Excelsior is classic Star Trek awesome. I guess I would lean towards any of the on-screen "canon" ships. I understand that some of the books are "canon", but get irritated as to WHICH ones are considered "canon" solely based on copyrights. I.E. I am miffed we had the TOS expansion and PWE couldn't spring to pay the copyright fees to get Franz Joseph's designs which are by ANY true-Trekker have long since been adopted as Canon. Specifically:
Excelsior is classic Star Trek awesome. I guess I would lean towards any of the on-screen "cannon" ships. I understand that some of the books are "cannon", but get irritated as to WHICH ones are considered "cannon" solely based on copyrights. I.E. I am miffed we had the TOS expansion and PWE couldn't spring to pay the copyright fees to get Franz Joseph's designs which are by ANY true-Trekker have long since been adopted as Cannon. Specifically:
It's 'canon' not 'cannon' and no books are canon. Unless you mean canon to STO, then that's limited to books published under CBSamount's copyright and not part owned by the authors (such as Franz Joseph's technical manuals) which cannot be adopted as canon as that's CBS' decision, not the fans.
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though. JJ Trek The Kelvin Timeline is just Trek and it's fully canon... get over it. But I still prefer TAR.
#TASforSTO
'...I can tell you that we're not in the military and that we intend no harm to the whales.' Kirk: The Voyage Home
'Starfleet is not a military organisation. Its purpose is exploration.' Picard: Peak Performance
'This is clearly a military operation. Is that what we are now? Because I thought we were explorers!' Scotty: Into Darkness
'...The Federation. Starfleet. We're not a military agency.' Scotty: Beyond
'I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm an engineer.' Miles O'Brien: Empok Nor
'...Starfleet could use you... It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...' Admiral Pike: Star Trek
corrected spelling....and actually as I said many die-hard Trekkies DO consider some books canon. ESP the Franz Joseph manuals as several of his designs were seen on screen (briefly I admit, but there was on screen images of the Federation class and I believe the Destroyer class ships behind Kirk in TMP on a console behind him. Also several of his designs were seen in the TNG style of Enterprise model kitbash ships as floating hulks leftover from the Borg at Wolf 359) And I am not disagreeing with the copyright issues, my miff is that if Starfleet Command I, II, and III (and Bridge Commander for that matter) could get the rights to use the Franz Joseph ships AND use CBS owned ships, you can't expect any of us to believe that Franz's estate wants that much $$$.
Rhode Island Variant of the Nova class (big surprise, I know!)
I recall watching the Voyager episode ‘Equinox’ – the first appearance of the class. I loved the USS Equinox and the idea of a small scout/science ship. The design was an instant hit with me – I love the compact but functional design. I also love the ‘underdog’ status she had – a small science scout ship, designed to do her job without fuss or fanfare.
Then ‘Endgame’ (Voyager) gave us the USS Rhode Island, a variant of the Nova class. That was it; instant forever favourite. I recall reading, in Star Trek magazine at the time, an interview with Robert Bonchune who when discussing the Rhode Island variant stated – I quote - "I did not come up with the name, but was allowed to come up with the NCC number and do whatever I liked to the shape. I always liked the ship, kind of like a small corvette Starship and I figured in a future time it would have been smoothed out and more organic.
The refit was interesting; it was clearly stated that the USS Rhode Island itself had been on a four-year exploration mission. The design also clearly benefitted from some tactical upgrades since the Rhode Island was able to hold her own against two Klingon Negh’Var class ships.
Anyway, needless to say, along came STO and the chance to use a Nova class. I purchased the (then controversial) T2.5 Rhode Island when it appeared (my first C-store purchase) and used that right up to the end of Tier 4. I even used it in a few endgame STF’s at the time! And I was delighted when the class was included in the list of Fleet T5 ships back in 2012. I was/am fortunate enough to be in a fleet which hit the appropriate shipyard tier the moment it was possible to do so and was very probably one of the first players to purchase a FT5 Rhode Island.
There is nothing I don’t love about it; the fact that it’s my favourite design notwithstanding, it’s a nimble little minx of a ship, and I always have a blast flying her. Its been over four years, and I can honestly say that the only thing that’ll convince me to ‘dry-dock’ her would be a T6 Nova class.
Nova is my starship of choice these days too. It used to be Intrepid, but I've always had a love of smaller ships in any game. That and I was having a hard time getting a decent screenshot of a Nova class in the past. lol
The Nova class is a sleek, small science vessel employing/sharing a lot of the Intrepid class design principles. What began as a small scout/science vessel remained in service (after a refit) well into the 26 century, taking an active role in the Battle of Procyon V. Once the refit of the Nova class was complete, these ships could hold there own against 2 Klingon Negh'Var class ships at the very least. Indeed, with the Nova refit not only could these ships remain viable for scout/science missions, they were also assigned deep space exploration missions for several years...as evidenced in Endgame.
If the developers ever want my money, just sell me a T6 version, a bridge and an interior...
The Lakota subtype of the Excelsior and the Galaxy class for me.
The Galaxy eventually grew on me and is a beautiful looking design, the Lakota/Enterprise B is just beautiful
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
I quite like the look of both the the patrol escort, Mobius, and also the advanced escort, for the escorts fed side. Than you have the tier five star cruiser not the Odyssey though for cruiser fed side. While for science ships on fed side would be the deep space, Wells, long range science, Dauntless Class Experimental Science Vessel ,and advanced research ships.
Now for Kdf side I quite like the Kolasi Siege Destroyer, and most of the other Nausicaan ship designs also, but I have not really been that interested in the Klingon designs. I would love to see more Orion, and gorn designs since I do like the two shown so far quite abit.
Now for romulans it would be the Dhelan, the Ar'Kif, Faeht Intel Warbird, Jaeih Class Pilot Warbird for the warbirds. Than for the warbird battle-cruisers it would be the Vastam Class, and the Aelahl Light Warbird Battlecruiser. I will say that I do quite like the look an style of the romulan Dyson science ships, but that is about all I like for their science ships, and kinda wish they would have retrofited a dhelan into a science ship design.
It is really hard for me to choose even a small grouping of ships for the cross faction alien ships, since I love some many of them. THough i do prefer the Vorgon escort, Vaadwaur escort, the na'kuhl battle-cruiser, the pair of adapted tal shiar ships, and the hazari destroyer.
The Pasteur. But online, the Olympic. Modified with a sleek Hope hull and Horizon pylons to match its fantastic turn rate. I love the idea that a hospital ship configures so well as a kamikaze and looks like a wrecking ball. With a gravity well and warp plasma, magnified by extra threat and feedback pulse, every attack is all or nothing. Kill everything at once or be killed. I just wish I had a skin for it that more closely matched the Pasteur.
My favorite ship is the Alita. Charging in weapons blazing with either 6 Peregrines or 4 Delta Flyers in tow and then racing back out. I love hit and runs
Don't really like the big ships. I have a few of those. But they feel so bloody slow with a turn rate which takes them around the Moon to make a 180 degree turn. And you can easily get a cup of coffee while they are doing it.
Character Name : Ghanima Atreides
Race & Class : Romulan Science Captain
Ship Types & Names : R.R.W. Lux Aeterna (Jaeih Class Pilot Warbird) ~ R.R.W. Arrakis (Jhu'ael Tactical Carrier Warbird) ~ R.R.W. Angelus Noctis (Flambard Science Dreadnought Warbird)
Regent. It's a sleeker and more elegant version of my favorite ship, the Sovereign. Nothing beats the side view.
(Okay, maybe not Really a Soveriegn with the Odyssey hull, but the saucer certainly conveys that vibe to me...)
Mine is set up Odyssey hull and nacelles, with Yorktown pylons and saucer... IMHO, it looks good from absolutely any angle, and I love the flowing lines and curves...
My hands down KDF fave is the old classic D7. It's just such a clean, pure design, and it has that old school 1960's charm which reminds me of better days. I don't have the T6, or even the Fleet version, the plain retrofit is all I can afford, but it's still quite nice.
I have more thoughts on the D7, but this is the wrong forum for that discussion. I am going to go create a thread in Builds, Powers, and Game Mechanics subforum. That's under Feedback, for those not familiar with it.
I myself favor the Risian Corvette. Love the way it handles, love the weapons it can mount, the two Risian consoles work great on it, and it's looks are great!
It's basically two mother huge nacelles connected by a pylon in the middle with the deflector, and a big wrap around main hull at the aft. To me this thing just looks mean and fast.
My favourite ship classes make me feel warm and fuzzy
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
Vor'cha, the KDF version of the Excelsior, a brave and honorable gal.
( Nat & Arty, face it OK? )
Agreed on Excelsior line, T6 Heavy Cruiser has been a blast as a first T6 ship. I started playing STO on Xbox One upon launch so I only have this ship, a T5-U Sovereign, and a T6 Kelvin Timeline Heavy so far.
I have researched the T6 Heavy Cruiser is not widely regarded as the highest DPS platform out there...but the speed and maneuverability has been super fun to play (and I do see how that advantage could offset some of the lacking top end DPS).
For me it's the D'Kyr... because it's the only Vulcan ship in the game. Seriously, Cryptic, what the hell! Gorn have more ships than the Vulcans do! GORN!
For me it's definitely the Wheeled Grandmother the Excelsior. I remember watching Search for Spock and being overwhelmed by the spacedock scene. First the Enterprise swings out of ESD (and to my mind she was a gigantic mile long behemoth) and then the Excelsior appears like a juggernaut chasing her down. I fell in love there and then. And to see her have such a prominent and pivotal role in Undiscovered Country sealed my love affair forever.
When she was given away free last year I grabbed myself a fleet module and upgrade token and played the hell out of her solidly for about 6 months.
Just a shame the T6 variant was so disappointing.
Wow, me too...I was blown away by both movie appearances of the Excelsior (not to mention its descendant in Generations (Captain Cameron aka Ferris Bueller's bff).
I do not have much a frame of reference yet about fleet ships b/c I am not in a fleet yet (my playing hours are erratic)...this is disappointing to read. Do you recommend only using the Excelsior class in the manner you describe @Misterloz ?
Loved it the first time I saw it (can it really be 20 years ago?) and that's never changed. STO wise I'm glad that we finally got it at T6 and I really like the Archon design too.
Honourable mentions to two very different ships from very different times: Constellation and Wells.
ESP the Franz Joseph manuals as several of his designs were seen on screen (briefly I admit, but there was on screen images of the Federation class and I believe the Destroyer class ships behind Kirk in TMP on a console behind him.
Two, the Ptolemy and the Saladin. And as they're barely legible even if you know they're there they are as canon and official as Federation Marines, Doctor Who actors and giant ducks and other background easter eggs that are not visible.
Also several of his designs were seen in the TNG style of Enterprise model kitbash ships as floating hulks leftover from the Borg at Wolf 359)
You mean none. There were concept ships there (and in other background scenes from TMP to DS9), two TOS era ships based on the planned 'Planet of the Titans' and three Excelsior study models that had nothing to do with Joseph.
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though. JJ Trek The Kelvin Timeline is just Trek and it's fully canon... get over it. But I still prefer TAR.
#TASforSTO
'...I can tell you that we're not in the military and that we intend no harm to the whales.' Kirk: The Voyage Home
'Starfleet is not a military organisation. Its purpose is exploration.' Picard: Peak Performance
'This is clearly a military operation. Is that what we are now? Because I thought we were explorers!' Scotty: Into Darkness
'...The Federation. Starfleet. We're not a military agency.' Scotty: Beyond
'I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm an engineer.' Miles O'Brien: Empok Nor
'...Starfleet could use you... It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...' Admiral Pike: Star Trek
Probably my favorite ship ever is the Century-class, which has barely made any appearance anywhere. It isn't on any TV series, nor is it in STO.
The reason I like it is because it combines elements from the rest of my favorite ships into a single model. It's sleek, elongated, and streamlined with an elliptical saucer like the Sovereign-class, but it shares design elements from the Nova and Intrepid-classes as well.
It is (was) the main battletank of STO. Perfect balance between firepower, protection and mobility. The powerslide it performs is just great. Keeping the nose on target while turning around it.
Before beam spam was overbuffed it did top damage with a cannon built, but required active flying to reach those numbers. Escorts had higher damage potential, but the Tor'kaht had the better armor and thus could keep fighting while escorts exploded or were forced to retreat.
Ah, good times. Someone remembers the invisible borg killer torps ? The Tor'kaht survived them and had the teeth to bite back !
For Romulans my clear favourite is the Mogai/Valdore. Great looks, great boff layout and great everything.
For Fed... I have the issue that most of my favourite ships are just done WRONG. The Galaxy lacks science abilities. (It is the exploration cruiser ffs !) The Prometheus was a tac cruiser able to split into escorts. Ingame its a bloody escort...
And the Defiant while.. beeing the Defiant was seriously disappointing compared to real pilot escorts.
I have to give it to the fleet Nova. My first attempt at a torp built, and great fun to fly.
Add my love to the Oberth. I was hooked on Trek the moment I saw that ship on screen. I'd also love a T6 version of it. If nothing else, it would be interesting to see STO update its design for the current time period.
Other feddie contenders are the Nebula and the Luna. KDF side, I love the Nausicaan Vandal and Scourge destroyer designs.
Of the Romulan Republic ships, the T'varo is by far my favorite.
Of the cross faction ships the Narcine and the Eternal are my favorites. It's going to take a lot to get me out of the Captain's chair of my Eternal at the moment.
I don't know why a lot of people hated the look of the Galaxy class. Sure, it may look at little out of balance, but the width of the saucer section makes me love it more and the weird winky face you see on the neck that are the hangar bay's. It's something you can't unsee.
Playing the Galaxy ingame and shooting her phasers is a satisfying experience. The layout may a bit too engineer orientated though.. so I guess that's what the -X variety is for.
The NX grew on me as well, I like the entire grapple thing and how shuttlecraft went down like it were submerged in water. Like those old time submariine launches.
Comments
I like it because:
It's about the retro-future Captains, The Rediscovered Country.
It's 'canon' not 'cannon' and no books are canon. Unless you mean canon to STO, then that's limited to books published under CBSamount's copyright and not part owned by the authors (such as Franz Joseph's technical manuals) which cannot be adopted as canon as that's CBS' decision, not the fans.
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though.
JJ Trek The Kelvin Timeline is just Trek and it's fully canon... get over it. But I still prefer TAR.
#TASforSTO
'...I can tell you that we're not in the military and that we intend no harm to the whales.' Kirk: The Voyage Home
'Starfleet is not a military organisation. Its purpose is exploration.' Picard: Peak Performance
'This is clearly a military operation. Is that what we are now? Because I thought we were explorers!' Scotty: Into Darkness
'...The Federation. Starfleet. We're not a military agency.' Scotty: Beyond
'I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm an engineer.' Miles O'Brien: Empok Nor
'...Starfleet could use you... It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...' Admiral Pike: Star Trek
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Nova is my starship of choice these days too. It used to be Intrepid, but I've always had a love of smaller ships in any game. That and I was having a hard time getting a decent screenshot of a Nova class in the past. lol
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=761827908
The Nova class is a sleek, small science vessel employing/sharing a lot of the Intrepid class design principles. What began as a small scout/science vessel remained in service (after a refit) well into the 26 century, taking an active role in the Battle of Procyon V. Once the refit of the Nova class was complete, these ships could hold there own against 2 Klingon Negh'Var class ships at the very least. Indeed, with the Nova refit not only could these ships remain viable for scout/science missions, they were also assigned deep space exploration missions for several years...as evidenced in Endgame.
If the developers ever want my money, just sell me a T6 version, a bridge and an interior...
These are the voyages of the U.S.S. Pioneer...
I am, of course, talking about the beautiful Excalibur class.
The Galaxy eventually grew on me and is a beautiful looking design, the Lakota/Enterprise B is just beautiful
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Now for Kdf side I quite like the Kolasi Siege Destroyer, and most of the other Nausicaan ship designs also, but I have not really been that interested in the Klingon designs. I would love to see more Orion, and gorn designs since I do like the two shown so far quite abit.
Now for romulans it would be the Dhelan, the Ar'Kif, Faeht Intel Warbird, Jaeih Class Pilot Warbird for the warbirds. Than for the warbird battle-cruisers it would be the Vastam Class, and the Aelahl Light Warbird Battlecruiser. I will say that I do quite like the look an style of the romulan Dyson science ships, but that is about all I like for their science ships, and kinda wish they would have retrofited a dhelan into a science ship design.
It is really hard for me to choose even a small grouping of ships for the cross faction alien ships, since I love some many of them. THough i do prefer the Vorgon escort, Vaadwaur escort, the na'kuhl battle-cruiser, the pair of adapted tal shiar ships, and the hazari destroyer.
Don't really like the big ships. I have a few of those. But they feel so bloody slow with a turn rate which takes them around the Moon to make a 180 degree turn. And you can easily get a cup of coffee while they are doing it.
Race & Class : Romulan Science Captain
Ship Types & Names : R.R.W. Lux Aeterna (Jaeih Class Pilot Warbird) ~ R.R.W. Arrakis (Jhu'ael Tactical Carrier Warbird) ~ R.R.W. Angelus Noctis (Flambard Science Dreadnought Warbird)
(Okay, maybe not Really a Soveriegn with the Odyssey hull, but the saucer certainly conveys that vibe to me...)
Mine is set up Odyssey hull and nacelles, with Yorktown pylons and saucer... IMHO, it looks good from absolutely any angle, and I love the flowing lines and curves...
My hands down KDF fave is the old classic D7. It's just such a clean, pure design, and it has that old school 1960's charm which reminds me of better days. I don't have the T6, or even the Fleet version, the plain retrofit is all I can afford, but it's still quite nice.
I have more thoughts on the D7, but this is the wrong forum for that discussion. I am going to go create a thread in Builds, Powers, and Game Mechanics subforum. That's under Feedback, for those not familiar with it.
I myself favor the Risian Corvette. Love the way it handles, love the weapons it can mount, the two Risian consoles work great on it, and it's looks are great!
It's basically two mother huge nacelles connected by a pylon in the middle with the deflector, and a big wrap around main hull at the aft. To me this thing just looks mean and fast.
We come in peace, SHOOT TO KILL!
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Class wise, that would be Battlecruiser and Dreadnought.
I just love that class of ship which can deal out lots of damage and can soak it up, too!
A cloak finishes them up nicely.
Agreed on Excelsior line, T6 Heavy Cruiser has been a blast as a first T6 ship. I started playing STO on Xbox One upon launch so I only have this ship, a T5-U Sovereign, and a T6 Kelvin Timeline Heavy so far.
I have researched the T6 Heavy Cruiser is not widely regarded as the highest DPS platform out there...but the speed and maneuverability has been super fun to play (and I do see how that advantage could offset some of the lacking top end DPS).
Wow, me too...I was blown away by both movie appearances of the Excelsior (not to mention its descendant in Generations (Captain Cameron aka Ferris Bueller's bff).
I do not have much a frame of reference yet about fleet ships b/c I am not in a fleet yet (my playing hours are erratic)...this is disappointing to read. Do you recommend only using the Excelsior class in the manner you describe @Misterloz ?
Loved it the first time I saw it (can it really be 20 years ago?) and that's never changed. STO wise I'm glad that we finally got it at T6 and I really like the Archon design too.
Honourable mentions to two very different ships from very different times: Constellation and Wells.
And they're wrong (unless it's their own headcanon).
Two, the Ptolemy and the Saladin. And as they're barely legible even if you know they're there they are as canon and official as Federation Marines, Doctor Who actors and giant ducks and other background easter eggs that are not visible.
You mean none. There were concept ships there (and in other background scenes from TMP to DS9), two TOS era ships based on the planned 'Planet of the Titans' and three Excelsior study models that had nothing to do with Joseph.
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though.
JJ Trek The Kelvin Timeline is just Trek and it's fully canon... get over it. But I still prefer TAR.
#TASforSTO
'...I can tell you that we're not in the military and that we intend no harm to the whales.' Kirk: The Voyage Home
'Starfleet is not a military organisation. Its purpose is exploration.' Picard: Peak Performance
'This is clearly a military operation. Is that what we are now? Because I thought we were explorers!' Scotty: Into Darkness
'...The Federation. Starfleet. We're not a military agency.' Scotty: Beyond
'I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm an engineer.' Miles O'Brien: Empok Nor
'...Starfleet could use you... It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...' Admiral Pike: Star Trek
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Probably my favorite ship ever is the Century-class, which has barely made any appearance anywhere. It isn't on any TV series, nor is it in STO.
The reason I like it is because it combines elements from the rest of my favorite ships into a single model. It's sleek, elongated, and streamlined with an elliptical saucer like the Sovereign-class, but it shares design elements from the Nova and Intrepid-classes as well.
Constellation. I just liked it always.
Risan Luxury Cruiser. A big tourist ship with warp pods on it always makes me smile.
It is (was) the main battletank of STO. Perfect balance between firepower, protection and mobility. The powerslide it performs is just great. Keeping the nose on target while turning around it.
Before beam spam was overbuffed it did top damage with a cannon built, but required active flying to reach those numbers. Escorts had higher damage potential, but the Tor'kaht had the better armor and thus could keep fighting while escorts exploded or were forced to retreat.
Ah, good times. Someone remembers the invisible borg killer torps ? The Tor'kaht survived them and had the teeth to bite back !
For Romulans my clear favourite is the Mogai/Valdore. Great looks, great boff layout and great everything.
For Fed... I have the issue that most of my favourite ships are just done WRONG. The Galaxy lacks science abilities. (It is the exploration cruiser ffs !) The Prometheus was a tac cruiser able to split into escorts. Ingame its a bloody escort...
And the Defiant while.. beeing the Defiant was seriously disappointing compared to real pilot escorts.
I have to give it to the fleet Nova. My first attempt at a torp built, and great fun to fly.
Other feddie contenders are the Nebula and the Luna. KDF side, I love the Nausicaan Vandal and Scourge destroyer designs.
Of the Romulan Republic ships, the T'varo is by far my favorite.
Of the cross faction ships the Narcine and the Eternal are my favorites. It's going to take a lot to get me out of the Captain's chair of my Eternal at the moment.
Playing the Galaxy ingame and shooting her phasers is a satisfying experience. The layout may a bit too engineer orientated though.. so I guess that's what the -X variety is for.
The NX grew on me as well, I like the entire grapple thing and how shuttlecraft went down like it were submerged in water. Like those old time submariine launches.