Champions Online Open Beta Impressions

There has been even more information released about Star Trek Online, and I will get to that soon, but right now I’d like to focus on my recent experiences with the Champions Online Open Beta.

First off, most of the “Open Beta” was not actually Open.  For about half of the “Open Beta”, you had to have preordered Champions Online AND be a paid subscriber with FilePlanet to get access.  Pardon me, but it’s not Open if you have to pay for it.  Just like how it’s not really “Closed Beta” for STO when you can buy your way in with a 6 month or Lifetime sub to CO.  A number of days after the paid Open Beta started, the REAL Open Beta started and anyone could download and try the game.

Downloading the game was relatively painless.  Despite my hatred of FilePlanet for ripping people off to get early access to the Open Beta AND making me install their File Manager to start my download, it went really fast.  Once I got through the waiting list, I downloaded all 2GB in less than two hours.  Installation went smoothly, and after I updated my video card drivers, I was creating my character.  The character creation in CO is just as deep as you’d expect from Cryptic, though I kept finding myself wishing I was playing Marvel Online instead so I could make more true comic book looking heroes (Marvel Online was what Champions Online was supposed to be, but Cryptic couldn’t get past the legal drama).  The limitations were clearly to keep any characters from looking like Marvel superheroes, although from what I saw in-game some people found a way around it.  I made a female Deadpool-ish hero, aka a gun-toting, dual sword wielding badass and entered the game.

The first few levels were unimpressive.  Some quests were annoying if I had to find a book or clipboard laying on the ground, as they were tiny and hard to see (I walked over it numerous times).  The monsters were generic and the quests were just as boring as any “Kill X amount of enemy A” quest you’ve ever done.  The “Henchmen” enemies (weakest) were no match for me, and even the “Villain” enemies (slightly stronger) didn’t require any strategy to beat.  There were only really a couple of enjoyable things I did before leaving the tutorial area.  One was the Open Mission, which were open for any players to participate in every few minutes while you fight alongside NPCs.  There were even rare items given out to the player who performed the best during that round of the Open Mission (I got it once and it was a huge upgrade to my ranged weapon).

The other was the scripted mission to end the tutorial area.  You fight until you meet Defender, the Champion you’ve probably seen the most and is on the front page of the official website.  He gives you a quest and joins you in the fight to re-take your headquarters.  He does most of the work, which is good because you fight enemies you would never be able to take alone.  It gives the area a small bit actual story, but it was over too quickly and the mission was over.  The celebration outside, with all the people you saved or helped congratulating you at once, was a nice way of showing you that you had actually accomplished something, but then you are wisked away to the next area.

By now I had gained a few levels and my Powers tab told me I had an Unspent Point.  I thought this might be like Talent Trees in WoW, but I could find no such tree.  Eventually I got a mission that sent me to the Powerhouse, where I use my Unspent Points.  The strange thing is that when you get Points from leveling up, you have no idea what kind of point it is until you go to the Powerhouse.  Is it to buy a new Travel Power?  A new combat ability?  A new round of stat upgrades?  You don’t know til you’re there.  It would help me decide what combat abilities to get if I knew how long it would be until I could get my next one.  Also, I couldn’t figure out what some “slots” were.  I had purchased a passive crit buff and it automatically equipped itself, but when I bought a passive dodge and avoidance buff, I couldn’t tell if it was working.  It kept saying it could fit in a “Balanced or Defensive passive slot” or something like that.  Problem was I had no idea what that was.  Was my passive crit buff taking up a slot like that?  Did I have more slots?  Did I have the right one for this new passive buff?  There were no Tips that would pop up and tell me what to do  like World of Warcraft’s “tips” that tell you what to do when you get your first talent point, for example.  Very unfriendly to newcomers.

Also, once I got out of the tutorial area, there were not enough quests to level me up anymore.  I would often run into a situation where the only quests I had left were ones two or three levels above me.  I then checked to see how much I needed to level and saw how much I was getting per kill.  It would take me hours to get one level up if I were to grind without questing.  When I tried to do the quests higher level than me, I started bumping into groups of four “Henchmen” or two or three “Henchmen” AND a “Villain”, or two “Henchmen” and a “Master Villain” (extremely tough even by themselves).  They would rip me apart.  I started waiting for other players to start fighting them, then I would join in and help.  When the mobs would die we would both get credit.  Seemed the only way to get it done.  I would have been screwed if there hadn’t been other players around to help me do it.

Bottom line, there needed to be more quests for each level.  In WoW, there are always more than enough quests to level with, and even if you run low on quests you can do on your own, there’s always a whole other area you can go to for more quests your level.   For example, if you’re leveling in Ashenvale in the 20s and you start getting to quests that might be a bit too hard for you, you can go to Duskwood and there will be a whole new slew of quests to do.  When you finish those you can go BACK to Ashenvale and do those ones you couldn’t do before.  In CO, I tried to explore to hopefully find more quests to do, but after just 15 seconds of flying around, I got shot out of the sky by an Anti-Air Missile Pod that was 20 levels higher than me.  I had no warning or indication that I was in a higher level zone, and the terrain was identical, all snow.

If anything, this Open Beta for Champions Online has made me appreciate World of Warcraft more than I have in a long time.  I was getting tired of WoW, the emblem grinding, the dailies, the farming, but now I realize that it may be repetitive, but it’s all based in a well designed game.  Pretty much everything works really well and the game is only going to get better when Cataclysm comes out.  Cryptic’s plans must have really gone to hell when they didn’t get the Marvel license for this MMO, because it is a really bad game.  I just pray that Star Trek Online doesn’t turn out like this.

New Gameplay Footage!

from Gamescom 2009

FINALLY!  It’s been just over a YEAR since the last gameplay footage was released, but it’s finally here.  I embedded it above!  Watch it!  Watched it?  Good!  Let’s break it down:

First off, the guy on the microphone at the beginning clearly said the game will be coming out next year.  When next year?  We don’t know, but for anyone who was still holding out hope that the game would hit this Christmas, that has got to be the final nail in that coffin.  Oh well…  Best we can hope for now is that Atari and Cryptic can stick to their quote of saying the game will be out by the end of Q4 2009, which really means by March 31st, 2010.  It’s got to do with fiscal quarters, and they don’t line up with calendars for some reason.  Anyway…

Space Combat

Amazing, wasn’t it?  The space combat looked great!  Fully 3D.  There were clearly times in the video where ships were shooting at others that were much further above or below them, and would even pitch up or down to get them in their sights.  The ship design was detailed and not too “cartoony” as some people have claimed, but honestly, how do you make a space ship look cartoony? The space battles were sped up, however, so don’t think that the game is going to be that fast paced.  Cryptic said the ship combat was going to be a more nautical, tactical affair.  Think Star Trek:  Legacy, but way better in every way.

Aside from the superb detail of the ships, I noticed the beautiful layouts of the areas in space themselves.  Asteroid belts, floating space stations, nebulae, they all looked like they belonged, and they all looked like you could go around, through, and beyond them and just keep exploring.

Let’s run down some of the things we saw that haven’t been seen in a video before (to my knowledge):

• Suped-up Intrepid class (have no fear, all you Voyager lovers, your ship awaits you in STO)
• Old school Romulan Warbird (TOS/ENT era look with 25th century weapons.  It was fighting right beside a Nemesis looking Romulan ship and a 25th century Miranda)
• D’Deridex Romulan Warbird (we knew it was gonna be in STO, but now there is footage, and it was beautiful)
• At about 4:15 we see a Galaxy class ship and if you pause at 4:22 you see it is none other than the NCC-1701-D.  I know it was destroyed in Generations, but this is alpha footage, and Cryptic can do whatever the hell they want.
• The Guardian of Forever!  If you’ve been keeping up with IRC chat and whatnot you’d already know this will be in the game, but again, now there is footage, and it was good.

Ground Combat

Ground combat was also featured in the video, and I was much more on the fence with what I saw.  The locales that were shown looked diverse.  More than enough to not give me that World of Warcraft sense of “This is just a slightly different version of this other zone.”  (I’m looking at you, Badlands, Blasted Lands, Blade’s Edge, and Hellfire Peninsula)  We saw frozen tundras, a factory or two, a savannah, and even a really badass looking Klingon base with a couple of huge mushroom looking TREES in the background.  It was well done, for sure.

However, when it got to the actual ground battles, it was kinda disappointing.  Everything looked really stiff and basic.  The character movements looked uninspired and bland, and the movement was poorly animated.  You know when you have a character running forward AND strafing to the left or right at the same time, but the character animation is running straight forward?  That look of the feet magically sliding from side to side?  Yeah, that’s how it looked.

The two things that I DID like about the ground combat was that the character models were pretty well done.  The Starfleet uniforms especially.  The other is the part where the Starfleet guy does that sweep with his leg, knocks down a Klingon, then proceeds to shoot him in the face many times.  THAT is what Cryptic needs ground combat to be like.

Bottom line, we need to give Cryptic a break on this.  They’ve said before that ground combat is NOT where they want it to be and it was made well AFTER they had space combat up and running.  It’ll get better, I’m sure of it.  Besides, who wants to play STO solely for the ground combat?  Space combat is where Star Trek lives, where it differs from the rest, and it looks like they’ve already got that down.

Raiding vs. Soloing

Should raiders get better gear than soloers?  In most MMOs, yes, raiders get better gear.  Most say it’s because it’s more of a challenge to coordinate a group of 5, 10, 20, even 40 people to take down a boss.  Healing, tanking, damaging, all coming together in one glorious display of synchronization and execution.

Is it worth getting 24 to 39 other people together just for better gear?

However, STO may be different.  When you beam down to a planet, for example, you can go by yourself, but you’ll still have a group of 5 people.  You and four NPC bridge crew members.  One could argue it’s just as much a challenge for one person to control 5 characters at once as it is to coordinate 10 or 20 actual people playing their own characters.  That’s why I have the following suggestion:

Scalable end game content.

If you go by yourself, the difficulty drops to be a challenge for one player (with four NPC bridge crew). If you have 20 people, it scales to be a challenge for 20 people (any number above 5 and there won’t be any NPC bridge crew). That way you don’t always have to scramble to get a certain number of people. Only have 9 people one night? It scales to 9 person difficulty. Have 30 the next? It scales up to 30.

I know there have been dozens of ocassions where I’ve wanted to raid an instance in World of Warcraft, but couldn’t because we couldn’t get enough people.  Raiding the likes of Molten Core was never that fun because getting 40 people together was nothing short of a miracle.  If the raid could scale to the number of people you have, it would never matter how many people you got, you could always go.

Now, I know some may argue, “Raids with more people should get better gear than raids with fewer.”  World of Warcraft is the prime example.  10 man gear isn’t as good as 25 man gear.  However, even Blizzard is changing this.  They are releasing new content as 10/25 man normal, and 10/25 man heroic.  Meaning there are 4 different settings for a raid instead of two.  That way 10 man groups can clear normal and still have another difficulty to go to without having to get 15 more people.  It’s only one more step to have it scale directly with how many people you have, whether it be 2 or 22.

MAKING SOLOING FUN IN STO

Also, “phasing” has been a monumental success in World of Warcraft. Finally an MMO shows you that you’re actually making an impact on the world.  (For those of you who don’t know what phasing is, you do some quests in a certain area, then see the area change to show that you’ve accomplished something, like pushing an enemy force back into its own territory and it STAYING there).   It’s the most fun part of soloing and arguably the best part of WoW’s new expansion. I hope STO does something similar.

Imagine that you start an “episode” where you have to save a planet from a violent outbreak of a deadly disease.  It’s quickly spreading across the planet and the cure was stolen by the Klingons.  You have to warp to a nearby system and take it back.  You warp, you talk, you fight, you win.  Take the cure back and disperse it throughout the atmosphere for quick results.  You then see the planet heal, the noxious clouds fade away and the inhabitants hail you.  The planet is now safe.  It will be safe every time you go back there.

Most MMOs have the effects end up being temporary, and if you come back the next day it looks like you never helped them.  The clouds are back and the people are dying, waiting for the next hero to come save them.  It makes you not care about the people, because what’s the point?  Phasing makes it where a player who hasn’t been there sees those clouds of death, while the player who already finished that “episode” doesn’t.  It works, and it should be the new standard for MMOs.

Any comments/suggestions/ideas about soloing and raiding in STO?  Leave a comment!  Thanks for stopping by!

Micro-Transactions

MICRO-TRANSACTIONS:  FOR THE GOOD OF THE GAME?

Right now, arguably the biggest issue on the STO forums is Micro-Transactions (or MTs). MTs are real life payments for virtual items in game.  Most Korean MMOs live off of being Free-to-Play but having all the best items available through MTs only (that’s why they are otherwise known as Cash Shop MMOs).  Even World of Warcraft has these micro-transactions, but those are only for transferring characters between realms, changing gender, and soon changing faction which is something that doesn’t give anyone an advantage during gameplay.

However, it seems that Cryptic is going to be taking a slightly different route with Champions Online and Star Trek Online.  They seem to be going with BOTH a monthly fee AND micro-transactions. For Champions, Cryptic has stated that:

• The vast majority are aesthetic items, such as costume pieces, action figures, emblems, etc.
• A very few are account-level management tools, such as being able to rename a character
• Micro-transactions should never limit your ability to enjoy the game or reach the level cap
• Any micro-transaction that has a game effect can also be earned in the game through play

These principles apply also to Star Trek.”

This confirms that there will be items available through MTs that give players an advantage during gameplay.  They haven’t said what they are, or how much they’ll cost, but they’ll be there.

It has caused a serious uproar from the community.  (just take a look at this 122+ page thread)  Many people don’t want to pay a monthly fee ON TOP of feeling it necessary to buy these MT items so that they don’t fall behind the people with the fatter wallets.  Others say they’d like it because they are busy and can’t spend 30 hours a week playing to get any of the good stuff.  How do you feel about Micro-Transactions in STO?  Vote here!  (or comment below!)

Personally, I hate the idea of Micro-Transactions that give you items that make it easier to level/play.  I don’t mind the aesthetic ones (I would personally love to buy some old school uniforms for myself and my bridge crew), but once you reward players with better equipment, ships, money, for forking over real dollars ON TOP OF a monthly fee (like WoW’s $15/mo), it cheapens the whole experience and turns the game into “Who can spend the most money?”.  I believe that a monthly fee entitles me to 100% of the content made for the game.

I understand that this game is still a PRODUCT designed by a COMPANY who wants to make MONEY, but if your greed blinds you to take steps that alienate your diehard customer base, the game will receive horrible word-of-mouth and stumble out of the gate at launch, ultimately dooming the game.  Also, for those people who complain about not being able to spend hours and hours a night to get the best stuff, you need to accept that no MMO will ever be so easy that you can get all the best stuff by playing one hour at a time.  Even WoW isn’t that easy, and it caters to the casual player base.

Please feel free to leave a comment!  Agree?  Disagree?  I don’t care!  Thanks for stopping by!

Public Relations & One Year Anniversary

So yes, it’s been many months since my last post.  That must mean there’s a lot of new info to go over, right?  Guess what!  There really hasn’t been that much more information released on STO.  No gameplay videos, no beta announcement, no release date.  Tiny bits of info have dribbled out here and there through IRC chat and Ask Cryptic sessions, but nothing big.  Even Craig Zinkievich said there would be no new videos for STO at this year’s Star Trek convention in Las Vegas.  Pretty disappointing.  It makes me wonder who is in charge of their Public Relations…

The release of information and the press machine for Star Trek Online is handled by Reverb Communications, and I gotta say, they’ve really dropped the ball on STO.  The website launched at the end of July of last year.  That’s an entire year ago.  We’ve gotten one gameplay trailer (with the launch of the site), and one character creation trailer.  Keep in mind both of those were very well done, but it’s simply not enough.

Star Wars:  The Old Republic was announced months AFTER STO and they are averaging a video a month, whether it be cinematics, gameplay, or development videos.  So what does this mean?  To me it means one of two things:

1. Reverb needs to step it up and get more info out to the masses to keep people interested in the game before it becomes the next SWG.
2. The game should not have been announced when it was, to let Reverb have more time to gather information, videos, etc. to release when the game WAS announced.  That’s the way Star Wars TOR did it, they kept the game under wraps for 3 years before announcing it so that they could keep people interested during the final push before beta and release.

The latter is definitely the less appealing option, but at least then we would just be speculating if Cryptic was even making the game instead of begging for new details from devs in IRC chat like homeless people begging for change.

The most consistent updates have been to the timeline.  The story is good.  Really good.  It’s stuff every Trek fan wants to know about.  What’s happening on Cardassia?  Is The Doctor going to be treated as sentient, and get his mobile emitter back?  What about B4?  How are the Romulans dealing with the destruction of Romulus?  Definitely worth a read.

RELEASE DATE: REVISITED

It’s already summer of 2009, the STO forums have been open for just over a year now, the new movie has come and gone (to largely positive reviews, including mine), and I’d like to revisit something I said in one of my first blog entries, and that is the prediction of a release date for Star Trek Online.  I first predicted that by now we’d be heavy into closed beta testing by now with enough time to have the game out by Christmas.  That’s obviously not right.  I’ve even gone back to the forums to see what other people thought when the forums launched, and everyone got suckered in by that “Sooner than you think” tagline Jack and Craig kept spouting.  Now it seems we’ll be lucky to have closed beta by Christmas and the game by Summer 2010.  I can’t wait for CO to launch, because then most of Cryptic’s resources will be diverted to STO (and yes, they’ve already said that’s their plan).

I love comments, so please feel free to leave one.  Agree, disagree, I don’t care!  Thanks for stopping by!

PC vs. Console: Can It Work?

Many people on the Star Trek Online forums and all over the gaming universe have been debating this question:  Can an MMO work on both PCs and consoles?  With most multiplatform games one of the versions usually gets screwed up and a huge chunk of the player base gets upset.  This problem usually boils down to the difference of controls.  MrJuliano, host of STOZone, had this to say about the topic of having to “dumb down” controls for a console version of STO:

If you lay your hand on your keyboard, you have, in easy reach, the following controls:

A-S-D-W (usually the basic movement controls.)
Q-E (Lots of times used for strafing)
R-T (Reload and Use)
1-2-3-4-5-6 (basic powers)
Tab-Caps-Shift-Ctrl-Alt (Can be hotkeyed for things like Auto-run, Pet Attack, or Macros)

If we count those up, we have: 19 buttons. Add on the two mouse buttons for a total of 21

Your basic Xbox360 controller has:

Two analog controllers for movement. Already we’re four buttons ahead.

X-Y-A-B Can be used for four “Basic” powers. By holding down the Right trigger or left trigger, you can switch modes, making those four buttons do different things. Suddenly you have 12 instead of four.

Beyond that, the right and left shoulder buttons can also switch modes, giving you 8 additional buttons to use. This brings our total up to 20.

Now if you add the 8-way directional pad on top of that, you get 8×4 which is an additional 32 buttons for powers.

So, the grand total is 52 buttons on the Xbox 360 controller.

This doesn’t add in the two analog controllers themselves, which can be pressed down upon for further menus.

So, when you subscribe to this line of thinking, I would have to argue that the Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers actually have many more buttons, within a much easier reach, than a standard mouse and keyboard setup.

Edit: If you still need a keyboard to chat with, there is this peripheral which allows you to do just that: http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/09/x…d-is-official/

No external keyboard required, it snaps directly onto the controller.

Here’s my rebuttle:  This argument is valid.  There’s no real reason why it can’t work.  I would, however, like to add that the Z, X, C, V, F and Spacebar keys are also within easy reach on a keyboard with your left hand.

 

FFXI has had success on PCs and consoles.

Final Fantasy XI is a perfect example of how an MMO can have solid controls on both PC and a console.  Keep in mind that FFXI basically required you have a keyboard to play on the PS2, but I wouldn’t mind that with STO on a console (USB keyboard, anyone?).  The second biggest thing that keeps the game equal from PC to console in FFXI is the inability to have add-ons.  Most PC MMOs let users create add-ons that tweak the UI or add new features, but SquareEnix doesn’t let anyone do that on FFXI.  It may seem like a bad idea, but FFXI was designed well enough to where add-ons were never really needed.  If STO can do the same it shouldn’t be a problem.

On paper any game seems to be able to be ported from keyboard+mouse to 360/PS3 controller (with optional keyboard attachment for the 360 controller) like you described, MrJuliano.  However, many game developers have shown us that they can’t get the job done.  The console version of a PC game ends up ”dumbed down” for reasons of laziness or lack of production time.

This doesn’t mean I expect or want a dumbed down version of Star Trek Online on a console, it’s much the opposite.  If I could choose between the two and there were no differences I would take the console *cough*XBox 360*cough* version hands down.  I’m just a bit jaded and cynical because of the failures of the past.  I’d love nothing more than to see STO perfectly playable on both platforms.

This is only one part of the argument, as there are many facets to this topic, and I guarantee you I will be coming back to it.  If you have any suggestions on what you think Cryptic should do to make sure STO is successful on both PCs and consoles, or just have an opinion you want to share, leave a comment!

Sweepstakes Over, First Storyline Update!

Well, for the 17,995 that entered and didn’t win the Lifetime Subscription Sweepstakes, today is no different than yesterday.  I give a very backhanded congratulations to those who won the contest.  I’m not going to hide my feelings on this subject.  I wanted to win badly.  Probably more than I’ve ever wanted to win a contest before.  I’d rather have not won the $100 contest for WoW which I did win and won this instead.  Not just because of the cash value, but because of my excitement about STO.  Also, I didn’t lower myself to cheating aka making multiple accounts and entering them all in this contest and I hope no one that won did that.

MOVING ON!

Cryptic released their first storyline update for STO!  Covering 2379 to 2380, it talks about how the Romulan government was taken over by Tal’aura (female Romulan Senator from the beginning of Nemesis).  However, Commander Donatra (female Romulan who helped the 1701-E fight Shinzon) hated Tal’aura for siding with Shinzon so loyally, and so Donatra formed a rebellion with fellow Commander Suran and Admiral Braeg.  Tal’aura then had Braeg executed and it only turned him into a martyr.  Then the Remans took the opportunity to put pressure on the Romulan government and try to gain freedom from hundreds of years of slavery.  Tal’aura had famous Romulan Commander Tomalak blockade the planet and cut off vital supplies like food and medical equipment.

That’s not even half the story, too!  (read it all here)  If this keeps up in every update, Star Trek Online will have a rich story to draw upon that’s all created by Cryptic.  What I love about this first update is how they took the characters that were in Nemesis and built upon them with a story that makes sense.  Kestrel, a Cryptic employee working on STO, is in charge of writing these, and I must say thank you.  Please come up with a great story to explain why the Federation and the Klingon Empire are at war again!  If you can do that I will have ZERO complaints about the game!

Release date?

Since the second Cryptic officially launched StarTrekOnline.com, everyone has wanted to know one thing:

image by Cyjack

When is the game coming out?

Well, speculation is a dangerous thing (just look at gas prices), so let’s look at the info we know and see what we can come up with.

Jack Emmert said in the Q&A at the Star Trek Online gameplay trailer reveal that we’d see the game “in less than 3 years”.  That was shortly after saying it would be less than 4 years…

The “Win a Lifetime Subscription” (and the game) sweepstakes also mentions a possible release date.  It is said that if you win the contest, you will receive the boxed game soon after it releases.  It then states that would be “at least one year from the end of the contest”.  The contest ended August 17th, and the reveal of who wins will be around the 28th.  That might hint at a Fall to Winter 2009 release.

Then, there’s the interview with Jerry Whitehead of Reverb.  If you don’t know what Reverb is, it’s the company that Cryptic hired to handle their marketing and public relations.  Jerry was interviewed by Hailing Frequency just minutes before Leonard Nimoy came on stage to begin the “Star Trek Online Revealed” event in Las Vegas on August 10th.

He didn’t say much until the end when he was asked if there was anything he wanted to say to the community.  He said, “Enjoy the game when it comes out [BLEEP].”  Many members of the StarTrekOnline.com forums claim to have seen the clip BEFORE it got censored, and he supposedly says “next fall” or “Fall 2009″, something directed at late next year. Here is the clip:

Just for the record, there are two different versions of the video on YouTube.  The one above with the [BLEEP], and one without.  However, the one without it has been flagged as “Private” and only available to those on the user’s friends list.  This is the link to the “Private” video if you want to torture yourself, but you won’t be able to watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEwfhQEqd7k

There’s also the astute observation of a StarTrekOnline.com forum member, staticblue:

1. MMOs on average take about 3 years to be completed.
2. Every interview the statement of “We will be finished a lot sooner than you think” is said.
3. “We only have to build content” Jacks words. The engine and network are already there and, very polished.
4. Reverb guy saying the released date and, it getting bleeped out. (read the lips)
5. Star Trek Movie (09) will be released on DVD during the 09 holiday season.

and finally my own little conspiracy theory….

Why does the game start in 2409? Why not 2410, 2405, or 2400? It’s in the math.

12/12/09 There, mystery solved.

Makes sense to me.

So, what does this all add up to?  Well, you can quote me on this, I’m gonna be bold enough to say that this means a holiday 2009 release.  That means beta will probably start a bit before the next Trek movie hits theaters (5/8/09), giving the devs a good 7-8 months to test it (and for me to play it ) before releasing it.  What do you guys think?  Opinions wanted, leave a comment!

GenCon Indy Info!

First off, I want to say thanks to MidniteAvenger for posting all of the following on the StarTrekOnline.com forums and on YouTube.  He got an “interview” with Jack Emmert and he answered a few more questions that I’m sure we’ll all appreciate.  The actual thread is here. (Warning:  The quality is a bit poor on the video)

(From Midnite Avenger’s thread):

Also discussed but not included in video due to poor quality.

No uniform changes(all characters of a faction wearing the same type of uniform)

Cross faction captain races(Klingon captains of Federation Vessels and vice versa){per canon}

Orion Pirates part of Klingon faction

Primarily Alpha quadrant content

Monthly fee as yet unknown

Starting points will probably be Earth and Qo’noS

Fleets will be able to build starbases and shipyards where you can build better and more powerful ships

Fighters may show up in a later release

Ships may be specialized for Medical, Science, Martial

Animated series cannon will also be used

There will be vast regions of unexplored space

Starship travel times will be minimized to create fluid gameplay

Support for diplomatic missions

Federation ships will be able to aquire the ability to cloak but their may be enemy counter measures

There may be Holodeck, Time Travel missions, Mirror Universe missions, Section 31 missions

Wormhole travel

Dominion will be a player in storyline arcs

Voyager enemies may also appear in missions Hirogen, 8472(?)

Their will be a crafting system

Updates on what has transpired in game between logons will be transmitted to your ship

Possible ingame voice chat between vessels

Custom personal weapons Klingon style weapons, Bajoran, Romulan which can be upgrade or created through crafting.

and finally……..

Launch will be sooner than we all think

That’s some great news.  Letting the Federation get hold of cloaking devices isn’t exactly canon, but I knew it needed to happen.  Balance is important in MMOs, and letting one faction have that huge an advantage would have hurt the game tremendously.

Also, it seems Jack really has done his homework!  Including the Holodeck, time travel, the Mirror Universe, and Section 31 would turn this into a great game, as all of these proved to be stories with endless appeal in the series and books.  Being able to truly feel like you are experiencing the reversal of the Mirror Universe or trying to uncover a covert Section 31 operation would make this game an epic success.

The beard means he's evil!

Now knowing we will be able to customize our ships for things like Medical, Science, Tactical, etc. is a HUGE relief for me.  At first things were sounding like all ships would be basically the same, all battleships.  That would have taken away from what Star Trek is.  It’s not always just fighting, there’s exploration, discovery, analysis, and wonder in addition to conflict.

So what do you guys think of this new information?  Good?  Bad?  Leave a comment!

What happened between the Federation and the Klingon Empire?

By far my biggest gripe with what Cryptic has released so far about Star Trek Online is that the Federation and Klingon Empire are at odds again.  WHY?  Here are some of the things that have been said on the forums about it:

By member Polaron from StarTrekOnline.com’s forums:

Cast your minds back a few years, to the end of Deep Space Nine. The Federation and the Klingon Empire had just helped each other send the Dominion packing after years of total warfare. The Romulans helped too, of course, but they aren’t germane to this discussion.

Anyway. The Klingons and Feds had become quite close allies and friends, and it looked like the course was set for the Klingon Empire to join the Federation someday.

Fast forward to Star Trek Online. Relations have deteriorated over the past thirty years to the point that pretty much open war seems to be taking place (only way to rationalize PvP between the two groups, I think). What happened? What took place to cause these two formerly staunch allies to start shooting at each other again?

Did the House of Duras finally manage to take over? Are the Romulans up to their old “Cause everyone to hate everyone else” tricks and, if so, would we be able to expose them and maybe cause a reconciliation (causing Fed/Klingon PvP to end but them vs Romulans to begin when Romulans get added)?

My response in that very thread:

Polaron, your astute description of how the Federation and Klingon Empire were on the best of terms after the Dominion War is exactly what confuses me about Cryptic’s STO.  How could things deteriorate when Martok was Chancellor AND Worf was the Federation Ambassador to Kronos?

Any explanation Cryptic offers will not be enough in my eyes.  The Star Trek writers and creators were moving towards a complete merging of the Klingon Empire and the Federation, but since Cryptic needed to put PvP into this game they decided to throw all of that out the window.  It’s a cop-out and extremely disappointing.  Any other species would have made more sense than the Klingons.  It’s ridiculous and I don’t like it.

What do you think about this subject?  Agree?  Disagree?  Leave a comment below!