STO Update: New History Video + New Screenshots + Exclusive Bonuses + more October 28, 2009
by Joseph Gunnell , Filed under: Star Trek Online , trackback
In our Star Trek Online update we have a whopping 27 new screenshots to show you from Cryptic’s upcoming MMORPG, but wait there’s more! Cryptic also released Part 2 of their video history chronicling the events that lead up to setting of the game (the war between the Klingons and the Federation in 2409). Plus we have some details on cool pre-order bonuses and more clues on the release date.
Future Past, Part 2
As reported in the last STO update, Cryptic released a video that talks about the events that will lead up to Star Trek Online. This week Cryptic has released the second half of the trailer which leads up to 2409. It displays the war machine that is the Klingon Empire and the events that lead up to war with the Federation.
Pre-order exclusives and Collector’s edition
Although Star Trek Online is available for pre-order at a number of retailers, so far only two are offering exclusive bonuses. Amazon is offering a special pre-order bonus for Star Trek Online, where you will get beta access (dates not yet announced, and it isn’t clear if this is for open or closed beta). Amazon is also offering an exclusive Borg Bridge Officer (it isn’t clear if the Borg character would be available for either faction or just the Federation). Amazon is currently taking pre-orders on Star Trek Online for $46.99.
If you buy STO at GameStop (list price of $49.99), they promise an exclusive in-game bonus of a Starfleet Constitution Class Starship, which is equipped with blue phasers and an extra engineering station mod slot.
Gamestop exclusive ship
GameStop also has a $79.99 collector’s edition listed, which includes:
- a Limited Edition Collectible Box
- Exclusive Art Book
- Buddy Passes (Allows your friends free trial play)
- an exclusive die cast Starfleet com badge (pin).
For an extra $30.00, that doesn’t seem like a lot, so there may be some extra in-game content as well (yet to be revealed).
Release Date: Feb 2, 2010?
Cryptic have yet to confirm a release date for Star Trek Online, however (unofficially) February 2, 2010 may be the day, if you believe the retailers who are currently selling pre-orders, like Amazon, GoGamer.com and GameStop. However, Newegg is lists the release date as January 1, 2010 (likely just a placeholder for ‘2010′), but demonstrating that this is still not set in stone.
Screenies, screenies, screenies
This week we have 27 new screenshots, a mix of space and ground. Some of these are brand new this week and a few are stragglers that we may have missed over the last month (sorry if there are any repeats). There is a nice mixture of both exploration and combat with the new screenshots that were released. As usual, click on images to enlarge.
Space based
Land based
NOTE To Winners of TrekMovie Closed Beta Key Contest
If you won a beta key in our contest, you should be getting contacted by Cryptic with your beta key by the end of the week.
Loading ...
Comments»
interesting game but too expenssive!
Nice screenshots, but methinks it will be the normal edition for me…
wow…this games looks amazing
i was a big fan of star trek games of old (a final unity, starfled command) and ill be definately be buying this one
Will it come for PS3 too?
I can’t fathom the mental state of the people designing some of these ships…. what’s with that skinny-necked Excelsior?? I just don’t get it.
Everything about this game screams ‘generic MMO with a Star Trek skin’.
Star Trek Wars. :-)
I like this game. It’s exCITING!
Totally action oriented, but I couldn’t expect something different from a MMO game.
What’s up with the saucers on the ships? The edges are all jagged.
Space sure is rocky.
=O THE CENTAUR!!! Dang it, now I DO want this game. Grrrr….
Haven’t made a final decision on this game yet, but if I buy it, Gamestop here I come! Constitution Class FTW!
Pretty graphics…but a pretty awful mess. I will pass on this.
Not a gamer myself, but some very impressive artwork in these graphics.
I’m not a gamer, but I might have to shell out for this one.
I wonder if there will be an Alternate Reality Mod to tie in to the new movie?
5.
Remember, the ships are user designed so there will be no mandatory skinny necks!! But you will be able to choose a skinny neck if you so choose or perhaps you could pick a ship with no neck? Try a Nebula, a no neck design!
Really? Neck design? Game breaker? Probably not.
Gameplay is Irrelevant I suppose.
To be serious, as an mmo player and star trek fan I think that for a lot of fans especialy if you dont play alot of video games the “MMO experience” will be as alien as you can get. But for fans of Judjement Rites and 25th anniversary this could be what youve been waiting for. Hopefully Cryptic gives people a chance to try the game ala World of Warcraft trial account. For lot’s of people this could be their first subcription model game and thats also scary.
Anyway’s thats my 2 latinum slips for now.
BTW anyone else trying out Champions Online? Just started but it seems very playable. Good sign for STO.
20409 eh? Let’s see, that would make it the 25th cetury. I wonder if Buck Rogers will be making an apperance.
The game’s visuals look incredible but the storyline is complete nonsense. Did whoever created this game forget that the Klingons and the Federation are ALLIES? True, their alliance has been shaken in the past, but that was as a result of Dominion influence. In the late 24th Century, particularly after Shinzon’s coup created a schism within the Romulan Star Empire (I agree with the idea of a civil war between Romulans and Remans, and have even incorporated such a conflict into my own fiction set during that period), the bond between the Klingons and the Federation should be stronger than ever. If anything the Klingons and the Romulans should both be close allies of the Federation by 2409—maybe even part of the Federation by that time. But even if not—what happened to Chancellor Martok? Are we really supposed to believe he’d let the Federation/Klingon alliance fall apart so easily after Starfleet fought alongside him so bravely during the war? Supposedly after Nemesis Worf went back to being an ambassador again; is he not doing his job? None of this is at all consistent with what we know about the politics of the Star Trek universe. Give me a break.
Also if this game is supposed to be set in the early 25th Century (I have no idea why they felt the need to move it that far ahead; it’s only been 8 years since Voyager, so it ought to be 2386 right now), why are there still mid-23rd Century Constitution-class starships in the game? Surely they’ve been retired by now. Same goes for the Excelsior- and Galaxy-class; I can’t believe Starfleet would keep those ships in service after their horrendous performance during the Dominion War. Furthermore, why aren’t they wearing the 25th Century uniforms that we saw in “All Good Things”, “The Visitor”, and “Endgame”? If you’re going to create a game set in the future of the Star Trek universe, for goodness sakes, do it right.
No matter how good the gameplay and the graphics won’t be, I won’t play the game if it feels like it’s set in some bizarre alternate timeline inconsistent with what we know about the TNG era. The point of a game like this is to create an authentic feeling of being in the Star Trek universe. If they aren’t willing to do that by paying attention to detail to the extent that devoted Trekkers, who will of course be the primary audience for this game (it’s obviously not set in J.J. Abrams’ Trekiverse, which it would have to be to appeal to a broader audience), they shouldn’t even bother.
ive got a 360 but dont feel like playing online. it sucks e cant get a regular game that rocks. star trek in the form of a mass effect-like game would be SICK! or even a sequel to bridge commander. or hell, update 25th anniversary for next gen systems.
After the disaster that was Star Trek: Legacy, fair or not, I’m weary of any new Star Trek game…
I am definitely tempted to try this game. If only I had a job.
I want to know what the monthly charge is before I sign up for this, although the initial cost is lower than I expected!
Looks good so far, though.
#19 – You’re weary (tired) of a new game you haven’t played yet?
Myself, I’m wary (cautious) of any TREK game until the reviews come out. Last one I really enjoyed were the “Elite Force” series.
These ships look awful.
Old Klingons! Yes!
15:
that would be awesome if they had some of that old 25th sytle in this game. the missions in that game were very interesting.
and campy… which is the best part of TOS.
17:
yea, in frin TNG- the klingons and fed are allies, but they need the alliance-horde model. two popular sides with strong support on both sides.
a klink-fed cold war is much better than a kling/fed/rom vs. forehead-of-the-game
I like all them ships! It’s nice ta’ see diversity in design.
Why, I could crash ‘em all real good! I sure could! And likely would iffi’ played them video games.
Uhhhhh… do I havta’ fight Klingons? I’d rather fight Klinger. At least he gots a fashion sense.
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
Gee, shapeshifters infiltrating the governments of the Alpha & Beta Quadrants to start wars? Where have I heard that before?
I was becoming excited about this until I saw that. Weak.
When are the console versions coming out?
A different bonus at two different places…crap. I think i’ll have to go with the the Connie. If it is out in feb that would be awesome, didn’t think it would be out that early.
ok the opening of the rura penthe scene is awesome. with the klingons actually speaking their language. the guards compared to the interrogator are much more tng like. which…totally makes sense. theres a mix of klingons during that time period and the helmets make complete sense. i wish there was a way to splice those deleted scenes into the movie. and i love khan and all but after seeing that, please bring in the klingons for the next trek. abrams will do for the klingons what first contact did for the borg (made us fear them all over again)
and kirks apology scene gave me a big laugh, pine even had shatner’s walk perfectly in that scene. screw the 2 hour time limit, these scenes shouldve been kept in. (i know its off subject but im giddy after seeing those)
@17 antodav wrote: “No matter how good the gameplay and the graphics won’t be, I won’t play the game if it feels like it’s set in some bizarre alternate timeline inconsistent with what we know about the TNG era. The point of a game like this is to create an authentic feeling of being in the Star Trek universe. If they aren’t willing to do that by paying attention to detail to the extent that devoted Trekkers, who will of course be the primary audience for this game (it’s obviously not set in J.J. Abrams’ Trekiverse, which it would have to be to appeal to a broader audience), they shouldn’t even bother.”
Leaving aside your criticisms of the announced plotline and major developments (which are mostly incoherent, unsupported and necessarily uninformed as they are only partially disclosed at this point), you are certainly free to not play the game. (In fact, as someone who plans on playing the game and likes what he has seen, I hope you don’t.) The point of the game, however, is ultimately to be a good game that can draw in both devoted fans as well as a new base of MMORPGers…both of which are necessary for the game to survive and thrive. No game will ever “authentically” create the feeling of being in the Star Trek universe…if for no other reason than that the comment threads on this site alone prove there are wildly divergent opinions as to just what constitutes “authentic.” The advance material and other matter on this game show very clearly that the designers and writers have paid loving detail to the TNG era and canon (and non-canon) source material, and the fact you would have done this or that differently is simply not an argument…particularly since you offer no “authentic” way to translate the post-Nemesis Trekverse into a viable MMORPG.
Those might be the best screen shots of any game I’ve ever seen… EVER!
Can’t wait to buy my $80 “collectors edition”.
Is there a monthly fee? If so, can’t wait to pay that as well!
Rest assured, Star Trek video games are in good hands.
I was wondering about the collectors version…bonus is listed with the normal version preorder but didn’t see it anywhere on the collectors edition? If you can only get the bonus in the standard version not sure if its worth going witht the CE?
Ha.
Googled Discovery 94103 hoping to get some alternate angles on that design.
It’s the Discovery Museum in SF.
@ 23
I’m simply skeptical. More bad Star Trek games have been produced than good ones, at least in my opinion. So, I’m definitely taking a wait-and-see approach…
I don’t know if anyone here still plays it but my friends and I occasionally network and play “Birth of the Federation”. Old game but still one of my fav’s, need to see if there have been any updates on the fan sequel?
I agree not all are the best, haven’t played it in years but Starfleet Academy was a good one as well.
I’m not sure about some of the new ships in STO, some seem kinda odd and also where they have updated old designs and made them uglier… Some look good… Anyway looking forward to playing!
DAMN! This looks EXCITIN’!! =)
Sorry, not impressed with the image of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701. The Star Trek Phase 2 model looks 10 times better..
They have done this game TOTALLY WRONG !
1. They should have started out with the Alpha Quadrant First, make all the major planets and tons of other secondary mission planets to goto.
2. Expand the galaxy map slowly with the expansion of the Beta Quadrant. And all there planets.
3 Delta Quadrant… in a few years…The..
4. Gamma Quadrant .. years down the road…later
This game will suck, and i won’t play it or PAY TO PLAY concept is LAME !.
In today’s world 15.00 a month to play a game is SO NOT worth it. When you can Pay 60 bucks and play online for free !
I don’t care for the story, or the graphics.. They are just trying to make star trek into a point and shoot game and that’s not what star trek is. EVERY attemp to do that with star trek has FAILED.
FAILURE like Bio ware’s MASS EFFECT. What a let down, and it was SO hyped up to be Amazing, by that group of stoners who built the game. *ucking Hippies SUX !
I guess gamma and delta could be added but the Alpha and beta I think starting out as both the Klingons and Romulans are in the beta quadrant (primarily). I don’t know that you could launch a mmo cutting off the major races like that.
I’m sure the game with have its flaws, translating trek into a game is bound to have issues guess we will find out soon.
At this point I wish I could just play it on my own computer.
Hrm… I might just throw my money away on this because it sounded so promising so long ago. But I’m not a big mmo person…. yet. And I think I must have the Constitution class starship.
@39:
yep. still got my 10+ year old BOTF disc and regularly play it. even though it’s got a few minor bugs and the galactic map is quite small once you get your tech level up it’s still probably the best Trek game ever made.
here’s a link to Star Trek Supremacy:
http://www.startreksupremacy.com/
That’s the fan made sequel. There’s been a few bits and bobs added to it but progress is slow. The game itself is pretty good but has a few bugs and is nowhere near a gold release. well worth a download though and to play.
With regard to STO, I’m tempted but I’m not too keen on an MMORPG, I’d love if it had a single player offline option as I definitely wouldn’t fancy doing the whole MMORPG thing, if it did I’d definitely shell out to buy it.
I forgot to add this earlier.
To quote Captain Picard, “Do you remember when we used to be explorers?”
It seems if you pre-order from Amazon.com they give you a Borg Bridge Officer for your crew instead of the exclusive Gamestop Constitution Class.
I don’t know, think I’d rather have the ship.
#46. We haven’t played lately but last time we played with the dominion patch/update, it still had some bugs but once we got it going it wasn’t too bad. It was kinda cool having some new ships, I being the federation. :)
One time as a joke I went into the file that has the species images and replaced the empire images with my friends that were playing the respective races.
Someone feed those Borg drones.
I’ve just realised the ships aren’t textured. They’re kind of wallpapered with a variety of overlays. Generic hullplating, then windows, then escape pods. This is why practically none of the ships look right. The models are middling-to-good, but they aren’t textured in the traditional sense. It’s a real pity. With decent texturing and a measure of RESTRAINT in the environment design, the graphics could be at least passable.
I’m gonna post this before I lose the run of myself about this again :)
Can’t wait to try it out!
Cryptic, you can count me IN! Can’t wait to get in the drivers seat on this! But I am still a little sore that I missed out on getting in on the Beta Key contest!
The galaxy and Excelsior class models look horrible, I hope they touch them up a bit. Beyond that, it actually looks better this time. If it gets good pre-release reviews I’ll give it a shot.
I think my head just exploded.
Did I just see a Cheyenne class starship in there?
A refit Constitution class?
A GALAXY CLASS?!
I thought it would just be all about the new content.
How awesome. This game is going to be epic.
@54:
And if u look cloesly at the refit Constitution-class, you’ll see that it is the first model of the famous line herself, the USS Constitution, NCC-1700-A!
@34 Actually I could most definitely and easily come up with a better storyline for a post-Nemesis MMORPG than what these hacks have developed; unfortunately I am not a game designer. I will say that an MMORPG that is truly consistent with the spirit of the Star Trek universe would offer more opportunities for exploration, and puzzle-solving, and really just ordinary life as a Starfleet officer (interacting with other crew members, etc.), kind of like a sci-fi themed RPG, and not be so completely focused on interstellar warfare. That is not what Star Trek is supposed to be about and ever since DS9 (which is my least favorite series even though I respect its canonicity), people seem to have forgotten that.
I’m not sure what it is about my criticisms of the storyline you find “incoherent”: maybe you should go back and actually watch TNG again so you understand where I’m coming from. Unless Voyager’s return from the Delta Quadrant 20 years early caused huge, sweeping changes to the timeline, there’s no way the early 2400s are supposed to look anything like how they appear in this game. Sorry but even if the gameplay and the graphics are superb I cannot accept a game that doesn’t respect the source material.
So far the best Star Trek computer games yet made IMO have been the Elite Force series—I’m still waiting for them to make an Elite Force III, maybe one where you play as a MACO in the time of Enterprise. Those games I think exemplified almost perfectly what a Star Trek game ought to be; adding an RTS component would be nice, but so far every attempt to make such a game set in the Star Trek universe has been a dismal failure.
@43 I still don’t get where this idea that the Romulans or the Klingons reside mostly in the Beta Quadrant comes from…canonically it has been established numerous times that they are Alpha Quadrant races, but non-canon encyclopedias and novels continue to perpetuate that erroneous concept. Whatever.
@56 antodav said: “I will say that an MMORPG that is truly consistent with the spirit of the Star Trek universe would offer more opportunities for exploration, and puzzle-solving, and really just ordinary life as a Starfleet officer (interacting with other crew members, etc.), kind of like a sci-fi themed RPG, and not be so completely focused on interstellar warfare. That is not what Star Trek is supposed to be about and ever since DS9 (which is my least favorite series even though I respect its canonicity), people seem to have forgotten that.”
You obviously want to DM some sort of table-based RPG. And that’s fine, particularly as a DM you’ll have complete operational control of your version of the Star Trek universe. (Assuming you can find anyone else to play with you on your terms.) The kind of game you want cannot be programmed into a MMORPG, at least not with the technology and development levels we have. (Technology wise, we’d need an actual holodeck I suspect to meet your needs.) You can sit around and imagine “just ordinary life as a Starfleet officer (interacting with other crew members, etc.) ” all you want, it can’t be programmed into an MMORPG in the manner you want.
All MMORPGs have a combat emphasis…as indeed, does every other Star Trek computer-based game I am aware of that has been made in the last 15+ years. It’s a question of what you can and cannot do effectively in terms of programming and game play. And you miss the rather obvious point that the real allure of a game of this type is exactly that it, in some manner, puts you “on the bridge” in a combat situation. While I love the Trekverse and the ideal of exploration, diversity, etc., we live in reality, and have to program a game within those constraints. (I might also add that you still have absolutely no idea how the exploration and diplomacy aspects of the game…which are a part…will actually work. Like all the STO haters here, you have already crucified the product because you’ll never be satisfied with anything that was not dictated by you and not in utter conformity with your vision of the Trekverse.)
As for your assertions that the Trekverse couldn’t “look” like that in 2409. Of course it can. It can look like whatever it is imagined to be, since it is (lest we forget) fiction. But operating under suspension of disbelief, I point out that the total destruction of Romulus and the destabilization of the Romulan Star Empire alone would be such a massive and all-consuming event that it alone could easily explain the political alliance shifts and open warfare that are supposed to have occurred by 2409. Paradigm shifts of this sort have happened throughout history, and lest we forget, even between TOS and TNG we went from the Klingons and the Federation being implacable foes (who needed Organian intervention merely to keep from engaing in a quadrant-consuming war!) to them being allies. Why is is so hard for you to believe, on a 30 to 50 year time scale with momentous events occurring in the interim, that this couldn’t turn right back around? The answer of course is it’s not what *you* would have done, and therefore, it’s garbage. It is however, both plausible in the greater scheme of things…and will ultimately (I hope) make for an eminently playable MMORPG.
57: Good job! The frack’en Klingons and Federation have always had a tumultuous relationship. It makes perfect sense that they might go back at it, as they have in the past–here is the fun with Klingons, they’re a pugnacious lot.
Guys, come on, who cares about what Gene Roddenberry had in mind fora Star Trek; this is a video game. Video games excel when violent. The only good ST games have been combat heavy. The worst part of both Elite Force games, was that they had to invent enemies, instead of allwoing us to frag Klingons, Borg, and Romulans. If this bothers you, forget about the game. Imagine yourself exploring strange new worlds as a cultural ambassador, in your head.
As for the look, yes it would be nice to get a high end Bridge Commander experience, but we are looking for mass compatibility. By stylizing the game, it is made more efficient to run. All you people who don’t play games, but “might just try this one out”, be glad you aren’t going to need to drop at least a thousand dollars to make this game work on your low end computers–WoW is a great example of this.
57.) Criticizing a game you’ve never played because you don’t like what you’ve heard about the stroyline is completely fanboy-ish and borderline retarded.
I’m very curious as to what you do for a living because it’s obvious that your brilliant creative talents are being wasted in whatever field you’re in.
You also don’t make a whole lot of sense either. You complain about the excessive amount of combat situations (which as rightfully pointed, is part and parcel for MMORPG) but in the next paragraph you extoll the virtues of the Elite Force series which is nothing but combat and far more one-dimensional.
I can tell you right now, as a beta tester, that fans of Star Trek and MMORPG’s are going to be very pleased with this game. It is not as one dimensional as promotional combat videos would have you believe (also, all of the ships are rendered in 3D with texture for ant of you who are concerned) but let’s be honest, would it make sense to promote the exploration and task-oriented aspects of the game in marketing and advertising? Of course it wouldn’t. That would have made as much sense as using the dinner scene in TUC to advertise that film or the Ooobie Doobie scene in FC.
“The answer of course is it’s not what *you* would have done, and therefore, it’s garbage.”
^^^Ditto this.
[...] STO Update: New History Video + New Screenshots + Exclusive … [...]
Nice images, indeed!
Too bad I’m not a game player…
You think that Cryptic Studios will release Star Trek Online for the Mac? I sure hope so…
You think Cryptic Studios will release Star Trek Online for the Mac? I sure hope so…
Wait, they’re actually letting people use a TOS ship in this game? I might actually buy it now!
Why am I not surprised?
@42
You’re an idiot. GFY
This game is really starting to shape up, I can’t wait to try it out.
Way to turn Star Trek into Star Wars— AGAIN. Is there going to be ANY exploration/problem solving/diplomacy/puzzles/anything without F-ING explosions and guns????
Once again, the adventure of Star Trek becomes an unintelligent shoot ‘em up. Even the movie knew this was the wrong way to go.
Beta Tester said this @ 59:” [W]ould it make sense to promote the exploration and task-oriented aspects of the game in marketing and advertising? Of course it wouldn’t. That would have made as much sense as using the dinner scene in TUC to advertise that film or the Ooobie Doobie scene in FC. ”
This, this, a thousand times this.
To be successful, this game *must* bring in both fans and non-fans alike. (I myself have convinced a couple of buddies who have never bbeen fans to come on board and form a Klingon mini-fleet.) From everything I have seen, Cryptic and the game designers are being very respectful to the Trek concept, and yet, they also have to design and operate a successful MMORPG. This means combat. A lot of it. It’s supposed to be taking place during a war folks, and a war with the Klingons at that.
The haters here assume this means that’s all there will be, and yet, we have reams of evidence that exploration, diplomacy, and all the other hallmarks of Trek are there. The continued “they are making it into Star Wars comments” are obviously uninformed, and at this point, willfully so.
The texture on the new uniforms makes them look like a cross between the DS9/Voyager uniforms and the ones from the new movie.
I like it! This is how the 25th century should look.
Unfortunately, I can’t afford to play an mmo. Darn!
Hmmm from the looks of the screenshots, perhaps it should be called Starfleet Battles Online instead?
And I’ll need to see some actual screenies of the Connie first; the version depicted here is a a blend of elements from TOS and TMP. Not a faithful recreation at all (but I like it better than the JJprise.)