Executive Producer Dan Stahl checks in as we prepare to debut Season Two: Ancient Enemies.

Greetings!

Season 2: Ancient Enemies is here, and we have a lot to talk about! Not only are we releasing our second major update to the game, but we are also about to turn the corner on our six month anniversary. So before we get into what the team has been working on for Season Two, let’s talk about what we’ve done with the game in the last six months.

The First Six Months

The release schedule for Star Trek has always been aggressive, and in the first six months after launch the team hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down. Since launch, there have been features and tweaks that we (and you) wanted in the game.

Over the course of Season One, we have been delivering regular updates to the game at a breakneck pace. Not only have we delivered these features, but in our regular Engineering Reports, we discussed that we were working on these features and took your feedback into consideration while developing them.

Here’s a list of features and updates that we added to the game during our first six months:

• Character Respec
• The Injury System
• The Difficulty Slider
• Squad Leader System
• Special Task Forces
• Off-Duty Outfits
• Accolades
• Borg Mission Hub/Borg and Undine Enemy Groups (Federation and Klingon PvE)
• Klingon PVE Star Clusters
• Klingon PVE Fleet Actions
• Memory Alpha UI Update
• Neutral Social Areas
• New and Updated Fleet Actions
• New and Updated Missions
• Repeatable Mission Improvements
• Updated Commodity Missions
• TOS/MU Uniform Updates
• Klingon Joined Trill
• Auto-fire In Space
• Exchange Improvements
• Fleet Improvements
• Critical Hit Adjustments
• Buying Items In Stacks
• PvP Scoring Updates
• Journal Improvements
• Random Bridge Officers
• New Emotes
• Veteran Rewards
• DPS/Global Cooldown/EPS Revamp
• Fleet Action Updates
• Tons of FX, UI, Powers, Costume and Ship Fixes
• Tons Of Other Bug Fixes

What’s amazing to me is those are just highlights.  A quick browse through our Release Notes Archive can give you a complete overview of all the changes the team has made in our first Six months.

Many of the features we’ve worked on are directly related to your requests and feedback. When we said at launch that we wanted to make this your game, we meant it. We may not have unlimited resources or be able to address every request immediately, but we certainly take note of everything and discuss what you are talking about internally as a team. This game has had a solid heading since launch: deliver the Star Trek MMO that you want to play.

Season Two

That is also why I find Season Two so exciting. It is a further step toward delivering the content and features that you’ve been asking for.

For example ...

After Season One there was a complaint that while there were a ton of features, there was not much in the way of new content. Our response? Season Two contains new PvE missions across the board and a commitment to provide weekly mission series moving forward.

Another example ...

After we announced that Klingon faction would be primarily PvP at launch, you asked us to change this and add PvE content for the KDF.

Our response? Season One contained PvE Star Clusters, equal access to Borg hub PvE missions and STFs, and PvE Fleet Actions. And in Season Two we'll start delivering the first Klingon-faction-specific PvE episode arcs, with a commitment that when we create weekly series content, that will be playable by all factions.

Those are just two examples out of many where you have had a direct impact on the development of this game. Season Two is filled with additional features and updates that you asked for, and in some cases even helped us design, specifically minigames.

Here are some upcoming features in Season Two:

• New Skillpoint Cap – Level up to Vice Admiral/Dahar Master (51).
• New Level 51 Ships – New Retrofit versions of fan favorite ships on the Federation side and a new captured Fek’ihri Battle Carrier for the KDF.
• New Undine Sector And Fleet Action – Additional PvE mission option for Admiral level Federation and Klingon players vs. the Undine.
• Klingon PvE Episodes – Eight new missions with a  unique storyline featuring the Ancient Enemies “The Fek’ihri.”
• Klingon Costume Customization Revamp – New costume textures, updated options, many new pieces and parts.
• Federation Diplomatic Corps – Earn rewards and perks for completing non-combat missions.
• New Non-Combat Missions and First Contacts – You asked for missions without combat and we made them. Even more coming!
• Ship Interiors/Sliding Doors – Bridges were just the beginning. We will continue to innovate in this area.
• Trading Commissioned Bridge Officers – You can now transfer your best officers to your friends in need.
• Minigames (Dabo, Scanner) – A direct result of players posting ideas and concepts on the forum.
• Ship Costume Holo-emitters – Fun new Dabo rewards allow you to fly ships of another faction.
• Fleet Logos – You can now show off your fleet pride.

And that is just the beginning of Season Two. In the coming weeks you are going to see additional updates that continue to show the direction we are heading with the game. You are going to see new ships ,such as the Nebula and Excelsior refits for the Federation, and the Vor’Cha, D7 and Be’rel refits for the Klingons. You’re going to see new off-duty costumes such as mercenary wear and formal wear. We’ve even got some new beasts that will be showing up in missions (all designs based on a poll we recently posted on the forums).

Weekly Series

I’m really looking forward to this! Even with everything else in the works, the upcoming Weekly Series has me the most excited. Starting in August, we will be releasing the first in what we hope to be many weekly series. These are small mission arcs focused around a single story, where each week a new episode in the story will become available. Any player at any level will have equal opportunity to play this new content. With new rewards and side missions to go along with these weekly missions, we hope that you’ll find a compelling reason to log in and check out the latest episode each week.

What About The Next Six Months?

We hear you loud and clear that there are features and designs in the game that need to be revamped, polished and in some cases outright fixed. So in addition to working on some new features that we’re going to keep mum about for the time being, we are going to be going back through the game as it is now and addressing these issues.

This includes and is not limited to things like ...

• Addressing issues with ground combat.
• Making rewards more interesting.
• Ensuring there are more ship options for both factions.
• Fixing long-standing bugs in powers, ships, missions and PvP.
• Rethinking exploration.
• Making Memory Alpha more useful.

That is just the beginning. You are going to see us start focusing on quality and ensuring that we take the time to make the features in game as awesome as you want them to be. Which leads me to ...

Being The New Executive Producer

It is an honor and a thrill to be in the position where we can work together to make this MMO the ultimate Star Trek game. We have had a great start and improved in many areas. There is so much more we can and need to do. I’m very happy with the team we have, and when I look at the plans we have in the works, I’m confident that you’re going to like where we’re headed. I have that confidence because I will continue to listen to your feedback and ensure that we are on track to continually improve this game.

Your confidence in me is a boon and I plan to honor that respect. In the words of Bartles and James ... “Thank you for your support.”

-dStahl