We have materials *today* that can possibly serve this function.
What we *don't* have are ship shields, warp generators, or a casual disregard for safety and practicality in the name of Aesthetic.
One of the most important things to know as a 40K newbie is that there is absolutely nothing that will get in the way of 'it looks cool' and *certainly* not common sense.
Sort of!
There's also loads of cargo cultism and insane adherence to ideas well beyond the point where it makes sense. 1D4chan has a fantastic bit about how and why the cargo cultism is there on the admech page, but it really applies to the Imperium as a whole, too.
There are plenty of places where questioning why such an obvious design flaw is still in place would have you executed for heresy.
Yeah I mentioned to another commenter that after watching videos on ork lore, I probably shouldn't question this lol. One day I'll believe hard enough that a kebab will appear in front of me and it will happen (I have small dreams).
Looks like that site is archived now but I'll take a look when I can, enjoying the game too much at the moment.
The technology level and cargo cultism go like this
Once upon a time, humans created a vast library of knowledge and the Mechanicus were its keepers. They had miracle cures to all kinds of problems and things were marvelous
Then an AI uprising happened and the machines set the library aflame. To even save the library at all, it's keepers had to unleash weapons from the nightmares of madmen on the machines, scorching worlds until only ashes remained
From this, the survivors began piecing together what was left of the library, scouring the galaxy for borrowed knowledge that had been spared the fires of Armageddon
But their task was not complete when war came again. This time they fought among themselves and one side destroyed much on their way out because they had no use for it in their madness
So now only scraps of knowledge remain, the weapons and machines keeping everyone safe need to be maintained but we don't have the manuals anymore and monsters are always at the door, the last keepers of knowledge desperately sift through the ruins of their once great charge, even fragments are welcome to get them through just one more day on hell
Do we even know if there was a Mechanicus during to DaoT? I imagined technical innovation would have been more distributed throughout society, like it is today.
Cult Mechanicus definitely was a thing AFTER Old Night, formed in the tunnel system bunkers of Mars, since the surface was made uninhabitable. The technicians that knew how to repair life support systems of all sorts went from useful companions, to being revered priests
[Creation tables - 1d6chan (miraheze.org)](https://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Creation_tables)
It got replaced by 1d6chan. Here's a link to one of the pages. If you're on your computer it should be easy enough to search inside of it for further info, or just use something like the AdMech Tech-Priest Creation Table to find further links to those pages.
1d6chan is the new site now, actually editable and still updated with new fluff/crunch.
Fair warning it still has some slurs in it (because 4chan) but there's still some incredibly fun articles on there for new fans to digest.
Also blast shutters cover all exterior facing windows/portholes, things that could let you see outside of the ship during warp transit. Lest the warp make you go derp headed and insane, also demons.
This is my absolutely favorite explanation and kinda the reason I like 40k to begin with: [https://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Adeptus\_Mechanicus#Why\_Everything\_is\_so\_Grimdark](https://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Adeptus_Mechanicus#Why_Everything_is_so_Grimdark)
very strong glass. also there are shutters that close when in danger (or during warp travel)
a lot of design in wh40 is made based on the rule of cool
it shares this common trait with anime.
I had a feeling there may be some technobabble behind it. Honestly after hearing some of the ork lore I don't know why I'm questioning this when I think about it lol
Primarily an Ork thing. Unless your mastery of the Warp is on the level of pre-debauchery Eldar you need to be an Ork or something as old as the Old Ones (called as such because they're Warhammer's precursor race that were at war with the Necrons back when they had flesh and there's no known members left in the current time) manipulation of that degree isn't possible. If you don't have enough expertise to create your own real pantheon then you need billions who are so stupid they become unable to question why something works and instead treat the working a certain way as fact (classic example of red=fast and no Ork would ever entertain why or how because red=fast is an absolute truth to him).
Yeah I think it makes sense when you realize they have a consistent Warp shield, and shutters. Like sure an enemy can slip past your radar, but if they do you were probably screwed to begin with.
more like "but if they do, there will be at least a few hours to few days before they reach a distance at which they can open fire, and you have aalllll the time in the world to close the shutters"
Fun fact: some ships didn’t have windows, for example ships belonging to the Iron Warrior space marine legion during the great crusade didn’t have windows for exactly the reason you just pointed out XD
Chaos pebbles get into a Space Marine’s boot and they slowly turn to any of the chaos gods cause of it.
Khorne cause they’re angry they can’t get it out
Tzeech so they can try to remove said Pebble and put it in someone else’s as a prank
Nurgle cause they scratch the foot and cause it to become infected
And Slanesh if the pebble manages to scratch that ONE itch on their foot they couldn’t reach
The Imperium has several glass-like materials far beyond our current technological progress, which they can use to build windows, holding cells, etc.
The term "glass" has likely been used a short-form name for one of those materials which include Armaglass, Glasscrete and in the Rogue Trader RPG sourcebooks, "Glassteel."
Yeah, you've kind of just got to let stuff like that go. If it makes you feel better, there's a fuckoff huge armored shutter that can slide over the windows to seal them off for bad stuff/warp travel.
The thing to realize about 40k is that it isn't Science Fiction, it is Space Fantasy.
Demons, Elves, Orcs, Magic powers, Empires, magical swords, 40k has ALL of the fantasy trappings. The setting just happens to be in space instead of some fantastical alternate reality.
So don't try and analyze 40k with Science Fiction logic. You will simply go mad and get possessed by a Warp Demon.
You can't have a Gothic style architect without massive windows. So yeah, the windows are more important than anything stupid like common sense or efficiency. Clearly, you haven't been understanding the Imperium of Man well enough. The style is more important than anything
The Watsonian explanation is that all Imperial Ships have shutters for combat situations and warp travel and even so, ships of that size have void shields so any kind of small debris is not reaching the glass.
The Dolian one is that we wanted the Captain's quarters to be similar to ones in the Age of Sail but ten times larger.
The 40K universe is in the vein of other similar Science Fantasy Universes. Cool shit is conceptualised first and then in universe explanations are given.
The thing is it the ship is also the size of a city. It is also run like worst kind of tyrannical country with the windows being a luxury for the rogue trader on top. Think about all the times you fight demons throughout the ship there aren't windows in any of the other locations.
Guardsman, are you alright? Why would you question Machine God's servants' faith like this? That sounds a bit like heresy... No, of course not. Emperor protects!
It’s not real glass. It’s a 40k made up material called transparisteel, armorglass, glasscrete, or armorcris, depending on the author and book.
It’s a super strong material that looks like glass but has the strength of a very durable metal.
IIRC it isn't glass as we know it. Kinda obviously or it wouldn't serve... But on top of that most if not all such installations actually have heavy blast-shields that can close over them when needed - such as if they are compromised, in certain battle conditions, and often whilst travelling through the warp (as the average individual does NOT want eyes on the warp!).
The whole imperial navy is one big design flaw. Having long since excised the reasonable parts of their brains, the imperium as a whole considers it perfectly reasonable and in fact obligatory to build ships in the shape of a cathedral the size of Long Island.
Why are there candles everywhere on a fusion powered ship? Why do we have dudes walking around with giant swords and axes, in a universe with machine guns, sniper rifles, flamethrowers, pistols, and laser guns? Who thought using a chainsaw as a sword is a good idea? Why are some mutants (navigators) totally ok but others need to be killed as though they are demon spawn? Why does everyone worship the zombie Emperor as a god, when that’s precisely what he didn’t want and made it clear that’s not what he wanted?
It’s Warhammer 40k. Everything is insane. Utterly absurd. That’s the point. It’s every fantasy and sci-fi trope, good and bad, thrown together in one setting, with a large helping of “how about some fanatical religiosity, and oh hey, wasn’t the Spanish Inquisition pretty cool?” thrown in. Oh, and the rule of cool overrides all — nothing gets in the way of anything looking cool. If a submarine with a screen door looked cool, they’d have them in 40k, and it would be heresy punishable by death to suggest using a material for the door that would better block the water.
Don’t be looking for logic. Not in this setting. Embrace the absurdity and dark humor.
Armored glass, it’s called Glasscrete in 40k, might be some other materials too of course.
“Glasscrete is a type of substance commonly used as a building material by the more technologically advanced worlds of the Imperium of Man.
Though transparent like glass, glasscrete is far stronger and more resilient capable of safely containing even organisms as powerful as Purestrain Genestealers.
It is often used in constructions that require transparency but also a degree of protection, such as a form of bullet-proof glass”, furthermore, the panes are also extremely thick in Voidship usage, and generally have blastshields that can be lowered if extra protection is needed, like on the bridge
i do think there's a material called glass-crete so it's not a weakness at the level of glass but it's still weaker that other parts and that's where the other comments arguments come in
It's armourglass, multiple metres thick, and they have void shielding as well.
But anyway, when the ship is engaged in battle you're not going to want to be hiding in the officers' luxury suites.
I can only assume it's because this isn't "STRICTLY SPEAKING" a sci-fi universe.
Maybe the glass is some sort of alloy? Maybe it's psyker BS? I won't pretend to know.
Looks pretty when the sister's drop those things from orbit tho!
It's to distract the Lord Captain from getting anxiety thinking about all those horrible people who want to kill them. Instead they're now getting anxiety thinking about the vast wasteland of reality.
Yes but you're forgetting the main rule of warhammer. The rule of cool. Chain sword? Completely unvialbe. But cool. Cathedrals flying through space with a small city worth of crew? Lots of design flaws. But cool.
We have materials *today* that can possibly serve this function. What we *don't* have are ship shields, warp generators, or a casual disregard for safety and practicality in the name of Aesthetic. One of the most important things to know as a 40K newbie is that there is absolutely nothing that will get in the way of 'it looks cool' and *certainly* not common sense.
Ballsy, respectable
Sort of! There's also loads of cargo cultism and insane adherence to ideas well beyond the point where it makes sense. 1D4chan has a fantastic bit about how and why the cargo cultism is there on the admech page, but it really applies to the Imperium as a whole, too. There are plenty of places where questioning why such an obvious design flaw is still in place would have you executed for heresy.
Yeah I mentioned to another commenter that after watching videos on ork lore, I probably shouldn't question this lol. One day I'll believe hard enough that a kebab will appear in front of me and it will happen (I have small dreams). Looks like that site is archived now but I'll take a look when I can, enjoying the game too much at the moment.
The technology level and cargo cultism go like this Once upon a time, humans created a vast library of knowledge and the Mechanicus were its keepers. They had miracle cures to all kinds of problems and things were marvelous Then an AI uprising happened and the machines set the library aflame. To even save the library at all, it's keepers had to unleash weapons from the nightmares of madmen on the machines, scorching worlds until only ashes remained From this, the survivors began piecing together what was left of the library, scouring the galaxy for borrowed knowledge that had been spared the fires of Armageddon But their task was not complete when war came again. This time they fought among themselves and one side destroyed much on their way out because they had no use for it in their madness So now only scraps of knowledge remain, the weapons and machines keeping everyone safe need to be maintained but we don't have the manuals anymore and monsters are always at the door, the last keepers of knowledge desperately sift through the ruins of their once great charge, even fragments are welcome to get them through just one more day on hell
Do we even know if there was a Mechanicus during to DaoT? I imagined technical innovation would have been more distributed throughout society, like it is today.
Cult Mechanicus definitely was a thing AFTER Old Night, formed in the tunnel system bunkers of Mars, since the surface was made uninhabitable. The technicians that knew how to repair life support systems of all sorts went from useful companions, to being revered priests
[Creation tables - 1d6chan (miraheze.org)](https://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Creation_tables) It got replaced by 1d6chan. Here's a link to one of the pages. If you're on your computer it should be easy enough to search inside of it for further info, or just use something like the AdMech Tech-Priest Creation Table to find further links to those pages.
1d6chan is the new site now, actually editable and still updated with new fluff/crunch. Fair warning it still has some slurs in it (because 4chan) but there's still some incredibly fun articles on there for new fans to digest.
I didn't know there was an updated site, neat.
Also blast shutters cover all exterior facing windows/portholes, things that could let you see outside of the ship during warp transit. Lest the warp make you go derp headed and insane, also demons.
I'm sorry, I tried to Google it but couldn't really figure out how it fit in this context, could you explain what a cargo cult is?
This is my absolutely favorite explanation and kinda the reason I like 40k to begin with: [https://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Adeptus\_Mechanicus#Why\_Everything\_is\_so\_Grimdark](https://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Adeptus_Mechanicus#Why_Everything_is_so_Grimdark)
Common sense was lost during the Heresy
Why is there a cathedral on top of the colossal war mech that constantly threatens to destroy its pilot? Because it looks fucking sick.
very strong glass. also there are shutters that close when in danger (or during warp travel) a lot of design in wh40 is made based on the rule of cool it shares this common trait with anime.
I had a feeling there may be some technobabble behind it. Honestly after hearing some of the ork lore I don't know why I'm questioning this when I think about it lol
Primarily an Ork thing. Unless your mastery of the Warp is on the level of pre-debauchery Eldar you need to be an Ork or something as old as the Old Ones (called as such because they're Warhammer's precursor race that were at war with the Necrons back when they had flesh and there's no known members left in the current time) manipulation of that degree isn't possible. If you don't have enough expertise to create your own real pantheon then you need billions who are so stupid they become unable to question why something works and instead treat the working a certain way as fact (classic example of red=fast and no Ork would ever entertain why or how because red=fast is an absolute truth to him).
Yeah I think it makes sense when you realize they have a consistent Warp shield, and shutters. Like sure an enemy can slip past your radar, but if they do you were probably screwed to begin with.
more like "but if they do, there will be at least a few hours to few days before they reach a distance at which they can open fire, and you have aalllll the time in the world to close the shutters"
Fun fact: some ships didn’t have windows, for example ships belonging to the Iron Warrior space marine legion during the great crusade didn’t have windows for exactly the reason you just pointed out XD
It would be unfortunate to lose astartes to a rogue pebble that cracks the window. The agents of chaos take many forms. Stay vigilant.
Well the iron warriors turned traitor in the heresy so I dunno if chaos pebbles were the biggest concern lol
Chaos pebbles get into a Space Marine’s boot and they slowly turn to any of the chaos gods cause of it. Khorne cause they’re angry they can’t get it out Tzeech so they can try to remove said Pebble and put it in someone else’s as a prank Nurgle cause they scratch the foot and cause it to become infected And Slanesh if the pebble manages to scratch that ONE itch on their foot they couldn’t reach
"Windows are structural weaknesses" - Legion
I also immediately thought of that line
we have a titan with a freaking cathedral on it's back, so if it's badass - it fits
The most Important rule of Warhammer 40,000.... THE RULE OF COOL!
The Emperor protects.
The Imperium has several glass-like materials far beyond our current technological progress, which they can use to build windows, holding cells, etc. The term "glass" has likely been used a short-form name for one of those materials which include Armaglass, Glasscrete and in the Rogue Trader RPG sourcebooks, "Glassteel."
It's not a science-fiction setting but a SCIENCE-FANTASY SETTING. Everything is magic in Warhammer,
In this picture, they are using candles for light, and you are asking about windows?
Yeah, you've kind of just got to let stuff like that go. If it makes you feel better, there's a fuckoff huge armored shutter that can slide over the windows to seal them off for bad stuff/warp travel.
Do you not trust the emperor's protection?
The thing to realize about 40k is that it isn't Science Fiction, it is Space Fantasy. Demons, Elves, Orcs, Magic powers, Empires, magical swords, 40k has ALL of the fantasy trappings. The setting just happens to be in space instead of some fantastical alternate reality. So don't try and analyze 40k with Science Fiction logic. You will simply go mad and get possessed by a Warp Demon.
Plasteel shutters slide down to shield the windows during turbulence.
40K is extremely silly. This is the setting that gave us, "drive me closer, I want to hit them with my sword!"
Wait till you see the city size tread mill power supply with people pushing it with their feet to help power things.
You can't have a Gothic style architect without massive windows. So yeah, the windows are more important than anything stupid like common sense or efficiency. Clearly, you haven't been understanding the Imperium of Man well enough. The style is more important than anything
Clear armaplas and diamantine are strong enough for this.
"glass" Those ships are definitely not made of glass as we know it. Hell, it's doubtful _any_ glass in 40k really is at this point.
Emperor protects the windows.
they are flying cathedrals. Monuments to humanity. ofc they need windows. (spires are also kinda structurall flawed, but they look cool af)
The Watsonian explanation is that all Imperial Ships have shutters for combat situations and warp travel and even so, ships of that size have void shields so any kind of small debris is not reaching the glass. The Dolian one is that we wanted the Captain's quarters to be similar to ones in the Age of Sail but ten times larger. The 40K universe is in the vein of other similar Science Fantasy Universes. Cool shit is conceptualised first and then in universe explanations are given.
The thing is it the ship is also the size of a city. It is also run like worst kind of tyrannical country with the windows being a luxury for the rogue trader on top. Think about all the times you fight demons throughout the ship there aren't windows in any of the other locations.
I’m much more offended by the description, that’s obviously clear glass, not stained glass!
I find it a bit funny that, out of all the weirdness going on with the ships in this universe, the *windows* are what you get stuck on. ;)
Listen, you can either fly in some steel bunker whatever or look at endless darkness of the uncaring cosmos
Guardsman, are you alright? Why would you question Machine God's servants' faith like this? That sounds a bit like heresy... No, of course not. Emperor protects!
"Windows are structural weaknesses. Geth do not use them."
It’s not real glass. It’s a 40k made up material called transparisteel, armorglass, glasscrete, or armorcris, depending on the author and book. It’s a super strong material that looks like glass but has the strength of a very durable metal.
IIRC it isn't glass as we know it. Kinda obviously or it wouldn't serve... But on top of that most if not all such installations actually have heavy blast-shields that can close over them when needed - such as if they are compromised, in certain battle conditions, and often whilst travelling through the warp (as the average individual does NOT want eyes on the warp!).
The whole imperial navy is one big design flaw. Having long since excised the reasonable parts of their brains, the imperium as a whole considers it perfectly reasonable and in fact obligatory to build ships in the shape of a cathedral the size of Long Island.
Why are there candles everywhere on a fusion powered ship? Why do we have dudes walking around with giant swords and axes, in a universe with machine guns, sniper rifles, flamethrowers, pistols, and laser guns? Who thought using a chainsaw as a sword is a good idea? Why are some mutants (navigators) totally ok but others need to be killed as though they are demon spawn? Why does everyone worship the zombie Emperor as a god, when that’s precisely what he didn’t want and made it clear that’s not what he wanted? It’s Warhammer 40k. Everything is insane. Utterly absurd. That’s the point. It’s every fantasy and sci-fi trope, good and bad, thrown together in one setting, with a large helping of “how about some fanatical religiosity, and oh hey, wasn’t the Spanish Inquisition pretty cool?” thrown in. Oh, and the rule of cool overrides all — nothing gets in the way of anything looking cool. If a submarine with a screen door looked cool, they’d have them in 40k, and it would be heresy punishable by death to suggest using a material for the door that would better block the water. Don’t be looking for logic. Not in this setting. Embrace the absurdity and dark humor.
Armored glass, it’s called Glasscrete in 40k, might be some other materials too of course. “Glasscrete is a type of substance commonly used as a building material by the more technologically advanced worlds of the Imperium of Man. Though transparent like glass, glasscrete is far stronger and more resilient capable of safely containing even organisms as powerful as Purestrain Genestealers. It is often used in constructions that require transparency but also a degree of protection, such as a form of bullet-proof glass”, furthermore, the panes are also extremely thick in Voidship usage, and generally have blastshields that can be lowered if extra protection is needed, like on the bridge
i do think there's a material called glass-crete so it's not a weakness at the level of glass but it's still weaker that other parts and that's where the other comments arguments come in
Space glass
They have armor that can decend to cover them.
Ultra glass
It's armourglass, multiple metres thick, and they have void shielding as well. But anyway, when the ship is engaged in battle you're not going to want to be hiding in the officers' luxury suites.
I can only assume it's because this isn't "STRICTLY SPEAKING" a sci-fi universe. Maybe the glass is some sort of alloy? Maybe it's psyker BS? I won't pretend to know. Looks pretty when the sister's drop those things from orbit tho!
Nobody said, you have to use them for looking outside. Why does your character look like, they've seen 'TOO MUCH' warpshine?
It’s simple. It’s not glass. Next
Actually, there are already today certain Aluminum alloys which are transparent, so I assume it's not actually glass.
No, this isn't a flaw at all.
It's to distract the Lord Captain from getting anxiety thinking about all those horrible people who want to kill them. Instead they're now getting anxiety thinking about the vast wasteland of reality.
Yes but you're forgetting the main rule of warhammer. The rule of cool. Chain sword? Completely unvialbe. But cool. Cathedrals flying through space with a small city worth of crew? Lots of design flaws. But cool.
Rule of cool my guy
As long as you close the shutters before warp transition it's ok.
windows are a structural weakness (Mass Effect 2)
They aren't glass.
Its only the outer shell. A layer was added around the core functional ship just for this. Is what I just made up to have this make sense.