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STO August 10th webcast information revealed
So you can't make it to the Sunday, August 10th Las Vegas Star Trek convention to see Leonard Nimoy reveal Star Trek Online to a huge crowd of Trekkies? (Or Trekkers, we don't really know) We understand that you probably feel left out, especially considering that Cryptic is going to be showing live gameplay footage at the convention. Well worry not, for Cryptic has released the webcast information that allows all interested parties to watch as well. Commence rejoicing drive!You can follow this usefully highlighted link at 1:30pm PDT this Sunday, August 10th to watch all the commotion. Who knows? You could possibly get so excited over seeing Star Trek Online actually being played that you knock over your soda/water/coffee (depending on your timezone) but still don't care, because of how excited you are! Even if beverage knock-age doesn't occur, we're pretty certain most of you will be excited regardless.
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.
Leonard Nimoy to unveil Star Trek Online in Vegas
You may know him as the the singer of the late 60's mega-hit The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins, but others remember Leonard Nimoy for something else. What could possibly top that masterpiece, you might ask? He also appeared on a little TV show called Star Trek as the pointy-eared Spock. You may have heard of him.However, the real news here is the fact that Mr. Nimoy will be appearing at the Las Vegas unveiling of Star Trek Online, courtesy of Cryptic Studios. This will take place this coming Sunday, August 10th at the Gene Roddenberry Theater at the Las Vegas Hilton. The event will also play host to the first public showing of gameplay footage and will be shown as a live webcast on the main website for those who can't attend.
Ask Cryptic touches on player-created content
Every time Cryptic puts up a brand new Ask Cryptic article we have a tough time picking only one or two answers to talk about. However, this week was pretty easy. The very first question presented asks about how deep Champions Online will delve into the concept of player-created content, whether it be mods or actual in-game content. Jack Emmert responded reasonably by mentioning that the Nemesis system, costume creation, power selection and power customization features are merely the beginning. Apparently we that we can, "look to see [Cryptic] continue to open the door for more player-generated material." Which really makes us wonder what that means for Star Trek Online.We must admit to this being an exciting proposition. It's our hope as comic book and MMO nerds that there's a future where we can submit completely unique costumes to go through moderated approval for each of our crazy characters in Champions Online. Or even custom animations! That would be unequivocally and unabashedly awesome. Don't disappoint us now, Cryptic.
The hidden art of Star Trek Online
There is much buzz in the MMOG universe this morning about the upcoming title Star Trek Online. Being absolute fanboys and fangirls of Star Trek ourselves (much like our friends at STO Zone who had the same idea) we wanted to show you a couple of nuggets of interesting art that we've extracted. These two images were taken from the backgrounds of the Cryptic Star Trek Online site that was unveiled last night. The top image shows an Andorian female in the foreground of what appears to be an away team. Some of the staff think that may be either a Bolian, Benzite or an Orion male to her left, but it's very hard to make out. (Not that many people remember the Orion males anyway.) Below that is a Klingon at the helm of what appears to be a Bird of Prey with a Human, Ferengi, Cardassian and Vulcan manning the controls, dressed in Federation uniform, or wearing Federation insignia. Speculation from some blog sites suggest that Cryptic is likely looking at a period of time post-DS9, tied to the Officer Exchange Program that started in the episode "A Matter of Honor" during the TNG series. It seems like an excellent spot in the continuity to place an MMO, we think.
Cryptic Studios unveils Star Trek Online, launches website
With the intergalactic cat already out of the bag this weekend, Cryptic Studios has officially announced Star Trek Online and unveiled a website for the in-development MMO. The developer has also released a handful of screenshots and promises to reveal gameplay footage at the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention on August 10 (there's a countdown on the STO site if you need something to stare at for the next 13 days). For those who can't make the convention, or decide to stay home because your prosthetic Vulcan ears didn't look just right, Cryptic will be streaming the presentation online. %Gallery-28626%[Via Massively]
The Daily Grind: The MMO you're most looking forward to
There are so many upcoming MMOs to anticipate, we honestly can't say which one we're looking forward to most. Champions Online looks like good fun (with a good sense of humor!), DC Universe Online has us wowed with its array of super powers (that thing where you can freeze someone in a block of ice and throw them around? We're led to understand it never gets old.), Wrath of the Lich King is sure to turn our attention back to Blizzard (we may or may not have the beta client open as we type -- we'd never admit it if we did), Warhammer Online is just around the corner, Star Trek Online calls to the inner geek in all of us, and Knights of the Old Republic Online (or whatever it might be called) is a siren's song to any geeks not falling head over heels for STO. We're in such a state of giddiness over upcoming games, we can't quite determine which one we're most excited about -- and that's where you come in. Which of the many new titles out there are you most looking forward to?
Cryptic Studios job listing reveals Star Trek Online
If you happen to peruse the recent Game Career guide e-newsletter (PDF file; via WarCry), you'll notice on page 43 an advertisement that Cryptic Studios is hiring. While it may not seem like much, the ad does reveal a rather juicy detail that the developer is working on Star Trek Online. In January 2008, work on the Star Trek MMO switched from Perpetual Entertainment to an undisclosed California-based developer. It looks like they're sticking with the Star Trek Online name; we were so hoping to see City of Trekkies instead. [Via Massively]
Cryptic Studios is hiring ... for Star Trek Online!
There's still a little over 24 hours left on the countdown clock located at Cryptic Studios' official website. Unfortunately, staffing needs seems to have ruined the surprise a bit. WarCry noticed an advertisement in the fall Game Career Guide e-newsletter (pdf) for Cryptic hiring - that specifically mentions Star Trek Online! All that wondering for naught, regrettably. There's still time left to wonder what the studio will unveil on the morrow, of course. Judging by past comments from Jack Emmert, it's safe to say we'll see something more like a AAA title than the casual game STO might have been. Read on below the cut for the full advertisement, and make sure you let us know what you think about this. Does Cryptic have the chops to make two titles at once - one of them a hot potato licensed game?
The Daily Grind: What do you think Cryptic is up to?
The countdown at the Champions Online website is beginning to dwindle down to zero, which begs the question: What do you think it's counting down to? There's been plenty of speculation, especially from our end (hint: Star Trek) but there's always the chance that we're completely wrong. It wouldn't be the first time our predictions haven't panned out.So with that in mind we'd love to hear your take on the -- possibly -- big Cryptic revelation, even if it's some zany pie-in-the-sky sort of stuff. Actually, we especially want to hear it if it's anything like that. Do you think Cryptic is working on a retro-Battlestar Galactica turn-based card game-style strategy MMO? Let us know!
The Daily Grind: Yes or no to STO away missions?
We've been having something of a Star Trek Online kick lately with The Daily Grind, but could you blame us with a suspiciously Cryptic clock ticking away? We figured that there wasn't any point in holding back our continuous thoughts on the possibility of Star Trek Online being announced in less than a month, so today we've got another question to ask you: Do you want away missions in your online space treks? It's not a cut and dry question, because away missions are arguably one of the core mechanics of the Star Trek series. Yet on the other hand, they're almost an entirely separate gameplay type than space exploration and combat.It really comes down to whether or not away missions need to be in the game on launch day or if it could wait until an expansion or large free content update. We would argue -- in devil's advocate form -- that creating a thoroughly complete ship experience may actually be even more important for the game. Then again, it would be sort of strange to never leave your ship and explore the surface of strange planets with other players.
Massively's E3 Week Prediction Bingo
#bingochart { border: 2px solid #111; border-collapse: collapse; } #bingochart td { padding: 1px 0px 1px 0px; border: 1px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; margin: 0; font-size: 70%; } #bingochart th { padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; margin: 0; } AoC is Huge! Firefly MMO News No BioWare MMO News MMOs the Future of PC Gaming Red 5 Announces Their Game Consoles are the Future of MMOs "We're not after WoW Numbers" Animal Crossing: the MMO Free RealmsInfo Microtransactions - Future of MMOs Guild Wars 2 Info Cryptic's Star Trek Online Free Space The Agency Info Secret World Info DirectX 10 Compatible! Social Tools the Future of MMOs Champions Online Info APB Info DCUO Info Free to Play the Future of MMOs Valve MMO Announced 38's Copernicus Unveiled Carbine's Game Announced Turbine's Next Project var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/The_MMO_gaming_E3_2008_prediction_bingo_card'; Every year it's customary to roll out predictions on what will and won't show up at the current year's E3 event. With Massively heading in the direction of the LA Convention Center already, we thought it might be fun to offer up some likely (and highly unlikely) predictions of what might get talked about next week. In reality, this is sort of a "future of the MMO industry list" as everything on here is more-or-less a current or upcoming trend. The only question is whether any given item will get discussed next week.Each of those nice images is a link, which will take you into our E3 Predictions Gallery. Don't know who Carbine or Red 5 are? Not sure about Copernicus? If you don't understand one of our bingo squares, be sure to dig down and find out what all the fuss is about. We'll be bringing you all the MMO dirt you can stand next week, so hopefully this will tide you over until then. Enjoy!%Gallery-27434%
Cryptic Studios developing user-generated content tools
There's a lot of Champions Online information swirling about the internet right now, if you hadn't noticed. So it can be easy to miss some of the better articles on the game, unless you look very carefully. Not only does Rock, Paper Shotgun have a great article about Champions Online up but they also plan to release more throughout the week. As if that weren't enough they managed to pull an interesting piece of information out of Cryptic CEO John Needham, too. According to Needham, Cryptic has a dynamic content system in the works that will allow the developer to spawn unique zones on the fly. While this is all very interesting, you're probably wondering how this factors into Champions Online. Well, it doesn't. At least not right now it doesn't.This dynamic content system is actually for other upcoming MMOs being developed by Cryptic. Oh, how we wonder what sort of MMO would benefit from such a system. However, removing our tinfoil hats reveals that there's something else even cooler about all of this. These tools are being polished up so that they can be given to future players who will then be able to create their own content within Cryptic games. Unfortunately, Needham didn't go into exactly what kind of content players will be creating but the fact that such a thing is even being worked on is entirely cool beans.
Champions creator confirms tabletop and MMO will develop simultaneously
In an interview with SuperheroFlix, Hero Games creator Steve Long talks about how the tabletop version of Champions will develop in tandem with Champions Online. Long says that while Cryptic Studios is free to do whatever they want with the IP for the MMO, future sourcebooks will expand upon what Cryptic does. In fact, two of the upcoming books will feature content exclusively created by the MMO studio. What's more, there will be crossover content between the two games going forward into the future. One wonders if this sort of -- forgive us -- synergy will influence other projects. Like, just as an example ... Star Trek Online. Let's hope so, because if there's one franchise that could use a reboot, it's that one!
The Daily Grind: Do you want to be a ship or control a ship in STO?
Since we get the feeling that something may be announced for Star Trek fans somewhat soon, we thought it a good idea to be topical.The moment anyone begins talking about Star Trek Online we here at Massively begin to wonder whether we want to play a character on the bridge of the ship with a group of other players or whether we want to just be the ship ourselves. It's an important question because it affects how the entire game is perceived and played. So far we've had three space MMOs where the ship was the avatar. Those games are Jumpgate, Earth and Beyond Online and EVE Online. On top of that, Jumpgate Evolution will make for a fourth spaceship-centered MMO.With that in mind, we here at Massively are hoping for something different from Star Trek Online. It seems to us that part of the draw of both MMOs and Star Trek is working together with a group of people to explore space and sometimes do battle. Still, we're not sure if we're on the minority with that opinion and would love to know what you happen to think on the subject.
Star Trek Online fans look back at the Perpetual game-that-wasn't
The Hailing Frequency forum is a self-styled fallout shelter for fans of the now-canceled Perpetual Entertainment game Star Trek Online. Interestingly, the forum has begun a several-part series unveiling never-before-seen screenshots of the game. With Perpetual's demise one would have thought these images would remain locked into fan hard drives forever. Instead, the forum moderators have been given leave by the new owners of the project to "start generating some significant hype for Star Trek Online." Poster Zach Nicodemous offers not only a series of (admittedly fuzzy) images of the project, but offers a great deal of hope to Trek fans everywhere.According to Nicodemous, in the second post of the series, the new developer of STO has yet to make a Sci-Fi game. Just the same, they're looking to aggressively enter the marketplace, exceeding the game Perpetual was looking to make in numerous ways. Be sure to check out the screenshots, which includes hints that the game may have actually included ship interiors - a possibilty the developer initially ruled out.
The changes happening at Cryptic
Cryptic Studios was the developer to bring us a superhero MMO with City of Heroes. Since that time thousands of people have spent a lot of time both creating and playing their fantasized superheroes over the past years, including us here at Massively. Essentially, we've always felt like Cryptic games were pretty damn good. Recently, Jack Emmert made a post sharing with the community how the Champions Online team stopped development of new content for two weeks in order to thoroughly play and polish a single zone. Is this a sign of things to come from Cryptic? We certainly hope so, because with three titles in development -- Star Trek Online being a strongly-rumored guess for one of them -- there's already quite a lot that's different about the guys that brought us City of Heroes back in 2004 these days.
The Daily Grind: Which Star Trek races do you most want in the MMO?
There are many races within the Star Trek universe to choose from when it comes to your favorites -- and we say that in plural form because lets be honest, you can't pick just one -- so of course we're curious about your personal choices. If you had the power to choose four or five races for Star Trek Online, what would they be? Vulcan? Cardassian, Bajoran, Ferengi, Klingon, or Romulan? Or maybe something less expected like the Voth? We'd totally roll some bipedal hyper-dinosaur characters. Obviously we're assuming that Humans are included in this list, but hey if you want to exclude them feel free.There's certainly a lot of room for discussion on this topic, seeing as there have been six Star Trek series (if you count the animated series) and ten -- but soon to be eleven -- movies. One thing we personally thing is that all Game Masters should be forced to be the Q race, because come on... that just makes too much sense!
The Daily Grind: Will Star Trek Online be worth the wait?
The checkered past of Star Trek Online is well-known to both fans and detractors of that universe. As with so many things, the longer one has to wait for something, the greater the expectation accrued, until at last there comes a point at which nothing can possibly live up to its own hype.However, there are indications that point toward Cryptic Studios picking up the license to have a go, and given their track record, there is room for hope. Will any of the cool concepts from the previous iteration remain? Will Cryptic be able to innovate in a genre they haven't tried before? What would make STO worth playing?
Is Cryptic hinting at Star Trek Online?
Keen-eyed reader Jester has alerted us to an interesting clue that might be Cryptic's way of telling us what their other MMO in development might be. On their front page, Cryptic has a small countdown clock with a lovely space background, but no other text over it.Over at Star Trek fansite Trekcore, they've posted a ton of the concept artwork that had been previously done by Perpetual for the Star Trek Online before it got canceled. One of the pieces is the same blue-washed planet scene immediately discernible as the background for Cryptic's countdown timer. We've inset the clock into the concept piece for your viewing pleasure above. Is this a smoking gun? Or, rather, a plasma-venting core?
