Excelsior Technical Manual: Grand Finale

[Mres_was_framed!]

I feel like this is where I should point out, though, that at 467 meters the single crystal is actually smaller than the one on the Enterprise; if you scale the ship to 622 meters the deflection crystal and deflector dish match the Enterprise.

So, if anything maybe I should flip my explanation and say it was underpowered.

You are saying the one big crystal from the NX version is actually smaller than the one on the Enterprise? That is a surprise.

Weird question, but do you think that it and the deflector dish are a bit "greener" than the Enterprise's? I have felt that way from some shots and images. It might relate to what the function of the crystal is, if it does anything more than just "deflect"-an odd use of the word, but Probert used it that way--the energy from the intermix shaft to other parts of the ship.

 

[Praetor]

I do think that they look a bit more cyan, now that you mention it.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Which took an odd turn into the red on the Lakota for some unknown reason.

 

[B.J.]

Maybe that was part of the phaser upgrade she got, especially since there was a random-ass phaser shot from right between them, where there's no phaser blister.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wik...e)?file=USS_Lakota_fires_on_the_Defiant-3.jpg

 

[137th Gebirg]

Huh... Yeah, that makes sense, actually.

 

[Praetor]

I thought about putting phasers there but ultimately concluded it was a refit thing.

Anyway, sorry for the lack of posts the past few days. Life has been lifing, but I should have something to share later.

 

[QuinnTV]

Which took an odd turn into the red on the Lakota for some unknown reason.

Kind of like the reddish navigational deflector in TMP after leaving drydock. Low(er) power mode, perhaps?

 

[David cgc]

Kind of like the reddish navigational deflector in TMP after leaving drydock. Low(er) power mode, perhaps?

The impulse dome was also only either red or off in TMP, it wasn't seen glowing blue (or, more often, off-white) until the other movies.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I think there was also a photo out there where either the crystal or the impulse engine emitters (or both) were purple. I'm guessing the VFX team were doing some lighting effects experiments mid-filming, considering how haphazard the whole TMP filming process was at the time.

Kind of like the reddish navigational deflector in TMP after leaving drydock. Low(er) power mode, perhaps?

Perhaps, but the low power deflector in TMP seemed more amber to me than Lakota's pinkish-red but, yeah, it's possible.

 

[Praetor]

Apologies for the lack of updates, everything has been a little extra the past few days.

Not a huge update, but I do have some cleanup revisions to a number of decks to share:

I've been going on a marathon with this for a good chunk of time and it was surprising how hard it was to pick it back up after a few days "off."

You can mostly see some turboshaft changes and corridor cleanups. Next, I'm going to continue going down through the saucer cleaning up corridors and preparing to lay in rooms. When the saucer is ready I'm going to start drawing and placing quarters and filling in other rooms and equipment. I plan to study the equipment symbols used in the Enteprise-D blueprints by Mr. Sternbach for some ideas there.

Feedback always welcome. More to come!

 

[Mytran]

Apologies for the lack of updates, everything has been a little extra the past few days.

Not a huge update, but I do have some cleanup revisions to a number of decks to share:

Looking very sharp! I think the twin turboshafts on Deck 9 are a bit too close to the core, compare to Deck 8. Should they look more like this?

And yes, I have had to eliminate the two forward turbolift stations - but it's small deck, people can walk!

 

[Praetor]

@Mytran Good call, thank you. I also have to figure out what to do with combining the single turboshaft down to Deck 10, which will basically open onto a catwalk over the planetary sensor array for maintenance.

 

[Praetor]

A small update for this afternoon:

Thanks to @Mytran for catching that I hadn't updated Deck 09.

The turboshaft and corridors were still holdovers for the older version's layout. I've outright replaced it all and I think it all fits quite a bit better. This has afforded me the opportunity to determine where the portholes are, which do line up pretty well with the cargo sections. I'm struggling a little to figure out how to conceptualize viewing ports in this area. Perhaps there are small corridor-attached rooms that allow for direct observation of the planet below. I'm also considering the possibility of adding some docking ports for cargo loading here similar to how they were depicted on the refit Enterprise.

In general, I think Excelsior is probably more like NX-01 where things are hidden behind hatches and not obvious on the outer hull. It's a rationalization but I think it works.

Feedback welcome as always. More to come!

 

[The Librarian]

View ports in those steep spaces are always tricky. I know on some ships they can be angled to be useful for someone sitting, but if that doesn't seem plausible maybe they're ports for optical sensors / telescopes that are made to blend in with other windows.

@Mytran Good call, thank you. I also have to figure out what to do with combining the single turboshaft down to Deck 10, which will basically open onto a catwalk over the planetary sensor array for maintenance.

If it's just a maintenance catwalk, let the lazy bums walk down stairs, even if steep naval 'ladders'. Stick in a large enough hatch to lower down equipment in a corridor ala First Contact if that's a concern.

 

[Praetor]

Hope y'all are doing well. A quick update this morning as I give the engineering hull much-needed attention:

It's still surprising to me just how little space there is in the engineering hull on a 467 meter ship.

I have to fill in a number of pieces of equipment including the engineering computer core and the upper and lower deflector systems. These will help define compartment arrangements. There are a few compartments that don't have any purpose yet that will likely house support systems. Generally I plan for Decks 20-23 to be decks without corridors, where you walk from room to room as each deck essentially is one subdivided room. Deck 24 isn't really a deck and is a support level.

Feedback and questions always welcome. More to come!

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

It's still surprising to me just how little space there is in the engineering hull on a 467 meter ship.

My biggest issue with most StarDrive design choices was how short they were and how little volume they were allocating, especially given how large the Warp Bubble is and how much "Empty Space" is being allocated to the volume in the Warp Bubble, they can realistically have more StarDrive hull and not change the Warp Bubble Volume.

 

[Praetor]

My biggest issue with most StarDrive design choices was how short they were and how little volume they were allocating, especially given how large the Warp Bubble is and how much "Empty Space" is being allocated to the volume in the Warp Bubble, they can realistically have more StarDrive hull and not change the Warp Bubble Volume.

Agreed. It's fully a rationalizion on my part, but I have always believed the rather unique elongated shape of the Excelsior and the alternating flattened/curved surface choices had a lot to do with warp field dynamics. I'd think this was done for the purposes of transwarp trials, but ended up helping the class design be a high performer later on.

It certainly helps explain a lot of the varying odd shapes we see on starships over the years.

 

[blssdwlf]

If you think you don't have much engineering volume then you should put the refit Enterprise or original TOS Enterprise next to your layout. A 467m Excelsior has lots of space when you scale up from the Enterprise Could it be that your internal equipment is scaled too large?

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Agreed. It's fully a rationalizion on my part, but I have always believed the rather unique elongated shape of the Excelsior and the alternating flattened/curved surface choices had a lot to do with warp field dynamics. I'd think this was done for the purposes of transwarp trials, but ended up helping the class design be a high performer later on.

It certainly helps explain a lot of the varying odd shapes we see on starships over the years.

Yet the Borg gets by at Warp Speeds w/o giving a damn about Hull Shape affecting Warp Field Dynamics.

Look at their basic 3D Geometric shapes, they still manage to be faster than StarFleet ships while being larger, heavier, and more voluminous.

Something doesn't add up if the Borg manage to exceed the performance of StarFleet while being less "Warp Field Dynamic" with complicated compound curves and flats all over the place.

 

[Praetor]

If you think you don't have much engineering volume then you should put the refit Enterprise or original TOS Enterprise next to your layout. A 467m Excelsior has lots of space when you scale up from the Enterprise Could it be that your internal equipment is scaled too large?

Oh, it'll still house what I need it to house, it's mostly just the odd shape and the expansive cargo and shuttle faciltiies.. I am using a more TNG-style deflector and related systems on purpose, though.

Yet the Borg gets by at Warp Speeds w/o giving a damn about Hull Shape affecting Warp Field Dynamics.

Look at their basic 3D Geometric shapes, they still manage to be faster than StarFleet ships while being larger, heavier, and more voluminous.

Something doesn't add up if the Borg manage to exceed the performance of StarFleet while being less "Warp Field Dynamic" with complicated compound curves and flats all over the place.

I'd chalk it up to brute force versus finesse.

The Borg probably have the power for energy fields and other systems that can negate the need for streamlining and other such concerns, whereas all the other races go with a finessed approach.