Donny's Late TNG Era Interiors

Lt. Washburn said:

Is it correct the bridge has two replicators and two plaques?

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Donny said:

Replicators have been installed! And on a non-Tuesday, I might add



The bottom group of graphics I had to do a "best guess" of since we never get a clear look at them. I am also unsure of what the graphic's text is, so I went with the "random numbers" and "first two letters of the first name and first three of the last name of an actor on the show" motif that most of the LCARS graphics follow, but I'm dying to know that if the replicator graphic's text read something more fitting for a replicator. The best look we get is this low-res image from the captain's chair CD-ROM, below:
(Note that the color of the graphics in the image below is heavily compressed, explaining the difference between the colors depicted on-screen)

Can't make out the text next to the long rectangular blocks in the upper left corner is. @JoeRalat, do you happen to have the vector files for the bridge replicator graphics used in FC/INS? (NOT the Nemesis graphic, which was completely different)

I'll be adding some functionality to the replicators later, after I model some dinnerware meshes and learn to use Unreal's Niagara FX system. But for now, I finally turn my attention to the animated LCARS monitors, and then, the MSD graphic which I'm severely dreading!

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Donny said:

Yep. In all three films. I can forgive the two replicators, but It seems weird to have two dedication plaques.

I

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Donny said:

Yep. In all three films. I can forgive the two replicators, but It seems weird to have two dedication plaques.

I wanted to go ahead and generate a "holographic" viewscreen for the First Contact version of the bridge while I had some spare time after creating the replicators tonight. I actually like how it turned out better than I thought it would (although I still prefer the traditional viewscreen seen in INS and NEM). Here are the results:


In-game, the left and right orange strips have a linear panning texture over them to give them the slight movement they had in the film.

In 3D space, the viewscreen has to curve slightly so that the top and bottom edges meet with the orange "holographic emitters" on the floor and ceiling (which are neither directly above/below each other, and have a curvature to them). In the film, the holographic viewscreen is depicted as a flat plane, but due to the fact we only see it from a straight-on angle, they got away with that. Taking this revelation into consideration, it is probably why they chose to opt for a traditional viewer for the next films, as it was more difficult to pull this effect off at the time if they wanted to show the screen (which would then have to appear curved) from other angles.

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JoeRalat said:

The Enterprise-B also had two plaques.

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JoeRalat said:

The file has a few different versions..(For the other replicators) here is the one in the photo. Also added the nemesis version photo for anyone who wants it for reference. I think the bottom number padd is the silk screened of the number padd and not a backlit. It doesn't go off when the borg try to take over the ship. I added the number padd too. (Click on the images for a larger version)

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David cgc said:

I'm guessing the lack of the "drop shadow" behind the screen is an Unreal pre-calculated lighting limitation thing, like the red alert lighting before?



Still better than TUC putting the Enterprise-A's plaque on the ceiling.

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Maurice said:

IIRC the letters from names are not mostly from the cast they were quite often from the crew.

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Donny said:

Hey, thanks, @JoeRalat! This will help a lot.


You know, I forgot to do a lighting compile after I added the screen, forgetting momentarily that holograms in Star Trek do cast shadows . As far as the pre-calculated lighting limitations, yes, that's still in play here, as my lighting in these scenes is pre-compiled. I am going to inject some dynamic lighting into the scene towards the end of my work on the bridge, which will be much more feasible in this area given its smaller size, compared to the corridors where dynamic lighting on a massive scale would've been an issue.

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David cgc said:

I'm guessing the lack of the "drop shadow" behind the screen is an Unreal pre-calculated lighting limitation thing, like the red alert lighting before?



Still better than TUC putting the Enterprise-A's plaque on the ceiling.

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1. The first is to replicate how they appear on-screen, as actual CRT monitors, scan-lines and all. This requires modeling a curved monitor mesh and setting it just behind the console surface. The single advantage of this approach is that it replicates closely how they appeared in the films; a more "movie set" approach that I employed on my unfinished TUC Enterprise-A bridge. There are a few disadvantages to this, mainly their inset, curved nature breaking the alignment of the LCARS bars with the brushed gold detailing from most angles.
   
2. The second is take a more in-universe approach, and depict them as they were intended, as a flat, unified part of the rest of the consoles. There are more advantages to this than the CRT route. First, it looks cleaner, neater, and harmonized with the rest of graphics. Second, it looks more “state-of-the-art” for the 2370s. Third, it keeps the LCARS side bars of these displays aligned with the brushed-gold design from any angle, also as obviously intended.

Lt. Washburn said:

Well, ideally both. But if one, CRTs.

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