Spoilers ST Prodigy - StarShips & Technology Season 1 Discussion

[Deks]

The plot itself reminds me of a fanfiction someone wrote and posted here years ago.
In that story, in the 34th century or whatnot, a group of teenagers found an abandoned SF ship and then fled oppression (similar sequence of events we saw from the trailers).

Either that person managed to get a job as a writer for Prodigy, someone ripped it off and adapted the premise, or independently thought of a similar idea.

 

[Deks]

The earliest publicity said the kids who found the ship would have never have heard of Starfleet or the Federation, which points to them being some distance away.

Wasn't it also mentioned the events will take place in the D.Q.?

 

[Timo]

That might mean just about anything, though. (Or nothing, and be utterly false, but probably not.) "Events" in VOY took place in Delta, too, but most of the heroes were not native to Delta and the adventure did not begin there.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

@Deks Space Cases, Hypernauts, that season of The Brady Bunch cartoon, and arguably Lost in Space are all on the basic formula. Not entirely new as a concept, really...

Mark

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

In an interview, the show runners confirm that the Protostar was launched after Voyager’s return, effectively putting an end to the theory that she was one of the deep space explorers mentioned in “Lifeline”.

Mark

 

[Timo]

TPTB being so secretive about the details surrounding that might suggest there is something weird going on. Such as, say, the hero ship being launched a significant time after Voyager's return...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

It's true, they SAID it's supposed to be in the year 2383, a couple years after where we are with Lower Decks and a several years before the events leading up to Picard. I dunno who much forethought went into where these things are in the Prime timeline, but I'm guessing they figured the shows to be isolated enough from each other not to be easily referenced or to have us nerds wondering if the Cerritos or Enterprise or DS9 or whatever could conceivably show up.

Mark

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Let's make clear what's happening during the Prime Timeline during the late 24th Century

2377 - USS Voyager returns to Earth
2379 - Star Trek: Nemesis AKA Shinzon's Coup d'état against the Romulan Senate & High Council
2380 - Star Trek: Lower Decks S1 - Show Starts
2383 - Star Trek: Prodigy S1 - Show Starts
2385 - Star Trek: Picard S1 - Synth Attack on Mars
2387 - Romulus is destroyed by the Hobus star going SuperNova.
2399 - Star Trek: Picard S1 - Show Starts

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Don't forget the destruction of Romulus in 2387.

Additional: I hadn't taken too close a look at the phasers the Protostar gang will apparently find aboard. As of whatever time she launched, it looks like Starfleet was still using TNG-styled hand phasers, which are nicely detailed with a logo on the side. Starfleet shifts to, or also has a more traditional pistol style phaser in service by 2385.

Mark

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Don't forget the destruction of Romulus in 2387.

Thanks, I knew I forgot something, but I couldn't pin point it in my mind.

Additional: I hadn't taken too close a look at the phasers the Protostar gang will apparently find aboard. As of whatever time she launched, it looks like Starfleet was still using TNG-styled hand phasers, which are nicely detailed with a logo on the side. Starfleet shifts to, or also has a more traditional pistol style phaser in service by 2385.

Mark

That phaser that he's holding looks closer to the "Dust Buster" style Phaser than the more compact / elegant one we see near the end of ST:VOY.

Did StarFleet go on a "Ruggidization" program to make their phasers more durable to EDC, ergo it becomes so bulky? That grill on the emitter end looks very 80's with all those open slats.

We all know that Cardassian Phasers are simple, more rugged according to DS9.

While StarFleet Phasers are high tech wonders with tons of features.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

So here's some screen shots taken from the recent trailer of the new Deflector Dish design.

The Crescent Moon Shape looks like a very futuristic take on AESA style RADAR where it's all flat panel with a covering on top hiding the giant wall of transceivers. It's a very modern, chic, and efficient design mimicking modern RADAR tech.
It's not using one giant Physical Deflector Dish like older designs.

Very cool IMO and a correct step in technological progress based on IRL designs.

Here's some shots of the new Planet-Side Rover:

From what I can tell it has a nice reasonably large central cab, looks like a all environment rover with it's own sealed cabin.
The Wheels are all "Dualies" where one set of Wheels houses 2x sets of tires.
Looks like In-Wheel Electric Motor Hubs.
6x Sets of Wheels: 4x on the rear arm/body (Two on each side mounted inline) & 2x on the front arms (One wheel on each arm)

I'm really digging the design since it seems like it can operate in Vacuum or nearly any environment.

 

[Timo]

Definitely a different direction from that of the Argo jeep.

What is the advantage of duals over one very wide tire here? Today, we can't do really wide ones because rubber doesn't work quite that way, and OTOH we don't want to overdo it because having covered oil barrels for wheels gives inferior rather than superior grip; inline is the better way to reduce surface pressure. But Trek materials could take the punishment and also bend in ways that improve grip.

Long wheelbase with little fwd/aft overhang is good for stability in many kinds of terrain, but there seems to be little in the way of ground clearance. Praying-mantis arms instead of straight booms might work better. Especially if one wants to stow away those fwd wheels somehow, for reduced footprint.

As for the ship, it's still a bit unclear where the pew-pew is supposed to come from. The series of black "de-icing rubber sleeve" blocks on the cheeks of the hull rim?

The deflector here accentuates what's inherently bad about Enterprise-shaped starships: the saucer-cigar combo blocks most of the sky around the deflector or fwd torp tube position, resulting in an abysmally narrow cone of fire. Here it's even worse for the deflector. But it arguably doesn't need a wide cone of fire at the supposed engagement ranges of several lightseconds... A fraction of a degree is already plenty! Puts the ship at a disadvantage in attempts to use the deflector against nearby targets, tho.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Definitely a different direction from that of the Argo jeep.

Yup, at least it seems to have a pressurized cabin to deal with environments like vacuum or those that have air that isn't breathable, a very practical design decision IMO.

What is the advantage of duals over one very wide tire here?

Redundancy incase one set of wheels gets punctured, that's about the only advantage I can think of.
It would suck if your mission failed because of a flat tire.

Today, we can't do really wide ones because rubber doesn't work quite that way, and OTOH we don't want to overdo it because having covered oil barrels for wheels gives inferior rather than superior grip; inline is the better way to reduce surface pressure. But Trek materials could take the punishment and also bend in ways that improve grip.

Actually, Semi-Trucks have the option to go Super Wide instead of Dualies.

https://www.bauerbuilt.com/bauer-built-blog/dual-vs-super-wide-singles/

It's pretty common, especially in the EU.

Long wheelbase with little fwd/aft overhang is good for stability in many kinds of terrain, but there seems to be little in the way of ground clearance. Praying-mantis arms instead of straight booms might work better. Especially if one wants to stow away those fwd wheels somehow, for reduced footprint.

The front arms really do seem to support the vehicles design to focus on truly off-road / uneven terrain handling.

As for the ship, it's still a bit unclear where the pew-pew is supposed to come from. The series of black "de-icing rubber sleeve" blocks on the cheeks of the hull rim?

From what I can tell, it's the crevice in the shingled hull area. I could be wrong, but that's what it looks like to me.

Similar to how the USS Titan has the trench where the Phaser beam forms above it and then shoots out at the target, this seems to be a further enhancement where the emitter is buried partially underneath the hull of the shingle over hang.

But that's what it looks like to me given what little info we have from the screen shots.

The deflector here accentuates what's inherently bad about Enterprise-shaped starships: the saucer-cigar combo blocks most of the sky around the deflector or fwd torp tube position, resulting in an abysmally narrow cone of fire. Here it's even worse for the deflector. But it arguably doesn't need a wide cone of fire at the supposed engagement ranges of several lightseconds... A fraction of a degree is already plenty! Puts the ship at a disadvantage in attempts to use the deflector against nearby targets, tho.

I don't think the main use of the deflector is as a beam emitter for a weapon, that's usually a MacGuyver / Jerry-Rig solution.

 

[NCC-73515]

I don't think the main use of the deflector is as a beam emitter for a weapon, that's usually a MacGuyver / Jerry-Rig solution.

But that's how the deflector deflects

 

[Deks]

But that's how the deflector deflects

The deflector creates a field around the ship which basically pushes interstellar debris away from the ship (among other things) and helps in creation of a stable warp field.
The main deflector dish CAN be used as weapon that directs massive amount of power in a direction though (like the ENT-D did in TNG to fight the Borg)... it really depends on how one modifies it, but its primary function was described as pushing interstellar debris away.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

And every starship SHOULD have something like it; but in no way do they need to LOOK the same, as MOST starships don't have a dish. Heck, lots of Starfleet ships (and virtually all their shuttles) don't have a dish either. This one looks like a further evolution from circle, to oval, to squared off oval, to now a bar..? The later Inquiry-class ships have a... grille... or whatever, so I'm guessing this is all moving that direction anyway.

I also see various shapes on the underside that don't specicially indicate a Captain's gig of any kind, but nothing that would exclude one either. I'm wondering whether or not they'll have assorted systems of the Protostar that may be revealed slowly over time. The writer's bible should have much of that listed, even if it's not needed for the initial stories.

Mark

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I also see various shapes on the underside that don't specicially indicate a Captain's gig of any kind, but nothing that would exclude one either. I'm wondering whether or not they'll have assorted systems of the Protostar that may be revealed slowly over time. The writer's bible should have much of that listed, even if it's not needed for the initial stories.

I'm more inclined to think the Captain's Yacht/Gig should just be a Standard Shuttle with custom interiors/furniture/layout in the Shuttle & parked in the Shuttle Bay instead of a dedicated custom vessel mounted to the under-side of the hull.

That's a more practical solution instead of a unique/custom vessel like the Calypso or WaveRider.

 

[fireproof78]

Here's some shots of the new Planet-Side Rover:

That's terrible. Hopefully looks better in motion.

 

[Unicron]

I'd say the available shots are not particularly good at showing the design properly, only some aspects from less than ideal angles. Maybe we'll get something better to work with.

 

[NCC-73515]

The deflector creates a field around the ship which basically pushes interstellar debris away from the ship (among other things) and helps in creation of a stable warp field.
The main deflector dish CAN be used as weapon that directs massive amount of power in a direction though (like the ENT-D did in TNG to fight the Borg)... it really depends on how one modifies it, but its primary function was described as pushing interstellar debris away.