Excalibur Class' Hanger Bay

djxprime

The Excalibur Class has to be one of my favorite ship designs in this game, but there's one thing that's been bugging me for the longest time. I can't see where the shuttle bay hanger is located. I don't see anything that looks like a shuttle bay door on the engineering section or the saucer section. Does anybody have any thoughts about this?

misterde3

Been here 4 years and haven't found anything that looks like a shuttle bay either.
I could imagine that a slightly modified version could have one either on the underside of the secondary hull or on the primary hull between the impulse engines but it's not there right now.
The designer of the model probably forgot it.

psiameese

I always thought it interesting that the Excalibur design wasn't more thought out as well. It was within the most frequently used promotional ads as the game was being touted at launch. A well as the starship displayed on the original game box art. Just like the Handsome Phaser Guy. Who has since been restored to website glory.

misterde3

HMMM, as I recall one of the DEVs once tried to explain why some of the canon ships were so drastically different from their canon versions.
And as I remember it was essentially something like "they tried to giver their own interpretations of those ships". Just look at the Olympic and you'll see how that turned out.
Maybe the interprietation of the Constitution class in general and the Excalibur as her 25th century extension was that ships had "evolved" to a point where they no longer have shuttlebays...or it was just bad research on the designer's part what makes up a proper Trek ships. Just speculating.

djxprime

I think I would have to lean towards the bad research idea because if we take into account the STO wiki's explanation that the Excalibur-Class is used for cargo transport, then we would think that the ship would need some way of adding and removing cargo that wouldn't be able to be beamed aboard.

I'm thinking that maybe for a fan explanation that the bay doors are built into the hull in a way that doesn't break the ship's silhouette? I'm also thinking it would still be towards the back of the engineering section just because that seems to be the traditional place on cruisers of that general shape, like on the Vesper and Constitution-Classes.

misterde3

Sorry, forum seems to be coming and going so I'll be very brief:

well we know the Constutiton refit has some sort of cargo doors that are practically invisible when closed:

http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090531185842/memoryalpha/en/images/3/3e/USS_Enterprise_%28NCC-1701%29_in_spacedock.jpg

so perhaps this could be similar...and of course helped by the fact the the Excalibur model is still as undetailed as verious other game-launch/beta-era ships.

jeffel82

The Defiant's escape pods were also concealed beneath retractable hull plating. Something similar could conceivably conceal a shuttlebay, if we're looking to fanwank the oversight.

psiameese

If that is the case, go with the hatches under the NX-01. Maybe Excalibur actually drops the shuttle out the bottom of the saucer? The doors needn't be as obvious. It could work...

misterde3

While we're on the subject: doesn't the Vesper class have the same problem?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8mxujJNKYU

djxprime

I think your right. I thought I saw a bay door on the rear of the Vesper, but I can't see it now.