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Podcast interviews two Star Trek Online guys, gets lots of new info
Star Trek gaming podcast Hailing Frequency interviewed Cryptic Studios Chief Creative Officer Jack Emmert in the wake of the big Las Vegas unveiling of Star Trek Online. The two part interview is available in both audio and video, and it's one of the best sources of details beyond the unveiling video itself at this point.There are a lot of reveals and hints in the interview. Some examples of interview topics: post-launch plans for user-generated content, an economy without a monetary currency, and details about starship combat. Emmert speculates that cross-platform play and non-region-specific servers are possible, but that no final determinations have been made. Listen to the interview for more!Hailing Frequency also spoke with STO's new community manager, JR Sutich, who is better known to folks in the MMO community as Razor. He was a regular writer at WarCry before he started with Cryptic. That interview, also available in both audio and video, deals exclusively with the game's community and forums.
Razorwire snaps at TR vet reward
In our daily internet travails this morning we were a bit surprised to see Warcry's razorwire taking a bit of a nasty shot at the Tabula Rasa community crew for having included a joke 3-month-veteran award instead of something "cool" like black armor. He further postulates that one of the artists for the game probably put a lot of work into the model for his furry fandom, and wanted to validate that work by including it in the game somehow. I'm not quite sure if he was trying to be funny or edgy or whether he was actually genuinely angry about having a unicorn mask left in his bag for being a 3-month veteran. Seems a bit of an overreaction either way, and he appears to have missed the point.Anybody who has followed Tabula Rasa for a few years now no doubt remembers when the game's development was rebooted due to a lack of design focus. Back then, the game featured a lot of eccentricities that were more befitting the East Asian audience the game was originally trying to court. One of those eccentricities was an abundance of unicorns in the early builds of the game, which delighted some and confused most. Back in November we found one of the early trailers of the game and were similarly confused by the unicorn to people ratio. It was quite high. Still, I think the unicorn mask is a fun little self-deprecating joke with the fans who are most likely to "get it." Moreover, we know full well we're not getting our charcoal paint for another week, so what's the sense in crying about it?
Official word: Perpetual lives, STO "still a triple-A game"
There has been a lot of confusion with regards to the fate of Perpetual Entertainment and Star Trek Online over the past few days. First, an SEC report was filed by Gravity that appeared to say that Perpetual Entertainment was liquidating all assets and would cease to exist as a company. Then, Shacknews ran a story claiming that STO had been bought and would be re-invented as a "more casual" experience.Star Trek Online's Executive Producer Daron Stinett addressed panicked fans, saying that not all is as it seems. We have the lowdown here for you. The heart of the matter: it appears that STO has not been canceled or nerfed after all --at least not to the degree that we feared. That said, here's the full story so far.
Jesus Christ spotted in Tabula Rasa
Razor over at Razorwire experienced a surprising theophany in the world of Tabula Rasa. "I was playing Tabula Rasa last night," he said, "when a figure wearing battle armor and carrying a chain gun ran past me and my avatar provided the appropriate double-take for me. The character's name was Jesus Christ."Yes, Jesus Christ in Tabula Rasa. Obviously, Jesus Christ wasn't really playing Tabula Rasa (well, we assume he wasn't, anyway), but whether the use of the name amuses you, offends you, or both, it brings up some interesting questions about Tabula Rasa's naming policy -- questions Razor asks in his post. Give it a read. It's not super in-depth, but he points out that because Tabula Rasa is not a fantasy world like World of Warcraft or The Lord of the Rings Online, it uses a different naming policy. That policy opens the door to abuses that would have been nipped in the bud far earlier in those other titles.According to Razor there is unfortunately no way to report the name because the game's GM help features are still disabled.
