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Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's new Starfleet tutorial
Star Trek Online recently revealed a freshly revamped tutorial for players who create new Starfleet characters. This week I had the opportunity to check the new material out for myself, so I rolled a new toon and experienced what it is like to have greatness thrust upon me! What? You don't believe me? It's true! My character went from academy graduate to captain of a Starfleet vessel in a matter of minutes! Oh wait, I guess that's not so surprising; even Captain James T. Kirk did it in an alternate universe. The fact of the matter is there's no easy way, story-wise, to get a new player's character into the command chair in a completely convincing manner. I'll be explaining how it all happens, so if you want to remain surprised about anything in the new Star Trek Online Starfleet tutorial, avert your eyes for the remaining portion of this away mission. But do me a favor and scroll down anyway, look at the pictures, and pretend to read it. It'll make me feel better. The rest of you are with me. Engage.
Captain's Log: Arc Q&A with Perfect World's Noel Holmes
A week or two ago, I came across a dev blog about the new portal called Arc on the Star Trek Online website that seemed to raise more questions than provide answers. Not unlike most passionate gamers, I reacted emotionally and admittedly with some unfounded anger. I realized very quickly that if I was having that kind of reaction, then there were likely many others who were having similar reactions. So I did the only thing that I could: I contacted the representatives of Perfect World to gain some clarification to the blog and hopefully ease my concerns. Instead of a shoving a palm to my face, Perfect World made available Noel Holmes in the hopes he would be able to clarify not only my concerns but also concerns borne by other Star Trek Online players as well.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's Season Eight Preview
It's almost here: Season Eight in Star Trek Online releases tomorrow, November 12th! There is a lot of new material that will be implemented into the game when the season goes live, so much that there really hasn't been a single list of everything that's to come. So in today's Captain's Log, allow me to do a breakdown of all of the new content that Star Trek Online players can expect to see when they finish patching. You can also catch a quick glimpse of Season Eight's material by watching the official Season Eight trailer that Massively revealed last week. As you can imagine, this column will be chock-full of spoilers!
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's Sphere of Influence, Season Eight, and reruns
Just ask the Massively writers and they'll agree that writing about a specific game is a lot like chasing the tide; information about a game comes and goes in waves. It's been no different with Star Trek Online, but now the tide is rolling in. A lot is happening in Star Trek Online: release dates have been announced, a new beta Mac platform is coming, the new featured episode is live, old featured episodes have a rerun promotion, and a lot more is on the way, so let's just jump in because the water's fine! New featured episode Let's start with the most recent featured episode introduced into the game. Called Sphere of Influence, the mission involves the player being invited back to New Romulus to witness the power-up of the Iconian gate that he helped discover. Upon arriving, the player is informed that Klingon Ambassador Worf is also there to act as a consultant. Worf has had prior dealings with Iconian gates, and sure enough, when the player is introduced to the Ambassador, he will hear actor Michael Dorn's voice.
Captain's Log: Solonae space zone in Star Trek Online
It's been another great week of new information about Star Trek Online's upcoming new Featured Episode and Season Eight. We've learned that the new FE, which is set to be released on Thursday, October 31st, will be called Sphere of Influence. The title isn't a much of a surprise as most of us have been expecting that the new FE will carry Star Trek Online's story from the Iconian gate on New Romulus to the new content featuring a Dyson Sphere in Season Eight. A new sponsorship system will be added to STO's reputation system, which should benefit those of us who like to play multiple alts. I've also had a chance to peruse the new Voth Command reputation faction on the Tribble test server and learn it contains some interesting new passive skills. Finally, a lot more content has been released onto Tribble, including the new Solonae space adventure zone. There's also some great news for those who don't subscribe to STO but still want to test the new content: Tribble has been opened up to all players, not just subscribers! If you don't want to know anything about the new content, be warned: This column will have a few spoilers!
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's Dyson Sphere ground battle zone
Finally! We finally have some news to report involving Star Trek Online's upcoming new content! Some of the new Season Eight material is up on the Tribble test server, and the new Featured Episode will be released on October 31st! We still aren't exactly sure when Season Eight will be released, but it's now easier to see what's in store for us, including a new set of space missions and new ground missions that feature territory control. I've had a chance to jump onto Star Trek Online's Tribble server to try a few things out and to see these "dinosaurs with frikkin' lasers on their heads" for myself. So let's get to it.
Captain's Log: New-user tips on Star Trek Online's duty officer system
Let me first wish all of our readers in Canada a very happy Thanksgiving Day! This week I will continue my informal series for new Star Trek Online players with a brief primer on the game's duty officer system. More commonly referred to as DOffs, Star Trek Online's duty officers provide a player with an additional means to obtain XP, dilithium, and other rewards without his having to shoot a single thing. Many people have likened the DOff system to that of a trading card game, and to an extent they are right. The duty officers have also become a commodity that can be used in other ways outside of the assignment system itself. So join me past the jump as I delve into the very basics of the STO duty officer system.
Captain's Log: More Star Trek Online new user tips - bridge officers
Before I dive into the next installment of my new player tips, I'd like to let everyone know that the Star Trek Online site has issued a few new dev blogs hinting at some of the cool news about the upcoming Season Eight: The Sphere. There are some great new blogs featuring the concept art of the new Dyson Sphere space adventure zone, too. But back to the original topic. Last week's column that provided a basic outline to the Star Trek Online user interface proved to be surprisingly popular and generated far more emails from readers than I had anticipated. Many of the readers have asked that I continue on with the new user tips and I think it's a great idea. So if you've always wondered about the very basics of STO Bridge Officers, join me past the jump to learn more!
Captain's Log: More Star Trek Online help for the new player
The news is out! Lobi are now accessible account-wide! They're no longer bound to a single character! While I would love to be able to write an entire column about how happy the change has made me, I won't make our readers endure it, but it sure was a fun way to start off this week's Captain's Log. The good news for some is that this week's column will be dedicated to the brand new players of Star Trek Online. This decision was triggered by an email I received from a reader who wanted to know how he could change his character's outfit without having to go to the tailor all the time. He was a very new player and was embarrassed to ask anyone else, and trusted I wouldn't make him feel a fool. It was then I realized that there are lots of little things in Star Trek Online that aren't obvious to new players. While many of those things are second nature to me now, I recall with bitter clarity what it was like to be so new that asking a stranger for help was akin to playing Russian roulette. So join me past the break as I touch on what all those tiny little icons on the HUD mean.
Captain's Log: It's speculation time in Star Trek Online
It's that time again, folks: that time when the Star Trek Online playerbase begins to get edgy as we wait for new stuff. It's that "quiet time," although it's never truly quiet at Star Trek Online -- not in the forums, not in the game, and most definitely not at Cryptic Studios. However, we're also at that crucial point in the cycle of content releases when the dearth of real information is all too obvious. So what's a player to do until the next Featured Episode is released? Well, dwell on the teasers, of course! So join me past the jump and we can speculate together on what we will and won't be seeing in the upcoming FE and Season Eight.
Captain's Log: An interview with Star Trek Online's artists
This week I will be (yes I know, finally) finishing up with my series of interviews with the developers of Star Trek Online. I traveled to Cryptic Studios last July and had the opportunity to meet with several of the people responsible for the game, especially the new expansion, The Legacy of Romulus. In this column I'll be outlining my conversation with three Star Trek Online artists: Environment Artist Nick (Tumerboy) Duguid, User Interface Artist Thomas (TheCrypticCat) Marrone, and Ship Artist Ian (JamJamz) Richards. So join us past the jump to see what it took to bring the look of Legacy of Romulus to life.
Captain's Log Supplemental: Remembering Star Trek Online video artist Mark Valentine
Massively tonight extends its deepest sympathy to the family, friends, and coworkers of Cryptic Studios developer Mark Valentine. Mark, also fondly referred to by his handle "h2orat," was a noted artist who was best known for his exceptionally crafted videos for Star Trek Online, especially the trailer that was used to announce the game's transition to the free-to-play format. Before working on Star Trek Online, Mark also worked on the Champions Online team. Prior to his tenure with Cryptic, Mark also worked on Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 for Atari Europe S.A.S.U. as well as Star Trek: Away Team, Battlezone II: Combat Commander, Heavy Gear, Heavy Gear II, Battlezone, and Interstate '76 for Activision. He was a respected STO player and Foundry author whose most recent mission, The Rising Phoenix – Part One, was chosen by his fellow players and the game's community managers to be highlighted as a featured mission.
Captain's Log: Around round of Star Trek Online potpourri
Over the course of the last few weeks, Captain's Log has chronicled a series of interviews with various members of the Star Trek Online development team. Today, I think it's time to take a break and bring everyone up to date and outline some of the interesting things that happened in Star Trek Online in the past month. STO Lead Designer Al Rivera issued a special dev blog outlining the new changes to security for fleets, and Executive Producer Daniel Stahl also posted about the integration of material from Star Trek: Voyager into the game, so join me past the break as I cover what has happened in STO since we got back from Las Vegas!
Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Christine Thompson, part two
Loyal Massively readers will know that just after the launch of Star Trek Online's first expansion, the Legacy of Romulus, I visited Cryptic Studios and met with several members of the Star Trek Online development team. This week I'm picking up where I left off in my conversation with Star Trek Online's lead writer, Christine "CrypticKestrel" Thompson. Join me past the jump to see what more she had to say about the challenges of writing within accepted canon as well as creating a more personal tale for STO players.
Chaos Theory: Get the look with The Secret World's clothing guide
Dressed to kill. In The Secret World, that's not just an idiom; everyone in this cornucopia of conspiracies is literally dressed -- or in some cases, practically undressed -- to kill. Each player, regardless of secret society affiliation, is romping around the world snuffing the life out of stuff (although admittedly, "life" may not be the best term for the undead). What's more, players get to sport their own unique looks as they engage in said romps, dispensing death. And that's precisely the topic that I am zeroing in on this week: the wonderful world of the wardrobe. No matter which way you slice, dice, torch, or explode it, The Secret World has one of the best systems for player creativity and flexibility in clothing. In this system, clothing is not armor; it is completely cosmetic. Clothing has no stats attached in any way, freeing players to wear whatever they want with only a few restrictions (gender being one). Players also have unlimited access to their personal wardrobes, allowing them to change outfits whenever desired. This guide will give you the basics of where to find the various clothing pieces throughout the game so you can create "The Look" that's perfect for you. And then we'll finish off by telling you how you can get your own design into the game!
Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Christine Thompson, part one
The past couple of weeks, I took a bit of time to head to Las Vegas to moderate and cover the Star Trek Online panels at the official Star Trek Convention, but I'm happy to say I'm back in the saddle and picking up where I left off with my series of interviews with the people responsible for making Star Trek Online and conducted when I visited Cryptic Studios in late June. This week I begin my summaries of my interview with STO's lead writer, Christine Thompson. Many of you may know her as Cryptic Kestrel. Read on to see what she had to say about writing for the Romulan Republic!
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online Las Vegas recap
It's been a couple of weeks since my last entry, and to be honest, I'm still recovering. The Official Star Trek Convention was an absolute blast. Thousands of Trek fans descended upon the Rio Suites and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, for four solid days to celebrate all things Star Trek. One of those things, of course, was Star Trek Online. Contrary to its showing in 2012, Star Trek Online was the focus of not just one but two complete formal panels this year. The first featured two of the STO devs in a discussion with actress Denise Crosby, who voiced the characters of Empress Sela as well as Lt. Tasha Yar. The second panel was co-hosted by Massively and Trek Radio and featured a panel of STO devs who talked about the game and gave us some great sneak-peeks at Season Eight works in progress!%Gallery-196194%
Captain's Log: Interview with STO's Daniel Stahl, wrap-up
Late in May I had the opportunity to head over to Cryptic Studios to meet and interview several members of the Star Trek Online development team. This week I will be finishing up my synopsis of my conversation with Star Trek Online' Executive Producer Daniel Stahl. We were able to touch on his hopes for the game's user-generated content tool, The Foundry, and he also shared a lot of his thoughts on the potential market growth for STO as well as Cryptic's new subsidiary Cryptic North. Join us after the cut as we discuss what all of this might mean for the future of the studio and for Star Trek Online.
Pikmin 3 review: To boldly go
-–-Transmission begins--- Sinan's Log, Hour 0 Disc, check. Wii U, check. Pen and paper, check. Way too many snacks ... check. Looking at reconnaissance. The Pikmin are an alien race of little colored globules, creatures that are half-plant, half-animal, and full-cute. In their new Wii U adventure – which the locals refer to as "Pikmin 3" – they're joined by three new playable characters, alien explorers from the planet Koppai who crash-land on the Pikmin homeworld. There the explorers must survive on the fruit around them, which they find through the help of the indigenous critters. Unlike humans, the explorers are content with fruit, and wouldn't prefer tacos. Alright, let's do this.%Gallery-191097%
Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Daniel Stahl, part two
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Northern California and stop by and spend some time with the Star Trek Online team at Cryptic Studios. This week I continue my series of interviews with the team with part two of my conversation with Star Trek Online Executive Producer Daniel Stahl. Take a leap past the break and read more about what Stahl had to say about the new trait system, what a new level cap raise might entail, and his own involvement with writing new story content for the Klingon faction!
