Today Bioware announced a new planet for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Voss is a planet of a utopian society society of force users, which strives to distance itself from all outside sources. Because of the existence of the force on that planet, the Sith are compelled to conquer it. Likewise, the Republic seeks to defend the planet. Setting the scene for conflict, one can only wonder what mysteries will await. Voss is the 12th planet to be announced for SWTOR, and hopefully that means a lot of content variety. For more screenshots and a video of Voss, head over to Bioware’s website.

The Ultimate "Nom Nom"

When I saw the notification that Star Wars: The Old Republic was revealing a new class, the Sarlaac Enforcer, I got a bit excited. Shame on me for not realizing today is April Fool’s Day. Bioware released a mock player class of a sarlaac on their website today, which is probably the best MMO April Fool’s joke I can remember. The absolute best part of the joke are the videos on their website (under Combat Tactics). I am glad to see that Bioware has a good sense of humor, and I hope to a degree they include some of that in the game. Joke aside, it is interesting to see that the sarlaac will be present on Tatooine. Its great hunger knows no bounds apparently, as seen in the screenshot of the sarlaac eating a sandcrawler. Look out Czerka Corporation, there is a new foe in town!

Today I had the opportunity to participate in a small vent chat with Cryptic_Gozer of Cryptic Studios. Gozer is the lead designer for several of the special task force (raid) missions in Star Trek Online, and took some time to talk about Infected and The Cure with us during his day off work. Here are the highlights and some never before released information he shared:


Regarding the Infected Mission:

1) The tactical cube in Infected drops a purple item if played correctly. Nobody has yet achieved this.
2) On the test server the gate health is now 800k instead of 200k and has a 20 second window in which the shields are down. One wave comes out and then the gate shuts down. The gate does not open again until every npc is dead. There are also no longer spawns above and below the gate.
3) When fighting the end boss (Rebecca Simmons), a player in the group will be targeted with a blue circle. That player will do damage to other players in the group within a particular range regardless of what that player does. The goal is for that player to get away from the other team members.
4) Borg will no longer double-spawn in the end room of Infected. They still respawn, but the respawn timer no longer starts until the borg die (rather than when they spawn).

This gate just got stronger

1) Marks of Valor are planned to be tradeable for other badges/tokens in the game.
2) Dropping a STF mission will no longer allow you to retake it, unless the timer has reset already for that mission.
3) The first part of The Cure does not give marks.
4) Comparing Rebecca Simmons to the Borg Queen, Gozer stated “On a scale of 1-10, you guys are at a 2 right now”.
5) Khitomer Accord will explain why the borg were so weak in the tutorial (also created by Cryptic_Gozer) and hidden in the Khitomer Accord mission (not an objective) will be a way to obtain a borg bridge officer (with robotic uniform and not an engineer).

Today Atari released a fact sheet regarding the content for Star Trek Online Update 1; also known as the 45-day patch or Season 1. Update 1 is scheduled to go live sometime between March 18th and March 31st.

More Klingon Content to Come

Lifetime Subscriber Perks

• Classified Access Codes – A free C-store item.
• The Captain’s Table – A special social area exclusive to Lifetime subscribers, available to both Federation and Klingon captains.
• Special In-Game Title – “Career Officers” are those who’ve joined Starfleet or the KDF for the long haul.

PVP Updates

• Wargames – Federation players can now participate in PvP against one another to better prepare for the dangers of the battlefield.
• New PvP Map – Explore “Shanty Town,” a brand new Ground Assault map available for both Klingon and Federation players.

Customization

• Off-Duty Uniforms – Experience Risa in style! Starfleet officers will have the option to change into off-duty outfits to enjoy more casual attire.
• New Stances and Hairstyles – Further customize your Captain by changing his or her hairstyle, or adopting two brand new stances: Stern and Relaxed.

Ships

• A New Klingon Battle Cruiser – The K’Tanco Battle Cruiser has been made available to Klingon Lieutenant Commanders.
• Klingon Ship Customization – Use the ship tailor to customize your Bird of Prey or Raptor.
• Respec Is Here – Unhappy with your Captain’s loadout? Use the respec tool to change things up.

Missions

• New Fleet Actions Everywhere!
  • The Big Dig – Available in Romulan space.
  • DS9 Under Siege - The True Way has attacked and boarded DS9. Repel the invasion to save the day.
  • Klingons Can Play, Too – Klingon Captains may now access the Crystalline Entity, Big Dig and Breaking the Planet Fleet Actions

Skills

• New Skill: Starship Attack Vectors – Improve your ship’s accuracy and critical hit chance.
• New Skill: Combat Maneuvers – Improve your ship’s evasion and turn rate.
• New Skill: Starship Battle Strategy – Improve your ship’s critical hit severity and damage resistance.

In The C-Store

• New Bridge Variants - All new ways to update your Bridges’ look, available for a low price in the C-Store for both Federation and Klingon ships.

Federation Ship Variants – New takes on your old favorites, available for a low price in the C-Store.

It should stand to reason that pre-ordering an MMO should result in nothing but benefit; at least compared to someone who purchases it within the next few months. Over the weekend Atari offered Star Trek Online at a discounted rate of $10 off plus 60 days of additional free gameplay (for a total of 90 days). I would expect this kind of promotion to run a year or more after release, but certainly not 3 weeks after launch. Are players upset about this? You bet. They take it as a virtual slap in the face. Wait, it gets worse. Due to the tremendous outrage of the current player-base and the numerous posts that followed, Atari rescinded the offer from their website. Not only did they cancel the promotion, but they also canceled the extra 60 day deal they had made with players who purchased it over the weekend. This reminds me of a Dilbert cartoon, and that did not play out well for the consumer.

Atari broke one of my rules of operating an MMO; “For every new player award, there shall be a veteran reward”. Keeping players is important, so it is good business to reward existing players with something of equal or better value than what you are awarding new players. Now the question is raised of who is actually responsible for this. Atari published the deal, so personally I am resting the blame on them. Whether or not  Cryptic Studios is completely exonerable, they are taking most of the flak. At the time of writing, they have not released a statement. At its neonatal stage, the last thing Star Trek Online needs is more controversy. I would like to hear your opinions though, and we promise not to ban you for it.

Today Cryptic Studios released a raid episode fact sheet for the upcoming raid episodes in Star Trek Online. The raid episodes, AKA Raidisodes, are projected to enter testing within the next week and published live the week following. This raid content will introduce a lot of end-game content to the current system, which is almost completely void of it. The raid content will be for Starfleet admirals and Klingon generals.

Raid content primarily focuses around the Borg.

STF: Infected
Starfleet has lost contact with one of its star bases. More than 400 officers could be lost, including a key member of Starfleet’s Borg Task Force. Infiltrate the base and take the fight to the Borg!
• Retake the Sibiran system and shut down a transwarp conduit being used by the Borg to establish a foothold in the Gamma Orionis Sector Block.
• Investigate the strange new nanovirus the Borg are using to assimilate entire worlds at alarming speeds.
• Retake Starbase 89 before its fully taken over by the Borg, and save what is left of the Starfleet personnel that are still there.
• Locate Captain Ogen’s Strike Team and Rebecca Simmons, the lead Borg Task Force researcher working on a cure for the nanovirus. Both went deep into the Borg infected starbase and haven’t reported back in quite some time.
• It’s a five-man mission. Players will not be able to complete it without teaming up with other players.
• The mission spans space and ground gameplay.
• Applies to level 43 +
• Encounters are daunting. Lots of enemies. Designed to be challenging.
• Releases this month.

STF: The Cure
The Klingon Defense Force has been conducting its own investigation into the Borg advance, and they believe that the Collective’s next target is the Vorn system. Enemies may have to unite when confronted by a greater foe.
• Assist the I.K.S. Kang in a desperate battle with the Borg.
• Explore a planet that has been completely assimilated. Can you rescue the warriors before they are taken over by the Borg?
• Fight at the side of Ja’rod, son of Lursa.
• Free Klingon ships from Borg control, and gain their assistance in a final battle with a Borg fleet.

STF: Khitomer Accord
Finally, the mysteries of the Borg attack on Vega Colony are revealed! Why did the Borg attack there, and how was an unprepared Starfleet able to defeat them?
• Confront the Borg before they can use temporal anomalies to change the past of the Federation.
• Warp back into your own past, in the hours before the attack on Vega Colony.
• Discover a base where thousands of Borg drones are being held in stasis. What are the Borg’s plans for this hidden army?
• Starfleet’s not ready for the Borg. A defeat here could mean that the entire Alpha Quadrant falls. Balance the scales and fight the Borg for the preservation of the quadrant.
• Learn the fate of a missing Romulan empress.

STF: Into the Hive
The fate of the Alpha Quadrant hangs in the balance. Enter a unicomplex and confront the Borg Queen herself.
• Rescue civilians trapped on an assimilated world.
• Follow the trail to a unicomplex, and penetrate deep into the Borg stronghold.
• Confront the Borg Queen, and fight for the fate of the galaxy.

STF: Children of Khan
Amar Singh escapes from Federation custody, and he and an underground group of Augments steal the U.S.S. Asgard and race toward the remains of the Mutara Nebula. Can you stop them before they start a new Eugenics War?
• Fight a fleet assembled by Princep Khan and his followers.
• Beam onto the Asgard, and battle through its corridors to save civilians and crew.
• Confront the Princep. Can you deal with his transporter tricks?
• Save the divided Asgard and give the saucer section a chance to escape!

Guild Renown Feature

Funcom has released update 6 for Age of Conan entitled Return of Thoth-Amon. Although not a new feature to MMOs, this update primarily focuses on guild rankings. Funcom described the update as:

Update 6: ‘Return of Thoth Amon’ introduces the much anticipated guild renown feature, where any guild on any server can acquire renown points that unlock exclusive rewards. Anything that the members of that guild do – fighting monsters, fighting other players, crafting items – will generate renown for the guild. Renown points will unlock guild levels, and will for instance allow the guild to decorate their guild city with new buildings, statues and banners, or allow the guild’s members to gain access to exclusive item rewards. Players can view a list of the top ranking guilds on all servers from inside the game as well as through the new guild rankings website available on the community portal.

The update also features a new dungeon entitled Thoth-Amon’s Stronghold.

Funcom has released the first in-game footage of The Secret World, their upcoming MMO. The Secret World appears to be a mix of zombie shooter and secret societies. It sounds a little like Hellgate London; lets hope it does better. The game currently does not have a release date, but is slated for PC and XBOX 360 release. The security video (below) is made using in-game footage.

My Precious

Tribble breeding is somewhat of a mini-game in Star Trek Online. The quickly multiplying furry little creatures first appeared in The Original Series episode The Trouble with Tribbles. Tribble act as a buff which can be activated while on the ground, and the buff does apply to space combat as well. A tribble will eat food in your main inventory or bank, and replace that food with a new tribble. When a particular tribble eats a particular food, a particular tribble will be created. So in other words; X tribble + Y food = Z Tribble. Right clicking on the tribble and clicking info will tell you the tribble type and the buffs. Here are some general tribble tips:

1) It takes one hour for a tribble to eat a food item.
2) Tribble can multiply in your main inventory and in your bank.
3) Adding a food item to your inventory will not reset the one hour timer.
4) The one hour timer only accumulates while you are online. The timer resumes where it left off when you re-enter the game.
5) The more powerful foods appear to make better tribble (i.e. – the 64% and 72% regen foods).

Tribble Type (Yellow) and Tribble Buff (Red)

Example Steps to Make a Ricossa Tribble

1) Loot, buy or breed a McCarry tribble.
2) McCarry tribble + Klingon grapok sauce = Howe tribble
3) Howe tribble + Klingon octopus = Ricossa tribble
4) Now you have a Ricossa tribble that has a DPS and a damage resistance buff which lasts one hour.


For more tribble recipes and information check out STO Intel.

Pirates of the Burning Sea is closing servers, three to be exact, in the next month. Flying Lab Software is closing the Blackbeard, Defiant and Rackham servers; the remaining servers will be Roberts and Antigua. Players can freely transfer three characters from the closing servers at any time, and players on the remaining servers can freely transfer two characters until the beginning of March. The transfer can be done online at the POTBS website. Accounts which were inactivated between January 22nd, 2008 and January 15th, 2010 are free to play until March 5th. Characters and their items will be transferred; however, your society and friends list will not. This is not the first time servers have been closed for this game; Pirates of the Burning Sea originally launched with 11 servers.