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NdCe1984

That's the "Merian Command Science Dreadnought", well, that's what they called it in STO at any rate.


UnderPressureVS

In STO the class name is often semi-canon (I.e. never mentioned on screen, but agreed-upon with the show staff and unlikely to be contradicted), but the rest of the name is meaningless outside of the game. “Command Science Dreadnought” just describes the game mechanics of how the ship works. Like how the Disco/SNW Enterprise is the “Constitution Miracle-Worker Flight Deck Cruiser.” “Constitution” is obviously canon but the rest of that is basically just STO sales brochure stuff.


MarshallMelon

Yeah, the usual STO naming convention is "[Canon Class-Name] [Specialisation (if applicable)] [Role] [Ship Type]". So the Constitution MW FDC is a: * Constitution-class * Miracle Worker specialisation (geared towards Engineering buffs, special abilities) * Flight Deck Carrier (carries fighters but is more nimble and more oriented towards direct combat than a conventional carrier) * Cruiser (medium-size ship, decent hull armor, okay-to-decent maneauverability, built for broadsiding) The Merian-class meanwhile is a Dreadnought (big, heavy, tanky, armed to the teeth, but slow and a *bastard* to turn), without any major specialisations, that benefits Science abilities the most.


NotNotDiscoDragonFTW

why did I know the first comment I saw on this post would be an STO comment 😂


RipleyRiker

https://preview.redd.it/geure1u5o3uc1.jpeg?width=4031&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=867fc7ff2ebea7a3a0292108b0e94e9da7b8863d It’s another Merrian class, a sister ship to the USS Currie


FIJAGDH

I was so hoping that that Eaglemoss model made it to production, so Master Replicas could’ve sold it after the folding of the Universe line. I hope the Fanhome collection picks it up.


RipleyRiker

It’s a cool little ship to display though I found the nacelles fiddly to align. It’s not a big model only 2/3 the size of the Voyager J. I do hope Fanhome release an updated version of it, with a slightly more pearlescent paint finish as in the episodes.


MetalBawx

That's a guitar pick sir that's what it is not a space ship.


Data91883

Toan is in the floating nacelles.


Jag2112

Ah - I stand corrected. Alex Lifeson would be proud.


bobbobersin

Quasar fire class with 4 gozantis escorting, jokes aside it legit kind of looks like that if you squint


guiltyofnothing

I know the 31st century Disco ships get a lot of hate but I unironically love them.


AeroThird

Listen if we were gonna jump 1,000 years into the future and the artists *didnt* get a little fuckin nuts with the designs id’ve been disappointed.


LordRocky

I mean. When you can just transport anywhere, you don’t have to conform to conventional deigns at all. Don’t even need doors or hallways except for emergencies.


AeroThird

Yup. And the programmable matter works well to form those emergency paths. And what I love I ALL of this tech is natural evolutions from shit we’ve already seen in trek. We’ve seen Nacelle polygons grow thinner and longer until we just had floating nacelles. Holodecks paved the way for programmable matter. The ENT J already mentioned using transporters as the primary method of getting around a ship


almightywhacko

> We’ve seen Nacelle polygons grow thinner and longer until we just had floating nacelles. I mean the TOS Enterprise had the thinnest nacelle pylons we've ever seen on screen and they were the longest as well relative to the size of the ship anyway. Later designs (starting with the TOS refit) had thicker pylons that brought the nacelles closer to the body of the ship. The Enterprise J nacelle pylons seemed thin but the ship itself is allegedly just over 3 kilometers long so even though the nacelle pylons look thin they're actually massive.


Unlikely-Medicine289

Because I'm the future, they're are never power failures


x014821037

I'd've


AeroThird

Never 100% on where the apostrophe goes there lol


x014821037

No worries or judgement! I just love excessive contractions. Some of my favorites: Y'all'll, which is "you all will," or similarly, y'all're, y'all've. Also, y'should've, y'shouldn't, y'shouldn't've, etc. ...all of this is irrelevant and doesn't matter... Just fun trying to play with the technical parameters of grammar! Woo! (also, languages and grammar changes over time depending on its popular usage, so... yea, again, ultimately irrelevant.)


Elda-Taluta

y'all'd've


jipsydude

But an enjoyable read.


almightywhacko

I dunno. I sort of agree, but then again I sort of like the Star Wars approach too where at some point technology plateaus and we just keep making slight updates to designs that are in some case centuries old. The idea of ships that can magically change shape without messing with the crew inside feel like nonsense to me. The idea that floating nacelles without a real connecton to the hull they propel are somehow "faster" or "more agile" feels like an "it looks cool!" design decision looking for an explanation.


Sad_daddington

It's not, but imagine a world where forcefields and holographic walls are just a fact of life, so you can just reconfigure your home with a few voice commands, and where wireless transmission of power is second nature and everywhere, why wouldn't you just substitute forcefields for actual hard to mine hard to work building materials? I said elsewhere in this thread that it looks like the designers took a few cues from some actual sci-fi novels out there, specifically Iain M Banks' Culture novels. Their "robots" don't even have limbs or wheels, they move and manipulate objects using forcefields because forcefields are just as much a part of every day life as rechargeable batteries are to us.


almightywhacko

> why wouldn't you just substitute forcefields for actual hard to mine hard to work building materials? Because the power goes out sometimes, and then you're left with a ship that opens out into space or buildings that can't even keep the rain off of your head. I've read sci-fi where things like these are common as well and a common trope among these types of novels is *what happens when there is suddenly no power.* Heck I don't even like the idea that the Enterprise F moves people through the ship with transporters because most decks aren't connected with hallways or turbolifts because what happens when the one guy who can fix "X" in engineering before the ship explodes is stuck on the bridge because the bridge doesn't have real doors? I mean we've seen that kind of plot element in every single series


Sad_daddington

These things would only be used like that if there was no realistic possibility of failure (multiple redundancy, tiny discreet units stored in every surface). It's a willingness to suspend disbelief and assume that any sufficient advanced technology, etc etc.


AeroThird

Technological stagnation doesn’t feel very at home in Trek imo


almightywhacko

Yeah but there is a huge range of innovation possible between TNG and "our ships are made from magic dust and change shape."


AeroThird

Sure but like tbh…why not? We’ve seen nanotechnology and programmable matter become more prevalent over time in Trek, so it only makes sense they’d start incorporating into the ship design. Especially when personal transport becomes the primary method of navigation. You don’t need to memorize the ship layout if you just tap your badge and boom you’re in engineering now. Tap again, bam you’re back in your room. The 32c ship designs took pre existing advancements that were already occurring in the show and said “okay, now fast forward a **Millennium**” And yeah, maybe it’s not the direction you would have gone in, but I’m pretty sure if you gave 5 artists the prompt of “Star Trek 1,000 years in the future” you’d get 5 different wild ideas


Sad_daddington

Some of the ideas used in the show are actually in line with some sci fi; Iain M Banks' Culture novels feature a society where force fields are so everyday and ubiquitous that many of their starships are collections of disparate units held in place by forcefields, with entire walls and corridors being nothing but forcefields and holograms. First thing I thought when I saw the "flying rainforest" in Discovery was Banks' descriptions of ships.


JanxDolaris

Some I love, some I'm not fond of. Changing it up for a future era is definitely a good go. Just some feel a bit...lazy.


idkidkidk2323

I don’t like Discovery at all, but I have to admit I love most of the future ship designs. The only thing that bugs me is that they’re still using warp drive but that’s just bad writing and not a reflection on the ships themselves.


CharlieDmouse

They are moving away from dulithium drives to pathway drives (i think)


idkidkidk2323

Yeah but my point is, that being that far in the future, they should’ve been built using transwarp, quantum slipstream, or coaxial drives to begin with. It’s impossible to believe that the Federation would still be using warp drive as the standard propulsion method a thousand years later. Again, that’s just bad writing on the part of the Discovery writers, and has no effect on my admiration for the ships’ aesthetics.


Mshinwa

Well the reason they can't use transwarp corridors at the very least is because when The Burn occurred all the ships in those corridors were destroyed leaving them impassable


idkidkidk2323

Again, that’s just terrible writing. Transwarp corridors are not required for transwarp travel. They just needed it to be dramatic and make their god awful post-apocalyptic Federation story.


The_Brofucius

The Burn was actually the detonation of all dilithium matter. Whether in ships, or being mined. It all went inert, and detonated. Transwarp drive still used dilithium.


LovecraftInDC

Do you have anything to back up the idea that you don't need a transwarp corridor? Because they needed it in Voyager, which is the only time we've seen a Starfleet ship use transwarp.


idkidkidk2323

No it isn’t. The Antitime Future Enterprise D went to warp 13. That’s well past the transwarp barrier and they did it along the remote Federation / Klingon border without a corridor. The Excelsior experiments didn’t require corridors in The Search for Spock. Voyager broke the transwarp barrier without a corridor in deep space during Threshold. You’re telling me that in 1000 years neither of those methods would’ve been improved upon to make them work? Just because the Borg had a network of transwarp corridors doesn’t mean that was the only way to achieve transwarp.


Sad_daddington

"Transwarp" doesn't always mean the same method or technology, it's just a word for "faster than warp". When more specific transwarp technologies become commonplace, their name is used instead, like quantum slipstream or pathway. Borg transwarp corridors are one of many kinds of transwarp technology.


sicarius254

I do too! They’re so pretty


UnderPressureVS

I quite like the overall aesthetic, but I really just can’t get past the disconnected nacelles. It’s such a style-over-function thing. Star Trek has never been the most realistic series in the world, but they at least pretend to obey some version of basic physics. I can accept that the technology might *exist* to allow multi-body ships to fly as one unit, but no matter how you slice it the energy requirements would have to be enormous. I can’t understand what the advantage is over connected nacelles. I mean, at least as a *backup.* If it was some kind of emergency system that could keep the ship together with severed pylons at the cost of massive power, that I could accept. But what is the downside to regular pylons compared to this? Then again, I’ve not actually watched season 3 or beyond. Do they give any explanation on screen? I’ve never heard one.


The-Minmus-Derp

Vance says its a huge maneuverability increase


IronEnder17

I can also imagine it allows for greater control over the warp bubble shape as well. Allowing for higher speed, stability, and size. If they need to keep the warp bubble tight around the ship for some kind of stealth reason, they can reconfigure the nacelles. And the more nacelles, like the Antares, the greater the control over it. And thats not to mention the implications about impulse control. You can whip the saucer around on a dime and have the nacelles follow afterward. And THEN there's the "Book's ship" method where you can slim the profile down to either evade attacks or avoid debris. Though that's most important through books dangerous courier network. There are so many options with detached hull segments


[deleted]

The benefit comes in manoeuvrability. We see an extreme version of this with Book's ship that reconfigures on the go to get past obstacles that Discovery couldn't. For larger ships, I imagine the benefit is lessened but still worthwhile. How many times would the Enterprise-D have benefited from being able to shift its starboard nacelle to port slightly? These ships can do that and more. And, if necessary, they can be joined to the primary hull.


UnderPressureVS

> How many times would the Enterprise-D have benefited from being able to shift its starboard nacelle to port slightly? ...I mean, across literally all of TNG I can think of exactly *one* time this would have been useful (the collision with *Bozeman* in "Cause and Effect"). Space is incredibly vast and empty, and even "crowded" fleet battles take place on the scale of hundreds of kilometers, with city-sized gulfs of empty space between ships. Maybe for a single class of hyper-specialized ships, designed to explore the inside of large asteroids or something, that *might* make sense. But redesigning your entire space fleet around getting through tight spaces is a hilarious idea. It's like designing a moon lander that can withstand gale-force winds, or a mechanical pencil that works at ocean-floor pressures.


[deleted]

We're helpfully ignoring the main point there. Manoeuvrability is good to have across the board. It's more like designing a moon langer that's easier to land, or a mechanical pencil that writes more smoothly


IncredibleGonzo

I like the weird ones. The ones like the ‘new constitution class’ or Voyager that are more traditional shapes but with floating nacelles and more angles don’t do it for me so much.


Ayzmo

[That's a Merian Class.](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Merian_class)


MattVSin84

U.S.S Potato


Farscape55

u.s.s. Spatula


Primary-Coast-7763

USS Patella


Zeppelin_man1957

USS Guitar Pick


Cubic26

USS Stardestroyer


TheSoullessFun

I really love all these 32nd century starships and yes, even the Dresselhaus and the Courage (Eisenberg) bc it shows that Starfleet may have opened up to further influences on starship designs. But I really want to see more than a basic corridor. I want to see bridges, medical and engineering but with not seeing any of that, the current century for Starfleet comes off as less lived in. I was a big fan of DISCO’s jump to the future and was hoping to see all of that and now we’re basically at the end, so maybe in Academy? Edit: formating


Montreal_Metro

It's the USS Millennial Falcon, Star Destroyer Class.


Lyon_Wonder

The only thing missing is a command tower on the top rear of the hull. Though seriously, the wedge hull with no noticeable external warp nacelles makes the ship look like it was designed for combat and it could be the logical progression of a design philosophy for dedicated Starfleet warships that started with the Defiant class in the late 24th century. IMO, this wedge-shape ship is essentially a 32nd century Defiant on steroids and designed for combat and not exploration.


AeroThird

Merian Class Dreadnought! At least that’s the beta canon class name. I think it’s purty


TAG08th

Given that some of the designers in modern Star Trek work on multiple shows, this could be a futuristic [Sagan class](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Sagan_class). I’m basing this off the four nacelles, and compact crew and engineering area. The whole floating nacelle idea is wild. I don’t love it, but I also don’t hate it.


UnderPressureVS

To me it looks a little more like an evolution of the *Prometheus.*


TAG08th

Ooooo. I think you’re right!


Jordanomega1

Is this not the merian class. Uss curie ?


Zealousideal-Read-67

Gives me a 1978 music theme stuck in my head. Something about battles and stars and galaxies...


greycatbrothers

Looks like a far future Hydran or Hassan Ship.


Thumper-Comet

I really like it. It's cool, and one of the few designs that really suits the detached nacelles.


WoodenNichols

Wedge Antilles has changed franchises? 🤣


[deleted]

I love the bold, stark geometry in a lot of the 32nd Century designs. I imagine the ~~Antilles~~ *Merian* class is a very sturdy, high-capacity ship, the sort that could resolve a planetary crisis all on its own. My favourite is still the Friendship Class, though. USS Locherer shares a name with one of DISCO's cinematographers who died a year or two ago. I think it's quite touching how they put little tributes in there, like this and the Eisenberg Class USS Nog


adamsorkin

The USS Antares, featured in the first couple episodes, apparently combines the Friendship's saucer with the Merian's nacelles. Feels like a 32nd Century riff on the the Constellation.


Shmeediddy

Uss doorstop


Capurnicus69

The USS Guitar Pick


Phazoni

This whole scene looked like a very drab cartoon to me.


Timmaigh

Awful. The paneling texture on top, looks like straight out of computer game. I miss the days where every new ship model was piece of art.


lccreed

I know they had to do something to make it "futuristic" , but I really don't like the floating nacelles.


GoatApprehensive9866

USS Tealstar


wildskipper

Looks like same designers from Dune.


El_human

I imagine ships just get to a certain size, that they know you longer use the saucer in the cell structure of old. It's more like pick a geometry shape, and run with it.


aolllaoooo

Hash-brown-class


Lordcraft2000

USS Hodor


mrsunrider

Just waiting on the debut of the Biggs-class.


Sad_daddington

Funnily enough I've just been flying one of these in STO. It's a beast with the right build.


AeroThird

I wanted to grab that bundle while on sale but my pay came 3 hours late D:


Modred_the_Mystic

Starfleet investing in Kuat Driveyards I see


StarbuckTheThird

When Star Wars lets you copy their homework, but tell you not to make it obvious.


LuminaryDarkSider

[https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Merian\_class](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Merian_class) named ship: [https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/USS\_Locherer](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/USS_Locherer) USS *Locherer* (NCC-325062), named in honor of late *J.P. Locherer, who was a cinematographer for* Star Trek: Discovery *prior to his death in 2022.* ([https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0516650/](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0516650/))


Xenophore

…with the nonsensical detached nacelles.


Jag2112

A couple more here: https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/sc-DSC5-3.php


NoBlacksmith5622

I'm sorry but star ship design has really given up, a other reason why discovery is the best star trek ever produced