Ask Cryptic (September 17, 2008)

[Kestrel]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on ships, customization and PvP content. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-17-08)

[mrberrie]

good info guys, keep it coming.

Keep up the good work.

[TheDart]

PLAYABLE HORTA FIRST PLEASE

...

*cough*

Thank you for another awesome chunk o' info, guys. It's very very appreciated. I am very much looking forward to finding out if I can convert an Akira into a rockin' science vessel. :cool:

[Vicelance]

So playable Horta will be in the game at some point?

Though I don't know how a living rock is going to pilot a ship or do anything else on board ship. Though I want one.

Nice to hear we can use any ship regardless of our specialty, so maybe I can have a medical specialty and still fly my Akira which would more likely be a tactical specialty ship,

[CasiusOntius]

Yay! More info! My Gamestop didn't have that issue of game informer :( so I feel good when I see mroe info, lol. I so can't wait for this game! :D

[Michell]

always nice to see a dev team talking to it's fans thanks and keep it up.:)

[Lance85]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on ships, customization and PvP content. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-17-08)

lets hope there will be npcs captable of keeping pvp gankers out of non pvp zones and protecting those that do not wish to pvp,
and also hope that the gms will take a grim look on those that attack others for no reason while they are just trying to do their unrelated mission.

[marscentral]

More news, sweet. I still would like to know what happens to your ship when you beam down, especially in a PvP zone where it could be attacked!

[Lance85]

maybe it cloaks :)

[Linton]

I'm super excited about the bridge crew customization, and happy that player specialties don't limit us to certain classes of ships. Thank you, Cryptic. :)

[Duckdee]

You will be able to modify and customize the uniform of your characters, but it will always have the look of a uniform. The costume options will reflect popular pieces from the show, as well as new concepts and styles.
Yes!

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.
Woo, that's at least 3 Fed alts for me...

You can train and advance in any ship class, or even in multiple ship classes. Certainly your skills and abilities – and those of your Bridge Officers – will affect your ship in many ways, as will your ship modifications. So expect to see lots of permutations.
...or more. :)

[daryosh]

As usual, we have translated it into German. You can have a look at the news here (http://sto.onlinewelten.com/news.php). Make sure to also take a look at the full translation of course.

[Mozbe]

I can't wait!!! :D

[Twilit_Sheep]

Looks uber.

Hooray for customizable bridge crew. Still can't decide whether I'll have a Bajoran or not in my bridge crew. Doubt they're worth much in ground combat.

Humans and Vulcans, on the other hand...

As for starships: I would take a cruiser, though I doubt I'll participate as much in PvP as much as some. Probably be world-exploring more often. Makes me want a science vessel, but not only do I have an affinity for cruisers, but I don't want to be completely awful at space combat, either.

Guess I'll take a cruiser.

[Irish]

Hello, I'm quite sure this is the wrong forum in which to ask this question, but here it goes anyway. Will Star Trek Online be compatible for Macintosh users upon launch? I am sorry, I was just having a bit of trouble navigating to the correct forum or thread, I would appreciate any help you give me. Thanks.

[brewha]

I got a question for you. In COH/CoV the PvP players have pretty much killed the game. Reason being is they get stuff nerfed to beyond useable. While NPC's stay they same. So a few guys with guns can pretty much kill what is post to be superman. So best way to really ask i think is.

Are you going to let PvP effect PvE gameplay pretty much?

Not everyone that will want to play this is wanting to PvP. I am in it to play Starfleet Captian with my friends. I been playing Pirates of Burning Sea lately and the game play is set up the best i seen.

O and when is closed beta starting? I am ready at any time and was signed up in orignal closed beta invite . So i been waiting on this a LONG time.

[Wolf503]

Great info!

Very excited!

[R-MEGEDON]

im stoked....its going to be tough reading about this for the next year or so...i want it now!!

[Reinkaos]

Good news!

With regards to ships.. "No, not at all. You can train and advance in any ship class, or even in multiple ship classes.", this sounds like a specialty thing, where you can train to be a generally good captain (perhaps the best type to command a cruiser), or you can excel at commanding a particular style of ship like an escort or a science vessel, perhaps?

[boz75]

Thanks for the info!

[chauncey.kieley]

Great info, Keep It coming. IF there is a Beta I would love to know about it. Does anyone know if there is a specific thread where this is discussed?

[Stronin]

That bit about multiple ships wasn't in anyway suggesting we can have multiple ships at once was it? hehe.

[Aries]

Thanks for the info! :)

[Captain-Picard]

Thanks Cryptic! I was wondering if you could customize you bridge crew.

[Revvik]

Any news on when additional screen shots and videos will be released?

[VainEldritch]

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.



This is good news...

... not so good would be any notion of typical MMORPG "classes" in ship combat - like for instance a "healer" ship class. Please tell be we wont have ships firing "healing beams" to "heal" damaged ships.

:eek:

Just kidding. :)

Thanks for the addition information, Cryptic dudes and dudettes.

[BigEPratt]

Thanks for the great info.

Please don't allow 'too' much custimization of the uniforms... they are uniforms after all, and everyone should be... oh yeah... uniform.

[Pntwrs]

Just keep giving us more info like that. And yes, when is beta :)

[Manx]

Excellent news! Thanks Cryptic :)

[Ensign.Ricky]

Customizable uniforms ftw! I was hoping for this from the get go but was worried after previous interviews/Q&As. I wonder what "popular pieces" means though.

Ship crew customization I was expecting but good to hear confirmation. I hope I can even customize their personality/demeanor like changing the style they respond back (Stubborn, Shy, etc), but as long as I can add on an Officer history or bio I'll be happy.

Love that ships come in different roles but I hope there are a couple more like Destroyer, Frigate and Supply. Can't wait for the specifics for each role!

3d chess and Ground combat. Yay for both though looks like I'll have to wait for the chess :(

[Kahn773]

Thank you, every time I get more info I get excited about playing. May I have sum more?

[MoppyCGDaniels]

Terrific news. I especialy like the bridge crew idea for their apearances in race customization. For bridge skills is it also plesant to gain the ones of the player's crew.

PvE should only in case of inside Star Fleet or Federation be limited not for a Klingon faction. So that PvE is effected by PvP to not being able firing on any other Fed ship with exceptions. It seems conclusive in special sectors.

[ParkerHayden]

Still no answers on ship control, huh? That's disappointing.

Everything else looks great, though.

[KO_Gilligan]

Did I see the words "Playable Horta"?

You guys sooo Rock !!! Just like the Horta !!!

:D

[lumpking69]

Keep the goods coming !

[RedSonia]

More news, sweet. I still would like to know what happens to your ship when you beam down, especially in a PvP zone where it could be attacked!

I was wondering about this one too... although it would be more realistic if you could be attacked while on a planet, I'm sure there would be a percentage of players who would exploit such a situation to the point of great annoyance. Can't decide if I'm for or against it at this point...:confused:

[TheDart]

I'm assuming that your ship in orbit will simply despawn.

[Greg1643]

Good, Good , let it keep it coming i want to learn more about the game

[Ballping]

The multiple ship comment has me worried. I'm so hoping that the game will be more "Trek Like" and Captains and crews stay with their ships for weeks (simulating years like in the different series) before being able to transfer to new ships and not like a game of frogger where you jump from ship to ship to ship every hour until you find the one you like and you just park all the other ships in your "garage". That would completely destroy the game for me. :-(

[elitolu]

How come they only took 5 out of 100 questions, come on, you can do better than that.

[RedSonia]

I don't like that idea either (multiple ships). Starfellet officers, for example, aren't assigned to more than one ship at a time so it seems logical to me that if you want to change your ship, the old one will have to be either destroyed or decommissioned as happened with Kirk and Picard, as examples. The only 'realistic' circumstances in which someone would have more than one ship at a time would be if they were some kind of pirate or trader type character and even then, I doubt that the various empires would sell classes of ship such as Galaxy, Sovereign, D'Deridex or Vor'Cha to anyone who came asking

I'm aiming at being the first Warbird commander with decent haircut!

[ParkerHayden]

Also: Horta??? How can Horta hold phasers, tricorders, move fast, or interface with LCARS?

[Cuddles]

Thanks guys once again :)

[Barthburger]

More news, sweet. I still would like to know what happens to your ship when you beam down, especially in a PvP zone where it could be attacked!

The same thing that happens in SWG I would imagine. I can't see the idea of arriving at a planet with 30 ships in orbit being as designed. So I'm guessing if you are not aboard your ship it is not shown in the game world.

[ParkerHayden]

Okay, so in the recent Ask Cryptic, Horta were mentioned as being playable at some point.

What I want to know is:

1. Horta, to me, seem to be very slow-moving... and small

2. How can a Horta use a phaser/tricorder?

3. How can a Horta use an LCARS interface?

[TruthSeer]

I can't really see how Horta could be playable.

[Lord_Xomic]

I can't really see how Horta could be playable.

They're like pet rocks for Riker's Sake.

[Captain_Alice]

I would think they mean for us to only have one ship at a time and it is merely an easily mis understanded quote.

[Ayradyss]

RE: Multiple ships -- the way I read that, they said you can learn the skills needed to captain multiple types of ships. Not that you can actually have more than one ship at a given time. It's not really that specific, but I wouldn't go getting all worried about it, or get any specific expectations of having a garage of ships, either way.

[ParkerHayden]

I can't really see how Horta could be playable.
They're like pet rocks for Riker's Sake.

Exactly what I'm saying. It's not like they have arms or legs. I read that there were Horta in Starfleet in some books, but I can't really see how they'd work in a game.

[herlitzp]

So, I've never been a fan of TOS, so I had to look up what a horta is. Those cryptic guys must be pretty darn creative if they can figure out how to make this a playable species.

[demyan12]

I'm very pleased about being able to customize my bridge crew. In Bridge Commander, I liked the interaction among the crew, but it didn't have a truly personal feel to it. This choice will really make the game a great expirience.

[ussarchangel]

Hello, I'm quite sure this is the wrong forum in which to ask this question, but here it goes anyway. Will Star Trek Online be compatible for Macintosh users upon launch? I am sorry, I was just having a bit of trouble navigating to the correct forum or thread, I would appreciate any help you give me. Thanks.

No it will not be compatible with mac upon launch.

[bigfox]

Thanx for more info looks like it's going to be a beauty :)

[Aq3nt]

:D I know in the last episode of TNG... In the future of Star Fleet, some ships like the Enterprise had the ability to cloak... So, my question is... In this future of Star Fleet, will the Federation have cloaking ships of their own; like in the show? :cool: thanks

[RedSonia]

That's what I thought, although I wanted to be sure - I don't like the idea of people controlling their own NPC fleets.

I wonder how long we'll have to wait (and how much more money will need to be spent :mad: ) before the Romulans become totally playable? :confused: They've always been under used IMO and I wouldn't want to have to start all over again having begun in Starfleet because they weren't available... I still can't wait for this game though :eek:

[boydyma]

looking good.

Thx for the updates guys, keep feeding us the good stuff and you'll have happy trekkies..

as for the customisable uniforms, i hope they will remain within the star trek genre of uniforms and not stray too far out *into deep space* with the customization....

but as i caution my fleet mates, kets just wait and see before we make any FIRM decisions.

once again thanks for the updates.

[Ballping]

I would think they mean for us to only have one ship at a time and it is merely an easily mis understanded quote.

RE: Multiple ships -- the way I read that, they said you can learn the skills needed to captain multiple types of ships. Not that you can actually have more than one ship at a given time. It's not really that specific, but I wouldn't go getting all worried about it, or get any specific expectations of having a garage of ships, either way.

I hope your both right. There's very little that would be game breaking for me when it comes to Star Trek, but this issue would be one of them. I'm a big fan of the whole Star Trek universe and with the exception of Enterprise there isn't a series that i haven't enjoyed. I know that STO will be a business entity first and for most, i mean lets face it, their making this game to make money, but having a flavor of the week ship would really just push it over the edge for me. Its already bad enough that there will be thousands of starships (vessels that take years and years to design and build with entire cultures scraping resources together to be able to build them) flying around space, but to then top it off with everyone having multile star ships. ::shudders:: I can already see the outside of earth space dock now. "BUMPER CARS IN SPACE" <---disclaimer, sarcasm detected--

[demyan12]

Yeah, I'd really like to play the Romulans too. But I'll be fine for a bit if i can have romulans in my crew.

[pyriel32]

guys i really think he was jokeing about the Horta being playable.

[RedSonia]

Maybe instead of becoming the first Warbird Commander with a decent haircut, I'll settle for being the first Romulan Starfleet Captain

[Merius]

guys i really think he was jokeing about the Horta being playable.

I agree,

Thanks for the reply Cryptic to all of our questions! You guys are awsome!

But I hope you wernt implying that 3D chess is as easy to add into the game as adding a playable race of Horta...

Because some of us are big chess fans ^_^


But I might hold you to your word: no chess = playable horta

but then...

no playable horta = 3D chess


:p

[Trekkie]

This was very informative! Thank you for posting this!

[Fvillha]

Yeah, I'd really like to play the Romulans too. But I'll be fine for a bit if i can have romulans in my crew.


Suspect us rommies at heart will have to settle for vulcans (aka unified Romulans) in Fed Space, with hopes on returning to the Empire when Cryptic has time to make an Empire expansion or patched/update.

Then they might surprise us early on.

[Dinghao]

Does everyone start out as able to have a large ship? Maybe limited to a shuttle first?

Can your friends join your ship as a crewman/bridge person, or only as another ship till you beam to a planet?

Will there be worm holes?

:)

[Gral]

Does everyone start out as able to have a large ship? Maybe limited to a shuttle first?

Can your friends join your ship as a crewman/bridge person, or only as another ship till you beam to a planet?

Will there be worm holes?

:)


Well i think you start of small, not with a big ship, gotta earn them.

I believe there will be worm holes (i think it says on the FAQ) and unfortunately you cannot have friends on your bridge crew, its you and your NPC's :/

[chriscrosby]

Two questions...

1.) Will we have access to the Guardian of Forever? I want to be able to go back in time.

2.) Will we be able to travel to the Mirror Universe?

It's not a STAR TREK game without time travel and the Mirror Universe.

[eNDIE]

Guys i think its probably better if you take your questions and put them in the ask cryptic3 thread on the forum;)

[deworde]

This is good news...

... not so good would be any notion of typical MMORPG "classes" in ship combat - like for instance a "healer" ship class. Please tell be we wont have ships firing "healing beams" to "heal" damaged ships.

:eek:

Just kidding. :)

Thanks for the addition information, Cryptic dudes and dudettes.
How about a ship upgrade that can allow you to extend your shields around another ship, boosting their "health"? Or a ship with maintenance shuttles that can fly out and repair other ships?

[IanD967]

some good questions! =D

glad to see that a Nebula class wouldent be just restricted to Sceince personell :D

[walltar]

Great guys keep ut the good work. ;)

[thelia]

I hope we be able to use Romulan ship and other ship,, ´bcoz I love the WarBird, They are cool to have :-)
Guys I hope You will be finish soon, coz I cant wait to play this game and Im dying to see all the Galaxiers u making ,, Cant wait :-)

Thanks
Liza

[jonleach]

You will also train and customize their skills and abilities throughout their career.


I was wonder about this and had made mention in one of my post that I thought you would be able to train your crew.


Awesome news!!! Can't wait till it comes out.

[joetheduk]

I know that STO will be a business entity first and for most, i mean lets face it, their making this game to make money, but having a flavor of the week ship would really just push it over the edge for me. Its already bad enough that there will be thousands of starships (vessels that take years and years to design and build with entire cultures scraping resources together to be able to build them) flying around space, but to then top it off with everyone having multile star ships. ::shudders::

Its true that Cryptic wants money, but their team seems to be made up of people who enjoy and appreciate the franchise, and they know us players are the same way. And nothing makes money like making your customers happy.
and about starships, yes their big, but they dont take years and years to build. maybe years from the time an engineer dreams them up, to the final product, but just building them, whatever.
Entire cultures dont scrape together every last bit of tritanium to build them. they simply replicate the stuff out of thin air.
I dont see any problem with thousands of ships flying around, space is a big place.

[CasiusOntius]

Its true that Cryptic wants money, but their team seems to be made up of people who enjoy and appreciate the franchise, and they know us players are the same way. And nothing makes money like making your customers happy.
and about starships, yes their big, but they dont take years and years to build. maybe years from the time an engineer dreams them up, to the final product, but just building them, whatever.
Entire cultures dont scrape together every last bit of tritanium to build them. they simply replicate the stuff out of thin air.
I dont see any problem with thousands of ships flying around, space is a big place.

I agree with Arturius, who makes a very valid point. Space is vast. Thousands of ships at the same time isn't too big of a stretch when you stop to think about it. And the Federation and Klingon Empire have been around for a long time, they've had alot of time to refine shibuilding to a better state. Also keep in mind that they said there may be newer technology for transportation such as transwarp hubs, etc. Why couldn't shipbuilding technology be something brand new that we've never seen before as well?

[Nefertari]

I wonder if the ship creator will work like it does in Starship Creator, where you get get a get to mix-n-match pieces....Saucer, hull, nacells so that everyone doesn't have the exact same ship within a class.

[TheHybrid]

Thanks guys for all the hard work and keep it info flowing! There's a question that I have, you guys will probably answer it in a future post so her goes.

1. Will increasing your skill levels be time based, or active playing/player based?

For instance, does your skill points go up when you discover a new area of space or you contact a new species? Or, does your character gain skill simply by being in the game and learning through the passing of time? (like EVE) One of the downsides I see of a time based skill leveling system is that whoever is the first to begin leveling his/her skill, everybody who begins the game after him/her, will never be able to "catch up" skill wise to the first guy.

Thanks again, keep them coming!

[ParkerHayden]

:D I know in the last episode of TNG... In the future of Star Fleet, some ships like the Enterprise had the ability to cloak... So, my question is... In this future of Starfleet, will the Federation have cloaking ships of their own; like in the show? :cool: thanks

Yes. It's been mentioned several times.

[Saaxton]

Two questions...

1.) Will we have access to the Guardian of Forever? I want to be able to go back in time.

2.) Will we be able to travel to the Mirror Universe?

It's not a STAR TREK game without time travel and the Mirror Universe.

I had wondered this myself. I don't see why something like this couldn't be implemented. In World of Warcraft we have instanced quests that take us back in time to fix something screwed up in the past. I could totally see something done in regards to the Guardian of Forever.

As far as the Mirror Universe, I was talking to my wife the other night about that. It would be neat to take a mission that required a trip into the Mirror Universe or maybe even an infiltration on your own ship that included evil versions of yourself and your own crew.

~Saaxton

[alucard1]

This is good news...

... not so good would be any notion of typical MMORPG "classes" in ship combat - like for instance a "healer" ship class. Please tell be we wont have ships firing "healing beams" to "heal" damaged ships.

:eek:

Just kidding. :)

Thanks for the addition information, Cryptic dudes and dudettes.

I could actually see this happening, and having it be *sort of* canon. I've seen in several episodes of both TNG and Voy that had Picard/Janeway "extending their shields" around a damaged ship for 'protection' ... With all of their nanite technology, I could fully see them having a beam of some sort that could help to "heal" a ship in your fleet.

Peace

[alucard1]

Suspect us rommies at heart will have to settle for vulcans (aka unified Romulans) in Fed Space, with hopes on returning to the Empire when Cryptic has time to make an Empire expansion or patched/update.

Then they might surprise us early on.


This is something I, and several of my Fleetmates, is wondering about.

We know that Romulans, as a playable faction will not be in at launch, but with the Character Creation being what it is *supposed* to be... could there not be Romulans created by the players, in Star Fleet? Sort of like Defectors, or... emissaries. Kind of like that episode where Riker was the First Officer of the Klingon ship as some sort of training thing?

On the Horta comment.. I think it was a joke.... sort of a metaphor to 'would you rather have 'canon' mini-games, or would you like us to spend our time on making one or some of the MANY races in ST as playable..." At least, that's how I took it.

Thanks Cryptic for the info... looking forward to hearing more!

Peace

[Stronin]

Will there be the option of having a Marine unit aboard?

[ParkerHayden]

Will there be the option of having a Marine unit aboard?

Wrong thread.
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=9423

[Dominion1971]

While I am incredibly excited about this game, yet not allowing myself to have a complete melt down over it for a few reasons...

But one thing that I am concerned about.. they keep referring to the "Great Character customization" that Cryptic is known for.. they go on and on about it.. Like trying to blind us with the shiny stuff..

I am one person that is not a Doom sayer.. nor do I like it when people do it about games I am really wanting to play and very much looking forward to playing... but I just cant shake this feeling, like... I don't know... i wish I could feel good about it... but on more then one occasion, they have brought up the character customization in an attempt to make people all giddy over the fact that I can tweak the crap out of a Character... well, that is all great and all but...

what about over all game PLAY... what about Star Ship combat.. what about boarding parties... what about escape pods.. what about self destructs.. what about.. like was said.. what happens if your in a PVP area and you beam down.. is your ship a sitting duck, or does the computer take up the fight in your absence..?? do you get emergency beamed out to jump into the fight? lots and lots more interesting questions that are JUST as much Trek and would make for SOLID game play that would make STO something that will be around and very popular for a long time...

*sighs* I dono... I just need more meat... not another reminder of just "How *****in and totally cool the Cryptic Customization " for the characters will be.. I play CoX and I KNOW how good that part is.. but even though I LOVE CoX, the game play leaves me still wanting.. I truly hope that this isn't going to be City of... Star Trek....

So, please... Help a Trekkie to have more Hope... That was the ONLY concern that I ever had about Cryptic taking this project on... Is that it would be a Spaced out Trek Version of City of Hero's / Villains...

I truly hope not... Time will tell...

[TheHybrid]

Since the graphics cards usually support dual monitor output, will there be an option in the game to use two computer screen monitors? Thanks again!

[john789]

OMG YES!!! I already want my Voyager!!!! and i already know my bridge crew!!! but like some perosn 2 post before mine said.....what about those other little details that are MORE trek than character customizatition.....for me customizatition comes down to physical appearance cause i love the unbiform they have in star trek and that something that i will try to do on my ship...make the uniform look as mush as possible as the uniforms that they used in the last movie..

But ok what about those little details like controlling individual ship systems!?! like say....i get a klingon boarding party on board Atlantis (my intrepid class) and then im a jackass and i decide to deactivate life support systems and augment the gravity hull plating intensity on that section that the klingons are on......will i be able to do that!?!?!?!?

Or say i want to beam them all out to space......or idk things like that....

HOPE we can :D

[RedSonia]

I second the concerns of Dominion1971. Also, I worry about the slight evasiveness on the video of the Trek convention about how they plan on stopping it being 'a grindfest' I think was the term used. If I want a space combat game with trek ships, I'll play another one with trek skins/mods so I'm really hoping and keeping the faith that the 'Star Trek element' of the game will live up to expectations.

I'm wetting my pants over this games release and I think I speak for everyone when I say we just want it to be a Star Trek game, not just anyotherspaceshipmmorpg-oh-butwithtrekmodels

[GhostWolf007]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on ships, customization and PvP content. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-17-08)

My question would be the possibility to name our ships....."Voyager" is fine as well "Enterprise" among the others but also a sub-name to help identify players while in space? such as "Voyager starlight" for example?

[RedSonia]

I imagine that'll be a feature. As you point out, having a million USS Enterprises roaming around would be confusing to say the least, especially if you had to rendez-vous with it - it'd be like 'Parallels' all over again. On the topic of prefixes (U.S.S. </shipname>), I wonder if federation ships will have to be the USS something or if we'll be able to call them 'OFS <whatever>' where OFS would stand for Omega Fleet Ship, for example?

[Athos]

Mmmmkay...someone pinch me, not sure if I'm awake. ;)

Every bit of new information just makes me want the game more. Customization for maximum permutation within the game between players is just increadible; that is Star Trek...IDIC! I really like the fact that all starships are available to all professions and not just classed (i.e. tactical only gets to play with Airka, Defiant, Steamrunner, etc).

Also being able to choose your bridge crew is freakin awesome. Being able to choose what they learn, what their strengths and weaknesses are basically makes it impossible to have any two players exactly the same.

I've already determined that I will be putting in for an entire week of leave to do nothing but play STO when it first comes out. Rank of captain within a week? Maybe...:D

[reiththestud]

Okay, points lost for saying "the voyager". It's just "voyager" people, no "the" necessary. Am I nitpicking? Yeah, but that's what true trekkies do best.:cool:

[KirksOtherSon]

Okay, so in the recent Ask Cryptic, Horta were mentioned as being playable at some point.

What I want to know is:

1. Horta, to me, seem to be very slow-moving... and small

2. How can a Horta use a phaser/tricorder?

3. How can a Horta use an LCARS interface?

`Twas a joke in the original post -- or at least a light-hearted aside. Not to be taken too seriously. It's been said elsewhere by Jack Emmert in one of the video interviews that STO will focus on humanoid aliens as playable races because of gameplay design necessities.

While this certainly doesn't preclude NPC Horta appearing in-game, I would expect that playable Horta, while possibly "on the list" of things which would be theoretically cool to have implemented, are actually a long way off from appearing in-game, for practical design reasons.

KOS

[KirksOtherSon]

I don't like that idea either (multiple ships). Starfellet officers, for example, aren't assigned to more than one ship at a time so it seems logical to me that if you want to change your ship, the old one will have to be either destroyed or decommissioned as happened with Kirk and Picard, as examples. The only 'realistic' circumstances in which someone would have more than one ship at a time would be if they were some kind of pirate or trader type character and even then, I doubt that the various empires would sell classes of ship such as Galaxy, Sovereign, D'Deridex or Vor'Cha to anyone who came asking

I'm aiming at being the first Warbird commander with decent haircut!

I think the emphasis was missed here by some. You can train your captain avatar to be effective at commanding the various types of Federation starship, but it's already been said elsewhere by Emmert (I'm tired, someone else can look it up) that while a player may captain different types of ship during his or her career, they only command one vessel at a time. No "private garages" full of alternative starships waiting back at a starbase.

I expact most players will have more than one captain character on their STO accounts, and that these captains may each focus on a different kind or type of starship.

KOS

[Gral]

Question has been answered, my bad :-)

However may want to consider updating the FAQ with playable races . . . Unless you did in the last few hours?

[Redwes03]

It sounds like the game is shaping up nicely guys, keep up the good work.

Intrepid class here I come!!!!

[DFawkes]

Okay, points lost for saying "the voyager". It's just "voyager" people, no "the" necessary. Am I nitpicking? Yeah, but that's what true trekkies do best.:cool:

It's Voyager with a capital, since it's a title :P Now that's nitpicking!

The fact they said 3D chess may come in an expansion made me realise there may be retail expansions, something I hadn't really considered. I do like watching the galaxy map expand and evolve with time, especially any story elements that may come up.

All in all, some nice info without anything really useful, very cryptic (and hence appropriate) :D

[Valenthalas]

Need... more.... information.... *eyes twitch* eek

[dougkeenan]

Hello all Trekkers - I am the author of Parmen (http://www.parmen.com), a free 3D chess game played on the famous board according to online Tournament rules. I know nothing of playing or programming MMO's however. Will there be information available regarding an SDK / API for creating such an expansion?

[JFendley]

I didn't read everyone else's feedback on this, but I hope that they don't limit the classes to merely cruisers, destroyers, and science vessels. Surely dreadnoughts, battleships, and scouts will be included as well. Well, I hope so. We want a variety of classes or at least subclasses within the classes.

[CinC-UFPForces-Cardassia]

Two questions...

1.) Will we have access to the Guardian of Forever? I want to be able to go back in time.

2.) Will we be able to travel to the Mirror Universe?

It's not a STAR TREK game without time travel and the Mirror Universe.

...

It most certainly can be a Star Trek game without time travel and the mirror universe.

As it happens, the concept of a "mirror universe" and time travel are among the most generic story devices in existence. They do not define Star Trek, by any stretch.

[JFendley]

...

It most certainly can be a Star Trek game without time travel and the mirror universe.

As it happens, the concept of a "mirror universe" and time travel are among the most generic story devices in existence. They do not define Star Trek, by any stretch.

While I concur that it is most definately NOT a defining aspect of Star Trek it certainly does make for an interesting line of quests to go back in time or visit the mirror universe. But I won't be heart broken if there isn't either included ever let alone at launch.

[Haegemon]

I got a question for cryptic: How many wheight has the faction gameplay. I mean, how easy is to walk around and populate "hostile" planets? And how PVP instanced or not will affect the faction gameplay?

Thanks in advance.

[Haegemon]

Maybe instead of becoming the first Warbird Commander with a decent haircut, I'll settle for being the first Romulan Starfleet Captain


If Romulans have to be foes, I can's see that so logical.

[Gorehog]

So playable Horta will be in the game at some point?

Though I don't know how a living rock is going to pilot a ship or do anything else on board ship. Though I want one.

Nice to hear we can use any ship regardless of our specialty, so maybe I can have a medical specialty and still fly my Akira which would more likely be a tactical specialty ship,

Well, in the Romulan Way, by Diane Duane (Pocket Books, sometime in the 80's), there was a Horta Ensign on board the Enterprise. It was a baby of the Horta that Spock mind melded with. They found it was useful in the geology lab as it could differentiate minerals by taste. I might be thinking of the wrong book.

It was also useful in combat as it could eat through rock and metal walls.

And yep, I vote for playable Horta first.

[Admiral_Patrick]

Will Starfleet and Klingon uniforms be semi-customizable with extra additions?

Character customization is one of the hallmark features of a Cryptic game. You will be able to modify and customize the uniform of your characters, but it will always have the look of a uniform. The costume options will reflect popular pieces from the show, as well as new concepts and styles.

Oh, THAT's Star Trek.






NOT

EDIT: That really didnt seem constructive enough. So let me rephrase it in a better way to better give feedback and to not seem like a troll. I think it varies too far off the Star Trek base and thus shouldn't be in the game. If the character/race customization is as wonderful as you say it is, the uniforms should remain....uniform.

[RedSonia]

I agree, to some extent, but we should at least be able to choose which era the uniform comes from and remember, SF TOS uniforms had different logos for each ship and there are dress uniforms, casual uniforms like kirk's 'stylish' green uniform, etc. And let's not forget the mirror uniforms, for those that want to role play a mirror ship lost in the regular universe. But certainly, anything not Trek should, in my opinion, be left for another game.

Also, I think if people are playing non-human characters, it'd be nice to have the ability to put elements from their own culture as 'jewelry' like Worf had.

[Cepheus]

I am very happy there will be clothes from the show. The new uniform collars really bother me. I would much rather have my crew in late DS9/Final Frontier style uniforms or even the anti time outfits.

[warrendeath]

Not sure if this topic is still active but I do have a question for Cryptic Studios. I'm not sure if this has been answered yet so don't hail me for the following question(s).

My question is when will there be an active ship list for the public to see?

Another question is Game Informers release date exact?From the press conference I got the feeling it was going to be atleast middle 09.

[Stewart]

Still waiting for a launch date... anybody... anything? I would really like to be able to customize my release date... can Cryptic let me do that? Just kidding. Just really excited guys.:cool:

[ifox1985]

Also: Horta??? How can Horta hold phasers, tricorders, move fast, or interface with LCARS?

Lol! Think Larry the Cucumber from veggie Tales.

[Rieve]

Awesome info keep it coming :}

[Rivaris]

nice info keep it coming :)

[Foss]

"We are always looking at gameplay elements to enhance the Star Trek experience. 3D chess is a Trek classic, and it's on the list. But it may not be in for launch – maybe an expansion. Should it be before or after the playable Horta?"

It's just a chess game. Having from the launch would be the minimum. Otherwise other similar things may go to the trash can too ?

[Lt.Renak]

that are great news thanks to cryptic. But I am still afraid about localisation and internation support in different languages and hope to get answers to this important question, soon.

[mcfemtp]

NIce!! I cant wait to get my hot rod out there nd take a look around!!:)

[RedSonia]

Apologies if it seems like a stupid one, but a question I have for Cryptic is as to how we will control our ships. Will it be Bridge Commander and Starfleet Academy style ('Cockpit'), Dominion Wars Style (3rd Person), or both? - or a more Homeworldlike RTS type style (which would suck)?

[Korris]

Typical of Fedahration! These propogand you spew from your mouths....all Fedahrationz is talk talk talk...no action....and of course you speak little of The Great Klingon Houses, our uniforms or our battle hardened ship designs......bah....stoopidz Fedahration.

[daleon1]

I need help from kligons i hate the federation please help me I want to know how to get in the game instead of looking at news and oter stuff

[RedSonia]

The game isn't out yet.

[Bladeskill]

Maybe if you had more thatn one ship, you could sell it at a space station or something. Or donate it to your fleet. Otherwise that would probably mean that you're stuck with one ship... unless the selling of a previous ship is automatic. That would make more sense than hualing it around somewhere ( your bag of holding, like most MMOs?) until you find a place to sell it.
Think we could get dreadnuaghts? or did I miss something about those?
Imagine a battle involving a Q...

[stabnore]

Good news!

With regards to ships.. "No, not at all. You can train and advance in any ship class, or even in multiple ship classes.", this sounds like a specialty thing, where you can train to be a generally good captain (perhaps the best type to command a cruiser), or you can excel at commanding a particular style of ship like an escort or a science vessel, perhaps?

How about we add a Humanoid holographic interface like the Doctor from Voyager too?

You humans are so vulgar with your mating and your... *pause*... mating with inanimate objects.

*shiver*

[stabnore]

I need help from kligons i hate the federation please help me I want to know how to get in the game instead of looking at news and other stuff

Well, all you have to do is increase the time constant everywhere in the universe except for where you are.

Don't ask me how... you just do it!

The game is projected to come out in about three years.

Yes! We are all very silly to talk about it as if it is real.

[Markcus]

keep up the good work, can't wait to see ingame video.

[picardalpha2clearance]

Will we see any timeless faces like the "Q" ? The Q has been in every series with the exception of Enterprise
if so to what extent of there involvement in the progression of the game?

[PinkSkin]

I hate boards, it's not that they aren't useful for some things but I feel they get used for loads of useless speculation and rumors. Glad to see that Cryptic is putting out some information to quell it, so it's not a total meltdown on here.

Anyways someone fill me in. If we can get ahold of a Galaxy, Sovereign, Intepid Class starship and so on....well....why would I want one? I grew up with the Starship Enterprise being a Constitution Class vessel. With the release of the Enterprise-B, an Excelsior class ship, Kirk was "killed". Fast forward 80 years and you have the Enterprise-D.....Shortly there after the E-E.

I'll get to the point. If STO is to take place roughly 80 years after the incident with the Romulans and Remans than you can npt possibly tell me that 80+ year old buckets of bolts are still flying around.

I want my own Enterprise as bad as the next guy.....but I want the Equivalent to the NCC-1701 H....not Cochrans Pheonix. If we are going to be in the future of the Star Trek Universe than by all means lets see what the future holds. Federation ships will always bear resemblance to thier predacesors, but the federation could not survive on outdated technology.

Forgive me if I'm missing something.......I truly do look forward to this game....and I don't want to have my heart broken up because the game I really have been waiting for ends up being garbage.
This has the potential to be the biggest thing in gaming history......I believe!

[thinnyminton]

Are you going to be able to interact with new cultures and meet new people who can give you information? When i say information i mean perhaps how you can make your ship go faster by a warp or how to upgrade your shields. If you havnt done this you really ought to. I look forward to have many cultures on my ship and incorporate them into combat and even trading.

[andrewjames]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on ships, customization and PvP content. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-17-08)

Thank god I was hoping there would be something like that :)

[Victus24601]

I have chosen a name for a starship and i would like to keep if for all my starships. Will i be able to decommission my previous vessel and keep the name or will have have to come up with a new one each time?

Also i really like the looks of the Klingon bird of prey and would like to make it my main kilngon ship Will i be able to keep if for a really long time and keep it viable in the end game or will i have to move on? I really like the idea of being able to upgrade ships alot to make them viable at the end game or we will have fleets of all the same ship later on.

Loving the game concept so far! Please keep up the great work!!

[RedSonia]

Good point... Sure, there'll be newcomers to disguise this, but it'd be nice if the bigger class of ship weren't all over the place after a few months/year (however long it supposedly is going to take to build yourself up enough to have a 'flagship' class)

Also, I'm hoping that ships will HAVE TO put into dry-dock periodically (not too often though or it'd be no fun) to pickup new crew (replacements for all those "Heavy casualties on deck 6"), and dilithium (maintenance?) - making supply line/trade route attacks worth something more than just 'money', and trading esential not just to building, but running of fleets.

This would also mean that since bigger ships use more resources to maintain, if there was a war between guild fleets, 'winning' could be a possibility, as there's no permadeath.

Maybe there's an article on this that I haven't read, anyone able to enlighten me?

[phillipkarnezis]

When is this game going to be released or has it already been so?:)

[Jennau116]

So When you lose a starship, will there be a court marshal? I mean I cant imagine Starfleet being to happy that you blew up the Bozeman IV :P

[rourk]

I agree! i want to know what happens to your ship when you beam down. Realistically it would be vulnerable to attack if you were going for the true game experience.

[RockyM]

Fantastic ! Woot it just keeps sounding better and better.

[kamui]

I'd like to think if you're off ship then one of your bridge officers takes control, and the ship is run by AI at that point.

[Samzo77]

I'm pretty stoked about this release, but there is no definite information regarding all platforms that I can find at this point. Ideally I would like to play on my Mac, but wouldn't mind playing on the PS3 either.

Curious if anyone knows if this will be Mac compatible?

[thespeckledkiwi]

Will we see any traditional pets or animals in the game? Will the exocomps be included as part of the crew?

[pyriel32]

So far according to jack at release it will be pc only.

[ifox1985]

Ok I read that we will be able to make use of transwarp conduits and worm holes. This brings a few questions to mind:

1) Have you considered slipstream drive?

2) Does this mean we get to traverse the Delta Quadrant?

3) Will we get to see Species 8472?

[picardalpha2clearance]

I am a huge star trek fan well versed in all the series and movies, but I have never gotten into a MMO game, am I going to like this game? Will our ships have run ins with the "Q" if so to what extent? I'm wondering about ship classes, in 80 years time there has to be new ships and designs? the galaxy class star ship would seem a relic 80 years down the road? Even a soverign class ship would be getting moth balled? I'm willing to make this my first real MMO experience I just hope it live up to the hype
Respectfully
Submitted

[Vonkassal]

not to be utterly a smart rear but are not the ships of the federation already classified anyway? The enterprise was a battleship, while the defiant I believe was a destroyer, and I never cared what the voyager was. There are a few science ships in the varied series as well as research vessels and so on. Though every ship seemed to be outfitted to do science and research as well as combat. I guess my point is why not just go with the already set classifications?

[MC101]

Hi all,

I'm curious as to how certain tasks will be handled in your chosen specialty.

For example, your an engineer and during battle, some systems go down. How will you approach the situation to repair the failed system ? Will you be presented a small scenario/puzzle where you have some broken wires and you need to match the colors of the wires and splice/connect them to restore power ? Maybe you have access to some toggles , and moreso as you lvl up and allow you to fix certain systems ..and more advanced systems as you progress like repairing the warp core.

Just a thought .. thanks for any input you may have on this issue.

MC101 :)

[matty]

meeting difficulties head-on is what a Starfleet officer looks forward to like a spartan look to in death, but being a captain and issuing orders in a combat scenario would seem hard to do from a third person view behind the ship. when the ship become disabled do we return to bridge view? can our ship be destroyed? and what happens to the player afterward, especially when the ship is taken over? can we retake the ship? all these happen in the show. the technicalities in the show are pretty in depth, have fun bringing them to 3d and good luck. so many people are looking forward to this. also, do we have to be just human or Klingon? there are many races in the federation

[matty]

cryptic said we can make our own starbases, so obviously by the time u can build more than one ship u'll have the resources to build a base. also id like to have a small ship, easily maneuverable, small compliment, 2 or 3 decks. 24th century tech should be able to fit a good defense into a ship like that look a the delta-flyer.

[xxvialator]

Cant wait, at this point just want a release date.

The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few
Xxvialator
U.S.S Miranda
NCC-0513A

[matty]

k so it seems like we have to be in starfleet or Klingon empire. i didn't join the navy for a reason, but will there be an academy? it'd be a good way to make friends and future guild factions, like in the show. but can we go rouge and how will u stop us?

[john789]

meeting difficulties head-on is what a Starfleet officer looks forward to like a spartan look to in death, but being a captain and issuing orders in a combat scenario would seem hard to do from a third person view behind the ship. when the ship become disabled do we return to bridge view? can our ship be destroyed? and what happens to the player afterward, especially when the ship is taken over? can we retake the ship? all these happen in the show. the technicalities in the show are pretty in depth, have fun bringing them to 3d and good luck. so many people are looking forward to this. also, do we have to be just human or Klingon? there are many races in the federation


OK that concept of re taking your ship if its ever taken by hostiles sounds AWESOME!!! hahaha i wonder if you will be able to like have your EMH doctor help you since he cant die. OMG OMG OMG

what about sealing the bridge and venting all air form it!??!? hahaha that would be amaizing if we had that level of control.

[Dunpar]

WILL ther be borg playable.. and if so when will we be able to play them... also how will you deal with haveing a ship concered via bording.. will that ship fall under the command of the main bording caption. and if so will there be a cool down time till the ship functions like it would if it where under the orgianl owner??

[TheSpider03]

I agree! i want to know what happens to your ship when you beam down. Realistically it would be vulnerable to attack if you were going for the true game experience.
I envision some kind of standing order while the captain is on the surface, like " stay in the moon's shadow" or " keep the ship on the far side of the planet to avoid detection." so the ship would not actively be seen in orbit by someone wandering through the system. not a perfect solution, but something to think about

[RedSonia]

I think it would start to get unplayably irritating as the gameworld fills up to have to keep emergency beaming to your ship because there are enemies in the area. Also, I imagine there would be a number of players who would group together and hunt these ships to build their stats - seriously not cool guys...

[Hadrion_NextGen]

Usually, they will be so scared that lone players wont Linke and play because they need to work with other online players to grow and level and do the cool stuff. The coolest thing in the world would be being able to work as a crew member of somone elses ship or make a guild option where you can all share one big ship. I just hope they dont make one Big High levelship more powerful then 20 smaller lower level ships, that way every ship can encounter every ship, not just if they are on the same level. I am also scared no one is going to be the Klingon or other classes that arent in Star Fleet. I think its going to be mad cool to see Star Trek Fans All together in one star trek World. I can wait to recieve orders to monitor the romulan border.lololol[/B][/COLOR]

[paddy86]

I like whats been done and from what I can see there will be a hell of a lot more to see in the future which is so cool!
one thing im really interested in is, Can you build your own ship from scatch??

[fribox]

how do i start playing?:confused:

[fribox]

how do i play

[picardalpha2clearance]

just out of curiousity how often will the folks at Cryptic be answering questions? Not being a mmo game player, I've done a little homework on the previous game developer and from what I've seen so far Crypyic has a much better grasp on the star trek universe and also seem to be making a better product that what was in beta getting ready to be marketed in the hands of its clueless previous developer. thanks for putting the dedication into this and making a game fan worthy after so many disappointments

[Duckdee]

just out of curiousity how often will the folks at Cryptic be answering questions?
The thread taking questions for the third Q&A has just closed, so fairly regularly. For Cryptic's other game in development, Champions Online, they've had a Q&A at least once a month, just to give you an example.

[Cdr_Wallace]

AM I missing something? Just how do we PLAY this game? And where?

[PinkSkin]

AM I missing something? Just how do we PLAY this game? And where?

We pretend.....you know...use your imagination!

[callsign11b]

Just wondering about comm unication traffic (chat) voice mike system)
It be nice to have two forms of communications tex with your players picture for talking to friends or fleets or guilds online while going from point a to b like picard got in his ready room.
and a voice mike system for in fleet operations, destress calls, hails, starbases, other ships. ect.
with diffent freq able to use by players. like a destress freq. or to listen in on a battle like the enterprise did in first contact.
you know go to or command communications set to com freq. epslon 231B and you can voice chat with a friends ship whos online. both players set there freq for epslon 231B then they can chat and not have everyone else chat or listen in.
but you have commond freq that everyone is on like Fleet channels.
have the ability to monitor 4 or 5 channels a one time. distress channel, starfleet command, sector, fleet, squandred.
even make it in game that the enemy trys to break your incripted com freq to get a tatical edge in operations or missions. so command has to change freq if its discoverd that a certain freq has been comprnised.
as for tex have it show up on computer screen like a email for people to chat when one person is offline.
like say will bi in andor system stardate34576.84 meet me there or will be playing tuesday night 3pm see you then. or i starfleet command sends you orders during game play and your offline then when you get online get a message incoming starfleet message you read it thats your quest mission what ever.
I think that would be so cool as to realy bring groups together.

Can you immagine your on patrol and get a live voice message ditress call this is uss reliant to any starfleet vessels my position is ??? Mark??? i"m under attack by 2 D7C cruisers recieved heavy damage main power failing .
you respond and your on your way.
you just have to set it up that communication range would play a important part. it be unreilistic to send a mayday from the nutral zone and everyboady would get it from there to earth. but ships in the area would get it and respond and send a report to starfleet command tex message.
or something like that.

just a thought.:)

[johnymark]

were do i go to play the game after i created my account? i NEED to be able to play this game.

[johnymark]

please gyes. help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kelesh]

please gyes. help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hey buddy the game isnt out yet its in development were here to get infomation as its developed , but rest assured we are all as eager as you are to play .

[RedSonia]

I like that comm frequency idea ;)

[pyriel32]

if anyone wants to know the game informer is out on stands now

[deltaraven666]

were do i go to play the game after i created my account? i NEED to be able to play this game.

wow u really need to do research on things first man

[Captain-Lang]

I wonder if there will be older classes of ship like excelsior,ambassador, miranda, obreth, constellation, constitution. most of these classes were still used during DS9 times. I know I would like an older class but maybe with some upgrades. One final thought will we be able to stay in that class and are crew still get more exprenice or will they be held back by the class of ship

Captain Lang
USS TRIAL
NCC-1948

[callsign11b]

theres been some talk about what happens to your ship in pvp if you beamed down to planet, starbase, ect.
some have said it disapears when your not there.
to me that looses the feel of the game.
on the shows when the capt is gone the XO (first officer ) takes over right.
and the the bridge crew is a extention of your main player like pets right.
and you have manage them with skills just like your capt player right.
So if you leave your ship your XO takes over if there is a battle from a pvp incounter couldn't you get a message from your XO to beam back up. or have your ship run as a npc but with the skills of your XO and your ship stats. so it would be much more powerfull than just a normal npc ship.

I don't know just be kind of lame to say be a klingon warp into a system go to a planet to beam down or do something you scan the system oh no one here cool. get to the planet beam down and have 7 federation starship crews hanging out having a beach party. :rolleyes:
Kind of out numbered and in a bad way. A Homer Simspon DoooH!!!! :eek:

[Markham_Karis]

Wow great FAQ answers Cryptic!

A playable Horta!? Wow I have a friend who would love to play that! Now if only Vendorians were in, well even if it is just a possibility that certainly is a unique one. :)

3D Chess. Wow a nice way to have a mini-game within STO! Perhaps player-run tournaments will be a great way to meet people and RP a little!

I'm looking forward to choosing uniform options. I hope a standard post-Nemesis uniform is in. That's probably the one I'd default to. But to have a classic TNG one to pull out now and then...that'd be awesome!

Wow am I excited about STO! Well done Cryptic!

:)

[Sqwirtzilla]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on ships, customization and PvP content. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-17-08)

thanks for the info guys, much appreciated, but tell me will there be only 3 classes of ships, because i can think of a few more catagories we can break them to: say Battle Cruiser for example?

[UFO721]

I recommend that they designate the ship next to the enterprise e look alike ship an Andromeda Class becuase it has a very similar design to the already known galaxy class:)

[CaptianKillerScooby]

More news, sweet. I still would like to know what happens to your ship when you beam down, especially in a PvP zone where it could be attacked! Hello I am tring to get into the Game how do I do that?

[callsign11b]

we are going to be able to customize ships a bit. my question are we going to get a designer screen say when we go to dry dock and have the points presitige resources what ever to do it.
and what will we be able to do?
change hull numbers ships name, add more weapon hardpoints, add more or change out weapons for more powerfull ones. upgrade internal equipment? more crew? assualt ships, carriers?
will there be of a 3d editor to mod the actual out side structue of the ship with in pre definded models.
add a voy forward hull on ambassitor secondary hull with say a excel warp engines?
and be able to distort hull segments fat ,longe,r thiner ,ect.

Or will there be a invitory of primary , secondary hulls and warp engines from say from enterprise , tos, tmp, tng to present. and we mix and match to get what we want?

If not maybe we the players could upload 3d models for play??

The mod ships that come out after a game comes out from the mod community are sometimes good as or better than some ships produced by in house designers.

just a thought.

[mark2396]

lets hope there will be npcs captable of keeping pvp gankers out of non pvp zones and protecting those that do not wish to pvp,
and also hope that the gms will take a grim look on those that attack others for no reason while they are just trying to do their unrelated mission.

It sounds like you have to enter certain zones to pvp. People cant just randomly attack people in other zones whenever they want. For instance if you enter the neutral zone or other designated areas you are in the pvp zone. Otherwise you arent able to attack other players. At least thats how i read it

[mark2396]

we are going to be able to customize ships a bit. my question are we going to get a designer screen say when we go to dry dock and have the points presitige resources what ever to do it.
and what will we be able to do?
change hull numbers ships name, add more weapon hardpoints, add more or change out weapons for more powerfull ones. upgrade internal equipment? more crew? assualt ships, carriers?
will there be of a 3d editor to mod the actual out side structue of the ship with in pre definded models.
add a voy forward hull on ambassitor secondary hull with say a excel warp engines?
and be able to distort hull segments fat ,longe,r thiner ,ect.

Or will there be a invitory of primary , secondary hulls and warp engines from say from enterprise , tos, tmp, tng to present. and we mix and match to get what we want?

If not maybe we the players could upload 3d models for play??

The mod ships that come out after a game comes out from the mod community are sometimes good as or better than some ships produced by in house designers.

just a thought.

I dont think modding into an online env is a great idea. You have no idea how its going to react in the closed system without crashing something. The developes need to keep control over their own environment.

[J.L.Picard]

Im only gonna say one thing GO PLAY SFC3. they have proper ship classes which is something this game desperately needs or your going to mess it up. there are more then 3 classification and hell one of the ones you supply doesnt even effect Klingons. Nebula class starship is a science vessel but at the same time it is more powerfull then akira. explain to me why you would want to creat multi tier classes withing 3 classes of ship?
Go look at the Classification system on SFC3 they got it spot on hell its so well done that a fully upgraded scout vessel e.g. saber class or a B'rel(Bird of Prey) can actually take on a destroyer and win and do decent damage against a light cruiser.

I beg you stop trying to re-invent something that does not need to be re-invented. from your description as far as the federation is concerned
Escort= Defiant,saber,norway,Nova, Intrepid
Science= Nebula and Galaxy
Cruiser= Intrepid,Akira,Galaxy,Prometheus, Galaxy and Sovereign

are you aiming for a rock paper scissors sort of game?
Escort>Cruiser>Science>Escort?

If we could please get some answers in the next question thing because all your pve and pvp talk means nothing if you dont get this right because it will create unbalance and be rubbish because it will be fake.

[callsign11b]

Just asking what will the limits be.
the vid talks about some customization graphics and adding warp engines that tells me there is some sort of 3d design software you will use to mod your ship. there is going to be canon ships so some older style ships maybe in the game Just wondering how far will they let you go with it.
Just thought they have it set up when you pick your struture you can mix and match from a pre designed library of parts.

[NX_70982]

It would be sweet if players could take control of NPC ships, or hijack derelicts, like the Husnock battleships for example.

What Cryptic needs to do is allow players to play other races; Romulans for instance. Cardassians, Ferengi, Jem'Hadar, Vorta, etc.

Even El-Aurians

[borg735]

this is cool i cant wait fo an intrepid-class Crusier
USS nexus

[pic01]

i think they shoul give a wider range of ship classes

[captainjake]

I'm happy about the fact that there is finally a star trek game that we can play online and do basically what ever we want.

[callsign11b]

Will the game have a programable ship maneuvering system.
helm controls will be up down side to side rolling. and probly commands like follow, intercept, evade
3d maneuvers.
put was wondering if there will a option to make your own pre define maneuvers
example : loop with a reverse roll with a port side turn to a follow at a distance to put you on enemys rear.
program that in for a key stroke like key letter M + number 1 to do that maneuver.
just wondering.:rolleyes:

[borg735]

i wonder if you get assimilated to you get to play as borg or do you die and get trasnported back to your ship?

[voyager55]

Great info. I cant wait!

[ddiinc]

Im glad that you will be able to select a vessel or even multiple vessels from a respective factional fleet. However, how does the game intend to balance the different era's of ships? This concerns me more then anything else in the game. Inherantly, a constitution class vessel was less powerful then a Galaxy class ship. If the developers don't have a means for balancing this issue the game will be certainly unbalanced in both PVP and PVE.

[Amenhotep]

Excellent point Lance85, I for one dont like this shoot'em up stuff too much, Exploring is the "SOUL" of the startrek philosophy. Those that want to just shoot, they can do it in certain zones but let the other that dont want in peace.

[Silhouette]

The more I hear the more I like and the more I can't wait for this title to launch.

Sil:D

[cfknock]

So playable Horta will be in the game at some point?

Though I don't know how a living rock is going to pilot a ship or do anything else on board ship. Though I want one.

Nice to hear we can use any ship regardless of our specialty, so maybe I can have a medical specialty and still fly my Akira which would more likely be a tactical specialty ship,

I guess that depending on what you wanted to do with the ship, having a medical "sub" speciality isn't a problem. ST has historically taken a stance that mimics sections of the Geneva Convention, so in this case the Akira class ship, if being used for medical transport and ambulatory functions would then be de-weaponized...permanently.

If being a ship of the line with a "doctor" at the helm, it might make some decisions somewhat interesting. After all, first do no harm.

[Graxzious]

PvP will be nice....it will be interesting to see how starfleet will handle pirates etc. in those areas.:pPlay the role I say!

[TJBTrek]

Could player controlled ships act as guards if they want to, instead of NPCs

[traci]

First time visiting Cryptic STO site. As I read the posts and news, it looks as if the ship concept of the old game has gone away.

10 players on one ship working together to fly the ship. Boarding parties and trying to take the bridge of the other ship is not mentioned.

Has this dynamic of the game be removed?

If that is the case, then this game, at first glance seems to be an EVE in Star Trek clothing.

I sure hope not. Star Wars Galaxies space with multi onboard is some of the best out there. Problem is SWG for the most part as a whole is horriable.

So my question is. Can a guild of players control one ship and fly it together? Can the npc bridge officers be replaced with real players?

Thanks

Traci

[NX_70982]

Good point.

It would be sweet to have one ship and the bridge crew in real players.

Course, everyone's gonna try and be a commanding officer, and it just isn't gonna work like that.

Like any other RPG, the party has to be diversified; ; you got to have the following:

Engineer (Warp/Impulse Engine knowlege)
Medical (Wound/Illness Knowledge)
Security (Hand-Weapon Knowledge, Hand-to-Hand Battle Knowledge)
Helm (Piloting Knowledge, Maneuver Knowledge)
Science (Scanning/Astrometry Knowledge)
Weapons (Ship Weapon/Shield knowledge)

The NPC should be the Captain to start with, and as like Star Trek, you must go through the different ranks, from fresh-faced Acadamy graduate, to Captain. Once captain, you can have yout very own ship, with NPCs on it. Plus, you'll also have besides your captaincy knowledge of what field you chose to be in.

So, say you chose the field of Helmsman; than your ship will have added bonuses, making it better for you to skin in and out of battles, making it around a system, better flight, ertc.

[Xin]

Indeed, it looks that they are going the right way :)

[Roo_Rocket]

Keep the info comin guys. :) thanks

[StarTrekChuck]

Here is a question for you. Most MMORPG games require a great deal of time playing online.


What about people like me who only have time for casual play when I'm not at work. I think thats a fair question to ask.

:)


Thanks!


---Chuck

[OdinWorldslayer]

Here is a question for you. Most MMORPG games require a great deal of time playing online.


What about people like me who only have time for casual play when I'm not at work. I think thats a fair question to ask.

:)


Thanks!


---Chuck


They kind of addressed this a bit in the 43 min. video and it was a concern of mine, but they said that people who can only play casually will still be able to keep up with hardcore player and you won't necessarily always "get owned by that 15 year-old with nothing else to do but play STO"

[StarTrekChuck]

hahaha That is great, I was worried about just not being able to keep up since I won't have a ton of time to play.

God, I am so excited about this game!

Thanks for the answer!

--Chuck





They kind of addressed this a bit in the 43 min. video and it was a concern of mine, but they said that people who can only play casually will still be able to keep up with hardcore player and you won't necessarily always "get owned by that 15 year-old with nothing else to do but play STO"

[GundamTrekkie]

Now when we make a customized ship design can we name the class of it? Also can we have an NX in our registry?

U.S.S. Freedom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_Freedom)
Gundam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam) Class

I mean Akira (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_(film)) Class is named after an anime why can't my ship be?

[CaptainMendez]

Will any of the Federation Ships have cloaking ability? It is in the future maybe the treaties have changed :-)

[callsign11b]

Hi
I think we need some imput from the designers to this form about cloaking ships.
Does the federation have it or not.
people say they do and others say they don't
the board is getting hot on people who are going to play Klingons and romulans want the cloak to stay with those races.
then you have people who plan on playing as the federation wanting the cloaking tech.
quoting canon star trek.
even I have gotten caught up in it. as my personal feelings on the subject.
I was thinking of maybe trying out the klingon race after awhile just because thet had that tech.
but if its given to the federation side as well I see no reason why to try them out I stay fed.

[thewordlife101]

Sounds like we have a good thing going here. I am surprised by the time and efforts being put into this game i am so glad that a company is willing to make it right instead of making it fast/cheap and make a killing off it.

Thanks guys
Looking forward to it

[unmerciful]

What bridge crew positions will there be to fill? I am guessing that smaller ships will have fewer and that as you rank up with bigger ships, more bridge positions will open up.

Engineer
Ships doctor
Tactical / security

are the 3 slots that I see as the bare minimum. Others might include

Helm / navigation
Sensors / communications
Number 1 ( X. O.)
Science officer
Ships Counselor

Although your number 1 could be any of those positions, I never did figure out what Riker was supposed to be doing there besides repeating the captain's orders. Also, if the position to the right front is helm control, what was Data doing there on the left position? Is that sensors?


I really like the use of NPC's as the bridge crew. I know there is the whole debate over using PC crews but I like the NPC crews much better. I played Everquest for 4 years and I know that one thing you dont really want in a MMO is to have to rely on other people who you have most likely never met in person. I wouldn't mind if another player wanted to take a guest spot on my bridge, but why would they want to if they have their own ship?

It would be cool to allow visitors to come to your ship and marvel at your decorating skills.

Some other random thoughts: I dont want to spend my time MINING or HARVESTING or anything like that. I want to spend my time doing missions, kicking butt, and possibly socializing, but mostly kicking butt. As a parent with limited play time, I also dont want to have to join a fleet and spend countless hours MINING or going on the star trek equivalent of raids in order to get a decent ship. There should be a way to get a large ship without having to join a fleet.

Also, when my kid gets sick and throws up and I have to turn the game off, I dont want my ship to be destroyed. In fact, I dont like the idea of my ship being destroyed at all. It should be immortal like my character will be. If constructing ships is going to be resource intensive and if ships can only be constructed at star bases owned by fleets, then I dont want some random encounter to destroy all the hard work I've put in to build my ship.


Just a few thoughts from an action-oriented player.


Captain Elias Warfield
USS Vengeance

[Huatrooper]

I'm new to the board, so I'm not sure if this question was answered.... Is there a list out there somewhere of what ship classes will be available at the time of release? Is there a default starting ship? Basically, do you start as a junior ensign commanding a shuttle craft or do you start with something a bit more tried and true like a Miranda?

[msbglarry]

Does anyone know what the cost will be for a subscription?

[msbglarry]

How much will the game cost?

[Leobon]

lets hope there will be npcs captable of keeping pvp gankers out of non pvp zones and protecting those that do not wish to pvp,
and also hope that the gms will take a grim look on those that attack others for no reason while they are just trying to do their unrelated mission.

Your just mad that u got ganked all the time in eve while mining:rolleyes:

[CptCody]

Keep up the good work guys. I'm stoked

[Aerelleus]

hi just wondering if you guys plan on putting any of the older vintage ships in there like the excelsior or reliant class. I know in next gen they used the miranda class and oberth class alot. itd be kinda cool to be able to have this option abvailible. I love the excelsior class it just looks elegant. not bloclky and angular like the newer ships. heres to hoping

[Fire_Hawk]

one of my hopes is that everything can go in the replicator no Items that are just personal that can't be lost or melted down. Some of the new online games make it so hard or linear to set up shop and build. I say melt other people's ships into parts for you own. Gives a game a real sandbox feel.:D

[thinnyminton]

can i be a beta tester because i cant wait 3 years or so for it to come out and i cant wait to get online.

[stranger007]

I dont know if this was covered or not....but will we be able to have friends take the rolls of our bridge crew instead of having to bring their ships? (Say they have a tiny runabout and you have a battleship.)

Also are you using any of the data in the star trek roleplaying game that was out years ago? They had ship a creator and a huge catalog of ship types for each race, tons of quest and background material. I believe it was put out by Fasa.

[Leobon]

can i be a beta tester because i cant wait 3 years or so for it to come out and i cant wait to get online.

It will be released in fall of 09. If my math is right that is next year:rolleyes: LOL

[Pantarus]

I don't mind waiting as long as they get it right. I have seen too many games loose their luster to quickly due to relying on a popular theme and not having a solid game behind it. SWG, Conan, please take your time. Make a solid game that does the Star Trek we love justice.

[mistyfalcon]

My Question is what will be made of the Q. In the last next gen bbok i read Janeway i assume became a Q and i was wondering is that roll hoing to have any history or effect in the star trek online universe. Many thanks Frav

[Maxamus]

Once we get larger ships with shuttle bays, can we get diffrent shuttles & fighters, that we can take out to do diffrent task.

[dbussing]

I am curious to know if the game could have voice commands. It would make the game more realistic if we could just say "lock phasers" or "rotate shields". Will there be a voice chat for fleet communication?

[dbussing]

I am curious to know if the game could have voice commands. It would make the game more realistic if we could just say "lock phasers" or "rotate shields". Will there be a voice chat for fleet communication?

[Admiral_Ares]

How many different Bridge positions will there be? Will the number depend on the ship type or size?

In the Gameinformer article it says "Below the bridge officers sit the rest of your general crew... These characters can die..." Does this mean the bridge officers can die too or just the"general" crew?

If I customize my uniform does it carry over to the crew?

[LongwoodGeek]

I cannot wait to play this! Between Game Informer and Beckett's coverage I am seeing an INCREDIBLE game in the works.

It does seem like they're drawing from Bridge Commander and Elite Force in the implementation though I hope they transcend those games. Honestly those are the last good Trek games I've played. I own most of them and the best are the Adventure games where there is the good Trek storyline with the recognizable areas and characters (and character types).

Good luck guys!

[KnitePrince]

I hope your both right. There's very little that would be game breaking for me when it comes to Star Trek, but this issue would be one of them. I'm a big fan of the whole Star Trek universe and with the exception of Enterprise there isn't a series that i haven't enjoyed. I know that STO will be a business entity first and for most, i mean lets face it, their making this game to make money, but having a flavor of the week ship would really just push it over the edge for me. Its already bad enough that there will be thousands of starships (vessels that take years and years to design and build with entire cultures scraping resources together to be able to build them) flying around space, but to then top it off with everyone having multile star ships. ::shudders:: I can already see the outside of earth space dock now. "BUMPER CARS IN SPACE" <---disclaimer, sarcasm detected--

Lot of people worried about how many ships you can own, and a lot of them swearing it will the "the game breaker" for them.
chill out already.. if you can own more than one, you wont be able to fly them all.. also, if yours gets destroyed, and it takes a few hours to gather resources to build a new one.. then what?
and please don't tell me you cant build ships... there is no point whatsoever in having .............any............... type of crafting if we cannot manufacture ships in our "drydock", and sell them to the highest bidder (trade, whatever.. )

[the-shadow-of-intent]

about the PvP battles, are we going to be able to beam over to other ppl's ships and have a ground battle on their ship? and are the shiips going to be able to be disabled, or just outright destroyed?

[rodabeast]

i wanna know if your in a battle and you board a enemy ship can you take it over as your own ?? that would be cool

[sborax]

So I was wondering, as we get closer and closer to the game, will we be seeing a demo of the ship creator? I know there are programs out there that allow you to customize star ships in Star Trek, but I was really interested in seeing and playing around with the creator that would be in game when the game comes out. Plus this will save my hours of playing around trying to get the "right" look for my ship, and more time playing the game :)

[DonCasteel]

Hi all,

I'm curious as to how certain tasks will be handled in your chosen specialty.

For example, your an engineer and during battle, some systems go down. How will you approach the situation to repair the failed system ? Will you be presented a small scenario/puzzle where you have some broken wires and you need to match the colors of the wires and splice/connect them to restore power ? Maybe you have access to some toggles , and moreso as you lvl up and allow you to fix certain systems ..and more advanced systems as you progress like repairing the warp core.

Just a thought .. thanks for any input you may have on this issue.

MC101 :)

I had the same "Engineer" question, as an engineer in the real world, with good programming skills, it would be awsome to get at hooks and tweek up the "technology" in my team's ship(s), of course "you cannot change the laws of physics".

If the "technology" enhancements were treated as assets, they could be bartered as part of the economic/commerce gameplay.

I'd love to hear from the developers on this ;) :cool:

[hustlecore]

will we be able to teleport onto player ships and npc ships and directly attack the crew or even sabatouge ship components with boarding parties :D

[frost1977]

I am wandering how close to the refit constitution class ship. from the 1st movies that is by far my fav. starfleet ship.


i am also wandering if since the defiant had a working cloak will other starfleet ships have a possability of having one.

[DistroyerofWorlds]

what I wanna know if they will have the ship in my avitar, the yeager is an awsome ship :cool: well the refit any way but I count find a pick of online lol

[the-shadow-of-intent]

about the different classifications of ships like the galaxy class, or the promethieus class ship, would some of the ships have a seperatable section, that could fly on its own, and target either the same ship as the other section(s) or target another hostile ship in the area? also, i have read that there is no real death, that the ships are only disabled... can a ship target specific systems, or sub systems, like weapons or life support, and if so, how would you get out of a battle in the neutral zone, or away from a hostile planet if your engines are destroyed? just a few things to think about, and could you go rogue kinda like that other ship in Voyager that was using an alien lifeform to increase their warp capabilities, or would the game limit your choices to force you to stay in starfleet regulations? and will weapon systems be customizeable? each race has a different style of weapons, and if we can customise our ships and crew, why not the weapons?

[the-shadow-of-intent]

i like the idea of boarding other ships and attacking the crew, but if you are there couldnt they be on your ship too?

[voyagerexplorer111]

do you think they would put in the ships from voyager's last episode 'end game'. the armour was cool with the torpedoes that destroy borg cubes.

[ifox1985]

I was wondering about that to. I think the quantum torpedoes are a given, but what I really want is the armor.

[hanch78]

Has anyone thought of the use of biogenic weapons or possibly nano-machine weapons? Personally I would love to see cool twists like that in there.

[ifox1985]

Has anyone thought of the use of biogenic weapons or possibly nano-machine weapons? Personally I would love to see cool twists like that in there.

This brings up a good point. If the kitamer accords went to pot, does that mean sub-space weapons are legal again?

[Traynor94]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on ships, customization and PvP content. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-17-08)
Great news. I love the Defiant... and the comments made to Worf about his cute little ship were always hilarious. Captaining a Science vessel could be entertaining too... depending on whether or not the missions you get are related to your ship class. Every time I read something new about this game I get even more excited. ^^

Oh, and please, god please, no playable Horta. At least, not until after we have playable Trill, Bajorans, Cardassians, etc. Horta ftl. =(

[Traynor94]

This brings up a good point. If the kitamer accords went to pot, does that mean sub-space weapons are legal again?
That's an interesting idea.... I also have to wonder about the legality of cloaking devices by the Federation... I mean, we know of some Federation ships that have them, but might it become standard if the Romulans are weakened and the Klingons go to war against the Federation? Lots of interesting things to think about. Hmm...

I still wish we could have playable Klingons as officers in the Federation.... I'd like to have my own Worf, except instead of having him do security, make him my chief medical officer or something, lol... that would be sweet. This game is gonna rock.

[Bethy]

I just hope that carebear motives wont effect this game to much and PVP will be strongly repersented, it is why we play MMO's, otherwise if people wanted to just mission they would be much better suited to a consol game. I hope there isn't a giant chunk of safe space besides what players actually have to patrol and defend. factional warfare and defense would do well if it was completely player based everyone operated on one server cluster. Enemy ships tracked and orders and missions handed out dynamicly .


BTW best federation antagonists would be the Jem'Hadar and generally the dominion :D (wasnt offered as a option in polls) :(

[ldawggdiggadee]

On one of the movies they showed that the sheild and weapons calibration can be calibrated to a frequency to try the do some real damage if you match the frequency are be close to it, will that be apart of the game so that small ship can maybe do some damage to larger ships sometimes, please add this if it's not, so that we are able to change the frequency on the fly in battle to make this a better game and maybe smaller ships can take down real powerful ships by using thier skills and not just brute force, whats up with that????

[ifox1985]

On one of the movies they showed that the sheild and weapons calibration can be calibrated to a frequency to try the do some real damage if you match the frequency are be close to it, will that be apart of the game so that small ship can maybe do some damage to larger ships sometimes, please add this if it's not, so that we are able to change the frequency on the fly in battle to make this a better game and maybe smaller ships can take down real powerful ships by using thier skills and not just brute force, whats up with that????

Not sure how viable that would be. I think I know what your referring to (Star Trek: Generations) and the reason that worked was because they knew the exact frequency. That's not a typical combat strategy because there's, probably millions, of potential frequencies. It's is kind of a neat idea though.

[RyanRosco]

Is STO coming out on Xbox 360? or if it is not decided what are the chances? Last question if it comes out on Xbox will the release date be the same?

[ifox1985]

Is STO coming out on Xbox 360? or if it is not decided what are the chances? Last question if it comes out on Xbox will the release date be the same?

I believe I read somewhere that they are wanting to release it to consoles as well, but I don't think any release dtaes have been given regardless.

[Crl81]

I can agree with not having a whole garage full of ships to choose from, with the exception of maybe your starting vessel, something like a runabout, maybe as the way you get off of your ship if it gets destroyed. The only thing that I would like is to have a holodeck feature so that I could check out the other vessels I have available to me to see what I like.

[MC101]

I had the same "Engineer" question, as an engineer in the real world, with good programming skills, it would be awsome to get at hooks and tweek up the "technology" in my team's ship(s), of course "you cannot change the laws of physics".

If the "technology" enhancements were treated as assets, they could be bartered as part of the economic/commerce gameplay.

I'd love to hear from the developers on this ;) :cool:
Yes.. You and I both ... and many more I'm sure :) . Thanks for the reply back Don Casteel.

Dev's .. Any input on this ? Thanks!

MC101

[raridax]

Ask Cryptic returns with answers on ships, customization and PvP content. Thanks very much to our development team for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer these!

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.

Read more here! (http://www.startrekonline.com/dev_blog/ask_cryptic_09-17-08)

Sweet!, Can't wait for inaguration of this MMO. Question; Will I be able to start out with a Defiant Class ship?

[grodrianst]

It sounds like the customization that is going to be available promises to bring increadible immersion in the Star Trek universe for the player. Sounds like many hours of making choices and "fleshing out" my crew. I like it!!

[killganon12]

why is star trek online not on xbox 360 i have waited a very long time for this game finaly a game where i can walk around my own ship but i feel like i have been cheated out of a deal please release this game on the 360

[CaptianSquirrel]

keep it up and youll have a lifetime subscriber...

[ifox1985]

why is star trek online not on xbox 360 i have waited a very long time for this game finaly a game where i can walk around my own ship but i feel like i have been cheated out of a deal please release this game on the 360

Dude! Quit your whinning. The game isn't out for anything yet. Last I read, they want to try to release to console as well. Get a ahold of yourself.

[DeathsAngel117]

why is star trek online not on xbox 360 i have waited a very long time for this game finaly a game where i can walk around my own ship but i feel like i have been cheated out of a deal please release this game on the 360

NO 360 TRUE FALSE !!!!! :eek: :(:mad:
Please it must be! the only MMO I have ever looked forward to / been so deeply involved with!

I have decided.......
yes you must,
its been decided......good......thanks......:confused:

[Fire-914]

Will the achillies class such as the U.S.S KNIGHT

[idlatch]

I don't know about you guys, but unless we can customize the loadouts of the ships it's not Star Trek. I love the Star Fleet Command 3 system. For me, customizing the ship's appearence is icing, the cake needs to be our ability to change the ship's loadout to fit our playing style. Especially if we find a ship we like. If I like the Defient class and I want to continue using it at higher levels then I need to be able to change the weapons suite, sensors, shields, ect...
The second concern I have is with the controls. Are we going to play on a 2d field, or we be able to move along the z axis? If we can move in 3d then please, PLEASE give us more than a pizza box to move in. I love flight sims, if I'm given a z axis I will use it. The fact that Star Trek Legacy didn't give me any room to use the z axis was one of the big reasons why I threw it away after playing it. The other was not being able to customize the ships. Legacy ended up in the trash and I have the same concerns for STO.
A good example of how I look at it is:
I was playing SFC 3 online, I had a Defient class loaded just right for the way I play. My group ended up running into a group of 4 Romulan Warbirds (all players). 2 Soverigns, 1 Nebula, and me in my Defient. Needless to say, I got left alone, after all, what's a "little" Defient going to do. I fired off my first volly, taking down the forward shields on one of the Warbirds. I swung out and waited for my weapons to recharge. Then I went back into the fray, targeting a fresh Warbird and cut loose my second volly. My Weapons officer critted on this one, and I stopped the second Warbird in its tracks, almost destroying it with 1 volly. How did I do it? 50% loadout, 50% crew.
So for me... Customizing the appearence of the ship - eh...
Customizing the crew - cool
Neither of those mean anything if I can't setup the ship to fight the way I fight.

[Marritza_Nador]

I don't know about you guys, but unless we can customize the loadouts of the ships it's not Star Trek. I love the Star Fleet Command 3 system. For me, customizing the ship's appearence is icing, the cake needs to be our ability to change the ship's loadout to fit our playing style. Especially if we find a ship we like. If I like the Defient class and I want to continue using it at higher levels then I need to be able to change the weapons suite, sensors, shields, ect...
The second concern I have is with the controls. Are we going to play on a 2d field, or we be able to move along the z axis? If we can move in 3d then please, PLEASE give us more than a pizza box to move in. I love flight sims, if I'm given a z axis I will use it. The fact that Star Trek Legacy didn't give me any room to use the z axis was one of the big reasons why I threw it away after playing it. The other was not being able to customize the ships. Legacy ended up in the trash and I have the same concerns for STO.

You should be able to customize, but remember that the Defiant is a small ship. It can only be customized so much. Also, each ship has its own purpose within StarFleet...so you may be able to boost a Science vessel a little, but you wont be able to make it a Warship...So, before choosing a second, third, fourth, etc..ship of the next tier you may want to write down the list of available ships..go research the ships and then come back and select the one which best fits your style...that way, you can boost it up within its size limits. I see you like the z-axis, but remember it isn't the only tactic...so learn others so you wont be reliant on one.

[idlatch]

You should be able to customize, but remember that the Defiant is a small ship. It can only be customized so much. Also, each ship has its own purpose within StarFleet...so you may be able to boost a Science vessel a little, but you wont be able to make it a Warship...So, before choosing a second, third, fourth, etc..ship of the next tier you may want to write down the list of available ships..go research the ships and then come back and select the one which best fits your style...that way, you can boost it up within its size limits. I see you like the z-axis, but remember it isn't the only tactic...so learn others so you wont be reliant on one.

I understand that. I just like the option to enhannce the ships abilities. If I have a science vessel, I'd like to be able to optimize it to that role.
Yes I do like the z axis. I've found that most people have trouble thinking in 3d. I use a mix of tactics, and going vertical allows me more freedom to be creative in a fight.