The Wayback Machine - http://web.archive.org/web/20120619083639/http://drexfiles.wordpress.com:80/2009/02/16/enterprise-j-search/

16
Feb
09

Enterprise J Search

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One of the J configurations sent to the front office for consideration. The secondary hull by itself became known as the Altair-class featured an entry or so back. The primary hull went on to become part of the approved J ship, as seen below. You know how the Enterprise was described to Charlie X as “a whole city in space”? The 1701 was really a village compared to the J, which even dwarfed the D ship. I saw this concept as a multi-generational vessel, that had large parks, entertainment zones, and entire universities on board. The ship is so large that turbo lifts would be  replaced with site to site transporters.

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103 Responses to “Enterprise J Search”


  1. 1 Sarge
    February 16, 2009 at 4:47 pm

    Doug,

    What can I say, but WOW! Your thoughts on the J really make some sense. As large as this ship would be, it would have to have a multi-generational aspect to it. Makes the old 1701 look tiny.

    Sarge

  2. 2 Mark Delgado
    February 16, 2009 at 4:48 pm

    Doug,

    Finally :-) Thanks for these pics, and I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that I hope there’s more to come here. I really wished that we would have seen the Enterprise-J in ENT instead of just viewing the underside of the saucer from a room, and having to settle for the MSD graphic.

    So how many different iterations of the J were made before the approved product?

    • 3 dougdrexler
      February 16, 2009 at 5:24 pm

      Mark, It was an awful tease, the way it was used in the episode! Since it wasn’t a ship that would be seen that clearly, I was not tasked to do a dozen or more designs. I remember that I only turned in four or five designs.

      I really want to post some QT’s of it in flight, but when I upload it to Youtube, it looks really degraded. Anyone have experience with a high quality video hosting site?
      - Doug

  3. 4 Boris
    February 16, 2009 at 4:55 pm

    Do you have the exact overall length documented anywhere? I’ve checked a couple of high-profile sites, but they don’t say a thing.

  4. February 16, 2009 at 5:09 pm

    A generational ship.. hmm. I suppose by this time, these kinds of massive exploration ‘cities’ could be the ones travelling into the deep Gamma and Delta Quadrants, and possibly even the Andromeda Galaxy.

  5. 7 Pacal
    February 16, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    Doug it’s cool looking ship but I have to ask what is the depth of the saucer? From these views it looks as thin as an old vinyl record with lights. I don’t get a feel of a compound curved depth saucer like the D. Was there ever a profile shot which shows dimensions?

    • 8 dougdrexler
      February 16, 2009 at 5:20 pm

      Pacal – An old vinyl record with lights. Not a pizza cutter? I’ll have to dig it out, and take a look. I’m pretty sure I designed it so the crew has to crawl from place to place ; ) I’ll check it out! – Doug

  6. February 16, 2009 at 5:35 pm

    Try Vimeo. It’s really good for high quality vids.

    And do you have a picture of the underside of the actual J? As I understand the above pictures show two different designs.

  7. February 16, 2009 at 5:36 pm

    Doug…THANKS!!!!!!

    I have a small list of questions.
    Did anyone give the ship a classification?
    Did the Enterprise-J just have one Deflector in the primary hull, I am guessing that the Deflector (In photo #2) is based on the NX-01 Deflector.
    She’s a multi-generational vessel, so she has normal warp or maybe some kind of Transwarp?
    Would the ship go to galaxy to galaxy or is it restricted to our galaxy?

    Ok, I will stop there with the questions, again thanks so much for the post,I hope you do more articles on her.

    Again Thanks!

    • 11 dougdrexler
      February 17, 2009 at 4:51 am

      Hi Joe! Questions:

      I guess I’d have to call it a Universe class vessel. The approved J had one deflector, recognizably descended from the NX. I imagine they are beyond Transwarp. I imagine they can fold space, and that they are exploring other Galaxy’s (extremely risky business) besides the Milky Way. – Doug

  8. February 16, 2009 at 5:40 pm

    Doug, Youtube has HD Now so you should be able to upload higher Rez video.
    Here is a how to on HD YouTube
    http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-hd-update/

  9. 13 Ryan Cornelius
    February 16, 2009 at 6:17 pm

    Amazing! I would love more information about this ship!

    IIRC the ship was indeed very thin because of a new technology that allowed the decks to exsist slightly out of phase? Man I read that somewhere once. Was it just conjecture, or did you ever state publically how tall the ship was?

  10. February 16, 2009 at 7:32 pm

    I like how the deflector emitter seems to be a high-tech version of the NX-01 deflector on the approved design.

    You are very right about it being a tease. Except for the brief glimpses at the MSD, the small amount of corridor and lower saucer section, we just didn’t get enough time checking her out. I always wanted to see more of the ‘J’.

    Thanks for posting this Doug. You are providing a great daily dosage of geeky fun for us! :D

    • 15 dougdrexler
      February 17, 2009 at 4:45 am

      Hi Will, The inset deflector tied things together. Yeah, it was an awful tease. I was dissapointed they decided not to go outside. I think it was budgetary. – Doug

  11. 16 Jonathan Burke
    February 16, 2009 at 7:49 pm

    Wow, Doug, knowing the concepts behind this make me like it all the more!

    So was the saucer deflector present on the upper picture and just not visible, or was that a requested change?

    • 17 dougdrexler
      February 17, 2009 at 4:44 am

      Jonathan – Thanks mister! I love hearing that!
      The bottom shot with the lowered secondary hull does not have a deflector in the saucer. The approved J ship does not have a suspended secondary hull. Doug

  12. 18 Si
    February 16, 2009 at 10:24 pm

    Doug, thanks ever so much for these pics, they really are amazing. Can I ask, what happens to all of the computer-generated models created for the Star Trek series? I mean, you spend all that time designing and then building the thing in 3D…surely they’re not just deleted after the film / episode? Are they kept or stored somewhere? Is there some guy out there with THE most amazing hard-drive in the whole universe FILLED with all of our favourite starships? And if so, can you put me through to him so I can pick him up and shake him, screaming “WHY HAVEN’T YOU RELEASED THESE MODELS IN SCHEMATIC FORM ON THE INTERNET??” lol!

    Out of all the really important questions I’ve ever asked anyone in all my life, I’m placing this query certainly in my top 5, so I’m ever so hopeful that you’ll answer this one…

    Many thanks for your general level of awesomeness,
    Si

    • 19 dougdrexler
      February 17, 2009 at 4:26 am

      Thank you, Si! I know that when Foundation Imaging went out of business, all their hardrives were sold off. Anything that survived was probably saved by people like me. Eden Effects might still have their Trek files, I don’t know. – Doug

  13. 20 sam moreno
    February 16, 2009 at 11:29 pm

    Doug, THIS is truly one of your best, IF not THE BEST ship you have ever done! It’s just a VERY BEAUTIFUL VESSEL! It brings a tear to my eye every time I see it. I have some theory’s about the E-J. I always thought that this ship HAD to be a generational vessel, just by the size of it. Could it be duel Warp-Transwarp, or maybe s Slipstream drive? The ship may have been capable of intergalactic travel. I like to think this ship was a couple of miles long, judging by how thin that saucer section is. Once again GREAT find Mr. Drexler.:)

    • 21 dougdrexler
      February 17, 2009 at 4:28 am

      Sam, Thanks, buddy! I would say she must be a Universe Class ship. Sounds right to me. Two miles sounds about right to me as well. – Doug

  14. 22 Jack Mayfield
    February 17, 2009 at 3:33 am

    Thank you so much for this post! The Enterprise-J is pretty much my favorite starship, and not just because I share its initial initial. :-)

  15. 24 Shik
    February 17, 2009 at 4:04 am

    Sexy. There was a guy who’d built a physical model of the E-J…can’t remember who, though. He’d only posted in-progress shots on his site, but they looked fantastic.

  16. 26 Atragon
    February 17, 2009 at 5:57 am

    Very Cool. I like the description and the ship, it carries on one of the idea that I thought was great about the Galaxy Class ships. Families. No longer were Starfleet officers molded to being lone wolves who were out in the galaxy, with loved ones or lost memories back home. The galaxy class ship brought families and civilians with the crew into space.

    I always imagined that the galaxy class ships would have a massive enclosure for an Arboretum and parks for the entire crew, it is nice that someone else thought of bringing that into space as well.

    Cheers

  17. 27 Boris
    February 17, 2009 at 6:25 am

    Two miles sounds about right to me as well.

    Oh, no. Now you’re going to have a zillion sites with Length: 3218.688m. (“Doug Drexler, the designer, says it’s about two miles long.”) People are going to start building models in that scale. I’m happy to wait for the hard facts whenever you get around to them.

  18. 28 LarryN
    February 17, 2009 at 6:48 am

    FYI, Eden FX indeed still does have their CGI ship files–supposedly they all came over from Foundation, but that’s the theory. We still order a rare one or two for the Japan Fact Files DVD project. I believe they see the light of day on a cash basis. :-)

  19. 29 Si
    February 17, 2009 at 6:55 am

    Thanks for the response Doug, that certainly eases my mind that the cgi files are still out there…somewhere. LarryN, that’s fascinating to hear, as I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the USS Prometheus, USS Relativity and the USS Equinox CGI models displayed in the ST:Fact Files when I was buying them, but no others. So how much does an average CGI starship cost these days then?

  20. 30 LarryN
    February 17, 2009 at 8:19 am

    Si–It’s almost as much as a real one!

  21. February 17, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    Hi Doug, I’m another new visitor who came across your blog from the link at Ex Astris Scientia – can’t believe I’ve been missing all this for the last few months! :-) Thanks so much for posting all this great material, it’s really kind of you to share your images and inside info with the fans.

    The Enterprise-J looks superb, I’ve been really looking forward to hearing more about it after your recent Altair post. I’d like to respectfully join the clamour for more images if there are any – a side view or orthographics would be fabulous (not wanting to sound ungrateful for all you’ve shown and told us already of course! :-) ). It’s always been the ‘forgotten’ member of the Enterprise lineage, because of the teasey nature of its appearance as you say.

    One point I don’t know if anyone else has picked up on – so many fan interpretations of post-Nemesis vessels have gone for increasingly complicated and angular looking designs (similar in the ST:Online game for example), it’s really nice to see some interpretations like the Altair and E-J that go with more elegant and beautiful lines.

    Many thanks again for all the hard work! (and sorry for the long post).

  22. February 17, 2009 at 6:20 pm

    Excellent post. All the comments of the Enterprise-J is giving me more clarification. Thanks again.

  23. 33 Si
    February 17, 2009 at 9:54 pm

    LOL! Cheers Larry. I uh…’looked you up’ by the way. Kudos on having made such a massive contribution to the world of Trek yourself! Oh well, looks like I’ll be remortgaging my house then and just maybe those wizard chaps at Eden FX will let me have a ship…or even a shuttle. Whadaya think Larry? Maybe they’ll let me have the shuttlecraft Nenebek perhaps? ;-)

  24. 34 Jonathan Burke
    February 17, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    The bottom shot with the lowered secondary hull does not have a deflector in the saucer. The approved J ship does not have a suspended secondary hull.

    Ooh that’s a shame, I kinda like the ‘Altair’ strapped onto it like that.

    May I have your permission to squint and pretend that it has both a saucer deflector and a suspended secondary hull? ;)

  25. February 17, 2009 at 10:31 pm

    Doug, correct me if I’m wrong: You turned the abandoned Enterprise-J secondary hull into the Altair. So the group picture (fore views) in Ships of the Line, showing the configuration Enterprise-J-saucer with Altair hull, is not an awkward attempt to quickly reconstruct the lost model, but an old version that made it into the final product?

    And don’t worry Boris, if I put up a size figure at EAS, I will round it to full 100 meters. ;)

    • 37 dougdrexler
      February 17, 2009 at 10:54 pm

      Bernd,

      Actually the Altair model was built purely as Mike’s original concept, in an attempt to get that design into the mix as a possible direction for the J… but I found it looked pretty cool with a saucer, and sent that over as a variant.

      >>A awkward attempt to reconstruct the lost model<< Can you clarify that for me? The ‘”awkward” part ;) and the “lost model” part. I know of no lost model.

      The ship on the SOTL book cover was a concept for the J. It’s Mike’s wing ship idea (Altair) with a traditional saucer. – Doug

  26. February 18, 2009 at 2:58 am

    So, should we assume that the future federation has ships in all these various configurations?

  27. 40 Boris
    February 18, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    And don’t worry Boris, if I put up a size figure at EAS, I will round it to full 100 meters.

    No, don’t put anything yet. :) “Two miles” is simply a guesstimate at this point. I’m hoping Doug built the Lightwave model to a proper scale (in which case it’s simply a matter of opening it and seeing what it says). That should be the best available reference for the size in this case.

    • 41 dougdrexler
      February 18, 2009 at 4:04 pm

      Howdy Boris! I probably won’t be able to find the model and open it til the weekend. The J is in the vicinity of two miles long, give or take. I’ll let you know the exact measurements then. – Doug

  28. 42 Xero
    February 19, 2009 at 9:31 am

    It’s probably one of my favourite Trek ship designs, since the Defiant.

    Are you planning to design more ships from that era, for a future SoTL calender, or even just for the heck of it?

  29. February 19, 2009 at 6:34 pm

    “>>awkward attempt to reconstruct the lost model<< Can you clarify that for me? The ‘”awkward” part ;) and the “lost model” part. I know of no lost model.”

    My impression was that for the Ships of the Line calendar (February 2005?), you took a top view already rendered for “Azati Prime”, and for some reason you couldn’t create a front view of the same configuration for the “group photo” with the other Starfleet vessels in the SoTL book.

    • 44 dougdrexler
      February 19, 2009 at 10:17 pm

      Bernd, The SOTL Cal used the same camera, but was a much higher resolution. The shot on the book cover was actually the wingship with a saucer, which I have marked as “Congo” class. I love that group photo. I wanted to do a Bob McCall inspired image, like you might see at the Air & Space Museum, 40′ tall. – Doug

  30. 45 Boris
    February 21, 2009 at 10:54 pm

    Jonathan: not every ship has a saucer deflector, and I don’t see why the secondary hull must be suspended. The ship is what it is, we just need to see it properly.

  31. February 22, 2009 at 7:50 pm

    Doug, is there a hi-res version of that group shot about that you’re able to share perhaps? It’d make a heck of a desktop wallpaper! (Scanning the calendar leaves a nasty crease!) :-)

  32. 48 Boris
    February 22, 2009 at 8:00 pm

    Mark: actually, the Ent-J priority right now would be a set of proper ortographic views.

  33. 49 Starlock
    February 23, 2009 at 7:23 pm

    Hi, Doug!

    I just discovered this site thanks to some folks over at TrekBBS.com (Nifty!)

    The Enterprise-J (w/Altair Hull) immediately became a member of my “favorite” starship designs due its clear resemblance to Ralph McQuarrie’s and Ken Adam’s Delta Wing Enterprise designs from the proposed “Planet of Titans” movie. (Some versions of THAT design in turn has roots in North American’s XB-70 Valkyrie Bomber – but I digress.) It rather surpised me to learn that this design was a composite of two CGI models, but it explains the visible differences in lighting and texture. Before I start overfanboying over this, let just say that I am really enjoying all these behind the scenes looks at Star Trek!

  34. February 23, 2009 at 11:37 pm

    I second the request for a high-res image. :)

  35. 51 moeskido
    March 1, 2009 at 10:17 pm

    I’m shocked and disappointed to find that I may have lost my copy of the Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology, released around the time of TMP, in which I believe Rick Sternbach posited future Starfleet ships that could change their hull configuration at will.

    Based merely upon this spurious memory, I say that every sketch done for the Enterprise-J is a valid representation of one possible form it could take. The ship would have a range of capabilities, not a fixed set.

  36. 52 DavidR
    March 5, 2009 at 2:33 pm

    I finally have stumbled across this blog and I must say Doug, you do some damn excellent work! Im glad you contribute all these rare and interesting bits of info to us.

    Ive been searching for more info and images of the Enterprise J ever since I saw that episode and I think its safe to say everyone wants to see the underside view of it! It was a real tease seeing it in that episode and I remember squinting out of that window shot to try and get some idea of what the bottom looks like.

    I would really appreciate seeing more shots of it, either renders or orthographic drawings and also finding out its true size and official class. Afterall this is a ship carrying the Enterprise name and it deserves to have as much known about it as the other 1701′s.

    I love the design of it but I do have one question, are the windows actually larger nearer the outer edge of the saucer or is that just the texture being streched? The windows near the middle are much smaller.

    Anyway, thanks so much for the time, looking forward to seeing more of the ship.

    • 53 dougdrexler
      March 5, 2009 at 6:45 pm

      Hi DavidR – Once I get past the BSG finale crunch, I will dig out the model and get some more questions answered properly. delighted you are having fun with the drex files! – Doug

  37. 54 Boris
    March 5, 2009 at 3:10 pm

    It appears that no official class name has been established, based on Doug’s comments so far, so we’ll have to keep calling it “Enterprise-J type” or something similar until that happens. No use inventing a “fanon” name and then complaining when it isn’t accepted officially.

  38. 55 Ichabod
    March 6, 2009 at 4:57 am

    The Enterprise-J could have the technology of Doctor Who’s “Tardis” in operation here (i.e. making it bigger on the inside than outside) which would also be similar to what was seen on the 31st Century pod that appeared on the ST:Enterprise episode “Future Tense”

    It’s probably also going down the route of Organic Circuitry and Coaxial Warp Drive.

  39. 56 DavidR
    March 6, 2009 at 6:24 am

    Sure thing! Thanks for the reply.

  40. 57 Jote
    March 11, 2009 at 3:34 pm

    Doug, I have just discovered this blog, I’m speechless. Add me to the list of people awaiting the info on Enterprise-J! I’d love to see the videos you mentioned.

  41. 59 Ryan T. Riddle
    March 29, 2009 at 5:16 pm

    Awesome look at the J! I like the concepts you put into the ship — universities, parks, entertainment zones, and site-to-site transporters. A traveling metropolis. Some of the things I used that we’d gotten on TNG, especially the sense of a university in space and a large park-area for the crew.

    Thanks.

  42. 60 cwbytruckers
    March 29, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    Hey Doug. Got a quick comment. You said that the hard drives were sold off when foundation went under. Wouldn’t paramount keep a copy of all files since they actually own the rights to star trek? If you owned a business and hired a subcontractor, wouldn’t you keep an archive some where of that data for future referance?

    • 61 dougdrexler
      March 29, 2009 at 5:53 pm

      One might think. But how many people at Paramount even know what it takes to make visual effects, outside of the VFX staff, who has moved on as soon as the show is cancelled?

  43. 62 richpfohl
    March 29, 2009 at 6:14 pm

    Doug,
    I too have just discovered this blog. Ever since i saw the J on “Azati Prime” i was obsessed with it. From the pictures provided I can “guesstimate” what the ship looks like in all its glory. The only thing i can’t figure out is what the keel looks like (like everyone else) and also where the impulse engines ( or engine) is located as well as the main shuttle bay. Im speculating the main impulse is in the very middle of the back and the main shuttle bay about a third of the way down from the main deflector where the hull stops, dips down, and then comes back up. Please!, Please!, post some pics! This thing is absolutely fantastic! I even have all the materials ready to scratch build the thing! Just need a few more answers! I’m dying here!

    • 63 dougdrexler
      March 29, 2009 at 6:21 pm

      Hi Rich! I’ve been playing junior archeologist with my boxes of stuff, and as soon as I come across something I post it. Hang in there! Don’t die!

  44. 64 Boris
    March 29, 2009 at 6:36 pm

    cwbytruckers: Mojo answered that question in quite some detail (scroll down to the bottom of the page linked below).

    http://darthmojo.wordpress.com/2008/06/20/sci-ficandy-voyager-strikes-back/

  45. 65 cwbytruckers
    March 29, 2009 at 8:29 pm

    Thanks for the link, Boris. Did not know that site was there. I can’t even begin to fathom what has been just erased instead of just lost. If this is what the studios intend to do things, go back to model building. When I get a chance, I look more into Darthmojo’s site.

  46. 66 moeskido
    March 29, 2009 at 8:39 pm

    I briefly assisted with video storage issues on a certain Star Trek fan-film series a couple of years ago. I sweated bullets for a week, worrying about all the things I might have done wrong with hardware I hadn’t recommended or been briefed upon. Guess I got lucky.

    A tech pundit I respect likes to say that your electronic documents don’t truly exist unless you have two full backup copies of them somewhere.

  47. 67 cwbytruckers
    March 29, 2009 at 9:18 pm

    moeskido. AMEN and I agree. I know that anything can be rebuilt if you throw enough money at it. It just seems smart to me to store the original drive with a copy of all software in a vault. As long as the original drive is in good shape, it can last for years until its copied over to “improved media”. It just seams the studios would demand a copy of everything saved on just the cost factor alone. How much data could be saved in just the storage area of the 4 foot crate the Enterprise D was stored in?? They spend millions on a show, just to throw away everything but the finished product? Ill get of my soap box now.

    • 68 dougdrexler
      March 29, 2009 at 9:26 pm

      cwbytruckers – Yes, but in order to make such decisions, you have to know how it works. Accountants and bean counters don’t know what CG is. A movie company might ask for all the molds that makeups were cast from, but they wouldn’t know what they were looking at once they had them. A miniature is tangible. everyone knows what that is. Especially if you have been paying mondo dollars to store it every month. Who here thinks big business knows what it’s doing all the time? How many hands?

  48. 69 moeskido
    March 29, 2009 at 9:25 pm

    Bingo, cowboy.

    Consumers are starting to learn about this issue, thanks to the availability of cheap hard drives (and somewhat cheap online storage services) which allow them to safeguard precious family photos and videos. It only takes one disastrous loss to make someone think twice about taking electronic files for granted.

    How odd to think that a for-profit endeavor like a media company wouldn’t recognize the need to protect their intellectual property and creative assets.

  49. March 29, 2009 at 9:43 pm

    AHAHAH, you funny Doug!

    Yeah CG is a weird concept for non-CG peeps to get their head around. It’s almost an abstract concept really. When some peeps see my art work at my house, and then I tell them I do it all on my computers, their faces glaze over. “Wait a minute, you mean those models don’t exist?” Even when I show them the mesh on-screen and spin around it and such in OpenGL or wireframe, they still have an odd look on their face as to what exactly they are seeing. It makes no relatable sense to them. Then I hand them as prac, and they can “get” that reality.

    My step-mom is in the business of selling data-storage BTW, but it’s mostly business related at this point, as that is all peep’s get, as that is the most that most peeps have experience with, spread-sheets, etc., business-related data stuff.

    LLP,
    deg

  50. 72 moeskido
    March 29, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    Perhaps the problem could be alleviated by describing CG assets as being worthless without certain associated Excel documents which contain their vital, legally provable IP provenance. I have a feeling even b-school dweebs would understand that better. Except for the fact that CG would take tons more storage than a spreadsheet. Don’t ask how many emails it took my department to describe to IT the greater storage needs of a print publishing division, as compared to a customer-service group.

  51. March 29, 2009 at 9:53 pm

    Oh wow, I just realized, I’m in a older entry post I’ve never been in before.

    Way cool Doug. I never realized the J was supposed to be so ginormous, and generational. Cool. Born and passed-on in space. IIRC, I believe that was the back-story concept of The Starlost.

    Thanks for sharin’ E-J eh. :)

    PLL.
    deg

  52. March 29, 2009 at 10:00 pm

    You speak truth Akaar!

    AHAHA, good one dude! Bones, give her a smack for me, eh. Leonard James Akaar. Future Teer.

    LLP,
    deg

  53. 76 moeskido
    March 29, 2009 at 10:03 pm

    I’ll just slink away now. I’ve obviously lost the ability to speak to real creatives without dweebness. My future lies elsewhere. Perhaps in IT…

  54. March 29, 2009 at 10:18 pm

    moeskido, I get exactly what you are sayin’ eh. I think it will take some time for the concept of CG data to sink in with “norms.” Like you said, it takes a lot more space to store those vast amounts of data, and that means more money. Which makes it even more difficult, as the sec the $$$ signs go up, the bean-counters get nervous, Esp. when they can’t conceive exactly what the money is for. That sends up even more road-blocks as folks lean toward writing off stuff as needless and/or implausible, the less they comprehend what it is. Esp. when it comes to cuttin’ into the bottom-line.

    In time, generations will get more savvy as the bean-counters of the next generation will have at least perhaps watched some DVD/Blu-ray extras and come to at least have a semi-grasp of what VFX assets actually are, and thus what their value actually is in this day-and-age of virtual-based VFX. We’ll see eh…

    PLL.
    deg

  55. 79 moeskido
    March 29, 2009 at 10:30 pm

    Thanks, deg. It was all I could do to stay civil with our IT while describing “high-resolution art for print and trade-show displays” after they’d asked me to justify why we needed higher email storage limits, and why our whole group needed reliable nightly backup for what essentially constituted half of the educational publishing division’s frakking kingdom.

    And it couldn’t be that much more expensive for the increased storage space. It was merely the temerity of reminding the priesthood that their standard procedures weren’t sufficient for us.

    This is one of the reasons why I drink.

  56. 80 moeskido
    March 29, 2009 at 10:31 pm

    Sorry, Mr. D. I get a bit evangelical when the guys in the server room treat me like a call-center drone.

  57. March 29, 2009 at 10:41 pm

    LOL, but yeah, you’re probably right. TBT, I’m surprised Paramount stored all the Trek pracs for so many years. Big biz has never been one for forethought much and would rather just toss stuff away and re-do it later if there was ever a call (which would never be conceived of in the first place). Trek may have been a bit different given so many shows, but they did rid themselves of the storage “burden” eventually. Probably had other more cost-effective uses for the space. I’m just glad they didn’t throw it all in the bin.

    They bean-counters probably just look at CG assets as a blessing, as just one less thing they finally have to deal with, as these models never really existed in the first place, so why store them, right? LOL :)

    LLP,
    deg

  58. 83 moeskido
    March 29, 2009 at 10:43 pm

    I heart Doug Drexler.

  59. March 29, 2009 at 10:53 pm

    And it couldn’t be that much more expensive for the increased storage space. It was merely the temerity of reminding the priesthood that their standard procedures weren’t sufficient for us.

    Well, more space does = more money, even virtually. But yeah, you are correct there with the too often unbending attitudes of the “establishment.”

    And nice use of the word: temerity. :)

    PLL,
    deg

  60. 85 cwbytruckers
    March 29, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    Hey Guys. Thanks for all the info. I just asummed the studios knew what they were doing. Even the Smithsonian in the last few years learning how to store digital media for the long term. How in the world are you going to change an accountants perception for the long haul, when they can only see the end of the month. Oh well, back to reality.

    I think my next purchase will be 1 tb drive to copy Voyager and DS9. (which is legal if you own the original disk)

  61. 86 Ziz
    March 30, 2009 at 4:25 pm

    “I saw this concept as a multi-generational vessel, that had large parks, entertainment zones, and entire universities on board. The ship is so large that turbo lifts would be replaced with site to site transporters.”

    And still only one bathroom on the entire ship. ;)

  62. 87 richpfohl
    April 5, 2009 at 3:43 am

    What kind of program was used to model the J? I myself use Corel Draw for most of my illustrations. I heard Adobe Illustrator was really good as well but i haven’t played around with that one yet. Have you had any luck with posting the fly by’s? You Tube has HD now. have you tried that way? or was it before the HD?

    • 88 dougdrexler
      April 5, 2009 at 10:16 am

      Hi Rich, I use LightWave. The native VFX program of TV Star Trek.

      I tried it but I thought it wasn’t quite satisfactory. I may have to relight for the tiny screen.

  63. 89 dougdrexler
    May 3, 2009 at 6:51 pm

    Hi Richard! Re: The blue glow on the nacelle struts are not reverse thrusters. What you are seeing is a radiant spillway.

  64. 90 Robert Church
    May 4, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    MORE!MORE!MORE!

    More pictures!More info!More everything!

    This vessel screams of technology virtually unimaginable to the human mind.
    With the “generational” design concept,it’s not hard to imagine that Starfleet
    has taken to exploring other galaxies.

    It would indeed be interesting to consider what technologies would be available
    aboard a vessel like this.One question…What is the over-all color of the E-J?

  65. May 22, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    Very nice dude. I’d like to see a size comparison with J, D and TOS E, eh.

    LLP,
    deg

  66. 92 Scott
    May 22, 2009 at 1:13 pm

    Yeah, let’s get some specs for the J. I’m betting she’s over 1500 meters long. :D

  67. June 14, 2009 at 3:52 am

    Mr Drexler,

    I am leader of a German Star Trek Online-RPG playing in the year 2551, and so this ship would be exactly what we need – would you mind if we’d use it? Thank you very much for your response,
    Sincerely,
    Chris

    [I'd be glad to hear from you, best way would probably be an e-mail ;) ]

  68. October 8, 2009 at 9:21 pm

    If it’s going to be like a city, then the enterprise J shouldn’t be used for Exploration at all, because it would be too dangerous for the thousands of people on board! Most of whom aren’t going to be starfleet personnel.

  69. 95 Greg
    March 11, 2010 at 11:09 am

    Hello. I’m doing a cannon/non-cannon technical manual and I want to include every starfleet vessel, even ones from different timelines and realities. I was wondering if you would have a copy of the blueprints and tecnical information for the Enterprise-J?

    • 96 Boris
      March 12, 2010 at 12:49 pm

      I’m not so sure that the LightWave model is still around. Doug has filled a ton of blanks over the past year or so with a variety of never-before-seen orthos, making a lot of analysts very happy, but the Enterprise-J hasn’t shown up yet. I hope we’ll see it in more detail eventually, it is an interesting design.

  70. 97 LaceRobinson
    June 26, 2010 at 9:04 pm

    Do you know if the producers of the star trek series are planing to make a new series involving the enterprise J and the temporal cold war, because i think it would be a great hit.

  71. 99 Calvin - The one who will invent Enterprise J 550 years from now
    August 4, 2011 at 6:36 am

    Hello Doug,
    I have studied the Universe class very closely. I think that you should go to legacy.filefront.com and find a user by the name of MRJOHN. He created the Star Trek Legacy mod ship “USS Enterprise J” and “USS Celestial” (NCC-693115). I think that when thinking about the Universe Class Armaments, you should think about the biphasic pulse and gladiator weapons (Gladiator XII phaser and Gladiator Quantum MKII torpedoes). Perhaps quantum phasers may be an armament to consider applying to this ship. In any case, if it may be possible to create a TV series involving sombody acting as the captain of the ship (possibly even Jean-Luc Picard), it would likely profit significantly. If this ship can travel at warp 10, exploration of the Andromeda galaxy would become inevitable. I would recommend that you attempt to contact MRJOHN and talk to him about Enterprise (NCC-1701-J. I wish to assimilate all available knowledge pertaining to “NCC-1701-J”. Will you assist me?

  72. 100 Bradley
    September 15, 2011 at 5:53 pm

    38 decks on the top.

  73. 101 Picard578
    October 20, 2011 at 6:49 am

    What weapons does it have?


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