Actually, that's been a thing since at least 1991; the <em>TNG Technical Manual</em> Rick Sternbach wrote is the earliest reference to it I can recall offhand. To be fair, Discovery was the first on-screen reference to it.
Star Trek The Next Generation: Technical Manual
Basically goes through and explains all about how the ship works from an in-universe point of view. It's actually really fun to see all the explanations they came up with for everything.
Can confirm...
I even have this book : Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual Star Trek Next Generation Unnumbered: Amazon.de: Sternbach, Rick, Okuda, Michael: Fremdsprachige Bücher
So that is at least a PHD worth i guess
If you're referring to this book-
it's probably one of the finest examples of lore building I've ever seen.
> Any challenges regarding the material and technology?
I belive you want this book: TNG Tech Manual
It's a good read, and it answers all your questions. Yes, that one, too.
It's not just analog, I like tangibility, something you can see and touch like the concept of a "hero ship", a ship worth making not only models of but also manuals, something that inspires engineers to want to build the technology of the future. It's like when you look for new "Sci-Fi" anime, it's just used in the place of magic where it's a technological explanation of a super power like Railgun, yes, mass drivers are cool and they can be used to launch cargo into space cheaply, but a human can't be a mass driver, only a machine.
It's like machines don't look cool in anime anymore and the fans don't like machines, they like magic and I feel anime doesn't even do magic right anymore, Isekais mostly have video game logic, not very fantasy.
To me anime has always been about cool machines with exotic materials.
>I like to think that there is always room to reinvent yourself.
I have so much pressure to excel, I do nothing. It's like trying my best only punishes me. The more I want, the harder I try, the harder I try, the more I feel punished.
If you really want to go deep down the rabbit hole, find a copy of "Star Trek The Next Generation: Technical Manual"
There are tons of them around. Almost every used book store has a copy. I got so much involved with watching Next Gen after reading this book. Totally worth finding one if you want to go deep into details about the ship and how it operates.
> I'm on-and-off currently working on a "futuristic" equipment codex for Eberron.
I was thinking of this the other day. When I was a kid I had this book called the Star Trek Technical Manual. When the writers would make scripts for the show, they would just leave a word * tech * in the text that was later filled in by technical director Michael Okuda, the cowriter of this book.
The book was well illustrated and explained all the hand-wavy stuff technical of the Trek universe in a way based on scientific theories, or how the technology would bend the laws of physics. The book really made the world feel complete in a new way to me when I watched it on TV or read the books. A similar book for Eberron would be a treasure trove of MacGuffins, plot lines about espionage and trade, and ways to combine the technologies to make your own magi-tech.
I dug up this quote from the book I still remember today, and builds my confidence in my bullshitting while storytelling.
"Early in the series, Patrick Stewart came up to us and asked how warp drive worked. We explained some of the hypothetical principles described in this volume, but added that such a device is far beyond present-day physics. We emphasized that no one has any real idea how to make a ship go faster than light. "Nonsense," Patrick declared. "All you have to do is say 'Engage.'" And he was right..."
Warnings...?? Sci fi is the blueprint, afterall all which is created by humans has its seed in the human mind.
Rumor has it the guys at DARPA stood before a room of their research geeks holding up a Star Trek TNG Technical Manual and said:
We want you to see if there is any we can make any of this stuff.
Not exactly canon, but it might as well be, seeing as it's written by the same people who did all the on-screen and control panel graphics, invented the computer interface, and were responsible for the whole "look and feel".
IIRC phasers weren't originally intended for weaponization; they existed solely for "pushing things out of the way" (space detritus and whatnot) when the ship was moving at breakneck speeds. Sternbach talks about it in his book.
Mmmmmmm... so they used an obvious cop-out, then?
"Oh, my, despite the fact that ALL OF PHYSICS says lasers should pwn us, our shields MAGICALLY stop them in defiance of all that is known about how the universe works because we're the main characters. Tachyons, Wesley's sweater, Data won't shut up..."
Fuck that.
I used to be as big a trekkie/trekker as anyone. My dad used to come home from work when I was ~6 and watch syndicated TOS with me. I watched TNG religiously when it came on. It was the highlight of my week. I must have read the ST:TNG Technical Manual a couple of dozen times. I've read the novels, written the fanfic, built the fucking model kits, and purchased the phaser-flashlights. Shit, I even watched all of ST:V and fucking Enterprise (which was CRAP). At a certain point, you've got to look at the franchise and realize that you've been had. It's not science fiction, it's god damned Hobbits poncing around the galaxy in magic-ships on a five year quest to take your fucking money.
Oh yeah! I had The Star Trek Technical Manual indefinitely checked out from the library!
Amazon has it for as little as $4 (0.01+3.99 s/h), used.
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Next-Generation-Technical/dp/0671704273
There is also an "Interactive" CD-ROM version, designed for Windows 3.x. While it is interesting, and does cover some of the same material, it is its own work, and in the end, covers far less. The video quality is also severely lacking in 2016, and getting it to work is not straightforward.
No, it's still in print actually.
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Next-Generation-Technical/dp/0671704273
Maybe this might happen before we can experience multiplayer VR via mind control. The middle of that page shows an excerpt from the Star Trek Technical Manual written by two technical advisors on the Star Trek: The Next Generation" TV show.
In the manual they describe how the Holodeck worked, as seen in the screenshot shows. People in the Holodeck didn't have to wear anything to be convinced that what happened around them was real.
According to the technical manual, the computer created force field beams that people could walk and run on without moving. The computer projected distant holographic imagery. And, according to the manual, real temporary matter was created as needed so that people could touch a temporary human, sit in a temporary chair or feel temporary snow.
If holographic projectors and force field beams don't exist 1000 years from now, maybe they will 50,000 years from now. The hard part might be the matter replicators.
The Sternback and Okuda one is what I was referring to - https://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Next-Generation-Technical/dp/0671704273
The TNG Technical Manual provides a detailed explanation of how it works.
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Next-Generation-Technical/dp/0671704273
I included two brief quotes from the TNG Technical Manual in my post on a similar topic to this here, which I think suggest the show's technical advisors had exactly what you describe in mind when they were thinking about how to depict the behaviour and abilities of replicators.
I'm sure it's mentioned in the Technical Manual.
Doesn’t make sense. I suggest the writers read the Star Trek Technical manual:
Star Trek The Next Generation: Technical Manual https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0671704273/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_9qa-Fb4DXGH53