Omega Class Destroyer - Origin and Design

Origin and Design

As with most of the computer generated models seen in the first 3 seasons of Babylon 5, the Omega was both designed and built by a member of Foundation Imagining. In this instance, Paul Bryant who co-founded the company in 1992 with partner Ron Thornton.

The model was referred to as the "Aggie" in house due to the name of the first ship to appear in the script, the Agamemnon. The original, fully detailed version contained over 250,000 polygons although it was designed so that layers of detail could easily be removed to reduce the polygon count. This was necessary due to the limits of the computer systems at the time, primarily the amount of RAM (Random Access Memory) they could use. Removing detail (and thus the number of polygons) would permit reduced rendering times and allow the computer animations for the various television episodes to be created in a practical time scale due to the tight production schedules. This stripping down process was normally only required when a large number of models appeared in an animated sequence (such as the season 4 episode "Endgame") and was usually limited to the vessels appearing in the background.

The closer adherence to real physics with regards to how human (not alien) vessels would be portrayed in Babylon 5 was introduced by Foundation Imagining and is the reason for the inclusion of rotating sections to designs, such as the Omega, in order to emulate artificial gravity. The design also originally included a complex engine design to continue the theme of a more scientifically realistic approach, as it was necessary to accurately portray how such a massive spacecraft, with a large rotating section, could maneuver.

"Originally the engine section was a complex gimballed affair because when turning a large centrifugal mass the turning thrust axis is not intuitive. For example if the centrifuge is rotating clockwise, to turn the ship to port the thrusters should be pointing down thrusting upwards. I explained this to the guys and they looked at me like I had two heads. I think it was Ronny who said 'Look, just stick some big engines on the back and walk away'. We were under a time crunch as always and that's just what I did." — Paul Bryant, Source: B5Scrolls (2008)

The final, time saving and less problematic, design which Bryant used was partially modeled on WWII pulse engines similar to those seen on the German V-1 flying bomb.

This design bore similarities to Syd Mead's design of the Leonov, a fictional Russian space ship that appeared in the 1984 movie 2010: The Year We Make Contact. When asked for an explanation, J. Michael Straczynski stated on the rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated newsgroup:

"The ships on 2010 and Babylon 5 operate out of the necessity of traveling without standard SF artificial gravity. These designs have been discussed among scientists (in general) for ages; so there's no intention to be close to 2010, but when both are based upon the same scientific principles, there will be echoes. Form follows function." — J. Michael Straczynski, Source: jmsnews quote archive (1995)

However, years later Paul Bryant shed light on the subject:

"Yes, I can confirm that I ‘lifted’ the centre section off the Leonov in 2010 for the centrifuge. That's why the profile is exactly the same. I was feeling mischievous, so I added this little nod to the design. I thought someone was going to spot it immediately but no, it was years before anybody called me on it (it would have been an easy fix to change the profile)." — Paul Bryant, Source: B5Scrolls (2008)

The Omega was also designed to appear both un-aerodynamic and imposing. Part of this approach was the inclusion of what later became known as the 'hammer head' by some fans of the show. Namely, the 'cheeks' on either side of the forward-facing fighter recovery bay which were inspired by the Smoke deflectors (or lifters) that appeared on some later steam locomotives.