I don't think it's a good idea to blatanty imitate existing weapons, it does not help make empires look unique, obviously it must look good, but it can do that without copying real life.
Art and real life imitate each other all the time. That's not a huge issue. It's just a similar profile. If anything, it validates that it's possible and realistic. However, I will agree that 1:1 copying gets you no where. I think what Empires needs is some good concept artwork to really set the style of everything. A consistent look is mandatory at this point of maturity.
Chris, if you haven't already realized, everything is based on previous designs. (OMG CAN'T BE). Every designer through out the history has taken influences from then currently available items and objects. Then they mix all those influences in their heads and add their own touches to them and then let the design come out as new object. Sure. You can try to make a totally unique item without taking influences from anywhere but that will most likely fail or take seriously long amount of time. Only thing which you shouldn't do is to make too... egregiously similar object to some other object. I can quarantee that 90% of nowaday's objects can remind some people from some other earlier objects. Even you most likely will remember some object or item which reminds you of some other object or item. There is very small percentage where an object or item doesn't remind you of anything previously made.
Yes, and the image I posted shows that the design is an almost identical clone with very slight proportional differences and a different magazine. Hence why I said it isn't a good idea to just copy things rote, it should look at least slightly novel. The original design is better, it has considerably different proportions and a different theme.
It's a plastic airsoft gun... Edit: Where's the imitation Chris? Yes both guns have a barrel, both guns have some sort of clip, both guns have a handle and both guns have a support. But don't all guns have those (excluding support)? So. Point to me where mayama's gun is imitating XM8?
Every suggestion on the forum put the design closer to those two real life guns. So you basically dont want something that looks different because you dont have the patience to get used to a different design.
Dude I just told you that design was fine. I posted that in response to zenarion's modified version. There's like a giant picture at the top of the page with them next to each other, and it's not mayama's design. Mayama's is considerably shorter and has a very different stock, as well as generally a different theme. This one: Is perfectly alright, it doesn't look like any gun I can think of and it has a theme apart from most existing guns. It's also much shorter which makes sense for a shotgun, it should be a short range spammy weapon, rather than a long range one, so it doesn't need to be big like a rifle. Read will you?
He said he likes Mayama's design. He was referring to zenarion's concept. Perhaps you should reread the last page or two.
/me whistles and points at the GAU-8 Avenger. Based on a drum. Rounds are as big or bigger than shotgun shells, diameter wise.
