The Kelvin and Canon Designs

[Captain Seafort]

They're only a century or so apart, and don't forget that technology has advanced at an unprecedented rate over the last couple of centuries (during the last two thirds of the 19th century in particular). If it ain't broke don't fix it.

[Lazar]

It's long been a complaint of mine that the Trek universe is rather stagnant in technology terms. Whilst there's no doubt that a GCS is many times more powerful than a Connie, both use the same basic hull configuration, the same basic weapons systems, the same basic defense technology, the same basic drive systems. In fact offhand the ONLY thing I can think of on the Galaxy that is a genuinely new technology over TOS is the holodecks.

But I think space opera depends on a certain kind of stagnation, or plateau effect - otherwise, races that had a few thousand years' head start on humanity would be frighteningly superior.

[Deepcrush]

Like the Voth.

[Graham Kennedy]

They're only a century or so apart, and don't forget that technology has advanced at an unprecedented rate over the last couple of centuries (during the last two thirds of the 19th century in particular). If it ain't broke don't fix it.

And there's no reason to believe that that trend is going to do anything but continue.

I just wish they'd done something at least a bit different. For instance put transwarp on the TNG ships, even if the nacelles looked the same and it made no basic difference to the speed of plot. It was a doable thing, they talked about the Excelsior's transwarp drive years before TNG came out. Hell, it would even be the perfect reason for a redrawn warp scale, just call it transwarp instead.

Ah well. If wishes were horses we'd all be eating steak.

[Lazar]

I just wish they'd done something at least a bit different. For instance put transwarp on the TNG ships, even if the nacelles looked the same and it made no basic difference to the speed of plot. It was a doable thing, they talked about the Excelsior's transwarp drive years before TNG came out. Hell, it would even be the perfect reason for a redrawn warp scale, just call it transwarp instead.

But that would make their technobabble even more complex.

[Schrodinger's Hat]

But that would make their technobabble even more complex.

Not necessarily... take just about anything Data or Geordi ever said and stick "trans" on the beginning of the word "warp" and it still works.

[Mikey]

Or, just expand everything about a thousandfold and call the propulsion "iso-mega-quanta-ultra-double-secret-probation-warp."

[Graham Kennedy]

Double secret probation warp...

[Mikey]

Double secret probation warp...

[Mark]

Temporal Quantum Warp.

[Graham Kennedy]

Temporal Quantum Warp.

Transtemporal Iso-quantum Hyperwarp.

[Mark]

You forgot the mega

[Praeothmin]

Why not simply call it:
"The Improbable Warp Drive"?

[Mikey]

Yes, and run it off the Brownian motion in, say, a nice hot cup of tea, right?

[LaughingCheese]

Yes, and run it off the Brownian motion in, say, a nice hot cup of tea, right?

Bingo!