3DUSS GRANDEUR - ENGINEERING Department

japme

USS GRANDEUR - ENGINEERING

So having completed (for the time being) my most current personal project (shameless promoting)...

http://www.foundation3d.com/forums/showthread.php?p=257386#post257386

...it is now time to return to the GRANDEUR Project.

That being said, welcome to the ENGINEERING Department. Hopefully this build will go quickly, as we already have a good idea of what the layout is and some really good references from an earlier contributor to the project (Kliest) and from an several others.

Here is what I have completed after about 5 hours...

1.jpg

What would you guys think of the upper level being a "glass" floor?

Now, let see if we can give Geordi a run for his money...

TrekMD

Nice start. Having transparent aluminum for the upper floor is fine as long as you don't have women wearing skirt uniforms! LOL

theCommander

That looks... well, like a good start.
Remember, Kleist is our Chief Engineer. That would be a negative on the transparent floor, Matt. Not a bad idea, mind you, just bad for this type of ship. Sorry, but we could utilize a grating or deck-plate that is not totally solid, much like the cat-walk in the Hangar-bay.

count23

good start, I'd say at those two angled parts of the upper level, put ladders on each side, rather then a lift. I believe the Grandeur was meant to be more of a utility ship then a ship of the line if memory serves, so the engineers probably don't have a budget for lifts

The blue tube to the far right, is that a coolant tank or something similar? or are you going for vertical plasma conduits to your warp nacelles (ala the Defiant)?

theCommander

:rolleyes: Uh... being a Federation Tactical Cruiser
(Let me help jog your memory a bit)...

wip_246.jpg

...I believe that we have plenty in the budget for both.
Yes, we can normally have and use the lifts, but ladders
would be pretty cool and resourceful for reserve power
runs or emergencies.

Aresius

I'm inclined to believe that the big-fat blue tube is a placeholder for the warp core and the slim tube next to it is a placeholder of some coolant tank, just like on the Ent-E...

Nice work, tho.

japme

Glad everyone is liking it.

Aresius is correct about what the tubes are. If anyone has a design for a warp core, I would love to see it, and it might just end up powering this beauty.

Should have an update within the next couple of hours...

japme

A couple of tweaks and additions... primarily the "pool table" and Master Display on the front wall. Also tweaked the floor, and some of the placements and scalings.
4.jpg

Next up, the doors and lift...

theCommander

This looks much better! Good update.

Aresius

How symmetrical is the design? By now it looks like the pool-table's on some side instead of centered (where it's somewhat common and reasonable).

colbmista

I hope the warp core is very different looking to the generic trek types be it some kind of experimental type or what not I'd design one but I am computer less at the moment maybe a square style tube instead of round or triangular maybe or have two large crystals on top and bottom of different types of crystal and some kind of fusion between the 2 happening in between them

colbmista

Or some kind of compact warp core that can power a large ship or have duel cores something different

Aresius

Dual core actualy sounds kinda reasonable for a Tactical vessel as the Grandeur is....

One being standart active, powering life-support (gravity, air-filtration, replicators and the processing machines for waste, etc.), engines, general environmental and recreational stuffs (lights, holodecks, etc.), sensors. The other being specifically only for weapons and shields. Yet both being capable of taking over the power-output of both in case of a failure or loss of one (tho, of course, only for a certain amount of time...).

japme

Glad everyone is liking this. Here's a 2 top views to show the actual layout of the levels.

LOWER LEVEL
5.jpg

UPPER LEVEL
6.jpg

Aresius

Ah, nice. Tho I must say, it looks a bit much like the Galaxy-class engineering area...

SnowCrash

I like the design you've gone for. It's surprisingly difficult coming up with a fresh design that doesn't resemble the canon rooms. Looking forward to seeing more (a note of caution, some ideas may be appropriated for the Tarragona class but I'll try not to).

Good luck!

count23

Here's an idea, why not have the dilithium chamber on the upper level? then have the warp core go straight back from it and into a t-bar/large horizontal plasma conduit behind the upper level core? it's unique but still trekish, only draw back is you'd probably have to get rid of the two coolant tanks (or at least merge them in with the core at some point before the upper level). But looking at the Grandeur's design, this would put the engineering near the top part of the secondary hull to get a good justification for a horizontal plasma conduit set up that high.

Worth a thought, you did want original ideas

colbmista

I still think you should do something different from the typical warp core design

Aresius

Well, true given the amount of operations the room has to accomplish (surveillance for the entire ships technical operations, maintenance of the ship, overview of all systems, particularly the warp-core as both source of energy AND source of FTL-drive, possible emergency bridge in case the main-bridge and/or secondary bridge/battle bridge are unusable or destoryed), design and layout might be quite specific, so much of a difference can't be done.

Yet, the arrangements can be different, the core itself has always been different from vessel to vessel. The matrix chamber on the Sovereign was waaaay up, likely on the second floor, where there one, tho without a ladder/anti-grav boots or plate, no one could reach it.

japme

Initial work on a fairly canon design core.
7.jpg

And a quick interior shot.
9.jpg

If you guys have a design a non-canon core that you think that will fit, send it to me. I'd like to try a none-conventional layout, there just isn't a lot out there to work from...

Aresius

Problem is non-conventional is sketchy at best. It needs to be ejected easily in case of failure or breach, so it can't be some bent, curved, angled, or otherwise multi-angled device. It needs to be a straight unit like the pillars from the refit Ent to Ent-E, or an overgrown torpedo, like the NX-Ent. Something that's easily shoved out of an emergency release-hatch.

You could create something sphere-like. I found two sketches on the internet, one of an actually alien "engine room", one of a sketch for the initial Phase II engine room..

Me myself, I think that the pillar-like design is the standart for all Federation vessels, so your Grandeur should have a derivate of it as well. Just differently shaped and that's up for your view on aesthetics, rule-of-cool, and desire for simplicity and effectivity.

theCommander

Looks really great, Matt! I always like to see what energy emerges from the Japme Condition.
But I do wonder... what on Earth (or above) do they use all of those stations on the side for? Perhaps we should break the mold and put some other things along the walls like, engineering service centers with exam style tables, work areas, etc.

Aresius

Environmental controls can take an entire side as you can break them up into smaller subgroups: air-ventilation and filtration, atmospheric pressure, waste processing (toilets and other "simple" waste), dematerialised waste processing (anything from the replicators and the holodecks), inertial damper controls, gravity control, distribution of lights, computer access for holodecks, libraries, and other recreational areas, emergency battery charge control...

All just for life support...

Schimpfy

I like the idea of adding work rooms off the sides.

theCommander

But do you really think that, in the 24th Century, an entire complex computer station is needed for nearly every aspect of ship-board operations? There are so many things that totally get taken care of behind the scenes by a massively complex computer system that calculates every detail of the human condition. If something goes awry, the Chief Engineer will be alerted to it at his/her master station or on the bridge anyway and they will probably observe the problem at their present console. Matter of fact, any console or station on the ship can instantly be the portal to that malfunctioning situation to aid in it's rectification. My reasoning is that instead of bringing the malfunctioning whatsitcalled core processor assembly and laying it all out on the shipboard systems table (pool-table) to have your engineers work on is pretty lame at best, when they should have work tables and all of that in main engineering also to avoid another crisis when Ensign Markus spills Corillian acid all over the starboard saucer display. Grant it, there will be some rooms off of main engineering, but we aren't as large as Sovereign or Galaxy class to have their luxuries.

Aresius

Well, I was just trying to make something up... According to the highly-beloved (/sarcasm) ST:TNG Tech-Manual, the stations in the engineering room are layed out as follows: Facing the warp-core with the MSD behind you; left side: warp-drive overview, impulse-drive overview, RCT and thruster overview, Chief Engineers Office (with access to advanced ship operations screens, LCARS and computer-control overview, advanced warp-core overview). On the right side: life-support overview, Jeffries-tube access-point (okay, not a display but a door, just to give you a rough idea, where I'm at), weapon and shield-systems overview, assistant chief engineer (or second in command of engineering, whatever you wanna call it), with a less extensive, but equally advanced level of access to all ship operations. And the pool-table was an all-round display for anything, as even the bridge-crew could use it as the emergency command'n'control area when Data got his 5 minutes in "Brothers"...

Given the versatility and intuitive handling of the LCARS design, it is right that any display can easily be altered to show the designated area or error. Yet, given the specialised function of the room, it's safe to assume that certain stations/displays are designed specifically for a certain set of ship-systems. They way the TM explains LCARS, it's supposed to feature all available options descending from their most likeliness of use.
So, basic question is, what's easier: You have a malfunction in one of the impulse-engines tertiary reactor chambers, yet you stand on the opposite side of the room, so-to-speak farthest away from the impulse-drive display. You know that ANY display will show the malfunction somewhere in its list of options, yet you also know that the impulse-drive display will show it at the very top, while -just as an example- the life-support display may not show it right away, but rather after you "pushed the home-button" (or it's LCARS-equivalent). So what do you do? Do you quickly walk the few yards across the room to directly see the issue at hand, or do you deal with browsing around some other display, searching for the issue? I know, timewise, you likely sped about the same time browsing as you spend walking over, but it's just a question of convenience.

It's logical and obvious for the simplified displays on the bridge to be easy-access to any ships systems, particularly the displays on a captains chair... Sure, tactical station will have predominantly the systems for weapons and shields and suchlikes, and only way-way further down the displays for warp-drive and navigation, yet likely as well.

theCommander

:rolleyes: LOL I know you are, but what am I!?

We here at the Grandeur Project try to stay somewhat away from the contemporary rule books, as the aforementioned Tech-manual would throw out big "No-Nos" to a lot of what we've done.

But this is Sci-Fi and imaginative creation at it's best. Remember our senior officer's lounge...

SGLounge-3dFloorplan-back.jpg

Aresius

I know, and that's something I definitely adore with the Grandeur-design. It sometimes has the Nemos-Nautilus feel to it.

Well, like I said, I meant the whole Tech-Manual stuff sarcastic.

theCommander

And there you have it, folks! :thumb:

japme

More work done on the Warp Core. Rebuilt it, so that the core itself can be ejected...
11.jpg

And did some minor tweaking throughout...
12.jpg

About the upper level, I think I will treat that as a "server" level, maybe do something like the Stargate style "crystal-based" computers. It makes sense, that hard storage, and memory would be crystal based, as the actual computing is bio-neural in nature. Also the crystal based memory, allows for EMP-hardening, and is resistant to the "biological contamination" which the bio-neural computers can be susceptible to.

PLUS, if it turns out right, it is going to look awesome!

japme

A rough stab at what the "server racks" would look like...
14.jpg