Star Trek is one of those world wide phenomenon that has had a full sweep of the entertainment industry. From books, technical manuals and biographies and toys, to games and full blown amusement attractions and conventions. What started it all was the original TV show, which spawned movies and other Star Trek TV shows. Star Trek is seen in over 100 countries and translated into dozens of languages. There are over 63 million Star Trek books in print, and translated into over 15 languages, including Norwegian, Hungarian, Hebrew and Chinese.
Back in 1993 a study from Purdue University found that children learn more about science fiction from Star Trek than anything else outside the home. Star Trek in computer or console game form got it’s start in 1971 with a text only based game that was written in basic. Star Trek has seen it’s share of success and not so much so, on PC and the different console platforms. The world of Star Trek is huge in scope and ripe with adventures, stories, and exploration. Players will be having the chance to become a part of the phenomenon that is Star Trek, with Star Trek Online. Star Trek Online as the name implies is a unique multiplayer experience from Cryptic Studios.
We of course can fill a book with what we want to know about this exciting prospect. Since we don’t have that much time, we narrowed it down to a few questions. Compiled by myself (Edwin Millheim), Shael and Donna Millheim.
Mr. Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer, Star Trek Online, From Cryptic Studios takes the time to answer these burning questions.
Impulse Gamer: Moving on to Star Trek Online, That is a huge license. Did the team get to speak to any of the actors? What kind of research was involved to bring the Star Trek franchise to the online universe?
Craig Zinkievich: Leonard Nimoy helped us announce Star Trek Online at the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas this past August. You can see a recording of his appearance and an interview with him at our web site, www.startrekonline.com.
Meeting him was awesome. I got to speak with him about Trek and what he thought was important about the franchise. It was a really cool conversation, and it added greatly to our understanding of the Trek Universe.
As far as research goes, our team at Cryptic is filled with Star Trek fans. We’re continually watching and re-watching all of the shows and movies and looking for information about characters, storylines and locations. We’re also looking at soft canon sources like the novels and comics for inspiration. We want to make this game a true Star Trek experience.
Impulse Gamer I have to ask the obvious question right off. There will be more to the game than ship-to-ship combat only, won’t there?
Craig Zinkievich: More than just ship-to-ship combat? Of course! In fact, you get drastically different combat depending on whether you’re in your ship or on an away team.
If there is combat on an away team mission, it will be fast-paced, “run and gun” fighting that can involve ranged weapons like phasers, hand-to-hand weapons or martial arts. Ship combat is paced and more strategic.
The ship-to-ship combat in Star Trek has always been about positioning, transferring power to boost weapons or shields, analyzing your opponent’s weaknesses and having your crew come up with a plan to defeat an enemy. Our game incorporates that.
But combat is just a portion of the gameplay in Star Trek Online – you’ll explore new worlds, build space stations, create technology, scan nebulas and do many of the things you’ve seen in the series.
Impulse Gamer: We have already seen information about some of the planets, and that there will be different types. Will there be planets where a space suit has to be worn? Such as atmospheres that have poisonous gasses?
Craig Zinkievich: Challenging the elements is an important part of the Trek Universe. There will be times when you have to deal with hazardous environments as part of your missions.
Impulse Gamer : We know there will be adventures and missions on planets, will there only be beam downs? Or will shuttlecraft and other atmospheric vehicles be implemented?
Craig Zinkievich: Most of the time, you and your away team will use the transporters to get to locations outside of your ship. There are some locations that may only be accessible via a shuttle or other atmospheric vehicle, but we plan to have the operations of those crafts be automated.
Impulse Gamer : During space flight and galaxy travel in real life, there are hazards such as asteroids, meteors, black holes, hot gasses, a planets atmosphere and even a space body’s gravity. Flying too close to a sun… Will these or other space travel dangers be implemented?
Craig Zinkievich ; There will be all of the hazards you mentioned and more. We are developing STO to reflect the series, so exploration is a major element of the gameplay. In a game where players are going to spend a lot of their time exploring the galaxy, we need to have some cool (and sometimes dangerous) things for them to discover!
Impulse Gamer : Will there be EVA missions on or around a ship if there are repairs to be made and no space stations nearby?
Craig Zinkievich : We may have some episodes of content that involve the use of environmental suits, but don’t expect to have to crawl around on the outside of your ship every time you need to make a repair. You have crew to do that!
Impulse Gamer : Will hailing other ships and ship to ship, ship to planet communications be implemented?
Craig Zinkievich : Absolutely. Communication is an inherent part of MMOs as well as Star Trek. When players are in sector space, they will be able to hail and communicate with other ships. As they move throughout the galaxy, they will receive hails from ships, planets and space stations that will draw them into the story of Star Trek Online. Answering a distress signal or a transmission from a planet can lead to an adventure.
Impulse Gamer : Other than Phasers and Photons, will we see ship towing? I.E. the ol tractor beam?
Craig Zinkievich : All ships are equipped with a standard tractor beam that can be used to do things like rescue an escape pod or grab an asteroid for study. If you choose to equip your ship with a more advanced tractor beam, you will gain increased combat abilities and effects.
Impulse Gamer : Star Trek has over the years in its many TV shows and movies had different types of missions, from rescue, to diplomatic and even military blockade missions, just to name just a couple. What can you tell us about some of the missions and adventures players have to look forward to?
Craig Zinkievich : We’ve analyzed the all of the series and movies and found a multi-act structure that is played out in almost every episode. We’re using that structure to create content for STO.
The story of Star Trek Online will be told in a series of linked missions where there is a mixture of action, exploration, diplomacy and visiting a variety of locals to complete a single “episode.” Some of these episodes will connect to one another to tell a larger story, like the multi-episode arcs in Deep Space Nine.
Each episode in STO has its own plot and events, but all follow the same basic framework as an episode from any of the series.
Impulse Gamer : There have been quotes somewhere that not only will players be able to customize their characters, but may be able to create new alien races. Won’t this be a bit on the chaotic side in regards to the Star Trek Universe? How is this going to be implemented and balanced?
Craig Zinkievich : Cryptic is well-known for the unparalleled level of character customization we build into our games. It was a major feature of City of Heroes, and we’re pushing it even farther in our upcoming game Champions Online.
Star Trek Online will continue this tradition with our alien creator.
There are a lot of episodes in the series that add a new race to the Star Trek Universe, and we want the players to have the freedom to add new races to STO. Players will be able to create the appearance of their new race, name it and give it racial abilities from a pool of different bonuses.
Players can use the alien creator to build their favorite race from the series, a hybrid of their favorite aliens, or even a race that has appeared only in the soft canon. Best of all, they can use their imaginations to add something unique to the STO universe.
Impulse Gamer : Will we get to see some of the characters and places from the TV shows and films? Tell us some of the places and characters we may get to interact with.
Craig Zinkievich : Star Trek Online is set in 2409, about 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. So many of the “name” characters have retired or moved on. You may see descendants of some of the major characters, and we are incorporating as much as we can from the Star Trek lore. Expect to see all of your favorite races like the Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Bajorans, Ferengi, Gorn, Orions, Nausicaans and more. As far as places in the Trek universe, we plan on using many of them. You will visit some of these locales during episodes, and others will be social spaces. Major locations such as Vulcan will be focal points for the STO storyline.
We thank you for your time, Myself, Donna and Shael Millheim and all the folks at Impulse Gamer in our main office in Australia and here in the United States look forward to Star Trek Online. That is it Impulse Gamers! An Awesome game from an equally awesome game company. Cryptic Studios has it all well in hand. Star Trek Online http://www.startrekonline.com/, check it out, there is something there for just about everyone!
Edwin, Donna and Shael Millheim
Have fun, play games.