The Texas-Class Automated Starship
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ต.ค. 2022
- The Texas class was the creation of Admiral Les Buenamigo and the first fully automated starfleet ship. It was made to undertake patrol and settlement missions, replacing classes such as the aging California class. The initial 3 prototypes included the USS Aledo NA-01 as seen in Lower Decks.
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I really liked that they pointed out that automated craft is not what starfleet is about. That said, an automated craft would be awesome as a secondary ship to go along with a crewed ship so no ship is every really alone.
An unmanned wingman is a concept that modern drones have been considered for. The wingman drone would serve as a second missile bay and follow a manned fighter into action, allowing the full advantage of having both manned and automated pilots.
A-MEN please take the A.I. out of the Starships and put men and women on the ship.
@@tonyah.960 or use it as a remote controlled ship that could be sent ahead to scout
Was just going to say,, excellent escort craft.
It would also be great as an emergency escape vessel
5:30 As another wise captain once said, if all Starfleet wanted was maps and scans, they'd have built a fleet of probes, not starships.
starfleet already has deep space probes to do just that. lmao
@@joeswanson733 the function of which has always been to tell the exploration and science ships where to go. Learn more lore or don't comment.
@@Thuazabi what I meant was starfleet already had a fleet of deep space probes...
@@joeswanson733 yeah that line always bugged me - they should’ve added an “only” or an “exclusively” or something. Sometimes it takes them a couple centuries to get there (see Idran) after the probe scans, but that information always guides their later exploration.
@@joeswanson733 Greetings from the United Federation of Planets! You’ve been selected for a nuclear holocaust.
Let's not call them "rogue" admirals, there have been enough of these "projects" that it stands to reason that most but not all admirals in Starfleet have projects under their purview that it does almost come across as semi-standard practice in the admiralty that you'll have at least one or more "classified" things in the oven...it's just that some of these projects skirt the line of ethics, and usually are trying to provide proof of concept that they believe will overcome any ethical or moral issues with the nature of the said project.
I think a larger, or more systemic, problem in Starfleet is that this kinda crap happens on a clockwork basis with all the "Badmirals" out there (since TNG era - I don't recall to many of them in TOS).
You would think a government like the UFP, or an organization like Starfleet, would have review boards, Inspector Generals, civilian oversight, etc. to the point where these off-the-PADD projects wouldn't be able to flourish like this.
And after enough of them, some organization or people would say: "We've had it with this nonsense...anyone that's even found, after a proper & full review, to be doing this is off to live in the Tom Paris suite at that penal colony in New Zealand."
(I'm ignoring S31 here because that's an interesting idea that's gotten blown way out of proportion.)
In that episode alone we learn Admiral Picard is running archaeological operations on the side, so that tracks. Admirals probably have some amount of discretionary funding/power allocation which they can use on personal projects, and they aren't usually looked into too deeply because most of the time it's an admiral who likes returning relics to their proper owners or designing actually useful ships.
@@Corbomite_Meatballs Agreed. I think the shows have always highlighted the military structure of Starfleet and Trek. But in reality, the President and Council of the UFP would have waaaay more power and be pointing their noses in it. Just like in Western democracies today.
@@matthewwestcott9138 They might not have as much oversight due to the whole "post-scarcity" thing. Basically with most resources being essentially limitless, it doesn't matter that an admiral is spending a lot of resources on a pet project with little oversight.
Certainly there should be ethics oversight on projects like this, but that might be as simple as a review of intent and monitoring journals/logs, and not involve actual in depth examination except when required due to obvious oversteps.
I think rogue is a fair description given that he literally went rogue and directed the Aledo to destroy the Cerritos as part of an attempted cover up, not to mention exploiting Rutherford and robbing him of his memories
I can see the Texas Class as a fully support vessel for larger ships.
Without sentient beings on board, it's capable of exploring more dangerous systems. It can be used as an escort craft, recon, automated resupply and such.
So... yeah, if Buenamigo didn't install that AI with daddy issues, it probably would've sold to Star Fleet.
Could have been used in something like A modern Prometheus Class, one Main ship with a smaller "parasite fighter" kind of ship that can launch off the main ship under the command of the Parent ship
While the Automated System is a failure. I’m sure that Starfleet would probably go over the design and re-work it to allow crew compliments. Since I doubt they would let a good ship design to go to waste. With that, the Texas Class would probably act as fast respond support/escort ship similar to both the Defiant-class and the future Inquiry-class.
Makes me wonder why Shuttlecraft haven't been used in a similar capacity. The computers Star Fleet has are fully capable of piloting a ship autonomously, doubly so if they are being fed orders from their mother ship. Imagine if a Starship could launch a dozen drone shuttles to support it at any time - either as escort fighters in combat, rescue craft going into dangerous situations or simply delivery drones for supplying other ships or planets where transporters aren't possible or desired.
I think much like the Exocomp, these would have made fantastic additions to star fleet IF they had been brought into the fold like the aforementioned drones and Data. In a way the episode Measure of a Man created a legal precedent for AI in Starfleet. too bad they kind of got rid of it with Picard trying to be edgy.
@@kevintran5901 a few of them in nemesis and in the Dominion wars and first contact versus the boards some things can be pretty dangerous could you imagine the card it had that a few Texas class maybe all four Texas classes and checked in them fighting in Nemesis that would have been really good 😊 am I going to send it at the price a lot of damage too
LOVED that they used the M5 console in the Admiral's office for the Texas class. As soon as I saw it I knew where this was headed.
AT LEAST they acknowledged the episode. because it sure feels like starfleet didnt learn its lesson, yet.
Another lockbox item for Star Trek Online incoming.
I would actually go back to STO if they released fully autonomous playable ships.
I would love if it's an event console. Would be a fun Federation only autonomous ship summon.
@@barrybend7189 Console or item.
either way, having a Texas-class show up to kick ass would be nice.
Yep but hope as a beacon ship or pets not as a playable ship tho I would actually fly it but becuz it’s automated they need to stick to its design meaning it would have to remain non playable
@@wargodsix I mean star trek online could add the option to start as a hologram XD
The Texas-class sounds like it works best as a rapid response craft like it did when it saved the Cerritos from the Breen. As well as aiding in patching and repairing ships they saved. Towing them to a shipyard if their warp core couldn’t be repaired. Recovery task. It has a number defensive usage.
it can probably go maximum warp speed for longer time since they don't have to worry about life support system failure. i would use them for deep space patrol and starmapping.
That was kinda the point goodbuddy made and why he got it into production that fast. Which is weird, cuz the AI reluctant starfleet basically went "wait.... You designed and built three of these HunterKiller ships, completely of the records? Whelp, we see nothing wrong here. Luckily we have a trackrecord of supremely dependable admirals and see no possible way this could have any issues, otherwise this would be kinda worrying".
Bingo.
Patrol ship, rapid response craft, search and rescue, and starbase construction.
@@TheOneTrueDragonKing not just construction.
They performed quite well at demolition
@@user-zh4vo1kw1z Yep, they'd do good at construction and demolition sites (which are both included in the "construction" label. A construction job often involves tearing one building down to build something new.)
This thing is basically a warp core strap with a bunch of guns sounds like something that should be named after Texas to me.
The Defiant-class was described as a set of guns strapped to some engines, wasn't it?
@@BNuts defiant should actually be better. just out fit those with some advanced preprogrammed AI and good to go.this whole texas class thing is not a good idea. it's actually overlapping with the defiant class.
@@joeswanson733 The _Texas_-class also has a portable factory strapped to it, along with the guns. The _Defiant_ is a pure warship.
@@joeswanson733 You also generally want to build new classes of the same purpose ships, especially if that's the first of it's type.
I could see the Texas class being more of a combat patrol craft in the outer fringes and boarders of hostile powers, and a transport variation for supply runs in secured space. Automation is good for dangerous and monotonous tasks. The lack of face to face interaction with new species in second contact missions takes away so much of the diplomatic element needed to build and maintain relations.
AN that's why they'd be best for general combat, support, and anything that doesn't really need contact with others.
Its kind of amazing just how much lore for this class Lower Decks has managed to squeeze into two episodes, basically just 45 minutes on screen. Props to them especially for including the MSD somehow
Think it shows that if you write with intention, and thoughtfully, you can craft entertaining & engaging stories that can both use existing lore *while* adding to it at the same time.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned the similar remote-controlled Romulan ship from ENT's last season; it would've been interesting if the Texas class had maybe used that as a jumping point
That was truly a drone ship - unable to do anything without a signal. A terrible design if the enemy gets good Jammers going.
Starfleet actually was way ahead. They had the M-5 computer ("The Ultimate Computer", TOS 2x24), the Prometheus and a number of similar experiments.
This was more a attempt to temper the M-5 idea. Starfleet should _really_ get a hint.
@@christopherg2347 if we're talking traditioanl drone ships than you're right but the romulan one was a telepathic controlled drone ship. much trickier to jam.
@@joeswanson733 IIRC the need for Aenar pilots was a hack. A bodge. Something to make it work at all.
I mean Earth Starfleet literally hacked into that coms system a week later. That is not a secure coms system.
@@christopherg2347 probably because they never anticipated anyone able to hack into the coms?
@@joeswanson733 If the designer expected unhackable, jamming immune communications I would not let that person design a Zipper. Because they are a moron of galactic proportions.
I honestly love the ship despite it being controlled by a homicidal AI. A ship like this would seem like a good scout and/or patrol ship.
It's kinda crazy how Lower Decks is kinda almost "fixing up" Picard's plot retroactively. At least in the synthetic life department. I wonder if we'll see more Romulans in Lower Decks to feed into this.
I have noted that Lower Decks is four years out from the attack on mars. Depending on how long the show continues, we could see the Cerritos crew having to grapple with the aftermath.
Side note, Prodigy has reached the year before the same event. Not sure how that'll play into the story, if at all.
Starfleet has ALWAYS had a bad history with AI controlling starships. M5 ring a bell?
@@luminaire4946 Indeed. Trek AI has always been hit or miss. Sometimes we get Data, others we get Control.
@@alexrusset8614 Don't even have to go that far, for every Data you get a Lore.
SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH PICARD WAS PERFECT! PEERRRFFFEEECCTT! *DOES LEMONGRAB SCREAM*
As I've said, I'd love to see an automated exploration craft that just... wants to explore rather than kill everyone. Especially if it's built as a warship and then demands to be unarmed. That would be both hilarious and heartwarming.
AI in starfleet always gets a bad reputation. Data got personhood, sure, but he looked human, or enough like that that we could say, "yeah, that's a person". But a person that's just a starship and doesn't even really use a Holographic avatar of an organic being? It feels like there's a missed opportunity here to discuss personhood of self-aware vessels.
While not quite autonomous, the leviathan bioships in the series Farscape are close to that idea
Agreed. However, in general Star Trek takes a surprisingly conservative view. To be specific, for all it's a show about the future, the core message might as well be "new technology is bad." Pretty much every single writer has forced it over and over again.
@@arthurmoore9488 well that's certainly a possible interpretation I wonder if it's intentional or just a byproduct making an interesting plot. I mean it's not interesting unless something goes wrong.
There was Tinman, for TNG. I can't think of any others beyond the exocomp, and I definitely agree it's unfortunate they don't use more sapient spaceships or just non-humanoid machines that are friendly. Outside of Star Trek, there was a movie called 'Stealth' that had a sapient fighter plane go rouge, then have a bit of a different ending than just, "AI machine bad".
I very much like the idea of someone building an AI ship intended for high-risk combat scenarios that immediately reuses to engage in combat, disables its own weapon systems, and re-christens itself the "Conscientious Objector" before going off to explore the stars. Bonus points if it becomes pals with V'Ger. :)
V'Ger: OMINOUS THRUMMMMM
Conscientious Objector: I know, right? They're so violent, and they're constantly eating each other. I don't like to be racist but organic intelligences are just the worst!
You'd think Starfleet would have learned from the disaster of completely autonomous ships from when Richard Daystrom (TOS The Ultimate Computer) tried to automate the Enterprise and it ended up killing hundreds of Starfleet personnel.
any hotshot always thinks they can make it work.
as kirk said in star trek III young minds fresh ideas.. be tolerant.
It had been a full century since the M5 incident.
@@Janoha17 besides the M5 happened through the lack of knowledge while the Texas class happened through negligence
Yeah, its almost like the creators are trying desperately to do things without even understanding that the thing was already done, and done better.
I think people simply think they've advanced enough that whatever problem caused the previous incident won't happen again. Just like how we didn't quit building nuclear power plants just because a couple of them blew up (despite the extensive long-term damage, suffering and even death they've caused).
Also, the real issue was never just putting an AI in a starship's systems, it was putting AI in charge of everything. It might be more "efficient" at mindlessly doing what it's programmed to do, but in case it goes rogue, it'll also be very efficient at being rogue.
Giving one single entity (computer or organic) complete control of all ship systems and decisions, with nobody/nothing to regulate them, has never been clever. If an officer on a crewed ship tries to violate their ethical code, even if it's the captain or an admiral, the rest of them are there to keep that officer in check.
Sometimes, it's better to be collectively reliable rather than one single hyper-efficient individual.
5:49 I would *love* to hear the out-of-universe story of how a small town of under 5,000 that few people outside of Texas know about got a starship named after it. This is the first time I've heard someone from the UK speak its name. The story about replacing California class, but having coding and obediance issues is hilarious given the state rivalry and cultural differences. And as a Texan, the thought of a project going rogue and having to be shelved for being trigger happy makes me smile. Thanks for an awesome lore dive :)
Maybe they were big Bill Paxton fans??
The same captain who said, "Risk is our business," also had a red alert at the back of his neck over a fully automated starship -- namely the USS Enterprise operated by the M5.
And thankful the designers added the display of the Aledo from the M5 as a nice little Easter Egg that everyone saw coming.
Captain Dunsel, you mean? That one still stings even after all these years. :)
On the 'Prefab' ability of the ship: I was wondering if all the outposts and such were just stored as information, then fed into the Transporter, and 'assembled' at the necessary coordinates on the surface?
Or it would construct them onboard using data from the destination planet, then beam down the final product?
*Kirk:* "Oi! I thought I showed you chucklenuts at Starfleet why even mostly autonomous ships are a bad idea! WHY did you go ahead and build a FULLY autonomous one?!"
Lunatic Admiral Goodfriend: Shut up, Captain Dunsel.
The Texas-class recently appeared in Star Trek Online. The story goes that despite the death and destruction it caused during the events of the episode "The Stars At Night", Starfleet decided to salvage the line and convert it into a crewed vessel, though its tiny size meant it has very little room for luxury. Its special torpedo launcher is referred to as the Volumetric Attack: Quantum (V.A.Q.) Warhead Multiple Launch System, named in honor of the vaquero culture and has a smaller variation of the V.A.Q. Warhead system as an Experimental Weapon.
When the Navy builds ships the class of that ship is usually named after the prototype and the sister ships would be given similar names to follow a theme, like having the prototype named after a State, Province or Shire depending on where you live and the sister ships would be named after cities within that State, Province or Shire. Though when it comes to ships with people names would be a challenge for me.
Usually US Naval ships named for people follow a convention of naming for similar people - aircraft carriers that were named for presidents, for example, like the USS Abraham Lincoln. There are, of course, variations for ship names of historic interest, as in the third _Gerald R. Ford_-class carrier being named _Enterprise_ .
@@DeaconBlues117 people with similar goals , interests and positions in mind.
@@DeaconBlues117 and the 4th (I think) one is to be named for US Navy seaman Dorie Miller.
I much prefer naming conventions based on geographical locations and cities. Like how in Halo the orbital defense platforms are all named after cities from ancient history.ex; “Malta, Cairo”
@@RangerHouston The nation of Malta and the city of Cairo, Egypt are going concerns today.
Of course an independent automated ship would be called the Texas class
Texas class ship : " I want to teach them romei's how we handle disrespect down in Texas. "
What's the ship run on beer, whiskey and gunpowder
Oil, beer, and antimatter.
If antimatter explosives existed I'd bet money that Texans would use them recreationally.
Like you say, some of the ideas are good on their own, but maybe not necessarily together. Also, if this hadn’t been a secret personal project, he could’ve employed the other advancements in tactical and holographic AI. But of course this incident will probably put them off it entirely for another few decades, even though simply giving an ECH command would’ve been far more successful than Badgey.
oh yeah buenomigo could've easily just went the LMH/ECH route instead. like have a full holographic ai crew. you don't see the artificial hologram programs go insane. rofl.
The pre-fab capabilities seem to be similar to the Protostar's vehicle replicator.
@@joeswanson733 I mean.... Its literally badgey on the helm.. Not a good idea.
Yeah, Starfleet has several examples of functioning, non-evil AI, with the ECH probably being the best one for this application. Of course the problem with running a ship with an ECH is that the Doctor has full Federation citizenship with all the rights and privileges that entails. Which means that, while such a ship wouldn't need life support, it would need rescue operations if one went down. Because the ECH would also, by definition, qualify as a Federation citizen. Not much would be gained in doing this. It would kinda be like running an entire Cetacean Ops ship: cool unique idea which allows radically different ship design, but doesn't solve the core problem of having people with rights at the helm.
@@Eradicator-jv9xr bit it seems like the emh/lch/ech emotion grid is stable
So Starfleet had a Sharon Apple incident....
Macross plus reference. Thankfully unlike the Sharon Apple incident Earth's defense grid wasn't hijacked and the mobile headquarters stolen in the process.
I now have this image in my head of those ships trying to enslave organics by singing "Information High," or confusing seduction with murder.
Is not the first time automated ships go rogue on Starfleet.
@@RealengoPrimordialDemon no but it's Starfleet's first time a fully autonomous ships went rogue similar to that of the X9 Ghost fighter from Macross plus.
@@barrybend7189 do you remember the Marqui killer missile, the computer program in TOS that killed a starship, Moriarty in TNG, the time the station computer went crazy and almost killed everyone on the station in DS9.
Even an automated ship should still have an engineering / science team.
Cool to see a Trek version of what we're developing today, in regard to things like airborne UCAVs and stuff, and possible dangers the technology could bring but also the benefits. Still seeing this ship's design reminds me of the Strider class from ST Legacy possibly mixed a bit with a Nova class as well.
I'm wondering if the LD Texas class is a reference to the tabletop game Starfleet Battles Texas class light cruiser. The lines are obviously different but the nacelle arrangement and just the FEEL of it feels evocative of that.
The OCL? You're dreaming. That thing was a sublight era hull from the Romulan War refitted for warp. Ugly as sin and even more non-canon than everything else SFB invented. Can't imagine why they'd want to homage that thing, especially given the tense legal situation between Trek's owners and Steve Cole over the years. Probably be happier to see SFB finally fade away to nothing, they sure wouldn't signal boost it any.
"Regulations are for prefect situations. It's up to you to make them fit the imperfect ones.
That is why we don't send computers into space - we go with them."
Kirk, Star Trek Academy, Mission 11.
I have not see this Episode yet, but it sounds like "The Ultimate Computer" (TOS 2x24) all over again.
since kirk went through the events of the M5 unit he would know very well that computers need supervision. but som crazy engineer at starfleet always thinks otherwise. i would've think the M5 unit fiasco would be the end of any more automation starship projects.
@@joeswanson733 you would think, but M5 was over a century before the Texas and we had Data and the Exocomps, so someone would think “Hey let’s try it again!”
@@AshuraH Yes, the century of difference probably matered most here.
Not so sure about data being a positive argument. Even Soong Type Androids were like a 50/50 shot for being good or genocidal.
@@AshuraH data was one of a kind. the best minds at starfleet could not replicate what soong did in his lab. that's sad thats like saying foxconn couldnot make a chip i made in my garage in my free time.
exocomps were more of a curve ball no? no one anticipated them being sentient.
i always liked scottys thinking
if my grandmother had wheels she's be a wagon.
like you darn kids and your new fangled ideas youre gonna get us all killed.
The AI “visualiser” was the same as M5’s :) (also seen in Rutherford’s mind racer)
The Texas class was a good idea. Not as a multi purpose ship but rather a ship made to do the things that a regular crew would need a lot more work to do. Like plotting out new courses and mapping new areas.
And gathering and processing new resources. Then there's so many combat applications. Like an extra security ship for high profile missions.
It's a strong ship that was able to handle the full power of every single Cali class ship in star fleet. Just handled poorly.
these ships would be perfect to fight the borg. but basically deep space patrol or star mapping.
@@joeswanson733 Have you ever watched Stargate Universe? In that the "hero" ship has been on a mission for thousands of years, with unmanned seeder ships preceding it. I could see that as a good role for ships like this. One Enterprise D sized vessel that is fully manned and half a dozen automated ships about 2/3 the size of the Defiant that can zip around and act as glorified probes/emergency support in a wide swath in front of the main ship. In the Voyager episode with the insane hologram I think they stated that 40% of a ship's power needs are for supporting organic life. If that's true an automated ship wouldn't even need to have the same top-speed as the mothership, just an ability to hold a decent warp factor for a longer period. It could get along with a moderately sized warp core for its size.
@@joeswanson733 a fully AI-ship to fight a cyberpathic race that seems like the worse idea ever! There is a reason why the Galactica is practically analog.
It would have been great if it didn't have coding that gave it daddy issues.
For “Texas Class” their were not nearly enough guns! 😉
Yeah using the same premise for cargo hauling, construction, support and logistics, assisting with scans and sensor duties, and some light asteroid mining would all be great ideas. However you'd want to equip each ship for a separate role. You don't want to accidentally make a paperclip maximizer out of one of these things.
As a Texan, I approve of our namesake in concept. It looks kinda like a NX mixed with a Nova, which are two of my favorite classes of Starfleet Craft.
It did make me a little sad to see a ship named after my home city get blown up by our heroes...
It had me cracking up that it's Texas vs California
I see what you did there Mike McMahan
I like this. Would be nice if it came to STO as a ship and have an experimental weapon that is the cluster torpedo. I also think that it would make a great frigate hangar pet and be a pretty aggressive one at that. Honestly it would be nice as a one of the few frigates that doesn't need a ship with a full hangar either. Idk, but flying a Lexington with these as hangar pets seems super fun.
This particular Class of Ship, to me anyways, seems to be the perfect type of Ship to fight The Borg as long as one change is made. Instead of going Full AI for the ship, simply place technology that’s capable of allowing an Organic being to Interface with the ship while it’s in Space. This allows the Crew of the ship as it were to not be in danger of Assimilation and if it looks like the Borg will assimilate the Vessel itself simply run the Self-Destruct immediately since there is no need to have time for people to Evacuate. Perfect Borg Counter…
Fight the Borg by becoming the Borg?
@@DeaconBlues117 No that’s not what I said at all actually. There’s no mixing of technology and biology going on. It would be a fully technological ship with some sort of VR type technology allowing Humans to be Planetside on whatever Planet they make their home on while still having the experience of operating a Starship. Plus like the Genetic Altering Laws I’m sure they’d come up with some sort of Law saying that these kinds of ships could only be used for situations deemed too dangerous for Organic Crews to undertake.
@@mtverv I don't think you thought too hard about this. The Borg's best capabilities are their networking and jamming. Sending a fleet of networked ships to fight the deadliest network of ships in the galaxy seems like literally the worst possible decision Starfleet could make.
The Borg don’t use their collective consciousness or their interlink nodes offensively though. We have never seen that. Assimilation requires a physical interface and the deployment of nanoprobes. We saw them weaponised by Voyager against Species 8472 but never again. If ships were vulnerable to being “hacked” because they’re networked, then all ships would be. We’ve never seen evidence that the Borg are capable of this. Their offensive systems are physical damage armaments like cutting beams, graviton torpedoes etc, and energy draining tech designed to subdue rather than destroy. It’s something that has long occurred to me as an oversight because the Borg would naturally be amazing at cyber warfare but this is seldom explored in Trek and the Borg are not shown as a cyber threat in this manner. So an unmanned escort vessel, as well as having only material value to the Borg, would also be an excellent tool to use against them.
@@stephenwakeman3074 The Borg may simply snare one of these in tractor beam and then beam nano probes directly on board to assimilate the ship as a whole once done they'd have access to the entire network.
These seem like such a good use of the tech, and a very interesting outgrowth of the tech used in the Prometheus Class from Voyager's 'Message in a Bottle'. And that battle against it? Fantastic.
I'm recalling that in _TOS_ an AI computer took control of the _Enterprise_ during a war game, and turned it into a not-a-game. So who, in their right mind, would give control of even one ship over to an AI? One with a moral compass entirely programmed and learned, and in a universe where the Borg exist?
as buenomigo said in the episode he wanted more fame, glory, and promotions... that's all it takes for people to override their senses. like you said this is not the first time starfleet has rogue ais...
@@joeswanson733 Fame, sure. He'll be infamous as the admiral who got killed by his own AI program. But as for glory and promotions, I guess we'll find out if the crew of the _Cerritos_ ever visits his personal version of Hell. Until then I'm just gonna assume 'you can't take it with you' applies.
@@BNuts buenomigo is insane really. He went from a lt commander to a 3 star admiral in a decade....that's a 5 rank promotion in 10 years....
Yeah, the "Ultimate Computer" episode saw the experimental M-5 computer go out of control during its trial run and outright kill one of other Constitutions while damaging at least one other - and that at 4:1 odds against it, even with the element of surprise and reluctance to return fire. The M-5 had been programmed with Richard Daystrom's engrams as the basis for its AI and he turned out to be an obsessive overachiever in serious need of counseling, which is not a great foundation for what was a fairly crude AI that was already struggling to cope with reality outside of its hard-coded programming.
The idea that anyone in Starfleet would be on board with armed automated starships after that incident seems really questionable, and even if Buenomigo was insane you'd think some of his collaborators would blow the whistle in short order. The fact that the Texas even got built and that TAS had canonical automated (but unarmed) freighters in at least one episode suggests that Starfleet must have covered up the M-5 debacle something fierce, and maybe even skipped teaching the true history to academy students by the time of the Texas class.
Ultimate Computer took place a full century before this. Like a lot of technology today we've come to depend on, the first versions weren't safe or stable but evolved and were refined over the years.
yes, exactly. It could have worked conceptually as a rapid response craft, or as part of a larger task force. There are completely valid use cases. But expecting it to completely replace workhorse ships was just asking too much. In the episode, during the race with the Cerritos, there was one stop where it just rocks up, beams down some hardware, and then warps out. The Cerritos crew was actually on the surface talking to planetary officials and such. The diplomatic side of the mission like that is a prime example of something that a fully automated ship simply can't do. Like, sooner or later, somebody's got to talk to somebody.
I could see Texas class incident being the justification on why 32nd century was hesitant on having Zora integrated into Discovery's systems once it was reveal she was a fully sentient A.I. It also being a recent event that proceeded the Synth First Contact Day attack on Mars likely aided Commodore Oh along with other Zhat Vash infiltrators to finally convince the Federation council to pass the synth ban...with arguments like, "If we had acted following the failure of the Texas class then we could have prevented all the lost at Utopia Planitia."
The much earlier M-5 incident in the TOS "Ultimate Computer" episode would still have been a factor too. That was a debacle that cost the (at the time, much smaller) fleet a Constitution with her entire crew and severe damage and losses on at least one other. While they were still using automated freighters in TAS later on (and there's one in the same episode that the M-5 destroys) the idea of an armed AI ship would have been an institutional anathema for a long, long time to come, maybe forever.
This sounds like an ideal craft for Voyager's Holographic Doctor.
Or Prodigy's Holographic Janeway.
One option, they include holograms as the ship's crew but the only exist in a virtual world within the Ship's computers. They only emerge from the ship via holo emitters like The Doctor's. It would allow the ships to remain small since they wouldn't need space for full-size crew members.
Shame they went the, "AI goes rouge and kills everyone" route. It would have been neat to have seen these as occasional assistance ships. Considering how many friendly and safe near-sapient AI exists in Star Trek, you'd think they'd know how to build one successfully by now.
It ties into what happened with the M5 back in the 23rd century the idea is sound but both projects were brought down by the creators.
The M5 creator had mental issues that were copied into the M5 leading to its paranoia and eventually going insane hijacking the enterprise and killing 401.
The Texas class should have avoided that but it’s creator was so desperate to stand out he didn’t take the time to avoid another M5 incident.
Automatic ships do work in star trek it’s just getting one to fully replace organics is when the issues appear.
Apparently, Richard Daystorm's multitronic incident was totally forgot about before going ahead with is project.
Makes you wonder if the Admiralty covered it up so thoroughly it wasn't being taught as cautionary history by the time Rutherford was a cadet. I wouldn't have thought losing a Constitution and having three others need repairs and casualty replacement drafts could be swept under the rug (the fleet was tiny back then and they were major combatants as well as general workhorses) but maybe as the years went by that became easier?
Imagine these things being STO’s Starfleet equivalent of launching Jem’Hadar attack craft from a carrier. Launching one or two Texas-class patrol craft would be very handy
Very nice breakdown. Quite enjoyed it
Oh boy, we've definitely never had automated ships not working out for Starfleet, for sure....
Hey!..
Just hand it over to starfleet engineering corps!
Bet they would love a ship like that to go out and build stuff with!😁
This ship class is a worthy addition to the UFP arsenal
Well, except for the proto-Badgey…
just have it as a complimentary class to he defiant class.
That’s a Hell of a rise through the ranks to go from Lt. Commander to Vice Admiral in a decade.
Stretching, but maybe casualties during the Dominion War accelerated promotion rates? Still kind of hard to believe though.
Nog went from a second year cadet to a Lieutenant in 2 years cause of the Dominion War so Lt. Commander to Vice Admiral within the same decade isn't so unbelievable.
I would love to see The Texas Class VS The Normandy Type 2.
Respect and keep up the epic work.
in a fight? the NX class would give the normandy fits. ME shields do NOT block directed energy weapons at all.
I think the episode is homage to the TOS episode "The Ultimate Computer, " when you have a similar incident when the A.I. thought all the ships in a simulated war game as real attackers.
Wasn't there a TOS episode with fully automated cargo ships? So it seems like the Federation *has* had some success with autonomous ships - as long as their mission parameters are sufficiently narrow. But they have these disasters every time they try to hand over the duties of a fully-fledged starship to the AI.
There's an (offscreen) automated ore carrier in the TOS episode Ultimate Computer (which clearly inspired this episode - there's even an M-5 console lookalike on screen at one point), which is the first ship the rogue AI destroys before going on to kill a Constitution and maul three others. The incident didn't stop Starfleet from using automated (but unarmed) freighters either, they show up in at least one TAS episode later on and even Kirk doesn't have a beef with using them. They don't appear to have been anything like a true AI though, clearly just following a narrow routing program or remotely operated from a nearby ship in TAS.
This is what you'll see dropping out of warp upon hearing Starfleet say "You've yee'd your last haw"
I’d imagine it took out the Sovereign class so easily because the Texas Class is a Starfleet vessel. All it had to do was rotate between the known starfleet shield frequencies until it managed to break through. If it had been trying this on let’s say a Romulan vessel it probably would have had a harder time breaching their romulan shields
I love this show and I love your show and I love that it’s free. You da man mr. ingame
I also have been Rick, but not any more.
Dallas, Corpus Christi and Aledo? Interesting choice for the 3rd name. A town of less than 5,000 in the outer most band of DFW "suburbs"
All i could think when i saw the purple spread of torpedos was " Ok, who gave the drone discovery dark matter torpedos and torpedo spread 3?"
Is the A in the NA serial number for "Automated"?
Probably.
Also a pun on N/A, as in crew: N/A (or quarters, sickbay, life support, etc etc)
I could see a future series using a refined version of these for logistic work, and the main characters' ship responding to a distress call from one that's been attacked.
I love the irony to his name, buen amigo meaning good friend as he turns out not be a friend to the Cali-class.
Two Texas class always escorting deep space mission would be excellent!
I really like this concept but as you stated it wasn't quite perfect and had a series of fatal flaws.
This would be a great patrol ship and automated construction plant, but it is NOT the first fully-automated Starfleet ship. That belongs to a variant of Antares-type freighter from TOS and TAS. They were seen in TOS remastered episodes Charlie X, Court Martial, and The Ultimatee Computer. Additionally, they were seen in TAS Episode 5, "More tribbles, more troubles". Two remotely controlled freighters were seen there, controlled by their escort, the USS Enterprise, and the wreckage of one even appeared earlier on Lower Decks, in the episode "Terminal Provocations".
Also, in beta canon's Star Trek Starfleet Command video game, which takes place in the TMP era, several full-sized Starfleet ships are referred to as having been converted to drones, including frigates and even light and heavy cruisers.
yeah to be used for second contact would be silly. in real life people have a hard time dealing with automated phone systems... forget about people reacting to a autoamted starship telling them what to do.
i would use the texas class for starmapping.
Not an appearance, but O’Brien once remarked being assigned as engineer on freighters meant working alone. Though then we later saw Kasidy, so…
@@joeswanson733 I don't think Starmapping is a good choice either. I mean, sure probes are a thing but this is a bit much.
This ship was heavily armed and incredibly maneuverable, great for defensive situations. I see no problem with them serving as a defensive patrol ship or quick reaction force, so long as their issues with authority figures are repaired.
I believe they would have been better as a patrol vessel, a rapid response ship, or a search and rescue vessel. Additionally the automated fabrication facilities were a nice touch, they could be used to rapidly establish bases on planets with hostile environments such as Mercury, or worse.
It would be a good idea, it just needs a LOT of work in order to be usable.... Imagine 3 of these under the supervision of say a... Nova class doing follow up system mapping..
Just a thought...
Or a modified or modernized Proxima class holding 2 on racks to release and use as support ships. Or even one is mounted where the Odyssey's Aquarius ships are.
tha woud still be a waste of resources you're not supposed ot have crewed ships accompany htese auto ships.
@@joeswanson733 not necessarily as the one or two Texas class ships would greatly expand a ship and crews reach. Take my Proxima class idea. A proxima can only cover maybe a system a week but coordinating with two Texas class it's able to do more. But it's dependent on if the programming bugs could be fixed.
@@barrybend7189 according to tng warp scale they can cover 2 lightyears in a 24 hour period at warp 9 sustained speed.
so basically these texas class ships in my mind would be excellet at starmapping on their own without carrier support.
your proxima class type of fship would be hte carrier and we know carriers are the weakspot. too expensive too slow and too big a target.
@@joeswanson733 well there's still room for some sort of central ship. With the Proxima or proxima type the Texas could have a unit to relay info quickly to without Starfleet needing to worry about the com lag. Think a Proxima based on Exeter class parts.
So what hard lessons was Star Fleet forced to learn this time that they apparently failed to learn during the M-5 incident?
No mention that the Texas-class interface in the admiral's office looks suspiciously like the good ol' M5 computer interface from TOS? A wonderful nod to another crazy AI taking over a starship lol
All that space that would ordinarily be given to the crew is utilized for everything the ship needs for combat. More armor, likely more energy generators which give it stronger shields, a more heavily armored hull, redundant systems, and torpedo magazines.
Also separately I could see it being developed as a counter to Jem'Hadar fighters. Fly in at high speed through the middle of a formation, blast cluster torpedos in every direction at point blank range. Make another pass until you've thinned the line, finish off survivors with phasers. Three of them working in tandem would wreck entire battle lines. They'd have been perfect for that role of engaging large numbers of enemy light craft. Their strong shields, armor, and agility means that they could take potshots and evade pretty well.
Used for escort in fleet engagements they would wreck most things the Dominion had in the battle line. Coordinate from a Galaxy class to thin the enemy, the main batlte line engages at long range to avoid Jem Hadar trying to kamikaze.
Using the texas class as an automated resupply ship is probably the best idea that Buenamigo was just too ambitious and arrogant to consider. With automated ships doing the truly boring work of ferrying supplies between colonies, it frees actual starships to do... you know, more work. Exploration, diplomacy, scientific study, discovery. With a fleet of automated ships to do the *truly* menial work, the real starships can get more done.
Not to mention their potential use as support vessels. An automated/remote controlled ship to serve as a wingman for a main starship seems like an evolution of the multi-vector attack saucer separation.
Considering starfleet's history with fully automated starships starting with the M5 computer, how did the admiral not get court-martialed for general stupidity when the Texàs-class went public? Put a crew onboard and the ship would make a nice blockade runner.
I live in Texas just south of Corpus Christi, so I find this amusing lol
The Texas class could have been something good but I think the "Fully automated" part was its undoing.
If the ship was something like the Protostar, A ship with an AI but it can be operated with a skeleton crew, OR it was a part of a larger space ship (drone ships of a cruiser or drone ships of a space station where it is under the command of someone, OR it could be a ship that does routine runes). I personally believe it could have been a good idea.
Ahh-lee-doh. ALEDO.
I could see a Texas class as automated, but operated as a small PT Boat. Send it out in waves; in surge attacks.
If needed, you could place combat control on a larger Texas Class ship with a small crew. Possibly less than 10, 7 at least...
Skipper
Little Buddy-1st Officer/Main Gunner
Professor- AI driver Technician/Remote units controller/programmer
Mr. Howell-Chief Engineer
Mrs. Howell- Engineers Mate
Ginger-Weapons Maintenance/Amorer
Mary Ann- Expendible Jack of All, Technician 1st Class.
If this was manned I could see it replacing or complementing the defiant class, a dedicated warship like the defiant but can do a little more so it’s not just sitting in mothballs waiting for a conflict
My God man. A fully automated starship. Who is the captain of this starship. Skynet. Who is the second in command, Hal 9000. We’re doomed all doomed.
With no crew, no witnesses, its perfect . For Sec.31 missions.
funny thing is, Starfleet had automated ships in Kirk's era, the Antares class freighter. Only I feel the Antares was better because while the Texas class is a better drone ship, the Antares can have its drone components removed and be converted into a human operated ship (and vice versa) whereas the Texas can't.
Starfleets problem with evil Admirals strikes again!! Star Trek: The Admiralty Strikes Back lol
flag officers are nothing more than politicians in uniform.
in real life once you hit colonel you're already hitting that politician in uniform level.
@@joeswanson733 Pretty much, although I'd make the arguement that over the last two-three decades. The officer corps of Western militaries have increasingly become overwhelmingly political and/corporate. Given the sheer number of officers who have been purged due to political alignment. As well as those that have "coincidentally" wound up with cushy jobs in the vast M.I.C. Both examples I believe being listed as reasons why the U.S military in particular was recently rated as. And I quote "Weak and likely unable to win a war against Russia or China let alone both." by one of the U.S's own think-tank. One can say what one will about say the Russian's recent campaign but at least their flag and staff officers serve in the front. Unlike Western commanders where the only front line many of them serve is the expanding front of their belt line(especially in the Canadian Armed Forces lol).
the Class is utterly terrifying when you think about it: if the Aledo or one of the others had gotten away they could have become self supporting using the onboard fabrication facility to produce spare parts and possibly mining equipment and automated assembly facilities.....
I really like this ship
The Texas class is what happens when the M-5 computer and the Romulan drone from Enterprise mate.
To me Texas class are very similar to Strider class from Star Trek Legacy. Maybe Texas class appearance got inspiration from that game. 👍🏻
Now that you've done one on the texas, can you also make a video on the cali class?
Even if the A.I. had not been faulty from the beginning, there was never any guarantee that it would not have been corrupted during the course of operation. After what happened with Control and then the M5 computer installed on the NCC-1701, it was pretty clear that an A.I. controlled starship could turn against Starfleet. Lives already having been lost to A.I.'s that went rogue, the argument that Starfleet could reduce risk to personnel with such vessels should have been met with more skepticism than it was. Further, how much risk could the ship pose if infiltrated by so much as a single Borg drone?
Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
I thought this issue was settled in the TOS episode "The Ultimate Computer."
It saves soo much space since it doesn't have to consider life support, or even radiation shielding and other stuff needed for biological life forms to inhabit the ship.
Isnt it fascinating how many SF admirals run their own side projects? I guess its part of the SF career promotion. Work, work, work and then when you made it to the top you can do what ever you want with full federation backing!
Sounds like U.S. Senators / Generals, with their "Pork" projects. A lot of projects we never hear about get funded all the time.
Automated supply ships are actually nothing new to Trek. TAS had drone cargo vessels. So presumably unarmed, but also essentially itself an FTL anti-matter missile.
Silly question, but who changes a blown fuse?
Tone back the weapons capabilities, fix the AI, and you've got one hell of a deep space probe. Send it off to explore areas not safe for organic beings, while telling it truthfully that it's best equipped for this job.
Another good use for it would be fast response rescue missions. Have them scattered around in low power mode, waiting for an SOS. Once one comes in, it powers up and races to the scene, and can begin registering aid before a crewed vessel arrives. Have an area inside the hull where organics can be safely beamed to while they wait for proper rescue. And heck, if one gets there well ahead of a crewed ship, it could take survivors onboard and start racing to the nearest ship or facility that can take them on. Saves a bunch of time.
Reminds me of the UE-era Strider class from ST: Legacy.
OK so 1 a fantastic video as per usual.
And 2 they are definitely set up for PeanutHamper and AGIMUS to take over aren't they
Especially since Badgey is still alive
@@AshuraH absolutely and I know it's not Synthetic life but a trio of AI taking ships on a devastating joyride wouldn't help.
The Texas class seems to have 3 good ideas that don't really need to be combined
A simple combat drone would work great to support other ships in combat or exploring hazardous conditions
An automated small courier ship could be useful, to do simple supply runs.
The ability to beam down prebuilt structures for outposts is something great a successor to the California class should have, even if its not automated
Would a ship crewed entirely by holograms able to function independently if needed for repairs and away missions be considered to be an automated ship as well?
i have a question about the timeline - rutherford doesnt look that old, but the difference in admiral buenamigo's visage in rutherford's memories vs when the texas class launched is stark - it looks like decades have passed, putting rutherford in a high age bracket for an ensign...unless he was working on this in his early teens (which he might have been as his suppressed persona seem's to be all about hotrodding starships?)
Yeah he was a first or maybe second year cadet 10 years prior - so 16-18 given varying qualification ages we’ve seen over the years. So Rutherford is closer to Mariner’s age than Boimler and Tendi’s.
@@kaitlyn__L I guess tech has made lifespans much longer and aging less of an issue, so someone in their 30s or even 40s would look much younger
Did hear that right USS corpus christi 🙀 so cool 😎 👌
Appropriate that the _Texas_ class is armed to the teeth.
Rebellious ship AI that attacks, definitely a nod to the famous HAL 9000 computer from the movie epic 2001.
The Texas Class would probably work best either as a probe/scout for dangerous jobs where you didn't want to risk a crew, a support ship for doing the boring and repetitive jobs to free up the crewed vessels to do more important tasks (supplementing instead of replacing the California Class), and as a "Loyal Wingman" for combat. Like other multi-purpose designs it would probably end up with variants dedicated to each task. Ultimately "humans" would still be in the loop, either as a small crew onboard, from the "mothership" or remotely, with the level of autonomy being dependant on the task (but importantly, any lethal force requiring "human" intervention).
All those jobs are something we are either using or planning to use AI for today. AI is used for work in situations where it's too dangerous to send humans (and where for whatever reason direct remote control isn't practical, for example deep space missions where time delay is a problem), for basic repetitive jobs that humans don't need to be involved in (robot vacuums and lawnmowers etc), and as Wingmen for the next generation of fighters.
It's interesting that you talk about "flawed organic minds" and I think that's where we need to be very careful with AI. We know very well to put checks and balances in place to prevent "flawed organic minds" causing too many issues. We tend to try and limit the damage a rogue person can do when in control of weaponry for example (even if that means killing them before they can kill too many others). I think it's safe to say that AI will always need those same checks and balances, even if it's other independent AI having to be in agreement (with "independent" meaning entirely different programming to prevent flaws being duplicated).
The ship itself looks promising, no need for an A.I. which has a tendency to go rouge in star trek universe
A lot of its promise comes from not having to make sacrifices to life support and living space required by organic crews. Probably be a lot less impressive without that automation.
If I remember correctly, the original animated series had an encounter with an automated supply drone.
I hope we see a revision of the Texas class that doesn’t have Badgey murder subroutines in it. I do imagine that Starfleet should just have automated drone ships doing a LOT of the things we see people doing. Supply runs and basic fabrication/delivery of things being on there. Anything with analysis and research… let people do that.
Head-canon:
The Texas class made use of old hulls from the UE era.
Used the framework from the Strider Class and basically fill it with modern-ish tech and applied a modern outer hull.
There was no need for internal atmosphere, grav-plating, inetial compensators, holodecks, scores of food-replicators or other crew-comforts, since there aren't any biological crew, though there might be for an emergency bridge and engine-room.
So a lot of power could be transferred to shields and weapons instead.
Think Defiant-class, without a crew. The Defiant-class had a warp-core that was rated with same energy-output of a Nebula-Class. A ship easily 9-10 times the size with 12-15 tiems the crew-compliment.
And we saw how punchy and how absorbant that was.
It would also explain why they didn't need the most powerful warp-core. A midling-rated core would be plenty for basic use. Hence the appearant limit on top-speed.
Again, a cheaper solution.
And cargo could be minimal, with cargo-transports combined with industrial replicators.
If it made use of a centuries old framework, with industrial replicator tech for construction, with little oversight for crew-comforts, it could be concieved that it was a relatively cheap project, since a lot of expenses in contruction of making sure that the given thing that is constructed is safe for beings.
Here, all they needed was that things fit together and that it wouldn't explode, when you flipped the on-switch.
Since it was fully automated, there wouldn't be a need for training a crew for the prototypes. Only programmers, engineers and developers.
And we've seen several times in trek, that a single person can have huge responsibilities with a PADD at hand, where one would have expected a large number of people.
So easily hidden as well, in terms of personnel.
Like-wise, I could imagine the California class being actual kit-bash of retired and refurbished/refitted saucer sections of Ambassador or Excelcior classes, with the most basic warp-nacelles and warp-core slapped in.
Hence the deflector and engine core being between the nacelles, much like an after-thought.