[FANART] Starfleet Uniform Evolution: 2353 - 2413

sumghai

http://sumghai.deviantart.com/art/Starfleet-Uniform-Evolution-2353-2413-477755236

A comparison of "modern" Starfleet Duty Uniform designs through the ages, featuring canon designs seen in various Star Trek TV series from TNG onwards, IDW's Star Trek: Countdown graphic novel and of course, STO.

Astute observers may have noticed some minor differences between the early 25th Century designs here and the ones from this old forum thread - this is due to art evolution (i.e. my vector art skills have improved and the ones shown here are more accurate to the source material).

I do plan on putting together a new uniform datasheet for the new Odyssey uniforms from 2410/2413 onwards, so stayed tuned as usual.

Drafted in Inkscape 0.48.

jeffel82

I like it.

I wasn't aware of any licensing issues between the Countdown comic and STO - I actually thought there'd been some collaboration between IDW and Cryptic on that one.

I hesitate to point this out, but the STO website suggests the Alternate Future uniform was an official uniform in STO, between TNG Film and STO Sierra.

All in all, nice job!

artan42

jeffel82 wrote: »

I hesitate to point this out, but the STO website suggests the Alternate Future uniform was an official uniform in STO, between TNG Film and STO Sierra.

I don't like that diagram. It implies the Sierra / countdown uniforms were used for 1 year only, and leaves no room for the Jupiter uniforms.

jeffel82

artan42 wrote: »

I don't like that diagram. It implies the Sierra / countdown uniforms were used for 1 year only, and leaves no room for the Jupiter uniforms.

I never got the sense that the Jupiter uniforms were an "official" (perhaps "default" might be a better term) Starfleet uniform - very few NPCs ever wore them, for instance.

On the other hand, plenty of NPCs wore the Antares uniform, and it doesn't appear on the diagram, either.

artan42

jeffel82 wrote: »

I never got the sense that the Jupiter uniforms were an "official" (perhaps "default" might be a better term) Starfleet uniform - very few NPCs ever wore them, for instance.
On the other hand, plenty of NPCs wore the Antares uniform, and it doesn't appear on the diagram, either.

It's just that the crew of the EntF were wearing them. I was also trying to block the Antares and ,all but 1, Sierra uniforms out of my brain :P.

centersolace

I like it. I always like the things you post.

sumghai

Thanks for the kudos, guys!

jeffel82 wrote: »

I wasn't aware of any licensing issues between the Countdown comic and STO - I actually thought there'd been some collaboration between IDW and Cryptic on that one.

A number of unconfirmed sources claimed that CBS, Paramount, Cryptic and IDW did at one stage consider adapting the Countdown uniforms for STO, as evidenced by this comparison of an extract from the comic and some concept art.

Why this design ultimately evolved into the Sierra One style is anyone's guess, and I'll admit that my suggestion of licensing issues is merely speculation - although to be fair, I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that Cryptic had only two years to work on the initial release of the game (Perpetual Entertainment did a whole bunch of concept art from 2004 to 2008 before they closed down, and CBS transferred the existing license to Cryptic).

jeffel82 wrote: »

I hesitate to point this out, but the STO website suggests the Alternate Future uniform was an official uniform in STO, between TNG Film and STO Sierra.

artan42 wrote: »

I don't like that diagram. It implies the Sierra / countdown uniforms were used for 1 year only, and leaves no room for the Jupiter uniforms.

jeffel82 wrote: »

I never got the sense that the Jupiter uniforms were an "official" (perhaps "default" might be a better term) Starfleet uniform - very few NPCs ever wore them, for instance.

On the other hand, plenty of NPCs wore the Antares uniform, and it doesn't appear on the diagram, either.

artan42 wrote: »

It's just that the crew of the EntF were wearing them. I was also trying to block the Antares and ,all but 1, Sierra uniforms out of my brain :P.

- I personally didn't consider the Antares or the Jupiter uniforms part of my Odyssey fanon, since I assumed that the Sierra One design worn by Handsome Phaser Guy on the box art was the de facto Starfleet uniform. I've always assumed the varied uniform choices were simply due to MMOs by nature requiring "customization" at the expense of standardization and uniformity typical of Starfleet.

- Consequently, I'd imagine that in Odyssey, Captain Shon and the crew of the Belfast/Ent-F would have worn the same Sierra One/Countdown mashup as the main cast from the Odyssey.

- The AGT uniforms are a bit of a pickle.

Memory Alpha suggests that they were in used between 2390 and 2420 (!), which sort of contradicts with the presence of Sierra Ones in 2409. Also, there seems to be a distinct break in continunity/lineage between AGT and the canon / STO uniforms, particularly in the lack of alternating torso/shoulder color schemes through the years.

Ultimately, my personal interpretation is that the AGT uniforms were never used in the "main" prime universe timeline leading up to STO; I base this on my observation that episodes featuring AGTs were from alternative futures that would be erased from the timeline due to the actions of the protagonists. (tl;dr - If you see the AGT uniforms, you know that this timeline is a "bad" future that will get undone by the end of the episode)

(I also felt that the AGTs were designed to make the main cast of TNG/DS9/VOY look much, much older)

centersolace wrote: »

I like it. I always like the things you post.