Captain's Log: The Scimitar arrives in Star Trek Online
I'm back from a great trip to Northern California, during which I took the opportunity to drop in on Cryptic Studios and specifically the Star Trek Online team to see what they had up their sleeves following their success with the Legacy of Romulus expansion.
While I was able to interview numerous people while I was there, so much new stuff is coming out that I just can't not go over it here. The new summer event on Risa has already begun, and a big new ship is making her debut in the game. I got a great close-up look at her and her sisters and the inside scoop of what she'll be capable of! So join me past the break as I investigate Star Trek Online's new predator of a ship: the Scimitar!
Yes, I'm buying it.
There is no doubt the devs knew their Star Trek canon when they put this ship together. I can already hear the screams about her being over-powered. However, I think that the Scimitar wouldn't be the Scimitar unless she were just a bit beefier and angrier than her Federation or Klingon counterparts. So here's what I do know:
The Scimitar takes everything from the film Star Trek: The Next Generation Nemesis and shoves it all into the in-game vessel. With the use of consoles, a player will be able to make her Scimitar class ship fire while cloaked, utilize a second layer of shielding, and deploy the murderous Thalaron device. The Scimitar is nimble for her size and mean as hell.
Oh, you wanted more?
When the Scimitar is released, individual career-focused vessels or a three-ship pack will only be available from the C-Store (ZEN Store). There will be no lockboxes involved. It will not be available in a fleet version. There will be no reason to save Lobi Crystals or EC. This is a ZEN-only affair. She is not a carrier; she's a dreadnought.
Like her counterparts already in the game, the Odyssey and the Bortasqu', the Scimitar will have three ship skin variants including the Falchion and the Tulwar. Each ship will have a slight focus on supporting the tactical, engineering, and science careers. They will do this by being outfitted with five career-focused console slots and one career-focused console. It's the use of the individual consoles that will add the extra abilities to each craft, but I'll get to that in a bit.
No really, she's mean!
Each ship will have five forward weapon slots and three aft weapon slots. She will be able to load cannons, beams, and torpedoes. Each vessel will also come equipped with a single hangar bay from which a player can launch her combat pets.
Now, let's get to those consoles and their capabilities. As I mentioned, each vessel comes with one console, and if a player equips more than one of them in her ship, certain abilities will be granted to her. When activated the tactical console will allow the player to fire her weapons while her ship remains cloaked. The science console will activate secondary shielding around the player's vessel for a limited period of time. The engineering console contains the passive ability to keep the primary shields raised while the ship is in stealth mode.
If a player equips two of the consoles on a ship, it will trigger a buff that will bump up the turn aspect ratio during ambush. If a player equips all three consoles, she will be granted the dreaded thalaron weapon capability. It's a deadly weapon, and I've seen it in action. When I saw it, the weapon took a full 12 seconds to deploy (which is better than the five minutes the weapon needed in the film) however that timing may change by the time the ship goes live. The weapon will also have a substantial cool-down. The ship's wings will expand during deployment just as it does in the film, and after the weapon is fired, the wings will slowly return the ship to its flat-winged appearance.
In addition, if the player equips all three consoles on her vessel and the ship is destroyed in combat, there's a really neat "Great Bloom" effect that remains after the ship implodes. Finally, the Scimitar class will come with a custom bridge interior and a thalaron weapon room.
I have no word on the ship's cost, but there's an assumption it will likely be in the $50 US range as were the Odyssey and Bortasqu'. I personally think this ship will appeal to all Romulan faction players regardless of their career choice as the ships will contain something for everyone. I also happen to think the ship will be good for the Federation and Klingon factions as they adjust their own play-styles and ship-builds to contend with the new enemy vessel. Since only one of the Scimitar's consoles is set for a passive skill, the other two skills' cool-downs should offer a good balance for those trying to defend against it. Opposing vessels will have a few seconds to get out of the way!
For those who seek jamaharon
Last Thursday Star Trek Online unveiled its first summer event with the Risian Lohlunat Festival. Set on the hedonistic vacation planet Risa, the festival proudly shows off a completely overhauled social map and tons of new activities. The event features the ability for a player to obtain a selection of new off-duty outfits (sorry, no bathing suits were made), including a variation of the adventurer's outfit that was worn by Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the archaeologist Vash in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Captain's Holiday.
Players will also be able to partake in a new daily "floater" mission. While the devices look like what we would call jet-packs, the term "floater" was used in a canon episode, and therefore, the new term stuck. A player can rent a floater for a small sum of energy credits (they are on a timer, so it's possible to lose one in mid-flight) or purchase a permanent one with the favors earned for performing other tasks on the planet's resort island.
Players will also be able to hatch and breed colorful parrots (akin to the epohh breeding done for the winter event), which can be raised as non-combat pets or turned in for reputation marks. Another non-combat pet, a tiki-like statue called a horga'hn, can also be purchased from a festival vendor for 100 favors. While the statue does not move, it can be proudly displayed by those who are seeking a bit of jamaharon. If you don't know what that is, watch more Star Trek.
Word from the devs at Cryptic reveals that the new map will replace the old Risa social map after the festival has ended and the events themselves will be turned off. Don't worry, Foundry authors; the devs realize that many of you have used the old Risa map in your missions. That map will not go away yet, so keep your eyes on the Foundry forums for any plans the team may have for your Foundry missions!
Finally, like the Breen vessel that could be obtained during the last Winter Event, a new Risian Corvette will be available to players who earn 1000 Lohlunat Pearls. Pearls can be obtained by either participating in the floater races or using Lobi crystals to open boxes that randomly contain anywhere between two and six pearls. Completion of a race (which is on a 20-hour cool-down) will award 40 pearls. There is a limited number of days a player has to complete the reputation system project to obtain the vessel, so get on the ball!
The ship itself is unlike any other currently in the game. She was built solely for speed, agility, and attack using an aft-facing weapon. Essentially, the corvette is built to be opposite of a standard escort and can dip into a battle quickly, turn, and fire a weapon as the player bolts from the scene and gets out of firing range. Another great thing is the fact that the ship has a fantastic pattern and color palette; it's easy to see where there could be as many as 500 different color/pattern possibilities.
There's a lot more to come as I'll be writing about the numerous interviews I had with the devs at Cryptic about Star Trek Online as they discuss its future. Until next week, live long and prosper!
Incoming communique from Starfleet Headquarters: Captain's Log is now transmitting direct from Terilynn Shull every Monday, providing news, rumors, and dev interviews about Star Trek Online. Beam communications to terilynn@massively.com.
