June Engineering Report:  https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=220124
Consensual PvP ground combat in Qo’nos!
New KDF patrols are OPEN cross-faction PvP
– Areas will be clearly marked. Zoning in won’t immediately flag you, you can examine the situation first.
– Gozer clarifies how they’ll work.
New Ground & Space FAs coming soon, to flesh out the PvE queue
DELAY: Doff System will NOT launch with S4, but will be ready soon (sounds familiar…)
DELAY: Borg DSEs planned for June will now come alongside S4 launch 

Tweet Leaks!
– New character artist J-Nas, working on 2409 Cadet Uniform
– Cadet Uniform concept art
– Gozer promises STF pics/tweets
– Gozer delivers, with a pic of a new Infected tidbit (Accolade?)

Qo’nos Review

• It feels, finally, like a CITY!
  • Roaming NPCs, varied architecture, flavor text/dialogues
  • The changing street signs are an awesome touch
• The Bank (run by Ferengi)
  • First, awesome touch to have Ferengi in charge… just makes sense to a certain degree
  • Second, the “warehouse” area beneath the platform is just a mind-bogglingly awesome touch
• The Boff Arena
  • This was my favorite part of the old Qo’nos, so I’m glad it’s still intact. Although having to “zone” to it was a bit jarring. I hope that transition can be smoothed out.
• The Shipyard
  • O. M. G.
  • Not intuitive to find, but once you do it makes PERFECT sense
  • The fact that there’s no zoning when you transition, means that they managed to combine ground and space in some sort of epic fashion. Compliments to the gurus behind that.
    • Side Note: This was my first time seeing the new Ship Acquisition UI and it is TOTAL HAWTNESS.

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MATH

o   New Options – there is now a new set of shooter mode controls and keybinds in the options menu, so you can manage both independently.
o   All values have been updated – Although the classic control mechanics are preserved in STO, the ground game has been completely rebalanced. All values including HP, damage, and most ground Kit and Captain abilities have been modified and updated.
o   Tooltips – All ground combat powers have been given complete and accurate tooltips.
o   Swap to shooter mode – use the N key to Swap between Shooter and RPG mode (we are probably remapping this). If you open a menu (like your skill page) while in shooter mode, you will temporarily drop back to RPG mode, so you can maintain control over your character. Use L-Mouse and R-Mouse to fire your primary and secondary attack on your weapon. Middle mouse will activate your melee attack. You can, however, still use the keyboard keys – 1, 2, and 3 – if you prefer. Notice you can fire your weapon without a target.
o   Cover – STO has a simple cover mechanic. Crouching behind a tall object can break line of site from your foe. I don’t want to over-sell this, but it does work.
o   R and T key – Using R and T will temporarily change the focus of your Mouse buttons. (This may change a bit. We already have a new iteration that may even be out in time for the interview).
o   Kit and Captain abilities – In RPG mode, like always, all abilities require a target.  However in Shooter mode, it works differently. If an ability can target self or friend, you won’t need a target. For instance, if you target an ally with a heal, you will heal that target. If you have no friendly target, you will heal yourself. Kit or Captain abilities that harm or debuff a single foe still requires a target, even in shooter mode.  This is to prevent misfires of abilities that have large cooldowns. However, Kit and Captain abilities that are AoE do not require a target to activate in shooter mode. If you have no target, the ability will activate at max range. So, for instance, you can place a Dampening field at a point on the ground in shooter mode.
o   Grenades – As an aoe, they do not require a target to activate in shooter mode.  Most significantly, they can be thrown over walls.
o   All weapons updated – You will now see a significant difference between each weapon.  They each have noticeable advantages and disadvantages, and swapping weapons will become much more meaningful.
o   Weapon melee – Melee can be activated with the middle mouse button or the 3 key. It is now a combo. The rifle combo is the most advance, while the Assault combo is more limited. Rifle Combos will change attacks automatically. The first always tries to push the target back, but if the target has grown resistant to knock backs, the combo will automatically change to expose attacks.  Once the target is exposed, the combo will again change to Exploit attacks.
o   Notable Weapon changes – Some weapons have been completely changed. When you log in, they will be updated. We can go through as many as you like, outlining the key differences of each.  But the following had the most significant change:

• • • Assault Rapid sweep – Is now a Full Auto Rifle, and now uses Soldier skill instead of Special Forces. Its much faster and responsive, and its secondary attack can be swept across targets. Note the Dual Pistol secondary attack can also be swept.
    • Pulsewave rifle and Assault Arcwave – Both of these weapons are now the Pulsewave. We combined the secondary attacks of both weapons into one. The Pulsewave is now effectively an energy shotgun. Its fast and powerful, and both attacks do more damage the closer you are to the target.
    • Assault Multi-Beam – This weapon was given the most significant upgrade. It is now a minigun! Both attacks have a spool-up time, but are very high in damage. Its secondary attack fire an extremely long burst that can be swept across multiple targets.

o   What else is planned – Possible iteration on R and T with UI updates, Boff powers and Commands, splitting Aim and Crouch, bug fixes, tuning.
o   Questions and feedback – any additional questions or comments from you

TAC VIEW / COMM FEED

Ground Combat Review

We’ll be dragging in Al Rivera for a hands-on of the mechanical changes, and a few tips/tricks. Before we do that, we wanted to give just some basic impressions of the system.

• Responsiveness of the UI
• Aiming, How It Feels
• 8-direction movement