Star Trek Online Dev Log Looks at Game Systems, First Screenshot

The latest Star Trek Online Dev Log 5.0 is up as is the very first STO screenshot pictured above. Having covered much of the low-level processes of STO development such as terrain and object design in previous entries, this article focuses in on gaming systems, beginning with the Interaction System.

The Interaction System was designed with a few simple goals in mind; keep it simple,  intuitive, consistent, Trek and above all fun. According to the log it’s better to ask what players can’t interact with in STO.

When playing on the “ground” (the surface of a planet, the promenade of a space station, or the interior of an “abandoned” Borg cube, etc.), players will use the Interaction System to chat with terrified aliens, order cups of Earl Grey from station replicators, launch games of chance from charming Dabo girls, and get missions from Starfleet superiors, among scores of other activities. All of these interactions, from the mundane to the sublime, will be launched by the most casual of mechanisms (”Keep it Simple”): a single right-click of the mouse on a neutral or friendly NPC.

While flying through space in a starship, players will use the Interaction System in exactly the same way (”Keep it Consistent”)… but the NPCs the player will interact with will reflect more of the awesome diversity of the Star Trek universe. In space, players can respond to hails from officials on distant planets, or get orders from the commanders of besieged space stations, or do business with the owners of untrustworthy Orion shipyards, simply by right-clicking on those planets, space stations, or shipyards in exactly the same manner as if they were on the ground. In fact, the Interaction System is often the key to the player’s ability to transition between space and ground.

via Star Trek Online