Greetings, fellow gearheads! First off, let me remind you that I still use T4's FF&S2 as my preferred design sequence. That being the case, I can choose between three types of crew berths suitable for starship use: Large Stateroom (the standard LBB stateroom, requiring 4 dTons of volume), Small Stateroom (2 dTons of volume; though it seems intended for long-duration small craft, there is nothing that prohibits its use in starship designs) and Bunks (1 dTon of volume; the term implies [but does not strictly require] fairly large spaces, each with a large number of bunks). As I read FF&S2, starship berthing volumes include sufficient 'fresher volume and corridor space for the personnel thus accommodated, so it's not necessary to account for such in the volume dedicated to berthing spaces. AuricTech Shipyards generally prefers to add some 'freshers on a 1-for-1 basis for amenities such as Gyms and Lounges, as those using said facilities may be too far from their berthing spaces to rely on their berthing spaces for personal hygiene. Given those three types of berthing spaces available, the design philosophy of the AuricTech Shipyards warship design specialists is that, whenever possible, senior officers and petty officers (up to 25% of total crew requirements) should have individual Large Staterooms, while the rest of the crew should have individual Small Staterooms. Our warship design specialists believe that giving each crewmember some private space will enhance morale during long-duration missions. It's easy to see one downside of this design philosophy: the more a starship dedicates volume to berthing, the less that starship can dedicate volume to functional features. On the other hand, the morale effect of giving crewmembers some private space could contribute to their overall effectiveness in performing the ship's mission, especially during longer cruises. On the gripping hand, having individual berthing spaces could reduce the forming of interpersonal crew bonds that can make a crew more effective. We at AuricTech Shipyards will continue to design our starships to maximize the opportunity for crewmembers to have some private space. After all, "Gold-plated Solutions for Copper-plated Problems" is not just a slogan, it's a philosophy. The crewmembers of our Imperial Navy deserves the best, and we at AuricTech Shipyards endeavor to provide the best. That being said, we'd like to hear what other starship designers have to say on the subject of how much space should be allotted to crew berthing on Imperial warships. Finally, should space combat rules have some sort of modifier for morale? If so, how should factors such as berthing space per crewman, quality of rations (also a factor in FF&S2 designs) and dedicated recreational spaces affect morale?
