Bridges have levels?

[greenmystik]

I could never really understand why all federation bridges have raised or lowered levels. What's the point?

The TOS Ent. had you walk down to get to the ops consoles and the captain had to walk down then walk up again to sit down. Why? If anything it seems more dangerous to have all these stairs and different levels to contend with during an attack.

The Ent-D bridge wasn't too bad since it sloped down.

The Ent-E suffered from the same faults as the constitution.

The Defiant didn't have this problem.

Voyager did.

NX didn't.

So why put different levels?

 

[sbk1234]

It looked good.

 

[emmymme]

it was harder to have everyone go flying forward dramatically on a flat surface? Sure they could still put a railing there, they could still grab onto/flip over that, but not as much emphasis!

Aside from the design implying more space than a flat surface would, I'm guessing it was a visual requirement for filming the bridge - in the way that an auditorium is staggered to let everyone see - it's reversed for the camera. Slight difference, but you don't want your characters blocking each other too much from the camera. It also keeps the back of the bridge looking more interesting - plausibly having the consoles higher, instead of bare framework.

(Defiant was on screen considerably less time, and was supposed to look more stealth/militant, so the level floor and obscured characters worked for it - you only really need Sisko standing out.)

 

[cardinal biggles]

NX didn't.

NX did. Archer's chair sat on a platform half a step down from the outer ring. The helm was down in the middle (three steps down) on a slightly raised platform. And that whole area in the back with the map table was a couple steps down.

 

[BigC]

Clear lines of sight.

 

[greenmystik]

NX didn't.

NX did. Archer's chair sat on a platform half a step down from the outer ring. The helm was down in the middle (three steps down) on a slightly raised platform. And that whole area in the back with the map table was a couple steps down.

Oops. Well if I woulda watched the show I would know that.

 

[greenmystik]

Clear lines of sight.

Clear lines of sight for whom. Technically the only person who would need to see the viewscreen would be the captain since everyone else has consoles that show them exactly whats going on.

 

[BigC]

Clear lines of sight.

Clear lines of sight for whom. Technically the only person who would need to see the viewscreen would be the captain since everyone else has consoles that show them exactly whats going on.

You don't look just at the main viewer. You talk and make eye contact with your staff, you are able to see seetings and readouts on other stations. In short you are looking at people not trying to look through them.

 

[Michael]

The Defiant didn't have this problem.

Same as with the NX-01. The Captain's chair was on a platform.

It looked good.

Exactly.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

The Defiant's center seat and conn were both raised up a step, with the platforms taking up a fair amount of space around them.

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/gallery/bridges1.htm

 

[Alidar Jarok]

NX didn't.

NX did. Archer's chair sat on a platform half a step down from the outer ring. The helm was down in the middle (three steps down) on a slightly raised platform. And that whole area in the back with the map table was a couple steps down.

Oops. Well if I woulda watched the show I would know that.

The NX bridge strongly mirrors the TOS bridge, just having people face forward with controls on the hand rail, rather than backwards like the original.

I kinda like the look, even if there's no real practical reason for it.

 

[greenmystik]

Clear lines of sight.

Clear lines of sight for whom. Technically the only person who would need to see the viewscreen would be the captain since everyone else has consoles that show them exactly whats going on.

You don't look just at the main viewer. You talk and make eye contact with your staff, you are able to see seetings and readouts on other stations. In short you are looking at people not trying to look through them.

But if the captain is sitting in the center seat he would not be able to see the readings that the crew is seeing. The E-D put the captain pretty far from the ops consoles for him to be able to see the readouts, and all the other stations were raised behind him. Voyager suffered from this layout as well.

Same thing with the TOS bridge. While Kirk may have been able to read the ops consoles he would have been hard pressed to see engineering or science.

 

[AlboOfBorg]

Probably so it would be easier and look better to film the actors rather than have everyone on a level field. Plus to make it look cool.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

Clear lines of sight.

..for the camera.

 

[A beaker full of death]

The Defiant didn't have this problem.

Defiant didn't have a bridge. That was a little nondescript hallway or something with no specific layout of any kind.

 

[trevanian]

Ever see the SEARCHER bridge from BUCK ROGERS? One-level, looks like it was shot in somebody's garage.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

The Defiant didn't have this problem.

Defiant didn't have a bridge. That was a little nondescript hallway or something with no specific layout of any kind.

What in the frell are you talking about? It had a standard Trek bridge. Viewscreen in front, center seat in the middle, consoles along the walls, conn up front.

 

[BigC]

The Defiant didn't have this problem.

Defiant didn't have a bridge. That was a little nondescript hallway or something with no specific layout of any kind.

What in the frell are you talking about? It had a standard Trek bridge. Viewscreen in front, center seat in the middle, consoles along the walls, conn up front.

And rumors of a bathroom.

 

[Michael]

The Defiant didn't have this problem.

Defiant didn't have a bridge. That was a little nondescript hallway or something with no specific layout of any kind.

What in the frell are you talking about? It had a standard Trek bridge. Viewscreen in front, center seat in the middle, consoles along the walls, conn up front.

Don't listen to him. The Defiant had a decent bridge.

 

[Carpe Occasio]

From a Memory Alpha entry about starship bridges which briefly discusses TNG and VOY production designer Richard James:

"...by exhaustively reexamining the dramatic requirements and technological underpinnings of the Star Trek bridge without preconceptions, James rediscovered the strengths of the basic template laid out by Matt Jefferies almost thirty years earlier."

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Bridge