After reviewing many user models, I see that they follow the inferior design of FreeSpace 2-type style. I personally think FreeSpace 2 had substandard models compared to FreeSpace 1.
Take the Shivans for example. FS1 Shivans looked mean, evil and intimidating. The more calculated look of the FS1 Shivan-style made me really feel immersed in the whole terror of the Shivans thing. They were more metallic and far more intimidating.
Although some of the Shivan ships that were turning into FS2 style, such as the SD Demon, still looked cool. The Demon looked as hard as rock although it had spikes and stuff. The Nephilim was also a really cool style of making alien ships. It was strange and alien. It was really big, and that made them intimidating. It had loads of gun and missile banks, and defensive turrets. The Seraphim was even bigger and had even more firepower. But I was disapointed when I saw the Taurvi. It wasn't scary, it wasn't big, hell it wasn't even powerful... at all. The Nahema was fast, but it only carried Cyclops bombs. Although the Nahema and Taurvi are cool (the dots on the Taurvi move when you turn on advanced effects), they were NOTHING compared to the 'wowness' of the Seraphim and Nephilim.
The Artemis, Boanerges, Bakha and Sekhmet lost their defensive turrets! FS2 bombers took on the 'fast bombers are better' rather than the 'uber heavy' approach. Although I can appreciate this approach, I would have liked my defensive turrets back. I enjoyed the feel of having a massive bomber under my control rather than 'just a fighter with warheads strapped to it'. I didn't like this as I more enjoyed having something big because it made FS1 have more mission variations, whereas FS2 had simply fighters that were slower with bombs on them.
The Moloch was also stupid. It looked cool, yes, and it had lots of turrets, yes, but it was weak. Very weak. Both the Sobek and the Deimos could pulverize it while only being hurt to around 25-50% AT THE WORST. The Moloch on the front page had an LRed but it got downgraded to a SRed. Why? The Moloch is weak, and it has a flat wall for the fighterbay, but it nonetheless can fit a few fighters in there.
Now for the Ravana. The Ravana looks cool, but what's up with the fighterbay? It's a plain wall! How the hell is a fighter going to come out of a plain wall? And how the hell is a fighter supposed to fit in that little compartment? Does it get transferred part by part through those stupid tubes? All FS2 fighterbays were just a plain, stupid, flat wall. The FS1 ships had tunnels and compartments. This is why I like the GVI Cairo. The concept art of the Ravana shows it with a really cool fighterbay that isn't just a plain wall. The Ravana would be an excellent design if it kept to the concept art.
Now the Sathanas. The Sathanas, although cool, is not Shivan-ish. It looks like somekind of bug. I don't think it is Shivan. The Hades, Hecate and Hatsheptsut also get this stupidness. They have a plain wall for their fighterbays rather than tunnels, like the FS1 versions. Also, I have noticed that some capital ships, mainly the Colossus, have an off-center rotation point. It makes them hard to place and made it annoying to move. I hope new models have centers that are well, in the center. The FS2 Demo with only 2 missions and several multi ones had bombers with turrets. The Nahema is a good example of this. On the back spikes, it has two turrets armed with Shivan Light Lasers. This shows that in the earlier stages of FS2, bombers had turrets. I wish they had not gotten rid of them.
So, I propose that all new models that are made should follow more FS1-ish guidelines rather than the FS2 ones.
