Star Trek Online got off to a big start yesterday (see previous article) and already Cryptic is talking about having to expand their server capacity to deal with the load. We have details on that plus info on a contest to make the best character backstory. Finally, we have video demo on using 3rd party voice control software with STO, allowing you to issue orders Star Trek style.
Cryptic to increase servers by this weekend
Yesterday Atari and Cryptic were boasting about how many people have made accounts on their sites (bearing in mind you can make an account even if you haven’t bought the game). Regardless, Star Trek Online appears to be a bigger success than anticipated. To deal with the load they are promising more servers, this was posted today:
Increased Server Capacity Coming Soon
Hey folks,
We just wanted to update you on our in-game server capacity status. Throughout Head Start we noticed the overwhelming response to the game and we are working on changes to further increase the number of people who can play Star Trek Online at any given time. Our current plan is to have these changes in place sometime this coming weekend. We will, of course, keep you updated on progress as it happens.
Really, we just want to thank you all again for your continued support and patience. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be here.
-The Star Trek Online Team
Ultimate Character Contest
One of the cool features of the Star Trek Online game is that you can create a backstory for your character. Although totally optional, it can be fun to come up with an elaborate past for your online Star Trek self. And if you have come up with something really creative you can win a new contest being put on by Atari. The top prize is a collection of original Star Trek comics (more than 500 issues) ranging from 1967 – 2002, valued at $4750. 10 runners up will get the GIT CD-ROM Star Trek Comic Book Collection. Entries must be made by February 19th. Rules and more info on how to enter at atari.com/startrekcontest.
Voice Command with Star Trek Online
In Star Trek Online you can do all of the things you are used to seeing on the TV show. Like when you control you ship you can various maneuvers you can use, power allocation, firing phasers, etc. In the game you can use your mouse or keyboard shortcuts (like the up arrow diverts power to the forward shields or the E key increases your speed. But what if you want to yell out your orders like Captain Sisko or Picard? Well someone WeGame has put up a tutorial on how you can do just that by using E-Speaking voice recognition software. Here is a video showing off how it works.
Get your copy of Star Trek Online today, available at Amazon and other retailers.
(NOTE: first month is free with purchase)
Love this game, haven’t had so much fun with a Star Trek game for a long, long time. Hope it only gets better!
Everyone note that its a Mac he is using to play Star Trek Online on
Sweet idea… Now I just need the game.
oh man I have been playing this game far too much. I am loving it.
2 – He’s probably using boot camp.
As for this? This is very very awesome and handy to have. I’ll be trying it out at some point.
“Everyone note that its a Mac he is using to play Star Trek Online on”
there is no Mac support for this game nor will there be in the future.
Although the voice thing is kind of cool, to be honest it seems a lot easier to hit the up arrow key than to say “computer, increase power to the forward shields”.
However, if it can be configured to do a macro multiple things at once, say change your power config and activate a number of different abilities of yours and your bridge crew at the same time, that might be cool. Like saying “Computer: activate delta five” and it performs half a dozen commands simultaneously…that would be cool
As always, Anthony, thank you for TrekMovie.com – and thank you for the ongoing support.
And to Cryptic/Atari… While Boot Camp, VirtualBox, Parallels and other virtualization options are available, we REALLY wish you had developed a Mac version.
Then again, I fully expect your development team to unleash the true visual powers of DirectX10 – the MAIN REASON this is a Windows-only release.
Hope Cryptic considers allowing STO members to submit storylines…
The voice command idea is excellent, and the macro idea is a really good one. I guess the only issue is that as people get better and better at this game, and it becomes more competitive, if the voice control is less responsive than keyboard control you’re going to get pwnd.
However, for the fun of it, it looks great.
Now we just need to hook it up to the replicator…
“Earl Grey, Hot”
I’m thinking that I should’ve waited to play Mass Effect 2 for a little while after playing STO. The phenomenal ground combat, characters, voice acting, story, and sci-fi world have spoiled me to the point where playing STO’s ground missions feels ridiculously stiff and dry.
Regardless, I like the improvements they’ve made since beta and it’s fun so far. There’s definitely a long way to go for this game though before it can be considered truly good.
For Mac Users:
If you do a search on the tech forums of STO someone has come up with a great wineskin app explicitly for runnin STO on a mac. I installed it last night and it works like a treat (mostly).
No more dual boot for me!