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New Star Trek MMOG Announced
jabagi writes "Perpetual Entertainment and Viacom decided to produce a Star Trek MMOG. Not many details yet, but beta will be available in 2006, and the game will be launched in 2007. Here is
the discussion on gamespy."
You are on the bridge of the Enterprise. You can go North, South and DENNIS.
This is almost a given.
Also another given would be an all Star Trek cable channel.
Not that I'm a huge fan, but I'm just pointing out "givens" where Paramount could squeeze yet another dollar out of the Trek world.
"Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
It's due in 2007... Does that mean it will be compatible with longhorn?
I'm sure it will be as 'good' as star wars galaxies... *sigh*
Paramount hates Star Trek, and is obsessed with ruining the franchise. An MMORPG where everyone insists on being a captain or admiral, where no story can take place, and they can make up more "iso" words.
Aren't they being sued for a Star Trek related game contract gone awry already?
In the area if MMORPG development, where so many projects seem to get canned after months or even years of development, I really don't think "announced" is newsworthy any more.
How about not publishing MMORPG stories until they're "finished" - at least finished enough to alpha test.
As a side benefit, we'll not have to read any of the "cancelled" stories the following year...
erroneous: look me up in a dictionary
...is at startrek.com.
All I know is that when it does come out, I wanna be one of the nameless landing party guys in the red shirts.
Here's hoping that this game will be better than the las couple of movies.
My
Both Elite Force I and II were good games. Not great, but good.
FAQ on the game
fifteen jugglers, five believers
BigBoI: "hAhAhHhAaaa"
/. 'til after my dinner.
DM0nz: "u r sposd 2b a vulcan u cnt laff"
BigBoI: "/me does vlcn nekk pnch"
Se7en_ov_n9ne: "hi I am female"
chaptin_pick_hard: "zomgzzcripes can I boldly go where no man, err, boy, errr, cripes my mum is calling me"
Yey, can you send me a copy please? Oopps, my mum is calling me, she said no
#hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
this isn't helping get my older brother out of my parent's basement anytime sooner... =(
e.
Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
These are the requirements for a Game Systems Programmer posted on their website.
# BS in Computer Science or equivalent.
# Must have extensive experience working in a senior programming role on a commercial game development team.
# Strong familiarity with PC development using C++.
# Familiarity with Linux programming.
# Experience developing networked game applications, preferably client-server.
# Has developed and documented technical designs.
# Has a love of gaming.
"It seems like the game is about taking command of a starship in the 24th century."
Hmm, to me this doesn't sounds like a game well suited for being a MMORPG. A Lord of the Rings MMORPG does, but not one where you command a (note: a) ship in a vast galaxy. Galaxies are mostly empty. How much socialization will be going on then? How immersive will the atmosphere be?
Will it consist of OMGLOLBBQ we met a Bird of Prey, kill them! OK, done, let's move on, then OMGLOL we must go look at the Borg Cubes? Possibly -- which makes me wonder why this is a MMORPG. Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time seeing how a game like this will make you go "WOW, what a vast cool world" if you'd be mostly just playing in a starship.
When even Star Wars Galaxies (which I think had better potential since SW is traditionally also a lot about the planets -- actual worlds) ended up pretty bad, I don't see how this game will not end up as just a cash cow attempt backed up by a powerful well-known label with no special spirit and immersiveness about it.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
- Galaxy Class Federation Starship or better
- Holodeck Mk 1
- Social skills not required
# Familiarity with Linux programming.
At a rough guess I would say that this translates into a Windows client front-end (perhaps linux as well but less likely) and a Linux server backend (more than likely) for its stability and reliability.
Name me one decent Star Trek game.
Elite Force I & II and Star Trek Armada I & II
There. You now have four.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
[Thu Feb 10 01:08:09 2007] You have become better at never getting a date! (66)
"All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill
1) This game doesn't make it out of beta
2) This game does make it out of beta and gets slaughtered by EQ and DAOC.
I like Star Trek and all, but the MMORPG market isn't exactly the easiest one to work in.
The MMORPG market is pretty heavily populated at the moment, but a title like this will obviously be able to break in on the strength of its franchise, if the game is good enough. I'm not actually much of a Trek fan; I find the series fun for a couple of episodes and then incredibly repetative after that. However, here are a few of the concepts that I think would work with the license and which could convince me to buy the game and pay the monthly subs:
1) Don't over-emphasise the combat on planet surfaces. Galaxies made this mistake big-time, to the extent that this was basically the only thing in the game on release. Traditional, Everquest-style MMORPG combat, be it PvE or PvP has been done to death by virtually every MMORPG around. I don't personally see anybody beating FFXI's system for this at any time in the immediate future; it's way ahead of the competition in terms of depth and polish. Better to play to the license's strengths and focus on other areas.
2) From what I've seen, the Universe lends itself pretty well towards a sensible PvP arrangement. The Trek universe always struck me as quite rigidly controlled and policed, albeit with darker fringes. Just make it so that the "core worlds" are non-PvP (or PvP harshly punished by NPCs) and the outer fringes are less restricted. I hear EVE Online already has a vaguely similar system.
3) I want to be able to buy, crew and run a ship with my friends. I'm not saying "I want to be Captain of the Enterprise", but rather that I want to be able to be a crew-member on an independently operating ship, with "real people" as my crew-mates. Maybe they could let people progress through skill-trees in... say... navigation, gunnery, sensor use etc and make it so that you need a balance of skills to run a ship. Obviously, as you make more cash, you should be able to get better ships, as well as bigger ships, which might require a larger crew. There should be the option for very high level players of being able to develop your character and your crew towards running either a battlecruiser or a supertanker. I don't want the game to be dominated by people running around in 1-player fighters or, worse still, 1 player battlecruisers. Boarding operations during ship-to-ship combat could be a fun alternative to planet-side combat.
4) Please, for the love of god, take a fairly distant approach to the license. Put the usual planets and races in there, by all means. Tie it generally to a point in the time-line. But don't get into a situation where you're saying "we can't do this because it doesn't fit wit this stage of the timeline". Galaxies has suffered because of the inevitable tensions created by making the Jedi the most desired class during a time-span where there are only supposed to be a couple of Jedi.
Ensign 1: Captain, there's another ship approaching. They are hailing us.
Captain: Main screen turn on.
Ship: This is Captain Duder of the spaceship Leet, we're taking this camp site, bugger off.
Captain: WTF? We've been here all day!
Ship: Too bad dude, we want the loot from this easy romulan spawn, and we got 3 photon torpedo banks saying its ours, move to another sector, or we'll KS you biatches.
Captain: WTF!! What about the prime directive!
Ship: LOLz. You RPers crack me up.
They can make every player a mercenary taking missions from either major races (humans, klingons...). Land on this rebel planet, kill boatload of rebels or borg, gain xp, loot, fame, women, whatever ...
Crafting would allow the construction of weapons, ship gear, maybe even androids. Lot of possibilites.
There could be trading between different civilizations, exploration missions given to the public (that will turn bad of course with baddies to kill). Ownership could be in the form of space ships. One could trade legally or illegaly. Plenty of choices.
Not to mention, the countless spying agencies could be used as an excuse for PvP. Or archeological dig races or whatnot.
They have lot of good material from wich a good MMOG could be made. Let's hope they avoid the pitfalls of SWG: the total lack of Star Wars feel. They already have the templates for the classes, no need to re-invent the wheel:
Tank - Security guys (Worf).
Ranger - User of phasers (Picard).
Cleric - Medics (Crusher).
Wizard/Mage - Betazoids or other telepaths (Troy).
Some other class - The techie people (Laforge)
They got a very rich universe.
One thing that stands out about this type of game would be the cooperative play needed to run a starship. This could be very interesting if most/all the crew were PCs as opposed to NPCs.
Seems it would require much more cooperation than is normally required by the typical clan on other games.
It would also be interesting aboard Klingon ships if one could advance in rank simply by beating one's superior officer. Hopefully they will allow this sort of flexibility.
I think this one has potential.
I did like Judgement Rites. Of course, I love those old point and click adventure games. I miss the days of King's Quest (Six was awesome) and Quest for Glory (the remake of So You Want to be a Hero? was fantastic.)
I think there was another point and click ST game, but I don't remember the name right now.
And here's my vague memory of the Family Guy joke.
Kirk: Ok, the landing party will be me, Spock, Bones and Ensign Ricky.
Ensign Ricky: Oh, crap.
Linux = Geeks
StarTrek = Geeks as well
if only there was some way to combine the two.
wud
This is not fair!!
I just got a girlfriend!!!
Just as irrigation is the lifeblood of the Southwest, lifeblood is the soup of cannibals. -- Jack Handy
I would buy a new star trek game. However, I won't be buying any MMOG since I don't have the time to play it to get any "community" game play sustainable.
I think that these MMOG do more harm than good for gaming - they cause the acceptance of subscription based software (can't play off-line - Can't play unless you play). And they spell the death of many genres of games that really can't be made into MMOG.
Me? I shut off Doom 3 for a bit and have playing X-Com for the past week - To tell you the truth - I'm having a hell of a lot more fun playing X-Com.
_ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
It's clear from the press release and FAQ that it's not going to happen, but I always thought that Star Trek, with its multi-century future history, was perfectly placed to create a MMORPG gaming experience like no other.
... yes, aging could play a part in this game unlike most MMORPGs, or by playing long-lived races like Vulcans).
... the possibilities are virtually endless.
Imagine a game where everyone started out as characters in the ENT (or even ST:FC) era. Imagine them having adventures that took them into the 23rd, then 24th centuries (changing characters as necessary
Imagine players having the opportunity to shape history by partaking in or deciding the outcomes of, key events like the Federation/Klingon wars, Wolf 359, first contact with Cardassians, discovery of the transporter or deflector etc.
Imagine playing the character responsible for introducing TOS-style uniforms into the game, or the character who discovered transwarp, or the character who introduced the Akira-class ship into the fleet, or the character who was responsible for holding AR-558 before Sisko's arrival or
Eventually, sure, the future history would outstrip the "documented" canon but that wouldn't happen for a few years and the servers could either be re-set or the history extended. (Server launches could be staggered so that there would be a choice of eras for people to play in, for those who were determined to stick to one timeline.)
But given that MMORPG game design is based on the principle of maintaining the status quo while only giving the illusion of advancement and change, this isn't going to happen.
a world in progress...
The idea sounds quite good but the problem I have with MMORPGs is that they get boring fast. The last game I played was City of Heroes... didn't take one single month before I got bored. Before that it was Final Fantasy XI. Am I really the only one who can't stick to such games for very long? I always ask myself what exactely I had been expecting when playing gets frustrating. Is there any concept of a MMORPG at all which does not involve killing enemies to get stronger which you'd want to do in order be able to kill stronger enemies, which you'd want to do in order to get a higher level thus more power which you'd want to have in order to kill more enemies.... and so on. Isn't it time for a completely innovative new concept in MMORPGing? Because trying to make a living is what I do on a daily basis... no need to pay 15 bucks a month to do it some more with a 3D character...
Name me one decent Star Trek game
I have no clue what it's called, but when I was a kid, there was a local tv channel that hosted "video games" that you could play by touchtone phone after dialing the game number.
Only one person could play at a time, BUT all the games were crappy except a Star Trek game, and it was pretty easy to play late at night or very early in the morning.
It was turn-based, and the ships, stars, starbases, etc, were represented by a letter on a square grid, ie E for the Enterprise, K for a klingon ship, * for a star...
It was a very fun and decent game for the times.
I called it first! nyah nyah. see you in Borg-space, mortals!
Kirk: Alright men, this is a dangerous mission. And its likely one us will be killed. The landing party will consist of myself, Mr Spock, Doctor McCoy, and Ensign Ricky.
Ensign Ricky: Ahh crap
It would be cool if it didn't suck.
You play as Worf. Son of MMOG.
25% Funny, 25% Insightful, 25% Informative, 25% Troll
For me, the problem with swg wasn't the lack of ambiance, rather, it was the lack of any meaningful content in a static world. All NPC missions boiled down to kill this, or escort that. The civil war mean't nothing. You could literally kill 10,000 rebels but it would make no difference. Everything felt generic. Worlds were huge with nothing in them. The profession based character system sucked cause you capped out after a short amount of time. So you mingled with different classes which turned out to be "grind 100 components" or "kill 50 worts". My personal favorite aspect of the game was group hunting but that died with solo groups (aka - people grouping for higher mission payouts, but doing it by themselves) At the end of the day, all that SWG boiled down to was PvP clusterfuck with Jedi being the trump card. Everyone wants Jedi so they can kick everyone else's ass. Sony knows this. It's all they ever advertise.
</rant>
I'm a big Star Trek fan, but I just don't see how there is any room left in the MMORPG market for this game. After all of the disappointment of Star Wars Galaxies and the cancellations of numerous online games, I think the market is saturated. The only thing left is to cannibalize current MMORPG players.
As far as business goes, if they plan ahead for a high level of member churn and keep the game fun for newcomers, then maybe there is a chance. But if they think that in today's market they'll get and keep say 500000 players, they're crazy! The people who would play this game are probably already playing an MMORPG. After EQ and SWG, I've settled on FFXI as my MMORPG home and have no plans to leave. I also have no plans to add another fee based game to the budget.
Even as a fan, at least three things would have to happen for me to look at a Star Trek MMORPG.
1. Fee must be very low, or some entirely new and palatable fee model. No fee would be great, but not likely.
2. It'd better have content and be a generally kick a*s game. In other words, I won't be there on day one and will wait for player reviews. So they'd better have learned for the SWG fiasco.
3. The system requirements must be reasonable. I won't spend $100 or more to upgrade my rig. I know my 1GHz PIII is pokey by todays standards, even with a fast video card and 512MB of RAM, but it runs most things just fine. No I wouldn't even think of Doom 3 on this box!
Don't gag, but I'd be more likely to try this game if there were an XBox version, or PS2 with HD. So I hope they're at least least thinking about tapping the console market.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
Granted you aren't very familiar with Star Trek, nor am I. But, your post reminded me of something that will pose a unique challenge to this game---
Obviously, as you make more cash, you should be able to get better ships
In ST:Next Generation, there are a few episodes where they talk about how human society has developed in tandem with technology to the point that resources are no longer a problem. As a result, there isn't a place for money or wealth as a motivation for human characters in the series. I wonder if the game could be similarly inspired such that players aren't trying to simply horde dubloons or whatever.
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
for great good or great evil... Depending on how they make it the game could be quite good, but the license can be a double edged sword. Look at Galaxies. Half the time what they do doesn't make sense from the fiction point of view (The whole Holocron grinding bit), and the other half the fiction "gets in the way" like Battledroids. Lots of ppl wanted them when I stopped playing, but last I heard it was a "sorry the fiction doesn't allow that, so your not getting what would make the game fun for you" line. Had they made the game say take place in the KOTOR timeline they could have had a lot more freedom (aka more Jedi's) instead of this very short and highly scripted timeline they chose. Just my two cents though. I HOPE they can make the game both fit the fiction and an enjoyable experience, but some MMO's have a way of leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
Star Trek: The Next Generation "A Final Unity" kicked ass. Old school point and click adventure game with the original actors voices. Damn good game.
all those people who learned Klingon will have somethind to do.
WorfSonOfMog: Hey guys, can I join your group?
Ghertlak: Ark Moog, Nak Flag, Khi-Tohk!!!
(roughly translated: we only speak Klingon you n00b)
MORTAR COMBAT!
wait for brother to step away from the basement, then move in and camp it.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I used to work for a company that did CGI. We heard by word of mouth that Paramount were looking for tenders for the CGI for a licensed Star Trek game, including a short demo movie. But the catch was, there would be no contract, and nothing could be done in writing.
When we eventually got someone on the phone (really, they wouldn't talk about this in email) and asked why, they reluctantly explained that it was because when Paramount's legal team gets a whiff of something like this going on, it becomes their job to kill it. They tend to refuse anything that gives even a suggestion that $NON_PARARMOUNT_EMPLOYEE is licensed to create Star Trek content. In practice, this makes anything but a full, final contract for the winning bidder simply impractical. The best that our contact could promise was that he would try and ensure that we weren't sued for putting in a tender.
And so we did the demo movie (quite nice, actually), and delivered it, by hand, in a face to face meeting that never happened. We didn't win the bid, but it certainly opened our eyes.
What's the relevance to this? It's that MMORPGs necessarily involve ordinary $NON_PARAMOUNT_EMPLOYEE people creating content. Paramount were killing this stuff while it was still in its infancy. Even if they do manage to license the whole kit and kaboodle, can you picture the tortous EULA and T&C's for a Star Trek MMORPG? Try and imagine the limitations that will be placed on players, and the atmosphere of fear and mistrust that will spring up. If you think Sony Online have poor customer relations, just wait until you meet a Paramount Intellectual Property Protectorate lawyer in game. The Borg are a pale shadow of these guys.
Sure, it could go differently, but years of history says otherwise. Best not to get your hopes up over this one.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Isn't that WWorf's father???
#1 bbs door (boy, that's a word i ain't
used in a while) of all time in my book. ^_-
a webpage ever made it past beta. not sure.
http://www.classic-games.com/tradewars/
-g
Now, what does that mean? "Your" ship could be one you own or one you work on as part of it's crew. Though, I do not believe there should be an absolute requirement for all stations to be manned by real players. The crew could be a mix of NPCs and players. You're home point would be your personal quarters. When you log in you could "relieve" the NPC that was running your station and when you log out the NPC relieves you. That way, you ship can still function when only a few of your buddies are available. Or better yet, let the captain do some grunt work and get the ship to a certain point before you log on. :) You could run the ship with just one person, but not well. Through abilities your character can eventually do the job better than the NPCs.
What about captain? Do we just let anybody be a captain? On civilian ships, sure....why not?? However, if you want to be a Captain in Starfleet.....that's another matter. It definately needs a ranking system of some sort, at least for the military ships. Obviously, it would be different between the empires. I think any Klingon can gain command of a ship simply defeating the current captain in one-on-one hand-to-hand combat.
However, there are some serious things to decide. What do you do when your ship is destoryed? Oh, you just respawn the ship at the last starbase? Are you and your crewmantes cloned? And in point 4, what part of the timeline is the game set in? Here is where you run into problems if you allow ships to explore the galaxy. Eventually, it will all be explored. Or one empire will be destroyed or something like that. If the system is inflexable, the players actions do not matter, then why bother making a MMO game when a single player game will suffice? Like Starfleet Academy. (BTW, Starfleet Academy was a great game. I'd like to see a new version of that with updated graphics, more multiplayer support, more interactive environments in space. Nebula, solar flares, asteroids. Maybe some kind of "away mission" support.) Anyway, there are a bunch of dangers that could easily make a StarTrek MMO game stink. I wish them Good Luck.