Holodeck vs Holosuite

[Hammerfest]

I had this discussion with someone recently and I thought I'd bring it here as well. The impression I got while watching TNG, DS9 and VOY was that Quark's civilian holosuites were more sophisticated than the ones on the Enterprise D and Voyager. Maybe it's because civilian technology can often better than what you find on US naval ships. Maybe it's because Quark's holosuites allowed for more freedom than the Starfleet holodecks... or just that Quark's holosuites seemed smaller than those on the Enterprise, yet seemed able to simulate just as many environments.

[the game]

I'm not sure what you mean about Quark's being more sophisticated. Could you provide examples please

[Deleted]

i always got the impression that the only real difference was that a suite was designed for one user, while a deck was designed for small groups of users.

which due to the nature of how holograms work in star trek, implies that the deck is more advanced, because it has to accommodate multiple viewpoints at once. especially since the episodes show people in a holodeck to be able to be further apart then the physical decks size.

[draynay]

Its just Ferengi marketing, and you fell for it sucker!

[Doctor Amadeus]

Holodeck

Because I trust those big eared Ferengi are probably up to something and cheats.

[Hammerfest]

especially since the episodes show people in a holodeck to be able to be further apart then the physical decks size.

That's not true. People using the holosuites got just as far away from each other as on the Enterprise's holodeck. Watch the DS9 episode "Take Me Out To The Holosuite." Basically, the holosuites could do everything the holodecks could do, just with less room... which lends itself to the idea that they were more sophisticated.

[Deleted]

That's not true. People using the holosuites got just as far away from each other as on the Enterprise's holodeck. Watch the DS9 episode "Take Me Out To The Holosuite." Basically, the holosuites could do everything the holodecks could do, just with less room... which lends itself to the idea that they were more sophisticated.

more likely, everybody in that episode was in their own holosuite, rather then all of them crammed in one. maybe quark has a large group holosuite but i doubt it.

anyways if you read memory alpha, the words are mostly interchangable, the only real difference being that the suites are for one person/very small groups and the holodecks are for dozens of people.

there is a notable lack of replicator ability on the holosuite page though, which most likely is just cause it never came up story wise, but DS9 is set in the 2370s when that tech became available in the federation so it could be a hint towards quarks being inferior.

[Hammerfest]

more likely, everybody in that episode was in their own holosuite, rather then all of them crammed in one.

Then it would have been expressly stated. The whole senior staff plus the crew of another ship had a baseball game in one of the holosuites. Not to mention in that same season the whole senior staff of DS9 was in Vick's for a caper. The holosuites could do at least as much as the holodecks on Enterprise and they were significantly smaller when turned off.

A "suite" is not intended to denote how many occupants are intended for use. (Hence the term "family suites" in hotels.) The reason why they were called "suites" is because that was the most accurate term for what they were considering where you were using them... a bar/restaurant/gambling establishment... particularly since it was established early on the show that they were used as brothels almost exclusively until Starfleet came there to administrate and needed them for a wider range of entertainment. "Holoroom" could have been used, but "holosuite" sounds cooler. The only reason why the holodecks on Enterprise were called "holodecks" is because "decks" are what the spaces on naval ships are called (i.e. the mess deck, berthing deck, quarterdeck, etc).

[schwarzkopf]

I'm not sure what you mean about Quark's being more sophisticated. Could you provide examples please

Holodeck - larger system covering a whole deck level of the ship/station
Holosuite - smaller private system for simulations, private stuff etc.

[Deleted]

Then it would have been expressly stated. The whole senior staff plus the crew of another ship had a baseball game in one of the holosuites. Not to mention in that same season the whole senior staff of DS9 was in Vick's for a caper. The holosuites could do at least as much as the holodecks on Enterprise and they were significantly smaller when turned off.

i mean you are kinda stating the obvious here. a holodeck is bigger then your average holesuite because it is designed to accommodate more people. in the part of my post you left out i already said the terms are more or less interchangeable in technical context, at least when we are talking about designs by the same species/organizations. ofc if you cheched my earlier mentioned source you could just show me the picture of quarks holosuites to prove the entire cast fit in it.

A "suite" is not intended to denote how many occupants are intended for use. (Hence the term "family suites" in hotels.) The reason why they were called "suites" is because that was the most accurate term for what they were considering where you were using them... a bar/restaurant/gambling establishment... particularly since it was established early on the show that they were used as brothels almost exclusively until Starfleet came there to administrate and needed them for a wider range of entertainment. "Holoroom" could have been used, but "holosuite" sounds cooler. The only reason why the holodecks on Enterprise were called "holodecks" is because "decks" are what the spaces on naval ships are called (i.e. the mess deck, berthing deck, quarterdeck, etc).

source? my sources are star trek first contact and TNG homeward. yours just seems to be applying real world meanings to fictional terms.


but if you wanna get all technical, your entire premise is flawed. holo-anything is a lowest denominator term. like car or computer, the words can be applied to things with vastly different capabilities as long as they meet a minimum threshold. you really want to compare different species/organizations techs per time period.

in the 2370s, where TNG and DS9 are set, federation holodecks/suites are capable of creating holograms at a molecular level, and are capable of dynamically changing objects from hologram to real replicated object when a user is holding it.

compare this to quarks setup, cardassian holosuites on a decades old military station which he skimps on the maintenance and doesn't buy upgrades for. which one would be more sophisticated?

[Hammerfest]

a holodeck is bigger then your average holesuite because it is designed to accommodate more people.

Who says?

source?

My service in the United States Navy? We had to know things about ships... like what a "deck" is.

compare this to quarks setup, cardassian holosuites on a decades old military station which he skimps on the maintenance and doesn't buy upgrades for. which one would be more sophisticated?

Where/when was it said that Quark skimps on maintenance? Quark's holosuites did everything the Starfleet ones did. In "Doctor Bashire I Presume" the holosuites were even used to develop the new Starfleet LMH (Long-term Medical Hologram) that Doctor Zimmerman was working on. They were good enough to be used by Sisko and Garak when they had Tolar fabricate evidence to motivate the Romulans to enter the Dominion War in "In The Pale Moonlight." If they weren't as good as the ones Starfleet, those things would never have taken place. So far, I've cited actual episodes to support my assertion in several posts. You have not and have merely made declarative statements.

[the game]

Holodeck - larger system covering a whole deck level of the ship/station
Holosuite - smaller private system for simulations, private stuff etc.

that just says what they are. it doesn't say why he thinks quarks are more sophisticated.

[schwarzkopf]

that just says what they are. it doesn't say why he thinks quarks are more sophisticated.

Quarks is a salesman ... they are more sophisticated the same way a high priced hooker is more sophisticated, that is - same tech specs, different 'programming'