Nov 28 2009
Release Date: February 2, 2010
Open Beta: January 12-26, 2010
Star Trek Online is taking on one of the most well-known sci-fi franchises of all time, and, as you can imagine, Cryptic Studios is under tremendous pressure to get it right. There's a lot of information about this upcoming MMORPG scattered across interviews, game videos, and the official forums, so here's a quick summary of what we know about Star Trek Online so far.
The game will let you explore planet surfaces as well as space. Unlike some games that focus entirely on space combat, in STO you'll be able to leave your ship and run around as an avatar.
Characters
Cryptic has delivered extremely flexible character creation in the past, and it looks like STO will continue this tradition. If the races in the game don't suit you, they intend to let you create your own humanoid alien, complete with a backstory, and other players may even be able to play the race you created.
The game will have 2 factions: Starfleet (Federation) and the Klingon Defense Force, although you will apparently need to complete the Starfleet Ensign tutorial before rolling a Klingon. Playable races on the Federation side will include Humans, Vulcans, Bajorans, Andorians, Ferengi, and Tellarites. So far, the Klingon side includes Klingons, Gorn, Nausicaans, and Orion.
Players choose from three major careers: Engineering, Science and Tactical. There are several levels of customization which decide what role a person plays, including their career, their choise of skills within that career, what type of ship your in, how that ship is equipped, what bridge officers the ship has, and how those bridge officers are equipped.
Players will be able to form "Fleets," which are STO's equivalent of guilds.
Ships
Each ship will be controlled by a single player, along with an AI-driven bridge crew. There are no plans to have cooperative bridge play in the game at launch.
Bridge crew will be hand-picked by players and they will be customizable. You will also have the option to bring them with you on away missions.
Ships will break down into 3 main types, which are Cruiser, Escort, and Science Vessel. Cruisers will be large and slow, but they will take a lot of damage and have large supplies of power. Escorts are quick and maneuverable, and they can equip high-damage cannons. Science Vessels are intended to be the support class of the game, using sophisticated sensors to exploit enemy ships, as well aid and repair ally ships with their deflectors.
Players will be able to have more than one ship. As you advance you'll get access to better ships, but you may still have reasons to keep older ships. A small ship is more maneuverable than a large ship, for example, or may be equipped specifically for certain tasks.
Ship combat will be slower and more tactical than ground combat, and will involve things like shifting energy supplies between weapons and shields.
Setting
STO uses the classical Star Trek timeline, not the alternative timeline used in the 2009 film. The year is 2409, and the Federation is on the brink of war with the Klingon Empire.
Space is very big, so there will be aids for traveling long distances such as transwarp conduits and wormholes.
The Borg will be present as one of the enemies in the game, but you won't be able to play as a Borg.
Away Missions
When you leave your ship to complete missions on the surface of a planet, you have the option to take along NPC bridge crew or join up with other players. The Captain will always be part of the 5-character away team.
Player vs. Player
STO will offer PvP combat in designated areas. Space near the Neutral Zone will be contested, and it will change affiliation depending on the outcome of the Federation/Klingon conflict. PvP will encompass both ship and ground combat.
The PvP is intended to be largely factional, but there could be ways to fight players in your own faction, such as duels and wargames. It also sounds like the Klingon faction will be broken up into houses, which will be able to war with each other.
Crafting
There is a crafting system planned for STO, but the details of it still haven't been revealed. So far we know only that players will be able to gather resources, invent technology, and research alien technology that they have discovered.
System Requirements
- OS: Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista / Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit)
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 Ghz or AMD Athlon X2 3800+
- Memory: 1GB RAM
- Video: NVIDIA GeForce 7950 / ATI Radeon X1800 / Intel HD Graphics
- Sound: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Soundcard
- DirectX: Version 9.0c or Higher
- HDD: 8GB Free Disk Space
- Network: Internet Broadband Connection Required
- Disc: 6X DVD-ROM
Recommended System Configuration
- OS: Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista / Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit)
- CPU: Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2 5600+
- Memory: 2GB RAM+
- Video: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD 3850+
- Sound: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Soundcard
- DirectX: Version 9.0c or Higher
- HDD: 8GB Free Disk Space
- Network: Internet Broadband Connection Required
- Disc: 6X DVD-ROM
