Dev Watch with Airik Boldly going where no one has gone before, STO is confirmed to go Free to Play by the end of this year, originally skeptical as this would not be the first rabble rousing post on the forums over this matter I was won around when Dan Stahl Executive producer of Star Trek Online essentially Confirmed this.
The Original post is here http://forums.startrekonline.com/sho...d.php?t=230101
Dan Stahl then followed with thisOkay, here is what you need to know about F2P which is coming to STO by the end of the year.
This is from the Q2 2011 Earnings Conference Call on August 22, 2011 for Perfect World Co., Ltd.
Transcript can be found here. Found here http://seekingalpha.com/article/2891...ipt?part=qanda
This is from the QA part:
Operator
Thank you. Your next question comes from Nan Lee, SIG. Please ask the question.
Nan Lee – SIG
Thank you for taking my question. Good morning, everyone. I just have a quick follow-up question on the acquisition of Cryptic Studios. You mentioned about the impact on the top-line, could you also comment on the impact on the OpEx in the third quarter and also the future quarter? Well, can you please also comment the potential margin impact? Thank you.
Vivien **** (VP, IR and Corporate Communications)
[Foreign Language – Chinese]
Kelvin Lau (CFO)
As I mentioned, I think Cryptic, we’re going to consolidate the Cryptic’s financial statements starting from mid August. So clearly when that was compared with the whole group, it is still small and insignificant. So I do expect the revenue contribution from Cryptic will be not be so significant in Q3, especially only one-and-a-half months of consolidation.
Cryptic, the situation right now there, they have almost turnaround very recently, so the impact on the bottom line is also very minimal to the whole group. So as mentioned, we are expecting the big titles we recognized which is going to be launched in the coming year. So – and then we will keep on adding for acquiring Cryptic is previously Cryptic is very keen on looking on all those substitution based model game.
So when Perfect World acquired Cryptic, one of the contribution from Perfect World to Cryptic is we can share our free-to-play experience with Cryptic. So I want to emphasize is that never we’ve done a free-to-play model game, so we’re going to launch this game in US and also in China, so we expect to run these type if free-to-play model game. We have a bigger potential in US and also in China. And also Star Trek Online, after the acquisition, in fact Cryptic is working on the free-to-play model for Star Trek Online. This is going to be launched by the end of this year as well. So I think free-to-play model we have a bigger potential in US market and also in China market. Thank you.
Take a look at it all. It is a good read and will give you some inside into what PWE is planning.
he then posted this in the same threadhahahahahahahOriginally Posted by Zodi-emish
I find this thread funny... because here is what is happening at cryptic studios
( Stormshade ) *picks up the phone and calls Dstahl* Dan... they know.
( Dstahl ) How? we were to keep it quiet.. were not even ready to tell them what happened. are you sure it is not that nagus guy and that nut job Zodi.. gah I told you to ban him a long time ago.
( Stormshade ) No. Perfect world released a conference call, and out right said that they are going free to play. then the member of the forums found this and started spreading the news sir.
( Dstahl ) Gah.. why did I go into making a Sci Fi MMOs. The fan base is to smart. Oh well. I must get ready. going to make a speech in the morning on the forums. Also Stormshade
( Stormshade ) Yes Sir
( Dstahl ) would you finally get around to baning zodi.
( Stormshade ) Yes my Lord. * hangs up the phone. *
okay some of that might be fiction but I am willing to bet that it is going down like this.
Also I am joking about the Dark lord of the crypt Darth Dstahl.
Close but no cigar...
this tooThere are certainly a lot of questions you may have about this news. The team is working on an FAQ and side by side comparison details that will spell out very clearly what this means for Lifetime and Subscription members. Until then, please stay tuned as we confirm all the details.
then thisThe goal has been to leave subscriptions alone and ensure that you enjoy all the same benefits you have today (if not more). There will be more details on this soon.Originally Posted by Geoff_484
This is how I'm going to feel once f2p gets implemented
For us standard subscribers, is anything going to change? I read in another post that foundry might end up being for something for only lifers.
and the final one to dateWe are well aware and There Is A Plan™Originally Posted by Rhodes85
indeed. I finally got around to playing my klingon two days ago. there isn't a whole lot to do aside from repeating the same missions over and over. though so far i've managed to get to Commander 1 in two days so....
there definately needs to be SOME additions made to the klingon faction at the very least, before it goes free. make it so there are 2 or 3 missions per rank and then release. that will at least placate a few people if more content is confirmed to be coming.
Now the big news is out of the way i bring news of a Klingon nature direct from Heretica) perfect world are pros at this stuff - if you check out their site, they have quite a few MMOs runningOriginally Posted by Jonathan_Kent
Then keep your fingers crossed that they are planning for a major hardware upgrade....
b) the season 4 "code merge" was a huge performance upgrade to our core server technology
c) more hardware is on the way
http://forums.startrekonline.com/sho...73#post3723673Both of these should eventually be coming. #1 should be happening with the release of the rest of the new ships as I understand it. #2 should happen even sooner; it's done internally, and is gurgitating through the system's arteries to Tribble and eventually to Holodeck.Originally Posted by Cleto_Deadman
There are only two things that I would say top my list for carrier requests:
1. I want that mdule from the Oberth. The one that boost auxiliary and shields.
2. I want the spam (BOP or Fithers) to stay out and not redock everytime I am not at red alert.
http://forums.startrekonline.com/sho...13#post3723713Originally Posted by Vampir888
So we can expect the changes Sep 22? Everything seems to happen on Sept 22 so I'm just guessing.There are a number of internal dates, but lots of dependencies and requirements for QA and Production stamps-of-approval, so it's really hard to guesstimate exactly when individual pieces will ship.Originally Posted by Trek17
so... when IS the release of all those new ships CaptLogan's been working on? as we understand it, the earliest anything is coming (besides the borg invasion event) is sept 22
come on... give us a hint, please, and i'll give you some cake
That being said, most of this work is either done or actively under development, so is well in the pipeline.
This on TOS Era Phasers, Just in time for our TOS PvP night comming up
http://forums.startrekonline.com/sho...81#post3727081Nothing got nerfed. They were always both the same. They showed up as Blue quality, but always only ever had one Crit Chance Enhancement. So they showed as blue Quality, but were really only Green.Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyHappyJoyJoy
So Dividians get a buff, while the C-Store ones stay the same?
*shrugs*
Okay I guess.
IIRC, the Connie's phasers were blue quality.
So the Devidian phasers stay the same, TOS Connie phases get a nerf, but both are no longer unique.
The Connie ones are still listed as Blue because they still have the one Crit Chance Enhancement, but they are also leveless, so that, in our opinion, qualifies them as Blue.
The ones from the Devidian arc were never true blue quality. They had the same one Crit Chance Enhancement. They showed as Blue simply because they were different (this was probably confusing to some). A second Damage Enhancement is now added to these, so now they are better (not nerfed, made better). They will remain as Blue quality, which is now an accurate measurement
A STO Public service anouncement concerning the tribble test shard
http://forums.startrekonline.com/sho...33#post3726833Hi folks,
We recently noticed a few characters on Tribble that were in a bad state, and causing issues for the Tribble Shard. If you log into Tribble, and notice that you have a character missing which you had imported, please do not worry, simply re-import the character to Tribble and continue testing.
Thanks,
Stormshade
) and that's because i simply can't afford the subscription. I've been playing since the closed beta, bought the collectors edition, and played for more than a year. Doing the math.. i've spent allmost 400 Euro's on this game!!! That's a bloody world record for me personally. Never ever have i spent more on software than on STO. and what do i have to show for it now my divorce and single parenthood slashed STO out of my budget? A badge, a book and a nice looking box to keep them in... 
