Federation Commander

Check it out guys. This cover was a fun one for me, since I painted the background myself this time.

Beautiful artwork! My question is what is the kitty-cat shooting at?

/Paul

Gorgeous. Great job on the background.

I never cease to be impressed with your compositing - the ship looks like it was painted as part of the same image, as opposed to pasted on top of it (as so often happens with CGI).

Incredible as always. I too am interested in what's actually going on there.

Edit: In the first render I posted, one of the textures wasn't showing up properly on the Lyran, and I didn't notice it somehow. I've posted the ACTUAL final image.

As far as what's going on in the image(and who they're fighting)...that is a surprise I'll leave for when you actually read the story.

Thanks guys!

Really cool pic Adam.

When we gonna get some more Omega love though?

Awesome job, Adam.

But now I'm going to be spending the next month trying to figure out what's being shot at...

Big, Deranged, Moral Eels?

Ah, well. Great artwork!

I wonder if it's meant to be the Lyran ship which ended up in Aurora in 2573, or one which contacted the Koligahr via wormhole in 2611?

(The former ship was listed as being a CL, though - and in neither case does it seem overly likely that much shooting was involved.)

Gary... I'm guessing that the image in the left hand side of the picture is a "black hole / singularity / etc" - not a wormhole.

The two bands of "smoky looking" material would then become dust clouds orbiting the singularity while being sucked into it's gravity well... and that would then make the bright flash at the focus of the spirals the visible light portion of the EM spectrum being emitted as the matter crosses over the event horizon!

Of course, all this is pure conjecture. It could just as easily be two Branthadons with sub-space smoke screens flying in a complex, mating ritual.

Beautiful - it's already my new background image

The image is a "vortex" which opens a portal to another ... place ... (another galaxy, another part of this galaxy, something). The vortex alternates between pulling here-to-there and there-to-here. Instruments are badly confused near a Vortex. Everybody knows what they are and whenever one shows up, sends a ship or three to investigate and see if some alien ship pops through and needs rescue or needs to be captured and have it's technology pilfered.

Bummer - and I thought I had it right. Oh well, vortexes are good, too.

New terrain... new rules... new tactics... new (ehem) discussions on how to implement those rules...

Well, as the author of the story all I can say is that:

1) The Doomward is a Lyan CWL (as opposed to LDR)
2) Yes indeed that is a Vortex not a wormhole. If there is a difference (heh)
3) Vortexes are very bad things to have in your area. SVC has it right (as he should as designer of the mileau)
4) And NO, I don't know the darn Lyran ID symbols

SCOUTDAD, I don't have the physics background, but the story should give you a good reason to think what I am guessing you are speculating. Like I said, I invented wormholes pretty much "whole cloth" with any inconvenient stuff left out and stuff that makes the story neater (tm) added.

FAIR WARNING; this story and scenario was designed to REWARD those of you that have bought the more obscure R, Omega, Triangulan modules in SFB (I am not a Fed Commander player). I wanted to let in some more "mystery" to the mix. You should be asking "WTF is this?" "Who are these guys?" LABS DARNIT!


Very stoked.

And INNOCENT? Who is this you refer to?

Very cool art Adam. Thanks

4) And NO, I don't know the darn Lyran ID symbols

That is Far Stars markings in the art, I think? The county that's in/near the unexplored "off map" areas of the Lyran Kingom.