Starship design for critique

[Sea Tyger]

Just a few thoughts, Street:

1. I can't see putting anything Starfleet onto a "fast destroyer" template. Even if they do call it something else, Starfleet of the TNG era would never make anything a "destroyer." At the outside, you could conceivably use the idea that the ship was based on a heavy cruiser template (see Monty's description of the class on 5/11). More likely, the ship would be a specialized hull, probably considered a larger surveyor.

2. I was the one who suggested a diplomatic courier. Monty's original idea was that the Tolkien is a science vessel.

3. Monty stated that he wanted the Tolkien to be the first ship to incorporate a Binar-designed computer system. That would make the ship's initial launch date around 2366-2369.

4. Now, this is just a personal opinion, but I don't like to give top-of-the-line weapons to second-line ships, especially purely science and diplomatic vessels. They require defensive capabilities, sure, but are designed to never be put into a situation where a Phaser X would make a difference over a Phaser VIII.

5. Where did you get four transporter systems? Did you intend to put only the standard complement of transporters (3 each), or did you spend the space to get another allotment of units (which would give you 6 each)?

I didn't count space on the design, but, it looks like a pretty decent destroyer for the private fleet of a civilian aristocrat.

[First of Two]

Y'know, from the top it kinda makes me think of a soda can pull tab.

[Street]

A Destroyer is described in the NG as "the smallest of capital ships", "exceptionally fast" and fits between size 4 and 6. As described, the ship is size 6 and looks like it was built for speed. I have the ship as being built post-DW as a fast, well-armed vessel capable of travelling just about anywhere in the Federation or its neighbor states in order to facilitate diplomatic missions of an urgent nature.

This frees up the surviving larger capital ships for more important missions more suited to their individual designs (like exloring the Galaxy, or defending dangerous regions of space). With the Nova and Intrepid class ships, Starfleet has all the smaller science vessels it needs.

Why would a Binar designed computer system place it in the late '60s? I never saw any other ships use the idea; in fact the only "unusual" computer system in use is the Bio-Neural Gel-Pack System on the Intrepid, which had its fair share of problems, thus explaining why Starfleet might try another "alternative" computer system.

I gave it cutting edge weaponry to match its speed and maneuverability just in case it got into a fight while travelling unescorted; something I imagine it would frequently do considering its speed.

I allocated the space for extra transporters, but missed the line in the errrata that clarified that. Thank you for pointing it out. So, it would have six of each type of transporter, not four.

[Sea Tyger]

Well, my points come from the concept of the destroyer, which is a pure warship (something that Starfleet just didn't do until the creation of the Defiant...a ship that was euphemistically classified as an escort, so as not to appear to warlike to the "explorers" within Starfleet's leadership).

Also, I was trying to point out Monty's intentions.

The TOLKIEN class research cruiser had its beginnings in Starfleet's search for a new starship design to replace aging MIRANDA and OBERTH class vessels. Interestingly enough, the final design evolved from a heavy cruiser design study submitted by the Magna Romans (see the old Worlds of the Federation). With the success of the new GALAXY and NEBULA classes, Starfleet saw no need for additional ships of heavy cruiser specifications. Designers found however, that the design could be modified to serve as a new sceince vessel. The Magna Roman design team was contacted abd brought to earth where detailed design work was done pending final approval by the Advanced Starship Design group. Work began at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on the prototype, the USS TOLKIEN not long afterwards. At the time of this writing the TOLKIEN is still undergoing trials. Should the design prove a success, Utopia Planitia will complete construction of the second vessel: USS ASIMOV. After this, plans are for the Magna Roman Hephaestus shipyards to take over primary construction of this class in the near future.

There's more but the rest is really outdated so I'll have to rewrite that portion.
A few other tidbits I wanted to mention though. One, I wanted the Tolkien to be one of the first ships after the Enterprise-D had her computer upgrade by the Binars to have a Binar-designed computer system.

Two, I wanted the Tolkien to have a Medusan navigator environment integral to the main bridge.

The note about the "diplomatic courier" was my statement, and Monty never indicated that he agreed with my assessment (since it's his design, I would prefer to defer to his vision of the ship). So, that's why I think the Tolkien would, at most, be a cruiser-based design (see "...the final design evolved from a heavy cruiser design study submitted by the Magna Romans..." in the first paragraph of Monty's quote). Following that line of reasoning, the "heavy cruiser" design is likely to either have been slightly modified to fill a scientific role, or heavily modified into a full science vessel design along a "specialized" hull.

I say the ship was originally built in the late 2360s, because the episode with the Binars took place in the first season of TNG, if I recall correctly. Therefore, the first ship to have a "Binar-designed computer system" would likely be built not long after the episode (quite possibly, the ship had already been planned, and the computer system was redesigned before the keel was laid down).

[redwood973]

Well I always thought the Medusan idea was good too, hence my inclusion of it. I am having trouble envisioning how my bridge is going to work though. The Medusan would need to be isolated from the other bridge crew in some kind of isolation room. But I didn't want the Medusan entirely cut-off and only communicating through the ship's com system. What about a holographic interface? The Medusan could interact with the bridge crew that way couldn't it?

--ds9guy

If I ever get around to using them I plan on the Medusans having encounter suits similar to those we seen used by the Vorlon on B5. Just a thought.

[Street]

I like the Idea of the "encounter suit", it definately wins in the cool factor comparison and would allow the Medusan(s) to travel out and among the crew. Making it a viable option as a PC is always a good thing, but my support for the idea ends there. From the practicality standpoint, the Holographic interface allows the medusan to safely navigate the ship from it's natural environment and protects it from bridge damage, while allowing interaction with the captain. The only weak link here is the commline, and if that is cut, a human navigator could take over on the bridge or (if you combine the two ideas) the Medusan could don his encounter suit and risk the trip to the bridge himself.

[black campbellq]

Our Medusan was still in a specialized box, but it had a communicator rig and he could essentially "plug in" to the ship systems through it. I like the encounter suit idea.

[hellsgate]

I like the idea of the upgraded NX-Class in the Tolkien-Class, though, I could see a reconfiguration in it's future. The midsection between the saucer section & the nacelles is too open. There has to be something there to balence it out or it just seems wrong somehow.

A swappable, mission-specific module a-la the Danube-Class or Oberth-Class.

* M.A.C.O. or "Elite Force" Troop transport.
* Medical/evac habitat module.
* S.C.E. cargo hold.
* Peregrine-Class, Scorpion-Class, or Banzai-Class fighter flight-deck.
* Swappable Autonomous Power Source & Tractor Beam Unit for towing/salvaging Wolf 359/Dominion War hangar-queen's behind it, from battlefield "boneyards".