Looks good. Heh...yeah, I've seen some fan stuff for the refit bridge that follows FJ's idea that there was a small corridor outside and around the bridge. Your model clearly shows how that's not possible at that scale. Well done!
Yeah, there's really not much space at all within the bridge dome for what we see on screen. The main thing is that the bridge itself and both turbolifts fit well at the set-scale, and I think by the looks of things I'll also have enough room for a small toilet in the rear. I was hoping to be able to include at least some form of access around the bridge for on the fly repairs etc, but the best I can achieve at that scale is a jefferies tube. The circles I cut into the girders are 90cm wide, so it's a decent size for a crawl space and there's a enough room to access the rear of the bridge hardware. I actually did crawl around it in VR on my living room floor, so it's a good size :P
I've been exploring the bridge jefferies tube a bit more, so I added a crawlway and started plugging in some cables. Each of the 12 bridge sections has it's own separate data and power feed, which can be accessed behind the panels and connects back to the central core of the saucer. I'll have all the main trunk cables running through there, as its the deepest and most protected part of the structure. Another interesting thing I discovered this evening is that the Unreal Engine VR scale isn't quite as 1:1 as it would like everyone to believe. I proved this by making an exact copy of a coffee table I have in my lounge, which came out smaller in VR despite being the exact same measurements. After messing around with the settings, it's pretty clear that there's a ~10% discrepancy. I have now nailed the scale accurately by positioning the coffee table in the real world in the same physical space as the VR world. It's kind of cool to put on VR goggles and see the exact same table in front of you, but on the Enterprise Having fixed that, the Enterprise by extension is now 10% larger in VR. The physical measurements remain exactly the same, but there's more headroom now and the windows are bigger etc because the 'virtual you' is now 10% smaller by comparison.
The beginnings of a computer core, with some wiring I've made the computer core essentially a solid octagonal cylinder, which can be disconnected and slid out in its entirety when the bridge dome isn't in place. I'm envisioning this would be probably done when the bridge dome is being replaced or upgraded, because while it's off you can easily replace the whole computer core. I'll have to find some way of animating it, because it works really well :P I'm just wondering where to route the power cables, because initially I was going to have them going down through the center of the saucer, but that gets in the way of the computer core and I'd like to keep all that dangerous electro plasma away from the relatively delicate computer hardware. Maybe I'll go parallel to the turbolift... hmm...
I think using space adjacent to the turboshaft would be a good idea. You could even have a section in the corners of the turboshaft (assuming a squareish outer cross-section) that is blocked off specifically for electrical system usage, depending on the size of the cables, then run your mains through there. It’s similar to using busway in a single mechanical shaft in a tower to centralize the electrical system in order to maximize space for HVAC equipment.
The more I fiddle with wiring routes, the more this is looking like the most sensible option. I like the idea of squaring off the turboshafts (with a cylindrical inner core) in order to fit the wiring trays and some air conditioning, and to also use the same space for a vertical jefferies tube perhaps. I imagine climbing up that would be a scary experience, with turbolifts wizzing past a few inches away. Whatever it ends up looking like, it won't be like the one we see in The Final Frontier on the 1701-A
Remarkable work! Regarding the deck windows being very low, it's a pity that you can't raise them to make sense from an aesthetic standpoint though I realize that they'd interfere with the shield grid that lines the saucer. I suppose that the space above the low deck windows could be used for storage or decorative elements like paintings or other paraphernalia. Still, the shear madness of this undertaking is to be commended to the highest degree. Thanks again for all your hard work and approaching this project with an engineer's eye.
I'm definitely all for avoiding the TFF version of the turboshafts! A small Jefferies tube might be impractical, I'd maybe have a ladder going up each side of the shaft, in between stabilizing tracks for anti-grav equipment so maintenance workers aren't just floating up in the middle of the shaft willy-nilly. If I could make some suggestions for the mechanical engineering side of the ship, I'd probably avoid putting HVAC equipment within the turboshafts, it would be too bulky. Instead, I would have diffusers pushing air into the shaft at each deck to keep it pressurized and then the positive pressure can push the air into the negatively-pressurized turbolift cabs (I'm not sure how else to supply air in one of those cabs). Return air routes could be provided with grilles or pressure relief assemblies at the bottom of the vertical shafts. I might also suggest putting mechanical shaft space adjacent to the computer core for ease of routing ductwork throughout the saucer and to keep the air handling systems centralized so you're not taking up a bunch of deck space.
I've spent most of this last week tearing my hair out trying to get some form of UV unwrapping done for my meshes, which is a nightmare with Sketchup. I think I may need to just suck it up and learn Blender :P I've made some progress though, the Bridge is looking more like the Bridge and I've started adding some rooms to B Deck: I'm also hoping to make another video tonight, assuming I can get all this bundled up into Unreal Engine without any unforseen hassles.
Been a busy week, but I've finally managed to record another video! Also, for those of you with an HTC Vive (or perhaps an Oculus Rift - untested) you can now try it out yourself here: http://danielgovier.co.uk/enterprise/2018/Enterprise_Refit_VR_Exploration.rar Trigger to pick things up, thumb pad to teleport, and side grip buttons to arm-swing walk around. You'll need to hit alt+f4 to quit as there are no menus yet.
Amazing progress! I love the way you're going about doing this, starting with the support structure, and thinking each component through. If you do decide to give Blender a try and need any help with it, let me know! I'm an instructor for it at a local university so I'd gladly show you the ropes of it.
Hey, that's an awesome job you have there My life would be a lot easier if I were using Blender, because Sketchup does a poor job of joining vertices together and the only way to do proper UV unwrapping is by buying a $69 plugin. To be honest the only reasons I'm still using Sketchup are because it's really easy to create shapes with an exact length, and it's great at creating arrays of objects in a circle or along a vector. I guess Blender can probably do that too, but I haven't figured out how yet :P
Your project has a definite "wish fulfillment" quality that allows us to walk around an actual, physically laid out and logical ship. It's remarkable in its details and in the thought you've put into the project. As always, my I really appreciate all the hard work you've done here.
Yeah SketchUp is really easy to start and just create stuff, I started out using it. to be honest I'm amazed at what you've managed to achieve with it, lots of stuff I wouldn't even had attempted with it . But as it's a CAD program instead of a fully 3D modeling tool, it's pretty limited in advanced functionality.
Wish fulfillment is exactly what this is for me. On the HTC Vive you can download a holodeck default environment, so when you put the headset on you're stood in a generic holodeck with an open door showing the corridor beyond. It's enormously frustrating that you can't just walk out of the door and explore the ship beyond, so I wanted to make that happen (minus the holodeck ironically, lol).
I've been messing about with the VR scene today, and the more I think about it the more I'd like to recreate the scene from TMP where Scotty is giving Kirk a tour of the newly Refit Enterprise. Plus, it just feels right to be building this thing in a drydock environment, and standing on the saucer looking around is pretty breathtaking
I've been working on making the top of the teardrop shape a bit smoother and more gradually sloped, because it was a bit too angular and it didn't sit right with me. However, the side effect of doing that is that I've now had to re-shape the girders underneath, which has in turn meant that I need to re-do the ceilings and partition walls on B Deck. A little sucky, but I prefer the adjusted shape and the slightly lowered beams actually suit the rooms below. While I was fixing that I also finished off the EPS cabling for the bridge, which is working pretty good (one data and one EPS cable for each of the 9 bridge stations + screen): The 10 blue EPS cables drop down the rear wall of the computer room adjacent to the turboshaft. I'll put in a bit of fancy hardware there to plug the cables into, and also a control console for managing the bridge EPS requirements. The fancy hardware will have an EPS trunk going vertically down to the deck below, which will in turn terminate all the EPS links for that deck. This configuration works well for the available space, and I think it makes sense to duplicate this room on a slightly smaller scale for every deck in the saucer. That way, each deck has independent power/data management systems and all the important stuff is right in the core of the saucer, away from torpedo impacts and the like. I'm also going to have a hatch under the main viewscreen on the bridge, which opens to reveal a ladder down into the computer room. There is a similar hatch on some deck plans, but it's always located in the 'pit' in front of the helm/navigation console. That just doesn't work with a honking great computer right under the bridge, and by moving it under the viewscreen it also conveniently lines up with the front wall of the computer room, so I can run the ladder down the wall. I'll also have this ladder continue downward through all the decks (health and safety nightmare), so crew can get to all the important system management stuff directly. I also keep thinking about Spock and Kirk in Wrath of Khan, who both take direct routes to engineering and arrive by ladder from above. This would suggest that if you're trying to get somewhere in a hurry it's faster to slide vertically down a ladder. That would certainly be true in this case, where you could go from the computer room on B Deck down to its sister room on E Deck much faster than if you were to leave the room and take the lift. I'll try and add a bit of climbing code for the VR controllers and see how it feels
It looks good. I was planing something similar for my project. But don't forget Kirk, Spock, and Saavik climbing the ladder to get to the bridge in WoK after Kirk and company beam up from the asteroid.
I was always kind of torn over where that scene was supposed to have taken place. It looks like it should be in the neck area, as evidenced by its general shape and Kirk being on his way down to engineering during the Genesis escape scene. But then there was the cut scene, later added for the "Director's Cut", that shows them on their way up that ladder from the transporter room to the bridge after being brought back from Regula I, implying that it was in the primary hull. This, after Spock tells Kirk that all turbolifts are "inoperable below C-deck" in one of the rounded corridors. So, I dunno...
That's a good point, and I believe we see Spock using the same set when going down to Engineering. I may use this design for all of the mid-deck vertical jefferies tubes, so it would be just one of many similar access points across the ship. I've been debating whether or not to include a stairwell somewhere, but I think the fact the crew readily use these ladders when the turbolift is out of action is strong evidence against the existence of any kind of stairwell on this Enterprise.