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Starfleet Design Bureau

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Empress_Boog said:
I agree that we should make a small freighter, but the Millennium Falcon is not the example you should give. The Falcon was explicitly a smuggler ship, and it transported rare (because illegal) items, to make large amounts of money. Large freighters follow economy of scale, and are therefore most efficient at delivering cargo. But, we were assigned a task to give United Earth and her colonies a small freighter, and that is what we'll do.
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The millennium falcon is a smugglers ship, but it's also a yt-1300 which is a member of the most popular series of civilian freighters.

It has modifications to help with smuggling like better weapons but it is a freighter.
 
Silversun17 said:
We aren't in a peace time situation where econemey of scale is king, this closer to the battle of the Atlantic in ww2 where smaller but more numerous hulls were the better choice for shipping.
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Yes, I agree. I even said as much when I voted for the small freighter.
Empress_Boog said:
[X] Small Cargo Ship (-9 Industry)

Whether these ships ultimately sail in convoy or independently, it doesn't change the fact that the contract explicitly calls for a "cheap, small, and effective" ship. Plus if they do sail in convoy, then if under attack by pirates, the convoy can break and there is a real chance at least some of the material will get through. I'm not convinced the same could be said of the larger ships (mostly because there will be fewer of them).
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But, the Millennium Falcon was the main part of your post I didn't agree with.
 
I imagine the majority of bulk shipping will still go with the Boomers, but this will be used for more valuable or time sensitive shipments.
 
NavySeel said:
The millennium falcon is a smugglers ship, but it's also a yt-1300 which is a member of the most popular series of civilian freighters.

It has modifications to help with smuggling like better weapons but it is a freighter.
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Is it still a yt-1300 if you replaced every single piece with a custom upgrade? Truly a philosophy question for the ages.

NavySeel said:
I imagine the majority of bulk shipping will still go with the Boomers, but this will be used for more valuable or time sensitive shipments.
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I think the massive speed difference means that this will quickly outpace them even if the cargo hold is small, maybe to the exception of things that can't be brought in pieces.
 
LawsOfRobotics said:
[X] Large Cargo Ship (-12 Industry)

Fewer larger ships are easier to protect and it may help us develop technology for making larger warp drives that helps make a larger first gen warp 5 ship possible.
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Protect with what? We have exactly 1 warship, the short range Stingray interceptor. Our furthest colony is 2 years away, one way, at the Stingray's cruising speed... We need something capable of protecting itself.

Empress_Boog said:
I agree that we should make a small freighter, but the Millennium Falcon is not the example you should give. The Falcon was explicitly a smuggler ship, and it transported rare (because illegal) items, to make large amounts of money. Large freighters follow economy of scale, and are therefore most efficient at delivering cargo. But, we were assigned a task to give United Earth and her colonies a small freighter, and that is what we'll do.
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The Falcon was employed as a smuggling vessel, but was designed as awell as light freighter. Economy of scale needs two things to work, viable markets for that scale and safe routes so the massive wealth represented by that cargo isn't just a big target.

Given the time necessary to travel between trading partners and the low volume of trade as a result, that trade must by necessity be fairly low bulk high value, non-perishable items. Perfect for a small freighter.

Given the risk of Piracy and the lack of trade protection, large vulnerable ships that rely on economies of scale are just extra large loot boxes.

We need to be looking at the Pre-globalization model when pirates were an active threat, because we don't have the USN protecting the lines of trade.
 
Are we not getting flavor text for the Stingray? I think its service during the Xindi crisis or the Earth-Romulan War would be really neat
 
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2147: Project Zheng He (Part Two: Spaceframe)
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    • [x] Small Cargo Ship (-9 Industry)

    Having decided on a smaller vessel is the right choice despite a larger model potentially being able to carry more cargo, the team sets to work on making that vision a reality. First is the habitation section, a 42-meter sphere designed to maximise the available internal space for the minimum of material. Inside quickly gains equipment, however, as you integrate the forward deflector, computer core, and main navigational array. But as a gesture of sympathy to the crew who will be enduring months at warp during cargo runs a cafeteria with a small recreational corner is installed with a series of transparent aluminium windows looking out ahead of the ship.

    But as the main crew section finishes an argument breaks out over the main cargo space. The intention is to have it separated from the spherical crew section by a short neck equipped with an airlock, so that the bay can be loaded without inconveniencing the crew and life support systems can be conserved by remaining largely deactivated in those areas. But part of the team sees an opportunity to increase performance. Rather than extending out the barrel-shaped cargo section directly behind the forward section a slight vertical offset so that part of it protrudes "beneath" the sphere could allow mounting a second deflector.

    But why stop there? Pulling the nacelle struts forward could synergize with the second deflector by increasing their length. There's a good reason this isn't standard practice, as it reduces plasma temperature by diffusion and therefore maximum warp speeds. But it would produce a small gain in the efficient cruise velocity. All told the deflector and longer nacelles might give the Zheng He point three of a warp factor extra cruise, pushing it up to around fifteen times the speed of light instead of ten. But the weapons haven't even been fitted yet - is it worth driving up the cost even before that (potentially expensive) part of the process?

    [ ] Adjust the design for a second deflector and longer nacelles. (Industry 9 -> Industry 11)
    [ ] Keep the design as is rather than driving up production costs.

    Industry: 32

     
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    • [X] Adjust the design for a second deflector and longer nacelles. (Industry 9 -> Industry 11)

    Better Cruise Speed feels to me like the way to go for a cargo hauler.
     
    The O R B cometh!

    [X] Adjust the design for a second deflector and longer nacelles. (Industry 9 -> Industry 11)

    Better cruise speeds, baby~~!!
     
    [X] Keep the design as is rather than driving up production costs.

    I honestly could be convinced to vote the other way, but for now I want to try and keep costs down. These ships will very quickly find themselves obsolete and trying to squeeze blood out of this particular stone doesn't seem like the right choice. Also,

    O R B
     
    [X] Adjust the design for a second deflector and longer nacelles. (Industry 9 -> Industry 11)

    A 50% increase in cruise speed is huge, means 33% less ships will be needed to move the same amount of cargo. Right now it's a 22% increase in costs, already worth it, but that percentage will go down as more components are added.
     
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