Exploring the Enterprise-D in Virtual Reality

A Ship of Unprecedented Scale

The USS Enterprise-D measures 642 meters long and 463 meters wide, making it far larger than it seems. Over its seven seasons, The Next Generation revealed critical aspects of its design, while the rest of the material (official and unofficial) has helped us develop a much more solid vision of its interior. The so-called Enterprise-D Construction Project aims to reproduce all 42 decks of the Enterprise-D in virtual reality, which will allow us to take an unprecedented tour.

Navigating the 42 Decks

Those interested in visiting Engineering will need to take the turbolift down to deck 36. The so-called battle bridge seen in the first episode of TNG is on deck 8. Transporters are spread across decks 6 and 14, and the main shuttle bay for the shuttles and the occasional runabout spans decks 3 and 4 of the saucer section. You might think I've lost my mind, but this is perfectly documented information about the design of the Enterprise-D. In some places, the levels of detail are truly impressive, while in others there is ample room for theory and interpretation. Of course, that hasn't stopped fans from working on building a complete Enterprise-D, and for that, they had no better idea than turning to virtual reality.

The Enterprise-D Construction Project

What you just saw is a sample of the Enterprise-D Construction Project, based on Unreal Engine 4. The entire project is in the hands of a single person, known as "Jason B". Jason managed to reproduce the bridge of the Enterprise-D using Unreal Engine 3 a couple of years ago, and when he decided to transfer the content to version 4 of the engine, he simply continued with the rest of the ship. The project follows four parameters: The Enterprise-D we see in the series is absolute canon. Then, the plans of Rick Sternbach and Ed Whitefire are followed, or a combination of both. After that, Andrew Probert's original design is used whenever possible. Finally, when official resources are exhausted, the author applies his own ideas to fill the gaps.

Status and Outlook

The video shows the virtual Enterprise-D in pre-alpha, so there's still a lot of work ahead. However, the most important places on the ship, like the bridge and the historic Ten Forward, are ready. Personally, I can't wait to put on an Oculus Rift and traverse the ship from end to end in first person, but it will be great to do it even without a headset. I only want Viacom-Paramount to stay away from this (we know very well how their executives are) and allow Jason's project to reach a good end.

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