Star Trek Online

humanji

Anyone else interested in this? I'm not really counting the seconds until it's release, but I'm curious to see how it turns out. It's been created by Cryptic Studios, who are responsible, among other things, for City Of Heroes and the upcoming Champions Online.

It's set about 30 years after Star Trek Nemises and each player will captain their own ship and boldly go where a couple hundred thousand other players already went. I think originally each play could take a role of an officer in a starships crew, but now they've changed it so that you pick a career type (medical, security, scout etc) and you captain a ship of that type, which I think is a bit of a cop out, as the original method would make for some interesting team play.

Here's the preview trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Ug52fz5_k

It looks like it could be a lot of fun.

humanji

Oh, and here's a FAQ about the game from the official site:

What is Star Trek Online?
Star Trek® Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in the Star Trek universe. Star Trek Online will be developed for both console and PC formats. Game features will include customizable ships and characters from the Klingon Empire and United Federation of Planets, ground, space and shipboard gameplay and unique options for player-generated content.
What is an MMORPG?
MMORPG is an acronym for massively multiplayer online role-playing game. In an MMORPG, millions of players from around the world can interact with each other to socialize or achieve common goals.
Will a monthly fee be required to play?
We haven't decided on pricing plans yet.
What is Cryptic using from the previous development?
Star Trek Online is entirely based on Cryptic's design and built entirely using Cryptic Studios' technology and assets. The former studio that we acquired the Star Trek game rights from had a huge amount of concept art created for their game – much of that is applicable, and we are taking advantage of it. But Cryptic's engine, technology platform and content pipelines have become so mature that with a small team we can quickly ramp up a project.
Will there be PvP?
Yes. We plan for a faction vs. faction PvP ruleset, but there are also plans for a competitive PvE mechanic.
Will there be PvP, PvE and RP rule set servers?
There will not be separate servers for PvP and PvE rulesets. Open PvP will be restricted to designated sectors of space (far-off reaches of unclaimed territory). Consensual PvP and competitive PvE will occur between the realm borders (the Neutral Zone), where players will be competing over territory and resources with the option to PvP.
Will there be an economy?
Many of the details are still in the works, but yes, there will be an economy that makes sense in the Star Trek universe. Since the Federation has explicitly done away with money, expect bartering and trading of goods to be an important part of the economy. Less tangible forms of economics such as Reputation are also not out of the question.
What are the system requirements?
We haven't finalized this yet. Suffice to say, we want to make a game that looks great and can run well on a wide variety of systems.
Will you need to have to have an internet connection to play Star Trek Online?
Yes.
When does the game take place?
Approximately 30 years after the events in Star Trek Nemesis. The game starts in 2409. Technology has advanced and the galaxy is a much more volatile place.
What races will we be able to play?
The plan is Human, Vulcan, Andorian, Klingon, Orion, Gorn, and several others. You will also be able to create your own race with its own custom look and attributes.
Will everyone be the Captain of their own ship?
Yes, but you will have to earn the responsibility and skill to command larger and more powerful vessels. Remember, in Star Trek as well as naval tradition, whoever commands the ship is the "Captain," even if it is not your current rank.
Can I play something other than a Captain like a Doctor or an Engineer?
Everyone is a Captain, (remember, if you command a ship, you are automatically a Captain), and you will command a crew, but that does not limit your role. Your character will still be able to choose from a variety of career paths, such as Engineer, Tactical Officer, Doctor, Science Officer, etc. Your career path is your root, and will affect your skills, and how you command your crew. Consider Jean-Luc Picard, Beverly Crusher, Worf and Kathryn Janeway. Picard was an archeologist and diplomat, Crusher was a doctor, Worf a security/tactical officer, and Janeway was a scientist. Each eventually chose a career in command and became ship captains. This does not mean the game will limit your ship choices based on your profession – far from it. The examples are simply an example of how the game design was inspired.
Do I need to be well-versed in Star Trek lore in order to play Star Trek Online?
No, even the most casual Star Trek fan will enjoy and appreciate the world. For those not familiar with the Star Trek universe, Star Trek Online will be a new experience with as much depth as each individual is comfortable with exploring. However, the world will be rich with lore from every series and movie that will satisfy even the most devout Trek fan.
How will I be able to play with my friends?
In space, you can form teams and do missions together. Space battles will occur between multiple player and NPC vessels. When you do a ground mission, the mission owner can build an away team that consists of other players. Outside of combat, there will be numerous community building features, locations, hubs and events that will bring players together.
Will console and PC players be on the same servers?
We would like that to be the case. There is nothing technologically keeping us from making it so.
Will there be realistic travel times in space?
Travel times will be semi-realistic, with a focus on fun. Space is big, and it can take a very long time to travel great distances. That travel time can be impractically long. We will introduce transwarp conduit technology and worm holes to allow players to travel to distant sectors of the galaxy without needing days or weeks of gameplay to do so.

Drakar

Will you need to have to have an internet connection to play Star Trek Online?
Yes.

Fail!

This be interesting though:

Will console and PC players be on the same servers?
We would like that to be the case. There is nothing technologically keeping us from making it so.

hairyheretic

I'll be keeping an eye on it.

R0ot

I'm a Star Trek fan, this interests me to the point where ill give the beta or free trial a go, but there are a lot of questions raised over it working in the long run or not. :pac:

Kiith

While the original idea of having actual people filling all the roles (i.e. security, engineering, medical etc..) was a novel one, i dont thin k it would ever have worked.

Captains get to order everyone about
Security/tactical get to fire phasers\torpedo's and lead away teams
Conn gets to fly the ships

Engineers get to re-route the plasma manifolds and increase the deflector output....ohh, exciting...

humanji

HEY!!! If you're as tedious a person as me, you'd find that really exciting!

Monty - the one and only

as good as an idea as that was.... think of the idiots in any game... now think of one taking your lovely new starship.. and flying it into a sun, or some such...

another to add to the wait and see pile...

humanji

Actually, there are ways that that could be made quite interesting. For example, since you're all part of a military organisation, you should all be following orders. The Captain tells the guy at the con to fly to x and instead he flys to y. If the game could keep note of that and the crewman got some sort of review at the end that takes into account how well they took their orders. It'd quickly let you know who the twats are and who the genuine players are. It'd never be implemented, but sure it's an idea.

bnt

New trailer: the Klingons have a few words for us ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zftBaJsIUQA

Niska

MMO's and pre-order goodies. Loathe them or ignore them, you can't like them :P

Anyway, the extra goodies you get via pre-ordering at specific shops has been announced (no word of European bonuses in the announcment):

http://www.massively.com/2009/12/07/star-trek-online-offers-advanced-retail-programs/

GameStop customers receive the ability to command the USS Enterprise.
Best Buy is offering their customers a fun in-game pet: Federation Captains will receive a Tribble, and Klingon Commanders will receive a Targ.
Amazon is offering an exclusive "Liberated Borg" Bridge Officer.
Wal-Mart offers a Bonus Skill Points package.
Target customers will receive a unique ground weapon – a TR-116.
Direct2Drive customers receive an exclusive Multi-Spatial Personal Shield, which constantly regenerates itself and the health of its wearer.
STEAM is offering customers Chromodynamic Armor, which improves the damage and critical hits of energy weapons.

http://www.crispygamer.com/comics/backward/backward-2009-12-09.aspx

Leprachaun

Niska wrote: »

MMO's and pre-order goodies. Loathe them or ignore them, you can't like them :P

Anyway, the extra goodies you get via pre-ordering at specific shops has been announced (no word of European bonuses in the announcment):

http://www.massively.com/2009/12/07/star-trek-online-offers-advanced-retail-programs/



http://www.crispygamer.com/comics/backward/backward-2009-12-09.aspx

Wow thats really relevant to us in Ireland! Can't wait to run down to my nearest walmart and pick it up!

humanji

GameStop customers receive the ability to command the USS Enterprise.

Does that mean that when the game goes live there's going to be hundreds of USS Enterprises flying about?

Leprachaun

humanji wrote: »

Does that mean that when the game goes live there's going to be hundreds of USS Enterprises flying about?

It gives you the class of ship,not the actual enterprise.


Tbh,I don't like star trek (except for the sweet new movie), I find it really boring, but a sci-fi mmo thats not mind bogglingly dull ( EVE, I'm looking at you) is pretty tempting alright.

Kiith

Leprachaun wrote: »

It gives you the class of ship,not the actual enterprise.

Which Enterprise is it? Ill be pretty pissed if the only way you can fly either the Galaxy or the Sovereign is if you get the game through Gamestop.

I'm still not sure about this game. Have been following it since day 1, but most of the trailers just dont do it for me. And as a massive trek fan, this is really dissapointing. I hope i'm wrong, but it just looks too, i dunno, arcady for my liking.

humanji

Leprachaun wrote: »

It gives you the class of ship,not the actual enterprise.

Ah, right. It's kind of obvious when you think about it.

Kiith wrote: »

I'm still not sure about this game. Have been following it since day 1, but most of the trailers just dont do it for me. And as a massive trek fan, this is really dissapointing. I hope i'm wrong, but it just looks too, i dunno, arcady for my liking.

I'm in the Beta and without going into NDA territory, the ship combat part is great fun, and the away team sections need work. But they're modifying it constantly, so it could work out pretty well.

If nothing else, it'll be something new on the market.

I am Beta testing this too. Its a good game so far.

Niska

Kiith wrote: »

Which Enterprise is it? Ill be pretty pissed if the only way you can fly either the Galaxy or the Sovereign is if you get the game through Gamestop.

Original Constitution-class (TV series, not the movie refit). The Galaxy and Soverign are both in the game as Cruisers (in traditional MMO terms, I guess that makes 'em tanks)

http://www.startrekonline.com/ships

Funky

really liking the look of this, space combat looks pretty sweet.

Ravage1616

So to the guys that were in beta, is it worth getting? Been keeping an eye on this and am getting tempted!

Dr. Baltar

Ravage1616 wrote: »

So to the guys that were in beta, is it worth getting? Been keeping an eye on this and am getting tempted!

This.

Also, how much is this game supposed to be when it comes out, and assuming it's pay per month, what's that supposed to be?
I'm considering getting back into WoW over the Summer, but if ST:O is out by then and isn't too expensive I might get into that instead.

Big Trek Fan here btw!

humanji

I haven't had a chance to play a lot of it, but I enjoyed what I did. It's different to other MMO's out there, so if nothing else it'll be a breath of fresh air.

I'd say don't dive in straight away. Waith until it's out a little while so that you cna guage peoples reactions to it.

And I'd say it;ll be the usual €15.00 a month type thing.

Ravage1616

More I read about it, the more I want to play! Think i might get it on release, ship combat looks interesting!

Venom

humanji wrote: »

I haven't had a chance to play a lot of it, but I enjoyed what I did. It's different to other MMO's out there, so if nothing else it'll be a breath of fresh air.

I'd say don't dive in straight away. Waith until it's out a little while so that you cna guage peoples reactions to it.

And I'd say it;ll be the usual €15.00 a month type thing.

How much of a level grind is it?

Ravage1616

Decided to take a chance and bought the special edition which gives access to the beta and early start! Looking forward to it now!

Branoic

Yeah, been following this closley and got my pre-order beta key emailed from amazon today. Can't wait, looks awesome.

Ravage1616

Branoic wrote: »

Yeah, been following this closley and got my pre-order beta key emailed from amazon today. Can't wait, looks awesome.

I have the client downloaded and ready to go! Looking forward to it now! Do you get the borg bridge officer with that?

humanji

Venom wrote: »

How much of a level grind is it?

I didn't find it much of a grind at all. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think there's really any grinding at all. You're given missions and you complete them. From what I played there isn't anything else to do so far. That's not to say it's lacking in content, more that I've been concentrating on the missions and haven't been worried about levelling.

Niska

Well closed Beta is finished now. Open Beta starts tomorrow (12th), 10:00am (PST), so 18:00 here. Of course the servers will melt and you won't be able to download the client due to traffic etc...

On the plus side, the end of closed Beta means the end of non-disclosure, so lots of STO info in the week ahead.

Apart from pre-ordering the game, I'm do not know of anyway to currently get an open Beta key. I'd expect pre-order to be the only way in the short term, and that closer to the end of the month, as release gets closer and closer, more and more websites will be giving them away.

humanji

There's a few sites that are offering access. Fileplanet sent me a link, but I'm not sure if you've to be a subscriber or anything. I'd say that if you look around you'll find a few here and there.

Kiith

I pre-ordered it today, and am downloading the client from Direct2Drive.co.uk at 1.2mbs. Should have it around 2 hours (but then i have 2-3gb of patching). I really hope i like this, as its probably the most anticipated IP thats being turned into an MMO since Warcraft.

Venom

humanji wrote: »

I didn't find it much of a grind at all. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think there's really any grinding at all. You're given missions and you complete them. From what I played there isn't anything else to do so far. That's not to say it's lacking in content, more that I've been concentrating on the missions and haven't been worried about levelling.

Good news as CO was very sort on the content side of things during the first month so glad to hear Cryptic learned something from that.

Whats the story with dying in the game as in how much time does it take you to get back into the action and are there any death penalties?

How does the loot system work?

How big are the planetside parts of the game?

Can Runabouts dock with larger class ships?

Kiith

One of the biggest weaknesses that i've seen so far is the lack of any sort of content for the Klingons. They are almost 100% PvP. Now dont get my wrong, i love PvP. But from the sounds of things, they have practically no PvE, randomly generated or otherwise, and are pretty much there just to be blown up ny the federation.

Now maybe it will work like Monster Play in LotRO, which could be good. But surely they could have added some content for them for PvE? It just seems like they were thrown in for the sake of throwing them in.

Venom wrote: »

Whats the story with dying in the game as in how much time does it take you to get back into the action and are there any death penalties?

I dont think there's any death penalty. You restart the mission in the same ship. I may be wrong though, as i think this is still covered under the NDA.

humanji

First of all, just in case it wasn't obvious from my other posts, I'm not the best source of info on this game as my playtime has been sporadic at best. But I'll answer the best I can. Others may be able to elaborate and correct me.

Venom wrote: »

Good news as CO was very sort on the content side of things during the first month so glad to hear Cryptic learned something from that.

The thing is, I didn't really feel like I was playing an MMO when playing this. It felt quite like Bridge Commander (if you've ever played it) with other players there too. I never really gave any thought to levelling and was just enjoying the missions (hell, I don't even have a clue what level I'm on).

This is one of the things that I like about the game. It just doesn't feel like you have to struggle to level up as quickly as you can. You can just take you time and pretend you're a real captain doing captain-like things.

Venom wrote: »

Whats the story with dying in the game as in how much time does it take you to get back into the action and are there any death penalties?

I'm afraid I can't say because I've yet to die (which I'm sure is a testement to my luck rather than my skill. I think you just get to restart the mission you're on, but can't be sure.

Venom wrote: »

How does the loot system work?

In space combat, destroyed ships will drop pieces of equipment that you can add to your own. It's not like every single ship drops anything, more like one ship in a group might drop something. This may sound a bit disappointing, but I think it's handy in that you're not constantly looking through your inventory, matching equipment to make sure you've got the best.

On away missions it's similar I think, though I'm struggling to remember it exactly (I'm getting old). I honestly can't remember how loot is shared out with multiple players teaming up.

Venom wrote: »

How big are the planetside parts of the game?

They're not huge, but there's plenty of space. Obviously they range in size, but the one problem I found is that you may get missions where everything is centered in one location, meaning that the rest of the map is unused. And I mean it's unused. Apart from the terrain and plants, there's nothing else there, so there's little reason to explore unless your scanners picked up anomolies.

Venom wrote: »

Can Runabouts dock with larger class ships?

I don't think there are runabouts in this. You have your ship and when you are docking with a space station or sending an away team somewhere you just press a key and it loads the new area.

Granted everything here is probably wrong, but as I said it's the best I can do.

Venom

Thanks for the info humanji might have to grab myself a preorder if I dont get a code in my inbox

I read you can buy Runabouts on DS9 and they are player controlled ships.

humanji

Ah right. I guess I just haven't gotten there yet.

zekiel

Does anyone have a better download link than the torrent file.. im getting 2kb's on average. Have the pre-order beta key sorted.. but im worried im not going to get the client for another year at this rate.

humanji

zekiel wrote: »

Does anyone have a better download link than the torrent file.. im getting 2kb's on average. Have the pre-order beta key sorted.. but im worried im not going to get the client for another year at this rate.

There's Fileplanet: http://www.fileplanet.com/112326/0/0/0/1/section/Game_Client

Not sure if it'll be any better.

Kiith

Just to let you all know, the NDA is apparently down. The official site is down too, so i cant confirm 100%.

As for downloading it, i was getting 1.1mb a sec on Direct2Drive earlier

Ravage1616

Kiith wrote: »

Just to let you all know, the NDA is apparently down. The official site is down too, so i cant confirm 100%.

As for downloading it, i was getting 1.1mb a sec on Direct2Drive earlier

D2D was really fast for me too! Nice and painless compared to the trouble other people are having!

Jim

Got the CE today via Steam just for the beta access. Total impulse purchase >< I think the servers come up at 1pm?

Woden

Yeah saw the advert on steam and was tempted.

Stoopid shiney exclusive bits.

Kiith

Servers come up at 6pm GMT as far as i know. Hopefully be able to login without much hassle, but its still Beta, so who knows.

Jim

Woden wrote: »

Yeah saw the advert on steam and was tempted.

Stoopid shiney exclusive bits.

DS9 uniforms for some American version of the game. Bastards.

None of the Digital Deluxe stuff appeals to me really apart from the beta entry. The NX prefix kinda. Would have loved DS9 or TNG uniforms though.

Niska

Steam or D2D are the way to go.

"Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

Game have the DS9 uniforms - they're on a separate card, so they'll probably end up on eBay as well, and probably on the Cryptic store some time after launch. But the costume editor is fairly robust and you can get a decent approximation.

http://www.game.co.uk/Games/PC-Games/Star-Trek-Online-The-Gold-Edition-with-GAME-Exclusive-Head-Start-Access-and-In-Game-Phaser/~r345236/

Play also have the DS9 costumes, and 500 skill points head start (as compared to the 350 you start with normally).

http://www.play.com/Games/PC/4-/13069361/Star-Trek-Online-The-Gold-Edition/Product.html

The DS9 uniforms are both sets - the original DS9 ones that are used in Voyager as well, and the later "Dominion War" ones that are used in the TNG movies.

The TNG uniforms are available to everyone in the game from the start.

The TNG uniforms will be in the game at launch. The DS9 and TOS are exclusive offers.

http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=41808

Venom

Tentonhammer is giving away free beta keys but you best be quick

http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/79119

Byron85

Venom wrote: »

Tentonhammer is giving away free beta keys but you best be quick

http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/79119

They're all gone.

Does anyone have any recommendations as to which pre-order set to get?? I can't make up my mind!

Venom

T.W.H Byron wrote: »

They're all gone.

Does anyone have any recommendations as to which pre-set to get?? I can't make up my mind!

Just keep an eye on that site for more later in month. I went for the steam digital deluxe and the download speed was awesome at 1.2mbs

Jim

I managed to create a character and get my first quest/mission before I was booted.

Now I wait...

Niska

T.W.H Byron wrote: »

They're all gone.

Does anyone have any recommendations as to which pre-order set to get?? I can't make up my mind!

Well you got two main options, digitial edition (Steam and D2D) or the ol' shop.
The retail edition (aka Gold edition) is available from Amazon, Play, Game and probably Gamestop. Games link is here:

http://www.game.co.uk/Games/PC-Games/Star-Trek-Online-The-Gold-Edition-with-GAME-Exclusive-Head-Start-Access-and-In-Game-Phaser/~r345236/

With this you get:

STO Design T-shirt (size Large)
Pack of 5 Art Post Cards
Star Trek Universe Map
Bonus DLC Postcard with unique number for in-game 'Deep Space Nine' Uniform Set
Collector's Box

(and the game...)

Game also offer an exclusive in-game item of a phaser (and spell checker knows phaser, which is cool).

Amazon offer a Borg bridge officer.

Play offer extra skill points, and the game 2-3 weeks after release. With added bonus of extra email interaction with codesandpromos to get your Beta key the day after Beta ends.

The Digital Distribution Deluxe edition:

Original Star Trek Uniform Set
Exclusive “KHAAAN!” Emote
Exclusive Klingon Blood Wine Toast Emote
Unique Registry Prefix
Unique Ship Item: Automated Defence Battery

Steam purchasers also get Chromodynamic Armor. (edit - and the Joined Trill as well).

D2D users get Multi Spatial Shield and Joined Trill race.

For a break down of the bonuses, see here:

http://www.startrekonline.com/exclusives

As for which one you should get...? For me the Khaaaaan! emote was the key, and D2D was roughly €10 cheaper than Steam.

Links:

Steam:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/901222/

D2D:

http://www.direct2drive.co.uk/6/8805/product/Buy-Star-Trek-Online-Digital-Deluxe-Edition-Download

Play:

http://www.play.com/Games/PC/4-/13069361/Star-Trek-Online-The-Gold-Edition/Product.html

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Trek-Online-Gold-DVD/dp/B002WTAQBA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1263323087&sr=8-1

Game above.

All in all, you're probably now more confused. Sorry.

hal9000

Massively is giving away 10,000 open beta keys if anyone is interested

http://www.massively.com/2010/01/12/star-trek-online-open-beta-key-giveaway/