Yeah, remember that whole complete Starfleet register project I was working on for...ever? Yeah, I finished it at the end of 2009. All the data is entered and edited. it's pretty sweet.
Now I'm writing up generalized index pages for the eventual website. The intent was always to put the information online, on a website of my own making, & release it to the world. That requires more than the information, though. It means writing up a history & a piece on each ship class & the like. Anyway, the way I laid things out is to have all these ship classes grouped into "generations". Each generation would have a page for it as sort of a subindex for the attendant classes. I've been writing those pages first because it allows me to lay out the history of what I'm writing about, & thus place each class in the proper framing when I get write about it.
Anyway, at someone's suggestion, I'm posting the first three pieces here for a general read. Foundation generation covers the events leading to the Federation's founding, the creation of Starfleet, & the ships that formed it in 2161. Unity covers 2162 to 2175, and Trailblazer is 2186 to 2202. Here's a zipfile.
FlareUpload's still fucked, huh? Some things never change.
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Trailblazers is looking good. Noticed a few spelling and grammatical errors, nothing big. Hit me up on FB or Messenger...
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Shikkie! How ya doin' man? Youve becme our very own Jerry Church.
Posted by Tom Selleck in Mr. Baseball (Member # 239) on :
See, what you should do, and this is what I tried to do, but a cataclysmic series of gammashifts and birthdays have long since cast my work into dust and fusillade, is the following:
Obviously reappropriate all computer game / digital media ships and (as best as possible) recondense the names/numbers thereof, but more importantly is the following:
Use throwaway comic book drawings to flesh out unseen/imaginary designs. Though:
You're probably creative enough to stand without, I think it'd be an admirable life's work to somehow create a formative amalgamation of everything we've ever seen on this Prime universe.
I mean, what, there's 90000 numbers, now? Nigh on 98xxx, if we mash Online into our pissers.
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
He actually has a list of all ships from NCC-1 to NCC-100000. Class names and histories, too. The canon ones, of course, plus fan designs and some of his own creation. Then there's the ones that have no design for them, I think...
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Finally got the time to read through them. Nothing jumped out at me for specific commenting, but I definitely like the overall flow of the history. It's different from the various theories that have developed in various fan circles over the years, but that's not a bad thing.
One of the most interesting parts was explaining how the UE Starfleet became the UFP Starfleet without directly merging the other members' forces. Interesting idea there, that makes sense from the traditional Trekkian idealistic view.
Are you planning on doing any more articles?
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Yeah, I'm cogitating upon the piece for Third Wave currently, as well as sort of laying out the mental tracks for Deeprange, Sentinel, & New Wave. There's like 10 more after that. Then comes website work & eventual specific class stuff. The idea behind these generation pieces is to lay out the circumstances of the classes, the history surrounding it all, & then use them as a sort of index page for the class-specific ones. That's why I don't go too much into detail about the actual classes & instead do things like spend 5 paragraphs talking about colonization & economics. Anyone can just toss up a big list but without context, it really doesn't mean much.
It's hard rationalizing certain decisions in the context of the history, but I try to actually think them through & consider later ramifications rather than just toss things in haphazardly.
Posted by akb1979 (Member # 557) on :
I like this, very much. I look forward to the next chapters. Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
I apologize for this taking so long, but here's Third Wave...finally. The past 6 weeks have been filled with all sorts of fun: the night dishwasher walked out in the middle of his shift; the other line cook crashed a truck owned by the catering venue that he borrowed to move into a house while having no license or insurance & was "indefinitely suspended" (that is, fired once the insurance issue is resolved); my boss quit; the new management made everything more complicated because they're catering chefs & not restaurant cooks; an out-of-state wedding; a close relative of the roommate dying of a stroke; the general manager being fired; rebuilding Guinea Pig Town; & my own psychoemotional angst. HOORAY!
Regardless, here it is. Third Wave officially covers 2214 to 2217 , when the ships were beginning production, but actually covers about 2205 to 2220-ish.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
But hey, other tahn all that, life is easy, right?
Just keep visualizing that beach fro the end of Shawshank Redemption and you'll make it through.
Posted by akb1979 (Member # 557) on :
A very nice continuation Shik, a few grammar errors but then it's a WIP like you said. Very creative and well thought out I feel. I especially like the POV you have taken to the rapid expansion, the problems that it caused to the inner regions, and how Starfleet adapted. I look forward to the next installment. Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
After several months & a great deal of hardship comes Deeprange generation, covering 2229 to 2242. Actually, it covers all of the 2220s, but officially it starts at 2229.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
I like it. It pulls together a few loose ends, especially how the Klingon conflict could be traced back to Archer's first contact. (Ahh, fan rationalizations...)
But could you find a different upload service for the next file? That 45-second delay is obnoxious, and I got a very shady full-screen advert when I clicked on the download.
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
The only other free filesharing upload site that I know if isn't any better. Besides, the internet is for PORN. Didn't you know? Posted by akb1979 (Member # 557) on :
Whatever happened to "Timo's Hitchhiker's Guide to the UFP Starfleet"? Did Timo ever finish it? Is Timo OK, I see he's not posted in a long time... Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Timo seems to have stopped posting here altogether in favour of TrekBBS...
Posted by akb1979 (Member # 557) on :
Boo! What's his username there, do you know?
Posted by thesonofodin (Member # 1025) on :
akb, I contacted Timo months ago, and he did a newer version of the guide. It has expanded a bit, and new info in the guide.
Posted by akb1979 (Member # 557) on :
Cool! Where can I get a copy please? Love the edition I have but would love to see the latest.
I also wish to see more of this one here in this thread - it's very good, I like it! Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I knew it! Timo's the Thing- get the flamethrowers!
Posted by akb1979 (Member # 557) on :
Have you finished this? Is there any more? Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Woo doggies, it's been some time. But hey, we're up & ready to go again. That being said, I've done some edits & even have some new product. So, I present the first 4 articles for your perusal:
Foundation covers the founding of the Federation and Starfleet in 2161, with a minor recapping of the Romulan War. (9 pgs.)
Unity covers 2162 through 2175. (10 pgs)
Trailblazer details ships from 2186 to 2202, interim history from 2175. (12 pgs.)
Deeprange runs from 2221 to 2242, with interim history from 2200. (17 pgs.)
I've also included the initial draft for Sentinel (20 pgs.), which covers 2254 to 2269...sort of. The interim history runs from about 2240 & the article in truth ends at 2265, but the last class enters service in 2269, so it's somewhat pseudopodic.
As usual, looking for general critique & comment, & even possible enjoyment. Questions, comments, complaints, & racial epithets can be sent my way as needed. I would ask that they be of a constructive nature, though; don't just say me you don't like something, tell me why. Be specific. I'd also appreciate being told of any grammatical & spelling errors; sometimes the eyes slide over things after so many readings. In the case of Sentinel, I know there's overuse of some words. Normally I make great use of Word's thesaurus but that article was about 85% written on a crappy mobile phone-sized Android tablet & I couldn't find a free thesaurus app with a sufficiently diverse offline dictionary. Keep that in mind: I'm effectively writing a book on a cellphone.
So what you're saying is, you've done all this on a PADD? Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
More or less, yeah, & don't think I don't think about that all the time.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Is there a missing article from your folder? There seems to be a gap between 2200-2220.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shik: So, I present the first 4 articles for your perusal:
Foundation covers the founding of the Federation and Starfleet in 2161, with a minor recapping of the Romulan War. (9 pgs.)
Unity covers 2162 through 2175. (10 pgs)
Trailblazer details ships from 2186 to 2202, interim history from 2175. (12 pgs.)
--->Deeprange runs from 2221 to 2242, with interim history from 2200. (17 pgs.)<---
There used to be an article twixt Trailblazer & Deeprange called Third Wave. It was deemed redundant, cannibalized & elements reused in the other articles, &the ships first deleted, then repurposed & put at the start of Deeprange.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Gotcha. And I just noticed there's a gap from 2175-2186, too, obviously for the same reason.
I like it a lot. Interesting rationalizations for things like the Constitution numbering anomalies. Lots of interesting stories and tidbits (like Garth and Section 31, a twist I should've seen coming sooner than I did). Your insight into why the Klingons despise the Humans makes a lot of sense too (surgical strikes and proportional retaliation insult their honor). I don't really have any specific feedback, it holds together very tightly.
Will you be adding other pages on specific ships? Or linking to references? Some of the classes I'm already familiar with, but others seem to be your own design.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Wow, actual feedback!
Right, there's no reason to believe that introduction of new classes is continuous & constant.
Glad to hears it reads well & fits together. The edits to streamline we're large. You can get a sense of it by comparing the first four with Sentinel. I try to take the time to make my reasonings be plausible rather than "wow, that's cool!"; I feel it makes for a better product. The Garth scandal took a lot of time because I wanted to do it right, without falling into the traps others do/did (such as yet another mad admiral, or the constant overuse of Section 31 as villains) & linking that to a larger thing helped me put Nogura where I wanted him to be. There's also a neat irony in that the fall of Starfleet's 2nd hero led to the 1st becoming its new head, who then paves the way for the rise of the 3rd. But Nogura is very well fleshed out in my mind, to the point where I could do a doctoral thesis on him.
I also try to stay away from two things I really hate: the need to tie every little thing in (something that's the bane of the recent novel verse) & making every known canonical fact a major thing. For example, many have Bryce Shumar of Essex being this well-known captain, when in fact it was more like "...Bryce who?" So I barely mentioned the ship in passing, & that as an incidental. Unless it's really important, it's not necessary to mention. Sentinel was/is hard because there's so MUCH to mention, & it can't all be handled in a straightforward linear fashion; it HAS to jump around, back & forth.
Class-specific pages will eventually be written in the future; they are the promise of new content when the site eventually goes up. These generational articles provide the initial introduction & framing of the times, & are, I feel, a good starter set when all of them are done. As for the classes themselves, there are designs set for all post-Foundation classes but 2, at the far end near 2400, & are being worked on currently. There are 12 Foundation classes that have no design as yet, all nonhuman ships, & I would work those out with whomever ends up drawing them. That's the thing: I will need an artwork partner, because some things need redraws or edits, & others are merely quick pen-&-ink sketches. But again, that's for the future.
Posted by thesonofodin (Member # 1025) on :
Does anyone know if this project ever got finished?
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
In fact, I DO know if this project ever got finished.
The answer is no, is has not been finished....but it is very close to being finished. Currently, I have the outline built for the very last article piece & am doing the physical edits on the penultimate one. When I finally finish the last one, I'm going to take a month or so off before beginning the 2nd-round edits to further shape it, then it goes to the the reading team. With luck, I will be in a place both creatively & financially to begin work on the actual website well before the end of this year, but the end of the year is the goal.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
I know no one cares right now, but I'm gonna say it anyway.
Today I finished the first draft of the last framing article for this fucking project.
I'm gonna take a few days, edit it, then print everything baxk out & start second-round edits before tossing it to the reading team.
This basically means I can die now.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
That’s great news, Shik! I know all about those long-term projects that seem to never end. I look forward to seeing it.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
SOON.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Finished second-round edits on Monday; started inputting to digital files immediately. Got 3 done so far–off to the beta readers afterward.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Ooh, congratulations! Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Thanks! Expect an email in the next 2 or 3 weeks.
Posted by thesonofodin (Member # 1025) on :
Wow, excellent news Shik. I know you have busted your hump to complete this. Congrats on the awesome progress.
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