New Star Trek MMORPG???

ChurchofHERO · January 2005

Hey All,

I was reading in the January 3rd issue of Network World and came across an article about Perpetual Entertainment. It seems they have signed on with Viacom to produce a Star Trek MMORPG. I came to mmorpg.com to get more info, but there didn't seem to be any.

Here's the press release from Perpetual:
http://www.perpetual.com/pages/news.html#StarTrek

Here's the offical game's page:
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/gaming/online/index.html

They say it will Beta in 2006 and release in 2007.

Take care,
ChurchofHERO

Scaris · January 2005

Yep, I posted similarly about a week ago. MMORPG.com doesn't seem to either be following up on it or just won't make an announcement on if they plan on putting information about it here. Enigma did respond a few times with some information he found hunting about it, but nothing official has been said about it.

Thanks for the official site, I didn't find that info a week ago.

- Fadeus Hawkwood

cooldevo · January 2005

I mentioned it to the MMORPG staff as well, and my reply was that it doesn't meet the requirements to be posted yet. The requirements for a game to be posted have been copied below. It has to meet all the requirements.

First, please make sure that the game is not already on our list. If you know the name of the game, make sure you sort our list by "Title" (click on the Title column name) and look for it alphabetically.

Second, make sure that it meets our criteria:

Game must support 500+ players in a single world
It must be graphical...so no text based MUDs.
It must use a true client/server connection. In other words, no HTML or "web" based games. Games that run in a browser using Java are OK.
It must contain good RPG elements. We define this as having control of a single character and there being some sort of leveling or skill advancement system in place.
The game must have a nice web site free of annoying pop-up ads or Spyware programs.
There must be at least 3 in-game screens that show the game engine...3D renderings do not count.
The game must fully support English. This means the client interface, in-game chat, help system and support website must all be in English.

AFAIK I haven't seen any screenshots yet to meet the required 3. From the looks of it, that is all that is missing.

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Scaris · January 2005

hmm, fair enough. I think they are shooting themselves in the foot not covering it yet though.

- Fadeus Hawkwood

cooldevo · January 2005

I agree. I would also say that devs and distributors are also shooting themselves in the foot. I've heard they plan to beta test sometime in 2005 (mostly from hearsay and rumors). They are certainly leaving advertising to the last. I'd want my product out and get people drooling as soon as possible. That way you can work with the fan base to ensure that everything works well. They don't even have an official forum or webpage to keep people in the loop.

I stumbled across the link by accident while looking at a hyperlinked article that led to startrek.com. And there is very little content about the game anywhere on the web, even just letting people know it's being worked on. I know a lot of people that like Star Trek, and were surprised they hadn't heard about it before I told them. You can't just assume that people will start playing a game that they don't know about... and advertising brings in beta testers, and word of mouth. Which is key to MMOGs with such a large number of them on the market.

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AMD Athlon XP 3000+, 2.16 GHz
1 Gig PC3200 DDR400 RAM
120 Gig Ultra ATA HD
30 Gig EIDE HD
ATI Radeon 9200 128MB
SoundBlaster Live! Gamer 5.1
8X DVD+/-RW

Scaris · January 2005

the peice I read I thought said no testing til atleast 2006 since the release isn't gonna be til 2007. I don't think they have anything to show yet, thats why the lack of content. I think we stumbled on this fresh from conception. I am sure within a few months we will be hearing alot.

- Fadeus Hawkwood

cooldevo · January 2005

Those dates do seem more right. I was scratching at my brain trying to figure out what the date was.

I'm saying exactly what I said about SWG. It's got almost limitless potential. If they can get it right, and keep it realistic to the Star Trek universe, it will be a great game.

It will be interesting to see how they implement rank structure and the such (after all who's gonna want to pick the junior-level security personnel that always die? lol). And if you will be "assigned" to a ship to work on. Obviously most people are going to want to be command, so they can have their own large ships.

I'd almost like to see the game start at the academy, and you take "tests" that will determine where you will best fit into the game (ie profession, basic starting skills etc).

It's got a whole universe of potential, but time will tell.

Win XP Pro
AMD Athlon XP 3000+, 2.16 GHz
1 Gig PC3200 DDR400 RAM
120 Gig Ultra ATA HD
30 Gig EIDE HD
ATI Radeon 9200 128MB
SoundBlaster Live! Gamer 5.1
8X DVD+/-RW

ChurchofHERO · January 2005

I'm curious as to whether Star Trek's popularity has waned more recently. I've only caught a couple of episodes of ST: <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Enterprise. I don't know if it does any better or worse that previous Star Trek series. Thanks to Spike TV you can dwell in rerun nirvana with ST:TNG and ST:DS9. Not sure if Voyager is out there anywhere. I think you can still catch the original series on Sci-Fi. Baring all that in mind, not to mention a slew of mediocre movies, does Star Trek appeal to a younger audience anymore? I guess I'd have to ask whether it ever did. The average age of "computer gamers" is around 29 I think now. Are there enough of these to pay for a Star Trek MMORPG. Guess I'm just thinking out loud.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Luckily, Star Trek is Sci-Fi and there's still plenty of growth in this genre. Time will tell.

ChurchofHERO

cooldevo · January 2005

I think it depends a lot on the type of fan.

It may not be in the mainstream as it used to be, but it is still there.

TNG was the only really popular series since TOS. DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise have all seen declines in viewership. AFAIK Voyager is finished, as they made it home. DS9 is finished. Currently only Enterprise is actively running.

From what I have seen, TNG still has the largest draw of all the shows, and they've been in reruns for quite some time. The average age is going up of gamers, but a lot of the active ST fans are also rising as well. I am positive there is a large enough fan base to play the game, provided they get the gaming right, and keep the price fair. A system like GW would be great (with no monthly fee), and additions to the game via streaming update and expansion packs.

Win XP Pro
AMD Athlon XP 3000+, 2.16 GHz
1 Gig PC3200 DDR400 RAM
120 Gig Ultra ATA HD
30 Gig EIDE HD
ATI Radeon 9200 128MB
SoundBlaster Live! Gamer 5.1
8X DVD+/-RW

GamusMaximus · January 2005

Well, there is a forum where people are creating suggestions for the game.

I personally want to beta test it ASAP! ::::08::

http://boards.startrek.com/community/messages.html?s=cbb60ec6b3a8e334bf104b5556e94eef;act=SF;f=15

cooldevo · January 2005

Excellent. Thanks for the link.

Have to keep informed over there for now, until it meets MMORPG standard to be listed.

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120 Gig Ultra ATA HD
30 Gig EIDE HD
ATI Radeon 9200 128MB
SoundBlaster Live! Gamer 5.1
8X DVD+/-RW

piquet · January 2005

I can only speak for myself, but I´m a huge fan of MMORPGs (played virtually all cept for UO). I am 29 years old, so I should be an "average gamer", and I absolutely love Star Trek. I must admit that I think ST: Enterprise has distanced itself from the other ST series, just like the newest movie ST: Nemesis did - and I was a bit disappointed about it. My favorite is ST: TNG, but TOS, DS9 and Voyager also has a lot of appeal to me. I would absolutely love to have the ability to be part of this awesome universe and serve on a starship, and I'm sure that a lot of other people feel the same way.

TigerRei · January 2005

I'm one of those people who arent a fan of Star Trek. However, just looking at this game it's making me willing to dabble in it. It's got several key elements that I like. For example:

Twitch-based FPS style ground combat
Fully detailed worlds that you can explore
Fully detailed space environment
Crew-based ships

The last one is a big thing for me. I've played games like EVE Online and Earth & Beyond, and one thing I hated was the fact that when you were on a ship, you were pretty much by yourself. It made the ship seem less like a ship than an extended avatar. I like the idea of being crucial to a ship's functions, but be able to roam around on the ship as well. I want to work on engineering and help keep the shields up, or take my time at the sick bay helping out, or if I'm on the bridge crew, let someone else worry about weaponry while I worry about piloting.

This game has extreme potential, but lets hope it doesnt go down the road that SWG did.

Scaris · January 2005

Originally posted by TigerRei
I'm one of those people who arent a fan of Star Trek. However, just looking at this game it's making me willing to dabble in it. It's got several key elements that I like. For example:Twitch-based FPS style ground combat
Fully detailed worlds that you can explore
Fully detailed space environment
Crew-based shipsThe last one is a big thing for me. I've played games like EVE Online and Earth & Beyond, and one thing I hated was the fact that when you were on a ship, you were pretty much by yourself. It made the ship seem less like a ship than an extended avatar. I like the idea of being crucial to a ship's functions, but be able to roam around on the ship as well. I want to work on engineering and help keep the shields up, or take my time at the sick bay helping out, or if I'm on the bridge crew, let someone else worry about weaponry while I worry about piloting.This game has extreme potential, but lets hope it doesnt go down the road that SWG did.

that was one of my biggest problems with my short stay with Eve Online, I felt like I was a cyborg half melded with my ship.

Question though, I have seen the term used before, whats twitch based mean in comparison to what I just consider FPS?

piquet · January 2005

Originally posted by Fadeus

Originally posted by TigerRei
I'm one of those people who arent a fan of Star Trek. However, just looking at this game it's making me willing to dabble in it. It's got several key elements that I like. For example:

Twitch-based FPS style ground combat
Fully detailed worlds that you can explore
Fully detailed space environment
Crew-based ships
The last one is a big thing for me. I've played games like EVE Online and Earth & Beyond, and one thing I hated was the fact that when you were on a ship, you were pretty much by yourself. It made the ship seem less like a ship than an extended avatar. I like the idea of being crucial to a ship's functions, but be able to roam around on the ship as well. I want to work on engineering and help keep the shields up, or take my time at the sick bay helping out, or if I'm on the bridge crew, let someone else worry about weaponry while I worry about piloting.
This game has extreme potential, but lets hope it doesnt go down the road that SWG did.

that was one of my biggest problems with my short stay with Eve Online, I felt like I was a cyborg half melded with my ship.

Question though, I have seen the term used before, whats twitch based mean in comparison to what I just consider FPS?

I know exactly how you guys feel, I had the same problem with Eve. It was hard relating to my character, when I never actually got to see him (apart from the character window). The ship really became your character, and that just didn't work for me.

TigerRei · January 2005

Twitch-based means that combat is like a first person shooter. You aim and fire, and whether or not you hit depends on if you aimed at them or not.

Scaris · January 2005

ahhh, ok. Thank you, I was wondering. I had never heard that term before. That will be interesting, I think the only other game currently that way is neocron.

londonangel · March 2005

I can't wait for the new Star Trek MMORPG game...2007 can't come soon enough.

Now the ENTERPRISE has left the airwaves this maybe our only place for Star Trek for a while.....

Peace

happydan20 · March 2005

I for one am glad for the media blackout:P I've noticed that any game that has info released so early thats new info will be a long time coming... or features are discussed that don't get implemented... Ultimately creates a game that fails to meet the hype or expectation.

A perfect example of this is fable for the xbox, a situation that even resulted in an appology from the lead developer on the official site... It was a great game but so many features were touted, so much time for the hype to build that was failed to be delivered... lead to it's failure.

On the other hand, you don't want so little information that you end up with a mourning situation.

Libertyfox · March 2005

Doing my best to bring the average age of Trekkers down

. I have infected my neigbourhood with Trekkitis and regularly have SciFi movie triples at my place

Mrbloodworth · March 2005

Wont see alot about this game till late 2006.

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