Star Trek Online @ NYCC: New Details + Video + Screenshots + more February 8, 2009
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Star Trek Online , trackback
There is a lot of news on the upcoming Star Trek Online MMORPG coming out of New York Comic Con this weekend. Cryptic held a panel on STO and their other MMO Champions Online. For STO they released some new ship screenshots and a new video showing character races and customization. They also revealed new story and game play details.
VIDEO: New Character Trailer
Check out the STO character creator, showing off many of the races you can play in the game, including making your own.
New STO details and screenshots
IGN has a brand new detailed profile of Star Trek Online, with new details revealed this week. Here are a couple of interesting excerpts:
On the story (a new threat?)…
In the year 2409 the Khitomer Accord that preserved peace between the Federation and the Klingons has broken down and the two factions find themselves on the edge of an all-out war. Into the midst of this conflict, an age-old threat returns to the galaxy to become a third player in this drama. Though Cryptic isn’t yet willing to publicly reveal who exactly this new threat is, we can definitely say that it’s a force that fans of the series will surely recognize.
On how the gameplay will match Star Trek storytelling
[Cryptic] were willing to reveal that a lot of the content would be episodic and instanced. Rather than relying on collecting rat hides to drive player advancement, the team is hoping to structure the content much more like a traditional episode of Star Trek. Players will start in space, for instance, before beaming down to rescue scientists on a hostile planet, and then beaming aboard a nearby space lab to help put out fires and make some repairs before finally engaging in a climactic space battle. On the more casual side, there will be plenty of procedurally generated content for players to explore as well.
Players can expect all the iconic locations and themes from the franchise. Players will be able to visit well known planets, space stations and even meet the descendants of famous characters from the series’ history. There will even be nods to particular episodes and plot points that hardcore fans will surely pick up on. In true Trek fashion, there will also be a fair bit of kitsch in the shows as well, from time travel missions to, yes, even tribbles.
Read the full report at IGN more much more.
IGN also has three new screen shots released this weekend at NYCC (click images below to see full sized at IGN)
Federation ship
Klingon ship
Unknown ship
More STO news and links
Here are a couple of other STO updates:
More to come from STO a@ NYCC
There should be more interviews from NYCC coming from some of the gaming sites coming out soon, if they show up online today they will be added in an update to this article, otherwise we will put them into our next STO Update.
For more on STO, see our special Star Trek Online category for our most recent articles and also visit the official startrekonline.com site.
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Comments»
An age-old threat? Sounds like Doomsday to me…
I think, no matter what your views on this game are, you’ve got to appreciate the fact that these devs at least know what they are talking about when it comes to Star Trek. For that, i’m thankful.
That Fed ship looks like a Son’a ship from Insurrection and obviously the so-called threat is the Borg again… there is absolutely no originality in this game. I’m gonna skip it.
Yessss!
MORE PASTA on the face.
is Rick Berman behind this?
Why does the music has to sound like Star Wars???
#5
That was my thought.
The Starfleet ships I’ve seen so far just don’t look like Starfleet.
When you’re all so Negativ about this Game, why bother to leave a Comment?
I really don’t understand the Fandom lately. Everyone wants more Trek. But when more Trek is coming, Nobody want’s it. Can’t you finally decide what it is that you want, before you depresse those People who may have other Opinions?
Grozit
Why does the music theme resemble Star Wars?! WTF…
#8-
We want good Trek- bad Trek (like Nemesis) made Trek go away.
#7
Just like the Defiant
And what the heck is wrong with the music?! Cryptic gone nuts!
“Rather than relying on collecting rat hides to drive player advancement, the team is hoping to structure the content much more like a traditional episode of Star Trek”
This is the biggest thing Cryptic has revealed so far. Episodic content will set STO apart from the other MMOs and will make it a deep, enjoyable game. I can’t wait!
#3 – They have already identified in the trailer that the Borg will be in it…if you watched the trailer at all…
People need to stop juding a book by its cover. This game is still in development and looks amazing so far. It is fans like you that make Trek go away because if you don’t get the silver spoon that you want in your mouth, you don’t eat at all.
“When you’re all so Negativ about this Game, why bother to leave a Comment?”
Are you suggesting only people with positive opinions should comment?
Sorry, if that´s what you think, you are in the wrong place.
this game is gonna sink because of the utterly retarded and unimaginative ship design, people @ cryptic who’re reading this, please realize we’re not korean, we won’t play any shittastic copycat MMO’s on the shelves just because, make up your mind before it’s too late ffs.
“Why does the music has to sound like Star Wars???”
It resembles me the alternate TNG main theme that was not used in the series…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NvulPF-IGc
#15 Cryptic has completed recreated their technology and how the approach MMO’s for this game. Instead of like everyone else where they take a franchise and make it fit in an MMO environment, Cryptic took the Star Trek franchise and made the MMO technology fit around it.
It is funny to read these forums, because it is the only place on the net where there is such negativity towards this game or even the new movie. Any other forums I have been on, even the actual STO forums, does not have such negativity….and while it is OK to be negative about something, it should be followed with constructive critisim.
You guys need shrinks or something…lighten up.
#16
You’re right…So it wasn’t a Star Wars Theme copy
It’s *much* closer to SW than Alternate TNG theme.
There is a Vorta in a Starfleet uniform…
About the SW theme: the very last piece of music in any episode (on the DVDs) is when the Paramount logo is shown. The notes there sound like the first six notes of the SW theme :D
Why does the music has to sound like Star Wars???
This will rock! Can’t wait.
#16 Thanks, I had forgotten about the alternate Main Title theme for TNG. You’re right the stuff in this trailer sounds a lot like it. The only starwarsy thing I hear is at the very beginning, and only because I read the nit-pickers’ comments before I saw your link.
As a long time MMO player I’ve been skeptical whether the Trek franchise could really be done as an MMO. I’m hoping this game does “well enough” it can’t possibly be a WoW killer (and I quit WoW years ago).
As to the griping about the character generator’s limitations being so similar to the limited-by-having-human-actors-with-prosthetics “problem” that TNG (etc) had, I don’t think something as variable as say the Spore creature creator is going to work. Yea I’d like to play an Edoan like Lt. Arex, but character animations have to be created around a skelatal structure with SOME limitations. Interactions with items, clipping, all that breaks down if suddenly the characters’ bodies can be infinitely variable.
The problem also has to do with needing to not make the game engine so complex that older PCs can’t run it. MMOs make their money being inclusive. (WoW runs on some seriously old hardware). Publishers would prefer people spend on subscriptions, rather than upgrade their gaming rigs.
I’m certainly not going to dismiss this out of hand. As long as there’s no open PvP, I’ll give it a shot.
The music did have a very Star Wars sound to it, didn’t it?
I’d like to be able to play this game… unfortunately, I’m not sure how long I’m going to have to wait for it to be released on Mac. Not long, I hope. I don’t think much of the ship designs myself, but the rest of the concept is pretty cool.
As for people going on about other people being negative – firstly, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Secondly, you’re being negative yourselves, and making such comments is just going to perpetuate any negativity.
And yes, we all do want more Trek. But we want it to hearken back to the heyday, when Trek had a philosophy behind it rather than just phasers and photon torpedoes and pretty special effects.
And my money is on the Tholians as the returning species we’ll all recognise.
Also, thanks for posting the link to the alternate TNG theme. I never even knew such a thing existed. Doesn’t sit right with me though! I much prefer the Goldsmith theme that was used.
The theme sounded a little like The Voyage Home
Is that a predator?? :-p
Here’s why I think this won’t work. If you are going to do Star Trek Online, you need to make it like “Call of Duty” on the bridge. Unless you really set up the universe so I can push buttons and make stuff happen, I think it won’t be a real simulation.
I’ve never been into WOW, but those COD games sucked me right in. If they were to make a Trek game like that, I’d buy what ever console it was sold on. Imagine getting a few of your friends from all over the planet together to play an episode of Trek. Six or Eight on a side, you pick the role you want and listen to your captain issue orders in the first act, then you be the captain in the next. Learn how your consoles works, and try and steer that huge hulking ship through space.
Now that’s something I would play in a heart beat… they could call it “Star Crack”
Like a few others I’m not keen on the ship designs either. I’d be quite content to just have designs that are already with us. It may be set in the 25th century but the good old Excelsior class wouldn’t go amiss!
I am most definitely planning to give this MMO a spin…. Cannot wait….
Nice customization, bad theme was a Star Wars/Galaxy Quest hybrid lol
I’m not normally one of the negative type Trek guys. But, as a musician, composer, and Trekkie, I am thoroughly insulted that someone would use regurgitated Star Wars trash music for anything Star Trek.
I’m fine with the points JJ Abrams makes about certain ways that Star Trek should be a little more like Star Wars (such as getting its game together on aliens). But, that doesn’t mean that Star Trek lives in some sort of Star Wars shadow.
I definitely intend to give this MMO a spin…. It’s just too tempting
The 24th century styled aesthetics are a turn off for me, but the gameplay might be worth investigating further. Time will tell.
OK. So, I realize this music was probably licensed from a music library by some out of touch idiot.
But, if it is the case that the composer actually knew it was for Star Trek, I have to demand a rewrite. The rhythm needs a complete overhaul. The melody doesn’t necessarily need to be thrown away. Make a venn diagram between this and the Star Wars theme. Anything in the middle has to go.
WHAT IS WITH THE GENERIC STAR WARS MUSIC?!!! IS ATARI CRAZY OR SOMETHING? STAR WARS? REALLY?!!! Good God, its the end of Star Trek Games as we know it and i feel sick.
# 28.
Is that a predator?? :-p
At a glance, one might think of the Predator species but in the Star Trek universe it’s the Nausican species…. remember the bad guys who stabbed Picard in the back, and thus made him have to have a imitation heart transplanted into him? Nausicans are a burly species that look as though they’d give the Klingons a good run for their money.
After reading all the backlash about the theme, I went back and listened to the preview of the game again. Well…..honestly, it’s definitely Star Trek. However, I did hear its resemblance to the old Star Wars theme. It’s obvious to me that those hating its closeness fear a Star Wars encroachment upon Star Trek, or perhaps a blending of the two. Maybe you’re justified and then, maybe there’s nothing to fear at all. I may have been able to tolerate a blockade of Federation starships in Star Wars, But putting similarities aside, I pray in Trek that I never see Storm troopers, or Clone troopers…. a fighter force of space jets attacking a spherical space station…. a light saber duel… someone using the FORCE… a bantering droid that spouts a fluent ability to speak over a million forms of communication… and last but surly not least, I hope to never see in Trek an all knowing, all powerful emperor or overlord master that dispatches an overwhelming force, only to be beaten down by impossible odds. And that end results my friends will forever be Star Wars.
Why all the efforts to make Starfleet ships that don’t look like Starfleet ships? Eventually, they’ll have a fanbase that doesn’t look like the Trek fanbase.
The music on that trailer plays like a generic scifi military fanfare more fitting to a Starship Troopers 4 direct-to-DVD movie and, outside of the recognizable opening cue, doesn’t sound trek at all. It doesn’t sound grand or adventurous, it sounds “Join up now and fight the universe with ray-guns!!!”… which, thinking about the game, I guess makes sense.
The character creator looks cool, though.
@Bradley1701
I’ve tried to make the same points as u have for months lol. some of the people that check this site out just simply dont have any basis to make such harsh critisisms. Especially over a film and game which hasn’t even been released yet.
I’ve said it before, and will say it again.. Can they do better???
42 – it doesn’t matter if the fans can do better or not. It’s the fans that have kept Trek going as long as it has. So the creators owe it to the fans to give them what they want. As I’ve said, in recent years Star Trek has deviated from it’s original philosophy and has basically become a Star Wars clone. While I love Star Wars for what it is, I loved Trek because it was, essentially, the antithesis to what Star Wars was.
I am excited about this game but I wonder if it will be ported for consoles like XBOX 360 which seems to be difficult to do for most MMO developers. The age old threat, I hope it isn’t the borg or some threat too familiar. As for the music, let us hope it is only a temp soundtrack. They should hire Joel Goldsmith to create a proper soundtrack for the game. Lastly, I really don’t understand the negativity around here. Everything seems to be dissected to bits. The complainers will always find something to pick apart. The game isn’t even out yet and people are already making decisions about it. Let others who are excited about the game discuss it freely. I want to read through constructive opinions without having to read through announcements of people not wanting to play it based on a few tid-bits and screenshots.
“Though Cryptic isn’t yet willing to publicly reveal who exactly this new threat is, we can definitely say that it’s a force that fans of the series will surely recognize. “
…Yes, it’s true. After centuries of being shat upon and ridiculed, the Pakleds are finally making a stand for themselves and have become a threat equal at least to the Romulans.
“We have found ways to make us go upside your heads. We are smarter!”
Yup, have to agree with #5, and others with the Star Wars like theme. Yes, it is the generic sci fi fanfare (sounds almost like the first theme for TNG). But beside that, looks interesting, I just really hope they don’t use the borg as the enemy. Please. No more borg.
This is why I hate “canon”.
I can forgive “aliens”-that-look-just-like-people-but with-latex-bumps-on-their-heads on a TV show – limited effects budget/technology & all, but in a video game the aliens can look like ANYTHING, but thanks to “canon” we get the same old insultingly lame “aliens”.
Why does the music sound like Superman The Movie!??
People, people, people. It’s probably only temporary generic music.
This looks exciting! Definitely a game I will attempt to make time for.
The new threat hasn’t been shown yet in STO so we can rule out the Borg since they’re pretty visible in screenshots and the original gameplay trailer. There was a Game Informer article from last year where they were shown a mission in which the Federation and the Klingons get into a punch-up over a disguised member of Species 8472 trying to infiltrate the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, it was mentioned that they are a threat to both player factions so they could be the new threat.
@50…
Okay, but would you describe 8472 as “age-old threat” ?
That “new threat” looks to be The Borg, based on those IGN screenshots.
What’s up with the dorky music???
please stop messing up the klingon federation relationship!
Why not considering the Klingons joining the Federation
always that war storry SUCKS !!!
i think Berman is behind this, too.
Wow- the music for STO is pretty God-Awful!
@ 55, I agree, however at least its not that damn music from Bethesta’s Star trek games
Old foe perhaps it’s “Species 8472″!
Totally agree #54
Never thought this relationship was explored enough: Hybrid Fed & Klingon ships, Joint missions and crews. There can always be spin-off factions, why scrub the whole concept.
@51
No, however there are separate references to both an “age-old threat” and a “new threat” in different articles. Species 8472 may not be new to the viewers of the Star Trek series itself but I’d say they are in relation to the governments of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.
“Stop screwing up the Klingon Federation relationship”?
How are they screwing it up? The Klingons were invented for the sole purpose of being bad guys. They’re supposed to be Evil Communists From Outer Space.
It was TNG that screwed them up – turning them from Devious Evil Enemy Space Commies into Allied Honorable Space Vikings…I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but it’s lame.
Being the evil enemies of the Federation is the Klingons whole raison d’etre, and it is cool.
Anyone her who plays WoW knows that the music is disposible. WoW has dozens of themes for different regions, and the music has improved drastically over the past few years. But, for example, you never stop and say, “this is re-hashed Jethro Tull or Howard Shore” as you do your stuff in the game.
This generic intro music is probably something players will hear for 6 seconds as they log in. It ain’t great, but it’s disposable.
What’s more important is that the in-game music for the instances stimulates the gameplay, and that is balances well with the sound FX.
And since the game isn’t out for awhile, we may never hear it. Could be an interim bit.
guys, that music is just something they threw in, it is not STO music, the game is not coming out for a while and the music isn’t done, i doubt they even started on it.
chill…jeez.
I am glad to see the new poll is more reflective of an optimistic outlook than the negative brigade seen above
@51…
8472 will be a good enemy, for sure.
I just thought that by the age old foes they were talking about the
builders of the doomsday machine, or something similiar ;))
I have to admit that some of these UFP ships dont exactly look starfleet, do they! Oh well! It still looks great!!! I’ll buy it anyways! Anyone willing to invest in the Star Trek franchise has my vote!
@62
I know that Perpetual had concept art for a new Doomsday Machine and Cryptic did obtain and have been using that art to make some of their stuff so it is quite likely that you’ll run into it.
@64…
ahh, good, thanks for that info Amasov!
@64
Here it is: http://startrek-games.com/startrekscreenshots/albums/userpics/10006/normal_STODoomsdayMachine_lg.jpg
Damn should have been @65 :D
This game is gonna take away all my money, cuz I will be living in it fulltime!
Why does the music sound like Wormhole Xtreme? :-)
Wow Doomsday! Random! Such a classic enemy with such un-classic designed ships! I would be supprised if it was the Doomsday machine! Just seems a bit random! They have gone to all this effort to install such a complex political back story just to have the lead enemy be so….ambiguous! I mean fair enough appealing to the fans if it is, but its just a bit….random!
They need a new ship design crew though for sure~!
Doomsday machines would be awesome.
And the music sucks because it’s just something they threw together for the damn trailer, people! Lighten up!
I’ll be happy to give it a try once it’s out.
You can always just alter your ships look since they’ll be customizable as well, me I’ll probably stick with the old classic Galaxy-class as seen here:
http://www.hailingfrequency.co.uk/boards/gallery/albums/Official%20Games/Star%20Trek%20Online/Video%20Screencaps/39.png
Kelvington: Star Trek meets Call of Duty? As in a first person action game? You should play Voyager: Elite Force. :)
“Being the evil enemies of the Federation is the Klingons whole raison d’etre, and it is cool.”
I totally agree! I liked how Star Trek demonstrated a progression of relationships between these two societies. But the effect is just as poignant when the two societies stand in stark contrast.
I have to agree with some of the others that the music is annoying. The music reminds me a lot of the original Battlestar Galactica intro, which I never cared for.
Battlestar Galactica intro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UN4BY_4b3Y
Sounds like star wars music
A vorta at 0:41 in Starfleet uniform!
So if the “so-called” threat is the Borg (as speculated above), then the events of Star Trek: Destiny won’t be factored in? has that been previously mentioned?
Im a huge trekky, and trekky gamer. & mmo player, this doesnt appeal one bit.
Too cartoony designed for 14yr old gamers when thats not treks current fan base, well maybe if the movie is a success but then im guessing it will be nothing like even the movie.
I know the devs for this game are just doing it to feed their families. but i gotta say. this is the riskiest game development ever. a sure fail.
im not even sure u can turn it around. maybe if u loose the cartoony nature and kid feel to it.
I like the screen sots. Very movie like. Looks a loot better than the X Box 360 game from a few years ago.
Let me ask you this:
Is Shatner in this game? I don’t see him complaining about not being in it, so he must be in it!
is it just me or about the 23 second mark did it sound like it was about to break out into the Star Wars Theme?!
Oh course the Kelvins from the Andromeda galaxy would be a cool threat if they showed up as described by Spock:
“Immense beings… 100 limbs which resemble tentacles, minds of such control and capacity that each limb is capable of performing a different function.”:
wel they said the borg will be in it…but what if the age-old threat is the xindi or the….hmmmm…didnt i read somewhere that the GORNwere in this new game’s story as a big threat?
I’ll end up trying the game, but right now from the looks of things Im not expecting much from it. It maybe be a good MMO but from the sounds of the story it seems like the new movie is going to be closer to true Star Trek than this game. The ship designs for the most part are sad, overdone and dont look like how Id imagine early 25th century ships looking. And make your own race, sorry, I think that’s stupid to. And going back to the whole Klingon/Federation feud, FAIL, should at least be Romulans or someone new. And of course the Borg…I hope if there someday is a new series they dont consider this game any part of cannon.
#78 Shadow – The Borg have been shown in the trailer and so far, Cryptic is secretive about this old threat…so they can’t be talking about the Borg since we have already seen in the trailer that they are in the game.
This old threat is something else, other than the Borg.
Vorta? Meh.
I want to be a Horta, They’d make great geologists. Ensign Feldspar reporting for duty!
The whole world wants Star Trek to be Star Wars, I guess. Everyone I know who despises Star Trek is excited about the new movie. Good sign? I wonder. What happened to exploration and discovery? If both franchises are going to be war oriented now, I think I’ll pick the one that does it better. See you all in a galaxy far far away!
At least the graphics are starting to look decent now.
The first trailers made me wonder, how this game will look compared to other games in 2010…
But now with this graphic “update” its starting to look really good.
The ton of customization is a BIG PLUS, and its a step in the right direction.
I just hope its great when its finished :)
Can someone tell me something. Halfway into DS9, their uniforms changed, gray with the turtleneck being colored instead. But some of the starfleet people still had colors on their shoulders (exluding those higher ranked ones)? or am I wrong?
And now, when I see this from STO, they also have colors on their shoulders again! make up your minds!
#59
uhhh someone didnt get what Star Trek is all about….
maybe you should try looking the 30 Year Movie special…expecially the line where Goldberg described the vision and the bright future of
Star Trek –
No offence but if humanity would go your way …- we nuked each other a looooooong time ago….
roflzofl
I’m thinking the “age old threat” is the Gorns – we’ve already seen that they will appear as a race in the game, afterall.
1. As for the Feds/Klingon schism, there is no reason why, in the first expansion of STO in 2012 (or whenever), they hook up again. There is a whole universe of storytelling; STO is not locked into any plotlines and can go anywhere. So while I’d rather play online with an F/K alliance as the backdrop, perhaps this is part of the Atari/Cryptic master plan, and YOUR tireless, heroic in-game efforts help to reunite them! :)
2. Elite Force and expansion were episodic fun and felt immersive. I want to be “inside” the Trek universe again.
3. STO will have its growing pains like WoW did, but the more folks with monthly accounts, the more coders, the better the game, and the finer it will age.
4. I’m the captain! And I order you to beam down and collect 15 rat hides!
I dont think I am going to play it, if it has the Borg in it. If you read the Star Trek Destiny series you would know why.
I can’t believe how unimaginative most of this list is. It seems only exactly what you see and hear before you is assumed to be the final product. No other music, no different aliens and certainly no other ship designs will ever be developed for this game. That’s silly. For one thing you can customize the vessel designs and we’ve seen that some of the classic ships like the Miranda will be included.
In addition, anyone who believes the Borg will be the age-old threat (a) has been reading any of the timeline material or how they’re trying to link the canon, novel and game milieus together. The Species 8472 angle is possible…if Voyager were considered ‘age-old’.
How about some creative thinking…go outside the box a bit…anyone? Ok, I’ll help…The Kelvins, The Excalibans or Metrons (who have decided their original assesment of humanity may have been wrong), Malurian survivors of Nomad (who’ve rebuilt their civilization in secret and blame Starfleet for the Nomad disaster), the Sheliak, Apollo or other remaining God beings (can’t get more ‘age-old’ then that), etc.
You can be negative or you can come up with something and put your latinum where you’re mouth is.
AD