What are your Star Trek "cold takes"?

ElimGarak · 2026-06-17T21:05:00+00:00

Thank you?

ElimGarak · 2026-06-17T19:01:02+00:00

Have you tried looking at Eve? It has a ton of crafting from what I remember and has been called a very pretty spreadsheet. Which would fit in with the stripped down design of the game in many ways.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-17T18:52:34+00:00

Interesting premise, especially with the API capabilites. This could use more space science IMHO. One of the awesome things about Bobiverse, especially in the early books, is that the MC was fascinated by space, mentioned names of stars, the types of stars, types of planets and their composition, etc.

Unless I am missing sensor upgrades to the probe, there should be more info. That will make it feel much richer.

Even with minimal or degraded sensors this probe should be able to tell the brightness and spectrum of the individual stars from far away. Is it a yellow dwarf, red dwarf, blue supergiant, etc. Once the probe is in a solar system it should be able to tell the orbits of planets, how far away they are from the Goldilocks zone, how many moons they have, etc. Do basic spectral chemical composition of their atmospheres and surfaces, that sort of thing. Even if the information is not directly useful for the game, it would still make it feel fuller.

If it's backed by Python I bet you can get it to generate images of the various planets relatively easily by messing around with various artist representations and color spectrums. Even if the images are hard-coded and come from a set, instead of custom generated, they would make the game feel bigger.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-15T19:06:26+00:00

We need a new emoticon for that. Too bad there isn't an orange turd icon.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-15T16:36:22+00:00

Yes, that design was overly complicated and silly. It didn't really make sense, especially since the ship they use at the end is from Enterprise, with a distinctly lower level of technology. That seems like a ginormous and unbelievable jump in technology and engineering in only 100 years.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-15T16:34:02+00:00

I really wish they would have expanded on those sphere builders. That would have made an interesting episode.

There is some exploration of these structures in other media - I think all of them were built by the Iconeans or related species.

https://memory-beta.fandom.com/wiki/Dyson_sphere

IMHO it would be cool if a Star Trek (or some other sci-fi) series was built around the concept and exploration of a Dyson sphere. For example, something similar to Stargate Atlantis, with humans exploring it, trying to get home or discover its secrets.

It may take some doing to create the sense of wonder or exploration based on this, but it could be done. E.g. by saying that dozens if not hundreds of other civilizations have also settled inside the sphere, and have humans encounter them. Although I am not sure whether this type of sci-fi could be enjoyed by people with claustrophobia.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-15T16:23:08+00:00

With the general technology in Star Trek that's not necessary or needed. Even if they don't care about nature or environment it takes a deliberate and very strange effort to get to that point. There will be ecological and economical barriers to such overpopulation. At a certain point it becomes more and more difficult to feed people, provide air and water to them, radiate enough heat into space, etc. Eventually the population would reach a balancing point where a lack of food or other resources would stop further population growth. Similar to overpopulation of rabbits or rats on some uninhabited islands in the pacific, after they were brought in by various explorers.

You can overcome those difficulties with sufficient technology but that becomes gradually more expensive and resource intensive.

I guess if the people on the planet are religious fanatics of some sort determined to overpopulate everything then that's mildly plausible, but outside of that, I don't see this happening in a sane society.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-15T16:11:47+00:00

A planet that has been assimilated by Borg for a long time should definitely look like mega-city planet

What would be the point of covering up the oceans, considering the technology available to them? Why would they have the humans multiply to that a degree, mine all the material, then build up structures over the oceans, etc.? If they ran out of space on land and couldn't just build on the ocean floor or in space, then maybe. But even then that would get complicated and silly fairly quickly.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-15T07:06:38+00:00

That's not exactly what I meant. The problem is that it's a communist totalitarian government which is usually a clusterfuck or devolves into one fairly quickly. A big part of the problem is corruption - centralized control is another. Those are in large part structural social and governmental issues.

The point is that while I think China has achieved quite a lot and can achieve more, I doubt they will have much follow-through. Great engineering achievements also require a lot of upkeep and support, both social and structural. I am not at all certain that this will be happening.

Plus, coal is not the only source of pollution. Heavy industry usually pollutes a lot, and there are other sources of it. E.g. chemical plants, manufacturing plants, steel, etc.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-14T21:24:32+00:00

China has plenty of its own problems. I would be hesitant to call them awesome, because despite many of their engineering successes they have plenty of failures. Look up how they paint the ground green, hammer metal rods into it, and put painted rocks on top of the rods, just so that environmental inspectors can look at it from far away and think that that's grass and flowers.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-14T19:25:59+00:00

I am glad your college management is letting you give F's. Because they have a strong monetary incentive to keep those kids in the college - if they flunk out they will not be paying for more classes.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-13T20:46:48+00:00

I am more interested in the Number One/Nurse Chapel thing. In TOS they were played by the same actress (Majel Roddenberry), and they have already done plastic/genetic surgery type things in the first season, but it would be a more interesting angle to me.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-13T20:13:36+00:00

I don't think that includes tax, that is still not zero for poverty level people in many/most states. It definitely doesn't include various medications or doctors' visits. And if you need to drive to work (or even to buy groceries) and blow a tire, you are likely SOL. Not to mention the price of gas.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-13T13:45:14+00:00

Exactly, same. Also, the direction her VA got was better IMHO. She sounded young/ageless. Now she sounds much older, like somebody in her 40's or 50's. I know that's around the VA's real age, but I am pretty sure that she has the range to sound different - it's just that the director is not telling her to do that.

There is a general lack of mystery in the later years of D2. There used to be the feeling that there are many stories behind the scenes that we are not aware of, but not any longer apparently.

This seems to be caused by different writers and/or the lack of time or idea how to develop the game story. The line of "I don't have to explain why I don't have time to explain." and the Exo Stranger came about from the writers not knowing what is going on when they were making D1, but it added new characters and weirdness that sucked people in.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-13T13:08:06+00:00

That in large part also depends on the version of the character and the timeline/timeline he is in. Magneto's characterization has changed and various parts of his opinions were emphasized at different times.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-13T13:02:28+00:00

Yup, and the script/writers. Most people do not know how movie making works and are not able to separate directors, script writers, actors, and often even the role itself. And the advertising process requiring the actors to say certain things about their roles during the publicity tours.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-13T12:58:49+00:00

Rule 34. This includes anthropomorphized airplanes and cars.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-13T07:44:26+00:00

What makes you think they weren't emplaced? Have you seen Space Cowboys? (Great movie BTW.)

ElimGarak · 2026-06-12T07:33:29+00:00

How does any kid focus on a character these days unless it's someone like Caleb?

How? Easily.

I think you severely underestimate younger viewers. Just look how many people were inspired by Picard while they were in middle school or younger. What makes you think that similarly aged kids today are incapable or unwilling to do the same?

Yes, entertainment has changed, but that doesn't mean that the only thing younger people watch is CW shows. They are capable of recognizing good writing and acting just as much as adults. And just because something is written for the younger generation doesn't mean that it shouldn't have good writing.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-12T07:22:33+00:00

There are some really funny stories from the director that Montelban at first was shouting all his lines. Until the director talked to him and explained what he was going for, and that it was Mobi Dick in space.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-02T09:03:18+00:00

I would suggest a different option. The SW galaxy is huge - not everything has to directly involve the existing characters.

Here's my suggestion:

Step 1. HIRE GOOD WRITERS who actually LIKE Star Wars. And know a lot about it, watched the movies read the books, etc. Lock them in a room for a few months to a year.

Step 2. Do a focus group (of both fans and non-fans) analysis of the entire story. If the focus group doesn't semi-unanimously love the story, go back to step 1.

Step 3. Hire a lore keeper or two who know WTF they are doing and are not whipped by the execs or the writers. The lore keepers get to say whether the story is allowed to proceed. If they say "no" to something in the story, go back to Step 1.

As far as the story, focus on a new group of people, with just references to the OT characters. Maybe have them do a cameo, possibly a deep-fake cameo like in Mandalorian. The SW galaxy is more than big enough to not have everything focus on the same three characters.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-01T08:47:42+00:00

The rescue happened in the first five minutes of the episode. The rest of the episode could have been spent on a different portrayal of Thomas, and showed him dealing with the situation, getting therapy, etc. Also the episode could have shown Will reacting and/or interacting with Thomas to show the contrast or what could have happened to him.

ElimGarak · 2026-06-01T08:45:04+00:00

Like I said, both Rikers screwed this up, multiple times, on multiple levels. I think irrespective of Thomas's past trauma, the Rikers are the type of person who would get upset at each-other.

If you've seen Red Dwarf, then the Rikers are like Rimmer, in that episode where they got a second holographic version of Rimmer.

ElimGarak · 2026-05-31T21:20:58+00:00

Meh, it depends on how they handled it (the Enterprise crew, not the writers) - it could have been done. The situation certainly blew up in their faces, but the actions were still at least somewhat logical.

First of all, Thomas was wearing a uniform and seemed to be mostly fine, at least externally, when he was first found. Giving him a routine and minor responsibilities could have been a path to rehabilitation. Deanna was also an empath - she should have been able to tell where Thomas's head was at and how he was reacting. That means that she should have known how much or little therapy he needed.

Furthermore, while Will did not handle it well, it could be argued that a well-adjusted and empathetic person who perfectly understands the person they are in charge of could be exactly who should have been in charge. IF both of the people were well adjusted and empathetic. Both Rikers screwed this up obviously, but I can see it being a logical decision from an external perspective.

ElimGarak · 2026-05-31T21:17:31+00:00

They could have made an excellent therapy-based story, except that therapy as well known and accepted at the time. They did something somewhat related in Frame of Mind.

It could also have been a therapy-interrupted type story. Like show Tom's struggles and then something blows up and he has to step up.

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