Ask Cryptic (September 4, 2008)

[Archived Post]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on story, space, psionics, society, ships and logs. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

As we looked closely at the IP and built our story, we realized there were certain truisms we needed to honor. The Federation is an idealistic society that seeks to better themselves and others. It is a fundamental part of Gene Roddenberry's vision – the future will be brighter. Other societies like the Klingon Empire or the Romulans are not evil, but they are different. They are motivated by different values and handle situations very differently than the Federation.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-04-08)

[Archived Post]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on story, space, psionics, society, ships and logs. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

As we looked closely at the IP and built our story, we realized there were certain truisms we needed to honor. The Federation is an idealistic society that seeks to better themselves and others. It is a fundamental part of Gene Roddenberry's vision – the future will be brighter. Other societies like the Klingon Empire or the Romulans are not evil, but they are different. They are motivated by different values and handle situations very differently than the Federation.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-04-08)

sounds good but i'd like to think that pvp will not be forced upon those that do not wish to pvp unlike eve also if it does come down to pvp i'd like to think it is done farely in the sense of the attack has as much chance of getting their warpdrive kicked by the person they are attacking as the person does by the attacker.

Gref over this post by pro pvpers will be reported thats any and all forms of gref.

[Archived Post]

Oddly enough, I was just thinking about the problem with ship scaling in most MMOs today.

[Archived Post]

Oddly enough, I was just thinking about the problem with ship scaling in most MMOs today.

eve has to be the worst game for that, even the titan class ships imply that they are bigger then they really are in the game.
only real time you get a sense of scale is when you dock in a station.

[Archived Post]

sounds good but i'd like to think that pvp will not be forced upon those that do not wish to pvp unlike eve also if it does come down to pvp i'd like to think it is done farely in the sense of the attack has as much chance of getting their warpdrive kicked by the person they are attacking as the person does by the attacker.

Gref over this post by pro pvpers will be reported thats any and all forms of gref.

From our FAQ (http://www.startrekonline.com/faq):

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.

There are always options for people who choose not to PvP, just as there will be options for people who want to PvP.

[Archived Post]

Answered some questions, created some questions, but every little bit helps the time go by. I do hope PvP is not going to inherently ruin gameplay as has been seen before. PvP is obviously fun but I don't want to be on an away mission and get attacked just before I complete the mission and have to return to the ship every time.
Log entries would be a fun idea, I'd like to know how "offline" logs would be handled. All-in-all, can't wait. As long as Roddenberry's dream is kept alive in the gameplay I'll be there.

[Archived Post]

I have to say that the first question wasn't really... answered. I mean in the question, its asked about things like cut-scenes, and voice acting, and that part of the question was entirely skipped over.

Just saying >_> :)

[Archived Post]

From our FAQ (http://www.startrekonline.com/faq):

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.

There are always options for people who choose not to PvP, just as there will be options for people who want to PvP.

So the pvp side of the game will be nearly based upon the basic pvp in Wow in the sense that you become open to it when you enter some parts of the map but not in all of the parts.?

I should point out that in any game I have played mmo any attempt to restrict pvp has never worked, largely because those that are pro pvp tend to complain so much to game designers that they change the game, this won’t be the case in this game will it?

[Archived Post]

I would assume you would pvp if you entered a sector around a Klingon/Fed station, planet etc. It might be so that once leaving the alpha quadrant and Fleets begin to build their own stations and mining platforms and what not that those then become pvp target zones. But that's my take.

[Archived Post]

I would assume you would pvp if you entered a sector around a Klingon/Fed station, planet etc. It might be so that once leaving the alpha quadrant and Fleets begin to build their own stations and mining platforms and what not that those then become pvp target zones. But that's my take.

your take sounds 2 much like the take, thats taken in eve.... wait what.... :-?

[Archived Post]

ahaha so the ships i thought were drones actualy was small ships?:)

[Archived Post]

i saw small ships but i never thorght of them as drones, maybe cuz they didn't look like what i was regard as drones been an ex eve player lol

[Archived Post]

your take sounds 2 much like the take, thats taken in eve.... wait what.... :-?

I never played EvE never even heard of it till this site went up, so I'm not sure what it's like in that game. My take was just what seems to make sense to me given the fact that Kestrel said pvp will not be forced and that there will be areas where pvp will be applied. I can't be sure how they'd do it, but I'll wait and see.

I am hoping to see some of the characters from the earlier years, I mean after thirty years some atleast could still be alive. Too bad Data can't be there, it would've been neat if he was the Admiral of Starfleet.

[Archived Post]

Thanks, Kestrel (and devs). I always love seeing these go up. :D

My inner nerd is thrilled to see that you guys are trying to find a way to incorporate log entries. That could be something as simple as having player blogs that can be accessed and updated from in-game.

"Simple", I say. Ha. If it were simple, everybody'd do it. :rolleyes:

[Archived Post]

I never played EvE never even heard of it till this site went up, so I'm not sure what it's like in that game. My take was just what seems to make sense to me given the fact that Kestrel said pvp will not be forced and that there will be areas where pvp will be applied. I can't be sure how they'd do it, but I'll wait and see.

I am hoping to see some of the characters from the earlier years, I mean after thirty years some atleast could still be alive. Too bad Data can't be there, it would've been neat if he was the Admiral of Starfleet.

it is like that with eve part from in corp wars, and if someone just wants to attack you, they tank concord, thats the npcs that are meant to protect players from unlawful attack, some even just do it, if you have anything worth money in your cargo hold then have someone mainly their own alt to take anything that drops from your ship been as how their main ship gets destroyed by concord.

[Archived Post]

Cool, many thanks for the info.
I noted that the ocampa were mentioned there. :)
I also loved the reassurance of vast space and familiar places that we can see. Log entries will be cool aswell - they were present in EnB and would definitely be really cool for STO. (Yes they do get used for anyone wondering otherwise)

[Archived Post]

Shuttles to scale would be ok with me, would let you hide from large battle ships much easier and as for "seeing them with the eyes".... Isn't that what sensors are for?!?! I will be estatic if most of the ships are nearly perfect to scale. Would be awesome to be in a runabout and a Galaxy Class Cruiser come swooping in as it drops out of warp.

All in all great info, so glad I woke up from my nap early before work to get check the site!

[Archived Post]

I wouldn't worry about it shaping up too much like EVE, Lance.

Cryptic's previous game(s), City of Heroes/City of Villains, had numerous zones where players of opposing factions could meet. Not all were PvP-enabled.

I imagine that what we'll see here will be similar to that, possibly with a flagging system - if you flag yourself PvP, you can be attacked by opposing players who are also flagged wherever you are; if you are not flagged, you cannot be attacked by opposing players unless you enter one of the PvP-only zones, which will no doubt have big shiny warnings posted so you don't wander in by accident.

Cryptic aren't CCP. They won't create an environment where we may end up forced to engage in styles of gameplay that we never chose to engage in. They're hoopier froods than that, and I like the style of their towels. :cool:

[Archived Post]

One of the issues I am concerned with is how they will handle the task of quests, or missions I suppose they will be called, and how do they play into the leveling system, or how that system will work.

Ship battles would be another one, hopefully they will be exact down to being able to fire even if not facing them as in the shows and movies. I recall the 360 game they had was horrible about those kinds of battles.

[Archived Post]

I wouldn't worry about it shaping up too much like EVE, Lance.

Cryptic's previous game(s), City of Heroes/City of Villains, had numerous zones where players of opposing factions could meet. Not all were PvP-enabled.

I imagine that what we'll see here will be similar to that, possibly with a flagging system - if you flag yourself PvP, you can be attacked by opposing players who are also flagged wherever you are; if you are not flagged, you cannot be attacked by opposing players unless you enter one of the PvP-only zones, which will no doubt have big shiny warnings posted so you don't wander in by accident.

Cryptic aren't CCP. They won't create an environment where we may end up forced to engage in styles of gameplay that we never chose to engage in. They're hoopier froods than that, and I like the style of their towels. :cool:

Good, thats cool cuz i don't think i'd go in the game if that been the case, ive already quit eve today in prep for this game, mainly to save money for what i'm hoping they will have a pay yearly op when it starts.

[Archived Post]

One of the issues I am concerned with is how they will handle the task of quests, or missions I suppose they will be called, and how do they play into the leveling system, or how that system will work.

Ship battles would be another one, hopefully they will be exact down to being able to fire even if not facing them as in the shows and movies. I recall the 360 game they had was horrible about those kinds of battles.

it sounds like the fed if your part of it would "Hail" you and give you quests, such as go explore this, go kill that, and for you old school trek fans, go sleep with that green babe lol

[Archived Post]

Online/Offline "Captain's Log" Does that mean our ships will have SMTP capability?

[Archived Post]

Lookin good, Crypitc. A lot more indepth than I had originally imagined! Can't wait for the next installment :D

[Archived Post]

Nice info! Thanks for the update. It just keeps looking better and better.

[Archived Post]

Like the idea of using species mental abilities in the game. Also the confirmation that we will be able to go to DS9 is nice. Though I'd like to know if we can take our shuttles in and out of our starships shuttlebays and use them to go to another players ship. Will our shuttlebays be like hangers with our own shuttles and room for visiting players to park their shuttles?

[Archived Post]

All I can say is kicking rad.

[Archived Post]

Well here's hoping to find out more about ship classes and some screens for Fed and Klingons in the next post. I know familiar ones will be there, but I'd like some idea about more of the future ship classes. We'll see.
Good work Cryptic.

[Archived Post]

Been lurking around for a little while now and i would like to thank Cryptic for the tid bits of info that keep coming out on a pretty regular basis. I have played my share of mmo's and this has is the only one i have watched this closely prerelease. Again Thank You and please keep them coming!

[Archived Post]

One of the things that Perpetual Entertainment did that excited me was to collaborate with veteran Star Trek talent such as Andrew Probert, who worked as Senior Illustrator during the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I’ve been wondering if Cryptic have any similar plans or would be open to such collaboration in the future? There are many artists and writers who have a great deal of experience with Star Trek that would no doubt welcome the opportunity to share their expertise on the subject once more.

[Archived Post]

I am giddy with anticipation. Thanks for the update guys.

[Archived Post]

Sweet! Thanks Cryptic!

[Archived Post]

One of the questions I have about scale is that, in Star Trek canon, full impulse is one quarter light speed (or approximately 75,000 kps), and I hope that Cryptic will not be penalyzing people with larger ships wiht less maneuverability. This would especially be true if, as we advance, we are graduated into a bigger ship, which would mean that players would be penalyzed for advancing.

[Archived Post]

It's not unreasonable to expect a Vulcan to be more resistant to psi attacks and control, or a Betazoid to have a bonus with NPC interaction.

<perk> Betazoid? Did someone mention Betazoid? :eek:

[Archived Post]

Given that the story and character of Star Trek are almost iconic, how will the story element be delivered? Will there be voiceovers or cut scenes?

It's been pointed out that this question wasn't answered. The answer tells us there will be characters from previous Treks in the game. Some of the question implies that answer is wanted, but the main question is, how are missions/story elements given to the character?

In City of Heroes, all NPC and mission interaction is done through text, also there were no cut scenes, and no in-engine cut scenes. If this ends up being the case in STO, I'll be fine with it, since I want to play the game, not watch the game. I don't want to read pages of text either, so any text needs to be short, and voice over wouldn't help because I can read faster than voice overs. However, if most communication is done by displaying the character's face on a screen, and showing text with voice, that would be cool.

Space is vast. Will it feel vast in STO?

Very vast! As we are constructing Star Trek Online, it is sometimes amazing to experience just how vast space is. We are paying close attention to the fine balance between delivering the true experience of vast space and keeping gameplay fun and engaging.
I'm glad to read this. However, from what I've seen of the in-game stuff so far, it appears that planets and solar system distances will used compressed scales. Considering how fast impulse and warp are, I don't see any reason why distances and planetary size shouldn't be completely to scale relative to the ships. If connection speed is an issue, I can understand that.

In that case, there is a way around the problem. The draw distance could be limited, and a visual scaling effect could be used, so you cannot, for instance, see Mars from Earth, just what looks like a red star. As you get closer to Mars, Earth appears to shrink away completely, and then simply isn't drawn once it appears small enough, that way you can't see the ships around the planet at distance either.

For an example of a galaxy, with stars, and planets, that uses real scale, check out the program Celestia (http://www.shatters.net/celestia/).


We have been working on that recently, and we are in the process of defining ship scale and size ratios. Most of the time it is not a problem. But there are a few exceptionally small ships, such as shuttlecrafts, that become problematic. At true scale, they become nearly unperceivable when you are flying a ship the size of a Galaxy class, and that's simply not fun.

There are at least two ways around this that don't involve making the smallest ships larger than they should be. The first method is already being used in the game, the light trails ships use make ships visible at very long distances. When too far away even for that to be useful, I suggest putting brackets around the ship to mark off where they are. A second type of bracket would be used for when you're actually targeting the ship, with various other brackets or text showing hits and damage levels. Or, just give the light trails enough levels of detail that you can clearly see the trails for smaller ships at maximum visual distance.

It might be nice if your crew could say those damage levels of the other ship when their state changes, instead of only displaying those levels.

[Archived Post]

It seems like they are going to be making there own ships for this game. if the want to start us off with same ships. Make the Defiant or Delta flyer the starting ship sizes. Next size Interpid, Luna, Galaxy, and a new 25th ship size.

[Archived Post]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on story, space, psionics, society, ships and logs. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

As we looked closely at the IP and built our story, we realized there were certain truisms we needed to honor. The Federation is an idealistic society that seeks to better themselves and others. It is a fundamental part of Gene Roddenberry's vision – the future will be brighter. Other societies like the Klingon Empire or the Romulans are not evil, but they are different. They are motivated by different values and handle situations very differently than the Federation.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-04-08)


Yes I would like to see the Captain's log feature in STO.

[Archived Post]

"Star Trek Online takes place about 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek: Voyager, in the year 2409. Many of the characters have retired, passed on or otherwise evolved. "

Why are they dead? There are multiple Trek references about people easily living past 100 years. During the start of the very first episode of TNG Data is talking to Dr. McCoy and comments he is some 130+ years old. I guess that this would infer that those people died from other circumstances? Passed on? Did some die while serving together on Enterprise? Or from some new war? Or attack on earth? Or some kinda crazy disease? Will this be explained in the game storyline? So many ?'s! lol

[Archived Post]

:) The developers response is very much appreciated.

[Archived Post]

the log entries stuff seems fun, I hope they figure out how to work the shuttle craft sizes.

[Archived Post]

"Star Trek Online takes place about 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek: Voyager, in the year 2409. Many of the characters have retired, passed on or otherwise evolved. "

Why are they dead? There are multiple Trek references about people easily living past 100 years. During the start of the very first episode of TNG Data is talking to Dr. McCoy and comments he is some 130+ years old. I guess that this would infer that those people died from other circumstances? Passed on? Did some die while serving together on Enterprise? Or from some new war? Or attack on earth? Or some kinda crazy disease? Will this be explained in the game storyline? So many ?'s! lol
Just because the average modern life span is around 75, doesn't mean people don't die before that point. Disease, injury, and attacks all still kill people in Star Trek, and as you get older the first two get more likely.

In thirty years, Picard would be about 108, the character is ten years older than Patrick Stewart. Despite what we saw with, McCoy, at that age, he could easily be dead, not that I would prefer that.

Even so, the reference to some character being dead probably refers to all of the TOS characters, and a few of the later ones, thanks to mission related deaths.

[Archived Post]

Cryptic to have my first born child !!
What if we have twins ?!? Oh dear I should have thought about this more... :eek:

Thank you for the Q & A !! Keep up ze brilliant work !

[Archived Post]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on story, space, psionics, society, ships and logs. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

Given that the story and character of Star Trek are almost iconic, how will the story element be delivered? Will there be voiceovers or cut scenes?

Star Trek Online takes place about 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek: Voyager, in the year 2409. Many of the characters have retired, passed on or otherwise evolved. Certainly, some characters have very long lifespans, and many will have had children. Expect to see the descendants of some of your favorite characters, old enemies return and friends evolve. And definitely expect to visit familiar locations like Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, Deep Space 9, Qo'noS, Vulcan and many others, as well as strange and entirely new worlds.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-04-08)


With all due respect, the question about in game cinematics was not answered and I hope that we'll see some kind of light shed on this aspect of STO.


Other than that, I am pleased with the latest Ask C thread and info.


Regarding the log entries, will it be possible to actually use a mic and record the logs in that format? I would like to suggest that feature as an option for making log entries. To me, that would just be cool. :D



Thanks and keep up the good work. :)

[Archived Post]

...there are a few exceptionally small ships, such as shuttlecrafts, that become problematic. At true scale, they become nearly unperceivable when you are flying a ship the size of a Galaxy class, and that's simply not fun. We want to deliver a canonical Star Trek experience, but we also want to deliver a fun game, so we have to find a balance. Expect larger starships, from escorts to battle cruisers and Borg cubes, to have their scale represented fairly accurately. There will also be some small ships in STO – take a close look at the trailer and you may see some.

*rewatches*

...THE SHUTTLES! Look at the little shuttles! Hi shuttles! :D

[Archived Post]

This was really helpful and information, still theres certainly a lot of stuff to get your head around, there so much stuff to consider.

[Archived Post]

Glad to see some more updates :)

Hope we get another Q&A soon!

[Archived Post]

Im wanderin will we be able to make and modify personale weponry, such as disruptor rifle,

maybe we could sell wepones to each other.

Also for us klingons how would hand to hand combat work.

[Archived Post]

First, thanks for the information stream!

Second, I'm looking forward to more info about the psi powers. I was thinking about the many races with psi and was curious if/how they would be implemented.

Third, I love the idea of logs being accessible both in- and out of game. Being able to read a friend's log would be great fun, and useful for people, especially if missions can be related.

Example: Captain A explores a new system and makes first contact with a new species with useful tech/resources. Now Captain B can get a mission to negotiate/intimidate that species into helping out. They would read Captain A's log to see what to expect! Great for both interesting stories, and also to really make Fleets feel like they are helping their Captains.

Finally, friends can read both A and B's logs to read an interesting new story from the Star Trek universe.

[Archived Post]

"Star Trek Online takes place about 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek: Voyager, in the year 2409. Many of the characters have retired, passed on or otherwise evolved. "

Why are they dead? There are multiple Trek references about people easily living past 100 years. During the start of the very first episode of TNG Data is talking to Dr. McCoy and comments he is some 130+ years old. I guess that this would infer that those people died from other circumstances? Passed on? Did some die while serving together on Enterprise? Or from some new war? Or attack on earth? Or some kinda crazy disease? Will this be explained in the game storyline? So many ?'s! lol

Some of the Star Trek Books may cover this, but I do agree with you.

For example we know that Data was klilled and for exaple Admiral Katherine Janway was possible killed in the book Before Dishonour, which is one of several Next Generation books, set after star trek nemesis.

And William Ryker became Captain of the USS Ttian and that Deana Troi went with him.

But since those are books are set just after star trek nemisis but that star trek online is set 30 years after nemisis so anything could have happend in that time,

[Archived Post]

I never played EvE never even heard of it till this site went up, so I'm not sure what it's like in that game. My take was just what seems to make sense to me given the fact that Kestrel said pvp will not be forced and that there will be areas where pvp will be applied. I can't be sure how they'd do it, but I'll wait and see.

I am hoping to see some of the characters from the earlier years, I mean after thirty years some atleast could still be alive. Too bad Data can't be there, it would've been neat if he was the Admiral of Starfleet.
Data may not be there, but remember the other android in Nemesis? They downloaded Data's memories to him, and at the end of the movie he was singing like data, so I"m curious to see what happens with him in the next movie and this game.

[Archived Post]

First of all, thank you Cryptic for continuing to let everyone see what is going on behind the scenes. Now for those of you, who are quivering over the thought that there is going to be too much conflict in the game, look at the 2 most popular Star Trek movies, The wrath of Kahn and First Contact! Both movies are about conflict and battle. Now the Federation is an idealistic society and I agree that they want peace in the quadrant, but even the Federation realizes that not everyone wants peace. Hence Starfleet, which is among several other things the military, otherwise why carry weapons at all. I understand that the game should not be “All out warfare all the time”, but even the most peaceful science vessel can come under attack by the Borg. As a captain you wouldn’t say, “ Oh well guy’s this sucks, but resistance is futile”. Even idealistic societies with the best intensions must defend themselves from those who disagree with those ideals and who would want to conquer them and impose their own values. As a captain of a Starfleet vessel it would be your duty to defend the Federation, your ship, your crew and even third parties such as a Ferengi trader being attacked by Orion pirates. The most ardent explorers don’t seek conflict, but if it is forced on them should they not defend themselves and those with them?

[Archived Post]

Thanks for the information Cryptic, I do appreciate these updates... I hope you don't mind a few additional questions and comments. :D

There are at least two ways around this that don't involve making the smallest ships larger than they should be. The first method is already being used in the game, the light trails ships use make ships visible at very long distances. When too far away even for that to be useful, I suggest putting brackets around the ship to mark off where they are. A second type of bracket would be used for when you're actually targeting the ship, with various other brackets or text showing hits and damage levels. Or, just give the light trails enough levels of detail that you can clearly see the trails for smaller ships at maximum visual distance.

Agreed. I am also curious to learn more about the challenges faced by the devs. Are scale problems related to some inherent issue with the engine or client performance? I don't need exact scale to immerse me in the canon, but a fighter that is the same size as a Vor'cha will ruin that experience. When I am in space, I want to see my ship and not the crew.

There have been a lot of comparisons to EVE and CoX in this thread, so I thought I'd throw out a couple of requests related to each. Please note that some of the items mentioned below may have been changed/updated/corrected since the last time I played, but I am mentioning them here for the sake of illustrating game mechanics.

I played EVE from the start of beta through a year after release and some of the things that attracted me to the game were the graphics, the single instance environment, the story, and the fleet concepts. Why did I leave? There were several contributing factors, but the primary reason was the realization that the economy in EVE heavily favors pirate/criminal enterprises unless you really enjoy mining. Other reasons included the fact that the guild permissions system was lacking and this undermined the security of several enterprises I participated in. I did appreciate the fact that there were no artificial restrictions on travel between areas (unlike CoX), which added to the realism. Lastly, the universe in EVE was so large that it could take an entire day (or longer) to move from one end of the system to the other - and that was with warp drive. Please don't make ST:O's travel system such that it takes me a full day to catch up to my fleet and friends.

In CoX, I played from beta until about 2 weeks ago when I decided to take a break again. A huge kudos to Cryptic for creating an MMO that has held my attention for so long. I decided to break from CoX because the server I was playing on was mostly deserted, which made teaming very difficult. Given the option, I would really like to see ST:O support some form of single instance universe for all the players to interact in. I also became frustrated by the lack of high-level content (so I will still want motivation after I have all the goodies - I'll be investing myself in the development of this persona). The instanced and highly-repeated door mission formula grew tiresome (repetition kills the fun and there really is a limit to how many times I'm willing to kill skullz). Lastly, the incredible difficulty of obtaining black market items due to insane pricing also made me give up before I really got started (so a functioning and accessible economy is very important to me in ST:O).

Thanks for reading.

[Archived Post]

if most communication is done by displaying the character's face on a screen, and showing text with voice, that would be cool.

I agree....even though the voice overs in *** were nice, they became annoying quickly and i eventually just skipped through them.

As far as the log entries go, i would imagine they would be your quest journal with the ability to add notes to it. That is the simplest version of it I can think of.

[Archived Post]

sounds good but i'd like to think that pvp will not be forced upon those that do not wish to pvp unlike eve also if it does come down to pvp i'd like to think it is done farely in the sense of the attack has as much chance of getting their warpdrive kicked by the person they are attacking as the person does by the attacker.

Gref over this post by pro pvpers will be reported thats any and all forms of gref.

When you speak of pvp i find myself curious as to what type of pvp?? being an old old counterstrike refugee, i do not like player kills, yet, as i look at trek or any storyline at all, the one thing that consistently drives a story forward, is conflict, and in the instance we are in, where we assume roles based on races with different values, we will find that there will be conflict. however, does that mean it's going to be violent conflict? not always. i believe as was stated in the las vegas introduction that much of the conflict ( pvp ) will be of the diplomatic kind and resolved either with an agreement, or a compromise...

if we look at other games. like elf quest and project entropia, we also find areas within the game where player kill happens, and areas where it's not allowed. i suggest that, if it is true to life, that situations will always exist where violence is a possibility, and you must be prepared for that. Sadly, humans are much more violent in nature than their machine based software counterparts and alter egos, and the powerless in real life will always attempt to have power in what they perceive as a make believe world with make believe contestants ( who just happen to be very real people on the other end of a network ) and not display any care or concern for what you or i may personally believe think or feel. Therefore i wou;d submit hat it would be expedient to expect pvp, in it's nastiest of forms and be prepared to deal with it on an in game level, rather than relying on the admins ( or the "Crimson Knights" sic) to fight those fights for us...
Natai

[Archived Post]

Being my first post after lurking and reading the forums with anticipation for weeks now...

As most would agree, a large part of Star Trek's appeal and popularity is due to it's strong foundation in "realistically" based canon. Obviously it's fiction, but many fans enjoy the attention to detail that shows itself in everything from starship design to screenplay dialogue. I think for this MMO to be even remotely successful, it will have to have a high degree of accuracy compared to what we as fans would consider "realistic", such as relative ship sizes and the vastness of space. Anything less will leave the player feeling something is missing, and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one who was disappointed to find my shuttle was as large as the Defiant or travel time from one quadrant to the next was mere seconds.

Either way, thank you to the Dev Team for keeping us interested with these regular updates. Each one seems to answer another fear and add to the excitement.

[Archived Post]

I would love to see and hear from some of the big names in Trek lore when I'm playing STO, but I don't see this as a deal breaker. There's a very real-world practicality that the devs have had to contend with to keep the cost of production down so that it doesn't get transferred over to us when the game launches. I'm sure we will get to read a lot about some of our favorite characters though since they have been so pivotal to Star Trek history.

As for the ship scale, the devs mentioned that its not fun to fly in a ship that's too small? I'm not sure I understand this point. Seems to me that zipping a shuttlecraft along the surface of a giant Sovereign class ship would be pretty neat. :-)

And as for log entries, I'm really excited about this possibility. I had assumed that "the Captain's Log" would be nothing more than a simple synonym for your Quest Journal. While I'm sure that it will still serve in that capacity somehow, I think opening up the function to us to actually make log entries is really awesome. Obviously that's an integral part of living Star Trek.

You can be sure figuring out how to implement this won't be an easy task for the developers. I'm sure there are many of us that would like to see free-form log entry capability, but that's probably not very practical. Perhaps as Captain we can be presented with decisions on how to handle a particular situation which would result in different log entries being made based on the path we picked?

Let's speak up on this for the Dev's to hear. They know you want it, they need to know how you want it.

[Archived Post]

In regards to the captains logs - one idea off hand is when you enter into a quest that is rare or a quest past over by players, you could be prompted with a screen to make a log at the start of the quest or what you stumbled across to initiate the quest. Hidden quest?!

you complete the quest and you are prompted with a window to make a parting log for the next captain.

____________

so when I stumble across the hidden quest, I can read the 5 to 50,000 logs before me on how they handled the quest...

It would almost be like a forums thread...

I'm not sure if I would skip it or not..but it could be applied somehow like that?

Or is it better to just have personal logs that we keep for ourselves?



I bet that Cryptic will have automatic logs that we can add too, like you completed this quest and met this person or achieved this goal, and you can have an entry to add what you will.

[Archived Post]

pretty good Q and A. Look forward to the next one. I suppose we will get one every week or so?

[Archived Post]

At true scale, they become nearly unperceivable when you are flying a ship the size of a Galaxy class, and that's simply not fun.

Sounds like a lame excuse for a an alpha 3rd-person space view. Star Trek always used view screens. "Magnify"

Also sounds like a good tactical advantage. I would keep it. Make the shuttlecraft tiny.

[Archived Post]

I love that Cryptic is giving these updates. I am glad that we are getting access to more information. I can see the point the devs have with the scale but bless them for addressing it. I want to dock with stuff! LOL I know I am not the only one :D I would love to fly a shuttle into a docking bay. Please keep these updates coming! keep up the good work all! (community included)

[Archived Post]

Continue the great work! I've always had great ideas of how a Star Trek online should be built... but I think your hands are more capable than mine! Make me proud! : )

[Archived Post]

I wouldn't worry about it shaping up too much like EVE, Lance.

Cryptic's previous game(s), City of Heroes/City of Villains, had numerous zones where players of opposing factions could meet. Not all were PvP-enabled.

I imagine that what we'll see here will be similar to that, possibly with a flagging system - if you flag yourself PvP, you can be attacked by opposing players who are also flagged wherever you are; if you are not flagged, you cannot be attacked by opposing players unless you enter one of the PvP-only zones, which will no doubt have big shiny warnings posted so you don't wander in by accident.

Cryptic aren't CCP. They won't create an environment where we may end up forced to engage in styles of gameplay that we never chose to engage in. They're hoopier froods than that, and I like the style of their towels. :cool:


I like that idea. The previous MMO I was on had a flagging system, and that worked pretty well. It was a little weird, because you could literally watch zerg crowds of PVP flagger run around you, attacking each other on either side of you, but not hitting you because you weren't flagged. Could be weird and take away from the reality a little bit, but it worked. If you didn't want to PvP, you didn't flag. And you could always avoid the PvP crowds pretty easily if they got annoying. Not to mention there was an entirely hostile server where once you reached lvl 12 or 13 out of 50, you were automatically perma-flagged. So people who were really in it for the PvP could go to a dedicated server for it. Maybe that's too much to ask, but I think it could work pretty well.

But I definitely like the system they have set up right now. Fits in with canon very nicely. Free space and Neutral Zones would logically be the only place that skirmishes could occur without appearing absurd (or starting all out war).

[Archived Post]

But I definitely like the system they have set up right now. Fits in with canon very nicely. Free space and Neutral Zones would logically be the only place that skirmishes could occur without appearing absurd (or starting all out war).

Aye, and there have been games that successfully separate pve and pvp before.. **** is one of them, I have played 11 MMOs to date and this one has had the most fun pvp. It is a very good system. It is a pvp focused game for sure, so long as ya dont go onto a pve server, and pvp is restricted to a large frontier zone or smaller battleground zones as you level up.

I like the neural zone setup, perhaps even make a couple of the systems closest to the zone pvp aswell, and players still don't have to enter those systems unless they want to pvp. I think havin some klingons raid a federation station just inside its border, with fed players defending, would be quite fun.

[Archived Post]

ty for the Q&A most appreciated!

[Archived Post]

Log Entries:

Great idea, my initial thoughts are they should be personal and related to each bridge crew character (Commander's Log, Engineer's Log, Science Officer's Log, Medical Officer's Log, etc) with an option to upload them to your faction so that all ship commanders have access to a Log Library. People who deliberately falsify logs will quickly become known and ignored - their logs will agther dust on the shelves. This will provide a nice in-game way of sharing quest information, something that usually happens on the forums, and will benefit the majority of playuers who rareyl, if ever, visit MMORPG forums.

Ship scale:

Keep shuttles small. Considering the length of a Galaxy class (about 700 meters) and the length of a shuttle (about 8 meters), I don't see the problem - but then again I'm not a programmer :rolleyes: .

Space "size":

Cryptic have mentioned "infinit exploration" and initially I took that to mean they were using an "Elite" style galactic map that would be to all intents and purposes so vast one can never explore it all (using randomly generated systems and content). From this QA I am beginning to wonder if there is not a difference between "infinit exporation" and "vast space"...

Thanks for the update Kes, and I look forward to the next installment of the story arc (2380-81...?)

:)

[Archived Post]

Awesome :D

[Archived Post]

Awesome! Thx for this Q&A, Kestrel!:)

Log Entries would be really cool! Please keep the Ships scales in original size according to the canon of Star Trek. If I'll have a galaxy-class Ship, I'll have my sensorsystems to see little shuttleships.:D

Great work! Keep, going! Can't wait the next Q&A!;)

[Archived Post]

Nice little read. Couldn't help but think of H2G2 in the "space is big" answer. :)

As for ship sizes, the diddy little things in the trailer are quite cute!

[Archived Post]

Thanks for the answers. I like them mostly, I think. Especially happy with the ship scale answers.

[Archived Post]

I was afraid PSI powers would be completely left out and that people would only be pretending to have these abilities. But now that they are including it I can see many other things making it in-game. I'm glad they are going that far in depth (Crossing fingers for Vulcan Neck pinch).

Ship sizes is going to be interesting. I don't want to see a Galaxy sized shuttle flying around, but I wouldn't mind if its slightly larger than normal, just enough to make it visible. I like the targeting brackets and zoom capabilities people have mentioned.

I'm actually excited about the log entries. Hopefully it will be accessible to everyone for viewing a ship/crews history and past experiences; maybe even tie the fleet logo into the background. Having it viewable offline I think is a really nice touch. Feels like Starfleet or Klingon High Command is keeping tabs on their captains.

I like how they are alluding to there's no "Bad guy" faction but how everyone has their own agendas. I'm hoping they continue this past launch instead of reverting to making one guy the villain.

Cut scenes/ Voice overs - We need a little more on this. I have always loved cut scenes (sucker for cinematics on single player games) but if they don't make it in game I won't be too disappointed. I'd like some sort of visual in the end, maybe an Admiral showing up on my ready room display giving me the next mission orders. It makes it feel more like a military briefing that way. Voice overs with text would be helpful.

[Archived Post]

Just offering my thanks here, both to the devs and to the people who asked some very sound questions!

[Archived Post]

Kudos to the devs, Kestrel and the players whose questions were answered.

Again, answered some questions yet opened others up. I can't wait for more :D

[Archived Post]

Aye, and there have been games that successfully separate pve and pvp before.. **** is one of them, I have played 11 MMOs to date and this one has had the most fun pvp. It is a very good system. It is a pvp focused game for sure, so long as ya dont go onto a pve server, and pvp is restricted to a large frontier zone or smaller battleground zones as you level up.

I like the neural zone setup, perhaps even make a couple of the systems closest to the zone pvp aswell, and players still don't have to enter those systems unless they want to pvp. I think havin some klingons raid a federation station just inside its border, with fed players defending, would be quite fun.

Yeah, I'd be perfectly okay with a few raids over the border. Would be cool and more interesting if you could actually kind of affect the world by maybe taking a little bit of Federation or Klingon space, and not just compete over unclaimed territories.
And Dark Ages of Camelot was going to be one of the MMO's I was gonna hold up, so I definitely agree with you. That had one of the better PvP/PvE systems I've seen. I would not complain at all if they had something set up like that. Though I still think a hostile PvP server would solve people's problems nicely. Those determined to have PvP everywhere can have it, without forcing it on everyone who don't want it all the time.


As for ship scale, I think most people are unanimous. No one wants to be flying the Enterprise D and have a Danube fly by big as their warp nacelle. It kills the immersion factor, and like someone already said, who wouldn't love to be in a shuttle as a capital ship drops out of warp on top of them? It'd be one of those awe inspiring moments that makes you go "I seriously love this game".
Besides, it's almost physical impossible to find a ship in space by the naked eye. They'd literally have to be flying by your window port to spot anything. Space is simply too dark and too big for anything to show up past the background. I think Mass Effect even explained it. Plus, it brings in an element of tactics. If you don't want to be surprised, you actively ping an area with your sensors so nothing sneaks up on you (obviously giving away your position, but it's the whole active sonar vs. passive sonar deal of submarine games.). Or, conversely, lazy players should get snuck up on if they forget to check their sensors. Or maybe you just have someone who's passively scanning as to not alert the enemy of their presence. I don't know. I don't think it should be too hard to implement.

[Archived Post]

But there are a few exceptionally small ships, such as shuttlecrafts, that become problematic. At true scale, they become nearly unperceivable when you are flying a ship the size of a Galaxy class, and that's simply not fun.

Why on earth would they become nearly unperceivable? Won't we have sensors? Does the game camera lack a magnify option? Is it too cumbersome to use?

I don't mean to sound like an absolute stickler for detail, but I really don't like the sound of this. Please reconsider some alternative to keep scale and proportions authentic.

[Archived Post]

I dont think that small ships would be a problem, after all space is so very very vast, and that what sensors are for,

Plus a good pilto in a small ship (knowing the shield frequencies) would be able to slip inside a shield, beam some stuff away then run like hell!!

Also dont forget the Magnetic disturbances that can help hide a ship !

[Archived Post]

Well, good questions and better answers.

[Archived Post]

I dont think that small ships would be a problem, after all space is so very very vast, and that what sensors are for,

Plus a good pilto in a small ship (knowing the shield frequencies) would be able to slip inside a shield, beam some stuff away then run like hell!!

Also dont forget the Magnetic disturbances that can help hide a ship !

I think what alot of peeps are forgetting is that you won't be commanding from the bridge your be in a 3rd person view of the ship when in space so you'll see whats around you or trying to hind near your shuttle bay.
its a good thing that they wanted to stay as far away from the bridge commander viewpoint as possble in my view.

[Archived Post]

Again, doubtful this will be read, however:

As far as the issue of scaling/ size. I was alarmed at the mention that adjustments would be made. I think it would insane if there were not tiny ships, big ships and massive ships. The only way adjustments would work is if the new ships were just that NEW ships not oversized Defiant class or "slightly enlarged" shuttles or what have you.

[Archived Post]

Again, doubtful this will be read, however:

As far as the issue of scaling/ size. I was alarmed at the mention that adjustments would be made. I think it would insane if there were not tiny ships, big ships and massive ships. The only way adjustments would work is if the new ships were just that NEW ships not oversized Defiant class or "slightly enlarged" shuttles or what have you.


From what I’ve seen in the game play trailer they seem to be working on a system where even the small ships will appear large when near the camera drone.

[Archived Post]

I don't know if this has been answered or not but i am intrested in if we will be able to buld our own ships with in class guidelines like with the old star tek game star ship creator.

[Archived Post]

I don't know if this has been answered or not but i am intrested in if we will be able to buld our own ships with in class guidelines like with the old star tek game star ship creator.

Yeah we will, that’s implied by what was said during the main clip when in Vegas, a fleet will be able to build stations, shipyards etc all needing raw materials however

[Archived Post]

Oddly enough, I was just thinking about the problem with ship scaling in most MMOs today.

What MMO's? There are TWO with actual space ships. Star Wars Galaxies and Eve Online. Both have ship scaling nailed. Eve handles the very small to incredibly freaking gynormously huge ships just fine. Cryptic would be wise to follow how they handle scaling. I think it works great.

[Archived Post]

I'm sorry, they released this little 'teaser' entirely too early. This is quickly turning from Star Trek Online to Star Trek Offline...

[Archived Post]

I'm sorry, they released this little 'teaser' entirely too early. This is quickly turning from Star Trek Online to Star Trek Offline...

What do you mean by this, exactly?

[Archived Post]

Hope shuttles arn't too big I'd really like to be able to fly a shuttle in and out of my ships bay without a cutscene.

Logs are a nice touch but will they have only computer added information ie you go to this system and the log automatically reoords it, just information we personally enter, or both.

Also how many logs are there? In the show it seems the captain, the first officer, and the Chief medical officer all have there own logs, and I'm assuming all the other members of the command staff have offical logs to though I can't recall I time we hear them adding to them in the series. Also the ship has a log which I'm assuming is seperate from the captains since in the episode Pegasus when the admiral want to take the Enterprise D into the asteroid, Picard tells Data to note in the ships log he disagrees with this order.

[Archived Post]

I have reservations regarding the answer they gave about combat. They indicated that their favorite Trek was Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War, and the Wrath of Khan.

This is troubling to me because it makes me think that STO is going to have a more combat centric nature than a Trek MMO should have. Exploration should be first and foremost in a Trek MMO. Bottom Line. Especially if you are playing as the Federation. Combat should be one of those things that is only encountered when all other options have been exhausted, especially for the PVE portions of the game.

Think about "TOS: Balance of Terror" for just a moment. Think about how conflicted Kirk was when he had to make the choice to fire on the Romulans. He knew that the consequences could be severe, igniting a full scale war along the Neutral Zone.

This is how the gameplay should be in STO. But it seems to me Cryptic wants to capture the look and feel of the Dominion War, right from the beginning. I think that's a mistake. Conflict should be avoided at all costs, until all other measures have failed, and conflict should have a high price. I think overall, Trek fans, after DS9 have become too comfortable with the idea of the Federation being at war. This was not the original Roddenberry vision, and it's certainly not what made Trek great.

It seems to me that Cryptic feels that a war or a conflict is necessary to make an MMO successful. In most cases I would agree, but this (Trek) is the one IP in all the world where having an outright conflict, could end up dooming STO to failure, especially among those fans who want to get back to the true spirit of Trek.

"To Seek out new life, and new Civilizations, To Boldly go where no man has gone before."

[Archived Post]

I watched the tailer again and there are shuttle craft! Hello little shuttle craft. There are little red streaks behind each ship making them easy to see when moving. I think scaling is a non issue. Just make them the right size, use the UI to point them out. Keep the exhaust trail. Problem solved.

[Archived Post]

I have reservations regarding the answer they gave about combat. They indicated that their favorite Trek was Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War, and the Wrath of Khan.

This is troubling to me because it makes me think that STO is going to have a more combat centric nature than a Trek MMO should have. Exploration should be first and foremost in a Trek MMO. Bottom Line. Especially if you are playing as the Federation. Combat should be one of those things that is only encountered when all other options have been exhausted, especially for the PVE portions of the game.

Think about "TOS: Balance of Terror" for just a moment. Think about how conflicted Kirk was when he had to make the choice to fire on the Romulans. He knew that the consequences could be severe, igniting a full scale war along the Neutral Zone.

This is how the gameplay should be in STO. But it seems to me Cryptic wants to capture the look and feel of the Dominion War, right from the beginning. I think that's a mistake. Conflict should be avoided at all costs, until all other measures have failed, and conflict should have a high price. I think overall, Trek fans, after DS9 have become too comfortable with the idea of the Federation being at war. This was not the original Roddenberry vision, and it's certainly not what made Trek great.

It seems to me that Cryptic feels that a war or a conflict is necessary to make an MMO successful. In most cases I would agree, but this (Trek) is the one IP in all the world where having an outright conflict, could end up dooming STO to failure, especially among those fans who want to get back to the true spirit of Trek.

"To Seek out new life, and new Civilizations, To Boldly go where no man has gone before."

While I agree with what you are saying in theory, I have to disagree in practicality. They are going to have to make it so that all paths are relatively similar. How they choose to do this is what will define the success of the game.

You have to realize from their point of view that if they offer 2 alternatives, one that takes less time/effort/credits etc will always be chosen rendering any other options basically useless.

Therefore you are going to have plenty of combat missions to do to progress your character.

Where they can differentiate is how they mix in exploration and whether they can make that engaging and not mindlessly extended travel time for the sake of doing "something other than combat".

And you also have to think about the side distribution. If they make the federation a bunch of p****s 90% of the population will be klingon.

All of this is something we wont be able to feel the full picture on until the game is in late beta or after release.

[Archived Post]

I have reservations regarding the answer they gave about combat. They indicated that their favorite Trek was Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War, and the Wrath of Khan.

...

Think about "TOS: Balance of Terror" for just a moment. Think about how conflicted Kirk was when he had to make the choice to fire on the Romulans. He knew that the consequences could be severe, igniting a full scale war along the Neutral Zone.

I think we shouldn't be too, too worried about exploration vs. combat, for a couple of reasons.

In the first place, while I emphasize the fact that it is only a promise, and its value depends on Cryptic's commitment and delivery, the fact is that Cryptic has made extensive pledges about the role of exploration in Star Trek: Online. Those pledges are far, far more extensive than anything Perpetual laid down. We'll see if they deliver.

More concretely, we know that combat mechanics and speed will reflect the naval style of combat from earlier iterations of Trek, as compared to Deep Space Nine. Taking the two together, it seems Cryptic has decided to match the political storytelling of Deep Space Nine with the combat style of other iterations of Trek. I would argue that's a fine compromise (honestly, I think it's a vital and appropriate one) that works against making this a combat-centric game.

To the specific example, I'd offer that Balance of Terror is the wrong example. At the time, the Federation and the Romulans existed in a state similar to the Cold War where any shots fired could result in a disastrous war. I don't think that's descriptive of the state of affairs either in Star Trek, by and large, or as has been described to date for Star Trek Online. Not every decision to fire your weapons is as monumental a decision as that, and I don't think STO is the format that calls for making it such.

Without getting into a debate about whether or not exploration "must" be the center of the game, I'll say that you can accomplish both in an arrangement where each decision to fire your weapons is less than monumental. I think if you look at The Original Series or The Next Generation, and particularly Voyager, you'll see that dynamic at play - none of those captains were skittish about going weapons free.

[Archived Post]

Nice blog appreciated

On the log front i would be more than happy, to have a log format that can be filled out by the keyboard. Something akin to a pilots log but with a larger box for the did anything unushal happen :) I jest. The log feature would be cool if the technical details of the flight were filled in by ships computer such as Co-ordinates, speed planet types encountered etc. More information could be added automatically to the log if you utilise certain scans etc on a given planet, star, even ship etc. To this the player can add details of his adventures thoughts which can if the player decides be made public. Or kept personal. If the data is usefull to his faction he may also decide to send it to HQ, where other players can search it and update it or utilise it. This would be particularly cool for any PVP aspect of the game as oposing players ships can be indentified by scanning and parts of its configuration could be published to his enemy and filed under his ships name or designation. Also this could work for PVE with newly encoutered species etc.

that kind of a log facility would be very good imho

keep them comming

[Archived Post]

The Log Entry would be greatly appreciated.:cool:
So if anyone neglects to say anything let me be the first one to say it.. :rolleyes:
I could really help me remember what I doing last if some major important stuff comes up in RL.:eek:

[Archived Post]

Okay, here's my 2 credits, with some replies to others and a few questions of my own. This may end up a bit long, apologies ahead of time for that. This game just excites me so much, and I eally hope it's done right because I plan on quitting all my other MMORPG's once this goes live.

... Now the Federation is an idealistic society and I agree that they want peace in the quadrant, but even the Federation realizes that not everyone wants peace. Hence Starfleet, which is among several other things the military, otherwise why carry weapons at all. I understand that the game should not be “All out warfare all the time”, but even the most peaceful science vessel can come under attack by the Borg. As a captain you wouldn’t say, “ Oh well guy’s this sucks, but resistance is futile”. Even idealistic societies with the best intensions must defend themselves from those who disagree with those ideals and who would want to conquer them and impose their own values. As a captain of a Starfleet vessel it would be your duty to defend the Federation, your ship, your crew and even third parties such as a Ferengi trader being attacked by Orion pirates. The most ardent explorers don’t seek conflict, but if it is forced on them should they not defend themselves and those with them?

I have to agree here myself. Yes PvP stinks sometimes, but sometimes it's necessary. For instance, I play World of ******** on a RpPvP server. I don't play there because I like PvP, I play there because to me it's a more realistic roleplaying experience. Yes, it stinks that the Horde just killed me, but to have that Horde member merely be able to stand there and make rude gestures at me because I haven't enabled PvP would make the experience seem less real.

I think what alot of peeps are forgetting is that you won't be commanding from the bridge your be in a 3rd person view of the ship when in space so you'll see whats around you or trying to hind near your shuttle bay.
its a good thing that they wanted to stay as far away from the bridge commander viewpoint as possble in my view.

I would actually hope that we have the freedom to choose which we prefer. I myself would prefer to be on the Bridge of my ship, using my sensors and info from the computer to help guide me. Then if I wanted to see outside and operate from another perspective, I could choose External Sensors and be able to have the 3rd person view from outside the ship and be able to pilot from that view as well.


Now having said those things, I have a few questions of my own and some ideas. I haven't been able to see if these have been asked or mentioned yet or not.

1. Will the game interface be LCARS based or perhaps a future version of the operating system?

2. Will this be made to be playable on a decent dial-up connection or will it be broadband only? I myself live in the outskirts of a large city, but broadband access still hasn't made it here quite yet. I can play WoW quite decently, with a bit of lag which is to be expected. I'm not asking to be able to keep up perfectly with everyone else that has broadband, but to at least have a decent playing experience with my little dialup connection.

3. Will the larger starships have interior areas that can be accessed for recreation, such as Ten-Forward and personal quarters and such. If I earned my way up to one of the galaxy class ships, I would really love the option to explore it.

4. For the people that would like to be able to learn the history and information on Starfleet, the iconic characters of the past and the galaxy at large, perhaps it could be searchable through the LCARS database in-game. That way the players who want to know could have a wealth of information available to them, and the ones that don't care to know just don't have to look it up and it won't be force fed to them if they don't desire it.

5. The Captain's Log. One way to implement this would be to have an automatically generated log that's generated as you complete missions and explore new areas, with the option to go back to those entries and add your own notes (Captain's Supplemental, perhaps) that can include how you solved a particular problem or some other tidbit of info that you might want to recall later. I realize that millions of log entries being generated by hundreds of thousands of players could take up server space, so why not have those log files be written to a logfile on each individuals computer and accessible offline as well. Players should also be given the option of deleting old logs if they so choose to save space on their hard drives. Maybe even perhaps an ability to alter their Captain's logs offline with info that will show up in the in-game Log.

I'll quit now before this wall of text crits for over 9000.

~Saaxton

[Archived Post]

I realy like the info that is released but how about some screens or just a screen of a klingon ship? please:D dont get me wrong this is not a complaint just a little wish:)

[Archived Post]

This info is getting me even more excited about the game. I hope that the game really does work on trying to make things as scale as possible shuttle craft should be little specs compared to a galaxy class ships. I mean heck. They are designed to hold 2 to what 6 people at at time where a galaxy class can hold over a thousand. Has to be a big big difference in size.

Also, just think how awesome it would be to be in a shuttlecraft heading from a oh my god sized starbase toward your huge galaxy class starship and piloting it around the tip of the saucer section buzzing over the top around the back and then docking in the shuttlebay.

That would be such a cool experience.

[Archived Post]

have the choice to solve a problem without fighting is important for the federation.
That's my point of view :)
unless, one has no choice.

And, be careful with the size of vessels. Please :D !

[Archived Post]

this is cool thanks

[Archived Post]

Thanks for the update, Cryptic!! I am very much looking forward to see how "Logs" will be incorporated into STO. Looking forward to see how vast space will actually be :D

[Archived Post]

PVP? EVE? GREF? Is there a legend I should be reading to understand these references? I don't play World of ******** so if these are common online gaming acronyms, keep in mind that some of us are new to the whole experience. That being said...

I like the fact that the statement has been made that while some races are not inherently evil that they have different value systems which will impact their interactions. As for two species in combat having a fair battle...I would expect it to come down to skill rather than physicality of weapons type.

[Archived Post]

It seems like they are going to be making there own ships for this game. if the want to start us off with same ships. Make the Defiant or Delta flyer the starting ship sizes. Next size Interpid, Luna, Galaxy, and a new 25th ship size.

I'm thinking the same thing. With the time frame fro ST:O being what it is, it does give the artists at Cryptic the luxury of not only keeping their favorite ships from TNG, VOY and DS9, but it allows them the latitude to create thier own designs and classes. All in all, looking forward to this game.

[Archived Post]

I have reservations regarding the answer they gave about combat. They indicated that their favorite Trek was Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War, and the Wrath of Khan."

remember in both the movie, and especially in the Dominion war, diplomacy WAS attempted first.. kirk only got like 1 sentance out, but they tried sending diplomats, if i remember correctly, through the wormhole before the invasion.

those are the times diplomacy failed.. and i read somewhere, maybe in that Q&A that diplomacy and exploration would be a huge part.. but there will always be times where diplomacy fails.

[Archived Post]

My 1 cent piece on what I would like to see in logs:

A possible Voice log that you can save for your fleet to retrieve and listen to your adventures while they were afk/asleep.

Just an awesome thought?

[Archived Post]

With all due respect, the question about in game cinematics was not answered and I hope that we'll see some kind of light shed on this aspect of STO.


Other than that, I am pleased with the latest Ask C thread and info.


Regarding the log entries, will it be possible to actually use a mic and record the logs in that format? I would like to suggest that feature as an option for making log entries. To me, that would just be cool. :D



Thanks and keep up the good work. :)



Aye I second that. Voice should be totally doable. Many MMO's have voice communication with a mic. Ship to ship and ship to Star Base/Guild Base communications would be great as well as voice capt logging.

Text Logging as well.

I want it all, nothing less :D

[Archived Post]

Thank you. Keep up the good work.:)

[Archived Post]

this is the worst hangover ive had, i hope to stay alive

[Archived Post]

One thing i see here is the potential for tech advancements. notably in warp tech. or something better and faster maby. alot of time has past (though only 30 years but alot can happen in 30 years) i know this is only the tip of the ice burg.

and also about the "Logs" as you can may already may be presently aware my gramer sucks. so we are going to commence with operation bomb the crap out of your house. the guy that thinks up the names is on vacations. oh wate wrong show lol. any way. i would hate makeing logs a required part of the game. maby as a RP thing for some fleets that want "real game play" but for me logs would not be fun.

[Archived Post]

It's been pointed out that this question wasn't answered. The answer tells us there will be characters from previous Treks in the game. Some of the question implies that answer is wanted, but the main question is, how are missions/story elements given to the character?

In City of Heroes, all NPC and mission interaction is done through text, also there were no cut scenes, and no in-engine cut scenes. If this ends up being the case in STO, I'll be fine with it, since I want to play the game, not watch the game. I don't want to read pages of text either, so any text needs to be short, and voice over wouldn't help because I can read faster than voice overs. However, if most communication is done by displaying the character's face on a screen, and showing text with voice, that would be cool.


I'm glad to read this. However, from what I've seen of the in-game stuff so far, it appears that planets and solar system distances will used compressed scales. Considering how fast impulse and warp are, I don't see any reason why distances and planetary size shouldn't be completely to scale relative to the ships. If connection speed is an issue, I can understand that.

In that case, there is a way around the problem. The draw distance could be limited, and a visual scaling effect could be used, so you cannot, for instance, see Mars from Earth, just what looks like a red star. As you get closer to Mars, Earth appears to shrink away completely, and then simply isn't drawn once it appears small enough, that way you can't see the ships around the planet at distance either.

For an example of a galaxy, with stars, and planets, that uses real scale, check out the program Celestia (http://www.shatters.net/celestia/).

There are at least two ways around this that don't involve making the smallest ships larger than they should be. The first method is already being used in the game, the light trails ships use make ships visible at very long distances. When too far away even for that to be useful, I suggest putting brackets around the ship to mark off where they are. A second type of bracket would be used for when you're actually targeting the ship, with various other brackets or text showing hits and damage levels. Or, just give the light trails enough levels of detail that you can clearly see the trails for smaller ships at maximum visual distance.

It might be nice if your crew could say those damage levels of the other ship when their state changes, instead of only displaying those levels.


Without this be wow clone in space . star trek about is voice over and cut scenes.

and in game voice is a must. even wow now has voice ingame.

[Archived Post]

As for the Log idea, I think the best way to implement this would be to script a program to keep track of your characters progression and the log will basically tell you what you've done. keeps log of your level, play time, when you acquired skills, when you complete quests, when you left the ship, when you entered the ship, ect ect. Just slap a fancy Star trek Format on it like "Star date 3394-3456" and then list the corresponding action.

[Archived Post]

nicely done guys, good answers! :) I agree with the tiny shuttle aspect, a simple fix could be to make the shuttle bays quite large, and shuttles could contain multiple decks. Think, a supped up "delta flyer" thats 4 stories high, and a little tougher.

[Archived Post]

Great to see this issue of "Ask Cryptic", and hope you will continue this as a regular feature. It gives us players real insight as to what you all are thinking about as you develop Star Trek: Online. :)

[Archived Post]

Awesome Q&A. It's a bit off topic but Hey why no star trek font here?

The idea of personal logs was brought up and in game it would most likely look like they do on the show. The same font and framing that they use and we all know the second we see it. I thought it’s a great idea and would part of the in game Star fleet data base. I imagine star fleet data base like this forum and a bunch of memory alpha pages all accessible in game.
Then I thought, why doesn’t this forum look like that? It can’t be too hard to change the fonts and frames to look like SF database and they must have the blessing of CBS so why not make this forum look like the logs?
It’s not a big deal and just an aesthetic choice but I think people would like it.
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Image:Captain%27s_log_on_monitor.jpg

[Archived Post]

Okay, this is totally off topic (don't bludgeon me to death!), but seeing Zombie's avatar makes me really wanna see a Klingon/Romulan showdown against the Irken Empire now :D

Head to the concession stand for all sorts of cheap, useless crap! ;)

[Archived Post]

The idea that Pvp / pve is restricted to "zones" just as in wow apalls me. Ships behind fences are not canon, makes for predictable combat, it'll make the game fell like wow with deuterium engines. You have a ship.. you should be able to fly it anywhere.,. sure fly into federation or klingon space.. but if you've not enough ships.. the first space station could kill you and your group for not being careful enough..,.

plesae hear my cry :) Zone combat is for unimaginative grind games. wow and the 20+ games since to copy "zoning" combat is like pouring water of a gas stove fire. You could just turn the gas off and everyone would be happy.

[Archived Post]

Thats not to say i wont get buying the game 3 nanoseconds after its released :) just my ten cents..

2 TRekkies.. 8 opinions :)

the game WILL be awesome.

[Archived Post]

i dont think i remember Kirk saying...

"hey can you hit the yes button cos i cant attack you till you confirm, and move into position.. oh hey thanks thats much better.. "

[Archived Post]

The idea that Pvp / pve is restricted to "zones" just as in wow apalls me. Ships behind fences are not canon, makes for predictable combat, it'll make the game fell like wow with deuterium engines. You have a ship.. you should be able to fly it anywhere.,. sure fly into federation or klingon space.. but if you've not enough ships.. the first space station could kill you and your group for not being careful enough..,.

plesae hear my cry :) Zone combat is for unimaginative grind games. wow and the 20+ games since to copy "zoning" combat is like pouring water of a gas stove fire. You could just turn the gas off and everyone would be happy.

tthare is a buzz word called forced pvp. though i know what you are saying. and i agree. the fact remains that the star trek fan base does (including me) does not wanna have to go and log out becousei wanna go afk for a min or 2. or get ganked when doing some RP with my guild. basicly if you want galaxy wide pvp i my self would just stay flaged for pvp all the time. let those that don't wanna pvp not pvp.

[Archived Post]

I still say we need a hostile server. It simply makes things easier for those who have problems with either solution. Forced PvP really gets under people's skin because they hate the idea of Star Trek turning into a mindless gank fest all about pwning nubs. Whereas immersion people want to do away with zoned PvP because it's just not realistic. You don't fight wars only in certain zones, like, "Hey, you're not allowed to fight within 50 light years of my colony!"
Now, if you have a hostile server, those going for immersion or those who seriously want to kick some alien (or Federation) butt can go there and have all the free PvP they want. Meanwhile, you have a 'standard' server for those who don't want to be forced into PvP. You still keep it in the Neutral Zone and uncharted space, and if people flag for PvP, but it's not jammed down everyone's throats.
It's the best of both worlds, and makes everyone happy.
IMHO

[Archived Post]

I still say we need a hostile server. It simply makes things easier for those who have problems with either solution. Forced PvP really gets under people's skin because they hate the idea of Star Trek turning into a mindless gank fest all about pwning nubs. Whereas immersion people want to do away with zoned PvP because it's just not realistic. You don't fight wars only in certain zones, like, "Hey, you're not allowed to fight within 50 light years of my colony!"
Now, if you have a hostile server, those going for immersion or those who seriously want to kick some alien (or Federation) butt can go there and have all the free PvP they want. Meanwhile, you have a 'standard' server for those who don't want to be forced into PvP. You still keep it in the Neutral Zone and uncharted space, and if people flag for PvP, but it's not jammed down everyone's throats.
It's the best of both worlds, and makes everyone happy.
IMHO

i agree. a hostle server would solve the probblems. you got my vote on that (if i have one lol):D

[Archived Post]

We are paying close attention to the fine balance between delivering the true experience of vast space and keeping gameplay fun and engaging.

At true scale, they become nearly unperceivable when you are flying a ship the size of a Galaxy class, and that's simply not fun.

But wherever possible, we will offer alternative ways for players to solve conflict – as long as it's fun.

Sounds like FUN !! :p

Thanks for the info - keep 'em comming.

[Archived Post]

Great Information, Keep it coming I cant wait!

[Archived Post]

Are you going to have logs to read about the star trek line. For example what did happen to Admrial Archer? When did he die? Etc etc, that way you dont have to make a long intro or have people wonder where did Captain Picard go? As for Pvp, why not? Its Star Trek, as a captain you assume the risk of your ship every day/time you pull out of space dock. The only time you dont face any sort of threats is if you put your head in the sand and never come out. Hell even huttle pilots face it. And i dont even want to think about supply carriers.
However a gankfest isnt fun for anyone. It even gets old when you wtfpwn everyone you meet. I mean i your ship is damaged and a cube warps in, your not going to be like ha! cant touch me! no your going to die. get used to it. death happens everyday.

[Archived Post]

deleted post for wrong location

[Archived Post]

Why not have a mixture of servers like I have seen In Conan. Have PvE, PvP, and total RPG experience with a mixture. Most people may want to create an "ambush" in some sector of space. Since the galaxy is immense you may want to stake out a favorite warp point where people usually emerge when traveling to a certain location. Another factor which I have not seen discussed (though I may have missed it) regards the coordinate system. Will you say go to the Beta Reticuli System, go to the planet Pegasys 2, or will need to meet your friends at the planet at 30-mark15. How do you navigate? Do you have Stellar Cartography?

[Archived Post]

Given that the story and character of Star Trek are almost iconic, how will the story element be delivered? Will there be voiceovers or cut scenes?

Star Trek Online takes place about 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek: Voyager, in the year 2409. Many of the characters have retired, passed on or otherwise evolved. Certainly, some characters have very long lifespans, and many will have had children. Expect to see the descendants of some of your favorite characters, old enemies return and friends evolve. And definitely expect to visit familiar locations like Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, Deep Space 9, Qo'noS, Vulcan and many others, as well as strange and entirely new worlds.

I hate to be pedantic, but this question hasn't actually been answered. I'd like to see the answer: "how will the story element be delivered? Will there be voiceovers or cut scenes?"

[Archived Post]

There will probably be cut scenes at critical junctures in the campaign-type mode. But how would you work that into a PvP universe where it is a "free for all" and how would you trigger them? As in WoW and other MMO's , when you are "questing and grinding" you will have familiar regions. But, this is conjecture based on other MMORPGs.

[Archived Post]

PVP? EVE? GREF? Is there a legend I should be reading to understand these references? I don't play World of ******** so if these are common online gaming acronyms, keep in mind that some of us are new to the whole experience. That being said...

I like the fact that the statement has been made that while some races are not inherently evil that they have different value systems which will impact their interactions. As for two species in combat having a fair battle...I would expect it to come down to skill rather than physicality of weapons type.

PvP = Player vs. Player
PvE = Player vs. Environment
Grief = To intentionally cause another player to fail at an encounter through one's own actions. (IE, on a PvP type server, if someone is trying to accomplish a task, and another player comes in and does actions to disrupt the completion of that task, that would be griefing.)

[Archived Post]

So the pvp side of the game will be nearly based upon the basic pvp in Wow in the sense that you become open to it when you enter some parts of the map but not in all of the parts.?

I should point out that in any game I have played mmo any attempt to restrict pvp has never worked, largely because those that are pro pvp tend to complain so much to game designers that they change the game, this won’t be the case in this game will it?


why will restricted pvp not work? in WoW it DOES work and it works great. You' ve got the option to go to arena, you can play battleground and also there is some open pvp in some areas. In my opinion this would be the best handling of pvp in sto because star trek never was a idea of a future where war can handle everything. War is used as the last possiblity when diplomacy does not work anymore. Similar to this idea pvp should be in sto in my opinion. There are save sectors with the presence of a lot federation ships where it is nearly impossible to be attacked and sectors where you can find a lot enemies and where you can be attacked behind every asteroid. Why not? For me this sounds great and funny.

[Archived Post]

Given that the story and character of Star Trek are almost iconic, how will the story element be delivered? Will there be voiceovers or cut scenes?

Star Trek Online takes place about 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek: Voyager, in the year 2409. Many of the characters have retired, passed on or otherwise evolved. Certainly, some characters have very long lifespans, and many will have had children. Expect to see the descendants of some of your favorite characters, old enemies return and friends evolve. And definitely expect to visit familiar locations like Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, Deep Space 9, Qo'noS, Vulcan and many others, as well as strange and entirely new worlds.


dont want to sound picky.. but... wheres the answer about the voiceovers n cutscenes? the other information in that answer is old news everyone knows through the other interviews.

[Archived Post]

WILL ther be borg playable.. and if so when will we be able to play them... also how will you deal with haveing a ship concered via bording.. will that ship fall under the command of the main bording caption. and if so will there be a cool down time till the ship functions like it would if it where under the orgianl owner??

[Archived Post]

I hope that theres a small game mechanic that encourages players to keep a log. Especially with the exploring aspect. If you think about it, All ship captains are in thier own ways, scientists and scientists keep logs. I think it would be cool to take information you gather on certain systems (be it information gathered from sensors, probes, away missions, ect) and "add info to log" this way, that player's faction will be rewarded by having exclusive knowledge of that system. Perhaps make all the data you gather from your sensor logs have a "Add this information to captain's log" function.

This way when you mention a particular system or scan file (marked with a stardate/time) It will show up in your log as a link to the sensor logs that you took.

Example:

Captain's Log Stardate 42347.whatever

We've discovered a new class M planet in the Devron System that we'ved decided to name "Eric 3"(link to data on Eric 3)

We've gathered extensive data on Eric 3's extremly active "Volcanic Activity" (link to ship's sensor log entry)

This would encourage players to keep a log AND give them a bonus for doing so! Not to mention adding a benifit to exploring.

Another cool option would be to have the choice of entering information in your personal log or your Ship's log. Naturally your ships log would be available for all in your faction to see where as your personal log could contain information you've learned that you wish to keep secret.

Whatdyall think?

[Archived Post]

As a seasoned MMORPG player, (CoH and SWG), I believe that starting players off as a Captian of their own ship is a BIG leap. I have joined many Star Trek SIMMING groups, particulary on mIRC, and you start out as either an ensign or a Private, depending on your choice of Enlisted or Officer. You also start out in the Academy, a basic run trhough of commands ect. I would personally, not be interested in being a captian of my own ship, at first. I would like to be able to work your way though the ranks, earning you Rank through XP and Level Gaining. Just an idea.

[Archived Post]

As a seasoned MMORPG player, (CoH and SWG), I believe that starting players off as a Captian of their own ship is a BIG leap. I have joined many Star Trek SIMMING groups, particulary on mIRC, and you start out as either an ensign or a Private, depending on your choice of Enlisted or Officer. You also start out in the Academy, a basic run trhough of commands ect. I would personally, not be interested in being a captian of my own ship, at first. I would like to be able to work your way though the ranks, earning you Rank through XP and Level Gaining. Just an idea.

You should watch the webcast. In the webcast he mentioned the truism that in both the star trek universe and in the real world, you dont have to be a captain in rank in order to be called the captain of a vessel. You just need to be the superior officer. We see this in first contact when LT Cmdr Worf was captain of the defiant at the battle of sector 01.

When you start the game, you wont start as a captain in rank, you'll just be refurred to as the "captain" of your own, tiny ship. As you work up the ranks, you than get to "captain" (as a verb) larger ships with bigger crews.

[Archived Post]

You should watch the webcast. In the webcast he mentioned the truism that in both the star trek universe and in the real world, you dont have to be a captain in rank in order to be called the captain of a vessel. You just need to be the superior officer. We see this in first contact when LT Cmdr Worf was captain of the defiant at the battle of sector 01.

When you start the game, you wont start as a captain in rank, you'll just be refurred to as the "captain" of your own, tiny ship. As you work up the ranks, you than get to "captain" (as a verb) larger ships with bigger crews.

After watching the webcast as suggested (oops) i will revise my question. What rank do you start as, and what benifits does a Specialty give you for your captian? For example: Laura Ferron, my char, has a specialty in Tactical and Security. would she get benifits to combat on her ship, or against AI charicters, or other players? If in the event my Tactical or Security Officer is disabled, would she be able to command those aspects of her ship?

So far, this looks great, can't wait to play.

[Archived Post]

A new question:
Can I act some on my on will?
For example Kirk stole the Enterprise.
If yes how far can I go?

[Archived Post]

What is the estimated subscription price?

When should this game come out?

[Archived Post]

I would like to know if is just pc that is getting this mmo or will it be on them home consoles too. As well is the Q continium in here and if they are what role do they play would they give out tasks to prove our selves like on TNG or will they jus be for show

[Archived Post]

it is like that with eve part from in corp wars, and if someone just wants to attack you, they tank concord, thats the npcs that are meant to protect players from unlawful attack, some even just do it, if you have anything worth money in your cargo hold then have someone mainly their own alt to take anything that drops from your ship been as how their main ship gets destroyed by concord.

concords or resucing ships are so lame.. i am a eve player to but i cant wait till STAR TREK

still i like the unexploring space in deep tetor much beter for pvp so explorastion will be with more people in this case i hope :D

[Archived Post]

I got a question for you. In COH/CoV the PvP players have pretty much killed the game. Reason being is they get stuff nerfed to beyond useable. While NPC's stay they same. So a few guys with guns can pretty much kill what is post to be superman. So best way to really ask i think is.

Are you going to let PvP effect PvE gameplay pretty much?

Not everyone that will want to play this is wanting to PvP. I am in it to play Starfleet Captian with my friends. I been playing Pirates of Burning Sea lately and the game play is set up the best i seen.

O and when is closed beta starting? I am ready at any time and was signed up in orignal closed beta invite . So i been waiting on this a LONG time.

[Archived Post]

The Game Informer article mentions expansions to include races like Cardassians and ROmulanas. Are they expecting those to be full cost models (WoW) or free updates like CoX?

[Archived Post]

No more Klingons (or Gorns) on Federation ships, or will there still be exceptions?

(I am sort of tired of the WoW/EQ/Et Al. formulae where when you choose a race, you are forced not only to a faction, but even sometimes to a profession set.)

The Federation is still an equal opportunity employer?:p

[Archived Post]

Also, if we plan on having two accounts (my wife and I both want out own accounts to play at the same time), will this require us to purchase two seperate copies of the game?

[Archived Post]

Where do you play the actual game at????

[Archived Post]

during the speach on stage it was talked about customizing ships . this creates ownership and great goals to work for . i also have played eve and beta tested earth and beyond . i always like being able to add to my ship . but i hope there will not be to many limits as for upgrading hulls and weapons and also color . I am hoping we could also at some point add landing gear as seen in the movies . watching a large ship in a landing is just cool beyond belief. maybe it could also be a skill and a add on hard to get . i am sitting here playing wow just waiting my time out for this game . i have beta tested 3 games and i hope this will be my next long term home (ultima online1999-2007, lineage 2, earth and beyond , eve, wow,lineage, ) from what i understand guys since 1995 with windows 95 we star trek fans have been waiting for this day.

[Archived Post]

during the speach on stage it was talked about customizing ships . this creates ownership and great goals to work for . i also have played eve and beta tested earth and beyond . i always like being able to add to my ship . but i hope there will not be to many limits as for upgrading hulls and weapons and also color . I am hoping we could also at some point add landing gear as seen in the movies . watching a large ship in a landing is just cool beyond belief. maybe it could also be a skill and a add on hard to get . i am sitting here playing wow just waiting my time out for this game . i have beta tested 3 games and i hope this will be my next long term home (ultima online1999-2007, lineage 2, earth and beyond , eve, wow,lineage, ) from what i understand guys since 1995 with windows 95 we star trek fans have been waiting for this day.

If they did add landing gear to ships, it would be ships like the Intrepid Class. Mind you, the Galaxy class starships could land the saucer section, but that was a one way trip and could not be salvaged.

[Archived Post]

LOL. I think Data put it properly when he said "Oh Sh***"

[Archived Post]

WILL ther be borg playable.. and if so when will we be able to play them... also how will you deal with haveing a ship concered via bording.. will that ship fall under the command of the main bording caption. and if so will there be a cool down time till the ship functions like it would if it where under the orgianl owner??

I doubt the Borg will be a playable faction.

[Archived Post]

Figured I should throw my thoughts in with the PvP discussion. It's my first post so... hi ;P

I do want to touch bases with Lance first on his commentary towards PvP systems with MMOs such as EvE Online and World of ********. I can understand where he comes from at a very core level. I played EvE Online for a few years as a pirate (sorry Lance, you probably wouldn't have liked me... :) ) and from my own subjective view, I very much enjoyed EvE's PvP system. I started playing that game as a miner, utilizing ships and devices to do nothing but try and make a bit of cash, and in those days I was getting hit pretty hard sometimes; however, after experiencing both sides of things I had to conclude that EvE does in fact have a decent PvP system. But if players die so easily in it from other players, then why is that?

When EvE Online's PvP system was developed, one of the more obvious underlying premises was the idea of "risk versus reward". Much like the developers' strategy towards building the game's economy (which is basically a textbook example of laissez faire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laissez-faire)), this PvP system was designed to create a situation where a non-combat pilot would be making an amount of money in proportion to how dangerous the process was. As a miner, I could bring in large amounts of low-end, low-cost materials without being in much danger (CONCORD (the ingame peacekeepers) cannot be tanked anymore Lance, so it's very difficult and far from profitable to target individuals in those areas of space 99.9% of the time... thank the maker eh?). These areas of space were called "high security space", and mechanics in the game DO allow PvP here... however, any attempt to initiate will likely result in a very shiny death from local peacekeeper NPCs, and your target getting away with nothing other than potentially soiled undergarments.

However, I wanted more. I could have made enough to easily support myself, but there was a strong allure there to make Even More Money (tm). So I headed to what in EvE is called "low security space". In low security space, the NPC peacekeepers are simply not there. There are still automated defense systems around travel gates and space stations that CAN be tanked with work, but not all PvP configurations allow for this (for example, I always preferred speed over durability due to my fighting style after I became a pirate, and since I couldn't evade fire from the defense systems I was unable to "camp" locations). From what I've just said, it's obvious that attempting to travel or work in these areas can be quite dangerous; however, if you're smart, you can make a ton of cash. I wasn't smart ;) Beyond this, there was "frontier" or "null security space" where player factions could officially claim territory, build stations, and effectively run their faction "for real" within the game. Players were 100% responsible for their own security and safety.

So, why do I prefer this system?

As many have already mentioned, space is a very big place. It isn't like a country on a planet, where a single government can simply say "Okay, we're going to have police everywhere so nobody does anything mean to anyone else". Space is simply too large, and the drive for more of it seen by most everyone in the Star Trek universe only makes this a larger problem. In EvE, this underlying truth is exhibited well in the very PvP system it developed... and we all knew it, and were forced to realize it. Furthermore, it helped bring a bit of boredom out of the stereotypical "carebear" activities (which are vital to any MMO) in a sometimes scary and frustrating way. As a miner I was willing to accept that frustration; after all, It's Just a Game (tm). Furthermore, it allowed for what I call "true criminals" in a game. To understand my meaning behind this a bit more though is to really understand why people tend to target the defenseless.

As a pirate and admittedly quite the griefer in EvE Online, I got more than my fair share of hate (I did actually have to report some of the nastier things, but that's life). Most of it only indicated to me, however, that many players don't understand the motives behind such activities. Many griefers (not all, but most of us) are not really targeting a player for who they are; we're targeting them for what they have. Easy money; not a lot, but easy. Just like seeing the victim's end of this "risk versus reward" system, the criminals get the same exact dilemma; either don't make a lot of money but make it reliably by killing those much too weak to oppose you... or go up against someone with a chance, and potentially make a lot more if you win.

(A quick note to Lance and others with perceivably similar views: It's something that's very easily difficult to understand from a victim's perspective, and I get that. "Why did he attack me? I did nothing wrong and I'm not even worth that much, and I worked really hard for what I did have..." is a very common and very understandable reaction. I reacted that way too. But people are just going to want to go for what's easy for them sometimes, and they aren't really personally attacking you. In fact, they don't even care about you at all, just what you have… at least, that’s how it was in EvE).

So basically, I prefer this system because it allows for the near seamless preservation of a core game component we know as "suspension of disbelief". Yes, realism isn't everything; however, a successful application of it allows for incredible player immersion. I'm a proponent of an EvE-style PvP system for these reasons. Not to mention I think it’s “fair”.

What does this have to do with the original topic, and this upcoming game? Actually, a lot.

I can see where a zone-based PvP system makes sense, but I believe it has too many cons to be a permanent solution. Let's face it, PvP is easily one of the hardest things to tackle as a developer; it will seem even more than usual that, regardless of what you do, someone is going to hate it. Zoning is especially vulnerable here. Too many/large and the industrialists complain, too few/small and the PvPers get frustrated from lack of activity. The problem with the size and numbers, though they may be nice for the Star Trek universe, is somewhat simple to explain: Too large and players can't make any money or do anything they want without passing through a PvP area. Too small and it becomes too easy for players to avoid them regardless of activity, which makes PvPers upset due to a lack of preferred targets. Striking a balance that everyone can at least tolerate is incredibly difficult. Conversely, an EvE-style PvP system allows for both sides to technically get what they want, while providing an opportunity for unlawful players and groups to target those who choose to seek more than their share (and trust me when I say that some industrialists have no problem taking that risk if it means a lot more shinies).

I can also see the logic behind having PvP-dedication on certain servers but I believe this is an even worse solution. As I've explained above, many PvPers enjoy targeting the unwitting/unwilling/defenseless, and this is a core aspect of PvP whether we like it or not. Darwinism simply needs to be there; for it not to be detracts not only from the inherent realism the game should possess, but also the potential immersion of standard servers.

So I'm a strong proponent of EvE's PvP system. The first question I'd have to face if it were up to me, however, is how such an in-depth system from a game with a different universe could possibly be applied well to a game such as this one... and how it could be applied without detracting from the canon, etc.

I honestly don't have a full answer for that. I'm a fan of some of the series but I was never a "real trekkie" per se and I don't really think I know enough about the storylines, the universe in itself, etc to give specifics on things. However, I can say that having PvP based on general distance from safe areas other than specific zones would not only be more immersive and realistic, but also simply make things a little more exciting for folk. Say I'm a “Bad Person (tm)” of some sort and I want to try and attack that small ship leaving a starbase. I do it, and the local governing authority pretty much kicks my butt. Or if I try to do so enough, or even do so in areas monitored but not well enforced (such as the low security areas in EvE) I'm blackmarked and simply targeted on sight by the authorities in question, thereby providing additional protection to the defenseless who I would otherwise have an opportunity to target. It's a really rough set of ideas that would need to be balanced, applied properly, etc... I'm not offering some universally epic PvP system. But I do believe a system very similar to EvE's would work very well in this game, provided the appropriate mechanics were in place (same as any other system).

Thoughts, comments, threats to my personal wellbeing? :)

[Archived Post]

how do I get started with the game I get to home page but cant seem to find how to start.

[Archived Post]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to the game.

[Archived Post]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on story, space, psionics, society, ships and logs. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

As we looked closely at the IP and built our story, we realized there were certain truisms we needed to honor. The Federation is an idealistic society that seeks to better themselves and others. It is a fundamental part of Gene Roddenberry's vision – the future will be brighter. Other societies like the Klingon Empire or the Romulans are not evil, but they are different. They are motivated by different values and handle situations very differently than the Federation.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-04-08)

im new to this type of game and i was wondering a few things
1. will you beable to land on pretty much any any planet? if so can you travel around the whole thing?
2. can you go around killling people and thier ships anywhare?
3. do you have lots of hand weapon options in this game, or is it mainly a ship fighting game?
4. how big can the ships get and how many weapons can they hold?
5. how are we going to beable to control are huge ships control, weapons, and shields?

[Archived Post]

Thanks Cryptic for the FAQ answers.

I like that you're making space a vast area, but keeping it fun and playable is a big plus as well.

Starships are massive and I'm sure hoping that you can keep that promise alive that they'll be massive in-game and to scale with smaller ships. The larger classes truly should dwarf the smaller classes. So many games that's not the case.

Log entries...woot!

That's been a question I've had ever since I learned about STO when PE had it. How are they going to make current-era players keep in line with the future ideals set forth by Gene Rodenberry (mainly ref to Federation players here). It seems that so many do not hold these ideals he has set in ST to their own everyday ideals. How do you make someone in game terms stay in line with that?

Examples: A Federation ship (read: player) is on patrol (doing a mission) and a urgent distress call comes in from a merchant vessel in trouble. Does the real life player do what a Federation captain should do? How is that policed? If the player ignores the distress call (out of ignorance of Star Trek or just pure greed to finish his earlier mission), that would have the most SEVERE of consequences to a captain of Starfleet. How does Cryptic manage this? I guess we'll find out someday!

:)

[Archived Post]

Does anyone else remember watching Star Trek when it was on during Prime Time on NBC? Of course, most people were watching it on black and white TV's a the time and the second youngest in the family was designated as the remote control, while the youngest was the auxiliary antenna. Yep - in those days you had to get up to change the channel. Remember that noise? Chunk Chunk Chunk. Oh UHF? Ratatatatatatatata That's back when phones had cords and actual dials. (My kids have never seen a dial phone - isn't that weird?)

OK. PVP. I think that if you beat someone in PVP combat, that you should be allowed to salvage what's left of the ship. Ideally, you would use combat methods which would not entirely destroy your opponent but bleed off his energy and destroy critical systems to the point where you could tow him in. In contrast, in a war situation (PVE) you would want to destroy your enemy and move to the next objective.

I am guessing that Energy will be the essence of combat. Each ship probably generates so much energy and as Captain you need to decide where it goes. (I wonder if we'll be able to play Orion ships?) This concept was used heavily in the game Star Fleet Battles and ended up with a very logical and workable system.

In most combat situations ships need to slow down to sub-light for meaningful combat since if you are going beyond light speed, you are limited pretty much to a straight line. I am not sure what Einstien would say if you fired a light based weapon forward when you travel at the speed of light. I am pretty sure that the weapon would end up behind you since at warp speed you can't actually traverse through all of the space, but a bent facsimile, unless your space warp extended ahead of the ship. Again though, you would be limited to a straight line.

The concept of multiple dimensions is common in the star trek universe, and fortunately it lends itself perfectly well to the actual mechanics of MMPOG. Each dimension could easily be its' own zone or set of zones. What a great setting for an MMPOG setting - you can use extra dimensions to change story lines, explore what-if's and who knows what else.

I love the idea of star ship combat, but if I am on a planet and I hear of a ship approaching at high warp - I am just getting the hell out of there.

If I could choose any race -I think I'll pick Q.

[Archived Post]

the excelsior
the nebula
the promethus
the nx
the delta flyer
the galaxy

and alots more and they need to make it fast time and slow so u can go and kill the kazon and things like that

[Archived Post]

I know that there is got to be more space to make your own wepon system, and make a wepon system that can be your own making, i hopw they give it a real smart program that can give you the power to create your own system, instead of having a cookie cutter to choose from make a smart AI that will allow you to create your own system. If you need help with that let me know I have a plane for it now :)

:D

[Archived Post]

What are the odds of having voice commands in the game? I think it would be awsome to be able to verbally give my vrew orders and hear theiir replies and have them alert me to whats going on. It would be awsome to have a crew member tell me that some one is hailing us, tell me whats on the short or long range scanners when prompted, or even a damage report from enginering.

[Archived Post]

From our FAQ (http://www.startrekonline.com/faq):

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.

There are always options for people who choose not to PvP, just as there will be options for people who want to PvP.

I have a warrior in World Of ******** with over 75k lifetime PvP kills. Before that I was playing Star Wars Galaxies, and though the game didn't keep track of my efforts in crushing the rebellion, I was no less active!

Unlike many players, I see PvP as the ultimate end to any MMO. Players will eventually beat all the content developers can come up with. What is there to do at that point but wait for more content?

PVP

I see PvP as the culmination of all the effort of one player to build a powerful character pitted against all the efforts of another player trying to do the same thing. Its when minds meet to determine and challenge each others character theories and strategy in combat. Its the perpetual and eventual test of everything you've tried to accomplish.

Its epic.

What concerned me about this reply to the question of PvP was the statement that it'd be in unclaimed and therefore relatively unimportant, and therefore BORING territory.

So my first question is, will there be zones created where we can openly engage in PvP, and still have to deal with all the other aspects of the game at the same time? How intriguing would these areas be if so far remote?

How about a system of PvP quests where players of the opposite faction are sent to achieve the same or similar goal, in order to bring them to compete for the objective? Or perhaps other goals, just in close proximity? These goals may not have to be accomplished in direct conflict, perhaps a little diversion to distract the enemy while you run off with their badly needed replacement dilithium... :eek:

Also, how epic are space and ground battles likely to become if whole fleets are involved?

If the quest based system I mentioned above were seriously considered, what would a fleet version be like?

This kind of system could lead to some seriously fun and limitless scenarios, and hence the reason for my questions and suggestions.

Also, I've always been a glutton for punishment. I like to try things that others don't dare. Odd class talent builds, odd gear, odd tactics. Mostly because I like stretching the limits and doing things people have never seen or thought of. Will smaller vessels and even science vessels be contributing parties to combat (even if heavily stealthy, subversive or indirect) or is it going to be an all out capital ship slug fest?

Please don't turn PvP into a fight at the school flag pole. Don't punish the hunters!

P.S. Is there going to be an in-game macro system? Will there even be a need?

[Archived Post]

One inherited flaw that I have found in current Star Trek games is that the ships are not in scale with one another. For example, in Bridge Commander, the Defiant was as large as a Galaxy class saucer section, which is not canon. What will Cryptic's plans be with scaling of the ships?

We have been working on that recently, and we are in the process of defining ship scale and size ratios. Most of the time it is not a problem. But there are a few exceptionally small ships, such as shuttlecrafts, that become problematic. At true scale, they become nearly unperceivable when you are flying a ship the size of a Galaxy class, and that's simply not fun.

We want to deliver a canonical Star Trek experience, but we also want to deliver a fun game, so we have to find a balance. Expect larger starships, from escorts to battle cruisers and Borg cubes, to have their scale represented fairly accurately. There will also be some small ships in STO – take a close look at the trailer and you may see some.

Interesting...about the smallest being unperceptible I thought it may be unperceptible to human eye but not to sensors. I mean this shuttles can be rounded by a square and labelled with a registry number. Trek canon course.

[Archived Post]

What about the Borg? Are they all about a better brighter future? And what about the 5th coloumn?

[Archived Post]

Will there be a story line/s inolving the Q? Will there be an option to min astroids for raw materials to sell or create ship parts or systems? On that same line of thought, will there be profesions like shipwright, weponsmith, ect?

[Archived Post]

i whant to kniow if i can be a nonhumaniod race

[Archived Post]

i whant to kniow if i can be a nonhumaniod race

Nope, sorry.