It just popped up in my mind.

  • You could decorate any room as you like. You don’t even need to step out of it most of the times.
  • Other people can be projected inside it like Voyager’s doctor.
  • Also rooms could be much smaller. They only need to be big enough a human(oid) can fit inside.
  • In emergency cases most holograms can be shut off to match increased energy demands by weapons and shields. You only really need seating/bed and a (non-exploding) console screen.
  • Much of the specialized rooms like a bar, med bay, etc. won’t be needed anymore as a holodeck can imitate all of them.

It irritated me a bit that a Discovery gets fancy floating warp nacelles but holodecks are… wait, does Discovery has a holodeck? I don’t remember seeing one.

  • pjwestin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    17 days ago
    1. Energy. In TNG, the holodecks burn a lot of energy. Can’t imagine what would happen if you turned every room into one.
    2. The holodeck isn’t a Tardis. The space inside the holodeck is an illusion created by the room. The room can make the space look infinite, and the floor can function as a hard-light treadmill that let’s you explore that infinite space, but the room still needs to be large enough to accommodate all the real-world things in it. That’s why they’re so large in TNG and Voyager. Holo-quarters would still need to be roughly the size of regular quarters.
    3. Same problem with the bar. Sure, you could make anyone’s quarters look like Ten Forward, but if your quarters fit 3 people, that’s how many people can drink there.
    4. The sickbay would still be essential because the problem isn’t medical equipment, it’s staff. Unless you’re going to have the medical staff running all over the ship making house calls, having that staff in a centralized location and having the crew come to them just makes more sense, especially in an emergency. Emergencies are also why that equipment should never be holographic. If the ship is under attack, the last thing you want is sickbay disappearing because of a phaser hit or having to turn off the medical equipment to power the sheilds.