Three New Screenshots! (November 26, 2008)

[jsutich]

We've added three new screenshots to our gallery! Included is a first look at a Federation vessel in dry dock and a Science Officer with peculiar markings!

See them in our gallery! (http://www.startrekonline.com/gallery/screenshots)

[Toaster87]

Looks like a centaur class style ship (note the nx registry, looks like NX-3001), a klingon Stronghold and a trill officer . . . very cool screenshots.

[Pacew]

Yeah it is a centaur class

[Merius]

nice, thanks ^_^

[RogueEnterprise]

Wow. Nice. Set me up with a wallpaper version of the Centaur-class (?) in drydock. ASAP!

[Spaceball06]

Do the hands look really big on the federation officer outside the Klingon outpost to anyone else?

[ParkerHayden]

Is it just me, or have there been changes to the Starfleet uniform since the trailer?

[curtst]

Wow two updates in 1 day!!!

Absolutely beautiful pics Cryptic, your all are doing a great job! Keep it up!

Is it just me, or have there been changes to the Starfleet uniform since the trailer?

Remember the trailer was when the game was in alpha stage, so there are going to be many many changes.

[Sorbek]

Very nice looking shots! Can even see the spots from the Trill!

[Varrangian]

Seriously did ya'll know today was my birthday? :D Thanks

[Toaster87]

Do the hands look really big on the federation officer outside the Klingon outpost to anyone else?

ye they do actually ha . . . . .forget the phaser rifles, just slap the enemy with those bad boys and the stronghold is theres

[ParkerHayden]

Remember the trailer was when the game was in alpha stage, so there are going to be many many changes.
I'm aware of that, I was just remarking.

[grimman]

Do the hands look really big on the federation officer outside the Klingon outpost to anyone else?

They look as big as his head. Could be an illusion from the weeds in the back ground.

[Kestrel]

Our artists do some amazing work. :) The first time I saw a ship in the dock it just blew my mind.

[Toaster87]

If you dont mind me asking, when where those new screenshots taken?

[RogueEnterprise]

I actually really like the look of the uniform on the Science Officer. Especially the detail... down to the zipper line (?) down the middle of the uniform. Really great. Be curious to see what other kinds of uniforms and variations will be available in the finished product... hopefully they'll be as good!

[Frost-Storm]

WOOT! Trill! Made my night. I don't think they changed the uniform show much as they may be showing us some of the new options you could have. I like the ones from the trailer more to be honest. The hands do look kinda big in that pic to.

[Manx]

Great stuff!

Seeing the Centaur make it into the game makes me a very happy trekky :D

Oh, and I really like the uniform too.

Thank you Cryptic :)

[LordDave]

I think it confirms all suspicion that the shots we see are completed, ingame shots rather then early stage graphics. This means that STO is going to have bright, vibrant colors, which deviate from realism. The characters alone are nestled in the uncanny valley.
Personally, I like it. I know some people hate it, but I don't let medium bother me so: YAY!

[Ensign.Ricky]

I feel spoiled now. Guess I'll be gawking at these for the awhile...

thx a million Cryptic!

[Frost-Storm]

I think it confirms all suspicion that the shots we see are completed, ingame shots rather then early stage graphics. This means that STO is going to have bright, vibrant colors, which deviate from realism. The characters alone are nestled in the uncanny valley.
Personally, I like it. I know some people hate it, but I don't let medium bother me so: YAY!

Other than the hands on the guy in front of the outpost I think everything looks pretty good. I can't stop looking at the shots of the ship. I do like the way the uniforms look in the new screens, I just also hope we can have the ones from the trailer as well.

[willriker09]

That made my day after the relatively disappointing Ask Cryptic answers. Seriously, who cares about power allocation of ship systems when we don't even know the exact number or types of bridge/department head officers that we are able to have onboard? Can I customize my helm officer or will it be a random ensign NPC that gets to fly the ship? Can we have a counsellor? Will operations and science be merged as in most 24th century Trek? What about a communications officer?

Anyway, nice pics.

[jsutich]

If you dont mind me asking, when where those new screenshots taken?
These were all taken within the last few weeks.

[SirOswald]

Great stuff. I love the pics of space, showing how vast and endless it is.

[Pacew]

Same here:D

[Nelson]

Thanks for the updates things are looking great I hope more come very soon :D cant wait for the game.

[Vicelance]

nice pics. Love the look of the ship. Also I like the detail of the planet in the background.

The hands of that guy do look a bit big, maybe he isn't human other than that I'm very happy with the look of the screenshots.

The detail on the trill's uniform if very nice though I don't see the enlarged rank insignias from the trailer.

[THORN74]

i like the new style uniforms ... looks like more of a jacket than jumpsuit. The "seems" in the shoulder area are not new, if u look at the older six head shot from the gallery u can make the seems out on the blue one. we just are getting a better look at it now.

anyone have any idea what those green "pods" are o the saucer section of that centaur class ? i admit its not one of my favs so i am not as familiar with it.

[Raven0238]

I have to ask this question, it seems that, graphic-wise, some of the screenshots that we have been given look inconsistent, some like the vulcan outpost look amazing, while others though conceptually very nice like the starship in drydock, look like a cartoon, not something, I think we expect from STO. Are the graphic settings really low, or is it the full effect??

[AaronH]

Do the hands look really big on the federation officer outside the Klingon outpost to anyone else?

I noticed that in the original trailer too. Honestly though, it doesn't bother me. The new screenshots look great, up close they look a bit rough, but from a distance (IE: Gameplay distance) I am sure they will be fine.

The one question that hits my mind is, will we ever see our ships in drydock, and if so when?

[Stronin]

As any good update does, this just opens all sorts of cans of worms ;)

Keep it up Cryptic :D


--- Could the green pods be an indication of Borg technology upgrades???

[LordDave]

I have to ask this question, it seems that, graphic-wise, some of the screenshots that we have been given look inconsistent, some like the vulcan outpost look amazing, while others though conceptually very nice like the starship in drydock, look like a cartoon, not something, I think we expect from STO. Are the graphic settings really low, or is it the full effect??

Nope. Those are actually high quality graphics, just not the style you are expecting. The style seems to be bright, vibrant colors rather then more photorealistic shading. This is a design choice and is not usually indictive of the engine itself.
After all, look at Team Fortress 2. It uses similar shading styles and it's run off the Source Engine, which produces Half-Life 2.

My point is:
If you don't like how it looks, blame the designer, not the engine.

[Stronin]

Also consider that typically your not going to be standing 3 feet away from a star ship, and that they may need the ability to render 40+ of them on screen at once.

Long story short, Its all about optimization. :)

[Angelphoenix12]

Seriously did ya'll know today was my birthday? :D Thanks

happy b-day van. :D

[Angelphoenix12]

i agree these are great screens, cant wait for the next tid bits of screens, info ,and movies. that will lead up to stos launch :D keep up the great work cryptic.

[MajorD]

Boo! Hiss! Damn you all and your broken phaser arrays with giant impediments and futuristic non-Medieval stereotypically Medieval style castle... Damn you.:( I wanted a genuine Medieval world and a single, unbroken arc of phaser array. I have a dream, that every child can fire all his firepower in every direction without spinning like a top, and can visit alien amusement parks full of mystery and redshirt life threatening danger, Preserver worlds full of humans in strange analogs of Earth, and kill interesting people across the universe. I have a dream! A dream, of a Star Trek without giant, pointless, glowing panels instead of windows, and has not a wheel in sight. Where everyone has a personal shield, and a phaser with at least 16 settings, three of which are for punching bowling ball size holes in people. Where I can prance about without fear of of seeing something so out of character that I want to cry...

Other than that, I enjoyed the new pictures greatly.:D

[SoongType]

Love it!Big hands i know your the one:)
Thanx again Cryptic!

[Swizy]

Do the hands look really big on the federation officer outside the Klingon outpost to anyone else?

That's because the uniform... It's too tight, it interrupts the blood circulation. I mean just look at the skin rash on the science officers neck, painful!

Just kidding :D
Thanks for the three new screenshots, my faith in humanity is restored to a certain degree!

[Kelesh]

thanks for the candy

[SIMONLEV]

Great pics!! I love the detail and pastel colour effect. This colour scheme is an excellent tool for artists to create and distort the mood of the viewer (especially if ur at a screen for 7hours).Good choice Cryptic:)

[Varrangian]

happy b-day van. :D

Well thank you very much Angelphoenix.

[Garbo]

You guys are soo going to blow WoW out of the water. Anything I can do to help make that happen, let me know. :)

[jagerbolt]

whoohoo! I was hoping for more screen shots the other day (anything besides just more text answers really) and here they are! Keep it up! :D:D

[redemption58]

awesome screenshots, graphics look amazing.

[Deyvid]

Great pics! Forget the dry overcooked land ornithoid. I give thanks for the STO team responding to the community and sharing these pics with us.

I love the shot of the Klingon Outpost, I recognized it as Klingon architecture before reading the screenshot's title. That Feddy red shirt is sooo going to eat some disruptor blasts.

The ship also looks really good. I can't wait to see some Klingon ships :D I wondered if we would actually dock in a dry dock as opposed to just docking at a starbase. Are dry docks used for upgrades? repairs? both?

I wondered if Trills were among those "and several others" that was mentioned in previous interviews regarding playable races. Will they be joined with symbionts or non-joined Trill like Ezri was?

Keep up the great work STO Team! :)

P.S. That Federation officer needs to stop using those creams that enlarge certain extremities.

[reiththestud]

Did anyone else pee their pants a little when they saw these screenshots? I think they're great. I'd just like to see some of the user interface.

[Zapp_Brannigan]

Ooooo! Pretty and that Centaur looks sexy! Guess I'll be geeking out for the rest of the night now. Wootness!

[Borgie]

I give this an über w00t!

[Deyvid]

Ooh yeah me too! I want to see the UI's for both Federation and Klingon gameplay, shipboard and planet-side.

[Rgoodfel]

To borrow a saying from a different sci-fi series. Shinny!
Thanks for the Thanksgiving gifts. :D

[thefrayl]

We've added three new screenshots to our gallery! Included is a first look at a Federation vessel in dry dock and a Science Officer with peculiar markings!

See them in our gallery! (http://www.startrekonline.com/gallery/screenshots)

The shots look great, thanks for giving us a few more peeks into the world of STO. Can't wait to play!

[reiththestud]

Although the screenshots are great, I'm not gonna lie, still not impressed with the "cartoony-ness"

[Borgie]

Although the screenshots are great, I'm not gonna lie, still not impressed with the "cartoony-ness"

Play Wow For 5 minutes, then say it is cartoony.

[Driver]

Thank you for another update, it's like christmas

[Cormoran]

ooooh i can already feel the questions coming on, like what are those green things on the ship? is the zipper a customization option or a new uniform? does that federation officer have a really big errrr...?

thankyou for the pics cryptic!

[Driver]

Do the hands look really big on the federation officer outside the Klingon outpost to anyone else?

If you watch the trailer there hands look the same as in the new screen shots

[STO]

um... if you are serious that these are in game renders/screen shots then the art team needs to fire the persons doing the textures. This is 2008 not 2004, this is a game to be played on top of the line computers, from what I see the quality of the textures and the lighting is horrid, something from a cut scene on a ps1!

[miqrogroove]

If Large-Handed-Man is indeed not human, then perhaps the devs should consider making those hands a bit bigger to clear up this confusion. :D

Now, can Cryptic commit to releasing more screen shots within the next 2 weeks? We went nearly 2 months this time, which is really not cool given this game's history with its fans. It would be very smart to reward even the slightest goodwill of fans with some sign of progress once or twice every month.

[LordDave]

Although the screenshots are great, I'm not gonna lie, still not impressed with the "cartoony-ness"
It's intentional. Just like how Team Fortress 2 is intentionally colored the way it is and not realistic like Half-Life 2, even though they use the same engine. It's just the style they chose.


um... if you are serious that these are in game renders/screen shots then the art team needs to fire the persons doing the textures. This is 2008 not 2004, this is a game to be played on top of the line computers, from what I see the quality of the textures and the lighting is horrid, something from a cut scene on a ps1!
Actually the direction of the art is intentional. It's not the decision of the artist what style to draw it, but the decision of the project leader (Craig) about what art style to use. It's like, as I've mentioned. Team Fortress 2 vs Half-Life 2. Sure they could have made TF2 more life-like, but they didn't and it's still awesome AND high quality.

Just because you can't see someone's facial pores doesn't mean it can be rendered on a PS1.
Although if we have an MMO that can do 60FPS of a CGI render that probably took a full day to render, I think that's impressive.

[LordDave]

If Large-Handed-Man is indeed not human, then perhaps the devs should consider making those hands a bit bigger to clear up this confusion. :D

Now, can Cryptic commit to releasing more screen shots within the next 2 weeks? We went nearly 2 months this time, which is really not cool given this game's history with its fans. It would be very smart to reward even the slightest goodwill of fans with some sign of progress once or twice every month.

It could just be the way the camera is positioned.

[pyriel32]

To borrow a saying from a different sci-fi series. Shinny!
Thanks for the Thanksgiving gifts. :D

Shinny indeed my friend ! love these new pics thank you cryptic , awsome job as always.

[Alex2287]

ooooh i can already feel the questions coming on, like what are those green things on the ship?c!

Omg. I was getting ready to ask that same question... :p

[Azurian]

Dry Dock: I'll admit, for an actual in-game screenshot that's impressive. Looks like STO is going to be T&L heavy. So people better start saving for good graphics cards. :p

As for the Centaur, I like seeing the port holes. However, I really do not like seeing the Green Domes, Phaser Array, and the Exterior Lights. Also the Torpedo Tubes need some work, they look like "Evil Eyes". (BTW, why are the tubes armed in Dry Dock?) :eek:


Science Officer: Well screenshots tend to be more deceptive than actual footage. But to me it still needs some tweeking. (At least the female models don't look like Playboy Playmates from other games.) :D

Klingon Outpost: For a minute, I thought we were in WoW and "storming the castle" :p

Anyhow, you think there would be some defense turrets around.


The Terrain is nice, but I'm not too fond of the grass. Wonder if they actually can provide cover from being visually spotted?

[Deyvid]

They have said that they want the game to run well and look good on a wide variety of computers, so that means it will be scaleable. Let them finish building the world and everything before they put the final polish and spit-shine on everything. They aren't even at Beta yet.

For all we know, they may do something similar to Lord of the Rings Online, where they have the default, regular client that installs from the retail discs, and then there's a high-rez client that players can download (patch certain texture and .dat files) if they have high-end machines. LOTRO is a gorgeous game on high-end machines but can still be scaled down to a mid-range computer.

Even if the graphics stay the same as these screenshots, I think it looks good. Watch an episode of TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT, they are all on the bright, colorful side, especially TOS, TNG, VOY. They aren't exactly ALIENS with Ripley looking for Xenomorphs in the shadows. I wouldn't expect a Trek MMO to look like that. This isn't a post-apocalyptic FPS, it's an MMO.

The ships may look bright and colorful (i.e. "cartoony" to some) but they may need to be so they can render the big dog fights in the vastness of space, the final frontier. The planet-side shots already look better than WOW. And we may not be seeing the final render of lighting, specular highlights, etc.

So far the game is looking good. I just can't wait to play it! But I will wait as long as it takes them to make the game they are wanting to make, even if there's delayed release.

[_Pax_]

Well, my impressions:

Overall
Generally, I like the look. There's a few design elements I take sception to, though ... primarily, the apparent "Blue = Fed, Red = Klingon" oversimplification. I'd rather installations got flags, banners, and painted-on-the-wall emblems to identify them, rather than "giant colored window-like things".

Ship in Drydock
Looks nice; very detailed, too. It seems you've gone for discrete single-point "phaser emitter" architecture, rather than arc-based "phaser array" architecture; I suppose it makes showing where a shot comes from easier. Also, knowing which firing arcs still have functional weapons.

The Lady in Blue
I like the uniform details. Hopefully there's a range of possibilities for us to choose from, so we can personalise our clothes as much as we can personalise our ships.

Oh, and I'd like to be able to go with slight variatiosn from Bridge-crew member to Bridge-crew member; for example, I'd like to have my security officer be straightlaced and wear her uniform strictly By The Book, while the science officer is a bit more easy-going and wears his "jacket" unfastened, and the medical officer wears elements of their native racial "star navy" in her univorm - like Worf wore that sash/bandolier thing.

Mister Big-Hands
Yeah. Those hands ARE big. Or his head's small. One of the two; the proportions are a bit .... off.

[Deyvid]

Someone said the "Federation vessel in dry dock" is a Centaur-class starship, so I looked that up on Google.

Cool diagram of Centaur-class frigate (http://www.shipschematics.net/startrek/images/federation/frigate_centaur.jpg)

The ship in dry dock looks like a faithful reproduction of this ship, down to the domes on the under side of the saucer section (the only variation being that in the game the domes are green). It doesn't look like the Centaur class ship uses the phaser array.

But then again, we know the Galaxy class does, and the only time we see a Galaxy class ship fire phasers in the trailer it doesn't look like it does the special animation of the energy sliding around the array before shooting out. Maybe they are not going to incorporate that to cut down on rendering for less lag during big dog fights.

[boothby]

nice Screenshots, i want to play....:)

[Nagilum]

Great screen shots can't wait to play

[BorgQueen]

Every time I see or read somthing new abaut sto I get all excited and can´t wait till release date. Maby it´s because I trie to keep my expetations as low as posible, so when somthing new is realsesed on the site I get all excited abaut it.

And even if I get decipointed abaut the game I´ll still play it alot just for the exploration part of it. However the more I think abaut it the more unlikly it is, to not like the game, considering that all peases of info and screenshots points in the way of it getting to be orsam.

[Yavin_Prime]

Glorious! Please add more as soon as possible... and perhaps add a concept art section, I'd love to see Cryptics artists at work :D

[Duckdee]

Liking the uniform.

[BreachAndClear]

I wonder if the large hands were made in conscious thought. For The Old Republic MMO that was recently announced, the developers consciously made the decision to make the characters and their items oddly proportioned (e.g. the lightsaber hilts are huge) based off of the proportions used on Michelangelo's David (suggesting "heroic" proportions). It may have been a similar decision made independently (TOR was announced after STO) by the two companies?

[Nonderyon]

Wao,cool screenshots =)

[IanD967]

very nice screenshots :D

wonder what those yellow orbs are on the Centaur class though..and from what i have found out they are not standard so itis obviously some sort of upgrade or apart of its refit

plus since it was built in the same era as the Excelsior...well doesnt that hint that some older ships could be included too?

love how that klingon base looks although i would expect a few more klingons around it...either that or they were scared off by his huge hands haha :D

and amazing detail on the science officer (whom from now i shall refer to as Ezri since she resembles her alot) :D

[secularjen]

apart from the usual embellishments - pointy ears, alien markings, different hair, etc. why do all the faces (from all the pics/vids so far) look generally the same? Wheres the customization?

The big hands are a tad disturbing... hope that's not the norm for humanoids

[Blackfire2]

Yep nice pics, would'nt mind these ones for my desktop background myself :D

[callsign11b]

yea nice screens
love that they have a Centaur class I all ways liked the older style hulls in stead of the sleek areo dynamic look they started to go with enterprise E. and voy.
glade there is going to be some varity to hull styles.

[Thraken]

Centaur with bobblybits - how retro! :p

I like the uniforms - is updated yet retains the feel of the uniforms in the era of star trek we're most familiar with.

[BreachAndClear]

plus since it was built in the same era as the Excelsior...well doesnt that hint that some older ships could be included too?

Well, it's been confirmed for a while that you can make ships reminiscent of the older classes, but all the details of ship customization are not known. In character creation, it seems as though we're given a "toybox" of pieces that we can mix and match, such that we can put a Klingon forehead, Gorn eyes, and Vulcan ears on our avatar and make it a new species. The same idea might apply to the creation of a ship. You might be able to take an Intrepid class primary hull, slap it on a galaxy class secondary hull, and then attach Excelsior class warp nacelles to make a new class of ship. Or, you can take the galaxy Class primary hull, slap it on a Galaxy class secondary hull, and include Galaxy class warp nacelles, effectively giving you... a Galaxy class ship.

All the news so far makes me think that this is how things will ultimately work, but I am not 100% sure. I am also unsure as to whether or not we construct every ship that we earn, or if we select from canonical ships and then gain the ability to switch out its components after the fact.

One article explicitly says that we may not have the ability to fly an exact replica of the Miranda class, but that we will be able to create a ship that more-or-less looks like one. This suggests that the "Miranda class" won't be present in game, but if you take a Constitution class primary hull, scrap the secondary hull, and put Miranda style warp nacelles attached to the primary hull you'll effectively have your Miranda class. The same might be true of the Centaur class in the screenshots. For all we know one of the Devs is a fan of the design and so created a ship that looked like it. It might not be a true Centaur class per se.

[plankcore]

Beautiful stuff! Thank you Cryptic! You guys are doing some genuinely incredible work.

I wonder, with a Centaur being there, are my hopes to have a modernized Excelsior class ship going to be fulfilled? I hope so!

Keep it coming guys! You guys are going to make Star Trek even better. :)

[tombo5606]

I can't wait anymore GIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEE GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:D:D:D:D

[ShipsOfTheLine]

Seeing the centaur class in this era for the game makes me have hope that we will get to use the excelsior and ambassador class ships as well :) I am dying to see more info on what ship classes will be in the game that we have already seen in the various star trek series :D

[bradley1701]

In terms of the uniform variation from what we saw in the trailer, I noticed that the Trill science officer doesn't have any rank pips so maybe she is a cadet?

I love the screenshots...I have not been this excited about a game in a long time. Star Trek is one of those genres that I think was meant to be MMO.

[ValkerOmega]

This game is looking great! Thanks for the surge of info and now pictures.
If those are ingame, I am totally happy with the graphics.

[malikmay]

cool screebshots:)

[malikmay]

Seeing the centaur class in this era for the game makes me have hope that we will get to use the excelsior and ambassador class ships as well :) I am dying to see more info on what ship classes will be in the game that we have already seen in the various star trek series :D

you cant get the same class but you can make one similar

[The_Padre]

Since the large hands seem to be troubling some, it was noted before over on the Champions board that you can scale things like hand and feet size so I would not worry about that particular element atm.

[IanD967]

Well, it's been confirmed for a while that you can make ships reminiscent of the older classes, but all the details of ship customization are not known. In character creation, it seems as though we're given a "toybox" of pieces that we can mix and match, such that we can put a Klingon forehead, Gorn eyes, and Vulcan ears on our avatar and make it a new species. The same idea might apply to the creation of a ship. You might be able to take an Intrepid class primary hull, slap it on a galaxy class secondary hull, and then attach Excelsior class warp nacelles to make a new class of ship. Or, you can take the galaxy Class primary hull, slap it on a Galaxy class secondary hull, and include Galaxy class warp nacelles, effectively giving you... a Galaxy class ship.

All the news so far makes me think that this is how things will ultimately work, but I am not 100% sure. I am also unsure as to whether or not we construct every ship that we earn, or if we select from canonical ships and then gain the ability to switch out its components after the fact.

One article explicitly says that we may not have the ability to fly an exact replica of the Miranda class, but that we will be able to create a ship that more-or-less looks like one. This suggests that the "Miranda class" won't be present in game, but if you take a Constitution class primary hull, scrap the secondary hull, and put Miranda style warp nacelles attached to the primary hull you'll effectively have your Miranda class. The same might be true of the Centaur class in the screenshots. For all we know one of the Devs is a fan of the design and so created a ship that looked like it. It might not be a true Centaur class per se.


very good point you have although i am fully aware of what the ship customisation is capable of :) its just surprising to actually see a ship that does look pretty damned close to the original look

plus there isnt anything saying that we cannot just choose a standard class like you can with the races so instead of creating your own race you can pick one of the ready made ones with a change here or there and the same could be said for the starships so that if you dont want to create your own ship you can pick one of the already created ones :)

[Minty]

Great pics thanks, the guys hands do look a little big, but everything else looks great, well done Cyptic!

[Aslan_chShran]

Yeah, Cryptic - listen to everyone's input and take notice - awesome graphics, very well done... but horrible hands. I, also, do not like the large hands. I realize that they make carrying guns, etc. easier to program, but they don't "fit" the rest of the look imho.

I'm sure if the game came out and the hands were still big I'd be able to ignore it, but I still think better proportioned hands would be ideal.

[Tabby_Cat]

With each bit of new info it makes me want to play this game more and more.

[djnattyd]

I laugh in the faces of those whom would claim this game has "cartoon graphics"... MWAHAHAHAHAAA!!!

[Varrangian]

In terms of the uniform variation from what we saw in the trailer, I noticed that the Trill science officer doesn't have any rank pips so maybe she is a cadet?

I love the screenshots...I have not been this excited about a game in a long time. Star Trek is one of those genres that I think was meant to be MMO.

You know I saw that too and before clicking on the next picture of the Star Fleet guy in front of the Klingon Fortress I was kind of hoping that had decided to put the rank on the cuffs instead.

I'm curious what they going to do about rank, as it would be nice to be able to see people's ranks to judge if they are the right "level" to group with.

[KirksOtherSon]

Thanks for these. Very, very nice. I particularly liked the starship in drydock, as it just ramps up my desire to "get out there" and explore even further!

Cheers,

KOS

[Fencer8]

The screen shots are nice , but are women in this environment unable to have long well looked after hair ?

[KirksOtherSon]

I think it confirms all suspicion that the shots we see are completed, ingame shots rather then early stage graphics. This means that STO is going to have bright, vibrant colors, which deviate from realism. The characters alone are nestled in the uncanny valley.
Personally, I like it. I know some people hate it, but I don't let medium bother me so: YAY!

I suspect we're not done yet, graphics-wise. We've both seen MMORPGs, I'm sure, where the graphics were getting tweaked, refined, and "smoothed" right up until the end of beta. While the general flavor of the graphics seems to be set, I wouldn't be shocked if further refinements remain to be seen.

Just sayin',

KOS

[KirksOtherSon]

Yeah it is a centaur class

A Centaur, or a 2409 uprated version of a Centaur?

I'm not being a smart-arse here. I'm serious. I'm still wondering whether we'll be seeing, say, Excelsiors or Centaurs which are hold-over "relics" of earlier eras in-game -- or whether the idea will be that classes get tweaked, changed, and uprated over the decades (as opposed to phased out, or replaced with a new class)?

Thus, a Centaur class ship like this retains the same general look as its "ancestor", but the ship itself in 2409 is a very different, very modern beast, in its technology and its interior configuration.

It's something I've been wondering about, anyway.

KOS

[KirksOtherSon]

Do the hands look really big on the federation officer outside the Klingon outpost to anyone else?

I think it may be a trick of perspective in the particular pic. We need some more screens to compare against until we can know for sure.

Cheers,

KOS

[KirksOtherSon]

Is it just me, or have there been changes to the Starfleet uniform since the trailer?

You know, all the chatter from Jack Emmert et al about "uniform options" in-game (sorry, Parker, I'm too lazy to link all the bits right now) has me wondering if there will even be a hard-and-fast standard uniform in the current military sense?

I sometimes suspect we'll see a range of "Starfleet sanctioned options" (kinda like how Kirk had the green wrap-around tunic sometimes, or Picard the grey-shirt-and-jacket ensemble) and as long as your characters' uniforms draw from elements in the "sanctioned options" list, you're considered officially "in-uniform".

Thus, Klingons in the Federation (like Worf) -- if such a service option comes -- could wear their sash, and still be "right" with the uniform code. And so on.

Certainly, certain uniform combinations will be more common (i.e. whatever the majority of Starfleet NPCs get clothed in by default), but players and their command crews may have more leeway.

Just a suspicion of mine,

KOS

[Varrangian]

You know, all the chatter from Jack Emmert et al about "uniform options" in-game (sorry, Parker, I'm too lazy to link all the bits right now) has me wondering if there will even be a hard-and-fast standard uniform in the current military sense?

I sometimes suspect we'll see a range of "Starfleet sanctioned options" (kinda like how Kirk had the green wrap-around tunic sometimes, or Picard the grey-shirt-and-jacket ensemble) and as long as your characters' uniforms draw from elements in the "sanctioned options" list, you're considered officially "in-uniform".

Thus, Klingons in the Federation (like Worf) -- if such a service option comes -- could wear their sash, and still be "right" with the uniform code. And so on.

Certainly, certain uniform combinations will be more common (i.e. whatever the majority of Starfleet NPCs get clothed in by default), but players and their command crews may have more leeway.

Just a suspicion of mine,

KOS

Since this really is a topic I've been interested in from day one, I will shed this bit of light on the subject...

Whether you join the Klingon Empire or put on the Star Fleet insignia, uniforms don't offer many customization options. While you can adjust some features of your dress, Cryptic has concentrated their character creator on body and face adjustments.

From the GI article. While things are always subject to change, I've not seen anything to suggest the above quote is no longer valid.

As many know I'm a big supporter of uniform customization, so this is a little disappointed, but at least there will be some options if not "many".

[KirksOtherSon]

Since this really is a topic I've been interested in from day one, I will shed this bit of light on the subject...



From the GI article. While things are always subject to change, I've not seen anything to suggest the above quote is no longer valid.

As many know I'm a big supporter of uniform customization, so this is a little disappointed, but at least there will be some options if not "many".

Thanks for this V -- I have the Game Informer article here also.

Our problem is that we don't know what "many" means to the original speaker.

He may have meant that STO won't work like Cryptic's last game, City of Heroes, where dozens and dozens of costuming options became available over time. This may simply be the speaker's way of saying that a uniform code will be enforced (no bathrobes, boxer shorts, cowboy hats, or hawaiian shirts while on duty, thank God).

Thus, the uniform itself is non-negotiable while on duty, but there may still be options so long as you adhere to the "in-uniform" requirement.

As always, imprecise terms are the enemy of those of us who just wanna know! :D

Thanks for talking -- and happy belated birthday,

KOS

[Varrangian]

Thanks for this V -- I have the Game Informer article here also.

Our problem is that we don't know what "many" means to the original speaker.

He may have meant that STO won't work like Cryptic's last game, City of Heroes, where dozens and dozens of costuming options became available over time. This may simply be the speaker's way of saying that a uniform code will be enforced (no bathrobes, boxer shorts, cowboy hats, or hawaiian shirts while on duty, thank God).

Thus, the uniform itself is non-negotiable while on duty, but there may still be options so long as you adhere to the "in-uniform" requirement.

As always, imprecise terms are the enemy of those of us who just wanna know! :D

Thanks for talking -- and happy belated birthday,

KOS

I agree the imprecise language is a butt in this case. Though, and perhaps this is my worry showing through, I take it to mean that we will not have a lot of options. But I could be wrong and I'd be happy to be wrong in this case.

Thanks for the happy birthday, now if I could just get Cryptic to launch on 11-26-09 :D

[mendal]

Yep. I agree with LordDave. I am also more satisfied with the hair and face detail. The ship's edgy saucer section is evident but it won't bother me much if at all. After all I don't think that you will spend a lot of time staring up very close at your ship even in the battle and even then your mind will be too occupied to notice the edginess. I will get utmost satisfaction that my ship is well equipped and there is a lot of interesting stuff to do with it rather from checking pixels on the nacelles. I bet some people will dislike it at first but I am sure that after they are submerged into the game play very few will even be bothered by somewhat bright colored or edgy graphics.
Good work Cryptic. :)

[martinsky]

Wow...

The touch of the game really appeals me.
And the trill model, only thing there's to say is "omg omg omg". Also I can already imagine myself running towards a town and seeing klingons down the road, damn this game has a whole lot of promise.

[JLDyck]

The ship looks great, and I look forward to having a Trill around on my bridgecrew

[Felixmarum]

Those new screenshots of the game look awesome.

I can't wait till the game comes out though. I would love to play it.

I don't want to rush cryptic on bringing out the game.
What i want is that they bring out the game in due time, so all bugs and loopholes are out of the game, and that they bring out a great game. (not one that they bring out and 2 weeks later they need to bring out a patch to fill the 100 of bugs still in the game.)

Oh, and i can't wait to use the 'beam me up scotty' technology. :p

[Skaeggbiffen]

Howcome they threw away the gray uniform? .. This style appeals me more though.

I like the non-realistic grafics accutally... it will probably be alot more compatible with my computer aswell. (im poor and lacks loads of latinum)

The docked ship reminds me of EVE abit , this vast space behind it and all...

no i think this game is going to be a real hit , especially for people who have some years behind them since Star Trek takes abit of "thinking" to it.. sure i could show someone who is 15 an episode and he/she likes it .. but the thought behind most episodes takes some exeperience to melt .. and i hope its the same with the game so we dont end up with a new World of Warcraft.

[KO_Gilligan]

What's gioing on with all the approval around here? Couldn't we mix it up with a bit of unreasonable criticism?

I guess I'll just have to adjust to everyone being so happy :p

Great job Cryptic

[Varrangian]

What's gioing on with all the approval around here? Couldn't we mix it up with a bit of unreasonable criticism?

I guess I'll just have to adjust to everyone being so happy :p

Great job Cryptic

Should I start complaining about the lack of kilt options for uniforms?

[Toaster87]

Should I start complaining about the lack of kilt options for uniforms?

Im Scottish so thats my job . . . .I want a kilt damn it!!!! :p

Instead of a sporin it could be a big comm badge :D :p

[TheGoodDoctor]

Let me just say that I for one really like the new uniforms, I hope that it is a standard design. I prefer the new look over the trailer uniforms. I hope these stay and are consistent.

I thought the graphics were somewhat cartoony. I enjoyed seeing the space dock but I would have liked a little more realism. I think my computer will handle it, as most probably would.

[Varrangian]

Im Scottish so thats my job . . . .I want a kilt damn it!!!! :p

Instead of a sporin it could be a big comm badge :D :p

LMAO... it would have to be a furry comm badge :D

[Mango359]

Nice Screenshots! Can't wait to be able to play this game.

[Crepuscule]

I want to see more planet surface screenies. We have plenty in space.

[Veglargh]

nice, thank you Cryptic.

[Trekkie]

This is exactly the kind of update I hope to see whenever I log onto the main Star Trek online website! Thank you for posting these!

[Interdictor]

Let me just say that I for one really like the new uniforms, I hope that it is a standard design. I prefer the new look over the trailer uniforms. I hope these stay and are consistent.

I thought the graphics were somewhat cartoony. I enjoyed seeing the space dock but I would have liked a little more realism. I think my computer will handle it, as most probably would.
If this were a single player game I would be all for super-realistic graphics. But considering it's possible to have dozens of ships involved in a battle - I'd much settle for an "7" "8" or "9" on a scale of 1 to 10 if it meant I wasn't lagging horriby around the universe.

As is, I think the graphics look great. The Centaur and character model look really nice. The Klingon building looks just like I imagine a Klingon building would.

[chawkes]

Looking good, cant wait to play this!:cool:

[Jomangor]

In terms of the uniform variation from what we saw in the trailer, I noticed that the Trill science officer doesn't have any rank pips so maybe she is a cadet?

I love the screenshots...I have not been this excited about a game in a long time. Star Trek is one of those genres that I think was meant to be MMO.

I'm also disappointed by the lack of pips. Don't cadets have stripes and such on their uniform shoulders?

I love me some rank pips.

[YllekHomsat]

Forgive me if my question seems stupid (I'm a complete newbie as far as MMOs and Cryptic products are concerned)...

Why do the screenshots look more like paintings than like rendered CGI?

(I should be able to handle really technical responses... I am familiar with C/C++ and have read about and experimented with the basics of DirectX and OpenGL).

[LordDave]

Forgive me if my question seems stupid (I'm a complete newbie as far as MMOs and Cryptic products are concerned)...

Why do the screenshots look more like paintings than like rendered CGI?

(I should be able to handle really technical responses... I am familiar with C/C++ and have read about and experimented with the basics of DirectX and OpenGL).

It's the chosen art style of the game. Bright, high contrast colors. Also the faces are lacking in photo-realistic textures, which makes them look "cartoony". This has nothing to do with the engine itself, but the decision on which direction to take the art.

[Mattastic]

Wow, these are great screenshots. I can certainly see how the art direction is moving forward. I have to say I'm very impressed.

The Centaur-class ship looks great, as does the entire scene around it. However, the green details are kinda making me think twice. Don't get me wrong: I love green. But the scene is entirely blue otherwise. Hell, the ship is otherwise blue. I guess this kind of thing is just something I'll have to get used to when I encounter tasteless players and they're horribly colour misco-ordinated vessels.

The science officer looks great! I'm still impressed by Cryptic not turning all female characters into huge-busted fap targets, as I imagine the temptation must have been huge given typical MMO conventions. The updated uniform looks great -- although I would personally prefer a straighter, less-bitty division between the department colour and the main uniform. Still, this looks great and I hope there is sufficient customisation still to reverse the colours if I wish. Also, the texturing is perfect, I like the fact that the com-badge is 3D and not just part of the texture (unlike in all other Trek games), and the hair looks much improved from the last time we saw characters. I can't wait to see some more characters, and maybe some male characters up close again.

The Klingon outpost is, I'm sorry to say, my least favourite screen. I mean, the structure looks great, but there's something about all of that aggressive architecture in a beautiful summer day that really makes things look strange. It's the reason why we never saw Darth Vader in a meadow: lighting and surrounding matters. Perhaps an alternative colour scheme would be better. After all, the Klingons make good use of greens and browns too, which might fit in better. It also looks remarkably neat for something belonging to Klingons. Nothing the Klingons build or use should ever look this new. Also, I would have thought the Klingons would have paved the ground around the site, or something. Here it looks like the building has just been imported into a grassland scene -- which of course it has.

Overall though, excellent stuff. I'm really excited and I hope we get to see more soon!

[Toaster87]

The Centaur-class ship looks great, as does the entire scene around it. However, the green details are kinda making me think twice. Don't get me wrong: I love green. But the scene is entirely blue otherwise. Hell, the ship is otherwise blue. I guess this kind of thing is just something I'll have to get used to when I encounter tasteless players and they're horribly colour misco-ordinated vessels.

You never know, maybe the ship has/is been fitted with some anti-borg technology in the dock and thats what the green bits are :P . . ..actually tht would be cool if they were lol

[milhouse80]

Cool new class of ship. Can't Wait

[Toaster87]

Its not really a new class of ship as such but still looks very cool to have in the game

[Traynor94]

I understand some people complaining about the animation style for the characters and the use of bright colors as opposed to more darks and stuff. I also understand that some people would like to have a photo-realistic style of animation for the game.

Problem is, graphics of that style will slow down the game. I don't have any doubt about it. I play three separate MMO's. High end graphics interfere with connectivity which leads to people getting booted in group events and battles. This frustrates everyone, and they eventually log off mad. If they log off mad one too many times, they might decide they aren't going to log back on... and that means a revenue loss for Cryptic and CBS/Paramount (or whoever is getting paid for the license).

The thing is, if you have a T1 line, an alienware (or better) tower, and an awesome monitor, you can always go to your game settings and crank them up all the way. If you have a more standard Dell and want to play, high end graphics would look wonderful... if you could get the game to run. But this game needs to be designed to run on all sorts of computers, as well as (apparently) a console system or two.

Cryptic is making the right move on this. Playability will benefit from it, and the majority of the graphics I've seen look incredible even in their current "cartoony" incarnation.

I can't wait for this game. :cool:

[Toaster87]

Ye i would go for Gameplay over graphics anyday!.......better a game that plays well and doesnt look as real as it could rather than a game that looks super real and plays like crap, graphicaly and gameplay wise

[marscentral]

I dunno, I go away for a couple of days and there are two big updates. Typical. Those screenshots do look great though, I especially like the look of the science officer. As Monty Burns once said, I don't know much about art, but I know what I hate and I don't hate this :D

[Cylence]

Wow. Nice. Set me up with a wallpaper version of the Centaur-class (?) in drydock. ASAP!

Wallpaper please.

[Cylence]

Do the hands look really big on the federation officer outside the Klingon outpost to anyone else?

I agree 100%. the first thing that i noticed when I saw that pic.

[Spinnman]

looks like this games moving forward! good job Cryptic. However, i do have some concerns. I love the dry dock shot, but the green in there is a little odd. It doesn't seem like a federation colour to me. I would suggest that federation ships be limited to "federation colours" but then that would probably make some players quite angry.

The shot of the science officer is excellent and i like the new uniform design but it was after my third time viewing the pic when i realized it was a trill. I expect the people playing as trills will want their character to be recognized as trills right away. I know this would be hard considering trills look very similar to humans, but perhaps an exaggeration of some key trill features would allow a trill player to be recognized from afar.

The designs for the planet environments, space environments, and starships all are beautiful, creative and... very beautiful, but the building designs seem to be the same box design. I know we have only seen two examples of buildings, but they both are very boxy. Don't get me wrong. Boxes are awesome, but two much and its a lego world ;)

Anyhoo, keep up the good work Cryptic. It would be nice to see some more building concepts.

[solarmanJc]

It all looks like Cartoons...its to bad we can not have some reality in our games
:eek:

[LordDave]

It all looks like Cartoons...its to bad we can not have some reality in our games
:eek:

It's Craig's choice to make it that style.

[Lt.Renak]

Our artists do some amazing work. :) The first time I saw a ship in the dock it just blew my mind.

yes it really looks like I' ve seen it a hundred times in the Shows. You devs do a real great job and I can' t await to read the message that beta has just startet. The outpost has got a real klingon design and the uniform looks great. I would be glad to see some screens where klingons and klingon vessels are shown. Will we seen some klingon screens soon?

[Davies82]

Really liked the screenshots. The Centaur class in dry dock was breathtaking! The close up of the trill science officer looked realy good too, and the detail in the screen shots are amazing. It can only get batter i say.

Kepp up the amazing job guys can't wait!

Can't wait to see more screenshots and information soon, maybe in time for christmas?
(Hope this gets released on the xbox 360 around same time as PC launch) (fingers crossed)

[Major-Opale]

Maybe the hands are just a "morphose" option, giving us more possibilities in creating new species.
The new uniform is nice, i think it's an add to the others we already saw.
Good news for the Trill and femal body too, really nice.

Is this Centaure class has some Borg technologie on it ? (green lights)

[RetroX]

I am not sure if I like the cartoon graphics...I never been a fan and it doesn't scream star trek to me going for the cartoon way of graphics? MMOs don't have to look like that, take MxO for example the graphics are brilliant and in a very realistic style.

Other than that, i like the style of the uniforms:P

[NateGrey]

Don't like the drydock shot. Doesn't look right to me. That ship looks awful.

[ToadMonkey]

It will take some time to acclimate myself with the cartoony character look. I may have to crack open my old WOW account and get use to the look. Hope I don't get sucked back into the fold.

[Bounder]

Really liking the screenshots, making me drool in anticipation of playing.

I like the strong colors, the uniform, the ship looks very cool, and the architecture is great.

My only nitpick are the giant ham hands on the guy in the Klingon Stronghold or whatever picture. I do hope we can body slider them smaller, judging from past comments about Cryptic and customisability I am not really worried on that score. But yeah, that guy must be a crossbreed between a human and a new race called hamhandians. :)

[Reptile279]

It will take some time to acclimate myself with the cartoony character look. I may have to crack open my old WOW account and get use to the look. Hope I don't get sucked back into the fold.

Nooo! Don't succumb to its evil!

[justicenic]

nice screen shots:eek: different then most though a little to unrealistic

[USS_Parallax]

Really if that's a Centaur-class then there's just nothing left of the original design and technology besides the shape of the ship. :P

Centaur Mark II or something.

[EremiticWolf]

The screen shots look amazing! Please sir may we have more? :)

[achaney23]

Nice to see the art improving. As I thought it would. It already looked 10 ZILLION times better than what Perpetual did. Now it's looks even better. I'm sure it will improve even more. I cannot wait to see some of the UI. Please PLEASE implement the LCARS UI for this game. OR at least give us a choice to use it. Don't make it look like WoW. Don't be afraid to implement high end detailed graphics for those who can handle it. Don't be like that other sci-fi mmo and go to the "lowest common denominator" for maximum profit. Make something to last for this and the next gen of computer systems.

end of rant.

[jonleach]

Nice getting better all the time. Love the Trill :). Wonder if she is married lol, sorry had to go there. Seriously looking great thanks.

[mirkrim]

Well, my impressions:

Overall
Generally, I like the look. There's a few design elements I take sception to, though ... primarily, the apparent "Blue = Fed, Red = Klingon" oversimplification. I'd rather installations got flags, banners, and painted-on-the-wall emblems to identify them, rather than "giant colored window-like things".


I agree completely. The glowing red stuff makes sense on the interior of a Klingon ship, but on the OUTSIDE of an outpost in broad daylight? My first thought when I saw that was, "is this a capture-the-flag map?"

[gjianop]

When's the acticipated lauch date for this game?

[indigowhale345]

My knowledge of graphics technical stuff is limited so I can't really articulate much on that. I do have some criticisms on the screenshots though, hopefully its useful.

I can say the artwork and detail in the spacedock screen shot is very good except a few parts, in my opinion. The ship texture seems to be non-reflective, while the spacedock seems to have some reflective textures, which would do very well on the ship I think.

The texturing on the ship also looks a bit 'shallow' or a bit simple, in contrast to the textures on the space dock, where it looks like you can almost see a patchwork of individual panels. I also don't particularly like those gigantic lights on the space dock, as I think I'd like to see them split up with some lines in there so it looks like they are a composite of several lines of lights or anything that makes them look less like a single entity. To put it another way, Star Trek is a universe with gigantic ships, put together and serviced by little people, and the larger it is, the more parts and components it ought to display in game in its textures.



I think the character art in the Trill screenshot is great. No complaints on her, however, the building behind her bugs me. Now, without knowing what the building is, its really hard to make a decent comment on it, however it's those neon blue panels that bug me. What are they for? I presume they are some kind of windows to show off some funky blue sci-fi energy thingy. They jump right out at me for how bright they are, and yet they don't appear to be anything interesting at all.

If it is supposed to be some energy thingy, they look too flat, no depth to them, as if the blue energy stuff is the window itself rather than behind the window. They are also identical, as if the blue blob fills up the whole window or whatever and is uninteresting to look at, yet very eye catching. If they were animated as if something was pulsing behind them, and the windows were in varying states of brightness based on the status of the energy thing, I think it would look better. The tower too could use similar treatment. Granted animations are nil in a static shot, but if the energy seemed to move around it would be more interesting.

Now if they aren't supposed to be anything special at all, just plain windows, then I think they are way too bright, and also ought to give the illusion that they are hiding something with that blue light. Maybe give them the illusion that something seem to be casting shadows against the windows from the interior.


The Klingon outpost shot has the same problems with its bright red panels. They appear to be static and bright for no discernible reason. Animation would greatly help there too, for example the red strip could pulse or something.

I also think its a reuse of the same eye catching color too many times. Why are they all the same bright red? Why not different shades of red? They don't all look related in function for how different the various bright red spots are. Granted, again its sci-fi and there is always a need to hide how things work since we don't really know, but I think they don't quite look like they have a purpose, nor do they look like part of the same system. More details in general could help with that, if the various spots had some more obviously technical things that helped to show they do stuff, like wires and pipes connecting them to somewhere, or whatever. Now they could all just be decorative to the Klingons, but I think for us, shiney, glowy things just shout interesting sci-fi technology, so it would be nice to be able to study them and try and guess at their purposes.

Another problem I notice is that while they all appear to glow bright red, they don't seem to be casting any light at all. For how bright they are, most of the walls should be bathed in a red glow, which they aren't.

As for the hands, what I see in the screenshot for his hands is a blur. The lack of resolution in that area really just doesn't give much to go on to say they are too large or whether its merely an optical illusion based on how little detail came through the screenshot in that area. I do, however, find conspicuous his lack of any equipment for a Federation officer being near a Klingon outpost. No phaser or tricorder or portable taco replicator, or anything else that ought to be hanging from a belt. I smell traitor.


Great stuff though, can't wait to see more!

[Powernexus]

Yeah! Where's that man's Taco Replicator! :eek: Every Federation officer keeps his taco replicator with him at all times! He's a traitor, and a spy!

[archer373]

Man those screenshots look awsome. Can't wait for this to come out.

[starbuck1771]

We've added three new screenshots to our gallery! Included is a first look at a Federation vessel in dry dock and a Science Officer with peculiar markings!

See them in our gallery! (http://www.startrekonline.com/gallery/screenshots)

I dont like the way those phaser banks look. They look nothing like in the shows. As for the science officer those are not peculiur. Those are trill markings. Guess you didn't watch DeepSpace 9 did you?

[justicenic]

it is a little un realistic although is fairly awsome strange arms though

[Westonconner]

I agree it is a centaur class....Does any1 no when exactly the game comes out for play? isnt it sometime next fall? Cant wait:D

[SnuffleKitty]

The game is looking pretty nice. ;3

Here's hoping they don't release it until it's finished (in so much as an mmo can be "finished").

But I have nothing but confidence (in) and respect for the guys down at Cryptic.

Centaur class? Maybe. But wouldn't you expect that the Excelsior class and it's variants would have been phased out by now? Meh. Who knows.

-Snuffles

[TheHybrid]

Looking good as usual guys! Keep up the good work.

[RyceSTO]

Overall I'm very excited and glad to see these screenshots released. Here's my thoughts:

1) Big hands ... seriously ... creepy.

2) Trill ... loved this screen shot. This to me is a great balance between photo-realism and 'cartoony'. This makes me start thinking along the character customization lines. I really hope its very granular. SWG has issues, but the one thing they did really well from the get go was character customization ... you could get as granular as a nose-length slider as opposed to the 'pick one of the 10 face options' you see in so many games. I really hope character customization in STO goes past the "mr potato head" model of "select gender, 1-5 face options, 10-15 hair styles, spots/no-spots, etc"

3) the ship screenshot ... this was my least favorite (I know I know ... but it was). This shot looks very cartoony to me - lacking the balance I thought was achieved with the character shot.

[Peralton]

Im Scottish so thats my job . . . .I want a kilt damn it!!!! :p

Instead of a sporin it could be a big comm badge :D :p

Perhaps at funerals and fancy dress parties only?

Overall, I'm digging the art style. I want to see more modern stuff and less planet-side art as that stuff looks typical fantasy to me.

[OrabIbo]

Nice to see the art improving. As I thought it would. It already looked 10 ZILLION times better than what Perpetual did. Now it's looks even better. I'm sure it will improve even more. I cannot wait to see some of the UI. Please PLEASE implement the LCARS UI for this game. OR at least give us a choice to use it. Don't make it look like WoW. Don't be afraid to implement high end detailed graphics for those who can handle it. Don't be like that other sci-fi mmo and go to the "lowest common denominator" for maximum profit. Make something to last for this and the next gen of computer systems.

end of rant.

I dunno I would kinda like to see them keep it open to the vast majority of ppl.

But here is the thing. Make the game start out with average graphics by default. Those of us that have machines that can handle the fancier graphics can figure out how to turn it up.

That way the game will be tuned to be available to everybody! Those that don't know how, have the money, or want to mess with a crappy gaming experience because it's choppy becuase their PC can't handle the graphics. They can play to, and the rest of us can tune the graphics how we see fit to take advantage of more powerful PC's.

I say this, because. There are many ppl that would be interested in Star Trek and playing the game, but may be turned away because of a crappy game experience because their PC can't cut the mustard. It should be like WoW in the sense that it can play on nearly anything! But have the ability to turn up the graphics for those that can.

[BlitzPig_EL]

Although the screenshots are great, I'm not gonna lie, still not impressed with the "cartoony-ness"


Greatly disappointed with the Starship.

2001 called and want's it's graphics back.

Honestly, is this title going to be dumbed down for 1 gig Celerons with cheesy onboard graphics?

Hello?

I am expecting more.

A lot more.

[marrinhas]

i liked the pictures
but i wana see is a new movie of star trek online xD

[Phoenix-Rising]

I dont like the way those phaser banks look. They look nothing like in the shows. As for the science officer those are not peculiur. Those are trill markings. Guess you didn't watch DeepSpace 9 did you?

Guess you didn't know people could make jokes in forum posts did you? Of course they're Trill markings, the poster was just teasing a bit. You're crazy if you think anybody would be aloud to touch this game without a strong grasp of Star Trek lore. Heck, they've made it clear from interviews that they're required to log so many hours on a regular bases watching episodes of all the tv shows.

As for the phaser banks, just chill out. Its set decades ahead of anything else we've seen in the Star Trek Universe, there's no telling what sort of advancements, changes, and upgrades have been made since then.

I, for one, am very pleased with the screenshots and greatly look forward to the game's release.

[Phoenix-Rising]

SWG has issues, but the one thing they did really well from the get go was character customization ... you could get as granular as a nose-length slider as opposed to the 'pick one of the 10 face options' you see in so many games. I really hope character customization in STO goes past the "mr potato head" model of "select gender, 1-5 face options, 10-15 hair styles, spots/no-spots, etc"


I wouldn't be worried, and if you are, check out the former Cryptic title City of Heroes. The game is more than 4 years old and still has probably the most amazing character creator out there (one that Cryptic is apparently improving upon with Champions Online). As you had hoped for in STO, COH already allows sliders for such things as the nose, forehead, jaw, cranium, etc. and allows for changes of height, width, and depth. This on top of facial presets like Slim, Strong, Average, Smart, etc. I'm sure they'll include AT LEAST as versatile facial adjustments here in STO.

[Phoenix-Rising]

Greatly disappointed with the Starship.

2001 called and want's it's graphics back.

Honestly, is this title going to be dumbed down for 1 gig Celerons with cheesy onboard graphics?

Hello?

I am expecting more.

A lot more.

Chill out dude, you're crazy if you think this is what the game is going to look like when its not to be released for at least another year. I doubt there was ever a MMO that wasn't being tweaked and refined (graphics included) right up until the release date. And of course, NO MMO EVER stops improving at its release, unless it wants to die real fast.

[Ramesses]

I think the are a little too cartoonish myself, but I guess that will mean less graphics power t run the game.

[SnuffleKitty]

The game is being built on an engine designed for what is quite literally an mmo comic-book.

The visuals are bound to be a little stylistic.

-Snuffles

[Reptile279]

They want the game to be graphically pleasing, but at the same time they don’t want it to be so graphic intensive that only the best systems can run it. Because this is a MMORPG you can't expect it to be blow your mind outrageous graphics because if they did that, it would severely limit their market.

[RyceSTO]

I wouldn't be worried, and if you are, check out the former Cryptic title City of Heroes. <snip> As you had hoped for in STO, COH already allows sliders for such things as the nose, forehead, jaw, cranium, etc. <snip>

True, but even CoH (and I have played it quite a bit actually) left me wanting more options. I do realize I'm extremely needy in this regard, but the more options the better. I want to be able to create the face I want to create ... not simply just be able to create a "reasonably unique" one. I'd love to see sliders for all sorts of things like eye size, eye roundness, eye angle, eye separation, ear size, ear placement, ... the more the better. ;)

I think the are a little too cartoonish myself, but I guess that will mean less graphics power t run the game.

Me too. I'm hopeful they'll up the realism a bit ... after all we're not here on this forum because were comic book fans (even if we are) ... we're here because we're Star Trek fans ... and stunning visuals and effects should be expected in that genre IMHO.

<snip> Because this is a MMORPG you can't expect it to be blow your mind outrageous graphics because if they did that, it would severely limit their market.

This idea is non-sequitur ... take a look at the latest update to EVE Online. Absolutely amazing graphics and its a successful MMO with a large following.

[Rivaris]

very very nice stuff keep up the good work cant wait to play it afther seeing these screens and the last ask cryptic

[mintor426]

[QUOTE=Stronin;279405]As any good update does, this just opens all sorts of cans of worms ;)

Keep it up Cryptic :D


--- love new stuff.

[SoongType]

Pics are great but i would like a new trailer,STO style!

[tvrdreamz]

i love the screen shots exellent work cryptic

[Commander_Urso]

i do think the hands are slightly too big. but they can still fix that. they look for feedback for a reason.

but from looking at the updated screenshots, the graphics look great!

[mirkrim]

I just noticed that the building in the background of the "Trill officer" screenshot has glowing BLUE pieces. So not only do Klingons have pointless glowing red parts on their buildings, but Federation has pointless glowing blue parts. Please do not make this into Unreal Tournament CTF.

[Mooshique]

Good images! ^_^

TY. :)

[CaptianSquirrel]

wow. i get a "page not found".. how do i find these wonderful pics?

[RyceSTO]

yeah, the new screenshots seem to be gone. :( what gives? :confused:

[Yor]

Looks good !

[Kira88yamato]

"Impressive."

[TheMasterpiece]

Im glad people are starting to turn around. I thnk the graphics are getting better naturally as development comes along but theyve always been good for the stage theyre in. I hope people get happier as the graphics really pick up.

[CherryTerri]

wow. i get a "page not found".. how do i find these wonderful pics?

If you look on the main page, there is a category on the far right side for Screenshots Gallery. They all should be right in there.