Due to the overwhelming kindness of Cryptic Studios, they saw to it that we and some of our listeners were able to participate in the close beta. The head start program is almost upon us, and we all have our pre-orders. What impresses us the most is how much work that the Cryptic team has done on the game in just the time we have been beta testing it. And now its time for a bit of Fleet action on the ground.
We had just completed a mission; a massed fleet of 20 star ships had managed to defeat a Klingon Invasion of the Laurentian system led by the Klingon flagship the I.K.S. Kaarg. Miraculously the captain and crew of the U.S.S. William Wallace had managed to survive the battle – time for that promised rest and relaxation and no better place to do it then Deep Space 9. Not that Deep Space 9 is known far and wide as a resort. What it is actually known for is a worm hole that leads to the Gama Quadrant. But those of us who ply the space routes know it for something else – Quark’s Bar.
As we arrived at the station the familiar sight of the wormhole greeted us. It was almost as if the universe itself lit up space with a miraculous display in celebration of our victory.
On the station the rest of the crew headed straight for the bar. As for the captain of the William Wallace I stopped off at the chapel first.
We had all settled in to our well deserved drinks and a few spins of the Dabo wheel. My senior tactical officer had just shouted “dabo” in the Ferengi tradition to announce a win. But over the sound of the spinning dabo wheel I heard something else…my comm. Badge.
The problem with rest and relaxation promised by admirals is that Star Fleet has more than one admiral.
“WE JUST GOT HERE” I protested, “AND YOU WANT US TO GO BACK TO THE SAME PLACE!”
“You got it,” said the Admiral, “it is rumored that the Klingons have established an ice mine in the Laurentian System. Intel has it that they are building a planet killer weapon.”
“Um…” I started hesitantly, “Would this be the same intel source that told us about a small Klingon scouting party that turned out to be a full scale invasion lead by the I.K.S. Kaarg?”
“Well…, started the Admiral, We need you on this mission Lieutenant Commander, you’re our only hope. We need you on that wall. This is top secret. We’re calling the mission “Breaking the Planet.”
There was a long silence that ensued broken only by the sound of the spinning dobo wheel in the background.
“Do it for your planet. Do it to save Earth.”
“I’ve never even set foot on earth,” I replied quickly, “I’m half Klingon.”
“Do it for Star Fleet”
There was another long silence. Then I replied.
“I’ll do it for 10 bars of gold pressed latinum”
“You’ve been spending too much time around your Ferengi bridge officer.”
“So what, I replied, he’s got cute lobes. Besides, you know what the 102nd Rule of Acquisition says – nature decays but latinum lasts forever.”
It took some doing but eventually the Admiral saw it my way – it was either that or get someone less disposable to do it. We soon found ourselves back in the same system we had just left. As we approached the planet we received our orders…
- Destroy mining equipment
- Set Charges at station alpha 5/5
- Set Charges at station beta 5/5
- Set Charges at station gama 5/5
- Set Charges at station delta 5/5
- Defeat Artillery Spotters for Turret Codes 12/12
- Jam Klingon Transmissions 20/20
- Keep Rally Point Safe
When I first started out on this mission I wasn’t sure whether or not my bridge crew would beam down with me. It turns out it didn’t much matter that they weren’t allowed on the mission.
During those times when there weren’t enough players to fill out the ranks, the empty spots were filled out with NPCs. Much to my pleasant surprise, the tracking on the NPC’s had improved remarkably (something that later turned out also carried over into my bridge officers.
NPC AI was so good that the only way to tell the NPC’s from the players was because the NPC’s kept announcing everything they did. We secured the rally point and as we did the mission finished and the following message appeared on my screen, relayed by a Federation Star Fleet officer:
Great work, Lieutenant Commander! We’re transporting everyone out safely, and the klingons have been denied the material they need to complete their planet killer weapon. I’d say it’s been a good day. I’ve got a few days of leave before my next assignment. If you see me in club 47, I’ll buy the first round
There may not be a magic patch at the end of beta, but credit where credit is due. The overworked team at Cryptic has improved things vastly since the start of closed beta. In our opinion the game is just about ready for the big launch day.
See you online,
The No Prisoners, No Mercy team
Great write up. I can tell that you’re having fun in STO. There’s nothing more fun than when a game inspires you to do a role-played retelling of the adventure. That’s when you know a game is in your blood. AC2 inspired me in that way. As did EVE and WAR. I hope the long haul for STO proves to be sustainable until and through the end game. I won’t be joining you all until later.
HAVE FUN HEAD-START PLAYERS!!
Thanks for the compliments. AS far as Role playing is concerned Beau Turkey has a few interesting posts about immersion in game playing over at mmovoices.ning and spouse aggro with his “immersion rules” gaming. They would have to be revised for STO but they would make for some interesting evenings.