i always love your ship designs of them being cigar shapped and using cameras instead of windows. it reminds me of some of the aircraft in the later entries in the ace combat series

My story has starships with cameras instead of windows. However, many ships have foot-thick "smart" windows that instantly adjust to brightness levels outside to prevent blinding the crew. The windows also can come in handy when hacking or EMP disturbances make cameras shut down.

sounds like a good idea :) it always good to have backup systems in case something goes wrong

For the most part, not even cameras, just graphic displays of multi-sensor inputs. All too much of the action is beyond practical visual range, not that seeing a distant speck barely separate from the star field background is going to be very useful. That and the ship's comm is buried deep in the hull, as is anything of importance. The only windows on a warship would be some view ports for auxiliary views for docking and logistics support/cargo handling. Passenger ships have conventional windows for something to do.

What about heat-management? That's something that is all too often forgotten in SF. In my novel, heat radiators stretch out like massive oars, wings or fins. They're called "rad-wings." Or colloquially, "hot-wings."

There is a lot of water on board, mostly for heat regulation, and the major source of heat on board, outside the engine area, is just biology, so surface circulation is enough for most of the time. I'm figuring at least several tons per crew member. The space stations that will show up shortly have big radiators as they have more biology as well as more on-going solar.

You really have this all figured out.

I tend to be very engineer-y in my writing. I work out the hows and whys of the settings and characters, all but work up psych profiles and draft up engineering bits. And for both SF and fantasy stories, have reasonable and consistant rationales for the suspension of disbelief stretches. I don't like to read and don't want to resort to hand-waving saves for some lapse, not that it hasn't happened, but I try to be thurough.

Same here. I try to put in new bits of technology to help keep the book a page turner.

Think of the Republic F-103, with the periscope instead of a windscreen. THE COLONEL

For some reason I hear incidental music from Robotech here.

I like the hard sci-fi approach to space engagements here. Dealing with enemy craft at a distance of light-seconds, swarms of drones instead of starfighters, combat occurring in the blink of an eye.

I'm down. This?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbdZNHG-iSE
Or, maybe this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3XxgIHcK2Y

Perfect!

Have to admit they don't do much for me. On the other hand, I've never had any music in mind for much of Albedo, aside for some purely percussive rhythmics for incidential background.

Here is one piece, not a space combat thing, more of sneaky/threatening, but still a fav. Don't know if I'd apply it to anything in particular in the Albedo scenario. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04uP44d1yL4

Curiously, that style of soundtrack could fit Albedo very well.

IMO, Hiroyuki Sawano's musical style, (the guy who composed the soundtrack of the Attack on Titan anime series, Gundam Unicorn, Aldnoah Zero and others) could also fit very well in Albedo as well.

I'm down with Our Host selecting Giorgio Moroder for BGM.

Our Host's prerogative, of course.

MikeMurdock's comment reminded me of something.

You got me started on loving the cigar-shaped spaceships and I will always treasure your designs, I later found out, that you weren't the only one using it. The pulp magazine 'Perry Rhodan' uses it since the 60's in different variations. Here two examples:
Cover from 1974: http://www.perrypedia.proc.org/medi...../47/PR0669.jpg
Cover from 2015: http://www.perrypedia.proc.org/medi...../41/PR2811.jpg

If you are intersted in more, just do a picture search for 'Perry Rhodan Walzenraumer'. You'll find some nifty cutaways with that as well. Though they are probably all in german. Just be warned, some have the old-style thinking when it comes to the arrangement of the decks. I.e. not logical like yours, but through the length of the ship.

Didn't know about the PR cigar shaped ships, only seen the round ones. Seem to recall some old '30s pulp cigar ships(?)

There are a few peoples using cigar shaped spacecraft in Perry Rhodan. The Springer are the most well known of those peoples.

And I like the idea of a spacecrafts control center buried deep within the hull and using screens to look outside. Much better way to armor it and keep the command crew alive.

I also personally like more cylindrical shaped spacecraft. Much easier to get the thrust axis right.

With 55 years going, the writers had to re-use some basic shapes after a while. Among the sphere shaped, the cubes and the cigar shaped.

As for '30s pulp, I'm not sure. I remember the Lensmen ships becoming teardrop shaped, but I'm not sure what they looked before that.
I really have to get Doc E. Smith's books in the original.

Don't forget that the various iterations of the Skylark in Doc Smiths' Skylark of Space stories were spherical, of necessity. WCJ

Skylark is something I have yet to read to my shame, but it's on my list.

Interestingly, the jargon makes sense. It's not scientifically accurate per se, but it reads like a soldier's abbreviation of it. I'm reading that as 'energy flare, consistent with a drive moving a 50 kilotonne ship at 11 meters per second squared. (12% more than one standard gravity)

exactly that.

Yay! And my compliments. One does get tired of rubbish like 'Did the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs'.

And here comes the Royal Manticoran Navy! (Honor Harrington universe)

That's "real" space combat - David Weber would be proud captain.

Weber tries to keep it as realistic as possible, particularly involving the math. One of the reasons that I have enjoyed the series. Not to mention the occasional truly egregious Pun, or cultural reference [Rob S. Pierre, for example]. That had me laughing through the whole book. THE COLONEL

ps. Lets' not forget my favorite character, Nimitz. I think that he, and the other Treecats are probably the smartest people in the series, Would love to see various artists take on them, remembering that they are NOT Chaktties. WCJ

Love all the hardcore sci-fi nerds up in this thread. Our Host included of course.

Well, Albedo is hard sci-fi.

Considering the trend in some furry cons, I am considering going back to my roots in SF fandom. For every one of you who do like what I'm doing, there are ten- or a hundred who don't know, don't care , don't like any of it and would rather something more flavor of the month take its place.

I understand only too well. Compared to Fantasy there is very little Science Fiction to be had. So people understand Science Fiction less and less. It's supposed to be more than just flashy lasers and action scenes. Extra Credits did a clip about why there were so few Scioence Fiction games and several people asked why they did not list Deus Ex in their examples. Somehow it escaped them, that you can't count Deus Ex simply as Science Fiction, because it's Cyberpunk. And I've seen that elsewhere. The distinction between Science Fiction and Fantasy is no longer enough, that's why there are subgenres of them now. But I can't blame the fans. Not when neither the writers, nor the publishers seem to understand genres anymore.
*sigh* The last Science Fiction novel I bought was from 1944.

I recently watched the fursuit walk from last year's Eurofurence. It too 15 minutes until they passed the stationary camera and I noticed something. While the suits were well-made, none of them were really memorable. I do remember the Borg vixen, Sir Karl, Jack Salem, Balto, Jenna and Steel fursuits from 20 years ago.

Same goes for stories in the fandom. The good ones I know are quite old by now and there are too many today for me to try to search for the good ones. Few even bother to establish why there are furries in their worlds anymore, how the society functions and other basic stuff like that.

I see that as symptoms of what you said

BTW Should you leave here, please post clearly to what corner of the net you go. I want to see what you are up to then, even if it's not furry.

P.S. Is it me, or is there little mention of Usagi Yojimbo in the furry fandom in general?

I'm not leaving here, as FA has treated me well enough. But furry convention fandom, especially those who run such, simply have no use for many of the artists of my generation in that they are not doing what is currently popular, even if they have a viable fan base that supports them. But, as those artists and their fans are not part of the in-crowd, they don't count for the self-appointed gatekeepers of the fandom.
Usagi is weird in that it seems to exist outside what a lot of furry fans would embrace. I'd WAG that, as it is so much Stan's specific creation, it doesn't lend itself to much fannish exploitation or character insertion.

*nod*

I think in the case of Usagi Yojimbo, the problem you mention is because Usagi always had a more simplier but flashier story. especially for his time, before anime and manga became popular in the States. Nowadays, Usagi's novelty has wore off. Not to mention Usagi's popularity relied on the popularity of other works, like TMNT, at least in the animated adaptations.

I understand the reasons why you decided to stick on your guns rather than doing like everyone else in the 80s, since you probably didn't want Albedo to be compared with the rest of the imitators that flooded the market in that era, right?

I think you may be missing the point of Usagi entirely, in that the lack of relative fannish attention has more to do with how fully Stan owns it, so any attempts at fannish usurpation are clearly feeble failures, as well as how it has resisted Rule 34 abuse. It is my impression that it has its own fan base, outside of furry, and has been going on for over thirty years and has every sign of continuing to do well for itself.
I don't understand what you are trying to say about my work early on? If you are referring to the independent black & white comic boom, that happened well after Albedo started, when the speculator market went wild over TMNT and creators wanted to jump on the bandwagon.

Oh, I see. Thanks for the clarification!

Aye, fantasy does seem to be more popular.

Very hard.

This really is awesome! With two craft flying towards each other I suspect the fight would be like a medieval joust. I don't think their would be a second go around though. Turning ships of this scale around and getting up to speed would call for a massive amount of energy.

Star Wars not withstanding.. Spaceships do NOT make U-turns. Unless there is a lot of "handwavium" involved, Newton's laws still apply. THE COLONEL

Well, The only way I can see a 'U-turn' Happaning is a loop around a planet.

The old slingshot.
Also good for aerobreaking.

Ooh, killer stuff!

Literally.

Hard science fiction, my fave.

I imagine in a space 'joust' the weapons would mainly be kinetic weapons (I dont know if their are shields in this universe.) I would imagine something along the lines of 'Rods of god' For attacks on the forward pass.

SteveGallaci1, would you mind people making some 'fan art' or speculations on weapon systems or vehicles? I have had some ideas bouncing around for some of these attack drones. I am sure you have it all figured out in your head though!

No shields. Weapons are mostly just kinetic , with the occasional nuke in the mix, usually enhanced radiation. I can't stop fan art, and to some extent, encourage it. However, if I am asked what I really think about any such, I'll give an honest answer, rather than toss out false praise.

I like honest feedback honestly. I wouldnt be after artistic feedback, I know I can't draw pretty art. I would be looking for functional feedback and such. If YOU (and anyone elses) think it would work, how well, faults, ect.

I would like to participate in the 'Geeking out' of everyone else here. I Don't get to do that where I am, I also like showing off some of my mental brain childs.

BTW, Steve, what is your take on the space ship design, and the Wedge drive in Honerverse, assuming that you have read any of the books? WCJ

Haven't read any of it, and for that matter haven't read much SF (or any fiction) for many years now, other than the very occasional re-read of old classics.

So I did a doodle of my idea of what one of these attack drone things would be like. Though it is much more blocky than these round ones.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/19733890/