Star Trek Online

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For the version of Star Trek Online that was being developed by the defunct Perpetual Entertainment, see Star Trek Online (Perpetual Entertainment).

Star Trek Online (STO or ST:O for short) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Cryptic Studios. Released in February 2010, the game takes place in the year 2409, nearly thirty years after Star Trek Nemesis and 22 years after the destruction of Romulus and Remus as depicted in Star Trek.

Development

STOtimeline — Timeline of events leading up to the game

An earlier version of the game was being developed by Perpetual Entertainment; however, in January 2008, Perpetual Entertainment ceased production of the game and laid off the entire Star Trek Online development team. The license for Star Trek Online was acquired by Cryptic, [1] which subsequently hired some of the Perpetual development team. The game was rebuilt from scratch as Cryptic had acquired no useful assets from Perpetual aside from several pieces of concept art that may be included in the final game. [2] [3]

On 27 July 2008, after placing a countdown timer on its website, Cryptic officially announced that they were the new developers and publishers of Star Trek Online. The official website was relaunched with details and screen shots. [4]

On 10 August 2008, at the official Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, Cryptic released several key details of the game as well as a gameplay trailer derived directly from the functioning game. Although no release date was announced, Cryptic Chief Creative Officer (CCO) Jack Emmert hinted that it would be sooner than players would expect, and certainly within the next three years.

French game company Infogrames announced on 9 December 2008 that they were acquiring Cryptic Studios and all of its assets, including Star Trek Online, for US$28 million. [5] [6] [7]

Star Trek Online entered the closed beta stage on 22 October 2009. [8]

On 9 November 2009, the February 2010 release date was announced, with open beta details being released the following week. The open beta stage was originally intended to last from 12 January 2010 through 24 January 2010. This was ultimately extended until 26 January 2010, when the final day saw Cryptic stage a Klingon invasion of the Federation, which was interrupted by a full-scale Borg attack, targeting both sides.

Prior to full release in the US, a head-start offer to customers who had preordered the game, allowing them into the full game ahead of standard retail customers, began on 29 January 2010.

Key features

Several features of the game were released during the Star Trek convention. Among these was the revelation that each player would captain their own vessel, although they would not necessarily have the rank of captain. Crews for the ships would be divided into two with the bridge crew being likened to pets, i.e. upgradeable skills and so on, with the remainder of the crew being general, or "redshirts" as described by Jack Emmert. Holographic crewmembers could also serve as members of a crew, albeit with some limitations. An article in the October 2008 issue of the GameInformer magazine revealed that players' bridge crew, while being defeatable, will not die in the game although the "redshirt" crew can and will, necessitating replenishment at Starbases or friendly planets. The September 17 issue of "Ask Cryptic" posted on the official website also indicated that bridge crews will be fully customizable with race, appearance, gender, name and physical appearance under player control. [9]

Gameplay style was also broached with general directions of combat, exploration and trade. Combat would involve slow-paced space combat and fast-paced land-based conflict. Exploration was discussed in view of explored and unexplored planets and systems. Players will choose, depending on the mission, which bridge crew and/or General crew to accompany them to the surface of planets, although some missions would involve only players. First contact with undiscovered species will also be featured and may influence the progress of the game. An example was given in that a newly discovered race may be recruited so one or two bridge crew members could be of that race. Trade would be conducted within the faction (Federation or Klingon Empire) with some trade channels between the two. These missions would be assigned from a Central Command.

Star Trek Online Galaxy Bridge Screenshot — Screenshot of what looks like a *Galaxy*-class bridge from the *Star Trek Online* gameplay trailer

Although explorable vessel interiors was one of the points mentioned in the convention, the current indication is that most vessel interiors would not be available at the launch of the game but will be the possible focus of an expansion, with executive producer Craig Zinkievich emphasizing the need to "get it right" before releasing the feature. Several areas previously mentioned as explorable, in the convention, include medical facilities and decks. The gameplay trailer also showed a battle scene on what appeared to be a Template:ShipClass bridge. [10] On November 11, Cryptic announced that the main bridge would be available at launch. [11] It was mentioned however that starship interiors were mainly for social interaction, showing what modifications were made, less as a game-play element. The announcements did not preclude, however, the possibility of selected vessel interiors used for away mission scenarios.

Guilds within the game would be known as fleets with the ability to construct space stations, mining facilities and shipyards. Several ships would only be fleet-accessible and can be constructed with the cooperative efforts of many players, then passed on to fleet members. Cooperative play was also touched on with the ability to form taskforces.

Customization is one of the hallmarks of Cryptic Studios and as such, Jack Emmert detailed the numerous ways in which players would be able to personalize the game. The characters, or in-game avatars would feature fully customizable features, with modifiable features such as body size and height. Players would also be able to create their own race or base a new race on mentioned, unseen-before races. Ships would also be customizable to an extent with the ability to change nacelles and stanchions or add decals. This customization would take place within the bounds of a class, with the overall design being immediately recognisable as a ship of a certain class. It has also been stated that captains will have a 'stable' of ships, with older vessels being kept unused rather than discarded as more advanced vessels become available.

Story

File:Startrekonline.png

Star Trek Online logo

The two playable factions, so far as have been announced, are the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. However, it has been implied that antagonists will include several Romulan factions, Species 8472, and the Borg. It has been also mentioned in an interview that in the future, the game designers would possibly include new factions. These would most likely be Romulans, Cardassians or another major race in the Star Trek universe.

An ancient threat has also been mentioned, with players wondering if this means the return of the Hur'q or the Iconian civilization.

The storyline is based on Species 8472, who in the game have identified themselves as the "Undine", infiltrating many of the high ranking personnel amongst the Alpha Quadrant powers. The Klingons begin conquering other races in order to destroy the infiltrations, which leads to open hostilities between the Klingon Empire and the Federation.

Playable Species

For the Federation, you can play as any of the following canon races:

Andorian
Bajoran
Benzite
Betazoid
Bolian
Ferengi (must be purchased from Cryptic store) [12]
Human
Klingon (must be purchased from Cryptic store)

Saurian
Trill (Normally unjoined, but if purchased in the Deluxe Edition, the player gains access to a joined Trill that comes with a special "Joined" trait)
Vulcan
Borg (Liberated Human Borg unlocks if you purchased a lifetime subscription before the launch of the game)

For the Klingon Empire:

Gorn (male only)
Klingon
Lethean (male only)
Nausicaan (male only)
Orion
Borg (Liberated Klingon Borg unlocks if you purchased a lifetime subscription before the launch of the game)

In addition, both sides have the option to create your own alien character with its own appearance and traits.

Current ships

Federation

Tier

Ensign/Lieutenant

Light Cruiser

Light Cruisers

Miranda
Centaur
Shi Kahr

Light Cruisers (Alt)

Constitution (TOS Constitution is available when the game is pre-ordered through Gamestop)

Tier	Lieutenant Commander	Commander	Captain	Admiral	Admiral
Cruisers	Cruiser Constitution (re-fit) Excalibur Vesper	Heavy Cruiser Constellation (Incorrectly labelled) Stargazer Dakota	Exploration Cruiser Galaxy Celestial Envoy	Assault Cruiser Sovereign Noble Majestic	Star Cruiser Avenger Vanguard Emissary
Escorts	Escort Saber Rapier Ushaan	Heavy Escort Akira Zephyr (Steamrunner re-fit) Oslo (Norway re-fit)	Tactical Escort Defiant Vigilant Gallant	Advanced Escort Prometheus Phoenix Cerberus	Fleet Escort Hermes Gryphon Dervish
Science	Science Vessel Nova Aurora Quasar	Research Science Vessel Olympic Hope Horizon	Long Range Science Vessel Intrepid Cochrane Discovery	Reconnaissance Science Vessel Luna Sol Polaris	Deep Space Science Vessel Trident Oracle Destiny