Very nice travel pod! IAâve just today picked up some references and looked through my collection of blueprints in seach for something to go with the drydock - and the travel pod is pretty much on top of the list (as well as the workbee). On the blueprints I have the sidewalls are slightly curved (in all directions). Do you plan to do that as well or just leave them flat?
Melak: Yes all the details are modeled. Some of the panels are raised details (I have them in a separate layer currently) and the others are smooth-even with the hull, separated by narrow visible seams. This is what my reference imagery reveals.
Tobias: Yeah, those walls look pretty flat, but they are actually slightly curved. I had every intention of changing some of the final proportions after I had stenciled in all of the details, but I've learned that was not a wise strategy. I will probably finish this one as is and use it for more distant shots, but I've already started a new outer hull that has most of the proper proportions from the get-go. I'm now using some blueprint drawings I forgot I had instead of just eyeballing it with model images.
Valkyrie013, thanks for the drawings. Those are nice. I have some like that for the travel pod, but those look very crisp and clear compared to what I've been working with. The Miranda sickbay is also awesome. I have something similar from the same artist, but not in a close up sheet like that.
I'm currently working with some sketches of the actual stage set used for The Motion Picture, from a really cool site that specializes in the history of the various stages employed over Star Trek's long filming history. http://pat.suwalski.net/film/trek-stages/ The sketches are rough so they are probably not totally accurate, but I suspect they give pretty good sense of scale for the layout. I've had to rely entirely on screen shots (and my perceptions- also prone to inaccuracies ) for everything else.
XRaiderV1.7226I have absolutely no ideaPosts: 1,074Member
My Lotus Class, Star Station India. The name taken from a throw away line in a 2nd season TNG episode, I worked intently on this over a decade ago, but thought I might try my hand at it again. It has always haunted me. It'll be a frontier place to dock my McCook and some other beautiful starships I've downloaded over the years, and my workbees and travel pods (when complete) will buzz around looking for things to do.
Down below is the new Lightwave model and my progress thus far, and an image of the final rendition of the original Raydream Designer model below it. Nothing remains of the original work except renders. It was never fully completed (typical me ).
That is quite a unique design. Very pleasing to the eyes and will be good to see a few ships docked with it to get a better appriciation of the size of the station. Since looking at the windows it is quite big (not as big as a Spacedock/starbase) yet large enough to hold quite some people, supplies and ships. Is it intended as a commercial station or outpost of some kind?
Flanker: Since I know very little about the station from canon info (it was simply mentioned as the original destination in "Unnatural Selection"), I've just made up some notions on my own. It is intended to be a Federation Starbase, and a Starfleet facility, but like Deep Space Nine there will certainly be a civilian element. Unlike the Cardassian Terok Nor however, this station was constructed by Starfleet proper. It probably has some colonial aspect to it as well, being named after a specific Earth region and all.
Valkyrie013: The only sketches I have are currently posted on my blog (most recent post) and they are just profile images. I'll see if I can't get some more up someday soon. There are also some (very dated) renders from the inception of the design on my old 3D rendering program. The station has evolved quite a bit though (I could rename it Starstation "Idea" )
Love the starbase. More, please. I'd love to a box-dock or two, or maybe a huge arboretum, right in that huge space in the dead center of it. Maybe a couple of runabout pads on the feet of the station. Can't wait to see what else you do here.
Hellsgate: There is in fact a giant arboretum up at the top of the command hub where those large windows are. They are actually gargantuan windows, though I've not yet figured out how they might accomplish that feat. Inside there will be a dome ceiling that simulates some aspects of a sky for the sake of normalcy, but it won't be a full-fledged fake-out simulation or anything. There should be ponds and gardens with paths and such along the bottom, but there will be towers of apartments/offices inside that rise up and begin to spread out as they rise in height until they connect with the ceiling dome. There will be spires, towers, and small domes on the upper exterior of that large dome as well, connected to the interior structures. If you take a look at my blog you'll see what I had in mind for a "box-dock" (that's a drydock I presume?). I was going more with something reminiscent of the McKinley Station facility, but I may scrap that idea all together now and let any and all drydocks float independently at a distance. Maybe the "McKinley crab legs" can be an addition in the TNG era after the station has aged nearly a century or so. This version of the station in movie era. There will probably be a number of "landing pads" along some of the upper flat surfaces, for shuttles and smaller landing craft. I haven't worked out any of those details yet.
I haven't decided if this station is located alone in deep space or part of a planet/orbit starbase setup.
Here is an image to help show some scale and to illustrate where ships dock. I went ahead and kicked the smoothing into gear as well. I used my McCook, and Kevin Riley's Phobos, as well as Dennis Bailey's Enterprise A (I forgot to load the call letters though). I used a few partially modeled vessels of my own (a Miranda class and an Abbe class), but they are not close enough to completion, so I used a saucer and some warp nacelles from Dennis's older Enterprise-A as stand-in's for the missing components. They look rather silly but the image is just for scale and they are at a distance. It is all still a work in progress anyway.
Impressive station. Reminds me a bit to DS9 with those pylons.
Yeah, I have to admit it had some minimal inspirational effect, but then again, so did the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Deep Space Nine though, was a very alien design and I wanted to make this more like a Federation construct. I also was never totally satisfied with the way ships docked at DS9, though again, it was an alien station, designed for its role in mining activity. It was certainly an interesting design and I loved the show, but the one thing I wanted to do most conceptually with Star Station India was to turn the giant Earth Spacedock, from Star Trek III, "inside-out" in some way. It was also meant to combine standard pier docking with some drydock facilities for the more intensive repairs and overhauls. Still, I wanted it to look less utilitarian and even the drydocks would blend into the form more aesthetically. Though I might ignore the drydock facilities on this rendition of the station, it will still extend downward considerably further than it is currently rendered, but won't have quite the long "spark plug" appearance that the Earth Spacedock had. It is truly meant to spread out a bit more like the flower the class is named for (just not so many petals)
The FASA Alamo class Defense outposts were also a very inspiring shape and I still might build that one someday for fun. I just don't like how small those stations were said to be. They looked to me like they should rival Earth Spacedock.
yeah, for ds9 to work properly, the top and bottom docking ports should have been pointing outwards, instead of inwards. inwards there can be only 1 ship docked at any given time, blocking all 3 ports!!
could have 1 dock as a partial dry dock, with some lights and scaffolding on the sides only, or be deployable for minor repairs, or.. a paint booth
for some reason, i never really liked the claw dock version.. just seems that if say a work bee needs to get at an area thats covered by the claw that it would be dangerous! to go between the dock and the ships hull, with whatever clearence there is.. just a thought..
i think that the movie era would have holograms, i mean not a full holo deck with forcefields and replicated items.. but a decent simulation of the sky and clouds would be easy, or maybe a room with a few presets like a beach, or forest area could be done, given some time for a rebuild.. or something.. don't know.. just a brain dump
Looks cool sir! can't wait to see what you can do to her!
I was thinking of the TMP-Era/TNG-Era (Anteres-Class) drydocks, yeah, or adjustable-fingered ones like the Warp 5 Facility, to adjust from Defiant-Class repairs to Sovereign-Class maintenance. Here's some advanced shipyard / advanced spacedock ideas I've tripped over, down through the years.
I agree with Valkyrie, but I'd have to imagine more of a state-of-the-art "advanced arboretum"...a genuine, (non-holographic) lightly forested "medium-to-heavy hydroponics bay" with man-made lake (for the warp-faring aquatic species, sentient & otherwise, to interact with non-aquatic species) & oxygen recycling tied-in somehow and community vegetable garden (in keeping with Gene's vision of a better tomorrow through Star Trek.)
Think of the Undine (Species 8472) recreation of San Francisco, but everything's genuine "protected/endangered" transplants. A big dome with tinted glass that lightens/darkens for proper day/night cycles as its heated from solar radiation from the outside and maybe holographic back-up systems for various social/scientific purposes. Big modified "bussard collectors" inside the dome to collect, combine + recycle/convert carbon monoxide (& other bodily substances given off by its inhabitants) and somehow used in large saturations to power its major/minor systems.
(Scratches my head wondering how the CoE would do that.)
A big recreational area with walking paths and maybe bi-weekly/bi-monthly educational (live/non-holographic) "endangered" animal presentations from various Starfleet worlds. Something like Stanley Park, if you've ever been to the edge of Vancouver facing Stanley Park by the big water fixture approaching the Lion's Gate Bridge/Causeway.
Publisur: What exactly reminds you of your links? My station or Hellsgate's examples?
There is an image in the concepts page that is similar to my hub
Hellsgate: Great post there. ItAâs a lot to take in.
I think the Species 8472 recreation method is really overdoing it, of course that station was considerably larger and had a very specific (and duplicitous) purpose. Stanley Park... now that's an interesting concept, though still a bit large, but the idea is sound.
I donAât have any objections to top of the line simulations but I also donAât want the crew and personnel of the station to necessarily forget where they are. There will be plenty of room for that type of escapism with full-fledged holodecks and such, but this arboretum will mostly be for recreational distraction and contemplation; a means to step out from the necessarily stark and cramped spaces of space stations and starships. The plant life will play its part in that comfort but it probably wonAât play a vital role in the life support systems of the station, though it couldnAât hurt and may even be beneficial. There will definitely be a water basin of some sort; a large pond with streams and fountains, and it will most likely have some harmless life forms swimming and scuttling about. In the water or out, I actually like the idea of spreading endangered wildlife far and wide in order to preserve it. In this instance, such life would have to have the least amount of impact on the stationAâs environment in order to qualify for habitation. As for any organized or special events that take place in the arboretum IAâll have to leave up to the Human/Alien Relations department.
It will also house towers for offices and apartment living with views of the arboretum itself, as well as an "apartment ring" around the circumference; just above the gargantuan view ports and below the sky dome. So that is another reason to keep it garden style without faking too much. The sky dome will brighten and dim on a daily cycle, mainly for the psychology of the residents. Still, I sort of want the enclosure itself to stand out as a remarkable locale as much as blend-in with the natural elements. And regardless of how blue and lovely the sky is during the Aâdaytime hours.Aâ IAâm pretty sure the giant view ports will constantly have a view of open space. The stars might not be easily viewed while the interior is well lit, but the ships on the outer piers will most likely be visible from there (IAâm not certain of that as I havenAât yet rendered anything angle specific). A planetary view or a nice nebula however, would certainly make such a panoramic view worth a peek any time of day. I suppose if another station of the class was located in deep, dark, boring space, the view ports could stand in for more sky simulation during those daylight hours. IAâll have to consider that.
Speaking of Stanley Park, I love it and I love Vancouver. IAâve walked all around the perimeter of Stanley Park though not much through the heart of it. We didn't get a chance to get up to Prospect Point when we cruised out of there last September. What is the Aâbig water fixtureAâ you speak of? I walked right under the Lionsgate Bridge, but I don't recall a particular "fixture" other than the bay itself being filled with water. Is that what you are talking about?
Anyhow, I hadn't intended on working on this portion of the station this early, but I thought I would take a dip into the pool after reading Hellsgate's post. Here are some early WIP renders to show the overall space of the arboretum interior. One is a ground level view looking up at the towers, a ring of apartments, and dome. Astro turf will have to stand in for any meaningful forestry for now.
The second image is from the "roof" of the apartment ring. I have not finalized how the dome and that upper level will interact, though the dome will come down lower than that top level. There will probably be cafes and more trees standing along that plateau to help create a faux horizon for anyone standing at that level. Still if you are at that level, I suspect there will be little illusion of a true sky, but anything is possible. Also, I will shortly be adding some shafts in quarterly or more intervals around the edges that will lead up to the apartment ring and on through to the dome to facilities attached to the exterior. Some towers more toward the middle will also shoot through the roof as well, making their way to exterior habitats.
Sorry for the long post, but I've been busy the past few days and wanted to address Hellsgate's issues.
Oh, the fountain on the opposite side of the park. I see now. LOL. That just shows my misperception. I've only walked around the park's perimeter (mostly). We stayed in the West End area and walked all the way to China Town, and then caught a trolleybus to the Stanley Park loop Gazebo. We made our way south and then walked around the entire park counterclockwise before walking back to our hotel. The only perimeter we didn't follow was the far eastern tip, because we cut across to look at the totem poles. Heh, it's funny. I've only passed under the Lionsgate bridge (once on foot and once on a ship), but I've never been across it. I was picturing when I myself was close to and approaching the bridge (underneath it).
But I definitely remember the Lost Lagoon and the fountain. Next time I'm around I'll have to check out Prospect Point and Beaver Lake.
Posts
Melak: Yes all the details are modeled. Some of the panels are raised details (I have them in a separate layer currently) and the others are smooth-even with the hull, separated by narrow visible seams. This is what my reference imagery reveals.
Tobias: Yeah, those walls look pretty flat, but they are actually slightly curved. I had every intention of changing some of the final proportions after I had stenciled in all of the details, but I've learned that was not a wise strategy. I will probably finish this one as is and use it for more distant shots, but I've already started a new outer hull that has most of the proper proportions from the get-go. I'm now using some blueprint drawings I forgot I had instead of just eyeballing it with model images.
Looks good!
Nice work, as always!
Various Work: U.S.S. Constellation - Matt Jefferies Concept Shuttle
found some larger travel pod blueprints.. don't know where i got them... somewhere
and might help, fan made, but looks accurate.. sickbay, miranda class, but.. samething
looks great good sir!
Valkyrie013, thanks for the drawings. Those are nice. I have some like that for the travel pod, but those look very crisp and clear compared to what I've been working with. The Miranda sickbay is also awesome. I have something similar from the same artist, but not in a close up sheet like that.
I'm currently working with some sketches of the actual stage set used for The Motion Picture, from a really cool site that specializes in the history of the various stages employed over Star Trek's long filming history. http://pat.suwalski.net/film/trek-stages/ The sketches are rough so they are probably not totally accurate, but I suspect they give pretty good sense of scale for the layout. I've had to rely entirely on screen shots (and my perceptions- also prone to inaccuracies
Down below is the new Lightwave model and my progress thus far, and an image of the final rendition of the original Raydream Designer model below it. Nothing remains of the original work except renders. It was never fully completed (typical me
Flanker: Since I know very little about the station from canon info (it was simply mentioned as the original destination in "Unnatural Selection"), I've just made up some notions on my own. It is intended to be a Federation Starbase, and a Starfleet facility, but like Deep Space Nine there will certainly be a civilian element. Unlike the Cardassian Terok Nor however, this station was constructed by Starfleet proper. It probably has some colonial aspect to it as well, being named after a specific Earth region and all.
Valkyrie013: The only sketches I have are currently posted on my blog (most recent post) and they are just profile images. I'll see if I can't get some more up someday soon. There are also some (very dated) renders from the inception of the design on my old 3D rendering program. The station has evolved quite a bit though (I could rename it Starstation "Idea"
The blog link is in my sig.
Hellsgate: There is in fact a giant arboretum up at the top of the command hub where those large windows are. They are actually gargantuan windows, though I've not yet figured out how they might accomplish that feat. Inside there will be a dome ceiling that simulates some aspects of a sky for the sake of normalcy, but it won't be a full-fledged fake-out simulation or anything. There should be ponds and gardens with paths and such along the bottom, but there will be towers of apartments/offices inside that rise up and begin to spread out as they rise in height until they connect with the ceiling dome. There will be spires, towers, and small domes on the upper exterior of that large dome as well, connected to the interior structures. If you take a look at my blog you'll see what I had in mind for a "box-dock" (that's a drydock I presume?). I was going more with something reminiscent of the McKinley Station facility, but I may scrap that idea all together now and let any and all drydocks float independently at a distance. Maybe the "McKinley crab legs" can be an addition in the TNG era after the station has aged nearly a century or so. This version of the station in movie era. There will probably be a number of "landing pads" along some of the upper flat surfaces, for shuttles and smaller landing craft. I haven't worked out any of those details yet.
I haven't decided if this station is located alone in deep space or part of a planet/orbit starbase setup.
Here is an image to help show some scale and to illustrate where ships dock. I went ahead and kicked the smoothing into gear as well. I used my McCook, and Kevin Riley's Phobos, as well as Dennis Bailey's Enterprise A (I forgot to load the call letters though). I used a few partially modeled vessels of my own (a Miranda class and an Abbe class), but they are not close enough to completion, so I used a saucer and some warp nacelles from Dennis's older Enterprise-A as stand-in's for the missing components. They look rather silly but the image is just for scale and they are at a distance. It is all still a work in progress anyway.
Yeah, I have to admit it had some minimal inspirational effect, but then again, so did the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
The FASA Alamo class Defense outposts were also a very inspiring shape and I still might build that one someday for fun. I just don't like how small those stations were said to be. They looked to me like they should rival Earth Spacedock.
could have 1 dock as a partial dry dock, with some lights and scaffolding on the sides only, or be deployable for minor repairs, or.. a paint booth
for some reason, i never really liked the claw dock version.. just seems that if say a work bee needs to get at an area thats covered by the claw that it would be dangerous! to go between the dock and the ships hull, with whatever clearence there is.. just a thought..
i think that the movie era would have holograms, i mean not a full holo deck with forcefields and replicated items.. but a decent simulation of the sky and clouds would be easy, or maybe a room with a few presets like a beach, or forest area could be done, given some time for a rebuild.. or something.. don't know.. just a brain dump
Looks cool sir! can't wait to see what you can do to her!
I agree with Valkyrie, but I'd have to imagine more of a state-of-the-art "advanced arboretum"...a genuine, (non-holographic) lightly forested "medium-to-heavy hydroponics bay" with man-made lake (for the warp-faring aquatic species, sentient & otherwise, to interact with non-aquatic species) & oxygen recycling tied-in somehow and community vegetable garden (in keeping with Gene's vision of a better tomorrow through Star Trek.)
Think of the Undine (Species 8472) recreation of San Francisco, but everything's genuine "protected/endangered" transplants. A big dome with tinted glass that lightens/darkens for proper day/night cycles as its heated from solar radiation from the outside and maybe holographic back-up systems for various social/scientific purposes. Big modified "bussard collectors" inside the dome to collect, combine + recycle/convert carbon monoxide (& other bodily substances given off by its inhabitants) and somehow used in large saturations to power its major/minor systems.
(Scratches my head wondering how the CoE would do that.)
A big recreational area with walking paths and maybe bi-weekly/bi-monthly educational (live/non-holographic) "endangered" animal presentations from various Starfleet worlds. Something like Stanley Park, if you've ever been to the edge of Vancouver facing Stanley Park by the big water fixture approaching the Lion's Gate Bridge/Causeway.
http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/covers/1124.jpg
Misc:
http://www.dcmstarships.com/gallery-depths-of-dream.html
http://www.dcmstarships.com/gallery-sample-star-faring-habitats.html
There is an image in the concepts page that is similar to my hub
Hellsgate: Great post there. ItAâs a lot to take in.
I think the Species 8472 recreation method is really overdoing it, of course that station was considerably larger and had a very specific (and duplicitous) purpose. Stanley Park... now that's an interesting concept, though still a bit large, but the idea is sound.
I donAât have any objections to top of the line simulations but I also donAât want the crew and personnel of the station to necessarily forget where they are. There will be plenty of room for that type of escapism with full-fledged holodecks and such, but this arboretum will mostly be for recreational distraction and contemplation; a means to step out from the necessarily stark and cramped spaces of space stations and starships. The plant life will play its part in that comfort but it probably wonAât play a vital role in the life support systems of the station, though it couldnAât hurt and may even be beneficial. There will definitely be a water basin of some sort; a large pond with streams and fountains, and it will most likely have some harmless life forms swimming and scuttling about. In the water or out, I actually like the idea of spreading endangered wildlife far and wide in order to preserve it. In this instance, such life would have to have the least amount of impact on the stationAâs environment in order to qualify for habitation. As for any organized or special events that take place in the arboretum IAâll have to leave up to the Human/Alien Relations department.
It will also house towers for offices and apartment living with views of the arboretum itself, as well as an "apartment ring" around the circumference; just above the gargantuan view ports and below the sky dome. So that is another reason to keep it garden style without faking too much. The sky dome will brighten and dim on a daily cycle, mainly for the psychology of the residents. Still, I sort of want the enclosure itself to stand out as a remarkable locale as much as blend-in with the natural elements. And regardless of how blue and lovely the sky is during the Aâdaytime hours.Aâ IAâm pretty sure the giant view ports will constantly have a view of open space. The stars might not be easily viewed while the interior is well lit, but the ships on the outer piers will most likely be visible from there (IAâm not certain of that as I havenAât yet rendered anything angle specific). A planetary view or a nice nebula however, would certainly make such a panoramic view worth a peek any time of day. I suppose if another station of the class was located in deep, dark, boring space, the view ports could stand in for more sky simulation during those daylight hours. IAâll have to consider that.
Speaking of Stanley Park, I love it and I love Vancouver.
Anyhow, I hadn't intended on working on this portion of the station this early, but I thought I would take a dip into the pool after reading Hellsgate's post. Here are some early WIP renders to show the overall space of the arboretum interior. One is a ground level view looking up at the towers, a ring of apartments, and dome. Astro turf will have to stand in for any meaningful forestry for now.
The second image is from the "roof" of the apartment ring. I have not finalized how the dome and that upper level will interact, though the dome will come down lower than that top level. There will probably be cafes and more trees standing along that plateau to help create a faux horizon for anyone standing at that level. Still if you are at that level, I suspect there will be little illusion of a true sky, but anything is possible. Also, I will shortly be adding some shafts in quarterly or more intervals around the edges that will lead up to the apartment ring and on through to the dome to facilities attached to the exterior. Some towers more toward the middle will also shoot through the roof as well, making their way to exterior habitats.
Sorry for the long post, but I've been busy the past few days and wanted to address Hellsgate's issues.
Basill: I come through this area everyday to go to work in West Vancouver @ Park Royal Shopping Center.
This is the water fixture I spoke of.
Aerial View of West Georgia Street/Stanley Park Causeway, fountain is off to the right hand side.
http://imonlyhereforthefood.com/2009/06/stanley-park-spring-2009/
But I definitely remember the Lost Lagoon and the fountain. Next time I'm around I'll have to check out Prospect Point and Beaver Lake.