The Trek Discussion Thread (Sponsored by Chris & Jong) non-ultra Trekies welcome. by chrisisall

Okay, I am officially on board with the new JJprise as true Enterprise. Honestly, I personally could have designed the definitive ship using ideas from all three, but I accept what is. Change is the essential nature of all existence, I guess.

Now phasers? Well, this remains the only one for me. Some others looked okay, the one in the new movie photographs nicer than most, but the original was perfect, & need never have been radically re-designed IMO.

Likewise with the communicator, although I'm not a stickley about the interior as I am that it be a flip-up gold mesh.

_to be continued_

The laughing Chrisisall

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Friday, April 16, 2010 2:20 PM

I admit bias. I saw the original series in the sixties and it was the first serious space travel science fiction series to hit prime time. I naturally tuned into the "The Next Generation" and all the rest, but they relied on techno babble to resolve many episodes and I often wondered why they kept the holo deck after it cause so many dangerous situations. It was a pleasant surprise when the final series came out and the techno babble was gone.

So no matter how much anyone tells me how great the later series or films are, I know where it started and the challenges of being first to produce a show in this gendre.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

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Friday, April 16, 2010 3:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by traveler:
I admit bias. I saw the original series in the sixties and it was the first serious space travel science fiction series to hit prime time.

Me too, but I admit to thinking back then (at ages 6 - 9) that it should have had a robot in it, like another series did...

The laughing Chrisisall

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Friday, April 16, 2010 4:15 PM

I admit that I love "Lost in Space". "Never fear, Smith is hear".

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

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Friday, April 16, 2010 4:38 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by traveler:
I admit that I love "Lost in Space". "Never fear, Smith is here".

You ADMIT it then!
The Intergalactic High Tribunal finds you GUILTY!

The laughing Chrisisall

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Friday, April 16, 2010 5:14 PM

A bubbleheaded booby as charged.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

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Friday, April 16, 2010 8:45 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:
Originally posted by traveler:
I admit bias. I saw the original series in the sixties and it was the first serious space travel science fiction series to hit prime time.
Me too, but I admit to thinking back then (at ages 6 - 9) that it should have had a robot in it, like another series did...

The laughing Chrisisall

Fortunately, Lucille Ball was much smarter than you, and knew of the importance of human interaction when far from home.

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Saturday, April 17, 2010 4:48 AM

IMNOTHERE

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
I am officially on board with the new JJprise...

I think the official term should be the iEnterprise, given the uncanny resemblance between the new bridge and an Apple store. Fair's fair - Apple did rip off the Padd.

Not so sure about some of the "not shot inside a chemical factory, honest" areas below decks - apart from the obvious Charlie and the Chocolate Factory call-out they did make me think a bit of the gratuitous giant stomping machine gag in "Galaxy Quest".

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Likewise with the communicator, although I'm not a stickley about the interior as I am that it be a flip-up gold mesh.

The phasers, I agree, are fine (the fact that the phaser pistol consists of a mini-hand phaser docked into a hand-grip is way cool*).

The communicators and tricorders have the problem in that they now look very, very retro (the tricorders always did look like the early portable cassette recorders). This wouldn't matter so much if they stuck with the retro theme throughout - but if you are going to go all Jonathan Ive with the bridge then your handheld kit pretty much has to look like minimalist black slabs. Since black slabs are pretty boring (unless they're full of stars) - maybe that's why Battlestar Galactica 200x stuck with mostly 1980s-esque tech (with some plot justification) and Doctor Who increasingly goes for steampunk or Alien-esque grunge.

And we've nearly got sickbay: recently had a stay in hospital with a very star-trek-esque LCD panel beside my bed. It was even "wireless" - except you still needed to wear electrodes and a transmitter box, so a truly electrode-less system would be great (failing that, a sci-fi adhesive pad that stuck to skin but not chest hairs - current tech is kinda the other way round - would be great). OTOH the real world system let you get up and go to the loo, but then there don't seem to be any heads on the Enterprise anyway...

(* Don't know if much was made of this in the show, but its explained in yellowed and dog-eared copy** of "The Making Of Star Trek" by Stephen Whitfield)

(** Not because I'm a sad act who reads it daily, but because its 35 years old...)

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Saturday, April 17, 2010 6:11 AM

Originally posted by ImNotHere:

Quote:
Not so sure about some of the "not shot inside a chemical factory, honest" areas below decks - apart from the obvious Charlie and the Chocolate Factory call-out they did make me think a bit of the gratuitous giant stomping machine gag in "Galaxy Quest"

That, imho, was in fact the weakest part of the movie, eliciting a growl and rolled eyes from me, certainly - it blew suspension of disbelief, yanno ?

Quote:
OTOH the real world system let you get up and go to the loo, but then there don't seem to be any heads on the Enterprise anyway...

Yanno, I didn't go out of my way to collect it, but I wound up with a set of specs and floor plans for most every sci-fi ship around over the years, from the Imperial Star Destroyer to the TCS Concordia (and oddly enough, in that pile is Marvel Comics Iron Manual - the various specs for Iron Mans armor, bet THAT thing is worth a chunk since it's in near mint condition) and as such the specs and floor plans of the Galaxy Class are in there, and I *did* notice a head just off the bridge...

And I notice things, when I can be bothered to watch Star Drek (GNDN Conduits still crack me up, especially when you can SEE the ends don't actually attach to anything) and I do not remember the episode, but in the background of one bridge scene from TNG, someone actually visits it.

-F

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Saturday, April 17, 2010 12:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ImNotHere:

(* Don't know if much was made of this in the show, but its explained in yellowed and dog-eared copy** of "The Making Of Star Trek" by Stephen Whitfield)

It was obvious to us kids who drew them & made our own cardboard ones.

The laughing Chrisisall

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010 1:17 PM

OUT2THEBLACK

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010 2:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
and I *did* notice a head just off the bridge...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B000GPYWIA/ref
=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0
Where? I don't see it...?

The laughing Chrisisall

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010 4:55 PM

Galaxy class, Chris - that'd be the TNG Enterprise.
You know where the captains ready room is, just off the bridge, right ?

Well, directly across from it, making use of the same available space on the opposite side, is a head, placed there so bridge crew can get their business done while minimizing away time and disruption.

And in the background of one TNG bridge scene, which for the life of me I can't remember, you do see some nameless extra crewmember go in there - I remember cause I laughed and pointed out to Don "so starfleet really does have biological functions after all..." - me not bein much of Trekkie and kinda snarky about the shows flaws and whatnot.

-F

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010 3:52 AM

JONGSSTRAW

TOS guest star trivia questions of the day:

1) Which guest star who appeared in a memorable 1968 episode was previously a Shindig go-go dancer on tv when she was 16?

2) Which 2 guest stars from the 2nd Trek pilot will be appearing in Tampa at Vulcan Events show next weekend?

3) Which guest star's screen dad would, a couple of years later, betray Bonnie and Clyde in film?

4) Which Trek guest star, on another classic sci-fi series episode, rode a motorcycle, and had an associate that dated Shelley Fabares?

5) Which Trek guest star would later have a regular cast role serving on a submarine?

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010 5:42 AM

CYBERSNARK

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Galaxy class, Chris - that'd be the TNG Enterprise.
You know where the captains ready room is, just off the bridge, right ?

Well, directly across from it, making use of the same available space on the opposite side, is a head,

Actually, that's the door to the dedicated turbolift that goes to the Battle Bridge.

The head was in the same alcove as the door to the conference lounge, just on the wall that we didn't see (except in a couple of shots over Worf's shoulder).

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010 6:39 AM

While slightly different from the floorplans I have, although that might just be the odd angle from which it's presented - that was kinda what I was tryin to say, the Ready Room is to starboard, and the Head is to port, roughly in the same place.

I wish I could remember the episode though, bleh.

-F

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010 7:31 AM

PIZMOBEACH

... fully loaded, safety off...

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:

Likewise with the communicator, although I'm not a stickley about the interior as I am that it be a flip-up gold mesh.

I heard about one young ensign who got his communicator and phaser mixed up and accidentally beemed a charging mugato onto the bridge!

True story...

Scifi movie music + Firefly dialogue clips, 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.com

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010 10:46 AM

1) Which guest star who appeared in a memorable 1968 episode was previously a Shindig go-go dancer on tv when she was 16?
Batgirl
2) Which 2 guest stars from the 2nd Trek pilot will be appearing in Tampa at Vulcan Events show next weekend?
Sally Kellerman & Gary Lockwood! Ha!! (I cheated)
3) Which guest star's screen dad would, a couple of years later, betray Bonnie and Clyde in film?
Michael J. Pollard
4) Which Trek guest star, on another classic sci-fi series episode, rode a motorcycle, and had an associate that dated Shelley Fabares?
Fail
5) Which Trek guest star would later have a regular cast role serving on a submarine?
Kelso

The B+ Chrisisall

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010 2:52 PM

Is the Ready Room the captain's private office. It seems a strange name for it.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010 3:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by traveler:
Is the Ready Room the captain's private office. It seems a strange name for it.

"Ready to pee."

The laughing Chrisisall

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010 3:27 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by pizmobeach:

I heard about one young ensign who got his communicator and phaser mixed up and accidentally beemed a charging mugato onto the bridge! True story...

True??? True???? Who says? A guy in an ape suit? A crazed Kahn-ut-tu woman?
Better check your facts on this one, Piz!!!

The laughing Chrisisall

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010 4:20 PM

CYBERSNARK

For Grozit's sake, Ensign Janos, put on some pants.
( http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Janos)

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Thursday, April 22, 2010 1:38 AM

JONGSSTRAW

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
1) Which guest star who appeared in a memorable 1968 episode was previously a Shindig go-go dancer on tv when she was 16?
Batgirl
2) Which 2 guest stars from the 2nd Trek pilot will be appearing in Tampa at Vulcan Events show next weekend?
Sally Kellerman & Gary Lockwood! Ha!! (I cheated)
3) Which guest star's screen dad would, a couple of years later, betray Bonnie and Clyde in film?
Michael J. Pollard
4) Which Trek guest star, on another classic sci-fi series episode, rode a motorcycle, and had an associate that dated Shelley Fabares?
Fail
5) Which Trek guest star would later have a regular cast role serving on a submarine?
Kelso

The B+ Chrisisall

Thanks for playing the trivia challenge Chris. I thought you might find it interesting, and other than one question, the answers could not really be looked up somewhere. Those were some pretty obscure references, and you did fairly well :

1) It was Teri Garr. And if you want to see her in her 16-going-on-17-dancing-in-a-bikini youthful prime, go buy the newly released T.A.M.I. Show DVD. She's all over the movie, dancing with the other Shindig Dancers who were there for the show in October 1964.

2) Correct! And I'm going next Saturday & Sunday to see them in Tampa, along with many other Trek guest stars including Catherine Hicks, Christopher Lloyd, and Gary Graham.

3) Correct!

4) That was Michael Forrest, aka Apollo from "Who Mourns For Adonis?". In the original Twilight Zone episode "Black Leather Jackets" he stars along with Lee Kinsolving (both evil invading aliens, but Lee falls in love with the lovely Shelley Fabares and their plans change.

5. I was thinking of Rudy Solari, aka Salish from "The Paradise Syndrome." But the question was unfair, because he actually only appeared in one episode of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea. Kowalski, played by Del Monroe, was a regular crewman, and I got them mixed up. Also, coincidentally, Kelso from the Trek Pilot, aka Paul Carr, was in 7 Voyage episodes. So you get prop points for answering that messed-up question. Warp factor 6!

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Sunday, April 25, 2010 5:43 PM

Classic Enterprise from Diamond Select is on its way. My Son will be thrilled!!! I never expected him to be a bigger 'classic' fan than me...

The laughing Chrisisall

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Monday, April 26, 2010 9:15 AM

This am it!

The laughing Chrisisall

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Monday, April 26, 2010 12:24 PM

LWAVES

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:

This am it!

The laughing Chrisisall

Very shiny indeedy.
Can I get a side view please?
Pwetty pwease?
With sugar on top.

"The greatest invention ever is not the wheel. It's the second wheel." - Rich Hall

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Monday, April 26, 2010 12:34 PM

The laughing Chrisisall

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010 5:41 AM

My Uber-Trekie Son made me dig out (no small feat in my crammed geek closet) the Star Trek Blueprints, the Star Trek Compendium, and Star Trek Chronology- History Of The Future.
Once he finished The Art Of Star Trek, he became a monster!

He has now seen everything Kirk & Spock except Wolf In The Fold, due to disturbing subject matter.
Funny, in his 11 year old eyes, his favourite movies are TMP, STIV & V. He especially loves the campfire stuff in V. I abide. He says V is actually closer in spirit to the series, but also says TMP is a better movie. IV just makes him LOL mostly.

The laughing Chrisisall

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010 7:50 AM

OPPYH

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:

This am it!

The laughing Chrisisall

Nice! I might have to get one of them bad mambo jambos.

-------------------------------------------------

70's TV FOREVER

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010 8:03 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by OPPYH:

Nice! I might have to get one of them bad mambo jambos.

My Son wants to replace the nacelle forward lights with motorized spinning multi-colour led's, and I'm like, YOU got the money? Let's just imagine, okay?
I got it because it was $25 on Amazon (goHastings), I ain't putting another hundred into it (not to mention the man-hours) so it's too heavy to play with, but looks more precise!!
I'll paint up some missing bits & call it a day.

BTW, they got some left:
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Enterprise-NCC-1701-Diamond-Comics/dp/B0
00GPYWIA/ref=pd_sim_t_13

The laughing Chrisisall

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Thursday, April 29, 2010 5:25 PM

OPPYH

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:

BTW, they got some left:
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Enterprise-NCC-1701-Diamond-Comics/dp/B0
00GPYWIA/ref=pd_sim_t_13

Thanks buddy. Payday tomorrow, and for a first time in a while I'll have quite a bit of extra cash to blow.

-------------------------------------------------

70's TV FOREVER

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Friday, April 30, 2010 9:09 AM

The word is given: warp speed.

The laughing Chrisisall

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Friday, May 7, 2010 2:17 PM

My Goddess, this picture doesn't quite do the real thing justice; I just got it in the mail today, and it's BEEE-YOUTIFUL!!!

My only complaints are that it seems a tad dark on the hull gray, and that all the windows are painted dark gray (nearly black). BUT, seen in bright light (like sunlight), the hull colour is really okay. Howevever, I will make the appropriate windows white myself.
What a gorram bargain for $25 + shipping!!!

Oh, and it comes with dead batteries since it was produced in 2007 (3 AAA's needed).

Best toy I own.

The die-hard-Trekker Chrisisall

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Friday, May 7, 2010 3:44 PM

Okay, upon close examination of each Enterprise in the 16" realm I have formed my final opinions (until my NEXT final opinions, that is):

WARNING: this might surprise some.

Original E is best. Period.

Refit E is 2nd best. Really.
Okay, hear me out. Due to the crude opticals at the time (though state-of-the-art for TV), the original Enterprise was half her best, and many Special FX peeps later saw the need to amp up the aerodynamics (as if that's important in a vacuum) & "cool it up." Beautiful as it is, as elegant as she is to look at, there was no need for such a radical refit IMO.

JJ E is equal to Refit E.
Yep, I said it.
Cool it up is what they did as well, yet retained the roughly cylindrical warp nacelles (ample as they became), and a deflector DISH that refit E saw fit to entirely recess into the secondary hull.

Moral?

Don't change stuff just to change it, subtle enhancement is more desirable.

Kinda like life, now that I think on it some....

The laughing Chrisisall

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Saturday, May 8, 2010 5:36 PM

I'm nearly finished painting the windows gloss white, the gray trim under the nacelles near the pylons & so on.
My boyhood dream is becoming a reality.
Pictures will ensue when finished.

As finely crafted as the Art Asylum Wrath Of Khan Enterprise is, this one beats it all to Hell IMO.

The perfecting Chrisisall

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Sunday, May 9, 2010 9:52 AM

Nearly done, but the little details I need to clean up wouldn't show anyway:

Ahhhhhhhh......

The laughing Chrisisall

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Sunday, May 9, 2010 2:34 PM

Okay, here's a very good Enterprise from a dedicated fan:

But, this is where model/toy moves into display piece. I could do this with an Art Asylum or AMT E myself, but then I couldn't do the flyby my eye thing I love so much.
Plus, y'know, expensive.

The laughing Chrisisall

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Sunday, May 9, 2010 3:39 PM

Rockin.

Man, what I wouldn't give for a Vertigo-1 (Descent/Descent II) of that quality.

Damn I miss playin that game - gotta get around to refitting my super Dos Box and control set.

-Frem

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Sunday, May 9, 2010 3:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:

Rockin.

Which? My elegant understated one, or the AMT Starfleet Christmas tree one?

The laughing Chrisisall

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Sunday, May 9, 2010 3:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:

Wow man, the ship is as cool as the music there!!

The laughing Chrisisall

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Sunday, May 9, 2010 4:31 PM

My review of Art Asylum/Diamond & Playmates Enterprises:

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Enterprise-NCC-1701-Diamond-Comics/dp/B0
00GPYWIA/ref=pd_sim_t_15
NCC 1701. Classic. Awesome.
At $24 every fan should own it. I do *silent yet manly squee*.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Enterprise-NCC-1701-Definition/dp/B002
BH4U56/ref=pd_sim_t_3
$44. NCC 1701 from the HD Remasterd series.
Not bad, but the upper saucer detail is a little sketchy IMHO.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-II-Anniversary-Enterprise/dp/B000REOEB
K/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_c
Refit.
$38. They call it the "Khan" one, but it more closely resembles TMP E. I got me one.

NCC 1701A seems to be currently unavailable, but it is excellent. Wish I'd gotten one. Oh well. Maybe E-Bay?

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Enterprise-Iconic-Vehicle/dp/B001KPKMK
W/ref=pd_sim_t_3
The JJPrise.
At $16 it's not bad at all. Lights up real nice. Paint detail is more lacking than in the Asylum/Diamond E's, but I figure we gotta do our own thing to 'em all at any rate. More solid stand than the others too.

There are also battle damaged refits, mirror universe & 2nd pilot E's, but you have to be WAAAY more into this stuff than I am to care.

The laughing Chrisisall

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Sunday, May 9, 2010 8:07 PM

Well, there's a story with me and that game, and I think you'd enjoy it.

That was after the accident, right around the time I managed to drag the system into court and finally thrash thier ass, I had all but "won" - pyrric victory that it was since it had cost me everything but my life and at the time even that was kind of a toss-up, but I had just had a crapload of reconstructive work done and was under orders to limit activity and try to scrounge as much food as possible till my new crackbrained mad-docs would clobber the system by pointing out that if I starved all the work was kinda wasted.

So, nothin much to do, right ?

And my new place - unfinished basement, concrete floor, cinder block walls, conduits and insulation for a (very low) ceiling, kinda homey... for a dwarf, but it was cheap.

Most of my furniture was computer enclosures, as the only income I had was PC repair, and considering what it cost back then, I could throw in the price of tools and such and they still considered it a bargain, you know ?

Hell, my "bed" was a futon laid over a bunch of 286/386 casings.
Mostly though, I slept in the chair - this huge overstuffed recliner with a broken handle someone gave me rather than bother hauling to the dump, it was big and comfy, a regular archie bunker special.

Up against the far wall was a busted console TV left by the previous occupant, the tube was blown but the speakers still worked, and I laid a board on that and set my 19" Zenith Dynacolor on top, the board had kind of shelfie thing under it just perfect for my keyboard, and provided a handy place to mount my CH Products flight yoke pro w/throttle, with the rudder pedals on the floor underneath, naturally.

Beside that, on the right, an old monochrome 14" with RCA inputs, and a color 13" on the left from a bunch of C-64 kit, and mid grade PC speakers behind them.

Behind the chair a stereo tower someone left for the trash pickup, and a second set of little speakers on the side walls a bit behind the chair.

And all of it wired into a booster and plugged via some hackery into an original Soundblaster16, resulting in a kind of ad-hoc surround sound effect.

The computer it was in was a miracle of string-budget engineering, and like everything else I have built from the ground up by hand, durable as a boulder and insanely overbuilt - due to the insane cost of drives, I was having to use castoffs from folks I had upgraded, and I had six of em crammed in that case every which way, all of which spun at different RPMs resulting in a multi-whine resonant sound - got that to work by convincing the machine 1E8 IRQ 11/12 was a tetiary IDE bus and a chopped CD rom controller card.

It was also using VESA/VLB architechure - PCI was out, but so friggin expensive it was mostly server use, and most folk were still running ISA.
The vid card was ported via an AiTech scan converter to the 19" TV, and the "windows" were ported to the side monitors - and it gave me an edge on frame rate too, while most folk had machines that struggled with it, my FPS was rock steady no matter how ugly it got.

And of course, it had dual power supplies and multiple cooling fans, some of which were actually just blowers stripped from the 286/386 power supplies when they were left over from upgrades.

Heh, when you turned it on, there was this "BUMP!" noise outta the speakers, followed by the churning whine of them drives spinning up and it was almost like being *IN* the damn Vertigo-1.

And I had nothing to do all damn day but play that game, for MONTHS.

I had the machine to do it, and the reflexes - and one cool thing about it that made it almost like art, was that the system which ran the bots had a kind of rythym to it, so it added a kind of dancebeat quality to the thing, you see ?

I was often accused of being a bot, simply cause it was so damnably hard to take me out, especially if I was armed with a Gauss cannon, cause that not only did not give your position away when fired, the impact would make it hard as hell for anyone being spattered with it to see, chase, or shoot at you.

3 vs 3 on a mid size map and active bots, on the harder difficulties, was just pure awesome cranked way past 11, and with my setup, and the lights off, it really was just like you where there, in the damn ship.

So, yeah, I loved that damn game, still do.
Here's some footage from NitroTomato, showcasing the awesomeness of it.

-Frem

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Monday, May 10, 2010 1:44 PM

Finished. Needed to make about a hundred little touch ups on the paint job, but three days later, I'm done. Last *LAST* thing was the light over the shuttle bay doors.

I COULD go crazy now & start taping & painting ever-so-slightly different shades of gray all over it to simulate the paneling... but... I won't. It's only 16" long, no call for that kind of nuts.

Okay, I'm 'modeled-out' for this year.

*collapses*

The laughing Chrisisall

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010 11:08 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:

Yo Frem, I thought this looked cool, but Sonisall wants to extend his utmost thanks- he downloaded it & is playing it constantly!!!

OMGisall....

The laughing Chrisisall

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010 11:37 AM

He is most welcome - entertainment value aside, it's also a really good way to develop and round out your 3D spatial sense.

You wanna see him snarl though, just mention the Thiefbot - I didn't warn ya about that, hehehe.

That little creep is kill-on-sight with me, moment I see him, he's *MINE* - I'll chase him right off and deliver the beatdown from hell, spreadfire/helix gun for that, since he does a lotta vertical bounce, just pin him to the wall with it and hold the trigger back till he DIES, screaming.
(Yes, he is killable, and yes, he does actually scream, that sound is on my top ten happy sounds right next to the extra-life ditty from Centipede)

You can get extra maps for D2, they're all over the net, with all kinda toys and editors, and there's also Descent III/Mercenary combo pack, but D2 is the king, really.

Made by the same people, damn good and available for cheap (and YOU might like this one better, Chris) is Descent: Freespace.

The graphics are actually pretty damn good, and the physics more realistic, but what sells it is that for once your wingmen are actually quite smart, useful, and you *need* them, plus some smarts yourself - or you're just meat on a plate.

I use the GTB Athena as a command ship rather than try a headfirst rush, works out pretty well.

Freespace 2 was either not released or didn't sell all that well, and as a gesture of kindness to the fans, the company released the source code and it's technically abandonware - so there's a lot of really good variations on it.

That'd be the one (instead of Freelancer) I would pick to do a Star Trek mod to, as it'd be more accurate world-wise - and I'd lay good odds someone already has, if you can find it.

And people wonder why imma retrogamer - pretty graphics and clobbered code robbed from a hundred prior games does not entertainment make.

The real butt kickers are all retro now, Mechwarrior, Descent II, Carmageddon...

-F

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010 11:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:

You wanna see him snarl though, just mention the Thiefbot - I didn't warn ya about that, hehehe.

He just said "Those are SO annoying!!!!"

The laughing Chrisisall

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010 11:57 AM

LITTLEBIRD

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:

Finished. Needed to make about a hundred little touch ups on the paint job, but three days later, I'm done. Last *LAST* thing was the light over the shuttle bay doors.

I COULD go crazy now & start taping & painting ever-so-slightly different shades of gray all over it to simulate the paneling... but... I won't. It's only 16" long, no call for that kind of nuts.

Okay, I'm 'modeled-out' for this year.

*collapses*

The laughing Chrisisall

Nice work Chris. My son is an ultra trekker also, but I don't believe he has any models as nice as this one.

Your Trek posts are bringing up some good memories for me. My son and I used to go to Trek conference together. He would dress up as a Klingon security guard and I would go undercover as a regular human. :) He'd make me wear a communication device though.

He has the Klingon symbol tattooed on his back and yes, he speaks Klingon. I bought a Klingon/human dictionary but still don't understand him when he goes off into the language.

He's busy with other things right now, but his Trek roots are never far away. Meeting Shatner was a high point for us. good times. :)

I don't know why I can't get him into Firefly. He is making a Zombie Western video though.

Anyway, good work.

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010 1:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Littlebird:

Nice work Chris.

Thanks!!

Quote:
My son is an ultra trekker also, but I don't believe he has any models as nice as this one.

Here it is on the cheap:
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Enterprise-NCC-1701-Diamond-Comics/dp/B0
00GPYWIA/ref=pd_sim_t_15

Quote:

Your Trek posts are bringing up some good memories for me. My son and I used to go to Trek conference together. He would dress up as a Klingon security guard and I would go undercover as a regular human. :) He'd make me wear a communication device though.

I was a Vulcan Ambassador once...

Quote:

He has the Klingon symbol tattooed on his back and yes, he speaks Klingon.

I only know it from the movies, but I understand Andrew from Buffy feels it is a simple language to learn.

Quote:

I don't know why I can't get him into Firefly.

Really.
My best Trek friend also resists.

But I feel prolonged resistance is futile....

The laughing Chrisisall

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010 2:13 PM

KRELLEK

I have something that might open some disscusion, i have for a few days ago seen most of Startrek-NG series, and well after seeing how Jean Luc Picard vented at Wesley Crusher over the stunt gone bad in the episode at the academy, about the truth(any kind of it, be it moral, ethic, or some other truth) is so very important for Starfleet officers and starfleet Cadettes.

Then seeing the episode later on about the indians that was to be forced of from there home because of the peace treaty made between the Federation and the Cardassian Union, I thought that Wesley should have reminded Jean Luc Picard of what he told wes at the academy, about the relationship between Starfleet officers/Caddettes and truths, during the talk with Jean Luc Picard after Wesley had warned the indians about the teleportation thingies(thought the whole story about the traveler thing was abit strange, and could have been without it) and Jean Luc Picard should react positively to this, and get into talk with Admiral Nechayev about it.

just some thoughts

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010 4:52 PM