Perpetual's work

[JeanLuc]

I guess all the time and money perpetual spent developing this game did not go to waste...sweet.
Now to wait a couple of weeks for some footage, almost want to go to vegas just for it.

[AaronH]

Really hoping they use the uniform designs Perpetual came up with.

Had a lot of good concept art for starships and planets, hope cryptic uses it. :)

[Noxious]

Cryptic got everything except the code, they have concept art, character design, and all that jazz. All they need to do is build a game around it.

[AaronH]

Cryptic got everything except the code, they have concept art, character design, and all that jazz. All they need to do is build a game around it.

Indeed, I just hope they use it :)

[bovineone]

Cryptic got everything except the code, they have concept art, character design, and all that jazz. All they need to do is build a game around it.

Do you have a reference for where you read about Cryptic not getting any code from Perpetual? Or are you just assuming that?

[MajorGen]

This business on August 10th will give us a much better idea of how much Cryptic has picked up on Perpetual's work. As said above, Cryptic got a lot of concept stuff to work with. So far the "bread crumbs" look pretty good.

[Thomas45]

I think they got quite a lot of stuff from PE seeing as they already have a working in-game alpha as they are showing us a working demo in 2 weeks.

[Noxious]

Do you have a reference for where you read about Cryptic not getting any code from Perpetual? Or are you just assuming that?

Wikipedia STO and youll get your answer.

I dont put References on blogs because my Professor doesnt grade what i write here.

[Finnigan]

I prefer the game not have anything left from Perpetual, especially the code.

[njdss4]

I guess all the time and money perpetual spent developing this game did not go to waste...sweet.
Now to wait a couple of weeks for some footage, almost want to go to vegas just for it.

In case you didn't see this information, there WILL BE a webcast of the footage from Vegas here on StarTrekOnline.com. Check the main page again and read carefully. Knowing there will be a webcast is a big relief, I was starting to want to go to Vegas, too!

[Thomas45]

I prefer the game not have anything left from Perpetual, especially the code.

They are using the Starbase design by the looks of the screenshots on the webpage.

[spaventacorvi]

Instead I wonder how many people from Perpetual are working now inside Cryptic for STO project. :rolleyes:

[indelible]

There is no way in hell they could have developed enough of the game from scratch to have game footage in 13 days. Anybody who makes that claim needs to go bang their head against a very large cheese grater.

What I am suggesting is: Perpetuals game code is still being used but the game engine has changed from the Perpetual Engine to the Cryptic Engine. Do you know why this makes sense? It makes sense because when the game was originally transferred, it was stated that, "the game code but NOT the engine have been transferred to another developer."

I rest my case and my fingers,
for arthritis causes twinges :-(

[Cyjack]

Cryptic may have inherited art assets that may or may not be useful depending on the circumstance, but they already have their own proprietary in-house MMO engine. In no rational scenario do they maintain and develop two separate game engines...one of which unknown and unproven. From a code standpoint, and many others, it will be a completely new game.

And thank god for that. I hated pretty much everything Perpetual was doing.

[njdss4]

There is no way in hell they could have developed enough of the game from scratch to have game footage in 13 days. Anybody who makes that claim needs to go bang their head against a very large cheese grater.

What I am suggesting is: Perpetuals game code is still being used but the game engine has changed from the Perpetual Engine to the Cryptic Engine. Do you know why this makes sense? It makes sense because when the game was originally transferred, it was stated that, "the game code but NOT the engine have been transferred to another developer."

I rest my case and my fingers,
for arthritis causes twinges :-(

I've been looking for information regarding what Cryptic got from Perpetual. Where did you see "the game code but NOT the engine have been transferred to another developer"?

[Retsopmi]

Wikipedia STO and youll get your answer.

I dont put References on blogs because my Professor doesnt grade what i write here.

Lmao. Wikipedia is not a GOOD source of information on anything. It is written and maintained by anyone. Thus making all information highly situational.

[Retsopmi]

They are using the Starbase design by the looks of the screenshots on the webpage.

Those aren't screenshots. They are just the concept art.

[indelible]

I've been looking for information regarding what Cryptic got from Perpetual. Where did you see "the game code but NOT the engine have been transferred to another developer"?

You'll have to backdate your search to articles released when P2 stepped down as STO Devs. There are a bunch of articles stating that the game code and not the engine were transferred to Cryptic (then not named) and that Cryptic were interviewing former P2 employees. I believe it was an ex-employee or two that made this claim so at the time it was treated with a pinch of salt. With game play footage in 13 days however, I'm inclined to believe it is the case.

[CptRanger]

There is no way in hell they could have developed enough of the game from scratch to have game footage in 13 days. Anybody who makes that claim needs to go bang their head against a very large cheese grater.

What I am suggesting is: Perpetuals game code is still being used but the game engine has changed from the Perpetual Engine to the Cryptic Engine. Do you know why this makes sense? It makes sense because when the game was originally transferred, it was stated that, "the game code but NOT the engine have been transferred to another developer."

I rest my case and my fingers,
for arthritis causes twinges :-(

I believe your partially right and partially wrong.

All the planet side screen shots look and 'feel' like they were done with the same engine being used in Champions Online (minus the cel-shading), and the space shots (especially with the asteroids in orbit and leaving a nebula like trail) look to be from Perpetuals engine. Granted it may not be Perp's engine but it looks like their code (at least visually).

As it stands right now, I would say that considering the time that Perpetual died, and to today's date, either they have Scotty as their Main Miracle Programmer, or they had 'help' to get the game up and running and ready to show off this fast. Also I would mention (if I remember correctly) that all the screen shots are 1) static and 2)have nothing that is animated in them.

So here's looking forward to the gameplay footage.

[Caiman]

I prefer the game not have anything left from Perpetual, especially the code.
Apparently they acquired all assets except code!

[boydyma]

i would say Crypt aqcuired EVERYTHING from P2. but i think they would scrap P2s code and write it in their own, for their own engine...

it appears they *aqcuired* a lot of P2 staff to come over too, wether that be the *dregs* P2 didnt want or some really *fanatic* trekkys that want to follow this project until the very end.

humans can be a very talented race. give us enough drive and *ANYTHING* can be done in time, and to be virtually honest we dont know if P2 didnt already have an *almost* working version of the game... once the code had been Tx to cryptics engine and tweaked, add in a bit more art, kill off all the other races till human and klingon are left, spit that out and patch in the rest later once the *boys and girls* have had a chance to get into it in some detail...


my thoughts? just wait. this will be epic!

[Bele]

my thoughts? just wait. this will be epic!
I'd rather say cryptic... :cool:

I have to agree there are certain parts of the [add a word out of list 1] that look familiar, but why? Because it's "Perpetual/P2" or because it's "Star Trek"?
I'll just wait until they show this webcast to everyone. Then we should be able to see which part seem to be new and which ones just got minor or no changes.

List 1:
-screenshots (suggested choice)
-wallpapers
-artwork

[UnSub]

Here's a link to the rumours about what Perpetual / P2 sold and didn't sell as part of the STO license. (http://trekmovie.com/2008/01/14/perpetual-looking-to-transfer-development-of-star-trek-online/)

And Cryptic did pick up people from P2 - one of their staff profiles for ChampO mentioned working for P2.

[Cold-Fusion]

And those are screenshots, thats what they're called, not wallpapers, not concept art....screenshots

[Modboy]

wait and see I guess :confused:

[Ziegler]

It'll be interesting to see how much they were able to save.

And just to be clear, having alpha footage ....is not indicative of how far or soon they will launch. Age of Conan had alpha footage 4 years before launch.

[Illusionism]

I am just happy that this has been adopted by Cryptic. I feel good knowing that it has a stronger chance to survive in the capable hands. Go Cryptic!

[conllo]

I believe your partially right and partially wrong.

All the planet side screen shots look and 'feel' like they were done with the same engine being used in Champions Online (minus the cel-shading), and the space shots (especially with the asteroids in orbit and leaving a nebula like trail) look to be from Perpetuals engine. Granted it may not be Perp's engine but it looks like their code (at least visually).

As it stands right now, I would say that considering the time that Perpetual died, and to today's date, either they have Scotty as their Main Miracle Programmer, or they had 'help' to get the game up and running and ready to show off this fast. Also I would mention (if I remember correctly) that all the screen shots are 1) static and 2)have nothing that is animated in them.

So here's looking forward to the gameplay footage.

Well throwing my two cents in here, one thing that has not been thought of and has usually turned out to be the case, is this.

Cryptic may have been in contact with perpetual long long before the anouncment, perpetual could have signed off on the deal to step down long ago, I mean realisticly Cryptic may have had this so secret becuase thay have already been working on this for awhile and announce this now to bring interest back into their own forums to prepare for a beta release.

I mean in my own exp in RL Corp's usualy announce something when they are getting ready to release it and for a community that has essentially been on the back burner for 3 years without even a broken title to test, to say it will be ready for a Beta release in about 2 more years is really an incredible stretch to believe that you will be able to keep the same interested parties involved.

I realy hope Cryptic has a full set staff working on just this project and not a time share for STO and Champions

[Meynolt]

I just hope that they won't focus like hell on pretty graphics really. Main focus should be superb gameplay. Just look at Age of Conan, it has splendid graphics but the gameplay is so lame and boring that people drop out of the game like a pack of rabid flies.

I've never put much stock in state of the art super graphics. As long as the gameplay is solid and enjoyable, I'm happy :)

[Elvyne]

I think aoc is pretty good, it just lacks stability and content and thats probably why people drop out.
However, it would be nice that Cryptic instead of graphics phocus on gameplay and content :)

[Acidrain]

I prefer the game not have anything left from Perpetual, especially the code.

I would second that!

[darkgolem]

Do you have a reference for where you read about Cryptic not getting any code from Perpetual? Or are you just assuming that?

I was in Gods and Heroes Beta, which was farther along from Star Trek online before Perpetual folded. I don't know, but I think you don't want their code.

[mrgoo]

Cryptic got everything except the code, they have concept art, character design, and all that jazz. All they need to do is build a game around it.

Why would they have not gotten the code? That makes no sense how can you be sure about that?

[Caiman]

Why would they have not gotten the code? That makes no sense how can you be sure about that?
PE retained the code, this was reported by WarCry, STOnet, TrekMovie and other sources upon their loss of the property. All assets aside from code were transferred to the new developer.

[Zizi]

Bleh, double-posted somehow.

[Zizi]

If you read the information on the front page-- specifically, the little page 'about STO', you'll find they're using their pre-existing Cryptic Engine to power the game. So not only would that tend to suggest a lack of code from Perpetual to various degrees, it also explains how they've gotten something working so fast.

Also bear in mind that it's been while since Perpetual folded, and Cryptic picked up some of their employees pretty immediately(which is also when we started speculating that they picked up the STO license). That's a fair amount of time to develop some basic content for an existing engine to show off-- certainly enough for a top-notch crew like Cryptic to get some game footage together, and the Cryptic engine has been in development for a while now. In short, it's using the same engine CO is, and therefore if CO's far enough along for gameplay footage, there's not much reason STO can't be, either, with a few months work time already laid in.

[Finnigan]

If you read the information on the front page-- specifically, the little page 'about STO', you'll find they're using their pre-existing Cryptic Engine to power the game. So not only would that tend to suggest a lack of code from Perpetual to various degrees, it also explains how they've gotten something working so fast.

Also bear in mind that it's been while since Perpetual folded, and Cryptic picked up some of their employees pretty immediately(which is also when we started speculating that they picked up the STO license). That's a fair amount of time to develop some basic content for an existing engine to show off-- certainly enough for a top-notch crew like Cryptic to get some game footage together, and the Cryptic engine has been in development for a while now. In short, it's using the same engine CO is, and therefore if CO's far enough along for gameplay footage, there's not much reason STO can't be, either, with a few months work time already laid in.

A reasonable explanation. It is indeed likely that Crypitc has inserted Star Trek art, content, and data into their existing MMO engine.

I am glad that Cryptic was able to salvage some of the employee talent that most likely existed on the STO from Perpetual, fortunately that does not include those managing (actually mis-managing) the development of the game when it was at Perpetual. I wonder how our old buddy Daron feels about another more capable team of developers managing and working on the title he squandered for years.

I am enthusiastic about Cryptic doing this game. I am confident that we are going to see much more happen and in less time than what Daron was unable to accomplish. This is a good day for STO!

[Meynolt]

Isn't it so that Cryptic is using the old PE code but on it's own engine? I remember reading somewhere about Cryptic already having their own engine running on the old PE code. Could explain the screenshots at the very least.

And no, don't trust any wiki... anyone can edit those O_O

[AaronH]

Isn't it so that Cryptic is using the old PE code but on it's own engine? I remember reading somewhere about Cryptic already having their own engine running on the old PE code. Could explain the screenshots at the very least.

And no, don't trust any wiki... anyone can edit those O_O

I think you are misunderstanding what people mean by code. For most Code = Engine. Anything built on top of an engine can't really be transferred between engines, except maybe things like 3dmodels.

I can't believe I am going say this, but I agree with Finaggin, I think the move from Perpetual to cryptic was probably a good thing. Aside from cryptic having a good track record with me (loved CoH, and has given them a good learning experience) there is the issue of the game engine. From what I have heard perpetual's engine had a lot of probems, and a major slowdown was trying to work out those problems. Perpetual had a lot of good people, and I hope they are all doing great, but here's to cryptic and the future!~

[Obi3of7]

I agree that most of perpetuals work has'should have been rehashed and the Cryptic got everything but code. BTW Hi all!

[Commander_Daedelus]

In all fairness PE did have some nice concept art ( thats all i'll give them though) and as such it shouldnt be wasted if cryptic wants to implement it as for everything else PE had, SCRAP IT SCRAP IT NOW

[Finnigan]

I think you are misunderstanding what people mean by code. For most Code = Engine. Anything built on top of an engine can't really be transferred between engines, except maybe things like 3dmodels.

I can't believe I am going say this, but I agree with Finaggin, I think the move from Perpetual to cryptic was probably a good thing. Aside from cryptic having a good track record with me (loved CoH, and has given them a good learning experience) there is the issue of the game engine. From what I have heard perpetual's engine had a lot of probems, and a major slowdown was trying to work out those problems. Perpetual had a lot of good people, and I hope they are all doing great, but here's to cryptic and the future!~

Aaron,

Believe it! I'm happy to see you here as I felt that you were always a fair and reasoned voice online at "that other place". I suspect you and I will be in total agreement on most issues here. I fully support Crypitc's efforts and look forward to seeing what they do with this game.

Cheers,
Finny

[Captain_Smith]

In all fairness PE did have some nice concept art ( thats all i'll give them though)\

PE did have some nice concept art and screenshots, but it took over 2 years for it. In just one day, Cryptic announced STO, gave 9 new screenshots and going to reveal gameplay footage in 2 week.

Thanks, Cryptic

[Brenelael]

Aaron,

Believe it! I'm happy to see you here as I felt that you were always a fair and reasoned voice online at "that other place". I suspect you and I will be in total agreement on most issues here. I fully support Crypitc's efforts and look forward to seeing what they do with this game.

Cheers,
Finny

I too am glad to see all of the old STO.net moderators here as well (Even you CinC ;) ). I never had any real personal beef with any of them just with how they ran a supposedly official unofficial game forum. I too feel that the best thing that could have happened to STO is for them not to have inherited any of PE's code. This is Cryptic's baby now and from what I've seen so far they are treating it with the respect that it deserves. I do however feel that they should bring STO.net back online now. They were a very excellent fan site.....just a really crappy official game forum. ;)

Bren

P.S. And just think......now Finn and myself will be co-conspiring here so we may leave you alone this time around. ;) Well maybe not! :D

[J.L.Picard]

Cryptic must be using PE's stuff if you look at the only ingame screenshot and compare it to the new ones they look like they have the same design concepts

[Brenelael]

Cryptic must be using PE's stuff if you look at the only ingame screenshot and compare it to the new ones they look like they have the same design concepts

They are using some of PE's artwork and renders but all of the underlying game code is all Cryptic's. This is why it looks similar but I'll bet it plays a whole lot better than anything PE had built.

Bren

[CinC-UFPForces-Cardassia]

They are using some of PE's artwork and renders but all of the underlying game code is all Cryptic's. This is why it looks similar but I'll bet it plays a whole lot better than anything PE had built.

Bren

We don't really have a way to know that, which is a point I raise only as a caution about how we approach Cryptic's work in the future. I freely admit that I'm riding high on the fact that Cryptic's picked this back up in a very serious way - as another poster said, "Thanks, Cryptic." - but we should also allow ourselves to wean off of that sentiment going into the game's first critical test next week. Going forward, "it's better than what Perpetual had" shouldn't be something that let's Cryptic off on a legitimate critique - even if it is better than what Perpetual had, and especially if we can't be sure.

On the face of it, I'm pretty surprised Cryptic has endorsed Perpetual's art direction and graphics in the way they have. Not necessarily displeased, just surprised. Cryptic could've kept much of the former developer's graphics but generated their own artwork for the website; instead they've used an image which I'm pretty sure was featured on Perpetual's own STO site. It's an interesting choice.

[Akido37]

On the face of it, I'm pretty surprised Cryptic has endorsed Perpetual's art direction and graphics in the way they have. Not necessarily displeased, just surprised. Cryptic could've kept much of the former developer's graphics but generated their own artwork for the website; instead they've used an image which I'm pretty sure was featured on Perpetual's own STO site. It's an interesting choice.

Why reinvent the wheel?

[onibocho]

On the face of it, I'm pretty surprised Cryptic has endorsed Perpetual's art direction and graphics in the way they have. Not necessarily displeased, just surprised. Cryptic could've kept much of the former developer's graphics but generated their own artwork for the website; instead they've used an image which I'm pretty sure was featured on Perpetual's own STO site. It's an interesting choice.

Interesting point. Frankly one of the few things that I was satisfied with from PE(Piddlin' Excuse) was their concept art and most(not all) of their new ship designs. I would be a shame to just chuck all the work the old crew did. I think also it helps Cryptic to accelerate game development and concentrate their energies on the things that need the most work.

[CinC-UFPForces-Cardassia]

Why reinvent the wheel?

Fair point - there's certainly a strong argument for that. Granted Cryptic's acquisition of STO was not a hostile acquisition, but so many times when a product line or company is absorbed there's are changes made simply for proprietary purposes and to make clear the installation of a new regime is complete. That doesn't seem to be the case, so good on Cryptic for that.

Then again, the banner is quite new. An while I can't tell if it's concept art or rendered imagery, the detail on that DEFIANT is a sight to behold.

[IanD967]

Interesting point. Frankly one of the few things that I was satisfied with from PE(Piddlin' Excuse) was their concept art and most(not all) of their new ship designs. I would be a shame to just chuck all the work the old crew did. I think also it helps Cryptic to accelerate game development and concentrate their energies on the things that need the most work.

plus Cryptic hired some of the previous developers who worked on STO from PE and that would speed it up even further :D (and i mean the people who worked hard on the game and not the lousy management PE had)

[CinC-UFPForces-Cardassia]

plus Cryptic hired some of the previous developers who worked on STO from PE and that would speed it up even further :D (and i mean the people who worked hard on the game and not the lousy management PE had)

Do we have an idea of which Perpetual staffers made the transition?

[IanD967]

Do we have an idea of which Perpetual staffers made the transition?

i think it was some of the art team and a few programmers....not actually sure though sorry
i know Darren didnt get one though :D

[onibocho]

I got the impresion that alot of the old devs were very dedicated to this game and I could feel the frustration coming through in their final posts.

When I used to work in the fields we would have days where simply nothing got done and no mater how hard you tried nothing worked out. On one of those kind of days our work manager just stood up and told all of us to go home and get a good nights sleep. So we dropped everything and did just that. The next day was one of the most productive we had all season.

Maybe the old crew needed to get a good nights sleep, waking up to a new managment started to realy get things done. Well.... here's hoping.:)

[IanD967]

Maybe the old crew needed to get a good nights sleep, waking up to a new managment started to realy get things done. Well.... here's hoping.:)

exactly! a new managment and a bit of a rest can really do wonders for alot of things :)

another story is that while play Zelda on the Wii i got upto a puzzle where i had to get 2 statues (who moved in opposite directions) to stand on two pillars next to each other and i tried for 7 hours to do that puzzle to no effect, i saved it and gave up...later that night after i had a rest from it i tried it again and on the first try i managed to do it :)

plus another thing is that most of the devs who got fired and what not were posting daily alongside people in the STO.net and HF boards untill rumors of these interviews arose and suddenly i havent seen a post of this and they were clearly dedicated to the game as you could of told it from their posts :)

[J.L.Picard]

I read on PE's site they are stopping game development to focus on developing their engine, So i'm thinking that STO will probably run on the PE engine and after you look at PE's ingame Screen shot and compare to the Screenies that cryptic have released it raises the possibility of thing being so.

[Jaedon_Rivers]

Then again, the banner is quite new. An while I can't tell if it's concept art or rendered imagery, the detail on that DEFIANT is a sight to behold.

I'm pretty certain it's concept art, but the style is different to anything I've seen of existing art for this game - I'm cautiously assuming this is Cryptic's work. And it's damned pretty (and has my favourite ship right in the middle :))

It's nice to see Perpetual's stuff still in use though - good to know not everything will be going to waste

[onibocho]

Yeh! I remember Glen Dalgrens last posts. So much was clear to me then as to what happened and what direction the game would have gone if he'd had stayed. It seems Cryptic took note of this. It should be a lesson to any developer. IT'S THE CUSTOMER STUPID!;)

[Ric_Adbur]

I sincerely hope the don't base their game off of Perpetual's work. I hated most of what Perpetual was doing... especially the uniforms. I want to see the DS9/Nemesis unforms in the game. :)

[CinC-UFPForces-Cardassia]

I read on PE's site they are stopping game development to focus on developing their engine, So i'm thinking that STO will probably run on the PE engine and after you look at PE's ingame Screen shot and compare to the Screenies that cryptic have released it raises the possibility of thing being so.

You can never discount the possibility, however small, that Cryptic will chose another company's engine. If they do though, it's not going to be Perpetual's. That company is dead, and its management team is embroiled in its own legal difficulties rather than any technical development. Not even the URL works anymore.

[eNDIE]

I thought cryptic used their own engine?

[IanD967]

they are using their own engine :) but because they have alot of the former devs working on it, that means they can speed up alot again as they know what they would have to do


and i wish Glen and co stayed on :( their ideas were pretty awesome

[Brenelael]

"Powered by the Cryptic Engine, Star Trek® Online will be developed for both console and PC formats. With customizable ships and characters from the Klingon Empire and United Federation of Planets, ground, space and shipboard gameplay and unique options for player-generated content set in the Star Trek universe, Star Trek Online is the MMOG that allows you to boldly go where no one has gone before!" - Taken from the About Star Trek Online (http://www.startrekonline.com/about_star_trek_online) page on this site.

This should remove any doubt about what engine and code Cryptic is using for this game.

Bren

[Finnigan]

We don't really have a way to know that, which is a point I raise only as a caution about how we approach Cryptic's work in the future. I freely admit that I'm riding high on the fact that Cryptic's picked this back up in a very serious way - as another poster said, "Thanks, Cryptic." - but we should also allow ourselves to wean off of that sentiment going into the game's first critical test next week. Going forward, "it's better than what Perpetual had" shouldn't be something that let's Cryptic off on a legitimate critique - even if it is better than what Perpetual had, and especially if we can't be sure.

On the face of it, I'm pretty surprised Cryptic has endorsed Perpetual's art direction and graphics in the way they have. Not necessarily displeased, just surprised. Cryptic could've kept much of the former developer's graphics but generated their own artwork for the website; instead they've used an image which I'm pretty sure was featured on Perpetual's own STO site. It's an interesting choice.

I have to give Cryptic credit for how they are handling the public relations side of things. In particular, this forum. I have to agree with you that there is still much that we do not know. I look forward to the upcoming game footage that is supposed to be released at the Vegas Trek Convention next week.

I am sure that Cryptic is not going to please everyone since there are a multitude of tastes and desires out there for this game. I'm ready to be critical of the things I think are mistakes, but unlike Perpetual, I have great confidence in Cryptic as a company and as a developer of games. I think we have to wait and see as to whether or not they are actually using Perpetual's art for the game.

i think it was some of the art team and a few programmers....not actually sure though sorry
i know Darren didnt get one though :D

My sources tell me something similar. I do know that Daron Stinnett has formed his own company, CDRV Media Inc., for which there is little information online. In the past few months I've learned from some of my friends in the game business that things at Perpetual were really, really bad. I know that if Stinnett is planning on making games, I won't be buying them if they ever reach retail.

"Powered by the Cryptic Engine, Star Trek® Online will be developed for both console and PC formats. With customizable ships and characters from the Klingon Empire and United Federation of Planets, ground, space and shipboard gameplay and unique options for player-generated content set in the Star Trek universe, Star Trek Online is the MMOG that allows you to boldly go where no one has gone before!" - Taken from the About Star Trek Online (http://www.startrekonline.com/about_star_trek_online) page on this site.

This should remove any doubt about what engine and code Cryptic is using for this game.

Bren


Excellent! I never believed that the Perpetual code was going to be used. That would have been a HUGE mistake.

Fin

[onibocho]

May a little beligerent Italian guy slap Daron upside the head with a wet noodle every morning at breakfast.:D

[J.L.Picard]

guys think about this, it has to be PE's engine how would they have ingame footage so quickly??

Even if they picked up the game straight after PE you expect me to believe that they have done all this work in 1/10 of the time that PE had?? PE had it for years and we got 1 ingame pic out of it and now cryptic under 1 year and gameplay footage. It has to be the PE engine and IF it is im happy from the only ingame pic i got to see i like the way it was looking.

first link is possible box art?? http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/startrekonline/index.html?tag=result;title;0

this link is the ingame pic
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Image:STO_USS_Perpetual_1.jpg Akira is so dam pretty

http://trekweb.com/stories.php?aid=47565e26af1cf&cid=4757fc98ab8f2&tid=47569e33f1841&threadView=2&clickReply=1
this ones an excalibur class i cant find a bigger one but if you go Gamespot.com you can get a bigger version just check out STO then Images

[IanD967]

Excellent! I never believed that the Perpetual code was going to be used. That would have been a HUGE mistake.

Fin

also never possible in the first place :)

PE only gave away the license, artwork and whatever else EXCEPT their code. that was one thing they never gave away

[onibocho]

True. I beleave they wanted to sell their engine as a seperate commodity. I think in order to pull their "tribbles" out of the other problems they had.

[Jaedon_Rivers]

guys think about this, it has to be PE's engine how would they have ingame footage so quickly??

Well,
- They have Perpetual's art assets to use if they want to (ships, characters, environment art, etc)
- They have an existing engine, which they're using, they can put these art assets into
- They've had maybe 6 months to work with all of this, which also gives them time to make new stuff

And they don't need an entire working game to make some gameplay footage. The footage we see might not necessarily be from the player's point of view at all (behind the hud, point-of-view, etc), and many early gameplay trailers aren't - see the Champions Online debut trailer for example.

And the box art is an old one - it has the old logo PE were using on it

[J.L.Picard]

i love startrek this game could play like **** and ill still get it and im sure there are tens of thousands of you who feel the same all we can do is hope cryptic does right by us.

P.S. Cryptic dev's why are you not advertising STO on you Champions site but you are advertising champions on STO?? huh??? doesnt seem fair to me :mad:

[IanD967]

we got 1 ingame pic out of it and now cryptic under 1 year and gameplay footage.


2 shots with PE ...actually ;)

it ISNT PE's engine at all! it even says that in the "about star trek online" on the front page!

having PE's artwork can greatly speed up the process as they dont need to hire an army of artists and designers to think of new designs wheras they already have decent designs from the go which they can work with

plus Cryptic are a talented lot with alot fo experiance while PE was a new kid on the block with no previous MMO experiance hence why they are able to produce some gameplay footage under a year

[Trekkie]

I actually did like some of what Perpetual Studios came up with, but whether Cryptic utilizes Perpetual's work or not I'm sure the game will be enjoyable.

[Finnigan]

guys think about this, it has to be PE's engine how would they have ingame footage so quickly??

Even if they picked up the game straight after PE you expect me to believe that they have done all this work in 1/10 of the time that PE had?? PE had it for years and we got 1 ingame pic out of it and now cryptic under 1 year and gameplay footage. It has to be the PE engine and IF it is im happy from the only ingame pic i got to see i like the way it was looking.



It is certainly possible. Cryptic took their existing game engine and have put in Trek content and art. I'm betting that there are plenty of graphical representations in the game engine, but the routines for gameplay, resource management, combat, and other modules are still far from complete.

We'll all be able to tell more when the game footage is released next week. I'm sure we'll all have a field day doing our own analysis, conjecture, and evaluation of it. :)

Doing something better and faster than Perpetual is not beyond the possibility of belief, by the way.:p

Fin

[onibocho]

Might I add that pe changed gears about halfway through development and threw away alot of the earlier concepts, so they waisted even more time.

[MillerEP]

I agree, but lets just hope that since some of the leg work has been done already, then we'll see this game (or at least a beta version) coming out around the Star Trek Movie instead of 2 years from now.

[IanD967]

I agree, but lets just hope that since some of the leg work has been done already, then we'll see this game (or at least a beta version) coming out around the Star Trek Movie instead of 2 years from now.

that is what im expecting.

along time of MMO development is the artwork and since that phase has been virtually done already that takes a big chunk of development time out :D

[J.L.Picard]

I agree, but lets just hope that since some of the leg work has been done already, then we'll see this game (or at least a beta version) coming out around the Star Trek Movie instead of 2 years from now.

are you insame?? CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS this year you crazy basterd dont go giving cryptic ideas i want em working day and night. i want them eating,sleeping and drinking STO

[ChiefBrex]

Really hoping they use the uniform designs Perpetual came up with.

Had a lot of good concept art for starships and planets, hope cryptic uses it. :)

I personally hope they don't. The uniform concept art was horrendous. Not to mention non-canon. There are at least three episodes of Star Trek that took place at the turn of the century (TNG, DS9, and VOY). All three of these episodes used the same uniforms and equipment.

Since I've seen a few posts on these forums asking for a more canon game for Star Trek, I would hope that would include using canon uniform and commbadge designs from established episodes. And also, many of the canon starship designs would still be in active service, even if they are no longer in production. Furthermore, since the Nova, Intrepid, and Prometheus Classes are introduced in the early 2370s, it would stand to reason that, not only would they still be in production (although nearing the end of their production lines), they would still very much be in service. As would the Sovereign, Galaxy, and Nebula Classes. And, of course, many of the Wolf 359 designs would still be in service. I wouldn't expect to see very many new starship designs, even in this era, since there are so many canon designs available. But, it would be cool to see some of the fan designs, like the Excalibur and Poseidon Classes from Bridge Commander, in this game.

Either way, even if Cryptic got all the concept materials from Perpetual, I would hope that Cryptic would prefer building the game their own way, and creating their own concepts for it, rather than taking the easy road, and just using the crap from Perpetual.