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twistedmentat
Nov 21, 2003

Its my party
and I'll die if
I want to
What is Sci-fi without the ability to go somewhere else? Yes there are Sci-fi that don't feature space ships, I'm aware, so don't um actually me.

The Klingon Bird of Prey

My favorite ship out of them all. It is aggressive, cruel, mean and tells you everything you need to know about the Klingons just looking at it. When it was designed, it was intended to be a Romulan Ship that Kluge stole, but that had to be removed, and this designed informed pretty much all Klingon designs to come. Until Discovery, where the Klingon ships look like poop.

Imperial Star Destroyer

A simple design, just a point, but it makes sense to bring maximum firepower to a single point. Again, it tells you what you need to know about the Empire.

Earth Alliance Starfury

Best Starfighter, it actually takes into account how objects move in space, by having directional thrusters that enable it to move in any direction. In the show you can see them making full 180 turns to keep firing at things behind them. I'm not sure if standing to pilot them had a benefit other than saving on not having a seat?

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Farmer Crack-Ass
Jan 2, 2001

this is me posting irl
Starship Enterprise
(movie version)


304.8 meters long

Forums user CHICKEN SHOES put it best:

CHICKEN SHOES posted:

gonna go ahead and say 1701A or whatever model was in the movies with the rectangle nacelles was the best enterprise and could beat up the borg and a SSD and is super tough and cool and gets all the hot girls

Also I love the bridge set in the first four movies. I have a dumb criteria by which I judge sci-fi ship bridges: is this a place I would be totally thrilled to visit and gently caress around in? And the movie bridge is extremely yes, there are so many tactile buttons.



Space Pirate Battleship Arcadia
("blue" or "sharp-nose" version)


400 meters long

Arcadia obviously derives heavily from Space Battleship Yamato, but with substantial variations. A highly automated starship, crewed by only 41 people (and a cat, and a bird), Arcadia is the ship with which Captain Harlock fights to protect Earth, and which he and his fellow misfit outcasts call home.

This ship is admittedly silly. It's even sillier than the space battleship Yamato because Our Heroes usually steer this ship with an old-fashioned ship's wheel, and because of the stern gallery, and because it flies a flag that flutters, in space. But it cuts such a lovely line, and I love the show it comes from so very much.

egon_beeblebrox
Mar 1, 2008

WILL AMOUNT TO NOTHING IN LIFE.



The Satellite of Love!


The original Enterprise!

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




twistedmentat
Nov 21, 2003

Its my party
and I'll die if
I want to
Yea Movie Enterprise is by far the best. But TOS is pretty amazing too for the time and budget of the show.

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




twistedmentat posted:

Yea Movie Enterprise is by far the best. But TOS is pretty amazing too for the time and budget of the show.

both of them are amazing for being weird, spindly designs w only a single axis of symmetry, which nonetheless look good, proportionally sound, and clearly oriented from any angle at almost any distance

Falcorum
Oct 21, 2010

twistedmentat posted:

I'm not sure if standing to pilot them had a benefit other than saving on not having a seat?

They had no gravity, so no reason to have seats. :v:

Farmer Crack-Ass
Jan 2, 2001

this is me posting irl
Also, for straight-line acceleration, being in a "standing" position is much better for tolerating g-forces.

MonsieurChoc
Oct 12, 2013

Every species can smell its own extinction.


From the R-Type series.

Uncle Lloyd
Sep 2, 2019

egon_beeblebrox posted:

The original Enterprise!

No bloody -A, -B, -C, or -D!

twistedmentat
Nov 21, 2003

Its my party
and I'll die if
I want to

Squizzle posted:

both of them are amazing for being weird, spindly designs w only a single axis of symmetry, which nonetheless look good, proportionally sound, and clearly oriented from any angle at almost any distance

Yea, they could have easily just made the rocket ships that were so common at the time, but they did something that was really out there, and probably no one had seen before.

Honestly I think Star Trek has the best track record for cool designs for ships






Star Was has iconic ships too, aforementioned ISD, the Falcon, the X-Wing, but did they introduce any cool new ships in the Sequel Era? At least the Prequels gave us the Venator and CIS ships, its just here's another Star Destroyer that looks like all the previous Star Destroyers. I've mused many times that no one working in effects currently has any idea how to make a decent looking ship. Actually Kylo Ren's Tie Silencer was pretty cool.

Even Mass Effect Andromeda for all its lovely ways, gave us a great hero ship

dialhforhero
Apr 3, 2008
Am I 🧑‍🏫 out of touch🤔? No🧐, it's the children👶 who are wrong🤷🏼‍♂️
Battlestar
(Both Galactica and Pegasus)



Absolutely loved the reimagined BSG take on both the Galactica and newer Pegasus.

Viper Mk. II and VII



So it goes without sating I loved these. The Mark II is the best but I would take either.

dialhforhero fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Apr 28, 2020

Farmer Crack-Ass
Jan 2, 2001

this is me posting irl

twistedmentat posted:

Star Was has iconic ships too, aforementioned ISD, the Falcon, the X-Wing, but did they introduce any cool new ships in the Sequel Era? At least the Prequels gave us the Venator and CIS ships, its just here's another Star Destroyer that looks like all the previous Star Destroyers. I've mused many times that no one working in effects currently has any idea how to make a decent looking ship. Actually Kylo Ren's Tie Silencer was pretty cool.

I feel like there's been a shift in how things are done with regard to effects houses, and I've peripherally heard about things like effects houses constantly either on the verge of bankruptcy or even just straight-up going under. I wonder if there's so much churn going on that there's no longer the opportunity for the sorts of in-house cultures to form that used to be around. But even that doesn't quite explain the Star Wars sequels, because ILM is still around.

I also have been griping for ages now about how sound effects have been losing their punch. Everything is pips and squeaks now. Someone had the idea that maybe today nobody's bothering to do analog foley work any more and are instead just digitally tweaking what already exists in the library (or perhaps, just synthesizing from whole cloth bytes).


I've love to read a book (or even just a long-form article) that goes into how production technique, technology, and philosophy has changed over the past 20 years. If there isn't one out there then surely it deserves to be written.

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




Farmer Crack-rear end posted:

I feel like there's been a shift in how things are done with regard to effects houses, and I've peripherally heard about things like effects houses constantly either on the verge of bankruptcy or even just straight-up going under. I wonder if there's so much churn going on that there's no longer the opportunity for the sorts of in-house cultures to form that used to be around. But even that doesn't quite explain the Star Wars sequels, because ILM is still around.

I also have been griping for ages now about how sound effects have been losing their punch. Everything is pips and squeaks now. Someone had the idea that maybe today nobody's bothering to do analog foley work any more and are instead just digitally tweaking what already exists in the library (or perhaps, just synthesizing from whole cloth bytes).


I've love to read a book (or even just a long-form article) that goes into how production technique, technology, and philosophy has changed over the past 20 years. If there isn't one out there then surely it deserves to be written.

picard had better tech-sounds than the entirety of berman-era trek. forcefields and shields had thumping sounds that made them feel like barriers instead of like thin curtains of sparks

Punished Chuck
Dec 27, 2010

twistedmentat posted:

Star Was has iconic ships too, aforementioned ISD, the Falcon, the X-Wing, but did they introduce any cool new ships in the Sequel Era? At least the Prequels gave us the Venator and CIS ships, its just here's another Star Destroyer that looks like all the previous Star Destroyers. I've mused many times that no one working in effects currently has any idea how to make a decent looking ship. Actually Kylo Ren's Tie Silencer was pretty cool.

The sequels didn’t have new designs period. Everything in TFA was just the original trilogy designs but made a little stupider, TLJ was original trilogy designs but significantly stupider, and TROS I don’t think has anything new really. Even the Silencer is just a TIE interceptor, but bigger and stupider.

twistedmentat
Nov 21, 2003

Its my party
and I'll die if
I want to

Chuck Buried Treasure posted:

The sequels didn’t have new designs period. Everything in TFA was just the original trilogy designs but made a little stupider, TLJ was original trilogy designs but significantly stupider, and TROS I don’t think has anything new really. Even the Silencer is just a TIE interceptor, but bigger and stupider.

I can live with this is just an updated version of an older design because that's how development works. A current X-wing will look a lot like a 30 year old version. Though it is unforgivable for TROS to literally slap a big gun on the existing Star Destroyer design and say "Oh yea this thing is like 10km long". It was like the guy responsible was too busy playing Fortnite and then realized he had design A ship and just slaped the thing together in a few minutes. Actually if that was the reason, a lot of ROTS would be explained.


Farmer Crack-rear end posted:

I feel like there's been a shift in how things are done with regard to effects houses, and I've peripherally heard about things like effects houses constantly either on the verge of bankruptcy or even just straight-up going under. I wonder if there's so much churn going on that there's no longer the opportunity for the sorts of in-house cultures to form that used to be around. But even that doesn't quite explain the Star Wars sequels, because ILM is still around.

I also have been griping for ages now about how sound effects have been losing their punch. Everything is pips and squeaks now. Someone had the idea that maybe today nobody's bothering to do analog foley work any more and are instead just digitally tweaking what already exists in the library (or perhaps, just synthesizing from whole cloth bytes).


I've love to read a book (or even just a long-form article) that goes into how production technique, technology, and philosophy has changed over the past 20 years. If there isn't one out there then surely it deserves to be written.

Yea, I can believe that. And its probably to do with CGI. You can do whatever you want now, but it probably costs way more to start up and keep the lights on than it did when it was just models made from parts you could get at a hobby store or make yourself out of fiberglass and vacuum moulded plastic. I'd also not be surprised if technical skill is valued over the creative in the industry as well.

This is all why I want to see more of Dune. I want to know what the Highliners look like, the are the Atredies frigates going to look different from the Harkonnen? I know Dune isn't exactly a spaceship based property, but it is the only major Sci-fi movie on the horizon. I'm hoping Disco season 3 will give us some neat ships, but based on Picard, i'm not too hopeful.

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




twistedmentat posted:

I can live with this is just an updated version of an older design because that's how development works. A current X-wing will look a lot like a 30 year old version. Though it is unforgivable for TROS to literally slap a big gun on the existing Star Destroyer design and say "Oh yea this thing is like 10km long". It was like the guy responsible was too busy playing Fortnite and then realized he had design A ship and just slaped the thing together in a few minutes. Actually if that was the reason, a lot of ROTS would be explained.


Yea, I can believe that. And its probably to do with CGI. You can do whatever you want now, but it probably costs way more to start up and keep the lights on than it did when it was just models made from parts you could get at a hobby store or make yourself out of fiberglass and vacuum moulded plastic. I'd also not be surprised if technical skill is valued over the creative in the industry as well.

This is all why I want to see more of Dune. I want to know what the Highliners look like, the are the Atredies frigates going to look different from the Harkonnen? I know Dune isn't exactly a spaceship based property, but it is the only major Sci-fi movie on the horizon. I'm hoping Disco season 3 will give us some neat ships, but based on Picard, i'm not too hopeful.

michael chabon was prob a big part of the lackluster ship design in picard. for all his other strengths, he just dgaf about ship/tech porn. he astutely notes that trek is about people, society, morality, etc. but his complete lack of concern for the shiny space bits means, as showrunner, he was prob just telling folks to fill the sky w 1 to 2 big piles of space boat, dont sweat the details

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




contrast discovery, which even up to this pt has churned out a ton of new designs, unfortunately mostly by john eaves. (im not a fan of eaves designs [and esp not a fan of eaves/drexler designs])

the best of these is the magee-class because its a flying saucer

twistedmentat
Nov 21, 2003

Its my party
and I'll die if
I want to

Squizzle posted:

contrast discovery, which even up to this pt has churned out a ton of new designs, unfortunately mostly by john eaves. (im not a fan of eaves designs [and esp not a fan of eaves/drexler designs])

the best of these is the magee-class because its a flying saucer

Yea, the Federation designs are pretty good, I really like the Walker class and the Nimitz and Shepard are nice too. Klingon ships though, what the gently caress. What the hell is the Bird of Prey? Plus the others just look like ugly lumps. The D7 looking amazing though, kinda makes up for it.


Squizzle posted:

michael chabon was prob a big part of the lackluster ship design in picard. for all his other strengths, he just dgaf about ship/tech porn. he astutely notes that trek is about people, society, morality, etc. but his complete lack of concern for the shiny space bits means, as showrunner, he was prob just telling folks to fill the sky w 1 to 2 big piles of space boat, dont sweat the details

Ah I can totally see that. Seems like in the past they'd have the effects department/production design teams do their thing, and then decide what to use, but in this its like "whatever, just as long as there's something to look at" and didn't have any meetings about it afterwards.

dudeness
Mar 5, 2010

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:
Fallen Rib
Mother loving HEIGHLINERSSSSSS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVEQRj_WJG4&t=36s

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




twistedmentat posted:

Yea, the Federation designs are pretty good, I really like the Walker class and the Nimitz and Shepard are nice too. Klingon ships though, what the gently caress. What the hell is the Bird of Prey? Plus the others just look like ugly lumps. The D7 looking amazing though, kinda makes up for it.

the walker looked even better in concept art imo

Gravy Jones
Sep 13, 2003

I am not on your side
Liberator and Vipers already posted so I'll go with:







Apparenlty I like ships that give birth to other vehicles. On top of these I was going to nominate GSV Sleeper Service from Iain M Banks Excession which takes that idea to the nth degree.

Gravy Jones fucked around with this message at 09:23 on Apr 29, 2020

100YrsofAttitude
Apr 29, 2013




I always liked the ships in Cowboy Bebop. I like how they often function as boats too, it's a neat detail.

The Bebop:


The Swordfish:


The Redtail:


The Hammerhead:


I also really love the very blocky polygonal look of the F-Zero racers, but I don't think those are spaceships so they probably don't qualify.

Hunter Noventa
Apr 21, 2010

I'll always have a soft spot for everything in the original Macross.

The Macross itself.



And the Valkyries.




The awesomeness and utility of the transformations just does it for me.

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




100YrsofAttitude posted:

I also really love the very blocky polygonal look of the F-Zero racers, but I don't think those are spaceships so they probably don't qualify.

according to my extensive research (google to find video game wikis) they are “jet-powered racers” that “have no tires, but use G-Diffuser systems to float a foot above the surface” (smash bros melee trophy)

however there is a space ship associated w the fs-zero

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1qvbUqKAP0

Name Change
Oct 9, 2005


The Romulan D'deridex Warbird is basically the coolest ship there is, with only the star destroyer holding a candle.

Loden Taylor
Aug 11, 2003

The Executor from House of the Dying Sun



Just a nasty little wasp-like interceptor with a fantastically modeled cockpit and great sound design.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56fCuO7JEy4

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




Sodomy Hussein posted:

The Romulan D'deridex Warbird is basically the coolest ship there is, with only the star destroyer holding a candle.

you are dropping some hard truths itt

Farmer Crack-Ass
Jan 2, 2001

this is me posting irl

I think my favorite bit of trivia is how they repeatedly melted the green bulb at the back of the Liberator.

twistedmentat
Nov 21, 2003

Its my party
and I'll die if
I want to

Squizzle posted:

the walker looked even better in concept art imo



Huh, its upside down in the show. Is this like the reliant originally being the other way but the director saw it upside down and that's why it has its nacelles on the bottom rather than top?

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




twistedmentat posted:

Huh, its upside down in the show. Is this like the reliant originally being the other way but the director saw it upside down and that's why it has its nacelles on the bottom rather than top?

nope, its just a function of early discovery being good ideas buried underneath collisions of bad ideas

imo the clearly best way to proceed from that concept is to move the nacelles forward (keeping the pylons roughly where they are now) and make the housing around the deflector dish rise more distinctly out of the saucer

make the whole thing look like a weird grasping claws

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




trek ship design has been stuck in a deepening rut for almost a quarter century

Name Change
Oct 9, 2005




Basically, this ship looks wildly different than anything else on the show, even other Romulan stuff, achieves the same sleekness as the Federation ships in a different way, is a really awesome color, and actually looks intimidating. So like pretty much all TNG show designs, it's on-point and accomplishes its story role without anyone having to sell it in dialogue. It helps that it usually appears out of nowhere.

On a technical level, it's basically an invisible warship powered by a black hole. If it goes into too fast of a warp speed, it causes time fuckery.

Farmer Crack-Ass
Jan 2, 2001

this is me posting irl

Sodomy Hussein posted:

On a technical level, it's basically an invisible warship powered by a black hole. If it goes into too fast of a warp speed, it causes time fuckery.

My recollection is that the time fuckery from Timescape was not from the Romulans trying to hotrod their Warbird, but due to aliens nesting in their singularity.

Name Change
Oct 9, 2005


Farmer Crack-rear end posted:

My recollection is that the time fuckery from Timescape was not from the Romulans trying to hotrod their Warbird, but due to aliens nesting in their singularity.

Ah yes, that is correct, my bad in misremembering.

Farmer Crack-Ass
Jan 2, 2001

this is me posting irl

Sodomy Hussein posted:

Ah yes, that is correct, my bad in misremembering.

As punishment I demand that you post more rad spaceship pictures.

Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




im here to drop a hard truth you folks might not like but will see the truth of: starfuries are just uglier gunstars

Name Change
Oct 9, 2005


Farmer Crack-rear end posted:

As punishment I demand that you post more rad spaceship pictures.

This is the Ferengi Marauder, which was mostly abandoned as a thing when the Ferengi did not go over well as a race of dumb piratical goblins, and instead became dumb capitalist goblins. Insofar as I know it does not show up in DS9 at all.

I think maybe the main criticism or perhaps quality of its design is that it looks like the back should be the front and vice versa. Instead you have a reverse trilobite design that is at least distinctive, but presents two ships depending on what angle you're looking at it from.







Squizzle
Apr 24, 2008




the marauder and the romulan war bird are both probert designs btw

best trek ship designer ever

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Animal-Mother
Feb 14, 2012

RABBIT RABBIT
RABBIT RABBIT

egon_beeblebrox posted:

The Satellite of Love!


After looking it up, I've learned Pearl's ride was called "The Widowmaker." :roflolmao:

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