Enterprise D design mistakes

[keel]

I've been reading the 1991 ST:TNG technical manual along with reviewing the 1996 Enterprise D boxed set blueprints and I've found mistakes. Let me know what you think. Also, I've only gotten in a dozen pages so far, so I'll likely find many more mistakes and I'm halfway through reviewing the blueprints.
So...
The manual says there are three structural Integrity Field generators or SIF on deck 11 and two on deck 32.
If my examination of the blueprints is accurate, there are two on deck 11 and one on deck 32. According to the manual, you need at least two SIF running at all times to protect the hull from bending, sagging, stretching and separating.
Manual says there four Inertial Damping system generators or IDF on deck 11 and two on deck 33. The IDF prevents the ship and crew from getting crushed in its massive acceleration/decelerations or sharp turns. They can get by on running just one if there’s no combat, no evasive manuevers, no high warp speeds. Similar to a vacation cruise speed.
Again, if my examination of the blueprints is accurate, there are two IDF on deck 11 and only one on deck 33.

 

[Go-Captain]

5 years is plenty of time for upgrades, and in "All Good Things..." part of the plot involves a piece of equipment which does not exist in the past but does in the future.

Are you counting all inconsistencies mistakes, what about inconsistencies between the book and plans with episodes?

 

[Tenacity]

were the blueprints and the tech manual created by the same author/artist?

that could easily explain any differences.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Those blueprints were full of oversights...lots of samey-same generic room spaces, but basic things that we saw in the show weren't covered, like the brig or transporter rooms in the stardrive section. (The first time we saw the transporter room in TNG it was in the stardrive section while the saucer section was elsewhere.)

 

[keel]

Go-Captain, no, just between these two for now. It's a lot of work to review the blueprints and it's very tiring using a magnifying glass to see things and keeping track of what's what and what's where and reading the Tech manual is going to take a long time as there's a lot of text.
Both the blueprints and Tech manual are written primarily by Rick Sternbach tho with help and advice from Mike Okuda and three others.
I've no doubt these are full of oversights and I HAVE noticed what you call 'samey-same' gadgets. They only drew one-half of each deck and then duplicated it to the other side and then either added or deleted a few devices. Mixer mentioned transporters - I've examined decks 42 through deck 15 and found only one emergency transporter so far. I'll keep you advised....

 

[B.J.]

Doesn't the tech manual have a foreword that says something about there being intentional mistakes to throw off spies? I don't have the book, but I remember someone mentioning that recently.

 

[keel]

It does mention anything about spies or mistakes other than admitting they are only human.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Maybe one set of plans was for the Galaxy and following field testing it was realised that the extra elements weren't needed so the plans were redesigned for her sister ships.

 

[Samuel]

Someone noted that Data's quarters doesn't have a head (bathroom). Of course Data wouldn't need one. But what about when Captain Picard stops by to speak with Data at length and needs to use the facilities? Does he knock on the cabin next door and say "I have to take a major pee and the android's cabin doesn't have a john!"

 

[Albertese]

Been a while since I perused the blueprints in detail, but I seem to recall some whole decks where none of the cabins have entry doors.

They're a fun product, but hardly infallible.

--Alex

 

[keel]

I noticed that too. Not just cabins but many other sections and rooms with equipment in them. No doors. Probably due to multiple people designing the blueprints and not coordinating their plans.

 

[Timo]

More like just one person doing it all and having no time for going through the thousands of rooms supposedly aboard...

The blueprints are "iconic", that is, the cabins are just small "icons" of generic design copy-pasted coarsely in place, rather than drawn in place to match the local environment. The corridors have no doorways - one is just supposed to imagine a doorway where the cabin "icon" shows one.

Furthermore, the blueprints are unfinished: there's e.g. a vast empty area at the aft of the saucer. Obviously, that's where the secret saucer warp drive goes...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Samuel]

Isn't it mentioned in the blueprints themselves that large sections of the Galaxy class interiors remained "unfinished" to allow for future expansions of facilities and installation of not yet developed equipment?

This is similar to the New Horizons space probe that went to Pluto. Seems I remember reading that its computer was built with memory far in excess of mission requirements so that they could download newer, more advanced programs into it if necessary during its 9 year trip to Pluto.

 

[Timo]

The unfortunate thing is that this empty space apparently isn't one of 'em unfinished ones, but instead the one beneath those square things that glow intense blue. One wouldn't expect the squares to be just skin deep.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Forbin]

You may also notice that the deck plans show no arboretum beneath those huge arboretum windows!
Rick Sternbach created the deck plans himself. He's on Facebook and we fans have talked with him about them.

 

[keel]

what I laughed about and also was perplexed about with the blueprints are the depiction of cetacean labs - tanks with porpoises and orcas in them, acting as sentient navigation aids. Did the authors not have enough ideas to fill the blueprints? I sure don't recall anything like that in the tv series.

 

[Timo]

It was an idea supposedly dabbled on in early production already, not something dreamt up purely for the blueprints (although "uplifted" dolphins or possible natural dolphin smarts were popular back then, including with Sternbach) - but the only bit that ever made it on screen was in TNG "Perfect Mate", where LaForge distracts the visiting Ferengi with "Have you seen the dolphins? You must see the dolphins!"...

We never learn whether those were onboard as navigators, passengers, or variety on the menu. (Or perhaps a shipboard artist had done a very good dolphin mural, or stuffed a few for art? But that sort of stuff would be covered by the holodeck, and it would only make sense for LaForge to be showing the Ferengi some real, physical dolphins.)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[David cgc]

Don't forget Probert's concept art of the dolphin tank for the original, abandoned version of Star Trek Online.

 

[QuinnTV]

Cetacean Ops was also mentioned in intercom dialog during "Yesterday's Enterprise", I believe.