STO.nl interview met producer Daniel Stahl
In: Exclusive, STO.nl | Tags: Interview | Op 25-11-2009, om 11:43
Bij deze presenteren wij het langverwachte interview dat we hebben gehouden met Cryptic, de ontwikkelaars achter het spel! Onze vragen zijn voorgelegd aan Daniel Stahl, producer voor Star Trek Online, en we zijn heel erg tevreden met de antwoorden die hij ons heeft gegeven. Om er niet langer omheen te praten: klik gewoon op lees verder om het interview te lezen!
Hello there Star Trek fans! This is Daniel Stahl, producer on Star Trek Online and I’m excited to have the opportunity to share some insider information about the upcoming game. Now on to your questions!
Beta & Launch
STO.nl: Beta has just started, and everyone is totally excited about it! You’ve said that the game will launch in the first quarter of 2010, which means that the beta is going to be quite short in relation to the beta tests of most other MMOs. How did you make that quick turnover time possible?
Daniel Stahl: Cryptic has learned a lot about Betas from the Online Games we’ve made before. We’ve had an internal 24/7 employee shard for Star Trek since earlier this year and have been hard at work making sure the game is fun and ready for Beta. We feel that our concentrated focused play tests allow us to achieve our Beta Goals which are to get great community feedback on the game, test our game systems, and test our technology. With our existing infrastructure, it makes it a lot easier to focus on things in Beta that other games may need more time to work through.
STO.nl: Recently GameStop revealed some of the contents of the Star Trek Online collector’s edition, while it hasn’t been formally announced yet if there will even be a one. What can you tell us about the CE?
Daniel Stahl: We are working hard to ensure that all of our fans and retail partners have unique options for their customers. We are putting more effort into provide a wide range of pre-order items first, and once we get all of those in game, then we’ll figure out what makes sense if and when we announce a collector’s edition. Some of the pre-order options are awesome, and I’m finding myself torn between whether I want the old school enterprise or one of the retro uniforms. So many choices!
STO.nl: For a while now we’ve had a discussion on our forums about the microtransactions payment model. Some defend it by saying that it is simply optional bonus content, while others are very much against it because they feel it’s content that should have been included with the game in the first place, and that they shouldn’t be paying extra money to experience the “full” game. What is your take on this, and how will STO be applying microtransactions?
Daniel Stahl: Star Trek is a global phenomenon and as such, payment methods and regional expectations for how much is reasonable to pay to play is a factor. We hope to strike the right balance and provide the level of game play everyone expects without making you feel as though you are missing out if you don’t pick up the extra content. Microtransaction content provides additional resources to add things to the game that otherwise wouldn’t have made it onto the schedule. In that sense, we want to deliver things that we don’t expect to build through the course of normal content delivery. I will say one thing – you’ll be glad I’m not running the microtransaction store. I suggested that Ferengi should have to pay for everything all the time. Rule of Acquisition 98: Every man has his price.
Combat & Progression
STO.nl: We’ve known now for a while that Federation players progress through the game by playing episodic missions. Presentation-wise, are these similar to traditional MMO quests where you need to talk to a questgiver and read a wall of text? Or are they presented more cinematically, with conversations with your bridge officers, cut-scenes and perhaps even the episode’s title appearing on-screen as if it were a real television episode?
Daniel Stahl: Before you ever play an episode in Star Trek Online, it starts as a script much like a television episode. It has an episode title, cast, locations, blocking, and dialog similar to a screenplay. We want players to feel as though they’re uncovering the story’s plot as they play through the episode. As an example your Fleet Admiral may contact you and ask you to investigate the disappearance of another vessel and give you a general idea of where it was last seen. It is the dialog of your bridge officers, and the clues you uncover when you get there that provide the cinematic experience.
STO.nl: These episodes seem to be very dynamic, with the player being constantly on the move from one place to another. Will there also be more static / permanent episodes like the public quests from Champions Online and Warhammer Online?
Daniel Stahl: Starfleet Captains never camp in a system for very long. Your job is to explore and in such a large universe, there is never a shortage of opportunity to extend the outreach of the Federation. So while your may find yourself constantly on the move, there will be time to join more static fleet actions where you can join in an ongoing conflict. You will also have time for a little R and R from time to time where you can socialize with other Starfleet personnel on such familiar hot spots as Risa.
STO.nl: How do Klingon players progress through the game? Are there Klingon episodes?
Daniel Stahl: The Klingon Empire has very different missions from those of Starfleet. Klingons are not exploring the galaxy in search of knowledge, and so their content needs to be inherently different. The Klingons are at war with the Federation and there are a lot of old wounds that surface in the politics of our game. Honor is at stake and only the will of the strongest will prevail. Klingon players will have their work cut out for them just to survive the turmoil or die an honorable death.
STO.nl: Are there any major non-combat ways in which players can earn xp, skillpoints, etc?
Daniel Stahl: Ultimately we want to deliver a game that is balanced and fun for all players and that includes providing ways to earn merit with Starfleet that doesn’t involve the current conflicts. For those that are willing to venture out into the cosmos, there is a way to bring back knowledge and information and perform Federation outreach operations in order to earn standing with Starfleet. While conflict will be unavoidable, it isn’t the only way to play.
STO.nl: Space combat looks incredible, but how will you try to keep those space battles varied and fresh enough after many hours of playing? I can imagine that having just some different variations on phaser banks and photon torpedos can become quite repetitive as you progress through the game.
Daniel Stahl: The team discovered this early on after we had made our first hundred or so systems. There is a big difference between what space really looks like and what it looks like in Star Trek. We started to push the boundaries and use phrases like “More Crazy” with our artists. Along with that came the need to use color and visual subtleties to make playing in one sector different than another. As your progress through the game, the amount of variations increase and the types of sounds and even lighting changes to offer a different experience. After personally visiting over 600 systems, I can say that I’m always eager to see what I’ll find on the other end of the warp trail. It never ceases to make me smile when I find myself someplace I’ve never been before.
Game tech
STO.nl: On a more critical note: A couple of screenshots have turned up of our own Sol system, showing earth and the moon. But the thing I noticed most was that the whole solar system is now in some kind of blue-ish nebula. When looking at all of the other screenshots we haven’t actually seen any “normal” black space, without any nebulae, asteroid belts, debris fields, etc. I understand that you don’t want players to look at boring black screens all the time, but don’t you think you might have taken this a little too far?
Daniel Stahl: There is an entire video library of NASA footage sitting near the artists. When we discover things like you mentioned, they get to sit in a conference room for an hour watching stellar documentaries until they come out with a really good idea of what it is supposed to look like. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you see the Sol System at launch.
STO.nl: Music and voice-overs are great additions to the setting and how the player experiences the game, but often are overlooked. In a recent interview Craig Zinkievich commented that not all of Star Trek Online is going to use voice acting. Could you please comment on how and where voice acting will take place, and are we going to hear some familiar actor voices?
Daniel Stahl: It is hard to imagine the start of anything Star Trek related without a familiar voice. One of the joys of working with CBS is access to the talent that has made Star Trek such a hit. We are holding our tongues and grinning until we can announce who we will be working with. We are still working out the details of how and when you’ll hear voices in the game. With the high level of customization and sheer number of alien characters you’ll encounter in the game, VO can be a challenge. Our goal is to make sure that we use it where it matters and where it will make tingle your Star Trek fan sense.
STO.nl: Earlier this year I did my graduation thesis on the topic of socialization in online games – which is an aspect that (regrettably) more often than not seems to be ignored in favor of soloable content and poor guild + grouping tools / incentives. What can you tell us about the social aspects of Star Trek Online?
Daniel Stahl: At Cryptic, we firmly believe in the social power of gaming. We have introduced an Auto-Grouping feature in Beta in order to tackle some of the worries with instanced content. When two Starfleet captains enter the same system on a similar mission, we automatically join them into a small fleet and ensure that the scale of the mission is appropriate for all involved. With feedback from Beta players, we have been tuning this system and finding that it is really enjoyable for players. In addition to this, we are also taking the time to make purely social maps where captains can meet and enjoy some R and R and form groups. Some of the more famous locales in the Star Trek universe serve in this function.
STO.nl: Can you explain how the one-shard system for STO is going to work? What are the consequences of such server architecture for character names?
Daniel Stahl: With a vast galaxy to explore and story driven episodes to experience, we believe in having everyone playing in the same universe. We offer a suite of tools to allow players to track and find other players and friends. We have also built a unique naming system that allows all players to have the name of their choosing without it being “taken” by someone else. So go ahead and starting dreaming who your captain is going to be!
Thank you for the excellent questions and we look forward to seeing you online!
StarTrekOnline.nl would like to thank Daniel Stahl for answering our questions! Do you want to know more about Star Trek Online? Visit one of our info pages or take a look at our media gallery!
Good Interview, can’t wait for the game. The only thing really lacking is news on the market/economy of STO. AND Phat Loot
Dereck | 30-11-2009 | 17:57
Again no real info on Klingon Player Progression and the nessesity to kill your superior officer in honarable batle in increase in rank. Everything is about the Federation, which don’t get me wrong is great; but there are some people that really want to play Klingons. I feel as though we are being purposly left in the dark in favor of your puny Eartican Federation. May you all die with Honor.
Val | 1-12-2009 | 00:26