sto-memory-alpha

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  • Captain's Log: Pros and cons of Season 3

    by 
    Ryan Greene
    Ryan Greene
    12.09.2010

    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: Ask Cryptic raises questions about STO's future

    by 
    Ryan Greene
    Ryan Greene
    10.07.2010

    The future of Star Trek Online comes up a lot in Captain's Log. Whether imagining cool new features or picking apart comments by Executive Producer Daniel Stahl, I ponder STO's tomorrows fairly frequently. But, hey, it's not my fault the folks at Cryptic Studios talk about the game's near and far future so much, right? Especially with their monthly Ask Cryptic feature, the developers address the game's, er, development all the time. This month's extra-hefty Ask Cryptic offers players a lot of tasty food for thought -- but a forum post I missed last week has given me indigestion.

  • Captain's Log: Say hello to my minigames

    by 
    Ryan Greene
    Ryan Greene
    08.26.2010

    C'mon, no Whammies, no Whammies, STOP! Argh, I got a swirly thing and some squigglies. That means I, uh... won two bars of gold-pressed latinum? I wish the Dabo girl would stop flirting with that Klingon -- I have no Bajorly clue what I'm doing. Hiya, readers! Pull up a barstool and get comfy. This week's Captain's Log, your Thursday fix of Star Trek Online news and views, is all about minigames. With the recent release of Season 2: Ancient Enemies, the folks at Cryptic Studios introduced a pair of minigames to STO, and they say they have more in the works. I thought it might be fun to check out the new diversions and maybe suggest a few of our own for future updates.

  • Captain's Log: Guide to Memory Alpha and crafting in Star Trek Online

    by 
    Ryan Greene
    Ryan Greene
    05.20.2010

    Attention, Starfleet! It's time again for Captain's Log, your favorite Thursday Star Trek Online column. After last week's roundup of incoming changes and improvements, let's discuss the latest much-needed upgrade to STO: the Memory Alpha overhaul! I am so excited about this change. Crafting in STO definitely got short shrift at launch. The system itself was not engaging, and progression was a confounding mess. While Cryptic Studios haven't fundamentally altered the former, last week's update to the Season 1.3 patch made such changes to the latter -- it implemented a dedicated crafting window and actual progression -- that I almost don't care. After bidding a brief farewell to the previous system, allow me to explain the basics of crafting: materials, missions and Memory Alpha.

  • Captain's Log: A look into the future of Star Trek Online

    by 
    Ryan Greene
    Ryan Greene
    05.13.2010

    Hello again, everyone! Welcome to another installment of Captain's Log, our weekly dose of Star Trek Online goodness. I trust you all had a fine time with Captain Trout last week, learning about the Klingon beginner's experience. While you were gone, the lovely engineers on the U.S.S. Bob Wiley have installed a brandy new graphics processor, so we're back up and running! Cryptic Studios have had a busy week or so with STO. First came their big push to welcome back players, which included a free weekend for lapsed subscribers. Then came the exciting news of Cryptic's development plans for the next three months. And today saw the release of an update to Season 1.1, which includes much-needed Memory Alpha improvements and the somewhat-delayed fourth Special Task Force mission, Undine Terradome. I want to take this opportunity to highlight some of the incoming content that could make this the summer of STO -- and to ponder a few roadblocks that might get in the way.

  • Captain's Log: Fleet actions, the Crystalline Entity and you

    by 
    Ryan Greene
    Ryan Greene
    04.01.2010

    Ahoy, ensigns and admirals! Welcome back to Captain's Log, our weekly dose of Star Trek Online news, tips and unfounded personal opinions straight from the final frontier. After Friday's look at the ups and downs of Season One, today's Captain's Log assumes its regular Thursday stardate. At least until his masters at Massively make good on their threat to reassign your humble captain to Q-tip quality control. On Ferenginar. This week, let's take a look at Fleet Actions. Some are a rewarding change of pace from the often solitary grind of patrol and exploration. And some -- well, okay, just one -- is the bane of Starfleet's existence. We'll get to that in a minute.