Past Updates 2015

DecemberNovemberOctoberSeptemberAugustJulyJuneMayAprilMarchFebruaryJanuary

 

December

New editorial: The Trouble with Star Trek's Self-Image.

The Ex Astris Excellentia Award goes to the Enterprise-D 3D Project. Congratulations!

Here is our season 6 update of the Notable Changes in TNG Remastered. We will continue the articles on the single episodes once the according galleries at TrekCore are ready.

The next two Voyager season 2 reviews: "Parturition" and "Persistence of Vision".

The first trailer for "Star Trek Beyond" has been released. It consists of nothing but explosions, fights, flying people and the other usual stuff and does the contrary of getting me excited. I still hope the actual movie has a bit of substance, unlike this immature trailer.

On different news, I have converted the whole Starship Database to CSS and improved the layout.

I'm working on further code and layout improvements. The latest changes can be found in the various scripts such as the Guestbook, now coded to fit into a viewport of 640 pixels, and with bigger fonts and form fields.

I continue my Voyager season 2 reviews with "Non Sequitur" and "Twisted".

Here is a big new article that I have compiled together with Jan Herfort. We investigate Voyager's Crew Complement, the number of seen or mentioned casualties, the development of the crew count over time, the number of different seen crew members and different names, and more. Overall, with a few simple assumptions it makes more sense than previously assumed.

 

November

Two more game reviews by Andrew Friden, of Starfleet Command and Star Trek Pinball.

Here are four new ship designs in the Journal of Applied Treknology.

Here is a new story: Encircled by Travis Anderson. Feeling a noose tightening around them, the Maquis cell on Ronara Prime struggles with Federation and Cardassian threats all around. Including a potential strategic development that would change the balance of power in the Alpha Quadrant.

CBS Television has just announced that a new Star Trek TV series will be launched in January 2017. Where do you expect the new series will be set?

I have also set up a page for news about the new TV series, which (like all static EAS pages) allows commenting.

 

October

Here are two new game reviews by Andrew Friden, of Star Trek ConQuest Online and Star Trek: Hidden Evil.

Vulcans are frequently said to be incapable of lying, although it is clear that Spock as well as other Vulcans occasionally lied. A new article by Joe Richardson investigates the myth: Vulcan Lies and Errors.

Just a quick note that I have amended the hotlinking policy. Direct linking to images on the EAS server is now generally allowed, unless excessive misuse should force me to restrict it again.

Here are two new starship interiors by BobyE: Abramsverse Enterprise transporter room and NX-01 cargo bay.

The EAE Award goes to Star Trek: The Animated Voyages by Jon Markiewitz, presenting his wonderful TAS-style webcomics.

Time for an update of the Links page.

I have reviewed "Divided We Stand", the latest episode of Star Trek Continues.

 

September

I have redesigned the EAS index page, getting rid of the nested tables in favor of mobile-friendly divs. Also, I hope that more people find the way to important guide pages such as the Trek Feeds. Finally, after some complaints that the design was too busy I have moved the direct links to sub-index pages to sub-menus that appear when hovering above the section symbols to the right. I am aware that this is a step away from my concept to show as much as possible at a glance, but it really helps to keep the design clean.

I have discovered a secret(!?) RSS feed that allows me to compile a list of recent Disqus comments, without the need hire a department of programmers who can handle APIs. You can find the recent posts on the EAS Today page, so you know what is going on and where to comment.

More content can be seen in the new layout, such as the EAS Fleet Yards.

Furthermore, I have added the Disqus comment box to the Fan Fiction section.

Here is an extensive article by TTP on The History of Star Trek Gaming - major games, minor games, their releases and subsequent evolution.

Continuing my Voyager season 2 reviews. Here are "Projections" and "Elogium", the so far best and worst episode of the series, respectively.

 

August

Here is my review of the pilot episode of Star Trek: Renegades. In my view the most exciting unofficial Star Trek film ever made.

New story by Travis Anderson in the series The Cause: Counter Terror. The Federation and the Cardassians have finally united around a single issue: the Maquis. Establishing a joint task force, the law enforcement specialists hand picked for the assignment will stop at nothing to bring in every last member of the Maquis. Starting with the Maquis commander himself, Cal Hudson.

Here are two new Abramsverse interiors by BobyE: Enterprise brig and Vengeance corridor.

I have converted the Tech Support and the Reports & Interviews sections to the new layout. The rest will still keep me busy for a while.

Here is a new Treknology Reference Guide, compiled by Joe Richardson. It lists the earliest appearances of various Earth/Starfleet technologies in Star Trek, as a supplement to the Treknology Encyclopedia and the various articles in the Investigations section.

See three new Abramsverse interiors by BobyE: Enterprise turbolift, Kelvin turbolift, Kelvin corridor.

Here is a new story in the Star Trek Universal series by J. Grey and R. Cane: The Barman - "There's always more than two sides to every story."

 

July

A new story by Travis Anderson: Death of the Reich. Ekos and Zeon have contacted Starfleet with an urgent request that a starship be sent to investigate unusual solar activity. The Enterprise-B is dispatched and what Captain Harriman and his crew discover is nothing short of a nightmare.

Starting my Voyager season 2 reviews. Here are "The 37's" and "Initiations".

I have converted all Starship Articles to the new format. Some of them have been updated with new pictures, such as The Everlasting Klingon Battlecruiser and Analysis of the Ships in the "Void".

Added over 90 high-resolution drawings of the Constitution, Excelsior, Ambassador, Galaxy, Intrepid, Nebula, Prometheus and Nova (classes and variants) by Igor Marić to the Starship Gallery.

The Starship Gallery has been completely reworked. Besides the new layout I have also improved many of the old scans, especially those from the book Star Trek Mechanics.

 

June

I have been busy with the format conversion lately. All articles in the Investigations section, all Gallery pages, the Treknology Encyclopedia and some pages in the Quick Reference section, such as The Tribbles, can be seen in the new CSS layout with bigger thumbnails.

Two new interiors by BobyE: Enterprise NX-01 decontamination chamber and Abramsverse Enterprise corridor. I have taken the opportunity and updated the layouts of most gallery pages.

Star Trek Continues has released a new episode, "The White Iris". Here is my review.

Here is a very detailed review of the classic video game Star Trek: 25th Anniversary by Florian Haag.

A new article by Dávid Metlesits describes The Evolution of the TOS Captain's Chair.

I have also added a new page for Video Game Guest Reviews. See reviews of Elite Force 2 and Bridge Commander by Marten van Wier.

A couple of changes in the Starfleet Museum, such as new introductory pages for Starfleet Ships of the Late 22nd Century and Starfleet Ships of the Early 23rd Century.

On a different note, almost 50% of all articles in the Investigations section have been converted to the new layout, such as Re-Uses of the New York Streets Set. I have started to work on the Galleries too.

See our Observations in TNG: "Man of the People", and particularly the make-up of Marina Sirtis as the aging Deanna. TrekCore has 400 HD screen caps of the episode.

 

May

It's been some time, but here is the next article in our series: Observations in TNG: "Realm of Fear". See Barclay's strange encounter in the transporter beam in the HD screen cap gallery at TrekCore.

I have converted the articles about prop re-uses (such as Re-Used Props - Furniture) to a more attractive layout, with much bigger thumbnails, fully CSS-based and suited for mobile devices. My goal is to process some 60% of the site using the interactive PHP thumbnail generator and HTML recoder that I have been debugging for many days and nights but that has paid off already now.

The images in a number of articles such as on Alien Monocultures in Star Trek have been improved. I'm not sure when or if I can take care of the rest of some 600 pages.

I have improved the layout and the images of the Character Bios, and supplemented some information. I hope I will find the time to compile the complete Enterprise crew biographies eventually.

I have compiled a small gallery with screen caps of Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand from TOS, movies and Voyager.

Disqus comments are now enabled on all pages. I intend to keep them as long as the moderation can be handled and as long as the section remains ad-free.

Grace Lee Whitney 1930-2015. It's so sad that another original crew member passes away so soon.

Test phase of the Disqus commenting system. I still need to verify how I can keep the site clean and whether I can leave the comments open for guests. You can help me with your comments on a test page and by taking part in the poll.

Here are the two final Voyager season 1 reviews: "Jetrel" and "Learning Curve".

 

April

Two more Enterprise-D interiors by BobyE: the cargo bay as seen in "The Mind's Eye" and in "Disaster".

Here is the review of Klingon Academy by Andrew Friden, which he rates as one of the best games of the franchise.

All EAS pages sport a new header. While it doesn't include new functions for now (I'm thinking of adding extendable menus), it should look more attractive and should work better on small displays. I still need to address some browser compatibility issues. I will decide about a viewport size later, so the pages (except those with table-based layouts, which are a hopeless case) will be rendered bigger on mobile devices.

Here are two Voyager season 1 reviews: "Cathexis" and "Faces".

Here is a new article by Jörg about the Appearances of the Ferengi Marauder, in which he investigates every single shot of the ship.

I have posted Andrew Friden's review of the Elite Force Expansion Pack. More game reviews are on the way.

See the new Bluescale deck layouts for the Constellation cargo/passenger ship by Allen Rolfes and some more changes in the Starfleet Museum.

Jörg has compiled a massive article with 160 pictures that illustrates all appearances of the Romulan D'deridex-class Warbird in all Star Trek series and investigates the differences from the first to the second filming miniature and the CG model. Also included are the ship designs from Enterprise that are based on the Romulan Warbird.

 

March

The next two Voyager season 1 reviews: "State of Flux" and "Heroes and Demons".

Two new interiors by BobyE: Enterprise emergency manual monitor and Enterprise-D shuttlebay.

Two more Voyager season 1 reviews: "Emanations" and "Prime Factors".

Here are my reviews of two more Voyager episodes: "Eye of the Needle" and "Ex Post Facto".

Going through the extensive screen cap galleries at TrekCore, I had the idea to compile a special tribute gallery, with one picture of Leonard Nimoy as Spock from each episode or movie in which he appeared. It is also the prototype of a new gallery style with bigger thumbnails and a "fluid" layout. Believe it or not, I didn't create this page with an HTML editor but with Excel.

A few personal words on the passing of Leonard Nimoy.

See my reviews of VOY: "Phage" and "The Cloud".

New Poll: Pick your favorite Spock quote.

Two more interiors by BobyE: Defiant crew quarters variant and original Enterprise brig.

 

February

New interiors by BobyE: Enterprise auxiliary control room, Tasha's quarters on the Enterprise-D and Defiant brig.

A sad loss for the world of Star Trek: Leonard Nimoy dies at the age of 83. "He's not really dead. As long as we remember him."

We continue our article series with the season 6 opener: Observations in TNG: "Time's Arrow II". See the crew in 19th century San Francisco, also in the big screen cap gallery provided by TrekCore.

I have added various high-quality starship and prop pictures from the recent Propworx auctions to the galleries and some articles.

We conclude season 5 with our Observations in TNG: "Time's Arrow I". A predestination paradox strands Data in 19th century San Francisco. See more of it in TrekCore's HD screen cap gallery.

The TOS episode reviews (including the guest reviews) have been converted to the new layout.

Read two more Game Reviews by Andrew Friden, of Star Trek Armada and Birth of the Federation.

I have added the rest of Alice's recent images for the Starship Database. Find improved side views of the 22nd century Tholian ship, of Menos's ship, of many Xindi vessels and some more changes.

Alice Orbán has sent me many new or improved images for the Starship Database. Here is the first batch with more accurate side views of the Arkonian shuttle, the Borg scout, the second Malon freighter, the Tarkalean freighter, the Tellarite shuttle, the Valdore and a few smaller changes.

 

January

Three more Enterprise-D quarters by BobyE: Keiko and Miles O'Brien, Ro Laren and Reginald Barclay.

Jay Stobie reviews Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Missing by Una McCormack.

The conversion of the DS9 episode reviews (including guest reviews) to the new format is completed.

A new article by Frank Bitterhof deals with commercially available Acoustic Panels as Wall Coverings in TNG.

See our Observations in TNG: "The Inner Light". TrekCore has an extensive HD screen cap gallery of Picard's extraordinary experience on the planet Kataan.

Here are three more Enterprise-D quarters, reconstructed by BobyE: Data, Worf and La Forge.

The Enterprise reviews have been brought up to the new standard, leaving only TOS and DS9 with the old layout.

Almost 50% of the episode reviews have been converted to the new format by now - most recently TAS and the remaining seasons of Voyager, including all guest reviews.

More updates in the EAS Fleet Yards: comparison charts by jbobroony and Tadeo D'Oria's take on the Indus class.

We continue our series with Observations in TNG: "The Next Phase". See how Geordi and Ro walk through walls in the HD screen cap gallery at TrekCore.

See our Observations in TNG: "I, Borg". TrekCore has a gallery with 386 HD screen caps from this episode, in which a Borg regains his individuality and Picard has to change his mind about how to deal with him.

The EAS Fleet Yards index page has received an overhaul, including new comparison charts of my old ship designs.

I have converted the layout of the Movie and Abramsverse pages, including all guest reviews. The script for the guest reviews has been adapted to the new format too.

Riker's quarters and Crusher's quarters complete BobyE's reconstructions of the senior officers' quarters on the Enterprise-D. Also new: turbolifts on the Enterprise refit, Enterprise-A, Enterprise-B and Enterprise-E.

I am reworking the layout of all episode pages for better readability and HTML 4 compliance. This is a process that allows no automation (except for search & replace iterations in a text editor) and will still take several months. For now, I have finished the TNG pages and the Voyager season 1 reviews that are currently being updated anyway.

Happy New Year! No big update today, but check out the article on on Real Stars and Bayer Names that I updated with the latest information from TNG-R episodes.

 

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