STO

Achieved capitan this weekend and finally got into the exploration class cruiser. This class is similar to Enterprise from TNG; however, the new ship is mix of Galaxy, Envoy and Celestial class parts.
Here is the USS Earl Gray:


Also I dished out several promotions to the crew. Especially the Bridge Officers (all commander rank) and my science officer is officially named Doctor now. Here is the latest crew ...


I did not post Cmdr. Eighteen. A liberated Borg (from the Amazon pre-order); she is an engineer and givers a +5 to all system (she is like my Data of my bridge crew).

The new command moves me from the Romulan front to DS9 and Cardasian space.

Noticed a few other players have done this. So few screen shots, Windows Paint and 20 min I put together a montage of the ship and crew:



I picked my top key bridge officers and game them specific uniforms (rest of crew has standard TNG look). I still have a few Ensign rank officers; and a few Lt rank officers. One a liberated Borg as Lt. Engineer Bridge Officer and on my away team and a Vulcan science officer (gota have a Vulcan science officer).

This really brings a personal depth to the game.

I also ran across a Wiki site at www.stogeek.com that payers are making their own wiki pages.

Very cool

Promoted to Commander this weekend. (i.e. level 21). And giving a new ship assignment .I choose a heavy crusier:

From the wiki

"Despite their slow maneuverability, Cruisers have Advanced Warp cores, and with the extra power produced are capable of withstanding large amounts of damage, extending their shields to nearby damaged vessels, and equiping multiple phaser arrays to in their bow and aft equipment bays. These vessels also have large cargo holds making them ideal for moving equipment or personnel on long journeys."

Here is the USS Argonaut (in route to take on the "Domesday machine") I need to get some better pics of the ship.



Then the smaller choice of my a Research Science Vessel (RSV)

From the wiki
The Science vessel is perhaps the most versatile and useful ship found on the front lines of combat, and can be configured to support other vessels in a variety of different ways. The Science vessel shines when it comes to scientific research and application with the majority of the Bridge Officer stations focussed to Science personnel. Captains with a deep understanding of Scientific research and theory will find themselves and their vessels sought on the battlefield for the multitude of tasks they are able to perform.

Although Science vessels are not the most powerful, indeed some may see them as the most vunerable, they are not unarmed and can still be formidable vessels.

Here is the USS Equinox (I went ahead and purchased the ship):


Both offer different combat tactics. I play science all through Lt Cmdr and love it. However, I'm starting to lean too the cruiser. It can take a beating however the tactics of moving your weak shields out of harms way is not always the best (as the cruiser flys like the large ship it is). I found I also need to direct power to certain shields as well as plan ahead on maneuvering.

I read up on a cleaver tactic to use .. move into range above the target then open up a broadside. Make maneuvering a pain as you cannot fly straight up in STO so the elevation put you at an advantage.

So again .. I gain a rank and end up with two ships. Parking is becoming a problem.

Number One .. go park the RSV. Were taken the cruiser out for now.

.. to hold my ships.
Having an extra an abundance of credits and points to get addition science bridge officer; I picked up a science vessel.
So I commissioned the U.S.S. Magellan.




Took it out for a quick trip (to the Delta Vouranus Cluster) and was having fun with the abilities it has (like targeting enemy sub systems; and the other abilities from the extra science officer). Admittedly the Orion smuggles I encountered were lower level so I’ll take out the Magellan to equal level areas see how it does.

Science or Cruisers .. it’s nice to have choices. Just parking could be a problem.

Set destination for STO launch .. warp 9 ..

Actually early access launch. I rerolled my "space ork (i.e. green orc)" Grimgar G Boson.. Engineer. Love the Engineer class .. lots of toys on ground; like shields generators. I had a few screen shots however when Tuesday the 2nd arrived I uninstalled the beta client and reinstalled the release version from my Amazon order and it deleted all my screen shots. Not a big deal as it was the same stuff in my last post (open beta screen shots).

I hit (level 11) Lt. Commander and was assigned a new ship. I choose the federation cruiser as its an all around great ship and seems like an engineers ship with the extra bridge station and lots of aux power.

So after going playing few days on head start and day of so after official release .. here is Lt. Cmdr Grimgar Boson.



And the new ship .. the USS Aries:


Another bridge pic:


And to celebrate took a trip out to the Risa system (the vacation area in Star Trek) for little R and R:


Then took it out for a spin on some Orion raiders. With 2x engineering bridge officers and the the addition of the aft photon torp (nice!) .. this feels like a great ship for combat. Also for exploration and research. Look forward to a fun journey to full commander. No hurry .. lots to go see and do.

ENGAGE!

I’m in STO open beta. I only had an hour or so to play (had to teach a class last night). Still, after install and quick patch I spend lots of time in the character creation. Very nice! I never played Champions Online however read about the depth of making a character in that game. It seems this depth of creation also exists in STO.

I did make Grimgar; the first know race called the Orks (i.e. Orcs) in the Federation. Only option I did not find was tusks; still had a cool looking big green ensign (now Captain of the USS Thrallis).

The client ran well and graphics looked great (these are some web images.. I'll keybind a screen shot key):




The sound effect were better than I expected. Especially the sounds (red alert, phasers, transporter, etc.) all really sound like the movies and shows.

Finished the tutorial missions and ended up at the star base at Earth. Game options (graphs, UI, etc) all good so far. The space combat if fun (you have the ability to divert power from the fours systems (shields, weapons, engines and auxiliary). It has presets and the ability to setup you own saved settings. Ground combat was also fun. It’s not FPS still .. MMO feel (which I like).

I’ll wrap up with first hour was a good experience.