Well that was the idea really, to deal half damage as direct and scatter the other half around as aoe. But you're right, it takes too much attention away from the target.
I like it for sure. I would suggest to add different material for the drilling blades and much more damage sings for the whole drill. Don't forget to share it with animations! :)
Make the the emblems and decorations on the ship a bit less saturated. Why's the canopy so scratched up and not the other parts of the ship that would take significantly more battle damage?
The texture is very noisy, I would remove the noise and instead add more shape-supporting texture elements (edge paint damage, sun bleaching, ground dirt)
Make it fun: Every time you're adding a scratch, imagine the scene in which the shield was being stricken. Also, if the rest of the shield is this damaged, the metal in the middle would be too!
http://www.destructoid.com/review-strider-270429.phtml 9.5/10 Superb: A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage to what is a supreme title.
You did a very nice job destroying your scene :p All the textures, little (damage) details, and athmosphere setup make a polished & believable scene. Love it!
Thanks for posting that Surfa. It was a very interesting read. So they basically cull out an area on the model then replace the culled area with a damage model and use decals to cover the seems?