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Champions Online, Star Trek Online converting to Perfect World Entertainment's currency
When Perfect World Entertainment first acquired Cryptic Studios, it was a rather unusual situation. Both Champions Online and Star Trek Online already had functional microtransaction system, complete with a unified currency for both. That currency is going away as of Thursday, when both games convert to using PWE's ZEN currency instead of unique systems. It's another step toward integrating both games into the same framework as Perfect World's other games, something that's been a steady process throughout this year. A small FAQ details the process of converting Cryptic Points to ZEN, which is fairly straightforward. The dollar value of Cryptic Points will be converted to the same dollar value in ZEN, both for pricing in stores and for player funding. This also means that players may see a slight increase in their wallets; existing Cryptic Points will be multiplied by 1.25 and converted to ZEN, and any fractional results will be rounded up. If you're playing CO or STO, it's probably a good idea to take a careful look at the whole guide to ensure that you know all there is to know about the game's new currency.
Cryptic answers Champions Online Questionite questions in latest dev blog
Unobtainium? Forget it. Vibranium? Old hat. Eludium? So passé. Champions Online's next update, Champions On Alert, will introduce a new element that will put the absurd naming convention of all these fictional substances to shame. The element in question is known as Questionite, and it will be the latest in-game currency available to CO players. The new currency will be used to procure "high level gear, Top Tier Costume Pieces and other special items like Travel Power Skins." The newest Champions Online dev blog addresses some common question(ite)s pertaining to the new currency. Questionite can be acquired through a variety of in-game methods, all of which are listed on the blog. The substance can also be bought from other players in exchange for Cryptic points (and of course, this also means that players can sell their Questionite to other players for Cryptic Points), which provides players who don't want to part with their hard-earned real-world cash an avenue through which to acquire C-Store exclusive items. It's certainly an interesting system, to say the least, so Champions players would do well to head on over to the official blog post and check out the full details.
The Perfect Ten: Free-to-play shopping strategies
"Nothing is ever truly free," my grizzled Uncle Trigger once told me. "So you got to pay for that there air! Pony up, boy!" While Uncle Trigger was overlooking a few aspects of this philosophy, the sentiment is an important one to grasp, especially when it comes to the growing wave of free-to-play MMOs. Even though the first word is "free," it should be followed up with several paragraphs of tiny lawyer disclaimers that basically say, "Nevertheless, the studio is going to look for other ways to tempt you out of your hard-earned cash." F2P is often funded by microtransactions, which offer players some variety in how they customize their game experience at the expense of a subscription's simplicity. It's often not better or worse; it's just different. Because nothing is ever truly free, and because F2P is loaded with more shopping options than a Walmart supercenter, being a savvy customer is more vital than ever. Anyone who's waded into a F2P store probably has experienced buyer's regret due to a hasty or uninformed purchase, not to mention those who end up going broke because of poor impulse control. So today I'm going to get downright practical and offer up 10 strategies that will safeguard and strengthen your F2P shopping trips (also, random plug for Beau's Free For All column in the hopes that he doesn't get mad I'm treading on his territory here!).
Star Trek issues Foundry Challenge to all captains
Star Trek Online's Foundry has been a powerful -- and tricky -- tool for players to create missions for others to enjoy. To encourage starship captains to create the best possible Foundry missions, Cryptic has issued its first Foundry Challenge with a top prize of 500 Cryptic Points for the C-Store. Creators have three weeks (until March 7th) to make a mission revolving around the murder of a diplomat on Risa, after which players will field-test the results and vote on the best one of the bunch. Only one winner will be selected for the prize. This is intended to be the first of many subsequent Foundry Challenges, each running the span of a month. There are several rules for each entry, including length and story topic. Cryptic is encouraging players to discuss the created missions on the forums in their quest to disseminate the cream of the crop. In other STO news, Cryptic's adding a Deep Space 9 bundle to the game that includes a bridge set, special Duty Officers, costumes, weapons, and a Type-10 (Chaffee) shuttlecraft. The bundle will set purchasers back 1800 CP.
The Squall breezes into Champions Online
Champions Online is on a roll this week with its bevy of new archetypes to check out. First it was the Star Wars-inspired Unleashed archetype, and today Cryptic announced the arrival of its newest hero, The Squall. As its name suggests, the Squall is a weather-based superhero who takes on the role of an avenger. By wrapping the awesome forces of nature around his little pinky, the Squall can whip up hurricanes, slap down tornadoes, and throw a big ball o' wind at enemies that are really irking him. The archetype primarily focuses on mid- and long-range attacks to repel and disorient enemies, but he suffers when bad guys get up close and personal. The Squall archetype can be unlocked across an entire player's account for 920 Cryptic Points.
Captain's Log: A two-minute read could save you 15% or more on nerdrage insurance
Captain's Log, Stardate 65340.3... Hello, computer (and players)! Welcome to this week's edition of Captain's Log, brought to you by "Geko" Insurance. (And let's just say, you may want to purchase a policy). If you are a Star Trek Online player who watches Cryptic's official forums, you know that the game experienced an Occupy movement of its own this past weekend. Even if you don't frequent the forums, you may have seen some of the concerns raised through the #STO Twitter feed. Over the weekend, players lashed out against some of the recent changes that have made their way to the Tribble test server. It may be surprising to some of you reading this, but the commotion was not related to the economy changes. The main concern is that some of the items for purchase in the C-Store are going to be changing from account-wide unlocks to per-character transactions. While I was a little perturbed at the thought too, I was happy to see that some of the misconceptions were cleared up once we got an official statement from one of the devs. But since there is a lot more to the story, let's take a look. Ensign, warp 10! And don't forget to buckle your seatbelt...
Captain's Log: More on the economy
Captain's Log, Stardate 65303.9... Hello, computer (and players)! As I discussed last week, heated discussions surround Star Trek Online's change to a F2P hybrid model and planned game mechanics updates. While new updates are being pushed to the Tribble server for testing and feedback, many aspects are in a state of flux as such feedback is collected, evaluated, and implemented. The biggest area affected is the economy. While everyone has his own thoughts on the matter, Cryptic is leaving no feedback forum post unread -- the players will help shape these changes. Last week, we saw the push of another patch that seems to have made some giant strides toward solving some of the biggest concerns, including significant reductions in prices for most items and the return of free ship tokens for most ranks. Stephen D'Angelo, acting Executive Producer and Emergency Executive Producer Hologram (EEPH), explained: "Based on how rapidly we're getting data and revising the game, we're still probably two more weeks away from having the economy in a state that is close to good enough." Since he said a lot more in his recent dev blog post, I thought I should take some time to expound on it. Ensign, warp 10! Let's take a look at what else the EEPH had to say and break it down...
Star Trek Online dev blog clarifies free-to-play currency trades
Ever since Cryptic announced that Star Trek Online is going free to play, developers have published regular "Path to F2P" dev blogs discussing upcoming changes designed to restructure the game for its new payment scheme. In the latest dev blog in the series, STO Executive Producer Stephen D'Angelo looks at the in-game economy and how going free-to-play will affect the various currencies in use. Energy credits will be used for practically everything encountered in normal gameplay, functioning like gold in most fantasy MMOs. Players can expect to use energy credits every time they play, and receive them as rewards. Dilithium will be used by hardcore players to get high-end gear, but the average casual player will never need it in significant quantities. Cryptic points will be reserved for cash shop items like new ships, but Cryptic aims to let players trade their cryptic points to other players for dilithium. When the system goes live, players will be able to grind for dilithium in order to buy cash shop items without paying cash. At the same time, hardcore players will be able to short-cut the dilithium grind and quickly obtain high-end equipment with an injection of cryptic points. This system mirrors the diamond trade in Runes of Magic and the PLEX trade in EVE Online, both systems that have proven highly effective at allowing cash-rich players to shortcut grind and letting time-rich players play their way to everything the game has to offer.
Transition details for Champions Online, Star Trek Online
Last week, we reported that F2P giant Perfect World Entertainment completed its acquisition of Cryptic Studios, having spent just under $50 million to seal the deal. Today, entries on the Champions Online and Star Trek Online websites announce that Cryptic is "now a wholly owned subsidiary of Perfect World Entertainment," and they outline certain changes coming to both games as a result. The posted transition FAQs include additional details on the status of Cryptic Points, the C-Store, account and support services, and privacy issues. Cryptic and PWE also reiterate that lifetime subscriptions will continue to be honored for the full duration of both games. Of particular note to current players is the response to the question about dev team size: There are no plans to change the development team on any of our titles. If anything, we plan on increasing the number of team members to serve you better. Finally, the FAQ notes that work on Neverwinter continues as planned.
Star Trek Online podcast giving away 10,000 Cryptic Points
You may remember an event back in April in which a Star Trek Online fan podcast hosted a generous contest. The hosts gave away a total of 10,000 Cryptic Points, and co-host Brandon liked the idea so much that he's repeating it on his brand-new podcast Priority One. The guidelines for entry not only are easy, but give you a chance to ask some questions of the Cryptic development team. Simply respond to the contest thread with four questions you'd like to ask the devs, join the Quantum Online community, and post in the "noobs" forum. The contest is a bid to increase player presence, but more community involvement is always a good thing. There are some nice prizes involved in the bargain, and you've got until the 29th to enter, so best of luck to all who participate!
Captain's Log: Per-character C-Store services ruin everything ever
Geez louise! It's time for another installment of your favorite Thursday Star Trek Online column, Captain's Log. Despite the lovely weather, the final volume of awesome, that crazy-good movie and a parasailing donkey, everyone seems to (still) be talking about one thing: the C-Store! In last week's Captain's Log, we glanced at micro-transactions in STO on our way to discussing the game's future in an increasingly freemium world. Readers had plenty of comments to share ... and that was before Cryptic Studios dropped a hydrogen bomb in the form of new per-character services. Players erupted late last week, and the flames are still burning in a forum thread more than 115 pages long. I would be remiss to gloss over the controversy, so let's examine why folks are so upset at Cryptic this time. It's not as if much else is happening in the pre-patch lull, amirite?
Star Trek Online offers two new races in online store
Many Star Trek Online players were surprised to find a couple of new additions to the C-store after launch in the form of two new playable races. For 240 Cryptic Points, you can purchase the Klingon race, and for only 80 Cryptic Points you can purchase the Ferengi race. Each race comes with a few race-specific traits -- Warrior and Honorable for the Klingon, Immunity and Acute Senses for the Ferengi -- and the ability to choose two more. Purchasing the race unlocks it for every character slot on the account. Most pre-order packages included Cryptic Points, so the races will essentially be free for many players, but fan reaction was mixed regarding the addition anyway. Many players felt it to be a bit of an underhanded move, with the phrase "nickel-and-diming us" being batted about frequently. Meanwhile, a similar number of players pointed out the free points that came with pre-order as well as the increasing frequency of microtransactions in MMOs these days, and moved on. No matter which side of the argument you fall on, if you are interested in learning more about these two new races, you can take a look here.
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!
Blood Moon releases, hints of future content for Champions Online
Blood Moon is out and Cryptic is ensuring everyone knows all about what's being offered in the first free content update / seasonal event in their newest State of the Game address. First and foremost is the news that Cryptic will be keeping their promise of people being able to earn things like retcons and additional characters slots simply by playing the game. You can still buy this for cold hard- er, Cryptic Points, but it's not the only path to acquiring said bonuses. Also, remember those new costume pieces we told you about? They're real, and really free, too -- along with a handful of other new pieces that came with the update. In addition to the pieces everyone gets from patching, there are new unlocks earned by playing Blood Moon content.
