Most beautiful spaceships in fiction

[BodomBeachChild]

From EVE Online, the Maelstrom:

I almost decided on the Hurricane, but there were two reasons I picked the Maelstrom instead:

-Biggest subcap is best subcap (The Maelstrom is about 1300 meters in length on its long axis and the only larger subcap, the Machariel, literally looks like a piece of poo)

-The sound of eight 1400MM cannons on a high-fidelity surround sound system. Seriously, CCP has really done a good job in the last few years of improving the audio.

The Maelstrom also has a special sentimental place to me. One of the first times I undocked from my starter station in my tiny little Reaper frigate (about 30 meters in length) I was right next to one of these going only slightly faster, and flying right next to it and turning the camera towards it the Maelstrom filled up the entire screen for almost the entire 20 or so seconds it took me to fly past it. That tiny green mark I made on the picture represents the size difference. It was just epic.

And to round out the sense of scale, if you were to take a picture of a Titan at the resolution of that picture and draw an only slightly-larger line, you would have a fair representation of the difference in size between a battleship like the Maelstrom and a Titan.

The Mael? =( I am disappointed. The Megathron hull is absolutely gorgeous. It may be my favorite hull (despite rarely flying Gallente. But, and let's be honest, no one can deny Amarrian ship design beauty =p

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

From EVE Online, the Maelstrom:

I almost decided on the Hurricane, but there were two reasons I picked the Maelstrom instead:

-Biggest subcap is best subcap (The Maelstrom is about 1300 meters in length on its long axis and the only larger subcap, the Machariel, literally looks like a piece of poo)

-The sound of eight 1400MM cannons on a high-fidelity surround sound system. Seriously, CCP has really done a good job in the last few years of improving the audio.

The Maelstrom also has a special sentimental place to me. One of the first times I undocked from my starter station in my tiny little Reaper frigate (about 30 meters in length) I was right next to one of these going only slightly faster, and flying right next to it and turning the camera towards it the Maelstrom filled up the entire screen for almost the entire 20 or so seconds it took me to fly past it. That tiny green mark I made on the picture represents the size difference. It was just epic.

And to round out the sense of scale, if you were to take a picture of a Titan at the resolution of that picture and draw an only slightly-larger line, you would have a fair representation of the difference in size between a battleship like the Maelstrom and a Titan.

The Mael? =( I am disappointed. The Megathron hull is absolutely gorgeous. It may be my favorite hull (despite rarely flying Gallente. But, and let's be honest, no one can deny Amarrian ship design beauty =p

Where are the curves?!! See that is the problem with these vs the Jove. Jove ships are just so much sexier. I am just not seeing the beauty without curves in just the right places..

 

[maninahat]

Other that than, you can't go wrong with the...

Spoiler: Aloha Oe!

https://i.imgur.com/Pms5Yws.png

I second the Aloha Oe, baby!

I also quite like:

Spoiler: something a little bigger

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I was immediately fascinated with the idea of this one -

I couldn't remember where I found this. Took me around 20 minutes

Looks like the ship from '79 movie Black Hole. It's basically studying a black hole and the commander is an insane scientist with his robot henchmen running the ship. It's pretty entertaining.

Ha! Yeah, the image was even called Black Hole. It sounds interesting, thanks for letting me know

No problem! Just hope that the movie is entertaining to you as well =)

Maximillian freaked me out as a kid. I still like this movie, even if the ending is an acid trip.

 

[JimB]

I like retro:

Spoiler

 

[Vigormortis]

Oh, my. Quite a few to choose from.

Spoiler: There's the elegance of Star Trek.

Spoiler: There's the grand, eclectic beauty of Sins of a Solar Empire

It's a big image, too big for the forum's format, so here's a link.
link [http://orig00.deviantart.net/02ee/f/2015/087/1/2/sins_of_a_solar_empire___rebellion_ship_comparison_by_dylantriskel-d7mgh1u.jpg]

Spoiler: There's the menacing look of Dead Space

Spoiler: There's the classic, early-sci-fi-era look of Homeworld

I mean, there are so many. There are the vessels from Firefly. The vessels from Stargate. The vessels from Battlestar Galactica. The vessels from Farscape.Or, hell, pick a vessel from the cover art of just about any space-themed sci-fi novel from the 50's onward.[footnote]And, as a huge fan of such art, I'm quite excited for No Man's Sky. Even if it turns out to be a shell of a game, the aesthetic alone will keep me coming back for hours.[/footnote]

Spoiler

There are just too damn many amazing, beautiful, awe-inspiring designs across all of science fiction media. But, if I had to choose one, I guess I'd go with...

Spoiler

It's not the most beautiful design I've ever seen, but it has a special place in my heart. That alone makes it earn its spot as my favorite.

I was always a bit of a fan of the way Honorverse ships looked.

Spoiler

And it's totally not because of their interesting... shape.

Traitor! With a noble name like that how could you turn your back on such beauty?!

Spoiler

I am disappointed.

 

[shrekfan246]

Take any non-Vasari ship from Sins of a Solar Empire. Any one of them. So long as the Vasari didn't build them. They're all fuckin' beautiful. Like the Halcyon-class Carrier,or the Ankylon-class Titan.

My first thought was, "well, it's gotta be something from the Advent, yeah?"

I mean, it may not be conventional or even practical as far as designs go, but... well...

Also, I'm a little surprised there isn't more love for the Defiant.

Spoiler

I guess my Star Trek starship fondness doesn't really tend to line up with most other people, though, because I love the NCC-1701-E as well.

Yes please.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Spoiler

What a fine collection of dildos and butt plu... I mean Jump Ships and Drop Ships.

 

[Vigormortis]

Also, I'm a little surprised there isn't more love for the Defiant.

Speak for yourself! I love the Defiant.

It's the little ship that could.

My first thought was, "well, it's gotta be something from the Advent, yeah?"

Their capitol and titan-class ship designs are nothing short of magnificent.

 

[Vigormortis]

What a fine collection of dildos and butt plu... I mean Jump Ships and Drop Ships.

As far as I'm concerned, a spaceship isn't a spaceship unless it looks like it could fit into a giant space anus.

 

[OneCatch]

Well, this is currently my background:

Spoiler

A lot of the Homeworld designs are a bit dated now, but the Mothership remains fantastic. And I'm pretty sure it inspired the later Hammerhead cruisers [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hammerhead-class_cruiser] in KOTOR.

My favourite ship descriptions are probably those of the Culture-verse. Annoyingly, it's pretty much impossible to represent - larger vessels are generally made up of many modular components (anything from hundreds of kilometers long down to nanoscale), enclosed and held within force fields of various shape, colour, and luminosity. Meaning a large ship can basically look however it wants by redistributing it's mass around, extending and retracting it's fields.

Still, DeviantArt has a few admirable attempts to represent one:

Spoiler

(Yes, those are mountains and terrain features. While this isn't explicitly referenced in the books, larger ships would certainly have the ability to construct large scale terrain on themselves, and given their general trend of eccentricity there's probably one that would want to.

(This is probably more in line with the general consensus. The specs are likely attendant vessels on the order of a km or two long, whereas the GSV itself might be dozens or hundreds of km long including the bubble of force fields.

 

[conmag9]

Spoiler

Gotta go with the Spear of Adun. It's big, it's elegant, it's got that lovely blue-gold combo I can't get enough of, and it's never more beautiful when it stops time long enough for me to punch out a large army.

 

[Jute88]

I was immediately fascinated with the idea of this one -

I couldn't remember where I found this. Took me around 20 minutes

Looks like the ship from '79 movie Black Hole. It's basically studying a black hole and the commander is an insane scientist with his robot henchmen running the ship. It's pretty entertaining.

Ha! Yeah, the image was even called Black Hole. It sounds interesting, thanks for letting me know

No problem! Just hope that the movie is entertaining to you as well =)

Maximillian freaked me out as a kid. I still like this movie, even if the ending is an acid trip.

It does feel like the ending of 2001 Space Odyssey, just more nightmarish. But I remember really liking the movie for the sets, effects, music and atmosphere.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Not a whole lot of love in here for the TARDIS.

Yes it looks silly, till you see the thing flying in space and then..... so much of it is right.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

I was always a bit of a fan of the way Honorverse ships looked.

Spoiler

And it's totally not because of their interesting... shape.

Traitor! With a noble name like that how could you turn your back on such beauty?!

Spoiler

I am disappointed.

Honestly, when I think of Battletech, I don't think of it for the ships. Though, I did read some good fiction featuring ships combat. The only ship design I really like from Battletech is probably the MechWarrior Online redesign of the Leopard dropship.

Spoiler

 

[Asclepion]

My favourite ship descriptions are probably those of the Culture-verse. Annoyingly, it's pretty much impossible to represent - larger vessels are generally made up of many modular components (anything from hundreds of kilometers long down to nanoscale), enclosed and held within force fields of various shape, colour, and luminosity. Meaning a large ship can basically look however it wants by redistributing it's mass around, extending and retracting it's fields.

Still, DeviantArt has a few admirable attempts to represent one:

Spoiler

(Yes, those are mountains and terrain features. While this isn't explicitly referenced in the books, larger ships would certainly have the ability to construct large scale terrain on themselves, and given their general trend of eccentricity there's probably one that would want to.

(This is probably more in line with the general consensus. The specs are likely attendant vessels on the order of a km or two long, whereas the GSV itself might be dozens or hundreds of km long including the bubble of force fields.

Spoiler: Another shoutout to Culture GSVs

 

[vallorn]

The spaceships from Asura's Wrath are beatiful even if Asura makes them look like they are made of cardboard and tinfoil.

Plus, how can you defy the majesty of the Karma Fortress with it's Brahmastra.

It's Bigger Than A PLANET... Rule Of Cool is in MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!

 

[Anti Nudist Cupcake]

Ragnarov titan from sins of a solar empire. Because it is a giant flying space cannon.

Spoiler

Sith ships are always so cool...

Spoiler

Spoiler

I like the predator ship from aliens vs predator. It looks really tough but also fast at the same time.

Spoiler

 

[Raddra]

I'm a big fan of the Star Trek Federation Pilot Escort.

Its such a wonderful looking ship. If I had to pick any one ship to have, it would be that one.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

Time for some Elite: Dangerous love.

Spoiler: The Zargon Peterson Fur-de-Lance

Spoiler: The Core Dynamics Federal Corvette

Spoiler: The Gutamaya Imperial Cutter

Spoiler: Finally, the classic timeless, Faulcon DeLacy Cobra Mk. III

Edit:

Finally, I want to throw out the Romulan Bird of Prey.

Spoiler

Romulan D'Deridex class ships are Warbirds, not Bird of Prey types, technically they're battle cruisers. Romulans use Warbirds, it's the Klingons who utilize Bird of Prey raiders. Even the original Romulan T'Liss class is considered a Warbird, not a Bird of Prey.

Edit 2: I really shouldn't have missed this beauty from Elite: Dangerous...

Spoiler: The Saud Kruger Orca Passenger Liner