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Star Trek Online shipping on Stardate 63554.5 (Feb. 2, 2010)

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 9th 2009 at 4:00PM }

Star Trek Online officially beams into retail on February 2, 2010, keeping in line with what an unearthed Atari financial document expected last May. Players will boldly enter 2409 and continue "the story of the latest film installment," according to the press release. Huh, and here we thought it took place after the poorly-received Nemesis and not the "latest" Star Trek movie, which was actually the acclaimed reboot.

We contacted Atari to find out which layer of the sci-fi series' multiverse we'll be playing in and a representative apologized for the confusion, saying , "Events in the movie that happened in the prime timeline -- the destruction of Romulus, and the disappearance of Spock and Nero -- have affected STO. You can learn more about the aftermath of these events in the Path to 2409 and in STO itself."

Set course for new Star Trek Online gameplay footage

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 3rd 2009 at 11:00PM }

We've got a double dose of Star Trek Online video goodness for you today, as Cryptic has seen fit to not only release part two of the "Future Past" series, but also a new gameplay trailer. The trailer -- handily embedded above -- is comprised mostly of pitched space battles and ground encounters. It's also packed with more phaser and disruptor beams than you can shake a tribble at. One more thing: Borg cube.

After the break, see part two of "The Future Past," which details the outcome of the Klingon / Nausicaan / Gorn war. In short, the Klingons are pretty much bad guys again by 2409, the year in which Star Trek Online begins.

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Star Trek Online engaging retail Q1 2010, beta 'around the corner'

by David Hinkle { Oct 19th 2009 at 4:30PM }

Cryptic executive producer Craig Zinkievich has confirmed with Videogamer that the upcoming Star Trek Online is set to launch during the first quarter of next year -- which falls in line with an Atari document we reported on back in May. Zinkievich also confirmed that Cryptic will soon offer gamers a taste of the experience to come, stating that the game's closed beta is "right around the corner."

Though Videogamer set its phaser to "pester," Zinkievich wouldn't budge on any details about release date beyond the quoted Q1 2010 placeholder, citing that he would receive the full wrath of the marketing department should he crack. We'd like to imagine said department being full of Klingons, but we all know Cardassians really make the best marketers.

Video: A Star Trek Online history lesson

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 17th 2009 at 12:00AM }

Cryptic has put out a new behind-the-scenes video for Star Trek Online, in which members of the development team lay down the fictional history behind the title. The game is set to take place after the final Next Generation film, Star Trek Nemesis. Unless you're pretty up on your Trek lore, that's really all you need to know. For the rest of us, the video goes into thick detail about the various conflicts that follow, leading up to a massive war between Klingons, Romulans, the Gorn and Nausicaans.

Don't worry if you don't know your Dyson spheres from your Crystalline entities, as there are plenty of space battles and explosions in there, too.

Resisting new Star Trek Online screens is futile

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 6th 2009 at 10:08PM }

clicking isn't futile

The folks at Cryptic have released some new screens of the upcoming Star Trek Online, and let's just say that Locutus fans should be pretty pumped. That's right, we finally get to take a look at the Borg (sounds Swedish ...) as they appear in the game. We can't help but imagine actually playing as a member of the Borg collective in the game, though that might be just a tad unfair to the rest of the organic exploring the virtual universe.

The screens also show off some of the spacecraft available in the game. Peruse them all in the gallery below. It's not like you have a choice in the matter.

[Via Massively]

Gallery: Star Trek Online (10/6/09)

Star Trek Season 3 Blu-ray includes Star Trek Online bonus costume

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 28th 2009 at 3:42PM }

Do you want to die a whole lot during your first interstellar excursion in Star Trek Online? If not, we'd advise you not to dress yourself in the lowly, crimson vestments of a Starfleet security officer -- or, as they've appropriately been nicknamed, "Redshirts." It's a well known fact that most hostile extraterrestrials are bull-like in their profound hatred for the hue. Strangely enough, these same adversaries are placated by the garments of a Starfleet Admiral, inspiring them to give long soliloquies instead of, you know, murdering people.

If the latter clothing choice sounds more in your wheelhouse, you'll be happy to know that a Starfleet Admiral outfit is being offered as a Star Trek Online bonus for purchasers of Star Trek: The Original Series Season 3 on Blu-ray, according to TVShowsOnDVD.com. Not only do you get sweet duds for your character when the game drops in early 2010, but the television episodes will allow you to brush up on other important pieces of Star Trek errata. For instance, you should never hug a Klingon -- or Vulcans, for that matter. In fact, just keep those deep space hugs to yourself, okay?

Gallery: Star Trek Online (7-30-09)

[Via Big Download]

Hands-on: Star Trek Online

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 8th 2009 at 7:30PM }

You're going to buy and subscribe to Star Trek Online if you're a Star Trek fan.

I'm really sorry to be the one to break it to you. You might not possess the fungible assets required for such a commitment -- heck, you might not even like MMOs. These facts don't matter. Cryptic hasn't just made a game based on Roddenberry's magnum opus -- it has managed to create a flawlessly adapted interactive extension of the show.

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Register to beam aboard the Star Trek Online closed beta

by Justin McElroy { Sep 4th 2009 at 3:01PM }

If you didn't guarantee yourself a spot by buying a lifetime membership to Champions Online, your second chance to join the Star Trek Online closed beta just veered into scanning range. You can find the link to the necessary form right here. It's still not a sure thing, mind you, as participants will be randomly selected from those who register.

Considering its checkered past, we're a little bit nervous about STO, but we really hope it's good, if only to keep this cat off suicide watch.

Champions Online offers $200 lifetime subscription, Star Trek Online beta access

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 4th 2009 at 6:30PM }

The subscription plans for Cryptic's super-powered MMO Champions Online were revealed via a pre-order offer the developer just announced. Potential players who anticipate their prolonged enjoyment of the title can shell out $199.99 for a lifetime subscription to the game, while those desiring a less permanent commitment can sign up for a $59.99 six-month plan. Cryptic explained the latter would normally cost players $89.99 if paid for on a monthly basis -- seeing as how $90 divided by six equals $15, it's safe to assume that'll be the monthly fee for access to the game.

Pre-ordering one of these two subscription plans nets players a whole slew of bonuses, the most desirable of which is access to the closed beta for Star Trek Online, which will take place "later this year." Both plans also garner players an in-game "art deco" costume set -- but lifetime subscribers also get the "retro future" costume set, an in-game Foxbat action figure, eight additional character slots and even an additional costume for STO which will appear in players' inventory at launch. In the business, that's what we like to call "The Works."

[Via Massively]

New Star Trek Online screens? You bet your asteroid

by Randy Nelson { Jul 30th 2009 at 9:30PM }

click to ~~engage~~ enlarge

Apart from being the "final frontier," this latest round of shots from Cryptic's Star Trek Online leads us to believe it's also absolutely jam-packed with asteroids, most of which are exploding. Sure, there are some pics of away teams down on the surface of various planets -- but asteroids, exploding asteroids! There's one universal quality evident in the massive quantity of screens in our gallery below: they look really, really nice. In fact, we're tempted to go as far as to say that, visually, the game ... rocks.

Gallery: Star Trek Online (7-30-09)

Atari believes Star Trek Online will boldly get going by March 2010

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 29th 2009 at 7:30PM }

An Atari financial document apparently reveals that the company expects Star Trek Online to launch no later than March 31, 2010. ShackNews read the report, which also states that players will boldly go where no one has gone before on "both console and PC formats."

We've hailed Cryptic for any official comment and will update as soon as it responds.

[Via Massively]

Massively week in review

by Joystiq Staff { Mar 4th 2009 at 3:00AM }

Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute.

Massively's complete coverage of Warhammer Online Patch 1.2
Dwarf Slayers are just about ready to start hitting the live Warhammer Online servers for all their worth. With the orange tide imminent, I've been running around the test server for the past several days, looking to learn all I could about these wonders of Dwarven kind. Including -- but not limited to -- the underlying cogs of their special mechanic, how they handle PvP and PvE, and most importantly where they hide their booze -- here's a hint: it's underneath something.

EVE Evolved: Apocrypha expansion preview
As March 10th draws ever closer, EVE Online's Apocrypha expansion is coming more and more into focus. Information on the new game mechanics and content is being released in the form of developer blogs and the official expansion page complete with screenshots and artwork is already up.

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Famous Star Trek faces won't appear in Star Trek Online

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 14th 2009 at 10:40AM }

Make no Bones about it, folks -- memorable faces from the Star Trek universe won't be making an appearance in Cryptic's upcoming final frontier MMO, Star Trek Online. In a recent interview with MTV Multiplayer, STO executive producer Craig Zinkievich explained that the game takes place "in the future where the majority of the known characters have passed on." Except for the ones that are robots, or holograms, or ghosts. Or all three!

Don't think that Cryptic's issued themselves a license to kill canon -- Zinkievich (a shoe-in for Joystiq's Surname of the Year award) claims that the STO dev team has been in talks with folks who've been involved in the franchise to make sure they don't cut any corners, or crush any anticipation-filled Trekkie hearts. We've submitted our own terrifyingly erotic fan fiction to their think tank -- hopefully, it'll make it into the final product.

NYCC 09: Cryptic panel covers Champions MMO, reveals Star Trek Online race creator

by Majed Athab { Feb 8th 2009 at 2:00PM }

Yesterday's Cryptic Studios panel was a two-part affair. The majority of the hour-long panel was allotted to talk on Champions Online – a super hero MMO based off the original 80s paper-and-pencil RPG. The last five minutes were reserved for Star Trek Online. Both games yielded tons of new info.

First off, Champions will feature a lot of unique and odd weapons such as guitars. Essentially, this means you can create a "Guitar Hero" (hey, not our joke – blame executive producer Bill Roeper). The crew at Cryptic is also looking into implementing vehicles such as motorcycles, tanks ... and pogo sticks. Lastly, the formation of "super hero groups" will still follow the basic MMO guild structure, but with an integrated ranking system.

Moving on to Star Trek Online, the game was revealed to be set in the year 2409. That's 30 years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis, which marks the end of the ST timeline. The MMO puts players in the captain's chair as they are tasked to command their own ship either under the banner of the Starfleet or Klingon Defense Force. Ships and bridge officers are customizable. Cryptic says to expect a lot of "beaming up and down" from ship to ground for an authentic ST feel. The most interesting reveal was the race creator, allowing players to customize their own race. See that in action after the break.

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Ubisoft 'mad' MMO dev Cryptic went to Atari

by Randy Nelson { Dec 11th 2008 at 6:27PM }

The buyout game, like any other, produces sore losers. In this case it's Ubisoft, who lost out to Atari in a bidding war for Champions Online and Star Trek Online developer Cryptic Studios.

Gamasutra quotes Ubi's CFO, Alain Martinez, as saying the company was "a bit mad [about]" losing the deal. "We were a bit disappointed," Martinez admitted, though he said Ubisoft is moving ahead with other planned acquisitions. "We have about three deals within [the] five million euro range that we are negotiating," he revealed, stating that, "Most probably, one or two of them will be closed in the next three or four months." One of those wouldn't happen to be Eidos, would it?