CoolProps Unveil Predator Hound Concept Maquette!

Started by Corporal Hicks, Jul 19, 2019, 09:20:46 AM

Author
CoolProps Unveil Predator Hound Concept Maquette! (Read 14,897 times)

The Old One

The Old One

#15
I never considered it but I think you're completely correct.
And I imagine the horn appendages easily sheared if necessary by the owner. Depending upon the environment.

Voodoo Magic

Quote from: Tubecity on Jul 22, 2019, 04:29:31 PM
Regarding the 2010 hounds' antlers/horns/spikes, I never saw that as impractical. Quite the opposite- I always assumed that the Preds bred for long horns precisely because the cheek- and neck-antlers prevent the animals from eating anything on their own. They can't destroy the prey, or at least it's harder for them to rip things to shreds, and, perhaps more importantly, they depend on the Preds for food. So they become trainable and obedient. Maybe the designers didn't intend that but I always assumed they did.

Bred with large horns?

Well... hmmm.. maybe.. possibly.. could it be...?
Naah.  :)

You almost had me, that's some good thinking on your part, real good thinking, but those horns would get caught up and stuck in all sorts of foilage in the chase that would jerk their pretty heads and snap their necks. 

Of course, they conveniently clear the hounds' paths in the film, but I can't see those horns be anything other than counterproductive to the chase.



But I still like your thinking!

Tubecity

Tubecity

#17
Old One- thanks!
Voodoo- ha ha, well, I'm grateful for your consideration. I see your points. But... Isn't impracticality one of the defining characteristics of the Predator character? Isn't that what makes him seem powerful and alien at the same time? He makes all kinds of impractical stuff work... somehow?

Wrist-blades- pretty impractical.
Extendo-spear- fantastically impractical.
Shoulder-mounted firearm- largely impractical.
P2 Murder frisbee- very impractical unless you explain it as some kind of semi-autonomous self-propelled drone
Storing hand weapons of any kind on one's back- intensely impractical (AVP spears, various swords in the expanded universe, etc)

I like the 2010 hounds because somehow it felt like the design flowed with the essence of the Predator character, while also being quite new (and not just a repacking of the same old basic beats)- they seemed like a believeable development of the mythology. 


The Old One

The Old One

#18
Oh yes definitely, the Predator is a walking contradiction.

Kradan

Quote from: Tubecity on Jul 22, 2019, 08:34:42 PM
Wrist-blades- pretty impractical.
Extendo-spear- fantastically impractical.
Shoulder-mounted firearm- largely impractical.
P2 Murder frisbee- very impractical unless you explain it as some kind of semi-autonomous self-propelled drone

I can kinda agree about smart -disk. But wristblades, spear, shoulder cannon - what's wrong with them?

The Old One

The Old One

#20
Mostly impractical. But fun.  ;D

Voodoo Magic

Quote from: Tubecity on Jul 22, 2019, 08:34:42 PM
Old One- thanks!
Voodoo- ha ha, well, I'm grateful for your consideration. I see your points. But... Isn't impracticality one of the defining characteristics of the Predator character? Isn't that what makes him seem powerful and alien at the same time? He makes all kinds of impractical stuff work... somehow?

Wrist-blades- pretty impractical.
Extendo-spear- fantastically impractical.
Shoulder-mounted firearm- largely impractical.
P2 Murder frisbee- very impractical unless you explain it as some kind of semi-autonomous self-propelled drone
Storing hand weapons of any kind on one's back- intensely impractical (AVP spears, various swords in the expanded universe, etc)

I like the 2010 hounds because somehow it felt like the design flowed with the essence of the Predator character, while also being quite new (and not just a repacking of the same old basic beats)- they seemed like a believeable development of the mythology.

No, I don't equate those two at all.

Hell Hounds,

How is it not front heavy when sprinting, sending its head crashing into the ground?

How does it eat or drink when those spikes keep its mouth at a distance.

How do those spikes not get caught/hung up by surrounding foilage and environment as they sprint after their prey?



Even though I still like them, Hell Hounds design is flawed and impractical and needed a bit more thought, made evident by you developing breeding theories to explain their impractical structure.

But Predators,

like humans, are intelligent lifeforms that are enriched and beholden to their culture, probably even more so. And human hunters to this day challenge themselves by using more primitive weapons like bows and arrows, knives, hog hunting swords and yes spears (google it) to hunt as it was previously done in human history.

So considering this, when you say a Predator using a spear is "fantastically impractical", there's no fan theories required to explain it. Just look around you.

So the two do not equate.

That said, I am happy the Hell Hounds do exist though.  :)

Tubecity

Tubecity

#22
Voodoo,

Forgive me, I wasn't clear. I wouldn't for a second claim that using a spear is impractical. The thing I love most about the Preds is their use of simple hand weapons, despite having advanced tech. And a standard spear is one of the most practical weapons there ever was, clearly.

I said that the Pred extendable spears or 'combi-sticks' (dislike the term) are impractical. A spear is a great weapon because you can use its full length, striking while staying as far away as possible. It's pointless to have a spear that is designed to be held only in the middle, with all kinds of blades and prongs down the length from either end of the central grip. Only half the length is usable, while the other half does nothing but get in your way and help prevent you from using the thing effectively.

Pred weapons, the iconic ones, seem cool and alien because no human culture ever came up with them. No human culture ever came up with them because they are impractical. Strangely, that's what makes them work for the Pred character. And they go 'shwing' of course. Everybody likes that.



Tubecity

Tubecity

#23
Also, what I meant about the Hounds' training- the whole point is that they can't eat or drink on their own. They're bred that way. Their lives depend on being hand-fed by their trainer.

Weight- the antlers don't look that heavy, do they? Their necks are big and musclebound. That bit never bothered me.

Tubecity

Tubecity

#24
But basically I agree with you Voodoo, covering a hunting hound used for pursuit of prey through dense jungle in long antlers does seem pretty impractical. But that's why it works for the character. A garden-variety dog creature that looks and behaves too much like an Earthly dog (as in The Predator) doesn't work, because it's too recognisable and familiar. It fails to be suitably alien and exotic, and becomes, well, cute.

The Kurgan

The Kurgan

#25
Gotta break a lance for most of the pred's gear here.

We should not forget that these are hunting tools first, not war weapons. They are used to hunt down and kill a single target, not to kill the most targets as quick and effective as possible.

If you consider the way the pred stalks his prey, climbing through trees, over walls etc it makes sense that their main gun is shoulder mounted, it leaves the hands free to climb or even fight in hand to hand while shooting. Same with the extandable spear, you can comfortably carry it around without it getting in the way or using up one hand while tarzaning through the jungle. And I don't think it's supposed to be a war spear like humans used them in historical infantry combat. More like a throwing spear that can double as a melee weapon.

I give you that the wrist blades are quite impractical weapons , but i always thought they are more of the predator's version of a hunting knife or an last resort sidearm at most.

The disc... maybe to kill targets that are to big for the thrown spear? No idea  :P


JungleHunter87

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Jul 22, 2019, 07:59:51 AM
Quote from: Voodoo Magic on Jul 21, 2019, 03:59:16 PM
I don't mind different species of pups.

Completely agree. It's a none issue for me. It's just about the designs of the different breeds. I certainly prefer these over the ones in the film *shudders at the dreadlocks*

That was all I meant. I don't mind there being different breeds/species of dogs in the Predator universe. I just wasn't too keen on the design in the film or this maquette. As I said, I think it's headed in the right direction. When compared to THE PREDATOR's horrible dreaded predator pound puppies. Still looks like it needs more design work is all imho.

Voodoo Magic

Quote from: The Kurgan on Jul 23, 2019, 12:11:51 PM
Gotta break a lance for most of the pred's gear here.

We should not forget that these are hunting tools first, not war weapons. They are used to hunt down and kill a single target, not to kill the most targets as quick and effective as possible.

If you consider the way the pred stalks his prey, climbing through trees, over walls etc it makes sense that their main gun is shoulder mounted, it leaves the hands free to climb or even fight in hand to hand while shooting. Same with the extandable spear, you can comfortably carry it around without it getting in the way or using up one hand while tarzaning through the jungle. And I don't think it's supposed to be a war spear like humans used them in historical infantry combat. More like a throwing spear that can double as a melee weapon.

I give you that the wrist blades are quite impractical weapons , but i always thought they are more of the predator's version of a hunting knife or an last resort sidearm at most.

The disc... maybe to kill targets that are to big for the thrown spear? No idea  :P



To me the wrist blades are fine considering their such avid climbers and need to be hands free. They also harken back to the spiked guantlets of medieval times. Actually there are a great deal of medieval weapons that were terribly impractical.

But all I have to do is look towards Martial Arts weapons to see the Predator's tools and weapons, including the disc, is no more impractical. The throwing stars, especially the nunchucks are horrendously ineffective, yet still practiced today out of tradition - not usefulness. And it would seem the Predators are all about tradition.

SuperiorIronman

Quote from: Tubecity on Jul 22, 2019, 08:34:42 PM
Old One- thanks!
Voodoo- ha ha, well, I'm grateful for your consideration. I see your points. But... Isn't impracticality one of the defining characteristics of the Predator character? Isn't that what makes him seem powerful and alien at the same time? He makes all kinds of impractical stuff work... somehow?

Wrist-blades- pretty impractical.
Extendo-spear- fantastically impractical.
Shoulder-mounted firearm- largely impractical.
P2 Murder frisbee- very impractical unless you explain it as some kind of semi-autonomous self-propelled drone
Storing hand weapons of any kind on one's back- intensely impractical (AVP spears, various swords in the expanded universe, etc)

I like the 2010 hounds because somehow it felt like the design flowed with the essence of the Predator character, while also being quite new (and not just a repacking of the same old basic beats)- they seemed like a believeable development of the mythology.

Funny thing is that the Predator's weapons do have counterparts in the real world.
The combi-stick collapses for ease of storage, but they are used as throwing spears and stabbing tools. Spears are literally so practical that in older wars (before firearms became common) was the go-to weapon. And when you don't have access to projectiles, that is what you'd use to hunt because it's aerodynamic to throw.
The wrist-blades are a modern take on the gauntlet sword. The gauntlet sword's biggest issue was its center of mass and being awkward to carry around, no longer a problem when it just retracts.
The Smart-disk is basically a high-tech chakram
And even the shoulder cannon (while it's still unlikely we can get plasma to fire like that) is practical since the whole point was to be hands free. Hell, there was a guy who did an airsoft version of it.

The Predator's arsenal (most of it) is based on weapons and gadgets you'd find in the real world. It's part of how it's so believable, we to an extent know what the Predator's using. And while we wouldn't use a chakram to hunt a deer, they would because part of the point isn't just to hunt and kill it, it's the bragging rights of not only what you killed but how you did it.

The Kurgan

Agree with nearly all that has been said, just not the wristblades as a full blown melee weapon.

Don't get me wrong, it works good the way it was used in the movies but in a fight with something that actually also uses a melee weapon or is one, like the Alien, using it is a good way to lose the hand.

The gauntlet sword had a gauntlet for exactly that purpose.

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