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This is exciting! The intentional crashing in to the planet and establishing shields on Q'mau really made me think - yeah, 24th century ships can't do that. It really felt 32nd century here.
I hope we get the Antares-type into Star Trek Online, perhaps paired with the Credence-type for some kitbashing.
This is exciting! The intentional crashing in to the planet and establishing shields on Q'mau really made me think - yeah, 24th century ships can't do that. It really felt 32nd century here.
I hope we get the Antares-type into Star Trek Online, perhaps paired with the Credence-type for some kitbashing.
I enjoyed that. It was very cool, and much-needed starship action.
I noticed the Antares is as long as the Discovery and wider which would make it larger than a Galaxy Class starship
Maybe not by volume. Even in the 32nd century the "fat one" is tough to beat.
5x02 notes, kinda sparse, but:
- The sands of Q'mau are indeed tough to remove. It's coarse and it gets egverywhwere. Luckily the DOTs have some sort of high tech Hoover to suck it off - or maybe just remove it to an internal disintegration chamber? It's not like there looks like a bag attached to the vacuum arm.
- Fed HQ's "lower room" is seen here as a hearing room, and antechamber to Vance's office. It' s built from the previous lower deck of the Section 31 bridge set, which was originally the Shenzhou bridge set. Now they've added the corridors and multipurpose rooms to it, giving us the best look at a proper 32nd century Starfleet aesthetic. Or is it 30th? We don't yet know how the look of ships and bases have evolved during the Burn. The Comms outpost from S3 carried mostly the same look after all.
- I haven't really noticed that the ships arrayed around HQ aren't all always arranged in the same plane - some are at strange angles to each other. And do they still need to be connected by those energy conduits? Are they refueling or something?
- With the advent of the combadge-mounted PADD displays, everyone has evolved to do their work pretty much anywhere on the ship they want to. Culber does pirate research in Sickbay, and communications is done in Engineering, whereas previously they'd have had a lab, or private office or something. Tilly and co. still use the old science lab though. Remote work really is a thing in this future!
-The Promelians!! And in "Booby Trap", it's the Menthars who defeated them with an energy-dampening field. Once can't help but wonder if one thing informed the other.
- The Promelian statue head definitley looks like the guy we say in "Booby Trap", except for the additional eyes. I wonder if they made a deliberate choice here to have four (from which to launch the definitely-not-recalling-Arsenal-of-Freedom drones), since a later statue also has four eyes. Or was the Promelian Captain we saw an outlier?
- Where are the weapons stored? Are they in a transporter buffer device, or are they replicated? In the "Elite Force" games, the Hazard Team had a portable transporter buffer in which they could store their weapons. If they are replicated, does it mean the replicator charges the phaser with the energy needed to stun / blast / disintegrate a target? It's no small amount.
- I used to complain that when they used the fancy transparent LED display screens in the first few seasons, the text was always oriented so that people were on the wrong side and reading text backwards. I've noticed now that they've graduated to CG effects, there's still backwards text that everyone still has no problem reading regardless of orientation.
- The Promelian statue head definitley looks like the guy we say in "Booby Trap", except for the additional eyes. I wonder if they made a deliberate choice here to have four (from which to launch the definitely-not-recalling-Arsenal-of-Freedom drones), since a later statue also has four eyes. Or was the Promelian Captain we saw an outlier?
I used to complain that when they used the fancy transparent LED display screens in the first few seasons, the text was always oriented so that people were on the wrong side and reading text backwards. I've noticed now that they've graduated to CG effects, there's still backwards text that everyone still has no problem reading regardless of orientation.
I mean, just this year we've been gifted with concept laptops with transparent screens. I still can't fathom a practical use case for this tech on a laptop - you WANT to focus your attention on the content, not what's behind it.
Conversely, in a Mobile Suit cockpit as above (or really any cockpit), you'd want to be able to see what's behind it so you can keep your environmental awareness, so that makes sense. Most MS cockpits of this type of design are really just big curved screens though, so it's not like it's really transparent anyway.
- Where are the weapons stored? Are they in a transporter buffer device, or are they replicated? In the "Elite Force" games, the Hazard Team had a portable transporter buffer in which they could store their weapons. If they are replicated, does it mean the replicator charges the phaser with the energy needed to stun / blast / disintegrate a target? It's no small amount.
I mean, just this year we've been gifted with concept laptops with transparent screens. I still can't fathom a practical use case for this tech on a laptop - you WANT to focus your attention on the content, not what's behind it.
Conversely, in a Mobile Suit cockpit as above (or really any cockpit), you'd want to be able to see what's behind it so you can keep your environmental awareness, so that makes sense. Most MS cockpits of this type of design are really just big curved screens though, so it's not like it's really transparent anyway.
Transparent Screens are really only useful IMO as AR (Augmented Reality) View Ports for devices.
Let's say you have a Tricorder, you use the form of a advanced "Handicam" and have it visualize the environment and use AR to draw over the active environment to show details about objects like where is ___ radiation coming from, where is the EM signature coming out of, etc.
- With the advent of the combadge-mounted PADD displays, everyone has evolved to do their work pretty much anywhere on the ship they want to. Culber does pirate research in Sickbay, and communications is done in Engineering, whereas previously they'd have had a lab, or private office or something. Tilly and co. still use the old science lab though. Remote work really is a thing in this future!
I have to admit, one of the things I don't like about the 32nd century setting is how much of the advanced technology is practically like magic. I think advancement is a good thing, but it has to be done practically (if that makes some degree of sense ). I have issues with a lot of the future Fed ships for the same reasons, because I can't understand some of the engineering behind a design with nacelles and a saucer that just floats detached from the rest of the ship. It certainly looks interesting visually, but I'm not sure I'd say it's visually good. YMMV of course.
I have to admit, one of the things I don't like about the 32nd century setting is how much of the advanced technology is practically like magic. I think advancement is a good thing, but it has to be done practically (if that makes some degree of sense ). I have issues with a lot of the future Fed ships for the same reasons, because I can't understand some of the engineering behind a design with nacelles and a saucer that just floats detached from the rest of the ship. It certainly looks interesting visually, but I'm not sure I'd say it's visually good. YMMV of course.
The major thing that is "Magic Like" is Programmable Matter, that baffles me more than (Replicators / Transporters / Warp Drive / Matter|Anti-matter Reactors / Subspace Comms).
I understand the fundamental principles are similar to Catoms / Claytronics, but to get matter to work similar to complex modern objects that are made of many different materials and to work well, is insane.
Everything else, that is properly made of materials that aren't transformable is pretty normal, just the matter of construction is different.
I'd have a easier time of believing that everybody has access to a portable transporter / replicator node that connects to the main Replicator on the Ship or StarBase and beams the object into your hands.
Go-Busters have a shoulder mounted rig that transports their weapons / gear to them when needed, it's super convenient.
As for seperated parts flying together, that does make sense in that you don't have weak necks / arms to worry about, it's also less mass to move about, so you just need more independent Anti-Grav drives & impulse drives mounted to each part.
That means you're making extra computer systems, sensors, shields etc in each component (Saucer, StarDrive, Warp Nacelles).
There are PRO(s)/CON(s) to using that fundamental doctrinal change in StarShip design.
PRO(s)
1) BattleField Quick Replacement is as easy as a spare Saucer/StarDrive/Warp Nacelle is brought in by a transport/logistics tug. Assuming you don't lose your crew and do emergency beam out to the other sections when one section is about to get destroyed and somebody brings in a replacement section very quickly.
2) Computer Aided Synchronized flying along with SIF (Structural Integrity Fields) for holding units in fixed relative space to each other would allow each component to operate together easily enough with 24th century tech.
3) Less structural mass by eliminating the Connecting Neck/Pylons along with eliminating fundamental weak points.
4) Discovery only needs to reconnect the Warp Nacelles when going to Warp or Spore Jumping, for obvious reasons.
- 4A) You need a constant supply of ElectroPlasma to operate Warp Drive
- 4B) You don't want to lose your Warp Nacelles when traveling through the Mycelial Network, that would suck if you popped out and lost your Warp Nacelles in the Mycelial Network, they could be stuck in there or pop out thousands of light years away. You'd be in major trouble.
5) Floating Warp Nacelles can also be achieved in the 24th/25th century by having Small Warp Reactors in each Nacelle feeding the Warp Coils
- 5A) Given modern Shrinkage of Warp Cores, especially the Defiant Class being the first to popularize it, I could see modern StarShips getting their own small amount of Warp Cores with automated computer management of the core.
Small Deuterium/Anti-Deuterium stores for a few hours worth of flying, nothing more.
Main Storage could still be on the StarDrive/Saucer sections and beamed over or manually transported over when linked.
Modern Aircraft Engines are all FADEC (Full Authority Digital Electronics/Engine Control) based.
I could see Warp Nacelles with integral Warp cores powering each independent Nacelle while each Saucer/Star Drive section has their own dedicated reactors.
Distributed Power Sources allows for stronger independent section operation along with more Offensive/Defensive energy per section due to independent reactors.
6) You gain more STL manueverability by not having to move the full ships mass, you can move each part with similar size impulse units that will allow for superior acceleration since you're only moving a significant smaller fraction of the ship.
Impulse Drives for linear acceleration forward & Anti-Grav or Gravimetric like Drives for Omni-Directional Acceleration (I'm looking at Borg Vessels & wondering how they are so manueverable w/o any form of Impulse). They must be using a similar form of STL Drive to the Gravimetric Drive from Babylon 5.
CON(s):
1) More complicated networked computer systems, makes designing a StarShip more of a PitA (Pain in the Arse).
2) Remote Hacking issues, you need computer security to be much higher due to all the remote communications needed to maintain synchronized flight.
3) Maintenance is higher due to all the extra hardware that is replicated across all sections of the ship, luckily you have helper droids to help with fixing
4) Looks kinda goofy and impractical, no matter the justification, compared to what’s come before. YMMV.
We’ve seen such things before - some of the Ancient races of Babylon 5 had this, for one.
make we know there are limits to this tech, as Discovery docks her nacelles at warp and when sporing around, where anyone if the other ships in the era need to do this that we can see. Even the bad guys’ ship and Book’s ship aren’t so encumbered.
4) Looks kinda goofy and impractical, no matter the justification, compared to what’s come before. YMMV.
We’ve seen such things before - some of the Ancient races of Babylon 5 had this, for one.
make we know there are limits to this tech, as Discovery docks her nacelles at warp and when sporing around, where anyone if the other ships in the era need to do this that we can see. Even the bad guys’ ship and Book’s ship aren’t so encumbered.
It must be the limits of upgrading the USS Discovery, they can't make it fully detached due to the nature of the ships skeleton / base design.
So they must have used a earlier detached (design style / configuration) where it only detaches for STL and must re-attach for FTL due to the power feeds.
You get most of the benefits and it's simpler to retrofit into older tech w/o having to create full redundancies of parts.
Some of the 31st Century Pre-Burn ships still have Warp Nacelle Pylons attached to their Warp Nacelles, so not everything moved forward to the fully detached design.
Yeah, whether it’s deliberate or not compared to the other ships, it’s a nice detail.
I’m on a similar take though that the tech we see here is almost TOO advanced, to the point where it may as well be indistinguishable from magic. Sure, it’s been 900 years, and familiar elements have their analogs, but very little of it is properly explained where many fans (myself included) feel there should be more explanation. It’s kinda like there was no real explanation in 1966 of what a phaser was or did, other than it was a magical space gun that could stun, kill, disintegrate, overload, power stuff, and heat rocks. Fandom and later productions eventually filled this in to the point that we’re comfy.
32nd century Trek will eventually get to this point too (or I hope it will, if the upcoming Academy series takes place in this era), but right now a lot of it is just THERE without much explanation or comparison to what’s come before? Is programmable matter really better than a replicator? What does a pathway drive do? Right now it’s hand wave technology, which may change, or it may get into the same category how a sonic screwdriver works - it just does . This may be good enough for lots of fans, but not tech nerds like us…
Yeah, B5 did have a habit of making the First Ones mysterious (often conveniently, for some plots ), but generally did so in a very consistent way that gave those races a distinctive feel. For example, the Vorlons were established to be several million years older than humanity and younger races, to be energy beings in their natural state who used encounter suits to disguise themselves (but who would often be perceived as angelic beings by other races if not in the suit, due to genetic manipulation), and to have living ships and technology that formed a symbiosis with them. Beyond that, the series doesn't go into many specifics although some of the non-canon materials (like the B5 RPG) go into more detail about the Vorlon culture.
We hardly learn anything about the other First Ones, but that works within the context of the overall series and the way the arcs were written. Lorien, the very first First One, was shown to appear in several forms (his humanoid form he used with other races and an energy cloud form) as well as a unique ship that Sheridan returned to B5 with, after Lorien saved him from Zha'ha'dum. It's been speculated by some fans that this ship was possibly another form of Lorien and not a normal ship at all.
And for all their strengths, the First Ones did have limitations. The Vorlons created the telepathy gene in the younger races as a weapon against the Shadows, who used telepaths as living cores for their warships (and apparently normal beings as well, but it's inferred telepaths provided a better interface). The younger races were able to occasionally destroy or damage Shadow and Vorlon vessels, even without having access to the more advanced designs like the White Stars.
Yeah, B5 did have a habit of making the First Ones mysterious (often conveniently, for some plots ), but generally did so in a very consistent way that gave those races a distinctive feel. For example, the Vorlons were established to be several million years older than humanity and younger races, to be energy beings in their natural state who used encounter suits to disguise themselves (but who would often be perceived as angelic beings by other races if not in the suit, due to genetic manipulation), and to have living ships and technology that formed a symbiosis with them. Beyond that, the series doesn't go into many specifics although some of the non-canon materials (like the B5 RPG) go into more detail about the Vorlon culture.
We hardly learn anything about the other First Ones, but that works within the context of the overall series and the way the arcs were written. Lorien, the very first First One, was shown to appear in several forms (his humanoid form he used with other races and an energy cloud form) as well as a unique ship that Sheridan returned to B5 with, after Lorien saved him from Zha'ha'dum. It's been speculated by some fans that this ship was possibly another form of Lorien and not a normal ship at all.
And for all their strengths, the First Ones did have limitations. The Vorlons created the telepathy gene in the younger races as a weapon against the Shadows, who used telepaths as living cores for their warships (and apparently normal beings as well, but it's inferred telepaths provided a better interface). The younger races were able to occasionally destroy or damage Shadow and Vorlon vessels, even without having access to the more advanced designs like the White Stars.
It makes you wonder, is Telepathy a "Universal Language", or do the words that appear in your head sound identical to the language you grew up learning and to foreign language speakers, especially of a alien variety will hear strange languages in their head?
It could vary. In one TOS episode a Godlike-alien-of-the-week communicated telepathically with the crew, who all heard it in their native languages. It may not be universal though.
The Melkotians may not have been on the same level as Q or the Organians, but their ability to manipulate minds, matter and energy made humanoids look like monkeys sitting around, throwing their own shit at each other.
I have to admit, one of the things I don't like about the 32nd century setting is how much of the advanced technology is practically like magic. I think advancement is a good thing, but it has to be done practically (if that makes some degree of sense ). I have issues with a lot of the future Fed ships for the same reasons, because I can't understand some of the engineering behind a design with nacelles and a saucer that just floats detached from the rest of the ship. It certainly looks interesting visually, but I'm not sure I'd say it's visually good. YMMV of course.
Understandable, but my view is the opposite— I love the nutso technology they have at their fingertips now, up to and including falling right through the viewscreen, derezzing the armor and landing in the captain’s chair. It’s crazy, but glorious — Kirk would wish he could get to do that!
). I have issues with a lot of the future Fed ships for the same reasons, because I can't understand some of the engineering behind a design with nacelles and a saucer that just floats detached from the rest of the ship. It certainly looks interesting visually, but I'm not sure I'd say it's visually good. YMMV of course. 
