Stewart, Shatner Talk Abrams and More

Last weekend, an official Star Trek Convention was held in San Francisco that included a panel with William Shatner and Sir Patrick Stewart. Information wise nothing was revealed, except Shatner has not seen the film but a determined JJ Abrams has set up a screening just for him on the Paramount lot in a few weeks.

The full report can be found here at TrekMovie.com. The highlights mostly include Stewart's joke about rebooting the Next Generation era with a 10 year Riker, Data as R2-D2 and Troi being played by Lady Gaga. Shatner asked for a good word to be put in with the Queen by the newly knighted Stewart for his own knighthood. Shatner, not being an English citizen, will probably remain disappointed.

Updated Star Trek Book Schedule

Pocket Books has released its 2010 schedule of Star Trek books now that the four Star Trek movie books are no longer planned. Other then the removal the rest of the scheduled remains mostly on track from the one released last year. Full details here, brief summary below.

In general, most of the books set on DS9, the Next Generation Enterprise, etc all take place post in the post Star Trek: Nemesis era but around 20 years before the events of JJ Abram's Star Trek movie or 50 years before Star Trek Online's timeframe. The Typhon Pact (below) is a new coalition between the "evil" Star Trek races of Romulans, Tholians, Gorn, Breen, Tzenkethi, and Kinshaya that was a response to the near destruction of their universe by a Borg Invasion in the Destiny series of books. The Borg was defeated but the Federation suffered huge losses with multiple worlds and cities destroyed. This creates a unique opportunity of expansion that the Pact hopes to take advantage of.

01/10: Inception (TOS era)
02/10: Star Trek New Frontier: Treason by Peter David (post TNG movie era)
02/10: Star Trek: Seven Deadly Sins
03/10: Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many (post TNG movie era)
03/10: Star Trek: Unspoken Truth (TOS movie era)
04/10: Star Trek: The Children of Kings (Christopher Pike era)
06/10: Star Trek SCE: Out of the Cocoon (post DS9 era)
07/10: Star Trek SCE: What's Past (post DS9 era)
08/10: Star Trek (2009) (movie novelization, ST2.0 era)
09/10: Star Trek: TNG Nightshade (reprint of 1992 book, TNG era)
10/10: Star Trek: Typhon Pact #1: Seize the Fire (Titan)
10/10: Star Trek: Typhon Pact #2: Zero Sum Game (Aventine)
11/10: Star Trek: Myriad Universes: Shattered Light (three what if stories)
12/10: Star Trek: Typhon Pact #3: The Rough Beasts of Empire (DS9)
01/11: Star Trek: Typhon Pact #4: Paths of Disharmony (TNG Enterprise)

Quinto Taking Two Year Trek Break

In a new interview with Wired Magazine, Zachary Quinto revealed he intends to take a break from all things Star Trek now that the film has been released and he has completed his voice work for Star Trek Online MMORPG. This does not mean the new Spock is leaving the franchise just that with no movie coming until 2012 and production probably not starting until summer of 2011, he intends to pursue other projects and shift his focus away from all things Star Trek.

From Wired:

During his shore leave from Star Trek, Quinto has several projects in the replicator. He plans to do some acting that doesn’t require green screens or eyebrow plucking. “I’m stepping away from that genre and exploring a lot of other territory,” he said. The actor said he hopes his fans, used to seeing him in more fantastical settings, will join him. “I want to invite them along with me on my journey, which is going to take them out of their comfort zone and into other areas and other styles of storytelling,” he said.

The story did create some confusion so he posted a clarification on his official blog:

i have been inundated with questions and confusion about a comment i made during an interview with wired - about the new atari star trek online game - in which i said i am stepping away from trek for the next two years. obviously i will be a part of any upcoming films... reprising my role as spock. what i meant was that in the meantime i won't be making any public appearances related to the franchise - or doing any more auxiliary projects pertaining to the trek universe. i will be focusing my efforts on other projects and preparing to shoot the next film - which will be released in june of 2012... two years from now. hence the no trek for two years remark. worry not trekkers. it was a misunderstanding of context. i am not spock. but i am spock. all at the same time.

ll & p.
zq.

Nimoy's Star Trek Online Intro

Star Trek Online is getting officially released next Tuesday. For your enjoyment, below is the introduction video from the game as narrated by Leonard Nimoy. In the role of Spock he summarizes the events in the Star Trek Universe from when the Hobus star destroyed Romulus and Remus in the recent Star Trek movie through events to just before the beginning of the game. Sadly the post-Spock future for Star Trek is war; war with Klingons, Romulans, the Borg and more.

Star Trek Online Beta Ends with Borg

The release of Star Trek Online is just weeks away and yesterday the Beta testing phase ending with a bang. It started with a Klingon invasion and ended with the Borg. Video footage below of the resulting battle both in space and on a space station complete with exploding Borg cubes, Borg spheres and more. The videos also give a great look at what open warfare with lots of players looks like in the game along with look and sounds of the game. The result looks pretty darn fun.

The game will officially launch this Friday for "head start" for Beta testers and others with the game hitting store shelves this Tuesday. Sadly I don't have a computer that can handle this game so have to live vicariousily through others.

Writers Talk Sequel Villian Goals

Star Trek writing duo of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman continue to drop hints about ideas they are considering for the 2012 sequel, this time with the Coventry Telegraph.

One idea that remains a possibility is the Star Trek 2.0 version of Khan, made famous by Ricardo Montalban in the classic series and in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The goal is to make the villain "hugely significant."

"I think our idea on this is that the first of any series is about them coming together or the formation. I couldn't really tell you what Jeff Bridges was doing in Iron Man, but it doesn't matter at all because it is all about Iron Man becoming Iron Man. Whereas I think sequels are very much about the villain. Because while [in the first one] the villain serves to bring the crew together, the second one I think has to be a true challenging of what that family is about. That is why Wrath of Khan was so amazing. Khan tested each one of them and ultimately asked for the ultimately sacrifice, and that is why that movie held up so well."

On the setting for the story, Orci explained: "We would never do a remake....it will be some time in the five-year mission. But that is a question. Should we pick them up immediately the next day or should it be later, we are still discussing that."

Sequel Update for Orci

Finally a post that has something to do with Star Trek movies rather than the online game. Thanks to TrekMovie, there is an update of sorts about the sequel. Star Trek writer particapted in a brief video interview with the site where he talks about discussing the sequel, being nominated for a WGA award, and other Trek related topics. To view the full interview click here.

To sum the sequel update, the script is still in the spitballing phase but "opinions are starting to form" noting "Now that we have absolute freedom, it comes with absolute responsibility and it's daunting." A goal is to try to use classic Trek that will "harmonize with canon" but still be original and "we will not do a remake." The expectation is seems to be that once story idea is formed, the script will flow quickly and hopefully pre-production can start this year. With the film's release now set for two and half years from now they have plenty of time to fine tune their idea and with no strikes to get in the way like with the first film.

100 Reasons Kirk Better Than Picard

Click here for amusing list that compares Star Trek: The Original Series' James T. Kirk with The Next Generation's Jean Luc Picard and explains why Kirk is the better Enterprise Captain.

A few favorites:

1. When Data died, Picard had a funeral. When Spock died, Kirk reconstituted the body, forced it's soul back in, and even got him laid along the way.

4. Picard's Enterprise was destroyed by a couple of Klingon chicks while he was stranded on a desert planet. Kirk's Enterprise was destroyed when he blew up a crew of Klingons, stole their ship, and resurrected Spock from the dead.

45. When Klingons invaded Picard's Enterprise he carefully neutralized them.
When Klingons invaded Kirk's Enterprise, twice, he had a massive sword fight with them the first time and blew the ship up under their @$$ the second time.

85. When Kirk disguised himself as a Romulan, he stole a cloaking device and used it to escape to Federation space. When Picard disguised himself as a Romulan he ate some soup and then got captured.

100. Style: Kirk did it first, he did it better and he did it wearing gold velour and Beatle-boots with a space girl on each arm.

Klingons, Cardassians, and Beta Update

The release date for Star Trek Online is ever close and Cryptic continues to release information. There are three new trailers, beta update (with more Spock), and details on the Cardassian faction.

Trailers
Klingon Montage - Klingons fighting it out in space and on land between their houses and the Federation.
Cardassian Faction - First look at the Cardassians, some of their ships and maybe the interior of Deep Space Nine (not sure).
Vigilant Class Ship - A look at the Federation starship in action.

Beta Update:
A huge update was pushed out for the game that attempts to fix known bugs, removed the level cap, makes Cardassian and Romulan space accessible to the Federation, and adds scanning function and more.

Cardassians Profile
Details on this military race as they stand within the Star Trek Universe but no specifics on capabilities. The Cardassians remain weak after the near destruction of their planet at the end of the Dominion War (series finale of Deep Space Nine) and are still attempting to rebuild. While the civilian government prefers peace, The True Way prefers a return of the military order of conquest.

Star Trek Online Beta Video Preview, More

Star Trek Online is now in its second week of Open Beta as testing continues for its official February launch date. As part of that, Gamespot has put together a video that shows off some of the early gameplay elements including character creation and starship control. In addition, Cryptic has a state of the game summary for the first week of Beta while also providing a few more details on Klingon gameplay.

STO Beta Video Preview


State of the Game: 1/18
Update from Cryptic after first week of Open Beta. They report much either then expected participating in Open Beta with improvements on game stability. Alpha strikes (team concentrates attack on player) is leading to difficult space combat. Workaround is tighter formation and fix will be in next patch. PvP map and queue issues being worked on. Bridge Officers added as level up and now have ability to be renamed and tailored but sex and species customization currently off. UI improvements being prepped, star cluster mission bugs being fixed, scanning feature, and level cap will likely be removed with next patch.

Cryptic Talks Klingons
An interview with STO Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich as he discusses the Klingons and PvP elements in the upcoming game. The Klingons gameplay is mostly PvP but does have PvE. A player's time will be spent battling the Federation and rival Klingon Houses. Its seems most Klingon vs Federation confrontations will take place along the Neutral Zone. Klingon races include Gorn, Orion, Nausicaan and ability to create own race.

Star Trek Movie Tie-In Books On Hold

According to TrekMovie.com, the four tie-in books written for the new universe created in the recent Star Trek movie are being put on hold in light of the announcement that a sequel is planned for 2012 release.

From a Simon & Schuster's Pocket Books spokesperson:

With last summer’s blockbuster STAR TREK movie, JJ Abrams created a new vibrant, layered version of the Star Trek universe. After careful consideration, we decided to hold off on telling new stories while JJ and his team continue to develop his vision.

The books were going to be Star Trek: Refugees, by Alan Dean Foster (May release), Star Trek: Seek A Newer World, by Christopher L. Bennett (June), Star Trek: More Beautiful than Death, by David Mack (July), and Star Trek: The Hazard of Concealing, by Greg Cox (August) all of which were nearly complete.

IDW has published comics set in the new Star Trek universe but bear in mind they are either prequels (Countdown) or took place during the movie (Nero). The books were intended to be set after the movie took place so I guess the publisher has reservations about making the novels invalid or confusing fans of the new universe with conflicting "facts" of continuity. It makes me wonder if maybe Paramount is planning a more unified Star Trek continuity much like George Lucas has with Star Wars where the movies, novels, comics, and video games all exist in the same universe and don't contradict each other continuity wise.

Star Trek Online Subscription Pricing Announced

Cryptic has finally announced just how much it is going to cost to play Star Trek Online for around the world. With MMORPG, the price isn't in the initial price of the game (usually around $50) but also a monthly fee (usually around $15) to connect to the servers to enjoy the online world of the game with other players.

For STO, the game has multiple tiers of payment options. There is the usual month tier structure with a 1 month recurring ($15), 3 month ($42 = $14 per month), and 6 month ($78 = $13 per month). The company is also offering a limited time exclusive that will expire on February 1st, 2010 (a week before the game comes out).

For $239.99 you can get lifetime access to the game, a playable Borg character, and two additional character slots. Usually for MMORPG, "lifetime" is around five to ten years. However, the price is also the same as 14 months at $15 so for those that is confident about how long they will be playing the game it is probably worth seriously considering.

If you’re not sure about a "lifetime" commitment, there is also the $119.99 per year subscription (equal to $10 per month) that will reoccur each year. This locks you in at the price and includes the two additional character slots but no Borg character.

Complete details can be found here.

As for the Borg here are its traits:

The Liberated Borg begins with the following two traits. You can select another two traits from a general list.

Borg Nanites: +10% Health Regeneration
Description: Ground Trait. Constantly regenerates shields and health.

Efficient: +5 Starship Shield Efficiency, +5 Starship Engine Efficiency, +5 Starship Energy Weapon Efficiency, +5 Starship Auxiliary Systems Efficiency
Description: Space Trait. Provides a bonus to efficiency stats, improving the effectiveness of many of your power management abilities.

The Liberated Borg also has a unique optional trait.

Neural Blast: 30 second debuff. Drastically reduces run speed. Every 4 seconds, Neural Blast has a 40% chance to hold the target for 3 seconds.
Description: Activatable Ground Trait. Inject the target with neural toxins, which continually attempt to hold the target for the duration. Also reduces the target's movement speed.

It is times like this I wish had a greater web presence so could play this game for free like other bloggers probably are.

STO: Open Beta Begins, New Trailer and Q&As

The week has barely begun but already lots of new stuff regarding Star Trek Online. The MMORPG is coming in February but if that is too long a wait the Open Beta has official begun. The Beta is running from 1/12 to 1/26 is generally available only to those that pre-ordered the game or received it through their partners. To sign in or get more information about Open Beta click here.

In the meantime, below is the new Klingon Faction trailer for the game that shows up the Klingon side of the game which is much more PvP oriented then the Federation side. It doesn't show much, more hinting at the possibilities which look pretty interesting.


Last bit of news is two interviews with staff from the game. Jack Emmert briefly discusses the PvP elements of the game (here) while Al Rivera talks about the starships of the game (here).

Highlights:
- PvP optional, mechanics focus on Klingon vs Federation
- Items sold for Cryptic Points will follow the Champion's Online model (nope not sure what that means).
- Klingons have 4 types of cruiser, 4 science vessels, 5 types of Birds of Prey, and one type of Carrier.
- The Carrier, battle cruiser, raider, and raptor unlock when achieve General level
- Kits change look for ground action, currently no items to change Klingon ship look.
- Going up in ranks gives you new ships or unlocks new options within a ship.
- Players can have up to eight ships can be kept at a time. At top level have six ships that can swap between depending on mission needs.
- A ship is given free but can also purchase additional ships with the Energy currency.
- Upgrades can be swapped from ship to ship.
- Two cloaks (standard and battle). Standard cannot be used in battle. Cloaking does force shields to drop and player unable to fire. Cloaking not perfect so strong sensors with enough energy or get too close will make you targetable. Also enough energy to cloak improves it.

Orci, Kurtzman Up for WGA Award

It is award season as multiple studios, productions and people jockey for position on the coveted Academy Award (Oscar) nomination list and hopeful win. As part of that all the guilds (writer, director, actor, etc), various associations all have their own awards which can often influence the Oscar nominations and eventual winner.

Today it is The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) turn to announce their list of nominations for writing and the writing team of Star Trek received a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman will find out if they won on February 20, 2010. The full list of writing nominations is here. Below is their competition. Good luck to both but sadly it is probably going to either Precious or Up in the Air.

WGA's Best Adapted Screenplay nominations
- Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper; Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb
- Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron; Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme
- Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher; Based on the novel Push by Sapphire
- Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry
- Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn

Star Trek 2 Set for June 29th, 2012

Multiple online sources are reporting that Paramount has tentatively scheduled Star Trek II for release on June 29th, 2012. The date is subject to change but it appears the studio is hoping to build on the success of the first movie and lock down the July 4th weekend for themselves. The information comes from TrekMovie, Box Office Mojo and FirstShowing.com.

Paramount's initial goal was to aim for a summer 2011 release date but Star Trek's writing team of Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof indicated months ago that the date seemed unlikely as they and Director JJ Abrams all have other projects (Cowboys & Aliens, Fringe, Mission Impossible IV and more) they are working on for the next year making it difficult to get a script together and start production in time to meet that date. By setting a date, it gives the team plenty of time to clear their schedules to make time to work on the script and increases the odds of JJ Abrams signing on to direct, something he has been reluctant to commit too due to the scheduling issues.

Even better, the summer 2012 schedule is pretty empty as other studios have not yet announced their intentions as they usually they wait till the year before to commit to a schedule so by doing this Paramount may avoid any schedule musical chairs for that period as the other studios are going to be reluctant to have their big budget blockbuster compete against Star Trek and risk losing the weekend and thus any momentum to become profitable for that film. This in turn increases Star Trek's chances of success and a continuation of the franchise.

Any case at least now fans have a schedule to circle in the calendar, I just recommend doing it in pencil as the date could change for plenty of circumstances could arise over the next two and a half years necessitating a change.

Update: According to Variety, Paramount has now officially confirmed the intended release date.

Star Trek Remains on Oscar VFX Shorter List

The number of movies still in contention for an Academy Award for Visual Effects has gone from 15 to 7 according to the LA Times. Fortunately Star Trek remains on the list. Some contenders removed include Watchmen, Sherlock Holmes, and A Christmas Carol. Remaining contenders:

- Star Trek
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
- Avatar
- District 9
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Terminator Salvation
- 2012

The next step in the process is for the Academy's VFX panel to view 15-minute clips and vote on three as the official nominees for the award. The final three will be announced on February 2nd with the winner rewarded during the ceremony on March 7th. Avatar is a clear lock for one of the spots (and likely the award winner). My guess the final two spots are between Transformers: ROTF, Star Trek, and 2012.

STO: Exploration Trailer

Cryptic has released a new trailer for Star Trek Online, this one highlighting traveling and the exploration of space and planets.

Star Trek Online Early Levels Preview

Massively.com has posted a report on the early levels of the upcoming MMORPG Star Trek Online to give an idea what to expect to get going into it (and before can get to the Klingon content). The full article is here, highlights below.

Highlights:
- Character creation has lots of options including android, ear shapes, and more.
- Opening movie and character control involves you as an ensign with ship under attack by the Borg. During the course of a ship rescue, get field promotion to Captain and join the fleet in the fight.
- Zachary Quito's EMH guides rookies through with tips and tricks.
- After fight get to customize your new Miranda class ship including nacelles, strut, saucer and more while retaining the Star Trek look.
- After this, the vastness of space is available to explore including Romulan and Klingon territories (but not advised at an early level).
- Story driven missions given out by non-playable characters (NPC), mostly admirals on space stations and planets that often include multiple objectives. Some involve killing, others involve diplomatic only solutions (so no killing).
- Fleet action missions involve "big battles between huge forces" that can be assigned or encountered while exploring and often involve ground combat.