Spoilers Starship Design in Star Trek: Picard

[Dukhat]

I would actually like to see more than just a silhouette of the Curiosity class. I mean, yeah, it's like a mini Sovereign with the engines going straight out, but I still want details, dammit!!

The way this show has gone so far, that silhouette is all we're going to see. I mean, c'mon, that establishing shot of Vashti should have had at least one starship in orbit, not just a bunch of shuttles flying around.

Unless that Starfleet 'squadron' converges on the synth planet like the Tal Shiar ships and presumably the Artifact will, I doubt we'll see any Starfleet ships at all this season other than the tugs.

 

[Tuskin38]

Those new Romulan ships we see at the end of Ep8 also have a bird painted on the bottom

https://twitter.com/gaghyogi49/status/1239631588415209480?s=21

 

[Ronald Held]

is it too late in this season to see Curiosity class ships?

 

[Timo]

Depends on whether they built some for an actual S2 need. If not, they probably won't squeeze such extras into the putative scene if they can get away with recycling something they already possess. Say, DSC ships with period-appropriate nacelles.

The thing is, they might have nothing. Perhaps no ship from the preceding movies can be used here for esoteric IT reasons, and modifying DSC assets is no simpler or quicker than creating all-new ones at some deemed-sufficient resolution?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Dukhat]

Those new Romulan ships we see at the end of Ep8 also have a bird painted on the bottom

https://twitter.com/gaghyogi49/status/1239631588415209480?s=21

Ugh. That’s why it’s so annoying that both PIC and DSC feel the need to have everything be so damn dark. Absolutely no one would have been able to see that detailing without such enhancement.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

Curiosity killed the Kzinti.

Video killed the radio star.

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is it too late in this season to see Curiosity class ships?

Two more episodes, so... no.

 

[Dukhat]

Depends on whether they built some for an actual S2 need. If not, they probably won't squeeze such extras into the putative scene if they can get away with recycling something they already possess. Say, DSC ships with period-appropriate nacelles.

One could argue that the DSC ships already have period-appropriate nacelles.

The thing is, they might have nothing. Perhaps no ship from the preceding movies can be used here for esoteric IT reasons, and modifying DSC assets is no simpler or quicker than creating all-new ones at some deemed-sufficient resolution?

Well, both the Enterprise-D and the E have already been shown, as has the Stargazer. I’m pretty sure CBS owns the IP of all canon starship designs, and if they show any new starships in PIC, I’m hoping they aren’t just DSC assets tweaked a little. At least the silhouette of the ibn Majid looked like it’s from the Sovereign family, so I have hopes for those final two episodes.

 

[Timo]

I didn't mean IP rights, but problems with information tech, that is, some sort of weird but fundamental incompatibility of CGI assets. We have seen an all-new E-D model of high quality, but the ghostly one for the Discoprise in PIC isn't exactly screen-usable. Is it a downgrade of one that they could use in space battles of this show or not? Hard to tell yet. Although I hope that at least this specific model never sees such use!

As for period-appropriate, anything with a triangular swelling at the forward end is fine; they already adhered to that with the silhouette and the tugs. Constant cross section boxes are DSC's very own thing, and actually look pretty cool IMHO, but so far are period-specific for the wrong century. The Martian orbital annex to the Smithsonian notwithstanding...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Dukhat]

Ok. If they showed the Enterprise-E, they would absolutely have to recreate a new CGI model of it, since the last one was 18 years ago and wouldn’t be compatible, AFAIK. Which is why I’m hoping, if they do show an Enterprise, it will be a new ship with a new design. The D for the dream sequence was understandable, as it was created for a specific reason. But just showing an active-duty ship? Why bother recreating a 24 year old design when you can create something new to market?

As for period-specific 2399 ship designs, I get the (admittedly unprovable) impression that Starfleet stopped mass-producing new ships after 2386, and any ships currently on active duty were built before that date. Or at the least, they stopped producing large resource-hogging capital ships like the Galaxy and Sovereign and switched to smaller ships like the type Picard requested from Clancy.

 

[Timo]

That could work as our rationalization if they cop out of showing anything new. But they'll quite possibly try and cop out of showing anything at all instead... They have this splendid range of Romulan designs which they have revealed along the way, but nothing from Starfleet they would have revealed yet. And then they have the Cube. They might leave Starfleet out of the equation altogether.

Or then they are minding this very segment of the audience and stunning us with all-new starships for the final episode. OTOH, their terminology of "squadron" instead of task force or the like is nicely conductive of them showing but one type, the original meaning of that word in the naval context. Perhaps we will get a dozen Curiosity class ships?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Dukhat]

At this point I’d be happy with a dozen new runabouts.

Actually, that’s not true. Unless the final episode shows us anything less than an entire fleet of brand new ships of at least ten different designs, along with the Enterprise-F and the Titan to boot (and new designs for them both), and none of them designed by John Eaves, I will totally boycott this show.

 

[fireproof78]

At this point I’d be happy with a dozen new runabouts.

Actually, that’s not true. Unless the final episode shows us anything less than an entire fleet of brand new ships of at least ten different designs, along with the Enterprise-F and the Titan to boot (and new designs for them both), and none of them designed by John Eaves, I will totally boycott this show.

Sounds reasonable.

 

[Timo]

Same here, right from the fourth season on. Unless they actually do a fourth season, that is.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[JoeZhang]

That could work as our rationalization if they cop out of showing anything new. But they'll quite possibly try and cop out of showing anything at all instead... They have this splendid range of Romulan designs which they have revealed along the way, but nothing from Starfleet they would have revealed yet. And then they have the Cube. They might leave Starfleet out of the equation altogether.

Or then they are minding this very segment of the audience and stunning us with all-new starships for the final episode. OTOH, their terminology of "squadron" instead of task force or the like is nicely conductive of them showing but one type, the original meaning of that word in the naval context. Perhaps we will get a dozen Curiosity class ships?

Timo Saloniemi

I think it is more straight forward - Michael Charbon does not want Starfleet ships on screen as part of an artistic decision - I think it has absolutely nothing to do with IP or CGI or tech limitations.

We *might* see a ship in the last two episodes but I would not be surprised if we see nothing.

 

[Kpnuts]

Michael Charbon does not want Starfleet ships on screen as part of an artistic decision

Given Eaves' work making Starfleet ships on Discovery I'm not sure I'd want to see his work in Picard either.

 

[fireproof78]

I think it is more straight forward - Michael Charbon does not want Starfleet ships on screen as part of an artistic decision - I think it has absolutely nothing to do with IP or CGI or tech limitations.

We *might* see a ship in the last two episodes but I would not be surprised if we see nothing.

It certainly would be an interesting artistic choice.

I appreciate his dedication to the story so letting that happen would be interesting, as well as entertaining for the outrage it will generate.

I mean, Chabon is making decisions that have nothing to do with marketing or merchandising but just story. How weird

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Ugh. That’s why it’s so annoying that both PIC and DSC feel the need to have everything be so damn dark. Absolutely no one would have been able to see that detailing without such enhancement.

I never really understood why a dark bridge full of strong spot lights and shiny surfaces was a good idea. Looks like it would be a real annoying place to work

 

[Tuskin38]

Episode 9/10

Spoiler

Commodore Oh’s ship

 

[Timo]

These are great for the "Space Roman" theme, and worthy successors to the TOS design. A bit on the light side for a culture that previously did the D'deridex, though. Have the Romulans switched doctrines, or do the villains of the week command lesser resources than the average Romulan military commander? Were all the behemoths lost in the supernova even when random TOS ships survive? Is building these lightweights taking up all the resources, leaving none for capital ships?

But s said, excellent variations on a theme. Even if it is "wings, bigger wings, more wings, plus wings".

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Dukhat]

Episode 9/10

Spoiler

Commodore Oh’s ship

It looks like a Cylon raider painted green, with its wings swept back instead of forward.