It's not an ugly engine. It's actually very cool looking. I just think that when you designed/sprited the craft, its underbelly was "sealed off" in a sense that anything slapped onto it or added to its current sprite (mounted gun/engine/whatever) will look awkward.

If you want to attach things there, you need to make the craft look like it has places to attach those things to.

Backstory WIP:
NOTE - this is more of an explanation of how some extremely over-powered troops ended up on TradeStar Midas than a piece of CC Fanfiction

In 2475, the first sleeper ships arrived in the area around the Galactic Core, and were startled by what they found. The area was bountiful in heavy metals and rare elements, with quantities no one had ever seen before, thanks in part to the huge amount of supernovae the region had gone through. All of the major empires were quick to respond, sending out mining ships, along with military escorts, in the rare case that their interests were to be compromised. Five hundred years later, the main waves of mining and military ships from the important nations of the galaxy began to arrive. The main forces of three empires* were to reach the area first, as they were by far the largest and most prosperous of galactic states. What was a mad gold rush for resources turned in to a hotly contested squabble, and in the third month of arrival, the first shots were fired. The Core Wars had begun.

Of the three empires that participated in the Core Wars, the Orion Arm Union was the first to mobilize. The OAU was comprised of several hundred planets along a spiral arm of the Galaxy, the first planets to be inhabited by man. They were in the most dire need of resources, as most of their worlds had been laid bare, and the teeming population centers of Sol, 51 Pegasi, and Gliese were still growing. OAU officials knew the only way to stave off their energy crisis was to gain complete control over the Core.

The OAU, like the other great empires, traditionally fought using robots, but the military formed a few extra units of human soldiers to give slightly better numbers. Often referred to as "cannon fodder brigades," human infantry had much higher casualty rates and were given weaker weaponry and armor. For obvious reasons, the organics did not fare well, and the OAU joint chiefs of staff realized there needed to be change. They decided to do research on a new generation of soldiers that relied mostly on shields and cybernetic implants that could compete with their robotic counterparts for a fraction of the price. Initial tests were promising, and a regiment of cybernetic soldiers was formed. The new infantry were dubbed "Strike Commandos."

Despite the possibilities of the new technology, the new regiment was left to an inexperienced new Colonel, a man who paid little attention to his duties. The regiment was boarded on to three large carriers, and a course was set shortly before they entered cryogenic sleep. Only as they woke up approximately half of a milennium later, did they realize a minor orienteering error had been made, and all three ships, full of soldiers, had been carried to a planet on the edge of the galaxy. Instead of arriving at their intended destination in the Core, three ships full of military equipment had arrived at a backwards planet; a planet ruled by a decaying corporation, several guerilla groups, and a few warring robot factions. The Strike Commandos had found TradeStar Midas.

Small Update:
The Dropship (called the Hornet) is almost done, however, I need to fix the sprites before I can post a screenshot. I've spent about 45 hours on it so far. Next update will be just the dropship because I don't want the mod to go without updates for too long.

Will the dropship/Gunship be a Dummy Gunship-esque dropship, or something like the MDC Gunship- With both a gun and an opening?

read like, one page back buckko, it sez that it has a door aswell as the gun

Some WIPs...

For all your carpet-bombing needs.

I'm thinking also about changing the palette:


As for the Hornet, I have run in to unexpected difficulties...

That sprite is beautiful. Do want.

Jon, you are such a tease.

I would love to see your basic soldier in gray, and I love how the dropship looks in both colors.

I prefer the dropship in gold, personally.
The gray is a bit bland, I think.

Edit:
Would this happen to be based on the Orion's Arm universe?

So no, this isn't based on that universe...