Topic: ST:TNG Heart of Glory

[Cleaven]

Just watching it and was totally shocked to hear the Klingons saying they used rockets to destroy the enemy which attacked their freighter.

Rockets!

Rockets in TNG? Say it isn't so.

Or is it all a lie? What can I believe in now? (Can't resist a glance towards gaming shelves where my board games reside.)

Never mind, my faith has been restored by the printed word, where "cannon" is usually preceded by the word "hellbore".

[Khalee]

Funny how SFB stuff has slowly creeped into Star trek Aint it.

[Cleaven]

Funny how SFB stuff has slowly creeped into Star trek Aint it.

I blame Gene Roddenberry. He was still there when that series was made.

[EmeraldEdge]

You know, it's been talked about and specifics cited so many times it's just getting old.   I almost wish we'd just come up with a list of episodes where things are seen or cited and sticky it to the top, so that whenever the "it's not canon" argument (on this and a few other areas of the games) comes up people can be directed to that thread.

[Captain Pierce]

The impression I always got was that the [insert made-up element name here] rockets weren't something that was typically used as a weapon.  There's really nothing to support that, just a feeling I have... 

The other really weird thing about that episode is the backdrop behind the Klingon captain who's coming to pick the renegades up.  To the right of him is the usual Klingon insignia--but to the left of him is the Federation seal!  Somebody apparently was thinking that the Federation and Klingons were a little more closely allied than they would later turn out to be... 

[KAT Chuut-Ritt]

Also gotta love it when the Klingon Korris calls the Klingon homeworld "Kling"

"I refuse to let the traitors of Kling pick the meat from my bones."

[FPF-DieHard]

"Cannon" is so inconsistant that it carries no weight.

[J. Carney]

"Cannon" is so inconsistant that it carries no weight.

'Cannon' is a very consistant thing, and it carries a lot of weight. FOr instance, an 1863 Blakley 8" rifled cannon weighs more than a ton and is made of cast iron. (couldn't resist)

Now 'canon' (ever since there was more than 1 Star Trek series in existance) has become so muddled and sefl contradictory as to be more harm to the Trek universe than good. This explains my love for the SFB timeline, whe at least any changes that are made in the timelie fit in with what supposedably comes before and after.

[Byzantine]

Why does everyone have such a hard time with 'rockets' in SFB or SFC?  Terminology is one of the things that has always been screwed up in this subject.  Missile weapons come in three main classes: unguided, self guided, and remotely guided.  The inference has long been on televised and movie Trek that photons are mostly unguided.  In 'The Undiscovered Country' they converted a photon to be self guided to take out General Chang's cloaked BOP.  Remotely guided 'drones' have never been seen on screen AFAIK.

What are photons in TOS?  They are WWII unguided torpedoes, the kind of torpedo that everyone would be familiar with in the '60s.  SFB was created by a Naval crowd who were fully aware that unguided torpedoes where old news and ATG (Active Terminal Guidance - self guided) was state of the art.  Wanting to stay with the spirit of the TV show they decided to stick with direct-fire photons and used the justification that a star ships advanced ECM suite could defeat any torpedo sized ATG system.  But they still wanted to use something that represented modern technology and expected future technology so they introduced drones and the fly-by-wire sensor based control system.

All of these guidance technologies are probably feasible and compatible with the technology base associated with Trek.  As for why the writers prefer to stay with unguided photons I do not know.

PS. Missiles, rockets, torpedoes - are all the same thing.  The only differences are the medium (air, vacuum, water) they travel through and the propulsive technology.  The SFB/SFC issue has alway been the guidance technology question.

[Alidar Jarok]

The Ferengi used missiles in an episode to appear as if they were intending to destroy a wormhole (Picard was very confused on why they thought a missile could do that, but worried that their shuttle might get damaged by it).