Are Smaller Ships Better?

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Spacedock delves into smaller hero ships.
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[@Spacedock]

Get "Designing the Perfect Space Fighter - A Spacedock Reference Book" here! www.patreon.com/posts/77243474

[@lilkobabunga]

Guys, can you actually put the name of the songs you use in the description? I am hearing this absolute banger and going crazy, because I know it, but don't know It's name. And Shazam can't recognize It, because Hoojiwana keeps constantly talking without taking a single breath.

[@TheArklyte]

Nyes! For military ships - yes as they have target profile as more important factor. For civilian vessels - no as they have economy of scale as more important factor. And for all vessels - depending on the task. Ships that is supposed to land would be small and cargo cycler would be planetoid sized. I have a feeling that fiction mostly put it on its head by thinking that warships(and military vehicles in general) irl are bigger then civilian ones. But for every battleship, tank or Tu-160 there is their own oil tanker, mining haul truck a An-225/A-380. Even among the first ironclads civilian Great Eastern came before Warrior, Gloire, Monitor and Virginia. Yes, Great Eastern wasn't very useful because it was constructed with too optimistic expectations of economic and market growths then it had gone irl, but in 50 years it was finally surpassed in all metrics. And in none of them by military vessel;) As for hero ships, the rule of the thumb is that it needs something that makes it unique, but also something that allows it to be present. And of course it needs to be midsized so that storywise it would have smaller vessels to swat aside easily and bigger vessels it'll try to avoid. In Expanse Rocinante is biggest ship that can safely land on most planets and smallest ship that can mount a railgun. In 40k there is also only one ship class that is small enough to land on the surface of planets, but also big enough to house Warp engine and Geller field for full FTL capability. Those are ideal hero ships. Unless your hero can afford several ships. Something Mandalorian haven't thought about. Give your character both the sleek fighter AND carrier for it. Yes, just copy Bebop and Swordfish II dynamic. In fact, just copy Cowboy Bebop in all regards 😅

[@JTL1776]

@Spacedock. Can you make a video on the Bus and Zephyr One from Agents of Shield. These aircraft are amazing, and a detailed video on them would be amazing.

[@NeostormXLMAX]

What if smaller ships cold be cloaked better? Like blocking radar or whatever quantum scanners in sci fi, for example, large ships cold be sniped from afar, while small ships are invisible to radar. This also justifies dogfights in space, since stealth prevents long ranged fights

[@tonyorobsky]

Video idea: Top 5 best autonomous drones in science-fiction. I just watched a video about the attack drone from Oblivion, and it suddenly struck me that it would be a cool video for Spacedock. After Oblivion attack drone, the next thing that comes to my mind is Matrix sentinels. Scary things, they are!

[@katherineberger6329]

"All those extra crew just turn into white noise" *shows stormtroopers noisily marching* I see what you did there.

[@MercenaryPen]

Personally I'm drawn towards medium sized ships as hero ships- smaller ships for me should be somewhat limited in their scope for independent action as a result of only being able to carry so much fuel/food/other supplies, meaning they have to return to base regularly for resupply... whereas the really massive ships are too strategically important to be routinely sent on long term missions or operating independently

[@johnsmithfakename8422]

I agree. Small sized ships are limited in range while they can exercise the most freedom. Medium ships are a good overall balance. Large ships are expensive and a strategic asset. Andromeda was a Sci-Fi show that had a large ship but it felt like a small ship because the "Extra crew" were mass produced androids. I really liked that idea because it was the best of both worlds, and justified why a large ship could be crewed by a hand full of people.

[@FearlessSon]

There's something to be said for having a ship that's small enough that it requires regular restocking. In a military context, it means it needs to return to the fleet on a regular basis, giving room for reoccurring characters to make appearances and new orders to come in. In a non-military context, it gives dramatic weight to procuring the next resupply (something I think both Voyager and Galactica could have explored in a little more depth.)

[@1337billybob]

@@FearlessSon Deep Space Nina is the show where this comes to mind. The runabouts had character but largely the same regardless of river and the Defiant, too. Though they do spend a lot of time on the Defiant which is largely independent except for its need for maintenance, which is a great plot device. DS9 had some great episodes in older ships like Bajorian strike craft or the Bajorian solar sail. Babylon 5 ships were either fighters or fully independent ships. Voyager had the Delta Flyer which was great for some lost in space kind of plots. The TNG shuttlecraft epsidoes were a bit underwhelming compared to DS9.

[@Theycallmeyoshi1]

Reminds me of Warhammer 40K's 'Light Cruisers'. anything smaller is an escort and whilst no doubt capable of independent action and quite wieldy, Frigates or Raiders aren't really supposed to travel without a fleet to back them up unless they're some Rogue Trader's prize. Cruisers and larger are major fleet assets, being actual capital ships. they're slow and logistical nightmares, and require fleet tenders and other such things to find enough serfs and techpreists and food and supplies and ammo to feed the endlessly hungry beast that is a 5km flying cathedral-city with guns. Light Cruisers are a happy middle ground and whilst lone actors like Rogue Traders are said to find them logistical hurdles to contend and tangle with, they are meant to be long-range patrol boats, able to go poking their nose into brewing trouble, and anything that they can't fight outright they're supposed to be able run away from.

[@silverjohn6037]

While I enjoy military action sci-fi I do miss some of the old school stories from the pulp era where, inspired by the South Seas stories like Terry and the Pirates, you'd have tramp steamers going from port to port getting into adventures while trading with the locals or looking for the next cargo load to the next port. Basically the inspiration for Han Solo and Firefly but not getting dragged into larger conflicts. In that scenario a smaller ship and crew makes sense. The ship isn't there for a fight. It's more like a cowboy's horse. Its just there to carry you to the next adventure. But, for some strange reason, unless you're a smuggler, which for some reason makes it ok, engaging in fair trade or honest work is repulsive to Hollywood and to writers in general. I can't possibly say why that's the case;).

[@MercenaryPen]

For me the role of small ships as part of a larger fleet is in making the resources of that fleet go further and providing greater coverage of territory relative to the number of people you can put in uniform- moreover, a lot of those ships will be primarily assigned to fairly boring patrol routes, not too far from facilities where they can be regularly resupplied

[@randlebrowne2048]

Outside of actual war, real battleships tended to stay docked in port. They were just too expensive to operate when not specifically needed.

[@mryellow6918]

if i was to make a sci fi, i would justify that a shield generator requires a size up to house, and reactor tech too. where if its really small its efficient or if its really big, like how nuclear fusion is only really sustainable when large.

[@Kronosfobi]

@@mryellow6918That is a great idea. We could have shield technology only applicable to medium-large ships due to requirements needed. And shield generator may even need to draw power from the engine so it prevents people from just ramming into other ships at near-light speeds. As for the smaller ships, they could use a modified version of forcefield tech. The tech that larger ships use to seal off deck breaches like in Star Trek, but modified with greater power output to fill in the role of a shipwide shield. Would make them fragile and hard to maintain long term as the technology itself isnt suitable for it. But still work for short fights or your occasional astreoid field expeditions. Making small space craft other than fighers and civilian ships still viable.

[@serge00storms]

I thought that the Captain in Master and Commander was given so much latitude in his orders was because of the slow nature of communications back in the age of sail

[@Sabeximus]

Actually, that would also apply in a space setting unless you have some magical instant communication. Speed of light is quite slow, after all, in the vastness of space.

[@justinthompson6364]

​@@SabeximusEh, I don’t think hard sci-fi constraints could create quite the same feel. Communications in-system would take minutes. Longer than we're used to these days, but short enough for command to be fairly closely involved where necessary. Communications between systems would take years, and travel to uncontrolled systems would likely take whole fleets and/or giant arkships for logistical reasons which would rate an admiral-level officer to command them. The idea of sending individual "normal" ships out doesn't make much sense unless you have either ftl or the entire setting is calibrated to specifically enable it.

[@silverjohn6037]

@@Sabeximus That was a factor in the original series. Uhura was used, not just to save the cost of hiring another guest voice actor (though that was probably part of it;), but because notionally the comms officer had to spend a lot of time sorting through the garbled messages and and minute long delays in the conversation because of the time it took for messages to go back and forth. Since audiences at the time were still within living memory of telegraphs and morse code radios it made sense but, by the time the Next Generation came along, people would have thought is strange not to have instant communication so you had messages going straight to the main view screen.

[@Sabeximus]

@@justinthompson6364 Why? I think there are a lot of parallels in space exploration and Earth exploration during the Age of Exploration. In-system communication would take a lot longer than just mere minutes. Just messaging between Earth and Mars can take up to 20 mins, further than that and we are soon talking about hours. That could create a lot of drama and tension for sure, even if not quite as severe as the weeks and months it would have taken to send a message between the continents in the 1700's. Interstellar space exploration then is of course on a totally different level, talking about months and years, or even longer depending on the setting. For the story to make any sense, it is kind of a must to have some sort of FTL transportation and communication, but even then, it doesn't need to be instant.

[@justinthompson6364]

@@Sabeximus From a storytelling perspective, hours-long communication delays are different from what you expect these days, but nothing you couldn’t see in a crisis, which is presumably where the drama would come from anyway. From an organizational perspective, I don’t think it means much of anything. Captains are already expected to have a degree of autonomy and the minutes to hours gap doesn't have the same ramifications as the hours to days or weeks gap.

[@awesomehpt8938]

No mention of Jenkins? He’s the heart and soul of the Normandy crew.

[@qhu3878]

rip my guy jenkins

[@Mannchini]

Leeeeeerooooyyyyyy *gets splattered by Geth*

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

The Reaper invasion would never have happened if Jenkins survived. He would single-handedly prevent Saren from even reaching Ilos. Only the Reapers would die. Our lord and saviour, Private Jenkins, would be our protective angel, avenging demon, and the perfect human to save the galaxy!

[@hoojiwana]

For a brief period of time I'm sure he was. - hoojiwana from Spacedock

[@Jdne199311]

Let pray to the Lord and saviour of the Mass Effect universe

[@gallentefederation8978]

I'm writing a novel right now about an international war that takes place on a distant and isolated planet. The hero ship of the book is a flying aircraft carrier akin to the SHIELD Helicarrier. Just like the Galactica, its got tons of little quirks and foibles, it's crew has a deep seeded culture and tradition, and the ship itself could almost be it's own character. It's captain is one of the main characters that the story follows, and he interacts with all members of the crew, from the officers in the CIC all the way down to getting his hands dirty and fixing one of the ship's temperamental reactors in the middle of a battle. A lot of people have told me that a hero ship like that is too big, and needs to be smaller and faster to move the story along, but I think with it being a supercarrier, the characters can move around the world just fine on one of the many planes that it carries, and that the carrier serves as a homey place for the reader to feel safe from the turmoil of the conflict that the book follows.

[@PraetorPaktu]

Yo that sounds cool.

[@seanwhitman8353]

I could easily see this carrier flagship similar to Babylon 5 or Deep Space 9, where the station is a floating city, and that is what your carrier is: a mobile city with its own quirks, traditions, culture, and the ways it interacts with her crew and her command staff. Galactica and the Enterprise-D were much the same, and if done right, you can achieve that feeling.

[@---jx3ql]

You know space 2063?

[@xyreniaofcthrayn1195]

so space battleship yamato but aircraft carrier or macross?

[@russward2612]

I would read that. For a good feel on military sci-fi, read the Falkenberg's Legion/Co-Dominium/WarWorld series of books by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle or Hammer's Slammers books by David Drake.

[@FearlessSon]

Just from the video name, I prepared to go into long discussions about the practical considerations and various mission profiles and the relative technological capacity available in the setting, only to get caught up by the _narrative_ considerations of smaller versus larger ships. Well-played, Spacedock, well played...

[@IamHattman]

I personally like the take Voyager took. The Delta Flyer gives you the capacity for really small ship stories, while the Voyager is available next episode to do a big ship story.

[@beno22iscool]

Even then voyager is a smaller vessel, being a scientific ship in pure design and a shuttlebay with room for only 2 active shuttles.

[@IamHattman]

@@beno22iscool It does also have several hundred crew aboard though if i remember correctly. Which puts it firmly in the 'large ship' group by this video's metrics.

[@GOLANX]

​@@IamHattmanin Star Trek metrics I'd call it mid size, star trek doesn't use small size ships a lot, and the runabouts really characterize why, they just can't do much with them, it's a Glorified taxi. Larger ships have sufficient strength and firepower to be believable in combat, the defiant is small but because it is more dedicated in purpose it can fight with the larger ships, the Galaxy class is enormous and has power to match its size but can do a lot of other things way better than the defiant, and operate independently for long periods. The Voyager is just big enough to be able to operate independently for long periods while being small enough that it's clearly not a 5 star hotel in space, its meant to be fast more than comfortable.

[@eight-cloudspurple5871]

@@IamHattman 140-150 or so i recall. the episode where they found amelia earhart mention the crew number.

[@Beuwen_The_Dragon]

@@beno22iscoolvoyager had room for more shuttles, she was just supposedly sent out on her maiden voyage without more than two. Something of a foolish idea, given how often shuttlecraft are used as emergency evacuation vehicles.. heck most Starfleet ships have at least a dozen of the things stashed away somewhere…

[@chrisbacon3071]

2:13 As Drachinifel put it so expertly "Your a bit of a crazy captain so will put you on a destroyer, and save the reserve and cautious captains for something like a battleship."

[@jukebox_heroperson3994]

Made me think of the Russian destroyers called Fast, Dangerous, and Reckless, or something like that

[@chrisbacon3071]

@@jukebox_heroperson3994 That’s not a trait only the russians had, during WW2 a lot of Destroyers were captained by mad men, Destroyers that come to my mind are USS-Laffey and HMS-Glowworm, one took on night missions then came face to face with two Japanese heavy cruisers and the other took on and attempted to ram a German pocket battleship.

[@ODST_Parker]

The conclusion of "it depends" applies extremely well here. Having just rewatched Firefly myself, I can say with certainty that a small, tight knit crew of friends, family, or even loosely related individuals shoved into one space for an extended period of time, that can result in an absolute ton of great stories and character development. On the other hand, I also love shows like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, where there's a massive crew milling about at any given time, and you'll never know them all or even a fraction of them as well as the main cast. For the latter, I feel like that sense of scale helps flesh out the world, or the ship itself, more than the characters. If you see Marines during boarding actions, if you see engineers fixing up the ship's systems, if you see pilots joking around with each other in the ready room, that gives a feeling that everyone has a purpose, and everyone has a life. When you see an engineer get blown out into space after frantically fighting a fire, or a Marine gunned down in a firefight, or a random fighter get ripped to pieces in space, that can hit you just as much as a member of the main cast being put in peril. At least it does when it's written well, and not when your extras are little more than punching bags and excuses to show bad things happening. I recall things I like from many sci-fi series, and there's constantly little things I remember that don't involve any of the main cast, but side characters and background extras too. Infinite Warfare, when Gibson is threatening a crewman with "death by slideshow" for doing something unsafe, or when a couple wounded Marines get left behind as you're running for cover from an air strike. Babylon 5, seeing the pilots' faces as they're about to go head-to-head with their own ships in Severed Dreams, or watching the narn and security team in a brutal fight with Alliance boarders. Battlestar Galactica, a group of Marines all crossing the volunteer line at the same time, then every member of the crew taking up arms to defend the ship in her final assault. Having people in the background doesn't have to be vague and meaningless. It can be a fantastic opportunity to show smaller moments of whatever you're trying to get across, and create very memorable scenes in the process, without even showing or mentioning the main cast at all.

[@iancameron8391]

I love how it all came back to “the setting is determined by the story you wish to tell” I do a few short stories, and the settings are vastly different between them, because the story i’m trying to tell has different requirements. A story about uncovering a heinous plot that’s gone uncovered can usually be done with the flexibility that a smaller ship provides (the expanse) whereas larger political thrillers and military fiction is usually done with larger ships. Anything is possible, but different settings are better suited for different stories.

[@THE_REAL_POLITIK]

I think small to mid-sized ships tend to work better in videogames because it would simply be a pain to traverse twenty decks to chat with Liara, and then another ten decks to set a destination. However, it wouldn't make sense to use the Defiant or Millennium Falcon as the command ship of an attack fleet during the Dominion or Clone Wars.

[@AdmiralBlackstar]

Well, you can put elevators on your ship. And didn't they actually use both those vessels as command ships? The Defiant seemed to be the defacto command ship during Operation Return, and several other battles, and the Millennium Falcon seemed to be used as one during Endor. And in fact you could use a small ship as an AWACS, i.e. a mobile mission control room.

[@LordInsane100]

It depends on the sort of game, of course. A first or third-person game where you're moving seamlessly or at least via elevators that hide loading screens or the like certainly push towards smaller ships for the reason you say, but that doesn't apply to a more Infinity Engine-style game where you can more easily have the ship divided into smaller 'points of interest' maps that you move between using a world map, and of course things are entirely different if the game is in a genre where in terms of gameplay you as the player is commanding one or more ships, not an individual or small party of characters.

[@Bateluer]

I mean, you wouldn't use the Falcon because it was a rebadged light freighter. The Defiant was an 'escort' ship, designed to be a warship. Why wouldn't it serve as a command ship or flag of a fleet? Its small, fast, can tank a lot of damage relative to its size, while still having a sufficient crew to support that mission.

[@THE_REAL_POLITIK]

@@Bateluer So this goes into things like fleet doctrine and ship capabilities if you are familiar with Alfred Thayer Mayhan's Influence of Sea Power upon History that will answer your question. but the short answer is in most naval fleets the smallest ship with flag facilities would be a light Cruiser and generally speaking fleets are built around a/number central "flag" ship/s usually either an aircraft carrier or battleship around the flagships you would place heavy cruisers, then light cruisers, then destroyers. The Defiant and the Normandy can easily outmatch vessels of their own class but we see in Operation Return that the Defiant struggles against sustained fire and the Valiant was essentially one-shotted by a Dominion battleship.

[@Bateluer]

@@THE_REAL_POLITIK Both the Normandy and Defiant can punch well above their weight classes though, and the Defiant has been shown to be able to tank an incredibly amount of damage in firefights. Its been a while, but iirc, the Valiant was also crewed by drugged up cadets who struggled to even keep the temperamental Valiant running. The Dominion also took down the Galaxy class Odyssey with a handful of Jem Hadar . . . light cruisers?

[@thatstarwarsnerd6641]

One of my favourite parts of small ships is that you can tell how the interior and exterior sets are meant to fit together, and can always know where you are in the ship (e.g. Serenity), but even in a big ship with as much character as Galactica, we literally don’t have a clue where any rooms beyond the flight deck are. However, this can also be a double edged sword, as it can make it obvious when the interior and exterior don’t match (e.g. Rocinante, Millennium Falcon)

[@arghblah]

It all depends on the writing. In some of the Warhammer 40K books, they have massive ships, far larger than the scale of anything discussed in this video. But they are able to focus different parts of the crew and tell radically different stories that intertwine a key times to advance the story. It's a really powerful tool when used correctly. In general though, I think the smaller ships are easier for writers which leads to better viewing. I actually really liked the dynamic on Enterprise. I would have enjoyed a couple more Mako focused episodes though.

[@triplebog]

I think the reality of ship size is that it is a function of the unit economics of the ftl drive. In a setting where the smallest ftl drive is the size of a car, then having a millennium falcon sized ship makes sense. On the other hand, in a setting where the smallest ftl drives are massive (and I mean, why wouldn't they be huge) suddenly it might be far more economical to have huge ships. Especially if the drive is like a "slipstream" style drive where it just opens a portal into hyperspace, so a larger ship might not require a proportionally larger drive. I had an idea for a setting like this, where ftl drives were extremely expensive and large, but don't scale linearly with ship size. So the economics work out to where there are these huge mother ships that essentially act as ferries between systems. And everyone has to dock their individual smaller ships in a "ferry" to traverse interstellar space. Could be lots of interesting and unique settings/drama there.

[@SlinkyTWF]

Depends on the technology that makes them tick. Famously, the ships from Blake's 7 had a crew of three because everything was automated, and they were there just in case something went wrong with the automation or a decision from a living crew member was required.

[@DerpsWithWolves]

On a slightly more 'hardware' side of things, I'd also argue there are (in most settings) a kind of milestone system to the size of a ship. Either it is large enough to have a capacity, or it isn't. That could be a shuttle bay, a railgun, or some other *thing* that allows the ship to do something that it otherwise wouldn't be capable of. On the other hand, if the ship is *three times* larger than needed to fit a certain system, that doesn't necessarily mean it can do that job three times as well. It might have diminishing returns, rendering any extra size beyond a certain point a bit of a waste, or it might increase exponentially from the square cube law, and benefit larger ships. Thus, I think the most interesting settings (from a ship-building perspective) are ones where BOTH are true, for different reasons. It forces a dynamic where larger and smaller ships are symbiotic with one another, and neither is always at an advantage.

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

I think something Star Wars Corvette size is ideal. It gives you plenty of space for extra crew and cargo yet small enough for flexible storytelling.

[@fluidicrift]

Smaller ships are always the underdog ships. Larger ships are more big picture.

[@jedisalamander2457]

Im loving so much Gundam footage on the channel lately

[@williamroche5249]

shame they havent done a video on the series yet

[@harlankovacs6276]

The smaller ,the more dedicated a ship tends to be . The larger , the more multirole a ship tends to be ,to a point where he can carry small ships to compensate his weakness and make it even more multirole. Defining the limitations and roles of a ship just by it's size is already great for naration. On the other end of the spectrum you have the Greatship (Robert Reed) with a star system sized ship .Where the characters of the crew aboard are entire civilisations.

[@ericc9321]

I liked that early Star Trek had such accurate weapons that being a smaller or more evasive target was effectively a non-factor, and since shield strength and to a lesser degree weapons strength was proportional to reactor size, a larger ship of equal tech level would always beat its weight in smaller ships. It feels like as soon as DS9, with the Jem'hadar fighters this philosophy was being lost. I appreciate sci-fi fighters and smaller ships, I just mourn a distinctive universe where the very laws of physics contrive to make them completely nonviable in a frontline role.

[@Mannchini]

I think the Rocinante sized ships are the best for narrative. Small enough to feel familiar and cozy, but big enough to punch up in a fight. That said there command crew sized vessels are great for episodics.

[@HunterAP]

I don't know that they're the best for narrative, but I do prefer them: Rocinante, Serenity, Defiant, Jupiter 2, and of course the Millennium Falcon.

[@jameseichinger7262]

Gotta love a corvette!!

[@patrickdusablon2789]

And if you're going for a more realistic setting, a small ship and a large ship pretty much have the same requirement for warm bodies in term of basic watchkeeping duties. Dealing with a warship model, you'd need a crew of probably 12-20 to maintain operations for more than a few days, if only to have 2-3 watches' worth of people (I figure a bare minimum for watchkeeping is 3-4: someone at the helm, someone on sensors/comms/weapons and an engineer and technician, while a dedicated officer of the watch would be a nice bonus on a small ship but a necessity on a large one). That adds up to 12 people, and you would still need some warm bodies for the day to day regular maintenance, food prep, a medic, and a captain (and perhaps a First Lieutenant/XO/First Officer/etc) who may or may not keep watches but are available round the clock.

[@andrewhoughton8606]

​@@HunterAP the ships are personal just big enough to live in but that is it

[@seinexer2173]

i think i goes down to the age of sail frigates, big enough to fight everything smaller then themselfs, fast enough to out run bigger ships and capable to operate on themself without additional forces

[@cmedtheuniverseofcmed8775]

There is a philosophical approach that I take even in my writing. Going by realistically speaking, spaceships that are too small don't get the returns of being able to manufacture them in droves. But, ships that are too large can still be destroyed by an internal nuclear strike. However, it also really depends on the type of sci-fi. Maybe you can have a story where bigger is better or smaller is better. - The Defiant in ST was amazing, but it had things that helped it, including advanced technology, improved weaponry, and better shields/armor, combined with speed, making it potent for its smaller size, but it might have been argued to build a bigger starship and incorporated those same things while carrying even more weapons. At the same time, the Defiant was also more of a first step in really updating the Federation fleet roster. - Space Battleship Yamato did support the concept of bigger means better. Bigger ships could carry better powerplants, carry more armor, better shields, and more weapons. It wasn't uncommon for the Yamato to rip enemy destroyers/cruisers to pieces with its main guns and continually survive the onslaught posed against it. When the Yamato worked, the EDF decided to introduce the even bigger and more viciously armed Andromeda class.

[@ErenisRanitos]

Kudos for using XCOM: Enemy Unknown music! 👏

[@IamgRiefeR7]

The anthill track kept making me look around my screen instinctively to check everything in a base that isn't on screen.

[@lirdoing]

I've been a fan of Spacedock for years, though I have to say that the switch from purely technical to making these interesting connections of tech to storytelling really upped the page for me. Thanks for these videos!

[@BradDavis_vr]

The cut to Wash at 3:18 is *chefs kiss*

[@darthhodges]

What makes a ship "small" is often relative to the setting. The starship Voyager was considered a small ship in Star Trek lore but is dramatically larger than the Millennium Falcon and maybe even the Normandy. But the nature of the show is that the ship was stranded so far away from home that they would have to scrounge for fuel and supplies for years if they were to ever make it back. Also the inciting incident caused the loss of some key crew members so not everyone in the primary cast, let alone the rest of the ship, were actually qualified for their jobs. A much larger vessel intended for longer trips without resupply may have not have had as many difficulties as Voyager did, including the larger base crew having allowed greater redundancy in people qualified to fill key roles. By contrast Luke and Han never seem short of fuel or supplies no matter how much independent travel they do in an X-wing or the Falcon, respectively. The only time their vessels being small is relevant in their stories is when they go into combat where encountering very large vessels and/or large numbers of enemy fighters is very likely. Being small is expressly remarked as an advantage during the Battle Of Yavin as the Death Star wasn't designed to deal with enemy vessels that small.

[@Beuwen_The_Dragon]

In defence of The Empire at Yavin IV, the Deathstar was actually quite capable of dealing with the Rebel Starfighters. In fact X wings and Y Wings were popping left, right and centre in the battle. Between the Turbolaser Towers and the Flights of Tie Fighters, the Rebels were getting their buts shellacked by the Empire. Luke himself nearly bought it if it wasn’t for Han coming in at the last second to save his skin from Vader’s attack wing.

[@darthhodges]

@@Beuwen_The_Dragon In the movie it is expressly stated that the turbolasers weren't effective which is why Vader ordered the TIEs to be launched.

[@ArchOfWinter]

Both small and big ships has their merits, but there is a threshold of a ship being too big! Ships are characters too. For example, while I love the Enterprise F's design, I am glad we didn't see it as a hero ship of a Star Trek show as it is too large to put it in story situation where we may feel for it.

[@hazel7296]

Something we haven't seen in sci fi much is the small scale picket or defensive screen ships. Ships that generally travel in tandem with the big boys as part of a flotilla. In star trek, an Oberth or Miranda. Pretty much the only place we see fleet action with distinct ship designs and diverse characters is in Galactica. It would be fun to have a very small ship with like 20 total crew taking part in larger conflicts and challenges. The Harrington books do a lot of that in the early books (when it isn't being a ham fisted allegory of the cold war and/or French revolution).

[@Beuwen_The_Dragon]

The Miranda Class gets so much flak for being ‘an old ship”, but many forget that Miranda class Starships were medium/Heavy Frigates before Starfleet demilitarized after the Khitomer Accords. They’re as fast and maneuverable as the Defiant, still quite heavily armed. And though they may not be as heavily armed or armoured as the Defiant Class, we did see them hold their own quite well during the Dominion War. They arguably did better than many bigger and newer Starfleet ships. We see Mirandas taking pounding after pounding, and still going, while Akiras, Nebulas and Excelsiors get melted in seconds. A picket/screening ship I think would actually better suited for a smaller hull size, about like an Oberth, but hopefully better armed and shielded…maybe a ship slightly larger than a Runabout would actually make for white a useful gunboat to speed into the enemy and harass them as the bigger ships stay off and bombard the enemy with long ranger weapons.

[@toddkes5890]

Comparing two ship designs assuming everything as identical as possible; just one ship twice as wide, tall and long making it 8* the mass of the smaller. Advantages of smaller ships: - higher surface area to volume, meaning 8 of them can dissipate more heat for their mass than a single larger vessel (larger vessel has only 4* the surface area but 8* the volume and heat-generating equipment) - faster to construct, so you can replace losses and bring in new designs faster - more ships, so you can patrol more locations and keep ships on station for longer periods (3 months on-site, 6 months transiting or in the rear = 1/3 of the ships always working vs the larger ship only on station 1/3 of the time) - smaller shipyard and repair yard needed, meaning you can build up combat infrstructure faster Advantages of larger ships: - higher volume to surface area, meaning exterior armor and shields will be twice as 'thick' compared to a ship 1/8 its mass (larger ship is 8* the mass but only 4* the surface area) - all communications is internal, so no worries about a random transmission giving your position away - more likely to be damaged after a fight (compared to smaller ships being destroyed) so you can get the ship back into action on-site faster vs replacing new craft - wider variety and capability of onboard repair systems. Small ships will have 8 copies of the same repair systems, while a larger ship can have more extensive Machine Shop on board. (i.e. smaller ships might carry several copies of standardized piping that are cut and bent to standard lengths, while a larger ship will carry a lot of straight pipe and a pipe-bending machine)

[@HikariKobayashi]

I think the idea of "relatively small vessels are better for story" has another merit that i havent seen discussed: variety of threats. In a setting where combat can happen, whatever the tech level, a smaller (but not the smallest) vessel can face a larger variety of threats. Your crew might have to face down a group of smaller starfighters, using wits and training to overcome greater odds and more maneuverable craft. Then the next crisis can involve a David vs. Goliath battle where our Davids in the smaller face an enemy dreadnought as the proverbial monster. Then there's the more equal duel between similar ships.

[@therealshadow99]

In my own sci-fi stories ships you can have command of start at around 5-10 people, then climb to around 20-40 people, then quickly balloon to around a 100 people, etc. As the series progresses ships and crews are lost or promotions and new ships and crews are given. This is the sort of organic flow actual military service has and lets the main cast rotate about. But it's nice to start small with a handful of main characters you get to know and expand from there.

[@tba113]

In the theme of it depending on the story you want to tell, one aspect in favor of big ships is the latitude a big ship has. The "Wildcards" fighter squadron of Marine Aviators in Space: Above & Beyond were the main ensemble cast, and a lot of episodes had them flying out on this or that adventure away from the ship - but the USS _Saratoga_ they were posted to was a carrier, a battlegroup flagship, and that means there's plenty of room for other departments to make their appearance as needed. A chapel, a small hospital rather than simply an infirmary, intel analysts, war rooms for the flag officer's staff, and of course "Marine country" where the main characters in the show lived... A small ship might have either a shared multipurpose area, or a single (probably cramped) compartment if the needed equipment is specialized, while a capital ship can have its own dedicated spaces with proper elbow room to work with. Still not necessarily _large_ spaces, but room enough for the story to take advantage the ship being a mobile base rather than just transportation and a bunkroom.

[@MsZeeZed]

The Expanse is focused around a hero ship powerful enough to make waves in The Belt and be a significant irritant to mid-level MCRN tactical commanders, yet to be of such a ubiquitous type as to barely register as significant to the planetary fleets as a whole. She’s called the Tachi (sword) because she’s a generic weapon. She a “Corvette” (basket) because that’s the smallest sail/steam ship that can make an ocean voyage and need a Captain, with the barest living quarters of an ocean going ship, so she’s port-to-port not a world to herself. It does feel like The Roci needs small teams for each section, but good job pointing out its so automated even a skeleton crew need to look for work unless there’s battle damage.

[@christophergroenewald5847]

The logic behind the Normandy's size is that it needed to have a small enough crew for personal bonds and comradery, but a big enough crew to feel like what it is. A fully staffed military frigate on a long-term deployment. I would say that that's probably the ideal size for a hero ship (at least in military sifi). In order for a warship to feel powerful, it needs to have some meat on it's bones and a larger crew than a hand full of sailors. A couple dozen nameless faces and less than a dozen fleshed out crew members that the plot revolves around is the ideal crew size for a hero warship.

[@kineticdeath]

This is a two-edged question and this video answers 1 edge, the other is "are smaller ships better?" as in the role and existence of smaller lighter tonnage vessels as a part of a larger overall force deployment. My early days of imagining space battles was thousands of 1500 meter long ships with dozens and dozens of fixed forward beam weapons whose formations were stacked up 100's high and 100's wide and simply filled space with all manner of energetic doom - in that light smaller ships were junk. Later on I went with a more integrated fleet with some big heavy hitters (battleships and missile carriers) supported by a bigger number of medium ships (cruisers and destroyers) themselves supported by a range of even smaller types (frigates or other uniquely named oddities whose design role was literally "glass cannon" such as my medium class guns on a 120m hull aptly named a "Cruiser Killer Mk 1"). I would sprinkle in specialty hulls where needed, super fast straightline ships for deep reccon or "experimental" type ships - usually with a very powerful weapon that would come in from hyperspace, take a single shot then have to depart and literally go away as they had no defenses due to power constraints. Not all force deployments even had or needed a capital ship, some cruisers and flight of frigates would often be sufficient. Smaller ships suddenly became a useful and core element of detailing a fleet action and sometimes were the "fleet" in their own right with bigger ships absent altogether.

[@TheArklyte]

Nyes! For military ships - yes as they have target profile as more important factor. For civilian vessels - no as they have economy of scale as more important factor. And for all vessels - depending on the task. Ships that is supposed to land would be small and cargo cycler would be planetoid sized. I have a feeling that fiction mostly put it on its head by thinking that warships(and military vehicles in general) irl are bigger then civilian ones. But for every battleship, tank or Tu-160 there is their own oil tanker, mining haul truck a An-225/A-380. Even among the first ironclads civilian Great Eastern came before Warrior, Gloire, Monitor and Virginia. Yes, Great Eastern wasn't very useful because it was constructed with too optimistic expectations of economic and market growths then it had gone irl, but in 50 years it was finally surpassed in all metrics. And in none of them by military vessel;)

[@robinporter8481]

In my sci-fi story I'm working on, ship size/function /crew size. The main ship you end up following is considered a corvette, and usually runs 25 to 45 crew, but, due to story central modifications, can also run with just 1 (with drones running repairs). References to a war mention that large ships (above battle cruiser) used to be prominent, but were too costly on supplies and crew. Another culture does run huge ships, but how is linked to the story central modifications of the story central ship.

[@Frizzleman]

One of my favourite hero ships is USS Nathan James from the last ship. It had a pretty big crew of over 200 all throughout the show but it felt like they all truly had a part to okay. Likely because it’s essentially military propaganda designed to make the navy look cool and competent but still entertains. My favourite episodes of that show are the malfunctions or crises aboard that require the crew to be creative and smart to solve various problems.

[@randomcoyote8807]

A lot also depends (IMO) on how deep into the minute details you want to get with your worldbuilding. Things like navy structure, doctrines, etc for the ones that like to get really down in the weeds and be able to answer questions like "What would this ship be used for? What mission does it fulfill? How does it fit in the fleet structure?" A lot of creators and readers don't care to get that drilled down, but to me I like having at least a vague idea about a ships expected role in the larger scheme of the fleet and government.

[@Daginni1]

Fleets are a orchestra of units. All playing their part to the whole. A Battleship, despite its great power is very vulnerable without its escort Destroyers/Cruisers covering its weaknesses. Same for the lesser combatants, they need the bigger units like Battleships to take on things they have little chance if combating. When it comes to lone units however. Operating by themselves. Things are different. You can evade, you can be clever, you can hit when they're vulnerable. You can retreat when its clear its not a good fight. You are not leaving a fellow ship crew behind if you run.

[@tcsmagicbox]

I thought the video was about whether smaller ships are better in battle, but a discussion about whether they're better for story telling is a pleasant surprise.

[@Sb129]

I think the Bebop is the perfect size and it also allows characters to have an even more personal small ship to themselves.

[@borgCube100]

I wouldn't say better. IMO it all depends on how the defensive tech matches with the offensive tech. Sometimes you need a bigger ship. Sometimes you need a smaller ship. For a lot of sci-fi smaller ships, you see "hero" ships or ships mounted with plot armour. Klingon Birds of Prey do fantastic things when a MC is onboard - apart from that they don't do fantastically. Smaller Rebel ships had to have the perfect conditions to shine, 1 out of 5 times being an upfront engagement. Even in 40K they had their very stronk usages, but also drawbacks. I think smaller ships require more specific conditions and more experienced crews - but absolutely EXCELL when those conditions are met. Larger ships are for power projection, general usage and for holding fronts.

[@WritingFighter]

Don't forget the _Black Pearl._ While not Sci-fi, you get a lot of the same concepts in _Pirates of the Caribbean._ I've come to really like this term "hero ship". Makes me think of the one in my next novel project.

[@achillesa5894]

I was totally expecting this video to be on the practical advantages an ddisadvantages of small and big ships. But a lesson in storytelling is also good from time to time I suppose!

[@KingOfMadCows]

In a lot of sci-fi franchises like Star Trek and Stargate, bigger warp/hyperspace engines allows for faster FTL travel. So the biggest ships can travel much faster. In Stargate, huge Asgard ships can zip around the galaxy in no time but smaller human ships equipped with the best Asgard technology are much slower even though they might be more advanced.

[@Napoleonic_S]

FTL tech in Stargate is OP compared to other space scifi...

[@awesomehpt8938]

You can’t turn an entire planet into slag with a small ship. What if you want to perform Exterminatus?

[@trazyntheinfinite9895]

Throw rocks?

[@VoxAstra-qk4jz]

Sure you can. Just once, though.

[@thestanleys3657]

"judge me by my size do you"-Yoda

[@jakeaurod]

I think a lot of it depends on the hierarchy and bureaucracy that comes with a larger ship and whether the tech allows for atmospheric entry and landing. In many IPs, small ships can hide in the background, land on any planet without notice and can fly into and out of atmospheres without much trouble. In those IPs, a larger ship would not only be noticed, but its arrival would prompt a flurry of activity by locals to either accommodate it or to prepare to fight it. Thats why, in my space story IP, the hero ship is classified as a cutter, that can haul cargo and/or people and dock at small asteroids and orbital stations and enter atmospheres. But, it's a prototype design with special and hidden modifications for combat.

[@Just_Rick_137]

I think a small ship depends on what universe you're in. Star Trek for example: a small ship would be around 100 meters with the la sirena being 85.5m and the Protostar class coming in at 139m. Shuttles and runabouts don't count in this case. Battleships, Carriers, and Cruisers all have thier place, but a small ship is easier to obtain, run, upkeep, is lighter, you can land on planet if you need to, and avoid being seen more easily than a larger ship. For comparison the Razorcrest is 25m, Millenium Falcon is 34.7m, Serenity is 82m, Roci is said to be 46m, The Normandy is 170m which would still be considered small in the Star Trek universe. Special shout out to Bo-Katan's Gauntlet at 68m, Hera Syndulla's Ghost at 43.9m and Ahsoka's T-6 1974 at 22.8m.

[@drakkonusfrostburn4038]

I expected this to be an examination of large warships versus small warships in space battles.

[@Mariuspersem]

I'm a fan of bigger ships, I would love to see more of them with a lot of redundant systems. I don't think large ships necessarily need large crew compliments. Modern tanker ships have only a handful of crew and I think the same would apply for spaceships as well

[@celticlad3251]

that would depend on the role of the ship ..... tanker/freighters wouldn't need a large crew because 90% or more of the ship is made to hold goods of some kind .... a warship is different and would need a much larger crew, even with redundant systems, to effectively run all regular stations .. and then man attack and defense stations... be able to repair battle damage to ship and internal systems ...... replace any wounded/killed crew members.

[@HardcoreCheese]

I have been watching your channel for years. You just keep improving more and more. You are doing outstanding and I look forward to your future videos.

[@TheTrueAdept]

Here's the thing, ship size is based on the technological context of a setting. For example, if your ship uses hydrogen (aka the worst fuel for anything _not_ fusion or antimatter) as a propellant, then that ~14m^3 is going to *_hurt_* in general (use water as propellant if you've got gas-NTRs or fusion rockets, sure the density of that 1m^3 of water hurts but not as much as just how much your surface area balloons when fitting all that ~14m^3 tankage), so you'll need to limit the size of the ship. In Star Trek, on the other hand, smaller tends to be less effective as your primary goals with your ships in that setting need to stuff as much firepower and shielding as possible forTrek ships tend to dance like fighters already, which means bigger _is_ better (the Dominion fast attack craft are an exception largely because their weapons were somewhat unique and they pulled a lot of compromises to get that much firepower into that hull). In a few of my settings, the answer to this question is, 'what niche is the craft fitting in'. For example, for a ship whose niche is planetary offense operations (basically an LHA/LHD), you'll need a fairly large ship to support everything of the landing force up to and including orbital fire support while a ship whose niche is for light system patrols whose main opponents tend to be ships that aren't top-of-the-line military tend to be smaller.

[@mix-up9003]

I would go with multiple castes groups, with a ring leader each to represent the different facets of the crew.

[@Zorro9129]

So like how Star Trek does it with different crew categories sorted by shirt color? Modern navies are fairly similar. Or do you mean in a more abstract sense?

[@mix-up9003]

@@Zorro9129 Mostly, I was thinking more like BSG, but ST is closer, the chef/commander is the voice of the department and the department members represent different ways of viewing the situation/crisis, based off their personalities so that you have a good back and forth within the group and interaction the various departments, and the leaders represent the brain in how they coordinate their efforts to achieve their goals, making it feel more like a group effort.

[@youtubeisapublisher6407]

One good way to give big ships more character is to have each major section of the ship, (which would otherwise be generic copies stacked one atop the next) have it's own design theme and slightly unique color scheme. Obviously they would still share a lot in common but having each "deck" or compartment be unique in some way lends a large ship both character and believability. Obviously this is difficult in serialized shows where you have to reuse big sets and can't afford to make say five different flavors of corridors, rooms, quarters, etc, but it's something I'd consider spending a little time describing if I were writing a story or a bit of extra time modeling if I were making a game.

[@Technodreamer]

One of the best examples of a well-done "big ship" is the Cerritos from Star Trek: Lower Decks. Having a good number of episodes really gives you time to flesh out a lot of the "extras", and it being animated leads to you seeing the SAME additional crew rather than different faces every episode. Over seasons of show, it really gives a strong sense that this is a CREW who all know each other at least a little bit, even if it's just to nod to each other as they pass in the hallway. I appreciate you ending the video on "Ford, I think I'm a sofa."

[@autoeclectic8808]

No negativity, I've loved this channel for years, but this basically a creative writing lesson channel now. I like this, but this is what bit is.

[@yemmohater2796]

Amazing video. As cool as massive 40K-sized dreadnoughts are, a more restrained baseline like in The Expanse could make the truly huge ships stand out (i.e. how the Nauvoo truly feels like a Behemoth but in Red Rising it'd be a regular big warship)

[@demicus]

Different sized ships have different purposes. Sometimes you NEED a big ship, sometimes a little ship will do. Depends on the tech, the desired role, the desired capacities, how far from home does it need to operate, does it need to be fully self sufficient, so many variables.

[@shamblingpound9617]

I get so much inspiration from your series and videos when making my space game. Never stop. I love these videos so much!

[@marc0523]

I think you should consider breaking these type of questions into two videos. One about what works for television and media, etc. And one about what works for "real life". I couldn't care less what works for television, I want to decide which ship I would use in "real life".

[@TheFirstObserver]

Love the XCom 2 music. I wonder if the Avenger would count, being a Elder space ship repurposed for XCom's needs?

[@dh8203]

In stories with smaller ships that have fewer crew, the ship is essentially like another character. When the ship becomes a flying town it usually acts more as a setting than a character in the story.

[@anthonylovesey1137]

The 'Roundabout' class from ST: DS9 or the 'Delta Flyer' from ST: VOY can operate with between 2 & 6 crew members.

[@Anti_Woke]

[From a small ship] Why can't it be both? Big ships for big picture stories, their small subordinate craft for more individual settings. Trek did this with shuttle craft a few times. 2001 even did it when Dave and Frank try to hide from HAL by talking in the 'D' pod.

[@RJ_Ehlert]

Doc Cottle is my favorite Battle Star Galactic character.

[@be-noble3393]

It took you over Eight minutes to say, which ever the writer thinks is better. I still watched it but still.

[@chocolatemonk]

Really all of your points align with the ideas of people need stakes, people want character dev, and it all needs to makes sense why or setup for properly. As long as you remember what ship size you go with and then plan your story around it or change the ship to match your setting

[@Rybo-Senpai]

it depends on the task you need the ship for in any show, but a lot of the designs i've seen take from WW1/2 era naval combat but evolve it for space, with Big Capital Ships like Battleships or Battlecruisers, then a more Patrol focused Cruisers which can quickly be re-tasked as needed for escort or rapid response, then we come to escorts/pickets with Destroyers and Frigates designed more to be a outer escort screen for a Battlefleet or transport group, rarely operating independently for extended periods of time due to their more limited stores capacity.

[@nigeldepledge3790]

Going back to the tail end of the '70s, Blake's Seven did a pretty good job of giving us a small crew in a big ship. Although, they could really have done with a considerably bigger SFX budget. In a completely different vein, but with some parallels nevertheless, the first two seasons of Red Dwarf had a very small crew rattling around in an enormous ship.

[@UltimateSpinDash]

This video reminds me of a thought I keep having about Star Trek: Voyager. A major point was that Voyager was a much smaller, less luxurious ship than what we were used to from the Enterprise-D, with a much smaller crew that was supposed to grow into a big family. Of course, Voyager thoroughly wasted almost every premise it touched, but looking back, I think it actually should've been a ship designed for the type of journey it would ultimately undertake. It could still be out of it's depth by virtue of not all crewmembers being on board and not all facilities finished by the time of the shakedown cruise that left it stranded, but that would've given it room to believably grow into a ship that could survive the journey without the use of the almighty reset-button.

[@Dreamfox-df6bg]

It depends on how they are used. One series I'm reading usually has huge hero ships. In Star Trek their size allows them to carry ships like the Enterprise (Classic, A; B; C and D). Sometimes several episodes play out on a smaller ship and we get to know some of the crew. As they are not part of the main characters, they sometimes don't survive their appearance. Sometimes their entire ship gets destroyed and sacrificed. Other times the main characters take a ship the size of the Millenium Falcon or the Serenity, depending on the side mission. As they have dozens or hundreds of them, they also can be sacrificed. That allows them to take on combat missions without risking the hero ships, stealth missions even ground missions with a notable security force. The writers keep a good mix of the different missions and adventures so the size and capabilities are not wasted. I should add that the hero ships in that series are the only ones or one of the few available to the hero faction that can travel to other galaxies, where they don't have the resources of their faction behind them, so the smaller ships, which can range up top cruisers and battlecruisers in size, have to keep the main ship safe if they want to make it back home again. Sadly often these capabilities are wasted in many franchises. As much as I like Star Trek, they have underutilized ships like the Galaxy-Class Enterprise D. P.S. I realize that they do have budget constraints.

[@lagrangewei]

the size of the ship is determine by it endurance requirement which are calculation by the number of days it can survive without resupply. modern destroyer and frigate has almost identical firepower, however destroyer can operate for far longer with more fuel, food and missiles in storage. the issue with tachi in expanse is that as a corvette "sized" ship, it really wouldn't have the storage to last the crew for more than a week. if you eat everything you see in the pantry, it last about a week, if you can't RTB within a week you are dead. so that limit what the crew could do with the ship. afterall it was design to dock with it mothership when not in use which is perfect. IMO, what is the best ship size depend on how you are going to build the story, can such a ship actually achieve the independent operation it requires... does it has enough logistic capability to perfrom its mission. the fleet has ship of different size because different size ship can do different mission better. there is no one size fit all... US tried with LCS and it was a hot mess... don't do that. having different size add to the character, that one issue with the starfleet, it is mostly just different ship class of very similiar size...

[@BrGuardian]

I like the idea of the cast being a smaller fraction of a fleet, operating a smaller shuttle, but also needing to stop at the main shuttle carrier or supply ship in order to restock and refuel, giving a time for the cast to wander around while interact with the others stationed there. I know that the cast being part of the command looks cooler, but you have a lot of also important roles inside the crew structure.

[@appo9357]

Corvette-class Light Frigates.

[@BeyondtheRailz]

Smaller agile ships like the Akira can really kick the enemy where it hurts the most too

[@Levi_Skardsen]

The Akira-class isn't small, though. It's about the same size as a Nebula. It's bigger than the Intrepid-class.

[@marcusmanchester7095]

The Akira is legitimately a baby Galaxy class, it's far from small and can handle almost anything the flagship classes can

[@EngiRedbeard]

A better title would something like, "Stories, do they need big ships or small ones." Since this was not at all about the ship, but the story. A ship should be as big as it needs to be do do the mission it was designed for, and no bigger. So if you take that to your emphasis on the story, it should be as big as it needs to be to tell the story that is being told.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

One facet is the size of the FTL-drives, and for my own writing the inter-stellar ships end up the size of a small station as a result. And escort ships end up limited by the size of the mothership's drydocks in order to carry them through the unstable wormholes created. Overall these days I lean more towards The Expanse end of the spectrum that the Star Wars side of things.

[@Viggenpower]

What the heck 😂. I thought you were going to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of ship size, but you spent your entire time talking about what are essentially the "red shirts" of each franchise and whether or not they have value to the story.

[@shinjofox]

Better is also a term that requires qualification. How is it better? Just like what qualifies as a small ship, as you suggest. Navys on earth the trend is towards small or medium vessels like frigates or destroyers because of cost and spreading fire power out over many targets. It has been shown that many small ships can usually take one large impressive ship, The Bismark and Yamoto and her sister ship as examples of that.

[@SystemBD]

The longest, most sci-fi way to say "it is not the size that matters, its how you use it".

[@electricminecrafter]

when the future tech engines of the "Kerbal Space Program 2" video game come out, will you talk about them?

[@kevingriffith6011]

I would argue that a bigger ship is probably cheaper and more efficient than a bunch of smaller ships. It all comes down to systems that all ships need, regardless of scale. Computers, communication, navigation systems, life support, crew... five cargo ships that can haul 100 tons each will need more of all of these things than a single cargo ship that can haul 500 tons. Not to mention the fact that components that aren't concerned so much with being space-efficient can be more efficient in other places. One large reactor is likely more efficient than several small ones, such like that. It's a matter of the purpose of the ship: Colony ships, super-freighters and large scale construction ships are likely going to be the biggest ships in a sci-fi setting that are aiming for plausibility, For war ships you're generally looking to be as small as possible while still effectively filling in the role it's designed for.

[@cakeonfrosting8105]

What I find to be interesting about the observations made about the ‘character’ of big vs small ships seems to be almost opposite of how it has been historically. Small ships might be personalized TO THEIR CREW, but viewed from an outside perspective it can be difficult to distinguish different ships from those in their class at a distance (enter: US Destroyer swarm circa 1945). There are just so many of them that it is hard to make stand out. (The same is true of planes, you recognize a model, but not the pilot/crew) Big ships, on the other hand, are much more recognizable. Because of how big they are, their ability to absorb damage, the changes to design over construction and the long service lives meaning frequent retrofits, individual ships are much more likely to develop a distinctive character and community around them.

[@Seraphus87]

I work on a ship which has a quite small crew. There are around a dozen of us (currently 11 regulars and one slot which we fill with external contractors) but only half the crew is on board at the same time, the other half has R&R. At a length of 178 meters, I wouldn't exactly call the ship itself small though, plenty of space to get some work done away from the others if we get too misfit-y.

[@FltCaptAlan]

Is a ship a small ship? It depends on your point of view, compared to Serenity, the USS Defiant would be huge, but compare Defiant to any of the (non-NX) Enterprises and she becomes quite small. And while USS Enterprise D looks quite big, compared to the Battlestar Galactica (RDM) or an ISD, the old galaxy class starts to look small.

[@RedneckRapture]

My opinion on it before watching the video: Honestly it depends on the level of firepower, the accuracy with which that firepower can be put out, the quality of defenses, and whether or not those defenses scale in size. If we're talking Star Wars, carriers with screening forces could deploy so much firepower that larger ships cannot stand up to them, or you could base them on a planet and with sufficient planetary weapons, such as ion cannons, you could easily destroy an attacking fleet in conjunction with ground based fighters. In Star Trek, though, there's something to be said for size. Cruiser sized ships are best because smaller ships don't have the defensive capability to stand up to larger ships, which have more energy to throw into their weapons and the fire control systems to use those powerful weapons against any sized target from a very long range. I personally would absolutely LOVE to see a sci fi show centered around a battleship captain in a time of war. Battlestar Galactica was great but it was more about the situation they were in than fighting a war. A show where the main characters are the people onboard a battleship as it goes through a war, along the lines of the book series 'Blood on the Stars', would be a hit, I think.

[@neonity4294]

The first ST ships were basically a hull around the warp core, half of the vessel was dedicated to the drive. And honestly, I like it more that technology to break the laws of physics needs a lot of room and can't be fitted into the trunk from a space sprinter.

[@underinet]

The fregate class size ship seems the best, for me. Larger than a corvette like the Millenium Falcon, enough to have random crew, a main group (commanders, squadron members) and some smaller ship like fighter. And the size is small enough to avoid anonymous big ship like a Star Wars star destroyer as you explain. Something like the Tantive IV in Star Wars 4 seems to fit perfectly the goal.

[@oquocharlz]

Moya in Farscape is relatively large but with a minimal crew...technically the Pilot assisted by the DRDs, the former prisoners, John Crichton and an assortment of people who join from time to time.

[@squirrel6687]

Blake's 7: Big ship, the Liberator, with a small hero crew. Aside from no sequel and the stint where Dr. WHO writers took over, this was one solid space opera on par IMHO with the 2004 Battlestar Galactica. What it lacks in special effects compared to today is a charming line of ships, characters, and plot.

[@GAJake]

I really think a better ship for mando after the razor crest would be a lancer pursuit craft. It was a patrol ship produced by MandalMotors. Most notably the mandalorian bounty hunter Ketsu Onyo flew one named the Shadow Caster in star wars rebels. It was about the size of the falcon, had a decent amount of cargo space but was mostly used for patrolling, bounty hunters, or crime syndicates. It required a pilot but also could use a copilot, and it had space for 4 passengers. It was fast for a ship of its size at 1050kph in atmosphere. Its armament consisted a dorsal mounted triple light laser cannon turret and a forward-mounted twin light laser cannon. Its fire control system was also relatively advanced making it easy for a single pilot to use. It also had a ventral mounted tractor beam projector and it also could be outfitted with more weapons very easily. I think Mando would be happy to own a Mandalorian made ship and with him traveling by himself often there's no need to have a troop transport like Bo Katan. They could very easily write in him stealing one from a crime syndicate or Bobba Fett could give him one since he was fighting them.

[@JustTooDamnHonest]

I lean more towards patrol/attack crafts like the Slave 1 as hero ship and its arsenal can make it deadly.

[@moshelaks1961]

If you want a physically large ship with a small crew, Cordwainer Smith's short story "Golden The Ship Was--Oh! Oh! Oh!" features a ship 90 million miles long with aa crew of exactly one.

[@Zeithri]

I love the NX-01. And the Serenity. That is all.