Modern Writers & TOS Technology
- Thread starter Smellincoffee
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BolianAuthor, if you really want your argument to be convincing, then you need to write all your subsequent posts on this topic on a PDA and hand-deliver them personally to every one of us.
^
Thanks for that reply, Christopher... I now have the proof I need that you are harassing me, and the Mods are aware of it. I also have a screenshot of that post, for the sake of record keeping. I have suggested that you put me on ignore if you don't like what I have to say. I again offer that suggestion.
Thanks for that reply, Christopher... I now have the proof I need that you are harassing me, and the Mods are aware of it. I also have a screenshot of that post, for the sake of record keeping. I have suggested that you put me on ignore if you don't like what I have to say. I again offer that suggestion.
Exactly, I think this sums up the point I was trying to make perfectly.
BolianAuthor, Christopher's post was actually quite amusing in context but you seem to have it in for him, so whatever.
The fact of the matter is this, whether you personally believe it or not, it would look suspicious to see padds or clipboards passed around during an enemy confrontation. All mundane ship's business like signing reports or what have you would be suspended until the situation had been resolved, so nothing could distract the captain from saving the ship and the people on board. Since the ship has a messaging system that for all intents and purposes is covert, it makes sense to utilize it when the situation calls for it. Nods and subtle gestures could (though might not necessarily) be picked up by the enemy but what looks like accessing information is something the enemy is probably doing too. Hell, the enemy could also be tapping out a message that says "prepare to fire, catch them by surprise."
We all write differently and that's good, and we use whatever plot devices we feel are necessary to move the story forward.
There's no need to be combative.
It takes two to have an argument.
The fact of the matter is this, whether you personally believe it or not, it would look suspicious to see padds or clipboards passed around during an enemy confrontation. All mundane ship's business like signing reports or what have you would be suspended until the situation had been resolved, so nothing could distract the captain from saving the ship and the people on board. Since the ship has a messaging system that for all intents and purposes is covert, it makes sense to utilize it when the situation calls for it. Nods and subtle gestures could (though might not necessarily) be picked up by the enemy but what looks like accessing information is something the enemy is probably doing too. Hell, the enemy could also be tapping out a message that says "prepare to fire, catch them by surprise."
We all write differently and that's good, and we use whatever plot devices we feel are necessary to move the story forward.
There's no need to be combative.
It takes two to have an argument.
We could really go back and forth beating this over the head, but that would only serve to drag this out even longer. I have explained my POV, and you have all explained yours. Let us just agree to disagree, that we have different ways we'd approach this, huh? If you all wanna keep this going, fair be it, but I'm not going to further annoy the Mods by keeping this fire going. I've said what I came to say, and that's it, for my part.
Actually the reverse, but whatever you want to believe.
Does anyone remember when this was a thread about TOS technology instead of NEM technology? Anyone want to get back to the actual topic?
One aspect of Trek tech that's always seemed too limited to me was the use of the viewscreen as nothing more than a picture window. I always felt it should have status displays, sensor readouts, holographic overlays, picture-in-picture insets, etc. rather than just a bare image. We did occasionally get glimpses of more; "The Lights of Zetar" depicted a nifty tactical plot of the "storm" approaching Memory Alpha, which still holds up pretty well today, and TWOK had its occasional uses of tactical projections. But for some reason, TNG never picked up on that and just settled for the picture window.
Back in college, when I was trying to develop my original SF universe to be more, well, original but was still somewhat rooted in Trek concepts, I put a lot of thought into developing an exploratory starship and figuring out how it would work. And I imagined its bridge having an actual transparent wall in the front, upon which screen images and readouts and other graphics could be projected. That was over 20 years ago. And then, last year, Abrams's movie came along and portrayed the Enterprise viewscreen in pretty much the same way as what I thought up way back when (except in my version, the projected comm signals weren't translucent and weirdly distorted).
I'm not sure, but I think there may have been one or two works of my Trek fiction where I've just gone ahead and assumed the viewscreen had a broader display capability than is usually shown. I am fairly certain I took advantage of the opportunity to make use of the more complex viewscreen/window of the Abramsprise in the unpublished Seek a Newer World.
One aspect of Trek tech that's always seemed too limited to me was the use of the viewscreen as nothing more than a picture window. I always felt it should have status displays, sensor readouts, holographic overlays, picture-in-picture insets, etc. rather than just a bare image. We did occasionally get glimpses of more; "The Lights of Zetar" depicted a nifty tactical plot of the "storm" approaching Memory Alpha, which still holds up pretty well today, and TWOK had its occasional uses of tactical projections. But for some reason, TNG never picked up on that and just settled for the picture window.
Back in college, when I was trying to develop my original SF universe to be more, well, original but was still somewhat rooted in Trek concepts, I put a lot of thought into developing an exploratory starship and figuring out how it would work. And I imagined its bridge having an actual transparent wall in the front, upon which screen images and readouts and other graphics could be projected. That was over 20 years ago. And then, last year, Abrams's movie came along and portrayed the Enterprise viewscreen in pretty much the same way as what I thought up way back when (except in my version, the projected comm signals weren't translucent and weirdly distorted).
I'm not sure, but I think there may have been one or two works of my Trek fiction where I've just gone ahead and assumed the viewscreen had a broader display capability than is usually shown. I am fairly certain I took advantage of the opportunity to make use of the more complex viewscreen/window of the Abramsprise in the unpublished Seek a Newer World.
This is one of the things I think the Abramsverse Enterprise got right.
I disagree with Christopher on the whole texting thing... but this was just hilarious.
Sometimes BolianAuthor, you just gotta have a sense of humor about these things... it's the internet. Just take a look at the beating I took on a thread about obesity in 'General Trek'.
IDK... TNG had a few episodes where the main viewscreen was used as something other than a mere picture window...
http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/s2/2x08/amatterofhonor123.jpg
http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/s4/4x12/thewounded122.jpg
http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/s3/3x05/thebonding170.jpg
http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/s2/2x08/amatterofhonor123.jpg
http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/s4/4x12/thewounded122.jpg
http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/s3/3x05/thebonding170.jpg
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I disagree with Christopher on the whole texting thing... but this was just hilarious.
Sometimes BolianAuthor, you just gotta have a sense of humor about these things... it's the internet. Just take a look at the beating I took on a thread about obesity in 'General Trek'.
You see it the way you see it, and I see it the way I see it. In any case, it's in the Mod's hands now... hopefully they will do something about it. If not, I can go to an Admin, if need be.
I like the fact that the Abramsverse view-screen has the ability to be both a window and a monitor.
kkozoriz1
Fleet Captain
It's one thing I thought they got wrong. It was a cluttered mess, especially with it being an actual picture window. Remember everyone sitting on the Kelvin bridge, squinting into the sun, until the captain actually ordered someone to block some of the light?
More tactical displays would be a good thing but it cannot detract from the primary purpose which is to let you see what's going on. HUD's and weapon crosshairs would work. Text much less so.
More tactical displays would be a good thing but it cannot detract from the primary purpose which is to let you see what's going on. HUD's and weapon crosshairs would work. Text much less so.
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Depends on the text. It'd be nice if they had a shield status indicator, so Worf could just keep firing back instead of constantly having to pause, repeat the shield status to Picard, then go back to firing.
Yeah, HUD readouts on the viewscreen would make a lot of sense. One thing I imagined for my original-universe starship was that there'd be course-plot sort of things (like some of the displays in Alien) superimposed on the real starscape outside, maybe crosshairs highlighting your target star or planet, etc. Or if there's another ship approaching, there'd be crosshairs marking its position and superimposed text with its name and basic information. (Holographically projected, of course, so it would work from any angle. And I mean a real hologram, a 2D image containing 3D information, not the midair projections that sci-fi incorrectly labels as holograms.)
Ah, but does the new viewscreen support tabbed browsing?
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