Star Trek Online’s Design Lead, Al “captaingeko” Rivera joins STOked this week for a “getting to know you” interview, and Al also co-hosts another fantastic Math segment with Jeremy that you won’t want to miss.

Plus: Our complete review of the new TOS Bundle that just hit the C-Store. Is this a must buy, or fluff features gone retro? Tune in to find out!

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Show Notes:

DOWNLOAD

The post Meet Al Rivera | STOked 76 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

In this modern age of hyperconnectivity, it’s amazing that we as humans still tend to have a hard time hooking up with members of the opposite sex. In this season where love is in the air, we thought we’d cover some of the nerdier aspects of Valentine’s Day on the internet. From dating sites to MMOs, we’ve got insights into the culture of online romance.

Sorta.

Or it might just be a bit of fun.

Show Feeds:

• HD Video RSS
• Large Video RSS
• iPod Video RSS
• MP3 RSS
• iTunes Feeds

Show Notes:

OKCupid’s “Math of Beauty”

• Sites have an incentive to encourage all users to participate, regardless of attractiveness
• OKC’s data indicates that women that polarize opinions (hot / ugly) receive more messages and feedback than woman that are generally considered attractive but not awesome (aka, “cute”)
• “The more men disagree about a woman’s looks, the more they (as a whole) like her.”
• Advice: Play up your features that some men hate. Big nose? Chubby? Tattoo’d/pierced?

OKCupid bought out by Match.com

• OKC’s blog post titled “Why You Should Never Pay For Online Dating” mysteriously vanishes the same day.
• Except for in Google’s Cache, cuz the internet is forever.

Congressman resigns over CraigsList photo

• He shoulda used a more reputable dating site.

MMO News:  Warhammer Online and Fallen Earth feature Valentine’s Day events that focus on bloodshed and dismemberment

• Warhammer Online encourages mayhem with the “Night of Murder” special event.
• Fallen Earth will allow players to craft an item called a Heartbreaker that allows players to rip out, preserve, and give away the hearts of their slain enemies.

Download:

The post Nerdy Side of Love | J@N | 2.10.11 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

It’s all Engine math this week! After shunting our optical sensors through the auxiliary signal buffers, we were able to heroically save this week’s subspace transmission of STOked! While the transmission was partially damaged, we managed to save the best!

Our STOked App:

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Show Notes:

Download:

The post Fly Her Apart! | STOked 65 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

The finale of the Devidian series is upon us, and the boys of STOked are NOT HAPPY. Find out why during our in-depth review and analysis, then find out what IS making us happy about the upcoming content set to arrive with Season 3 (most of which is already on Tribble).

After that, it’s time for a rematch (or re-MATH?) as Jeremy takes on the Crystalline Entity and tells YOU the best ways to equip your ship and boffs to take out this cosmozoan cornholer.

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This Week’s Show Notes:

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The post Equipped to Kill: Crystalline Entity | STOked 59 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

We help YOU get the most out of your Deflector Dish equipment slot. In today’s MATH segment Jeremy gets you pointed in the right direction to really take full advantage of this often missed ship equipment.

Then it’s our community news focus, we chat about Cryptic purchasing a forum posters mini-game artwork and concepts, plus much more!

We wrap the show up by asking you our latest question: Send us your ideas to turn your bridge officers into more iconic, if at least not more important Star Trek characters.

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NEWS:

        * Still no word on a Klingon equivalent.

                — Not a good distinction.  You can’t use a date to determine purchases, how about checking CC# on the accounts instead?

Fun bug — KDF occasionally log in and find themselves at Earth!

Updated Intrepid/Cochrane/Discovery model pics:  https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=161807

        * Transcriptions here:  https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=163964 (thanks, Darren_Kitlor!)

    * Use your skill selection drop down, and it will highlight which skills affect which abilities.

    * Use your ability selection screen, and take note of whatever is listed on the info pane.

        — I’d recommend this second approach, as scrolling through your drop-down is tedious.

Scramble Sensors: Sen, SenP

Viral Matrix: Sen, SenP

Jam Sensors: Sen, SenA

Gravity Well: Def, Spa

Tyken’s Rift: Def, Spa

Science Team: Def, DefF

Tachyon Beam: Def, DefD

Based on this list, I’ve decided that it makes the most sense to boost the following skills:  Def, Sen, SenP, Spa (in that order of importance)

Deflector Array

Sensors

Deflectors

Emitters

Tachyon Deflector Array

Sensors

Sensor Array

Graviton Deflector Array

Deflectors

Deflector Dish

Positronic Deflector Array

Emitters

Tractor Beam

ast = Astrometrics

def = Deflectors

defD = Deflector Dish

defF = Deflector Field

em = Emitters

hs = Hazard Systems

sen = Sensors

senA = Sensor Array

senP = Sensor Probes

spa = Spacial Anomalies

st = Photonic Theory

tb = Tractor Beams

DOWNLOAD

The post How to Pick the Right Deflector Dish | STOked 40 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

Jeremy and Chris show you the mechanics you need to know to master the expose game play of Star Trek Online’s ground combat and give you a real advantage in ground combat based missions.

Then We run down the latest Engineering report, discuss “Holo Leeta”, an update on the Federation Diplomatic Corps, Galaxy Class start ship art work update, and much much more!

Plus + We’ll ask you for you ground combat improvements, as well as share our radical ideas on the subject!

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NEWS:
 

Cryptic Q&A – Fluff, Fluff, More Fluff

https://startrekonline.com/node/1800

    * Trait Re-spec coming in a future update for Captains.  No plans to do so for Boffs.

    * Fleet logo system coming soon to Tribble

Engineering Report Update!  June 11, 2010

https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=162261

    * Primarily a list of “things that need to be fixed”

    * 2.0 Feature List (Rough Draft)

        – Ship Interiors with “Make Consumables” mini-game (sick bay?)

        – Dabo w/ “Holo Leeta” (community effort paying off — grats guys!)

        – Federation Diplomatic Corps — “earn FDC-XP”??

        – 8 new Klingon missions, 4 new Diplomatic missions, 5 new “Tier 6” missions + Weekly Missions for all levels (scalable)    

Ship art updates – Courtesy of “CapnLogan”

Intrepid:  https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=161807

    * Various fixes, and moving nacelles!

    * Also includes hints/confirmation of a REFIT idea being hammered out.

Galaxy:  https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=155142&page=17

    * Saucer corrections.

Galaxy X pics & vids:  https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=162143

TenTonHammer – Deflector Dish Drilldown
https://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/features/guides/starship-basics-deflector-dishes

    * Walks you through understanding your Def Dish

Massively – Basics of Ground Combat

https://www.massively.com/2010/06/10/captains-log-five-basics-of-ground-combat-in-star-trek-online/#continued

    * Stuff we already know, but you might find a gem inside.

Consolidated list of recent mechanic changes

https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=160617

    * Included in show notes by request.
 

MATH:

Ground weapon types / pros & cons

MELEE — BARE HANDS vs BAT’LETH

    * Bat’leth will win every time.  Much higher damage, better combos.

    * There’s more to it than that, but that’s a Math segment unto itself.

Damage Type Review

    * Phaser – Chance to Stun.  (good vs. all enemies)

    * Disruptor – Chance to apply damage resistance debuff, enhancing all incoming damage on target.  (great vs. all enemies)

    * Plasma – Chance to apply small DoT that is not mitigated by shields, stacks.  Can be cured.  (good vs. shielded enemies)

    * Tetryon – Chance to apply a debuff to enemy’s shields, enhancing shield damage dealt to target.  (good vs. shielded enemies, bad vs. all else)

    * Polaron – Chance to apply weapon malfunction. (good vs. enemies with ranged weapons, bad vs. all else)

    * Anti-Proton – Various, depends on style purchased, no innate bonus just better stats.

Weapon Types, sorted by Refresh (lowest to highest)

* Stun Beam: Single Target, Expose + Hold

    – Ideal = CONTROLLER.  2x Stun Beams = Hold/Expose every ~3sec

* Compression Bolt:  Single Target, Exploit + minor KB

    – Ideal = BOSS or SECONDARY WEAPON.  Fast refresh (~7sec) allows for many Exploits, highest DPS over time.  Also interrupts.

* Bolt Spray:  Cone AOE, Expose

    – Ideal = EXPOSER.  Can expose up to 5 targets every ~9sec. (Every ~5sec if two equipped)

* Wide Beam Pistol:  Cone AOE, Expose

    – Ideal = TANK.  High damage and easy to spread out – gains threat from large # of targets quickly.

* Sniper Shot:  Single Target, Exploit + KB

    – Ideal = BOSS.  Highest single-target damage per shot.

* High Density Beam:  Cylinder AOE, Expose + Repel

        – Ideal = ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.  Repel is guaranteed, push targets into hazards.

* Full Auto Sweep:  Wide Cone AOE, Expose

    – Ideal = EXPOSER.  vs Bolt Spray = Higher damage, fewer targets, slower recharge. (not recommended)

* Split Beam:  15-degree Cone AOE, Exploit

    – Ideal = DPS/TANK.  Among the highest potential damage per use, but low over time.  Compromise between Auto-Target and Sniper.

* Arc Wave:  Cylinder AOE, Expose

   – Ideal = ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.  High knockback potential, throw targets into hazards.  Can also interrupt skills/attacks.  Unlimited # targets.

* Pulse Wave:  Cylinder AOE, Exploit

   – Ideal = CHOKE POINTS.  Highest single-use damage potential plus high knockback potential, but very slow recharge (~14sec)

* Auto-Target Beam:  30-degree Cone AOE, Exploit

    – Ideal = DPS/TANK.  Wide beam, decent damage.  Good for spreading out damage. (not recommended – recharge too slow)

* Energy Blast:  Targeted AOE, Expose + KB

   – Ideal = CHOKE POINTS.  Unlimited # targets + knockback potential (but KB cannot be aimed – radiates outward from impact)

Away Team Recommendations:

* NEEDLES OF DEATH = Three with Bolt Spray, Non-Healer+Captain with Compression Bolt.

    REASON = Many exposes, quick refresh on Exploits.

    ALT = Rotate in Split Beam for Captain, to allow occasional multi-Exploit shots.

* ALPHA STRIKE = Two Energy Blast, One Full Auto Sweep, One+Captain with Split-Beam.

    REASON = E-Blasts and Auto should Expose almost full group (if tightly packed), Split Beams will mow them down.

    NOTE:  Best if used by Science Captain that uses Tricorder Scan before engaging, and Away Team that doesn’t summon turrets (wasted Alpha Strike time spent beaming in equipment).  Not ideal for prolonged engagements, as all are on long refresh timers.

Group Recommendations:

* BE PREPARED.  Bring more than your two favorite weapons.  Be ready to fill various roles (Exposer, Knockback, Tank, Boss Killer, etc)

* KNOW YOUR ROLE.  If you are asked to be the dedicated Exposer on a team, don’t equip two E-Blast weapons.

* DON’T SPAM EXPLOITS.  Exploit specials are up to 20x more effective when used on Exposed targets.

MAIL/EDITORIAL:

Next week’s question — give us your suggestions for Ground Combat improvements.

Chris’ suggestion:

1) faster combat

2) fewer badguys, but let me die/fail

3) shield quadrants

4) camera shake option 

Jeremy’s suggestion:  Revamp into 3rd person Cover Shooter.  (yes, it’s far-fetched and incredibly unlikely.)

DOWNLOAD:

The post Exposing Ground Combat | STOked 38 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

This episode features your top feedback on PvP in Star Trek Online, plus another info-packed MATH segment, this week: Cannon Math!

Plus we cover the top stories for Star Trek Online, and the greater Star Trek community. 

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NEWS:

Expanding Universe, Pt 3:  https://www.startrekonline.com/videos

Sneak peaks into the next two STF missions:  “Khitomer Accord” and “Undine Terradome”

– Khitomer Accord is already live, but this video does give away part of the plot that we’ve been keeping hidden…

** If you look closely during the last action sequence of that part of the video, you’ll see Romulan Borg.

– Undine Terradome sounds like a LOT of fun…

** Infiltrate their training facility and find a way to distinguish Federation (or KDF?) hostages, from Undine disguises.

** This mission is not part of the Borg story arc, and doesn’t have any prerequisites.

Death Penalty Details — https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=152455

– “Normal” Difficulty = NO PENALTY.  No change in overall gameplay as currently set.

https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?p=2586482#post2586482

– Details for “Injury System”:

    * Low chance of incurring a debuff to various systems/stats per death.  Higher difficulty = higher chance of major injuries.

        — Chance of injury is low enough that they “shouldn’t usually stack past about 2.”  30 minute debuff.

    * Ground = fixed with Regenerators.  Space = fixed with Components. (purchased at Stations, stack up to 20)

    * (Ripoff of Dragon Age’s death penalty!)

Wrath of Khan uniform w/ Open Flap

Including this because I get asked this question A ZILLION TIMES PER DAY…

Dev Response:  mhighison: “Took a look and both the closed and the open TWoK uniforms were set since launch day to be unlocked by anyone who had the key. It doesn’t seem like everyone is getting both variants for some reason, so we are looking into a bug fix now. Cheers,Matt.”

https://forums.startrekonline.com/showpost.php?p=2582702&postcount=107

Leonard Nimoy announces retirement:  https://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/tv/2010/04/19/13639516.html

Unofficial announcement of Skill Cap Increase:  https://forums.startrekonline.com/showpost.php?p=2583126&postcount=147

DStahl: “Klingon Episodes, a new end game sector (to go along with increased skill cap), and a neutral sector for all factions are in the works for Season 2 launch.”

(Previous rumors indicate Season 2 will be out in approx. June 2010.)

MATH:

This segment, I’ll be covering the pros & cons of each separate type of Cannon.  Even non-Escort captains may find this handy, to understand their cannon-wielding friends AND FOES.

Weapon Type:

There are 3 types of cannons:  Basic, Dual and Dual Heavies.  

There is a fourth type of “cannon” that is not Escort-specific:  Turrets.  They benefit from all cannon-related skills and abilities, but can be equipped on any ship. Very high power-drain over time, due to 360 firing arc.

Basic Cannons: 

Basic Cannons have a lower overall DPS than the other types of cannons, but benefit from a 180-degree firing arc.  I see these as an alternative to Beam Arrays, if you simply MUST have a wider firing arc than is offered by Dual cannon types. The lower DPS is a noteworthy hit though, so I do not recommend using them. I’ll focus the rest of my notes on DUAL vs. DUAL HEAVY.

Rate of Fire / Energy Drain:

Each of the ‘dual’ type of cannons deal the same dps (damage per second) but Heavies deal the damage in 2 bursts (vs. Dual’s 4 bursts), and draw slightly more energy per volley.  However, you’ll actually end up being able to sustain your rate of fire more easily using DHC in lieu of Dual cannons, due to the slower rate of fire — less up-time, more regen time.  DHC fires for 1 sec and recharges for 2, requiring that you only regenerate 6 energy per second between shots.  DC fires for 1 sec and recharges for 1, requiring you to regenerate 10 energy to stay topped off.

Firing Arc Utilization:

The bursty approach of the DHC allows you to potentially output closer to your ENTIRE damage potential while your enemy is maneuvering in & out of your firing arcs.  If an agile enemy ship only dips into your target zone long enough for you to fire one projectile, the DHC burst will deal much more damage than a DC in that single burst.  On the other hand, a MISS with a Heavy cannon is a much larger dip in your overall damage, than a miss with a normal Dual.

Critical Striking:

According to popular theory, critical hits are where Dual Cannons really shine, in the long run.  By firing twice as frequently, folks say that they end up doing more damage over time based on your chance of critical strikes.  Whereas the slower, heavier hits from a DHC give you fewer opportunities to crit your enemy.  By extending this logic, skills and abilities that increase your chance to crit, and your severity of crits, will skew your overall character profile slightly in favor of Duals over DHCs.  However, keep in mind that DHCs come with a built-in boost to Crit Severity, which may be enough to even the odds.

Increased Damage %:

Abilities like Tactical Team and Attack Pattern Omega have flat % increases to damage, which suggest that they can be better utilized by DHC volleys.  Fewer shots, bigger hits.  It’s not a huge favor toward DHCs.

Rapid Fire:

Now, what about Rapid Fire?  First of all, it causes you to fire twice as many bullets from a Dual Cannon (8 vs 4), but only 1.5 as many from a DHC (3 vs 2).  That seems to skew the math heavily in favor of Dual Cannons.  But because it also reduces the cooldown on your cannons, the math actually works out to be about even.  The real determining factor here, if you’re very fond of Rapid Fire, is your energy drain.  See my earlier notes re: Drain.

Weapon Special Abilities:

This is another area where Duals outshine their heavy compatriots.  The bottom line is this:  More shots = more chances to proc the special ability.  So higher rate of fire = more procs.  Simple, yes?

In Conclusion:

I personally encourage the use of Dual Cannons, but the difference in the raw numbers is miniscule, if present at all.  Most of the argument in favor of either will send you running to Duals, but if you just like BIG NUMBERS, you won’t be handicapping yourself by using a set of heavy-hitting Dual Heavies.

MAIL:

Responses to PvP idea request…

Boils down to two things:

1) Player-controlled “nodes” (systems or stations)

2) Rewards for large-scale PvP involvement, instead of just for single matches. (buffs, currency tokens, unlocked areas/missions)

The idea of a Neutral Zone sector block is repeatedly mentioned.  Players seem to want to have large-scale territorial conflict with other players.

A lot of players have good ideas to incorporate both Fleet-based controls (encouraging large social gatherings), and a cross-implementation with crafting as well in the form of creating stations and their associated defenses.  I can’t say that I’m personally fond of either of these ideas, as they really penalize the casual players, forcing them to be part of massive fleets in order to progress.  There’s a place for that, but I don’t feel that PvP is that place.  But, you wrote about it, so we brought it up!

Another common idea is that matches would be held on schedules (hourly?  bi-hourly?  etc) so that people know when to participate. (helps to encourage participation – nobody wants to sit on an empty map)  Or at the very least have timers between capturing each node, that are readily visible.

The concept of “open PvP” is also raised repeatedly – being able to challenge opponents from Sector Space, and be thrown into a DSE-type instance to duke it out.  Very open to exploits and griefing though, until an email we received from Barry Neville floated the idea about a PvP flag, that includes a 1-minute timer.  His idea also includes that the ‘loser’ of any PvP match gets auto de-flagged and cannot be challenged, or challenge back, until their 1-minute timer resets.  This is a great way to prevent griefing.  But I’d still be worried about the balance of open challenges… what’s to stop a RA5 from challenging a LtComm to a deathmatch in this system?  Unless sectors become level-banded, which further ruins the social atmosphere…

Full props to Darren_Kitlor for this concept:  https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=150499

Next week’s question:  

Cryptic releases a Ship Interiors poll:  https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=151987

Tell us about your Ship Interior concepts.  The more detail the better. 

The post Your Suggestions to Fix PvP | STOked 31 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

STOked Season 2 Episode 10: We give you our brief thoughts on the recently announced Star Trek Online Advisory Council; and cover our favorite STO news items of the week.

Then: We cover the secret sauce in our tribble breeding MATH segment!

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This Week’s Show Notes:

ANNOUNCEMENT:

We have been invited by Cryptic’s PR department to participate in what they are calling their “Federation Council”
Goals of the Council:
Bring the input of our audiences directly to Cryptic
Facilitate a direct line of communication between Cryptic and their fans
Help them brainstorm solutions to ongoing issues that will be well-received by their player base.

Use “tips@jupiterbroadcasting.com” to send suggestions and information that you’d like brought up at these discussions.

NEWS:
“Needs of the Many” novel released! https://bit.ly/aWlWE1 (this is a link to our store on Amazon)
Not as long or involved as many had hoped. A series of interviews conducted by the Department of Temporal Investigation.
Fun read for big fans of the game and its storyline.
“Character Profile” pages are now LIVE at Cryptic’s website!
Announcement: https://bit.ly/bAFwRb
Main Page: https://bit.ly/dlJQuQ
Example: https://bit.ly/buUzH6
Buggy, inconsistent. Does not include your custom Biography yet.
Does this raise privacy issues?
Ship Power Level effects will be CHANGING soon: https://bit.ly/d8mTY2
Systems will be simplified and improved.
Shield level will affect absorbtion
Engine level will affect turn rate (removed from Aux)
Cryptic publishes “Tips and Tricks” video series: https://bit.ly/98ugIq
So far they have tips on Flanking and Exploiting (both covered in our Release Day Tutorials: https://bit.ly/96zVsU
Path to 2409 updates coming soon! https://bit.ly/bJWcuH
Free stuff! https://bit.ly/9PdeiH

MATH:

Tribble Breeding!
aka, “How to Rule the Universe with Furry Minions”

INTRO:

Tribbles are actually USEFUL! Equipping certain breeds of tribbles in your ground-device slot, and clicking them, will bestow buffs upon your Captain and his/her Bridge Crew.

* A quick instant heal
* A damage boost
* A resistance boost
* Or a regeneration buff

And some of these buffs, with the right RARE breed of Tribble, can be stacked up to 3-times their base strength, or combinations of multiple types of buff (e.g., damage boost + resistance)

The process is time-consuming and a total money-sink (tribbles sell to NPCs for zero credits). But it’s still fun!

OVERVIEW:

Breeding tribbles can be expressed in a simple mathematical equation: Tribble + Food + Time = New Tribble

“Tribble” = The original tribble can be ANY tribble in the game, even the unique ones (Best Buy Tribble & Tribble of Borg). Breeding a unique tribble will NOT result in additional unique types — they will breed into tribbles that can be obtained thru normal breeding.

“Time” = roughly hourly increments, but not thoroughly defined or set in stone. Just be patient.

“Food” = ANY food. Various foods have different effects, but generally speaking ANY food will result in a new tribble.

Some quick tips:
* Right Click on their icon and choose “Info” to see a complete list of their abilities, breed, and more.
* Tribbles held in your ground-device slot seem to only breed while you are on the ground.
* To STOP a tribble from breeding, simply be sure to sell or destroy any food items you may loot.
* Your bridge officers can (and WILL) use tribbles, if equipped in their device slots.

BREEDS:

Every sub-species of Tribble has a defined breed. These are named after the Devs of Star Trek online, and include Rivera, Zinc, Stahl, Griffis, and dozens more. Each of these breeds will always have the same stats, within their breed.

The breed names are listed on their info, or you can also check one of the many geniusly-designed breeding charts around the web, and match them up by color. (e.g., https://www.wolfiesden.com/games/sto/tribblebreeding.asp

“Solid color” tribbles can be pet for a small heal. More specifically, the Dotson, Stahl and Sparkes breeds. These 3 breeds are what you usually find as loot.

If you feed these breeds ANY food (yes this time it really is ANY), you have a chance of receiving a Susilo, Vitales, or Thompson.

These new and improved breeds will breed into the genetic precursor to all further breeds — the TUFFLI breed. All you have to do is combine them with any food that gives a +64% hitpoint boost.

FOODS:

Once you have your Tuffli Tribble in-hand, you’re well on your way to selective breeding of better tribbles.

* From Tuffli and up, all breeds interact in a unique manner with each individual food item in the game.
* Generally speaking, the higher the food buffs your hitpoints, the higher chance of receiving a higher-quality tribble.
* To control your breeding, only ever have ONE tribble on your body at a time – including device slots of yourself and your boffs. Put the rest in the bank (WITHOUT FOOD)
* Many foods that are considered ‘rare’ can actually be purchased at DS9, so check those vendors before spending your credits on the Exchange.

WRAP-UP:

Sorry for the lower video quality than normal – we shot and captured all of this footage using WeGame as an experiment when our other capture method kept failing.

LINKS:

Tribble FAQ: https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=96340
Tribble Evolution Flowcharts: https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=124071
Breed Chart: https://www.wolfiesden.com/games/sto/tribblebreeding.asp
IfniLuck’s Breeding Doc: https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AczhS3xovyl6ZDhnc3Budl8wZHBwczZ3cGM&hl=en
Tribble info on STO-Intel: https://sto-intel.org/wiki/Tribble

The post Tribble Grow Like a PRO | STOked s02e10 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

STOked, Season 2 Episode 4: We cover some recent news for Star Trek Online, then show you how to plan out your character skills with a handy skill builder tool, and show you what video cards get you the best results with STO. How much does a dual core, quad core, or even a single core processor effect your game performance? We give you the answer!

PLUS: We interview Craig Zinkievich STO’s Executive Producer about the current state of the game and get you answers about up coming death penalty possibilities, future content expansion for low and high level players, and so much more!

Our STOked App:

Grab the STOked iPhone/iPod App and download STOked plus bonus content on the go!

Show Notes:

CAST:
Chris, Jeremy

DISCLAIMERS:
GoogleAds showing Energy Credit Buying services on our embedded player. We do not support them, but are having a hard time convincing Google to remove them.
We claimed that a Borg Raidisode would be published on Feb 18th, based on a forum post from DStahl. It didn’t make it into the patch, but we have no control over that. Stay tuned for the next announcement. Don’t shoot the messenger!

NEWS:

5-Day Buddy Keys available — https://www.startrekonline.com/claim_buddy_key
Available for any subscriber, allows for d/l of client and 5-day free play.
Originally said 10 days? Bait & switch?
If they play a LOT, that’s enough to reach Rear Admiral!

Work has started on an unofficial Mac client using WINE, Xquartz
https://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=76799
List of known issues:
Fonts are ugly when they are small… Noticed mostly when scaling the UI down.
antialiasing is not functional
sun/stars nearby in the background of space missions might have texture drawing errors and get flashy when moving the camera around
alt key is usually not functional on most machines… this is an Xquartz keymapping problem… newer xquartz testing versions work better, but are still unstable. For now, going to have to live without alt.
due to limitations in Xquartz, Multimonitor set ups can be a hassle. The game will want to play only on the left-most monitor, wether its the primary or not.
running in the normal VIrtual Desktop window mode can have the mouse reactions go super fast while turning yourself or the camera… the farther you move the mouse… can be a bit annoying.

Ask Cryptic: Let’s Talk Skills https://www.startrekonline.com/node/1158
They talk about Skill Caps, and how they are necessary for future content once the cap is raised to RA 10 (“later this year”)
They will be altering the Ship Pilot skills, so that each tier will again benefit the ship types further up that line.
Their “answer” to the question regarding Weapon Types vs. Skill Point Cost was disappointing. Not really an answer at all. Paraphrased: “They’re different and exotic because we say so.”
Compare to a fantasy MMO:
Daggers = Armor Piercing. Swords = Bleed DOT. Equal but different effects. Now if Swords cost more skill points to attain the same DPS as daggers that are cheaper, why would anyone use swords?
SOLUTION: Higher Tier weapon types need to be more powerful effects, in order to justify the skill point investment. Or, even out the cost. You can’t have equality AND imbalance, at the same time.


MATH:

A Walk-Thru Guide to the Captain Skill Builder

https://sto-builder.binarybit.ch/ — created by Ghley < —- LOWER THIRD TO SHOW LINK
Java, 32-bit ONLY
Easy on-site bug reporting tool
Patch Notes / To-Do List at the bottom of the page

STEP 1) Choose your profession.
This will alter the skill choices available for your “ground” specializations.

STEP 2) Choose your ship.
If you’re trying to set yourself up for end-game, choose an end-game ship for maximum forethought.

STEP 3) Choose your boffs’ abilities.
The drop-down lists provided are NOT all-inclusive. They do not include ‘rare’ Mk III abilities, or those trainable by Captains (more on this topic later).
You will notice that all skills that affect your chosen abilities are now highlighted in a gold color.
NOTE: Several BUGS exist, so not all skills are highlighted correctly… hopefully the creators are working on this!
You may need to come back to this step if you find you’ve spread yourself a bit too thin!

STEP 4) Spend your skill points.
The Builder knows when you have spent enough to rank up. Watch for the next rank to unlock.
The numbers at the top show: Points Spent This Rank (Points To Next Rank)
Most skills begin giving significantly diminished returns, starting around rank 4 or 5. So it’s not always the best idea to max out unless you NEED every last tidbit of bonus (PvP?)
One bonus of training all 9 ranks in some skills: To teach your boffs powerful Rank III abilities.
You can only teach your boffs abilities that match your Captain’s Profession (so Science captains will potentially have the best Science boffs, e.g.)
This skill builder does not support Rank III taught abilities. Workaround: You can select a lower-rank ability on the boff dropdown menus, to show which skills will affect these.
Don’t be afraid to buy lower-tier skills, in order to meet the requirements to unlock the next tier up. Sometimes the broader bonuses of low-rank bonuses are better to have in the long run.
DON’T NEGLECT YOUR GROUND SKILLS! Despite this builder only highlighting the SPACE skills that benefit your boffs, remember that you will be fighting on the ground also!
Pick a sub-specialization within your class – don’t try to do everything.
Click the “Space Stats” button near the top to display your character’s skill modifier totals in the right-hand pane.

STEP 5) Share your build.
The URL field at the top of the screen is updated on the fly as you spend your skill points. You can copy & paste this to share your character build.
Recommend using a URL shortener for forum sharing (bit.ly or similar)

Summary/Tips:
For now, Commander and higher ship skills are limited to the ship you are currently flying and do not carry up to the next tier. THIS WILL BE CHANGING.
For more information on your individual skills, you can pull up your Skill Pane in-game (press P) and look at the list of skills from there.
The skill information provided by this skill builder can also be used to help you select your Deflector Dish and Consoles.

MEDIA:

STO Benchmarks show clear lead on Nvidia cards

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/star-trek-online,2553.html

Nvidia GTX260 w/896MB of RAM currently goes for $194 on Amazon on Amazon

The post STOked S02E04: State of The Game Interview & Best STO Video Card first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

STOked Season 2 Episode 2: We cover the STO attempt to set a Guinness World Record, go over the player bio contest, discuss the early reviews of Star Trek Online and give you the details on the “one million accounts” story that hit the web recently.

THEN in our MATH segment we boil down how Torpedoes work, and why something that gives you a +10 bonus might be a really big deal!

PLUS Chris shares the story of his battle with the Crystalline Entity, and gives a few tips on how to defeat it.

NEWS:
STO Guinness World Record Attempt in London
https://www.startrekonline.com/node/1007
Namco Bandai Partners, the European distributor of Star Trek Online, in association with Atari
Attempt to set a world record for the ‘largest gathering of people dressed as Star Trek characters†on February 14th at 1.00pm on Londonâ€s Millenium Bridge.
Adjudicators from Guinness World Records will be present to log the record attempt and ensure that everyone present is dressed in full Star Trek attire.
The best dressed fans on the day will win exclusive Star Trek Online prizes including lifetime subscriptions worth over £150 and recently released digital version of the Star Trek movie.

STO Update: Servers Added This Weekend + Character Backstory Contest + Voice Command Demo Video
https://trekmovie.com/2010/02/03/sto-update-server-update-this-weekend-character-backstory-contest-voice-command-demo-video/
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 wasnâ€t for you, we wouldnâ€t be here.
-The Star Trek Online Team
Ultimate Character Contest:
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.

TrekMovie.com reviews STO:
In general, gameplay in Star Trek Online is very intuitive.
Tutorial is good, but sometimes leaves you guessing on what to do.
Controls very intuitive.
In space battles, the controls are very different from flight in other games.
The graphics in this game are fantastic!
“Overall, I love this game! It is a chance to be immersed in the Star Trek world”

Stormshade steps away from Star Trek Online
https://www.massively.com/2010/02/03/community-manager-daeke-leaves-cryptic-stormshade-to-replace-him/
Becoming the new CM for Champions
David “Daeke” Bass Leaving Cryptic
Leaving comes amidst heavy fire from the community on Cryptic’s most recent endeavor, the addition of Vibora Bay in Champions Online.
Daeke took heat as he was the first member of the Cryptic staff to acknowledge that Vibora Bay would be a piece of paid content.
Phoxe will be stepping up as STO community lead. Fourm Post Here: https://forums.startrekonline.com/showpost.php?p=1901489&postcount=3.

Cryptic would ‘love’ to get Star Trek Online to consoles
https://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/01/cryptic-would-love-to-get-star-trek-online-to-consoles/
“But we’ll have to see how Star Trek does and then secondly we want to do it justice and not hurry something along just to get it on the console.” – Zinc
The engine (STO and CO) already runs on consoles, we are told by Cryptic.

One Million Already Playing Star Trek Online?
https://terminalgamer.com/2010/02/04/one-million-already-playing-star-trek-online/
One million registered accounts is a strong indicator of a vibrant online community and it should only grow given Star Trekâ€s massive fan base
Numbers reflect Web accounts, not subscribed game accounts.

MATH:

OMG TORPEDO MATH

Special thanks to Katavul and Aruji, and their team of guinea pigs.

+1 Skill = 1% bonus to base damage.

Anything above Standard Issue damage = Bonus, and is added AFTER the skill math.
Example:
Standard Issue Torpedo = 1383 damage ( < — BASE)
Mk VIII Quantum Torpedo = 2484 damage ( < — per unmodified tooltip)
difference = +1101 ( < — BONUS)

With a +100 skill bonus:
(1383 x 2.00) = 2766
+1101
3867 < — same as in-game tooltip!!

Max skill bonus = 100% (18 Lt, 30 LtC, 52 Comm = 100 total)

This SAME math works for Beams & Cannons, but is also affected by Weapon Energy Levels.

Consoles act as a Skill Bonus, for damage calculations.
Applying a +10 Torpedo console to the above calculations…. Base & Bonus remain the same, but
(1383 x 2.10) = 2904.3
+1101
4005.3 < — final modified damage (rounded off in-game)

So, a +10 console resulted in a damage bonus of 138!

Weapon Damage Calculators:
Standard Issue = 1.00
Mk 1 = 1.08 (1.082)
Mk 2 = 1.18 (1.184)
Mk 3 = 1.29 (1.286)
Mk 4 = 1.39 (1.388)
Mk 5 = 1.49 (1.490)
Mk 6 = 1.59 (1.592)
Mk 7 = 1.69 (1.694)
Mk 8 = 1.80 (1.796)
Mk 9 = 1.90 (1.898)
Mk 10 = 2.00

To find “Standard Issue” damage, find a Mk X item on the Exchange and cut the damage in half. Inspecting an item on the Exchange will NOT attribute your modifiers to its totals.

MEDIA:

Watch Star Trek Online Intro Video Voiced By Leonard Nimoy – Ties STO to ST09
https://trekmovie.com/2010/01/28/watch-star-trek-online-intro-video-voiced-by-leonard-nimoy-ties-sto-to-st09/

Screen shots with a story, Chris’ week of STO shots:
https://picasaweb.google.com/tophfisher/STOShots?feat=directlink

The post STOked S02E02: How Torpedoes Work & Taking on the Crystalline Entity first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

Dan AKA Gozer joins us from Cryptic Studios, then in our new MATH segment we discuss combat tactics and turning radius, show you a great new skill calculator, and kick off our STO MEDIA segment with some footage from the end-of-beta event!

PLUS SO MUCH MORE!

NEWS:

MATHED:

SUBJECT:

MEDIA:

Our STOked App:

Grab the STOked iPhone/iPod App and download STOked plus bonus content on the go!

The post STOked s2e1: Gozer Interview & Skills Calculator first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.