TBD.
TBD.
TBD.
(Lightly edited discord conversation with Matt that spawned this ship.)
Vakasa — Today at 9:16 AM
Do you have any civilian ship you need made? Or any non-military ship, really.Morgul — Today at 9:28 AM
Hmm. Obviously more ships is more better-er, but the non-military side is pretty thin...Ok, so, here's one. Re-reading some of the old stuff, I gave David a personal ship that was non-military. All the details don't matter anymore, but it did give me the idea. So, the Ex Nihilo is, in essence, taking a new ship, and modifying it. But what about a souped up old ship? The "my dad and I used to work on this thing in the garage when I was growing up" project car kind of ship? Like and old muscle-car, but maybe recently rebuilt and modified to be fucking awesome (if not entirely practical anymore.)
Vakasa — Today at 9:34 AM
I think that would be a damn fun design. Ok, a series of boundary questions: 1) what sort of ship did this start as? Freighter, yacht, merchantman, shuttle? 2) Let’s assume that the current owner is number six. What did owner 3 use it for? Passengers, legit cargo, smuggling, personal housing? 3) What’s the boast that’s made about the ship? (Like Han boasting about the Falcon’s speed)Morgul — Today at 10:14 AM
So, I'm trying to think what the equivalent of a muscle car would be in this universe. Shuttles feel like the analogue to cars, but they're short range by definition. The military ones are longer range; I think civilian shuttles are mainly designed for 'in-system' operation generally. If you need longer haul, that's going to be a freighter or merchantman, just kinda period. This would be one of the use cases for a light freighter, I think.Vakasa — Today at 10:16 AM
Light freighters service some loop of relatively close systems, heavy freighters can go across a nation’s space, everything else just fits in betweenMorgul — Today at 10:17 AM
That feels right to me. A light freighter could, if the stops were planned well, traverse large distances, but it's like driving cross-country in something that gets 5 MPG. You aren't going to enjoy it.Morgul — Today at 10:29 AM
Here's what I'm thinking.
- Started life as a light freighter.
- Third owner was a pilot for Hazard, Inc. They specialized in making deliveries regardless of situation. (Middle of an active space battle? No problem! Planet have yearly storms that make entering the atmosphere impossible for 6 months at a time? Pfft, we got this.) Unfortunately for the owner (and Hazard, Inc) they made their corporate headquarters the Charlemagne system...
- "She might not be the fastest, and she might not be the prettiest, but she'll fly you through the Tera Aurelia plasma fields with no instruments, half an engine and a steely look in her pilot's eye. Ask me how I know."
Vakasa — Today at 10:32 AM
Ok, so, tough little ship with heavily upgraded armor and engines? Probably a fairly upgraded reactor, too? (Since the two options for going faster are more mass and POOOOOOWWWWEEEERMorgul — Today at 10:34 AM
Yeah, I like that.
Like, if space tractor pulls were a thing, this ship would wreck face.Vakasa — Today at 10:35 AM
And old, yeah? Like, the ship was launched a century ago?Morgul — Today at 10:42 AM
Could even be as old as 250. Something where some people go, "ooh, classic" and other people go, "what the fuck is that scrap heap?"Vakasa — Today at 12:46 PM
Meet the Hazard Hawk 90
Light freighter with some serious legs both in real space and subspace. Her cargo clamps are equipped with a proprietary launching system to fling their payloads towards their final destinationMorgul — Today at 12:50 PM
Oooh, I like it!
I'm a sucker for an articulated wing.Vakasa — Today at 12:59 PM
And it’s actually on a joint! It actually articulates
The cargo clamps are showing two of the possible payload units two are basic cargo pods, one is empty to show the launch system (I think the spiral grav vane originated here) and a personnel pod, designed to deliver people.Morgul — Today at 1:02 PM
So her current owner is an engineer. I'll bet she's got some fun stuff-built modules.Vakasa — Today at 1:06 PM
Ever since I first saw the Wayfarer-class from Star Wars, I’ve been kind of obsessed with ships that can have modules that they can interchange. It’s why I designed the Chilkoot and the Zimni Medved the way I did. So if I owned one of these, I would have a secret spot in deep space where I keep a half dozen different modules and a cargo loader drone.Morgul — Today at 1:10 PM
The Wayfarer is so fucking cool, I love that ship. So, I'm right there with you.
Mother. Fucking. Wayfarer Class. LETSGO!