Dray McKenna

Tried WoW a couple of years ago. Didn't do anything for me, as I prefer the Theatre of the Mind for my role play experience. It reminded me, in fact, of the old D&D 'Hack-n-Slash' games from the early 90s.

I suppose some people, myself included are more visually stimulated than anything else. When we rp on STO, being able to see our ships and characters and run the rp while watching things all unfold just adds another level of realism I suppose. In fact, after playing STO I am atleast able to understand a bit more how things will work out in my STSF sim. Since when you run your own ship you are responsible for controlling everything and every station. You learn how things work. Just works for me I guess

Well from what I understand, Cryptic is in the process of making Champions Online free-to-play. And if Champions is successful, then STO is to become ftp as well.

 

Edit: And yes, WoW is very addictive. :P

Well, right now people are 50/50 as to whether Cryptic will make STO ftp. It would certainly make sense. They can still receive funding from the C-Store when people want to buy extras just like any other game. And they do. If even half of STO's players are anything like me - uniform whores - then they'll make plenty of money from it. Also, many of the popular titles MMO wise are going ftp one by one so it would appear that that's where we're headed. STO would have to be so unique, popular and sought after to survive an all ftp online MMO world and still have a decent sized player base on a consistent basis. Keep in mind I think STO is a great game that is still evolving and getting better but ... free is free. Just my opinion.

Played STO for a couple months, gave it up as I couldn't justify paying for both it and WoW every month. The Starship customization was one of the most interesting things. You get a new ship every ten levels, and your default ship is based on one of the three classes (Tank, DPS, Heals) though you can buy any type of ship so your not stuck with a "DPS" ship if your character is DPS. Anyways, I digress.

 

The cool thing is that each level class comes in three or four classes of ship and you can swap out parts in any of four sections on the ship. For example my highest level ship I had I could swap out sections of Akira, Zephyr (an original class), and Oslo (an updated Norway class). You can make some crazy looking ship combinations, though I had to geek out and make a straight Akira named the Excalibur-C :P

 

The class pictured above is the default starting ship, has three different types of ships which are all Miranda variants, so you can just as easily take a Centaur saucer section, and slap on the iconic Miranda roll cage and nacelles.

At first I was going to comment on how I could have never given up STO for WOW as WOW tended to be very addicting for me when I played a year or two ago. However, having said that, I spend a lot of time after the family goes to sleep on STO just doing basic things that don't even require missions or being in space. Such as - customization of the ship. (Cosmetically) Externally and Internally. Then installing weapons and defense system upgrades. Requisition for new bridge officers. Training bridge officers. Promotions. Assigning stations, skills and such. Coordinating missions with other fleet members. Then there's actually doing the mission which - if it's a long one will most likely consist of system patrol ( space combat ) and some type of away mission on the surface of whatever planet we're orbiting. These take pretty long sometimes. Then after all that's done.... (phew I'm tired just thinking about it all) then there's hailing Star Fleet to report the mission success. Upgrading skills for myself and all my Bridge Officers. Installing any newer ship parts or systems that may have been acquired during the mission. It just goes on and on. Before I know it.. it's 3am and I can't take much more so I transwarp back to Earth SD, walk my little virtual Captain to his stateroom and both of us knock out for the night. Good thing I only do all that every once in a while. All of it can be very time consuming if you allow it to be. I could not even imagine doing both STO and WOW if not for the monthly fees but for the time required to play them thoroughly.

IM hONORED that you used my name too-do you download this game on computer or buy it ----thanks

You can buy it at Game Stop for $10. Yes, I used several people from 'Creeks crew to fill the ranks on my STO ship since they would be familiar to me. Here's an interesting pic..... I was traveling through alpha centauri sector block from Memory Alpha heading to Sirius Sector to dock at Earth Space Dock and out of the corner of my screen I saw a brilliant light moving in my direction.... it was Crystalline Entity and Star Fleet hailed my ship to tell us to get out of there before it attacked... it was pretty interesting to see it up close.... they really make it look beautiful in the game. At least, on a big monitor it looks nice....

These are just some screen shots of me aboard my ship the U.S.S. Godspeed. Miranda class. I suppose between November '09 and now Cryptic Devs decided to make it possible to walk around the interior of your ship. Even to meet up with fellow players to discuss tactics. It is a huge interior with plenty of areas to check out. You also can see your crewmen/women milling about doing their thing :P Enjoy!

Welcome Mr. Parker. I look forward to seeing you at the Academy tonight. I should be in attendance after my ships sim. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. We have a great bunch of simmers here. McKenna out!

Bing, Bong!

Helm Officers log Star date 1012.13

Midshipman Drayvend Tidus McKenna

USS Comanche Creek

Today was my first day back on duty since a bout with Lung Worm rendered me unfit for duty for three months. During my time at space dock medical wing, Star Fleet administration stuck their noses into things as they usually do and permanently changed my orders and those of another pilot by the name of Hikaru Sulu and placed him at the helm of the Enterprise in my stead. A day after my discharge from Medical I ran into Sulu on the mess deck of the space dock and he expressed to me how he "regrettably" accepted the post on Star Fleets newest flagship knowing full well that it was a position that many graduated Star Fleet officers were gunning for. He knew I was disappointed at the turn of events however, I'm sure deep down he did not find the situation as "regrettable" a he attempted to portray. I cannot blame him for my misfortune. I simply got my cheap thrills off of smugly reminding him not to forget about disengaging the EID before warp as I had heard of his mishap aboard the Enterprise months before. At this, there were several chuckles and snickers around the table from cadets and officers who were eating nearby. I can only see this as fate that I've been reassigned to this new vessel. And what a beautiful vessel it is. I had seen the Comanche docked at Earth Space Dock many times when it was between missions and always imagined what it would be like to fly a Kelvin class starship. What intrigued me even more was the thought of serving under her Captain. Captain Ashton Marie "Crash" Calestorm is everything a budding male Star Fleet officer would ask for in a Commanding Officer. An older woman, Captain Calestorm exuded an air of wisdom and experience behind a beauty unmatched by other female Star Fleet Captains. The icing on the cake was her confident and "no bull" attitude when it came to getting the job done. By the time I beamed aboard the Creek, Captain Calestorm was on Nimbus 3 with her away team with the intent of interviewing the locals to gather more information about the "Were-Wire" Pirates that the Creek had been pursuing for some time now. As I said - "Crash" wants the job done. The Creek was under the command of her First Officer, Commander Audraya Wesley. Commander Wesley was kind and welcomed me introducing me to the rest of the bridge officers. After my initial introduction I assumed my post at the helm and began running diagnostics and accessing data about the Creeks propulsion and navigational systems. Although navigations is handled by another bridge officer it is also accessible from the helm. The Creek being a Kelvin Class vessel is smaller than other starship classes but what she lacks in mere size she makes up for in her unique design and formidible fire power. Things on the bridge for my first day on duty were pretty quiet aside from a sudden lack of judgement by a nearby civilian ship that veered into the Creeks flight path causing me to maneuver off course to avoid potential collission. Everyone for the most part basically kept to themselves engaged in their individual tasks. I am excited to be onboard the Creek with such a capable crew to work with and look forward to the missions that lie ahead. A chance for the opportunity of maintaining peace and for peaceful exploration. All I can say is that my father would be proud.

McKenna out.

Got a New TOS book recommendation here Folks!

 

"The Delta Anomaly" by Rick Barba is the first in a series of Young Adult books set in the re-invented Classic Star Trek universe. I was initially skeptical regarding a YA series of New Trek novels, but decided to check out the first one just in case.

 

The character focus is on Cadet Kirk, Cadet McCoy, and Cadet Uhuru. Commander Spock is featured in a supporting role. The main plot deals with an inter-stellar serial killer stalking the streets of San Francisco. The secondary plot(s) focus on the three young officers as they study at the prestigious Starfleet Academy, though this focus is on Kirk as he completes command requirements. We get to glimpse both McCoy and Uhuru at work though, and I liked this insight into the campus life.

 

The novel, like the 2009 film, is fast paced. It was pretty good, and I've certainly read worse novels. If you're a Trek reader or are just interested in getting another glimpse into our time line, I recommend Delta Anomaly. It's currently available in Kindle, Hardback, and Softcover additions.

Awesome Captain! I put it on order. Perfect timing as I'd just finished another novel and was beginning to feel readers withdrawel... :P

She's a beautiful ship and I will very much enjoy being her pilot. "First to go, last to know....

Just had a moment with regard to Holiday songs airing on the radio: Air Supply singing "Winter Wonderland". Air Supply? Really? Holy 1980's Batman! Does every singer/band out there need to record a version of a Holiday song, like a mandate or something?

 

I admit though, I like the "Grinch" rendition by a band calling themselves the Whirling Dervishes.

 

Okay, continue with your daily stuff. The whole Air Supply Christmas song thing just threw me off...God help me if the Bieber Spawn of Annoying has a Holiday CD out...please tell me he doesn't...

Bad luck Captain. This is a quote from an entertainment site about the "Spawn of Annoying" tweeting ( threatening ) to put together a holiday album.

The 16-year-old sent fans into a frenzy on Saturday when he teased that he might put out a Christmas album. He tweeted: hey @dankanter I think it’s time to make an UNPLUGGED album for the fans for the holidays….or maybe we already did…hmmmm :) maybe we need to give everybody an UNPLUGGED acoustic album with that new song I cut in Hawaii for the holidays…thoughts???

Of course he hasn't decided yet... so we might all be spared. :D

One more bit: Coming in "knowing too much" often doesn't help because you want to see the solution in something someone else did on the TV show. Simming isn't a memory contest, and some of the most interesting simming comes when the story and solution are completely new.

::Nods:: True story!

T'Pike,

Unlike the esteemed "Rihannsu" Commanding Officer claims we members of the UFOP are a lot more knowledgeable than she'd like to admit. Furthermore, if the Romulans even possessed knowledge worth bothering with - they'd build ships that would serve a purpose other than providing us Federation Officers with something to laugh at. :D

( This was a rp response )

Hello,

 

I recently found STSF.net and am interested in joining, but I am hesitant. I was wondering what knowledge of Star Trek is needed to be able to participate in a sim. I'm a big fan of The Original Series and have started to try and watch the other series as often as I can, but I have really only managed to watch a good portion of TNG.

 

Would I be lost if I tried to participate without more knowledge from the other series? I like browsing Memory Alpha, but of course that isn't quite the same as watching the episodes.

 

Thanks,

T'Pike

TPike,

That's a great question. Allow me. When I first arrived I felt the same way. I grew up watching TOS with my parents but didn't delve into TNG too much. I have little or no knowlege besides TOS and the New TOS movie. However, the members here @ STSF are more than willing and able to help any newcomers along with Trek fun facts and knowlege. Whatever you don't know and would like to know just ask. Either by post or in chat. So, to answer your question.. no you don't need to be a Trek "know it all" to sim here. You just have to be willing to participate, have fun and learn along the way. Hope that answered your question! Catch you on the bridge!

Dray,

 

We hear this request time and again, and understand that it can be frustrating when an academy sim does not come to a firm conclusion. However, academy sims are usually "one night stands" used for teaching and training; they are not meant to be run like advanced simulations, which plots may run for several months.

 

That said, if there is a desire on the part of the regular academy attendees and the GMs are in agreement, an academy plot may be extended from one week to the next, but this is not usually the case.

 

So, if you feel that you enjoyed a particular plot and would like it continued the next week, the best thing is to bring it up with the academy GMs and see if it is possible.

 

Hope this helps.

 

J

Okay. I figured I wasn't the only one to ask about this. Thanks for the reply Jami :D

I was thinking about the last few academy sims that I've participated in and one thing that I've been wanting to inquire about is the possible extension of the alotted sim time on a sim by sim basis. In other words - many times the sim plots are so deep and involved that we do not have enough time to complete the sim. I think that if at least some of the participants are able to continue on simming ( or at least enough to realistically continue the sim without everyone having to simultaneously run an npc ) and at least one of the GM's was willing to continue monitoring.. maybe after the "Sim Pause" the GM could advise whomever needed to depart could do so at that time and then establish who is willing to stay and continue the sim. This was just a thought and I wanted to run it by everyone and see if anyone agreed or not. Any thoughts? :D

Awesome job Cap! :D

Happy birthday, Admiral!

Sorry, Dray. Even though it is completely appropriate for thiis Forum, we have a rule about posting links to streaming media, so I had to remove your link to YouTube.

My apologies, Sir I was not aware. :D

linkn removed

One of my fave Trek scenes

Done and done!

Thank you, Sir! :D

You could send a PM to Atragon 9 and he can change your username for you

Thanks. I'll do that :D

http:// memory-alpha...._Infinite_Space

New ST browser game due out Summer '11. Anyone hear about it?

Anyone know if it's possible change my board name? The one that appears over my avatar? It's pretty long...

May I have "Out of my Vulcan mind." or is that too suggestive?