An Architect Reviews the Aegis Hammerhead - Star Citizen

[@panko2848]

"Cancer inducing internal nuclear winters aside..." has got to be one of the best ways to start a sentence I've ever heard! Love these videos man they really are a joy to watch.

[@Baleur]

Correction, he said "nuc-ular", the good old George W Bush school of english at work again ;P

[@davecrupel2817]

Made me laugh

[@-SANDMAN-]

Baleur Norman Schwartzkopf of Desert Storm would pronounce it just as wrongly. horrible

[@you_just]

“A true airlock with two doors” *proceeds to leave both doors open*

[@fredashay]

There should be a mechanical interlock that prevents both doors from being open at the same time. I guess HAL is being naughty again :-/

[@themorethemerrier281]

@Preston Henry So happy for you guys!

[@CityWhisperer]

@Preston Henry Ignore both these comments, they are spam.

[@theonefrancis696]

Airopen

[@bikkyychaudhry4510]

Your ship reviews are the best I've found on the internet so far.

[@Exsulator2]

Just be to be sure, have you seen Gaming With Jim? It's totally diferrent review format, so they're not competitors but it's good fun. I usually watch both

[@davecrupel2817]

I second this.

[@Folker46590]

I would say the crew compliment is to small, no armory is dumb as is the lack of airlocks and blast doors. The interior is to dark and brooding, reminds me of Alien. Overall it's not a ship I would ever buy or serve on willingly.

[@vincent5]

100%

[@xistaticxi7243]

One of the best*

[@MrRolnicek]

One thing you forgot about (understandably) is that windows are expensive. Not in a "no need for that luxury on a military ship" expensive way. But in a "if you have a window your GPU needs to render what's on the other side" kind of expensive.

[@sentinel929]

Actually I would argue both ways are true. Carbon nano-structures are going to be way more expensive than steel. I love the lack of windows personally, gives it that "below deck" or "submarine" naval feeling. Also, helps crew stay focused when going from place to place, you don't want your minions blinded by explosions while en route to battle stations do you?

[@SnprMk7]

I don't think that matters much, considering it is effectively just a filter over a hole in the hull; your rig is still rendering everything 'on the other side' of the hull, you just can't see it without a window in the intervening space. Otherwise, that would require the program to intelligently determine how much you can see, in real time, from your position relative to the window and load and unload as you moved, again in real time, and do all of this at high speed to preserve the same effect you get if you just kept it all loaded and simply had a hole to see only a portion of that loaded world at a time. Sitting in the shower doesn't de-render the entire game world simply because you can't see out of it. Your GPU has long ago already loaded what's exterior to the ship- once again, you just can't see it.

[@KuraIthys]

I would have to point out, as someone who has written game engines (not good ones, but it's more than most), and has some experience with 3d engine design.... Hidden surface removal is not a trivial matter. It's different on modern hardware than on really old stuff (if you were using a late 90's/early 2000's GPU, or worse, a software renderer, overdraw will eat you alive. Nowadays it's less critical) To give an example of what has changed over time, one of the optimisation techniques for 3d spaces developed in the early 90's is the portal rendering engine (yes, Portal DOES technically use that concept, if you were wondering, to do actual portals). The first example I know of is the Descent series of games, which were managing full 3d graphics on a 386 while Doom was still faking it even on 486 systems. The tradeoff? Portal rendering is only an effective optimisation when dealing with small enclosed spaces. (Duke Nukem 3d is also using portal rendering, but it's not a full 3d engine so it has other limitations as well) So, what is the point of portals as an optimisation? They prevent overdraw. In a portal based engine you divide your world into small rooms, then define certain parts of those spaces as being 'portals' - regions that link to something else in the world. Usually simple rectangles for simplicity's sake. The portal defines a link to another portal somewhere else in the world. (one of the side effects of a portal renderer is you can dynamically alter which portals connect, thus creating stargate like things and geometry that can't physically exist in a 3d space by itself) The game engine would build the world by determining where the camera is, and rendering whatever room is visible in the camera, making note of any portals in the field of view. Every time you encounter a portal, you then treat the portal bounds as a new camera and render into that area whatever is visible from the portal, and so on. With some fairly complex code you can ensure that this process draws only the visible rooms and has NO overdraw whatsoever. A big deal when drawing a pixel is an expensive process. However, at some point the ability to draw pixels quickly outpaced the ability to do the portal culling efficiently. In this context it turned out that it was actually faster to just take the visible portals and traverse the list of all the visible rooms that these connected portals show, then render them back to front. This creates a ton of overdraw, but is still faster than the algorithms needed to prevent said overdraw. Meanwhile, this still massively increases performance, because you are still culling huge amounts of the world. Remember here that there's multiple stages all of which can be optimised; Just because textures and geometry is loaded onto the GPU for stuff happening outside the ship, doesn't mean that actually taking that loaded geometry and rendering it is free. There are still performance costs associated with the actual rendering process. and having a window means you have to do the DRAWING process for what's visible outside the window (whether the models for it are loaded is a seperate issue that has more to do with Video memory limits than rendering performance) If there's no window, there's no reason for the client to be drawing anything going on outside the ship. It doesn't have to perform the geometry transformations for individual vertices and polygons for these objects. Doesn't have to do texturing for them. Doesn't have to render these polygons. The only criteria for being able to quickly show the exterior of the ship is that this exterior stuff has to be easily loaded into memory or already be in memory. But memory is a distinct resource from the actual rendering performance required... Having said that, plenty of ships show up the fact that this likely isn't done for technical reasons. After all, if performance was that much of a problem, why would you have these massive panoramic windows like in Origin ships? If it's a technical problem for one ship, it should be a problem for all of them.

[@jarr4287]

There's no need for big windows. Instead a very thin line of glass would do the trick, to give situational awareness from the outside to the crew, so they know what is happening around them. So yes, that would also help with performance as you said

[@Metalrasputian]

@@SnprMk7 That's not necessarily true. Often game engines will optimize rendering by not rendering elements you can't see. So when you're sitting in the shower in your ship, it's unlikely your GPU is loading the planet you're flying next to. But you put a one way portal in that shower for your viewing pleasure and it's now rendering the LoD of that planet.

[@AudiaciousLife]

2 quick points, Having served on a naval vessel, i can tell you that messhalls are generally large, as they are an all purpose gathering area, and basically an after hours hangout. If there are 9 ppl on board, and possibly a contingent of Marines, i feel its an appropriate size. Second point is more of a question, do the engine bay doors open? you mention it would depressurize the ship, but is it possible that attempting to open that main door, closes the other blast doors?

[@Morphologis]

No, I can confirm that when you open the bay doors, the others don't close. Good point on the mess hall by the way, you have a unique first hand experience with this, I think then I should amend my position on it's size if there are indeed marines on board. Still though, there should be an armory somewhere on board.

[@Tonatsi]

since this is a military/utilitarian ship, i think having a small armory, or at least weapon wall in the crew quarters would be appropriate.

[@stonerleprechaun1402]

YES! i own this ship and have followed it since we 1st heard of it there will b blast doors ANYWHERE there is a non rounded section of the ship they just dont work yet also the airlock in the front is for docking with stations as mentionded in a ATV episode BUT i feel it does need a gun rack or two say 1 in crew quarters and 1 in mess?

[@AudiaciousLife]

@@Morphologis no of course I agree an armory is needed, which is why I didnt disagree on that point, on my ships they were in the berthing, and with the space there, I think they could add a small one in the one on this ship.

[@sanforce]

A weapon wall would be great in the front near the air lock. I'd also like to see an extendable ladder added to the front airlock, so it could be used on the ground when the ship is powered down. Overall, I love the ship... probably my favorite so far.

[@ryderlynch2281]

Honestly the presentation of these videos, the details you point out, and the observations you make about the proper use of design language, coloring, and function really make me want to hire you if I ever have the need to have a spaceship interior designed. You communicate the points you're trying to make really well and the editing and music choices you include in the video enhance their realism and the viewer's immersion into the world. Even the smoothness of your voice as you narrate makes the videos enjoyable. Well done, Mr. Morphologist. Well done.

[@Arbiteroflife]

I noted his voice was very on point as well.

[@Lintary]

Some quick thoughts: Armoury wise I think they just need to add weapons rack next to those EVA suits. Bulkhead doors to the engineering/cargo section are needed, however I would argue in combat the crew would be suited up, cause you do not want to die when a small hole is punched in your ship. You can even think expanse wise where they suit up and depressurize the ship before compact to avoid the potential damage of explosive decompression. Beside that I believe the turrets are poorly designed, CIG love for thick struts is well know and it is an issue, but far more importantly is that key information is your in your field of vision. That radar should be in my field of vision, at the same time those two screens on the side are pointless. As a turret gunner I need to know just 2 things: 1: My radar/sensor screen for enemy locations and 2: the status of my weapons. Any other information is not relevant at best and at worst highly distracting. I should not worry about the ship getting turn to pieces my duty would be to keep firing until either my turret is no longer functional, I am being told to evacuate or I am death. The bridge I like a lot personally as well, the need for visibility is not really there and it's location does make it less like to get hit than some of the raised or frontally located bridges.

[@robertschumacher2707]

I also like the underslung bridge because of its' role as a flak ship for bigger capital ships. The placement of the bridge allows the Hammerhead to cover an area on a larger ship that has taken damage or lost defensive turrets by flying close enough to the bigger ship that hitting the damaged spot is nearly impossible.

[@GoingRampant92]

Carde, your comment is golden. i have more of an issue with the placement of some of the turrets rather than the turrets them selves, the turrets on the wings can be blocked by those on the nose, and should be staggered vertically. and then the nose hatch, which doesn't seem to have a purpose.

[@eXpG_Harlock]

4:49 did you know that these "mechanical parts" are shock absorbers because the hammerheads front is build for ramming other ships

[@nasme100]

That is a "nonsensical" design choice. Why is the bridge at the front of the ship if the ship is built to potentially ram enemies. The whole ship would lose the bridge and any flight control as soon as it rammed another ship.

[@CelticAngloPress2nd]

Or...its for the landing gear @ 17:46

[@eXpG_Harlock]

@@CelticAngloPress2nd in that case might be so even if not intended it sure helps bad drivers

[@noahcederlund7660]

Harlock RAMMING SPEED!!

[@sehfisch2350]

@@nasme100 at 17:46 you can see that the bridge is really not at the front but a few meters behinde the front and with the front being as broad as it is it probs wont penetrate far enough for the bridge to actually hit the target

[@Mike-my7uf]

Remember it's for.. YƆИƎӘЯƎMƎ Y⅃ИO ƎƧU 12:11

[@aguspuig6615]

i love how small the bridge of this ship is, being almost like a more spacious airplane cabin rather than an actual bridge of a bigger ship, and for example how the captian gets his own room but it isnt much more luxurious than the crews quarters, it really sells the feeling that thtis is a big ship but not the biggest, and that its the big boy in most servers but in an actual war it would be a medium ship covering the bigger capital ones

[@highgrounder5238]

Now build this in Space Engineers!

[@MarkusM121]

I will. Actually, as a cruiser, it would fit right in my line of combat vessels after my reefshark corvette, even from a stylistic point of view.

[@BuzZzKiller]

Hmm good idea! I used to do that a lot. I built an 890, freelancer, 300 series, cutlass, merlin, caterpillar, and even a functioning Revel and York Hangar. But I haven't played SE in so long. I bet its a totally different game now.

[@CaptPatrick01]

Maybe also fix those very stupid design mistakes in Space Engineers while your at it... I don't want to be ripped from my toilet and sucked out into space because a bonehead decided it would be a good idea to open the rear cargo bay while on the moon... Also, there are space pirates here but we don't have any way to stock any guns and ammo on board. Now we're dead. Woooooooooooooooo...

[@YorkRobert]

I know this is a bit old, but recently looking through the Hammerhead, I wanted to point out two design details that a lot of people seem to miss: One is that as pointed out, the pilot's job is to provide a stable platform for the turrets; but to that end, the pilot will have to fly the ship around, and two very important aspects of flying a gunship come into play: The pilot will need to fly the ship near the ground for attacking surface targets or ground support, and the pilot will need to land and take off. Seeing up isn't terribly important in space, but seeing down where you'll often be bringing the ship intentionally close to surfaces is pretty important. Second, and it's smaller, but in the ceiling on the main hallways there's a rail system. This is used in real battleships for putting a carriage on to move heavy objects or incapacitated crew easily around the vessel. Neat small detail.

[@ulvemann43]

I have a certain suspicion that the cargo ramp etc for this ship will have air shields in the future. Given the design that is what i think makes the most sense, however we just don't have them implemented yet. That is also how i see the Constellation's cargo area working

[@aeviternusnox9012]

I've explored the ship in our an noticed that there's an empty space between the cargo lift and the hatch that opens up on the hull below it, that could be a space to have a air shield.

[@NinjaC00M]

They have mentioned that these will be in the game on one of the Banu drop ships, however if what Nox says is true then it'll likely be the same as on the constellation.

[@Godwinsname]

Tevarin Prowler, yes that ship should come with it. Next patch :)

[@elska3759]

15:20 in the crew quarters you can find several wardrobes for the personal belongings and equipment, which would include teir service firearms

[@Fenrisu]

I like these reviews, they are different and fresh to what we usually see. Good presentation, clean and neutral. Thankyou :) - Would you consider doing a review of the 300i before and after the (hopefully soon to come) redesign? Would be a good chance to understand design choice (and consequence?) more in depth.

[@johnfkennedy1019]

this ship feels like the designers got heavily inspiredby the alien franchise/ the alien isolation game. also I wonder, do star citizen designers watch morphologis on a regular basis to boost there confidence while programming??

[@ADMNtek]

Nathan Dearsley Vehicle Art Director in the uk is a big alien fan you can usually identify him by is Weyland-Yutani cap. he was largely responsible for the Aegis design language.

[@YodasPapa]

I hope they do. Dude has good insights.

[@glennpbooth]

Probably not. They already know that they're designing in the correct way and probably have years and years of artistic background in their team. Doesn't take a youtuber to tell them that red means bad.

[@shouldntreallybehere69]

the hammerhead looks like it was inspired from the Defender class light corvette from Star wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Hammerhead cruisers

[@WabbitCrouton]

Very nice analysis and good critiques! The lack of airlock doors at the cargo bay and an armory is indeed something I have not realized until you pointed this out. I hope CIG pays attention to this. I love the noticeable environment lighting changes when entering rooms. Especially the transitions at 4:05 and 4:57.

[@brand-194]

Also for the exposed glowing engine in the cargo bay, I would avoid and paranoid if emits loud noise and glowing particle and it may even damage the cargo too, if emits heat too~ but the bridge is nice.

[@Nelforr]

I found your review videos very recently and I initially thought that they would be overly critical and negative. I was dead wrong. You bring up excellent points, your voice is very comfortable and you speak very clearly. I love everything about these review videos and can't wait for more! So far I've been able to agree with every single point you've brought up in any of these review videos. Keep up the good work!

[@ggoddkkiller1342]

As an engineer i can say Hammerhead has too much glass already due regardless what it is made of they will be weaker and a ship of this size and many turrets wouldn't have a glass bridge rather a heavily protected bridge deep inside but ofc this is a game so they have to add glass bridges to make things more fun like you said which is same for most movies etc that there are always glass bridges in huge ships but there are correct ones too like Star trek or Battlestar Galactica etc. Also engine-cargo room design is extremely poor as having both engines exposed in same room is a no-no in every way due an attack could take out both engines and even in case of a malfunction one engine can easily damage the other!! So they seriously should separate those engines such as they can raise engines to the same level of engineer room where the room would have access to left and right engines with both separated with blast doors. Engineer room won't see the engines but it isn't seeing the engines right now neither so i have no idea what purpose that glass has, checking cargo?? 😁😁

[@laplongejunior]

"regardless what it is made of they will be weaker" lore says they aren't, so they aren't weaker in a world where you can have inter-planetary travel in 15 minutes

[@Waudi47]

@@laplongejunior Even if the material is as strong as steel you still have to mount it in a way that would create a structural weakness.

[@R.JoshField]

You should engineer some punctuation.

[@ggoddkkiller1342]

@@R.JoshField Sure, i was writing a thesis so i had to be very careful about punctuation, right??? You are just wasting time very poorly..

[@ggoddkkiller1342]

@@laplongejunior Lets say glass armour is somehow stronger than other materials in this universe but then care to explain why vast majority of the ship isn't made of glass armour which is stronger??

[@Raugharr]

After flying the Hammerhead in the free flight, I absolutely love the idea of the bottom mounted bridge. In space, it doesn't really matter where the bridge is. But boy, when you are trying to land a ship that flies like a brick, that extra vision over your landing area works wonders. I could easily, and comfortably land this ship without using third person view. Also, it makes me think of Aegis as shield, that can block incoming fire to protect a larger ship , or a city / settlement from bombardment without exposing the bridge. Additionally, the bridge is well separated from the main deck, protecting the pilots and allowing to do their work while the crew fights off a boarding party. And finally, let me note that I love your reviews! Thorough and professional. For your next, I recommend the Reclaimer from the same manufacturer.

[@Atari-gz6ki]

Oh man. So I've let SC cook on the backburner for three years or so and I'm poking my nose back in the waters for 3.8 and your videos have been fantastic man! Love the perspective!

[@padmaniecrockford3979]

WOW!!! First of all thank you for taking the time outside of your firm to create this video! Also I want to note I watched the entirety of the video because it was so refreshing to hear a KZbinr describe the nuances, materials and the user of the space. I also have to mention to have the best camera movement of anyone! Top Mark's sir!

[@DataDownLynk]

With my military experience, i can safely say that even the smallest amount of luxury is nonexistent in military vehicles. the seats have barebones padding, and the AC and heat is minimal.

[@KuraIthys]

Sounds like a good way to cause people to go insane or at least end up with unnecessary medical problems. But I guess that's a tradeoff that militaries seem willing to make.

[@animationspace8550]

@@KuraIthys they get trained and tolerance filtered for a reason you know. It may be uncomfotable but they are literally trained to work through the pain.

[@-_Nuke_-]

@@KuraIthys so true

[@-_Nuke_-]

@@KuraIthys I've been to the military myself and I can tell you with clear certainty that they don't give a fuck about their poor soldiers. their philosophy is clear they want you to completely FORGET how it is to live in decency (or how to live in general for that matter) and they want this for 1 and only reason. To make you want to die. So that not only will you want to throw yourself in the front line but you will want to, too. Marines in the army barely sleep meaning they won't sleep more than 3 hours per day. And by sleep I mean real sleep not take a nap with a bunch of other marines next to you being loud not allowing you to relax or being forced to sleep and then being woken up to do chores in the middle of your 2 hour nap... So at some point the marine or the simple soldier will start wanting to die. I found particularly easy to understand how easy it is to make an army willing to throw itself in the front line if you feed them but not allowing them to sleep. Everyone knows that the army the only real currency that exists is free time. And you don't want to be exchanging that with anything. So deprivation of sleep is a very easy way to manipulate a large number of soldiers, make them obedient and willing to die at any point. But if you have relaxed soldiers that lack food then you are fucked! They will eventually rebel against you and the whole army camp will suffer serious issues. So the army is really that terrible. Deprivation of sleep, lack of basic hygiene, lack of normality of behaviour and speach, power roles etc, all that made so that everyone forgets how it feels to be free and make you follow orders like an obedient robot that doesn't feel think or argue :/

[@ironc5194]

Only Air Force vics have working ac haha

[@NomadicHavoc]

I also really enjoy your videos critiquing the design of ships with use of your knowledge and experience as an architect. With a MMO space simulator that prides itself on “realism” your keen eye helps me to seriously think about where I’d like to invest my funds. Plus it’s just plain ol’ fun to watch and dream about. Kudos to you!

[@RemedyDoesGaming]

What do you think about the double hallway in the middle? You think that is a waste of space or do you like it?

[@Morphologis]

RemedyDoesGaming I think the redundancy is important in a ship like this. In future, it will be possible to have parts of the ship blown off and depressurized. Having 2 ways to get too and from the bridge gives the crew a bit of insurance to be able to keep up the fight until the engagement is over, and to be able to escape in the case of total catastrophe.

[@RemedyDoesGaming]

I never thought of it like that to be honest, my view was that they could of added another room or two, such as the armoury or something else. But now you've mentioned it I'm growing to like the idea of it, so thanks.

[@sanforce]

I like the double hall for redundancy, but hope some of that space can be used for retractable drop ship seats and wall mounted armory.

[@PH03NIX96]

@@Morphologis U.S. Military loves redundancy

[@xtremetuberVII]

So, to vastly over simplify, sectionalised compartments means more chance of survival in the case of loss of portions of the ship. It'll be slightly better than being "naked" which is to say, EVAing in space, where you have about two hours of oxygen. They'd probably be able to last say maybe, 4 hours, or 6, something like that?

[@user-zq6yz5gf6d]

I love the way CIG puts a backstory behind their ships, with subtle details around the interior, such as the small personal items that can be found on the shelves of the HH's beds, around the carrack and msr's crew cabins, exposed wires, scuffed walls and floors, flickering lights, tarnished metals. While a lot of these probably won't be noticed by most players, they add so much atmosphere and really give off the feeling that this ship has been lived in.

[@emberdrops3892]

It's like a 2974 Bob Ross is speaking to you XD Wonderfully done :}

[@Wildjesta]

So far I agree with most of the comments in this section, so all I have left to say is Morph you are a brilliant genius. Your videos are phenomenal! It was an honor to ride with you once before. Best regards, Schpongle

[@TheStrangerHAZ]

Love your vids @Morphologis but there's one thing I think you might've missed in regards to this ship in particular that influences its design. At the end of the day, Star Citizen is still a game that needs to be played by other people and so game balance still has a massive effect on the ships in particular. The Hammerhead doesn't have the specific ability to be a dropship because it would outclass every other "dropship" with it's thick armor and armament which is exactly why certain decisions are made to not make it TOO good at doing things in that role. Also as far as I know, someone commented on the lack of gun racks by saying that they're stored in the lockers in the crew quarters but I stand corrected on that one point.

[@purteatin]

This is my favorite review you ever done. Juliet is such a beautiful and perfect place to put your last words said twice.

[@sam7mann]

The amount of thought that this game puts when creating ships blows my mind... i wish Elite Dangerous would put half of the effort on their game...

[@loteknomad5032]

Really dig your reviews. :) Appreciate your contributions to the community!

[@PEN0311]

Although you're an Architect, it definitely shows in your video that Naval Architecture isn't something you are familiar with. Despite this, this still shows a level of understanding in design that can provide some insight into the fallacies of game design trying to emulate actual ship design. Do you not see the problem with having a Captain's Quarters while lacking a dedicated Captain's Chair? This confuses to no end. This is supposed to be a Ship-of-the-Line. It cannot call itself a Corvette and not expect to be part of some type of fleet operation. It also cannot be an effective combat vessel without a Captain. Granted that the Captain can also helm the ship but that would also make him tactically inefficient as he would have to deal with the maneuvering of the ship as well as manage the crew and all of the systems involving fighting the ship and navigating the ship through combat. As former US Navy Sailor and Weapons Systems Operator and Technician who has served aboard a USN Aegis Cruiser, Amphibious Dock Landing Ship, and Aircraft Carrier, I like to think I have an experienced and qualified opinion on ship design and its function. For me, many of the crewed ships brought forth by CIG carry glaring design flaws that just don't make them "believable" to me.

[@Morphologis]

I think that's really valid, and it's something I thought about reviewing but already spent so much time on the bridge that I just forgot to put in. It's strange that there's only a pilot and copilot seat, with no additional stations for command. I think they must be crossing aircraft design with naval design with this one, as It would seem that there's a lot of inspiration from big jets and gunships like the c-130. Those typically do have a captain piloting and a copilot, but I would still prefer a command seat as you have suggested.

[@PEN0311]

Exactly. A very important tenet of military operations is Command and Control. There are no indications that this vessel has any of it. How does a ship like the Starfarer, a support ship, with its smaller crew require a Captains Chair while the Hammerhead, a combat ship, does not? Your concerns about decompression is also a valid design flaw. Segmented compartments connected by airtight doors not only reduce how much oxygen is vented from the ship but also prevent any fires from spreading to other parts of the ship. This could very well mean the difference between how many casualties are taken during combat and how effective the ship remains in combat when it takes damage. One small suggestion I would make to make your videos less "cringy" for those of us that are more nautically inclined is to try and use the proper nautical terminology when describing parts of the ship. Mess Halls are strictly land-based facilities. They are referred to nautically as a Galley or Mess Decks. The area where the crew sleeps is called Berthing. Their beds are called Racks. Of course, the bathrooms are called Heads. The hallways are call Passageways or P-ways. The doors, hatches. Walls, Bulkheads. Floors, Decks. This may seem trivial but for us that have spent a career on the High Seas, this is the language we speak.

[@Quazgar_of_the_North]

@In Toxicated You're making me want to read up on naval architecture. Another thing I'm wondering about is the sheer amount of space used for corridors, or properly, passageways. It seems like a huge waste of space, and even in a ship of this size, wouldn't space be at a premium?

[@PEN0311]

In the case of the Hammerhead, the passageways make sense in that they connect the forward sections of the vessel with the aft sections. They also connect those two important sections with all of the turret stations. Even if we were to fill in the middle section of the vessel with usable compartment6s, those passageways would still be needed to segregate those hypothetical compartments from any possible damage that may be spreading through the ship be it fire, toxic atmo, or decompression. On the Starfarer, an argument can be made about the inefficient use of space on that vessel.

[@MetalGamer666]

I just assumed the captain would be the pilot. Is there a reason he would not be? This is an aircraft after all.

[@MrSpy13011]

It took me a while to realize who you are, but then I remembered the space engineers series you did with the other two guys. SUBSCRIBED

[@elfwyn8707]

Very nice Video. I very much like your views on the design of Star Citizen Ships. Especially because they are not based on gameplay advantages but consider lore and belivability within the fictive world of Star Citizen. I hope that there will be time next year to address those minor flaws within the Hammerhead and some of the other ships, but I will patiently wait for those changes if other priorities benefit the progress of the game more.

[@Cythil]

Generally good to draw inspiration from real world spaces as they exist for a purpose. A designer or architect needs to take in to account so much more then you need to think about in a game. I think it is a very good start which should lay the foundation to what something should look like in a game if you going for realism. There generally a bit of things you need to think about when you design a space for a game to. Generally you want to make them a bit bigger the what they may be in the real world so it easier to go around and it does not feel as cramped as it does when you watch something from a third person view. Even in a first person view spaces feel a bit more cramped when viewed from a monitor then when you actually there. And there also some gamplay considerations you need to take care off. A lot of it has to do with movement but also making the space interesting to play in. And some considerations are often given to culling, that is removing areas from view. Star Citizen is with is spaces pushing them towards more immersion over performance optimization and ease of implementation. Which I appreciate. But this is also telling why the game take as long as it does to make. I remember a Q&A session the crew of Star Trek Online had when they talked about ships. The game almost never gets new interiors and those spaces are generally quite simple. When they where ask about this the told people the truth. It takes a lot more time for them to design one interior then it takes for them to design a ships exterior. So they rather push out new ships then work on interiors (Which honestly, new ships are there cash cow and interior spaces seldom gets used). But in Star Citizen both spaces are of equal importance. This is a first person universe after all. ^_^

[@zachburke8906]

I do think it’s important to remember lots of vehicles in real life have minor flaws and many have major flaws in them. The depressurization flaw I actually kind of like, it’s a flaw that means you need to know the ship before using it. If someone steals the hammerhead and doesn’t know it, chances are they will kill themselves.

[@Cythil]

That is true. Though flaws if major enough will warrant recalls and patching to be fixed. Why you often see a lot of minor quirks that may only effect a small number of vehicles, but is a know issue. But generally not major flaws.

[@donovanogilvy5364]

I’ve never even played star citizen but your video essays are captivating.

[@darkshadow2320]

Great vid, still waiting for the starferer vid though

[@bonham1981]

Starfarer would be sweet, it was the first of the big ships when it was released.

[@0waverunner0]

these are AMAZING videos! I cant wait to see your review of the carrack!

[@Exsulator2]

I really like this format, and the Hammerhead, but I feel like a lot of things got skipped in this video For instance, there's no mention of the extreme amount of corridor space on this ship, and how they failed to utilize that corridor space. This waste of space eats into what could have been - no armory? They could have made lockers along the corridors instead, for weapons, armour and other equipment. Also the top and rear turrets stick out from the design like a sore thumb and an afterthought had a baby. And speaking of sore, the blitzing surging engines in the cargo hold is dominating that area in a bad way. Not sure why but it just doesn't feel right Some other things I could mention but like I said, I do enjoy your architect reviews

[@Morphologis]

Actually there are a TON of things I wanted to cover, but this video got really really long already at near 19 minutes. The corridor thing thing, I did answer that in a different comment. I think it's fine because of redundancy in case of depressurization. If it wasn't a war ship, I would agree that it's excessive - but in this case it's not. :) Thanks for the like man, I appreciate it.

[@sanforce]

Adding retractable seats and weapon walls in the expansive halls would be nice, the ship should be able to double as a drop ship (especially with the front airlock). The engines should be hidden behind something. The engine room should be closed in for depressurization when opening elevator. If the ample hallways space can be used for dropship marines, I think it's OK. Also, it's nice to have a backup hallway when one side takes heavy damage.

[@zachburke8906]

The far sticking out turrets is literally the design. The further out they stick the better. The engines are in their visible damaged state in the video, they will not be like that in an undamaged ship, pretty much all larger ships have that.

[@TheStrangerHAZ]

@sanforce The part you're overlooking is balance. They didn't add functionality to make it a drop ship because they didn't WANT it being a dropship. First and foremost, this is still a game and they've been very careful to specialise roles of each ship (or made the general use ships not great at any particular thing). If it doubled as a drop ship, you'd have a heavily armed, armoured and large contingent ship that would devastate everything else in the class.

[@jordanhalls3790]

I came back here after being a passenger one of these for the first time last night. It was my first gunners post and it was nearly, if not completely crewed up. Had the wreck sites completely locked down in Xenothreat whilst the haulers were (very, very slowly, there weren't many doing it on the server) getting boxes to jericho. Was a right laugh, and got plenty of creds for the trouble.

[@datamclp977]

Morph I have a question Is Group Survival Abandond

[@tigara1290]

It is on hold indefinetely at the moment from what I know due to their mismatched schedules

[@Thekilleroftanks]

its on hold. you know with morp being on the other side of the planet and getting an alienware laptop so running space engineers is impossible for him atm.

[@NirateGoel]

No he can run it he did a few streams recently enough, well participated in a few. Including the heavily modded Un-coperative survival on w4sted's channel. The problem is time zones. Plus I think he has a better computer it's just the laptop was the best he could bring to US with him.

[@carlx8741]

Much of what you said was spot on, and I fully agree with most of it. I would like to remind you and other viewers that there are a few key elements needed when they design these ships. Lets start with the corridor size. The corridors are designed with a few major elements in mind: 1) AI pathing, there needs to be ample space for them to move freely without getting stuck on each other or obstacles protruding from the walls. 2) Player movement, there needs to be plenty of space for players to navigate without having to squeeze past each other, or get stuck because two AI are conversing in the corridor or just standing in place looking busy. 3) FPS combat, having tight corridors would make boarding, and fighting the crew impossible since there would be no way to advance down the corridor without getting gunned down from lack of cover. We will look at the size of the ships mess: 1) Same as before, AI pathing 2) Player movement, 8 people doesn't seem like a lot compared to the room size, but in a game its just right. If two players are standing in the middle of the room conversing a third player can't simply squeeze by them due to collision boxes. Each player model has an invisible box around them that prevents them from clipping through objects or other player models. Lack of armory: As for an official armory this ship doesn't need one, however it is lacking visible weapon storage in the crew quarters, and captains quarters. Even ships much smaller than this have them, so yes this is an oversight on the designers part. Cockpit design: I do like the underbelly design, it makes it easy for the pilot to see below the ship so it can hover the ship over its target so the turrets can get full coverage of the target. I did notice one minor flaw though, no captains seat. Of course I don't see a problem with the captain also being the pilot like Han Solo, and his co-pilot taking over when they are out of combat, and he needs to make his rounds. Overall I think everything else was spot on. Just keep in mind, unlike real life this is a game, and the developers need to design with more than players in mind. Some things may seem to not make much sense, but when you factor in everything I mentioned above it becomes clear why they chose to design ships the way they do.

[@SALSN]

Now if only they designed some sort of game where one could use these cool looking ships, that would be awesome ;-) Great review btw :-)

[@EliPorterMahn]

There is. It's called Star Citizen

[@Charlie-js8rj]

@@EliPorterMahn The joke is that the game is unplayable due to the bugs. r/woosh

[@wayfarerzen]

I'm not any kind of architectural engineer or designer, but I really like these critiques. These little details make a world of difference, and I know you point them out because you want a better game to come from it.

[@andrewpawlowski8809]

Hey would you ever take suggestions for ships to review?

[@Morphologis]

Absolutely

[@andrewpawlowski8809]

Ok then, how about the aegis vanguard and all of her variants?

[@metanumia]

Fantastic critical analysis, great points, keep up your wonderful work! I can't wait for the next "An Architect Reviews"! Hopefully the developers watch these and contemplate your critiques. :)

[@kennethsmith608]

The Polaris, BMM, Reclaimer and Carrack

[@roncarroll4091]

Hi Morph, see you online at times, as a designer of bullet, blast and attack resistant walls/doors/windows appreciate your candour with some glaring mistakes (that will be corrected) in the game. Happy to talk further with regards to milspec designs.

[@milas3439]

that landing though lol

[@suffer4444]

You know, it’s crazy how much better these architect reviews got over time. Like for example, the emotion in his voice has changed, his voice feels much more I guess.. relaxed on the more newer videos? But anyway I still find this to be amazing.

[@fullgreys0n738]

Valkyrie, pls check this ship. I love its design, but it has horrible design flaws in the interrior.

[@MagiofAsura]

I do like the combination of passion and subject knowledge that shines through from your Architect Reviews. Keep up the great work

[@Masteroftheweb]

12:52 Those EVA suits might not be for EVA. Imagine the ship has taken damage and it venting atmo. The aft crew would need to quickly get access to suits to keep breathing.

[@andrewswitzer6334]

Ideally the entire crew would suit up once combat starts.

[@Masteroftheweb]

@@andrewswitzer6334 True... but in lore, people don't run around in EVA suits at all times... so if a combat situation begins and you're in the aft part of the ship, that's what those lockers are for, presumably.

[@aslakjacobsen1517]

these videos are such a joy to watch, they are so well structured, so well informing and so nicely shot. I LOVE THEM give more please

[@Dylnsgames]

FINALLY ANOTHER ARCHITECT REVIEW

[@coiney]

Your videos are always a pleasure to watch. You have an infectious love of design and architecture.

[@jchello]

You failed to mention the mind bogglingly odd decision to separate the two forward halls connecting the front to the mid sections with... empty space. And not only that but empty space with windows facing.... each other? They took an area that could have been completely filled out and useful, with an armory inside, or more storage, and just made it.. empty. And instead of using windows immersively as you suggest, they put windows facing each other, so you look inward, not outward?? I find it odd that architecturally you had no comment on this perplexing architectural decision.

[@usarkarzts4207]

It was said that it had something to do with how the game calculates the mass of the ships.

[@captainrampage1044]

I love and hate these videos... your voice is perfect for background listening but it's so much better to actually see what you're talking about, so I usually put one I've already seen on for background listening, and save newer ones for later. But I wanna feed my Star Citizen addiction... damnit Morphologis! Please keep the awesome reviews coming!

[@donloder1]

You just injured the crews with that landing.

[@cookiessprite]

Thankyou! This is such a fun way to learn about architectural design language

[@doubleheadedeagle6769]

In the future.... having a ships bridge showing is a bad design idea. It’s a one shot death trap. The Battlestar Gallactica Tv show has the right idea. You don’t need windows. It’s a weak point.

[@RevokFarthis]

if I recall, (and as he says at the beginning of the video) the material used in making the bridge windows here are an alloy that is as strong as the steel the rest of the ship is made out of, so no structural weakness. (unless the ship hulls are also made out of some, even stronger, alloy)

[@sciencecompliance235]

Yeah, the bridge (or CIC) should be located in a fortified area probably near the center of the vessel. Any pertinent information can be piped in via sensors.

[@benlee8225]

then EMP strike and those sensers go bonkers and suddenly no eyes

[@RevokFarthis]

@@benlee8225 it's actually not hard to shield electronics against emp's, they aren't as powerful as pop culture makes them out to be. The reason large emp's are a problem irl is because our civilization wasn't built with emp shielding in mind, but a smartly designed starship would be properly shielded against such an attack.

[@dudes455]

These videos are my favorite. I watched them all on my TV over the last few weeks so I'm commenting on them all now haha.

[@otavio8566]

IMO the ship seems to have a lot of unnecessary open/empty space for a military vessel after all, wouldnt a smaller profile be better? plus, it could use a brig/prison cells

[@KiithnarasAshaa]

Your points are all spot-on. I hope the devs heed your advice in future art update passes to the Hammerhead. I feel like the mess hall could easily be compressed laterally (with respect to the ship) to place a small armory alcove next to the mess. Alternately, a pair of armory alcoves near the forward airlock might be a viable option, though it would obstruct those gorgeous strut cylinders.

[@BuffCitizen]

Its a heavy gunship, not a corvette 😂

[@adamtrevis8903]

Just a quick thought about the 'glass' : the material is as strong as steel but you also need to take optical distortion when making a window : it has to be thin or the light bends too much (Descartes' law). Therefore any windows has to be thinner than the hull but also more vulnerable to shots. I'm not sure if this is the official reason but it could explain the lack of windows in the ship. Great video !

[@AuraMaster7]

It feels like you are changing your voice for the microphone more so than your previous "architect reviews" videos. Just feels like a fake voice put on just for the video

[@solfentress7724]

He could have gotten a better mic

[@Arbiteroflife]

I disagree. I think his voice is natural, but also suits the decorum of the situation. He has very clear diction and enunciation and produces his ideas in a very consistent speed so that people can observe and also take in what he's saying simultaneously.

[@Blankstate]

No matter how I try to slice it, swapping my 600i to a Hammerhead (and picking up a Phoenix to fill the luxury slot) was just a damn good idea. I adore this series of videos. Keep up the good work!

[@kaiderzbach]

WOW well i just get into the star citizen universe yesterday where I watched some videos and I was so blown away because of what you talked about, they really designed there. Their designs are mostly very (logical) for the eye and not just the detail of the floors and rooms has some very nice design and I have to say I didnt thought about the color use that much even if I am in education as an designers assistant. I had an internship lately for 3 month and I really was bored because they didnt told me much what means to work professional. In your video I really liked how you explain why this is a good designed part or not. It was really logical and thats what seperates art from design. If you design there is a good or a bad, because it needs to have a function (visual or mechanical). You explained this ship in a high detail and I really liked how you justify your statement. I´ll share this to some friends I know who are interessted in game/design. Helped me a lot.

[@japkap]

The craft is a weapons platform that can move so the pilot is just a driver to get the platform in position no need to over design the cockpit beyond that role since that is what it was made for it is basically a AC-130 spectre/spooky/ghostrider gunship in space.

[@zinj2618]

The downward view of the planet from the bridge looks stunning, i'm blown away

[@mindmachinepsy]

For whatever reason i like videos with experts doing a rundown on something. No idea why. And i also love SC so good match lol.

[@pirateradio8420]

Great video as always. In my openion, your reviews are the best. One thing I noticed which I had not before was in the forward hallway flanking the sides of the forward air lock; those mechanical elements you mentioned appear to be pistons. Thos would appear to be shock obsorbers in the event the ship is used for raming. I seem to recall CIG actually moving the cockpit back and underneath for that very purpose. So it is not just a hammerhead due to it's resemblance to a shark, but it can use it's head as a hammer. Very cool.

[@scuzzy2142]

These are hands down the best reviews ive seen by any youtuber. Keep them up! Please do the Caterpilliar

[@lukasdulka9794]

Love your commentary. I find it very educational. Honestly, I believe that game designer took a lot of inspiration from current navy warships as the interior on this ship looks really similar to the Destroyers including captain quarters, common areas and so on.

[@eckee]

It's so satisfying to watch your videos, I'm an architect too.

[@jordanford8071]

So @morphologis needs to start designing current naval vessels his interpretation would elevate comfort and morale so much. haha That crew quarters was way to spacious haha. I've never been in a berthing, barracks, or can that's nearly that spacious. Currently I'm living in a room that's barely bigger than the captain's personal quarters with two racks and all our gear. No privacy haha. All joking aside, there needs to be a dedicated armory, No vessel, or any sort of large scale craft would allow crew to possess their weapons in their quarters. There's always a dedicated area where everything is accounted for and secured. But I love the architectural and design outlooks on what they perceive as military utilitarianism. On that note, being a game, I'd rather have that designed look rather than the actual reality. I live it, don't need it in my off time too ya know.

[@kubel83]

I really appreciate these in depth reviews. Great job my dude.

[@GeneralFresh]

Great reviews morph ...I agree with 3 design issues you noted. 1) EVA suits in the air lock is very dumb 2) Engine room / cargo room in same space is a no no! 3) Oversized mess hall / no armoury. But I have to say I think the biggest flaw is that stupid bridge location...because this means instant death when crash landing...

[@avidian888]

Thanks for giving your educated opinion to my regular trade convoy protector. I also chose this ship, because the devs stated several times, that well trained NPCs could easily take over the turrets and maybe do a better job at hitting targets than real players, so it's the only capital ship that can be effective if you are on your own.

[@christopherbrown7230]

Mounting the bridge on the bottom is actually functional, it protects the bridge from attacks coming from above. A lot of newer Star Trek ships have been doing this as well

[@brutal-noodle]

thanks for all of the content you put up, keeps me interested in the game, and excited for its full release.

[@Sitarow]

Keep it up. The effort and time you put in your reviews is appreciated.

[@mellowbear6817]

Rewatching your Architect Reviews series; so aesthetically pleasing xD

[@QuantumAscension1]

As a design critique, I would probably switch the positions of the Captain's Quarters and the Mess Hall. It would provide easier access to the mess hall for the crew and give a degree of separation for the captain, as well as a commanding presence by being on the deck above the rest of the crew. Mass Effect 2 & 3 is a good example with Commander Shepard's quarters.

[@SYSRQLLQRSYS]

Naval warships also have a distinct lack of windows, so maybe they were imitating that kind of feel? if so then imo it works well.

[@NA0S90]

These videos are bloody brilliant. Thank you so much.

[@ghostdog0424]

The down-facing bridge also makes sense for close air support and ground ops. This thing going AC-130 would be a sight to behold.

[@benjaminpedraza3256]

Solid Video yet again. I'd like to note that perhaps the lower section of the cargo hold might be using air shields to seal the rear doors which is a tech not yet in the game but is planned.

[@comradeglory4625]

You have inspired me to start saving up for a Hammerhead. Thank you.

[@garacX]

Great video, you have the best and most interesting ship reviews I have seen. I hope CIG drops by to take notes.

[@MDR1405]

You do a very good job giving an architectural review of these ships. The Hammerhead has a well laidout floorplan. The Aegis designers seem to have a good grasp of what the interior of a military vessel should look like. The designers of the Carrack should take notes.

[@damachinen]

I also noted that the orange lights in the crew bed area were flickering occasionally, as if they are attempting to replicate a flickering fire or low light candle.

[@thelastdiddler3618]

Your reviews are thorough and full of intrigue!

[@pole-star2118]

Reclaimer would be a cool ship to review. Biggest ship in the game so far. For the most part, a very good design in my opinion. Thank you for doing these videos. Well presented and very much enjoyable.

[@BerraLJ]

the guy polishing the hallway floors needs to get a raise :)

[@logixor]

Narrative like a boss! I just couldn't leave without liking this exceptional masterpiece. Outstanding content!

[@anarchoarchitect5192]

You should do one on the Constellation Phoenix. You'll get a kick out of the jacked up layout and the mis-matched aesthetic. It's the equivalent of turning a Humvee into a stretch limo.

[@clintlewis1715]

From a Navy veteran's perspective: the problem I have in games, with space craft design is lighting, especially those intended to be military craft. So, spaces that can open to the exterior or be seen from the outside the vessel, should have red lighting or zero lighting (zero lighting is where the only light emanating is from controls/consuls, radar screens, etc. - a ships bridge for example, would have zero lighting). Just like Navy ships operating at night, I would think, military space craft would operate in "darken ship" (no exterior light sources) or in some cases "deceptive lighting" (deceptive lighting - using strategically placed lights to appear as a merchant vessel). Red lighting is commonly used by Navy ships, due to low viability at distance (the red spectrum doesn't travel as far and thus, is harder to spot). Red lighting is also typically used in berthing (sleeping areas) as it doesn't penetrate eyelids like other spectrums of light. Along those lines, like Naval ships, I'm sure military space craft would intentionally be designed with minimal windows (only have windows where it would be necessary for function. The berthing area would also likely have three racks/beds stacked, as it is more intended for sleeping (if you had your rack/bed light on reading, you would probably hear a tired someone say "turn it off a-hole"). The galley should be an interior space with no windows, as it would serve as a lounge and would be lit up, even during darken ship.

[@GunslingerDragon]

This has me considering my descriptions for the interiors of the ships in my tabletop space campaign. The party's main ship is a converted luxury yacht that got burned out before completion and was gutted, up-armored, and turned into effectively a pirate ship for exploratory trade purposes. I'd expect that even with windows being as strong as steel, they're going to be in some way inferior to military armor plating. I got around it in my setting by just having most windows be those sweet screens-that-look-like-windows, with a little camera rig mounted on the hull in the proper spot.