Having launched in that awkward time where Starfleet was prepping to go for an update of all of the Constitution Class ships in the fleet, tentatively nicknamed Phase II, the Aries and the other Zodiac class ships were used as a testbed for some of the Phase II technology that integrated pretty well with a smaller Engineering space as well as a unique layout. This bolstered this little ships power output and allowed it to max out it's overall warp capability even further than expected. While some technology carried over, like the large energy conversion area in the back of the section, a new warp core was introduced along with new intermix methods as well as warp plasma transfer and matter and anti-matter housing. To provide easier access to the experimental systems, the floor was raised, allowing crew persons to get in faster as needed. Since the technology was somewhat experimental and untested, Engineering was limited to one entrance and exit and was given a set of reinforced doors to act like an airlock and seal off Engineering from the rest of the ship. Perhaps the biggest change was the miniaturization and centralization of so many of the ships systems to be handled by a beefed up Duotronic system at the heart of the ship which allowed for much smaller control stations to be used throughout the section. *** One of the last of the 'three' sets I worked on for the Aries and probably the most changed up from what we saw in TOS/TMP. I was actually inspired from some behind the scenes artwork from Star Trek Beyond for this one and I tried to TOS-ify it a little bit. Either way, I really like how this turned out.