Star Trek Online: Details on the Latest MMORPG
No, it’s not what you think. It’s not a recent cash-in attempt. Star Trek Online has been around for a long time, originally developed by Perpetual Entertainment for a total of four years, but handed over to Cryptic Studios when the company filed for bankruptcy. It’s just that after the amazing success of the new film, new-found interest in the online game has led the developing studio to divulge some information on the project. For the first time in years, Cryptic Studios has shared their progress on the game with the public. And here are the details.
So, people have been wondering: where in the timeline does Star Trek Online take place? According to Cryptic, in the year 2409, just after the dissolution of the peace treaty between the Federation and the Klingons. The element of current or imminent war is essential to any large-scale MMO. In Star Trek Online, it will work much in the way that World Of Warcraft does, in that players will have to choose between one of two races: the Klingons, and of course the Federation. Cryptic Studios understands that gamers expect to be able to play as a variety of races, such as the Borg, but it’s something that they will have to address post-launch. For now, this is the way it’s going to have to be. Rest assured, however, that the Federation and Klingon races are quite different and unique to another, and the studio has every intention of making sure the gameplay is as deep as possible in that regard. Remember, this is the makers of City Of Heroes and City Of Villains we are talking about.
In fact, though it’s not entirely clear how this will work into the gameplay at the moment, it’s possible for players to custom-build their own races, which other players can then pick and play as. How cool is that? Ships, too, are customizable, but only to the extent that the ship still has the trademark look of it’s race or alliance.
Space combat may be intense (as the game’s sneak peek trailer implies) but it’s also tactical. You have to think about such things as your ship’s transference of power and the point on your enemy’s ship where you want to strike. Such features should make for some pretty deep combat, something MMO’s can always use.
There’s no official release date for the game yet, but they intend to release Star Trek Online soon for the PC and Xbox 360.
