Lonecat Nekophrodite
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OK This is not really 'historical' but a future predictions.
Rightnow Space Warfare of all kind is fiction only. available in all entertainment medias (Novels, Cartoons (Comics and animated), Motion Pictures (Cinema based or TV based)). And even in these fictions. Space Warfare and Space Combat Vessel concepts did evolve within designs.
Here's my (rather crude) conclusions regarding to these
Early Scifi (Anything before 1974 AD)
1. Space Warfare is heavily viewed as a straight evolutions of aerial warfare. all space combat vessels (and combat mode) were nearly identical to aircrafts (hard points are primarily spinal mounts or forward facings. many of these spacecrafts did have the same wings. heavily streamlined. Some however takes off and landings like rocket and not aircrafts.
Examples
- Thunderbirds.
Note that Naval Nomeclatures are ported into here as well. some rocket ships are even referred to as 'Battleships' even if they have no turrets (or more like heavily armored fighters or fortress bombers)
And weaponry were purely 'deathrays' (or what later called 'Lasers', or whatever names coined for these, but mostly energy based).
2. Flying Saucers
- Star Trek. (maybe HG. Wells' War of the Worlds)
Leiji Matsumoto Hype (Since 1974 (Japan,) or 1979 (United States of America, and worldwide)
It begins with a kyushuan Mangaka (Japanese Comic Artists, though today the term Mangaka is used since Japanese 'Manga' did evolved from American 'Comics' on its own path) who was born as Akira Matsumoto (25th January 1938 - 13th February 2023), who began his career in 1953, And invented his pen name 'Leiji Matsumoto' (松本零士) in 1969 . His dream was, however to become famous animation wizard like Walt Disney. It took him yet another nearly two decades for his dream to be realized in 1974, when Yoshinobu Nishizaki (西崎義展,18 December 1934 - 2010) of Office Academy animation studio recruited him to direct an animation project that would be known as Space Battleship Yamato .. which later about a year or two became a big hit. Also in 1977 he wrote Space Pirate Captain Harlock. in BOTH shows all space warships (Particularly Yamato and Arcadia) are designed with tower bridges like sea ships of the 20th Century.
^ Yamato (Lower most) and Arcadia (Similiarly looking green spaceship with big skull to the front) in the same frame. All Spaceships (including a space passenger train .. the Galaxy Express 999), all of these things are created by Leiji Matsumoto.
The other (Zeppelin to the background) is Queen Emeraldas, also FTL capable.
All of these (Except Yamato) things came out by the waning years of 1970s.
What made him so influential is that not only the two Space Scifi Animes (and shortly later Galaxy Express 999) aired at that time being bighits in Japan, but an american film director named George Lucas has been in THERE at that time for his research for a movie that will later becomes Star Wars (A really bighit). He also watched the two aforemented Animes (and possible read mangas). Eventually Star Wars became a big hit and all space scifis spaceship designs follows EITHER Matsumoto OR Star Wars.
^ Imperial Star Destroyers from Star Wars (1978), notice that the use of tower bridges. it became a trend that anyone doing space scifi after that has to follow when designing spaceships. Though Starwars was tend to be copied more.
Space Battles featured since SBY in 1974 follows strictly Pacific Theatre. with cosmofighters are opreated from lager ships. most of these 'Warships' were (mostly) doubles as cosmofighter bases, with its own offensive weaponry systems (mostly followed warships of the 1930s-1940s, even if these weapons are now energy based), featured also are myriads of guided missiles (some are dubbed 'Space Torpedoes').
UAVs were not common yet. except in Gundam settings (which these drones are called Funnels and controled by human 'psychic powers' rather than AIs)
ECM and ECCMs were virtually nonexists. even at this period. (or if so these were still as advanced as IRL versions)
This design phillosophy did lasts for several decades. at least until 'Hard Scifi' came to be.
Space Sim Era (2010s-Present)
This is when interests in space scifi declined. especially in Japan. in which only popular franchises get new stories or remakes.
Many Space Scifis originated from this era are now made with Space Sims and The Internet in mind. Note that with Real Life Space Projects did not progress in the same pace as in Scifis. Tower Bridges (Along with 'Space is an ocean' (and even the term 'Seas of Stars', the nomeclature strongly associates with Leiji Matsumoto. which he used it alot in his works, and even shown up with his death announcement (written by his eldest child 'Makiko Matsumoto' that 'He went to the Seas of Stars on 13th February 2023' ) no longer popular. Some spacecrafts reverted to pre-1974 designs. either as 'Aircraft based' or 'Rockets'. Control Bridge is now located either in the same place as in aircraft or .. with the advances of tele-optics (Webcams, Close Circuit Televisions). at the center of the very spacecrafts.. now similiar to submarines. Gun-type weapon mounts are all turret based, while missiles are of VLS type. Drones will play more important roles, Cosmofighters however tend to become less common (Ukraine Theatre proves this IRL). Electronics Warfare is now a serious business. hacking becomes more common (as seen in Bodacious Space Pirates (モーレツ宇宙海賊) ( A not so popular Space Scifi from Japan, well Original Space Scifis of this era written by Japanese are ver rare and not popular now. Maybe because Spacefaring does not appeal to Japanese anymore (or at least in these last two decades) and they viewed Space as something too far and didn't touch the audiences, despite Leiji Matsumoto's effort in final decades of his life being president of Young Astronaut Camp and being so active in that, of course at the costs of no new mangas being written himself (most of those of 'his works' were what he authrized his fans to do, and this included his 'rival' mangaka (Yuzuru Shimazaki to be specific, she already has her original works several years prior, at this era he gives out basic premises and 'frameworks' according to settings, relationships between each characters, boundaries, or even 'text stories' written as novels or movie scripts and leave the illustrations to the autorized artists).. it didn't help in the end.
mouretsupirates.fandom.com
Note that Bentenmaru in Bodacious Space Pirates interior layout now follows Aircrafts (Particularly Fortress Bombers). and not Sea ships. Turrets to the back.. The ship looks much like big rockets. Can't say that is it a retro or is this design more functional than ones originated from the late 70s designs.
Note that hackings, alongside other forms of ECMs and ECCMs as well as electronis warfare. play a big part in space warfare particularly in this settings.
The Expanse.
Space Ships in this settings are all rockets. (and literally a tower when lands) ones that capable to land and take off on its own power.
This is Hard Scifi though. Space Combat in this setting is very much originals. No Cosmofighterjets shown up at all
Also Control Bridge is located to the central, visibility are done through teleoptics or periscopes of some kind. no direct 'windows' sightseeings at all.
^ Rocinante.
expanse.fandom.com
What's your ideas according to space warfare or space warship designs? will it follows The Expanse or Bodacious Pirates? or what. But i'm sure it won't follow either Star Wars or Space Battleship Yamato, or any other bighits created by Leiji Matsumoto as well as anyone else that followed him or Lucas.
What do you think about these?
Rightnow Space Warfare of all kind is fiction only. available in all entertainment medias (Novels, Cartoons (Comics and animated), Motion Pictures (Cinema based or TV based)). And even in these fictions. Space Warfare and Space Combat Vessel concepts did evolve within designs.
Here's my (rather crude) conclusions regarding to these
Early Scifi (Anything before 1974 AD)
1. Space Warfare is heavily viewed as a straight evolutions of aerial warfare. all space combat vessels (and combat mode) were nearly identical to aircrafts (hard points are primarily spinal mounts or forward facings. many of these spacecrafts did have the same wings. heavily streamlined. Some however takes off and landings like rocket and not aircrafts.
Examples
- Thunderbirds.
Note that Naval Nomeclatures are ported into here as well. some rocket ships are even referred to as 'Battleships' even if they have no turrets (or more like heavily armored fighters or fortress bombers)
And weaponry were purely 'deathrays' (or what later called 'Lasers', or whatever names coined for these, but mostly energy based).
2. Flying Saucers
- Star Trek. (maybe HG. Wells' War of the Worlds)
Leiji Matsumoto Hype (Since 1974 (Japan,) or 1979 (United States of America, and worldwide)
It begins with a kyushuan Mangaka (Japanese Comic Artists, though today the term Mangaka is used since Japanese 'Manga' did evolved from American 'Comics' on its own path) who was born as Akira Matsumoto (25th January 1938 - 13th February 2023), who began his career in 1953, And invented his pen name 'Leiji Matsumoto' (松本零士) in 1969 . His dream was, however to become famous animation wizard like Walt Disney. It took him yet another nearly two decades for his dream to be realized in 1974, when Yoshinobu Nishizaki (西崎義展,18 December 1934 - 2010) of Office Academy animation studio recruited him to direct an animation project that would be known as Space Battleship Yamato .. which later about a year or two became a big hit. Also in 1977 he wrote Space Pirate Captain Harlock. in BOTH shows all space warships (Particularly Yamato and Arcadia) are designed with tower bridges like sea ships of the 20th Century.
^ Yamato (Lower most) and Arcadia (Similiarly looking green spaceship with big skull to the front) in the same frame. All Spaceships (including a space passenger train .. the Galaxy Express 999), all of these things are created by Leiji Matsumoto.
The other (Zeppelin to the background) is Queen Emeraldas, also FTL capable.
All of these (Except Yamato) things came out by the waning years of 1970s.
What made him so influential is that not only the two Space Scifi Animes (and shortly later Galaxy Express 999) aired at that time being bighits in Japan, but an american film director named George Lucas has been in THERE at that time for his research for a movie that will later becomes Star Wars (A really bighit). He also watched the two aforemented Animes (and possible read mangas). Eventually Star Wars became a big hit and all space scifis spaceship designs follows EITHER Matsumoto OR Star Wars.
^ Imperial Star Destroyers from Star Wars (1978), notice that the use of tower bridges. it became a trend that anyone doing space scifi after that has to follow when designing spaceships. Though Starwars was tend to be copied more.
Space Battles featured since SBY in 1974 follows strictly Pacific Theatre. with cosmofighters are opreated from lager ships. most of these 'Warships' were (mostly) doubles as cosmofighter bases, with its own offensive weaponry systems (mostly followed warships of the 1930s-1940s, even if these weapons are now energy based), featured also are myriads of guided missiles (some are dubbed 'Space Torpedoes').
UAVs were not common yet. except in Gundam settings (which these drones are called Funnels and controled by human 'psychic powers' rather than AIs)
ECM and ECCMs were virtually nonexists. even at this period. (or if so these were still as advanced as IRL versions)
This design phillosophy did lasts for several decades. at least until 'Hard Scifi' came to be.
Space Sim Era (2010s-Present)
This is when interests in space scifi declined. especially in Japan. in which only popular franchises get new stories or remakes.
Many Space Scifis originated from this era are now made with Space Sims and The Internet in mind. Note that with Real Life Space Projects did not progress in the same pace as in Scifis. Tower Bridges (Along with 'Space is an ocean' (and even the term 'Seas of Stars', the nomeclature strongly associates with Leiji Matsumoto. which he used it alot in his works, and even shown up with his death announcement (written by his eldest child 'Makiko Matsumoto' that 'He went to the Seas of Stars on 13th February 2023' ) no longer popular. Some spacecrafts reverted to pre-1974 designs. either as 'Aircraft based' or 'Rockets'. Control Bridge is now located either in the same place as in aircraft or .. with the advances of tele-optics (Webcams, Close Circuit Televisions). at the center of the very spacecrafts.. now similiar to submarines. Gun-type weapon mounts are all turret based, while missiles are of VLS type. Drones will play more important roles, Cosmofighters however tend to become less common (Ukraine Theatre proves this IRL). Electronics Warfare is now a serious business. hacking becomes more common (as seen in Bodacious Space Pirates (モーレツ宇宙海賊) ( A not so popular Space Scifi from Japan, well Original Space Scifis of this era written by Japanese are ver rare and not popular now. Maybe because Spacefaring does not appeal to Japanese anymore (or at least in these last two decades) and they viewed Space as something too far and didn't touch the audiences, despite Leiji Matsumoto's effort in final decades of his life being president of Young Astronaut Camp and being so active in that, of course at the costs of no new mangas being written himself (most of those of 'his works' were what he authrized his fans to do, and this included his 'rival' mangaka (Yuzuru Shimazaki to be specific, she already has her original works several years prior, at this era he gives out basic premises and 'frameworks' according to settings, relationships between each characters, boundaries, or even 'text stories' written as novels or movie scripts and leave the illustrations to the autorized artists).. it didn't help in the end.
Bentenmaru
The Bentenmaru (弁天丸（べんてんまる）, Bentenmaru) is a space pirate ship, one of the Original Seven that received Letters of Marque during the War of Independence. Its former captain was Gonzaemon Kato and its current captain is Marika Kato. The design of the Bentenmaru differs considerably between the...
Note that hackings, alongside other forms of ECMs and ECCMs as well as electronis warfare. play a big part in space warfare particularly in this settings.
The Expanse.
Space Ships in this settings are all rockets. (and literally a tower when lands) ones that capable to land and take off on its own power.
This is Hard Scifi though. Space Combat in this setting is very much originals. No Cosmofighterjets shown up at all
Also Control Bridge is located to the central, visibility are done through teleoptics or periscopes of some kind. no direct 'windows' sightseeings at all.
^ Rocinante.
Rocinante (TV)
The Rocinante ("Roci") is a former MCRN (Martian Congressional Republic Navy)-turned-independent Corvette-class light frigate capable of multiple combat roles. Originally commissioned as the MCRN Tachi (ECF 270), the ship was stationed aboard the flagship of the Martian navy, the MCRN Donnager...
What's your ideas according to space warfare or space warship designs? will it follows The Expanse or Bodacious Pirates? or what. But i'm sure it won't follow either Star Wars or Space Battleship Yamato, or any other bighits created by Leiji Matsumoto as well as anyone else that followed him or Lucas.
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