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Captain's Log: STO's new prime directive
Captain's Log, Stardate 64667.9... Hello, computer (and players)! Welcome to this week's Captain's Log entry for March 3rd, 20... wait... March? YES! Can you believe it is March already?! This is total madness, and not the basketball kind. Really, though, this year has been warping by inside and outside of the Star Trek Online universe. Nevertheless, today's focus is on the new "warp drive" enhancements Cryptic has seemed to install into its STO development team. As all Trekkers and Trekkies know, the Prime Directive was set forth as the most important guiding principle of the United Federation of Planets; it serves as the basis for how the Picards and Janeways of Starfleet conduct their business. But what is Cryptic's Prime Directive for STO? Forget whatever you thought was the answer to that question, because you're about to self-destruct with joy. Ensign, warp 10! Let's blow the jumpsuits off these readers and get them all STO subscriptions...
Champions Online discusses the future of the game, adding voice chat
The free-to-play conversion has certainly wrought some far-reaching changes for Champions Online, but as producer Rob Overmeyer puts forth in the latest State of the Game letter, there's still more to come. Aside from numerous C-Store additions for players, a new power framework and a new adventure pack are both in the works for the next couple of months. In addition, the development team is looking to add "Comic Series" missions on a regular basis, akin to the featured episodes implemented in Star Trek Online. This letter comes hot on the heels of the announcement that Cryptic Studios will be partnering with Vivox to bring built-in voice chat to both of its current games. That benefits both Champions Online and Star Trek Online, although no details are currently available for the precise implementation of the feature or the integration timetable. Still, fans of the game should be happy to see that the change in models hasn't hurt any of the game's long-term plans for content or functionality.
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...
Dan Stahl talks Star Trek Online's Season 4 and beyond
Since taking over last year, Dan Stahl has made a point of being very accessible to players when it comes to the future of Star Trek Online and the team's overall plans. The United Federation of Planets, a fan forum celebrating the variety of games set within the universe, has conducted an interview with Stahl in the most recent issue of its magazine. As always, there's a large number of different projects behind the scenes as the team turns its focus toward Season 4 and beyond. The overarching plan for the game's second year seems to be to improve and reinforce the game's elements to date, with Stahl mentioning that he hopes to put the Romulan faction into the game before the year is out. There are plans for another increase in level cap, possibly including Admiral-rank uniform variants as seen on the shows. And with Season 4 on its way, the team is hard at work trying to step up the storyline elements about the mysterious agenda of the Iconians, as well as the war between the KDF and Starfleet. The full interview begins on page 10 and should prove interesting to any Star Trek Online fan.
Captain's Log: One year of Star Trek Online
Happy birthday, Star Trek Online! It's your party, and you can cry if you want to! And if you don't, then I will, because the Northeast and I are recovering from another flapping snowstorm! I swear to Pete, I need a mysterious British doctor to show up in a time-traveling phone booth and whisk me ahead to June. So Cryptic Studios' spacefaring MMO is one year old! That means STO is walking more, pooping less often, and not keeping you up all night with its bawling. That also means a lot has happened since STO went live 366 or so days ago. (Yeah, the actual anniversary was yesterday.) It's time to celebrate and lament the first full year of STO's lifespan.
Captain's Log: Facing the future of Star Trek Online
Welcome to another edition of Captain's Log, the greatest weekly column about Star Trek Online that you'll read on Massively today. I can't believe this, but there's a fairly solid chance that I'm digging myself out of another blizzard at this very moment, so I hope you're having fun reading this instead of freezing to death, shovel in hand. Winter is getting on my nerves. Next week, STO will celebrate its one-year anniversary, and Captain's Log will celebrate with a half-amazed look back at 12 months of Federation funsauce and Klingon, er... hm. Anyway, we'll look ahead this week to STO's future -- both the future we expect, and the future STO needs to ensure it reaches its second, fifth and tenth anniversaries.
Captain's Log: Newstime grab bag
Hey, everybody. I did four things this weekend: I saw True Grit, I saw The Green Hornet, I tried kumquats for the first time and I went on a blind date with a dyspeptic wendigo. I recommend doing only one of those things. In other news, it's time for another edition of Captain's Log. We covered some helpful resources for creating missions with Star Trek Online's Foundry last week, even as the folks at Cryptic Studios tossed out a whole slew of new information. Dan Stahl and company meted out an update to the feature-episode calendar, a new Engineering Report and the latest Ask Cryptic. So, what'd we learn?
Captain's Log: Foundry-friendly resources and tips
Greetings, readers, and welcome to another installment of Captain's Log. I'm sure many of you live in sunnier climes and don't know such joys, but by the time you're reading this, I should be dealing with the aftermath of yet another darn snow day. I hope it warms your hearts that as you all sit there relaxing, I'm likely outside shoveling snow for what feels like the 17th time this winter. After last week's look at Massively's readers poll, which named Star Trek Online the best MMO of 2010, your friendly neighborhood Cap's Log focuses this week on how to use the Foundry, STO's user-generated-content tools. I'll point out some handy online resources that explain the fundamentals of using the Foundry and then offer my thoughts on something even more vital to a successful mission: storytelling.
Star Trek Online and Champions Online both unveil a surfeit of new information
Revealing the date for Champions Online's free-to-play conversion was apparently just the tip of the iceberg for the two MMOs run by Cryptic Studios. Champions Online has been graced with an updated FAQ regarding the business model transition, explaining in more detail exactly what options will be locked to non-paying players (all costume options are open, for example). The game has also unveiled a fansite kit for players looking to spread their love of the game to others, no doubt to help get more people interested in the free version. Star Trek Online, on the other hand, doesn't have a change in model in the cards at the moment. What it does have is a newly updated list of feature episodes, giving players a look at the content that will be emerging on the live servers around the end of the month. The development team has also published a new Engineering Report, complete with the usual detailed breakdown of what's in the works, including a small look to the one-year anniversary of Star Trek Online.
Captain's Log: STO was the best MMO of 2010?
Happy new year, everybody! By now, we've all gotten over our post-party, um, grogginess (children might be reading) and trudged back to work. I'm still on cloud nine after a stellar Sun Bowl for my alma mater, but the time has come to look to the stars for another Captain's Log. This week's edition, tortured metaphors and all, offers up a bit of a grab bag -- which has nothing at all to do with the fact that my day job is frantically hectic this week. We'll check out Star Trek Online's strong showing in Massively's year-end readers' poll, fiddle with a ship-building contest, and maybe whine a little about the Foundry. So, fun!
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's year in review
Welcome back, Capsloggers! (Note: professional nicknamer here, available for all your mascot-imagining, brand-revamping needs.) I hope you've all had a merry merry and a happy happy so far. And if you haven't, then keep it to yourself, because Massively is no place to be sad. Now the calendar's just one page, and of course I am excited. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and the end of the year means end-of-the-year lists! As we all know, 2010 has been a big year for Star Trek Online, from its release in February to the introduction of Season 3 just this month. Skip away with me down the Memory Brick Road as we recall the biggest STO stories of the year!
Captain's Log: Creating my first mission in the Foundry
Welcome to another edition of Captain's Log, loyal readers! (Disloyal readers and the illiterate are also welcome.) I hope you've been enjoying the ramp-up to Christmas without losing any limbs to last-minute shopping. I ordered everything from the comfort of Amazon this year, though a small, self-destructive part of me misses the Mad-Maxian insanity of the mall right around now. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, or at least a day off from work, and most of you probably aren't primed for a deep discussion of Star Trek Online's future or an in-depth examination of Season 3. Instead, let's play with the Foundry and maybe have a little fun as I try to craft my first actual mission.
Captain's Log: Spending time with the Foundry beta
As Deathwing rages through Azeroth and the inhabitants of other worlds look forward to gift-filled holiday events, members of the Federation and the Klingon Defense Force saw Christmahanukwanzakah arrive early in the form of Season 3. Star Trek Online's third mega-patch brought a fine array of features, including Borg ship pieces and replayable missions, to live servers last Thursday. But the biggest feature (and possibly STO's best) landed on the Tribble test server instead. So let's take a trip to Beta Land and get to know the Foundry a little better by playing a few user-made missions.
Captain's Log: Pros and cons of Season 3
Big-time release news this week, folks! Have you prepared for the biggest, best expansion of game content this side of the Laurentian System? I hope you've battened down the hatches, called in sick and stocked up on frozen pizza, because at long last, the moment we've waited for has arrived. Season 3: Genesis goes live today, and the universe will never be the same. New missions, new loot, a new look and -- I'm sorry, say again? What's a Deathwing? Yeah, you must be thinking of something else. Captain's Log is all over Star Trek Online's latest super-patch, which introduces -- or comes close to introducing -- some seriously welcome changes to the whole of known space.
Captain's Log: Will STO become a sandbox or remain a themepark?
Welcome back from the holiday, readers! I trust everyone has recovered from the excitement of a long weekend, a tasty Thanksgiving and a rabid Black Friday. By now you should have settled back into the slow, miserable slog toward more holidays. I know I have. For this week's Captain's Log, I'm going to discuss themepark and sandbox MMOs. What do those terms mean? And how does Star Trek Online fit into that dichotomy, both in its present form and in its Foundry-expanded future?
Captain's Log: Supplemental on STO's treatment of canon
Welcome to another edition of Captain's Log, everyone's (well, mostly my) favorite column about Star Trek Online. Guess what? It's Thursday, which means Thanksgiving is upon us -- assuming you're in the U.S., in which case I hope you already knew that. At any rate, in the spirit of the holiday, we're going buffet-style this week, talking about a little of this and a little of that. But don't worry; most of you are probably slipping into a food coma already, so I'll keep things light, mostly. For an appetizer, we'll nibble on Cryptic Studios' little preview of Season 3. For a nice second course, I'll revisit my opinion on STO's treatment of Star Trek canon. And for dessert, I'll suggest some Black Friday shopping on the C-Store!
Captain's Log: Wrapping up STO's second series of feature episodes
Space can be a dangerous place, as villains and ne'er-do-wells lurk in every corner. Last time, the Breen invaded the Defera system. Now, the Devidians seek to destroy an entire sector. I'm talking, of course, about Star Trek Online's weekly episodes. The second series wrapped up on Saturday, and because it should be the last major bit of content we get from Cryptic Studios until Season 3, I thought we might check out a play-through of all five episodes. Does STO's second set of feature episodes live up to the fun of the first? Actually, the Devidians blow the Breen out of the water!
Star Trek Online's C-Store goes as basic as possible
With the recent announcement that players will get a chance to design the next Enterprise, Star Trek Online players might want a chance to go back to basics. This coincides nicely with Cryptic's giving players the option to go as far back to basics as is fictionally possible with the advent of the latest items in the C-Store. The original NX-01 Enterprise as well as the uniforms of the prequel series (and its mirror-universe counterparts) are now available for purchase. Although the various options are available for purchase individually, players who either can't get enough of the pre-Federation series or enjoy saving money can also purchase a value bundle with all of the uniforms and the ship for just around $15. As it turns out, the ship itself is a Lieutenant-rank ship, meaning that players can start flying it as soon as they start a character. Star Trek Online has quite a bit on its plate for the future, but that doesn't mean you can't put down roots in the past.
Captain's Log: A glimpse of Cryptic's free-to-play philosophy
Welcome to another edition of Captain's Log, everybody. I hope y'all enjoyed the weekend's festivities, both in-game and real-world. I've only just woken up from my sugar coma to discover a bright new November Thursday, so I guess it's Star Trek Online time! The folks at Cryptic Studios dropped a big ol' bomb last week. A free-to-play bomb! Sometime soon, Champions Online -- y'know, Cryptic's other MMO, the one about superheroes -- will adopt a fabulously free-ish payment model. What does that mean for the future of STO? Let's speculate!
Captain's Log: Guide to surviving (without) Halloween
Oh boy! My favorite time of year is here again! A time when ghouls and goblins rule the night, I can watch The Monster Squad three times a week without feeling silly and no one has a problem with my wearing leopard-print tights to a party. (I rocked a homemade Kraven the Hunter costume this past weekend. Deal with it.) Yes sir, I love me some Halloween. And like most awesomely major holidays, my MMOs usually help me celebrate in style. My paladin, for instance, finally snagged himself a set of Horseman's Reins this year. Sadly, Star Trek Online offers no such holiday merriment. So what's a forlorn fan of costume parties and pumpkin patches to do in STO? Fresh from the brain trust behind your beloved Captain's Log, consider these alternatives to tide you over until you go trick-or-treating.
