I've been pondering this question for a few days since the Nautilus came out but its been turning itself over and over in my head for a long time.
At first for me it was the exterior. Does the ship look badass? Most of the time the answer was 'yes'. Then came function. Does the ship work how I want according to my own interests?" Usually the answer was 'yes'. Those 2 factors for years were my guiding lights on if I wanted a spaceship. But over the last year and a half or so I'd say starting with the Vulcan this has changed. I'd add a 3rd guiding light and that is interior design. To me now its almost as important as function while exterior coolness has taken 3rd place.
I'm speaking mainly about multicrew ships however but the recent rework of the Vanguard also shows just how important and viable a good interior is for smaller craft. To me now after a ship does the role i want and I'm with friends I don't want a ship that's boring to look at inside. It needs to have variety, livability, and function all inside. Anyone that's been on Discord a while knows how I feel about the Constellation Andromeda. I call it a tube ship because its one corridor from end to end with different size rooms between. Its boring to me and I try to steer people toward the Mercury Star Runner which does have a much more varied interior layout.
Now I'll admit, The Constellation could be a victim of circumstance considering how it was one of the first 5 ever concepted and CIG at the time didn't know heads or tails about interiors nor really care if it wasn't a fighter cockpit. If it was done today for the first time it would probably look radically different. I freely admit this and it could also be that RSI's style is that the ship itself is a tube with the engines bolted on intead of integrated into the hull.. But I still see alot of potential in it if it got a chance to be reworked because it could end up like the Mercury with a few side rooms and other nooks to explore. Even the Corsair iirc had a couple side rooms, not big but still a couple.
With the Nautilus released it really brought back all of this. Why I value interior design now over outside look. It looks like a ship I could walk around in many many many times before getting bored of it. And it has 3 fully realized decks to explore. That's another bonus. Hammerhead only has 2 decks + cockpit below the main deck with its main feature being 2 long corridors on each side. And the Nautilus has stairs for going between the top deck and main deck. Stairs! And the stairs may also go to the sweep deck, its hard to tell.
To wrap this up, Function/role 1st, interior design(eye candy), liveability, function, variety 2nd, and exterior look 3rd. Thats what I look for now in SC spaceships. Just to add that they deliberately made the Nautilus roughly the same size lengthwise as the Carrack so they could fit on the same pad. With the advancements CIG has made in interior design I'm really hyped now for the Orion since not only has it grown super large but I can only imagine what kind of things they'll get to put inside it as far as rooms go. That's my hope anyway.
Thank you for reading. What do you look for nowadays in your SC ships when considering buying?
At first for me it was the exterior. Does the ship look badass? Most of the time the answer was 'yes'. Then came function. Does the ship work how I want according to my own interests?" Usually the answer was 'yes'. Those 2 factors for years were my guiding lights on if I wanted a spaceship. But over the last year and a half or so I'd say starting with the Vulcan this has changed. I'd add a 3rd guiding light and that is interior design. To me now its almost as important as function while exterior coolness has taken 3rd place.
I'm speaking mainly about multicrew ships however but the recent rework of the Vanguard also shows just how important and viable a good interior is for smaller craft. To me now after a ship does the role i want and I'm with friends I don't want a ship that's boring to look at inside. It needs to have variety, livability, and function all inside. Anyone that's been on Discord a while knows how I feel about the Constellation Andromeda. I call it a tube ship because its one corridor from end to end with different size rooms between. Its boring to me and I try to steer people toward the Mercury Star Runner which does have a much more varied interior layout.
Now I'll admit, The Constellation could be a victim of circumstance considering how it was one of the first 5 ever concepted and CIG at the time didn't know heads or tails about interiors nor really care if it wasn't a fighter cockpit. If it was done today for the first time it would probably look radically different. I freely admit this and it could also be that RSI's style is that the ship itself is a tube with the engines bolted on intead of integrated into the hull.. But I still see alot of potential in it if it got a chance to be reworked because it could end up like the Mercury with a few side rooms and other nooks to explore. Even the Corsair iirc had a couple side rooms, not big but still a couple.
With the Nautilus released it really brought back all of this. Why I value interior design now over outside look. It looks like a ship I could walk around in many many many times before getting bored of it. And it has 3 fully realized decks to explore. That's another bonus. Hammerhead only has 2 decks + cockpit below the main deck with its main feature being 2 long corridors on each side. And the Nautilus has stairs for going between the top deck and main deck. Stairs! And the stairs may also go to the sweep deck, its hard to tell.
To wrap this up, Function/role 1st, interior design(eye candy), liveability, function, variety 2nd, and exterior look 3rd. Thats what I look for now in SC spaceships. Just to add that they deliberately made the Nautilus roughly the same size lengthwise as the Carrack so they could fit on the same pad. With the advancements CIG has made in interior design I'm really hyped now for the Orion since not only has it grown super large but I can only imagine what kind of things they'll get to put inside it as far as rooms go. That's my hope anyway.
Thank you for reading. What do you look for nowadays in your SC ships when considering buying?
