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Inaugural STO Podcast Summit announced
Star Trek Online has always been known for generating unwavering support from its community of gamers. Whether identifying as trekkers, trekkies, casuals or hardcore gamers, players are extremely dedicated, including yours truly. Alongside the numerous fan sites that have been created, there is a select group of individuals out there who have gone beyond the call of duty and put out weekly podcasts. This Sunday, April 17th, the STO podcasting community will come together for the inaugural STO Podcast Summit. Join Red Shirt Army, STOked, Priority One, Podcast UGC and Hailing Frequency as they broadcast live at TrekRadio.net from 6 p.m. EDT to 8 p.m. EDT. If you miss the livestream, have no fear -- the show will be posted in mp3 format on each of the podcasts' individual websites. We are also told that there may be even some surprise guests who drop by, including Cryptic developers.
Star Trek Online official dev blog: Jeremy Mattson
Today marks the first of this week's three exclusive developer blogs from Cryptic's Star Trek Online team here at Massively. For Monday, we've got Jeremy Mattson discussing what it's like being a Principal Artist for Cryptic and giving some insight into their powerful character customization tools. He also delves into the past a bit, which should interest any of you City of Heroes fans out there, too. Be sure to come back again on Wednesday for our second installment of this week's developer blogs. We'll have an animator's perspective of life at Cryptic and working on Star Trek Online.
Cryptic extends Star Trek Online open beta
Have you been glued to your computer, trying to enjoy as much of the Star Trek Online open beta as you can before the doors close? Well, you can relax, because you have a little more time. An announcement appeared on the official Star Trek Online site this morning: "We've experienced such an incredible response to our Open Beta Test that we've decided to extend the play time by a full day as a thank you to our fans." Open beta testing will continue until 6:00 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday. Since so many fans have been playing, and since Cryptic dropped a huge patch on the community late last week, it makes sense that they want a little more time to see how things are going. One final note -- the announcement was clear that if you're a pre-order customer, this will not affect your head start, so enjoy your extra day in beta!
Captain's Log: A non-trekkie guide to Star Trek Online
Perhaps you've been hearing a lot of buzz about Star Trek Online lately. Or, perhaps you're reading this article in the year 2018, after the robots have begun their bloody revolt. Either way, you've never been way into Star Trek, but find yourself curious about this new MMO based on the franchise. In that cast, this iteration of Captain's Log is just for you. As a side note, this will be the last week you'll find this feature going live on Friday. Henceforth, a new Captain's Log will appear every Thursday -- so keep an eye out!
Star Trek Online character customization in pictures
Cryptic Studios, the developer behind Star Trek Online, is well known for their character customization options. I know that I spent more time making characters in City of Heroes than beating up bad guys. Cryptic has brought that same design aesthetic to STO. For those of you not currently in open Beta, I've captured a gallery of shots below spotlighting all the available races in open beta (Federation and Klingon factions.) I've also shown the cosmetic customization screens for both factions and the color palettes available. However the true fun lies not in tweaking the familiar Vulcan, Bajoran or Klingon races, but in the build-you-own-alien race tool. For both factions you can randomly create an alien species based on a humanoid model. Blotchy skin, tentacles, protrusions, ridges, antennae and more await those players looking for a unique presence in the game. I've taken screenshots of some crazy creations randomly generated, too. You can also customize your alien if you have something specific in mind. Not seeing the alien life form you're looking for? Borg will be available as a Federation faction playable race to those who pay for the Lifetime subscription option. Ferengi and Risian will be added as playable races right after launch and future expansions promise more familiar faction race sets including Romulan. Star Trek Online launches on February 2, 2010. %Gallery-83416% Enter the Star Trek universe with Cryptic Studios' Star Trek Online. From hands on reviews of the early levels and space combat, through noob question and developer interviews, we've got everything you need to know about the game trekkies are dying for.
Massively's Guide to the Character Traits of Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online offers several levels of character customization beyond the visual aspects, and that first level the player is introduced to is character traits. You select these traits when creating your character, and the choices are numerous. In Massively's guide to the character traits of Star Trek Online, we'll look at the different classes of traits and suggest some builds to get you started. Please remember a few things when reading this guide. First, the information was all obtained in the late closed beta -- so it could have changed without notice at release. If that's the case we'll update the guide as soon as we know about the changes, but double check everything and don't click blindly. Secondly, the traits are only a recommendation and should be adapted to your personal play style. If you're one of those players who always needs that extra bit of health, get the Peak Health trait no matter what role you're going to play. Finally, there is currently no way to retrain your traits (or skills), so be sure to select them carefully. Character Traits Guide Table of Contents How Traits Work Species Traits Federation Klingon Empire Space Traits Ground Traits Suggested Trait Builds Suggested Species and Trait Builds Federation Klingon Empire
Captain's Log: Community guide to Star Trek Online
Captain's Log, Supplemental, Stardate 64684.5... As you all know, we here at Massively are dedicated to keeping you up-to-date on all the latest MMO news as well as entertaining you to your wits' end. Over the past year, our Star Trek Online coverage has been phenomenal, including the introduction of our weekly column, Captain's Log. As I mentioned in my first entry, I am honored to be a part of the team and to bring STO out of the dark recesses of space and onto your (computer, iWhatever, etc.) screens. When the game first launched, the original Community Guide to STO came to fruition as well -- since then, many things have changed, so it is time for an update. Beyond the jump, you will find an ever-evolving list of podcasts, fansites, dev blogs, Twitter accounts, and more. As things further change, I will be updating this guide, so keep it bookmarked! Got a new STO podcast you want everyone to hear? Working on a fansite for the community? Found something that everyone else should know? Let me know by sending the info in to brandon@massively.com. Ensign, warp 10! Let's get these players updated on their resources...
