Hoshiko Robotics Cruiser - love the idea, can't stand the design

from Sins Forums
I have tried - desperately - to appreciate the design of the Hoshiko Robotics Cruiser. I just can't stand the way it looks compared to other TEC ships, I just don't feel like it fits well with the fiction. I love the idea of a ship that supports a fleet with repair droids with researched combat droids, I just can't stand the circular layout of the ship. I completely understand that this would logically make sense for a ship of this nature, circular/spherical layout of the droid bays for maximum...droid spewing... but the circular design of the ship makes me cringe.

What do other people think, am I alone out here. Its a great ship, and paired with capital ships and Kodiak cruisers they get the job done.

My apologies to the designer of the Hoshiko cruiser
14,298 views 36 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
I agree with everything you just said

Love the idea, but im not too fond of the design. But if it aint gonna be changed, i wont mind, but i think it doesnt fit in with the rest of the TEC ship/structure designs.

Dont wanna say the word im thinking about it, in the respect of the designer but it aint pretty
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

I'm sure you will appreciate it more and it will make more sense when you can read all the ship histories and descriptions.

Object Desktop - Get all of our enhancement utilities in one suite
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
Cool

If i ask you when we will see it, you will say soon
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
Eh, the design doesn't bother me much.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
Alright Blair - I hope so...On my way to work today all I could think about was the cruiser and how it looked awfully like a cliche UFO!
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
Well I kind of agree that it's style doesn't fit with the other TEC ships, but it's probably explainable.
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
if it was just a bit less curvy...
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
It makes sense to a certain degree, that the TEC ships don't have a universal style, the TEC being for the past 1000 years merely peacefully coexisting but utterly seperate human societies.

The robot cruiser is just an example of a design used by one society that never got allot of distribution to other companies etc.

Also, it could be a brand new design, much like the KOL, thus it looks more advanced than typical TEC ships because... it is!

That being said, its a small eye sore... 90% of it is fine, but the 'head' is too wierd when you look at it from straight on, it has an overbite or something.
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
it looks like a UFO   
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
It would almost be nice to keep the current circular shape as the "fuselage," and add something to the front, back or sides to give it a better looking appearance...
Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top
if it looked like phi that would be cool.
Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top
The circular UFO design goes against the psychology of a fleet battle where ships close in to engage. The whole spectacle is directional, from the broadsides to the command deck. It's all suppose to say "I'm looking at you" or "You're my target", and we read our ships like a face for that expression or intent. When a ship or any object is missing any semblance of face, it loses our interest and it feels as though we're merely playing with marbles.
Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top
it doesn't bother me at all

the flat-bottomed kodiac does, it looks like a warped army tank took off into space

it's still a cool ship though
Reply #15 from Sins Forums Top
?

Wow, I've never heard of 'ship appearance' psychology before. I'd like to think that I wouldn't be so shallow as to think less of a ship firing doomsday weapons at me if it was ugly. That just wouldn't be right.

So are you saying that if I attacked Schem with a fleet of bland looking featureless ships, he would lose interest and operate at reduced effectiveness?

Damnit, here we were laughing at the idea of Pink Pony ships, but we all narrowly escaped having this 'ship appearance' psychology used on us.
Reply #16 from Sins Forums Top
Well, the purpose of Death Star wasn't to blow up every dissident planet in the Star Wars galaxy. The purpose was to intimidate planets away from rebellion. If they'd strung Christmas lights on it, I would've walked away from the movie a little less enthused.

But sure, if you're a guy that only needs to look at a game's unit data tables to be impressed, then discussions about ship appearance wouldn't really interest you.
Reply #17 from Sins Forums Top
So are you saying that if I attacked Schem with a fleet of bland looking featureless ships, he would lose interest and operate at reduced effectiveness?

90% of utter annihilation is still uter anihilation.
Reply #18 from Sins Forums Top
Ok, here's a little theory behind the Hoshiko.
It's probably some kind of fleet tender, which served to repair and maintain ships in space before the war, so there would be little need for a small profile or large broadside. There would be need to maximize the ammounts droids it can carry, which would result in a discs-haped ship.

It's still ugly though, it's not consistent with the sci-fi look of the TEC ships, which is all angles and bulk, while the Hoshiko is slim and smooth.
Reply #19 from Sins Forums Top
which would result in a sphere-shaped ship.


Corrected.
Reply #20 from Sins Forums Top

which would result in a sphere-shaped ship.


Corrected.

sphere-shaped? that would make it look like a bubble, but it looks more like a disc-shaped ship
Reply #21 from Sins Forums Top
While a sphere shape would be better, it would probably be a pain to dock.
Reply #22 from Sins Forums Top
could be a spheroid, like a foot ball.
Reply #23 from Sins Forums Top

sphere-shaped? that would make it look like a bubble, but it looks more like a disc-shaped ship


My point is that maximizing volume to surface area requires a sphere.
Reply #24 from Sins Forums Top
they're nanoids they dont take up a lot of space.
Reply #25 from Sins Forums Top

Ok, here's a little theory behind the Hoshiko.
It's probably some kind of fleet tender, which served to repair and maintain ships in space before the war, so there would be little need for a small profile or large broadside. There would be need to maximize the ammounts droids it can carry, which would result in a discs-haped ship.


Alcari, have you been spying on us?  This description is very close to the lore.
Like most of the TEC fleet, the Hoshiko's was not designed specifically for combat, but it did find a natural niche in battle due to its unique shape which offers near 360 degree launch angle for its droids.

It's true the Hoshiko receives very little glory in battle. With his quirky features and awkward stance the HOKO has been the butt-end of many a TEC joke.  It takes an equally off-beat individual to man such a ship. Despite the reputation, 'HOKOES' take great pride in their uniqueness, and their abilitity to engineer the ultimate droids. (I'll get into the long history of trader droid competitions at another time) Despite the seriousness of combat, HOKOES are not much for direct engagment. Lost in their world of obsessive tinkering, they see a combat victory (or defeat) more as an advancement of mechanical mastery than of life and death.

Aside from it's overhead circular shape, the ship bears very little resemblance to a shiny, smooth, minimalist saucer-shaped UFO.  On close inspection one can see the Hoshiko bears all the hard angles, rough edges, beaten paint, and bulky chunks  typical of the TEC fleet. Although a HOKO commander would certainly like to think the ship is higher tech than it is, the Hoshiko's has been in service for a very long time, and really only it's droids that can boast modern engineering.