On Board the Enterprise-D

RAMA · February 22 2013, 08:48 PM

Its a book and CD-ROM (yes a CD-ROM) from Mike and Denise Okuda. It's small but its nice to see their return to non-fiction Trek after a long absence, and what better topic than the symbol of STNG but the E-D!

trekker670 · February 22 2013, 09:49 PM

Can you provide a review of the contents of both the book and the CD? I'm curious as to why they went the route of recreating everything in CG rather than use the source images used in the interactive technical manual (at least in part).

RAMA · February 23 2013, 01:44 AM

Ok so the verdict is: This is a terrific book to get your children into the show, or for the unenlightened. It's on the short side but it has all the basics and presented with a modern graphical look. I think longtime fans will be less impressed, there isn't a lot that's new here, but as I pointed out, the simple fact that it's a rare (but ever-increasing) non-fiction Star Trek book makes it worthwhile to support so we can get more of the same.

RAMA

SchwEnt · February 23 2013, 03:40 AM

I don't know about this book. I've posted similar in other threads before, I can't see the point.

I'm sure it's top quality work, excellent production all around. But even casual fans know all about the bridge and Ten Forward and where the warp nacelles are and so on.

What's the interest for a decades-long TNG fan in seeing bridge illustrations indicating "This is where Captain Picard sits" and "This is the Ops Station". How is that new or interesting for us? Who is this book for?

If TNG is new to someone, and they haven't gotten all the other ST books like this, okay this one is swell.

But unless there's really something new and NEVER-before-seen, this one isn't for me. And I've got ALL the ST stuff.

indolover · February 23 2013, 03:45 AM

Non-fiction? The Enterprise-D really exists?

RAMA · February 23 2013, 04:00 AM

indolover wrote:

Non-fiction? The Enterprise-D really exists?

Yes, on many desktops and shelves all over the world!

Infern0 · February 23 2013, 08:58 AM

Lol'd at CD ROM

Seems like a good idea though, what I really want is a new Star Trek encyclopedia, there is a season of DS9, 4 seasons of Voyager, 4 seasons of Enterprise and soon to be 3 feature films that need adding.

Trekker4747 · February 23 2013, 03:48 PM

Meh. The only way this would be interesting if it was an "open-world" concept allowing one to roam the halls of the Enterprise-D entirely, based off the blueprints.

Yeah it'd be a ridiculous undertaking by those involved as the ship is utterly MASSIVE but it'd be interesting as hell.

Forbin · February 23 2013, 04:15 PM

Yeah, a bit disappointing. Nothing really new. The big CGI Enterprise orthographic views are nice, even if they labelled he sensor trench as phasers. The rest we've all seen before.

BeatleJWOL · February 23 2013, 06:04 PM

Trekker4747 wrote:

Yeah it'd be a ridiculous undertaking by those involved as the ship is utterly MASSIVE but it'd be interesting as hell.

A lot of that could be alleviated by having a few repeating spaces, and messages like "nothing but crew quarters here; would you like to turn back or go on through", which would trigger either a return or a skip through to the next non-repetitive section.

davejames · February 23 2013, 07:50 PM

trekker670 wrote:

Can you provide a review of the contents of both the book and the CD? I'm curious as to why they went the route of recreating everything in CG rather than use the source images used in the interactive technical manual (at least in part).

I think the problem is those images were only at a 640X480 resolution, and wouldn't be quite the size or HD quality we're used to now.

davejames · February 23 2013, 08:52 PM

Actually I just got mine in the mail, and am a bit disappointed to see it's just one of those thin SW Dictionary-style books. I was really looking forward to hearing the Okuda's perspective on the making of the show, and maybe getting a few interesting stories we haven't heard before, but instead the book just describes different parts of the ship and how things work (ho-hum).

Still though, I'd say the book is WELL worth the price for the CD and 3D tour. There is some REALLY cool work in that, and it really shows off just how much great design was in that show. You get to see every square inch of the Bridge, Engineering, and Picard's Ready Room, and you even get a tour of Beverly's office. My favorite though was getting to see the bridge from the viewpoint of the Captain's chair.

Shame there weren't a few more rooms though. I would have loved to have seen the crew quarters, Ten Forward, and the vast Main Shuttlebay. And we sadly don't get to fly around the exterior of the ship either.

SonicRanger · February 23 2013, 09:41 PM

davejames wrote:

Actually I just got mine in the mail, and am a bit disappointed to see it's just one of those thin SW Dictionary-style books. I was really looking forward to hearing the Okuda's perspective on the making of the show, and maybe getting a few interesting stories we haven't heard before, but instead the book just describes different parts of the ship and how things work (ho-hum).

Still though, I'd say the book is WELL worth the price for the CD and 3D tour. There is some REALLY cool work in that, and it really shows off just how much great design was in that show. You get to see every square inch of the Bridge, Engineering, and Picard's Ready Room, and you even get a tour of Beverly's office. My favorite though was getting to see the bridge from the viewpoint of the Captain's chair.

Shame there weren't a few more rooms though. I would have loved to have seen the crew quarters, Ten Forward, and the vast Main Shuttlebay. And we sadly don't get to fly around the exterior of the ship either.

Well, it all had to fit on a CD-ROM with 700 MB of space.

I guess the CD-ROM answers the question of who this product is for: your parents and their 10-year-old computer.

Squiggy · February 23 2013, 10:35 PM

SonicRanger wrote:

davejames wrote:

Actually I just got mine in the mail, and am a bit disappointed to see it's just one of those thin SW Dictionary-style books. I was really looking forward to hearing the Okuda's perspective on the making of the show, and maybe getting a few interesting stories we haven't heard before, but instead the book just describes different parts of the ship and how things work (ho-hum).

Still though, I'd say the book is WELL worth the price for the CD and 3D tour. There is some REALLY cool work in that, and it really shows off just how much great design was in that show. You get to see every square inch of the Bridge, Engineering, and Picard's Ready Room, and you even get a tour of Beverly's office. My favorite though was getting to see the bridge from the viewpoint of the Captain's chair.

Shame there weren't a few more rooms though. I would have loved to have seen the crew quarters, Ten Forward, and the vast Main Shuttlebay. And we sadly don't get to fly around the exterior of the ship either.

Well, it all had to fit on a CD-ROM with 700 MB of space.

I guess the CD-ROM answers the question of who this product is for: your parents and their 10-year-old computer.

I was about to say, who has a functional computer with a CD only drive?

Time to take the bold leap to 2005 and make a DVD-Rom. 4.7 gigs of assorted nerdry. Boom.

davejames · February 24 2013, 04:39 AM

It worked in my DVD drive. And I think any optical drive will do actually.

Whatever the case, it's certainly a whole lot faster and smoother than the glitchy old Interactive Technical Manual.

February 22 2013, 08:48 PM	#1
RAMA Vice Admiral Location: NJ, USA	On Board the Enterprise-D Its a book and CD-ROM (yes a CD-ROM) from Mike and Denise Okuda. It's small but its nice to see their return to non-fiction Trek after a long absence, and what better topic than the symbol of STNG but the E-D! __________________ “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”—Stephen R. Covey

February 22 2013, 09:49 PM	#2
trekker670 Commander	Re: On Board the Enterprise-D Can you provide a review of the contents of both the book and the CD? I'm curious as to why they went the route of recreating everything in CG rather than use the source images used in the interactive technical manual (at least in part).

February 23 2013, 01:44 AM	#3
RAMA Vice Admiral Location: NJ, USA	Re: On Board the Enterprise-D Ok so the verdict is: This is a terrific book to get your children into the show, or for the unenlightened. It's on the short side but it has all the basics and presented with a modern graphical look. I think longtime fans will be less impressed, there isn't a lot that's new here, but as I pointed out, the simple fact that it's a rare (but ever-increasing) non-fiction Star Trek book makes it worthwhile to support so we can get more of the same. RAMA __________________ “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”—Stephen R. Covey

February 23 2013, 03:40 AM	#4
SchwEnt Fleet Captain	Re: On Board the Enterprise-D I don't know about this book. I've posted similar in other threads before, I can't see the point. I'm sure it's top quality work, excellent production all around. But even casual fans know all about the bridge and Ten Forward and where the warp nacelles are and so on. What's the interest for a decades-long TNG fan in seeing bridge illustrations indicating "This is where Captain Picard sits" and "This is the Ops Station". How is that new or interesting for us? Who is this book for? If TNG is new to someone, and they haven't gotten all the other ST books like this, okay this one is swell. But unless there's really something new and NEVER-before-seen, this one isn't for me. And I've got ALL the ST stuff.

February 23 2013, 03:45 AM	#5
indolover Fleet Captain	Re: On Board the Enterprise-D Non-fiction? The Enterprise-D really exists?

STAR TREK

CSI

ABOUT US

February 23 2013, 08:58 AM	#7
Infern0 Captain	Re: On Board the Enterprise-D Lol'd at CD ROM Seems like a good idea though, what I really want is a new Star Trek encyclopedia, there is a season of DS9, 4 seasons of Voyager, 4 seasons of Enterprise and soon to be 3 feature films that need adding.

February 23 2013, 03:48 PM	#8
Trekker4747 To boldly go... Location: Kansas City	Re: On Board the Enterprise-D Meh. The only way this would be interesting if it was an "open-world" concept allowing one to roam the halls of the Enterprise-D entirely, based off the blueprints. Yeah it'd be a ridiculous undertaking by those involved as the ship is utterly MASSIVE but it'd be interesting as hell. __________________ Just because it's futuristic doesn't mean it's practical.

February 23 2013, 04:15 PM	#9
Forbin Admiral Location: I said out, dammit!	Re: On Board the Enterprise-D Yeah, a bit disappointing. Nothing really new. The big CGI Enterprise orthographic views are nice, even if they labelled he sensor trench as phasers. The rest we've all seen before. __________________ My kitbashes: http://www.inpayne.com/models/kitbash/trekpage.html My Kitbash Wallpapers: http://www.inpayne.com/models/wallpa...allpapers.html My kitbash calendar: http://inpayne.com/calendar/kbcalendar2013.html

February 23 2013, 08:52 PM	#12
davejames Vice Admiral Location: Sac, Ca	Re: On Board the Enterprise-D Actually I just got mine in the mail, and am a bit disappointed to see it's just one of those thin SW Dictionary-style books. I was really looking forward to hearing the Okuda's perspective on the making of the show, and maybe getting a few interesting stories we haven't heard before, but instead the book just describes different parts of the ship and how things work (ho-hum). Still though, I'd say the book is WELL worth the price for the CD and 3D tour. There is some REALLY cool work in that, and it really shows off just how much great design was in that show. You get to see every square inch of the Bridge, Engineering, and Picard's Ready Room, and you even get a tour of Beverly's office. My favorite though was getting to see the bridge from the viewpoint of the Captain's chair. Shame there weren't a few more rooms though. I would have loved to have seen the crew quarters, Ten Forward, and the vast Main Shuttlebay. And we sadly don't get to fly around the exterior of the ship either.

February 24 2013, 04:39 AM	#15
davejames Vice Admiral Location: Sac, Ca	Re: On Board the Enterprise-D It worked in my DVD drive. And I think any optical drive will do actually. Whatever the case, it's certainly a whole lot faster and smoother than the glitchy old Interactive Technical Manual.