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*[[Ferengi]] (must be purchased from Cryptic store) [http://startrekonline.com/store] |
*[[Ferengi]] (must be purchased from Cryptic store) [http://startrekonline.com/store] |
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| + | *[[Pakled]] (must be purchased from Cryptic store) [http://startrekonline.com/store] |
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*[[Tellarite]] (must be purchased from Cryptic store) [http://startrekonline.com/store] |
*[[Tellarite]] (must be purchased from Cryptic store) [http://startrekonline.com/store] |
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*[[Klingon]] (must be purchased from Cryptic store) |
*[[Klingon]] (must be purchased from Cryptic store) |
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Revision as of 01:50, 1 May 2010
Template:Realworld
- For the version of Star Trek Online that was being developed by the defunct Perpetual Entertainment, see Star Trek Online (Perpetual Entertainment).
Star Trek Online (STO or ST:O for short) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Cryptic Studios. Released in February 2010, the game takes place in the year 2409, nearly thirty years after Star Trek Nemesis and 22 years after the destruction of Romulus and Remus as depicted in Star Trek.
Development
Timeline of events leading up to the game
An earlier version of the game was being developed by Perpetual Entertainment; however, in January 2008, Perpetual Entertainment ceased production of the game and laid off the entire Star Trek Online development team. The license for Star Trek Online was acquired by Cryptic, [1] which subsequently hired some of the Perpetual development team. The game was rebuilt from scratch as Cryptic had acquired no useful assets from Perpetual aside from several pieces of concept art that may be included in the final game. [2] [3]
On 27 July 2008, after placing a countdown timer on its website, Cryptic officially announced that they were the new developers and publishers of Star Trek Online. The official website was relaunched with details and screen shots. [4]
On 10 August 2008, at the official Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, Cryptic released several key details of the game as well as a gameplay trailer derived directly from the functioning game. Although no release date was announced, Cryptic Chief Creative Officer (CCO) Jack Emmert hinted that it would be sooner than players would expect, and certainly within the next three years.
French game company Infogrames announced on 9 December 2008 that they were acquiring Cryptic Studios and all of its assets, including Star Trek Online, for US$28 million. [5] [6] [7]
Star Trek Online entered the closed beta stage on 22 October 2009. [8]
On 9 November 2009, the February 2010 release date was announced, with open beta details being released the following week. The open beta stage was originally intended to last from 12 January 2010 through 24 January 2010. This was ultimately extended until 26 January 2010, when the final day saw Cryptic stage a Klingon invasion of the Federation, which was interrupted by a full-scale Borg attack, targeting both sides.
Prior to full release in the US, a head-start offer to customers who had preordered the game, allowing them into the full game ahead of standard retail customers, began on 29 January 2010.
Key features
Several features of the game were released during the Star Trek convention. Among these was the revelation that each player would captain their own vessel, although they would not necessarily have the rank of captain. Crews for the ships would be divided into two with the bridge crew being likened to pets, i.e. upgradeable skills and so on, with the remainder of the crew being general, or "redshirts" as described by Jack Emmert. Holographic crewmembers could also serve as members of a crew, albeit with some limitations. An article in the October 2008 issue of the GameInformer magazine revealed that players' bridge crew, while being defeatable, will not die in the game although the "redshirt" crew can and will, necessitating replenishment at Starbases or friendly planets. The September 17 issue of "Ask Cryptic" posted on the official website also indicated that bridge crews will be fully customizable with race, appearance, gender, name and physical appearance under player control. [9]
Gameplay style was also broached with general directions of combat, exploration and trade. Combat would involve slow-paced space combat and fast-paced land-based conflict. Exploration was discussed in view of explored and unexplored planets and systems. Players will choose, depending on the mission, which bridge crew and/or General crew to accompany them to the surface of planets, although some missions would involve only players. First contact with undiscovered species will also be featured and may influence the progress of the game. An example was given in that a newly discovered race may be recruited so one or two bridge crew members could be of that race. Trade would be conducted within the faction (Federation or Klingon Empire) with some trade channels between the two. These missions would be assigned from a Central Command.
Screenshot of what looks like a Galaxy-class bridge from the Star Trek Online gameplay trailer
Although explorable vessel interiors was one of the points mentioned in the convention, the current indication is that most vessel interiors would not be available at the launch of the game but will be the possible focus of an expansion, with executive producer Craig Zinkievich emphasizing the need to "get it right" before releasing the feature. Several areas previously mentioned as explorable, in the convention, include medical facilities and decks. The gameplay trailer also showed a battle scene on what appeared to be a Template:ShipClass bridge. [10] On November 11, Cryptic announced that the main bridge would be available at launch. [11] It was mentioned however that starship interiors were mainly for social interaction, showing what modifications were made, less as a game-play element. The announcements did not preclude, however, the possibility of selected vessel interiors used for away mission scenarios.
Guilds within the game would be known as fleets with the ability to construct space stations, mining facilities and shipyards. Several ships would only be fleet-accessible and can be constructed with the cooperative efforts of many players, then passed on to fleet members. Cooperative play was also touched on with the ability to form taskforces.
Customization is one of the hallmarks of Cryptic Studios and as such, Jack Emmert detailed the numerous ways in which players would be able to personalize the game. The characters, or in-game avatars would feature fully customizable features, with modifiable features such as body size and height. Players would also be able to create their own race or base a new race on mentioned, unseen-before races. Ships would also be customizable to an extent with the ability to change nacelles and stanchions or add decals. This customization would take place within the bounds of a class, with the overall design being immediately recognisable as a ship of a certain class. It has also been stated that captains will have a 'stable' of ships, with older vessels being kept unused rather than discarded as more advanced vessels become available.
Story
Star Trek Online logo
The two playable factions, so far as have been announced, are the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. However, it has been implied that antagonists will include several Romulan factions, Species 8472, and the Borg. It has been also mentioned in an interview that in the future, the game designers would possibly include new factions. These would most likely be Romulans, Cardassians or another major race in the Star Trek universe.
An ancient threat has also been mentioned, with players wondering if this means the return of the Hur'q or the Iconian civilization.
The storyline is based on Species 8472, who have identified themselves as the "Undine", infiltrating many of the high ranking personnel amongst the Alpha Quadrant powers. The Federation does its utmost to preserve peace in both Alpha and Beta Quadrants, but ultimately fails as open war erupts between The United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, the True Cardassian Way, and the Dominion. The Klingon Empire uses the chaos brought about by the destruction of the Romulan and Reman homeworlds to expand their territory. As the Klingons progress, the chairman of the high council is attacked by three aliens. After defeating them, J'mpok, the chairman, interrogates them. The aliens are the Undine, and reveal that they were attempting to take control of the Klingon Empire by killing him. This incident brings about open war between the Klingon Empire and Species 8472. Worf asks the Federation for assistance, but when he is rebuffed, he cuts all ties to the Federation. As more Undine are interrogated, they learn of the infiltrations of the Gorn Hegemony and Orion Syndicate. After defeating the Gorn, the Gorn become a member of the Klingon Empire. Afterwards, the Klingons and Gorn engage the Orions, who have hired the Nausicaans for assistance. When the Orions surrender, the Nausicaans do as well. The Federation, unable to keep the peace with the now-aggressive Klingon Empire, begins preparations for war. War is declared between the two powers not too long after after Klingons blockade a Federation planet that is, by sudden declaration, a planet of the Klingon Empire. On the other side of the Quadarant, the Romulans now want revenge for the loss of both Romulus and Remus. They begin to build subspace weapons and mass produce Scimitar-class ships. In this time, 2 praetors have to power since the destruction of the worlds. One, an ex-Admiral, makes weapons like the aforementioned subspace weapons and "crushing the Federation" a top priority for the Romulan Star Empire. In her reign, peace is lost between the Federation and Romulan Star Empire, but war is not declared. War comes under the second Praetor, an exiled Romulan who journeyed to the Delta Quadrant and brought the Hirogen back with her. Because of this, the Hirogen, under the promise of "free hunt," are allied with the Romulan Star Empire. Hop across the galaxy to Cardassian space, and the Cardassian Union is still in ruin after the Dominion War. Still trying to recover, the new Cardassian Union and Federation are very close allies now. In this alliance, the Federation provides military defense while the new Cardassian Union reforms under a democratic-like system, similar to what the Federation has. However, a movement has begun to return the Cardassian Union to its former state as a major military power in the Quadrant. This movement, called the True Cardassian Way, spreads throughout Cardassian space. This new faction is very desperate to a 'return to the old ways," as they go as far as to recruit the newly formed Terran Federation, formerly the Terran Empire, of the parallel universe to aid in their conquest. Another aid to the True Way comes from the ex-allies from the Dominion War, the Dominion themselves, namely the Jem'Hadar. There are also many sightings of Founders and Vorta in this region of space. While the last major power, the Breen, is no where to be found, it is theorized that they will be placed in the game at a later date.
The player may travel to many areas in both the Alpha Quadrant and Beta Quadrant. While there are many sightings of enemies from the Delta Quadrant and Gamma Quadrant, a player cannot actually travel to those quadrants. The closest a player can get to Gamma Quadrant is fulfilling a rescue operation from inside the Bajoran Wormhole, while the closest to the Delta Quadrant being a sector of space called Gamma Orionis. In this sector, the Borg have begun pushing into Federation and Klingon territory, and has caused the two at-war factions to become allies on this side of the field, and includes missions where Federation and Klingon players can help each other with.
Playable Species
For the Federation, you can play as any of the following canon races:
- Andorian
- Bajoran
- Benzite
- Betazoid
- Bolian
- Ferengi (must be purchased from Cryptic store) [12]
- Human
- Pakled (must be purchased from Cryptic store) [13]
- Tellarite (must be purchased from Cryptic store) [14]
- Klingon (must be purchased from Cryptic store)
- Saurian
- Trill (Normally unjoined, but if purchased in the Deluxe Edition, the player gains access to a joined Trill that comes with a special "Joined" trait)
- Vulcan
- Borg (Liberated Human Borg unlocks if you purchased a lifetime subscription before the launch of the game)
For the Klingon Empire:
- Gorn (male only)
- Klingon
- Lethean (male only)
- Nausicaan (male only)
- Orion
- Borg (Liberated Klingon Borg unlocks if you purchased a lifetime subscription before the launch of the game)
In addition, both sides have the option to create your own alien character with its own appearance and traits.
An upcoming update to the game is adding additional races to the Federation team to have as both bridge officers and playable characters. These races include Caitian, Yridian, Rigelian, Pakled and Tellarite. There may also be an upcoming Axanar, according to a screenshot from the developer's computer, showing what looks like a 3D rendering of an Axanar head.
Current ships
Federation
| Tier | Ensign/Lieutenant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Cruiser | Light Cruisers
Light Cruisers (Alt)
| ||||
| Tier | Lieutenant Commander | Commander | Captain | Admiral | Admiral |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cruisers | Cruiser
|
Heavy Cruiser
|
Exploration Cruiser
|
Assault Cruiser
|
Star Cruiser
|
| Escorts | Escort
|
Heavy Escort
|
Tactical Escort
|
Advanced Escort
|
Fleet Escort
|
| Science | Science Vessel
|
Research Science Vessel
|
Long Range Science Vessel
|
Reconnaissance Science Vessel
|
Deep Space Science Vessel
|
Klingon
Romulan
Appendices
External links
- StarTrekOnline.com - official Star Trek Online development web site
- Star Trek Online at Wikipedia
- Star Trek Online wiki