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Star Trek Online's Foundry is back online, sort of
Star Trek Online Executive Producer Dan Stahl has just posted his latest state-of-the-game letter to the official site, declaring that Season Six marks the perfect time for a new player to jump in, thanks to its streamlined mission structure and brand-new starbases. Here's the juicy bit: Current players know that The Foundry, the game's player-generated content system, has been offline for quite a long time as a result of tweaks made to it by the Season Six patch. Stahl notes that the team is still working on the issues but has finally brought part of the system back online: Season 6 also introduces some nice improvements for our Foundry. As some may have noticed though, we have yet to turn on these new features yet. The QA team is working diligently as they continue to sort through some specific bugs with previously existing missions. Once those bugs are sorted through, we will then open up the editor – as of today, we have turned on the ability to play existing, republished missions. Stahl finishes with a quick mention of the dreaded lock boxes, the Star Trek convention in August, and plans for Season Seven. Check out the entire state-of-the-game letter at the official site.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online celebrates 25 years of The Next Generation
Star Trek Online's Season Six is in full swing! My fleet is extremely close to reaching tier one of its new fleet starbase (in all three categories), and people seem to be having a pretty good time as they team up to take on fleet missions to earn the merits the starbase is starving for. I have to admit, our Ventrilo channel hasn't been this busy in a long time. Rarely do I log in to see fewer than 20 names active in the channel. This week we were told that a new version of the infamous lock box is being released. Part of the announcement also addressed the fact that Cryptic Studios has decided to make some tweaks to the Lobi store. The Foundry has been kept offline since the Season Six launch and remains shut down. Capping off the week, Star Trek Online began a weekend-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first airing of Star Trek: The Next Generation! Join me after the jump to learn a little bit more about it.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online launches Season Six
Season Six has finally made its way to the Star Trek Online live servers! It was pushed to the Holodeck server last Thursday after a day-long maintenance period and a couple of patches that followed into the wee-hours of the morning on Friday. By Friday afternoon, the majority of issues seemed to be resolved, and players, especially those who belonged to fleets, crowded into the game to begin construction on their new starbases. Others jumped in to play against the new Tholian enemy in a hostile environment. Most now seem very happy with the new content and are eager to work with their fellow starship captains to create and defend their fleets' bases. Join me after the jump as I go over more of the new stuff!
Champions and STO lifetimers to receive Neverwinter beta invites
Lifetime subscriptions get a lot of flak in MMO comment threads (likely including this one), but they do occasionally feature fringe benefits. In Cryptic's case, one of those fringe benefits is a beta invite for its upcoming Neverwinter title. If you're a lifer for either Champions Online or Star Trek Online (or both!), look for an invite via the email address associated with your account, as Cryptic will be doling them out "over the course of the test." Neverwinter is a new MMORPG set in the Forgotten Realms. It features traditional fantasy combat as well as Cryptic's Foundry player-generated content tool suite.
Ringbow hits Kickstarter, promises directional pad-assisted touch gaming
When we first saw the Ringbow finger peripheral, it was a gangly prototype, tethered to an external battery -- not exactly ideal for a portable tablet accessory. The idea is to strap a D-pad to a user's finger, netting them extra control for touch-based games. Now the duo behind the device is showcasing a self-contained unit on Kickstarter, hoping to garner enough interest to send it off to production. The Bluetooth-compatible band boasts an adjustable one-size-fits-all grip, a nine-way directional nub and a five hour battery life. A $45 contribution buys a standard black Ringbow and a game package, though more generous backers can score additional colors, exclusive hardware and dev kits. Without $100,000 in support, however, the ring won't be minted. Follow the links below if you're compelled to fund the digital circlet.
Captain's Log: It always floods after a drought in STO
Over the course of the last week, Star Trek Online fans have been swimming in the flood of information that has been released regarding several missions and features of the game that are expected to be released either just before or as part of Season Six. We still have no formal release date for Season Six, nor have we been given any hint as to when we will see it appear on the STO test server, Tribble. Yet several announcements have been posted by Cryptic on the STO website, some of which have rejuvenated the deflated playerbase. Fleets were given even more information on the anticipated release of the fleet advancement system; Foundry authors have been celebrating the tool's first significant patch in over a year; endgame players got some good news about two new five-person team missions, and a couple of promotions have made at least a few players smile. Join me as I attempt to analyze all the new information!
Samsung ready to invest in next-gen chip production: here comes 20nm and even 14nm
As things stand, the super-small and super-efficient 22 nanometer transistors in Intels' Ivy Bridge are about as cutting edge as mainstream chip production gets, which is why this promise from Samsung is rather impressive. As reported by Reuters, the Korean manufacturer is preparing to invest $1.9 billion in a new logic chip line that will make chips for smartphones and processors. These chips will use 20nm and 14nm fabrication processes, making them potentially faster and more efficient than Ivy Bridge -- and leaving the silicon currently found in Sammy's 32nm Exynos Quad and Qualcomm's 28nm Snapdragon S4 far behind. Of course, Intel is gearing up for 14nm production next year too, and even setting its sights on 5nm after 2015, so the coming battle for Moore's Law should be just as lively as it is today. [Silicon wafer photo via Shutterstock]
Star Trek Online's June Ask Cryptic discusses fleet advancement, Foundry rewards
Hope you're settled in, Star Trek Online players, because the June Ask Cryptic is quite a read. As you might expect, a good many of the questions revolve around the upcoming fleet advancement system slated for release in Season Six. Dan Stahl takes the opportunity to provide a bit of insight into the specifics of the fleet base system, which will allow fleets to create their own base-of-operations. He also reveals that the studio is working on implementing a system of rewards for completing player-made Foundry content. The studio's "temporary solution" to this is to feature Foundation content in the mission journal. Stahl says that "this will allow [Cryptic] to attach premium rewards to specific player-made content that is being featured." All this and more is on display in this month's Ask Cryptic, so for the full skinny, head on over that way and give it a read.
Captain's Log: A new perspective on STO's endgame
For a veteran Star Trek Online player, it can be very easy to get mired in the game's seemingly soulless endgame. From restricted (time-gated) play to lackluster PvP to grinding strategic task force missions and dailies, sometimes it's difficult to find reason to log in at all, let alone on someone else's schedule. There are always a few options, however. Of course, these ideas aren't going to be everyone's cup of raktajino, but they're a start, and I want to take some time to discuss two possibilities that may help to provide a distraction while we all wait for fleet starbases, Tholians, and Ferasan (the new cat-like species to be released for the Klingon faction).
Captain's Log: Focus on the Foundry
The Foundry is Star Trek Online's user-generated content tool, one that allows players to create their very own playable missions in the game. Those missions also become available as content to the rest of the playerbase. It's a tool that differentiates STO from most other MMOs and encourages fans to expand on the universe of STO and Star Trek in general. Join me as in this Captain's Log, I focus on the Foundry, some of its missions, and the community that keeps it going.
Star Trek issues Foundry Challenge to all captains
Star Trek Online's Foundry has been a powerful -- and tricky -- tool for players to create missions for others to enjoy. To encourage starship captains to create the best possible Foundry missions, Cryptic has issued its first Foundry Challenge with a top prize of 500 Cryptic Points for the C-Store. Creators have three weeks (until March 7th) to make a mission revolving around the murder of a diplomat on Risa, after which players will field-test the results and vote on the best one of the bunch. Only one winner will be selected for the prize. This is intended to be the first of many subsequent Foundry Challenges, each running the span of a month. There are several rules for each entry, including length and story topic. Cryptic is encouraging players to discuss the created missions on the forums in their quest to disseminate the cream of the crop. In other STO news, Cryptic's adding a Deep Space 9 bundle to the game that includes a bridge set, special Duty Officers, costumes, weapons, and a Type-10 (Chaffee) shuttlecraft. The bundle will set purchasers back 1800 CP.
Captain's Log: Facing a content drought? Make up your own!
Those of you who haven't been in Star Trek Online in a while will be happy to know there was a new event system put into place after the advent of A Call to Arms. The event calendar appears the moment a player clicks on his Starfleet delta to hail Starfleet and contains a neatly reorganized mission menu as well as an hourly listing of special daily events in which players can participate. Missions range from the KDF Mirror Universe and the new Borg Invasion of Defera to the Multiphasic Event in which players who farm anomalies for crafting are granted extra rewards during the time period in question. The new event system is very helpful to those players who get satisfaction from a specific type of play as they are able to obtain extra rewards for undertaking that play during the scheduled times. Of course, events aren't the only way to spend your STO time during this content drought, and this New Year's Eve edition of the Captain's Log has a few other ideas for you...
Dan Stahl beams back aboard Cryptic Studios
Dan Stahl couldn't stay away from Star Trek Online for long, and now the former executive producer is back in the fold to head up the Foundry team for Cryptic Studios and parent company Perfect World Entertainment. Stahl, who left STO for Zynga in September, posted on the o-boards earlier this evening announcing his return. "There is something magical going on at Cryptic these days and I'm very happy to be back working on the MMOs that I personally love to play," he said. The Foundry is Cryptic's suite of user-generated content tools that is currently available in Star Trek Online and slated to appear in the company's upcoming Neverwinter title.
Neverwinter was 'almost ready to ship' before F2P MMO retooling
Last month, we reported that Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment were changing gears to render the upcoming D&D Neverwinter game more of an MMO than originally planned, complete with action combat and a cash shop to dispense vanity items and perks. Today, MMORPG.com published an interview with Neverwinter Lead Producer Andy Velasquez, in which he notes that the original title was "almost ready to ship," but the revision is nevertheless for the best: The change from CORPG to a full action RPG F2P MMO is a change that just made sense for us. Perfect World wanted to go big. Expand everything. Do more. Do better. Take your time. Really blow it out. Pushing into 2012 allows us to make these changes. Transitioning into a full-featured action RPG, free-to-play MMO allows us to reach a whole new audience of people. Never underestimate barriers to entry. With a free client, anyone can play. Try it. Where's the harm? It's better for the game, better for us, better for D&D and infinitely better for fans and gamers. With Neverwinter, we're going to prove that F2P does not describe a type of gameplay -- it only describes the fundamentals of a business model. Velasquez also discusses user-generated content and the challenges of working with a famous IP. "A ton of effort is also being made to make sure that we produce an authentic D&D experience," he says. Head over to MMORPG.com for the full interview.
AT&T Foundry innovation center opens its doors in Palo Alto to help devs do what they do
We've heard of keeping up with the Joneses, but this is getting ridiculous. First it was Verizon, then Vodafone, and now Ma Bell -- with an assist from Ericsson -- has built an innovation center in Silicon Valley. This new center completes the triumvirate of AT&T Foundry facilities (the other two are in Texas and Israel), and is a part of the company's strategy to accelerate the process of developing and delivering new products to its customers. Right now, there are over 100 projects in development in Palo Alto, and AT&T is looking to add more. Those who are chosen gain access to AT&T's networks and expertise to ensure that new projects play nice with all of the company's gear, and it's already produced a few things that were on display at the center's grand opening. Want a sneak peek at what's in AT&T's innovation pipeline? Read on past the break to get it. %Gallery-133819%
Cryptic uploads Star Trek Online's free-to-play plans
Curious about how a free-to-play Star Trek Online will look? We are too, which is why we're glad that Cryptic's followed up the unofficial announcement of STO's F2P conversion with specific and numerous details. On the site's new Free-to-Play page, Star Trek Online reveals what silver (free) and gold (subscribers and lifetimers) members will be able to access in the game. Free players will be able to enjoy a majority of the game's content, including character creation, all of the missions, the basic ships, the full range of levels, and special task forces. While free players won't be able to create their own missions through the Foundry system, they will be able to test out ones made by subscribers. The biggest restrictions a free account player will face are a limited mail system, reduced inventory space, and only two character slots. Subscribers and lifetime members will enjoy certain perks under the new system, including a monthly stipend of store points, priority login, respec tokens, Foundry access, and other basic MMO staples. It's interesting to note that when the game changes to the new system later this year, Klingon content for subscribers and free players will unlockable at level 25 instead of the current low level access. This is so that Cryptic can spend more time working on this weaker aspect of the game. The new system will also replace several types of currencies with a single new one, Dilithium, which will be used to purchase ships and gear. There are plenty more details on the site, including an FAQ and Features Matrix. Stay tuned later this week for an in-depth analysis of this information and a Q&A session with Cryptic in our STO column, Captain's Log!
Star Trek Online being used as a film set for web series
It's strange to think about the fact that Star Trek Online is one of the two current flagships of the Trek franchise right now (along with the reboot film series), but for Trekkers looking to get their fix of continuing voyages and away missions, there are few other places to turn. So it's not surprising that low-budget filmmakers are turning to STO for inspiration. Cerberus Films has just released the first part of its new series, Star Trek: Reunion, which was recorded entirely within Star Trek Online. The series is being made by Oliver Smith, who was nominated for a BAFTA Award, and focuses on a group of five Starfleet Academy graduates who become captains and then reunite to discover the truth behind the death of their friend. Oliver Smith admits to being a hardcore STO player, and the introduction of the Foundry toolset allowed him and his team to utilize the game for his machinima series. You can watch the first episode of Star Trek: Reunion after the jump!
Captain's Log: Incoming messages from the devs... again
Captain's Log, Stardate 65131.6... Hello, computer (and players)! I seem to mention this all the time, but I believe it to be true: The developers working on Star Trek Online are more transparent with their work than the devs of most other games. Whether or not this transparency has been always been a good thing is debatable, though. Still, no matter what one's thoughts on this are, I think we can all agree we like to be "in the know" when it comes to new things in development. This past weekend, a select group of STO players was able to attend another Dine with the Devs event, hosted by yours truly, where transparency was taken to the next level. As I let you all know last week, the second-ever Dine with the STO Devs event coincided with some STO devs' visit to the Star Trek Las Vegas convention. Over 50 players gathered at a local Vegas restaurant to eat, drink and bombard Cryptic's developers with their most burning questions. Because 99.99% of the game's players were unable to attend, I captured the entire event on audio and would like to present you with a basic transcript of the evening's events. So make some food, grab a drink, and get ready to fire up the Holodeck for another edition of Captain's Log. Ensign, warp 10! Auxiliary power to the Holodeck matrices and brace for impact...
Captain's Log: Dining with the devs
Captain's Log, Stardate 65075.4... Hello, computer (and players)! Ahhh, the good 'ol developers! You follow them on twitter, you read every one of their forum posts, and you even stalk them in-game. But you know what? Developers are just like us, a fellow human being, right? Wrong! Developers are the key to the future, the hands that create our dreams, the molders that shape our gameplay. Okay, okay -- I'm going a bit overboard, but you have to admit, they are pretty dang cool! Luckily for us Star Trek Online players, the devs that are working on the game, as well as all of the other projects in development at Cryptic, are very transparent. More often that not, they let us know what they are working on and look to the community to see what we think about particular ideas -- we truly get to help influence what makes it into the game. Aside from posting in the forums, many of them also participate with the community by guest starring on podcasts and meeting up with players when they can. As I broke the news to you all last week, I was privileged to host a Dine with the Devs event that coincided with a visit of some of the STO devs to this year's San Diego Comic-Con. While this was not associated with Massively, I figured all of you would like to know what happened and what was said. So, without further ado, it's time to recap the event and fill you all in on the super-secret meeting minutes! Ensign, warp 10! Let's boldly go where most of you were not able to go...
Captain's Log: The reverse slingshot effect
Captain's Log, Stardate 65056.3... Hello, computer (and players)! The slingshot effect is a maneuver, shown throughout the Star Trek franchise, which allowed starships to move back through the time continuum. By traveling at a high warp factor towards a star with a large gravitational pull, the ship would whip around it and time travel. While this seemed to only exist within the realms of the IP, it looks as though Star Trek Online's Executive Producer Dan Stahl took us on a reverse slingshot course, giving us a glimpse into the future of the game. Before we returned to the original timeline, he made sure to write up everything we saw along the way for those who couldn't make the trip. In layman's terms, for those of you who missed the news earlier this week, July's Engineering Report has been released. While this is a monthly publication that contains the development pipeline for STO, including some items that have been featured in past issues, there are always a few bullet points added that seem to spark a healthy amount of debate -- one of these includes the ability to auction off your in-game Emblems, a form of currency, for C-Store points that have been paid for with real money. For information on this, including a response from Cryptic's PR department, and more, read ahead past the jump for this week's Captain's Log entry. Ensign, warp 10! Let's pull a slingshot maneuver of our own...
