Where would you place Star Trek on the tech scale?

[Mephisto]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mudshark:
TNG- Not phased shields, perhaps shield 4?

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They use phased shields in the dominion war against the PPBs of the dominion. Dukat says so in the attack on DS9.

[dogscoff]

Trouble with trying to figure out Trek-tech is that it's completely inconsistent: Even ignoring the old days when they couldn't give a TOSs about scientific feasibility, every other episode in >=TNG they spontaneously develop some incredible new technology in order to get out of a tight spot, and then the next ep no-one's heard of it. To list just a few off the top of my head:

Time travel. They make it seem so easy I'm surprised they don't use it all the time. "I've run out of milk" - "don't worry, I'll just go and borrow some from Last week". I certainly should have met some future historians by now, anyway.

Heat shielding - I can think of at least 2 episodes where they improvised some new way of flying in close to a star, but then later everyone was really impressed a season later when that Ferengi scientist was researching it.

Phasing in and out of reality (or something). Remember the episode with the invisible, time travelling soul vampires? Or the one with that experimental ship stuck in an asteroid (phased cloaking?) Now why didn't they develop *that* technology further, having mastered the basics in the space of a 45 minute episode?

Let alone all the warp-transports, through-shields transports, interstellar transports, trans-warp conduits and christ-knows what else that would make getting from A to B so much easier.


</rant> ... sorry.

[TerranC]

quote:

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Originally posted by [K126]Mephisto:
They use phased shields in the dominion war against the PPBs of the dominion.

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Yes. After the USS Odessy got fragged, Defiant Damaged, and a whole lot of Federation losses.

I believe they figured it out after capturing a Jemhadar bug just barely.

Then they had to deal with the Breen...

[Arak Koba]

Yes dogscoff, I find ST's inconsistancies of technological development, and their rediculous moral and ethical reasons NOT to use half of it, the bane of the series.

That, and the way these advanced humans and aliens have the same problems as the kids on Bevery Hills 90210.

Diana Troi,"I couldn't possibly hook up with you again Will."

Riker- "Yes you can! 'Cause "I'M NUMBER ONE! I'M NUMBER ONE!!"".

But it is obvious that The Genesis Project was The Federation's start along the Stellar Manipulation tech line. And in Generations, Sorin was able to destroy stars (i.e., Stellar Nucleonic Torpedo).

[ 25 April 2002: Message edited by: Arak Koba ]

[Loser]

Agreed also.

Trek: banal, episodic, inconsistant, trite.

If it were not so, it would not have such a following. Anything more complicated, epic, continouitous (??), hard-sci-fi-ish would limit it's target audience so much that it would not make enough money. It doesn't pay to be cool like that, just look what Bab5 had to go through (as a production) before it was done.

[Edit: Apology for agro tone. Used to love Trek, used to love Heinlein. Currently carry some resentment, or something.]

[ 26 April 2002: Message edited by: Loser ]

[Growltigga]

I love Startrek, I love Babylon 5, I love Farscape, I love Battlestar Galactica, I can just about watch Andromeda

The best thing in the whole interstellar universe has to be Jonathan Frakes' shoulderpads and corset in next generation - I have lost bladder control many times watching him suck in his gut - and keep a weather eye out on how often he stares at Deanne Troi's (sic) cleavage - we counted 4 obvious gapes and a couple of sly side glances in one episode

[Vulture-B]

Hi,

since I agree especially to the point of "special knowledge" for one episode. I would say that the federation has every tech available.
But only for 2 turns straight, then they forget it. To simulate the strange train of thoughts of the authors just roll every turn 5 dice on the tech tree.

scnr

vulture