My only issue with adjusting spec maps is that no one, and I mean NO ONE, can ever seem to agree on what looks right.
This goes for the Cain and Lilith as well. I'm not (<----- I almost left this key word out... thank god for proof reading) trying to ***** here, I'm just saying that if we make it less shiny, someone will want it more shiny and vice versa.
The issue with the FSU is that we are not making our own ships. In other words, we cannot say "it's supposed to be that shiny, I made it that way!" We can't, because we are remaking the works of others. Works that are having features added that they were never designed to have. Unfortunatly that means that every one on this forum has an equally valid opinion on what V would have made the models look like.
If you want more evidence, check this wiki page:
http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Sample_Lighting_Settings here we have several users posting setting that drastically change spec and other lighting settings to what they think looks right.
I liken this to movie interpretations of books. Someone will ALWAYS piss and moan because that is not the way THEY thought the original author would have made it, if they were given the visual tools present in movie making.