Post your Predictions: beta & release

[Pdt_the_confused]

OK, we all know that every time a Cryptic employee has mentioned release, if they do not say "sooner than you think" they say "fall 2009". (and if you didn't know that fact, you do now. You are most welcome :D.)
As to what they say on beta? "Beta has not started" is about all you can get out of them. (Marketing ninja's are GOOOOOOD)

So, bearing those facts in mind, and with the renewed popularity of the topic thanks to the atari interview, Post your predictions and reasoning for beta and release.

Here is my reasoning and the clues that I imagine I see: (--I may or may not be entirely delusional--) :p

1. They just had this little "Special Envoy" title come out for everyone who is supporting the effort this early.
2. The deadline is to sign up to be eligible for the title is Friday, May 22, 2009.
3. They would like 6 months of beta before release.
4. Once beta is announced there will be an influx of n00bs (yeah I went there :eek: ).
5. 6 months from May 22 (deadline for old-timer-supporter-title) is November 22nd. Just in time for Thanksgiving in the US and the largest holiday shopping day there is, black friday - day after thanksgiving.
6. Fall of 2009 is September, October, November (generally).

So, imagine Beta begins on May 25th (monday) giving 6 months for beta and enabling release on November 25th/26th/27th for the holiday shopping season. (and no one really works between Thanksgiving and New Years anyway, so no point in waiting till Jan to release. ;) )

**Edit: I forgot monday the 25th is a US holiday, so move it to the 26th, and by 'beta', I mean opening beta applications/beta testing one or both.

***edit 2: I lost. 26th has come and gone and no beta, not even applications opened. lol ah well.

[Rahyuht]

Well I didn't want to touch this because It's been made so many times,but I'm bored & not feeling well either I'll do my best :)

The way I see It.The game Is already In a since In early alpha stages.I'm thinking there more done than there telling us.I'm thinking beta Is shortly behind.

Also there a lot of talk about Fall (2009) or Spring (2010) so If there gonna have 6 month's of beta then they better get on the ball :)

That's my thoughts,but I'm thinking that It will be later than Spring (2010)

[Arokh72]

I think I might play this game myself.

Based on Gamespot's (I think) look they are currently doing in house Beta, meaning closed Beta shouldn't be too far off.

The star Trek 11 DVD should be out in September, therefore I think they'll open Beta at that time (with applications starting earlier), looking to a possible early new year release.

Frankly I'd rather wait for a more polished experience than have them rush out an unfinished product as so many companies have done in the past. I also wouldn't be surprised if they see how Champs and the engine run live before committing to much, to any public viewing/testing of STO.

[KL0k]

i dont think the beta phase will be 6 months. dont know why, i just got this feeling.

if i would have to guess, i would say.... start of betaphase is somewhere around.. next month (+1), with a release of the game end of november, so that they get the xmas sales.

[Arsinoe]

I agree they need to take their time so we have a great product (not that i have any doubt at this time we will) thats mostly bug free :)

[Loekii]

A couple of points I think will make this Beta Process different than typical Betas:

SAME Engine as Champions (less Beta Time needed)
Internal Beta has been going on for a while
CHAMPION development resources will move to assist STO Development
So we should expect a SHORTER Beta than other games.


So given that information, tempered with Craigs comments a couple of times about beta and release being 'sooner' and '2009', I estimate (barring unforeseen delays):

Beta Sign Ups Beginning Soon (end of Month)
External Beta Starting June or Early July
Release to be Late 2009 (barring any unexpected delays).

[metl]

1. They just had this little "Special Envoy" title come out for everyone who is supporting the effort this early.


So where do we sign up for that at?

[AxxoxRob]

I'm pretty sure that you automatically get it as long as you have signed up for the forums before a certain date. (20th of May or something) GO check it out on the front page, might be a bit back in the archives.

[Gideon]

You know Atari would love to have STO ready to release at the time the new Star Trek DVD comes out. Just think of the cross promotion they could do ($$$$$).

My only hope is that the game is truly ready by then. One thing that really helps them is that a good portion of the game takes place in space so their assets (planets, stars, nebulae, etc..) could be randomized to quickly create unique looking areas.. This is something other land based MMO's can't do. Hopefully this helps speed up development.

[DanSeale]

A couple of points I think will make this Beta Process different than typical Betas:

SAME Engine as Champions (less Beta Time needed)
Internal Beta has been going on for a while
CHAMPION development resources will move to assist STO Development
So we should expect a SHORTER Beta than other games.


So given that information, tempered with Craigs comments a couple of times about beta and release being 'sooner' and '2009', I estimate (barring unforeseen delays):

Beta Sign Ups Beginning Soon (end of Month)
External Beta Starting June or Early July
Release to be Late 2009 (barring any unexpected delays).


Probably as good a review as any. I would only add that "worse case scenario" .. add 3 or 4 months for unexpected problems.

[Dogbertious]

So where do we sign up for that at?

Technically, you already have. Any forum accounts active before May 22 will receive the title.

This, I suppose, will mean our Forum accounts will be merged/connected with our game accounts.

I do agree with Loekii's analysis of the situation, though I personally would hope they would hold off on releasing Beta (or at least, letting me into it) until after the 1st of June.

Exams can be such a bothersome thing, especially when I have to sit them....

[DarckKnight]

I thinking it might be winter 2009. Looking at everyone and there prediction for the game the Xmas shopping season would be the best time to get the game released but we might be looking at a slightly later release date then fall. All in all this would still leave enough time for beta release and the 6+ month of testing before the release of a MMO. So my prodiction of release is before Jan 2010 but after Nov of 2009.

[SilentAlfa]

Agreed with above. The beta will probably take place closer to release when the game is very close to complete, and will be more for making hype than fixing bugs. Betas are really risky--they simply might not want to risk a beta this early, where it might give the game bad press.

[laladiel]

my prediction is just what will probably happen when the game comes out, with so many people planning to pick up the game the day it comes out, and then everyone trying to sign on at once, it may block a few people at first till the first wave is already fully in game and playing.

[ibby1kanobi]

Agreed with above. The beta will probably take place closer to release when the game is very close to complete, and will be more for making hype than fixing bugs. Betas are really risky--they simply might not want to risk a beta this early, where it might give the game bad press.

I don't think they can get "bad press" from a beta. Remember, gaming organizations (magazines/websites) are already seeing this thing in the works. They get sneak peeks and stuff, and so far its all been pretty good talk.

Plus, no one really holds a company responsible during beta. The whole reason for beta is so that you can get in there and find all the bugs and problems. The more it crashes and locks up the better. Beta isn't so you can get a jump start on people or to get early access. Beta is so that you can help the developers make sure the game has as smooth a launch as possible.

The reviews are saved for post release, not pre.

[laladiel]

I don't think they can get "bad press" from a beta. Remember, gaming organizations (magazines/websites) are already seeing this thing in the works. They get sneak peeks and stuff, and so far its all been pretty good talk.

Plus, no one really holds a company responsible during beta. The whole reason for beta is so that you can get in there and find all the bugs and problems. The more it crashes and locks up the better. Beta isn't so you can get a jump start on people or to get early access. Beta is so that you can help the developers make sure the game has as smooth a launch as possible.

The reviews are saved for post release, not pre.

umm, not sure what this had to do with my post, i ment the day it is released, nothing to do with press or beta.

[ibby1kanobi]

Sorry, it quoted the wrong person :). My bad!

Fix'd

[SilentAlfa]

I don't think they can get "bad press" from a beta. Remember, gaming organizations (magazines/websites) are already seeing this thing in the works. They get sneak peeks and stuff, and so far its all been pretty good talk.

All sneak peeks and exclusives sound good. The magazine and review companies have to speak well of the game during the pre-release, or else they wont get another exclusive on it.

[jakeeyes]

A couple of points I think will make this Beta Process different than typical Betas:

SAME Engine as Champions (less Beta Time needed)
Internal Beta has been going on for a while
CHAMPION development resources will move to assist STO Development
So we should expect a SHORTER Beta than other games.


So given that information, tempered with Craigs comments a couple of times about beta and release being 'sooner' and '2009', I estimate (barring unforeseen delays):

Beta Sign Ups Beginning Soon (end of Month)
External Beta Starting June or Early July
Release to be Late 2009 (barring any unexpected delays).


Agreed. It sounds as though the space portion of this game is near complete, leaving the 'ground' game the biggest portion of the their work. As they are using the Champions engine, it should be as simple as re-skinning functional environments. *crosses fingers*

[Species20]

Well judging from the activity on here and the screenshots, everything is looking good for the game but I have to agree I'd rather things be polished than to buggy on release as poor first impressions can be detrimental to a games success.

[Captain.Hunter]

I agree they need to take their time so we have a great product (not that i have any doubt at this time we will) thats mostly bug free :)

Well said. After waiting for so long for STO (including the many years Perpetual held the licence hostage), I rather them take as much time as they need to do it right.

I am as eager as anyone else here to play, but please Cryptic don't rush the game to market only 70% or 95% complete and expect to 'finish it on the fly'. I have seen way too many games killed like that.

[0x90]

Why is everybody (almost!) talking about game not possibly being stable if they rush it and stuff like that.

1. They won't rush it, they aren't fools... - they will release the beta game when in house testing goes 100 % (No dev or other people from cryptic encounters any bug anymore)
2. They need to release the beta game and "risk" because, they can't simulate behaviour of 10-20-50k of people doing all the crazy stuff. The point is to fix all those eventual bugs that may happen, with large number of users, including server scalling.. so the biggest issue will be exactly that. Server scalling. Especially if they do only one server for everyone.

I'm going to enjoy the game even if it ocasionally crashes.. screw that, i wanna fly in my ship and do stuff, instead of watching star trek episodes i already saw a million of times before.

[haplo8]

I don't think they can get "bad press" from a beta.

Plus, no one really holds a company responsible during beta. The whole reason for beta is so that you can get in there and find all the bugs and problems. The more it crashes and locks up the better. Beta isn't so you can get a jump start on people or to get early access. Beta is so that you can help the developers make sure the game has as smooth a launch as possible.

The reviews are saved for post release, not pre.


Tell that to Tabula Rasa and Age of Conan...at least one of those is still around.

There are certainly cases where a beta at the wrong time can hurt a game.

[Leonidusroar]

The OP sounded like he has it all figured out... But, we can't rush the devs. Every bug (or almost) will need to be weeded out and fixed. Just for you beta hopefuls out there, you will be removed from it if you spend all the time on the creator. The server/s will be rebooted many, many times, and you need to do what the devs say or *poof* no more beta for you.
Also, don't expect any info from the testers. They're under contract not t say that they're in the beta, heck, this OP could be a tester just covering up *eyes OP suspicously*... and I know if I was a tester, I definitely wouldn't say.

[BurrCO]

Didn't the GameStop article say they were in "closed beta" and not alpha? I thought so. This means that yes, any day now should be the Closed Public Beta. I'm gonna say less than 6 months. First week of November. Maybe early second, like the 9th or 10th. They say "sooner than you think" and everyone is dead set on 6 months. Maybe they are telling us somehting. Maybe their closed internal beta is going way better than expected and don't have much work (yeah I know, I laughed too, but it might not be wrong). All anyone can do is speculate, and who knows, maybe they hit a snag and it doesn't make it out this year at all. All we can do is wait. I bet we know the day in by the end of July though. Even though Cryptic likes to drag it out, I think this is too exciting.

[oleum]

The OP sounded like he has it all figured out... But, we can't rush the devs. Every bug (or almost) will need to be weeded out and fixed. Just for you beta hopefuls out there, you will be removed from it if you spend all the time on the creator. The server/s will be rebooted many, many times, and you need to do what the devs say or *poof* no more beta for you.
Also, don't expect any info from the testers. They're under contract not t say that they're in the beta, heck, this OP could be a tester just covering up *eyes OP suspicously*... and I know if I was a tester, I definitely wouldn't say.

/sigh

So many times I have seen people spout this stuff. Sorry but its not necessarily true. I have personally been involved in beta testing with a game company we are all very close to. Every company I have tested with has a different NDA policy and that doesn't necessarily mean you may not say that you are participating in a specific beta. It may well limit , to the point of completely silencing, any discussion outside of official beta areas (forums passworded irc channels etc.)

Sometimes you will be asked to test specific game mechanisms as a focus of testing, but this isn't always the case. Sometimes the servers will be restarted for patches throughout a testing session. Sometimes there will be player wipes where all your characters are reset. Sometimes the game may be buggy to the point of being unplayable or incomplete to the point that NPC talk trees are placceholder text only and meaningless. BUT it is game/developer specific. So unless YOU are personally in STO beta you can't comment in a definitive way like this about the STO beta.

I promise you I'm not in STO beta at this point. Until we get to look over the NDA they will use we won't know what Cryptic have in mind.


As far as PDTs original Post.

My latest revised guess (I have previously been over optimistic)

First wave of closed alpha/beta outside Cryptic 2-4 weeks
Closed beta first wave of invites Mid June
Open beta - may not be one but Early Nov if there is
Release - Late Nov - THIS YEAR obviously

See how wrong I am ....

[dyvimtorm]

When does the actual betting pool start?

[oleum]

Didn't the GameStop article say they were in "closed beta" and not alpha? I thought so. This means that yes, any day now should be the Closed Public Beta. I'm gonna say less than 6 months. First week of November. Maybe early second, like the 9th or 10th. They say "sooner than you think" and everyone is dead set on 6 months. Maybe they are telling us somehting. Maybe their closed internal beta is going way better than expected and don't have much work (yeah I know, I laughed too, but it might not be wrong). All anyone can do is speculate, and who knows, maybe they hit a snag and it doesn't make it out this year at all. All we can do is wait. I bet we know the day in by the end of July though. Even though Cryptic likes to drag it out, I think this is too exciting.

I believe you mean this (http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/startrekonline/news.html?sid=6209583&tag=topslot;title;2) interview. They actually used this term " but since the game is already in an internal beta state " This doesn't mean we will see public closed beta soon. The semantics of alpha/beta and public as opposed to entirely internal or friends and family are not well defined. I am assuming as it is still internal it is in a late alpha stage where developers/employees get to playtest. Its likely that the UI will need to be pretty much fully functional before any type of public exposure. It would also make sense that there is sufficient of the crafted episodic content and at least a partial and functional skill set in place before this exposure.

A potential leak from a disappointed beta tester could really hurt the game. Look at the way the community picks everything apart and the way the interiors or bridge crew discussions have gone in the past for examples. So the beta sign-up may well be soon (22nd sounds possible) and allowing time for some selection, a few weeks after does sound right.

It never sounds like theres not much work if you read around the twitters etc. They always sound busy busy busy. The Champions Online release falling back 6 weeks might not help STO , particularly if its on the same engine. However it might mean that more bugs get ironed out in CO beta rather than STO beta so STO beta might be shorter as you suggest....

[Vuk]

Beta will begin July or August , no later than the 15th of August . Release Date of week of November 15th to the 22nd 2009. :cool:

[mansamtam]

OK maybe it's just me and maybe i'm just feeling negative today but is a release date this year honestly on the cards? CO has just been put back (again) and Cryptic have only been working on STO for a maximum of a year and a half? Add this to the possible release of SWTOR at the end of the year which no-one is going to want to compete with and you have several reasons why the devs shouldn't be launching this year.

I know cryptic are using the same engine as CO and they aren't creating a lot of the content by hand but surely just writing the story lines and adding these into the game takes a couple of years? I want this to be a great game not something that has been rushed out the same time as the DVD of the last film. (that smells of disaster to me)

Please someone convince me i’m wrong.... i'd love to be wrong!!
(Great game this year please!) :)

[Rahyuht]

I think It's In the card's,but unlikely.

I think If they wanted to they could release It this year,but Champions Online was just pushed back to September to make the project better.I'm pretty sure STO will come out sometime after.I'm thinking Spring or Summer (2010)

[Nevermore1]

Beta: Feb 2010
Release: July 2010

[Wieland]

Beta Applications May 22nd
Beta June
Release between 1st November 2009 and 31 March 2010

[Powerhelm]

I'm guessing beta signups will be announced in August, then we'll see beta through probably June of 2010 at least.

Assuming Atari doesn't get more bad financial news we might see the game by fall 2010.

There's no way this game will be out this year if they haven't even gotten closed Beta started and they have essentially two games to make (space and ground content) with two factions (Fed/Kling)

I mean they've been accepting tester applications for Champions for almost a year now and that game isn't even in open beta yet and just got delayed. That game has one "faction" and doesn't have spaceships and such! If this game manages to even get into Open beta before the end of this year then I'll say that it's proof of just how much work was already done for them by perpetual Entertainment.

Start saving up for your lifetime subscription fees, you've got at least a year to wait.

The only reason why we might be wrong is that Champions is essentially their test bed for a lot of the stuff they might use in STO. Graphically it's a test bed and probably a lot of the internal stuff is being tested with CO right now. Plus unlike STo they had to do all the concept work for CO themselves. STO they got all of PE's concept art and obviously are using a lot of it if not all of it. So the one saving grace is that much of the pre-production work was already done for them in the art department and they already had an engine up and running.

It's possible this could come out by April 2010 or before but HIGHLY doubtful...

[sblack]

I hate to be negatory, but this seems to be too ambitious a project to get it ready as soon as people are hinting.

My opinion is that the engine will be fine for the out of ship experience, but that they will run into a plethora of problems with Ship to Ship stuff, content, and just the fact that every trekkie is expecting too much from this game. That will delay it out a year to Spring 2010.

The Open Beta will only run a couple months, but the closed Beta will actually drag on forever as they resolve these issues.

[mansamtam]

I'm guessing beta signups will be announced in August, then we'll see beta through probably June of 2010 at least.

Assuming Atari doesn't get more bad financial news we might see the game by fall 2010.

There's no way this game will be out this year if they haven't even gotten closed Beta started and they have essentially two games to make (space and ground content) with two factions (Fed/Kling)

I mean they've been accepting tester applications for Champions for almost a year now and that game isn't even in open beta yet and just got delayed. That game has one "faction" and doesn't have spaceships and such! If this game manages to even get into Open beta before the end of this year then I'll say that it's proof of just how much work was already done for them by perpetual Entertainment.

Start saving up for your lifetime subscription fees, you've got at least a year to wait.

The only reason why we might be wrong is that Champions is essentially their test bed for a lot of the stuff they might use in STO. Graphically it's a test bed and probably a lot of the internal stuff is being tested with CO right now. Plus unlike STo they had to do all the concept work for CO themselves. STO they got all of PE's concept art and obviously are using a lot of it if not all of it. So the one saving grace is that much of the pre-production work was already done for them in the art department and they already had an engine up and running.

It's possible this could come out by April 2010 or before but HIGHLY doubtful...

Unfortunatly i couldn't have said it better myself, before this thread I was assuming late 2010, early 2011 due to the volume of work that goes into any MMO. Cryptic won't realse an unpolished game hence why CO has been delayed at least twice. I would be amazed if STO came out this year (If it does prepare for it to be a complete mess and a dreadful game), this game will be fantastic but it takes time.... lots of time!

Still think late 2010 maybe summer if CO doesnt get delayed again!

[Vuk]

If they can get a release on STO for the Holiday season , it will greatly improve the financials and thereby improve cash flow , which currently Atari is need of.

[Vielfrab]

I would say the beta will hit around July 2009, and the release will be November 2009, barring unforeseen issues.

[metl]

I'm curious if Champions was pushed back for it's benefit or for STO's.

[loyaltrekie]

I'm guessing beta signups will be announced in August, then we'll see beta through probably June of 2010 at least.

Assuming Atari doesn't get more bad financial news we might see the game by fall 2010.

There's no way this game will be out this year if they haven't even gotten closed Beta started and they have essentially two games to make (space and ground content) with two factions (Fed/Kling)

I mean they've been accepting tester applications for Champions for almost a year now and that game isn't even in open beta yet and just got delayed. That game has one "faction" and doesn't have spaceships and such! If this game manages to even get into Open beta before the end of this year then I'll say that it's proof of just how much work was already done for them by perpetual Entertainment.

Start saving up for your lifetime subscription fees, you've got at least a year to wait.

The only reason why we might be wrong is that Champions is essentially their test bed for a lot of the stuff they might use in STO. Graphically it's a test bed and probably a lot of the internal stuff is being tested with CO right now. Plus unlike STo they had to do all the concept work for CO themselves. STO they got all of PE's concept art and obviously are using a lot of it if not all of it. So the one saving grace is that much of the pre-production work was already done for them in the art department and they already had an engine up and running.

It's possible this could come out by April 2010 or before but HIGHLY doubtful...

Let's play a game, about pointing out all the incorrect things with the above post. I'll go first;

STO they got all of PE's concept art and obviously are using a lot of it if not all of it

[Rahyuht]

Yeah that's false.For one It's doesn't look the same,& It's been said they used almost 0% of there concept.They just had like a 1 hour meeting with the former company.Checking If concepts were similar & what not.Then continued on.

[terranova3y2]

Let's play a game, about pointing out all the incorrect things with the above post. I'll go first;

LOL damn beat me to it

I think the beta will be announced in the next few weeks for starting in June, that still gives them plenty of time to get it before fiscal end of year which is March 2010.

I agree that they are testing a lot of their engine problems with CO so when it comes to STO's turn to be in beta it won't have half the problems that CO might have had.

My prediction is:

Beta: June/July 2009
Release: December 2009/January 2010

[lefty1117]

I think the game will be out for this holiday season to coincide with the DVD. Beta starting in July until mid September, then open beta for 4 weeks, then launch. End of October launch imo.

[mdacunha]

The first post is right on the dot, the post I made a few days ago on the news from gamespot says very clearly that Atari wants to have this game out by the end of its fiscal year, that being March 31, 2010. This will be out a month or two after the movie is released with a tie-in on the DVD or Blue-ray, I wouldn't be surprised if there is some on disk material that will be accessible on your pc allowing you to see trailers or even have access to a "final beta", similar to the way SWG worked out with the "final beta" as a promotion to get those pre-orders in. I'll be ordering this thing the day they list it for pre-order. They also need this released in time for it to have an impact on their figures, they need the boost from the initial release, ready or not, to get their investors in line, with the losses they suffered, they need the support from this product to boost their numbers and keep them in the black, thus it needs to be out in February, March is far too late to be on the March 31 numbers.


December 1- end of February.

[Ricosuave]

Nov09 -Jan10 time Frame for the game...

[thefreshjedi]

My Prediction on Day One

Earth Space, Release Day (http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/.a/6a00d83451c3cb69e2011168fb1aad970c-popup)

Server crash.


-avery

[deerang]

I love these speculation threads, so much hope is refreshing !

[Pdt_the_confused]

I had to edit my original post as I had forgotten to account for the Memorial Day Holiday.

[seancorycooper]

beta prediction: july 15th..beta length: less than 4 months..release: mid-october. they want to do it before the holidays, I think..of course, this is contingent on things going smoothly..but that's my prediction.

[Arcticfrost]

OK, we all know that every time a Cryptic employee has mentioned release, if they do not say "sooner than you think" they say "fall 2009". (and if you didn't know that fact, you do now. You are most welcome :D.)
As to what they say on beta? "Beta has not started" is about all you can get out of them. (Marketing ninja's are GOOOOOOD)

So, bearing those facts in mind, and with the renewed popularity of the topic thanks to the atari interview, Post your predictions and reasoning for beta and release.

Here is my reasoning and the clues that I imagine I see: (--I may or may not be entirely delusional--) :p

1. They just had this little "Special Envoy" title come out for everyone who is supporting the effort this early.
2. The line is to sign up to be eligible for the title is Friday, May 22, 2009.
3. They would like 6 months of beta before release.
4. Once beta is announced there will be an influx of n00bs (yeah I went there :eek: ).
5. 6 months from May 22 (deadline for old-timer-supporter-title) is November 22nd. Just in time for Thanksgiving in the US and the largest holiday shopping day there is, black friday - day after thanksgiving.
6. Fall of 2009 is September, October, November (generally).

So, imagine Beta begins on May 25th (monday) giving 6 months for beta and enabling release on November 25th/26th/27th for the holiday shopping season. (and no one really works between Thanksgiving and New Years anyway, so no point in waiting till Jan to release. ;) )

**Edit: I forgot monday the 25th is a US holiday, so move it to the 26th, and by 'beta', I mean opening beta applications/beta testing one or both.

Here these two threads should help The Release Day Experiment (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=17551) and The Beta Release Date Experiment (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=18818).

[Powerhelm]

Let's play a game, about pointing out all the incorrect things with the above post. I'll go first;
LOL damn beat me to it

Well, hmmm, lets see, just about every piece of art that isn't a screenshot on this website is known Perpetual Entertainment artwork. At least one of the ships seen in the gameplay video is the exact same as the one seen in the only "in-game" screenshot from Perpetual Entertainment and was designed by them.

I really don't feel like itemizing this and pointing it all out again and the other dozen websites....if you take a moment and google for yourselves something like "Perpetual Entertainment Concept Art" or something similar maybe "STO concept Art" you'll find that every News update background, and in fact the planet to the left on this very forum (featured on the original Countdown Timer which announced the game being developed by Cryptic) AND the costume designs for the Federation in the character creation video, all came from PE...

here's a link to get you start on your self-edification :

Uniforms (http://martianoutpost.com/2008/01/star-trek-mmorpg-dead-in-space/)

Starship, Class Unknown (http://www.bigrobots.co.uk/images/theme/s_t_o_large.jpg)

That nice blue planet you see to the left! (http://www.hailingfrequency.co.uk/boards/index.php?topic=731.0)

A variety pack of photos! (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Star_Trek_Online_(Perpetual_Entertainment))

Like it or not, the reason STO is as far along as it is? All thanks to the hard work of the artists at Perpetual Entertainment...basically the only people that we have proof were actually DOING something there :p

Also any internal testing does not = what is popularly referred to as "Beta" which is technically Closed/Open Public Beta. They have not reached even a Closed Public Alpha let alone Beta. Champions Online has been in Beta for over 8 months. A game which is by all definitions far more simplistic than STO.

[Pdt_the_confused]

awww bummer, the 26th has come ... and gone ... and no beta. (and no applications opened)

I been checking http://startrekonline.com/preview_application and http://startrekonline.com/beta_application but they don't really exist yet. lol :D

(fyi the CO beta application is at champions-online.com/preview_application, so I keep trying the startrekonline version :p)
.

[M_Wagner]

In this article, http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6209711/ Atari CEO Jim Wilson states that they plan to release Star Trek Online by the end of their current physical year which ends on March 31, 2010.

So, if they start beta testing in September they could have 6 months of testing to get it out in time for the end of Atari's financial year.