star-trek-online posts

Tribble weekend event courts STO players

by Justin Olivetti Mar 19th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, Star Trek Online

For most Star Trek Online players, the chance to test drive the first major content update, Season One: Common Ground, would be a treat enough. However, Cryptic wants to sweeten the deal during its Tribble Weekend Event by rewarding testers with two virtual goodies: a special in-game "Assimilated Tribble" (which acts sort of like Borg-repellent) and an awesome title, Crash Test Tribble.

These rewards are pretty easy to attain, too. STO players only need to log on to the Tribble test server for at least an hour between Friday afternoon (March 19) and Monday morning (March 23), and the goodies will be handed out when the patch goes live.

Season One: Common Ground promises to roll out PvP improvements, additional customization options, more ships and missions, and even respecs for the growing MMO.

Tags: cryptic, cryptic-studios, event, season-one, star-trek-online, sto, tribble

The Daily Grind: What do you think of Cryptic?

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 18th 2010 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Super-hero, Opinion, Star Trek Online, The Daily Grind, Champions Online

There are few companies these days that generate emotions as strong as those generated by Cryptic Studios. They weren't particularly controversial when they produced City of Heroes, but their subsequent efforts in both Champions Online and Star Trek Online have produced a great deal of contention. Between the launch day issues of Champions Online, the controversy of Cryptic's microtransaction stores, and concerns regarding the amount of content in the game... well, they're contentious. Of course, they also have their fans, have produced two games within a remarkably short timeframe, and are clearly dedicated to both communication and player-targeted development.

Considering that today is the first big content release for Star Trek Online and the recent information regarding Bill Roper's departure from Champions Online (although he's remaining with Cryptic), it seems an appropriate time to ask about opinions. So, what are your thoughts on the company? Do you like the work that they're doing, or do you think they're on the wrong track? Are you currently playing one or both of their games, are you a former player, or have you refused to play them for whatever reason?

Tags: bill-roper, champions-online, co, cryptic, cryptic-champions-online, cryptic-co, cryptic-star-trek, cryptic-studios, opinions, st-online, star-trek-mmo, star-trek-online, sto, tdg, the-daily-grind, trek-online

The Daily Grind: What little events do you celebrate?

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 17th 2010 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Culture, Events, real-world, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Humor

It's Saint Patrick's Day, and if you're in the US that means a celebration of Irish culture... or at least, it means a celebration of wearing green clothing and drinking an exceptional amount for the middle of the week. And while it's not the biggest holiday, some people look forward to it as much or more than major seasonal events. A few games even celebrate the event, such as Fallen Earth with a pub crawl and Everquest II with its Brewday celebrations. It's a holiday with no real overarching purpose except enjoyment, and that's hardly a bad goal.

Every game has little events that keep running long after they're no longer hugely pertinent. Every gamer has anniversaries or dates they remember, or holidays that they feel are important even if the game doesn't have a holiday event. So what small holidays or events do you observe in your favorite games? Do you make a point of memorizing important in-game lore dates and celebrating their anniversaries? Do you take part in no-longer-vital elements, such as the Elemental Invasions in World of Warcraft? Or do you just take the opportunity on days like today to outfit your Star Trek Online crew in green uniforms and hang around drunk?

Tags: anniversaries, celebrations, drinking, enjoyment, eqii, everquest-ii, fallen-earth, fe, intoxication, ireland, irish, saint-patricks-day, star-trek-online, sto, tdg, the-daily-grind, world-of-warcraft, wow

One Shots: Meteors galore

by Krystalle Voecks Mar 16th 2010 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Screenshots, Star Trek Online, One Shots

It seems like no matter where players fly in Star Trek Online, there are meteors all over the place. We're not entirely sure what left so much intergalactic litter all over the place -- perhaps one too many space fights? Regardless, it does make for some pretty Star Trek Online One Shots, such as this one sent in to us today by Forrest, who writes: "I was exploring a newly discovered planet when I caught this glimpse of my old-as-dirt Connie, truly a nostalgic and geektastic sight."

Have you found a gorgeous view on your travels? Why not share that moment of coolness with the world! Just email it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description. We'll post it out here and give you the credit.

Gallery: One Shots: Gallery II

Tags: cryptic, cryptic-studios, forrest, one-shots, screenshot, screenshots, star-trek-online, sto

Star Trek Online locks phasers on Season One: Common Ground

by Justin Olivetti Mar 12th 2010 at 11:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Patches, Star Trek Online

On March 18, it's do or die for the Federation, as Cryptic's first major content patch -- Season One: Common Ground -- promises to hit Star Trek Online's live servers. Love 'em or hate 'em, the STO dev team looks to live up to their word on "walking the talk" by pumping out more content that players crave.

We didn't think there could be any news more exciting than a brand-new faction coming to STO, but Season One might just top it with a heap of new goodies. In addition, Cryptic's Craig Zinkievich released a new State of the Game report to address player concerns and the course STO is heading for over the next few months. There's even a new video entitled "Expanding Universe, Part I" that gives players a sneak peek into this brave new patch.

Engage thrusters, mister, and we'll break it down for you after the jump.

Tags: battle-cruiser, Breaking, bridge-combat, common-ground, craig-Zinkievich, off-duty-clothing, pakled, respec, rigelian, season-one, shanty-town, ship-interiors, star-trek-online, sto, tellarite, tier-5-ships, tier-five-ship, tribble

One Shots: The eyes have it

by Krystalle Voecks Mar 12th 2010 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Screenshots, Star Trek Online, One Shots

While many are relegated to just gaming on one screen, or perhaps even two if they're lucky (or maybe just one with a browser open on the others) there are a handful who have sweet setups like the Eyefinity. What's that? Well, it's three screens with insane amounts of real-estate for gaming! When it comes to One Shots, it means we get amazing panoramic shots like today's Star Trek Online screen (which really should be seen at full-size) sent in to us by Reggie A. who writes:

Now that I've got Eyefinity setup, I was testing it out in various games to see if it would even work! STO works beautifully and I happened to catch this nice still with the center and arm of the galaxy in the background. So far, only Runes of Magic has really flat out not worked right. Anywho, I have three 4:3 ratio monitors running at 3840 x 1024, not as crazy high as some eyefinity rigs but I'll enjoy it! I hope Final Fantasy 14 works.

If you've got a sweet screenshot that you'd like to show off, it's easy to do. Just email it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a brief description. We'll post it out here for everyone to check out, and give you the credit.

Gallery: One Shots: Gallery II

Tags: cryptic, cryptic-studios, one-shots, reggie-a, screenshot, screenshots, star-trek-online, sto

GDC10: An in-depth look at Black Prophecy

by Justin Olivetti Mar 12th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, News items, Black Prophecy

Space: the final frontier. Space: in it, no one can hear you scream. Space: it's been looking at us the wrong way lately, so let's take a laser cannon to it and readjust its attitude.

If you haven't been feeling a ball of growing excitement in your tummy over Black Prophecy's development (over four years at this point), then we feel pity for you. It might be another spaceship MMO, but while EVE Online has a heavy focus on the economy and political intrigue, and Star Trek Online boasts a slower, tactical approach to combat, Black Prophecy is all about fast, sweaty, double-fisted fighter action in the depths of the cosmos. And it doesn't look half bad while doing it, either.

At GDC, Massively got under the hood of this title with Black Prophecy's Falko Böcker to find out all we could about this promising free-to-play MMO. Check your oxygen levels and then hit the jump to hyperspace for more!

Tags: black-prophecy, Breaking, eve-online, Falko-Böcker, featured, GDC, gdc-2010, gdc10, gdc2010, reakktor-media, star-trek-online

GDC10: Massively's day 3 roundup

by Jef Reahard Mar 12th 2010 at 10:30AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Events, real-world, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play

We're back with the latest edition of our GDC10 roundup. Yesterday was another big day in the world of MMORPG news, and Massively staffers were working overtime to bring you fresh scoops on the latest projects from your favorite developers. As always, there's a lot more to come as the Game Developer's Conference rolls on, but take a moment to check out these stories you may have missed.

Stick around as we're gearing up to bring you interviews with Bioware, En Masse, Gamigo, and The Secret World's Ragnar Tornquist later in the week.

Tags: breaking, cryptic, cryptic-studios, event-coverage, gdc-2010, land-of-chaos-online, runes-of-magic, star-trek-online, virtual-fairground

GDC10: A chat with Cryptic's Bill Roper and Craig Zinkievich

by Justin Olivetti Mar 11th 2010 at 5:30PM

Filed under: Events, real-world, Star Trek Online, Champions Online

As two of the most public figures at Cryptic Studios, Bill Roper (Champions Online) and Craig Zinkievich (Star Trek Online) are typically at the forefront of controversy, adulation and speculation. At GDC 2010, Massively sat down with the pair to discuss what it's like working for Cryptic, how they deal with the ups and downs of being game developers, and the pressure of handling the future of two hot MMORPG franchises.

Massively: How do the Champions and STO teams collaborate between each other?

Bill Roper: I think it's really good the way the company interacts back and forth -- "Hey, this worked for us, you guys should do that too." "This totally didn't work for us, don't do that, do something different."

Craig Zinkievich: "Hey, you know, about three-and-a-half weeks after launch, don't have a free 90-day promo! Don't do that! That didn't work well!" [Laughs]

Tags: bill-roper, champions-online, community, craig-Zinkievich, cryptic-studios, featured, GDC, gdc-2010, gdc10, gdc2010, money-pants, patch, patches, star-trek-online

GDC10: New playable faction and more coming to Star Trek Online

by Rubi Bayer Mar 11th 2010 at 4:55PM

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

We spent some time talking with Cryptic's Craig Zinkievich at GDC today, and got some fun new information on Star Trek Online.

The most exciting thing was news of a new playable faction in Star Trek Online. We can expect that sometime "within the year", and we as players get to help decide. Borg, Romulan, it's up to you guys. Zinkievich says: There's a huge amount of the dev team right now interested in doing Romulan. I think the Borg would be really interesting as just something totally different, totally different gameplay. There are a lot of really cool mechanics, a lot of really cool things you can do there. Really, if you're in the MMO for the long haul, there are going to be a lot more playable factions, you can't stop with those two. There's Jem'Hadar, you're going to be going to the Dominion, there's Cardassians [...] so many playable factions that we can and will be releasing with the game.

Cryptic is looking at the next big update to arrive for Star Trek Online around July, with another possibly near November: "We know that we just had a player survey when you first arrive at the site, and, like, ship interiors. [Players] want a whole lot more there, want a whole lot more functionality, why are other players coming to my ship, what's going on there? So we're making sure in July that's one of the things that we do. There's a big huge outcry for first contact missions, diplomacy missions, more non-combat within Star Trek, so we're really making sure with that July update we're really focusing on that."

It sounds like we can look for a lot of new content tailored to what the community wants coming with the July update, so we'll be keeping a very close eye out for more information. (There was brief mention of the Horta being a playable race as well. We can only hope.)

Tags: breaking, craig-Zinkievich, cryptic, cryptic-studios, gdc-2010, star-trek-online, sto

Star Trek Online Executive Producer discusses game creation

by Rubi Bayer Mar 10th 2010 at 12:00PM

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

Star Trek Online Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich has been busy lately, and not just with working behind the scenes at Cryptic. Last week he found time for two interviews covering where Star Trek Online has been and where they're going.

He spoke with MMOHub and Altern8 at length, discussing the ideas and thoughts behind many of the decisions made when creating the game. As a long-time Star Trek fan, Zinkievich "jumped and did a little dance" when the opportunity to get the license came through, and it's no secret that he's been having a great time producing the game.

From the overall feel of the Star Trek Online world right down to small details such as the realism of stellar phenomena in the background, the entire STO team has definite ideas on how they want the game to work. Both interviews give a good look at the inner workings of the team.

Tags: Altern8, craig-Zinkievich, cryptic, cryptic-studios, mmohub, st-online, star-trek-online, sto, trek-online

Today only: Get STO for $27.99 at Amazon

by Kyle Horner Mar 9th 2010 at 1:30PM

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

Amidst all this GDC 2010 news is a great one-day-only sale over at Amazon, where you can pick up Star Trek Online at the low-low price of $27.99. If the mood strikes you, there's also a one-day sale on the collector's edition. While the CE may still be $47.99 it's a good deal cheaper than the regular cost of $79.99 and it comes with a bunch of in-game items, too.

Whatever you end up deciding, the sale just goes to show that a patient gamer can save a lot of money in the end. Of course, missing out on five weeks of boldly venturing out into space may not be worth the wait, for some.

[Thanks, Jason!]

Tags: amazon, cryptic, cryptic-star-trek, cryptic-studios, sale, st-online, star-trek-mmo, star-trek-online, sto, trek-online

Cryptic reveals Star Trek Online event calendar

by Rubi Bayer Mar 8th 2010 at 7:00PM

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

Cryptic has been working hard to expand communication with fans of Star Trek Online, and by all accounts they're having some success.

The latest addition to the Star Trek Online site is a calendar of upcoming events, promising all sorts of goodies in store for fans in the next few months. The calendar currently covers March and April, and shows four upcoming Special Task Force missions in addition to the one released last Thursday. Infected caused quite a stir in the STO community and proved to be a bit more of a challenge than many players had anticipated, and one forum member earned the thanks of his peers by putting together a very well-done guide. It will be interesting to see if the future STF missions hold as much of a challenge now that players know to expect a higher difficulty level.

The other item on the calendar is a release date for Update 1. Okay, two release dates. The title of the update is still unannounced, but we now know that it will be sometime in the second half of March. So enjoy the STF missions while you wait, and we'll be keeping an eye out for patch notes!

Tags: cryptic, cryptic-studios, special-task-force-missions, star-trek-online, star-trek-online-calendar, star-trek-online-update-1, stf-missions, STO

Newest responses to Ask Cryptic for Star Trek Online talks Klingons

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 7th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, PvP, Star Trek Online

There's a certain mystique that Klingons hold for Star Trek fans, having shown up for many different stories in every show and even several movies. That's not even counting the fact that they have an entire language to back them up. So it's probably not a huge surprise that the most recent Ask Cryptic has been dedicated to questions about the Klingon Empire in Star Trek Online. Players have enjoyed the concept, but there have been more than a few expressions of disappointment at the lack of non-PvP options for the faction and the customization available (or not available) to the participants.

The short version is that many of the things being asked for by Klingon players are coming -- more customization, more ship types, and more options to advance oneself without blasting honorless Federation ships out of the sky. There's even a promise of opportunities for the two factions to interact outside of combat, although the question of capturing landmarks via PvP is met with a negative. One of the responses also hints that there may be yet more factions in the game. All of the questions may be found here, which promise an interesting future for Klingons and Federation players alike in Star Trek Online.

Tags: ask-cryptic, character-creation, content, cryptic, cryptic-star-trek, cryptic-studios, customization, klingon, klingon-empire, klingons, language, pvp, ship-tiers, st-online, star-trek, star-trek-mmo, star-trek-online, sto, trek-online

The Daily Grind: How do you feel about 2010's MMOs?

by Kyle Horner Mar 6th 2010 at 8:00AM

Filed under: New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind

The year is still young and lots of MMOs are on schedule to release before it's over. So far, we've been able to see what Star Trek Online has to offer, but many people continue to look forward to LEGO Universe, All Points Bulletin and Final Fantasy XIV. However, we would like to know how you feel about MMOs this year. Does it seem like a pretty good year or are you thinking perhaps 2011 is going to be the big year for the genre, and why?

It certainly seems like this year has already been pretty decent, given that Black Prophecy has a publisher now and we've yet to encounter any saddening shutdowns or cancellations of titles still in development. Plus, the free-to-play market is really starting to come into its own with great news for Dungeons and Dragons Online and a recent-but-remedied Allods Online hiccup. We're taking a positive outlook, but how about you?

Tags: 2010, all-points-bulletin, allods-online, apb, apb-game, atari, black-prophecy, cryptic, cryptic-studios, ffxiv, final-fantasy-xiv, gpotato, lego, lego-universe, netdevil, reakktor, reakktor-media, realtime-worlds, square-enix, star-trek-online, sto