Fri, Mar 26, 2021 at 7:47 AM
Ignatz,
Maybe it's time for me to abandon the replaceable fuel tank concept. Because they're external, repair crews and shipyards could replace them easily, but for average refueling, it just looks like more trouble than it's worth. So, with that in mind, the fuel tanks become very prominent places for names/numbers/logos. I also like the underside of the Bridge, and the fore of the main body of the ship as well, as locations, but they might be just as likely to plaster it everywhere they can.
Regarding names, anything is possible.
Regarding numbers, all ships in the Alliance have a 12 digit registration number, which is part of the vessel's official identification; it's on all paperwork, and in the transponder signal. These digits can be made up of alpha-numeric numbers and keyboard symbols, but owners are NOT restricted to simply the Latin alphabet and Western Arabic numbers. Pretty much all living languages on Terra, as well as a couple of prominent dead languages (including Greek and Mayan) are open for use in this regard, reflecting the reality that people rarely ever need to read these numbers out loud.
Privately-owned Tottenberg Class ships might be rare, considering the amount of infrastructure needed in star systems, for them to be effective and efficient freighters. To me, they're more likely to be part of a corporate fleet. Of course, older ones might be sold off, for use as used ships, but considering how specialized they are, even in the shipping industry, I'd imagine they'd more likely be stripped for parts.
Logos would be common for companies, of course. In "Street Candles", GRIZZELDA was a privately-owned vessel, which made it a company all on its own; it had a cat for its logo. A fleet of Tottenbergs would have the owning corporation's logo, or a variation thereof.
Regarding lighting, I would think that there'd be a generous amount of light for the cargo boxes available, if needed; but most of the time it wouldn't be. Since you never know what sort of situation you might find yourself in out in space, having lights on them for use during loading/unloading operations (which are mostly automated, but humans and many machines would make use of them); maintenance and inspection duties; and, of course, in emergencies. Otherwise, they could be the exception to my always-on theory of lighting on these ships. Strobes and animated lighting of various sorts are hard to illustrate in static images, so, while I think there'd be some in real life, we may as well leave them out.
-David
Fri, Mar 26, 2021 at 1:58 PM
David,
Not sure about this, but take a gander at the enclosed render and let me know what you think.
Cheers,
- Ignatz