View Full Version : Q&A with Al Rivera at STO.Info! (October 17, 2008)
Calvert
10-15-2008, 12:04 AM
Dear Community,
first we would like to thank Cryptic Studios and Al Rivera for taking the time, making that interview possible and for answering some of our questions and supporting a foreign-language Community.
The questions we asked are a bit dated and answering took longer than expected because of some technical problems. So some of our questions were answered in the meanwhile by other interviews or the official FAQ. Other questions, regarding the translation of the game to German language and server locations in non-US countries for example, Cryptic Studios doesn't want to answer yet.
The Q&A has of course also been published in English for this community and can be found here:
http://sto.buffed.de/Star-Trek-Online-Info-asks-Al-Rivera.html
Regards
Cormoran
10-15-2008, 01:12 AM
good to see cryptic starting to check out other languages.
also good to see starfleet will have an lcars ui and the klingons will have a klingon styled ui. i'd missed that tidbit in other sources. and feddies and klings working together for certain events is also promising.
great interview!
ninjakiller1
10-15-2008, 01:55 AM
dam that was a good interview! atleast we got some much more information of star trek online for the progress.
But if I am correct this means each any company who meets Al Rivera for the interview, we even must find other resources who might have new information of star trek online!
Urantia
10-15-2008, 02:32 AM
Thanks for the info Calvert...much appreciated.
KO_Gilligan
10-15-2008, 03:12 AM
Making a German language version is a no-brainer. No other language is as important for this game after English... If Cryptic can't figure that out, it would prove that they are listening too much to some out-of-touch bean counter...
I hope they're reading this :eek:
DFawkes
10-15-2008, 04:29 AM
Cheers for that, some nice stuff there :)
Nice to hear there'll be common areas, I was afraid it'd be heavily instanced like Guild Wars - not that I'd mind, but it feels better to randomly interact with others as you go.
Calvert
10-15-2008, 08:50 AM
Good to know that the english speeking community likes our small Q&A.
Thanks to all!
DanSeale
10-15-2008, 09:00 AM
Good to know that the english speeking community likes our small Q&A.
Thanks to all!
Very much appreciated.
Thank You
Decius
10-15-2008, 09:52 AM
good to see cryptic starting to check out other languages.
also good to see starfleet will have an lcars ui and the klingons will have a klingon styled ui. i'd missed that tidbit in other sources. and feddies and klings working together for certain events is also promising.
great interview!
I'm glad that the UI's will be different. A lot of games take shortcuts and only provide a single UI. Well, even IF STO had a single UI I wouldn't care much I suppose lol.
Trekkie
10-15-2008, 07:00 PM
This was very interesting! Thank you for posting this interview!
Rgoodfel
10-15-2008, 07:14 PM
Thanks for the posting.
jsutich
10-17-2008, 10:40 AM
Recently, Star Trek Online.Info spoke with Al Rivera about Star Trek Online:
Is it possible to visit a planet by using a shuttle or only by using the transporter?
You, and your chosen away-team, will be able to transport down the surface of planets. Some planets or locations may be only accessible via a shuttle, but if you are asking if you will manually fly the shuttle through the atmosphere and land on the surface, then no.
Originally posted in German, STO.Info has made an English translation available.
Read the interview here! (http://startrek.gamona.de/index.php?id=294)
knightofhyrule730
10-17-2008, 11:22 AM
This is very interesting. The answer to having mutliple doing quests/missions on one planet is still kind of vague. If i can see multiple ships in orbit of a ship, then i think i should be able to see them on the planet (if theyve gone down).
Gen00b
10-17-2008, 11:33 AM
It's nice to hear something new about the game again :) I'm interested to see what the interfaces will look like.
Too bad he didn't properly answer your question about which playable races there will be on each side. Almost like he just copied the list of races from the STO FAQ.
pyriel32
10-17-2008, 12:13 PM
Very interesting my wife and i can't wait for this to come out .
RedShirt
10-17-2008, 12:33 PM
I'm Glad Andorians are a Major race, Always wanted to call people "Pink skins" May be a bit racist or whatever the equivalent term is but I always found it amusing in Enterprise, probably the only good thing in my opinion was the Andorians. Something which I want to continue.
Yavin_Prime
10-17-2008, 12:34 PM
Nice I just want to know more about the race creator and if non-member races will be preprogramed into the creator. An example, will Cardassian's be an option even though they arn't members of the Federation or the Klingon Empire, the fact is they're very popular and it dosn't seem impossible to have a few join one of the factions (say the Federation).
k.mpok
10-17-2008, 01:02 PM
Best part of the whole interview.
2. Since the official website features LCARS-style graphics, will the game interface adapt the looks of the familiar LCARS?
Absolutely. LCARS is fundamental to Star Trek, and so you can expect to see all Federation game-play to make full use of an LCARS UI. Klingons will have their own UI.
Sweet. :D
Vicelance
10-17-2008, 01:08 PM
Nice to see some more info. I understand the response to not being able to fly a shuttle through the atmosphere but does that mean we won't be able to fly a shuttle anywhere ourselves? Or can we still take one out for a spin and only have automatic flying when entering or leaving a planet?
capgjt585
10-17-2008, 01:55 PM
Very interesting.
I am disappointed by lack of manual shuttle piloting (#1; would make a good minigame) and uneasy about the TBD for interior customization (#14). Otherwise it is good.:)
#12: Do they mean random mission generations on a fixed map?
Fernos
10-17-2008, 02:18 PM
Very interesting my wife and i can't wait for this to come out .
I know what you mean my wife and I have basically stopped playing everything else because this game is so exciting for us, and this is the big talk at all the ST conventions we attend...honestly at Shore leave in Baltimore more folks were talking about this than the Trek movie... a lot of expectations are riding on this game.
capgjt585
10-17-2008, 02:32 PM
I know what you mean my wife and I have basically stopped playing everything else because this game is so exciting for us.
Is the beta out already?! (looks around in excitement)
at Shore leave in Baltimore more folks were talking about this than the Trek movie... a lot of expectations are riding on this game
Wow, that's interesting. I thought the movie would be the hot topic, since it does feature Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc. :)
k.mpok
10-17-2008, 03:05 PM
Is the beta out already?! (looks around in excitement)
Wow, that's interesting. I thought the movie would be the hot topic, since it does feature Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc. :)
See thats the problem. To many it doesn't feature Kirk or the original crew. I just hope the new actors due the roles justice.
capgjt585
10-17-2008, 03:10 PM
Oh bother, I thought you were going to give me an answer on the beta. :(
Traynor94
10-17-2008, 04:12 PM
I agree with you... a lot of the trekkies I know around my age (20's) are more excited about this game then the new movie. I've never been a huge fan of the original series... nobody should take that as a slam, I just grew up watching the Next Generation and the other series (DS9, Voy, Ent). Going back to Spock, Kirk, etc MIGHT be a great idea, or it might kill trek as we know it.
Regardless, this game means more to me then the movie because it is about the future of trek, not the past (although I liked Enterprise... I know, in the minority again)... I want to know what happens to bring the Federation and Klingons to war... and I want to be able to get involved in the story, take part in it, captain my own ship and pick my own crew, etc (which is why I check this site every day instead of the movie site).
This game is, without question, the future of trek.
If the game and the movie bomb... we might be looking at another decade or two with no real Trek presence (except the books, of course)... if it's huge, makes tons of money, and gets great reviews, it could help revive Trek in CBS and Paramounts eyes.
In response to capjgt, nope. No Beta yet (from anything I've read or heard, and no date for a beta either). Thats okay though... I've already waited a year or more for this game (and then went through the heartbreak of the previous developers ball drop and the apparent shelving of the game), as long as it gets made and is taken seriously/given the time and effort it needs, I'm sure we'll all be amazed by what we get ^^
Dear Community,
first we would like to thank Cryptic Studios and Al Rivera for taking the time, making that interview possible and for answering some of our questions and supporting a foreign-language Community.
The questions we asked are a bit dated and answering took longer than expected because of some technical problems. So some of our questions were answered in the meanwhile by other interviews or the official FAQ. Other questions, regarding the translation of the game to German language and server locations in non-US countries for example, Cryptic Studios doesn't want to answer yet.
The Q&A has of course also been published in English for this community and can be found here:
http://startrek.gamona.de/index.php?id=294
Regards
Thanks Calvert! Yeah a lot has been fleshed out from other interviews but it is still great to see any more additions out there. The Shuttle info was interesting to see. I also liked the question about the clothing but I think it was cloudy on non duty clothing. The way it sounds at the moment seems like there might not be any =(.
LtPowers
10-17-2008, 06:40 PM
Making a German language version is a no-brainer. No other language is as important for this game after English... If Cryptic can't figure that out, it would prove that they are listening too much to some out-of-touch bean counter...
I hope they're reading this :eek:
May I ask why German? It would seem to me that French and Italian would be at least as important, and Spanish and Chinese (Mandarin) have many more speakers world-wide. I'm not saying German isn't important, but why German above all others?
Powers &8^]
buzz12
10-17-2008, 06:45 PM
Omg Thanky You. :eek:YOU ROCK
SuRGe0n
10-17-2008, 09:10 PM
Nice to hear that Klingons and Starfleet will have different UIs. That's a nice touch.
bbrother
10-17-2008, 09:22 PM
I am guessing that if the Beta is out, there is a serious NDA associated with it. I doubt that IF the beta is out that they would want to jeapordize their access to it be mentioning that it exists.
I certainly don't have access to it, but perhaps Cryptic would comment on this? Maybe? Please can I join beta???!!
SuRGe0n
10-17-2008, 10:02 PM
May I ask why German? It would seem to me that French and Italian would be at least as important, and Spanish and Chinese (Mandarin) have many more speakers world-wide. I'm not saying German isn't important, but why German above all others?
Powers &8^]
Germany is, besides the U.S., one of the biggest countries for computer (especially online) gaming. In most games I've played online, Germans have usually been the largest non-English speaking contingent.
Calvert
10-17-2008, 11:21 PM
Germany is, besides the U.S., one of the biggest countries for computer (especially online) gaming. In most games I've played online, Germans have usually been the largest non-English speaking contingent.
It is the same for the Star Trek franchise. After the English speaking, Star Trek has the most fans in Germany.
But... when they'll create a German language version of STO, I'm absolutely sure that there will also be French or Spanish ones, but I'm not so sure about the Italian.
Thanks to Cryptic and sto.info for this interview. I have to agree and encourage Cryptic to interact with the German gamers and ST Fans more than in the past.
miqrogroove
10-18-2008, 06:07 AM
One of the better interviews so far. Specific, and at least mildly informative. I hope everyone gets a chance to read it :)
"Here are 6 of the playable races. I'll let you guess what side they are on: Human, Klingon, Ferengi, Orion, Andorian, Gorn. "
Where's Vulcan ? :D
"if you will manually fly the shuttle through the atmosphere and land on the surface, then no. "
We can select the area ? or just a loading page ?
Calvert
10-18-2008, 07:44 AM
Seems that some guys misunderstood my question. I asked for 3 races on every side and he gave me 3 races on every side. That doesn't mean that there are more. As you know from the official FAQ, there are also Vulcans and you'll have the possibility to create your own races.
eNDIE
10-18-2008, 08:30 AM
very nice intervju i think it was very informative good job:)
CaptBrack
10-18-2008, 08:54 AM
You know one thing that I think people are missing that I haven't seen anywhere else is the fact that the Ferengi will be a Federation race. Why do I say that? Well, the question was to give us three races from each faction. The answer was Human, Klingon, Andorian, Gorn, Orion, and Ferengi.
Now, of course the two factions are Human and Klingon so those are givens. It has been stated in other interviews that the Gorn and Orions are part of the Klingon faction which means that the other two Federation races are ... Andorian (naturally) and Ferengi.
I'm looking forward to this. A Ferengi Federation Captain? Awesome fun. I can see it now, "So my fellow captain, you need help keeping the Klingons out of this system? Well this will cost you. I think 50 latinum bars should be ample to cover the cost." :)
Jenkl
10-18-2008, 10:59 AM
Cool 'view, thanks guys.
alucard1
10-18-2008, 02:00 PM
Thanks Calvert! Yeah a lot has been fleshed out from other interviews but it is still great to see any more additions out there. The Shuttle info was interesting to see. I also liked the question about the clothing but I think it was cloudy on non duty clothing. The way it sounds at the moment seems like there might not be any =(.
That's what I took from the response as well... I'm hoping that it could be related to a misunderstanding due to differing languages... hoping....
I am one of the many that sincerely hopes there will be Uniforms.. AND Off-Duty clothes...
Heya Razor... any chance we can get a more specific response to this? Please? :)
- Peace
Calvert
10-19-2008, 02:43 AM
That's what I took from the response as well... I'm hoping that it could be related to a misunderstanding due to differing languages...
- Peace
The original Q&A has of course been done in English, the German version is the translation. We didn't translate to German and again back to English ^^.
What you can read in English is the original text from Al.
I tried to ask deeper questions regarding clothing but they currently are not willing to answer. I think we have to wait a bit for more detailed answers.
That's what I took from the response as well... I'm hoping that it could be related to a misunderstanding due to differing languages... hoping....
I am one of the many that sincerely hopes there will be Uniforms.. AND Off-Duty clothes...
Heya Razor... any chance we can get a more specific response to this? Please? :)
- Peace
Having uniforms for the federation, Romuluan etc, would be the minimum.
"but if you are asking if you will manually fly the shuttle through the atmosphere and land on the surface, then no. "
finally,
In Star Trek, is really important to be able to fly himself in the shuttle because, many problems can occur and create missions or adventures.
Not a loading page :/
jer08k2
10-19-2008, 06:55 AM
When he said can we meet people on vulcan or space stations I got excited. I wonder if we can go visit Deep Space 9 or Ferangira( sorry miss spell ) and other places. I've always wanted to go to DS9.
MrCloud1701
10-19-2008, 09:19 AM
Hopefully this game turns out to be what they claim its cracked up to be. I am still a little weary about the customization however.
RogueEnterprise
10-19-2008, 03:30 PM
Though there isnt too much additional information in this article, the way in which the questions are answered and the types of answers that Al gives makes me very confident in the way STO is shaping up. Needless to say, I'm still very excited at the prospect of dumping my years-old WoW account the second this game comes out. =)
jwick4471
10-19-2008, 04:59 PM
Already dumped the WoW account.. the whole thing was getting kind of redundant. Currently looking for a new MMO to hold me over until this comes out!
I was also very pleased with the Q & A. Anticipation is killing me! :D
ZombieCo
10-19-2008, 06:50 PM
interesting... this game looks to have some new and fresh idea's to bring to the mmo table. I am hoping to get a free roaming style universe that if I so choose I could set course and just go for hours but at the same time find interesting encounters, new races, dangers and that type of thing. It will also be nice to jump into a hyperspace tunnel or trans-warp conduit and jump to wherever im wanting to go that day.
Spin-El
10-19-2008, 07:16 PM
Hopefully thats how this game shapes up. I'm not going to play it for hours on end trying to battle other players. I want to be able to turn it on, get missions, and warp to new areas to explore, with the occasional confrontation.
Kinneas
10-19-2008, 11:32 PM
Another great interview.
Spreadin' STO love across the globe ~~
Quin_Draco
10-20-2008, 04:00 AM
I notice that Vulcans are not listed as a playable race. Does anyone have any thoughts or info on this?
LtPowers
10-20-2008, 04:39 AM
Already dumped the WoW account.. the whole thing was getting kind of redundant. Currently looking for a new MMO to hold me over until this comes out!
I can strongly recommend EverQuest II. You'll notice many things in common with WoW, but also a much more mature community, with both deeper and broader gameplay options. And better graphics, if your system can handle them. Not as highly stylized as WoW, perhaps, but quite stunning in their own way.
Powers &8^]
LtPowers
10-20-2008, 04:40 AM
I notice that Vulcans are not listed as a playable race. Does anyone have any thoughts or info on this?
As has been noted before, repeatedly, the question was only to name six of the available playable species. No one even remotely claimed "These are all of the available species". Please do not panic.
Powers &8^]
Calvert
10-20-2008, 08:15 AM
I notice that Vulcans are not listed as a playable race. Does anyone have any thoughts or info on this?
And consult the official FAQ ;)
http://www.startrekonline.com/faq#16
JPJappic
10-20-2008, 08:56 AM
You know one thing that I think people are missing that I haven't seen anywhere else is the fact that the Ferengi will be a Federation race. Why do I say that? Well, the question was to give us three races from each faction. The answer was Human, Klingon, Andorian, Gorn, Orion, and Ferengi.
Now, of course the two factions are Human and Klingon so those are givens. It has been stated in other interviews that the Gorn and Orions are part of the Klingon faction which means that the other two Federation races are ... Andorian (naturally) and Ferengi.
I'm looking forward to this. A Ferengi Federation Captain? Awesome fun. I can see it now, "So my fellow captain, you need help keeping the Klingons out of this system? Well this will cost you. I think 50 latinum bars should be ample to cover the cost." :)
The Game Informer magazine already listed the playable races for both the Federation and the Klingons.
Federation: Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, Ferengi and Bajorans. Also create a race.
Klingon: Klingons, Orions, Gorn, Nausicaans. Also create a race.
Hope this helps.
emilios20
10-20-2008, 11:27 AM
WHAT DO THEY MEAN I CANT PILOT THE SHUTTLE DOWN.... this is not cool man, that s a whole part of the experience that they are taking away this is not cool I am not at all pleased about this new info.....:mad:
Nonderyon
10-21-2008, 03:53 AM
Awsome interview :)
Thx :)
gdoran0287
10-21-2008, 05:21 AM
i just want to be able to walk around my ship. visit 10 forward or engineering or the holo-deck ya know?
xcess
10-21-2008, 09:25 AM
WHAT DO THEY MEAN I CANT PILOT THE SHUTTLE DOWN.... this is not cool man, that s a whole part of the experience that they are taking away this is not cool I am not at all pleased about this new info.....:mad:
I am not happy about this either. I silently hope they will alter this before the game is released or in a later patch. Flying around in a shuttle could be fun to explore planets.
In some series, they used very much the shuttles, not only to go to planets, but even to travel (Star Trek TNG). There is even an episode that has a story entirely taking place inside a shuttle (Star Trek: Enterprise) with Malcolm Reed and Charles "Trip" Tucker III.
We'll see. Would like to have more freedom with shuttles too.
xcess
10-21-2008, 09:32 AM
i just want to be able to walk around my ship. visit 10 forward or engineering or the holo-deck ya know?
indeed, want to do the same thing.
The Game Informer magazine already listed the playable races for both the Federation and the Klingons.
Federation: Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, Ferengi and Bajorans. Also create a race.
Klingon: Klingons, Orions, Gorn, Nausicaans. Also create a race.
Hope this helps.
No Romuluans or Cardassians ?
And we want Atmospheric flight with shuttle :D !
Also spend hours walking the corridors of his ship
Simply, a star trek MMo.
trek68
10-21-2008, 12:32 PM
I do not have any earth shattering input. I just wanted to share my excitement for the release (whenever that happens) and that I enjoyed the interview.
JPJappic
10-21-2008, 02:07 PM
No Romuluans or Cardassians ?
And we want Atmospheric flight with shuttle :D !
Also spend hours walking the corridors of his ship
Simply, a star trek MMo.
The Romulans and Cardassians can be created from the create a species.. but they will eventually most likely have their own faction or whatnot as a selectable playable race.
Anyways, this is getting off topic.
It was a pretty good interview.
To go with some of the stuff that's been said already about not being able to pilot the shuttle down to the surface. I can understand why they aren't allowing it. Just as long as i can do stuff on planets i'll be happy. I'm kinda tired of the 3rd person view starship games. I want to roam around with my Tellarite and meet new civilizations.
Tulvol
10-22-2008, 10:53 AM
This game is definately shaping up...
I cant wait to start getting full details.
I hope that they do go ahead with the interior ship customization at launch.
JZ_2005
10-22-2008, 02:34 PM
I would like to know will there be time traveling in tha game as well
JZ_2005
10-22-2008, 02:47 PM
I am still wondering if the Q continum is going to be in the orginal release of the game
njdss4
10-23-2008, 12:53 AM
Thanks for getting some new info for us! Answering the "shuttle vs. transporter" question was a big one for me. Let's hope Cryptic has more information they can give to us soon!
Nonderyon
10-23-2008, 01:04 AM
I am still wondering if the Q continum is going to be in the orginal release of the game
Why ? =)
Q = GM :DDDDDD
Lt.Renak
10-23-2008, 04:49 AM
Thx to Cryptic and thx to Calvert for all the work you do for supporting this game and especiallly the german community. A great interview but some answers a still missed. But I am sure we will get this for all non english speaking community members important answers of localization and support in different languages soon enough. And I am sure Cryptic will not forget us. Cryptic we trust in you all
ddredar
10-23-2008, 08:11 AM
WHAT DO THEY MEAN I CANT PILOT THE SHUTTLE DOWN.... this is not cool man, that s a whole part of the experience that they are taking away this is not cool I am not at all pleased about this new info.....:mad:
I seem to remember reading some where that players could start out flying a shuttle. So, maybe im wrong, but maybe it will be the planet landing part that will be automated and not everything shuttle related. I really want to pilot the Delta Flyier. After all, it supposed to be a shuttle on steroids:p
Anti-Proton
10-23-2008, 10:26 AM
I imagine there will be shuttles, just not to enter instanced missions. Great info.
Anti-Proton
10-23-2008, 01:29 PM
What I want to know is will we be able to design ships from older eras?
erik21889
10-18-2009, 05:03 AM
The link for the interview doesn't work...
Zoberraz
10-18-2009, 05:58 AM
I concur.
It leads to http://www.gamona.de/
I've tried to run a search for Star Trek Online, over in Interviews and the like... but no luck there.
Calvert
10-23-2009, 01:45 PM
The link for the interview doesn't work...
I concur.
It leads to http://www.gamona.de/
I've tried to run a search for Star Trek Online, over in Interviews and the like... but no luck there.
I'm sorry about that. We changed our hosting provider network from gamona to buffed. You'll find the interview here: http://sto.buffed.de/index.php?id=294
or here:
http://sto.buffed.de/Star-Trek-Online-Info-asks-Al-Rivera.html
Regards