Starship design history in light of Discovery

[Isaac Lawrence]

Okay, so lotsa people find them ugly. Let's move on.

I'm stoked about getting more details about the ships and their classes in the upcoming 2nd edition Star Trek: Shipyards book.
And on having them as Eaglemoss models. When I'm swooshing around thru the house, the Courage class will fly the right way round, that's STO been telt!

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that Star Trek: Shipyards book too.

I've never been that big into the ships of Star Trek. I liked them well enough, but they looked like "Star Trek" to me, so it was nothing wild and new, they all looked how I expected them to look. These new designs though I like so much that I'm kind of into the ships now; these 32nd century ones, at least.

I know no one's ever going to make one, but I wanted a huge, insanely expensive model of Cleveland Booker's ship. I like how it can disassemble in mid-flight. I guess that's 32nd century technology right there.

It's like magic. Or the third law: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

No, with the new Shipyards book at least we can get a good look at everything. And I'm tempted to try and build a Maathai, and maybe an Annan, because it's named after Kofi Annan (and I think it looks cool). And I'm talking a large, studio-scale model, like the Shenzou that Anovos did... Because if no one will make one, and no one probably will, then I'll have to make it myself. And do I know how to do that? No, I do not, but I will learn. (And I'll give an update in a couple years.)

The Annan should be fairly easy, but the Maathai may be a bit more of a challenge.

The Maathai being a "flying rainforest" is aptly named too...

USS Maathai – Angelou Class

The ship is named for Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement. The class is named for the late poet Maya Angelou.

One thing with the designs as well... when you jump 1000 years into the future, and if you do it too familiar, then you get criticism from some for it not looking all that different. And if you get too imaginative, then you get criticism from others that it's too wild. Of course, I think what they came up with is appropriately wild, it's wild enough.

Because who knows what the 32nd century will look like? I always joke that everything will be made of light and sound or something. So we can't comprehend it now anyway.

 

[yotsuya]

I scanned through this topic and I don't have much to add. While I generally like most of the designs (I love the Walker class - love it), I don't think they fit with the NX or Constitution Class or where Star Trek has been with their ship designs. I think Eaves has some great ideas that would make good candidates to fill in the time between the NX and Constitution Class, but none of these designs feels contemporary with any version of the Constitution Class. I just don't get the same feeling from any of these (except the Walker Class) that I do with so many of the classic series designs. And I really don't like the Klingon ships before the reverted to a more normal looking D-7.

As for the future designs... I have not seen season 3 so I shouldn't comment, but I don't care for them. I like how they have experimented with some new shapes, but there is nothing eye catching.

So overall the ship designs in Discovery just seem lacking to me. Probably a case of too many designs in too short a time. They feel more like the Kitbash fleet than the more carefully crafted and deliberate designs that often catch the eye and make me want the model of it.

 

[cooleddie74]

Fuller's edict that warp nacelles had to look a certain way didn't help matters because that threw 50 years of TOS, TAS, TOS-Remastered and ENT design lineage largely into question and changed things a little too radically.

 

[fireproof78]

I mean, it's supposed to be a large scale interstellar power. Different nacelles don't cause me to question any thing. That's a ridiculous assumption that comes from way to many kitbashes over the years, and cut and pasting nacelles and saucers in to different configurations, rather than recognizing that maybe different shipyards build in different formats and structures rather than a cookie cutter approach.

 

[Dukhat]

I’ve never had a particular problem with season 1’s DSC ships having angular nacelles. Rather, I’ve always felt that their designs would have fit better post-TUC rather than pre-TOS.

 

[cooleddie74]

A mix of both styles with more than just the Enterprise having round nacelles would have been great.

 

[Dukhat]

A mix of both styles with more than just the Enterprise having round nacelles would have been great.

Maybe they’ll rectify that in SNW.

 

[cooleddie74]

I hope. There are about 13 Constitution-class starships in service around this time so they'd have round nacelles, too.

 

[Dukhat]

I hope. There are about 13 Constitution-class starships in service around this time so they'd have round nacelles, too.

Actually, I’m hoping that not only will we see the Enterprise (and any other Constitution class ships) looking more like how it looked in TOS, but that we’ll see other Federation starships based on that design aesthetic.

 

[fireproof78]

I would imagine that is the trend.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I’m thinking somewhere along the way, SNW will see the Enterprise nearly destroyed, and subsequently rebuilt, into what we recognize as Kirk’s ship.

 

[Tuskin38]

I’ve never had a particular problem with season 1’s DSC ships having angular nacelles. Rather, I’ve always felt that their designs would have fit better post-TUC rather than pre-TOS.

They always felt Post-Connie but Pre-TMP Era to me. Since they still had the TOS style bussard collectors.

 

[fireproof78]

I mean, the TMP style came from somewhere.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

he Courage class will fly the right way round,

The Courage Class is an interesting one. As @Tuskin38 mentioned, we see it flying in both directions in the finale. During the battle with Osyraa at Fed HQ, we see it flying fore first but then during the shot of the fleet pursuing Discovery at warp it's flying aft first. It got me wondering if the Courage flying backwards at warp wasn't an animation error but was intentional, and supposed to depict the ship as somewhat decentralised. Perhaps it can fly starboard or port first as well.

I’m thinking somewhere along the way, SNW will see the Enterprise nearly destroyed, and subsequently rebuilt, into what we recognize as Kirk’s ship.

Maybe Pike will run into the Prime universe version of Krall.

 

[Kzinti]

I’m thinking somewhere along the way, SNW will see the Enterprise nearly destroyed, and subsequently rebuilt, into what we recognize as Kirk’s ship.

i hope not that would be one way to fuck up the show for me let that old design stay in 1966

 

[Dukhat]

i hope not that would be one way to fuck up the show for me let that old design stay in 1966

A ship design has never ‘fucked up’ a show. A show gets ‘fucked up’ by being written poorly or having bad acting. And even then, if the show lasts long enough, those things tend to go away.

 

[cooleddie74]

The 1966 Enterprise design with more surface texturing won't ruin anyone's day. It exists in this time period. If it reappears at some point good.

 

[137th Gebirg]

ENT's "In A Mirror, Darkly" proved that that particular design can hold its own in the modern age, both technically and visually.

 

[fireproof78]

Yeah. Everyone knows the NX-01 would be accepted if the writing was good.

 

[cooleddie74]

ENT's "In A Mirror, Darkly" proved that that particular design can hold its own in the modern age, both technically and visually.

Every bit of this.