[SHIP] The Raven [WIP]

[itg]

Hey everyone, after a playing a few ship mods this week, I decided to try my hand at making one of my own. This was sort of a learning project (my first time using the GIMP for anything serious), but I am pretty happy with the result so far.

The Raven is a drone-focused ship which gets the boss version of the defense drone mk II in lieu of shields. I intend it to be challenging to play. Currently, shields can be purchased at the shop, but I am leaning toward taking them out altogether. Your starting weapons are breach bombs I and II, along with a beam drone. Naturally, the plan is to bomb shields and weapons, then let the beam drone cut them to bits.

Since this ship is totally reliant on drones, you start with a drone recovery arm, and since you don't have shields, you get long range scanners so you can avoid asteroid fields and solar flares.


Systems/subsystems

Engines: 4
Weapon: 3
Drone Control: 3
O2: 1
Piloting: 2
Doors: 1
Medbay (3-man): 1
Reactor power: 9
No Sensors, no shields

Weapons and drones
3 Weapon slots
3 Drone slots
Breach Bomb mk II
Breach Bomb mk I
Beam drone
Defense Drone mk II (boss variant, uses just 2 power)

Crew
1 Human
1 Engi
1 Slug

Hull
36 hull points

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated! Specifically, I would like your thoughts on:

--The hull. Details I may have forgotten, mistakes/imperfections, general aesthetic suggestions.
--I think I have everything that needs to be here except the gibs (waiting on that in case I want to change the hull), but please let me know if I forgot something.
--Balance/mechanics. I want the ship to be challenging, but of course it's bad if there are too many autoloss situations. Also, should I let shields be purchased, or not? Again, keep in mind it's a challenge ship.
--Theme/backstory. I don't really have anything in mind, but a plausible backstory is always nice. I'm sure there's a "nevermore" quip in there somewhere. Title and crew could easily be changed to fit a good theme.

Update: Fixed the bugged door in the medbay and properly centered the ship. There is no shield room on the ship, now. Others have experienced bugs with this sort of thing, so I'm sure I will, too.

Download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7y1OA ... sp=sharing






Imgur links in case the images are cut off or don't display:
http://imgur.com/0P4BPUS
http://imgur.com/YSgVI5W
http://imgur.com/Nljgg8I

[itg]

I just played a full run with the Raven. The early game was tricky, especially since the defense drone misses like 2/3 of the lasers it shoots at, to say nothing of the ones that are expected to sneak by. I might try tweaking the shield graphic to see if I can improve the drone's aim. Once I got shields, though, the game was a breeze--basically like playing the Torus with a drone recovery arm and defense drone--so I'm further inclined to totally remove shields from the ship, and see if it's still playable. I also found an odd bug where by guys refuse to use the bottom door to the medbay--any idea what might cause that?

Here are some action shots from the flagship battle: http://imgur.com/a/49tY6

[Sleeper Service]

I also found an odd bug where by guys refuse to use the bottom door to the medbay--any idea what might cause that?

The door might not be connected to the surrounding rooms correctly. You can try connecting it manually in Superluminal. The hull graphic and layout are both well done. Very good job for a first try!

Some minor comments:
- Because your mirrored parts of the hull, the shadows in the front flow in the wrong direction (ships are always lighted from their front left)
- In case you haven't done that, I recommend anchoring the ship correctly (anchor lines should touch rooms) and then using Superluminals calculate optimal offset function. As seen in the boss fight, the ship is offset a little much to the right. /Edit: Ah ok, I see thats done already.

[itg]

Thanks for the input! Any idea how to fix the lighting direction? Obviously, most of the shadows are "built in," and it seems even tougher to move the bright spots.

Edit: Also, it looks like shields are still showing up in the shops. You can buy them, but you don't actually get shields. I've noticed other ship mods have similar problems. Any idea how to fix this?