VRML TOS Enterprise

[BrookeStephen]

I'm using the Franz Joseph deckplans, Michael McMaster's bridge plans, film set photos and of course the episodes, to find enough material to actually build a life-sized TOS Enterprise in Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML).

The advantages of VRML for this project are multiple:
- provide user interface to move about the architected space in real time
- provide access to all sightlines within the achitected space at any time
- provide 3d anaglyph output in real time
- enable ECMAScript (aka JavaScript) animation of elements
- enable Java wrapping of the renderer to make games

I wanted to have the opportunity to discuss my magnum opus with you, the most knowledgable Trek group on the Interweb.

I'm hoping to show you stills and videos - regular and 3d anaglyphs - showing my progress. The videos are on YouTube where you can find me as BrookeStephen.

Please understand that I've been working on this project - on and off - for several years. I've learned incredible lessons in creating 3d architectures and animating them, but I haven't published the VRML files anywhere. Just in case you want to ask me for them - they're not available.

I have learned so much, and I want to share my skills and knowledge as well as my project with you. If you want to learn how to do this - build your OWN ships - I can help. If you can already program in VB or VBA then I can help you even more! Please believe me when I say that you can build your own ship in a lot less time than it took me and I can show you how.

Nothing would make me happier than to inspire some of you to build your own VRML projects!

Let's take Trek to the next level.

 

[TIN_MAN]

I'm ready, almost, got my 3D glasses from Amazon, should be here in a couple of days, Woo-Hoo!

 

[BrookeStephen]

So here's the first post.


This is an anaglyph - 3d graphic - requiring Red/Blue glasses.
At least I'm pretty sure Red/Cyan won't work,
and I'm absolutely sure that the polarized 3d glasses won't work.

The free VRML rendering software (plug-in) that I downloaded, Bitmanagement Contact, provides the option to walk around in the VRML scenes I build in anaglyph mode.

 

[BrookeStephen]

Here's the Briefing Room - getcher glasses ma!

 

[BrookeStephen]

 

[FalTorPan]

BrookeStephen, I've been a follower of your VRML sci-fi work since I stumbled across some of your videos on YouTube. It's fun to imagine being aboard the "real" Enterprise. We can debate all we want about how "accurate" Franz Joseph's exterior and interior schematics are, but one thing that can't be denied is the depth to which his blueprints inspired so many people's imaginations. The TV series offered us tantalizing glimpses of life aboard the "Big E," but FJ's drawings showed us the whole ship. Your VRML renderings help to take that to the next level, and I thank you for that. Keep up the great work!

One question about your turbolift user interface. What design did you come up with?

 

[BrookeStephen]

- turbolift user interface. What design did you come up with?

Thank you FalTorPan!
Here's a pic of the menu system I built which you can see on YouTube in a video in which I actually take the turbolift from the bridge to primary engineering:



It's basically a javascript drop-down menu system that appears inside the turbolift when you click on the handles that look like dust-busters!

In the video, you can see out the "window" of the turbolift as the ship passes by, as the turbolift itself spins 180 degrees, drops 6 decks and then heads aft. The doors didn't open at the end of the trip - still not sure how to handle this in javascript!

I figured that this menu idea was the best option.

Thanks again for your interest and your compliments!

 

[BrookeStephen]

Maybe you can help me out with something - I have no idea why this particular YouTube video of mine is the most widely viewed of the lot.

It's been viewed over 600 times in the last month, and it's the lowest quality video I've made!!!

At just over 6,500 views, it's been viewed almost twice as much as any of my other videos.

I just wondered if you might give me some hints as to how to make more videos that are equally or more appealing when compared to this one.

You can see it here:

 

[FalTorPan]

Good question. My favorite videos are probably the engine room walkabout and the turbolift trip from the bridge to the engine room.

Off-topic, I see that you're also working on a VRML representation of the Millennium Falcon. Are you basing your work on Robert Brown's long-defunct "Ship of Riddles" site?

 

[BrookeStephen]

Good question. My favorite videos are probably the engine room walkabout and the turbolift trip from the bridge to the engine room.

Off-topic, I see that you're also working on a VRML representation of the Millennium Falcon. Are you basing your work on Robert Brown's long-defunct "Ship of Riddles" site?

Absolutely!
So you know the site - there's a guy with a blog supposed to be making a physical life-sized model of the Falcon and he resurrected the "Ship of Riddles" site, coincidentally just when I was looking for deckplans.

WHAT A MESS!!!
Shame George Lucas' team didn't really care to make the inside and outside fit together.

I'm working on it - still not working yet - I recently found a resolution that fits some more of it together without any nasty work-arounds. All I had to do was build it in VRML and walk around in it for a while.

 

[TIN_MAN]

Maybe you can help me out with something - I have no idea why this particular YouTube video of mine is the most widely viewed of the lot.

It's been viewed over 600 times in the last month, and it's the lowest quality video I've made!!!

At just over 6,500 views, it's been viewed almost twice as much as any of my other videos.

I just wondered if you might give me some hints as to how to make more videos that are equally or more appealing when compared to this one.

You can see it here:

My two quatloos worth is that this simply offers more bang for the buck, being such a large overview an all?

 

[BrookeStephen]

My two quatloos worth is that this simply offers more bang for the buck, being such a large overview an all?

Quatloos! Who said trekkers aren't funny!! (Wasn't me)
I guess you're right - this does have the larger view save for the one that's next in views and rapidly catching up.

Hey - this is my 50th post - WOO-HOO!

 

[BrookeStephen]

Ok - so the transporter areas - Tin Man caught me on another thread trying to miss details from the Franz Joseph Designs deckplans.

GUILTY!

Here's the evidence against me: some of it is circumstantial... ;^)



The FJ port deckplan is on the left, my VRML model (port) in the middle, FJ stbd deckplan on the right. I guess I just assumed that the port and stbd sides were the same. OOPSY!!!

You can clearly see that the corridor running between the adjacent transporter rooms on the port side should be extended through the first ring of cargo holds - unlike the same corridor on the starboard side, which is truncated.

Now about the pocket doors to the machinery beside each transporter...

You can't see them in the diagrams above, because they're not there!
The pocket doors do show up in the Starfleet Technical Manual on the Transporter page:


where you can clearly see the pocket doors to the machinery, and the corridor that I missed (above).

Sorry!

 

[BrookeStephen]

Tin Man's original note was about the partition screens and the machinery pocket doors as in this overhead of the transporter 1 platform:



I still need better transporter partition screen graphics than I have:



If you know where I can get better art for this PLEASE let me know!

 

[BrookeStephen]

There are several different screen partition panels (whatever they're called!) on the transporter as you can see in this pic:



And I know - it's not finished - needs rims around the pads and that thingy that joins to the wall near the bottom left.

 

[TIN_MAN]

You can clearly see that the corridor running between the adjacent transporter rooms on the port side should be extended through the first ring of cargo holds - unlike the same corridor on the starboard side, which is truncated.

Yeah, the stbd side is fine as FJ had it, but the portside was probably intended to look more like what we saw onscreen, with the pocket door behind the 'A' frame? This is where you could tweak the plans a bit and maybe move the door closer to the 'A' frame (assuming your going w/the 'A' frame style 'default' door?), of course you'd have to be careful to leave enough room in the corner/edge of the cargo hold for the isolation door and the cargo hold door?

 

[TIN_MAN]

Tin Man's original note was about the partition screens and the machinery pocket doors as in this overhead of the transporter 1 platform:

You can see in the pics above that FJ intended his protective barrier (the partition screens) to be behind the wall bisecting the platform, not strickly screen accurate, but it does fit in with his 'expanded' archetecture.

 

[BrookeStephen]

You can see in the pic above that FJ intended his protective barrier (the partition screens) to be behind the wall bisecting the platform, not strickly screen accurate, but it does fit in with his 'expanded' archetecture.

Ya know I eventually figured that you might mean that... never occurred to me before... I just took the film stage set as canon without even thinking!

"Well that's me all over..." the Scarecrow.

 

[FalTorPan]

BrookeStephen, would you care to share a few renderings of some of the rooms that weren't featured on the TV show, like the emergency bridges, FJ's engineering hull engine room, and maybe a visicom? Thanks!

 

[TIN_MAN]

Oooh! visicoms!