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Daisemiin
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Pity the Trekkers, the fanbois are already swarming the StarTrek.com Forums.
The following is the official press release regarding the new MMORPG Star Trek game currently being developed!
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09.07.2004
Star Trek & Online Gaming to Break New Ground
For immediate release:
PERPETUAL ENTERTAINMENT TO DEVELOP AND PUBLISH STAR TREK ® MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE GAME
SAN FRANCISCO — Sept. 7, 2004 Perpetual Entertainment, Inc. announced today that it has secured the exclusive worldwide rights from Viacom Consumer Products to develop and publish a massively multiplayer online game based on Paramount Pictures' Star Trek franchise.
Star Trek is one of the world's most popular, longest-running, and beloved sci-fi properties, with millions of passionately devoted fans throughout the world. As Star Trek celebrates its 38th anniversary, Star Trek gaming begins its next evolution.
The license encompasses all live-action motion pictures and television series including, Star Trek , Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Voyager , and Star Trek: Enterprise . "The scope of the content license is extraordinary for a game of this kind, giving us the opportunity to immerse fans and players in the incredibly rich, diverse and exciting universe of Star Trek ,? said Joe Keene, CEO of Perpetual Entertainment.
The game will deliver action, adventure and combat mechanics unique to persistent world games. Its design includes a rich array of solo and multiplayer missions set in space, on planets and in starbases throughout the universe. At launch, it will take place during the 24th century timeline in the series with other aspects of the Star Trek universe to be interwoven and added through expansions.
"Players will encounter characters, places, and situations from their favorite Star Trek movies and television series; will explore incredible new worlds; and will cooperate with or battle friendly and hostile races throughout the game,? said Chris McKibbin, President of Perpetual Entertainment.
"Fans of Star Trek have been longing for a game that lets them participate in and explore the Star Trek universe,? said Terri Helton, Executive Vice President of Viacom Consumer Products. "We have been searching for the right partnership for our time-honored Star Trek to create a game that not only appeals to fans but a broader audience as well. Perpetual's experience, technology and vision for this game make them the clear choice.?
The game is expected to enter public beta testing in 2006 and to launch by early 2007.
About Viacom Consumer Products
Viacom Consumer Products, Inc. merchandises properties on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Television, Viacom Productions, and Spelling Television, as well as third-party properties. Viacom Consumer Products is a subsidiary of Viacom Inc.
About Perpetual Entertainment
Perpetual Entertainment is a San Francisco-based developer, publisher and operator of networked multi-player and massively multi-player games for the PC and next-generation videogame consoles. For more information please visit www.perpetual.com .
For future announcements and developments on this online venture, be sure to check back right here on STARTREK.COM!
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| 09/09/04 17:01 |
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Daisemiin
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09.07.2004
FAQ for Star Trek Online
September 2004
Star Trek fans have been eagerly awaiting the chance to adventure in the time of the United Federation of Planets in a massively multiplayer setting. Perpetual Entertainment is developing just such a game. While much work lies ahead, this initial FAQ should address some fundamental questions about the upcoming game. We realize that plenty of unanswered questions remain, and we will be updating the FAQ as we pin down the answers.
General
What is the game?
Star Trek Online (working title) is a persistent world where thousands of players will immerse themselves in the life and times of the Federation. You will explore the galaxy, defend against incursions, and pursue the needs of the Federation in space, on planet surfaces and in star bases.
Who is making this game?
Perpetual Entertainment is a two year-old company founded and built by MMO and game industry veterans with the express purpose of developing ground-breaking persistent-world games. We've spent the last two years developing genre-defining game designs, server and graphics technologies and we're excited to apply this work to one of the best-known franchises in the world.
When is the Beta date?
2006.
Will there be a monthly fee?
Yes, the fee will be competitive with other products in our genre.
Will the content grow during the lifetime of the game?
Yes, through updates and expansions.
On which platform will this game be available?
PC.
Game Play
What is the point of view?
You are a person, not a ship. We're considering both first and third person, and potentially both.
Will you be able to travel and explore space?
Yes. Space travel is going to be a fun and unique experience. Mission assignments will include dozens of ship types which are open environments that move through space.
Will you be able to explore the surface of planets?
Yes. Action on planets will be an important part of game-play.
Will there be starship versus starship combat?
Yes. You and your crewmates will work together to navigate and fight your way across hostile space.
Will there be ground combat?
Definitely. Ground combat will be fast paced and unique to the genre.
Will there be player vs. player combat?
Some. PvP will not be a primary means of advancement at game launch, but there will be opportunities to test your skills against other players.
How will grouping and team play work?
Groups of both "pick-up” players and more permanent crewmates will have access to interesting missions, ships, ground-battles and game-play opportunities.
How will solo play work?
It will be possible to advance and have fun while playing solo, but you will miss out on some exciting team-play experiences.
Will there be missions or quests with a storyline?
We will use dynamically-created space and ground areas to provide missions that will include conversations with non-player characters, key decision points, interesting puzzles and enemies to dispatch or avoid.
How will characters advance and grow?
Characters will gain skills and rank by completing missions assigned by Starfleet command or by otherwise advancing the needs of Starfleet.
Setting
Which time period or series does this game occur in?
The game will take place primarily in the 24th Century. However, there will be missions with storylines and characters from much of the Star Trek franchise.
Will I be on the Enterprise? Can I be a famous character from the TV show?
You may encounter the Enterprise and characters from the Star Trek series, but you will be your own hero discovering your own story.
Which races can I play?
You can play several of the expected Star Trek races; the exact selection is yet to be determined.
Which enemies will I encounter?
You will encounter many of the classic enemies from the various series — as well as some new ones.
Ownership
Can I or my crew own a starship?
You and/or your crew (clan, guild, etc.) can be made responsible for a starship for the purpose of an individual mission or an official commission.
Will there be housing?
The exact design is yet to be determined, but even Ensigns should have a cabin.
Will there be crafting?
At launch, the closest activities to crafting will be related to ship modification, repair and improvement.
***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***
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| 09/09/04 17:01 |
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Daisemiin
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IGN interview
Star Trek Online Interview
We chat with the guys behind the dream game of sci-fi junkies everywhere.
September 07, 2004 - Today an announcement was released that surely sent waves of ecstasy throughout the populace. Klingon nose bridges were donned, Starfleet uniforms were pressed, and Vulcan neck pinches were applied when Perpetual Entertainment announced that they had grabbed the license to the Star Trek license and had begun work on the development of a Star Trek massively multiplayer game hoping to go into beta in 2006 with a release in 2007.
We know little about this title set in the 24th Century (there aren't even any screens or concept art at this time) but the guys at Perpetual, a company founded by industry veterans coming from EA, were kind enough to let us have a word with them about the project including what they're hoping to accomplish with the Star Trek universe, where they've come, and where they hope to go.
Company CEO Joe Keene and President Chris McKibbin were both on hand to lead us into the future.
IGNPC: This is obviously a pretty big announcement and we've pretty much just been wondering who was going to do it. How did you go about getting the license and what exactly does the license entail?
Joe: The license gives us the right to do massively multiplayer online games. It's a ten year license that encompasses all of the Star Trek "universe," for lack of a better word. All of the movies and television series with the characters, stories and plotlines from each are in the package.
IGNPC: So you can pick through any of those and take it as history or use it directly in the game?
Joe: That's right. And of course it will also include the right to invent things that intended to expand and develop the overall Star Trek universe.
IGNPC: We're assuming the process will include getting approval from Paramount for all of these things?
Joe: Yeah, as with any major license, pretty much everything needs to be specifically approved. As for things that have already happened in the universe that are well known, that's not expected to be problematic. As for that, I have to say that Paramount has been extremely generous in giving us access to people that have worked in the series, for decades in some cases, and they're very eager to work with us to create the next evolution of the Star Trek franchise.
IGNPC: Are these people just going to be advisors into creating content for the Star Trek universe or help you in actual creation of the background and story of the universe?
Joe: I think for the most part it's up to us to decide. There are a ton of resources out there and we're really at the early stages of sorting through it all and are making decisions about how were going to use those vast amount of resources. Those people are available and we'll be able to call on them to help us make decisions about whether we're doing the right thing.
IGNPC: Is there going to be an overarching story for the MMO as a whole or are you just going to stick them players in the universe and let them go crazy?
Chris McKibbin: I guess the answer is kinda both. We think the license lends itself to a lot of story lines, both as overarching ones and shorter durations, but we also think it's critically important that people get to establish their own characters and effectively experience what it would truly be like to live and adventure in the Star Trek world.
So we're going to do a combination of both with official missions and some dynamically created content. There will be overarching stories and missions to pursue, but players certainly won't be confined to those things.
IGNPC: How open is the universe going to be when the game is first released?
Chris McKibbin: We're at the front end of the design process, so knowing exactly the scope of the world that launches is still to be determined. However I will say that we have developed a technology that combines persistent territory with dynamically generated territory. The combination of those technologies allows you to have a pretty large and varied world without having the game be massive and persistent all the time.
IGNPC: So how long have you guys been working on this then?
Chris McKibbin: We founded the company two and a half years ago. We've been working on the technology that we'll be building the game on for that time. When we left EA we put together a list of franchises that would be good for the MMOG space and Star Trek was on the top of the list so we've had working designs for a Star Trek game since the beginning of the company.
IGNPC: How will you be balancing gameplay in space and on planets and space stations?
Chris: Once again, just to emphasize the point, we are still very early in the design process. That being said, we believe the Star Trek encompasses different things. You can effectively think of it as ground based and space based. And the ground can be space stations, planet surfaces, home planets, which include capital cities for races while space includes traveling through space. We're going to make it possible for players to choose whether they spend most of their time in space or on the surfaces of planets and space stations.
IGNPC: Obviously there are a lot of races in Star Trek. We're guessing that you'll have to focus on a few. Do you have any idea at this point which is going to be the most important to you?
Chris: Well, we have an idea, but we haven't locked on anything yet so we'd just as soon not set any expectations.
IGNPC: From a gameplay perspective are you planning on adding a little bit of everything like a Star Wars Galaxies model where you have combat but you also have a ton of trade skills so that there will be a lot of different things to do?
Chris: Well, I think our company is focused more on action/adventure game mechanics and experiences than more hardcore role-playing and crafting. It's important to have support skills and trade skills that support the community and the massively multiplayer nature of the game, but we're much more focused on what makes a compelling and exciting entertainment experience that embodies the action/adventure nature of Star Trek.
IGNPC: What kind of roles might players be able to experience in this kind of action/adventure environment.
Chris: I think we're too early to set expectations around that as well.
IGNPC: Hmm, well then it might be too early to answer this as well, but we might as well ask. Will people be able to affiliate themselves with organizations like the Federation or the Klingon Empire?
Chris: Without a doubt at launch people will be able to affiliate themselves with the Federation. We imagine through the life of this game that players will be able to affiliate themselves with multiple organizations. I don't know whether that's available at launch or will happen with an expansion. It's hard to say right now.
IGNPC: How about player vs. player combat? Will it player a large role?
Chris: Here's kinda how we answer this... we don't think PvP will be a primary game mechanic at launch. Players will be able to test their skills against one another. We believe that PvP will evolve as the game evolves through the years.
IGNPC: Are you planning on using locations from the shows that people will recognize?
Joe: I think undoubtedly we will represent lots of places and territories that will be instantly recognizable from the movies and the series.
IGNPC: How are you handling space travel? Will players be able to have their own spaceships or will it be an EverQuest type of "get on this ship and go to that other place" type of thing?
Joe: We think we know the answers to those questions, but those answers are going to evolve as we develop and get feedback. I guess I'm comfortable saying that we believe it will be possible for groups of players to have control of ships that they pilot throughout the universe and adventure with. The extent and nature of the ownership of ships and actual controlling of the ships are details to be tuned.
IGNPC: Because graphic technology is increasing at an exponential rate at this point, are you guys looking way into the future to decide what's going to be possible and do the best, or are you guys going to try to keep it a little toned down so more people can get into the game and play?
Joe: We expect to be maybe the high-middle sweet spot of PC technology at the time of release. At this point it's a little hard to think about whether that's Shader 3.0 or beyond but I think what you'll be seeing is something that's on par with the vast majority of good looking games at the time. I don't think we'll be trying to push the envelope. We aren't trying to be Quake 5 but it should look good.
IGNPC: What are you guys hoping players will experience with Star Trek online game?
Chris: The first thing I hope they experience is the immersive experience of being a character in the Star Trek fiction. I think there will be multiple paths of evolving a character and as that character progresses and explores the entirety of the Star Trek property we want this game to match the themes of Star Trek which are exploration, community and communication, encountering challenges both known and unknown while working together with others to overcome them.
The game mechanics through that we hope to realize what you see in the shows in the movies that there is fast action combat, dangerous and difficult situations, ship to ship combat, universe lightship exploration and we believe that there's a core number of mechanics that allow those types of experiences. We also believe that players will also create their own balance of what they want to do whether that's creating communities in space stations or on planets, adventuring with their friends, or battling aliens and dangers.
One of the things we're excited to find out as we tune the game and go through alpha and beta is to see where people really want to spend their time.
Joe: I think the thing that we hope most to deliver to gamers is really the heart and soul of the Star Trek franchise which is exploration, adventure and action. We think those kinds of games are overdue in the MMOG market.
IGNPC: So you're planning on more action oriented combat that doesn't involve turns or the roll of dice?
Joe: In a word, yes. The details of that will be made public over time. As a company we're committed to raising the level of combat action in massively multiplayer games.
IGNPC: Are you concerned at all that the fans might have some problems with the way you treat the franchise?
Joe: Yeah, obviously it's a big, dedicated and conscientious group that likes to make their opinion known. If you look through our mail today you'll get a sense of that. I think there's a tremendous amount of excitement. We've gotten emails saying "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" followed shortly by other emails giving very specific ideas about what should be added into the game.
What we're trying to do is work with the fan base to the maximum degree that's feasible when developing a game. We'll be talking to a lot of community leaders and the fan base and seeing what's most important to them. I think again that if we can deliver what's inspiring about Star Trek then we'll have done our job.
-- Dan Adams
***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***
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| 09/09/04 17:05 |
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KraZeDKaoZ
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Someone kill me now...roflmao
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| 09/09/04 17:32 |
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Radiowave
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I'm so there.. I'm such a star trek geek its not even funny!
KUDOBANG!!!!
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| 09/09/04 19:32 |
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Boru
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oohh, don't hate me, but I am looking forward to this.
I am not a trekkie by any means, but I am a sci-fi/fantasy junkie and did watch plenty of the show.
It's just that SOE royally screwed Star Wars, but Star Trek is just as vast a universe with as much potential for greatness as Star Wars had...also a potential for disaster too I guess.
Anyway, I think I could immerse myself into the role if and when it comes about.
---hehe, I can hear the "Picard Rap" song in my head right now=) any EVE players/EVE_Radio listeners will catch my drift.
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| 09/09/04 20:28 |
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KraZeDKaoZ
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Im sure it would be easy to screw up too.
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| 09/09/04 21:09 |
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Asarin_Wilvanin
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If I dont get in to beta because I'm in Europe .. I might just move over to USA for this..
*drools*
MUST HAVE.
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| 09/10/04 02:34 |
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Cirga
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Hey who knows.. it coudl end up being a really fun game. :) I think the only trek series I ever really watched was the next generation.. and some of voyager.. but thats about it.
Hmmm.. sci/fi geek definately I am. But I am more into dark future things like Cyberpunk and Shadowrun. hehe
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| 09/10/04 08:39 |
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Metallica_Dan
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Not much of a ST fan myself, more into SW, but even then I went with CoH vs SW:G.
I'll be interested to see how it does tho, any MMORPG that works out is good.
Those people who tell you not to take chances,
They are all missing on what life is about.
You only live once, so take hold of the chance.
Don't end up like others, the same song and dance.
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| 09/10/04 08:53 |
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Arzada_Solace
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Sweetness! Shadowrun!
Sweetness! Holodeck! Number one. Engage!
"Look I'll kill the rat for you and give you the experience. It would have slaughtered you anyway." Aeris.- www.VGcats.com
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Arzada = The loveable Cat Nip Thief
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| 09/10/04 10:20 |
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KraZeDKaoZ
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Well I'm going to stick with COH, SWG, FoM and MxO.
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| 09/10/04 20:24 |
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Warbride
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Star Trek Online is at least a year and a half away, so it's a little too early to "look forward" to playing it.
One can only hope that the creators will have learned a few things from the successes and failures of the MMO games that precede it. If they do, and if they haven't overestimated their abilities to create what they intend, then they probably won't disappoint. And even if they don't, they'll probably get a quarter million subscribers anyway, because hey, it's Star Trek.
"You wouldn't be so brave if you'd ever smelled the Bog of Eternal Stench."
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| 09/11/04 18:48 |
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CherryTerri
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Hey, when we just heard of CoH as a concept my husband was looking forward to playing it =P
Anywhoodle ... I want the combat to be ala Elite Force style. Please let there be PvP ... soo much fun when me and my sis played EF ... me as Janeway and her as B'Elanna ... woot ...
"Stupid engineer! Busted my warp core again!"
"Up yours, Captain"
BZZZT BOOM! K-POW!
Fun! ^_^
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| 09/13/04 07:06 |
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