It's a mixed bag, as it usually is. The ship on August's page looks like it was inspired by one of the Voyager concept drawings.
Andy Probert's image is my favourite from the ones posted, though I'm not fond of the design of the ship. It's nice to see the Type-7 in use how they were intended and I like that he included a figure wearing the flight suit from "Drive".
The image of the warp test is a cool idea, but I wouldn't want it up on my wall for a month (not that I put these up on my wall anyway).
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Aha! That's Clawhammer's ship! It's supposed to be a quantum slipstream testbed.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
I like that August ship, it's nice and compact but looks a bit bigger than a runabout, and it's not a big box. Shik, did Clawhammer post any more pics of this anywhere?
Did you notice that Koji put the "D-4" that he modeled from Eaves' concept sketch for the 3 ships in the Kobayashi Maru pic?
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
No, he sneaked a few extrrme closeups of sections before texturing & some very rough shape outlines over at SCN long ago. The Dutchman has a good head for security.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
That Probert design looks spiffy- sorta fighter-ish.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Notice the sea vessel in the background of Probert's pic?
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Yeah. I wouldn't think boats can be much improved on in basic shape and design, though.
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Look very closely at the windows in the warp test pic. Who do you see?
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Is that LaForge and Leah Brahms?
Posted by Sean (Member # 2010) on :
I find it interesting that the ship in the "Around The Quadrant in 8 Days" pic has an airliner-esque tail fin.
Fabrux, you're talking about the pic with the E-nil, right? I don't see anything.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
The windows in the upper left, not in the ship - I was confused by that at first. There are two people standing there.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"Is that LaForge and Leah Brahms?"
Um... It looks like Kirk and Spock.
Posted by Sean (Member # 2010) on :
Ah, now I see.
Yeah, that looks like Kirk and Spock. The figure on the right has his hair parted on the left like Kirk does.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Meh. I sux.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
It's an utterly stupid detail. Even ignoring the fact that it doesn't look like someone looking in through a window, but instead like a poster on the wall, why would they be there watching a warp test simulation? When is this supposed to be? By the time they were both together, and in those uniforms, their ship was twenty years old. I think they could safely assume the warp engines worked by that time. . . And even if it was a test of a new field geometry, and while it's not beyond the bounds of possibility, it seems silly to do such a test with a scale model. In TNG they fiddled with the warp geometry on a daily basis, for instance. No, this is just an example of someone trying too hard.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
I like it, even if it is a bit fanciful with them watching. And why would it be silly to use a model? If you're testing out potentially dangerous changes, you wouldn't want to do that to a full-size ship.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
The picture of Kirk and Spock could also be an Easter egg.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
That fucker has got GUNS. are ALL those little ports supposed to be Pulse Lazers and/or Torpedo tubes? certain the large pair underneigth are tubes but what about on the under-front of the nacelles?
i even like this design more now, TU...
Posted by shikaru808 (Member # 2080) on :
I count at least 4 torpedo tubes. Are those things on the sides phaser strips or just decoration?
And I like those tiny domes on the top of the ship, escape pods maybe?
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
Did I not post this before? Oh well, here it is, straight from Clawhammer's post on TrekBBS:
quote:It's the U.S.S. Spirit (NX-79995) A quantum slipstream testbed. I indeed designed it for the calendar only.
Here are some minor specs:
Designed and constructed after the logs and data of Voyager where studied. (2390's)
"Spirit" class explorer/scout Quantum Slipstream testbed Length: around 120 meters. Crew: min: 12 max: 30 Decks: 4 full decks.
Some new and experimental features that are visible on the ship:
* Armor with enhanced energy distribution and asymetrical shieldgrid. * Rapid fire Pulse Phaser. Pulse phasers with 3 fire modes and 8 output points. (higher rate of fire but reduced firepower.) * Quantum Slipstream controller. This device will push/pull the Slipstream tunnel towards or away from the ship for a more effecient and less bumpy ride. At the moment 6 of them are in series to do the brute force work. * Subspace failsafe system. Makes sure the ship stays in the lower domains of subspace and will drop out of slipstream if safety is compremised. * Integrated bridge with window & viewscreen. * Core shield layer that absorbs most baryon particles. (Reduces warp signature also.) * Small Shuttlebay with a drop down door that functions as a landing platform. (Andrew Probert sketched this out for me, I had to modify it a bit to stay within the deadline, but it worked very well!) I hope to show renders of it later this year.
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, on a big format like the calendar it still should have enough detail left to stay interesting. I also love the painting that Andrew made for the calendar!
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Why would a testbed for a new drive system need that kind of firepower?
Posted by Toadkiller (Member # 425) on :
Well, it was on TrekBBS, not a good idea to go there unarmed.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
A spaceship with gun ports and spoilers does nothing for me. Lose the nacelles and it looks nothing like a Trek design...maybe SAAB or B5.
(shrugs)
Whatever floats your boat, I guess- at least it's not an Akira variant.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
I just don't like how everybody (including the writers of Nemesis) just wants to install more and more weapons on new Trek ships...they don't worry about crew accommodations, diplomatic capability, sensors, etc. - it's all basically "WARP DRIVE SYSTEM TYPE XXVI" and "25 PULSE-FIRE QUANTUM TORPEDO TUBES" and "700 QUANTUM TORPEDOES" and "15 PULSE-FIRE PHASERS" and so on.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Yeah, the mission profile seems to be KILL! KILL! Works for a Terran Empire ship (sorta, those gun ports are still silly) but not for the exploration-driven Starfleet we all know and love.
Besides, the uber-Runabout concept worked up as a possible Defiant idea works far better as a small gunship, IMHO.
Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
The November vessel (the horseshoe-shaped thing) looks very very similar to a picture I saw waaaaay the hell back in the day, circa the early 90's.
The other one was of similar shape, with ramscoops at the tips (rendered most beautifully for the time), deflectors just below, and a bit of blue behind. The pilot sat in what basically looked like a plexiglas bulge out the front.
Does this ring any bells for anyone? I remember it as an awesome pic . . . again, especially at the time. It would probably be some 400x300 piece of poo now, but still.
Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
Ghetto Edit: I think the other ship was called the SS Palomino. Ring any bells?
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Palamino was that lame-ass Black Hole ship.
Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
True, which made my failed Google-fu that much harder. But I'm 95% sure I have the name correct, including the unusual SS designation. (Amazing what ridiculous things lodge in the neurons, isn't it?)
Perhaps it'll come up on one of these floppies I've been working my way through.
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Floppies? Oh man.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
I just bought an Asus motherboard, brand new model, so new I can't even get the drivers to work in Linux or Windows for the onboard LAN...anyway...brand new thing, and it not only has a floppy controller, it supports 5.25" floppy drives. I was flabbergasted. (Rarely do I get to use the word flabbergasted. To flabbergast? He, she flabbergasts...?)
Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
I still have something similar to the pic above plus a few other smaller containers full of 3.5in. floppies. And, I have a handful of 5.25s, which includes the original box and game disks for the Star Trek: The 25th Anniversary game (which, in case you were concerned, was indeed 100% IBM/Tandy Compatible!).
I've also got something just like this floating around, too.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
I used to have that old game on my old Atari ST! Never could get very far and it crashed like a ZX-81.
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
The computer I am using now while I build a new one has no floppy drive at all. My laptop doesn't have one, either. My deceased desktop has one, but I've rarely if ever used it so I probably won't put one in the new desktop I build. Even though I have several 3.5" drives floating around. And a 5.25" drive as well.
Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
My current computer, roughly 3 1/2 years old, has a 3.5" drive. The one before that obviously had both a 3.5" and a 5.25" drive. I've still got several 3.5" disks laying around. I haven't had much use for them with my current computer. Still, at least I can still use them when I need to. My next computer, whenever I will purchase it, will probably also have a 3.5" drive.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
quote:The one before that obviously had both a 3.5" and a 5.25" drive.
What do you mean, "obviously"? I haven't even seen a 5.25" drive in 5 years, and that was on an Apple ][ built in the 80's.
I actually have the full, boxed set of Microsoft Windows 3.1 and DOS some-version on 5.25" diskettes, including manuals, somewhere in my parents' basement. Probably all corrupted by now, but interesting collector's item. I bought it by mistake from eBay thinking they were 3.5" disks.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
saw a box of 5.25 disks a couple of years ago- some lawyer wanted them transferred to DVD.
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Wow, that's quite the leap in technology... should just got them all put on a jumpdrive.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I guess so...looked like some class action thing they inherited or old cases from storage. Happens when law firms merge.
Posted by Toadkiller (Member # 425) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dat: Still, at least I can still use them when I need to. My next computer, whenever I will purchase it, will probably also have a 3.5" drive.
Um, why? You can get a usb floppy drive and toss it in your closet and pull it out if you wanted to use it.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
My current PC doesn't have a floppy drive. It does however have one of those multi-card readers. Which doesn't recognise the second-ger 4Gb SD card I got to put in my mobile. Arse.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
So go buy a USB card reader and floppy drive Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Can't be bothered, and USB-to-phone cable does the trick. The MicroSD card only fits in using one of those adapters anyway and I keep losing the bloody thing.
Posted by Josh (Member # 1884) on :
Those external USB floppies run for like 20 bucks.
Anyway, I'm generally not a fan of ships that stray too far from the typical Trek design lineage. The Spirit looks pretty neat, but I don't like it in the context of ST.
Looks more like a Stargate ship to me.
Posted by Vanguard (Member # 1780) on :
About the Calendar itself...
I've seen it in the store a couple of times, and, I have to say, I thought it was largely just god-awful. The CGI was painful in most respects (I should NEVER be able to see the lines that make up a curve on a still model... ever), the subjects weren't all that interesting, and a lot of the composition (such as the 'warp test') was just atrocious.
My only request for 2010, if they do one, is to make a calendar that wouldn't be an embarassment to a PS1 game.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
On TrekBBS, Andrew Probert has actually put out the question as to what people want for the next calendar. I've seen responses in a million different directions, but at least he's asking. Andy (or was it someone else?) also mentioned that the images done with actual show models are going to be a lot lower poly than models made specifically for still images.
He also posted this:
quote:Hmmm, would you consider a "new angle" exception? Here is a calendar idea I was playing with a while back, thinking it might be fun to shake things up a bit by switching to a vertical format. This is the scene from 'Relics', showing the Enterprise entering the Dyson Sphere..... from ground level. I've always thought this was another one of those missed moments.
Posted by Vanguard (Member # 1780) on :
Whatever the excuse, I've seen a lot better by fans than what the calendar offered. You always have to 'work your medium'...
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
WAcky, it looks like an alternate take on the Enterprise's crash from Generations. I do like the concept though- it might go over better if the "D" was in the extreme background and some of the Sphere's curve could be glimpsed (though that's not technically likely).
Hmmm...maybe just change the perspective slightly so the large door the Enterprise is coming through is visible.
Posted by Johnny (Member # 878) on :
That's a nifty idea. Just the kind of fresh thinking that makes Probert's images the most interesting in the recent calendars.
The rest of the images tend to be a really mixed bag, some very well thought through and interesting, others completely uninspired and crudely put together. But I'd be reluctant to criticise the artists without knowing the process they go through.
How much development goes into the idea behind each image? Who comes up with that idea? What resources are they given access to in regards to models? How much time does the artist have to fine tune the image, render the print quality file and apply any photoshop effects/edits?
Posted by Vanguard (Member # 1780) on :
Thing is, without sounding mean, I HAVE seen artists put in work in much shorter time that looked a lot better. The "wind tunnel" image, in particular, is really unforgivable in terms of quality. It's just plain bad.
Posted by Johnny (Member # 878) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mars Needs Women: Notice the sea vessel in the background of Probert's pic?
I only just noticed he actually has a close up of that ship on his site.
Why? Because she's blonde and naked?
Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by B.J.: He also posted this:
quote:Hmmm, would you consider a "new angle" exception? Here is a calendar idea I was playing with a while back, thinking it might be fun to shake things up a bit by switching to a vertical format. This is the scene from 'Relics', showing the Enterprise entering the Dyson Sphere..... from ground level. I've always thought this was another one of those missed moments.
A good thing that place was depopulated, because anyone around would've collectively pooped to see a Galaxy Class starship erupt from the ground. That would be a neat calendar image, but wouldn't require a vertical format necessarily.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
Hopefully any people around would be aware they were living on the interior of a Dyson Sphere. Unless they weren't, in which case, yeah, major poopage. (Ringworld anyone?)
Posted by Sean (Member # 2010) on :
quote:Originally posted by Johnny:
quote:Originally posted by Mars Needs Women: Notice the sea vessel in the background of Probert's pic?
I only just noticed he actually has a close up of that ship on his site.
I noticed that the TNG style shuttles in the scene actually had the proposed door between the front windows. I don't think that ever made it into the show did it?
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by B.J.: On TrekBBS, Andrew Probert has actually put out the question as to what people want for the next calendar.
You know I've always wanted a shot out one of the E-D windows looking at another part of the ship - maybe in through another window - maybe out a window in the neck looking up to the saucer.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sean: I noticed that the TNG style shuttles in the scene actually had the proposed door between the front windows. I don't think that ever made it into the show did it?
Not explicitly, but the interior set they created did leave room for that possibility.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
quote:Originally posted by AndrewR:
quote:Originally posted by B.J.: On TrekBBS, Andrew Probert has actually put out the question as to what people want for the next calendar.
You know I've always wanted a shot out one of the E-D windows looking at another part of the ship - maybe in through another window - maybe out a window in the neck looking up to the saucer.
I know what I want! Another scene featuring the TOS shuttle! That lame-ass flying shoebox should dominate every SOTL calander! maybe add in a few more months featuring the Chaffe for good measure.... Seriously, of all the shit to waste a month on, why that?
Some ideas: -A Wolf 359 battle scene would be nice- even a rendevous of ships just prior to engaging the Borg.
-The meeting at Dytalix-B of the Thomas Paine, Horatio and Enterprise might be cool.
-The Relativity witnessing the destruction of either the Xindi homeworld of Praxis might be a nice scene.
-Rescue/salvage ships working the aftermath of the battle against the Borg- just post First Contact.
Shit, there's tons of possible cool scenes without resorting to the artsy-fartsy crap we've been subjected to as filler....like yet another re-imagined scene from a TOS episode. We have the new-released episodes for that!
One thing I demand- If they use a Nebula, it should have the correct number of windows- not a galaxy saucer pasted onto a Nebbie body. Posted by Starship Freak (Member # 293) on :
Nope
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Oooh I know - some nice high-res beauty shots of the First Contact ships - the Akira, Steamrunner, Norway and Sabre. Yes, yes Norway model lost - rebuild it!
What about creating a decent CGI model of Deep Space Nine?
Or some of the 'lesser seen' ships - the Constellation, the New Orleans and the Cheyenne classes.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Romulan War- but not a half assed copy & paste job of NX classes and BOPs with Dominon Nacelles shooting at each other. Show some new designs.
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