posted
Riker's no diplomat. He was far more a man of exploration and action - and at that, SHIPBOARD action - than Picard ever was. Not that he'd be the one to shoot first and get the Doctor to autopsy later, but he'd not resort to the diplomatic pussyfooting some people think TNG is characterised by. I think his character would be far more matched to exploration than Picard ended up being, and that the Titan will be a good vehicle for his zest.
Riker is finally going on the very mission type he was tapped to do fifteen years before, because finally the ship and the mission were right. I'll conjecture that he turned down the low-and-slow Drake so he could come aboard the high-tech and new Enterprise-D, to open his career to better opportunities; he turned down Aries because it wasn't his kind of ship (Constellation, old and patchwork), and Melbourne because it wasn't his kind of mission (while larger, we've conjectured often that neither Excelsior nor Nebula classes were serious explorer starships, but rather utility ships in TNG, which covers both Melbournes). Now, when offered the Titan on a mission of exploration, he's finally got a brand new ship on his kind of mission - so off he goes. Anyone see where I'm going with this?
Voyager didn't have a counsellor because Janeway didn't figure they'd need one for their short term mission - this is established in dialogue somewhere in the first season or two. Voyager, while a ship certainly capable of long-term exploration, probably reflected Starfleet's need to fill the gap of needing a small ship that could do all the stuff the big explorers needed to do - though not necessarily all at once.
I envision this Luna class to be at the opposite end of this spectrum from the Intrepid, with the "Jack of all Trades" ships like the Galaxy and Sovereign occupying a comfortable middle. Quick and smart, but built for the long haul and with the resources to stay in shape for a long time without visiting a major starbase.
Remember those REALLY deep space explorers that Admiral what's-his-noodle was talking about in Voyager's final season, being merely 5-6 years away from Voyager (and by extension, about 30,000 ly from Earth)? I see the Luna class being the kind of ship that could be sent on this sort of mission. Not that Riker and company would ever find themselves on that deep a mission of exploration, but Titan should be the kind of ship that Starfleet would send way, WAY out there.
Amasov Prime
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posted
Here's my only problem with that description; Riker said the Titan would lead the task force to the Neutral Zone. If the ship is supposed to be a medium-sized explorer and it's his first mission as a captain, why would they send him? We know that at least one Galaxy was also available, and there are probably many other, more experienced captains out there for such a difficult task. So either he was taking it literally (as in "We'll lead the way and the Admiral will follow us with his Galaxy") or the whole mission is not as important as it may seem (maybe Starfleet just sends in a few ships to help clean up the Bassen rift and transport the federation ambassador back to Romulus, something like that).
Besides that, I was always under the impression that Riker was waiting for the Enterprise or a similar ship. If he now settles for such a relatively small and unimportant ship (at least compared to a Galaxy or Sovereign), he could have taken the Melbourne 11 years ago and could be Admiral already (if the Borg hadn't assimilated him, of course).
Other than that, I'd like to see a return to oval hulls instead of that ugly Nova/Intrepid/Prometheus-triangular crap. I have a design going that uses the Galaxy-saucer turned 90� to make it look more Sovereignish. What about that idea?
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posted
I'm in favor of a blended-notched design. Divots and such in the saucer, but which does not break an overal sleek shape. reduced numbers of greeblies as on Voyager or Pre-E, but perhaps subtler versions of the same. I'd also prefer an ovoid hull - Voyager's just too old for that.
As for Riker and his mission, I'm thinking that it's basically a stop off on the way "Out There", as NX-01 did in its premiere. One of the Federation's oldest enemies had just suffered a major political and military upheaval; if I were Starfleet, I'd temporarily assign my ships to take care of that before getting back to exploartory priorities.
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And here's the first visual innovation I'm going to propose in a collective Flare design - not variable-geometry nacelles as on Voyager, but variable PROFILE nacelles. That's right, nacelles that will actually change shape for a high-speed cruise mode - useful for getting from point A to point B efficiently if not super-fast, as on Voyager.
Say, for example, to have shorter nacelles with the warp coils bunched up together for lower FTL maneuvering or high speed bursts where raw warp power is used to create an appropriate field; and then an extended coil profile that would in turn create a warp field suitable for long-term, high speed cruise. Hell, if the saucer were to be equipped with small nacelles of its own, this could be incorporated into the scheme, as would subtle changes to the rest of the superstructure.
Visually, this has the potential of looking pretty cool, without really breaking the established dogma of starship design - or, as on Voyager, seriously overpowering the story. What I'm talking about is a REAL two-mode starship without really having one; think a not-so-obtuse version of the changes in the Jupiter 2 in the "Lost In Space" remake, the Super Pursuit Mode KITT in "Knight Rider", or even that goofy-cool alien space ship in "Flight of the Navigator".
posted
Speaking of Knight Rider... KITT already had the ability to up to 300mph before SPM of the 4th season. Besides, I find it very difficult that Michael would be able to control KITT at SPM speed anyway... unless that mode switches KITT to Auto Drive.
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Even more difficult to survive if KITT were to make a sudden course correction at 350+ MPH.
Really, I've been thinking of modifying the Nova designs from the back of the TNG tech manual.
The one with the oval saucer and the nacelle pylons (aparantly) protuding through the nacelles.
I figure those protrusions might be the "sandwitched" sensor palates like the (southerland configuration) Nebula sports but blended into the hull (as opposed to on a pod).
That or I'll put most of it's weapons on those protrusions: it would give the ship total coverage and I could have the first starship without phasers on the saucer.
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Not a bad direction to go, but anything remotely resembling the cooler potential designs published over the years by Sternbach or Eaves or whoever has already been done at least once.
posted
Yeah, I've seen that one but I'm not real thrilled by it.
The seriously deep sectional "trenches" in the saucer bother me and they changed the saucer's overall shape from extreme oval to a more circular aspect.
The drawing is only a rough starting point for me at any rate....I had considered making the saucer "egg shaped" in that, while still a flattened disk, the saucer's widest point would be far to the front of the ship and it's smallest at the rear (where I'd probably go back to one central impulse drive).
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Amasov Prime
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quote:Originally posted by Dat: That idea has been done many times over and is not "new" thinking.
Never said it was, but it looks cool.
That Insignia class reminds me of one of the Nova-concepts from the TNG TM. So if you want moveable nacelles, how about nacelles that move up and down the pylon instead of fixed nacelles on foldable pylons?
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quote: So if you want moveable nacelles, how about nacelles that move up and down the pylon instead of fixed nacelles on foldable pylons?
Nope... From my view, if we do moving nacelles of basically any sort, they'll compare it to Voyager. If we do CHANGING nacelles, it'll be like nothing done in starship design (Norway conjecture aside), without straying too much.
I'm proposing we do a sleek starship, and the kicker is that at warp, it changes into a SLEEKER starship - and not just the nacelles. Sternbach was on the right track with his Voyager concepts, but he decided to make his nacelles "explode" open when at high warp to expose the warp coils in a bid to make the ship go faster; they eventually settled on the VG pylon assembly which has been forever lampooned as water wings. So, I'd recommend against VG pylons.
I wish I could articulate this in sketch form... In addition to the above examples, how about the Incredibile from "The Incredibles", or even Inspector Gadget's Gadgetmobile? Or, remember how the Enterprise-D looked so much sleeker at that exact moment it slingshots into warp? What if we had a ship that could do exactly that, except STAY that way when at warp?
posted
If nacelles changed in any way, it might be an internal change, such as the warp coils moving farther apart or becoming thinner. Wouldn't be seem much from the outside, though, other than some telescoping sections.
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Yup, which could result in several visual changes. In addition to becoming longer, sliding lengthwise, the bussard colelctors could become bigger (sliding panels reveal more of it), additional greeblies would become visible (imagine an Excelsior-esque dorsal grille being revealed as a Galaxy nacelle extends), and for embelishments, a small fin or two.
As for the coils, I've been thinking about that too. There could be the simple idea of one set of coils that move further apart when activated. Or, you can have two sets of embedded coils: think of one set of coils with a smaller set in it, which are aligned in a staggered configuration. In "expanded" mode, the smaller set of coils would extend aftwards and the nacelle superstructure would alter to accomodate. This could figure into the endurace factor of the ship, too - with essentially two warp engines in a single nacelle, losing one set wouldn't be a critical failure.
Then there's the deflector assembly - what if that telescoped forward to be able to better protect the ship at higher warp? Imagine a basic starship with the basic TNG neckless saucer-secondary-two nacelles config. Then it goes to high warp - the nacelles elongate, the deflector assembly moves forward (think of it changing from an Intrepid to a sleeker Sovereign type), and a couple pointless fins pop up somewhere on the saucer. Or, if the saucer has independent Prometheus-type recessed nacelles on top, deploy them too. FA-SHAOWW!!
And that's where I'd stop, lest I spooge so much as to make walking around too difficult.
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