It's almost like people have different views on starships O_O
Starship design history in light of Discovery
- Thread starter INACTIVEUSS Einstein
- Start date
On the same series even! 
The original Planet of the Titans concept art was bronze, I'm guessing he liked the colour as well as the general shape.
I wish the majority of the Starfleet ships in Discovery looked closer to this. The Europa is such a drastic design shift for me. Looks like it would fit better in Deep Space Nine. This more what I'm looking for.
Pretty. Love the detail work.USS Europa eaglemoss model
Only one row of portholes, and those in a decklet that is extremely unlikely to be a standalone, stand-upright feature. So the suggested scale of less than 400 m could well hold true, but basically everything else is okay, too.
Lots of prominent seams. For all we know, the entire roll bar takes off and flies away to do X (say, dip into atmosphetes w/ those wings), hence the extra nacelles and the impulse engines and the bridge-with-windshield there.
Out of the lot (and excluding the far background Magee), this one actually has the most solid shapes, resembling what came before in the days of plastic and balsa. Even the Shepard has flimsy bits and greeblies.
Timo Saloniemi
Lots of prominent seams. For all we know, the entire roll bar takes off and flies away to do X (say, dip into atmosphetes w/ those wings), hence the extra nacelles and the impulse engines and the bridge-with-windshield there.
Out of the lot (and excluding the far background Magee), this one actually has the most solid shapes, resembling what came before in the days of plastic and balsa. Even the Shepard has flimsy bits and greeblies.
Timo Saloniemi
It almost looks like the Top two Nacelles and the Bridge module should be able to detach and become a Federation "BOP'.USS Europa eaglemoss model
Curiouser and curiouser...
Admirals ITRW have commanded from less likely platforms.
Do not give them ideas.It almost looks like the Top two Nacelles and the Bridge module should be able to detach and become a Federation "BOP'.
Curiouser and curiouser...
Speaking of the cut-outs..... .....why have a saucer at all, if you are going to make sections perhaps too thin to cross between easily? What would be the point of having those two normal segments of saucer continue on afterwards at the sides? Why not end the saucer in a square edge? If the cut-outs are what many people think their are, basically there just for style... they might invalidate the purpose of having a saucer; i.e. a radial circular habitation/work area stretching from one central point. That is what starts to bug people subconsciously when you make designs too busy perhaps. Maybe the indent is not as thin as it appears, or is actually a launch deck like Timo says, but no other ship have needed a launching area, just a door.
Overall, I don't mind the USS Europa, but like many people say, it would look better post-Undiscovered Country, or post-Nemesis. But ignoring all that, because I doubt casual audiences care, maybe the bigger issue is that the saucer being just a "normal unadorned saucer" would have been much more era-appropriate by subconscious association with the Constitution-class, like the Kelvin timeline ships of this era, like the USS Kelvin, which looks very very TOS/TMP, because of it's comparatively unadorned Franz Joseph look. Imagine how TOS-like it would have looked with round nacelles and a flat saucer, but otherwise unchanged.
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I think using TOS-appropriate pennant art would already have been a big improvement.
As for cutouts vs. unbroken circles, the interiors of Kirk's ship seldom seemed to make much of the circular setup. Sharp corners formed a maze, there being no hub/spokes/ringways feel to the movements of our heroes.
The outside being a saucer would probably be the in-universe criterion, then. Although what use this could be when all these saucers have so much fancy stuff jutting out of them, encasing them or obscuring them, it's difficult to understand. Perhaps saucers are just easy to manufacture for some reason?
Timo Saloniemi
As for cutouts vs. unbroken circles, the interiors of Kirk's ship seldom seemed to make much of the circular setup. Sharp corners formed a maze, there being no hub/spokes/ringways feel to the movements of our heroes.
The outside being a saucer would probably be the in-universe criterion, then. Although what use this could be when all these saucers have so much fancy stuff jutting out of them, encasing them or obscuring them, it's difficult to understand. Perhaps saucers are just easy to manufacture for some reason?
Timo Saloniemi
The bussard's are domes, so I'm fine with the nacelles. They could be a half way point between the Round Connie nacelles and the Flat TMP era nacelles.
I'd rather they look more like the DSC Connie.
Too much greeble.I wish the majority of the Starfleet ships in Discovery looked closer to this.
I'd rather they look more like the DSC Connie.
The two areas you've highlighted could possibly be used for water storage or just where a lot of internal machinery is placed.
Speaking of the cut-outs..... .....why have a saucer at all, if you are going to make sections perhaps too thin to cross between easily? What would be the point of having those two normal segments of saucer continue on afterwards at the sides? Why not end the saucer in a square edge? If the cut-outs are what many people think their are, basically there just for style... they might invalidate the purpose of having a saucer; i.e. a radial circular habitation/work area stretching from one central point. That is what starts to bug people subconsciously when you make designs too busy perhaps. Maybe the indent is not as thin as it appears, or is actually a launch deck like Timo says, but no other ship have needed a launching area, just a door.
Overall, I don't mind the USS Europa, but like many people say, it would look better post-Undiscovered Country, or post-Nemesis. But ignoring all that, because I doubt casual audiences care, maybe the bigger issue is that the saucer being just a "normal unadorned saucer" would have been much more era-appropriate by subconscious association with the Constitution-class, like the Kelvin timeline ships of this era, like the USS Kelvin, which looks very very TOS/TMP, because of it's comparatively unadorned Franz Joseph look. Imagine how TOS-like it would have looked with round nacelles and a flat saucer, but otherwise unchanged.
I kinda-sorta assume that all the connecting parts are either at least one deck thick or have Jefferies-tubes running through them.
I agree. Just lop off those raised square segments and it would be just right.
none of the discovery ships seem to use the same pennant. shenzhou uses pennants (almost?) identical to the ones on the USS franklin in star trek beyond, the kerala has what looks like 24th century-style pennants without the starfleet insignia, europa has an altogether different design more reminiscent of TMP-style, discovery doesn't even have pennants.
oh also, have we also discussed the bussards? they appear to be blue on ships like discovery and europa, red on the kerala and enterprise, yellow on the hoover class, white on the magee class...
starfleet's shipbuilders were clearly having an identity crisis in the mid-23rd century in the "prime universe".