Some new news here:
Via MMORPG.com: STO Devblog
They have ten people on the job now, and still hiring. I’m not an expert, but I’d guess it probably takes a few more than that to design, build and run an MMO – particularly one based on a franchise with that much baggage. Sounds like a general ‘Hi, we’re still here!’ shout, the kind you make in lieu of the screenshots being ready to flaunt.
I do kind of want to play this one actually. I’m not a Trekkie, or Trekker or whatever; I’ll watch it if it’s on telly, but won’t go out of my way to buy DVD box sets. I’m familiar enough with the premise to know that it is so not going to work in the context of the ugly, selfish, xp-drivien gankfest we all know and love, the MMO. My principal fascination with it is quite similar to the one I have with the occasional Formula 1 Grand Prix, in that I only watch for the crashes.
Perhaps I’m a bad bad man, but just the thought of what ‘Cpt Jean-Luc b0x0r-r0x0r’ and his crew of leet smack-talking roleplaying gankstas, are going to do to the rigidly structured sequence of morality tales which make up the typical Star Trek series, makes me giggle a lot. I’m pretty sure it’ll be popular though – there are a lot of people out there that do take Star Trek very seriously, and I can just imagine how annoyed they’ll get with the typical MMO gamers approach to ‘canon’.
However, the closest thing I’ve played to what gameplay in this might be like, is Bridge Commander, which really didn’t click at all, being quite counter-intuitive, and a very awkward way of controlling a spaceship – all menus provided by different bridge officers. I suspect having each station manned by a different random pick-up group member may be just as awkward, if for different reasons. Still, it’s too early to tell yet, and I have a feeling it’ll be the kind of observation comedy routine that money can’t buy!