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Star Trek Online beams aboard Voyager actor Tim Russ
The big secret surrounding Star Trek Online's mystery guest in the upcoming Season 8.5 featured episode is out: Tim Russ, who played security officer Tuvok on Star Trek Voyager, will be lending his voice talents to reprise the role. Russ' Tuvok is now an admiral and will be encountered by players in the episode A Step Between Stars. He said he's thrilled to see where the franchise has taken the character: "I like the fact that it's a future story, that it's picked up from where we left off." Tim Russ is the latest of many Star Trek alumni who have provided voice-overs for the game, including Denise Crosby, Michael Dorn, and Leonard Nimoy. You can check out an interview with Russ about his recording session after the break.
Star Trek Online brings Undine up to par
Cryptic Systems Designer Jeff Hamilton is on tap for today's Star Trek Online dev blog, talking about the updates being made in Season 8.5 to one of the game's most fearsome foes: the Undine. Hamilton warns players to expect a more scrappy Undine race when the update lands on January 30th: "We felt that the Undine in Star Trek Online were not on par with the Borg in terms of their toughness and challenge rating –- so we've decided to go back and make them a little bit smarter, a little bit faster, and a little bit tougher." To accomplish this, the team has given Undine ships better AI, faster engines, more weapons, summonable reinforcements, and the preference for strafing attacks during combat. The Undine Vila-class battleship will even have a new ability to open rifts to fluidic space as part of its arsenal.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's Season 8.5 changes
Last week I wrote about a few of the revamped Federation-Klingon war missions in Star Trek Online's upcoming Season 8.5. This week a few more notable changes and teasers were released, including the news that Star Trek Online has a new Executive Producer and a Star Trek actor's voice will be featured in during the upcoming anniversary event! Pardon me sir, but haven't we met before? The game's new (and returning) EP, Stephen D'Angelo, posted a blog last week announcing his return to the command chair, along with the news that former EP, Daniel Stahl, has been reassigned to another top-secret project. Many of us had already heard about the existence of another game in development at Cryptic, so it's not so much of a surprise to hear of personnel shifts in this regard.
Cryptic toughening up Star Trek Online's Undine
Cryptic is tweaking Star Trek Online's Undine, otherwise known as species 8472. You might recall from Star Trek: Voyager that the Undine were powerful enough to give the Borg fits, so Cryptic has "decided to go back and make them a little bit smarter, a little bit faster, and a little bit tougher." The latest STO dev blog, penned by systems designer Jeff Hamilton, has all the details.
Star Trek Online updates Klingon War episodes
As we heard yesterday, part of Star Trek Online's Season 8.5 will be devoted to revamping a dozen early episodes from the game in order to bring them up to par with later efforts. Cryptic Designer Jesse Heinig wrote a dev blog explaining what these changes will entail for the Federation's Klingon War story arc. "Rather than turn one or two more episodes into feature episodes, though, we've chosen to go through and make noticeable improvements on all of them," Heinig explained. "The stories remain the same and much of the gameplay is still there, but we've tweaked the missions to be faster, more dynamic, and more visually interesting." The revamped episodes will take advantage of better encounter pacing, removal of unneeded encounters, accomodation for player ships with cloaks, additional art and environments, cleaned-up dialogue, career-specific options and rewards, and fly-out messages from NPCs to enhance storytelling.
Star Trek Online's Season 8.5 coming January 30th
Newly promoted Executive Producer Stephen D'Angelo penned a dev blog today giving players a heads up regarding Season 8.5 and the fourth anniversary of Star Trek Online. D'Angelo said that 8.5 will be arriving on January 30th, which should kick off the game's anniversary event as well. When this happens, players will have an opportunity to earn one or more new "hybrid" starships that use Dyson technology, explore a brand-new featured episode with a Star Trek actor, and enjoy 12 revamped Federation episodes. Other changes coming include the elimination of the hourly event calendar, the ability to swap between starships and builds on the fly, more slots for ships, and an "easy equip" feature to outfit ships painlessly.
Stahl vacates STO lead role for 'exciting new project' at Cryptic
Star Trek Online executive producer Daniel Stahl is now former Star Trek Online executive producer Daniel Stahl, according to a post from new executive producer Stephen D'Angelo. He writes that Stahl "decided to step down from the captain's chair to pursue an exciting new project at Cryptic Studios." D'Angelo also thanks Stahl for his service, which included leading "STO for three of the four years since the game launched." D'Angelo previously served as STO's executive producer for six months when Stahl left Cryptic for Zynga before returning and reclaiming his original post.
Captain's Log: Investigating Star Trek Online's Season 8.5 revamped missions
It's not very often that the devs at Star Trek Online manages to completely surprise the playerbase with something unanticipated. This week Star Trek Online Community Manager Brandon Felczer posted a list of patch notes for the Tribble test server as well as a new screenshot for the Friday gallery, stating that the screenshot was from the upcoming "Season 8.5" patch. The patch notes contained a lot of changes that none of us was truly expecting, most of which (but not all, of course) are being generally well-received. The biggest shock is that the patch will include the first new PvP arena in years. Also included in the notes was the announcement that the devs have been busy revamping several of the low-level Starfleet missions to improve their look as well as their pacing. I've had the opportunity to jump on the Tribble test server to check out some of the revamped missions. Of the 12 missions on the list, I've played four: Stranded in Space, Kuvah'Magh, Researcher Rescue, and The Ultimate Klingon. Many of the screenshots are from the updated missions, so beware -- there be spoilers ahead!
Captain's Log: Can Star Trek Online craft a future for crafting?
This week I'll be dedicating a whole column on the current state of crafting in Star Trek Online. If there's one thing upon which most Star Trek Online players agree, it's that the crafting system in STO needs a complete overhaul. But there's a very real question as to whether or not an overhaul is even feasible. When it comes to business, it's usually best to save those parts of a business plan that are working so as not to waste the investments already made. In relation to MMOs, the same considerations should (and in the case of publicly-held companies, is legally required to) be granted to all aspects of its product. Since most MMOs have multiple features typical to all games (PvP, crafting, housing, PvE, etc.) each one of these facets' productivity matters. If a single feature assists in keeping players in-game, then there's more potential for revenue generation to occur. If a feature not only keeps a player in-game but is, in and of itself, a point of revenue generation, then it's all the better for the company and therefore its shareholders.
Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond
Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's year in review
We've reached the end of 2013 and once again it's time to take a look back at the past year in Star Trek Online to see what has been successful and what missed the mark. I have to say that this year has been the most active that the game has seen since its launch almost four years ago. There's a lot to cover, so I'll just get right to it. A new mission, a new ship, and a familiar voice The game's third anniversary saw a new featured episode accompany the usual Q-instigated frivolity. The mission called Temporal Ambassador included the familiar voice of actress Denise Crosby, whose character, Tasha Yar from Star Trek: The Next Generation, was brought back along with the long-awaited Ambassador Class ship. The ship became the mission reward, continuing Star Trek Online's tradition of providing players with a new vessel during the game's anniversary event. While many of us had hoped that Crosby might be heard again as her other character, the Romulan Tal Shiar Operative Sela, I don't think many of us were truly expecting what was to come.
One Shots: Get to da Choppa!
"This is the last time I ever got to see my Orc Choppa in game," sent in reader Sean. "Oddly enough, I couldn't get a screenshot of my Order character because even in the final days they didn't take out the faction locking, and so I was locked out for eight hours." It's also the last time that I'll be able to make that awesome Predator pun that you see in the title of this week's column there. Man, with Warhammer Online gone, how will I be able to make my '80s action movie references? I guess I'll just put on a brave face and soldier on, somehow.
Captain's Log: A Star Trek Online 2014 wish list
We're coming up on 2014 and staring Star Trek Online's fourth anniversary right in the face. It's an anniversary that many naysayers said would never come. Next week I plan on taking a look back at the past year in Star Trek Online, so this week I thought it would be fun to prognosticate on what we might see in the year to come. A few days ago, STO Community Manager Brandon Felczer wrote a blog post on the game's site, and buried within that post was the announcement that Cryptic and Perfect World Entertainment have slated another expansion for the game in 2014. The news was actually a bit surprising, and although there were no additional facts about what the expansion might entail, there has been a lot of speculation by the players. I am no exception to the speculation frenzy, so here's my own personal wish list for what I'd like to see in the upcoming expansion and other releases in 2014.
One Shots: Parking the Enterprise
Another week, another gorgeous Star Trek Online screenshot from reader Mark. Mark sent us in this picture of the Enterprise looking for a parking spot around Deep Space Nine, perhaps endlessly circling the lot while the husband's waiting for someone close to the door to pull out and the wife is arguing that they should just park a little further away and hoof it in with EVA suits. Fun fact: This was just one of dozens of screenshots that Mark sent in February 2013 when we put out the Great One Shots Call for more pictures. A less-fun fact: We're starting to run out of community-submitted screenshots to share with you, and our well might be dry by the end of January. Remember, it's you who keeps One Shots alive!
Perfect World putting new resources toward console development
Perfect World Entertainment, the mega-publisher behind games like Neverwinter, Torchlight II, RaiderZ, and Star Trek Online, has just announced that it is launching a new in-house division dedicated to console development. According to general manager of publishing Andrew Brown, investing in console development offers Perfect World a way to "better connect with players." The console division will be dedicated to bringing new and existing PWE titles to consoles. Brown seemed optimistic about expanding into the console world, explaining, "You can expect Perfect World to be a major player in the console marketplace." No specific games were named for release. [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's reputation systems for the new player
One thing new MMO players will learn is that games that have levels inevitably also have a level cap, meaning that when a character reaches the highest level, there's not often much left to do other than to wait for a new expansion. This conundrum has left many developers trying to find ways to keep players in the game while they worked on new, larger content pushes. Many accomplish the task by creating repeatable quests or missions. Some games, Star Trek Online included, have integrated what are known as reputation systems into their games. Reputation systems are meant to keep players participating in repeatable content, allowing them to apply the currency received from that play to obtain select items and unique rewards.
Star Trek Online getting another expansion 'late in 2014'
Star Trek Online fans, you've got a new expansion coming your way in 2014. So says the latest STO dev blog. The entry is basically a year-end recap, and it offers up plenty of thanks for making 2013 "the best year ever for STO." It also says that "your enthusiastic support has put another expansion on the schedule for late in 2014." Unfortunately there are no other details as of yet, but hey, feel free to give the whole thing a read via the links below. [Thanks Grand Nagus!]
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's wacky Winter Event
Ah, the holiday season! I've learned over the past few years that MMO developers must really look forward to working on their respective games' winter events because they're allowed to break free from the rigidity of individual franchises and create things that are a bit more avant garde. OK, maybe not every developer, but one thing's for sure: The team over at Cryptic certainly uses the Winter Event in Star Trek Online to allow its silly flag to fly. The Star Trek Online Winter Event has incrementally grown bigger and wackier since it first began, and this year's festivities are no exception.
Dorn's Worf the subject of latest Star Trek Online dev blog
Star Trek Online lead writer Christine "Kestrel" Thompson has authored the 28th dev blog concerning STO's Season 8 content. The blog's subject is actor Michael Dorn, better known in Star Trek circles as Worf. Thompson details how Dorn was able to perform Worf's voice-overs in a Los Angeles studio while Cryptic devs listened in via Skype and directed the session. Thompson also mentions that KDF players will notice even more voice-overs in early Klingon missions once this week's scheduled update has gone live.
Captain's Log: Fleets for new players in Star Trek Online
Once again it's time to delve into tips and tricks for new players in this week's Captain's Log. I'm quite happy to say that many of these previous columns are still very popular and generate a lot of feedback. This week I will endeavor to help new Star Trek Online (and MMO) players with questions I've received via email about the pros and cons of joining a fleet. All MMOs have social groups, most called guilds. In Star Trek Online these groups are appropriately referred to as fleets due to the naval structure of the factional militaries. These social groups are extremely diverse, as diverse as the people who play the game. The trick is finding the right fit.
