Star Trek Online

[Tawmis]

This is for MI, in case ye have not seen it?

Greetings, Captain!
Winter is approaching, and we've been hard at work here at Cryptic Studios. Here's some of what you can expect just before the holidays!

Season Three: Genesis
Our latest massive update, Season Three: Genesis, is all about improving your quality of life and giving you more say in your Star Trek Online experience. Genesis will feature many gameplay upgrades; here are just a few we can't wait to share with you:

* The Foundry Beta (v 0.3) – Our player-created content system will go into public beta when we launch. Have you ever wanted to design your own mission in Star Trek Online? Here's your chance! Using The Foundry, you can construct Episodes and share them with your friends.
* Episode Replay – In Genesis, you'll be able to replay every mission you've previously enjoyed, and some will feature brand new rewards.
* Borg Technology In Your Ship - In Season Three, you'll be able to integrate Borg technology into your ships. This new loot from Special Task Force missions will greatly augment your ship's usefulness as well as its appearance.
* New Sector Space - We've revamped Sector Space to give it a more realistic look and feel.

There's even more available. To learn more, check out our Season Three: Genesis informational page.

Design The Next Enterprise
Seriously. We're working with our friends at CBS and Intel to turn the design of the next canon Enterprise over to you, Star Trek's most dedicated fans. Just visit our special Design Hangar and submit your version of the universe's most iconic spaceship. We'll convert the best design into a ship in Star Trek Online, but that's not where it stops.

Here are the prizes available:

* Grand Prize: Custom, STO-painted Alienware M11x laptop; STO Collector's Edition; STO Lifetime Membership; and a 3-D model of the winning design.
* Second Prize: Alienware laptop (no custom paint job), STO Collector's Edition and an STO Lifetime Membership.
* Third Prize: STO Collector's Edition, STO Lifetime Membership and an Intel Core i7-875k processor.
* Fourth Prize: STO Collector's Edition and an STO Lifetime Membership.
* Twenty-one Honorable Mentions: Standard-edition copy of STO and a Star Trek Online poster.

Buy Star Trek Online


And that's just a tiny bit of what's happening in Star Trek Online over the next month. Be sure to check in at the Star Trek Online official website for more updates. As always, thank you so much for your support.

We'll see you in the Alpha Quadrant!

-The Star Trek Online Team

Link to Season 3: Genesis.

[MusicallyInspired]

I got this in my email. Interesting that they're letting the fans create the next official Enterprise F.

[tassieboy]

Interesting also that they're saying that it's going to be considered canon.
If it's true it will be the first element not from TV or movie that was ever truly considered canon. Books and computer games have never counted before.

[Tawmis]

I know MI gets the emails, but for anyone interested...
Greetings, Captain!

Great news! Season Three: Genesis is available now. But that's not all we want to talk to you about. We've teamed up with CBS and Intel to run a very special contest with a fantastic grand prize. Read on to learn more.

Season Three: Genesis
Our latest massive update, Season Three: Genesis, is all about improving your quality of life and giving you more say in your Star Trek Online experience. Genesis features many gameplay upgrades, including:

* Episode Replay – Replay every mission you've previously enjoyed, and earn brand new rewards.
* Borg Technology In Your Ship - Integrate Borg technology into your ships. This new loot from Special Task Force missions greatly augments your ship's usefulness as well as its appearance.
* New Sector Space - We've revamped Sector Space to give it a more realistic look and feel.

There's even more available. To learn more, check out our Season Three: Genesis informational page.

Design The Next Enterprise
Seriously. We're working with our friends at CBS and Intel to turn the design of the next Enterprise over to you, Star Trek's most dedicated fans. Just visit our special Design Hangar and submit your version of the universe's most iconic spaceship. We'll convert the best design into a ship in Star Trek Online, but that's not where it stops.

Here are the prizes available:

* Grand Prize: Custom, STO-painted Alienware M11x laptop; STO Collector's Edition; STO Lifetime Membership; and a 3-D model of the winning design.
* Second Prize: Alienware laptop (no custom paint job), STO Collector's Edition and an STO Lifetime Membership.
* Third Prize: STO Collector's Edition, STO Lifetime Membership and an Intel Core i7-875k processor.
* Fourth Prize: STO Collector's Edition and an STO Lifetime Membership.
* Twenty-one Honorable Mentions: Standard-edition copy of STO and a Star Trek Online poster.

To enter the contest, please visit the Design Hangar right here.

http://www.startrekonline.com/season_th ... Enterprise

http://www.startrekonline.com/enterpris ... Enterprise

[Tawmis]

The folks of Joystiq.com reported:

We’ve got some bad news for fans of Cryptic Studios, creator of Champions Online and Star Trek Online. Cryptic’s parent company Atari stated in an earnings report today that it is writing Cryptic off as a “discontinued operation” and plans to sell the studio. What does this mean for the future of Star Trek Online and Champions Online? Atari says that while it attempts to sell the studio, it will continue to support all current Cryptic Studios titles.

Why did Atari decide it was time to drop Cryptic? Atari explains that the move is “in line with the previously stated strategy of fewer but more profitable releases and further expansion into casual online and mobile games” and that “the Company has determined that external development creates more flexibility in the changing marketplace.” Gamasutra reports that Cryptic recorded a $7.5 million loss for the last fiscal year. If you think that sounds steep, keep in mind that this is an improvement from the previous year’s posting of a $17.9 million loss. We’ll have more on the situation — and how it will affect STO and CO — as more news arises.

[Update: Cryptic employee WishStone has posted on the official STO forums, adding: "Right now I have no further details other than what has been mentioned elsewhere. Support for Champions Online and Star Trek Online will be continuing as normal, our staff is working hard on their projects... and there are no planned changes to the way any of our games and projects will operate."

Also, since we've got so many people asking in the comments, Gamasutra reports that "development on the Bay Area studio's Neverwinter project will continue as normal for the time being."]

[MusicallyInspired]

Wow.

[MusicallyInspired]

Star Trek Online goes Free-to-Play!

Awesome! Been waiting and hoping for this since I heard about Lord of the Rings Online going f2p! It hasn't happened yet but is expected to by the end of the year.

[Tawmis]

Star Trek Online goes Free-to-Play!

Awesome! Been waiting and hoping for this since I heard about Lord of the Rings Online going f2p! It hasn't happened yet but is expected to by the end of the year.

Aye, all of them that are owned by Cryptic are... I am waiting for City of Heroes to go F2P, which it's supposed to some time as well.

[Tawmis]

Star Trek Online's free-to-play launch has arrived! That's right, you can PLAY NOW for FREE. For the first time ever on a truly massive scale, you take the Captain's Chair and command your own ship and crew. Explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly go in this expanding vast universe. Download the game here (Click for Website!)

[MusicallyInspired]

I'm finally playing a new mission!!

[DeadPoolX]

Tried it, but wasn't impressed. I'm not really surprised, though. Most MMOs, whether they're F2P or not, just don't seem that enjoyable to me.

That said, Maia and I are looking forward to the release of Guild Wars 2 sometime later this year. We both really enjoyed the original Guild Wars and from the sound of it, the sequel looks to be even better,