by the higher classes, as being often decorated a bit like 18th or 19th century weapons where the decoration was almost as important, if not more, as the efficiency of the weapon itself.

In older books Aslan ship and weapon designs had more curves... somehow the opposite of the blunt Vargr designs.

 

[AWu]

But i love the design :>
An i am highly influenced by visuals (they are best in the Aslan book from any Traveller product by Mongoose, and i hope that trend will stay BTW)

I guess i will have to make it myself then