Meet the Team - Al Rivera (September 8, 2008)

[Kestrel]

Learn more about Al "Captain Geko" Rivera, the lead designer of Star Trek Online!

My primary responsibility is to ensure that the team maintains that overall vision. This means writing design documentation, creating systems, implementing assets and managing the design team. It is also my personal responsibility to ensure that the work we do remains true to the IP. But most importantly, it is my job to make sure that the game is fun.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/articles/meet_al_lead_designer_for_star_trek_online)

[Sir_Cedric]

Well it's good to hear he will keep the game on course, and STO isn't going to be just a average game. Plus the fact he owns a Bat'leth, and that's very cool.

[SAMEET]

"This is not going to be another cookie-cutter MMO with a Star Trek skin on it."

Music to my ears. The lead designer sounds cool.

I will be taking a LONG break from the community forums. I trust Cryptic to do a good job until then, I hope they polish up the graphics and do not implement overly simplistic gameplay. Until there is serious information about the game, I will rejoin. It could be a month, it could be a year. we will see.

[Captain_Intrepid]

Congratulations on your promotion to captain, Captain Geko!:D

[Bladedge]

Nice interview.

Nice to know how the devs are going about on the combat system reminds me of SFC.

[RockyM]

Salute to Captain Geko !
Cheers for the insight into your work :D
(and your favourite food :))

[Sorbek]

Finally someone who else love DS9!!!! Dominion War anyone??

Great info and great news about the shield/firing arcs, and diverting power to other systems!!!

This game is so going to rock!

[Hathaway]

Great interview, sounds like STO is in safe hands:)

[onibocho]

YEEEYAAAAAHHH!!!!


THIS is what I wanted to hear!!

[SAMEET]

Makes Daron Stinnett seem like a distant nightmare. I hope we hear more from him regularly. For those of you who don't know, Daron was the PR man for PE for several years. Not very well-liked, to say the least.

[lumpking69]

Didn't learn much about STO, but thanks anyway.

[dwarner]

Thanks for the Q+A session, I'm especially excited to hear about his involvement in the space combat design. I encourage a look at Star Trek: Bridge Commander (especially with the Kobiyashi Maru player mod pack) for inspiration, if he hasn't already.

[gkeffer]

I expect everyone at Cryptic is hard at it trying to bring the true Trek experience to STO, and that is going to pay off for them in the end, as they see the many fans that subscribe to STO

I also think they realize that the diehard fans will not let them work diligently and peacfully without keeping us updated on a regular basis.

Most any tidbits of information on the project and it's progress will keep most of us folks happy.
Prior to Cryptic for a couple of years.....nothing, as to the progress, so this is candy to the sweet tooth.

The vast majority of us have been waiting for this for so long, that to a certain extent, it's kind of hard to beleive that it is actually going to happen.

We tend to get overbearing or starved for information on what by now all of my friends and I have deemed as OUR game. So as you can see some can get territorial when it comes to this franchise.

Thanks for the updates and reassurances

[Sherp]

Don't forget to play a lot of games, even games you don't like. Understand the mechanics, and learn to critique them objectionably.

How does that work, exactly? Can I just swear a lot in my reviews?

:p Glad to hear from you, Captain Geko! Hope to see you on this forum sometime! :)

[Voyager24]

The very last part of that post Al made on the main page I think we all need to hold him to that. :D

[Yavin_Prime]

Good to meet you Al, I'm sure you'll do just fine.

I did have a question, and this is general anyone with knowledge and experience may answer it, I would like to get in the game industry... I have since I was a kid but I'm taking a not so traditional route, and I wanted to make sure there is possability before I get to set on the route I'm going.

I tryed the whole art school thing, you know the ones that say "get your dagree in game design", and while I was there they trained me in Photo Shop, 3D studio max and all that stuff but I never finished and moved on to a traditional 4-year college due to wanting a dagree that could evolve into a masters (the art school known as AI - Art Institute wasn't a recognized school when it came to academics).

Since then I've been honing my skills as a writer (with a dire dependency on spell check hehe) but I've had a few friends and family members read my stuff and they like it a lot. So I decided to get a dagree in English at a college next to my house (CSUCI - California State University of Channel Islands), my goal is to become a writer, I do understand its an uphill battle and not everyone makes it, so I'm looking for the "bread and butter" job, you know something to put money in my pocket and food on the table untill I actualy break through as a writer (if should be the prefered term, I realy do understand that not everyone can make a living off of just publishing books).

So to get to the bulk of the question, is there any need for writers in the game industry?

I ask only because the article about Al, had a section about "how to become" a game designer or creater and I figured with that tied into this thread I might just toss out the question. :D

[Sevenblade]

Q: What part of Star Trek Online are you the most excited about working on?
A: Space combat. I am a combat system designer at heart, and I am very excited about the system we have worked out for space combat. Space combat is nothing like typical MMO combat, nor is it a dogfighter. It is deeply tactical, strategic and 100 percent Trek. Shield facing, turn rates, weapon firing arcs, power transfers, bridge officer skills, ship configurations and damage control are all things you will need to manage. We also are working on mechanics for different levels of automation if you want a simpler experience (put some weapons on auto fire, power level presets, that sort of thing).

Oh my god that might be the single best news I've heard so far. This makes me so ridiculously happy, as that has been one of the most recent discussions I've been having. I'm so glad to hear combat will be dynamic and a thinking man's game, rather than the mediocre basic point and click bash 'em ups the industry likes to spew out.
Al, ST:O is gonna come out wonderful if it's in your capable hands. I have faith that you'll put out a game that will be deserving of the series and of us fans. Thank you.

[Lostphoenix]

Nice. I am most impressed in your choice of favorite episodes.

great news about the combat system. A big fear of mine was that the combat system would be some kind of mindless button mashing frenzy.

[MoppyCGDaniels]

Awesome to read that the topic of space combat isn't turned into dogfight. Fireing arcs, tranferring energy & especialy bridge skills are the things I apreciate.

[Signalsgt]

Outstanding introduction, I like the vision that you outlined.

Can't wait to see it all come together.

[Dext]

Thanks for this new info

[Trekkie]

This article was very interesting! Thank you for posting this!

[Vazuras]

......nice!!!!! :p

[tatlock29]

Yes! You're the man! Thank the maker that a real ST fan is getting this game to us.

[Stu1701]

It's great to hear the people working on STO are devout Trek fans just like the rest of us here, it let's us know they want this to be an awesome game just as much as we do and that they are doing their best to stay as true to Star Trek as possible. Live long and prosper Captain Geko.

[JerryC]

Thanks Kestral, its great to hear from the team and see why they love STO so much.


My only wish is that it was finished and we could play it now :)

[Cuddles]

Thanks Kestrel and Al.

The more I hear from Cryptic about STO, the less I am concerned for it and worringly, the less I want to play anything else!

[MidniteAvenger]

Sweet, it warms my heart to know the level of dedication the designers at Cryptic have to making games with players in mind. I look foward to spending many hours scouring the worlds you guys are creating.

[Ahkileez]

Geko was a real favorite of the players over at CoX, so it's nice to know somebody with his dedication is heading up things here for STO.

It's a great interview. I can't wait to read the next one. :)

[VainEldritch]

I am very pleased to hear the information on starship combat - very deep and tactical, to the extent that they are adding "auto-manage" features to ship systems so people who don't like too much management in combat can relax.

On the other hand, people like me who love to manage ship systems down to the fine detail will be very happy about this.

So far, so good.

[Hammond]

I really can't say more, than I am very impressed

keep up the good work :)

[Scooby]

Thx for this nice Q&A! I'm sure, this game will be awesome! Keep going! ;)

[Locutus]

ah its nice to know somethink about the team. And it wont be a boring casual grinding game with ST grafik ok thats good...^^

[bsharpe]

As has many others have already stated, excellent news on the combat systems you are looking at. Looking forward to more news as and when it arrives.

I am Chuffed :D

[DangleBerry]

Dear Mr Rivera

I notice that you have alot of knowledge when it comes to mmo's.
I have an idea for an mmo that is realistic and would totally change the way we play. I would like partial credit for my idea but if you or somone else could private message me with maby an email adress so that you could hear my idea that would be great and maby great on your part also.

[Sacrilegious]

A timely answer to requests that were made after the last JE Q&A..... I like the attention Cryptic is showing the people that are interested in this project. I believe they are genuinely listening to our feed back & taking on board community advice... Bravo, can't wait to see what develops. Should be a cracker of a game.

[vanlore]

Captain Geko I love every thing you have said and I'm am really happy that your the one in charge of these things :D I'm so happy about everything you have said :D ;)

[Isywi]

Great to know that the team at Cryptic is on the side of the Trek fans, and staying as true to the franchise as possible for this worldwide MMO
Looking forward to additional updates as progress continues.:)

[Wv65fyNyesWmTy8c]

I remember the 10six game. Played it for a short time since at the time my isp dropped my connection often. We road around on like skateboards that flew along the ground and picked out unoccupied land to start our own bases. People had hacks in it that would drop your base security before you offically did the things such as leveling past a level to get the auto protection to drop and that was that for me. Was cool though with energy held weapons.

[deworde]

Some of the stuff about Starship Combat he's saying reminds me of nothing more than Star Trek: Starfleet Command II. That is in some ways a very good thing, that game had a good storyline, deceptively complex missions, and, once you were into it, kick-ass starship combat.

Just one problem.
I loved that game, but it had less a learning curve, and more a learning edifice.
As you slowly improved both your ship and your playing style, and began to get how things were done (especially energy management) it became awesome, but on the first two or three trials, it was so hard to punch through that "Whu?" barrier, I stopped playing for months at a time, and gave it up as simply a "bad" game.

[edge-stormcrow]

I like his details on the ship management.. like Bridge Commander on mega steroids. im sold.

[edge-stormcrow]

multi-player bridge would be the icing on the cake :)

[deltabasetwo]

I too have waited for a long time for a game like this and a find myself craving more and just waiting for every piece of information I can get my hands on. So far every detail I have seen makes me want this game so much more and anticipate how great this game is going to be. I have never been so happy or looked forward to any game as much as I am looking forward to this one. Finally a game where the battles are going to take thinking as opposed to past games where you just have to kill your keyboard. I cant wait!

[Dr._Sskarno]

Nice to know STO is in the hands of a diehard fan :) Live Long and Prosper Al

[Lance85]

Learn more about Al "Captain Geko" Rivera, the lead designer of Star Trek Online!

My primary responsibility is to ensure that the team maintains that overall vision. This means writing design documentation, creating systems, implementing assets and managing the design team. It is also my personal responsibility to ensure that the work we do remains true to the IP. But most importantly, it is my job to make sure that the game is fun.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/articles/meet_al_lead_designer_for_star_trek_online)

Maybe it’s the gamer side of me coming out but I really don’t see how this latest “info” was really about the progress on STO.

[Rivaris]

nice news i loved all of it!!!

im sold that part about space combat is just how i dreamed of it, turning the ship facing shields dammage control turn rate firing arcs ect ect finaly not a other combat system were you can marco every thing 2 1 button and bash away at some 1.

tactical combat were you need to think not some mindless zerk.
i would love to see a trailer of that system in action!

[bobandben]

"This is not going to be another cookie-cutter MMO with a Star Trek skin on it."

Music to my ears. The lead designer sounds cool.

I will be taking a LONG break from the community forums. I trust Cryptic to do a good job until then, I hope they polish up the graphics and do not implement overly simplistic gameplay. Until there is serious information about the game, I will rejoin. It could be a month, it could be a year. we will see.

When will the game be coming out?:confused::mad:

[Omega1]

Things are looking better for this game!

[TheHybrid]

Glad to see that the designers are Star Trek fans, even before the game was conceived. I think it adds to the responsibility they've been giving to make this game as great as it can be rather than someone who's not a fan, just doing another MMO. Good to hear the news and that you own a Bat'leth! Ka-Plaa!

[Ensign.Ricky]

Fun and true to the IP. Captain Geko those were the words that Ensign.Ricky likes to hear! Someones getting a gift basket this christmas :rolleyes:. Glad to know a hardcore Trek Fan and veteran game designer is in charge and cracking the IP whip. My Trek Geekness is relieved for now. A man that owns a Bat'leth truly loves his trek. Great to see a little background of the team too, those are some of the best choices of Episodes from the series.

I'm really excited to hear about the space combat. Shield facing and turn rates can tell us a lot about how certain ships will play. I hope things like sensors and customizable attack patterns might have some role too. An important note that was mentioned was the different levels of automation. I think this will appeal to all types of players since we tend to vary on that topic or sometimes we might just want to change our style from time to time. Although I will be looking forward to Space combat the most, I think we all would also like a little light on the mystery of ground combat too though (ranged, hand to hand etc). I hope it's as exciting and tactical as space is, since I'm sure theres a few who will prefer more ground combat.

Thanks again for an excellent Q&A. These really help us pass the time and stir interests.

[NX02]

i would love to see more "behind the scenes".. it would be awsome:)

[sokolov]

So to get to the bulk of the question, is there any need for writers in the game industry?

Many games have, at their core, a lot of plot, and good writing is essential to developing the kind of atmosphere you want your player to experience even if the player may not necessarily be reading text. And with games like RPGs (Assassin's Creed, The Witcher) and MMOs, that writing comes to the forefront as well in character interactions.

So definitely, yes.

[Nelson]

For posting this interview, but I was wondering if anyone could tell us when we might get the next part of the story line?????

[Flatfingers]

Thanks for the bio, Al & company. It's always appreciated to get a better idea of the real people behind the product. In fact, this is an area where computer game development is far superior to pretty much any other kind of business -- how often do you get to meet the person who designed your car or your TV?

In particular, like others here I was really pleased at the final comments. I'm one of those who thinks this game will do best by serving both Star Trek fans and current MMORPG gamers in a balanced way, so it's pretty important when the lead designer makes it clear that in addition to offering deep gameplay, the IP will be respected.

Having said that... I guess I get to be the voice of caution.

Star Trek Online is going to be a massively multiplayer persistent-world roleplaying game based on an IP that makes the highly visible point that non-violence should always be the preferred option. So it raises a red flag for me when the lead designer offers the following comments:

Q: What part of Star Trek Online are you the most excited about working on?
A: Space combat. I am a combat system designer at heart, and I am very excited about the system we have worked out for space combat.

Q: What are your favorite episodes?
A: ... If I had to pick one, I guess I would have to say my favorite is "Sacrifice of Angels" (DS9), where Sisko retakes DS9; closely followed by "Yesterday's Enterprise" (TNG), where we see Tasha return, which eventually gives rise to Sela.

Star Trek most definitely has its smackdown moments. I consider it primarily a character-driven world, but there's certainly been a lot of phaser fire. (And I'm on record as endorsing the Federation philosophy of standing up for principles, even if that sometimes means violent conflict.)

That said, I'm a little concerned about how balanced gameplay in STO will be when the lead designer makes no bones about preferring destruction -- in Star Trek as well as in MMORPGs -- over constructive behavior.

I would have been happier personally if the lead designer for this particular game, with its particular IP, had been someone who was primarily interested and experienced in gameplay that's focused on character development, on world-building, on crafting, rather than on yet another set of rules for how to kill things. I'm not thrilled that the core design for non-combat content is in the hands of someone who by his own statements doesn't find that kind of gameplay to be the most exciting opportunity when designing an entire MMORPG based on a license that explicitly values non-combat solutions to problems. It's not a criticism of any kind of Al's experience or interests to say that I'm somewhat skeptical that he was the right person for this critical development role -- I'd rather the job had gone to someone who wasn't so combat-oriented.

On the plus side, he did mention preferring Picard over Kirk, so maybe there's some hope for him after all. ;)

Seriously, though, none of the concerns outlined above mean that I'm angry or grumpy or having any kind of emotional reaction. Nor are my comments any kind of "attack" on Al or on Cryptic from which they need to be defended.

Nor am I criticizing the presence of combat in Star Trek Online. Combat is a part of Star Trek as well as being conventional MMORPG content, and on both of those grounds it needs to be baked into Star Trek Online's core design. Heck, I'm actually glad to hear that ship combat is being conceived as a deep tactical experience; that's exactly what I was hoping for. (Although I'm not satisfied yet that "tactical" is being correctly understood as requiring lots of environmental features, as opposed to just tying GUI buttons to character abilities and calling it "tactics." But the jury's still out on that one.)

What I'm saying is that the Star Trek IP has a uniquely strong emphasis on negotiation and science and cooperation over violence and destruction and competition. If the lead designer for this particular game is admittedly more energized by combat content, then those of us out here who believe that non-combat content needs to play an important role in this game need to politely express our hope that this aspect of the game will be given the enthusiastic high-level design attention that it deserves. And we need to step up with constructive suggestions for examples of broadly enjoyable non-combat content that can help achieve that balance between rules-based and world-based play that will best serve all of this game's likely subscribers.

I'd appreciate it if these comments were taken in the constructive and hopeful spirit in which I wrote them.

Thanks again to the folks at Cryptic for taking the time to say hello, and for letting us know that you hear our hopes for this product.

--Flatfingers

[Lance85]

Thanks for the bio, Al & company. It's always appreciated to get a better idea of the real people behind the product. In fact, this is an area where computer game development is far superior to pretty much any other kind of business -- how often do you get to meet the person who designed your car or your TV?

In particular, like others here I was really pleased at the final comments. I'm one of those who thinks this game will do best by serving both Star Trek fans and current MMORPG gamers in a balanced way, so it's pretty important when the lead designer makes it clear that in addition to offering deep gameplay, the IP will be respected.

Having said that... I guess I get to be the voice of caution.

Star Trek Online is going to be a massively multiplayer persistent-world roleplaying game based on an IP that makes the highly visible point that non-violence should always be the preferred option. So it raises a red flag for me when the lead designer offers the following comments:

Q: What part of Star Trek Online are you the most excited about working on?
A: Space combat. I am a combat system designer at heart, and I am very excited about the system we have worked out for space combat.

Q: What are your favorite episodes?
A: ... If I had to pick one, I guess I would have to say my favorite is "Sacrifice of Angels" (DS9), where Sisko retakes DS9; closely followed by "Yesterday's Enterprise" (TNG), where we see Tasha return, which eventually gives rise to Sela.

Star Trek most definitely has its smackdown moments. I consider it primarily a character-driven world, but there's certainly been a lot of phaser fire. (And I'm on record as endorsing the Federation philosophy of standing up for principles, even if that sometimes means violent conflict.)

That said, I'm a little concerned about how balanced gameplay in STO will be when the lead designer makes no bones about preferring destruction -- in Star Trek as well as in MMORPGs -- over constructive behavior.

I would have been happier personally if the lead designer for this particular game, with its particular IP, had been someone who was primarily interested and experienced in gameplay that's focused on character development, on world-building, on crafting, rather than on yet another set of rules for how to kill things. I'm not thrilled that the core design for non-combat content is in the hands of someone who by his own statements doesn't find that kind of gameplay to be the most exciting opportunity when designing an entire MMORPG based on a license that explicitly values non-combat solutions to problems. It's not a criticism of any kind of Al's experience or interests to say that I'm somewhat skeptical that he was the right person for this critical development role -- I'd rather the job had gone to someone who wasn't so combat-oriented.

On the plus side, he did mention preferring Picard over Kirk, so maybe there's some hope for him after all. ;)

Seriously, though, none of the concerns outlined above mean that I'm angry or grumpy or having any kind of emotional reaction. Nor are my comments any kind of "attack" on Al or on Cryptic from which they need to be defended.

Nor am I criticizing the presence of combat in Star Trek Online. Combat is a part of Star Trek as well as being conventional MMORPG content, and on both of those grounds it needs to be baked into Star Trek Online's core design. Heck, I'm actually glad to hear that ship combat is being conceived as a deep tactical experience; that's exactly what I was hoping for. (Although I'm not satisfied yet that "tactical" is being correctly understood as requiring lots of environmental features, as opposed to just tying GUI buttons to character abilities and calling it "tactics." But the jury's still out on that one.)

What I'm saying is that the Star Trek IP has a uniquely strong emphasis on negotiation and science and cooperation over violence and destruction and competition. If the lead designer for this particular game is admittedly more energized by combat content, then those of us out here who believe that non-combat content needs to play an important role in this game need to politely express our hope that this aspect of the game will be given the enthusiastic high-level design attention that it deserves. And we need to step up with constructive suggestions for examples of broadly enjoyable non-combat content that can help achieve that balance between rules-based and world-based play that will best serve all of this game's likely subscribers.

I'd appreciate it if these comments were taken in the constructive and hopeful spirit in which I wrote them.

Thanks again to the folks at Cryptic for taking the time to say hello, and for letting us know that you hear our hopes for this product.

--Flatfingers

Just as long as some punk that plays 80 hours a week cant kick my butt with me stadning no chance of kicking his since i can't play 80 hours a week, i'll be happy.

[dodger0000]

I am encouraged a tiny bit by this statement:
STO will be the unique experience that you have been waiting for

And I lose that encouragement when I take a look at this one:
I am a combat system designer at heart

A combat oriented lead designer scares me a little. So I am on the fence again.

I do agree that I am making points out of context. The statement by itself worries me. I don't want a game that is focused on combat. Combat should be no more then 25% of the experience in my opinion because that fits with canon. I worry the Cryptic believes that in order to make it fun, that they feel they were forced to make a game that is predominantly combat. I will be more than happy to see a game that allows for any play style to be fun and achieve the highest levels and obtain the best gear. Other games seem to reserve the best for those who have a certain play style. I don't want that to happen here. A full time explorer capt. should be able to get all the best stuff. Just as a full time PvP capt should.

[Outpost_31]

Thanks for the bio, Al & company. It's always appreciated to get a better idea of the real people behind the product. In fact, this is an area where computer game development is far superior to pretty much any other kind of business -- how often do you get to meet the person who designed your car or your TV?

In particular, like others here I was really pleased at the final comments. I'm one of those who thinks this game will do best by serving both Star Trek fans and current MMORPG gamers in a balanced way, so it's pretty important when the lead designer makes it clear that in addition to offering deep gameplay, the IP will be respected.

Having said that... I guess I get to be the voice of caution.

Star Trek Online is going to be a massively multiplayer persistent-world roleplaying game based on an IP that makes the highly visible point that non-violence should always be the preferred option. So it raises a red flag for me when the lead designer offers the following comments:

Q: What part of Star Trek Online are you the most excited about working on?
A: Space combat. I am a combat system designer at heart, and I am very excited about the system we have worked out for space combat.

Q: What are your favorite episodes?
A: ... If I had to pick one, I guess I would have to say my favorite is "Sacrifice of Angels" (DS9), where Sisko retakes DS9; closely followed by "Yesterday's Enterprise" (TNG), where we see Tasha return, which eventually gives rise to Sela.

Star Trek most definitely has its smackdown moments. I consider it primarily a character-driven world, but there's certainly been a lot of phaser fire. (And I'm on record as endorsing the Federation philosophy of standing up for principles, even if that sometimes means violent conflict.)

That said, I'm a little concerned about how balanced gameplay in STO will be when the lead designer makes no bones about preferring destruction -- in Star Trek as well as in MMORPGs -- over constructive behavior.

I would have been happier personally if the lead designer for this particular game, with its particular IP, had been someone who was primarily interested and experienced in gameplay that's focused on character development, on world-building, on crafting, rather than on yet another set of rules for how to kill things. I'm not thrilled that the core design for non-combat content is in the hands of someone who by his own statements doesn't find that kind of gameplay to be the most exciting opportunity when designing an entire MMORPG based on a license that explicitly values non-combat solutions to problems. It's not a criticism of any kind of Al's experience or interests to say that I'm somewhat skeptical that he was the right person for this critical development role -- I'd rather the job had gone to someone who wasn't so combat-oriented.

On the plus side, he did mention preferring Picard over Kirk, so maybe there's some hope for him after all. ;)

Seriously, though, none of the concerns outlined above mean that I'm angry or grumpy or having any kind of emotional reaction. Nor are my comments any kind of "attack" on Al or on Cryptic from which they need to be defended.

Nor am I criticizing the presence of combat in Star Trek Online. Combat is a part of Star Trek as well as being conventional MMORPG content, and on both of those grounds it needs to be baked into Star Trek Online's core design. Heck, I'm actually glad to hear that ship combat is being conceived as a deep tactical experience; that's exactly what I was hoping for. (Although I'm not satisfied yet that "tactical" is being correctly understood as requiring lots of environmental features, as opposed to just tying GUI buttons to character abilities and calling it "tactics." But the jury's still out on that one.)

What I'm saying is that the Star Trek IP has a uniquely strong emphasis on negotiation and science and cooperation over violence and destruction and competition. If the lead designer for this particular game is admittedly more energized by combat content, then those of us out here who believe that non-combat content needs to play an important role in this game need to politely express our hope that this aspect of the game will be given the enthusiastic high-level design attention that it deserves. And we need to step up with constructive suggestions for examples of broadly enjoyable non-combat content that can help achieve that balance between rules-based and world-based play that will best serve all of this game's likely subscribers.

I'd appreciate it if these comments were taken in the constructive and hopeful spirit in which I wrote them.

Thanks again to the folks at Cryptic for taking the time to say hello, and for letting us know that you hear our hopes for this product.

--Flatfingers

I couldn't have said any better.

[Er-Murazor]

It is good to know that the lead designer is a fellow Star Trek fan and will do his best to do well by us. I am especially glad that they are goin to work on the combat system to make it more like Star Trek instead of a dogfighting sim and that they are going to try and make the scale right, it is weird to see a Defiant being the same size as an Intrepid or a Galaxy.

It is good that the designer has a bat'leth, it means that he will do the Klingons right.

[chauncey.kieley]

Wow, I am amazed by the level of dedication and detial that they team at Cryptic is putting into STO, the space combat sounds amazing and very true to the core of Star Trek. Keep up the good work and keep the info flowing. You guys rock

[chauncey.kieley]

I couldn't have said any better.
I agree that from the federation perspective force is always a last resort and I am interested to see if gameplay will change drastically depending on which race a player chooses to be. I think that exploring beyond the federation perspective will be very interesting, especially once updates with other races are relased.

[Talawsohu]

Everything in that interview is good news to me. STO being Star Trek turned into an MMO rather than an MMO being turned into Star Trek? Check. Space combat that emulates the movies and series? Check. A DS9 fan? Check.

Anyone that picks "Sacrifice of Angels" as their one of their favorites episodes gives me faith that the game will have heart to it.

[KirksOtherSon]

Much to like in that interview; it seems the "design ethics" associated with Cryptic are still alive and well, and I'm very pleased.

I was also pleased to read that the starship combat may be "scalable", in that, if you want to micro-manage every aspect of starship combat, you can -- but if you want to let the game handle some of it for you, you can choose that also.

Sometimes I'm in the mood to go all-out, but other times I play MMOs to relax and unwind when I'm tired, or when the insomnia is beating the guano out of me.

It would be much appreciated if I could still play STO passably well when I was too tired to take "hands-on" command of every single aspect of running a starship. I wouldn't expect to do as well with the computer covering for me as I would when I was handling the entire show myself -- but to still be able to have fun with STO when I wasn't at 100% would have me playing all the more often.

I'm also reminded of my few times playing Star Wars Galaxies, where I kept running into people who never, I repeat never, flew a starship in-game -- not even to travel from planet A to planet B.

Yes, I confess, I found this frogging _weird_. I still do. It's Star Wars, for Yoda's sake. Flying around in starships -- even just to travel or to sightsee -- is part of the deal.

And yet, I repeatedly encountered players who had access to starships in-game, and yet proudly announced that they never used them, and travelled everywhere in-game by zoning (transport shuttle) only.

Now, Star Trek Online is not Star Wars Galaxies (thank Yahweh!), and players will have to fly a starship if they want to progress in-game. A scalable level of difficulty when operating a starship in combat might go a long way towards keeping the kind of "ultra passive" players I encountered in SWG still playing happily, I suppose.

But again, playing a Star Wars game and never flying a starship, even though you have access to one? That's like going into a Chinese restaurant and complaining because they don't serve hamburgers ...

KOS

[reiththestud]

He sounds like a TRUE Trekkie, and not just a game designer/star wars fan/average scifi guy. I think my worries of Star Trek being mishandled have been put to rest. Anyone who says A)DS9 is his favorite and B)Can give such a detailed description of his favorite episodes is okay in my book. P.S. I too own a bat'leth

[Captain_Alice]

I really hope they do end up using a system that is true to the series like his interview suggests. It would turn away some people but it would bring in a lot more, people who really want a deep and tactical mmo (and it would appease all us trekkies <3)

[Jertyrael]

"This is not going to be another cookie-cutter MMO with a Star Trek skin on it. STO will be the unique experience that you have been waiting for."

I've been hurt before, Al...

Be kind.

[keozen]

Great interview.

However am I the only one who read that he used to work on "The Sims Online" then had their brains kick into repeating "Please do a better job than that, please do a better job than that, ..." over and over?

[JadeEngima]

Great interview.

However am I the only one who read that he used to work on "The Sims Online" then had their brains kick into repeating "Please do a better job than that, please do a better job than that, ..." over and over?

No, you were not the only one to think that very same thing. :cool:

[pyrox]

GEKO!

Rumor Control is leading the game. Turns out accuracy may need to be nerfed.

:rolleyes:

[Neogunmetal]

Welcome Aboard Captain!!!
Glad to see you and Cryptic are on top of things and want to make as good a game as we want to play!!

[Wolf503]

Thank you for the interview and sounds like the game is in good hands.

[Masen]

Awesome. So good to know we've got a genuine fanboy desgining STO! :cool:

[blakile]

Sounds like some good stuff! I can't wait til this game comes out, i will be holding my breath til then ..... lol

[FrankieDoo]

I'd like to have a Captain's Log options to be voice and writing available. We would do a log while in game that would be stored/saved in our cryptic on-line web account temporary to be exported on the web to put in a report for our respective fleet to read/learn about our in game activity while we are playing.

Thank you.

[RandomRedshirt]

First and foremost, I want people to know that this is not an attempt to flame or bash Captain Al.

However, is anyone else concerned that the lead designer on this game, a Star Trek game, a game from an IP that is about exploration, science and the unknown, is a combat designer?

Was anyone else as concerned for the safety of the ingame exploration and diplomatic solutions components of this game after reading this as I was?

Seriously, can a person say "combat" more times in an interview?

led the combat team for Champions Online for a while,

A: Space combat.

I am a combat system designer at heart,

and I am very excited about the system we have worked out for space combat.

Space combat is nothing like typical MMO combat,

Another thing that disturbs me is how it seems everyone at Cryptic is addicted to DS9 and the Dominion War. Why is there so much emphasis at Cryptic on combat? Isn't Trek about exploration? But yet all I hear is DS9, DS9, Dominion War, Sacrafice of Angels, DS9.

Q: What are your favorite episodes?
A: There are so many. If you had asked what my favorite series was, I would say Star Trek: Deep Space 9.

If I had to pick one, I guess I would have to say my favorite is "Sacrifice of Angels" (DS9), where Sisko retakes DS9;

Does Cryptic really think that combat, war and DS9 is going to sell this game? DS9, by Cryptic's own poll, was far from the most favorite series in the franchise. But yet, we keep hearing from Cryptic just how great it was, how great the combat is, how great the Dominion War was.

Perhaps I am the only person who feels this way. Then so be it. But it really feels to me like this game is going to be geared for console style pew pew shoot'em up and not for exploration and the things that truly made Trek great. There have already been a ton of Trek games made. The all seemed to focus on combat. Why can't STO be the first to focus on Starfleet's primary mission?

/end rant

[Vessik]

Sounds like the type of guy I want leading the STO design team.

Looks like space combat will turn out to be well thought out, which is great.

[Vessik]

RandomRedshirt, I'm sure that exploration will be a major factor in the space part of STO. I can't see how it won't. But space combat should also be a huge factor. Don't forget that not all people will be weak Federation explorers. There are enemies all around you wanting nothing more to blow you to little pieces. In fact I look forward to doing some of that myself...

However, I do believe it will be a big part of the game so don't worry too much...yet.

[andyivey1138]

Nice to meet you, Captain! Thanks for putting yourself and hopefully future STO Staff out there for consideration by the community. We appreciate it!

[andyivey1138]

First and foremost, I want people to know that this is not an attempt to flame or bash Captain Al.

However, is anyone else concerned that the lead designer on this game, a Star Trek game, a game from an IP that is about exploration, science and the unknown, is a combat designer?

Was anyone else as concerned for the safety of the ingame exploration and diplomatic solutions components of this game after reading this as I was?

Seriously, can a person say "combat" more times in an interview?

Another thing that disturbs me is how it seems everyone at Cryptic is addicted to DS9 and the Dominion War. Why is there so much emphasis at Cryptic on combat? Isn't Trek about exploration? But yet all I hear is DS9, DS9, Dominion War, Sacrafice of Angels, DS9.

Does Cryptic really think that combat, war and DS9 is going to sell this game? DS9, by Cryptic's own poll, was far from the most favorite series in the franchise. But yet, we keep hearing from Cryptic just how great it was, how great the combat is, how great the Dominion War was.

Perhaps I am the only person who feels this way. Then so be it. But it really feels to me like this game is going to be geared for console style pew pew shoot'em up and not for exploration and the things that truly made Trek great. There have already been a ton of Trek games made. The all seemed to focus on combat. Why can't STO be the first to focus on Starfleet's primary mission?

/end rant

I don't think there's cause for alarm just yet RandomRedshirt. Just because he is a combat systems designer doesn't mean that he's got a one-track mind. Virtually all MMOs, heck virtually all games are about advancement through conflict. How much experience do you get for completing a mission where no one fired a shot? Or for a mission where you went and scanned a nebula? That sort of thing is pretty arbitrary. But just like in our favorite Star Trek shows, when the time comes to fight, we fight, and so I for one hope that the exercise of fighting is a well thought out and implemented system that's fun to do and properly rewarding to me as I build my character.

And, given what's already been told to us about the model for STO, I think it has a good chance right now of bringing scads of that deeper core of Star Trek to the surface for us to enjoy.

[RandomRedshirt]

I'm just having a hard time believing Cryptic's commitment to the non-combat aspects of Trek. Everything I see, everything I hear is combat combat combat, war, conflict, combat, DS9, Dominion War, combat.

And this has been the general trend of anyone having anything to do with the franchise since Gene passed on. Can anyone out there name a Trek game in the last 10 years that had a primary focus on something other than combat?

An MMO is an ideal environment to explore the richness what is the Trek IP. Exploration, discovery, these things can actually be done in this type of environment. But yet, something tells me it's not going to get nearly the focus that Cryptic keeps saying it will, or that it deserves.

"To seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."

not

"To seek out new life, blow it up, blow it up again, destroy your enemy, kill kill kill and do it again."

Are we sure that we aren't looking at a Mirror STO instead of a real, true to the franchise, Star Trek MMO?

[Admiral.of.Starfleet]

I'm just having a hard time believing Cryptic's commitment to the non-combat aspects of Trek. Everything I see, everything I hear is combat combat combat, war, conflict, combat, DS9, Dominion War, combat.

And this has been the general trend of anyone having anything to do with the franchise since Gene passed on. Can anyone out there name a Trek game in the last 10 years that had a primary focus on something other than combat?

An MMO is an ideal environment to explore the richness what is the Trek IP. Exploration, discovery, these things can actually be done in this type of environment. But yet, something tells me it's not going to get nearly the focus that Cryptic keeps saying it will, or that it deserves.

"To seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."

not

"To seek out new life, blow it up, blow it up again, destroy your enemy, kill kill kill and do it again."

Are we sure that we aren't looking at a Mirror STO instead of a real, true to the franchise, Star Trek MMO?

If it is going to be full of war why dont they just call it Shattered Universe 2: The MMO. Star Trek has always been about exploring the final frontier and not about combat. A good example of where combat could have come into play and didnt was "The Cobomite Maneuver" The enterprise was proceeding into unknown space and encountered the First Federation and tried every attempt to be diplomatic but still didnt fight and in the end Balok befriended them. They explored unknown space and it got tense but it didnt require the Enterprise to fire a single blast at the First Federation ship. Now the point is combat isnt always needed to make exploration interesting.

[rodkahn]

Force is always a last resort in Starfleet. :)
"To seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." :D

NOT NOT NOT a good idea. "To seek out new life, blow it up, blow it up again, destroy all, kill kill kill and do it again.":mad:

Yes I think this is just going to be a combat simm. :( They are going to lose money fast. Because it will not have any staying power and it will go away fast .

In this game I would make it where you kill someone below your level it would penalize the player who destroy someone below them.

[Dustnite]

Ok, site is 2 months old. Check.

Frequent quote mining on boards. Check.

The look on people's faces when Al Rivera mentioned combat. Priceless.

[Barthburger]

Honestly the best way to get into the gaming industry is to live near a studio in your area and get hired on in their QA department. Most engines used by gaming studios is proprietary. So in a way there is no way to prepare for any studio other than learning the programs you have already learned you mentioned that will interface with the engine that the studio you work for uses. So if you have all that school experience like you said they won't care you have a degree or not. Just get your foot in the door work your butt off and if you get along with the producers there you will get moved into the area you are strongest at. At the studio I work for they don't have "writers" but, designers. They will do a little bit of all of that to help shape the game as it evolves. You wear a lot of hats in the gaming studio pretty much no matter what department you are in. Good luck!

[ianobs]

just one question.

do you guys call your self the "A Team"

[gavinmasters]

Just a quick Salute my friends. :cool:

[Flatfingers]

"To seek out new life, blow it up, blow it up again, destroy your enemy, kill kill kill and do it again."

Don't forget "...and then take its stuff."

Are we sure that we aren't looking at a Mirror STO instead of a real, true to the franchise, Star Trek MMO?

Hey, don't forget I'm the guy who suggested that STO should be designed as BOTH the "regular" Star Trek universe and the Mirror Universe! I'm still loving the idea that everybody who prefers to blow stuff up could create characters in the Mirror Universe who would actually be rewarded for being as bloodthirsty and Machiavellian as possible, and that they'd be able to have this play experience without destroying the more cooperative behavior that's defined as hard canon for the Starfleet of the main Star Trek universe.

Offering both worlds in one game would be harder to do than your typical MMORPG, it's true. But what a refreshing change this would be from the typical MMORPG! Wouldn't it be interesting to see a major online RPG where those players who prefer cooperation over destruction (you know... like the Federation characters in Star Trek) could play a game where they were rewarded for that, while still being a game that is welcoming -- and completely within the spirit of Star Trek lore -- to those players who enjoy the thrill of battle and who like to compete to see who can collect the most stuff?

am I the only one who read that he used to work on "The Sims Online" then had their brains kick into repeating "Please do a better job than that, please do a better job than that, ..." over and over?

For what it's worth, Keo, I've talked with one of the creative guys who worked on TSO. He made it very clear that there were a lot of things they wanted to do for that game that they just weren't allowed to do.

I wouldn't hold that one against "Captain Geko."

(Actually, it's sort of interesting to speculate on whether The Sims Online, had it been developed under today's EA rather than the one they've admitted was waaaaaaay too controlling and disruptive to the creativity of game devlopers, might have been closer to the amazing online game we all expected....)

--Flatfingers

[reddbarron999]

I was relieved to read the lead Developers statement. I was worried that this would turn into a hack job. Sounds like they are planning to try and get not only the technology and races right, but the Original Feel as established by Gene Roddenberry, may he rest in peace. I really hope that they are able to pull this off. If so, this MMORPG will, in my opinion, beat WOW hands down!

[khuliwa]

Having been around for the original series I have to say that it added a touch of newness not experienced on a weekly level before. It made for interesting cultish behavior in high school.
Over the years, having remained a fan of each new branch of the story, I find my overall favorite storyline to be the Voyager series. I like the separation aspect and having to be very inventive to survive.
Now, in the very near future, I will be able to actually enter that world. I am very excited that after 10+ years of playing mmo's the storyline will finally be one that is actually ingrained along most of my life.
Kudo's for bringing this mmo back to life!
I anxiously await the details and would be honored to help test and debug this game if the beta opportunity should arise.
Khuliwa

[pebblebrook]

I'm just having a hard time believing Cryptic's commitment to the non-combat aspects of Trek. Everything I see, everything I hear is combat combat combat, war, conflict, combat, DS9, Dominion War, combat.

Not sure why that would be your impression i mean....

*looks up at the forum banner graphic*

Nevermind.


Heh, well combat seem to appeal to many because it's flashy and raises adrenaline but they did say there will be indirect competition for resources (maybe territory) i think with non-combat missions as well via their competitive PvE bit in the FAQ.

[Quince]

Nice Announcement

[Dustnite]

Whenever I watch the Star Trek shows there is almost always some form of fight going on be it ship combat or phaser combat. I think most casual fans of the Trek series are going to want to play for that aspect, but it doesn't necessarily mean its going to be an all combat game. Will there be a focus on it? That's what I'm not sure about. I'm reserving judgment until more information is released.

I do like that they are putting time into combat systems because that's one of the main problems I had with EvE Online. It's shallow combat system left much to be desired, requiring no skill or just buttloads of time to achieve anything combat worthy.

I don't know how people can say combat was never a focus in Star Trek when the entire series has several episodes tied to someone shooting something.

[RandomRedshirt]

Whenever I watch the Star Trek shows there is almost always some form of fight going on be it ship combat or phaser combat. I think most casual fans of the Trek series are going to want to play for that aspect, but it doesn't necessarily mean its going to be an all combat game. Will there be a focus on it? That's what I'm not sure about. I'm reserving judgment until more information is released.

I do like that they are putting time into combat systems because that's one of the main problems I had with EvE Online. It's shallow combat system left much to be desired, requiring no skill or just buttloads of time to achieve anything combat worthy.

I don't know how people can say combat was never a focus in Star Trek when the entire series has several episodes tied to someone shooting something.

DS9, voyager and Enterprise perhaps, but that wasn't so much the case with TNG and TOS, which represent the real "roots" of Star Trek, or as it boils down to, the Trek which Gene Roddenberry still had a hand of control over. Once he passed on, Trek became very combative, and drifted away from the original vision.

[mark2396]

sounds like an awesome game in the making. I would love to play this when it comes out. Im sick of the grind fests that are out there now and i dont care too much for the space mmo's out there. They all seem too pvp for my liking with no or little story element

[Dustnite]

DS9, voyager and Enterprise perhaps, but that wasn't so much the case with TNG and TOS, which represent the real "roots" of Star Trek, or as it boils down to, the Trek which Gene Roddenberry still had a hand of control over. Once he passed on, Trek became very combative, and drifted away from the original vision.

Who decides what the real roots of Star Trek are? Is there a focus group hiding in your basement? :)

I mean TNG was leading up to the combative things we saw in the following Trek series and it showed other aspects of Star Trek. I personally love the Voyager series more than any other more for the trying to get home aspect than anything else.

[blackfx]

I'm extremely satisfied with the Lead Designer Al Rivera. I think he has the requirements to take this game in new directions, well above his previous work in titles. An underdog for sure who I feel will get the job done above expectations.

Thanks for the article!

[RandomRedshirt]

Who decides what the real roots of Star Trek are?

Are you serious?

I'm not even going to bother answering this, because any Trek fan can answer this.

[Dustnite]

Are you serious?

I'm not even going to bother answering this, because any Trek fan can answer this.

Not that you need to, that just proves you don't know what the hell your talking about then.

[RandomRedshirt]

Not that you need to, that just proves you don't know what the hell your talking about then.

Oh really?

Who determines the roots of Trek? Simple. Gene Roddenberry.

TOS and TNG up to the time of his death. That is the roots of Star Trek. Period.

Everything that came after Gene's passing doesn't represent the roots. DS9 and Voyager was Rick Berman's vision of Trek, not Gene's. In fact, Gene wouldn't buy off on DS9 while he was alive because it was too dark, too gritty and wasn't the Trek he wanted to portray. So, when did DS9 go forward? Once Gene had passed, and wasn't there to object anymore.

So yes, I do know what the hell I'm talking about.

[Dustnite]

Oh really?

Who determines the roots of Trek? Simple. Gene Roddenberry.

TOS and TNG up to the time of his death. That is the roots of Star Trek. Period.

Everything that came after Gene's passing doesn't represent the roots. DS9 and Voyager was Rick Berman's vision of Trek, not Gene's. In fact, Gene wouldn't buy off on DS9 while he was alive because it was too dark, too gritty and wasn't the Trek he wanted to portray. So, when did DS9 go forward? Once Gene had passed, and wasn't there to object anymore.

So yes, I do know what the hell I'm talking about.

See that wasn't so hard to answer was it :)

So now that that's out in the open. If we're really looking at the spirit of Star Trek and not the creative control of Gene Roddenberry (which would be hard since he is not living anymore), what would we really be expecting out of this game?

Well rounded out combat, exploration, political intrigue, engaging storyline. These are all things people want, its just one piece of the puzzle. No need to take things entirely out of context.

[deworde]

I think what a lot of people are forgetting is that this game isn't just about Star Trek. It's about creating a great game to play. This might be someone's first introduction to Star Trek, Cryptic can't count on Roddenberry love to get them over the flaws as a game.
What you're asking of them is to write you a brand new Star Trek script for every single mission. That's not their job, and if it was, this game would never get made. Their job is to produce an enjoyable game with the right ships, the right visual appeal and the right atmosphere, so that as wide an audience as possible can enjoy the game as a game. It's then our duty as a community to give this game a Star Trek feel.

At the end of the day, Combat, and especially PvP, is a really fun experience for a lot of people, and not focusing on Starship Combat, which is not a particularly well-mined area of MMORPG's, would be a bone-head decision. I mean we're talking about a major selling point for the game here. I doubt they'll be able to do better than WoW, but Space Combat better than Eve? There's a pretty good chance that they'll at least be able to provide a different experience.
The number of fans who won't pick this up because the combat's a major point compared to the number won't pick it up if the combat's no fun is smaller by a factor of thousands.

But obviously, if you don't like combat, there is no reason for you to enter PvP areas. There's no reason for you to go on base assault missions. There are ALWAYS other things you can do instead.

Off the top of my head, here is a brilliant way to play the game as if you were in the TOS era:
This will be a massive galaxy, with a huge amount of content.
Explore areas where the PvPer's aren't interested in going. Spend your time on self-designed missions, where you produce a list of all the planets, their life-forms, and the in-game missions ("research opportunities") available there, exactly as if you were on one of those sector mapping missions that are always getting interrupted by planets exploding or Q turning up for a pint of shandy. You might not get the fanciest ships that way, but maybe that shouldn't matter. Certainly it's realistic, in that the way a captain makes his name is through risky strategies. That's how Kirk and Picard got the Enterprise, and that's how Sisko made Captain. Playing it safe and just doing mapping is how "Tapestry Picard" ended up stuck never progressing into command.

Here's another one:
Obviously, there are going to be many, many ships. You could do R&D on these ships. Work out what works best under what circumstances. Try and find exploits in the game engine to produce odd effects, as if you were researching new ways to "warp subspace". Research all the different aliens out there, and as that's customisable, that'll be really interesting to people thinking about designing their own race.

If you don't want the game to be about combat, what do you want the game's killer hook to be instead? Because chances are, even if they don't include it, with a little ingenuity, you can create it yourself. Incidentally, "It's Star Trek" is not a killer hook. That line of thinking is what makes shoddy games that only sell to the die-hard fans. A killer hook is something that makes a game great, no matter where it's set.

[deworde]

Oh really?

Who determines the roots of Trek? Simple. Gene Roddenberry.

TOS and TNG up to the time of his death. That is the roots of Star Trek. Period.

Everything that came after Gene's passing doesn't represent the roots. DS9 and Voyager was Rick Berman's vision of Trek, not Gene's. In fact, Gene wouldn't buy off on DS9 while he was alive because it was too dark, too gritty and wasn't the Trek he wanted to portray. So, when did DS9 go forward? Once Gene had passed, and wasn't there to object anymore.

So yes, I do know what the hell I'm talking about.

But have you considered all the implications? For example, Gene was enamoured with the idea of Wesley serving on the bridge as a teenager. No matter how bone-headed that decision was. And as for the money thing... I don't think anyone's ever properly explained how that system's supposed to work.
I love the old series, but it had its flaws.
Also, and let me be quite clear, there is no game concept within what you're describing. What would the game be? Constructing the most gripping analogy for a pseudo-scientific concept? Punching a fanged alien in the face while kissing a hot alien chick? Stopping your first officer and doctor from squabbling?
It's the same problem with all these people saying "We should be able to have a crew", when a moment's thought would tell you that there will never, ever be enough people willing to play second and third banana for that to be worthwhile. And then there's the simple fact that some fans won't work with other fans who think DS9 was a better show than TOS, or who think Spock could beat Worf in a fight, and blah, blah, blah.
I'm pretty certain not a week went by in TOS without Kirk punching someone in the face or something being blown up or shot at. Just because the damn phasers never worked as a weapon in TOS is no reason to say it wasn't about combat. For god's sake, you're named after the characters who got killed every week! It wasn't ALWAYS a space anomaly that got them!

And finally, the thing that is going to make or break this game is going to be whether or not this community can band together to make it fun, or whether it'll degenerate into partisan bickering. Thank you for doing your part.

[Trendkilla]

I like the passion going into this game... sweet
But I do hope that (maybe not at first) the game is at least 50/50 combat-non-combat orientated. I just hope updates and add-ons isnt primarily aimed at combat gameplay. I want to be able to create a character that never has to fire a phaser ever and have fun.

I dont care much for DS9 as I also belives it falls out of sync with Genes vision, and I think he never would have labled it Trek. XD

[Jenshae]

Hello.

Do you love what you are making or is it just a job to you? Being a devoit fan does not cover this question.

(Didn't read everything.)

[aguila432]

Qouting Al Rivera-
I can promise you that I will do all that I can to ensure this IP is treated with respect and accuracy. This is not going to be another cookie-cutter MMO with a Star Trek skin on it. STO will be the unique experience that you have been waiting for.

whatever dude. theres only so many ways you can design an mmo, We know cryptic isn't trying to do any ground breaking stuff, and your already using the champions engine. :) so yea I'm looking forward to champion trek lol no offense and yes i know... someones gonna get me for that one lol.

[Dustnite]

whatever dude. theres only so many ways you can design an mmo, We know cryptic isn't trying to do any ground breaking stuff, and your already using the champions engine. :) so yea I'm looking forward to champion trek lol no offense and yes i know... someones gonna get me for that one lol.

No need to get you for it, it's already a beaten dead horse buried among the various graphics threads about what the game engine is. People still haven't gotten that message apparently.

[FleetAdmiralJamieBoyett]

I am looking forward to this. This looks great and I saw the trailer. I know I will enjoy this.

[Baves]

Hey Al, congrats on living your dream to design STO. I have been playing Star Wars Galaxies for four years now and I started that after dropping Star Trek Empires at War. I enjoyed the game but it was too limiting in terms of ship design, combat, exploration and most of all -- story line.

I love a good story line/plot and that is one of the things I really appreciated about the entire Star Trek genre. I am happy to hear that you are interested in that as well. I would like to encourage you to give as much freedom of diversity to characters and ship equipment as possible. That goes double for exploration.

I'd also ask that you consider instituting some kind of penalty for players in high level, high risk situations according to their faction -- i.e. fail a Romulan mission and you could be demoted, flee a Kligon battle or allow yourself to be captured and you could be demoted, destroy a freighter as a federation ship and you lose reputation, etc... I also hope the reward system is factionally aligned as well.

Other than that, man I wish you all the luck in the world! I am really looking forward to experiencing STO and I want to thank you for taking on this endavour.

You are awesome!

Peace.

p.s. my favorite Trek episodes are also Sisko's retaking of DS9 and the Borg assimilation of Picard. You gotta work those in somewhere in STO!

[eNDIE]

Personaly i think that they show us the combat first just to start the hype for the game for players thats not trekkers , they will probably move on to the other areas soon.

[Cohas]

Congratulations

[tonzoffun]

What I really want to know being a treky is will there be cloaking tech for the star fleet i mean the khitomer accords no longer exists and if im corect then the ban on that particular pice of tech is lifted right ;)

[Nagilum]

sounds great can't wait to hear more

[Tulvol]

Finally someone who else love DS9!!!! Dominion War anyone??

Great info and great news about the shield/firing arcs, and diverting power to other systems!!!

This game is so going to rock!

I did enjoy the dark stories of DS9, one of my favorites In the Pale Moon Light,

My so looking forward to learn the ship controls and design of ships.

[outcast341]

Welcom on board. I wish you the best of luck. Can you do me a favor, I want 3d chess as a minigame in ten forward?

[achaney23]

Capitan Geko Says:
Q: Is there anything you would like to add?
A: I want to make sure that everyone knows what a devout Star Trek fan I am. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to have been given the responsibility to design this project. I can promise you that I will do all that I can to ensure this IP is treated with respect and accuracy. This is not going to be another cookie-cutter MMO with a Star Trek skin on it. STO will be the unique experience that you have been waiting for.

I'm gonna hold you to it! :D. Good Luck.
BTW Nice Interview.

[tonzoffun]

What I really want to know being a treky is will there be cloaking tech for the star fleet i mean the khitomer accords no longer exists and if im corect then the ban on that particular pice of tech is lifted right ;)

sounds great can't wait to hear more

You can not awnser with that. I asked a specific Q and This is not an awnser sounds great can't wait to hear more. This is goinig to sound childish but you didnt awnser it and i want one I WANT AN AWNSER PLEASE

[Markham_Karis]

A pleasure to meet you Al. I look forward to seeing what STO has to offer us the players in the future. Well done so far!

:)