NEWS:

May 2011 Ask Cryptic
– Major Borg overhaul coming soon (STO and TNG variants) soon after S4 release
– Xindi and Sphere Builders are listed as “possible baddies” for future FEs.
– Series 4 near DS9
– Fleet Alliances/Wars — Season 5 (or beyond)
– Customizable “ship” uniforms (for interiors) in 2012
– More KDF ships at all levels (2012)
– Centerpiece of Season 5: End Game & Fleet Features
– Feels like he’s using Season 5 / 2012 interchangeably
* 6+ months with no major feature upgrades? Just content?
– No Constitution refit (Tip about squad leading / scaling)

Design The Next Enterprise WINNER!
– A few rough renders courtesy of a TrekBBS member
– Some answered questions
– Ambassador (Ent-C) in 2012

Section 31 Uniforms on the C-Store (VID)

Sneak Peak at “Jupiter” uniform (WORK IN PROGRESS)
Pic 1 // Pic 2 // Pic 3 // Pic 4 // Pic 5

Tweet Leaks
– Possible 2409 Mirror Fed uniforms: https://a.yfrog.com/img640/7420/tusvm.jpg
– Fighter Craft: Peregrine (Fed) and To’duj (KDF) https://a.yfrog.com/img615/4895/bkzag.jpg
– Finalist board for DTNE contest: https://a.yfrog.com/img619/813/cu2is.jpg
– Another shot of the ground combat reticle in action: https://a.yfrog.com/img610/5869/ukm6.jpg

Literary Challenge #1 (for Writers)
– Hosted by WishStone on the forums

Breen Featured Episode Rerun
– New Set rewards (Hope for a ground set from the Devidian rerun?)
– Emblems/Marks and Breen boff are limited time only. Set pieces are permanent.
– Cold Case Puzzle solution graphic

For Trekkies:
Live Blogging Rewatch of TNG episodes

COMM FEED

Vote in our poll, and expand on your thoughts in an email to us!
What Makes a Good Enterprise?

– Kirk rocks the bird of prey

Foundry Picks:
FED: Spirits of Ramok Nor
KDF: Damocles’ Mirror

Now that the first of the weekly series of missions has come to an end, we’ve decided to wrap the whole bundle up into a nice tidy package, and tell you how we feel about it from top to bottom — what did they get right, and what did they get wrong?

Before we leap into that review segment however, we have the very latest in news and announcements to bring right atcha, from the minds behind Star Trek Online.  We’ll give you the low-down on the enemy that will appear in the next weekly series, as well as confirm some recent rumors that’ve been floating about.  Then, right before the end, we’ll feature YOUR feedback on how to give players an incentive to join/create Fleets in STO.

NEWS

Series 1 comes to an end.  The Breen Antagonist is defeated.

Series 2 antagonist revealed: The Devidians (concept art)

• “Time’s Arrow” (Find Data’s head, go back and meet Mark Twain)

• Next series kicks off October 16th (that’s 2 weeks off)

NX-01 (Retrofit) will be coming, probably appearing as a T1 on the C-Store (picture)

Rumor confirmation: Gozer will return to the content team in October
(and will hopefully have time for retooling the existing STF missions)

Priority One Podcast – Interview with Daniel Stahl:

• Season 3 (Nov/Dec) to include:
  • UGC Tools (rough/beta, but workable)
  • Ground Combat REDUCTION (smaller enemy groups, smaller away teams)
  • Episode Reply
  • Boff-to-Captain Promotion System
• Post-Season 3 (Early next year)
  • Replayable End-Game Content
  • Revamp of first 10-20 hours of gameplay

From Trekmovie.com:  Star Trek voted #2 among the Top Resurrectable TV Show.

• Voted on by 450 global brand licensing professionals at the Brand Licensing Europe Conference
• (No official response from CBS)

And just because I get asked once a day, here’s dStahl’s answer re: Romulans

For Tribble players: If you want the opportunity to chat with QA Devs, you can type in:
/channel_join tts

Another ASK CRYPTIC is coming.  Submit your questions now!

SERIES ONE REVIEW

The Preservers.  Who they were, and who they became in STO.
https://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Amerind
From “Paradise Syndrom” (TOS, Kirk loses memory)
To “The Chase” (TNG, “Ancient Humanoids” seeded DNA to create life)

The Breen.
Energy Drains from DS9 became Tractor Beams, Energy Siphons, Tyken’s Rift, Polaron Weapons, etc.

Non combat (medical), and puzzles.
Though occasionally clunky/confusing, we both want to see more environmental puzzles included in future missions.

Unique rewards.
The mission rewards for these missions are mostly unlike anything else we’ve previously seen.

The ONLY downside:
In retrospect, might not feel like it was enough content over that period of time.

COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

We asked:  What can Cryptic do to give players incentive to create/join a Fleet?

Common concepts:

1) Fleet Leveling
Each rank would be gated off by progression that could only be completed with large groups.  (FAs, PvP accolades, special unique currency of some sort, etc.)
Offer bonuses that DO NOT give a leg-up in PvP, or are cosmetic only.

2) Fleet Ownership of Property
Starbases, Systems
— Subtopic:  Fleet vs. Fleet territorial PvP
Claim a territory and defend it against incursions from other players.  Use fleet resources to create and man defenses.  The larger the fleet, the better the combat capabilities.
(Interestingly, everyone that brought this up mentioned DEFENDING, never ATTACKING)

3) Fleet Ranking/Ladders
Public rankings that show a collection of Accolades or Levels or something…
A publicly-accessible means of seeing how one Fleet ranks compared to others, on several different metrics.

Of interest, we actually received a couple responses indicating that Fleets are a BAD THING for games.  That they create social cliques, reinforce elitism, and fracture the community.

One alternative suggestion is a series of “Task Groups” similar in function to FaceBook groups that would be open to be joined/left at any time, but each that have their own calendars, announcements, etc.  This open social networking would allow people to form their own social bonds at will, and never prevent anyone from joining whatever group they want to join.

The Excelsior Class is OUT:

• Transwarp Drive that can be activated in system space for rapid travel to the Alpha Centauri, Sirius, Regulus, Pi Canis, Psi Velorum, Iota Pavonis, Eta Eridani, Beta Ursae and Alpha Trianguli Sector Blocks.
• This ship may only be purchased by Federation captains that have attained Rear Admiral or higher rank.

Early information on the Nebula Class:
Nebula

• A StarCruiser variant (Its not a Retrofit. It utilizes the StarCruiser Skill).
  • Interesting that a Sovereign alternative has a special ability.
• Unique Ability: Tachyon Detection Grid: PBAoE buff that increases your, and allies w/in 10k, Starship Sensor Stat and Cloak Detection. Each buffed ally in turn will buff more allies within 10k of them – thus extending the grid.
• Has a UNIVERSAL boff slot
  • Same boff arrangement as DSSV, only second science became universal
• Ugliest Ship EVVVVAAAARRR.

Enterprise J Grounded:
Daniel Stahl (STO’s EP) writes in the STO forum:

We are not making a 2 mile long Enterprise J. In fact I think we should just stop saying the Enterprise J is coming, because Enterprise J refers to a very specific ship that I can confirm we are not making.
The idea is – we want to make a ship that moves ship designs closer towards the J, but based on internal discussions we are not going to be making the J as it appeared in Enterprise. It is going to be some other ship between now and then. J was just a way of saying a forward looking ship like the J.

Weekly Episode Release Schedule:
Episode 1: Cold Call
Starfleet and the Klingon Empire both respond to call for aid after the Breen attack the planet Defera.
Debuts: August 28, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. PDT.
Episode 2: Out in the Cold
While searching for a lost ship, the crew uncovers a plot to enslave the Deferi people.
Debuts: September 4, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. PDT.
Episode 3: Cold Comfort
Breen slavers leave a ship and its crew crippled while they hunt for buried memories among the Deferi.
Debuts: September 11, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. PDT.

NEWS:

 

Breen shown in “Expanding Universe, Pt 4” video

              – Also shows “Mercernary” costume pack.

              – Breen ships look awesome.  So do their suits!

 

Iconians show up in Star Trek magazine

              – Pages 50-52.  Careful, you can only zoom in 3 times!

              – SPOILERS!  They’re manipulating everything – even the Undine and Borg!

              – SPOILERS!  They will be revealed as the “Big Bad” of STO in late-Season2/S3

 

STO is on Wine 1.2’s “GOLD” list

              – visit www.winehq.org for more details

– This means:  Linux play just got a solid play option!

 

PvP Queue changes coming

              – Private matches will soon allow mixed teams, mixed tiers, and much more.

              – Also hints at a short-lived ladder/tournament system.

 

DANIEL STAHL UPDATE

– re: “Free to Play” — “… my point is that I don’t agree that business plan is the last straw.”

* Goes on to clarify that there is a lot of industry-wide interest in the concept, across every type of MMO regardless of their success level.

* Chris & Jeremy will be discussing this more in-depth NEXT WEEK!

 

Stahl @ Massively

– “… once you’re a vice-admiral, being able to take bridge officers that you’ve sort of promoted under your wing, and make them their own character[s].”

– Confirms the goal of adding Gorn and Naussican ships to KDF choices.

 

 

Stahl @ TrekMovie.com

– Talks more about C-Store, and finding the balance between paid content and played content.

– Hints at voice overs.

 

Stahl @ DevTracker

– Jokes about renaming it the “dstahl tracker”

– Rare particles (via mini-game) should be triggering an Accolade, but currently not working.

– Increasing non-star cluster DXP rewards:  “I agree.”

– Weekly content might include repeatable dailies.

– More retrofits, but Klingon ships come first!

– Thoughts on a new bridge officer transfer system.

 

 

MATH:

 

An introduction to Diplomatic Corps:

 

Despite many great guides being published on the subject, I still get people asking me about how to start on the path to becoming an Ambassador. 

 

So, here’s your official “YOU GOT MATHED” introduction to Diplomacy.

 

VERY SPOILER HEAVY!  If that concerns you, please skip to the “MAIL” segment.

 

The reason for the spoilers though, is that many of these missions can be failed, and having to restart a mission that involves only walking & talking is a frustration that feels like a huge waste of time.

 

So, I’ll give you a quick walkthru of the first SEVEN missions you can do at any time.  Additional special diplomatic missions don’t unlock until you’ve gotten a total of 160 DXP and ranked up to Attache.  Each of these missions give you 10 DXP, so you’ll have to do additional non-combat missions to reach Attache. (e.g., Aid The Planet, or Scan 5 Things)

 

Vulcan:

– Talk to Ambassador on the steps, then the Romulans by the fountain, then back to the Vulcan and her assistant.

– Talk to ALL of the scholars on the planet, to debunk the death threat letter’s information.  Don’t miss the handful that are up a path in the distance, past the fountain.

– Show the evidence to the Romulan, then confront the Vulcan’s assistant, tell him to “do the right thing.”  He’ll point you to the real culprit – the Romulan lieutenant!  Dun dun DUN!

 

Starbase 39:

– Speak with the Lt Commander, who will ask you to run all over hell & back introducing yourself to the ambassadors.

– Then you’ll basically end up doing a back & forth between the Ferengi and Deferi until the console on the wall unlocks.

– At this point, make sure you’ve listened to the recording of the Ferengi talking about Entertainment Provisions, then ask Admiral T’nae for input and head to the Ferengi.  Offer him an Entertainment Provision, and … BOOM!  Success.  Now just more running around to mop up.

 

DS9:

This one’s a doozy.  I’m not going to give you a complete walkthru, just tell you to NOT use the pulse laser on the strange device.  Dowse it with water instead.  As long as you don’t screw that up, you should eventually be able to prove the Gul’s innocence in this matter, and everyone goes home happy.  Just investigate EVERYthing else, and go into the mission assuming the guy is innocent.

 

Oh, and while you’re at DS9, buy a Bajoran Jumja Stick.  You’ll thank me later.

 

DO NOT EAT IT!  (and make sure no Tribble does, either)

 

Memory Alpha:

There are a total of FIVE missions here.  The three important ones are all involving Ferengi brothers.  There’s not much thinking required here, just a bunch of talking and running.  Despite asking almost everyone I know, it doesn’t appear as though you can fail these, so just click click click.  They ARE fun stories, worth reading.  I encourage you to do so, but it’s not required.

 

Then give your Jumja Stick to Kirayoshi O’Brien.  Easiest 10 DXP EVER!  If your mission log doesn’t update, simply log out and back in.  That should update it.

 

Another dude at MA will send you off to K7 with medical supplies.  When you arrive, you find out that –SHOCK– your crew has been infected with some sort of bacteria that was contained in the shipment.

 

Deepspace K7

You’ll have to investigate the cure using the equipment in the lab (attached to the bar – excellent location!).  Again, this is kind of an involved mission, so just pay attention to what you’re clicking on while experimenting.  NOTE:  The buttons will CHANGE POSITION on the final replicator step, so remember what you’re clicking on, not just where the buttons are.  Once you have plugged in the recipe, pick up the antidote at the console next to Nurse Leppa, and shoot your invisible quartermaster in the face with it.  Bingo!

 

For a more thorough guide, please visit Stonewall Fleet’s Guide to Diplomacy. 

 

MAIL:

 

Honorable Mentions:

* AdmiralMurphy:  “Picard Maneuver” — a TNG fan service (no likeness rights available)

* AgentExceider: “Reflections” — You have to confront your ISS mirror self on his/your ship

* Leprech: “Diplomacy at the Point of a Knife” — An interesting twist on diplomacy

 

Jeremy’s choices:

1) “Smoke & Holograms” — Daniel (aka DPT)

** Holo fleet, captured and fight your way out

** Reasons:  Relatively simple, but the beginning of what could be an EPIC story arc.

2) “Something Rotten on Risa” — Stoney977

** The mission looks diplomatic, but turns into a murder investigation, then a space chase after the Undine infiltrators.

** Chosen because of its strong and twisty plotline, plus giving an established location a deeper purpose.

Chris’ choices:

1) “Invasion of the Ship Snatchers” — E Beyer

** You are lured to a Cardassian ship that’s been disabled by a virus.

** A changeling reveals itself, and its plan to steal your Slipstream tech.

** You have to disable your own ship, using the crippled Keldon.

2) “What are Little Ferengi Made Of” — Daniel (aka DPT)

              ** A classic homage to the TOS episode, with a TWIST!

              ** Killing a horde of Ferengi sounds UBER fun.

 

 

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