Sto news and info

[Kain556]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/startrekonline/video/6241381/star-trek-online-starship-tactics-part-1


http://au.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/startrekonline/video/6241379/star-trek-online-starship-tactics-part-2

[Kain556]

See above Video

Ok on ships here is what I have read

Cruisers will be tank class
Escort Dps
Science will be support class healer/buffer/debuffer

if you as the captain fly a Cruiser yet have Science stacked as your primary skill then you will have ability to Buff or De buff specific arias of your ship. If you are Captaining a Cruiser and are slotted Tactical you will have a slight dps advantage.
However your true advantage lies in playing that class of ship.
in each class there are four tiers each tier is subject to rank approval so you will have to be a Admiral to fly ships like Prometheus or the current incarnation of the USS Enterprise E.

Also to gain certain sub classes of ship you need to complete pvp and pve tasks to gain parts and blueprints.
I know a lot about each class of ship and there sub classes so just ask if you want size comparison or a visual Idea.
if you have any questions just ask and I will find you a answer I have been trolling forums a lot trying to find out as much as possible.

kain

[Kain556]

Good artical of what to expect

Must… avoid… lame… Star Trek reference… Hmmm forget it. After all I’m a writer not a magician.
I used to be a huge Star Trek buff. I watched every show and movie and had an extensive collection of books and games. But it all got too much ten years ago and I haven’t touched Star Trek at all since then – until recently when I got a press invite to the ongoing beta of Star Trek Online.

A few months ago I didn’t have high expectations for the game based on the shaky start that STO-developer Cryptic had with Champions Online. But recently it has had a good run in that game with excellent new features and content and thus I decided to give up my Star Trek celibacy and see what Cryptic where up to. I’m glad I did, because Star Trek Online is not like any other MMO I’ve played and the game does a great job of giving the player a Star Trek experience.


Rock solid beta
The game is divided into two types of gameplay which mirror what you’d see in a typical TV episode. The first part gives you space combat and lets you control your own ship against various enemies while the other part requires you to beam yourself and a handful of crewmembers down to a planet or into a base or a ship. The space combat reminds me a lot of the one we saw in the Starfleet Command games while the crew-based missions feel like a standard MMO.

What immediately impressed me was how much Cryptic has learned from Champions Online. The beta was rock solid, ran at a good frame rate and seemed well-populated with missions. Even more fascinating is the fact that Star Trek Online is integrated with Champions Online – thus the games’ share the same friends list and you can even communicate with players in the other game.


Connected to the heroes




The close connection to Champions Online also reveals itself when you create your character. You can choose from a selection of Star Trek races or create your own. Regardless what you choose you can then modify the looks of your character in every conceivable way. You also choose your general career (tactical, science or engineering) but choose wisely here as this influences what kind of starships you get to fly.

The game starts out with an emergency situation where you end up being the highest ranking officer on board and thus gain the command of the ship. The Borg has attacked and this first mission is the game’s tutorial and takes you through the basics of the two gameplay types I mentioned. Once you have proved your worth to Starfleet by destroying Borg ships and fighting them in hand-to-hand combat Starfleet assigns you to a light cruiser – and minutes later you’re off on your own missions.

During combat you can control AI crew-members giving them various orders, but they act quite capable on their own leaving you to focus on the combat. There is plenty of equipment to choose from with weapons having a main attack, a secondary attack (like stun or sniper) and a melee attack that’s designed to knock nearby enemies away from you. Crew-members also benefit you during space combat with various bonuses like extra damage for the next torpedo attack.


XP I miss thee not




The aforementioned customization isn’t limited to your own looks, you can also customize your ship internally with various upgrades to weapons and stations and you can change the external appearence with new nacelles, a new saucer section etc. You can vary the color schemes, too.

In contrast to most MMOs you don’t aim for experience points (XP) but for Starfleet merits and skill points. Those determine when you gain new ranks and are not necessarily tied to killing a foe or destroying a ship more or less. You start out as a ensign and work your way up to admiral with a new class of ships opening up at every rank. Each rank (except ensign) has ten levels. Progression has been handled well and the way you get your first command and gain fame for yourself within Starfleet to become a famous captain in the end is spot on.

I would however prefer a faster upgrade to the second class of ships, however, but that can of course change a lot during the beta phase. As it is now I have personally destroyed more than 50 enemy ships within the first couple of hours without even getting close to the next rank (lieutenant commander) – and I still only had my puny light cruiser to show for it. In the world of the movies and TV show I’d assume any Starfleet officer with that many kills would be offered a more interesting command faster – after all the Federation is at war.


Lenghty space combat




Space combat can be lengthy but so could Starfleet Command’s space battles. While there’s some justified criticism of the non-tactical careers not doing enough damage, some of the combat situations can be solved by fitting your ship with the right equipment or upgrading your own skills as well as the officers you have under your command. Cryptic will likely monitor that aspect of the game closely – if there’s one thing one can’t afford in a Star Trek game it’s a bad space combat experience.

One of the most pleasant surprises was that the developer has included missions that don’t require violence or fighting at all. One of your first assignments requires you to beam down to a planet and talk to a handful of NPCs in order to be able to answer some questions and thus resolve a potentially dangerous situation by diplomacy. I hope the developer will add many more of these missions as they really reminded me of the TV shows and reflects the Star Trek philosophy.






Team mechanics worked surprisingly well in space combat – either people instinctively attacked the same enemies or someone would direct the fleet with short orders. While really advanced manoeuvres didn’t take place while I was playing, it’s definitely a system that shows promise for developing solid team play. The game has a nice way of leading players into public quests via their own missions where you see people joining and leaving in accordance with their objectives.

As I mentioned earlier the game ran well with a solid frame rate and only one major crash suffered by my PC. Graphics are good and while the sound effects get old, the classic Star Trek music will please any fan of the series and movies.

Sadly during my beta play I wasn’t able to test PVP, which is probably going to be a big reason for many people to play Star Trek Online, but Cryptic has promised a faction vs. faction PVP gameplay type.


Not a standard MMO




It seems to me that Cryptic has learned a lot from Champions Online and it’s clear it has a lot riding on Star Trek Online. While it’s impossible to please every hardcore Star Trek fan out there, Star Trek Online definitely left me with the impression of being an enjoyable game. One of the game’s biggest advantages is the fresh feel it has, Star Trek Online does not play like your standard MMO and in this writer’s book that’s a big plus. The mix between space combat and missions with your crewmembers is fresh and the deep customization (both visually and equipment-wise) lends the game the complexity that the hardcore Star Trek fan is likely to require – without being too daunting for us lesser mortals.