posted
I just dont see the advantage of ever having them retracted: Even Voyager never explained why the nacelles were not just kept in the "up" position. (the reason is, of course, that the moving nacelles was a gimmick to make the ship somehow unique).
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
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posted
In this case, retracting and possibly moving the nacelles behind the saucer at impulse would help protect them in combat by reducing their profile, adding additional layers of hull to shoot through (if the grilles are covered, and since the collapsed hull plating would be doubled up in places.
In the case of power loss? well, if we go along the lines of two sets of coils, power loss in either set would not be catastrophic. Power loss in mid-change would not be hideous either, as one set would not be powered up regardless.
As for a VG warp envelope, I think it's accepted that all fields are known to do this ANYWAY - to the limitations of the hull shape. Sternbach has also said that an Intrepid can probably go to warp with its nacelles down, just not nearly as fast or efficiently. We're taking this to the next stage with this proposal. And the Nova proposals suggest that warp fields are tied closely with hull shape AND nacelle positioning.
I propose that using Voyager as a stepping stone, the next stage will be to change the shape of the nacelles themselves - and that by this point Starfleet will be able to do so without it looking way too high tech.
posted
I like the idea of the Luna class. While there are only 12 in service so far, more of these ships would be a great replacement for the few Excelsior and Ambassador class ships that survived the Dominion war.
-------------------- "Sweet Jesus, do you have to use the whole can?" -Metatron
Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:And no water wings. God, please no water wings.
You mean those goofy pylon-mounted impulse engines on Voyager? Those did indeed suck.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
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posted
Guys, as interesting as this is, you might wanna consider moving it to a more private venue. All sorts of people drop in here and lurk, all it takes is for the wrong sort of person to drop in and read some of the ideas - or even for word of such ideas to get passed on to such a person - and they could quite easily use the best ideas in their own submission, with no way to prove they plagiarised.
(as it is, I suspect they're shooting themselves in the foot with this competition, it would be very easy for some little toerag to come along and claim that the winning entrant had stolen his ideas...)
And I wouldn't get to bogged-down in unusual modes of propulsion or ship configuration - chances are they'll never get passed on to the writers of these books. The same goes for bridge layouts and so forth; I'm willing to bet that that lengthy entries, which read more like actual proposals for developing Starfleet classes, will get rejected out of hand in favour of nice simple presentations which feature an interesting yet plausible design depicted in a pleasing manner.
That's if you want to win, of course. If you're just after a pleasing diversion to while away the summer months, be my guest!
posted
Lee said exactly what I was going to post. The design has to look good first, then be functional second. No one is going to care how the warp field looks.
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
Until then, may some proud owner of "Taking Wing" post the relevant passages on what we are supposed to be designing?
Luna class we already know. But is she called a cruiser or an explorer or something like that? Are figures given on ship size, performance, crew size, armament, primary mission profile? Any neato tech tidbits? Comments on the paint job? Anecdotes on what the designers were smoking?
posted
Bumping up - here's all we know so far. What's the source on this, Jason?
quote:Here are the main parts of the concept notes from the back of the titan novel...(not exactly word for word)
Titan Concept notes
USS Titan, NCC 80102, Luna-Class
The Titan is a mid-size starfleet vessel, approx. 450m in length, with a crew complement of 350, Titans hull configuration is comparable to other SF vessels.
Luna class is SF newest-gen long-range explorer, a starship but not built specifically for combat, but like the connie, a vessel designed for a long term multipurpose mission into uncharted space. Equipped with conventional Tactical systems (deflector shields, phasers, quantum torps) Titan also boasts state-of-the-art propulsion and cutting-edge scientific equipment as well as being a testbed for experimental scienc tech not yet available on other classes.
The Titan is manned by the most varied multispecies crew in SF history, with humans comprising less than 15% of the 350 member crewthe diversity of the crew is intended to facilitate stories that will explore the ways that beings of different cultures, biologies, psychologies and physical appearances learn how to work together, or fail to, depending on the circumstances they encounter.
The Luna-class development project was initiated in 2369 in response to the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole. Field testing of the USS Luna began in 2372, but the projected was shelved due to the dominion war, then resumed in 2375.
LUNA-Class Fleet:
all ships named for moons in the Sol System (Terran Solar System)
Amalthea Callisto Charon Europa Galatea Ganymede Io Luna Oberon Rhea Titan Triton
Submissions must be in the form of general plans (i.e., technical illustrations), and must include the following five external views:
side front back top bottom
All files submitted must include the designer's name, address, telephone number, and email address.
Designs must be submitted via email to [email protected] in the following electronic format:
jpeg CMYK color 14" x 9" at 300dpi
All submissions must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, August 15, 2005.
Nothing we can't handle. Also, here's the book's opening blurb, which provides some of the mission context:
After almost a decade of strife against foes such as the Borg, the Cardassians, the Klingons, and the Dominion, the United Federation of Planets is at the dawn of a new era. Starfleet is renewing its mission of peaceful exploration, diplomacy, and the expansion of knowledge. Among the starships spearheading that endeavor is the U.S.S. Titan, commanded by Captain William T. Riker and manned by the most biologically varied and culturally diverse crew in Starfleet history.
But their mission does not begin according to plan.
In the wake of Star Trek � Nemesis, Praetor Shinzon, slayer of the Romulan Senate, is dead. The power vacuum created by his demise has put the Romulan Star Empire, longtime adversary of the Federation, at the brink of civil war. Competing factions now vie for control of their fragmenting civilization, and if the empire should fall, that entire area of the galaxy may destabilize.
To restore order to the region, Titan 's long-anticipated mission of exploration is delayed as Starfleet assigns Riker to set up power-sharing talks among the Romulan factions. But even as the first tentative steps are taken toward building a new Romulus, the remnants of the Tal Shiar, the dreaded Romulan intelligence service, are regrouping behind the scenes for a power play of their own. With no other help available, Riker and the Titan crew become the last hope to prevent the quadrant from falling into chaos.
posted
Sounds like it wouldn't be too different from the Nova-class, maybe something in the middle between Nova and Sovereign, with a touch of Prometheus...
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