Favorite SciFi Ship

Crossroads Inc. · Post by **Crossroads Inc.** » 2005-04-05 07:37pm

Aside from favorite ships, If I could put together a 'modest' fleet of ships, I think a lovely Task force would be:

1 Victory-SD
2 Old Republic Dreadnaughts
2 Lancers
4 Carracks
8 Marauder Corvetts

Of course I could go Wanking and say 100 ISD-II's but like I said, this is good for just a modest force.

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2005-04-05 07:40pm

Black Admiral wrote:
Blood Angels: Deus Encarmine ad Blood Angels: Deus Sanguinius.

The Bellus shows up in both, and the Europae in DS.

*sighs* Looks like I might not be able to wait until they hit the used bookstores... I'm a sucker for a decent spacebattle.

Black Admiral · Post by **Black Admiral** » 2005-04-05 07:48pm

Bob the Gunslinger wrote:*sighs* Looks like I might not be able to wait until they hit the used bookstores... I'm a sucker for a decent spacebattle.

Deus Sanguinius has the better space battle, but given what's going on, you really have to read Deus Encarmine first.

Morilore · Post by **Morilore** » 2005-04-05 07:52pm

Both version of Battlestar Galactica; though I've never seen TOS, what I can find online makes it look more like a Star Destroyer than a Star Destroyer, and the new one is nice.

The Negh'var, if only because of the contrast between it and the raiding-style ships the Klingons favored earlier.

I don't know if this even counts, but the first Death Star. So elegant, so brutal. The ultimate personification of the parts of the Empire that weren't Palpy.

Protoss Carriers and Terran Battlecruisers. Yes, they are certainly weaker than just about anything else in the genre, but they look cool, dammit! I like how the Battlecruiser resembles a more balanced and "square" version of Klingon warships.

The ever-popular ISD, for reasons everyone knows.

And... I like the Akiraprise.

Seriously, it was the only part of the show that dulled the pain for more than two episodes! It felt so much more real than 24th-century ST ships, without the touchscreens and shit.

Lord Revan · Post by **Lord Revan** » 2005-04-05 07:56pm

Morilore wrote:]I like the Akiraprise.

It's the NX-class and and watched the Klingon (forehead) arc last sunday and it quite good in it. (while it isn't my favorite ST ship)

andrewgpaul · Post by **andrewgpaul** » 2005-04-05 08:03pm

The Glorious Heritage-class heavy cruisers; Xeelee Nightfighter; the Event Horizon; Vorlon heavy cruiser, all spring to mind immediately. Also, the old (sadly, probably non-canon now) Gothic-class battleship.

As for the EA Nova dreadnought, we never saw a single shot of the thing firing it's main guns, that I recall. All they ever did was float about in the series, and die quickly in In The Beginning. I'd really like to see a shot of it firing at something. Even if it's a shitty crossover vid from SB.com.

Oh, and how could I forget, probably my all-time favourite: the Odyssey.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » 2005-04-05 08:06pm

The CR90 Corvettes in SW or the Tantive IV if you prefer.

starfury · Post by **starfury** » 2005-04-05 08:14pm

Imperial star destoryer II for obvious reasons, X-wing fighter, another classic, for babylon 5 there are so many, the Warlock destroryer, Minbari cruiser for sheer elegance, narn cruiser for the look that blends grittiness and style, shadow cruiser for the sheer scary factor.the Nova battleship gets a mention for the sheer look of power of their 22 cannons on a long grey box. sheer intimidation.
For Trek ships, only the Romulan Warbird really grew on me, the Klingon bird of prey and The Negh'var, as well the dominion battlecruiser and battleship for sheer brutal appearance,
For fighters, The SA-43 and the new BSG viper MK II as well the X-303.

Quadlok · Post by **Quadlok** » 2005-04-05 10:06pm

The Exelsior (not the goofy Ent-B refit)-it just looks right.
Narn Heavy Cruiser-like someone took a giant dagger, cut it in half, and put some bigass guns and engines in the middle.

Grasscutter · Post by **Grasscutter** » 2005-04-05 10:35pm

No particular order:

Star Wars:
Executor-class. I like the dagger shape more than the classic ISD.

Star Trek:
The Sovereign-class. Looks elegant and like it's actually designed to move. I always thought the Galaxy-class was really unwieldy looking.
The Akira-class. I dig that catamaran design.
The Defiant-class. Probably the only sensibly designed Federation starship.
The D'deridex-class. Big-ass ship that still manages to look graceful.

Babylon 5:
The Omega-class.
The Whitestar-class. What can I say, I like sleek designs =P.

Other:
The SDF-1 Macross, TV version. As cool as boosting the main gun blast radius with the ARMD platforms is, you can't beat the Daedalus Manuever for sheer bad-assness

.

The Hiigaran Battlecruisers from Homeworld 2.

The Sol-Bianca from the anime series of the same name. Again, very elegant looking ship. Also has a mean main gun that generates a giant holographic angel firing a flaming bow when it fires

.

Any Eldar and Impirium of Man ships from Warhammer 40k. Eldar because, again, they're graceful, and IoM ships because they're giant-spaceborne Gothic Cathedrals of Doom.

The Roger Young from Starship Troopers, book version. I don't care what it looks like, it's full of Mobile Infantry and launches them out of rail cannons. You don't get more bad-ass than that.[/i]

VF5SS · Post by **VF5SS** » 2005-04-05 11:06pm

Grasscutter wrote: Other:
The SDF-1 Macross, TV version. As cool as boosting the main gun blast radius with the ARMD platforms is, you can't beat the Daedalus Manuever for sheer bad-assness .

The DYRL does an ARMD attack in the Sega Saturn game. Its basically the same as the Daedalus Manuever.

Spacebeard · Post by **Spacebeard** » 2005-04-05 11:11pm

Okay, although I also like all the usual suspects (Executor, Excelsior, etc), I'll try not to post another me-too reply.

I'm suprised I haven't seen anyone mention the Lambda shuttle yet. Its folding-wing design looks at once both graceful and utilitarian, and the distinctive electric thrum of its engines is one of my favorite sounds from Star Wars(*).

I'm also partial to, silly as it may sound, the Starship Titanic, from Douglas Adams' poorly-received graphical adventure game of the same name. The distinctive "T" shape was refreshing, as we rarely see vertically oriented starships, and it had all the Art Deco stylings of a deluxe cruise liner. Despite appearing in, well, a Douglas Adams, I thought it looked graceful and stylish, never over the top.

(*) Aside: I've always enjoyed starship engine sounds, regardless of any silly caviling about sound in space. I guess it comes from having imitated them as a kid.

I'm particularly partial to scenes where two or more classes of ship can be distinguished solely by the sounds of their engines in flight. The opening of ROTJ is wonderful for this: we get the thrumming of the Lambda shuttle's engines followed by the howling TIEs. I also remember "Best of Both Worlds" fondly for this effect: there were sequences where the Borg cube would pass, making an odd alien sound, followed by the Enterprise-D with its distinctive whoosh.

Parallax · Post by **Parallax** » 2005-04-05 11:13pm

A TARDIS would have to be my favourite.
Can look like anything, travel through time as well as space, spacious interior, pretty much indestructable, etc etc

Spacebeard · Post by **Spacebeard** » 2005-04-05 11:17pm

Oh, an addition:

I liked the Alliance cruisers from Firefly. They were an unconventional design that still looked slick, intimidating, and totally out of the league of the lowly unarmed Serenity.

Post by **Coyote** » 2005-04-05 11:27pm

Man, hard to pick. I'll go for "one large, one small, per universe"

Star Wars:
Large ship: Acclamator
Small: FP-31 Firespray

Star Trek:
Large: Enterprise -A
Small: Klingon K-11 Bird of Prey (ST-IV)

BSG:
Large: New Galactica
Small: Viper VII

Space AaB:
Large: "Saratoga" Carriers
Small: Hammerhead fighters

Alien Series:
Large: "Sulaco"
Small: "Betty"

Firefly:
Large: Alliance Cruisers-- interesting, "tall ship" design
Small: Alliance fighter-bombers

Farscape:
Large: Scarran Dreadnought
Small: Peacekeeper Prowler
(Honorable mention, medium: Talyn. Doesn't fit large or small, since he was still a teenager when he died)

Babylon 5:
Large: Shadow Battlecrab (evil looking beast!)
Small: Narn fighters

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2005-04-05 11:58pm

Lesse here. No particular Order.

Nebulon-B Frigate
EA Warlock Destroyer
Viper Mark VII
WCP Vampire

and that beautiful EA Aurora Starfury.

Sharpshooter · Post by **Sharpshooter** » 2005-04-06 12:03am

Fighter: SoroSuub Cutlass-9 Patrol Fighter (Sharp Spiral base): Simple, competant, effective, and asthetically pleasing. Even in stock form, it supposedly can outrun military craft produced more than twenty years later - Cripes, an A-Wing's the only thing supposedly able to match it, if you go by the NEGVV.

Small Transport: YT-2000: Even if the Millenium Falcon makes the YT-1300 a favorite to millions, that snafu of the cockpit being off-center makes that thing a nightmare for Joe Schmoe to fly, especially in high-traffic areas. The 2000 might just be a 1300 with the cockpit in the center, but that cockpit change means all the difference if one gets into a tight spot and doesn't have the skill to guess where 80 percent of the ship is.

Large Transport/Small Capship: Marauder Corvette: I always liked these ships: as patrol ships and small-scale carriers, they were able to do their job quite well, and also have a design with feasable atmospheric capabilities. The turbolaser clusters might not be much, but that's where modification comes in handy.

Large Capship: SDF-1 Macross: Wankish transformation asides, it's actually quite a nifty ship. With that big-ass main cannon, the converging beam cannons and rail guns, numerous missile launchers, the Pin Point Barrier system, and the capacity to carry a fuckton of fighters, mechs, and other craft, it feels like a good, solid warship, originally designed for no frills and no nonsense.

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2005-04-06 12:09am

Large Capship: SDF-1 Macross: Wankish transformation asides, it's actually quite a nifty ship. With that big-ass main cannon, the converging beam cannons and rail guns, numerous missile launchers, the Pin Point Barrier system, and the capacity to carry a fuckton of fighters, mechs, and other craft, it feels like a good, solid warship, originally designed for no frills and no nonsense.

No frills? I like the SDF-1, but jeez. It's a pretty silly ship. I laughed when I saw the thing turn into a giant humanoid robot just to fire a gun... and crush most of the city inside. Also, who thought of trackball controlled defense shields?

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2005-04-06 12:29am

Nephtys wrote:
Large Capship: SDF-1 Macross: Wankish transformation asides, it's actually quite a nifty ship. With that big-ass main cannon, the converging beam cannons and rail guns, numerous missile launchers, the Pin Point Barrier system, and the capacity to carry a fuckton of fighters, mechs, and other craft, it feels like a good, solid warship, originally designed for no frills and no nonsense.
No frills? I like the SDF-1, but jeez. It's a pretty silly ship. I laughed when I saw the thing turn into a giant humanoid robot just to fire a gun... and crush most of the city inside. Also, who thought of trackball controlled defense shields?

He said original design, Neph. The transformation was not original, but something added by the human rebuilders. The Pinpoint Barrier System was also jury-rigged when the full shield was damaged in the crash-landing on Macross Island.

Sharpshooter · Post by **Sharpshooter** » 2005-04-06 12:39am

Nephtys wrote:No frills? I like the SDF-1, but jeez. It's a pretty silly ship. I laughed when I saw the thing turn into a giant humanoid robot just to fire a gun... and crush most of the city inside. Also, who thought of trackball controlled defense shields?

Hence "wankish transformation aside."

As for the shields - point on control. That an AI of sorts wasn't designed to handle it was rather silly indeed, but it's the concept behind the whole thing that I like: that it's a tool that can save your life, but requires you or something to be on the ball at all times (*Rimshot*) and isn't infallable outside of standard fallabilities.

Predator · Post by **Predator** » 2005-04-06 04:58am

Favourites include The Ebon Hawk of SW: KOTOR, B5's Warlock, Hyperion, and both Starfury types.

VF5SS · Post by **VF5SS** » 2005-04-06 09:33am

The Dark wrote: ...Macross Island.

South Ataria Island...Say it with me, South Ataria Island =p

Karza · Post by **Karza** » 2005-04-06 09:57am

From Freespace 2:
GVCv Sobek (my absolute favorite in all sci-fi)
GTD Hecate
GTF Perseus

40k:
Void Stalker class battleship
Aurora class light cruiser

Star Wars:
The Calamari Cruiser With Wings, whatever its actual name is

Ra · Post by Ra » 2005-04-06 10:07am

The Calamari Cruiser With Wings, whatever its actual name is

Probably the Liberty, the same ship I cited earlier. It has wings, and the only other MonCal ship I can remember is Home One, which had no wings. BTW, Liberty was the first to fall prey to DS2's superlaser

.

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2005-04-07 03:39pm

Spaceball 1