Starbright, I think that's looking way too big, now.
With a whole floor full of little windows, that's starting to look more like a corvette than like a fighter.
Well, it's neither; rather something in-between; but so is the Llama, 40 meters long, and look how
a pilot looks in it:
http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/forum ... 39#p113939
Let's see, Franklin:
http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/wiki/Vessel:Franklin
No length given; 40.63 tons
Llama:
http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/wiki/Vessel:Llama
No length; no mass; ... hmm.
Well, in-game, in MyFleet, my Llama's stats say 366 tons; so even if the Franklin is 200 tons, but with a thinner body, it would be about the same length as the Llama. So, I think the original cockpit was roughly about the right size --for one pilot, single seat, that is.
Now, since it's a diplomatic ship, what about passengers?
I'd say that passengers would probably NOT be all lined up behind the pilot. Probably they'd go a floor below and have passenger-like windows on the side of the hull, or something like that.
Note that if you make the ship much larger than it already is, maneuverability would suffer so much as to make all forward guns useless. Since this ship has a lot of forward gun mounts; this implies that it is fairly maneuverable (so you can steer the ship to aim), and therefore rather smallish. Heavier ships would only have a forward mount if it was a heavy mount, i.e.: for a large weapon, such as to attack slow-moving capital ships with; but otherwise would rely more on turrets than on forward guns.
Besides; you're jumping too soon to adding detail, IMO; unless you really like the overall shape of this thing (I think it's ugly as sin). Adding details increases the polygon count, and makes working with the general shape all the more difficult. So, the first things to tackle are the large elements and over-all shape. And before doing that, we need to think about what this thing IS, and what it's made out of. I think that a ship sold as a diplomatic transport should look rather luxurious, or at least expensive.
More importantly, we need to ask whether it has atmospheic flying capabilities. If so, aerodynamics are important, and it should be less boxy, more round, and the body should taper, rather than flare, towards the back; or else the wings should be swept forward, not back. If not, then we can work with the current shape; but do something to make it clear that the "wings" are NOT wings, but something else.
Either way, the "wings" need to be welded to the fuselage earlier, rather than later. Effecting a welding after there's a lot of subdivision is rather hard.
Either way also, we need to add engines somewhere; I mean thrusters: back, forward, maybe lateral...
Ultimately, there's no reason the Franklin even needs to resemble the shape it has now. What it has to do is convey the idea that it's a diplomatic shuttle, meaning nice-looking; with a lot of forward guns, therefore pretty maneuverable; big enough for a diplomatic contingent, yet small enough that people buy them as personal transports. We also know it is made by the Andolians, and therefore should look high tech.
That's the general framework. If we can, additionally to this framework, make it somewhat evocative of the original (current) Franklin, so much the better in terms of nostalgia factor.
To make it look "luxurious" or "expensive", I think we could use some glass shapes, and visible inner structures. Still one cockpit dome; but maybe some small parts of the fuselage behind the cockpit could be glass, and show inner areas with seats behind the glass.
To make it look maneuverable, it should be not so long as it is now, and have four bi-directional thrusters, two above, and two below the "wings".
To make it look like it can carry a diplomatic delegation, like I said, some glass, and side-hatches for passenger boarding, with small windows perhaps.
To make it have so many forward weapons, we probably need an additional pair of "wings" near the front for four smaller weapons, and two larger ones could mount on the rear wings, farther apart.
To make it look Hi-Tech, but not overly complicated, what we could do is make it obvious that it is made of many parts, like armor-covered areas revealing hull underneath; and the armor could be made to look like it has been custom-shaped, as opposed to using stock, rectangular plates, say.
The rear gun is presumably turret-mounted, so the back of the fuselage could taper down to a circular back-end, where a turret mounts.
The back "wings" could be shaped in such a way as to make it obvious that they are not aerodynamic, e.g. by having transversal ribs; and the vertical "shields" at the ends of them could attach via flimsier tubular structures, be made bigger, and turned into heat radiators.
The thrusters could also be made to look like they are covered with protective plates, but revealing detail underneath, between plates.
Just ideas to inspire you.
Check out Wing Commader's Venture corvette:
http://wcpedia.com/dw/doku.php/wc_info/ ... te/venture
But that's a lot bigger; it's a corvette; and it's Wing Commander; not Vegastrike; just for a hint of what could be done.
If we decide it should be an atmospheric flyer, then perhaps this nasa plane would be a better inpiration source:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost ... ostcount=1
But apparently the Andolians don't make atmo flying ships, according to the art-style guide...
From the art-style guide for Andolians:
Primary distinguishing color ranges: Slate gray (see Hawking)
Common accent colors: Electric blue (see Hawking)
Frequently visible: Andolian products generally project an aura of refined efficiency. Not as utilitarian as some of the Unadorned designs, Andolian designs have clearly functional origins, but are highly polished (figuratively, not literally) in their construction. There is little extravagance, and less flash, but Andolian ships are not exercises in simplicity - they are exercises in restraint. Andolian ships, aside from fin-mounted radiators, are fairly solid in the construction of their main bodies and betray little resemblance to their aerospace forebears, being entirely unsuited to atmospheric flight. Ordinance, however, is readily mounted in unenclosed spaces where more efficient. Cockpits or other crew quarters are usually located centrally, and beneath the heaviest sections of armor - the Andolian economic machine can produce replacement parts faster than it can produce new pilots, although their stocks of both are formidable. Andolians make heavy use of automation, and their larger craft tend to require much smaller crews than that of other groups. With the exception of the Tesla, which in many ways is merely a gun emplacement masquerading as a ship, the Andolians prefer using larger numbers of turreted mounts to spinal mounts on anything larger than a corvette, even on craft heavily geared toward energy weapon combat. Admittedly, the Andolians prefer missile engagements to energy-range combat in the first place, and equip their capital ships with numerous point defense arrays.
Rarely visible: Cockpit-like windowed areas will never be seen on Andolian MILITARY vessels (although they do appear on civilian vessels). All Andolians already experience augmented reality and see no benefit to seeing real photons over having the image constructed entirely artificially, especially when it means they can put more armor between the pilot and the outside world, or place the pilot in a more central position for less severe maneuvering stress.