One look at the chopped Cobra 3.5 tells me that given the time, Giles could indeed himself have replaced the entire basic set with something much better looking.
I must say that I'm quite puzzled whenever someone takes the position which sounds like they think that development on Oolite should end with 1.65 and that nothing further should ever happen forever and ever. It's the kind of position that sends me off looking for another game to love every time I hear it voiced. Standing still Oolite is bound to be overtaken. IMO 'Trooliteers' actually show Giles' efforts a lot less respect with their position than 'Nooliteers' do.
No one (at least to my knowledge
) has ever suggested that making Oolite better looking or improving the code would necessitate removing all copies of 1.65 from the Internet or kicking in somebody's doors forcing them to install a newer version. 'Trooliteers' will
always have 1.65 - and if they want true orthodoxy they may consider playing Elite on an emulated BBC (or on the original hardware, of course).
So...I really don't get why people who find 1.65 somehow 'sacred' need to voice that opinion every time others talk about that they would like development of the game to continue and it's looks to improve. Sorry if that position somehow hurts anyone, but IMO saying that much could be improved with Oolite - even radically changed - does
NOT need to imply that one thinks that Giles (and the other coders) didn't do a great job.
My current hardware probably wouldn't be able to handle a v.2.0 of the game (not if half the stuff I'd like in such a version was implemented), but Oolite is actually one of the few things that could make me consider upgrading.
A makeover of the basic set might just be what is needed to attract new players to this game and perhaps among them the horde of coders that it so desperately needs. My guess is that many younger players just need to see the spinning Cobra on the start-up screen and the basic HUD (yeah, my own isn't much less ugly - I'm quite aware
) to close the game down de-install and never return, which is why I don't really buy the argument that improvements should only come as expansions never to be made part of the basic game.
On Sung's textures: They might take the game from a mid-eighties to an early nineties look. I don't really think that they're much of an improvement over the basic set. Compared to ships like the 3.5 Chopped Cobra and the DW-Cobra, they are definitely a step backwards... IMO.
These are my honest opinions on the subjects touched upon and I did not voice them to make friends or enemies.
