posted
I still don't think it's that scary. Maybe some big guns, grapplers, or hull cutters. It needs impressive looking weapons and propulsion. Although pirates sometimes enjoy killing people, it's better if they can scare a ship into giving up without a fight. Maybe a color change to black/dark grey or green would help too.
Also, think about how this ship would operate. How does it find it's prey. Does it hide among asteroids or is it stealthed? Does it need to knock a ship out of warp? How does it transfer stolen cargo (physically or by transporter)? Does it have enough storage space?
-------------------- When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
I think I'm with Masao. It's sort of cool and obviously it's well rendered, but it looks too vanilla right now for a proper pirate. I would expect a pirate vessel to depart significantly from the clean lines of Starfleet. Plus that gives you an excellent opportunity to put some quirky details on there and give it some scale. As it stands, I'm not really getting any real menace from it.
Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
I don't really agree, actual Pirates used average ships that anyone could buy (or capture) and they didn't repaint them or modify them to be more menacing, save the pirate flag. Its the idea that a pirate is after you that scares a merchant. Personally I like a more human design for a pirate ship, besides having a super distinctive ship makes you easier to find at port, a pirate would want to blend in until he would want to reveal himself. Sure he might have a secret pirate base, more often than not he wouldn't, but in order to get from said pirate base to your target area you would probably have to slip through Star Fleet patrols and then slip back out. Now what Star Fleet Captain worth his gold braids wouldn't stop a ship with spikes, a pure black paint job with the Jolly Roger boldly painted on the bow?
Registered: May 2002
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posted
Paladin, you're confusing pirating with privateering. Privateers were legitimate trading ships that had a "letter of mark" from a ruler giving them permission to conduct attacks against the shipping of another nation. The privateers would be the ones who would launch surprise attacks by concealing their identity until they get close to the target, then raise the flag and make the attack.
Pirates, on the other hand, don't care about hiding their identity because they're loyal to no one, and attack just about anyone.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
I don't think modern pirates operate in the yo-ho-ho way anymore. They usually slip onto a merchant vessel using Zodiacs or other fast, small boats under cover of darkness, put off or kill the crew, disquise the ship, and pilot it to a corrupt port to sell the goods or transfer it to another ship. Where's the romance? Large merchant ships have such small crews that piracy is easier today. Also, your insurance company advises you not to resist.
So, depending on your SF paradigm, Trek piracy might be like the 18th century Pirates of the Caribbean or the 20th Strait of Malacca.
-------------------- When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
I agree with that, but a pirate would still want to be able to have a cheap, dependable ship that could just join the flow if he had to slip a SF patrol. Being all big and bad is great and all, but eventually Star Fleet would crack down and the smart ones would be the ones that look like any other ship. A good pirate has "balls" yes, but he shouldn't be stupid.
Registered: May 2002
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posted
Well, space is really really REALLY big, so IMHO 23rd century pirates can survive 18th century style. Plus, there's a lot of 'neutral' space, and a number of equally 'neutral' alien governments to get protection from.
BTW, it's over 30 degrees Celcius here, so I'm not particularly in the mood for CorelDRAW 8)
New and improved (?), with grappler, laser cannons, Big Giant Gun, and still two launch tubes.
These beasties hang out in asteroid fields, and are definitely not suited for high-warp raids in interstellar space. Basically, they hunt in packs and attack supply ships, civilians, hospital ships and other 'weak' targets as they enter a solar system or are in orbit around some unprotected planet. Preferred territory includes 'failed' colonies, busy trading planets and semi-neutral systems.
The aft section is basically one big inline warp engine, with an impulse unit in the sphere. Those little things are indeed thrusters. The midsection is largely empty, with a big transporter system to beam up the booty. As these are usually heavily customized ships, there are probably also Groupers with complete container-towpads or some heavy-duty tractor beams to haul larger treasures. The forward section is mostly for the crew. These ships are obviously not intended for long-term missions, and they're definitely no pleasure cruisers.
Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
"Deadly Viper"? Is that ship crewed by Mountain Snake, Black Mamba, Copperhead, Cottonmouth, and Sidewinder, by any chance? B)
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
Add a few grasers to the sides, then we're talking. As for a pirate ship, in my experience they're usually more scroughy-looking and neglected, the Kazon-vessels are perfect examples.
As for the prize, I don't think I can have any cookienips ready for this weekend, I'm taking orders from all over. Maybe tuesday, I could fix you up, best speed. I'm out of those little "certificate of authenticity"-stamps.
-------------------- "I'm nigh-invulnerable when I'm blasting!" Mel Gibson, X-Men
Registered: Aug 1999
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