So, reading over where the "big ships" thread has gone about original designs and whatnot, I guess I'm a little confused about things, so let's see if I can get some clarification.
Now, in regards to ADB's license with all this, I'm wondering about the full extent of it. Obviously, ADB's Franchise reference extends only to TOS and the Franz Joseph tech manual. But I get the impression the license is actually more restrictive than that, and even elements of TOS are verboten. Could someone fill me in on that?
As for ship design, this one is where I'm really scratching my head. Obviously, the "big three" (Federation, Klingons, and Romulans) only had one ship class each ever seen on-screen in TOS, and all the other classes were extrapolated from there, plus Franz's additional Federation designs.
One of the issues I'm noticing for myself and some others is how darn similar the ships look for some of the empires, especially the Klingons. The Gorn had that issue pretty bad too until they got the recent redesign. Anyway, I know many of the core designs go back decades, and, to be honest, it kinda shows. If ADB wants to tweak/update some of these designs, what kind of leeway do they have? I know they can't go in directions that would start turning ships into TNG-era lookalikes, but are even minor aesthetic updates not an option? For example, having warp nacelle pylons that are swept back instead of going straight out. Is that an option at all? As for the Klingons, again, can't use any of the TNG-era designs directly, but, if you still look at them, there are HUGE differences in how a Bird of Prey, a Vor'cha, and a Negh'var look, yet they still follow the same basic design aesthetic with the long neck, wing-like appearance, etc. Why couldn't changes like this be implemented with the SFU models?
I know, I know, people don't want to fork over cash for new versions of models they already have, but if there's one thing I've learned from my decade of playing Warhammer 40K, it's that if you make a new model cool enough, people will pay for it. Even if it's for an army/fleet they don't play, or even for a game system they don't even know HOW to play. I have bitz and models from entirely different game systems I use for 40K, plus a half-dozen armies spanning hundreds of models, many of which have never even seen a gaming table. I even collect models from places like Dark Sword for the sheer pleasure of painting them, because they look frigging awesome. I don't think ADB and/or Mongoose would suffer horribly to make some changes/updates to certain ships that need it.
And if you're worried about an in-universe explanation, it's not that hard to tweak the lore slightly, or have these "refit classes" inserted a little further down the timeline. Again, though, I don't know how much leeway ADB gets to changing the lore. But again again, I find myself compelled to take a look at 40K, where, for example, with the most recent codex release, Chaos Space Marines, they've gotten a few new units that never existed in the game before, but the new lore in the book says they're always been there.
Soooo, yeah. Discuss. And thanks!
Now, in regards to ADB's license with all this, I'm wondering about the full extent of it. Obviously, ADB's Franchise reference extends only to TOS and the Franz Joseph tech manual. But I get the impression the license is actually more restrictive than that, and even elements of TOS are verboten. Could someone fill me in on that?
As for ship design, this one is where I'm really scratching my head. Obviously, the "big three" (Federation, Klingons, and Romulans) only had one ship class each ever seen on-screen in TOS, and all the other classes were extrapolated from there, plus Franz's additional Federation designs.
One of the issues I'm noticing for myself and some others is how darn similar the ships look for some of the empires, especially the Klingons. The Gorn had that issue pretty bad too until they got the recent redesign. Anyway, I know many of the core designs go back decades, and, to be honest, it kinda shows. If ADB wants to tweak/update some of these designs, what kind of leeway do they have? I know they can't go in directions that would start turning ships into TNG-era lookalikes, but are even minor aesthetic updates not an option? For example, having warp nacelle pylons that are swept back instead of going straight out. Is that an option at all? As for the Klingons, again, can't use any of the TNG-era designs directly, but, if you still look at them, there are HUGE differences in how a Bird of Prey, a Vor'cha, and a Negh'var look, yet they still follow the same basic design aesthetic with the long neck, wing-like appearance, etc. Why couldn't changes like this be implemented with the SFU models?
I know, I know, people don't want to fork over cash for new versions of models they already have, but if there's one thing I've learned from my decade of playing Warhammer 40K, it's that if you make a new model cool enough, people will pay for it. Even if it's for an army/fleet they don't play, or even for a game system they don't even know HOW to play. I have bitz and models from entirely different game systems I use for 40K, plus a half-dozen armies spanning hundreds of models, many of which have never even seen a gaming table. I even collect models from places like Dark Sword for the sheer pleasure of painting them, because they look frigging awesome. I don't think ADB and/or Mongoose would suffer horribly to make some changes/updates to certain ships that need it.
And if you're worried about an in-universe explanation, it's not that hard to tweak the lore slightly, or have these "refit classes" inserted a little further down the timeline. Again, though, I don't know how much leeway ADB gets to changing the lore. But again again, I find myself compelled to take a look at 40K, where, for example, with the most recent codex release, Chaos Space Marines, they've gotten a few new units that never existed in the game before, but the new lore in the book says they're always been there.
Soooo, yeah. Discuss. And thanks!
too many episodes and trying to type responses between tasks at the office, when I should be working.
So we are like Caesar's wife and try to be above reproach.
