Vote for the Next Enterprise!

[Batman]

I rather think I like #1208, because it has the Old School Starfleet look.

[Havok]

I know 1109 is all just 'Hmmm Sovereign saucer... oh and Excelsior body!' but I totally dig it.

[Fuzzy_Modem]

I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it has:

Our company, The Game Agency, is sponsoring the contest on behalf of Intel, Cryptic Studios, Atari and CBS...

...There was a code error which did not disable the voting until a few days after we stopped accepting submissions. This has since been corrected and users can no longer vote for submissions. That said, we are going back through our server logs and using the vote tally that ended on January 15, 2011. All votes submitted after 11:59 p.m. January 15, 2011 will not be included.

Assuming they follow through with this, I don't have the highest number of votes anymore. Not at all, and I may not be most popular either, depending on who was ahead at the stroke of midnight. Does anyone happen to remember?

One would think they would account for the amount of time a submission was available to vote on. Getting 100 votes in two days should be more impressive than getting 100 votes in a month after all.

This is the letter of of the rules however, and I read them before entering, so it's really my fault for not submitting sooner.

This is obviously... painful, but it in no was diminishes my gratitude for those who voted. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart.

[Soontir C'boath]

You were at worst about 11/12th place in the highest rated when I started voting near the opening so you should still be in the top 25.

Frankly, the whole damn thing was a shambles. I don't think I saw more than 200 submissions and the search function was a joke.

[Crazedwraith]

Yeah and the rules only say the voting 'may be used to select the top 25' after that its all up to the judges.

[Fuzzy_Modem]

Yeah and the rules only say the voting 'may be used to select the top 25' after that its all up to the judges.

Technically it's all up to one person. No one knows who he is, but the preliminary panel of judges will narrow it down to 4 entries, and he will decide their order. So it's really a matter of one person's taste. He may take your votes into consideration, he may not. I was mentally preparing myself for a loss by imagining that I could still claim "Winner Popular Vote."

[Fuzzy_Modem]

Whipped up a TLDR version of my wips:



















Fun to watch her grow

[Fuzzy_Modem]

I note that they haven't rolled the vote back yet... perhaps they won't.

[Batman]

I liked it a lot better before you moved the nacelles, really.

[Fuzzy_Modem]

When did I move the nacelles? Or do you mean the struts?

The "Y" shape does turn some people off, but I'm quite happy with it. It's my favorite part actually.

[Batman]

Until the last two sets, the nacelles are still attached to the Engineering hull.

[Fuzzy_Modem]

Until the last two sets, the nacelles are still attached to the Engineering hull.

Yeah, that was my concept defining epiphany Not everyone likes it.

[Fuzzy_Modem]

The nacelles are in the same place of course, the struts connect differently. I came to the conclusion that the Enterprise is not defined by her struts, but rather by the position of her various components. Even this has some flexibility as evidenced by the Enterprises C & D, which have their nacelles below the saucer. Additionally the back portion of the Enterprise E's saucer has a triangular shape that seemed very natural to evolve into a pylon support structure, and the cobra's hood style of the Enterprise D almost begs to continue upward, past the saucer, and support the nacelles, rather than having a 1/2 redundant structure further back.

It still makes me nervous. It may be a step too far away from the traditional, but with 50% of the judges score based on Originality, 25% based on creativity, and 25% on feasibility, I felt it was wiser to push some boundaries and rethink some pre-conceived notions.

In other news, the lack of an edit function on this portion of the boards really bugs me.

[Batman]

Actually, the Ambassador has the nacelles pretty much at the same height as the Primary hull (more precisely, it has them marginally below the primary hull's midline, just as the Constitution had them marginally above it). Warp nacelles above the Engineering hull but below the Primary didn't happen until the Galaxy far as I can tell.

As I said before I like the classical setup which is why prefer the looks before you moved the nacelles. (And I'm sorry, yes, in my book moving the nacelles from the Engineering hull to an extension of the Saucer DOES constitute a move )

[Fuzzy_Modem]

I contend that I took this:

-and filled in the gap, but I can see your perspective, especially from the top.

[Batman]

Um-no? In this image, the nacelles are quite obviously attached to the Engineering hull.

...Oh. You mean you just filled in the visual gap. Whatever made you thing that was a good idea?

Look, it's your ship. You can do with it whatever the hell you want. All I'm saying is I liked your more traditional layouts better.

[Knife]

I think it works well in all perspectives except the straight on side view. I rather liked his naccells being attached to the saucer, though I thought the elongated secondary hull from the side looked unbalanced. That said, in all the other angles, it looks good.

[Fuzzy_Modem]

Listening to the Tron Legacy soundtrack. Nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna, nunna nunna...

[Fuzzy_Modem]

...Oh. You mean you just filled in the visual gap.

I filled the physical gap too, by enclosing the area above and behind the nacelle struts and merging it with the neck.

Whatever made you thing that was a good idea?

It's a good idea logistically in terms of usable area as well at structural stability, and from my perspective it better aesthetically too, but that's purely a personal preference thing of course.

[Batman]

...Oh. You mean you just filled in the visual gap.

I filled the physical gap too, by enclosing the area above and behind the nacelle struts and merging it with the neck.

Yes, that's sort like an unavoidable consequence

[Fuzzy_Modem]

Yes, that's sort like an unavoidable consequence

Not really. I could have merged the neck and nacelles on the side but left the top and back open. It would look quite a bit more traditional had I done it that way actually.

[jollyreaper]

The trouble is trying to make a ship tha looks like the enterprise without looking like the enterprise. The original tv model had a utilitarian feel, not a flagship but one of the fleet workhorses. the movie refit is the only version that feels like an improvement. Never was a fan of the look of the D, saucer too big versus the rest of the ship and didn't like the curve nacelle struts.

The funny thing with the fed is how all of their ships look like Lego kit reshuffles of the same parts and pieces. Most of these new designs look acceptable for other ships in starfleet but none really leap out and say enterprise. Most of the overly curved designs strike me more like hood ornaments than starships.

But I'm a fuddy-duddy. I liked the tos movie uniforms the most and never warmed to the pajama outfits from tng and later. Also laughing at the lack of tradition in a quasi-military force that changes uniforms radically every fashion season.

[Fuzzy_Modem]

When this is all over someone should do a chronological morph animation with all the Enterprises

[Batman]

Yes, that's sort like an unavoidable consequence

Not really. I could have merged the neck and nacelles on the side but left the top and back open. It would look quite a bit more traditional had I done it that way actually.

Well if I assumed if you do that, it's only logical to go whole hog and make use of the space you just enclosed. What's the point of merging them only on the sides possibly excepting a marginal increase in longitudinal structural stability for the nacelle assembly?

[Fuzzy_Modem]

Well if I assumed if you do that, it's only logical to go whole hog and make use of the space you just enclosed. What's the point of merging them only on the sides possibly excepting a marginal increase in longitudinal structural stability for the nacelle assembly?

Oh I agree that it's better to enclose the whole space, but it isn't the only option. I have a backward curving rear neck portion that matches the curvature of the nacelle struts to the height of the saucer. If you wanted to go more traditional, you could curve the back of the neck forward (as it is with every other enterprise) situated between the nacelle struts as you see them now, and have it reach the height of the neck only when it contacts the back of the saucer. A /_/ shape wedged between two \___/ shapes. This would create a greater distinction between the back of the neck and the back of the nacelle struts while keeping them merged on the sides, and without compromising that sense of sturdiness, and it might satisfy those who feel she's a step too far away from previous Enterprises.