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Captain's Log: The state of Star Trek Online
This past week, Star Trek Online's developers proved they're listening to community feedback. STO Executive Producer Daniel Stahl has released this month's state-of-the-game letter, Foundry missions are playable again, and a few of the game's developers began preparations for their appearance at the upcoming Discussion with the Devs panel, which will be co-hosted by Massively and Trek Radio at the official Star Trek convention in Las Vegas. Still, there are some outstanding issues that haven't been addressed by Cryptic or Perfect World, and some players are beginning to wonder whether PvP has been laid to rest in STO. Also, the addition of a new EV suit to the ZEN Store has ruffled quite a few feathers, including mine. Join me while I sift through what happened in STO over the past week!
Star Trek Online's Dan Griffis departing Cryptic (again)
Star Trek Online Content Designer Dan "Gozer" Griffis announced that he'll be leaving his position at Cryptic Studios to head for another final frontier. The news leaked onto the forums after Griffis told a few friends over the weekend, and the subsequent mood by players has not been pretty. Griffis put it bluntly: "Yes, I will be leaving if a few weeks for a new opportunity. That's pretty much all of it. It has nothing to do with PvP, STO, or Cryptic. It's just time for me to do something different. I had planned on telling everyone on the forums at some point, but probably closer to when I was actually leaving (I'll be here for a few more weeks)." He says that PvP will be transferred to another developer, and he's not going to talk about what's in store for that part of STO. Griffis previously left Cryptic in 2010 but returned shortly thereafter. [Thanks to Don for the tip!]
Cryptic developer: Star Trek Online PvP is 'fail'
How many times have you read a forum post that says insert-random-MMO's PvP sucks? Well, in Star Trek Online PvP actually does suck, and that's straight from the mouth of a developer. It's so bad, in fact, that Dan "Gozer" Griffis makes no bones about the fact that it could even be removed from Cryptic's sci-fi MMO. "Right now because PVP is in such bad shape we (the developers) have to decide if we think we can turn this problem around. Participation in PVP-related activities is so low on an hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis that we could in fact just completely take it out of STO and it would not impact the overall number of people [who] log in to the game and play in any significant way." Griffis goes on to say that he is the only developer currently working on PvP, and as such he has to make some hard choices. He has a plan, and though he hasn't shared specifics on it yet, he says there are huge changes in store over the next year. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Captain's Log: Testing out the future
Captain's Log, Stardate 65264.3... Hello, computer (and players)! As you have must have seen by now, open beta testing of Star Trek Online's new F2P model is well underway; the developers have been posting dev diaries about the impending changes for the last couple of days. Because testers on the Tribble test server were required to start new characters, and because character transfers will not be an option for at least a few weeks, many players have begun a mad dash to level up their test characters in order to test out some of the retooled endgame content. Since testing, especially in this manner, can be confusing, I have decided to dedicate this week's Captain's Log to those who are willing to take on the challenge. Past the jump, you will find a checklist of sorts that you can use while testing (or, ultimately, playing) the new content and updates. I suggest reading each section and then checking it out in-game. While some recommendations may seem less interesting than others, I suggest you give each a fair shot so you can provide feedback on what can make the game better. Ensign, warp 10! Let's give our dedicated Tribbleites some structure to their testing time...
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: Setting a course for the future
Captain's Log, Stardate 64612.7... Hello, computer (and players)! First things first: My name is Brandon, and I am your new columnist for Captain's Log! I am thrilled to join you each week with the latest Star Trek Online news, gossip, developer interview recaps, and much, much more! As some of you may know (or now know from clicking on my name above), I am a Trekker from mostly sunny Southern California who is actively involved in the STO universe. Whether I'm doing my weekly podcast, Priority One, administrating our STO social-network site, The Quantum Café, or writing for you guys, I am having an absolute blast and am so proud of where the game has come one year since its launch. So, as a final piece of my "introduction," this column is dedicated to all the Captains out there -- may all your battles be glorious! Ensign, warp 10! Let's catch these readers up on the latest STO news...
