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Space Opera needs spaceships. They come in a diversity of designs that makes plenty of people happy, but overall we can bring them into two general approaches. The terms I'm using got coined by futurist Syd Mead decades ago, as I saw it reported in R. Talsorian's Mekton Empire (1990): Ninja Rocketship (Yamato, Harlock) and Technoform Box (LoGH, Star Wars).
The practical difference is if your ships look and run like wet navy ships in space or not, which is shorthand for how hard your spaceships are. It's why having some familiarity with the properties that go Rocketship matters in making the distinction, and not that much with Technoform properties since they're far more likely to show a lot of range in depiction (compare The Expanse to Dairugger XV).
Ultimately this is a matter of aesthetic preference, but it's clear that most audiences want a softer approach so they can more readily get into the story. The astounding ways that spaceships are shown to readers, and the roles they've been used in Space Opera, means that we've seen a lot of ship designs over the decades- from literal rocketships to what we've got on screens today- and I'm posting some of them here.
I'm talking about this because as Star Knight gets going I'm going to show you some of the ships that will appear in the first book- and they're going to differ significantly in approach. You'll see what pirates usually do to sail the sea of stars, what noble houses do with their navies, and the Solar Guard's own starships- from Lord Roland's personal vessel to the Ships of the Line. I can't wait to share all of that with you.
For now, some more of my favorite ships in Space Opera, because you're going to see these influences across the whole of the Star Knight Saga's nine books.
Bradford,
ReplyDeleteThose are nice ships that inspire. I have't found the answer to my n00b question if mechs can travel on their own or if they need a transport ship.
Thanks for the references, they'll be very helpful
xavier
Most mecha that can travel on their own are usually starships in their own right, with the robot form as an optional form instead of their primary form. (See the SDF-1 above.) It's rare for something akin to the X-Wings of Star Wars to appear in anime, for a lot of the same reasons that Star Wars doesn't always bother to address.
DeleteSo most have to be carried by ships to go from star to star (and, often, from planet to planet within a system). The specifics will vary by the rules used in that series, as surely as the the ships themselves.
The main starship of the series is as important to a space opera as the main character, perhaps even moreso. Gene Starwind and Captain Kirk are only a shadow of themselves without the Outlaw Star and Enterprise respectively.
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