STO: Boldly Going Forward...Again!

According to this message from Jack Emmert from MMORPG.COM, Star Trek is back in development! Next thing you know, they'll be bringing "Gods and Heroes" back. *giggles*

Will it be cheesey? Cartoony? Curiouser and curiouser.

Star Trek Online - Message from Jack Emmert

Today we learned that Cryptic Studios, the company behind the original City of Heroes and now Champions Online is the studio now behind the development of Star Trek Online. In this feature, we bring you a letter to the community from Jack Emmert as well as a promotional list that is meant to give players an idea of Cryptic's vision for the game.

Engage!

A letter from Jack Emmert

Star Trek® has been a part of my entire life. Few other of my geeky obsessions can make that claim.

I started watching the original Star Trek when it reached syndication and cult status. I can remember even more vividly where I was for the premiere of every subsequent Star Trek series. For Star Trek: The Next Generation, I watched "Encounter at Farpoint" lying on the floor of my childhood apartment. When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine rolled around, I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago. I watched the first episode in the basement of my dorm with a dozen other students. A few years later, I was at Ohio State and saw Voyager travel to the Delta Quadrant while sitting on a friend's couch in Columbus, Ohio. And I was thrilled to see the beginnings of Starfleet in Star Trek: Enterprise. At the time, I was just starting out as a game designer, with little to no idea that I'd be jumping into that very universe within several years.

When the opportunity came for Cryptic to obtain the license for Star Trek, we were absolutely thrilled. I realized how many people at Cryptic loved the IP when the possibility of us getting the rights leaked out to the rest of the company. I had more Trekkies in my office asking to work on the project than I ever imagined.

Cryptic would now be given the task of bringing to life this entire universe that has been so brilliantly conceived and executed over years of TV, movies, books and comics. There are few other fictional backgrounds that fit the MMORPG medium so well. After all, Star Trek was never about a single character, ship or even planet; Star Trek was always about an entire universe. And MMORPGs are uniquely suited to create such a thing and allow players to explore every inch.

Admittedly, Star Trek has its challenges. We want to make a game that best captures the real essence of Star Trek. We see Star Trek as much about exploration as combat. As much about the variety of alien civilizations as it is about the core Vulcans, Klingons, Humans, etc. It's going to be an exciting ride over the coming months as we begin to unveil STO. I can't wait.

Cryptic's "About Star Trek Online"

Become part of Star Trek®: The Star Trek universe will appear for the first time in a massively multiplayer online game. Everything from the elegant domes of Starfleet Academy to the ancient temples of Vulcan, from the towers of Qo’noS to the Fire Caves of Bajor, from the mysterious Mutara Nebula to the unexplored voids of deep space, all will be represented in stunning 3-D graphics. Immerse yourself in the future of the Trek universe as it moves into the 25th century: a time of shifting alliances and new discoveries.

Adventure in the Final Frontier: Explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations in an expanding vast universe. Make contact with alien races, discover resources and uncover mysteries that will change the future of the Star Trek universe.

You Are the Captain: Command your own starship as a Federation Captain or a Klingon Warrior. Outfit it with the systems that you need to make your mark in the galaxy. Customize your ship as you see fit. Recruit, train and mold your crew into an elite force for exploration and combat.

Surface, Shipboard and Deep Space Adventures: Command your vessel in thrilling space battles, or beam down to planets with your away team for face-to-face confrontations. Missions will take you and your friends into space, planetside and even inside starships!

Powered by the Cryptic Engine, Star Trek® Online will be developed for both console and PC formats. With customizable ships and characters from the Klingon Empire and United Federation of Planets, ground, space and shipboard gameplay and unique options for player-generated content set in the Star Trek universe, Star Trek Online is the MMOG that allows you to boldly go where no one has gone before!

Mr. Sulu To Tie the Knot

Awwww. So cute.

Saw this on Perez about George Takei getting hitched in Cali. Yay!

Here's his wedding announcment:

Our California dream is reality. Brad Altman and I can now marry. We are overjoyed! At long last, the barrier to full marriage rights for same-sex couples has been torn down. We are equal with all citizens of our state!

The California Supreme Court has ruled that all Californians have a fundamental right to marry the person he or she loves. Brad and I have shared our lives together for over 21 years. We've worked in partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the performing. We've traveled the world together from Europe to Asia to Australia. We've shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad. He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can't imagine life without him. Now, we can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities, of marriage. We embrace it all heartily…For now, Brad and I are enjoying the delicious dilemma of deciding where, when, and how we will be married. Marriage equality took a long time, but, like fine wine, its bouquet is simply exquisite.

Live long and prosper!

Geeks Rejoice: The New Star Trek Teaser Trailer

Here it is! Now, I'm not a big Star Trek fan but I'm definitely curious to see what they're gonna' bring to the final frontier.

I think the MMO version is still in the works too.... HmmMmmm.

Star Trek XI: Young Cast Revealed!!

KAHHHHHhhhHNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN.

Sylar = Spock

!!

John Cho and Simon Pegg have boarded the Starship Enterprise.

Cho has been cast as Sulu, the Enterprise's helmsman, while Pegg has signed on to play Scotty, the ship's Scottish chief engineer, in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" feature for Paramount.

The "Trek" casting deals appear to be closing at warp speed this week, with Eric Bana signing on Wednesday to play the movie's villain, Nero.

Already on board are Zoe Saldana as Uhura and Anton Yelchin as a young Chekov, the Russian-born navigator, as well as Zachary Quinto as a young Spock. Leonard Nimoy, who originated the role of Spock, is on board as well. Chris Pine is in talks to play the young Kirk.

The movie is expected to shoot from November-March.

Plot details are begin kept under wraps, but it is understood that the movie chronicles the early days of the Enterprise crew. The lead roles remaining to be cast are Christopher Pike, the first captain of the Enterprise, and Kirk's parents.

Montgomery "Scotty" Scott was the ship's third-in-command and was known for his problem-solving abilities in plot-critical situations. The role was originated by the late James Doohan.

Lt. Hikaru Sulu, known for his love of fencing, always was seen on deck piloting the ship next to Chekov. George Takei played the character in the 1960s TV series and the 1980s movies.

Cho starred as Harold in the cult hit "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle." He is reprising the role for the sequel. Cho is repped by Gersh, Principato/Young and attorney Alex Kohner.

Pegg, repped by CAA, starred in "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." He next toplines David Schwimmer's comedy "Run, Fat Boy, Run."

I do like me some Eric Bana though. And Simon Pegg. MmmMMmmmMMmMmm.

But Harold as Sulu? Sulu's gonna be smoking the ooooo-weeee on the Enterprise. And craving those delicious sliders.

An Interview with John Smedley

*snickers*

This is an excerpt from a 3 page interview on Warcry from John Smedley, the CEO of SOE.

That other lesson is the infamous "New Game Experience" the team put into Star Wars Galaxies in 2005. On that, he was completely frank.

"With the NGE, I'm sorry about the mistake we made," he told us. "We screwed up and didn't listen to the fans when we should have, and it's not a mistake we're going to make again."

The NGE completely altered Star Wars Galaxies, a game that had launched in cooperation with LucasArts over two years before. Classes disappeared and the game fundamentally changed in almost every way. It came as no surprise to observers that this change was massively unpopular among the playerbase.

And what was the mistake SOE made that Smedley is sorry for?

"[The mistake was] to not just think we know the right direction without bringing the fans into the mix," he explained. "We made the cardinal sin of not listening, but assuming and we were wrong."

He went on to point out that after two years, the game is once again stable and growing. They continue to update the game with new content and those fans, old and new, who enjoy the current incarnation of the game are being listened to. The old game won't come back - to change now would be as unfair as the first time they did it - but he believes SWG still has a solid future.

Damn right you're sorry.

Anyhow, here is the full article by Dana Massey. Enjoy!

An Exclusive Interview with John Smedley, SOE CEO