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Apple's Bud Tribble will testify before Senate committee, says Franken
In the ongoing commotion around location, privacy and what your iPhone knows about what you did last summer, the witness list for upcoming Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearings on mobile privacy has been announced. Senator Al Franken's (D-MN) office told The Loop that Apple's VP of software technology, Guy L. "Bud" Tribble, will be there, along with regulators, privacy advocates and Google's VP of public policy. Franken invited the companies to send representatives to his hearing a couple of weeks ago, as the location issues were making news. Tribble has been on the hot seat before when it comes to Congressional oversight of digital privacy; he appeared at a similar hearing last summer, alongside Facebook's CTO and Google's lead privacy engineer. He's also one of the longest-serving Apple and NeXT veterans, and is credited with identifying the legendary Reality Distortion Field power of Steve Jobs. Perhaps he should borrow the field generator for his testimony. The hearings will begin on May 10 at 10 am Eastern time. If you're watching on C-SPAN, keep an eye on the senators as Tribble enters the room... the ones that recoil and run away are almost certainly Klingons.
Captain's Log: The Foundry and you
Captain's Log, Stardate 64750.3... Hello, computer (and players)! "Ceeeeelebrate good times, come on!" That's right, captains -- it's time to let the good times roll and the never-ending content stream to begin. Earlier this week, Larry Everett helped break Star Trek Online's news drought with his post about the Foundry being moved from the test server, nicknamed Tribble, to the live server, aka Holodeck. (I've always thought the test server should have been called Holodeck, but that is a discussion for another day.) For those of you who do not know by now, the Foundry is a user-generated content (UGC) toolset that allows players to create their own missions and episodes. Since late last year, volunteer testers have been creating hundreds of missions and pushing them out for captains of all ranks to try. Co-developed by Cryptic devs who are working at implementing the system in the upcoming Neverwinter game, the Foundry has gone through extensive changes since its inception -- the evolution of the toolset has actually provided a platform for some UGC episodes that rival those made by Cryptic. But what does this really mean for STO players? Ensign, warp 10! Let's talk about STO's "saving grace."
STO's Dan Stahl fields 30 questions about the Enterprise, Tholians and more
As Star Trek Online grows ever-closer to its one-year anniversary in February 2011, fans of Cryptic's space saga have burning questions about the future of the game. In swoops Executive Producer Dan Stahl to keep the flames under control with a whopping 30 answers in the latest STO Q&A session. As usual, there is no overriding theme to these questions, which range from whether we'll be seeing the 2009 Star Trek movie's Enterprise in the game (only if Paramount gives permission), whether Cryptic is working on more voice-overs for missions (yes), and when we'll be seeing the Tholians (probably not until after Season 4 releases). Stahl emphasizes that the STO team's prime directive is, simply, "More Like Trek," and the devs are working hard to infuse more of a Star Trek feel into every aspect of the game. Meanwhile, the Foundry -- the player-created mission system -- briefly went into beta on the Tribble test server yesterday, but was quickly taken down due to issues with the infrastructure. Stahl has great hopes for it, however: "In all -- the Foundry will open up the ability for the community to create some great (and let's be honest -- not so great) missions that you'll be able to play just like any other mission in the game."
Star Trek Online hosts a play night on the test server
The team for Star Trek Online has been working on cleaning up bugs, deploying new features, and generally getting the game prepped for the upcoming Season 1.2 patch, which promises a variety of additions and improvements to the game. In order to help facilitate the testing of new features -- and to enjoy getting into the mix with the players -- the development team is going to be hosting one of Cryptic's frequent play nights with the general populace. Unlike normal, this night isn't taking place on the live servers, but on the Tribble test server. From 4-6 PM PST (7-9 PM EST) on May 24th, the developers will be on the server, taking part in PvE content as well as on the PvP maps. Whether you want the developers to hear about your great idea for new task forces, want to tell them how much you want the game to have new content, or are just still recovering from the series finale of Lost, any player with an active Star Trek Online account is encouraged to mix it up with the development team.
Tribble weekend event courts STO players
For most Star Trek Online players, the chance to test drive the first major content update, Season One: Common Ground, would be a treat enough. However, Cryptic wants to sweeten the deal during its Tribble Weekend Event by rewarding testers with two virtual goodies: a special in-game "Assimilated Tribble" (which acts sort of like Borg-repellent) and an awesome title, Crash Test Tribble. These rewards are pretty easy to attain, too. STO players only need to log on to the Tribble test server for at least an hour between Friday afternoon (March 19) and Monday morning (March 23), and the goodies will be handed out when the patch goes live. Season One: Common Ground promises to roll out PvP improvements, additional customization options, more ships and missions, and even respecs for the growing MMO.
Star Trek Online locks phasers on Season One: Common Ground
On March 18, it's do or die for the Federation, as Cryptic's first major content patch -- Season One: Common Ground -- promises to hit Star Trek Online's live servers. Love 'em or hate 'em, the STO dev team looks to live up to their word on "walking the talk" by pumping out more content that players crave. We didn't think there could be any news more exciting than a brand-new faction coming to STO, but Season One might just top it with a heap of new goodies. In addition, Cryptic's Craig Zinkievich released a new State of the Game report to address player concerns and the course STO is heading for over the next few months. There's even a new video entitled "Expanding Universe, Part I" that gives players a sneak peek into this brave new patch. Engage thrusters, mister, and we'll break it down for you after the jump.
Seven tips for Star Trek Online newbies
There's certainly a lot of lesser known MMO concepts to learn in Star Trek Online, and there's also some familiar aspects as well. With open beta ongoing and launch looming, this guide is here to help brand new players ease into the swing of things. We'll cover the odd class system, progression and several other tips and suggestions for those of you just beginning your venture into a galaxy full of Gorn raiders, Orion slavers and uh, Tribbles.
