“I beamed back onto my ship and hailed Star Fleet to report my progress. In times gone by there would have been such a thing as “being kicked upstairs”. After all, those who wear the Admirals insignia rarely fly anything but a desk. But these are not those times; these are desperate times. When Benjamin Sisko first flew the U.S.S. Defiant through the Bajor Wormhole he had no idea what the future held – and what a furor it would unleash…” Rear Admiral 1 of 9, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01
As soon as my character hit rear admiral 3, Leonard Nimoy’s voice rang though the computer’s speakers with a very familiar “congratulations admiral”. I was “hailed” by Star Fleet and Admiral Quinn gave me a mission summoning to the Gamma Quadrant – now I know what that transwarp conduit located just outside the Sol System is for.
Welcome to the Gamma Quadrant
Exiting the other end of the transwarp conduit to the Gama sector found me in the midst of a Federation Fleet, with a Klingon Fleet camped on their doorstep. Another liberated Borg, much like myself, welcomed me to the front lines. Those who stay in the Gama Quadrant will not find themselves on a leisurely stroll through the corridors of Earth Space Station or the promenade of Deep Space 9. Any needs the new rear admiral or her crew (you have to be rear admiral 3 to get the quest that gives you access to the Gama Quadrant) are served by individual ships who serve particular needs, found by winding your way through a central corridor that runs through the massive fleet of ships.
One of the early story line quests gave me the mission of rescuing colonists whose world had been beset by the Borg and Species 8472 (known as the “Undine” to you non-assimilated types out there). In the process of rescuing the colonists and simultaneously battling both Borg and Undine, a desperate colonist ran up to my bridge crew and I. “Help us,” she cried out, “We’re being invaded and it’s like being caught in the middle of a battle between two giants.” The first image that came to mind was a scene from the movie Time Bandits where Napoleon, portrayed by Ian Holm, is seated between two of his generals and exclaims, “With you on one side and him on the other it’s like being at the bottom of a bloody well” – and that aptly portrays the theme of the Gama Quadrant.
Players find themselves in the midst of a titanic battle while trying to protect the interests of the Federation. The player will find daily exploratory missions to an adjoining expanse, the reward for which are medals which garner very rare items once enough are accumulated, at the rate of five per day. There are story missions and an abundance of patrol missions. This quadrant is also the site of the new “raidisode” (read five person raid/instance for all you World of Warcraft players out there). When it says “five players required” believe you me it means it. No matter how good you are, no matter how well equipped your ship, the solo player will find the Borg that make up the antagonists in “The Infected” will simply laugh at the even the toughest shield strengths and blast away the individual player in seconds. This is one time where there is no substitute for a team. This is not to say there is no room for the solo player. The lone ship and her crew will find it possible to complete the missions by themselves. The Borg and Undine in this case are far from being easy, even in the case of a well shielded, heavily armed ship.
One of the many pleasures in Star Trek Online (STO) are the continuation of story lines that were started in the many Star Trek series. STO being set beyond the latest time line covered by any of the Star trek shows or movies, it is a common occurrence to meet the relatives of, or those influenced by characters that the fans are familiar with – and the Gama Qaudrant in Star Trek Online is no exception. One of the earlier storyline missions has the player rescue a ship, only to meet the “son of Q” (the Q played by John Delancie) that was born during the Star Trek Voyager years. Having once rescued the ship this new Q has you complete the rescue “with feeling this time.” Having completed the same rescue mission a second time the New Q is still not satisfied and has you do it “again as if your life depended on it.” It is then that the player is given a chance to go back and participate in a famous battle from Star Trek lore.
If Star Trek Online is your game, and you are ready for a challenge (aside from letting the Klingons drive you into the ground like a tent stake in pvp) you will find it in the Gama Quadrant.
See you online,
Julie Whitefeather
(posted for Julie Whitefeather by the Webmaster)
Update:
Side Notes
Let me add a little update here. We have managed to obtain an interview with a member of the team that brings us all my favorite mmo. I am always afraid to put the cart before the horse, so I will let you all know tommorow. Much can happen between now and the scheduled recording time.
Also, in catching up with some of my favorite blog sites we found a very nice endorsement over at Kill Ten Rats (see below) Thanks Ravious for the kind endorsement!
- Julie
“No Prisoners, No Mercy – How could anybody not like a podcast about MMOs run by two nuns?! Not only that, they are great journalists snagging tons of interviews from across the board for game companies. Sister Julie Whitefeather and Sister Frances have a good format with some interesting discussion. A lot of time and love is put in to this podcast. Butter doesn’t melt in the mouths of these two ladies.” – Ravious, Kill Ten Rats