Spoilers Starship Design in Star Trek: Picard

[David cgc]

Were there more ships Rademaker updated that didn’t make it to PIC?

There was the normal Merian mentioned in the tweet that's a continuation of, and a few months ago, he posted a recolored version of the Vesta-class that was going to be the U.S.S. Hikaru Sulu (which was apparently going to have more of a role in the story than just being seen as a name on a computer screen).

EDIT: I took a rare glance at Twitter, and found Rommél Calderon posted several screenshots of lighting tests of the Enterprise-D. I think it's the best look we've gotten at the texturing and the incomplete restoration on the battle section.

https://twitter.com/esdi/status/1716149113748922816
https://twitter.com/esdi/status/1716328780137177112
https://twitter.com/esdi/status/1693701773549240328

Twitter isn't the most reliable website at the moment, but if you get to the "Media" tab of his profile and scroll down, there are also "breakdown" videos that he's posted over the last several months.

(NCC-71744 would've made more sense and preserved the reference. Maybe Geordi was interrupted while repainting the number, and it's actually NCC-17/744.)

 

[Dukhat]

I’m just going to ignore the 17744 registry.

 

[Macintosh]

I’m just going to ignore the 17744 registry.

I pretend it's 71744...

 

[F. King Daniel]

There was the normal Merian mentioned in the tweet that's a continuation of, and a few months ago, he posted a recolored version of the Vesta-class that was going to be the U.S.S. Hikaru Sulu (which was apparently going to have more of a role in the story than just being seen as a name on a computer screen).

EDIT: I took a rare glance at Twitter, and found Rommél Calderon posted several screenshots of lighting tests of the Enterprise-D. I think it's the best look we've gotten at the texturing and the incomplete restoration on the battle section.

https://twitter.com/esdi/status/1716149113748922816
https://twitter.com/esdi/status/1716328780137177112
https://twitter.com/esdi/status/1693701773549240328

Twitter isn't the most reliable website at the moment, but if you get to the "Media" tab of his profile and scroll down, there are also "breakdown" videos that he's posted over the last several months.

(NCC-71744 would've made more sense and preserved the reference. Maybe Geordi was interrupted while repainting the number, and it's actually NCC-17/744.)

Bold of him to upload in Gameboy Advance resolution.

 

[David cgc]

Bold of him to upload in Gameboy Advance resolution.

Funny, but they're screenshots of the live preview while you're working in the app. It does a low-res render and just keeps cycling, adding more and more quality the longer you wait. That's why there are a couple spots in the pictures where you can see the image is clearer while most of it is still super-grainy, those spots had processed up to the next level of quality when the screenshot was taken.

 

[DEWLine]

I pretend it's 71744...

Geordi got caught midway through the redecoration process on the nacelles when the Frontier Day balloon went up...

 

[Tuskin38]

According to Dave Blass on the STO stream last night, the pod on the bottom of the Shrike was meant to be the portal weapon, but something changed between script and design to screen.

 

[David cgc]

According to Dave Blass on the STO stream last night, the pod on the bottom of the Shrike was meant to be the portal weapon, but something changed between script and design to screen.

That does explain a lot about the mention of it being mounted "in primary position," but when we saw it detached, it was very small.

It's always interesting when there are those weird mis-matches between script and VFX and the characters are describing something very different from what they're looking at on-screen (I suppose it's less common in live-action, because someone on the set can point out, "Why am I saying I'm standing in front of a house when this building is clearly an apartment?" though I'm sure it's happened).

 

[drt]

According to Dave Blass on the STO stream last night, the pod on the bottom of the Shrike was meant to be the portal weapon, but something changed between script and design to screen.

Ahhh, if it was originally supposed to be a piece of stolen Federation technology explains the pod’s resemblance to a Galaxy class secondary hull.

 

[Richard Baker]

Ahhh, if it was originally supposed to be a piece of stolen Federation technology explains the pod’s resemblance to a Galaxy class secondary hull.

I would much prefer that. The way the portal weapon deployed on screen looked like the technology was integrated into the ship design itself with the Shrike's four prongs as emitters. Great as a ship design but does not fit the storyline of it being stolen recently. Personally I hate ships with big pokey things on the front just to make it look evil ( like the NuBSG Cylon raiders). Having them integrated with a functional technology works well, like with the B5 Vorlon ships. It there was an explanation, even a couple of lines, as to why the Shrike's prongs work with the newly stolen Portal weapon it would have been great. An attached weapon pod fits the existing story better.

 

[Firebird]

but something changed between script and design to screen.

This is something I keep noticing as a comment from the art department and writers on Disco, SNW, and Picard. Is nobody on the production telling the VFX people “no, that’s not how it was designed” and just letting them put whatever they want on the screen? Or are they throwing the VFX under the bus?

 

[Enterprise1701]

Dang, I only noticed just now the Syracuse's registry is far too low for a Galaxy-class ship.

 

[Tuskin38]

the Constellation's registry was too small for a Connie, but we lived with it.

 

[Dukhat]

This is something I keep noticing as a comment from the art department and writers on Disco, SNW, and Picard. Is nobody on the production telling the VFX people “no, that’s not how it was designed” and just letting them put whatever they want on the screen? Or are they throwing the VFX under the bus?

Considering that they didn't even bother to tell us just where the Shrike came from or how Vadic and her crew got ahold of it, I don't put too much stock in their attention to detail.

the Constellation's registry was too small for a Connie, but we lived with it.

That's not quite the same thing.

 

[Tuskin38]

Considering that they didn't even bother to tell us just where the Shrike came from or how Vadic and her crew got ahold of it,

They didn't think it was necessary to explain, the ship was just intended to be something they acquired. Where it came from wasn't important to the story.

And I have to agree, it isn't important to the story.

Dave Blass just jokingly suggested in the STO interview that they got it from the bad guy ship depot.

That's not quite the same thing

Sure it is. They both have registry numbers lower than the lead of the class.

 

[Dukhat]

They didn't think it was necessary to explain, the ship was just intended to be something they acquired. Where it came from wasn't important to the story.

And I have to agree, it isn't important to the story.

Dave Blass just jokingly suggested in the STO interview that they got it from the bad guy ship depot.

You’re right, it wasn’t important to the story. Because Vadic and her changelings weren’t important to the story. You know, ‘cause they were just time-wasting red herrings masking the actual ‘bad guys.’ But all the time was spent on them, so you think someone would have added a five second line about where they got their ship.

Sure it is. They both have registry numbers lower than the lead of the class.

That wasn’t my point. There’s only 684 numbers separating 1017 from 1701 for two Constitutions. There are 52,893 numbers separating 17744 from 70637 for two Galaxies. So yeah, it’s a bit different. Not to mention that NCC-1700 has never been canonically given as the registry of the Constitution class prototype.

 

[Mage]

so you think someone would have added a five second line about where they got their ship.

This is something only a few fans are deeply interested in; full complete background on ships and tech. If they did that for every little ship during all of Star Trek, things would grind to a halt. It's important to the story, and even though we all love the starship, they are NOT integral to the story itself. The story is. Where the ship came from, changes nothing.
Plus, it would be so awkward. One of Vadic's underlings commenting halfway during battle how lucky they were to find a this ship somewhere. Remember the entire dead moment of Worf and Riker in the corridor on the Enterprise E in Nemesis? With Worf out of nowhere commening that the Romulans fought with honor. There was literally no dialogue, and he just says it. During a high alert situation, where he as head of security needs to focus on his surroundings because they are being boarded.
No, a 5 second line to satisfy the curiousity of a few people that as a result would just kill any momentum of a scene is not needed.

 

[Dukhat]

Honestly, the setup was right there in the episode where we find out that the Changelings came from the Section 31 space station. Once they escaped, they stole the weapon and other stuff, and they could easily have shown the Shrike to be a Section 31 ship that they stole. See how easy that was? And it would have been part of the plot just fine. I mean, c’mon: they added a five second lame ass joke about the Enterprise-E, and they couldn’t take five more seconds to show Vadic stealing the Shrike?

 

[Mage]

Honestly, the setup was right there in the episode where we find out that the Changelings came from the Section 31 space station. Once they escaped, they stole the weapon and other stuff, and they could easily have shown the Shrike to be a Section 31 ship that they stole. See how easy that was? And it would have been part of the plot just fine. I mean, c’mon: they added a five second lame ass joke about the Enterprise-E, and they couldn’t take five more seconds to show Vadic stealing the Shrike?

Yeah, the joke was not required as well. Neither is a line about the ship.
See, just because you want something, doesn't mean it's required. Those are two different things.

WIth 'you' I mean the general use of the word, not you personally or specifically.

 

[Dukhat]

Well, it would have been nice to know where Vadic got the ship, rather than it being left ambiguous. Even Shinzon explained where he got the Scimitar from in like one line. I personally don’t think it was too much to ask for some explanation, and saying ‘it wasn’t necessary to the plot’ is a nonsequitor. The Ent-E joke wasn’t necessary to the plot either but they felt making that joke was more important than revealing where the Shrike came from. I will leave it up to the individual PIC audience member to determine which line was more important to include.