Yeah it adds cost with needing a big neck and secondary hull, but zero chance Starfleet complains about that mass with the value of the large core. One ship does the work of two logistically.
Or more. It'll be harder now we went with the shrunken tactical command area, but if we get a good module spread, we could easily cover cargo runs, basic engineering support/emergency repair, either basic or specialized science/s, preliminary survey and patrol duties etc. Rolled into one package, this ship can probably both defend and provide most essential services for a brace of colonies. If we can strong-arm Starfleet into making it even feistier than the Excalibur (with so much shield strength and stronger phasers I think this'll be a lot easier than it sounds), then it would take a small fleet to get past it; those colonies will be fairly safe.
Also - I now want to build a super freighter. A large warp 8 core with a large cargo pod and nacelles in cargo pod configuration keeps it's base warp 6 efficient cruise speed. Anyone up for an Archer 2.0, bigger this time for a future ship?
11 decks will easily fit inside an orb!
It's not a bad idea. I've bothered people by shilling this incessantly for ages
. Cruise config, max cargo/fabrication, full warp 8 drive. Hopefully something like 2x fore and 2x aft photorps without losing a module so that it isn't quite so helpless. Light covariant or type 2 shields will help out too. Could be a massive, major boon to the Federation, let us harden up our territories and maximize our colonies' strength.
Remember, a colony that starts with an extra fabrication center or industrial replicator, has a few sentry satellites in orbit, a decent basic set of science labs and a hospital with some specialized biology/vaccine labs will be safer, suffer fewer issues, weather them better and grow faster and stronger. It's an investment that keeps on giving increasing rewards.
I think we should eschew esthetics for function, especially since the thread has already made the mistake of going command.
Just my personal opinion though
Unfortunately different people want different things from this, it's impossible to satisfy everyone. I think this Quest does a great job generally though, it is a thankless task stamping out something of this quality, Sayle basically only hears complaints about oversights or plot holes, after all we're all engaged in this, so it must be pretty good.
As a selfish example, I have this thing where I dislike the TOS-style architecture, with ships' parts are just randomly reshuffled. I keep asking, why not just min-max volume to hull size if you can do that trivially? I much prefer the TnG-Voy-style, where ships are shaped to channel SIF fields and warp fields, and if you just slapped a rude chunk on somewhere without thinking about it, the ship wouldn't work properly, you'd lose speed and your various fields would be less efficient. But some people disagree. Both of us have both valid technical and aesthetic reasons why we dislike each others' choices.
Neither I nor others can have their ideal, but hopefully we still have a great time.
My main question is the technology of the era. Is the suite detecting from a distance via scanners as a fly by, in which case amazing cruise means we can scan a ton of systems, or is it more "shuttle down, get samples, analyse, move on" where speed matters less because of time spent at the sites?
@Sayle, if it isn't too demanding, could I please have an answer to this for myself and
@Golgotha ? It would certainly make a difference. If this ship can sit at warp 6.8, or even warp 7 for a year or so, and just adjust its vector to go through unsurveyed systems and do scans for Dilithium as it goes, that would be a massive, major, stupendous, insane strategic asset that could change the course of history. If it requires long close-ranged scans and samples etc it's still very valuable, but it changes the dynamic a wee bit.
Can anyone do the maths for how much time 7.4 saves over 7 for me?
Currently mid road trip and can't really check.
Warp 6 is 216 times the speed of light. To cross a 5 lightyear distance would take something like 8 days and ~10 hours.
Warp 6.8 is ~314 times the speed of light. To cross a 5 lightyear distance would take about 5 days and ~19 hours.
Warp 7 is 343 times the speed of light. To cross a 5 lightyear distance would take about 5 days and 8 hours.
Warp 7.4 is ~405 times the speed of light. To cross a 5 lightyear distance would take about 4 days and 12 hours.
If a ship's going long distances regularly, i.e. patrol and colony support, then even tiny increases in speeds lead to massive savings in time.
Edit:
Pharmacology might actually work out here - We're servicing Federation colonies, and "Colony suffering from plague needs drugs" is among Starfleet's common response scenarios.
Not having to double back to the nearest starbase to pick up the drugs saves time. Being able to cook up large quantities of novel new drugs the ship's doctor invents on the spot is also incredibly valuable.
A pharmacology lab is another hugely valuable thing for colony support, and I'd support it. I would
not support trying to make a pocket hospital ship. Waste of time and resources, no offense to the enthusiasts.
