STO Guidelines

Sector Space Update

If you were in the STO beta a year ago, you will remember that Sector Space was constantly going through visual revisions. The version that we launched with was functional and distinct, but I’ve always felt we could do much better. The artists have gone to town and come back with a visual update that captures the beauty of traveling through the Galaxy while retaining functional elements.

You now have the option of selecting between two visual styles while traveling through the Galaxy by toggling Astrometric View on or off. When traveling with Astrometrics on, subdued map-like elements will help guide you to locations. Traveling with Astrometrics off, nearly all the UI will drop away and you’ll be in the deep dark of space with the twinkle of stars to guide you. Hovering over a major star system will bring up some basic info on that system.

When you fly close to a major star system, you will notice it get slowly larger as you approach and planets will become visible. An information panel can also be toggled on or off to display some data about the location.

See something interesting in the distance? Fly up to it and see what’s there! We think you’ll find some nice surprises out there.
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The new Klingon ships will be available in game and in the C-store:
Varanus Fleet Support Vessel
Gorn-designed Science Vessel with integrated subsystem targeting.
3 fore, 3 aft weapon slots.
Lt. Tactical, Ens. Engineering, Lt. Engineering, Lt. Cmd. Science, and Cmd. Science officer seats.
2 Tactical, 2 Engineering, and 4 Science console slots.
Crew: 750
Special ability: This ship can launch up to 5 Repair Platforms that will deploy drones to assist itself or allied ships.
Each repair platform can only spawn 2 repair drones. So a full complement of repair platforms can provide healing drones for every member of the team.
If your drones get destroyed you can fly back to the platform and get more.
Orion-designed Cruiser.
4 fore, 4 aft weapon slots.
Lt. Tactical, Lt. Cmd. Engineering, Cmd. Engineering, Ens. Science, and Lt. Science officer seats.
2 Tactical, 4 Engineering, and 2 Science console slots.
Crew: 1200 (from 800)
Special ability: The player is able to deploy a wing of Orion Interceptor Fighters through a click ability. These fighters drop mines, disable subsystems, and capture crew from enemy ships.
Known Issue: The Icon for this special ability is currently a plain white icon. It will be fixed soon.
B’rel Bird-of-Prey Retrofit
Klingon Fighter.
4 fore, 2 aft weapon slots.
2 Lt. Universal, 1 Lt. Cmd. Universal, 1 Cmd. Universal officer seats.
3 Tactical, 3 Engineering, 2 Science console slots.
Crew: 30
Special ability: Enhanced Battle Cloak. This ship can use mines and torpedoes while remaining cloaked, as well as most Bridge Officer and Captain abilities.
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General

Players are once again able to decommission ships they no longer wish to fly in order to free up a ship slot.
Fixed an issue where Level 51 Klingon players could not hail the PVP daily mission contact.
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Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich checks in with an important announcement:

Two and a half years on Star Trek Online, seven years at Cryptic Studios … and it’s time for me to move on.

I’ve decided to take a break from Cryptic Studios for a bit and focus on other things, like hanging out with my kids over the summer, walking my goat more and taking care of my bees. (Jack never told you about them, did he?)

Getting to work on Star Trek Online has truly been the highlight of my career. Since I was little, I’ve been a fan of the shows and movies. And since the internet and MMOs became prevalent, I, along with you guys, have watched, hoped and waited to get the chance to explore that universe online. I still can’t believe how lucky I was when it became my responsibility to help make STO a reality. I’m often asked in interviews or online, “Isn’t your job the coolest job ever?” Yes, yes it is.
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Many changes are afoot at Star Trek Online (STO). Since it’s release, the STO team has released regular updates to the game, and Season 2, a significant update to the game, is scheduled for release this month. While STO might have stumbled out of the gate, it’s clear the STO team is working hard to improve the game.

Recently, there was also a change to the STO team. Craig Zinkievich, STO’s original Executive Producer, left the helm of STO. MMOGames was fortunate to have an opportunity to interview Star Trek Online’s new Executive Producer, Daniel Stahl. Enjoy.

Interview
Daniel Stahl – Executive Producer – Star Trek Online

1. What’s your favorite thing about Star Trek: Online (STO)?
The ability to level up, customize, and play as both a Starship in space and a Captain on away missions is something I really find fun. Each episode combines a little bit of both worlds and provides a constant change of pace. Going from a big epic space battle down to exploring a planet gives a sense of scale in gameplay that keeps things changing from moment to moment.
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