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Star Trek Online handing out Odyssey starships for its second anniversary

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Giveaways

It's been in the making for months now, but the wait is almost over. On February 2nd, Star Trek Online will release the latest in the line of Enterprises, the Odyssey-class (Enterprise-F) starship. Players are invited to do more than gawk at its power and majesty, as Cryptic is inviting all players level 5 or higher to take one for a test drive... and then take one home on the house.

Cryptic notes that the new Odyssey will be available for only a limited time at the start of the month, after which it will disappear from the game for an indeterminate amount of time. Players who cannot fly the top-tier starship can nevertheless earn it for use at a later date.

The Odyssey (and its corresponding Klingon Vengeance-class starship) giveaway is just the first part of STO's second anniversary events. From February 2nd through the 5th, the mischievous Q will challenge players to complete tasks in exchange for mystery prizes.

Star Trek Online handing out Odyssey starships for its second anniversary originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cryptic giving away 60-day Star Trek Online codes

Jef Reahard — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Star Trek Online, Promotions

Looking to captain your own starship on the cheap? If so you'll want to check out a new offer from Cryptic and Alienware that will net you the Star Trek Online retail client as well as 60 days of subscription time for free.

The promotion is available to registered users on the Alienware Arena website, and bonus items include a Tribble pet, eight hours of bonus XP, and an Enterprise Era Bundle from Cryptic's cash shop. Anyone can sign up for Alienware Arena, but it's worth noting that the promotion will not work with existing STO accounts per a developer post on the game's official boards.

Cryptic giving away 60-day Star Trek Online codes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Online producer previews the new Enterprise-F

Jef Reahard — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Star Trek Online, Dev Diaries

Star Trek Online producer Daniel Stahl has penned a new dev diary about the recent fan-driven Enterprise design contest. The piece appears on the official Star Trek website and offers a bit of insight on both the winning entry (submitted by STO fan Adam Ilhe) as well as the lore behind the revamped Enterprise-F.

"In the Star Trek Online timeline of 2409, the galaxy is embroiled in war with numerous threats to peace and stability. This Enterprise is designed to carry a message of peace, as well as to show the strength of resolve that forms the foundation of the Federation," Stahl explains.

Ilhe's ship design will be revealed to players in a forthcoming STO feature episode, and players will get to meet the ship's crew as well as earn their own Odyssey-class vessel. Warp to the official Star Trek website for further details.

Star Trek Online producer previews the new Enterprise-F originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Captain's Log: Shop till you drop (out of warp)

Brandon Felczer — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Captain's Log

Captain's Log, Stardate 64997.8...

Hello, computer (and players)! Over the past couple of weeks, there has been much heated debate about microtransactions within MMOs. Whether those microtransactions involve an accessory for your character, additional character slots, or a new mount, players have mixed emotions on spending real money to obtain such items. No matter what your position is on the topic, one thing for certain is that microtransactions are not going to disappear. In fact, they seem to be the future when it comes to how most studios will be delivering exclusive content and items.

Star Trek Online is no stranger to such transactions -- the infamous Cryptic Store (C-Store) is full of items priced from just a dollar all the way up to $25. If you are new to the game or have never made a purchase before, at first glance, you may be wondering what you should buy. While some items are simply there as cosmetic enhancements, some will actually help in your battle against your favorite enemy. To help shed some light on your choices, this week's Captain Log is going to explore the top 10 must-have C-Store items that every STO player should not leave spacedock without.

Ensign, warp 10! It's time to go on a virtual spending spree...

Continue reading Captain's Log: Shop till you drop (out of warp)

Captain's Log: Shop till you drop (out of warp) originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Priority One podcast interviews Daniel Stahl

Brandon Felczer — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, Star Trek Online

Daniel Stahl, Executive Producer of Star Trek Online, sat down with the guys at Priority One podcast to answer some community-submitted questions and drop some exclusive news about upcoming content. While he also shares a little bit about his leadership style and some inner-workings of his team, he was unable to comment on anything about the Perfect World acquisition of Cryptic. But he answered plenty of other questions!

Are you interested in finding out when the new Enterprise-F will be making it into game? Have you dreamed of learning more about what happens with the Q Continuum? Are you wondering when more minigames are coming? Still upset you have so many Trianium rare samples that are not used for anything? You will definitely want to tune in get answers to these questions and many more!

Priority One is hosted by The Quantum Cafe, a "facebook-like" social network dedicated to STO players. The show comes out weekly, so make sure to tune in to listen to guest developers and to share community-submitted ideas and feedback.

Priority One podcast interviews Daniel Stahl originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Winners announced for Star Trek Online's Enterprise design contest

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 05 May 2011 21:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Contests, Fan art, News items, Star Trek Online

A while back, Star Trek Online's development team asked players to submit their entries for the next generation of the starship Enterprise. If you're at all familiar with the years of fiction, of course, you know that designing the next incarnation of the Federation's flagship is no small feat -- not only do you have to come up with a craft that still adheres to the designs set forth by countless previous ships, but you also have to make something that looks futuristic and advanced on its own.

The contest's winners have finally been announced, and it looks like players were more than up to the challenge, producing a variety of ships that would make an excellent example for the ship of the line. The winning entry also includes a comparison of the new ship's profile compared with its famous predecessors, a treat for both Star Trek Online fans and fans of the series in general. Our congratulations to all the winners and runners-up.

Winners announced for Star Trek Online's Enterprise design contest originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 May 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kick it into overdrive: ARGO Online's open beta starts today

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Free-to-play

Forget the Starship Enterprise -- the 23rd century apparently has more interesting tales to tell with a wild blend of steampunk and fantasy. If the world of ARGO Online has intrigued you, then you'll be a-jitter with excitement to know that burda:ic's latest title is going into open beta today.

The team's also posted a new interview with SongQwo, the head of ARGO Online's development. How does he feel about how it turned out? "I am very proud of the game. I'm actually quite popular -- for my kids and their friends and schoolmates I'm sort of a celebrity... And after the last steps of optimization, we think that ARGO became a quite nice game."

ARGO Online's been proceeding on course through a series of closed beta tests over the past few months, so the announcement of open beta is a good indication that the game is nearing launch. You can check it out for yourself by signing up at the official site.

Kick it into overdrive: ARGO Online's open beta starts today originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rise and Shiny recap: Star Trek Online

Beau Hindman — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Hands-on, Roleplaying, Massively Hands-on, Rise and Shiny, Livestream

I'm not a tough guy, but the first thing I want to do when someone wishes ill on one of my first impressions is to reach through the screen and punch his lights out. There were at least a few people who did this to me when I said I would be visiting Star Trek Online. It was as though they were warning me to stay away from that scary old house on the hill. "Don't go up there, see? That's Old Man Cryptic's house! If you do, don't say I didn't warn ya!" Duly noted, oddball.

I long ago made a rule to revisit games, even if I hated them when I first played them. MMORPGs change -- they have to. They have to adjust to a growing (or shrinking) playerbase, adapt to a questioning (or screaming) audience, or react to market influences (or games that do it better). Despite understanding all of this, I was worried that the five bucks I spent on the STO special edition from Amazon would be wasted.

I found something I did not expect, that's for sure. Join me after the cut to find out more.

Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: Star Trek Online

Rise and Shiny recap: Star Trek Online originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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STO's Dan Stahl fields 30 questions about the Enterprise, Tholians and more

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Patches, Star Trek Online, Community Q&A

As Star Trek Online grows ever-closer to its one-year anniversary in February 2011, fans of Cryptic's space saga have burning questions about the future of the game. In swoops Executive Producer Dan Stahl to keep the flames under control with a whopping 30 answers in the latest STO Q&A session.

As usual, there is no overriding theme to these questions, which range from whether we'll be seeing the 2009 Star Trek movie's Enterprise in the game (only if Paramount gives permission), whether Cryptic is working on more voice-overs for missions (yes), and when we'll be seeing the Tholians (probably not until after Season 4 releases). Stahl emphasizes that the STO team's prime directive is, simply, "More Like Trek," and the devs are working hard to infuse more of a Star Trek feel into every aspect of the game.

Meanwhile, the Foundry -- the player-created mission system -- briefly went into beta on the Tribble test server yesterday, but was quickly taken down due to issues with the infrastructure. Stahl has great hopes for it, however: "In all -- the Foundry will open up the ability for the community to create some great (and let's be honest -- not so great) missions that you'll be able to play just like any other mission in the game."

STO's Dan Stahl fields 30 questions about the Enterprise, Tholians and more originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Online's C-Store goes as basic as possible

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, News items, Star Trek Online, Promotions

With the recent announcement that players will get a chance to design the next Enterprise, Star Trek Online players might want a chance to go back to basics. This coincides nicely with Cryptic's giving players the option to go as far back to basics as is fictionally possible with the advent of the latest items in the C-Store. The original NX-01 Enterprise as well as the uniforms of the prequel series (and its mirror-universe counterparts) are now available for purchase.

Although the various options are available for purchase individually, players who either can't get enough of the pre-Federation series or enjoy saving money can also purchase a value bundle with all of the uniforms and the ship for just around $15. As it turns out, the ship itself is a Lieutenant-rank ship, meaning that players can start flying it as soon as they start a character. Star Trek Online has quite a bit on its plate for the future, but that doesn't mean you can't put down roots in the past.

Star Trek Online's C-Store goes as basic as possible originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Step 1: Design a new Enterprise for STO. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Cool prizes!

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Contests, Star Trek Online, Promotions

The starship Enterprise has appeared in a number of iterations in both real life and through Star Trek's series and films. Next month, Cryptic is excited to launch the newest edition of the Federation's flagship, which will be designed by... you! Or someone else who plays Star Trek Online. Either way.

The design contest will kick off on December 9th, on which date Cryptic will make design tools available to the public. The winner will get the immense satisfaction of seeing his Enterprise model warp into STO and will also receive an Alienware laptop, a lifetime subscription to the game, the Collector's Edition of STO, and a 3-D model of their creation for keeps. There will also be a number of other prizes for runners-up, including lifetime subs, another laptop, and posters.

We're looking forward to seeing what the Star Trek Online community can whip up, and if the first place design really is deserving of the Enterprise namesake! Check out the contest page for more details.

Step 1: Design a new Enterprise for STO. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Cool prizes! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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STO's latest Ask Cryptic tackles War Targs, weekly episodes and free-to-play

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Star Trek Online, Community Q&A

It's the beginning of a new month, and that means another Q&A session between Cryptic and fans. Star Trek Online's Executive Producer Dan Stahl stepped up for a comprehensive Ask Cryptic that looked deep into the eyes of the void and came back all the wiser for it.

The questions run across the board, with a large chunk devoted to future content: More bridge officer features? (Season Four.) New weekly episodes? (January, with more to follow.) Better deep space encounters? (The team is overhauling these after Season Three.) The ability to join factions? (Possible, such as a Ferengi trader faction.)

Stahl also admits that there are "too many currencies" in the game at the moment, and the team will be paring those down. One of the most requested features by players is the addition of the classic Enterprise bridge layout from the 1960's series, and it looks as though Cryptic will be delivering: "I can see this getting done in the next several updates."

And if you are among the crowd predicting that STO will quickly follow in Champions Online's F2P footsteps, it doesn't appear to be in the works (at least, not yet): "We're very excited to see Champs go F2P but this has no direct impact on Star Trek Online. Our subscription and C-Store model will continue forward without changes."

STO's latest Ask Cryptic tackles War Targs, weekly episodes and free-to-play originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Virtual world passport

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind

Escapism isn't always a bad thing, in our opinion, as long as you do come up for air in the real world now and then. Escapism can even be used to handle difficult real life situations, serving as a stress-relief valve or a place where you can be accepted no matter what. In our travels through virtual worlds, we expand our imaginations, broaden our horizons, and become refreshed mentally and socially.

So assuming you're not like my ex-girlfriend (who truly wished with every fiber of her being that she could literally pass through the television screen and live on the Enterprise for the rest of her life -- and talked about it incessantly), what virtual world would you like to visit in the flesh if you had the chance? Would it be the grassy meadows of LotRO's Shire, the ganktastic fields of slaughter in Darkfall, or the reimagined worlds of Star Wars in SWG? What world would you want to see in true 3D, experiencing not only sights and sounds, but taste and touch and smells as well?

Imagine that today you were handed a 24-hour passport to the virtual world of your choice -- where would you go? What would you do with that time?

The Daily Grind: Virtual world passport originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Building your ship in Black Prophecy

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Real life, Game mechanics, Black Prophecy

From the Millennium Falcon to the Enterprise, every space jockey knows that a well-built ship can make the difference between life and death. In Black Prophecy, players will not only get to pilot some of the most lethal spacecraft known to the Tyi and Genide factions, but be able to modify and tweak them to perfection.

Recently, Reakktor unveiled the blueprints for successful starfighter construction. While each type of ship has a different look to it, the general layout of ship modules will be the same. Each fighter is made up of several components, such as the cockpit, wings and engines, and these components can house a variety of offensive and defensive tech. Weapons, rocket launchers and shield generators are all part of the ship builder's menu in Black Prophecy.

However, it will take strategy and planning to properly equip your ship. Players need to level up certain skills just to be able to equip some modules, and you'll need to check that your components are compatible with each other. Reakktor claims that the chosen components will be the deciding factor in a ship's abilities, transforming it from a swift prowler to an invulnerable (yet plodding) tank depending on what's used.

Gallery: Black Prophecy

Building your ship in Black Prophecy originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Romulans, ho!

Kyle Horner — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Screenshots, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Five brand new exclusive Star Trek Online screens. We know open beta is basically here and that screens are now significantly lower on many people's list of priority-one alerts, but this one is for the less fortunate ones. You know, the people with families and 40+ hour a week jobs.

There's some cool looking high-end armor to ogle with your optical sensory orbs. Mayhaps you fancy yourself a gentleperson of the finer things in Trek? Well, in that case, we recommend the classic-ish connie style Enterprise. What you can't have? What you can't have, is anything having to do with the show Enterprise or a man known by the name of Archer. No, bad Trekkie!

Gallery: Star Trek Online Gallery

Romulans, ho! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Online's iconic Excalibur class vessel

Kyle Horner — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

I'll give you original Star Trek fans a moment for the mist to clear from your eyes, for your hearts to slink back down your throats... All better? Good, because the newly revealed Excalibur class for Star Trek Online is quite striking. Interestingly the team at Cryptic is using a more angular design for their re-imagined Constitution class, as opposed to the recent Star Trek movie, which employs a sleek and streamlined design philosophy.

Both designs are pretty attractive, but we're sure plenty of people will prefer one over the other. Either way, we're really digging the look of the Excalibur class vessel. It makes us wonder what other old designs will feature newer updated versions as well, such as the Klingon Empire's Bird of Prey.

Having both the original and updated appearances of ships would be the wisest choice, of course. Although we're not entirely certain many players would want to enter a fight with the original Constitution class version of this design, as that one's a bit... outdated.

Star Trek Online's iconic Excalibur class vessel originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 31 May 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do you want to be a ship or control a ship in STO?

Kyle Horner — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Star Trek Online, The Daily Grind

Since we get the feeling that something may be announced for Star Trek fans somewhat soon, we thought it a good idea to be topical.The moment anyone begins talking about Star Trek Online we here at Massively begin to wonder whether we want to play a character on the bridge of the ship with a group of other players or whether we want to just be the ship ourselves. It's an important question because it affects how the entire game is perceived and played. So far we've had three space MMOs where the ship was the avatar. Those games are Jumpgate, Earth and Beyond Online and EVE Online. On top of that, Jumpgate Evolution will make for a fourth spaceship-centered MMO.

With that in mind, we here at Massively are hoping for something different from Star Trek Online. It seems to us that part of the draw of both MMOs and Star Trek is working together with a group of people to explore space and sometimes do battle. Still, we're not sure if we're on the minority with that opinion and would love to know what you happen to think on the subject.

The Daily Grind: Do you want to be a ship or control a ship in STO? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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