Star Trek Gaming Update: Infinite Space Details & Images + STO Prepping Player Content & Moving To Free-to-play?

There is more Star Trek gaming news to report. First off there are more details on the setting and game for the browser-game Star Trek Infinite Space. Plus Cryptic is getting ready to add a major new feature to Star Trek Online, plus Cryptic has embraced free-to-play for its other game so is STO next?

 

Star Trek Infinite Space Details – set in DS9’s Federation Klingon War

In addition to releasing the teaser trailer, Gameforge has also put up a new website for Star Trek Infinite Space, the upcoming free-to play Star Trek casual browser game. The site (startrek-is.com) offers more details on the game, most notably that the two factions will be the Federation and the Klingons, set in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine timeline. Presumably this will be part of the Federation-Klingon War (from DS9’s 4th and 5th seasons).

Here are two new concept art images:


Infinite Space Concept Art: Federation Bar


Infinite Space Concept Art: Klingon Bar

Here are the game facts: 

  • The release date is scheduled for Summer 2011
  • The game uses Unity3D (browser plugin), no additional download is necessary
  • Developed by keen games in Frankfurt
  • To ensure that a full Star Trek feeling is achieved, Star Trek experts Mike and Denise Okuda are assisting us
  • Lee Sheldon, the experienced game designer, author, producer and script writer will be writing the storyline and game missions
  • Choose between two playable factions: Join the Federation or become a Klingon
  • The game is set in the Deep Space Nine timeline
  • The game will be a free-to-play casual browser game, meaning that there will be no subscription fee and that the game will be playable without payment
  • Alpha testing will begin in late 2010

The new site also offers an opportunity to sign up for testing, plus a news section and forum. Visit the new Infinite Space Site at  startrek-is.com.

Star Trek Online prepping player-generated missions + headed to free-to-play?

User missions

This week the official Star Trek Online website added a new section to the forums about "The Foundry", which are a set of mission authoring tools that will become available to players soon. Visit the forum for more details.

Free to play?

A number of MMO games are moving to the new ‘freemium’ model of payment, where you can play the games for free, but pay fees for specific items in the game in lieu of a monthly fee. There has been some discussion of Star Trek Online moving to this model and this week Cryptic took a step in that direction by offering a free-to-play option for its other game, Champions Online. The approach they are taking is that you can choose the "gold" option which has the monthly fee or the silver option which is free, with many items included in the gold package available to be purchased individually via the C-Store (see matrix comparing plans).

Other publishers have had success with the "freemium" model, making more money than they did with just a subscription model. Presumably if this works for Cryptic and Champions Online, they will think seriously about doing the same with Star Trek Online.

Pegg adding voice to new Game

In other Trek-related gaming news, EA has announced that Star Trek’s new Scotty Simon Pegg will be providing the voice of supercomputer guide and companion Con-rad in Spare Parts, an upcoming action adventure game for Xbox LIVE® Arcade and PlayStation®Network.will be providing voice work to their upcoming XBox/Playstation.

 

 

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If they are using Unity3D then it’s possible to see this as an app in the Apple iTunes Store. Having this on an iPad would be cool.

Looks good.

Wait, how can that be a Federation bar? It looks nothing like a brewery or an Ipod!

;)

No Star Trek game has ever has been good…including STO, Starfleet Acadamy,you name 1 please….played them all…the best I would say is
star trek aramada

Sorry to say but I disagree Mark. Best gamer I’ve played was Bridge Commander (that includes the many mods I’ve added to it and all).

Oh yeah!!!!

Judgement Rites was also a good game.

#4 – Ever play Star Trek: 25th Anniversary? It was a TOS PC game from way back when which was equal parts space combat and landing party missions that gave you the option of diplomacy or action. It really captured the flavor of the original series and its willingness to forego constant combat in favor of non-violent options was pretty unique in regard to Trek games.

Starfleet Command series was the best. Someone should update that.

#4

No Star Trek game has ever has been good? Played them all? I think not!

To name a few:

Star Trek: Bridge Commander
Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force
Star Trek: Elite Force 2
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
Star Trek: Away Team
Star Trek: Starfleet Command III
Star Trek : The Next Generation: A Final Unity

Oh and Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard

“There are no plans to change STO’s subscription model”

from the studio head himself, 2 days ago.

It impacts Champions only since their sub base is no doubt dwindling. STO, however still has plenty of subscribers demanding all sorts of new contents & features and willing to pay for it…

so cash is still flowing nicely!

Birth of the Federation and Armada are the best

Look at the two officers in the background on the starfleet lounge picture. Try and tell me that’s not Picard and Riker. Nice egg.

I mean I really do respect cryptic, and I really liked playing STO, I haven’t played recently because I haven’t really had the money to spare, I know a lot of people are gonna say, “you can’t spare $15 a month?, what are you some kinda cheapskate. You get so much content and they update it all the time” The fact of the matter is, if I had the money I would pay, just because I want to support them. But I’m a full time student, and die hard trek fan, but don’t have that kind of 9’s. I wouldn’t be able to play all that much so I’m not sure that I could swallow paying $15 bucks a month either, plus things in the C store that they really push. I’m all up for it going to free to play, but I fear that when I say that, people get mad and call me a cheapskate again. So I will say this, the game is good, but not 15 bucks a month good. Its missing a lot of key aspects of Star Trek that other games from the 90’s have. More time on your bridge doing something constructive is one, opposed to just looking around and noticing a bridge officer that you paid 6 bucks for. I wouldn’t mind paying like 5 bucks a month instead of 15. I’m not gonna fight all the way to free to play because if that happened, i wouldn’t doubt if we started to have to pay more every time a new season comes up like any other game that adds expansion packs, but I played the game for 3 months, it was fun, but not 15 a month fun, plus C store. I also know friends that have canceled their accounts because they couldn’t afford it. Cryptic would probably get a heck of a lot more business if the accommodated the financially challenged a bit more.

@14:

And in the Klingon bar…

Looks like Lursa and B’Etor on the right, but Kruge, actually, in the center behind the bar…

(Maybe it’s just me.)

Looks better than Star Trek: Armada II…

#16

Nice catch! I think that is Kruge!

I can’t believe we’re at war with the Klingons again. The Dominion are a much more interesting adversary for the Federation in the same time period and STO already did it.

Does anyone else think Klingons are just poorly designed and generally boring? I’m completely sick of them. Bad klingons are savages and good klingons recycle the same lines of dialogue about honour so much it hurts.

@10, 11………I enjoyed Birth of the Federation as well.

@14 and 16

They are. The concept artist will have simply photoshopped photos of characters into the image for speed and painted over.

So, I’m intrigued by this Infinite Space but they aren’t saying what sort of game it’ll be. Turn-based starship battles? Will you be running around corridors as your character? I’m guessing it won’t be a free-to-play version of STO because Cryptics lawyers might have a few words to say about it to paramount. Have Gameforge given any hints?

We need a Star Trek Wii Game!!!
TOS or 2009 would be great!
I love the multiplayer features on the Wii and Star Trek is perfect for that.

@22 There is a Wii Game…

Star Trek Conquest for Wii! Combines strategy + combat action for fun, fun, fun . . . Play as The Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Dominion, or Breen. Unlock the ability to play as The Borg or Xindi! Build starbases, mining facilities, and science stations.

Available used @ Gamestop for about $15. Best fifteen bucks I’ve spent on a Wii game; my 9yo son and I love it!

I will play if free. Otherwise, not worth my money.

As soon as the make a game like GTA or Red Dead Redemption for Star Trek based in both the prime and the alternate universes and for Playstation 3/Xbox/Wii then Trek gaming will be of interest to me. Until then, forget all of it.

The Klingon guys at the left look like O’Brien and Odo when they were undercover in that one episode…

i have no idea what to expect from a Browser Game with 3D engine…
i mean i play STO since open beta and i like it but the Cryptic engine just sucks, can this possibly be worse?

IMO, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary & Judgement Rites are THE BEST star trek games created. Those are the only Star Trek games that truly captured the Final Frontier.

ST: A Final Unity tried but, fell short.

Still can’t play ST:Online on my Mac. *tisk*

Now, Infinite is a browser game. I’m told. That’s the main issue eh? What does that mean exactly?

btw 28: Matt –

Being Plum, I could not fail to point out that ST: Judgment Rights was that last time Dee, DeForest Kelly, spoke a line as Dr. ‘Bones’ McCoy (1993). :)

I’ll have to check out Champions Online now that it is free to play!

I’m afraid that if I pay a monthly fee I’ll feel like I have to play it whenever I can to get my money’s worth.

Can anyone else out there give review for the Wii game Star Trek: Conquest?

Looking forward to Infinate Space!

19. Malcontent – October 28, 2010

There is talk that the STO war is ending soon on the Klingon front because of an emerging new threat, (an ancient and thought-to-be-extint danger), that is uniting the Federation and Klingons once more.

Infinity>Online

Does anybody know what kind of game this is going to be? The trailer seemed to indicate space strat. game but the concept art indicates much more. I hope its not a space only because they have done too many that have failed.