*Spoilers* U.S.S. Franklin Design?
- Thread starter Devon
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^ Yep.
Because any attack powerful enough to punch through a ship's shields, will hit the bridge no matter where it is.
Because any attack powerful enough to punch through a ship's shields, will hit the bridge no matter where it is.
The bridge on top of the saucer is a dumb idea, but it's just part of Trek lore that you roll with, like the bizarre and impractical shape of the Enterprise or the idea that the entire command staff should be the first ones down to new and potentially dangerous planets.
I love Trek, but it's pretty silly if you think about it.
I love Trek, but it's pretty silly if you think about it.
Yup. Galactica was a brick house, haha.
The CIC in Galactica is on the middle deck of the ship right between where the nose section joins the main body. So yeah pretty deep inside.
Blasphemy! This is one of Roddenberry's sacred rules of starship design!
Awww...bugger it. It is a dumb thing to put the main command area front and center. At least they tried to shroud it with other hull elements once wi the Akira class.
The only in-universe explanations I have are:
1. Starfleet ships aren't built with battle in mind as the first priority
2. If a weapon is cutting into the ship, it's pretty much over anyway.
3. The bridge separates and becomes an escape pod.
That actually makes a lot of sense.
So, no different than any other escape pod, then.
Probably not.. In the grand scheme of things any attacking ship would fire on that escaping bridge module.
Swappable bridge modules, which they did with almost every TOS film. Very easy to unplug and upgrade when the bridge is on top.
The only thing easier would be (in the TNG era) to have a holodeck bridge which could reconfigure itself on the fly according to mission and circumstance. Only drawback would be is that every so often the holodeck tried to kill everyone inside.
The only thing easier would be (in the TNG era) to have a holodeck bridge which could reconfigure itself on the fly according to mission and circumstance. Only drawback would be is that every so often the holodeck tried to kill everyone inside.
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How would holodeck consoles work since they need to be wired into the ship systems? Although if they were holograms then that computer core is seriously powerful.
If a holographic character can sense where you squeeze, kiss or punch it, and reacts appropriately, it can also sense keypresses and react to those. And since we see the former happen, we could rely on the latter, too. Regardless of whether it's the holographic character/console itself somehow doing the sensing, or the sensors embedded in the walls of the projecting room, or something else futuristic we can't really understand yet.
But why should a bridge be particularly upgradeable? Swapping a console sounds inane when all you really need to do is swap the software. And the bridge supposedly doesn't feature any machinery other than consoles. What should be brought to the surface of the starship instead is Main Engineering (so that you can swap the powerplant when it wears down, not just when it gets outdated). And supposedly it is on the surface in NX-01, even if that's the aft surface of the saucer...
Timo Saloniemi
But why should a bridge be particularly upgradeable? Swapping a console sounds inane when all you really need to do is swap the software. And the bridge supposedly doesn't feature any machinery other than consoles. What should be brought to the surface of the starship instead is Main Engineering (so that you can swap the powerplant when it wears down, not just when it gets outdated). And supposedly it is on the surface in NX-01, even if that's the aft surface of the saucer...
Timo Saloniemi
Yeah and don't forget holographic people you kiss are actually meat puppets. Some of that matter is recreated flesh and blood.
Barkley used holographic equivalents to controls in 'The Nth Degree'- if the computer knows when a holo-control is used and activated the corresponding function it is not that much different than having a reconfigurable panel on the bridge being used to control the same function.
While the Warp Core can be removed/ejected for upgrades I also think it is a good idea to have the rest of the control section removable as well. You would need to design the secondary hulls differently but for the modular Starfleet approach it should not be too difficult. The Warp Core seems to be easily damaged no matter where it is located so burying it inside the hull doesn't really help much.
Or something that feels and tastes like flesh and blood, at any rate.
Probably only the lips would need to be replicated matter or whatever, though: the rest of the person could be forcefields (in those places where you touch the person) or mere light show (where you don't). The holodeck must be capable of instantaneously creating all three sorts of illusion, and also instantaneously removing it, after all: it cannot predict long in advance when the user wants to sit on a pig, or smash a chair to pieces, or drink up an oil bottle, but it also isn't allowed to disappoint the user. So the nature of every object and substance on the holodeck must be malleable in a split second, or then a means must be found to fool the user into thinking that the changing happens in a split second even when it actually takes 2.3 seconds.
Most of that capacity would not be needed for something as simple as a holographic bridge!
Timo Saloniemi
That is a good point. for people maybe only the lips and other parts are real parts. But it's kinda gross if you think about it. Riker porking Minuet for one. And Sandrine would have porked a few on Voyager.
Re: Position of the bridge:
I have always had it in my head that somehow as the bridge is dead centre of the saucer, thats the point at which a starship's shields converge and are most powerful. I always thought that the crystal on top of the bridge is like some kind of super deflector shield to protect the bridge should primary shields collapse. Also, the bridge being in the centre of the saucer means that it would be protected from a head on collision, and from landing the saucer during separation. It would have upmost protection from the planet's atmosphere. Its located away from warp cores, and impulse drives and other high-risk areas of the ship. Its also (now) an optical vantage point should sensors fail.
I have always had it in my head that somehow as the bridge is dead centre of the saucer, thats the point at which a starship's shields converge and are most powerful. I always thought that the crystal on top of the bridge is like some kind of super deflector shield to protect the bridge should primary shields collapse. Also, the bridge being in the centre of the saucer means that it would be protected from a head on collision, and from landing the saucer during separation. It would have upmost protection from the planet's atmosphere. Its located away from warp cores, and impulse drives and other high-risk areas of the ship. Its also (now) an optical vantage point should sensors fail.
^Makes sense to me. For all the supposed vulnerabilities, how often does a bridge get blown off the saucer in Trek?
The Enterprise in TWOK seemed to have some extra screens around the bridge and top few decks when Kirk ordered yellow alert, even though the main shields hadn't yet gone up.
The Enterprise in TWOK seemed to have some extra screens around the bridge and top few decks when Kirk ordered yellow alert, even though the main shields hadn't yet gone up.
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