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Monday, 11 November 2013

Behind the scenes of the new Deep Space 9

Doug Drexler has posted a gallery on Facebook, full of artwork from the development of the new Deep Space 9, made for it's debut on covers in The Fall novel series this year. Doug has posted concept art from Andy Probert, who created the design based on David R. George III's description from the novels. There are also lots of renderings from Douglas Graves, who built the computer model, and alternate cover designs from Mr Drexler himself.

Here are a couple of test renderings of the final model, which give us a great overview of the design:


I've picked out some of my favourite images from the gallery, and those that reveal some interesting details, to take a tour through the design process below. But you'll find loads more on Facebook, so be sure to check it out.

Building on David R. George III's description in Raise the Dawn, the process started with Andy Probert pondering possible interpretations, which eventually settled into the design we now becoming familiar with, finally approved with a test CG model:


Much more after the jump, starting with a look at one of DS9's massive hangers, which houses one of Andy Probert's newly designed salvage tugs, which are set to appear in the 2015 Ships of the Line calendar:


Probert's concept art went into a lot of detail, including some of the interior layouts, revealing some of locations for key events in Revelation and Dust:


Once Douglas Graves started building to CG model Probert was still feeding in detailing, seen here overlaid on the early model:


Which ultimately lead to the final model. Here are a couple more test renders:


And here covers that could have been for The Fall. Hopefully new DS9 will continue to grace many future book covers!


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20 comments:

  1. Anonymous11 November 2013 at 18:58

    I don't understand the logic of joining up the docking pylons. What functional use are they now?

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  2. 8of511 November 2013 at 19:07

    Well, the pylons themselves add a lot of surface area to the station, so if you were to imagine you could dock at many points along them (those shipyard like structures on the sides for examples), rather than just the tips like the old DS9, then you could dock many more ships, and having them joined up means you'd not always be so far from connecting to other parts of the station.

    For instance on the old DS9, if you docked on one of the tips, you'd have to come all the way down the pylon and across a bridge, to get to the center. While if you docked high up on a new pylon, you could connect right to the center of the station from up there.

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  3. Fox11 November 2013 at 20:02

    I don't really like the design. It seems too bulky. It should have retained more of the balance of the original design, IMHO.

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  4. Unknown11 November 2013 at 23:24

    The 4 arms does make it look too "dense" and the rounded features of it make it seem more retro (akin to "Far Beyond The Stars").

    It looks more like a toy now than a serious space station based on Cardassian design. I'm missing some of the hard edges that gave it a distinctive and yet functional look.

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  5. Eric Tan12 November 2013 at 16:59

    Pardon my ignorance, but not having seen an episode of DS9 since they stopped airing, I'm wondering why this exists? Did DS9 blow up or disappear? Why is there a NEW one? Having said that, I agree with Jeff Stimson, in that it doesn't look right, and it's missing that Cardassian look to it.

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  6. 8of512 November 2013 at 21:33

    The original DS9 was destroyed at the end of a Typhon Pact book last year, Raise the Dawn. So construction of this one started in the next book, and we were given a proper introduction to it a couple of months ago in Revelation and Dust :)

    I should hope it doesn't look Cardassian, as a Federation design! I find it a bit unorthodox as a Starfleet design, but like the retro feel to it.

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  7. Dwight Williams12 November 2013 at 23:51

    The original DS9 was blown up in Plagues of Night and construction of the successor was authorized and started in Raise the Dawn.

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  8. 8of512 November 2013 at 23:52

    Yes, quite right Dwight! Don't think my brain was quite connected with my fingers there!

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  9. Unknown13 November 2013 at 13:23

    I think it was a bad idea to destroy the old station. It was a characters in the show itself. The original took weeks to design and this one looks like it was slapped together.

    The intro to DS9 was all about how cool looking the station was and its complexity of design shone through. I don't think I'd like an intro to this space station.

    I think its like killing Sisko and replacing him with Neelix.

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    Replies
    1. Apollo Racer14 July 2018 at 15:24

      Actually more along the lines of destroying the Enterprise, as they did in the Search for Spock and Generations. But agreed, the station was just as much a character of the series as its crew.

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  10. Fox13 November 2013 at 14:26

    @Conor: Have you read the books? They've done that, too.

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  11. Unknown14 November 2013 at 06:50

    It's a poor design. The original was iconic, this could be from any sci-fi series...it doesn't look trek.

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  12. Unknown17 November 2013 at 09:52

    Really poor design.

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  13. Unknown17 November 2013 at 09:56

    If the Federation/Bajorans were going to build a new station at the mouth of the worm-hole it would look like Earth Space Dock(or the space station seen in "Valiant") or be more Bajoran-inspired. It would not look like a bastardisation of a Cardessian design.

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  14. Anonymous21 March 2014 at 18:51

    and still they use the old Deep Space Nine in Star Trek: Online

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  15. Anonymous5 May 2014 at 21:30

    They use the original DS9 in Star Trek Online because it is based on information from the various tv shows and movies not including the reboot movies. STO does not follow the novels, and the game itself could be considered a different timeline or alternate universe or a hundred other theories. The point is that that the game and novels both being based on the same information,start diverging after the Nemesis movie.

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    Replies
    1. Apollo Racer14 July 2018 at 15:28

      Unlike the books in the Star Wars EU before Disney took over, the novels were never considered canon.

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  16. Anonymous5 May 2014 at 21:32

    They use the original DS9 in Star Trek Online because it is based on information from the various tv shows and movies not including the reboot movies. STO does not follow the novels, and the game itself could be considered a different timeline or alternate universe or a hundred other theories. The point is that that the game and novels both being based on the same information,start diverging after the Nemesis movie.

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  17. Andrew-20 June 2014 at 21:27

    The station's Design was pretty much dictated by the Authors, with no room for exploration. Embellishment toward a Federation look was about all I had as a way to distinguish it from the original station's sharper lines, toward Starfleet's curves & details.

    The pylons were to have docking clamps & boarding tubes all along their length but that intent was not properly communicated (my bad) so only two or three clamps are evident above & below the mid-ring.

    Given a free hand, the station would have looked different.

    Andrew-

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  18. Critter2120 March 2018 at 13:24

    The station is good as a Starfleet take on Deep Space 9. It is much better than the new Yorktown from the movies, and meets the needs of Bajor.

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