As the open beta for Star Trek Online (STO) comes to an end, we reflect upon our experiences in this Star Trek Online preview. The player starts aboard a Federation starship and begins the game’s tutorial (voiced by Zachary Quinto). The tutorial summarizes the key points of the game mechanics, and introduces the story of how your character becomes the captain of a Federation ship. After the tutorial the player is free to follow the main storyline and partake in the game’s many side missions.

STO comprises mainly of space combat; somewhat similar to which can be experienced in Pirates of the Burning Sea (POTBS). Space combat is comparable to submarine warfare. The battles are not extremely fast paced and strategy plays key to victory. The ground combat is a bit more in-depth than POTBS; although, at times it too can be rather mundane. One of the most enjoyable aspects of ground combat is the ability to select your away team and to equip them with items and abilities such as you would in a RPG game. STO offers a large amount of customization. Not only is the player customizable, but also the bridge officers and the ship itself. This can include designing and customizing your ship, or changing the costumes and physical look of you and your bridge officers.

One of the notable aspects of the leveling system is the inclusion of skill points and rank. Each rank has 10 grades, such as Lieutenant – Grade 5. As you progress in rank, you obtain access to new ships, and as you progress in grade you will achieve new skill points to spend on yourself and your bridge officers. The skill point system adds variety to player builds, similar to what Star Wars Galaxies was pre-NGE.

The game allows you to play as two factions; the Federation or Klingons. The Federation side allows you to experience a pve storyline, as well as participating in pvp combat. The Klingon faction is more pvp oriented, and at the time of launch will not include much pve content. Klingon characters can level up primarily through participating in the pvp zones. Each faction allows for different race selection, and each race has particular traits associated with it. If you choose to do so, you can create your own race and select your own traits. Some races such as the Cardassians are not available as a playable race; however, you can still create the look of one using the custom race creator.

Star Trek Online includes plenty of lore and references for Star Trek fans. Leonard Nimoy provided the voice-over work for the different space sectors, and for some of the missions. Occasionally the missions are based upon the films or movies; such as The City on the Edge of Never which references the original series episode The City on the Edge of Forever. You do not have to be a die-hard Star Trek fan to enjoy this game, although that does add to the immersion.

Although the open beta has been met with mixed results, the game does fulfill its genre of MMO quite well. Additionally, Cryptic Studios has been impressively responsive to player feedback. While the game is not for everyone, it certainly offers a lot of content and immersion for Star Trek fans. Star Trek Online officially launches on February 2nd, 2010. May you play long and prosper.

Today Atari released details regarding the Star Trek Online Vigilant class ship. The tier-4 tactical escort is based off the designs of the Defiant class ship seen during the Dominion War. The ship is designed for front-line attack and is configurable for massive, single-target strikes or multi-target volleys. The Vigilant also features dual phaser coils, improved torpedo guidance systems, dual-ablative armor, and can be outfitted with tetryon, plasma or polaron weapons. This ship can be obtained at the rank of captain. Star Trek Online launches on Febraury 2nd, 2010.

The Vigilant is designed for one thing: combat. It has limited space for crew and no quarters designed for families or guests, a feature that is standard on Starfleet vessels assigned to long explorations.

Today Cryptic Studios released a much anticipated beta patch for Star Trek Online. The patch has addressed over 150 issues and updates, with mission bugs being summarized simply as fixed for nearly every mission. The most notable change is the removal of level restrictions. Players can now reach the level of admiral and fully experience the game as intended. Players will also notice an improved user interface and map system. Cryptic still lists 24 known issues and states that they are working to address those soon. Star Trek Online open-beta will run through January 26th, with a launch date of February 2nd.

Recent court transcripts between Bethesda and Interplay were uncovered recently by Duck and Cover, and reveal that Bethesda is likely working on an Elder Scrolls MMORPG. Bethesda filed to have the public transcripts rescinded; however, it seems the cat is already out of the bag. What is not known is the actual intellectual property being used for the MMO in development. The court transcripts state that the MMO in question is not of the Fallout franchise. What is known is that Zenimax Media, parent company of Bethesda, has opened an MMO division. Given the large success of the Elder Scrolls franchise, it is within reason to speculate that Bethesda would invest in such an MMO.

In a recent interview with Star Trek Online developer Zeke Sparkes, the information regarding level and skill cap has come into question. During the interview Sparkes states,

“Each rank has ten grades for a total of 45 grades in the game. They [players] can still earn bridge officer points. Once they hit that cap they won’t be able to earn any more skill points for themselves”. Currently Cryptic Studio’s Star Trek Online website states “Were a player to invest the minimum-required skill points to reach Admiral, he’d be about half-developed in relation to a maxed character. It will take significantly longer to completely max out each available skill”.

Previous statements regarding the Star Trek Online level cap have announced 50 grades being available at launch, with unlimited skill points until all categories are filled. The conflict of information has become a topic of great debate on the Star Trek Online official forums. While the community is split on the subject, the question arises as to whether Sparkes was simply misquoted. As of press time, Cryptic has not made an official announcement.