Bridge Commander Central
Recreational Forums => Trek Discussion => Topic started by: undedavenger on September 27, 2008, 01:34:46 AM
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For everybody interested in my previous thread on my fanfic, "Star Trek: Century", just wanted to update. I changed the title to "Star Trek: Crusade", as first of all, I decided to design my own version of the Enterprise-F instead of using DJ's. Not anything against the Century, it's still the prettiest design out there, IMO, I just always felt guilty about using someone else's idea. I'm big on original thinking and concepts. The lack of those things is what sunk the ST franchise. The concept and stories will be basically the same, just tweaked with some sections rewritten. Also, A new slew of uniform candidates for you guys to critique! Enjoy!
Example A is a more traditional Next-gen look.
B is the same sort of look taken a bit further.
C is the current front-runner for me. Using design cues from all iterations of Starfleet Uniforms, the uniform bluse is a wrap-around jacket with a buttoned flap kind of reminiscent of the ST2 uniforms, while the overall look is still influenced by the Motion Picture uniforms.
Also thinking of changing up the division colors. Suggestions?
So far I'm thinking:
White or Navy blue for command
Gold for Operations
Aqua for Medical
Violet or Yellow for sciences
Dark orange or forest green for security/Marines
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Writing continues apace. I am a constant revisionist. Getting done with my final uniforms, will post in a day or so. While I am doing this, was wondering if you guys have any suggestions for additional uniforms that might be needed. So far I have:
Duty Uniforms:
Admiral
Command
Sciences
Ops
Medical
Marines
Starfleet Intelligence
Vest Variant
Dress Uniforms:
Admiral
Officer
Marine
Medical:
Lab Coat
Surgical Scrubs
Orderly Jumpsuit
Jumpsuits:
Enlisted (Conn)
Enlisted (Sciences)
Enlisted (Ops)
Enlisted (Marine)
Engineering:
Officer's Worksuit
Damage Control Team
If you guys think of anything that may be missing, let me know!
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like C as well, but then I liked the Movie style best anyway.
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Will it be anything like Lord of The Rings, but in space?
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Not really anything like LOTR. Why do you ask?
Add a pilot's flight suit to the listing above.
Trying to upload my Uniform Chart, but the page keeps stalling out.
I need to find a good free image host.
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Not really anything like LOTR. Why do you ask?
Add a pilot's flight suit to the listing above.
Trying to upload my Uniform Chart, but the page keeps stalling out.
I need to find a good free image host.
Photobucket. I also like C, but B has more of a future starfleet feel to me, primarily because the pattern flows better with what was supposed to be Captain Braxton's timeline.
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Here's the Officer's duty Uniform. One uses the traditional TNG-style color scheme, the other is a more muted blue scheme that I personally think is more regal and looks more like a naval uniform. Which one do you guys prefer? On the blue one, the boxes to the left are the other department colors. From top to bottom they are sciences, operations, and medical. The command color is the light grey you see on the uniform. They both have silver trim. Admirals have gold trim, and cadets and crewmen have black trim.
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BTW, I know the blue uniform brings back the thought of the Earth Starfleet uniforms, but I am basing the colors off the current US Navy and Marine Corps colors. (And yes, I know some of you might object, but I AM American, lol. Plus I'm sorry, we've got the coolest uniforms ever, except maybe the Coldstream Guards and the SS) Anyway, the US Navy is running out "throwback" uniforms that look like WWII vintage, so why not Starfleet?
Below are the Marine Uniforms. The first are the duty khakis for officers and enlisted. The 2nd are the dress uniform. The one with all blue is an enlisted dress uniform. The one with the shirtfront is the officer one. Trying to find some way to believably attach a mameluke sword to the waist.
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too much like the BSG uniform, the naval idea. And I really don't like those department colours. Its like Starfleet is controlled by a brick wall.
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Don't hold back! Say what you really mean! lol
Seriously, Star Trek did the "navy in space" idea long before BSG came along, so that is not something I'm concerned with. As for the dept colors, I'm still thinking about those. BTW, if by "brick" you are referring to the bright red on the marine uniforms, don't sweat it, its been changed to more of a burgundy. Just trying to keep the USMC colors in there. Also, a lot of countries use red in their dress uniforms.
More coming. I have them on a huge .PSD worksheet, but it's too big to post!
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Not really anything like LOTR. Why do you ask?
Crusades + theme, reminds me of LOTR.
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I'm focusing mainly on the officers uniform. It looks and is coloured to much like BSG to my liking. The department colours are just wrong. I'm not holding back now and I really think they are the most unpleasant things to look at.
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Specifically, what is unpleasant? The dept colors only? Or the whole uniform? If the uniform, what in paticular bugs you? Any suggestions?
Not being a jerk, I love constructive criticism. Might give me ideas to take it in a slightly different direction. But by all that is holy, DESCRIBE and SUGGEST, lol.
"I hate it" doesn't tell me what is unappealing. Tell me what you like, and thanks for the comments.
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BTW, I've never watched BSG, and I just googled the uniforms. Other than the double-breasted flap, they are nothing alike. They are gray and woolen, almost like a pseudo American Civil War uniform. And remember, STII did the flap thing long before the BSG show was created. That is where the inspiration came from. I think I've decided to go on the blue uniforms, however, I lightened the blue a little bit and added different department colors. They now sport the white, grey, tan, and teal that were the dept. colors in the TMP uniforms. Also reworked a few small things on other uniforms, such as making the colors more uniform instead of different colors for different uniform variants. Now all the command crew have navy uniforms with silver trim and white dept colors, etc.
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The colours of the departments are just...wrong The uniform is fantastic but the colours I find are rather sick making. I would not want to be a science officer wearing purple. Or operations officer and I'm wearing a rather nasty green. I would also suggest changing the combadge. That in the Centuries time would be severly outdated. This one (http://www.tammi.se/future-com.jpg) is more suited and is also, canon.
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I think I could live with the colours more if there was less colour, more black/v. dark blue. I personally don't like the bright cyan colour. It really is wrong in a sense.
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Department colors have been in use since the Start of Star Trek [sure they have changed around]
hence in TOS red was for support services, but in TNG and later it is command, and in the movies it was for trainee-s.
SO IMO , department colors are a must for Starfleet, I would suggest Staying with the Current depart Colors.
Red \ burgandy --- command
mustard --- operations [support services]
blue --- Sciences
Green --- Medical
[that-s IMO]
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I love Dalek's ideas there. They look 100%, for sure! Save only for the colours; I agree with Tiqhud, there, stick with standard Starfleet colours. :]
Edit:
I thought there were only ever three colours: Blue, Red, and Gold? Blue covered both medical and sciences, as medical is a science, anyways... I don't see the point in adding another... just imo, mind you. :/
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I suppose making medical a different colour was to make it clearer who was what. If you walked past a Lt. you might think Sciences or Medical. Here are the orginal colours with a bit more tweaking to show the darker colours.
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Like I said, the dept colors went back to the TMP dept colors. I always thought the bright dept colors on TNG-era uniforms were ridiculous. Look at the majority of modern naval uniforms. NO bright colors. It makes them look too much like a kid's pajamas. Notice how much more somber and serious the uniforms got in FC when they reduced the amount of color and darkened the color that was left up some? One of the biggest flaws in Roddenberry's vision is that he thought humans would be happy-go-lucky in the future. Therefore, uniforms were not allowed to look like uniforms, but colorful pajamas. Nick Meyer remedied this with the excellent new uniforms in ST2. Then TNG came along, the first ST thing since the first movie that Roddenberry had control over. Again, bright colored pajamas and a weak-looking design for the Enterprise. Roddenberry passes away and we get the best Trek show ever, DS9. Less color in the uniforms, more grim, and suddenly Star Trek becomes a lot more realistic.
Off my soapbox now. Anyway, that commbadge posted above is not entirely "canon". It was shown in an alternate future timeline that does not exist due to the actions of the characters in that episode. A possible look, but not a for-sure look, just like the Enterprise-J and crew as shown on Enterprise are conjectural. For that matter, all of Enterprise is conjectural, as it was all a holoprogram that Will Riker was running (I know, what a stupid ending!).
Bottom line: It is not certain, and it looks like an extremely clumsy design, anyway. Technology compacts in size as it advancess, it does not expand to twice its size. Look at the old ST:Century thread for my explanation of the Federation Insignia.
Anyway, here are the FINAL designs for the uniforms. I've decided I like the blue. I'm really tired of the generic black pajamas look by now, it's time for a change. (BTW guys, I have layered Photoshop templates of the uniforms, if anybody wants to make their own uniforms. I made them from the diagrams in ST: The Magazine which are featured on Ex Astris Scientia. Let me know and I can send 'em to you)
NOTE: The Damage Control uniform suffers from my limitations in the art department, it is meant to be a protective and reinforced jumpsuit that the engineering team would wear when in contact with flames, leaking plasma, exploding machinery, etc. If anyone can do a better job, let me know and I'll send you a psd of the jumpsuit template. Also, I am going to attempt an evac/spacewalk suit, but if anyone can do that better, the same applies.
NOTE2: The Officer worksuit is something the chief engineer might wear while doing repairs, or a doctor might wear in the lab. It's just a more comfortable suit that allows more free movement and protection from chemicals, etc.
NOTE3: The "Intelligence" uniform is a nice way of saying Section 31, possibly. I am not sure if I plan to work them into the stories yet.
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And since when did the navy have any colours? Its mostly blue and a sand dust colour.
I'm loving the dress uniforms. They are fantastic. But I still think you've got the colours wrong. They're just unappealing to look at. At least that purple has gone.
The Ent-J was in the 29th Century. DJ's Ent-F is set on 2397, the Century 2395.
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Actually, my story, when it was about the Century-class Enterprise, showed that the Ent-F is launched in 2399. Just one of the reasons I decided to go with an original ship instead of the Century.
As stated before, the J is conjectural with it having been in a "prevented" timeline. Watch the episode. Technically, the future of Star Trek is an open book.
Here are some current us navy uniforms:
As for color in Navy uniforms, check out the last pic. Flight crews wear different-colored vests to differentiate their duties when servicing an aircraft. And Admirals, etc, still wear white dress uniforms and navy blue suits for normal duty.
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The last pic shows "bright" coloured people, not dull colours.
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BTW, the purple was just whimsy. I actually thought of a really far-out color for sciences, like an electric lime green. Glad I dropped that. They looked like a hippie painter threw up on them.
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Yeah, the bright colors are for visibility. Not much of a problem in Star Trek, even in the flight deck.
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With regard to my philosophy on the commbadge, etc, here is an excerpt from my original thread.
"The logo background depicts a synergy, the joining together of two opposites, such as war and peaceful exploration, as these stories will reflect. They are offset by a small amount, showing how close the two opposites come to completion of the whole. When joined together, they would form an infinite loop, a symbol of the infinite possibilities of such compromises. Not unlike the symbolism of the Vulcan IDIC symbol (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations).
I am still a little iffy on the symbol however, and am considering different background images behind the Delta for different divisions. Maybe a DNA helix for sciences, a cross or cauduceus for medical, a gear or something for operations. However, the round design is meant to reflect the streamlined design themes of the series, which is why I liked the Century Class so much in the first place. I am of the opinion that as technology advances, things get more streamlined. With that line of thinking, the Sovereign class was perfect, I felt. Streamlined, but not overly unthreatening like the Galaxy Class.
On the uniforms, first of all I LIKED the TMP uniforms. They needed to be slightly less pajama-like, and they were bland as bland can be, but the basic idea was not too bad. (Incidentally, I am not like a lot of folks, apparently, as TMP is one of my favorite Trek films, only outranked by ST6 and Insurrection) The uniforms have a little of every design in them. While they may look a little like the TMP uniforms, they have the color style of the 24th century series, and the insignia on the shoulder and sleeves were inspired by the ST2-ST6 uniforms. However, the bar shape of the insignia logos is taken from Enterprise and TMP. The belt is a combination of the ST2-ST6 era uniform belt and the belt on Kirk's light duty tunic from TOS. However, it is only visible in front and back, like TMP."
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I know you said that the future of Star Trek is an open book but think about it. Humans are happy go lucky. Being carved up, blown up, assimilated and god knows what else, they will always have bright colours. The FC uniform onwards is the best uniform to date because of the lack of colour but the colour that there is isn't so boring that you can't be arsed to look at it. You need to see something. The Motion Picture completetly threw me off track. They really were pajama-ry and crap and the same colour.
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That's the point. Realistically, humans (or any other race) would be forever changed by the events you listed. The fact that they do not is one of the prime reasons that the Trek franchise got stale. Humans are NOT happy-go-lucky. Just look at the changes in America after 9/11. We have become more paranoid, more bleak. The same thing has happened in other countries. Bad things have bad effects on humans. Period. Individual people can be happy-go-lucky, but people as a group are usually rather negative. Trek is an idealized future, but it has grown into a boring and formulaic future. The old, unchanging starfleet is boring...
Consider what Ruafo said in Insurrection: "Federation support. Federation procedures. Federation rules. Look in the mirror, Admiral. The Federation is old. In the past 24 months, they've been challenged by every major power in the quadrant: the Borg, the Cardassians, the Dominion. They all smell the scent of death on the Federation."
Spoken by a madman, but with a hard ring of truth. For Trek to be refreshed, the Federation in the stories will need to be refreshed, not rehashed. Something our good Federation President Picard will be implementing in ST: Crusade.
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Federation...President...Picard? No. Picard would never allow that to happen. He wouldn't like a desk.
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Really? The same Picard that allowed his Exec to keep him from going on away missions? The same Picard that holes himself up in that ready-room instead of being on the bridge? I think it suits the guy. What is the President if not the Captain of the state? Who better to lead? We know he might not ever be an Admiral, because of his conversation with Kirk in Generations. "All good things..", even though a fictional future, shows that he became an ambassador. Trust me, he doesn't actively seek the office, he has to take it.
"Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them." ~William Shakespeare
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I do like under-s uniforms thi.
cookie
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All the President does is sit behind a desk, reading reports and signing off for the next batch of Orion Whiskey. The captain, commands a crew and a ship, explores incredible things in the depths of space and gets permission to say "Step on it". Picard always wanted to explore, to understand the galaxy. The only reason he went into his ready room was probably because he didn't just want to sit on the bridge staring at a couple of stars fly past. He went down on his own missions because he wanted fun. I wouldn't exactly like to be cooped up on the bridge while my XO was running around making negotiations to end a 500 year civil war.
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Somewhat valid points, to be sure. However, who ever said THIS President was just going to sit behind a desk? Ever watch Air Force One with Harrison Ford? Have you read any of the recent TNG Relaunch books? Picard married Beverly and they are expecting a child. Maybe Picard has changed. Remember what I said about the problem with Star Trek being that people never change? Besides, Picard is getting old, and I plan on making sure that you are more interested in the new captain of the new Enterprise. Do you watch TNG and wonder where Spock is, or worry that he's spending too much time behind a desk?
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Strangely enough, I know where Spock is for the first 5 seasons. He's on Romulus starting up that little rebellion thingy he has going. And he returns to it as well.
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Just wait and see. I'll do my best to make sure you're not disappointed.
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Well, a massive hard drive crash has struck, due to a faulty software update from my computer's manufacturer, HP! Completely fritzed my device software, first my CD and floppy drives, then my ethernet card, then my backup drive, then my partition, then started shutting down my main hard disk. Had to format and reinstall Windows. And stupidly, I did not back up all of my writing and drawings on CD! I am officially the world's biggest idiot!
So, the fanfic is postponed for a while, as I really don;t have the energy to re-tread lost ground right now. I will be amusing myself in the meantime with recreating the uniforms. Now is a good time for constructive suggestions, lol. I'm a blank slate, here.
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Okay, well. New computer, and I'm about halfway through the initial story again. And honestly, I changed quite a bit of it. I think it's better and more solid. Hopefully some updates soon.
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Some rather big adjustments to the story now, since JJ couldn't leave the prime universe alone, either. Since the romulans were playing a big part in the story, the destruction of Romulus has changed a large aspect of the story. This will never get done....
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Geesh, your making Picard the president, you stories already in a universe of it's own. Go ahead and ignore the whole Romulusgettingdestroyedbyasupernova plot device.
Most don't consider it canon anyway...
Also, i must say, on the note of the Picard Presidency, that most people devote their lives to becoming the president, of this planet... Imagine how much dedication you would have to attain presidency over hundred's of planets. Picard simply doesn't have the years left in him, however it's your story, good luck with it =).
On a side note... I always loved the DS9/VOY uniforms... The FC uniforms... Were cool at first... But they just look too dull. Like today's military...
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Also, i must say, on the note of the Picard Presidency, that most people devote their lives to becoming the president, of this planet... Imagine how much dedication you would have to attain presidency over hundred's of planets. Picard simply doesn't have the years left in him, however it's your story, good luck with it =).
Ever hear of Dwight Eisenhower? Andrew Jackson? George Washington? Ulysses Grant? All career military men who ran for President without much previous political experience.
As for Picard, read the "Countdown" comics and the "Destiny" series of novels. He marries Beverly, has a child, and retires to become an Ambassador. I know they're not considered "canon", but they're the only way we're gonna get any "Prime Universe" stories now.
Picard is 76 in the latest of the Trek books. Leonard McCoy lived to at least twice that age, and was still an active Admiral! He's got plenty of time!
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I think I could live with the colours more if there was less colour, more black/v. dark blue. I personally don't like the bright cyan colour. It really is wrong in a sense.
I just realized. You were thinking the whole uniform was the colors. The blue was permanent. The grey on the shoulder was the department color, lol.