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Star Cruiser Bridge or Australian Rules Football Pitch?

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
I saw the little screenshots of the Star Cruiser bridges and was quite excited. I bought them and when I visited my bridge, I was absolutely taken aback by the size. I mean, seriously, the size is staggering! I seriously need a bullhorn to issue commands to anyone but the officers seated around me. The navigation/helm officers are a lot closer than most of the other bridges, which is quite nice, but every other officer is farther away from me than my house is wide and I'd need field glasses to make anything out on the viewscreen, as about 1/3 the size of the movie screen I had in my old bridge.

I would love to take a step back at this point and tell myself, "Now see here, Angel, you're exaggerating! Now edit your post to be more accurate!" but I just can't. This is the first bridge that I've activated sprint to run from one part to the other. It was taking so long to go from officer station to officer station that I was actually getting a bit bored.

The overhead is a bit more acceptable, but I'm not sure if it's just the sheer amount of deckspace in there that makes it look that way.

-

Bridge officers:

The bridge is so big that it has 2 more bridge officers than I have room for in my duty roster. That's fine, I suppose, though the bridge is so huge that I should really have about 6-10 more to make it seem like more of a living environment.


....


Except that these extra officers are wearing generic Starfleet uniforms, setting them apart from my normal bridge officers and making them look like they aren't members of my crew. If my personal roster were outnumbered by the generics, then I might feel like our custom uniforms were something that only elite line officers wore.



I suppose I should summate:
  1. Cryptic, please... I am not joking, I have been in smaller circus tents than my Star Cruiser's new bridge; please shrink it.
  2. Please allow us to set ship uniforms for our extras and also mentioned cast members, I mean non rostered crew.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Both large bridges on my carrier take approx 30 seconds to RUN to the other side.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    They arenice but too big i agree and far too high ( including the old ones) the roof needs to be lower ie: the defiant bridge doesnt feel "cosy" ;)

    http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/File:EarlyDefiantBridge.jpg
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    I am yet to find a single bridge that I am comfortable with. The new star crusier one looks like an office space and I am sure that the combadges come very handy when giving orders.

    The light cruiser one is interesting but I still struggle with the assymetrical look. Guess I am getting old :p

    I am pretty amazed that Cryptic has kept producing massive sized bridges when people dont seem to like that. I wonder if the artists who are told this keep their hands over their ears shouting la la la la la....
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Unfortunatly bridge size is determined by the camera and it'smovement needs so i don't think it will ever change. Went to miine once after release never been back since. Not as if I can actually control anything from it.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    However, notice that the doors no longer look like garage doors...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    I have to say I love the new Bridges, they look great and don't suffer from giant doors.
    I cannot wait till we get the bridges linked to sector space travel as it will add soo much to the game.
    :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Yeah, the scale of it is huge, but I think given how they placed the objects in it it feels better proportionally, very very happy with it just for that reason alone. I cannot emphasize enough how happy I am with the bridge, its a huge ship with lots of crew, it needs a huge bridge.

    I am all for the suggestion of having more NPC's in that bridge, it feels a little too empty, especially when you find yourself in the Gamma Orionis sector, that bridge should be packed with people. I also like the idea of setting NPC uniforms, I would do a slight variation from my command staff just to make it easier to identify, but I think that request has been around forever.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    The light cruiser one is interesting but I still struggle with the assymetrical look. Guess I am getting old :p

    Yeah, it took me a few minutes to come to terms with the asymmetrical style of the Light Cruiser bridges. Especially the off center / at an angle captain's chair. However, the fact that it has a diagram of my Fleet Escort on the back wall makes it worth while to me. I think the Alpha bridge is the only one that has it. Just as most of the new Star Cruiser bridges have a diagram of one of the Star Cruisers on the far wall when you 'beam' into your bridge.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    I think part of the reason that the bridges are so big is so that you can invite alot of people to your bridge. Though I think it would be nice if we had the ability to scale the size of the bridge.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    I like the Klingon Bridge, a lot.

    I haven't had a chance to check out the Light Cruiser bridge.

    The Star Cruiser bridge has a lot of nice elements, but seriously? Holy smokes!

    Consider this: IF (and I don't give two figs one way or the other, but some do) there is the ability to control your ship from the bridge, just imagine trying to do so, particularly during battle. Even if there are just consoles for crafting or other functions, all that running around will get old REALLY fast.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    I think the Star Cruiser bridges will be very nice for large fleet RP events. I hear they can hold up to 50 players, so it makes a good private place for a fleet to have a gathering. I do however agree that they look huge.

    Thanks,
    Duncan
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Just think though that bridge was designed for a ship that is the size of a small city. I know Cryptic exaggerates interior spaces to avoid clipping, but other than that it didn't seem too off base.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Kevscar wrote: »
    Unfortunatly bridge size is determined by the camera and it'smovement needs so i don't think it will ever change. Went to miine once after release never been back since. Not as if I can actually control anything from it.

    I don't buy that. I've stood my toon under the ramp to ship
    requisitions and had no camera issues and I've squeezed through the
    boxes in the Empok Nor mission with no camera problems. Also... I've
    never had any issues on the Escort bridges and they are no where NEAR as
    huge as the new Star Cruiser bridges and never had a single camera problem.

    So:
    Height? No, I've placed my character in a place with a low overhead
    (for an extended period and made sure to move my camera quite
    frequently) and had no problems
    Breadth? No, otherwise I would have constant problems in corridors.

    I'm more inclined to believe it's just a lack of actual interest in
    either the player's requests or in Star Trek; and between camera
    problems and lack of interest, the lack of interest is a more realistic
    explanation.

    Even if it was a camera issue, they could simply allow the camera to
    move up beyond the overhead (removing it entirely until you move it back
    below a certain angle). Keep the tall cathedral walls extending beyond
    the overhead so that when it disappears to allow the camera to float
    above it, there are still walls, though.

    But, devs, even if you insist on designing ships with vaulted overheads,
    please reduce the overall area. If anyone thinks it's cool to command
    their ship from a stadium, it would be hard to convince me that they
    were not a minority.

    Wardog235 wrote: »
    I think part of the reason that the bridges are so big is so that you can invite alot of people to your bridge. Though I think it would be nice if we had the ability to scale the size of the bridge.
    vadersson wrote: »
    I think the Star Cruiser bridges will be very nice for large fleet RP events. I hear they can hold up to 50 players, so it makes a good private place for a fleet to have a gathering. I do however agree that they look huge.

    Thanks,
    Duncan

    I'd rather have an observation lounge for that, though, and it wouldn't be hard to implement. All they would have to do is to copy that cavernous galley from the tutorial (though I would love it if they shrunk that, as well.

    Just think though that bridge was designed for a ship that is the size of a small city. I know Cryptic exaggerates interior spaces to avoid clipping, but other than that it didn't seem too off base.

    I don't buy that, either. If you've ever been on the bridge of the actual Enterprise, or any other modern supercarrier for that matter, you'll find that they are no where near as spacious as the STO cruiser bridges (they can be quite cozy, in fact). Admittedly the Enterprise (CVN-65) is only 1/3 the length of our Star Cruisers, but she has three times the operational crew compliment (Not including the nearly 2000 extra Flight crew).

    Also, the Galaxy Class has the same crew complement as a Vanguard and likely has the same displacement, but the Enterprise D had a bridge that is nearly 1/3 the size of our cruiser Prototype / Classic bridge. So, regardless of the ship's size, you don't need a warehouse to control it.


    Though if the devs insist that we should be captaining our ships from a football pitch, please place the viewscreen closer to the captain's chair. Hang it from the overhead or make it a holo-projection, anything; please stop making me feel like my character needs a pair of opera glasses just to see what's going on.
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