Spoilers Starship Design in Star Trek: Picard

[Timo]

In the shot of the butt end of the fleet, it's easier to tell that there are two actually rather distinct nacelle types, one with a racetrack cross section and another with a rectangular cross section. The former are the ones that have twin Bussards, the latter are the ones with more Sovereign/Nova/Prometheus -like triangle or tetrahedron 'scoops and more glow to the aft flanks.

Of the two nacelle variants, the angular ones are seen at two different angles, perfectly horizontal and canted outward. The oval-end ones are only ever seen canted inward, that is, tops closer to each other than bottoms. Whether this means "three variants" or just one ship type that got refitted with tilting nacelles at some point... Nobody cares. The fact that the hulls are identical and the nacelles can only be told apart with patience bordering on insanity is already enough to establish the whole project as a dismal failure, when the original intent was to feature multiple distinct ship types.

The saving grace is that the hulls and nacelles are exactly how STO "predicted the future": the style is consistent, and might be followed in future PIC adventures, which quite possibly finally feature the ships that didn't quite make it to "Et In Arcadia Ego II" yet.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Yellow and green are definitely the same in that picture. Your yellow circle is around the starboard engine of the distant ship and your green circle is the port engine of the nearest ship. Both have the twin bussards in front, just viewed at two different angles.

Still only seeing two kinds of ships here. Unless they're counting different nacelle colors as different variants. Your green-circled engine appears to have red bussards, where as the yellow one seems to have brighter yellow-orange bussards. Your red-circled engine seems to have yellow-orange bussards, and I see others of this type with darker red bussards elsewhere in the fleet (making FOUR variants!) If this is how they're counting the individual class variants, then that would be absurdly and excessively pedantic.

If there are three (four?) distinct ship styles, I don't think we're going to really find out what they were until some kind of "Art of Picard" is published (maybe this?), covering that one specific thing, or Eaglemoss puts them out in their official line. I could see them doing multiple versions with nacelle color "repaint" variations to minimize up-front investment and maximize revenue generation.

I wouldn't even consider them different sub-classes. They copy & pasted 2, maybe 3 "types". Still an impressive sight when they popped in.

The starboard engine of the closest ship is cut off in that initial shot, so I was guessing (green) & (orange) might have the same features. They are the same shape. The eventual blu-rays should give us a cleaner look.

 

[Sci]

It bothers me greatly there are people who grew up on the Enterprise-E that aren't 11.

Fun fact: A child born on the day Star Trek: First Contact opened (22 November 1996) is now 23 years old and will turn 24 this year. A child who was, say, 8 or so years old when First Contact opened is now 31 and turning 32 this year. They have lived through four (soon possibly five) presidents, two major wars, two "once-in-a-lifetime" economic crashes, a crippling worldwide pandemic, and, now, a nationwide anti-racism revolt. So... the Enterprise-E is actually kind of old now!

In point of fact, you could argue that the Enterprise-E is the longest-standing (IRL) "Prime Timeline" Enterprise design:

TOS Enterprise: 1966-1979 (13 years)
TMP Enterprise: 1979-1991 (12 years)
Enterprise-D: 1987-1994 (7 years)
Enterprise-E: 1996-present (23 years)

In fairness, arguably the E's tenure as the "franchise flagship" actually ended in 2002 with NEM. In which case the more broad "Enterprise hero ship" tenures would be:

TOS Enterprise: 1966-1979 (13 years)
TMP Enterprise: 1979-1991 (12 years)
Enterprise-D: 1987-1994 (7 years)
Enterprise-E: 1996-2002 (6 years)
Kelvinverse Enterprise: 2009-2016 (7 years)
Kelvinverse Enterprise-A: 2016 (1 year)
DIS Enterprise: 2018-present (2 years)

Either way... The Enterprise-E and the kids who grew up with it are getting kind of old now!

 

[The Old Mixer]

The new fleet took me right back to my childhood disappointment at seeing the "Ultimate Computer" fleet for the first time.

Ah, memories.

I always liked that shot...I'll take four Connies flying in formation over 200 tiny generic ships any day of the week.

 

[Tim Thomason]

Fun fact: A child born on the day Star Trek: First Contact opened (22 November 1996) is now 23 years old and will turn 24 this year. A child who was, say, 8 or so years old when First Contact opened is now 31 and turning 32 this year. They have lived through four (soon possibly five) presidents, two major wars, two "once-in-a-lifetime" economic crashes, a crippling worldwide pandemic, and, now, a nationwide anti-racism revolt. So... the Enterprise-E is actually kind of old now!

In point of fact, you could argue that the Enterprise-E is the longest-standing (IRL) "Prime Timeline" Enterprise design:

TOS Enterprise: 1966-1979 (13 years)
TMP Enterprise: 1979-1991 (12 years)
Enterprise-D: 1987-1994 (7 years)
Enterprise-E: 1996-present (23 years)

In fairness, arguably the E's tenure as the "franchise flagship" actually ended in 2002 with NEM. In which case the more broad "Enterprise hero ship" tenures would be:

TOS Enterprise: 1966-1979 (13 years)
TMP Enterprise: 1979-1991 (12 years)
Enterprise-D: 1987-1994 (7 years)
Enterprise-E: 1996-2002 (6 years)
Kelvinverse Enterprise: 2009-2016 (7 years)
Kelvinverse Enterprise-A: 2016 (1 year)
DIS Enterprise: 2018-present (2 years)

Either way... The Enterprise-E and the kids who grew up with it are getting kind of old now!

What about the NX-01? <ducks from rotten vegetables>

 

[WarpFactorZ]

When they first show up, you can see two different nacelle types. The one (red) has more lit up bussard collectors right on the front. The (orange) one might be the same as the (green) one with two lit sections on the top & bottom front outer points.

View attachment 15798

THERE. IS. ONE. SHIP-CLASS!

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

THERE. IS. ONE. SHIP-CLASS!

Couldn't agree more. The US Navy uses the term "flight" (for some reason) to differentiate between different versions of the same ship classes. The Arleigh Burke DD's are a prime example.

Same class with various differences.

 

[cooleddie74]

Or, say, the Ohio-class SSBNs and the slightly modified Ohio-class SSGNs outfitted with cruise missile launch tubes and facilities for special forces personnel. Same class but marginally different layouts and appearances.

 

[Sci]

What about the NX-01? <ducks from rotten vegetables>

I literally forgot about it! Whoops!

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Or, say, the Ohio-class SSBNs and the slightly modified Ohio-class SSGNs outfitted with cruise missile launch tubes and facilities for special forces personnel. Same class but marginally different layouts and appearances.

We had longer Essex class carriers ("extended bow" or "long hull"). The Navy still listed them as Essex class despite the unofficial reference of "Ticonderoga class".

 

[Saul]

When they first show up, you can see two different nacelle types. The one (red) has more lit up bussard collectors right on the front. The (orange) one might be the same as the (green) one with two lit sections on the top & bottom front outer points.

View attachment 15798

The change is so difficult to notice. Why even bother? Was it just throwing a meatless bone to fans to argue over?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The change is so difficult to notice. Why even bother? Was it just throwing a meatless bone to fans to argue over?

If it was 50 years ago, I'd wonder. Now, with all the arguing that goes on over every little thing, they may be purposely trying to drive us all nuts.

IDK, they may really have thought 2 or 3 nacelle types would be enough. 2 or 3 ships classes would have been OK by me. Not necessarily the umpteen classes from a late DS9 battle.

 

[Dukhat]

The change is so difficult to notice. Why even bother? Was it just throwing a meatless bone to fans to argue over?

Perhaps one nacelle was a preliminary design and the other was the final approved design, but then things got rushed and both types accidentally were used.

 

[Timo]

Or then the decree was "make many designs", and since they failed at that, they did whatever they could - which was limited to putting the nacelles from their unfinished Design B on their finished Design A.

Supposedly four distinct hulls were being constructed for the episode, and three never made it. Perhaps there were four nacelles under construction, too?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Kpnuts]

The scene wouldn't have been so bad if they had reigned in CBS Treks' usual mantra of "fill the screen with as many ships/asteroids/drones/debris as possible!!!11 That'll make it epic!!!" and given us say 10 or so ships against another 10. But no, gotta be "EPIC!!!"

Even though the face off in The Defector involving 6 ships total (as just one example) was 10x more dramatic and memorable than the ST:Picard scene.

 

[fireproof78]

The change is so difficult to notice. Why even bother? Was it just throwing a meatless bone to fans to argue over?

Because of obsession with minutia.

 

[Tuskin38]

Supposedly four distinct hulls were being constructed for the episode, and three never made it. Perhaps there were four nacelles under construction, too?

Chabon said there were 3 designs approved for the episode.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Approved != Used

 

[Tuskin38]

Approved != Used

Yes I know, I was commenting on Timo's line about 4 being designed for the episode but not used.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The scene wouldn't have been so bad if they had reigned in CBS Treks' usual mantra of "fill the screen with as many ships/asteroids/drones/debris as possible!!!11 That'll make it epic!!!" and given us say 10 or so ships against another 10. But no, gotta be "EPIC!!!"

Even though the face off in The Defector involving 6 ships total (as just one example) was 10x more dramatic and memorable than the ST:Picard scene.

That scene where they scaled up a 12 man bird of prey to match a Romulan Warbird? You'd have lost your marbles over that if it happened today.