For over a year now the fleet world and gamers of Star
Trek have been asking quite a few questions about the planned MMORPG.
STG caught up with Daron Stinnett, Executive Producer
of the game for a special HardTalk interview...
1: First of all, for the folks who don't know you tell
us who you are and what your position is in Perpetual.
[Daron Stinnett] I'm the Executive Producer for Star Trek Online, which
basically means I'm the person most singularly responsible for our success. I
joined Perpetual in April 2005. Before that I was at LucasArts for 11 years
where I held various titles including Project Leader, Director, and Executive
Producer.
2: The many FAQ's around state that the game will be in beta by late 2006 with a
release date of 2007. Do you think that perpetual is still on target for that
release? Many people are starting to wonder if this is the case since I has
taken this long (almost a year) just to get concept art out to the public.
[Daron Stinnett] Star Trek Online was announced shortly after Perpetual secured
the license. In the time since, our Lead Designer, Glen Dahlgren, has been
drafting the design and has made a lot of progress. It wasn't until I started in
April that we started looking to expand the team with artists and engineers so
that is why you are just now seeing visual materials. Things are proceeding
according to plans and we still expect to release in 2007.
3: When the beta is opened up, will it be just for people in the US or will trek
gamers all over the world be able to participate?
[Daron Stinnett] Good question. We're not far enough down the road with our beta
plans to answer that question or not. It all depends on whether do a
simultaneous international launch or go out one territory at a time. In any
case, due to the online nature of Star Trek Online, it is certainly possible for
anyone with a high-speed internet connection to participate no matter where in
the world they are located.
4: The first release of ST:O will see only a federation based universe with
minor UFP member races included, but none of the major other races like Romulans
or Klingons being included in the first release. Do you have any idea when
"other races" will be made available for the people who will not be playing ST:O
due to them being a Klingon or Romulan based fleet or clan?
[Daron Stinnett] Our current plans call for only UFP races to be playable at
launch. Though that is subject to change. We're still in the process of planning
our UFP content (characters, planets, ships, etc), so it is too early to say
when other playable races will be made available.
5: With no races apart from the feddies being playable in the game, many people
who have not visited the official forum or other sites covering the game has
dismissed ST:O as nothing but a game for pure role playing federation gamers.
The bulk of the online hardcore gaming community are normally playing Klingon or
Romulan roles in SFC series, Armada etc. How can "PvP" be engaging for regular
players when you are all in the same race? Does perpetual have any ideas for the
PvP system to be engaging enough for the players who think that PvP will be
dumbed down or non existent in the game?
[Daron Stinnett] Star Trek requires a MMO world on a scale that has never before
been seen. While most MMOs have a small continent, we will have hundreds of
visit able planets, complex ships, space stations - all with elaborate and well
known internal systems to support. It's a daunting task to say the least. We are
as anxious as anyone to support multiple factions and a robust PvP game and we
will get there. But we're not ready to make any commitments until we get a
better understanding of what it's going to take to design and build the baseline
expectations. I'll I can say at this moment is that we see PvP as core activity
that will be most appealing to the hard core players and sustain STO over the
long term.
6: On the thread of role playing in the game. It's been stated in several FAQ's
that there will be no pure role playing servers for ST:O. Trek fleets and clans
can be classed into 2 areas, role-players like TF and the hardcore gamers like
RS. These different areas of the trek gaming franchise never see eye to eye.
Role playing in a ship about to do battle with another ship with hardcore gamers
would mean the role-player will simply lose as the hardcore gaming crewed ship
will simply fire on them. Did perpetual think of this when addressing the "no
role play" servers issue?
[Daron Stinnett] I wasn't aware that there have been statements that we won't
support RP servers; the current FAQ certainly doesn't address this issue. But I
happen to agree with the notion that RP servers will be valuable - and on
several levels. In addition to offering players the opportunity to play with
like-minded players, RP servers allow us to tune the game rules to suit
hard-core fans without alienating the casual fan. We haven't yet determined our
server plans so I can't make any promises, but I think there's a very good
chance that we'll support RP servers.
7: Still on the subject about the existing clan and fleet communities of the
current Star Trek gaming franchise which the STG has close ties with. Most trek
games, well, all trek games, have a close knit community of clans who play the
games and keep them alive. Does perpetual have any further plans to engage the
fleet and clan community of Star Trek gaming as some of them are saying that
there case is not being heard?
[Daron Stinnett] I expect that Star Trek Online will develop its own
clans/fleets. Like most MMOs, we will have extensive support for players who
would like to form in-game associations that often extend beyond the game
environment. The most important thing we can do right now to support
clans/fleets/guilds is to publish information about their role in the game. When
it comes to existing clans/fleets for other ST games, I can only assume that any
of their members interested making a case are involved in STO related forums. We
do spend time reading those forums to better understand the wishes of the entire
community.
8: With no major PvP in the game apart from the "holodeck" scenario people in
the community are wondering just what the point will be of playing the game is
PvP is a secondary game idea. Although role players will have a field day in the
game where does the common "hardcore leveller and player" fit in with the plans
for the game?
[Daron Stinnett] We understand that PvP outside the holodeck will make for a
more diverse experience and widen STO's appeal. The determining factor will be
when we can offer additional player factions required to support PvP. Which, as
I mentioned above, has not yet been determined.
9: Ship's will obviously be a part of the game as people can crew them later on.
Will ship to ship battles be on a 2d plane (like the old SFC series) or will
they be on a 3d plane like Bridge Commander and Homeworld?
[Daron Stinnett] Creating compelling capital ship combat is a challenging design
problem that has been getting a lot of attention from the design team lately.
After wrestling with a variety of different schemes we've landed on one that we
are pleased with and they are now working through the details. At this point,
there are no firm plans regarding ship movement in local space. Though in the
few brief discussions we've had on the topic, there's a clear preference for 2D
oriented navigation with the possibility of out-of-plane manoeuvres. Our general
feeling is that capitol ship should be more like battleship or submarine warfare
than fighter jets.
10: Back on to the subject of the Klingon and Romulan races. If the game ships
on the latter half of 2007 with the federation based game, how long will
perpetual wait for the release of the Klingon/Romulan expansion packs?
[Daron Stinnett] As I mentioned above, we have not yet formulated our faction
plans.
11: Expanding on the expansion systems. No doubt the federation players will
have had at least 6 months to level up and gain experience, what do you say to
the people in the community who think that it is not fair that federation
players will get a HUGE head start in the game before Klingon and other major
race players and what kind of action plan has perpetual put in place to assist
the new race players of the expansions?
[Daron Stinnett] I agree that this is a significant concern and an issue that
we'll need to address for any post-launch factions scenarios.
12: The "repetitive factor" of MMORPG's always seems to be the Achilles heel of
most MMORPG's. Old time MMORPG's like Anarchy Online and Ultima were
groundbreakers and set the trend for the latter era MMORPG's like World of
Warcraft, however they all have a repetitive problem...repetitiveness. What
plans does perpetual have to keep the game interesting? New mission packs freely
available every month or so maybe?
[Daron Stinnett] I believe the repetitive nature of MMOs is more a matter of the
genre's immaturity rather than anything inherent. World of Warcraft took a step
in the right direction by focusing their effort on making more compelling quest
scenarios and limiting complexity in favour of the new player experience. WoW's
stunning performance clearly demonstrates the power of this model and it's
success will certainly change status-quo.
Just as in any other genre, entertaining game play comes down to fun mechanics
and compelling scenarios. The challenge with MMO development is that the
business model requires a volume of game play that dwarfs the typical single
player game. As a result, developers have resorted to mechanics who's sole
function is to waste the player's time. I can tell you that coming out of the
traditional gaming sector, I find the notion of "time wasters" to be the
antithesis of what interactive entertainment is all about. In fact, we've
banished those words from the team.
Fixing the "grind" comes down to making compelling game play a priority and
putting resources behind making it happen. Two things we are doing. It won't
change overnight, but any new MMO that doesn't make significant moves in the
right direction will perish. And we feel that Star Trek gives us a leg-up with
it's built-in variety of activities and mission scenarios.
13: Will there be in game moderators "policing" the servers on a regular basis?
[Daron Stinnett] Yes. Insuring that everyone plays by the rules is important for
any MMO and doubly important to protect the integrity of Star Trek.
14: Finally, we usually give the person we interview a chance to advertise what
they are doing at the end. Since STG is probably holding the attention of most
of the people who are not about the new MMORPG, here's your chance to ease there
doubts about the game :)
[Daron Stinnett] My expertise is in development rather than marketing or sales;
so I'll leave the pitch to others. The best way I know how to gain the
confidence of the gaming public is to let the results speak for themselves. We
will continue to share our development progress with the game's community on a
regular basis and I'm confident that there will be enough information for
everyone to take an informed position about STO long before we launch.
Thank you Victor. I appreciate the great questions.
- Daron
STG would like to thank Daron for his time in answering
these questions :)
STG - The HardTalk Series
Previous Interviews...
SWTrek
Destinys Wind
Chris Jones
RNGD Smacavelly
Mr Harry Lang -
Paramount
Dan "Devil" Jones
of RS
