stormshade
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Captain's Log: Every day I'm tribbleing
Captain's Log, Stardate 65322.9... Hello, computer (and players)! For the past several weeks, Star Trek Online players have been checking out the latest F2P beta builds on the Tribble test server. While there have been a few patches on other days, more for stability fixes and minor tweaking, Thursdays seem to be the designated day for us to receive the largest pushes of new content. The latest round of updates has brought further economy changes, new events and ships, and even more heated debates. Since we seem to be a ways out from the seeing the updates ported to the Holodeck live server, there is still plenty of time to check it all out and provide your feedback to the devs. I would like to dedicate this entry to those who are helping test the changes. This week's Captain's Log serves as a checklist of sorts on what new content you can test and where you can provide feedback about it. As you read through, I suggest that you read a particular section, jump into game to check out the particular change, formulate an opinion, and head to the linked forum where you can leave your feedback. No matter what you think, it's important to let the devs know -- they will make changes based upon a collective opinion. Ensign, warp 10! It's time to create our own party rock anthem...
Captain's Log: Missed dev transmissions
Captain's Log, Stardate 64940.2... Hello, computer (and players)! As we have explored in past logs, the developers working on Star Trek Online are extremely transparent with the community, and this, surprising to some, is actually by design. Since Dan Stahl took over as Executive Producer a year ago come July, he made it his personal mission to make sure that fans of the game knew where the game was heading at all times and what was currently being developed. Due to the success of this open communication, Cryptic as a whole has made a shift to this philosophy for its other announced projects. New details often emerge through several different official sources: the monthly Ask Cryptic and Engineering Report as well as a plethora of interviews. While the previously listed outlets are often marketed and widely known about, there are several channels that I would like to bring to light, ones that seem to fall under the radar. As Twitter is one of the biggest social media crazes, developers are using it to get information and work-in-progress screenshots out to the public. Also, some devs seem to be sacrificing sleep, as we will often wake up to posts in the STO forums that were posted near the midnight hour of Cryptic's time zone. Many feel that the most interesting and drool-worthy information is found in these "leaks," so I would like to share some of them with you. Ensign, warp 10! You might want to grab a towel to wipe up your mouth...
Captain's Log: Into the Cryptic hive
Captain's Log, Stardate 64692.8... Hello, computer (and players). The following information has been marked classified and restricted by Starfleet Intelligence; any leaks will not be tolerated -- eh, forget it! Welcome to MassivelyLeaks! As you may or may not know, I had an exclusive opportunity to visit Cryptic Studios in Los Gatos, California last month. Since I'm arguably one of Star Trek Online's biggest fanboys, this was a dream come true (/e squeal), and I am still in shock that I was in the very cubicles where the game is made. Tucked away in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains, Los Gatos is a small town in Santa Clara County (better known as Silicon Valley), just southwest of San Jose. It is hard to believe that the entire Star Trek universe is currently one of its residents. But it is -- I've seen it with my own eyes, and I am excited to share my experience with you. Ensign, warp 10! Let's get down to some cryptic business and invade the hive... %Gallery-118647%
Behind the Mask: A community guide to Champions Online
Behind the Mask is the new Massively column devoted to everything you might want to know about Champions Online. Fortunately for Massively readers, the guys at UNITY have given me the go-ahead to declassify my stories as a super-powered operative. As a result, we'll be giving you the down and dirty facts that you'll need to make it in the superhero world, as well as bits of news you won't hear anywhere else. Behind the Mask will cover issues related to life in Millennium City as well as detailed info about criminal hotspots around the globe. Our first column will be a community resource for Champions Online. While there were a fair number of community sites at launch, most of them have suffered from a lack of new content in recent months. The ones that continue to be updated are the best of the best -- ranging from community hubs for roleplayers to detailed info on the game's many missions. If there's one thing to be said about the fans of Champions, it's that they are devoted to their game and eager to put out new content for it.
Champions lifetime subscribers given extra thanks, perks
Good news for Champions Online lifetime subscription owners today, as Cryptic is giving them some additional free perks simply for supporting the game. According to the developer, some of the upcoming lifetime-only features include an exclusive in-game chat channel, front-of-queue support any time a server is queued, a unique in-game title, an in-game VIP lounge for lifetime subscribers only and a special costume piece. Curiously, the official forum post by StormShade says, "Here's some of what we're working on, exclusive to Lifetime Subscribers." which to us sounds like there could be something else for lifetime subscribers in the future. But even if there isn't any mysterious new feature, these new perks are a nice little surprise that came out of the blue -- which is always the best kind of surprise. [Update: It appears that this offer stands for Star Trek Online lifetime players, also.]
Skill cap changes hit Star Trek Online's open beta
Cryptic has been getting some fan heat over a recent revelation that Star Trek Online would, in fact, have a skill cap. This runs counter to the original message, which was that players who've reached the maximum rank of Admiral continue to gain skill points. In the new design, those skill points will dry up along with the new ranks once you've reached the cap. It's a sound design choice, as game balance, respecs and future expansions all require some kind of level cap. However, Cryptic noticing this problem so late into the game's open beta is not such a great thing. The dedicated player base is used to the old system, and to them this change appears incredibly insidious. We doubt the more casual players will ever notice or care about the change, but that doesn't help with the ire fermenting amongst the core community. Star Trek Online's Community rep StormShade has addressed the skill cap change and that sound design reasoning explanation is front and center just as expected. We only wish this move had been made a little earlier on, before so many players got used to the idea. [Thanks, Damian!] Enter the Star Trek universe with Cryptic Studios' Star Trek Online. From hands on reviews of the early levels and space combat, through noob questions and developer interviews, we've got everything you need to know about the game trekkies are dying for. Check out Massively's Star Trek Online page for the latest!
