[opinion] The lack of creativity in current Trek design

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by BorgMan, Aug 8, 2019.

  1. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    The Wormhole
    A majority of the ships in the new Star Wars movies are variations on ship designs from the classic trilogy. Fancy new star destroyer, fancy new X-Wing, fancy new Tie fighter, and so on.
    Unfortunately, yes.
     
    Rahul likes this.
  2. Eyemorg

    Eyemorg Ensign Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2019
    People these days need to be ENTERTAINED at FULL VOLUME. Subtlety and depth are for grandparents. Viewers are only interested in the pew pew space battles with lots of slo-mo 'splosions so they can talk about how nifty they look.

    I guess I'm old. The more I watch of TOS, the more impressed I am about the craftsmanship and creativity. Same for the old Twilight Zone. Building and lighting planets on a 60s TV budget took real work.
     
  3. Rahul

    Rahul Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2014
    I think this has more to do with Hollywood, than with the audiences - since the rise of superheroes, genre-tv as a whole had been transformed. Once a show/movie has a certain budget and is a flagship, they have to at least save the world or better the multiverse.

    I think that's a gross misunderstanding. Actual viewers just just don't want their time get wasted. 26 episodes a season where half of them were filler was doable in the 90s, where it was the only SF around. Nowadays you can't keep up with all the stuff that's beings produced every year, that's why viewers cherish stuff that gets to the point quickly.

    I guess the disconnect simply is "what the point" is. For the producers it's obviously where they spend their most amount of money - aka the big set pieces and explosions. I think they have to learn again that a good character drama, or a solution to a mystery/puzzle box/personal dilemma can be equally as effective as the grand finale, if not even more, because it's so rate these days!
     
    Longinus and Eyemorg like this.
  4. Kor

    Kor Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2001
    Location:
    My mansion on Qo'noS
    In the context of the show...
    it's supposed to be this wondrous and bizarre form of instantaneous transportation unlike anything we've ever seen before, so it makes sense to have an off-the-wall visual effect. Perhaps it is somewhat over the top, though.

    Kor
     
    Eyemorg and 1001001 like this.
  5. BK613

    BK613 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2008
    Looks like it'd be great slicing a 12"' deep dish pie. :wtf:
     
    Doctor Bombay and publiusr like this.
  6. pst

    pst Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2010
    Location:
    los angeles
    some of the discovery-verse ships were immediate hits with me, like the shenzhou and the kerala, others i've warmed up to, like the discovery herself. i think taken in isolation, the flat fleet is fairly interesting and the disco enterprise is a cool ship.

    but if you take it in the context of discovery as a prequel to TOS or look at it in comparison to the fairly contemporaneous redesign in the kelvin films, it falls apart... it's neither a believable precursor to the TOS enterprise, nor is it a successful or imaginative redesign. so what is it?
     
    In Thy Image, Rahul and saddestmoon like this.
  7. In Thy Image

    In Thy Image Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2016
    For all practical purposes it’s a reboot. I really don’t understand why they couldn’t have at least used TOS colors and shapes for the ships, to make them more familiar. If they aren’t interested in continuity why not simply admit it instead of blathering about “respecting canon” all the time.
     
    Longinus and Rahul like this.
  8. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2014
    Location:
    Journeying onwards
    Perhaps because they are more interested in the characters than strict adherence to all the visuals?

    Regardless, I can recognize Starfleet ships as such so it works for me.
     
  9. UssGlenn

    UssGlenn Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2003
    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
    The issue with the new crop of Discovery Ships is that they are too busy. The odd thing is Ships in Star Wars, on the other hand, while covered in greebles aren't busy in the same way, they are busy on the micro level. The underlying shapes of the new Discover ships are fine but have too much going on, its too busy of the macro level.
     
  10. In Thy Image

    In Thy Image Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2016
    Possibly. I think it depends on what kind of fan you are; what you’re looking for in the show. I like ships and collect technical manuals and blueprints, so recognizing something as a Starfleet ship is not enough. Somebody who is less concerned with the visual side will not be as disappointed. That turbolift scene in season 2 really annoyed me more than it should have. I’m not satisfied with the depth of worldbuilding and it sometimes takes me out of the show.
     
  11. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2014
    Location:
    Journeying onwards
    I love ships too but I was not expecting the TOS aesthetic.

    But, I agree the lift sequence was dumb. But, I am generally pleased with the world building.
     
    In Thy Image likes this.
  12. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    The Wormhole
    Even the show's art department are annoyed by Disco's turbolift roller-coaster. Mostly because Kurtzman just inserted in without consulting them, meaning even they have no idea how it's supposed to fit in within the ship.
     
  13. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2008
    Location:
    A type 13 planet in it's final stage
    I loved the Discovery Turbolift Funhouse™. The ship is hollow except for the rooms and corridors we see on the outer hull. That's why a ship with 10x the volume of the USS Enterprise only has a crew of 130.
     
    Kor and NewHeavensNewEarth like this.
  14. In Thy Image

    In Thy Image Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2016
    He’s making it harder and harder for me to like him:klingon: . I didn’t know that, can you point me to a source?
     
  15. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    The Wormhole
    A studio insider who posts on this forum shared the info with us here. And yes, this particular poster is trustworthy, he posted spoilers from the last few episodes of season 2 over a month and a half prior to when they aired which turned out accurate.
    Which, again, was not the art department's intention when they first designed the ship.
     
    In Thy Image likes this.
  16. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2008
    Location:
    A type 13 planet in it's final stage
    Things change. The domes on top and bottom of the refit and ST'09 Enterprises were meant to be sensor clusters above and below a computer core until Into Darkness repurposed them as observation windows above and below the corridor plaza at the centre of the saucer. The warp nacelles in TOS were self-contained reactors until the plot needed them to be networked engines powered by a reactor in engineering. The torpedo tube on a Klingon battle cruiser was originally supposed to be their sensor array until someone thought it would look cool for them to fire from there. Voyager was meant to have 2 computer cores and 2 warp cores until the story needed them to only have one of each.

    And so on.
     
    SolarisOne, publiusr and saddestmoon like this.
  17. In Thy Image

    In Thy Image Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2016
    Much obliged. I will check it out.
     
  18. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2010
    Location:
    publiusr
    I liked that re-purpose.
     
    F. King Daniel likes this.
  19. TIN_MAN

    TIN_MAN Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2007
    I think part of the problem is that there is just so many ways you can rearrange a saucer, some nacelles and an engineering hull, and make it look new and interesting. Most of the best designs have already been done, either by professionals or fans, and so there's not a lot left that can be done.
     
  20. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2010
    Location:
    publiusr
    I liked the FASA Decker class--but many don't

    Refit, Excelsior, Decker--all seem to be part of an evolution