Star Trek Into Darkness, in theaters May 17, 2013

[peter]

Might be a repost, but it's so cool

[electric indigo]

...needs more Lens Flare.

[ron5864]

Still not convinced it IS the Enterprise that we see crashing into the bay in the trailers. Look at the nacell spacing and the shape as well. Looks a lot different.

Chris

That scene reminds me of the Ptolemaios, from Gundam 00, plunging into the ocean to create a large water mist to disperse incoming beam weapons. But I doubt that's what the Enterprise is trying to do here.

[Hikuro]

Hm not sure of that new 1701A variant, I mean, not much of squat for a change honestly.

[Hikuro]

mecha2241, on 04 Feb 2013 - 21:01, said:

A, B, and E didn't exactly have the most pleasant service lives either.

1701-A was kind of a piece of junk in 5 (bad movie aside) and was

trashed to the point it had to be decommissioned at the end of 6.

1701-B was trashed it's first day out of Spacedock.

1701-E was almost assimilated in First Contact, had to eject it's warp

core in Insurrection, and was pretty well trashed before it had to ram

the Scimitar in Nemesis.

It just seems like the name was really bad luck for a Starship.

Actually A was a fine ship after all the bugs were worked out. You got to understand that years pass in each movie. I think by the third film the Enterprise was technically decommissioned for long voyage exploration and used to train cadets.

After which A went back to do another long voyage set and everyone was ready to retire, I believe another 5-10 years passed between movies 4 and 6.

Enterprise B had a very long service history going on to the middle of the 24th century and even Sulu's daughter at one point became captain of the Enterprise after Captain Harriman stepped down. Then Sulu stepped down and a Captain Johnson took over for a brief time until the ship's crew contracted some kind of an illness and I think all hands were lost along with the ship by 2329. So it had over 30 years of service.

Enterprise C was launched by 2332 and continued with until it's destruction by the Romulans in 2344 protecting Klingon outpost.

Enterprise D was launched in 2363 and lasted until 2371 when it was destroyed in Generations.

Enterprise E was launched in 2372 and continued service even after Nemesis in 2379 and according to the comic book Star Trek Countdown, Data in the B-4 body became captain as of 2387. It underwent heavy damage against Nero's ship but survived. It was never said if the Enterprise E was ever destroyed or was eventually decommissioned.

Enterprise F is the latest in the Star Trek online game as the new Odyssey class cruiser by the early 25th century. However this isn't considered apart of the main continuity I guess.

Enterprise J is last known enterprise according to the Enterprise TV series where Archor travels to the future and is inside one of the deck halls of the ship fighting the sphere builders. By then though I think it was the 26th century, which means if F was apart of the continuity would mean F, G, H, and I had very short lived histories.

[myk]

Enterprise D was launched in 2363 and lasted until 2371 when it was destroyed in Generations.

More like sacrificed, but yeah...

[Kyp Durron]

More like sacrificed, but yeah...

It was fugly, it needed to die so that a much nicer looking ship could take it's place.

-Kyp

[lechuck]

It was fugly, it needed to die so that a much nicer looking ship could take it's place.

-Kyp

By what!? A neck-less ship without any saucer separation, hardly any mass/volume, and super elongated warp drives sticking out in the nowhere.

There is a missing scene in Nemesis were Picard cried and wished he had his Galaxy-class after he rammed the Scimitar his WHOLE starship had to be towed back for repair...

[David Hingtgen]

The Ent-E most certainly could separate its saucer, the designer made a whole series of drawings showing exactly how he built it in.

However, when the Nemesis team "tweaked" the CG model and abandoned the physical model, that feature was likely lost due to the changes on the rear of the saucer. (which is utter heresy IMHO----can you imagine if they made new CG Ent-A and Ent-D models and "tweaked" the proportions to "look cooler" in their minds?)

(though of course, the later 4th-season Ent-D model *did* look different than the original---never knew if it was intentional or just because they didn't measure the original right or something)

[anime52k8]

However, when the Nemesis team "tweaked" the CG model and abandoned the physical model, that feature was likely lost due to the changes on the rear of the saucer. (which is utter heresy IMHO----can you imagine if they made new CG Ent-A and Ent-D models and "tweaked" the proportions to "look cooler" in their minds?)

sure I can imagine it. In the case of the D they probably should have done it, that thing was hideous.

[derex3592]

You know....I grew up watching TNG and originally HATED the Ent. D. But over the years I've come to like it. It's big and luxurious looking. Like a giant space cruise ship kind of. More about crusing around the galaxy and taking important people places. I've built the model twice as a teenager and I'm building another one now (my first attempt to light up a starship!) but I gotta say, the E is waaaay more sleek and battle ready looking. I built that model to and gave it to a friend years ago..(wish I hadn't now).

Edited February 18, 2013 by derex3592

[Keith]

I agree, the D is what it is, a big ugly cruise ship. It's the product of a borring peaceful time in ST history.

[Dynaman]

The first time I saw the "D" at a convention I thought it was a badly done ship done by a fan, boy was I shocked when I saw it REALLY was the new Enterprise. I came to accept it after a while, but it is by far the WORST Enterprise ever (not only in looks, original E used to beat up everyone unless it got sucker punched - the Enterprise D got beat up by almost everyone)

[Chronocidal]

The D just had the disadvantage of having a few angles where it just didn't look good at all. Anything from above and in front mostly, because the entire ship disappears behind that huge saucer.

I have a love/hate relationship with the E... partly because I love the ship to death.. but also because I spent the better part of several years working on a replacement model for the original polygonal travesty in the old Bridge Commander PC game. You never grow to know a ship quite like you do when you build a polygon model, and then draw each of the hull panels onto the textures by hand.

As far as the saucer separation goes though... yes, they tweaked the design for Nemesis, but they also based the tweaks to the neck around existing panel lines. I would bet if they really tried, it could still separate.

Problem is, the lower section's got no propulsion, so even if it did separate, you're probably throwing back to the original series, where the separation was an emergency measure to save the crew in case the warp drive went kerblooie. The extra impulse drive on the D made both pieces capable of operating independently, but besides being a plot device, that made sense because you'd want to be able to get all those civilians in the saucer to safety if you needed to fight with the drive section, which had most of the weapons.

No such problem with the E, since they pretty much ditched the civilian population from what I understand. No civilians to evacuate, no need to ditch the saucer for fighting.

[Ghost Train]

Refit-Constitution is still the best looking per my opinion... the King of Knights agrees:

[Greyryder]

The Ent-E most certainly could separate its saucer, the designer made a whole series of drawings showing exactly how he built it in.

However, when the Nemesis team "tweaked" the CG model and abandoned the physical model, that feature was likely lost due to the changes on the rear of the saucer. (which is utter heresy IMHO----can you imagine if they made new CG Ent-A and Ent-D models and "tweaked" the proportions to "look cooler" in their minds?)

(though of course, the later 4th-season Ent-D model *did* look different than the original---never knew if it was intentional or just because they didn't measure the original right or something)

John Eaves, who designed the E, was never really happy with how Ent E looked on screen. The realities of film production had prevented him from overseeing construction of the model. There were supposed to be further changes made to it at the end of Nemesis, but the scene was cut.

Some of those changes to the D were intentional. The original six foot and two foot models were built with the idea that deck ten spanned either side of the saucer rim groove. The windows just above and just below the groove, couldn't be lit on the large model, either. (no windows could be lit on the small model) The four foot model that replaced the other two had some minor tweaks made to it, to better match the sets for Ten Forward and to let those windows be lit up.

[David Hingtgen]

Problem is, the lower section's got no propulsion,

I figure it's more of an "emergency save-the-crew" type of separation, rather than "new ways to fight" like the D did. I mean, look at the D in Generations----all they needed to do was get away from the big, dangerous warp core breach. The Ent-E in the same situation could have accomplished the same thing--evacuate everyone to the saucer, and leave the warp section behind.

John Eaves, who designed the E, was never really happy with how Ent E looked on screen. The realities of film production had prevented him from overseeing construction of the model. There were supposed to be further changes made to it at the end of Nemesis, but the scene was cut.

Some of those changes to the D were intentional. The original six foot and two foot models were built with the idea that deck ten spanned either side of the saucer rim groove. The windows just above and just below the groove, couldn't be lit on the large model, either. (no windows could be lit on the small model) The four foot model that replaced the other two had some minor tweaks made to it, to better match the sets for Ten Forward and to let those windows be lit up.

I always thought Eave's drawings for the E looked slightly bulkier and edgier/angular than the actual model and CG ended up being. If it looked EXACTLY like his drawings, it'd have looked better.

As for the D changes---the "saucer edge" is well-known and logically explained, but the shape of the deflector area seems more like a "they just couldn't replicate the compound curves exactly" thing. (I'll have to go look, but I think the impluse engine area is different, too)

[myk]

It was fugly, it needed to die so that a much nicer looking ship could take it's place.

-Kyp

sure I can imagine it. In the case of the D they probably should have done it, that thing was hideous.

You know....I grew up watching TNG and originally HATED the Ent. D. But over the years I've come to like it. It's big and luxurious looking. Like a giant space cruise ship kind of. More about crusing around the galaxy and taking important people places. I've built the model twice as a teenager and I'm building another one now (my first attempt to light up a starship!) but I gotta say, the E is waaaay more sleek and battle ready looking. I built that model to and gave it to a friend years ago..(wish I hadn't now).

I agree, the D is what it is, a big ugly cruise ship. It's the product of a borring peaceful time in ST history.

The first time I saw the "D" at a convention I thought it was a badly done ship done by a fan, boy was I shocked when I saw it REALLY was the new Enterprise. I came to accept it after a while, but it is by far the WORST Enterprise ever (not only in looks, original E used to beat up everyone unless it got sucker punched - the Enterprise D got beat up by almost everyone)

Guess I'll just continue to be the outcast guys-IMO the Galaxy Class is one of the best designs ever to grace the Trek Universe. Every curvaceous angle of that giant looking ship exuded power and grace all at once. You guys remember those DS9 episodes where they had multiple Galaxy classes just gliding through the Cardassian/Jem H'dar fleets, leaving them in ruin? Awesome.

Now the Sovereign and the Excelsior and the '09 Trek Ent's, those two designs I could never convince myself to like...

Edited February 19, 2013 by myk

[Lightning]

For me, the Excelsior was the best design to come out of the series, it's just one of those "It just looks RIGHT" kinda deals.

The E- was a bit iffy originally to me, the D- looked like they squashed the whole thing together. The F- (I do play STO from time to time).....is just HUGE. I like the uniqueness of the design though, but the sucker is bigger than the Macross from what I've gathered by the feeling.

as far as the Alt Timeline....I think I'll need another movie before I warm up to the design.

[Keith]

I agree, the Excelsior is the Andromeda of ST, both figuratively and literally. That ship was build explicily to f^ck sh!t up in style.

[taksraven]

To hell with "Into Darkness", I'm waiting for THIS>>>>

[Dobber]

My favorite non cannon design was this one from the STO design he Enterprise F contest:

The D is my least favorite too. It did grow on me as I watched the series back in the day so I don't hate it, but it is still my least favorite...or at least second least favorite, just in front of the B. I love the Excelsior class too, but not a big fan of the Excelsior Refit that the B is.

Refit and Sov. E are tops for me. Also really like the Ambassador Class C.

I remember an episode of TNG when the senior staff was going into the confrence room and there were kids playing in there and Riker just playfully scoots them out! That left a bad taste for the D for me...just seemed wrong to me.

Chris

Edited February 19, 2013 by Dobber

[ErikElvis]

I grew up with the D so Im partial to it but I do see it as a luxurious flagship during a peaceful time. The refit just looks rugged. Its a toss-up for favorite with the D.

[David Hingtgen]

The D is my least favorite too. It did grow on me as I watched the series back in the day so I don't hate it, but it is still my least favorite...or at least second least favorite, just in front of the B. I love the Excelsior class too, but not a big fan of the Excelsior Refit that the B is.

Refit and Sov. E are tops for me. Also really like the Ambassador Class C.

Pretty much the same here, only I love the Refit Excelsiors. The Ambassador needs more love, so few depictions/uses of it, despite being a VERY nice design. (really, they should have used that for the Ent-D)

[electric indigo]

The Ambassador class looks like a D-Style Ent-D, IMO. I don't see the improvement.

[David Hingtgen]

The Ambassador class is like a re-proportioned Excelsior. It has none of the curves/flares that the Ent-D and later ships have. It's the last of the "traditional" designs. The saucer and deflector are perfect circles, the nacelle pylons have simple 90-degree bends, etc.

The best way to describe it is that Constitution through Ambassador class are clearly composed of separate parts/sections, while the Galaxy and later are "wholistic" with few clear distinctions between areas---lack of a "neck" above all else.

[anime52k8]

Wasn't the ambassador class designed after the ent-d? I thought the ambassador was just a scaled down galaxy with TOS aesthetic touches to make it feel like a bridge between the TOS and generations design aesthetics.

[Greyryder]

The Ambassador was based on a rejected design for the Ent D. They took most of the forward sweep out of the pylons, and got rid of the bass mouth deflector the original concept art had. They wound up with a ship that looked a lot better than the show's hero ship.

The Galaxy always seemed ungainly to me. It had that huge sideways elliptical saucer on that stubby little engineering hull, just looked awkward and unbalanced. I've called it a fat guy on a little bike, before.

I'm not a fan of the Excelsior, either. It always looked unfinished, to me. And I much prefer the Constitution style saucer contours, to the bubble top look that the Excelsior ushered in.

Now, the sovereign! That ship not only looks fast standing still, it's got a nice sinister edge to it, as well.

[anime52k8]

I've always felt the excelsior looked better from some angles than others. the side view is nice but it looks a little unbalanced from the top/bottom.

personally I like the movie refit and the JJ enterprise the most.

:edit:

actually, I think this is my favorite enterprise. It's so cute:

Edited February 20, 2013 by anime52k8

[David Hingtgen]

I think the Excelsior looks too skinny around/below the pylons (like it couldn't support itself) from the side, but best from above or below. Worst from the front---the engineering hull is simply a "U" and looks fat from head-on.

[anime52k8]

my main problem with it is that the saucer to hull ratio looks way off from the top. the engineering section is so wide and long and flat form the top that the saucer looks too small by comparison.

[azrael]

Announcement for the UK:

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS will now be released in UK cinemas one week earlier than previously announced; you will now be able to see it in IMAX 3D, 3D and 2D cinemas on May 9th, 2013!

[Hikuro]

The playmates toy from 09 (which is so cheap in price right now compared to 4 years ago!) I thought was a pretty nice representation of the ship, not perfect, but good. It's no Art Asylum though.

[electric indigo]

For the kit builders, Revell Germany will release a decent-sized model this summer:

[Hikuro]

it's pretty but it seems waaaaaaaay off.