Topic: USS Star Union - DNH Class Dreadnought TMP Era (WIP)

[Dizzy]

A little update... It would probably have been ready for release by now, but Major Racal and I have decided to invest a little more time and give this ship the star treatment everyone else has shown her. So thanks for all the positive comments and feedback!

Currently, we are revising some textures and lightmaps, doing some very cool mesh work with the torpedo bay and phaser hardpoints and most importantly completely redesigning the impulse engines.

I'll keep you posted.

[Julin Eurthyr]

I do agree about the impulse engines though, and I'm intrigued by the suggestion of inverting the deck to the underside of the saucer. However, as a purist myself, I have to disagree slightly with Koloth Kinshaya about the impulse deflection crystals being over the feeds from the M/AM reactor. The Deflection crystal does reformat warp power to Impulse, but it does so before it goes into the imoulse engines. As long as there is a conduit feeding power into the crystal, we could say that the conduits are routed through the V-neck and back into the impulse deck. However, with the third nacelle on the centreline, It would be best to have split impulse decks. I'd agree with a large central exhaust port and two smaller outboard ports.

Okay, working from memory here...

The reason it's called a "deflection crystal" in the first place is that it deflects the energy from the M/AM reaction into the impulse engines, where it's converted into actual impulse movement.  I recall the same source citing that the impulse drive is surrounded by fusion reactors, which could be used as an alternate energy source for the crystal in the case of warp-core ejection / saucer separation.  Matter / Anti Matter reactions are considered better for the impulse drives, due to the sheer energy being produced.

And, IIRC, one of those little diagrams on the movie bridge shown the reactor core stretching straight from the impuse deck, down the back of the connecting dorsal, and into the upper half of the secondary hull, leading to the pylons, where the core splits into 2 channels, one up each pylon to the respective nacelles.

Using that "science", the V-neck design requires 2 cores up the supports to the saucer, where they'd be re-channeled in the saucer's rear to meet at the centerline, where a conduit would run into the center warp.  Dizzy's current design would "work" with that technology (they added taps in the crossmembers), though I'd prefer to see either a semi-TNG-ish arraingment (impulse decks above the pylons as beforfe), though upon further thought, a newer 3-vent deck, with the crystal half-buried under the support pylon, could work...

And Scottish Andy, I just changed my name for the current KCW server, I'm usually Julin Eurthyr (as attested to in the little blurb under the Koloth name...)

[Dizzy]

The impulse drives cant quite go above the pylons... because of a surprise.  So we will settle for twisty tubular routing. Side note, when the warp core is brought offlinbe, the impulse drive functions seperately to provide movement. So how are they just one unit?

[ModelsPlease]

Hey Dizzy I threw together a fast WIP using an old model to show ya what I meant in an earlier posting.

[Dizzy]

I understood what you meant. Something like the Reliant class impulse. It has a dome underneath. Major Racal and I looked at that, but we are trying something much more fitting. I'll keep ya posted.

Edit: U know, looking at that old Ulysses and the new Star Union... the design influence of the twin neck supports is there, buts its like night and day. The mesh and textures have come a long way.

[ModelsPlease]

 

[Scottish Andy]

Julin! You did ISC stories for the Fan Fic Forum. Come on back and repost them, and put up anything new you may have come up with. We miss good authors back there. What've you been up to in the mean time?


Dizzy, this bit's for you:

Side note, when the warp core is brought offlinbe, the impulse drive functions seperately to provide movement. So how are they just one unit?

As far as I regard the info I've read abut this, the redesign of the Enterprise from TOS to TMP fed power from a reactor core at the base of the secondary hull up to the Impulse engines to provide power for sublight movement. Thus, the M/AM reactor powers all movement and ship functions.

The Impulse Engines are also surrounded by nuclear fusion reactors as Auxiliary Power, so that if Warp drive is offline (ie, the M/AM reactor is offline) the fusion reactors kick in to provide power for sublight movement and ship functions, but is obviously of a far lesser power rating than the M/AM reactor. Hence Spock's line from 'Star Trek II': "One thing is clear. We cannot escape on Auxiliary Power", after Reliiant takes out the Enterprise's Main Energiser and cuts off warp power to the ship.

Aside: the Main Energiser is what's supposed to convert raw M/AM power into useable electricity or transtator current for ship fucntions.

[Dizzy]

That sounds about right, because if the warp engines were taken offline, there wouldnt be much in the way of power left in order to power the rest of the ship AND move at the same time.

When the enterprise made a B line to the neb, did she have her shields down? Cuz that torp the reliant fired was so close it shoulda got picked up by the shields mb.

[Scottish Andy]

Yes, I'd say the shields were down. I always wondered at that scene, though. If they were able to put a photorp so close, why not just attack? Put one (or more) into the impulse engines, or smash up the warp nacelles? So many targets in range, and Khan doesn't consider it. *shrugs*

[Dizzy]

prolly a range 55k proxy shot.

[ModelsPlease]

Hey DIzzy, I had one more idea for ya............

[Tus-XC]

dizzy... any chance of that humongous bmp getting converted to a jpg....

[Dizzy]

MP, interesting idea. That would give the secondary hull manuevering capability when the saucer seperates.

Tus, done.

[Chris Johnson]

Dizzy;

I prefer the impulse staying on the primary hull.  While your idea of a seperated saucer is nice, I don't necessarily agree with it.  My impression of seperated saucers was that--up until 2357 with the Galaxy-class Starship and it's capabilities--that saucer seperation was a near-permanant sever from both hulls unless a nearby drydock or starbase grabs both hulls and reconnects the two together.  I'd also had the impression that such a manuver might be for not necessarily combat (considering a ship like the E-nil through E-B has impulse engines on their saucer section) so much as for evacuation purposes, I.E. Star Trek: Generations when the Enterprise-D tried getting as far away as possible from the secondary hull when it exploded.

My suggestion is to go unique and maybe make a unique TMP-style impulse engine for the saucer, maybe take some alternate takes from Andrew Probert when he was designing those engines for the refit Enterprise in TMP.  If you'd insist, perhaps place a plausable mount for a second one if you'd like... But in my opinion, for a ship like this Dreadnought, in her configuration (going by WIP pics), I'd think impulse engines on warp pylons might be a bit too much... Especially if you're going for more than two impulse engines.  It'd make me think that perhaps the original impulse engine placement in the WIP pics would be better suited.


That doesn't mean I want you to comply with my suggestion; I'm just stating how I feel along with maybe throwing an idea or two as a suggestion you can take into consideration if you'd like.  If you don't, that's alright.  I'm not building her so, while I'd like to throw out an idea or two, I should have no say on what her final design should be and how she'd appear as a model, etc.

[Fedman NCC-3758]

I like Dizzy's three torpedo tubes...........

Nice job man!

[Centurus]

Umm, stop me if you've already thought about this, but there's that empty space between the neck joints from the top of the torpedo bay to the bottom of the saucer.  Maybe somewhere half way in that empty space you could place a modified version of the impulse assembly.  This way there isn't as much clutter on the saucer, you don't have to relocate the impulse engines to the pylons, and it doesn't change the way the ship looks much.  I mean, just a thought.

[Dizzy]

I like Dizzy's three torpedo tubes...........

Nice job man!

Ack! It's been totally redesigned. The torpedo bay isnt defined by a texture anymore. We have a mesh structure there now. Hope you like it!

[Dizzy]

Dizzy;

I prefer the impulse staying on the primary hull.  While your idea of a seperated saucer is nice, I don't necessarily agree with it.

I assume you are only referring to the fact that until TNG, TMP era ships needed a drydock to reconnect and the secondary hulls were despensible and thus didnt have impulse drives. Yes?

I do expect to release a saucer-section only model, but dont plan on sticking an impulse on the secondary hull or having a second model for that part.

Umm, stop me if you've already thought about this, but there's that empty space between the neck joints from the top of the torpedo bay to the bottom of the saucer. 

Read above, but a reason not to have it there is the drone bays are right aft of there. It is planned to have those doors open on the final mesh with you being able to see inside the doors the drones and loading racks.

To end the speculation, there will be a brand new never before seen impulse drive assembly built specifically for this model. It is original from the ground up and when Major Racal presented it to me it BLEW ME AWAY! So I'm fairly sure you all will like it to. Soon I'll begin the texture work and provide some sneak peaks.

[Centurus]

That's cool Dizzy.  I just gave my thought, and hope you didn't mind.  I can't wait to see this new drive assembly.  :-D

[Scottish Andy]

I think Centaurus' idea of an Impulse engine assembly between the V neck pylons is inspired! That's a cracking idea. It's a shame to read that it won't be done, but wow. It's brilliant in it's simplicity. Kudos to Centaurus!