In the universe of Star Trek Online, it's the 24th century and humans no longer make use of money. Here in the 21st century, however, you've still got a bit more time until you can play Star Trek Online without the use of said money. Or do you? Starting tomorrow, January 5th, the doors will open for players to start enjoying the game for free before the full free-to-play launch on January 17th.
So what do you need to do to get this early access? Well, if you're asking now, you're a bit too late; the privilege is being extended to lapsed former subscribers, who can come back and play the game for free as Silver members. That means certain features will be restricted, but if you had played in the past and haven't had a chance to catch up with the newer features of the game, tomorrow will be your chance to log in and start trekking across the universe for free.
Reader Comments (23)
Posted: Jan 4th 2012 5:11PM Sam not Spam said
Smart move. Reintegrated them now so when its open to everyone the servers aren't completely and totally slammed. Also, I'm sure they're hoping these returning players will play, like what they see, and try to recruit their friends. Nice move.
Posted: Jan 5th 2012 3:20PM Vic Fontaine said
@Sam not Spam
Agreed, very smart. Can't wait to get into this game myself.
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Agreed, very smart. Can't wait to get into this game myself.
Posted: Jan 4th 2012 5:21PM Ardra Diva said
Finally we get to play this game for a fair price.
(insert rant here about "no explorable ship interiors and inability to crew together)
You know, stuff you would normally see on any Star Trek episode, etc.
Sigh.
(insert tired moldy old rant here about how great Galaxies was before the NGE)
(insert rant here about "no explorable ship interiors and inability to crew together)
You know, stuff you would normally see on any Star Trek episode, etc.
Sigh.
(insert tired moldy old rant here about how great Galaxies was before the NGE)
Posted: Jan 4th 2012 5:35PM pcgneurotic said
@Ardra Diva
When was the last time you played? There have been explorable ship interiors for a long time now - captain's quarters, mess hall, engineering, crew quarters, sickbay, and loads of REALLY HUGE corridors. :D
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When was the last time you played? There have been explorable ship interiors for a long time now - captain's quarters, mess hall, engineering, crew quarters, sickbay, and loads of REALLY HUGE corridors. :D
Posted: Jan 4th 2012 5:53PM Joaquin Crowe said
@Ardra Diva I can visit my bridge quite easily. And then go down to gaze at my bat'leth trophy in the mess.
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Posted: Jan 4th 2012 5:24PM SiML said
"In the universe of Star Trek Online, it's the 24th century and humans no longer make use of money".
...because we work to better ourselves right? ;-).
I think in retrospect the c-store is more akin to the philosophy of gold-pressed latinum and the Ferengi! ^^
...because we work to better ourselves right? ;-).
I think in retrospect the c-store is more akin to the philosophy of gold-pressed latinum and the Ferengi! ^^
Posted: Jan 4th 2012 6:01PM The Grand Nagus said
Yes, you can go to your ship interior now. Theres just nothing to do there. Its pointless except for RP. That said this game isnt a Trek sim and was never supposed to be. The story of this game is that you are the captain saving the galaxy, not a low rank crew member fixing the ship. If thats not the story your looking for thats fine.
Posted: Jan 4th 2012 6:09PM arodriguezc said
WOOT I am going to try the game again... just made some space on my HD for it :)
Posted: Jan 4th 2012 8:42PM (Unverified) said
You need money to play STO...even if you are a lifetime subscriber.
Posted: Jan 4th 2012 9:00PM iowahawkeyedave said
@(Unverified) Depends on your definition of play.
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Posted: Jan 4th 2012 9:34PM The Grand Nagus said
@(Unverified) False. You can play every single mission in the game for free after F2P. As far as the items in the c-store go, you can now trade in game currency to other players for C-points, meaning you have a way to earn the C-store items without spending any real money on them yourself.
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Posted: Jan 5th 2012 1:23AM Quarlo said
Depending on when a former subsriber left the game it could be quite a pleasant suprise on how much the game has improved.
Sector Space Improvements (No more ugly lines and popsicle planets)
Featured Series' (Cloaked Intentions is a great series)
The Event Schedule (Borg Invasion, Academy Events)
Remastered Missions (Azura and Doomsday Machine)
Player Authored Foundry Missions (some are masterpieces)
and
The Duty Officer System (addicting way to manage your crew)
If you've missed any of the above you should give the game another try.
Sector Space Improvements (No more ugly lines and popsicle planets)
Featured Series' (Cloaked Intentions is a great series)
The Event Schedule (Borg Invasion, Academy Events)
Remastered Missions (Azura and Doomsday Machine)
Player Authored Foundry Missions (some are masterpieces)
and
The Duty Officer System (addicting way to manage your crew)
If you've missed any of the above you should give the game another try.
Posted: Jan 5th 2012 3:52AM Lorell said
I'm wondering if I had activated my STO account last December with Alienware 10-day key and my account says "Subscribed for: 10 days" it means that I will also have access to Early Access or it doesn't count as "former sub"? :/
Anyone have an idea?
Anyone have an idea?
Posted: Jan 5th 2012 9:11AM Quarlo said
Alas, there are still sector space zones with invisible walls.
But in an effort to streamline space travel, when you have take a story mission for the first time you are given a 'transwarp' option that takes you directly to the planet for the cost of energy credits (if you are in the same sector as the mission planet, it will autopilot you there).
With the revamped graphics for the game (as of season 4, the game textures look fantastic) and new sector space backgrounds, the transition is less jaring. Also when you orbit a nebula (Briar Patch, Badlands and Mutara Nebula) the nebula space fills the screen. It's a small touch but a nice one.
Reply
But in an effort to streamline space travel, when you have take a story mission for the first time you are given a 'transwarp' option that takes you directly to the planet for the cost of energy credits (if you are in the same sector as the mission planet, it will autopilot you there).
With the revamped graphics for the game (as of season 4, the game textures look fantastic) and new sector space backgrounds, the transition is less jaring. Also when you orbit a nebula (Briar Patch, Badlands and Mutara Nebula) the nebula space fills the screen. It's a small touch but a nice one.
Posted: Jan 5th 2012 7:02AM Verus said
Have the improved crafting any or is it still crap ? Have they added any sort of endgame for guilds with more than 5 people ?
Posted: Jan 5th 2012 2:50PM Quarlo said
@StClair
I managed to find one screenshot online that showed the old sector space.
http://biobreak.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/stpinwarp.jpg
There is still a toned down version of it that you can toggle on or off, but this is how the sector space looked when the game launched.
Reply
I managed to find one screenshot online that showed the old sector space.
http://biobreak.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/stpinwarp.jpg
There is still a toned down version of it that you can toggle on or off, but this is how the sector space looked when the game launched.








