Something about Guided Quantums

posted on October 12th, 2010, 8:31 pm

With talk about homing torpedoes on the E-II, I was thinking that perhaps an effect could be added to them.  Basically, it would be similar to the way TUN's zevestrian cruisers have their torpedoes move around the target before actually hitting.  The difference for The E-II guided quantums would be that they only do this for half a second or some other short duration.  I guess I'm just wondering if the idea could be played around with.  It would help let everyone know that guided quantums are being used, as well as adding some eye candy to make them act similar to the torpedo they had modified in Star Trek VI.

It doesn't have to be done the exact way, but any eye candy that also lets people know what's going on might be nice.

posted on October 12th, 2010, 8:50 pm

the e2 already stops moving and glows when firing guided quantums

about having the guided quantums swirl around, i dont see the point, i notice them hitting more, which is what they should do. maybe if they travel slower to indicate they are being guided better.

posted on October 12th, 2010, 9:12 pm

Well, I'm thinking half a swirl.  It's hard for me to describe how I would like to see it done, and I'm not sure it's possible.  Just making it more obvious that there's some kind of homing function beyond just hitting more often.  I like eye candy.

posted on October 12th, 2010, 9:27 pm

I think if they looked a bit like how the Detector's adapted torpedo swings around to hit a ship when in close proximity it would look ok

posted on October 12th, 2010, 9:32 pm

Originally, the Quantums were apparently meant to look different in the movie. Why not make the guided quantems look like the original draft? Explain it as a by-product of the altered tech.

In the first draft of the script of Star Trek: First Contact, a fleet of Borg ships is defeated with the new quantum torpedoes. Entire Borg cubes are destroyed with single hits. Quantum torpedoes are described as oscillating and changing shape and color as they streak towards their targets, piercing through the hull like armor-piercing shells, exploding the Borg ships from within in an explosion visually resembling a supernova.

posted on October 12th, 2010, 9:34 pm

lol those quantums would have been op.

instead they over nerfed them, 4 take down a borg sphere, 6 take down a bugship wait what?

posted on October 13th, 2010, 12:33 am

Those sound like transphasic torpedoes.

The way the adapted photon torp does it's angle in would be perfect.

posted on October 13th, 2010, 4:06 pm

If I quoted the rest of the paragraph rather than just what was important, the similarity is noted in the MA article. Either way, I'm only talking about the looks rather than the effect.

posted on October 15th, 2010, 6:14 pm

What I think would be cool is one they were fired if they didnt acquire the target immediately. So they would travel away from the ship in a straight line and then they would home in on their target.

posted on October 15th, 2010, 6:21 pm

That's similar to what an adapted photon torpedo does.  It fires near the target, then zooms right in on it.  Hard to see with that tiny borg torpedo, but a quantum should be more noticeable.

posted on October 15th, 2010, 6:25 pm

I think that would be kinda cool, Mal .


  I'm always down for cool weapon effects

posted on October 15th, 2010, 6:26 pm

Really i didnt know that but all torpedos track to some extent.

posted on October 15th, 2010, 6:39 pm

The only thing that would be a bit odd about that is that all guided torpedoes would look like that, which is perhaps strange when considering that normal torpedoes either miss, or directly impact. Likewise, the targeting scanners are supposed to guide those torpedoes to sure hits, so another technobabble term would be needed there to explain why these torpedoes - out of all the others - swing around to hit each and every time. 

posted on October 15th, 2010, 7:18 pm

Yeah, it's really hard to come up with Treknobabble.

These are modified torpedoes that can receive commands while in flight.  That's what the special energy is for:  Going into making some more of these torpedoes.  Perhaps not unlike TCR's suggestion that modified torpedoes can get past current countermeasures.

Perhaps the launching system is different.  Instead of trying to target, fire, and hit/miss the target, these modified quantums fire (in the general direction of the target), the ship tracks with sensors during, then sends real time information to the modified torpedoes when they get near the target, thus providing a "foolproof" method of ensuring a hit.

See.  Treknobabble is easy.  Maybe I should write Voyager episodes.

posted on October 15th, 2010, 11:34 pm

nah, you forgot at least 2 converters or devices and an unknown particle