Filed under: Star Trek Online

The Daily Grind: You or not you, in Star Trek Online?

by Kyle Horner Nov 21st 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: New titles, Opinion, Star Trek Online, The Daily Grind

This isn't often a question we find ourselves asking others when it comes to character creation in an MMO, but, well Star Trek Online is different in this regard. Considering the very specific sort of wish fulfillment Cryptic's next game offers, do you plan to first create a fictional captain or in-game version of yourself to captain a starship?

You see, we began thinking on this very subject not too long ago and a dilemma struck. While being a Vulcan or some odd new species is undoubtedly a tempting concept, seeing ourselves sitting in the captain's chair is nearly as exciting. Considering Cryptic's knack for powerful character creation tools, we've no doubt that coming up with a close approximation of our likeness wouldn't be too difficult.

We know that every Star Trek fan is going to create themselves at some point but your first "main" is so very important. Since creating a Klingon-sided character is unlocked after some initial Federation play, we're thinking of making ourselves first, and then, wait for it... a Gorn second. Yes!

Star Trek Online ship tactics, part 2

by Adam Holisky Nov 20th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Part 2 of the Star Trek Online starship tactics video premiered over at IGN, and there are a couple concepts clarified over a few subjects -- but as with the last video, it's nothing really new. The gameplay footage that's attached to the explanation is quite compelling however, especially with the boarding parties where you can see the little shuttlecrafts head towards the Romulan ship. Let's take a closer look at each of the concepts the video covers.

Power management.

Power management is going to play a big role, which we known about for a while. You can see some detailed pictures of part of the power management UI in yesterday's article, located along the bottom of the screen with words like Defense, Attack, and Speed. Say you have 100 units of power, in STO you're going to be able to devote 25 of those units to the shields, 10 to auxiliary systems, 50 to weapons, and 15 to the engines. Power allocation will not be immediate, it will have some sort of delay associated with it. That means you'll have to think ahead about your strategic choices.

Star Trek Online open beta dates announced

by Adam Holisky Nov 19th 2009 at 6:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

According to a press release put out today, Star Trek Online will hold its open beta from January 12th through January 26th. There are some preorder deals that will give you an open beta key, and there are bound to be numerous opportunities to win one at various spots around the net.

Star Trek Online is currently in closed beta, which began last month. Champions Online six-month and lifetime subscribers have been told that they'll be in the closed beta before the end of the year, so those folks should get at least a month of beta access before the game hits the retail shelves on February 2nd, 2010.

Once the open beta begins, you'll likely see a flood of information and guides about STO since the NDA will have been lifted. This will provide everyone with key information as to the finer details of the gameplay mechanics.

New Star Trek Online video shows tactical combat, UI

by Adam Holisky Nov 19th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, New titles, Star Trek Online

Cryptic has released the first part of a series looking at the tactical ship combat in Star Trek Online. It's definitely worth watching, especially if you've been following the progression of Star Trek Online's combat development; in this regards it's nice to finally see some in-game action as we'll experience it when STO releases in February.

There are a few points that STO Director of Production Craig Zinkievich, Game Designer Zeke Sparkes, and Producer Daniel Stahl make which are worth noting. We've already heard most of it, but the in-game footage demonstrates most of these concepts nicely.

You can watch the video above, or head over to our sister site Big Download to grab the hi res version. The hi res version of this video is worth it.

After the break we'll take a look at the major points, as well as talk about some of the high resolution screen grabs of the UI shown in the video.

Gallery: Star Trek Online Beta User Interface

Official Star Trek Online website revamped

by Kyle Horner Nov 17th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

An impending MMO launch changes a many things, one of them being official websites. It's basically common practice to revamp a website leading up to a game's launch at this point. Don't get us wrong, we're not complaining, especially since the new Star Trek Online website is quite snazzy and promises new interactive ways to obsess about the game. It's just, well, it's not very surprising and we're disappointed in ourselves for no longer being able to revel in things like this like we used to.

While the site itself has been changed, there doesn't seem to be any drastic difference to the information or media available. Although we're certain that news, previews and interviews are soon to be pouring out of the main news feed over at Star Trek Online dot com -- yes, we spelled it out.

Plasma and Romulans in these five new exclusive STO screens

by Kyle Horner Nov 17th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Screenshots, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Today we bring you five more exclusive Star Trek Online screens, courtesy of Cryptic Studios. We hope you Romulan fans out there are paying attention, because there's one new screen in particular we think you'll find quite... satisfying. Although, as you can see from the image above, there's a little extra Romulan love.

We find ourselves wanting to express concern for this lone Connie class vessel attempting to take on a Borg cube. That's just dangerous! We're fairly certain such encounters in the game proper will consist of a substantial grouping of players -- we're sure those screens will be quite something, actually.

The fact that many of these screens depict space combat is adventitious indeed, as our current Community Q&A for Star Trek Online concerns the very topic. We'll be taking questions for Cryptic developers until the end of today, Tuesday, November 17th -- so get 'em in while the asking is good.

Gallery: Star Trek Online Gallery

These are the box arts of Star Trek Online

by Kyle Horner Nov 16th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Okay, well there's only one of them, so saying, "these are the box arts" was more of an excuse to make a Trek reference.

However, we do find ourselves wondering if there should be more than one cover here, since half the game is dedicated to Klingon play. Sure, you've got some Birds of Prey in the background, but the iconic Federation logo, Constitution-like ship and Captain are most obviously the center of attention.

Then again, so long as the game is fulfilling our deepest Star Trek desires, we suppose it's all a moot point. Plus, we're sure many of you are just going to buy this on Steam or some similar magical online store. That's been our prerogative at Massively as of late, especially since it cuts down on unwanted PC games box clutter that turns into a mountain of excess over several years. You can check out a much larger version of the image right here in our gallery.

Massively's Star Trek Online community Q&A: Space combat!

by Kyle Horner Nov 16th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

The subject of this week's Star Trek Online community Q&A is probably one of the most popular considering its importance in the game. In fact, we're well aware that many questions in last week's inaugural first post were about space combat. So while we couldn't address those last week, we certainly can do so now!

We'll give you until the end of Tuesday, November 17th to submit your questions in the comments section below. Following that, we'll round up a cross-section of the most popular and most poignant space combat questions and by next week your answers will be here, straight from the folks at Cryptic. As before, we're open to suggestions on next week's Q&A topic, so feel free to throw your hat into that ring while you're typing 'em up.

Ships! Star Trek Online community Q&A answers

by Kyle Horner Nov 16th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: New titles, News items, Star Trek Online, Massively Interviews

It's a bit late due to some scheduling issues, but your first batch of Star Trek Online community questions are here and they're all about ships as promised!

Of course, we noticed many of you had space combat questions. While those unfortunately weren't answered this week, our new topic (up later today, so be on the look out for it!) will in fact, be, space combat. Still, many of your questions are answered below. As the weeks continue to go by, we endeavor to fulfill your quest for as much information on Star Trek Online as possible. Enjoy!

Ships! Star Trek Online community Q&A answers, part 2

by Kyle Horner Nov 16th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: New titles, Star Trek Online, Massively Interviews

Make it so: Star Trek Online to feature ship bridges

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 13th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, Star Trek Online

Yes, you read the title right! You're also not hallucinating the picture above either! You can actually sit on the bridge of your ship in Star Trek Online!

It appears Cryptic has decided to add the infamous setting to STO for players to enjoy as a social destination -- a hang out for bridge officers and visiting captains from other vessels. The Associated Press has reported that the game will feature 20 bridges at launch, giving even the most discerning captains their own pick on bridge design.

Regarding the addition of bridges, Craig Zinkievich, the executive producer of Star Trek Online, told the AP, "We didn't want to have interiors at launch. We thought it was just a little bit too much. We really wanted to make sure we delivered a really deep experience, but your bridge not being in the game, it really felt like a hole in the game, and it was just something that we had to put in."

We'll try to get you a more high resolution screenshot later, but for now, enjoy this brief glimpse at your future command chair.

Edit: We've added a new, larger picture, and three shots of the bridges to our STO gallery!

Gallery: Star Trek Online Gallery

[Thanks, Chris!]

Will Star Trek Online be ready for its launch?

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 12th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, New titles, Opinion, Star Trek Online

It's no secret that a lot of people in the MMO blogosphere are excited about Star Trek Online, considering that it's more or less a built-in home run from many of the same people who play MMOs. But there are certainly questions to be asked about any MMO due out soon, especially one with three more months before it hits launch day. Bio Break asks the question in simplest terms: will the game really be all set for a February release?

As Syp mentions, the game's videos and screenshots have pushed combat heavily in a series renowned for protagonists talking through their problems instead of shooting first. With the currently allotted time for beta, if something major does crop up, there's not much to be done to fix it in the short span of time without resorting to a launch day patch. There's a definite question of readiness when Champions Online had a launch that was somewhat stormy, and it certainly did some damage to Cryptic in the eyes of a lot of players. That doesn't mean that Star Trek Online won't be excellent, of course, but it does mean a healthy does of skepticism might be in order.

Star Trek Online system requirements revealed

by Kyle Horner Nov 11th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

It looks like most people won't have a whole lot to worry about when it comes to the system requirements for Star Trek Online, unless of course you couldn't play Champions Online. Actually, that's a pretty good measuring stick in one way, since both games run on the Cryptic engine. Although, there is a useful rule of thumb when considering performance.

The lower your display resolution, the higher your graphics settings. Or in other words, if you're running a laptop and float somewhere between the minimum and recommended specs then it's likely your game will look rather good. Why? Most laptop displays have native resolutions lower than what you'll get on a 21 inch desktop monitor. If you are running a desktop and find yourself wondering what your most important upgrade is when preparing for an upcoming game, the answer is usually a new videocard.

Find the full system requirements after the jump.

It's official: Star Trek Online releases February 2nd, 2010

by Kyle Horner Nov 9th 2009 at 1:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

It looks like the rumors were true and Star Trek Online will indeed be hitting in early February, 2010. The dates are February 2nd in North America and February 5th in Europe, so start warming up your nacelles now because it won't be long before we'll all be warping into Cryptic's first non-superhero title.

With Trek's popularity on the rise due to the new J.J. Abrams movie -- and a second movie on the way at some point in the future -- there's no doubt that Star Trek Online represents a huge opportunity to Cryptic Studios, who've until now been known as "that superhero MMO developer" to anyone you might ask.

Since the release date is so very close at hand, there's no doubt that a flurry of new information (Klingons!) will soon become available. Be on the lookout for our weekly community Q&A sessions with the STO team, starting with this weeks' forthcoming feature focused on everything ships!

Star Trek Online's 'Episode Missions' detailed

by Kyle Horner Nov 9th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Many an MMO has its own word for the ever present quest, but usually a name change is the only real difference. With Star Trek Online's Episode Missions, Cryptic is working towards creating a nomenclature that describes the experience of living out the beloved television shows of our past, and you can read all about it in a new developer blog.

Each episode will be roughly 45 to 90 minutes long and functions as a primary mover in player progression. Many of their stories will be infused with conflict, although Cryptic is saying not all episodes have to end with battle. The setting -- the year 2409 -- is a time of war, which gives credence to a Trek universe where blowing things up is unfortunately more common. In this respect, Star Trek Online is much more like the movie versions than the series.

The game is set to launch with three seasons of episodes, where each season represents 14 episodes. That's 42 episodes at launch, which is kind of like a nerdy lucky number. We'll take it as a good sign.