Canon STO Ship Designs Ranked

8

Ross class

The Ross class is my least favorite among the STO designs that appeared on Star Trek Picard. Although the Ross is not ugly, I dislike how it adopts the look of the Galaxy class and then twists every proportion and every single detail. It thereby attempts to "improve" on the classic design, which in my view is unsurpassable. The round saucer instead of the original elliptical one is the only feature of the Ross that goes into a new, independent direction. In STO, it is customary for ships with similar capabilities to look like an inbred family and to qualify as in-game "variants". In canon Trek, however, the Ross can't be a variant of the Galaxy because they have no parts in common at all. On a positive note about the Ross class, it doesn't use the obtrusive black/white hull color scheme as so many other STO ships.

7

Alita class

Everybody loves the Akira class. It needs no improvement. Yet, it is part of the game concept that STO introduced a whole bunch of ungainly Akira knock-offs as "variants". The people working for Picard picked the Alita, the arguably least ugly of those in-game variations. Like the Ross, the Alita has no parts in common with the ship it is inspired by. It comes with odd angles and spikes and departs from the purity of the Akira in a way that I simply don't like. But we can still see that the Alita is an independent design because it takes a few elements in a new direction, such as notably the nacelles, which are above the saucer centerline unlike on the Akira. Overall, it is an unoriginal and unpretty design, but one that I can accept.

6

Sutherland class

In a similar vein as the Ross and Alita, the Sutherland class is a needless reiteration of the Nebula class. Only the round saucer sets the design apart from its inspiration, which raises the question why the Sutherland and the similarly sized Ross don't share a saucer design. The Sutherland looks okay but never gives me the impression we needed such a ship. In fact, I would very much have preferred for either the original Nebula to appear on Picard, or a really newly designed ship. Unfortunately the Picard Art Department chose the version of the Sutherland with the delta-shaped pod as far as I can tell, which is uncannily similar to the standard Nebula class from a distance. Maybe I should imagine I actually see a Nebula in those scenes?

5

Gagarin class

The Gagarin class is another one of those in-game "variants" of existing ships that are hard to justify in canon Trek. In fact, it is even a cheap variant of a cheap variant in a manner of speaking because it was created as a 24th version of the Shepard class, which itself is essentially a Walker class turned upside down. Yet, this all is not so obvious as in the three above cases, also because I keep Discoverse and classic ships separate in the database, so I don't need a rationale for the similarity. Overall, the Gagarin is not a pretty ship with its overengineered struts and overly flat profile (thanks to Bryan Fuller). It looks better when turned upside down. It also doesn't really fit into the late 24th century. At least, it adds some diversity to the Picard fleet.

4

Odyssey class

I think the most notable thing to say about the Odyssey class is that it's big. But what I like about the design was already done better on the Galaxy (graceful lines) or the Sovereign (stretched proportions). I have seen countless fan designs of a new capital ship over the past 30 years; the Odyssey wouldn't rank among my favorite takes. The Galaxy class was referred to as "the fat one" in PIC: "The Next Generation", but that questionable honor should actually go to the Odyssey. On the bright side, the ship does have a few unique design elements, such as obviously the gap between the saucer and engineering hull. It also stands out as a new starship among the uncanny variations that made it from STO into canon.

3

Pathfinder class

In STO, the Pathfinder belongs to the same design family as the Intrepid. I am really glad this particular class was picked for Star Trek Picard, and not one of the sister designs that all look like an Intrepid done badly. In fact, the Pathfinder is one of the few STO variations that can pass as a new design in an artistic sense and that is reasonable as a new class in-universe as well. I especially like the strip deflector (as on the Dauntless) that replaces the traditional dish. The Pathfinder looks pleasant from most angles, but not in a side view. I would have designed the upper hull with some sort of kink and the secondary hull to be smaller, so the ship wouldn't appear so clunky.

2

Reliant class

The Reliant class is undeniably a 24th century reinterpretation of the Miranda class. There are a few too many design cues for my taste. Also, the hull is a bit overdesigned. While I don't like the high-contrast black/white paint job on many STO ships anyway, I think the Reliant could profit the most from a monochromatic hull with just a few highlights. Anyway, I put the Reliant on Number 2 because I could imagine such a ship exists in the late 24th century, and also because it is the only small one among the STO creations. I cherish the decision to stick to the scale established for the Miranda because I think Starfleet still needs moderately sized designs.

1

Edison class

The Edison class is the positive surprise among the STO ships adopted for Picard. Sure, just like the Gagarin it is based on a class from Discovery, the Hoover in this case. But it is hardly noticeable any more in the finished design. The elements of the original ship were carefully redesigned, and there is nothing that would scream "23rd century" or "Discoverse" any longer. I really dig that the saucer is traditionally round as seen from above, but becomes a wedge as seen from the side. I also like the unusual deflector. This ship really looks interesting from every angle. The unnecessary long nacelle struts don't seem to be great idea though. But overall, this is the best among the STO designs in Picard.