Interview with Craig Zinkievich at Allakhazam.com! (October 24, 2008)

[jsutich]

Allakhazam interviewed Star Trek Online executive producer, Craig Zinkievich earlier this week:

Allakhazam : Thank you for agreeing to talk with us about Star Trek Online Craig! Let's start with a question that the community would really like to know. Are there any plans to include the Borg as a playable faction in future expansions?

Craig : We’ve thought about it. There are some daunting design problems, one of which would be how to deal with Borg PCs being part of the Collective. That being said, we’ve had some creative and cool conversations about what it might be like to play as the Borg – so maybe there will be something in the future!

Read the full interview here! (http://www.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=15597)

[AugustusTirion]

Glad to have any new game info.

But...
In the future could we avoid gaming sites that are wholly owned by gold selling companies :mad:

[eNDIE]

Glad to have any new game info.

But...
In the future could we avoid gaming sites that are wholly owned by gold selling companies :mad:

owned i thought it was just adds`?

Nice interview i only have a concern and thats the timeline? sorry to pestering you kestrel but is it due soon?:)

[Foss]

"Craig : We’ve developed some really cool technology that will allow us to generate exploration content. Exploration in Star Trek Online is really compelling, complex content - I don’t know of a game that has taken it to this level.".

:D

[Sullen]

Set phasers to interview!

[trek68]

I really like the direction they are taking this game! I do not think I will play the Borg but it is interesting.

[njdss4]

Great interview! Now I know we will be able to customize our ships to "kinda" look like classics from the past! Please, Cryptic, do a good job with our Constitution-refit-refit!

[basekid]

Someone mentioned time travel? Sweet!

[AugustusTirion]

owned i thought it was just adds`?
Al sold out a couple years ago.
Really ticked me off, I'd been a huge fan (and premium membership holder) of the site since it launched and felt more then a little betrayed.
Cried a little when I had to cancel my subs with that site :(

[Stronin]

Duuuude, I'm totally doing a 24th century Excelsior Refit! :)

Some good stuff, always like to hear whats going down.


As far as time travel, man, taking my Akira down onto the bleeding edge of a black hole to interact with some ship from the past and whatnot. Friggin Sweet.

[Flatfingers]

In the future could we avoid gaming sites that are wholly owned by gold selling companies :mad:

Well-said, Augustus_Trion. That is not a trivial point, and it would be good for Cryptic to take it seriously.

It's unfortunate, but Allakhazam forfeited the privilege of being treated as a respectable source of gaming information when its owners chose to sell it to IGE's holding company.

I appreciate Cryptic's desire to be evenhanded in its marketing of STO via the gaming press. But I'd prefer that Cryptic -- and any other game developer that wants to be taken seriously when it claims to oppose third-party "sales" of items in its games -- not undercut their message that the farming and trading of in-game items is forbidden by giving revenue-enhancing interviews to sites like Allakhazam that support those activities.

--Flatfingers

[eNDIE]

I just wish it would come more from cryptic to this site than som intervjue from another site. come one cryptic an dev blog would be awesome:D

[Spin-El]

I don't like the idea of the borg being playable. That should definitely be left to AI. I like the idea of different factions (federation and klingons for example) having to temporarily team up to defend against the borg.

[miqrogroove]

Seemed like another teaser. I don't understand why some of these interviews consist of one-liners and non-answers. C+ for effort.

[SAMEET]

Just a teaser. No real new hard information. Perpetual had already talked about time travel. And there is no way the Borg will be playable.

I'm still waiting for a new Ask Cryptic or a new FAQ or a new timeline update or a substantive interview. But I guess we will see more as release date approaches.

[blackfx]

That was awesome, thanks for the interview Craig!

[Kelesh]

"We’ve developed some really cool technology that will allow us to generate exploration content..."

I wonder if this includes NPC's on they fly as well and not just landscapes.

[Signalsgt]

Seemed like another teaser. I don't understand why some of these interviews consist of one-liners and non-answers. C+ for effort.

Agreed, I felt like I was reading a High School newspaper and the interviewer was a student asking the teacher about a possible pop quiz.

Lots of vague information and stock answers.

[AaronH]

For those who say it is just a teaser: They did put out some interesting information that had been wondered about in the past:

No looting

No really old ships (Constitution) but some designs inspired by them.

Tricorder use.

I only saw a few non answers in there. For me a part of the problem wasn't the answers given, but the questions asked.

[CasiusOntius]

OH YEA!!!! I so can't wait. I was kinda worried about my favorite class of ship, Excelsior, being in the game, but it sure seems like it will be now! Yay! :D

[Trekkie]

This was a great interview and there was definitely some great new information in it! Thank you for posting this!

[frojoe2004]

I don't think the Borg should ever be playable.

If you are going to add playable factions, add Cardasians, Romulans, or a Gamma quadrant race from the worm hole.

But the Borg are more computers than human.

the Borg would be boring because they walk everywhere. they never run, and they use superior numbers to overwhelm and assimilate. being a drone is better left to an AI, than people who have aggressive tendencies.

I can just imagine it...

- A Borg cube appears from trans warp in front of your ship -

-The cube hails you and says's "Hey Newbs, I Pwn U Now" -




... the borg are predictable, they always say in that multi voice, "We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.", or "We are the Borg, You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

and I hope they do put an audio in there when the borg cube captures you in the tracter beam and opens that hail.


but siriously, how could any trek fan, or a game that claims to follow trek caanon, allow human players to play the borg as a faction.


( though I could be becomeing assimilated once, in a rare limeted mission, that allows you to play as a drone for a short piriod of time, and come out of the mission with "borg" advantages)

other than that, the interview sounds good, and I love the idea of time travel.

-Curiouse- I wonder, will you be able to say travel to san fransisco in the 1990's, or other 20th centry times like almost every captain in all the shows have.

thats my rant.

[Xenophage]

ok... seriously guys... owned by IGE? Who cares?

It was a good interview and I don't think the guys that run the gaming sites are out there pimping underage prostitutes or giving ak-47's to 12 year olds in afghanistan. Get a grip :P Selling online gold is about as bad as refusing to eat your brocolli. Besides I don't think Allakazham is even owned by them anymore.

[Calvert]

Really nice interview and great information in it.

For all German readers a translation can be found here:
http://www.startrek-online.info/allakhazam.com-interviewt-craig-zinkievich.html

Regards,
Calvert

[Avantos]

I don't think being allowed to play as a borg would be overly off-balancing.
Look at 7 of 9 from Voyager or Hue from The Next Generation.
I think if they were going to allow PC controlled Borg there ought to be some kind of trade-off. Some kind of stat handicap or something, I mean, 7 of 9 (as a character) wasn't uber by any means. She had some obvious strengths, but some weaknesses.
How that would relate to a gaming system, I don't know. Again though, if Borg are going to be playable as player controlled characters there would need to be some kind of balancing factor that would have to come into play.

just my opinion though, that and 5 pennies gets you a nickel.

[amb]

Thanks for the interview and nice content!

[IanD967]

it was a great interview all upto the point he said it might be possible to have player Borg :mad: THEY ARE MACHINES AND HAVE A HIVE MIND! one cannot just become instant "unique" Borg, if we are all unique then no-one is

but the rest of the interview was cool :D

[Lt.Renak]

great interwiev I can' t wait to see what is meant with this "new technology". Sounds like we get real great stuff and a vast number of planets and civilizations.

[Minty]

Great interview as always, it would be great to speak your own factions language like they do in WoW, it appears jibberish to other races but to the race thats saying it, it appears in English (or their local language)

[Ensign.Ricky]

Yay for time travel and seeing classic style ships. Good to hear newer playable versions of them will still be included (Constellation class maybe?). I was wondering how loot would be handled but I noticed you said specifically Federation Captains. Does that mean Klingons can graverob? Heh.

I love the inclusion of tricorders and how your role/profession affects what it can do. I hope abilities are vast making each role/profession unique. As for the Kobayashi Maru, I have my plans to solve it all layed out. Set calculations for Time Warp, so there are two of me then I can accomplish both tasks! As always one of me is always expendable. ;)

Overall good interview. Please keep the info coming, and any chance for a story timeline update?

[Kinneas]

Another great interview!

Thanks, Craig.
Thanks, Allakhazam!

[callsign11b]

That was a good interview got some nice info about the game.
time travel missions, older style ships. hand to hand fighting, tech info and communications insite.
looks like there heading in the right direction with this game. :cool:

[KirksOtherSon]

Best answer I've seen to the Kobayashi Maru test -- save the ship, no matter what, ramming speed if you must ...

That's what it means to be Federation; that's what it means to wear the uniform. :D

Thanks for the interview link. I'm like a little kid waiting for Christmas, waiting for this game to arrive!

KOS

[Gen00b]

Great interview :)

[jwick4471]

The question I most want answered now is in regards to land mounts/vehicles. Will there be any for away missions? I'm sure they'd come in handy..

I am aware there are already several threads discussing this though. I just think it would be a good question to ask in the next interview.

[MajorD]

I wish they would just leave the Borg and Species 8472 out of the game entirely. All the work they put into those two factions they could put into the Romulans, Cardassians, and Ferangi. That being said, if they insist on shoe horning the Borg into the game, then I want to play as them. Read how here (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showpost.php?p=168135&postcount=11)!
Craig : the player will be hard pressed to identify which content in STO was handcrafted versus the content that software helped us make
One way to pull that off is to make the handcrafted and procedural work look all the same. I'm just saying.:p

[willriker09]

Slowly but surely STO is starting to take shape.

[aguila432]

I see the borg as very playable and so do many other players, thanks for looking into it :)

[MoppyCGDaniels]

I just can tottaly agree with being said to leave the Borg as playable characters out of the game. Some ppl may want to but I rather see Cardassians & also the Dominion even as NPC or Ferengi PCs what brings me to the point of Bajorans. Further for the topic of the editor makes me understand why. About timetravel ingame for transport to alternate ships is a good idea.

[KO_Gilligan]

Nothing more on the goat ?

[MoppyCGDaniels]

Just how factions will be handeld? I mean it to start with Feds and Klingons as it's told can be interpreted in many ways. For the species of the UFP can it mean that all the races will be included.

[mintor426]

Another great interview!

[sparkyste]

the game sounds excellent cant for it be up and running! when is it due for release anyone know? oh and will it be possible to play it on ps3?
amazing graphics by the way, i watched the trailer it looks awesome!!!

[tazdax]

How long must we wait? Bring on the beta testing! :)

[Renaikan]

I really enjoyed the interview from ship customization, to time travel, to exploration. If they do make Borg a playable race I sure hope they are balanced with the rest of the races we can play.

[seventodark]

I enjoyed that they think that you could play as the borg and time travel sounded good as well

[MajorD]

Just how factions will be handeld? I mean it to start with Feds and Klingons as it's told can be interpreted in many ways. For the species of the UFP can it mean that all the races will be included.
Those two factions will have about five main races in the game, as well as the ability to make any race you can come up with using the character creator. It was mentioned in one of the previous interviews

[Gaellenn]

I hope you guys will be extremely careful if you decide to go the route of Borg PC's. I don't see how you can maintain what the Borg are and still make them a balanced player character. In the shows, the Borg are substantially more difficult to defeat than the already proposed character races. And if the planned "Borg encounters" are going to require massive fleets to overcome, how can a PC in his own Borg cube be a fair matchup with an equally ranked character?

In all honesty, I love Seven of Nine. But what makes her great is her uniqueness. I'm not sure I like the idea of Borg as PC's, but as long as there's a way to maintain their identity and keep them balanced with other races, I'm sure you guys will figure it out. But don't rush on my account :)

[Nagilum]

First off the interview was great except for the part about the Borg being a playable character.

A Borg cube has no bridge no engineering section and no sickbay so i don't see you having any bridge crew or no need to be an engineer or doctor.

With the Borg your in a collective so how can you be a captain of your own ship when there is no command structure so to speak.

[Paratus6]

The interview doesn't really add much new information, but it was a nice read.
I'm especially interested in knowing more about Cryptic's "New World Generator" (my interpretive moniker) and how it will dynamically create new worlds through Player's exploration. I find this very intriguing and would love to know exactly how this will work.
Time Travel has been a bit overdone in the ST Canon, IMHO, but if it's done in a limited way in the game, I'd be ok with this.
I personally don't wish to see the Borg as a PC faction. Maybe as one poster mentioned above, as a mini-quest of being assimilated and somehow escaping or being rescued (like 7 of 9), but I wouldn't want to see any kind of added uber skills gained from the experience...otherwise EVERYBODY would seek to be assimilated to gain the same skill. I've seen similar things happen in other MMOs and it's an immersion-breaker.
Just my take on this interview. Flame away!

[Tamat]

Thank you for all your great feedback about the interview. As you can see, we're looking forward to Star Trek Online just as much as you are! :)

[alucard1]

I don't think being allowed to play as a borg would be overly off-balancing.
Look at 7 of 9 from Voyager or Hue from The Next Generation.
I think if they were going to allow PC controlled Borg there ought to be some kind of trade-off. Some kind of stat handicap or something, I mean, 7 of 9 (as a character) wasn't uber by any means. She had some obvious strengths, but some weaknesses.
How that would relate to a gaming system, I don't know. Again though, if Borg are going to be playable as player controlled characters there would need to be some kind of balancing factor that would have to come into play.

just my opinion though, that and 5 pennies gets you a nickel.

I understand the trepidation a lot of people feel about the Borg...

The way I read it:
"Craig : We’ve thought about it. There are some daunting design problems, one of which would be how to deal with Borg PCs being part of the Collective. That being said, we’ve had some creative and cool conversations about what it might be like to play as the Borg – so maybe there will be something in the future!"

They've thought about the collective aspect.. and may have nixed that portion of the Borg play... as you already stated.. Seven of Nine, and Hue, were both good characters in the ST Stories... and neither were 'uber.'

As far as trade-offs in using a 'freed' Borg? Well, Seven was 'smarter,' due to the knowledge she was able to retain about species the Borg had encountered, but was also very confused about social interaction.. similar to Vulcans... Hue, was down-right lost initially, then very angry... hurt.. etc. Those would be great 'disadvantages' to add to a character.

If anyone decided to play as a Borg "captain" ... they might have supplemented strength... or higher stamina (not having to return to the recharge unit as frequently as people need to eat, etc.) But, any race they encounter should have VERY mistrusting communications... and that would make things more difficult for the captain to do the "exploration" aspect of the game.. trading would be inhibited.. etc.

Borg, as a faction.. I do not think would be a good idea, for the very valid reasons people have already stated... But a Borg (freed) character, I think could have it's merits.

Personally, I would not want to play a freed Borg... but having a Borg as navigator, or science officer.. or.. doctor.. yeah, I can see the merit in that. And it's not against canon for it to be in game.

We'll have to see how the Dev's decide to play that part out.

- Peace

[mcfemtp]

Thank you for all the constant updates, i like thy way you keep us informed and droooooling over this thing.......caint wait.

[greendoc316]

I don't think the Borg are playable as PCs in a game. You might as well be playing the Giant Cornucopia of Doom planet destroyer from TOS the Doomsday Machine. They have no desire to explore, just assimilate.

[warbot7777]

It all sounds great, can't wait to see who comes back for voice overs. They should bring Worf, Picard, Data, Riker, all of them back. Since time travel will exist It can be made to fit. Plus Data's "brother" is still around I'm guessing, and he may have increased his intellect. Although Mr. Spiner said he is done with Data, perhaps we could persuade him somehow, doubt It but It would be cool.

[Agen]

i think that making the borg as a playebel speceis is a bad idea mostly becaus ONE BORG CAN NOT BE INDEPENDANT.
They all work as one and i dont think pleyers will like to do evry thing the others do.

[DFawkes]

Awesome interview. Can't believe I missed it appearing. As ever, not much concrete but still so tantalising :)

[Tylor_Liles]

if you remember the end of the TNG time traveling episode Time's arrow,at the end of the episode the left Data's head. well the one they first found. why not travel back take it and put it on Lore's body? or perhaps since data's program was in the ENTERPRISE 1701-E COMPUTER perhaps rewrite lore's program?