A question for the ship-designers out there!

[The Axeman]

"Any sufficiently advanced technology can be indistinguishable from magic."

Maybe pod racers run on really advanced batteries?

 

[Probert]

Or little pellet fuel cells,... yeah I know...

 

[BolianAuthor]

... How do you do it? What inspiration and resources do you use to design new kinds of ships?

A lot of these responses are very good.

My first rule is that you first have to put yourself in the universe that interests you (or that you're hired to portray): Star Wars, Star Trek, Space: 1999, Alien(s), My Favorite Martian, or maybe a story in a book. The established (Hollywood) worlds have already set up a look for themselves so you try to flesh out your creations with their common details. If you choose a book, your choices are much broader.

Whatever universe you choose, consistency is another unbreakable rule. You can't have flat-edged wings on one part of a ship and smooth airfoils on another. Of course, there is consistency of a different nature,... that of total illogical (but potentially interesting) crap. If you have an atmosphere flier, you (realistically) can't have exposed engines. The 'Space:1999' Eagles or Star Wars 'Y'-Wings, for instance, would NEVER be able to fly through an atmosphere without burning up, much less maneuver.

I could go on & on and haven't even gotten to the part about where the fuel is stored for powering the jet engines on those dumb Star Wars racing Pods.

The thing about the exposed engines is an interesting point... but what about the BSG Vipers?

 

[Sean_McCormick]

Wouldn't a ship of the tech-level of an Y-Wing be able to avoid burning up by use of its deflector shields?

 

[erifah]

I could go on & on and haven't even gotten to the part about where the fuel is stored for powering the jet engines on those dumb Star Wars racing Pods.

Oh, GAWD, don't get him started on THAT again!

(For us designers, those idiotic pod racers were as bad as Jar Jar Binks.)

 

[largo]

I could go on & on and haven't even gotten to the part about where the fuel is stored for powering the jet engines on those dumb Star Wars racing Pods.

don't you know? they just burn air.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

They run on the unlimited power of CGI magic.

George Lucas has become death, destroyer of worlds.

 

[publiusr]

I actually like the ncaelles of that Ent-E. Tell me, Mr. Probert--if you were going to design a Refit Enterprise for the mirror Universe, what would it look like--or say a ST:TMP era Excelsior size vessel that came about in a time of war where lees advances were made, so someling like a scaled up-refit was as good the mirror Earth could come up with.

That might be an interesting project.