Where are the percenty shields?

[spinnerlys]

Hello.

To fall asleep better after 30 hours of deprivation, I put on Star Trek again and wondered where those shields were.

In the opening scene they are mentioned twice, but they cannot actually be seen.
Then they were also mentioned at that training simulation, that torpedoes would not work due to the Klingon Warbirds having their shields up.

Did the writers not know how they "work", or is my memory of TNG and DS9 and VOY that selective?

 

[Cyke101]

Hello.

To fall asleep better after 30 hours of deprivation, I put on Star Trek again and wondered where those shields were.

In the opening scene they are mentioned twice, but they cannot actually be seen.
Then they were also mentioned at that training simulation, that torpedoes would not work due to the Klingon Warbirds having their shields up.

Did the writers not know how they "work", or is my memory of TNG and DS9 and VOY that selective?

They're probably skintight shields like the ones used for the majority of the Dominion War; or, more likely, akin to just simple TOS shields rather than bubbles from later shows.

As for percenty shields, they're probably used and measured on our heroes' computers but just not said in dialogue. I don't think it comes up very often in TOS or the TOS movies, and TNG/DS9/VOY tended to use percentages either to declare how strong the enemy was, or as a ticking deadline (Shields are down to 80%! 63%! 48%...!). Though the former could easily be achieved through other means and the latter just doesn't pack a lot of dramatic punch (oh Nemesis, how much you proved that).

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Hello.

To fall asleep better after 30 hours of deprivation, I put on Star Trek again and wondered where those shields were.

In the opening scene they are mentioned twice, but they cannot actually be seen.
Then they were also mentioned at that training simulation, that torpedoes would not work due to the Klingon Warbirds having their shields up.

Did the writers not know how they "work", or is my memory of TNG and DS9 and VOY that selective?

This is the first time I've heard anyone missing the fact that the dwindling percentage shields are gone. Roger Ebert even mocked the tedium of them in his review of Nemesis:

I've also had it with the force shield that protects the Enterprise. The power on this thing is always going down. In movie after movie after movie I have to sit through sequences during which the captain is tersely informed that the front shield is down to 60 percent, or the back shield is down to 10 percent, or the side shield is leaking energy, and the captain tersely orders that power be shifted from the back to the sides or all put in the front, or whatever, and I'm thinking, life is too short to sit through 10 movies in which the power is shifted around on these shields. The shields have been losing power for decades now, and here it is the Second Generation of Star Trek, and they still haven't fixed them. Maybe they should get new batteries.

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/star-trek-nemesis-2002

 

[M'Sharak]

As for percenty shields, they're probably used and measured on our heroes' computers but just not said in dialogue. I don't think it comes up very often in TOS or the TOS movies, and TNG/DS9/VOY tended to use percentages either to declare how strong the enemy was, or as a ticking deadline (Shields are down to 80%! 63%! 48%...!).

This, pretty much. In TOS, screens were raised and they were lowered; they were either holding, they were weakened, or they were down. Shadings of specific percentages wouldn't come until the later incarnations.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Who cares?

Good riddance.

 

[Tosk]

We don't need it any more. JJ trek instead uses other pointless drama-countdowns like Pavel counting down the seconds before he can beam the Vulcans aboard, or characters saying, "If we don't leave now, we'll be destroyed!" (And then they don't leave for ages and still escape unscathed.)

 

[F. King Daniel]

Hello.

To fall asleep better after 30 hours of deprivation, I put on Star Trek again and wondered where those shields were.

In the opening scene they are mentioned twice, but they cannot actually be seen.
Then they were also mentioned at that training simulation, that torpedoes would not work due to the Klingon Warbirds having their shields up.

Did the writers not know how they "work", or is my memory of TNG and DS9 and VOY that selective?

Visible bubble shields vanished during DS9's latter seasons, when CG advances enabled them to show more "visceral" hull damage when ships were hit.

 

[The Wormhole]

Actually, this is a good question, why aren't the characters declaring what percentage the shields are at? This is a key integral feature to the purity of a Trek battle, and as a True Fan I bemoan its loss. Even Stargate does the shield percentage countdown during its starship battles. How come Stargate matches the Purity of Trek better than Abrams Trek does? Do Abrams and his contemptible morons just not know how to make Trek? Well, clearly the answer here is no, they don't.

Yet another reason why the Prime Universe needs to be re-instated. We can get rid of all those idiotic lens flares and idiotically designed overlarge starships, with people who talk over each other all the time and go back to starships of sensible design and size with proper lighting and people who deliver their dialogue in proper stage show manner.

Besides, if Abrams and his jackasses did include the shield percentages they'd probably ruin in by including leading zeroes...

 

[SPCTRE]

The percent-y shields made for a good video game mechanic; for reference, the Starfleet Command series, or Bridge Commander.

 

[Cyke101]

As for percenty shields, they're probably used and measured on our heroes' computers but just not said in dialogue. I don't think it comes up very often in TOS or the TOS movies, and TNG/DS9/VOY tended to use percentages either to declare how strong the enemy was, or as a ticking deadline (Shields are down to 80%! 63%! 48%...!).

This, pretty much. In TOS, screens were raised and they were lowered; they were either holding, they were weakened, or they were down. Shadings of specific percentages wouldn't come until the later incarnations.

Yeah, first it was a singular force field that just covered the entire ship. I think it eventually got to the point where percenty shields wouldn't be enough anymore but the writers wanted to keep the system, so they separated the shields first into quadrants (forward, aft, etc), and then into six directions (adding dorsal, ventral).

But then add that onto the percenty shields and we get tedium.

"Aft shields at 78%, ventral shields at 52%!"
"But what about the aft-ventral shields?"
"We split the difference, I suppose."

To be fair, we did have Scotty in TUC monitoring the status of shield sections, but he didn't yell out percenty shields, either. "Shields weakening!" and then the kicker, "Shields collapsing!" (I love Doohan's delivery here)

 

[spinnerlys]

Thanks for all the replies.

Now I can finally rest easy.

But just to make sure everyone understands my intentions, although it should be clear everything with "nu" instead of "new" sucks, except nuts of course, I was not missing the countdowns of shield strength, but the visual representation (I grew up with TNG, thus shields have to be visible, round and blue and make sounds in space).

But I was always more a fan of that Defiant thingy with its ablative amor, but probably because of the ablative case more than its more realistic approach.

Who is on for a second round of "who is who" at Daystrom?

 

[Kruezerman]

Maybe they use fractions now?

 

[M'Sharak]

... although it should be clear everything with "nu" instead of "new" sucks, except nuts of course...

Hmm.

SECOND VILLAGER She turned me into a nut.
BEDEVERE: A nut?
SECOND VILLAGER: I got better.

Yeah, I see what you mean.

Maybe they use fractions now?

"Shields are at 17/52!"

 

[Amaris]

We don't need it any more. JJ trek instead uses other pointless drama-countdowns like Pavel counting down the seconds before he can beam the Vulcans aboard, or characters saying, "If we don't leave now, we'll be destroyed!" (And then they don't leave for ages and still escape unscathed.)

The "we have to leave now" stuff is just panic. The girl (I forgot who she plays) who said that was scared shitless, and I can't say I blame her. If someone said "hey, look, a black hole's forming outside!" I would need a new pair of shorts every few seconds. Honestly, her reaction felt very authentic.

 

[CorporalClegg]

99% shields remain!
99% shields.
Takin' phaser fire.
Another sparking wire.
98% shields remain.

 

[Cyke101]

99% shields remain!
99% shields.
Takin' phaser fire.
Another sparking wire.
98% shields remain.

skipping down to the rest...

1% of shields remain
1% of shields
Reroute auxiliary
to the shields
99% shields remain

 

[BillJ]

We don't need it any more. JJ trek instead uses other pointless drama-countdowns like Pavel counting down the seconds before he can beam the Vulcans aboard, or characters saying, "If we don't leave now, we'll be destroyed!" (And then they don't leave for ages and still escape unscathed.)

The "we have to leave now" stuff is just panic. The girl (I forgot who she plays) who said that was scared shitless, and I can't say I blame her. If someone said "hey, look, a black hole's forming outside!" I would need a new pair of shorts every few seconds. Honestly, her reaction felt very authentic.

+1

How many times have we been told if the ship keeps doing something it'll explode? But it never explodes.

 

[Sindatur]

The percenty shields are lining the percenties to prevent leakage on them

I agree with the majority of posts so far, "percent of shields remaining" became quite tedious, and they went to that well far too often

 

[martok2112]

99% shields remain!
99% shields.
Takin' phaser fire.
Another sparking wire.
98% shields remain.

skipping down to the rest...

1% of shields remain
1% of shields
Reroute auxiliary
to the shields
99% shields remain

Worf: Shields down to 10%, Captain!

Riker: The next few hits can finish us, Captain!

Troi: Captain, I am sensing extreme dread and panics of finality from the entire ship.

Lily: Jean-Luc, blow up the damn ship!

Worf: Captain, I am reading a power up in the vicinity, bearing one one eight, mark three zero.

Picard: Helm, plot course for that power up, warp factor plot expedience!

Helm: Course laid in, sir!

Picard: Engage!

Worf: Sir, we have intercepted and beamed the power up on board. Shields now back to 100%. We also beamed aboard soemthing called a "1UP" !

Picard: (looking arounf confidently). See, I told you space battles were like video games.

 

[Tosk]

We don't need it any more. JJ trek instead uses other pointless drama-countdowns like Pavel counting down the seconds before he can beam the Vulcans aboard, or characters saying, "If we don't leave now, we'll be destroyed!" (And then they don't leave for ages and still escape unscathed.)

The "we have to leave now" stuff is just panic. The girl (I forgot who she plays) who said that was scared shitless, and I can't say I blame her. If someone said "hey, look, a black hole's forming outside!" I would need a new pair of shorts every few seconds. Honestly, her reaction felt very authentic.

+1

How many times have we been told if the ship keeps doing something it'll explode? But it never explodes.

That's...pretty much my point though. I'm not saying it's worse than "Shields down to 48%", just that it's the new version of that. Dialogue meant to make a situation feel more dangerous without really contributing anything beyond that.