You sure like taking on the big names, don't you?
I'll start with the design elements that I like.
I like how the aft of the nacelle pylons curves to help create the shape of what I'm guessing is aft impulse drive and what also looks like the rear shuttle bay.
I also like how the aft of the primary hull kinda evokes the shape of the back of the Galaxy class's neck, but is apparently supposed to be more flattened to fit with what I'm guessing is supposed to be a neck-less design.
And I like the cut-outs on the primary hull. To me, I think they could be akin to those recessed windows introduced on the Intrepid class, but much, much bigger. I imagine that they could have observation decks, shuttle bays, weapons emplacements, etc. recessed throughout these cutouts.
The things I'm not a fan of are the short nacelles and the elliptical saucer. If it were up to me, the J would have a stretched ellipse like the Sovereign class instead of the elliptical saucer like the Galaxy class, and that is probably the one thing about Doug Drexler's design (other than the thin nacelle pylons) that I didn't really like. I prefer the stretched saucer to the elliptical saucer, and if the J has it, then that suggests if I were to design other ships from that era, I would have to use the same elliptical style for many ships of that era, and if the J's predecessor has an elliptical saucer, this might suggest that the stretched saucer is no longer used as much; which I would feel compelled to follow, or risk making any of my designs from that era seem less believable/inconsistent from designs already established (though if that were the case, well I would just accept it. And try to justify reasons to continue putting in a few ships with longer primary hulls as well
).
But considering that you are the designer of this ship, and that you are trying to show a transition between this ship to the J, well, what can I say? It is your job as the designer to use the design elements that you like while also trying to make this ship a believable ancestor to the J, which is not an easy task.
Same thing with the short nacelles. I would have preferred longer nacelles, but again you are the designer, and if you love this design element, then I have to accept it (or leave it, which I haven't decided to do yet), because that is basically how fandom goes, and I believe in accepting designs even if they have design elements that I personally wouldn't have used, because that is also what makes them unique.
About the only other design that I can think of that I consider a contender for the Enterprise-I would be the Independence class. And given how well done this Enterprise-I already looks, even though she isn't even finished, she might prove to be a strong contender for the title.
