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'Star Trek: Discovery' has its Spock
CBS just cast one of the most important roles in Star Trek: Discovery's future. The network has chosen Ethan Peck to play the iconic Spock in its streaming sci-fi series. According to the broadcaster, the In Time actor "effortlessly" reflected Spock's half-Vulcan mix of cool logic and bubbling emotions. It's not certain exactly when he'll show up, although there's a good chance he'll appear sometime in season two given that he both serves under the Enterprise's Christopher Pike and is the foster brother to "Michael Burnham."
Facebook's 'Star Trek' reactions show it doesn't know jack about Spock
Today is Star Trek's 50th anniversary, marking half a century since the show first aired on September 8th 1966. Here at Engadget, we're celebrating with an ancient Trekkie tradition: Nitpicking. Today, Facebook announced that it's temporarily replacing its "Like" buttons with a set of Trek-inspired reactions -- a laughing Captain Kirk, a sad, crying Geordi Laforge and an adorably angry Klingon. They're all perfect ...except for Spock. Facebook chose Star Trek's most emotionless character to represent its most emotive reaction: "Wow."
'Star Trek Online' honors Leonard Nimoy with in-game Spock statues
With the recent passing of Leonard Nimoy, multiple generations of geeks found themselves at a deep loss. It makes sense then that the folks behind Star Trek Online would erect effigies to immortalize the man perhaps best known for his role as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek universe. Should you travel to the planet Vulcan (Spock's home world), New Romulus, or even Earth in the game, you'll see memorials for him. The former two have statues with different quotes ("Live long and prosper" on Vulcan, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" on New Romulus), while our home planet is hanging black flags of mourning at its spaceport for the next week.
'Star Trek' star Leonard Nimoy passes away at 83
The Star Trek and sci-fi world at large suffered a great loss today, as Leonard Nimoy has passed away at the age of 83. Best known for his role as human/alien Spock in the TV and movie series, he had been hospitalized two days ago for chest pains. His wife Susan Bay Nimoy told the New York Times her husband died of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which he attributed to an old smoking habit. In recent years, he'd returned to our TV sets on Fringe playing the scientist William Bell, and made a cameo appearance as Spock Prime in Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013.
Spock and Kirk battle it out together in this Star Trek trailer
The latest trailer for Star Trek: The Game shows off the daring heroism of a true bromance, this one between Kirk and Spock. It's OK, Spock, you can cry a little if you need to. This kind of love really gets to us, too.
Captain's Log: The lower decks
Captain's Log, Stardate 64977.3... Spock, Riker, Kira, Worf, Chakotay, and T'Pol. What do they all have in common? They are the notable men and women who served under their Captains as First Officer. Joret, Sito, Alyssa, Taurik, Sam and Geniveve. What do they all have in common? No one knows who the heck they are. In the world of Star Trek, these "unknowns" are the members of the lower decks, people whose work goes unnoticed, whose accomplishments are unacknowledged, and who are often killed off at the end of the episode when you finally do get to know them. While the ships in Star Trek Online currently seem to be manned only by the Captain, his or her Bridge Officers (BOff), and some random crewmen walking around the ship, this is about to change. In the next couple months, get ready to welcome new members to your ship's lower decks. The Duty Officer (DOff) system will be adding a new form of gameplay to STO and give players even more ways to level characters and become immersed in the universe surrounding them. While there are a ton of random pieces of information about it floating out there, I think that Captain's Log is the perfect place to put it all together and give you a more concise picture of how it will work. Ensign, warp 10! It's time to attend your new favorite class, DOffs 101...
The Game Archaeologist and the dragon of the deep dungeon
The Game Archaeologist is a lazy adventurer-slash-professor who dons his trademark cap for a weekly expedition through some of the most famous MMOs of the past few decades. Each month, he chooses a different title in order to examine its highlights, talk with its developers, and invite its fans to share their experiences. Part of the holy mission of the Game Archaeologist is to ferret out the roots of history that ultimately led to MMORPGs as we know them today. Another part of the mission is to root out ferrets, as my claw-scarred arms can attest. Some of that history is fairly recent, but today we're going to travel back -- way back -- to a time before many of you were born. Including me, as a matter of fact. The year is 1974. The world is hip-deep in the throes of shag carpeting, driftwood furniture and the strains of Grand Funk Railroad. It truly seemed like nothing would ever be cool or non-earth-toned again. At this, the lowest moment in all of history, game designers Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson took the concept of miniature wargaming, merged it with a fantasy motif, and sold it under the name Dungeons & Dragons. Geeks everywhere had a reason to rejoice, and through this roleplaying game the foundations for MMOs were laid. Let's take a brief survey through D&D, giving special emphasis to how this great-granddaddy of RPGs passed down a legacy that we enjoy in our modern online titles. Also, there will be popcorn.
The Perfect Ten: The sadistic shopper's list for Black Friday and Cyber Monday
With the holiday shopping season upon us, gamers are hot for great deals and cheap entertainment. As my wife's logic goes, if something is 80% off, you buy it, even if you didn't really want it in the first place. It's the principle of the thing, an automatic 80% dose of smug satisfaction at being a savvy shopper! Not every deal should be pursued, however. Although most video games are playable for years and decades after release, not so with MMOs that have had their service shuttered. It's recently come to my attention that even though these games are completely unplayable -- rendered nothing more than a few cents' worth of a DVD and cardboard packaging -- online retailers haven't kept up with the times and keep these products on the virtual shelves long past their expiration dates. That's not to say you should avoid these products at all cost, because studies show that a large percentage of Massively readers have a sick and twisted sense of humor. What would make a better gift this Christmas than a multi-million-dollar-budget MMO that died a horrible death years before? So don't be the typical gifter who settles for a Blu-ray player or an iPod -- give a package of misery, disillusionment and broken dreams! Hit the jump for 10 items that absolutely belong in your shopping cart if you wish to be feared!
Spock!
We recently showed you a video of Zachary Quinto -- Spock Reloaded, if you will -- doing voice work for Star Trek Online. Quinto won't be reprising his role as the famous Vulcan though, and will instead guide new players through the tutorial as an Emergency Medical Hologram. Now we've come across footage of Leonard Nimoy lending his voice as well for Cryptic's massively multiplayer take on the Star Trek IP. He'll be providing the narration that brings players up to date with events in Star Trek Online's setting. Stick with us past the jump for footage of Leonard Nimoy (and clips from the game) in a behind-the-scenes video for Star Trek Online.
Leonard Nimoy lending deep, soothing voice to Star Trek Online
Last week, we received word that Zachary Quinto, who provided the fresh face for Spock in this past summer's Star Trek relaunch, would do the voice of Star Trek Online's "Emergency Medical Hologram tutorial." Today, we received further Spock-based news for the title: According to an Atari press release, Leonard Nimoy will narrate the game's introduction, and can also be heard during cut scenes and other events throughout the game. For instance, he'll offer a brief congratulation when your first Seaman egg hatches. Of course, this announcement has caused fans of the series anticipate the in-game appearance of "old Spock" -- just as Quinto's involvement brought murmurs of a "new Spock" cameo. The somewhat creepier fans began prophesying hot, hot Spock on Spock action. We generally try not to associate with this latter group, for obvious reasons.
The Digital Continuum: Federation stands for 'fighting'
A new fragrance is out, and it smells exactly like the old one. It's the gentle waft of something I'm quite familiar with: Star Trek fandom. Let me preface this by saying I've been a fan of Star Trek ever since I saw an episode of The Next Generation back when my parents used to tape it every week so we could watch it as a family. So when I declare that people griping about Star Trek Online's emphasis on combat aren't true Trek fans, I know the amount of weight that statement carries. And you know what? They really aren't true fans.
Star Trek Online lore: 2379 to 2384
It's rare for an MMO to bring with it a history as rich and generational as Star Trek. The Trek universe is as deep and rich with lore as Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, and just like both those titles the lore has been passed down from parent to child over generations now. This leaves any game which attempts to encapsulate that lore in a precarious situation of both having to remain close to the canon, yet leaving enough creative room for the player to feel like they're making a true difference in the universe. And while we have yet to see if Star Trek Online lives up to the second part of that criteria, we can take a look at how they are moving the lore forward and dealing with the canocial events of past Trek incarnations. The main conduit for this lesson in lore has been through the sporadic postings of The Path to 2409 on the official STO website. However, there's a lot of information there and it's quite easy to get lost in it all. So, let's take a look at the Star Trek Online timeline Cryptic has released thus far. To begin with, we'll go over the years 2379 through 2384.
Star Trek references in the World of Warcraft
Wait, what? Star Trek is now cool you say? What is my nerdy self going to cling to? What's going to make a geek above other geeks as I recite the Klingon alphabet backwards in the Qo'noS dialect? Oh wait, there's WoW! And what's more geeky than taking a look at all the Star Trek references in the game?Well, the answer is not much.But that's okay, because it's geek-chic, or whatever those babbling idiots on What Not To Wear say.So take a look my geeky bretheren, all the Star Trek references in the World of Warcraft after thy break.
Star Trek Online timeline update covers the year 2382
Cryptic has updated the Star Trek Online timeline that leads up to when the game takes place. Just to refresh everyone's memory, Star Trek Online is set in the year 2409, which is thirty years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. The newest update on the official website covers the events of the year 2382, or 27 years prior to the game.The biggest part of this updates deals with the Romulans (biological cousins to the Vulcans) who are heading down a path to civil war, as political in-fighting continues to grow. Meanwhile the Unification movement, represented by Ambassador Spock, once again attempts to push their agenda by seeking the support of the Federation Council. Ultimately though, the Federation declines to support the movement to unify the two races, as the Vulcan members of the council aren't too keen on such an uncertain and essentially illogical idea.%Gallery-28615%
STO combat and character questions answered in latest Ask Cryptic
Combat is the main topic this time around in the latest Ask Cryptic for Star Trek Online. The first question pertains to melee combat and just how it'll work. Surprisingly, it looks as though melee combat will actually be more than a simple aside to back-and-forth phaser fire. Cryptic says that Klingons will make use of bat'leth and the Federation will use lirpa -- that historically memorable staff-like weapon Spock and Kirk used to battle it out. It still remains slightly unclear whether or not players from opposite factions will be able to effectively use melee weaponry.As for question number two -- and probably the second-most important -- a forum poster asked Cryptic whether ship combat would be point-and-click like EVE Online or more tactical like traditional Star Trek battles. Thankfully, the answer was that yes, players can expect to have full control over their ship in order to hide their weaker points while attacking the structurally unsound targets of their enemies' shields and hull.
Spock to pimp new Trek MMO in Vegas
If you haven't been to the Star Trek Experience inside the Las Vegas Hilton, you might want to try and get yourself there on August 10th. That's when Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, will be unveiling gameplay footage from the upcoming Star Trek Online.This long-in-the-making and often troubled MMO has had a shaky path down the development road, and Vegas might be the perfect place for it to make one of its first appearances. Developer Cryptic could renew their Star Trek vows with a quickie wedding in true Trek style. One Vulcan Vow Renewal to go, please.
