I’m personally a big fan of the late TMP designs like the Excelsior and Centaur, what do you guys like?
Dominion War/TNG film era for me, and further stuff that’s extrapolated from that. I prefer ships to be flatter, having a neck just seems to scream “weakpoint”.
It’s hard to watch The Wrath of Khan where the Reliant fires and hits the Enterprise’s neck and not think “Gee, if Khan had got a bit more of a shot in, that would’ve been the end of the movie right there.” Beyond even followed through on that. I love the Enterprise’s design and love the way that it shows that it’s in space by not being constrained by the rules you need to follow in gravity but it’s definitely not a tactically sound design.
But then my favourite ship design is the Steamrunner which is equally impractical so sometimes tactics can go out the window for a pretty ship.
@Digital_Cam The II - VI OG movie era. Harder lines but upgraded from the series. There was a harshness and realness to the ships, almost armored looking which fits the more conflict oriented tone of those movies.
Agree with ye OP. I’m even a fan of the Miranda and the Oberth, I feel like nobody likes those classes. There’s just something special about the TOS film ships. Those sexy nacelles 🥰
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YOOO! The A is my fave too. It’s so clean
TNG but SNW is really nice even if I don’t understand it chronologically
Era: TNG
Specific ship: NX-01
I love the late TNG / Dominion War era, but less for the designs themselves and more for how many different ship types we see from all over the Alpha and Delta quadrants.
DS9, Defiant & Kelvin Timeline Enterprise versions (bonus points for the Vengeance)
Loved some of the TNG ships as well, but in terms of uniqueness the above still stands.
I’m going to get crucified for this, but I really dig Discovery’s design language (both the show in general and the ship herself). In particular (I’m ready for those nails), I like their take on the Enterprise in season 2 (and subsequently SNW). In my mind it’s tied with late-TNG era stuff which is what I grew up watching. I have mad respect for the older designs, but I find that modernizing the classics isn’t diminishing my enjoyment even though I’m very acutely aware of the canon issues.
I found myself quite taken with the post burn fleet in Dis, just because it pushed the boundaries of the designs seen in the past. Shame we’ll probably never see any of them explored further.
My only problem with Discovery era is that the areas are made to be more spacious than TNG, which was supposed to be cruise ship quality. The design language is modern, but it feels way too spacious.
I agree with this. It looks really good, but it was weirdly huge.
Discovery S3+
Especially in later seasons. Where did all that space come from? Or was all that extra space we see later specifically added during the retrofit?
I guess you can blame it being a platform for experimentation. They wanted it to be able to produce the stuff they’d need even away from stations? Still feels weird though.
I bet if you sailed on a late-80s unrefurbished cruise ship, it’d feel dinky and small.
Probably, but that isn’t the feel.
I’m just saying, our definition of luxury has moved since they built those sets in 1987.
That’s really my point as well. The modern updates of ships are because our expectations have definitely shifted. I feel like disparate design languages of the shows don’t necessarily have to detract from the shared universe. Though, don’t get me wrong, Star Trek is many things but one thing it isn’t, and has never purported to be, is a documentary. By that I mean that the set dressing, the costumes, our “presence” as the audience, everything about the way the shows are produced tells me we’re watching a dramatization of the “real” events. Contrast that with something like the 2000s era Battlestar Galactica which had a lot of elements in its filming that were designed to make it feel more like a documentary and we, the audience, were watching footage captured of “real” events.
I *really* hate the transparent consoles they use in new Trek. I would be so angry being forced to work on one those ~8 hours per day. How can you see anything with zero contrast and background disruptions?! Like trying to read a web page with a movie going on behind it.
My computer terminal is at 75% opacity just for the novelty and visuals, but it makes it harder to work with. I wouldn’t have it if I were working in the terminal all day.
Kelvin timeline Enterprise. It’s like the muscle car of Enterprises IMHO.
Connie Refit. Mmmhm those are gorgeous lines. 80s swagger on top of that classic chassis.
Sometimes I watch TMP just for the Enterprise porn (yes, some is also in TWOK, but sometimes the slow pacing is warranted).
Edit: and speaking of TWOK, Reliant/Miranda Class was nice too. Same parts mostly, different configuration. Exactly what I would expect from a vessel serving a research group; no nonsense.
Hell yes! The constitution refit is my all time favorite! I watch TMP all the time just to watch that beauty grace her way across the screen.
TOS or OG movies for me. They are just too iconic and cool. I am also a sucker for retro-futurism so I love to see those chunky computers paired with unbelievably high tech spaceships. Plus Kirk’s charisma somehow improves the ships too, at least in TOS.
Honestly? Probably the ‘Lost Era’ between TOS and TNG.
Excelsior and Ambassador classes were excellent.
Probably the TNG films… or maybe call it “post Wolf-359?”
Defiant, Steamrunner, Luna, Akira, and my dear, sweet, beloved, gorgeous Sovereign; everything produced in response to The Borg just looked so fuckin’ good.
The fat one
TOS/TAS/Kelvin/32c
I like the TOS/TAS and 32nd century designs for pushing the envelope for what a star Trek starship could look like, instead of just iterating on the same basic designs over and over, or repeating generic Sci-Fi starship designs. A starship that’s just a giant disco blob, a bunch of loosely-connected pods, or a space doughnut/colon
y, are all unique ideas we’ve not seen before or since. Even the Enterprise was unique compared to the rocket-ships of the time, taking a lot of design work to give it that iconic look, unlike any other starship seen before.By comparison, a lot of series after TOS/TAS tended to mostly iterate on the same design. For its flaws (like using a millennium-old drive mechanism), the 32nd century ships appear to try and buck that with radical changes. Chain and Courier ships look nothing like alien vessels of the time, and the Federation starships are rather different, with ships like the Eisenberg class being tall instead of wide, compared to previous Federation ships we’d seen before.
Kelvin is just a fun modern take on the TOS, even if I’m not entirely convinced about the interior, and like Discovery, lays the groundwork for the TMP style of ships, with their square-ish nacelle designs.
