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Post by Punkrabbitt on Oct 20, 2016 13:20:12 GMT -9
It seems to me that in Star Trek (original TV series) the Romulans were always on the weaker side. Sure, they had cloaking devices, but they wound up installing them on ships they bought from the Klingons (yes, I know the series production reason for this.) Their own technology went towards "secret super weapon" which is more mad scientist-vibe than giving a feeling of military parity with their neighbours.
What do y'all think?
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Post by cowboyleland on Oct 20, 2016 18:42:33 GMT -9
I haven't watched any ST for years but I think the cloaking tech would be a great advantage. The way stealth technology lets the US cripple any country's air defenses today. Maybe it was newly invented at the time of the OS and so they had not yet had time to fully exploit its potential?
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shep
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Post by shep on Oct 21, 2016 4:50:02 GMT -9
Regarding everything Romulan, you have to take into account that there are ONLY TWO Romulan episodes in TOS. Much of what we consider to be Romulan lore today was invented in the Rihannsu book series by Diane Duane and during the run of TNG (and DS9)...
Furthermore, much ST lore considered to be canon has really never been in the show, but in truth was part of the vast flood of material FASA published for the 1980's RPG...
But, to speak in-game (so to say), I think that during the 2260's cloaking technology and huge plasma torpedoes are a big advantage over the Federations phasers and shields. As seen in Balance of Terror, the plasma torpedo is able to destroy installations one mile below ground and simply ignores Federation shields. Being able to cloak a ship against visual detection and sensors renders you near invulnerable, since your enemy is unable to get a target lock on you. As seen in the show, they'd have to shoot their phasers into the blue to perhaps hit you by coincidence. However, the extreme power output needed to run the system and the ship leaving traces of ionized gas to detect it by, make cloaking devices a system worth overhauling...
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Oct 21, 2016 11:44:08 GMT -9
shep, that's exactly it. They have an experimental ship in Balance Of Terror, which is why it seems like a Mad Science solution. By the next time we see them, they are using Klingon ships, whether on a lend-lease program or having bought them outright. This says to me that Klingons and Romulans are trading partners, not enemies, and that Klingon ships are so much better than Romulan ships that it is a better choice for the Romulans.
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shep
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Post by shep on Oct 22, 2016 2:20:05 GMT -9
shep, that's exactly it. They have an experimental ship in Balance Of Terror, which is why it seems like a Mad Science solution. By the next time we see them, they are using Klingon ships, whether on a lend-lease program or having bought them outright. This says to me that Klingons and Romulans are trading partners, not enemies, and that Klingon ships are so much better than Romulan ships that it is a better choice for the Romulans. A quick search on Memory Alpha, the only ST wiki cnsidered canon (even by CBS/Paramount), there have been relations between Klingons and Romulans that are, while not explicitly mentioned int the various series and movies, at least hinted at in various episodes. A timeline of said relations can be found here: memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Romulan-Klingon_relationsIt's only logical to assume that there were some kind of technological exchange programs between the two empires during that time period.
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Oct 22, 2016 8:07:05 GMT -9
I watched both TOS Romulan episodes last night, and the Romulans were definitely using Klingon ships (specified as "Klingon ships" in The Enterprise Incident" after the failed Bird-Of-Prey experiment. In the "enhanced special effects version" it shows two D-7s and an oversized Bird-of-Prey rather than the three D-7s I remember from yesteryear.
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Post by Vermin King on Oct 22, 2016 8:38:46 GMT -9
I watched those, too, and in one there was a Bird of Prey
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Oct 22, 2016 8:47:53 GMT -9
"Balance of Terror" was all about the super-secret stealth-technology mad-science-weapon on the orginal, smaller Bird-Of-Prey. "The Enterprise Incident" originally featured three D-7s, but in the new Enhanced Special Effects version has two D-&s and an oversized Bird-Of-Prey.
BTW, since Captain Kirk delivered a Romulan cloaking device to the federation after the events in "The Enterprise Incident," I would have fully expected all Federation ships to have access to such by the time of the movie era.
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shep
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Post by shep on Oct 22, 2016 23:31:39 GMT -9
Okay, taking FASA Trek lore into account, the Romulans traded their cloaking device for a Klingon ship with enough power output for stable use of said cloak (the D7), which makes total sense, since in Balance of Terror the power need of the cloak seems to be one of its major problems.
The Federation may not use any kind of cloaking device as part of the Treaty of Algeron, hence the trouble with the Pegasus (TNG) and the need for a Romulan cloaking device – even including a "cloaking officer" at first – on the Defiant (DS9)...
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