Been working on a rebuild of my TOS bridge using a lot of updated material and modeling techniques. Real quick, guys. What do you think about this updated ceiling design? EDIT: Here's the last iteration below, so you can see the general improvements as well:
That's a biiiiiiig ceiling light. It's not quite how I imagine it, but it is the one area where you have complete artistic freedom.
I've always struggled with the bridge ceiling, but I try and do a different design each time I've built the bridge. This newest version is inspired by design elements of the Enterprise exterior. The "light" dome feels like it's part of the bridge dome on the exterior model of the Enterprise. This is my favorite direction thus far, but definitely may tweak it before I'm settled.
I think it works well, stylistically. It also accounts for those two episodes where we saw glimpses of the ceiling and it was flat grey!
Definitely prefer the brighter look - the second pic has my vote. But for the sake of canon, the dome really should be that bumpy stun-phaser thing seen in TAS.
I'm noticing that the images appear a lot less bright on my work computer and my phone, as opposed to my home computer. Hmm. I need to remedy this, as I definitely don't want the bridge to look overly dark. I actually want to be able to change the lighting in-game, from a brighter "normal" look as seen in most episodes, to a darker, more atmospheric look seen in other episodes. Also, what TAS thing are you talking about?
I actually tried doing a cursory search for this on TrekCore and couldn't find it right away - will need to dig deeper, but there was an episode where this big dome thing slid down out of the bridge ceiling with tiny little mini-hemispheres all over it, almost like an "inverse" golf ball. It was an automated security system that stunned any intruders trying to take unauthorized control of the bridge. Someone instead took that over and started trying to stun legitimate bridge personnel. I'm thinking it might be "Practical Joker", where the ships computer basically caught a "virus" and started acted wonky and borderline sociopathic, but I'll have to verify that. Edit: Ninja'd by @feek61. Got it confused with another episode "Beyond the Farthest Star". Human memory is such a flawed thing. Thanks very much for the confirmation!
I like that large ceiling light, it has the right look and feel to it, fits the whole design/architectural style.
I think it definitely matches the style. It fits well with the exterior dome and the refit Enterprise bubble. Though I wonder how you could set up the ceiling to match the lighting from the studio lights on the bridge.
What's the odd, protruding rib along the curved bulkhead just above the main view-screen? Looks strange to me and would love to know the thought behind it. I love the model but I can't quite wrap my head around the big white dome for a ceiling. I understand your rationale behind it but it seems awfully big and very low and seems as if it would have been visible on the show if the bridge were truly designed that way. It does solve one problem which is where the illumination for the conn and navigation/helm stations are. Given the "practical" lighting the bridge seemed to have, that middle area would have been the darkest part of the bridge while all the individual stations would have been lit from directly above. Having a large light source like this makes sense but it does look jarring to me. Nonetheless, your modeling and renderings are really stunning! Congratulations.
I don't know if you've seen these screencaps before but the dome was seen a few times. Not the center if it (except in The Cage, from outside the ship), but the rest:
I love the dome. As others have noted it's a nice mirror to the outside of the ship and definitely fits the TOS esthetic. But it does seem a little over powering.