3D interiors in Blender

[Rekkert]

@Jedman67: I understand that, the color pallet Rusty chose for the Galaxy is certainly not for everyone. I do like the opportunity of working in unusual sets though; and this one, with its unique lighting, certainly applies.

I've reworked the ceiling structure to be more fitting of a 24th Century ship, so the Brattain style centerpiece was removed, and Sutherland style ribs were added to the blue ceiling lights.

The buttresses near the doors and viewscreen were likewise changed to make the set a bit more unique, these new versions are based on the season 1 battle bridge columns, and keep the darker motif seen in several TNG sets (like the aforementioned battle bridge, Enterprise-C and Relay 47)

Finally, the lights at floor level all around the perimeter were somewhat changed, with a unique design that places the three horizontal lines closer together, similar to the lights we see all over the Enterprise-D. Just as those on TNG, these new lines are now made from a reflective material rather than the rough black used for the TOS movies.

Spoiler: Images

 

[Jedman67]

@Jedman67: I understand that, the color pallet Rusty chose for the Galaxy is certainly not for everyone. I do like the opportunity of working in unusual sets though; and this one, with its unique lighting, certainly applies.

I've reworked the ceiling structure to be more fitting of a 24th Century ship, so the Brattain style centerpiece was removed, and Sutherland style ribs were added to the blue ceiling lights.

The buttresses near the doors and viewscreen were likewise changed to make the set a bit more unique, these new versions are based on the season 1 battle bridge columns, and keep the darker motif seen in several TNG sets (like the aforementioned battle bridge, Enterprise-C and Relay 47)

Finally, the lights at floor level all around the perimeter were somewhat changed, with a unique design that places the three horizontal lines closer together, similar to the lights we see all over the Enterprise-D. Just as those on TNG, these new lines are now made from a reflective material rather than the rough black used for the TOS movies.

Spoiler: Images

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

 

[Rekkert]

@Jedman67:

Scragnog's been working on another video (probably the last one for the foreseeable future), and this one's a lot more complex than the previous ones. It uses the bridge of the USS Zodiac but, as the ship was lost at Wolf 359, it's in less than perfect shape...

From a technical standpoint this video is also unique in that the scene is lit entirely by the emissive materials using Unreal's implementation of VXGI, which allows the lighting to be changed in real time when the different consoles and ceiling lights go on or off.

It features brand new music by Patrick Phillips, who did the Stage 9 score; and the voices of several members of the dev team and the Discord community.

Enjoy!

Direct link

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[Jedman67]

MEDIC! MEDIC!!

 

[Rekkert]

I've swapped the handrails for a new, original design, and returned the tactical/security stations to the classic TNG stands.

I've also added in some more LCARS, and I changed the metal pattern on the forward steps, to the 'bricks' design we saw on the Pegasus engineering railing. It's a little thing, but it differentiates the steps a bit from the usual TMP style.

Spoiler: Images

 

[137th Gebirg]

Definitely like the warmer look with reds and yellows amidst the grays and blues.

 

[Sibyl]

I was honestly just looking up whether UE4 could be used to create movie-like videos. Thank you for posting the one above.

As well, great work, as usual!
Oh, and I'm continuing to recommend Blender on FB to anyone asking what program they should learn.

 

[The Librarian]

Really digging those handrails

 

[Norsehound]

I'm finally going to ask- what's the console at the front of the room supposed to be there for? Is that a manned station or just a posting to change the viewscreen? Seems very obstructive to have a person there right in front of the viewscreen.

 

[Rekkert]

@137th Gebirg: Yeah, those add a little more life and color to the bridge.

@Scribble: Haha, for this kind of stuff Unreal is really cool, though Blender's getting really close to it with Eevee. As far as I understand it from talking about this with Scragnog, some of the lighting implementation and the back end calculations are pretty much identical between the two programs.

@The Librarian: Glad you like those! They kinda came to me out of nowhere, and IMO they're right over the line of what TNG could've had while not going overly expensive for the time.

@Norsehound: Haha, fair question! It's supposed to be an Emergency Manual Override console, for use during emergencies only. As for the location, it's kinda a nod to the TMP helm console the Enterprise-C bridge had stuck at the front.

Here are the remaining LCARS, with the viewscreen ones being smaller versions of the ones from the main bridge.

Spoiler: Images

 

[Sibyl]

@Rekkert, the only thing I question about the railings, which are great, BTW, is their positioning...mounted to the pit floor rather than the ledge? It just seems there could be some absent-minded mishaps as a result.

Then again, the Refit railing supports sloped inward toward the pit and the railings were, in effect in about the same position.

 

[Norsehound]

@Norsehound: Haha, fair question! It's supposed to be an Emergency Manual Override console, for use during emergencies only. As for the location, it's kinda a nod to the TMP helm console the Enterprise-C bridge had stuck at the front.

Hmm... I wasn't sure with that shot until I pulled up the episode again to study every Enterprise-C bridge shot in the episode. This one is a better one where you can see the astrogator. Along with this, where you can see the rim of the console. We don't get a clear look at these positions, and from where we have a dead officer and castillo's location it seems like they're supposed to be manned.

I think you could make the case, though, for a mirrored pair of consoles flanking the viewscreens at the 11 and 1 o'clock positions- the angle from your screenshot suggests it's not dead-on. That, or it's extremely wide. What I'd do is take a TMP console, lop off one half from the astrogator inward, and set them on either side of the view screen. Castillo was found under the starboard side one, which could have been damage control (Castillo and Yar are at this station at 27:05, discussing shield power).

After all technically when they were digging Catillo out, we don't see the left half of the console. Perhaps it's not even there, and the connecting arm leading up to the instrumentation panel is used for more read-outs. I think Castillo's station would show fore-rear-left-right shields, while the port station would show top-down.

Just seems weird to have a free-standing console there that is not supposed to be used during normal operations. Even the Ent-D's emergency manual override is at the back of the room. Feels like a visual distraction to me- the only way I can think of to use this console is if every other station is out and you need one console to steer the entire ship. But that seems like a lot of infrastructure for a very limited use case.

But, I'm not the one designing the bridge

 

[Matthew Raymond]

@Rekkert, You could lower the floor under that front console so that the main viewer is unobstructed. Looks like it only needs to go down a couple of feet. You just need a couple more steps going down.

 

[Sibyl]

It looks to me that the view we're presented within that last render is from the Captain's perspective. I don't think it's much of an obstruction, but I could see it as a distraction.

 

[Matthew Raymond]

It looks to me that the view we're presented within that last render is from the Captain's perspective. I don't think it's much of an obstruction, but I could see it as a distraction.

From that viewpoint, it looks like any officer at that console would have their head blocking the viewer. I just hope the ensign at that console isn't named "William"...

Spoiler: William, move your head!

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[Sibyl]

From that viewpoint, it looks like any officer at that console would have their head blocking the viewer. I just hope the ensign at that console isn't named "William"...

Spoiler: William, move your head!

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HEED!

@Norsehound: Haha, fair question! It's supposed to be an Emergency Manual Override console, for use during emergencies only. As for the location, it's kinda a nod to the TMP helm console the Enterprise-C bridge had stuck at the front.

Here are the remaining LCARS, with the viewscreen ones being smaller versions of the ones from the main bridge.

Spoiler: Images

@Rekkert, would that station be occupied while the helm, nav, and Captain are at their station? If so, then I can see @Matthew Raymond's point. I guess I was under the impression that that particular console was used only as a last-resort type of thing.

 

[danellis]

HEED!



@Rekkert, would that station be occupied while the helm, nav, and Captain are at their station? If so, then I can see @Matthew Raymond's point. I guess I was under the impression that that particular console was used only as a last-resort type of thing.

I reckon it's a PowerPoint station, so that people can use the main viewscreen to give briefings...

dJE

 

[Norsehound]

Guys, Rekkert says it's supposed to be used during emergencies only.

It's supposed to be an Emergency Manual Override console, for use during emergencies only.

I just find it weird that an emergency-only console takes up so much space and is such a visual distraction! If it were up to me, I'd make it some kind of heads-up-display function, if the main viewscreen isn't supposed to display that information. Something like current heading, current speed, shield/weapon/system status, that kind of thing.

 

[Rekkert]

Well, do keep in mind this is the battle bridge, so an emergency-only console has more prominence than on a standard bridge, as it's more probable that it's gonna be used if the ship goes into battle. Besides, as it's shown on the last render, the console sits up just below the viewscreen from the Captain's point of view, so during normal operations (when not manned) it's as useful as those little displays under the viewscreen in some bridges. Maybe it can be used to display ETA information and the like.

As for the Enterprise-C version, the blueprints do show the console clearly centered, and I went into a more in-depth analysis of it when I was doing the 3D reproduction of that bridge (which I never got time to finish after I lost the latest files when my PC crashed).

I reckon it's a PowerPoint station, so that people can use the main viewscreen to give briefings...

Funny you mention that; while it's not the intention here, we see a similarly placed station used that way on the Ambassador-Class Excalibur on the New Frontier comic Double Time.

 

[Rekkert]

While the high quality images of the battle bridge get rendered...

I recently upgraded my PC to an I7-8700 (from a 2600K) and I'm finding that I can now work in another Blender instance while rendering. So, while the PC takes its long while to finish rendering the battle bridge, I could model and render (in lower quality) another experiment of mine.

As I mentioned previously, I think this general layout would be perfect for a 24th century Excelsior rather than a Galaxy, so I did exactly that (the USS Potemkin to be more specific). I modified the positioning of the wall facing consoles to mirror that of the USS Excelsior, and even included the aft alcove area from the Odyssey into it. I'm basing the LCARS coloring and some of the smaller details on the USS Righteous from the Star Trek: Borg game.

I am also taking the chance of doing something original and coming up with some new elements for it, like the captain's chair (which is a mix of the Ent-C and Ent-D styles) and the hand rails.

There's still some more work to be done on the LCARS and on some other bits I'd like to replace (like the floor level lights, I'd like to make those more like the Righteous as well). Overall, I'm happy with how it looks considering it only has like 6 hours of work into it.

Spoiler: Images