posted
I recall Mojo making a comment that one of the CGI images for the now-defunct Unseen Frontiers book was going to be the Narendra III battle. He had mentioned that he designed a precursor to the TNG Warbird for the ships that actually attacked the planet. Can anyone who has at least semi-regular contact with Mojo (i.e. Mark Nguyen et.al) find out from him what those designs were to look like? I know I'm asking a lot here, but Mojo has shown some of his CGI models to us in the past.
-------------------- "A film made in 2008 isn't going to look like a TV series from 1966 if it wants to make any money. As long as the characters act the same way, and the spirit of the story remains the same then it's "real" Star Trek. Everything else is window dressing." -StCoop
Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
*SNIF* Ahh, the things that could have been...
As far as I know, no designs were really finalized for those ships, and of the interm stuff I saw there were no new warbirds. I believe that they would've been an interm design based on first season TNG development stuff given to Mojo by Rick or Andy. The TNG Continuing Mission book had some of these, so I'd recommend you start with those and use your imagination.
posted
On Unseen Frontiers: I wonder if there is a way to pressure S&S into publishing the book. Maybe if a place like amazon.com would post a reservation for such a book like they did for FireFly? I seem to remember that there was no definate decision on FireFly coming out on DVD but when Amazon.com started to do this poll type thing the decision was made and we now have FireFly on DVD [for those who can afford it ].
On Narendra III: Is it or is it not true that the outpost was spaceborne? That's what I had believed for so long... I'd be kinda dissappointed if we didn't see some new Klingon stuff in such a picture [a station, shuttles, workbees, and maybe a small ship or two].
On Romulans: It goes without saying that I would have expected new Romulan vessels here as well... and if it were to happen, a mix of the old Klingon cruisers and yet another "new" design if an image of the Tomed Incident was made.
-------------------- Later, J _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ The Last Person to post in the late Voyager Forum. Bashing both Voyager, Enterprise, and "The Bun" in one glorious post.
posted
Nothing was ever said of N3 being spaceborne or not. The nomenclature indicates the usual Trek planetary naming scheme, so most people assume it's something on, or at most in orbit of a planet. From our short discussions on that part of the book (frankly, we were concenrating more on other sections), we were focusing mostly on the battle itself, and I believe Mojo would have had a planet in the background while a spiffy new CGI Ambassador model was being blown to bits by spiffy new CGI old warbirds.
[Aside: Hey, anyone ever suppose that the warbirds in "Nemesis" were not new ships, but the smaller, older ships that were all that Donatra could lay her hands on a such short notice? I mean, the rest of the fleet was probably being deployed for the conquering of the Federation. Hrmm...]
Anyway, this brings up an avenue for speculation, since we've seen precious little evidence for how an attack on a surface installation would work. There was DS9 "Once More Unto the Breach" which had five BoPs taking on an improbably huge Dominion oupost... But in general, WOULD it take four warbirds to kill a surface outpost from orbit? What about any unmentioned Klingon defending ships? I personally don't see a problem with a BoP or two trying in vain to hold back the Romulans, losing, and then the E-C riding to the rescue before being destroyed herself in "a fierce folly of photon torpedoes".
RIP Unseen Frontier! It was a pleasure for me to work on the project before its untimely cancellation. As we've mentioned before, Pocket has had historically poor sales with its nonfiction Trek books (even the really good ones, like the DS9 Companion). I think they're still in no mood to try again, even with a book based on and made by the guy who spearheaded the immensely popular SOTL calendars. Grr.
quote:Originally posted by J: On Unseen Frontiers: I wonder if there is a way to pressure S&S into publishing the book. Maybe if a place like amazon.com would post a reservation for such a book like they did for FireFly? I seem to remember that there was no definate decision on FireFly coming out on DVD but when Amazon.com started to do this poll type thing the decision was made and we now have FireFly on DVD [for those who can afford it ].
That sounds like a great idea - if it works! How do we do it?
quote:Originally posted by J: On Narendra III: Is it or is it not true that the outpost was spaceborne? That's what I had believed for so long... I'd be kinda dissappointed if we didn't see some new Klingon stuff in such a picture [a station, shuttles, workbees, and maybe a small ship or two].
They never said, but I've always assumed that it was a planet-bound outpost.
On Romulans: It goes without saying that I would have expected new Romulan vessels here as well... and if it were to happen, a mix of the old Klingon cruisers and yet another "new" design if an image of the Tomed Incident was made.
Yes I agree I think that there has to be design lineage between the RBOP, RCruiser and the RWB. Something akin to what was posted on another thread.
I'd expect a more bare-bones "warbird" type - I guess you could sorta go Galaxy <=> D'Deridex; Ambassador <=> Narendra III Warbirds.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by J: On Narendra III: Is it or is it not true that the outpost was spaceborne?
If you take Captain Garrett's line from the episode, she mentions the Enterprise was "responding to a distress call from the Klingon outpost *on* Narendra III".
posted
After a long bout of chronic timiditosis, Trek novelists have once again gotten back to the business of inventing new (and old) ship classes. For the Tomed incident story "Serpents Among the Ruins", David George created something he called the Ivarix class warbird, essentially half a D'eridex (upper half), and paired her with some lesser designs he described basically as slightly Romulanized K't'ingas. Quantum singularity propulsion, mixed disruptor, plasma cannon and torpedo armament, green surface finish, bird shapes, the works. (Yes, the Ivarix could easily be what Donatra and her friend are flying...)
I think the Romulans would do quite nicely with those until the 2350s-60s, when the D'eridex premiers. It could well be in their green blood to build only one type of capital ship per generation, and to concentrate on doing it well.
Klingons in turn could have a wider selection of unseen types. For planetary defense, they might have something interesting besides BoPs, something we don't see in deep space...
posted
I read Serpents about a month ago. Terrific book. Almost as good as Art of the Impossible, which is by far the best "new" Trek novel I've read in along time. Keith DeCandido should be writing for the show, not for Pocket Books.
Anyway, back to Serpents...(*Spoilers ahead*) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ The Romulan flagship Tomed is one of the aforementioned Ivarix class ships. However, in deference to Timo's description, I didn't actually see her as a one-hulled D'deridex per the description (which was, in all fairness, kinda vague). I got the impression that she had a rounded hull which started at the "beak" & tapered back to the end, with the nacelles on pylons jutting forward and upward from the main body, like an actual bird in flight.
The main reason I started this topic was because I had seen some fan-designed artwork of the Narendra III battle, not to mention the cover art for "Vulcan's Heart", both of which depicted D'Deridexes as the warbirds of the time. I obviously thought that was in error, & I was hoping to find at least a semi-official design better suited to the period. Also, as much as I actually like the TNG warbird pre-design (with the dorsal/ventral nacelles), I still think it too "modern" for the 2330's.
-------------------- "A film made in 2008 isn't going to look like a TV series from 1966 if it wants to make any money. As long as the characters act the same way, and the spirit of the story remains the same then it's "real" Star Trek. Everything else is window dressing." -StCoop
Registered: Jun 2000
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quote:Originally posted by J: On Unseen Frontiers: I wonder if there is a way to pressure S&S into publishing the book. Maybe if a place like amazon.com would post a reservation for such a book like they did for FireFly?
There is only one way, I fear, that this books will ever get published, and that is if some bright ship geek organizes a MASSIVE letter-writing campaign to get it done.
(This is what was tried, once, in an effort to get a "Captain Sulu" Book published, although the campaign failed to generate the 1000 individual letters (no form letters!) that Pocket Set as the necessary limit.)
So I'd say that's what you need. Minimum 1000 letters, all unique, all snailmail, they wouldn't take email before, addressed to Pocket Books, demanding the book be published.
Good luck. If they go for it, I've got three different addresses I can get people to send letters from.
-------------------- "The best defense is not a good offense. The best defense is a terrifyingly accurate and devastatingly powerful offense, with multiply-overlapping kill zones and time-on-target artillery strikes." -- Laurence, Archangel of the Sword
Registered: Mar 1999
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Charles Capps
We appreciate your concern. It is noted and stupid.
Member # 9
posted
OMG, I can't believe S&S are still using that hacked UBB... I was the one that set it up for'em.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote: we now have FireFly on DVD [for those who can afford it]
Tepid irony: A fancy art hardcover would probably go for just as much if not more than Firefly's SMRP, depending upon its exact level of fancy.
Registered: Mar 1999
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