Well, its a common practice when designing, to borrow shapes and ideas from various stuff you've seen and mould it into your vision of what the final stuff should look like (for example, the "head" and the "shell" of the Scout I took from the Spielberg's movie "War of the Worlds", since I liked the "brooding eye" effect when you looked at the tripods from the front). And even if you don't do it on purpose, we have so many fantastic designs of spaceships out there, its hard to really be unique 100%.
So while I have watched B5 for quite some time a while ago, I din't have Vorlons in mind when designing the Xin ships, no. But its very easy to find common factors between them and every other ship design which borrows from nature's shapes.
Since I'm already writing, a little bit of news as well:
The final concept of the Xin race has been formalized. They are going to be the turtlers race. Their ships have 80% higher defensive and offensive capabilities, but also cost more (with a twist - you don't need credits to play Xin, but you do need a lot of metal and crystal) and have double the supply cost. This means the Xin player will always be numerically disadvantaged. But his ships will be able to tear a new airlock on any hapless tincan they encounter to compensate. Also, they are going to be somewhat slower in space (about 15%) and 50% slower in phase. However, they are going to have the ability to build (low slot requirements) Quantum Phase Portals in orbit of their planets, which effectively increases their phase speed to an incredible degree. The effect is simple: on their home turf, the Xin will be very hard to surprise. On the flip side though, they are going to have to work for it.
The numbers are just estimates, pending adjustment during the play testing phase.
Also, by observing the speed at which I am able to make new models and game adjustments, I have decided (bar unforeseen circumstances) to have the mod come out in three installments. The final goal is to have every ship, structure and most if not all of the effects in the game replaced. First out will be the gameplay changes and the Xin race.
The second installment will see the demise of TEC and the rise of The Remnant. Think desperados, underdogs with trash ships, but very cheap and lots of them. Design simmilar to Minmatar from EVE, if anyone plays.
And the third installment should see the merger of the Vasari and Advent into the Hegemony. Where Xin are the turtlers dream come true, and the Remnant cater to zergers among us, the Hegemony would be the balance in between.
Anyway, I'm having lots of fun so far, and making of new stuff has been easier than I thought, so why not. Not to mention the space battles will look a *lot* better if my initial results with the Xin Plasma Cannon are to be an indicator.
