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Captain's Log: Pros and cons of Season One
Hailing frequencies open. Testing. Is this thing on? Yes, Lieutenant, I'm pushing the-- ah! Greetings and salutations, fellow Starfleet officers! And a hearty nuqneH to all you Klingons out there. Welcome back to Captain's Log, the weekly Star Trek Online column here at Massively. After a few weeks of tuning down in Engineering, Captain's Log is back, shinier than ever, with a new captain at the helm. Now let's set sail before the admirals at Massively reassign me to replicator cleanup duty. You've never seen a mess until you've seen someone order haggis and Ferengi snail juice. Federation and Klingon captains all over the galaxy have reason to rejoice. Thursday saw the release of Season One: Common Ground, one of the first really huge content patches for Star Trek Online. The patch introduces a bevy of features, including new fleet actions, a new task-force mission and more stuff for Klingons to do.
Star Trek Online launches massive Season One patch
Cryptic has announced via press release that the major Season One content patch is launching for Star Trek Online today. This patch brings all kinds of new free content to the game, causing much of the community to count the days until it finally landed in the game proper. The list of updates is impressively long and several of them address player griefs with areas like Klingon ship customization and mission variety. This is also the first patch bringing some PvE missions for Klingon players, which was a sticking point with many at launch. But Season One also brings captain respecs as well for players unhappy with their skill load-out -- an essential feature that's been sorely missed by many. Find the whole lowdown on this laundry list of new content after the break.%Gallery-86596%
Details for Star Trek Online's raid quests released
Trekkies will soon have a chance to face off against a new, deadlier Borg adversary in the first wave of "Special Task Force Missions" in Star Trek Online. Federation and Klingon players alike will have the opportunity to tackle the difficult five-person PvE quests when the update hits the recently released MMO. The first five STF missions include "Children of Khan," where an escaped Amar Singh GTA's the U.S.S. Asgard and races toward the remains of the Mutara Nebula and "Infected," where more than 400 Starfleet officers aboard a star base have seemingly disappeared off the galaxy and require immediate assistance to combat the new Borg enemy. More details and screens can be found at Massively.
Screens and details for Star Trek Online's first raid missions
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playable_web_games/Star_Trek_Online_s_First_Raid_Missions_Look_Awesome'; Star Trek Online will soon see it's first wave of "Special Task Force Missions" go live, most of which are centered around the new, deadlier Borg. Shared by both Federation and Klingon players, these five-man missions are end-game content designed to give any captain cause for caution. So, if you're the type of player waiting around for some really difficult-yet-rewarding PvE content, this update should be of particular interest. We've got a smattering of screenshots to ogle while we wait for patch day. Additionally, there's an official rundown of the first five STF missions just after the break. %Gallery-86596%
Borg soon assimilating Star Trek Online in upcoming content update
A recently added hub page on the official Star Trek Online site has revealed that the nefarious Borg will soon make first contact with the MMO's players in an upcoming free content update, which will be rolled out over the next two months. The patch will add a series of high-level episodes (that's STO-speak for "quests") to the game which will throw players into a number of ground and space conflicts with the cybernetic species, leading up to a climactic raid encounter with the Borg Queen. You can get an idea of the formidable foe you'll be facing off against in the video above and the gallery below. As a special protip from us to you, here's an instructional video which reminds prospective Borg-fighters exactly where the line must be drawn. %Gallery-85354%
New info and screens for upcoming Star Trek Online content
Earlier we got a small taste of what's to come in Star Trek Online through the State of the Game feature, but already Cryptic is treating the community to a brand new "What's Next" page that lays bare their free update plans for the next two months. While all the major points themselves are old hat, it's the details of those major points that are in fact, new. We've got a breakdown of the coming updates after the break, plus new screens in our gallery.
Star Trek Online official dev blog: Tracy Jasperson
Today we bring you a developer blog from Tracy Jasperson, an animator for Star Trek Online. We're a bit jealous of Tracy's job, because the chance to animate some of the very cool -- and often iconic -- moves and moments in the Star Trek universe sounds like a deliciously rare kind of fun. Still, now we can all live the experience vicariously, through this developer blog! If only holodecks were real... Be sure to come back Friday for the final installment of our entire week of developer blogs for Star Trek Online. Enjoy!
One Shots: Resistance is futile
The end of beta event for Star Trek Online was a crazy smorgasBorg of some pretty epic proportions. The invasion forces were everywhere you turned, and it seemed like no matter how hard players tried, there were Borg everywhere. Thankfully, we've gotten some great Star Trek Online screenshots from players that we'll be showing off -- like today's One Shots! This one comes to us from Neville, who writes in: This was a shot taken from Sol (Earth Spacedock) at the Open Beta ending event. I hope the Borg aren't claustrophobic! One Shots is all about your experiences in your favorite games. If you've caught something awesome you'd love to share with the world, send it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll help you share it with the world -- or at least the chunk of the world cool enough to read Massively, anyway. %Gallery-9798%
Breaking: STO lifetime subs now available [Update]
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Star_Trek_Online_offers_lifetime_subscription_at_240'; Cryptic has revealed the lifetime subscription offer for Star Trek Online, which comes with playable Borg (not as a faction, but as liberated Borg) and is only available to those who've pre-ordered the game. Oddly enough, the price of the LS is $40 higher than Champions Online's was when it was announced August of last year. Does this mean we can expect a higher monthly fee than the industry standard of $14.99 for Star Trek Online or is the expectation that Star Trek fans are likely to pay more for a lifetime subscription to STO? Either way, Atari would certainly have to expect the game to be a real winner to make that bet. Additionally, there's no specific mention of whether or not the LS offer has an expiration date; it's only stated that a pre-order is required to make the purchase. We've contacted Cryptic for an official statement on both the pricing and potential expiration date of the offer and we will update as more information becomes available. [Update: The lifetime subscription ends on February 1st at 11:59 PST, thanks tiberium84!] [Update 2: The monthly sub for STO is, in fact, $15 a month.]
A quick Star Trek Online PvP interview with Jack Emmert
We recently had the opportunity to ask Cryptic's Jack Emmert a few questions regarding Star Trek Online and its PvP elements. With the looming open beta (tomorrow!) and similarly imminent February 2nd launch, we consider ourselves lucky to get some fairly definitive answers on topics like the game's Cryptic Store and the Klingon faction's future -- including if deeper customization is in the wings or not. It's a quick read, but with less than 24 hours until open beta kick starts, that's probably a good thing. We wouldn't want to take away from anyone's Star Trek movie marathon, which is obviously what everyone is doing the day before, right? Khan!
Hands-on with Star Trek Online's early levels
There's been a lot of Star Trek Online coverage lately here at Massively, which is only normal given the looming early February release date. This particular feature is a look at the game over the course of around seven or eight "levels" of play. Sadly, that means I haven't acquired my first non-starter ship, although that goal will soon be reached even if it costs me more sleep. Still, you should check out the brand new beta gallery, because I was still able to catch plenty of cool stuff -- plus a classic Enterprise. Now, onto the preview!%Gallery-81223%
Borg, DS9 and more in this STO dev diary plus trailer double punch
Today we've got a double treat for Star Trek Online fans, as Cryptic has released both a new trailer (with a quick but awesome shot of Deep Space Nine!) and a developer diary that discusses some very cool stuff about the newly evolved Borg featured in the game. Yes, we said "new" Borg -- as in species and assimilation methods never before seen in the Trek universe. You can find the diary as well as the video after the break. Enjoy!
See what makes Fleet Actions a big deal in Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online may be set in a very unusual place for an MMO, but Cryptic is going the distance to make sure all the standard MMO concepts are represented. Fleet Actions effectively sound like raids, except since massive space ships can't traverse dungeons they instead enter huge battles that take everything your captain's got to succeed. Whether you're dealing with a massive Gorn invasion fleet or one massive Borg Cube, these battles look to be quite intense. We're certainly reminded of the opening to Star Trek: First Contact, and hopefully that impression remains true once everyone gets to experience these battles first hand next February. Check out the trailer after the break!
Slipping through space majestic in five new Star Trek Online screens
Romulans! They're pretty prevalent in today's exclusive Star Trek Online screens, although they're not the only antagonists fighting against the Federation. You've got to remember never to underestimate the Borg in their ability to frustrate and terrify the Feddies into tossing up shields and blaring red alerts ship-wide. Plus, there's the Klingons, whose very name just sounds sharp and dangerous. We're getting off topic, though. If you like phasers, explosions and majestic Trek style space ships then we're certain you'll enjoy feasting your eyes on these five new screens.%Gallery-28615%
Space combat! Star Trek Online community Q&A answers
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.
The Digital Continuum: Federation stands for 'fighting'
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.
New Star Trek Online gameplay trailer
There's a new Star Trek Online trailer out from Cryptic, originally released through GameSpot. The trailer features some impressive gameplay footage that illustrates nicely a few aspects of STO we've been hearing about for a while. There's both ground combat and space combat featured, with Klingon, Federation, and Borg ships taking part in the overall action. In one scene we see a fleet of ships attacking a single Borg cube in quite a nice display of firepower, including several (of what appear to be) quantum torpedoes. One of the more impressive aspects of this gameplay footage that we picked up on right way was the tactical maneuvering of what appears to be a mid-range ship of Romulan design. A captured still of the scene is pictured above, and you can clearly see in the video that the ship is moving to direct hits against its "bottom side" after the port shields were taking a significant beating. Note that the two ships attacking the main ship with green phasers are Klingon Vor'Cha class, so we're assuming the ship demonstrating the tactical moves is of Romulan origin. We also noticed that the ship pictured above bares some resemblance to the unidentified "classified" ship listed in the Ships of the Line articles at the official STO website. The above ship can be viewed more clearly in the HD trailer, however the unidentified ship on the STO website doesn't have a clear image -- only a blurry reconnaissance image. The warp nacelles both look similar (espeically if you take the image angles into consideration), both have the same general outline, and both have guns protruding from each wing. An interesting coincidence we wanted to point out. The video after the break.
Caption Contest: Naked man who is also a computer; eye bleach not included
We really don't know what to say. We're sorry? That just doesn't seem to cut it. Maybe these captions will bring a small semblance of comprehension to this screwed-up reality we now find ourselves in. Please add your own in the comments, we can get through this together.Josh: "The Robocop program had seen drastic budget cuts in recent years."Chris: "iFixIt's teardown of ASIMO revealed what many had suspected all along: it's just a naked white dude with a motherboard duct taped to him." and "Please don't play Crysis - the GPU is like RIGHT on my nipple."Joe: "Mobile computing means different things to different people."Paul: "There are lots of great ways to stay warm this winter. This one is lame."Richard: "Unfortunately, Jim slightly misread the TSA's new less-annoying laptop bag rules."Darren: "Um, no -- those aren't mathematical equations written on my bedroom wall..."Laura: "Gaultier proves, once again, that pants are extraneous."Don: "Hello, Starbucks? Do you let folks use your power outlets? Great."Nilay: "It's the liquid-cooling system I'm most proud of."Thomas: "Hey ladies, watch what happens when I hit the defrag button."["Thanks," sgt_easton]
JHU researchers create self-assembling organic wires
Once more it looks like Johns Hopkins has taken humanity a step closer to full-blown Borg-hood. A research team at the school has created water-soluble electronic materials that spontaneously assemble themselves into wires some 10,000 times smaller than a human hair, for potential uses that include regulating cell-to-cell communication, re-engineering neural networks, repairing damaged spinal cords and transforming individuals into cybernetically enhanced drones. The researchers also point out that the self-assembly principles used to create the nano-scale wires are based on those of beta-amyloid plaques (which have been associated with Alzheimers), so the research may someday lead to a better understanding of the disease. This is definitely good news, but we can't help but think that once we've been assimilated into the hive mind Alzheimer's will be the least of our concerns.[Via TG Daily]
Purists rejoice!
To me, there are 3 types of WoW players out there: the Purists, the Moderates, and the Borg. The first group swears off any addons that aren't expliticly required by their guilds. You'll see them writhe in pain as they download the latest version of Omen. I'm probably in the Moderates group. If it's a useful addon, I'm happy to install it, but I'm mindful of what a drain on my system some of them can be. The Borg pretty much have every addon they've ever seen mentioned. Trivia game? Got it! Chat mod that moves all my channels into new windows (which you can actually do on your own, kk)? It's right here! Well, with Patch 2.4, the Purists are getting an upgrade to the default Raid UI. Rislyn says "The Raid UI now can display the range of players relative to you. The option to enable this is in the Party & Raid section of the UI Options." Now, this functionality has been available via RaidRangeAid V2 for a long time now, but personally I never understood why it wasn't built in to begin with. I mean, my spells always know who's close enough, so why not my frames? Besides the Purists, I think this will mostly benefit the raid's dps and tanks since most don't need a super powerful Raid UI to just check who's dead. I can see this helping the raid leads see at a glance who's at the start point after a wipe before rolling out the ready check. Mages could use the default UI to decurse since it already handles debuff indication. And I'm not talking about just PvE raids. I can see this helping in BG's, too. From a healing standpoint, I don't see much change. If you're already using the default UI, then you'll have the added bonus of beig more effective. If you're using one of a number of Raid UI addons, you're not going to give up the functionality and style of those for the default. I think a lot more than range would be needed before you start to see healing converts. What kind of addon player are you? Will this change make you go back to the default Raid UI or were you using it already? [Thanks to Tam.Zed for the tip!]
