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Space combat! Star Trek Online community Q&A answers

Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, New titles, Star Trek Online, Community Q&A

It's a little late due to the impending Thanksgiving day gorging, but we've got your second wave of community answers for space combat in Star Trek Online! As this week lands us on a holiday, we'll be putting up the next post for your third wave of questions on Monday, November 30th. For now, we hope you enjoy the answers given by Al Rivera, senior game designer on Star Trek Online.

One Shots: Everybody (no) pants now

Filed under: Super-hero, Screenshots, One Shots, Champions Online

When we opened up this email originally, we wondered what would cause so many heroes to strip down to their undies. Then when we read it was part of a party being held by the StormRadio crew from Champions Online, we understood. Those crazy radio people seem to inspire naked wherever they go. Today's scantily-clad screenshot of event fun comes to us from The Gentleman, who DJs with StormRadio. He writes in to tell us a bit more: This is a picture from our latest theme show event, with DJ Distraction's Drama Free Debauchery! Everyone was in their skivvies for the event. Although cold, we had a great time, and I think everyone who was there did too.

Calling all people enjoying holiday or role-play events -- we want your screenshots! So send your snaps in to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name/group/game and a quick description of what we're seeing in the image. That way everyone can check out what's so cool about your favorite game's holiday events -- or rp community -- too!

Gallery: One Shots

Thanksgiving surprise: Four free days in Champions Online

Filed under: Super-hero, News items, Champions Online

This ain't no ordinary free weekend. Cryptic is offering a full four days worth of free time in Champions Online starting Thanksgiving day at 10am PST -- or Thursday, November 26th to the American holiday challenged. The free time will go on until the following Monday and end at precisely 10am PST. The timing isn't too surprising, as returning players will be able to check out the recent Nemesis Confrontation update that went live just yesterday.

Hopefully things go much more smoothly than the last time there was a free weekend. Although, we're curious as to who'll be watching the servers on Thursday. We expect a vast majority of people to be lined with food and edging on the precipice of nap time. Maybe Cryptic is employing robots or Canadians to run their servers for a day. Unless... unless they're the same thing...

Dan Stahl talks Star Trek Online

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

Eurogamer Portugal had the good fortune to chat with Cryptic's Dan Stahl, the producer of Star Trek Online last week for an overview of the highly-anticipated MMO. The interview covered some ground we've seen before, some we have not, and gave his perspective about the creation of STO.

Eurogamer and Stahl talked about his view of things like ship customization vs. remaining true to the Star Trek "look", combat styles on the ground and on ships, and general content. His enjoyment and pride on the game shines through clearly and makes the interview a fun read. "I really think that people who play the game for the first time will look at the game and say 'Wow, they nailed it.'" The translation of the article can be read courtesy of Google Translate, with the original here.

As a little extra bonus, Eurogamer treated us to a beautiful new gameplay trailer which can be viewed here.

Star Trek Online is scheduled for launch in February 2010.

Star Trek Online VFX Lead on updating visual style of the IP

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


IGN recently posted a Star Trek Online dev diary written by the game's VFX Lead Michael Cavallaro. "Creating the visual style of Star Trek Online was no easy task," said Cavallaro. "You might think that everything we would be creating has already been done, but not only are references several years old but they vary across the board." If you factor in how the effects changed between the various series and movies, you can see how preserving the look of Star Trek as viewers know it posed a challenge for the Cryptic Studios devs.

The idea, Cavallaro related, was for the Cryptic devs to draw upon elements from the original Star Trek series and update that now-retro 60's sci-fi look for a contemporary audience. The trick was to do so while keeping said elements recognizable from the original IP.

Bill Roper talks powers in Champions Online

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Interviews, Opinion, Champions Online


Two of the biggest aspects of Champions Online are easy to point out: the character creator and the wide selection of powers. Certainly it's not the first game to use a classless system by a long shot, but the visual and immediate nature of power selection and the cosmetic effects of those choice are a big part of the game's distinctiveness. So it's hard not to be interested when Bill Roper sits down and talks with MMOCrunch about which powers he thinks worked excellently out of the gate and which onces were a bit less impressive.

Bill gushes quite enthusiastically about powers such as Force Cascade, Killer Instinct, and Thermal Reverberation -- powers that encourage alternate playstyles or different combinations of abilities. He's also enthusiastic about Uppercut and Haymaker, which he feels have an excellent payoff if they're used successfully and force the player to think more carefully. On the flipside, passive offensive powers don't have nearly enough effect, Chain Lightning tries to encourage alternate approaches but fails to do so, and summoning doesn't mesh nicely with the game's core play aspects. Roper also talks about what's being planned for the underwhelming powers to help bring them more in line, as well as discussing data mining and the infamous launch day nerfs. Take a look at the full interview for more details.

The Digital Continuum: Federation stands for 'fighting'

Filed under: Sci-fi, Opinion, Star Trek Online, The Digital Continuum

A new fragrance is out, and it smells exactly like the old one. It's the gentle waft of something I'm quite familiar with: Star Trek fandom. Let me preface this by saying I've been a fan of Star Trek ever since I saw an episode of The Next Generation back when my parents used to tape it every week so we could watch it as a family. So when I declare that people griping about Star Trek Online's emphasis on combat aren't true Trek fans, I know the amount of weight that statement carries.

And you know what? They really aren't true fans.

Free costume parts galore in Champions Online

Filed under: Super-hero, Patches, News items, Champions Online

Cryptic has revealed the free costume pieces in next week's Nemesis Confrontation update, which come in addition to two unlockable costume sets. Among the new free costume items are some exceptionally sweet capes, although we're sure many players will be filled with glee to see new weapons being added to the costume creator.

While these are only cosmetic costume options, they're important to players who wield specific guns or swords. It may seem like a minor issue to some, but having an outfit that makes sense -- and looks cool at the same time -- is surprisingly important to players who revel in a game like Champions Online.

You can also now put guitars on the back of your characters; something that immediately reeks of potential. We have to wonder if guitars are going to be added as visual replacements for sword based powers, enabling us to whack enemies with our musical axes. If someone at Cryptic could make that so, it would be somewhere within the vicinity of pure awesome.

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

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!

Bill Roper on Champions Online's launch, current state and future

Filed under: Interviews, New titles, News items, Champions Online

In a recent interview with Boomtown, Bill Roper spoke his mind on everything from Hellgate: London hate to Champions Online's launch and future. In fact, the man spoke quite candidly on all topics, particularly that of Cryptic's missteps with their second superhero MMO as well as their successes.

Of particular note, there's a mention of how Champions Online will handle DC Universe Online's 2010 launch given that the superhero MMO market hasn't really expanded of late. Curiously, Roper says he feels that the Xbox 360 version will help to vastly expand Champions' user base. There's a chance Cryptic could be pushing to get into the console market by or before SOE releases their superhero MMO. Although given the headaches Cryptic has expressed at getting an MMO on Microsoft's console, we get the feeling much of the developer's focus is presently on Star Trek Online and continued live game support.

Star Trek Online ship tactics, part 2

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

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

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.

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Name Date
Alganon Launch Dec 1 2009
EVE Online: Dominion Launch Dec 1 2009
LotRO: Siege of Mirkwood Launch Dec 1 2009
Star Trek Online Launch (NA) Feb 2 2010

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