Published on March 7th, 2010 | by simeon

Star Trek Online Expansion Interview

Recently, I spoke with Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer of Star Trek Online. Craig was kind enough to take a few moments from his busy schedule to talk about what gamers can look forward to in future updates for the game.

Questions from Gareth Von Kallenbach
Skewed and Reviewed

1 What features did you wish to include but were unable to?

More PvE content for Klingons is a big one. That is something we will be adding soon, however. We would have liked to get more of that content in before launch, but we figured on the Klingons being more of PvP-centric faction, so we instead polished the Federation gameplay and then decided to add more Klingon PvE after launch.

2. How often do you plan major updates and when is the next one scheduled?

We want to get new content out as soon as we can. Our goal is to get new end-game episodes out every other week and then our next big update will be about 50 days after launch. Of course. Updates should be very regular after that, but it’s hard to plan live content so far ahead in an MMO.

3. What do you plan to include in the next update?

More end-game episodes. More PvE and exploration for Klingons. There will be a bunch of stuff we will be adding soon. A lot of it has yet to be announced, but our first major update should be very robust and satisfying.

4. Will players be able to crew a ship as a team in the future?

This is something we have talked about, at least. First step is to grant each individual player more access and functionality to their own ship. Bridge, engineering, etc… The next thing we’d then worry about is how to make multiple players crewing one ship fun for everyone involved and in a combat scenario like we currently offer?

One player can’t give all the commands and the others just smash buttons in response. That’s not fun. Anyway, this is something we’re looking into because it would be neat if you and your friends could be on the same ship working as one unit. It would have to be something that complements the game and exists as an option, however. No plans on when such functionality will be implemented.

5. What new planets and races will be added in the future?

We have random races and planets created all the time. There will be new races and planets that you simply discover.

6. Will the mirror universe come up in the future?

We actually have the mirror universe in the game right now.

7. What feedback from gamers and press has been the most surprising?

Where’s Sulu? It’s amazing how many people couldn’t find him. He’s right behind you!

As far as gameplay elements go, I wouldn’t say that there has been anything that has truly surprised us.