Star Trek Online State of the Game letter, 27th January 2010

Cryptic let us know what’s in store over the next month:

The Journey Begins…

Thank you all so very much for making this entire Beta experience as awesome as it has been.

I could look back and reminisce about the downtimes. I could wax nostalgic about the patches. I could even recall every exploit with distaste and still fondly remember the awesome emergent gameplay you’ve shown us… And yet, all that implies an end. Sure, the test is over. But, in reality, this is only the beginning.

We’ve been working without rest for nearly two years to reach this moment — the moment when we can begin expanding Star Trek Online in earnest. The years ahead when we get to work directly with you to figure out what we add next to the game, where we fill out content, and what new systems we might add. That’s real development. That’s live development.

Not a team to just sit back and wait, we’re already working on content additions, bug fixes and ‘quality of life’ improvements that we’re going to roll out over the next couple months. Here are a few of the things we’re working on:

The Borg

The Borg have planned. They have adapted. They have evolved. What the Borg cannot assimilate, they will destroy.

You saw a little Borg action in our End of Beta event – prepare to see more. The Federation have tracked down the Borg staging ground for their assault on the Alpha Quadrant. Join up with Battle Group Omega and take the fight to the Borg. Experience new Federation Episodes, Borg Exploration Clusters, deep space encounters. Also expect daily missions for these tasks to maximize the rewards you’ll be getting for helping out Starfleet in the Gamma Orionis Sector.

“Raid-i-sodes”

These are the high-end episodes you’ve been waiting for. Locked to 5-players, you’ll need every trick and every bit of teamwork to complete these challenges.

A Borg raid-i-sode series culminating in an encounter with the Borg queen is on its way. Expect a couple other “loose ends” to be addressed in the future, as well.

Available for both Klingon Generals and Starfleet Admirals, we’ll be releasing a new one of these every few weeks for the next three months.

First Update

We’re already working on it and it’ll be out before you know it.

The first update is going to have more PvP, Klingon exploration content, more ground fleet actions, more ship costume pieces, more playable species, and then some.

Bugs and Reactions to Them

Of course, like any MMO, we’ll scramble during the first couple weeks reacting to new bugs. putting in quality of life fixes, and closing exploits that weren’t exposed to us during Beta.

We’ll be fine tuning as well, but don’t expect thoughtless or harsh changes to game balance. We’re more than willing to wait and make sure everything we do is measured and calculated.

Expect a public test shard to become available real soon, too. We’ve named her “Tribble.” This is where the brave Captains (read: addicted testers) amongst you can try out our changes before we push them live. If you’re one of those who can’t get enough of the bleeding edge of development – or have a penchant for finding bugs and balance issues – keep an eye on the forums for details.

So, thank you again for the awesome Beta, but the fun begins now.

We have years of development left in us and a universe of content still to add. Here’s where it gets interesting… Here’s where you help us figure out what comes next.

I, for one, am looking forward to taking that journey.

Doesn’t really address many of my concerns, but it is good to know they’re working on things.

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