Star Trek-themed VR demo takes a tour of the Enterprise-D

The VR project comes from a 3D artist called Jason who has a goal of constructing the entire USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D using the Unreal Game Engine.

The walkthrough begins with a shuttle-flight into the Main Shuttlebay (pictured), a set only ever seen in miniature – and from an exterior shot – in one episode of the show, so you immediately get to see the draw of a project like this. Because of the sheer volume of what needs to be created, a modular approach to the ship construction will be taken. “This means filling in and creating rooms never before seen on the budget-restricted show”.

The Enterprise would serve first and foremost as a virtual museum.

Until then, Jason will continue to build a “truly immersive Enterprise experience”. There’s no word on if or when we’ll actually get to interact with the virtual environment ourselves, but for now you can enjoy the scenery in the video above. What about the large forward windows on Deck 3? The fictional vessel measures 642m from bow to stern, and Jason B aims to recreate every one of its 42 decks in unprecedented detail. “I wanted to be on that ship, experience its wonders”. This time it’s a virtual tour of Star Trek’s Enterprise-D, courtesy of the Enterprise 3D Construction Project. The creator is thinking about crowdfunding campaigns to help with his work, and there’s the looming question of licensing: he’ll likely need CBS’ approval to release anything, especially if he wants to charge for it. Even if it amounts to little more than some screenshots and video, though, it’s an impressive feat.