Games based on movies are usually terrible, but here is a look behind the scenes of creating a game that exceeded *and preceded* the Alien versus Predator movie.
Source: Video: How an 11th-hour decision made Aliens versus Predator a classic
Author: johnk
The Kobayashi Maru Event!
PC Captains of all three factions will get to face Starfleet’s most infamous test, the Kobayashi Maru, this weekend! — Star Trek Online
Source: The Kobayashi Maru Event! | Star Trek Online
We finally get to go where everyone has wanted to go without realizing it–into the Kobayashi Maru simulator! The nacelles-as-cargo-pods kitbash is a little odd, but I really shouldn’t complain; Cryptic’s reusing the utterly gorgeous reskin of the Reliant. Many if not all of the parts for the TNG kit bashes are available, as are some really sexy modernized parts created by Cryptic for the T6 Reliant–best nacelles EVAR! So much Space Barbie fun!
The Constitution also got long-needed TLC including the pilot version and an utterly gorgeous reskinned Enterprise Refit. The pearlescent tiled hull and those swept-back struts still make me sigh. Do I love the k’t’inga more? An impossible question! But there’s no doubting Thomas Marrone‘s love of his work and his subject:
Alas, a T6 Connie is not something I possess, but I did unlock the T2 Excalibur which can wear the Connie Refit skin so I may have to tool around in sector space with her. OK, I admit it. If you saw me in sector space with an original Connie, that was the T1 Constitution from buying the game pre-launch. I’ll still run her on one of my duty assignment alts, but now I have to decide: pilot or series nacelles?
Star Trek Online: Best Space Wars simulator ever?
The upcoming season of Star Trek Online features an instance with a black hole, and Cryptic dev “trekhead” couldn’t resist turning it into a PVP map. Yes, boys and girls, STO just became a giant Spacewar!/Space Wars simulator with a huge graphical update!
That early vector-graphics arcade game ate more than a handful of my quarters in the distant past, but it’s not the only blast from that past with Season 12. Remember the Breen Rezreth Dreadnaught Cruiser? It wasn’t just the game’s Rock Lobster; it always reminded me of the Cygnus from the Disney flick The Black Hole. See for yourself:
I haven’t touched PVP in years even though I have many fond memories. In STO’s first year, PVP was how Klingons leveled: there was great PVP to be had at every tier all the time. Since then, balance went out the window for a bunch of reasons, and it’s just too much grind to be competitive with the min/maxers and pre-mades. Regardless, I’ve already dusted off my Rock Lobster and renamed her Cygnus. I’ll definitely queue up for this PVP map a few times before hitting the hyperspace warp-out button back to PVE.
Here’s the big unanswered question for me: Is the black hole map going to be a Foundry asset?
UPDATE: R.R.W. Cygnus with Reman Prototype Shield
