Patrick Stewart to be Knighted

Star Trek's very own, Patrick Stewart is getting honored with knighthood by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and thus adding the title of "Sir" to his name. The honorific will become official during a New Year's ceremony from the Queen held in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Knighthood is considered the highest honor for British citizens to "recognize service and achievement in all fields."

Patrick Stewart, 69, played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and related films. He was also Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, CIA boss Avery in American Dad, and done voice work for plenty of video games.

Congratulations to Sir Patrick Stewart.

Star Trek II Pre-Production Next Year?

Zoe Saldana has high hopes that Star Trek could come to theatres earlier then 2012 apparently. In a recent interview with MTV (while promoting Avatar), she says "I spoke to J.J. and Bryan Burk, his producing partner at Bad Robot, and they are still in the middle of building the script with Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci, and we'll probably be going into pre-production around this time next year." If true that indicates that the film could hit theaters in 2011. This possibility depends not only on script progress but JJ Abrams commitments and availability. Since Paramount has made no official sequel announcements, the group has plenty of flexibility on their approach to the film and when it will be released.

Mythbusters Take on the Gorn Cannon

A new episode of Mythbusters will air on the Discovery Channel that focuses on Star Trek's Gorn Cannon. As a huge fan of the show, I am looking forward to this episode as a nice after Christmas treat. Below is Mythbusters re-creation of the classic moment from the Original Series episode "Arena" (orginial can be watched here) and a description the episode.

On Monday, December 28, Tory, Grant and Jessi tackle a Trekkie tall tale, the Gorn Cannon! In a memorable Star Trek moment, a marooned Captain Kirk channels MacGyver and makes a bamboo bazooka while hand-mixing his own gunpowder to successfully fight off the Gorn Captain. Wearing an official Starfleet uniform in MythBusters blue, Grant takes the lead in recreating the cannon with the help of Tory and Jessi. Will they blow Captain Kirk's creation out of the water or will this cannon really take down the enemy?

It seems the show will have to answer multiple questions. One is can the right ingredients for an explosive be found out in the wild (of coures an alien world has different rules), once built can it fire off a rock and will that rock have enough force behind it to be an effective weapon? I want to say no but the show has proven my assumptions wrong enough times that I will just have to wait until next Monday to find out.

If your not familiar with Mythbusters (or a fan), Christmas Day is an excellent time to catch up as the Discovery Channel is running a marathon of the show from 9am - 3am EST. They are also doing the same for New Years Day. I am hoping it is 16 different episodes rather then the same 8 or so repeated twice like they did with Thanksgiving.

STO: Nimoy Jones Cast, Klingons, New Trailer

It may be Christmas week but Cryptic continues its blitz of information about Star Trek Online coming this February.

First up, Star Trek's original Mr. Spock, Leonard Niamey is joining the voice cast of the game. According to IGN he will provide voiceover for the game's introduction, key scenes and events. A press release further explains but to the main question, yes he will be perofrming as Spock. As the video shows, it seems he is going to be the narrator that informs gamers the state of the Star Trek Universe that they are about to join as Captains at the game's beginning.

Atari president and CEO Jim Wilson adds, "Mr. Nimoy's participation in Star Trek Online brings the game to a whole new level. When Star Trek fans hear his voice they will know that Star Trek Online truly is part of the Star Trek universe."

Star Trek Online at IGN.com

Next is a new trailer called "The Veil of Space" part one that seems designed to show off not only the graphics of the game but likely how some missions will be presented to players. It also further illustrates that the Federation is engaged in all out war with the Klingons, something always alluded to but never really seen in the various series.


Speaking of Klingons, last bit of news is a Q&A with Lead Content Designer Zeke Sparkes as he talks about the race and aspects of their PvP play. The full interview is here, a few highlights below.

- PvP is designed to be an "alternate source of character progression", not a requirement so players that don't participate will not miss out on important story elements.
- Some PvP is instanced, other use static maps. How instance is employed varies depending on mode (challenge, dueling, etc) with matchmaking based on rank.
- There is PvP and PvE only rewards in equipment but no division on how enhances the players (so PvP won equipment will help you in PvE play and vice versa)
- Klingons' problems include Romulans, Cardassians, Dominion and more.
- PvP is available from the beginning, rank based and can advance only in PvP rather than PvE if choose to (most games require PvE to rank up enough to get most out of PvP play).
- The goal is more strategic PvP play rather than straight brawl especially for PvP maps with objectives to achieve.

Sound of Star Trek

SoundworksCollection.com has released their Blu-ray featurette "The Sound of Star Trek" for everyone's enjoyment. In the video Trek's Sound crew discuss JJ Abrams and the various sounds that were developed for the movie. Some were reused from the past Trek but others were created scratch such as the warp boom, weapons, door whoosh (toilet flush from Russian train) and more. Star Trek is virtually a lock for a nomination in the Best Sound Editing & Best Sound Mixing Oscars. There is still talk of Trek getting a Best Picture nod but that possibility seems unlikely. Click here for more profiles from Soundworks for movies such as 2012, Up and more. (via TrekMovie)

Star Trek Most Pirated Film of the Year

According to TorrentFreak, Star Trek was the most pirated movie of 2010 followed by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The chart below, the number of downloads is first, the worldwide gross is second.

1 Star Trek 10,960,000 $385,459,120
2 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 10,600,000 $834,969,807
3 RocknRolla 9,430,000 $25,728,089
4 The Hangover 9,180,000 $459,422,869
5 Twilight 8,720,000 $384,997,808
6 District 9 8,280,000 $204,570,836
7 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 7,930,000 $929,359,401
8 State of Play 7,440,000 $87,784,194
9 X-Men Origins: Wolverine 7,200,000 $373,062,569
10 Knowing 6,930,000 $183,260,464

Obviously the studios are not pleased, despite breaking new records in box office grosses with a $10 billion in one year for the first time ever in just the US and Canada (totals for worldwide not released). Paramount especially has been displeased citing Star Trek multiple times in a lobby attempts to the FCC to try and get internet providers to become enforcers of copyright standards. Most of these numbers do not include the DVD rips that probably have replaced camcorder copies available over the summer. It should also be noted that these numbers are worldwide, not limited to just the United States.

Part of the outrage is the studio assumes a 1:1 ratio in illegal copies. In other words, they feel that for every copy downloaded is one copy they would have sold. Which isn't true. Which they can't even prove, but then no one has really asked them too, just accepting their nonsensical billions in lost sales as gospel. I would love for someone to explain to me how sales can increase while apparently pirating is increasing yet somehow it is affecting sales negatively.

As far as I can tell, it seems pirating has become a form of sampling for many people, used to make a decision before committing to a purchase. It’s just something they assume as part of their calculations and outrage. If someone finds a crappy camcorder quality recording of a movie, especially a FX heavy movie, acceptable then they never had any intention of going to the theatre to begin with.

I am not agreeing with pirating, I am such saying that available data and sales seems to contradict the Hollywood line. Rather than spend millions and millions fighting pirates, attacking customers and more, it seems there are better ways. When Hollywood tries to find them (iTunes, Hulu, YouTube, etc), they benefit. When they essentially manufacture numbers, turn their customers into villains, attempt to get ISPs into our daily lives to monitor internet use at a granular level, then I don't see how anybody wins.

The Shat in GQ

William Shatner is featured in the January issue of GQ that is essentially the life and times of the acting legend. Written by Andrew Corsello, he attempts to separate the man from the myth:

Near the end of the last century, during a Late Night with Conan O’Brien appearance, Shatner said that for years he’d wondered about this SHATNER he kept hearing about at Star Trek conventions, some kind of mythical presence. A man? A god? Finally, Shatner said, he realized: He was SHATNER.

The article include info about his acting career, how Shatner began to accept or at least stop caring how people didn't take him seriously as an actor after Star Trek, horses and more.

Just as good, GQ has posted up sound bites form the interview were he talks about things like archery, guns, his Kirk "emotive ginormity" and more. Those soundbytes can be found here. The Shat featured issue of GQ hits newsstands December 22nd.

STO: Klingdon Gameplay Details (Update)

Star Trek Online website has updated to reveal some of the details about how the Klingon gameplay will work for the game. As it turns out, this race will have a heavy emphasis on player-vs.-player combat, which is appropriate. However, if you’re a fan of Klingons but not PvP then you probably will not get much enjoyment out of playing them. Cryptic comments about that here. Click here for the details on the Klingons, highlights below.

Highlights:
- Klingons are not available at game start, first has to be unlocked with a Federation character (about five hours into the game).
- Klingon captains have same skills as Federation captains including professions (science, engineering or tactical).
- However, leveling is done with PvP rather than player vs. environment like the Federation. Again a choice made probably because Klingons conquer, not explore.
- Four PvP types - challenges, arena, scenarios and war zones.
- Many ship classes will be capable of cloaking.

Update: Cryptic has posted an additional Klingons Q&A. They indicated they hope to add two more ships to each faction before launch, if player demand warrents it will have Gorn, Orion, etc ships, that ship color and skim customizations will be limited compared to Federation and may add Klingon Localization (i.e. stuff done in Klingon language) but this is something the player community will have to help grow.

STO: Quito's Role Revealed

Last Saturday, during the Video Games Award, Zachary Quinto announced he would be "the voice" of Star Trek Online but no details were provided on what that meant. Now it has been revealed that he will be the voice of the Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH) 6.0 that helps guide you through the games tutorial. The EMH was first introduced in Star Trek: Voyager as a replacement for the Chief Medical Officer when he was killed in the pilot episode. Based on the video below, it appears the EMH retains its arrogance.

More Star Trek Online Videos

STO Starbase 24 Trailer and Interview

A new trailer has been released for Star Trek Online that shows off some of the tactical and space combat that will be in the upcoming MMORPG. It also seems like a good representation of how certain game scenarios may be introduced for players but that is just speculation. Video below from YouTube.



In addition, STO producer Daniel Stahl spoke with Game Zone about certain aspects of the game such as red shirts, races, cameos and more. The full interview is here, highlights below.
- All player's start as an officer starting with Lieutenant (but still captain a ship) rank but can choose tactical (red shirt) if choose too.
- Focus is on technology hinted at in Voyager and Star Trek Nemesis such as personal shields.
- Many planets in game are based on those from Star Trek television shows.
- Cameos, such as Picard and Janeway (who technically died in the novels), is unlikely.
- Combat isn't just based on personal skill set but the combined capabilities of your bridge crew or away team.
- Starfleet races include Human, Vulcan, Bolian, Andorian, Ferengi, and more. Klingon include Gorn, Orion, and Nausicaan with more also.
- Skill progression based on science, tactical or engineering career path.
- Each player will essentially have two ranks, one based on game progress and one assigned by your fleet (guild). The guild rank doesn't affect your game rank.

Star Trek On Oscar VFX Short List

Star Trek has been selected as one of fifteen semi-finalists for Achievement in Visual Effects for the upcoming Academy Awards. In early January, the list will be cut to fifteen. Next on January 21st, Academy members will screen 15-minute excerpts to choose the final three for official nomination announcement on February 2nd. The Oscar will be rewarded during the live telecast on March 7th.

The full list of semi-finalists:
Angels & Demons, Avatar, Coraline, Disney's A Christmas Carol, District 9, G-Force, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, Terminator Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 2012, Watchmen and Where the Wild Things Are (via Dark Horizons)

Quinto The Voice of Star Trek Online

During Saturday's Video Game Awards on Spike TV, Star Trek's Spock Zachary Quinto announced he is "the voice" of Star Trek Online.

Here we are at [the] Spike Video Game Awards. The biggest night in gaming is now live all over the world, so I can’t really think of a better place for me to break the news that I am now the voice of Atari’s new ‘STAR TREK ONLINE’ game. And it’s awesome. Come February 2nd, fans can finally go toe-to-toe as Federation captains and Klingon warriors in their own starships.

Exactly what "the voice" for the games does is unclear. I assume he will be providing the occasional voiceover work for various aspects of the game such as cinematics and explanation sequences. I guess it’s possible he could even reprise the role of Spock in the game as the character would technically be alive (but very old even by Vulcan standards) in the game's timeframe. I assume more details will become known as STO approaches its February release date.

Star Trek Online Hands-On and Guild System Details

PC Games Hardware has a write-up on their experience with a beta version of Star Trek Online that will be released in two months. It includes a hands-on description of game play, and vague idea of system benchmarking. Some of the impressions are subject to change as developers continue to tweak the game. Click here to read the whole thing.

Highlights:
- Character Creator provides higher level of customization then even WoW or Aion
- Ship Creator not as flexible but provides basic structure with wide variety of combinations using superstructure parts, colors to make unique looking ships.
- Ground combat similar to most MMOs but later ability to add bridge officers that you can give orders to opens up the possibilities.
- "the space battles are quite tactical but nevertheless accessible" with some fights taking "some time" to finish.
- Game engine is best on duel-core systems, not set up to take advantage of more cores. DirectX 10 and 11 is not supported (not sure what that means on Vista or Windows 7 machines).
- As far as system, it appears any system from last two years with a separate graphics card might work. I get the feeling if WoW plays on the machine, Star Trek will too.

In addition, click here to read an interview with Stephen D'Angelo, the Lead Programmer on the game as he talks about the fleet system aka the guild system.

Highlights:
- Fleets formed at Star Base for a few, currently requires at least five players, later two will be enough
- 7 ranks per fleet, each can be renamed with privileges assigned independently (invite members, remove, banking, privacy settings, etc).
- Currently fleet vaults are a set size and fleet sizes are capped at 250 with plan to increase the cap.
- Special characters will be allowed in fleet names
- One in game benefit of joining a fleet is an extra uniform slot so can create a fleet costume. That abilities includes design, layout and choose a fleet insignia from large set of predefined logos.
- Later will be possible to add fleet insignia on to the ship
- Another is a fleet log that tracks major events such as boss defeats, leveling, etc accomplished by fleet members (current limit is 500 with intent to expand).

Overall it sounds like the Guild System needs a lot of work that will take place after the game launches once they have additional input from players on what they need to make it effective.

Star Trek Online Pre-Order Incentives

Cryptic Studios has released a new press release that breaks down all the various incentives that will be available for customers that pre-order Star Trek online. The incentives are mostly in game additions such as an extra character, free ship, weapons and more. Regardless of where order, all will get access to the Open Beta and Early Star Program. Considering the game is only two months away from release, not really sure what the distinction between the two is. Probably the best extra is GameStop with Original Series USS Enterprise. A close second goes to Amazon with Liberated Borg Bridge Officer and Best Buy with Tribble or Targ pet.

Part of the press release

All Star Trek Online pre-orders receive guaranteed access to the Star Trek Online Open Beta test from January 12th to January 26th, 2010. In addition, Star Trek Online also offers an exclusive Early Start Program with pre-orders at all participating retailers that runs January 29, 2010 through launch on February 2. The Early Start Program allows players to get a leg up on other interstellar explorers and access the Star Trek universe the weekend prior to the game’s launch. Unlike beta play, all in-game progress made during the Early Start Program will carry over to the live adventure.

All customers who pre-order Star Trek Online receive access to the Open Beta and Early Start Program. Details on exclusive pre-order content for Star Trek Online include:

GameStop customers receive the ability to command the exclusive and always classic USS Enterprise from Star Trek The Original Series.

Best Buy is offering their customers a fun in-game pet. As a Federation Captain, players own a famed Tribble of Star Trek lore that will accompany them on their travels into the final frontier. As a Klingon commander, players control the boar-like Targ, a beast found on the Klingon home world of Qo’noS.

Amazon is offering an exclusive “Liberated Borg” Bridge Officer. This bridge officer, who comes with unique nanotechnology augmentations, assists in missions and gains experience as the player does.

Wal-Mart Bonus Skill Points package, receive addition skill points that enable players to improve their characters quickly.

Target customers who pre-order Star Trek Online receive a unique ground weapon – a TR-116. This rare projectile weapon is used in dampening fields and other challenging environments; it is also modified with a micro-transporter which beams the fired projectiles to targets at close range so that a user can fire without a direct line of site.

Direct2Drive customers receive an exclusive Multi-Spatial Personal Shield. This advanced personal shield system is based on Borg technology, which constantly regenerates itself and the health of its wearer.

STEAM is offering customers Chromodynamic Armor. This armor is based on technology brought back from the Delta Quadrant by U.S.S. Voyager improves the damage and critical hits of energy weapons.

Star Trek: TMP 30th Anniversary

A turn out today is the 30th Anniversary of the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture which is credited for revitalizing the franchise and leading to 10 additional films and 4 spin-offs. Click here to read a tribute from Free Enterprise producer Mark Altman about the film's place in history.

Star Trek Online Collector's Edition, Trailer and New Info

The last few days has resulted in a bunch of Star Trek Online information popping up online including a new trailer, details on the Collector's Edition of the game, D.A.C. update, and more.

Star Trek Online Collector's Edition
It took a while but finally some details on this $80 special package version of the game. It contains the same game but has extra goodies for the extra $30 it costs. According to GameStop, this version will have "deluxe packaging" with "3dx holography set in a high quality brushed aluminum finish" with magnetic closures and compartments. The Manual will be hardbound with art book and disk case all in one package. It also comes with a cast metal communicator badge based on the in game model, three 10-day free trials of the game for friends, a special in game device called Red Matter Capacitor that provides a bump in energy, and in game Next Generation and Deep Space Nine uniforms. Additionally, depending on the store, there are special pre-order in game upgradable being provided. Amazon has a Borg Bridge Officer while Gamestop modified Starfleet Constitution Class Starship. This and the regular edition will be release February 2, 2010.

New Game Trailer (mirror)
This new trailer for the game is a compilation of ships trading fire and exploding in battle. It doesn't really give you any clue about game play but does show off some of the graphics and various classes of ships in the game.


D.A.C. Deluxe Edition DLC
Available now is a free update to Star Trek D.A.C. to bring it up to the PS3 and PC versions. The DLC that adds a new mode to the game called "Survival Mode." This mode is single-player that has you trying to outlast waves of Romulan enemies. It also includes new maps, picks, customizations and more.

Daniel Stahl Interview
An interview with Star Trek Online Producer as he discusses various aspects of the game including crafting system (not really one), guild system (aka fleets with leaders, recruiting and more), economy (based on tech trading, replicator credit, and Starfleet merit), PvP (maps can have different objects), and starship bridges (each class has distinct layout with theme and layout customization allowed).

Star Trek Limited Edition Replica Unboxing

If you are curious about the Star Trek Limited Edition Replica Box Set from Amazon that is limited to 5,000 copies, check out the video below. It shows the unpacking from Amazon box all the way to the Blu-ray inserts. Overall, it appears the metal Enterprise Replica is pretty sweet looking but debatable if worth the $79 ($98 retail - $20 for Blu-ray) especially since the stand and ship are one piece.

Star Trek's Giacchino Nominated for Grammy Awards

Star Trek composer Michael Giacchino received four Grammy Award nominations as a result of his work for Star Trek and Up. The Star Trek Score received a nomination and the other three are for Up. If he doesn't win at least one, especially for "Married Life", it will be criminal. The full list of nominees is at grammy.com.

Michael Giacchino's nominations:

Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
- The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (Alexandre Desplat)
- Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (Nicholas Hooper)
- Milk (Danny Elfman) [Decca]
- Star Trek (Michael Giacchino)
- Up (Michael Giacchino)

Best Instrumental Composition
- “Borat In Syracuse” from “Jazz-Clazz” (Paquito D’Rivera) (Paquito D’Rivera Quintet)
- “Counting To Infinity” from “Dialmentia” (Tim Davies) (Tim Davies Big Band)
- “Fluffy” from “Legendary” (Bob Florence) (Bob Florence Limited Edition)
- “Ice-Nine” from “Lab 2009″ (Steve Wiest) (University Of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band)
- “Married Life” from Up (Michael Giacchino)

Best Instrumental Arrangement
- “Emmanuel” from “In Boston” (Jeremy Lubbock) (Chris Botti & Lucia Micarelli)
- “Hope” from “Revolutions” (Vince Mendoza) (Jim Beard With Vince Mendoza & The Metropole Orchestra)
- “Slings And Arrows” from “The Comet’s Tail: Performing The Compositions Of Michael Brecker (Vince Mendoza) (Chuck Owen & The Jazz Surge)
- “Up With End Credits” from Up (Michael Giacchino)
- “West Side Story Medley” from “Resonance Big Band Plays Tribute To Oscar Peterson” (Bill Cunliffe) (Resonance Big Band)

Via TrekMovie, here is a video of a live performance of "Enterprising Young Men" from the movie as conducted by Michael Giacchino.

Star Trek Toy Line Cancelled

Playmates Toys has announced that the future release of Star Trek toys for next year are "on hold" according to TrekMovie. Playmates created most of the Star Trek toys, movie related and otherwise, currently found on store shelves.

The exact cause for why the toy line has been cancelled was not revealed but it sounds like sales did not meet retail expectations as there remain plenty of toys from the initial April wave that came out with the movie's early summer release. I have seen many stores already mark down those toys and according to the report Target stores have already begun putting them up for clearance to open up shelf space.

Playmates said it remains committed to the toy line, indicating they will release toys to complete bridge and transporter playsets, but it appears its mainstream emergence has failed with Star Trek toys once again returning to the realm of the hard core collector. Overall, the film itself was a success so likely the toy line will return to store shelves once again in 2012 for the sequel, whether Playmates or another toy company does the producing and at what scale will be the question.