So, about that giveaway I mentioned....

No sooner do I make this posting http://startrekquesnel.blogspot.ca/2016/01/hurry-i-just-found-out-giveaway-from-sto.html  that I jump into the game and try to collect my prizes. However, I run into a slight roadblock to that goal. It seems it wasn't available to me, despite following the directions given.

So, I opened up the Star Trek Online forums and made my first posts there http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline/#/discussion/1211143/seems-i-am-not-worthy-to-claim-a-giveaway in hopes of getting a response from the community. I had suspicions of this possible scenario, since I tried claiming other prizes that wouldn't go into my account, but from promotional codes.

The first answer back was what I was expecting. I had held out hope, since this was a special occasion, I could still be able to claim these ships, even to be unlocked by my characters at a later date. However, this just wasn't meant to be.

Too bad, doesn't give me much incentive to keep playing now, does it?

Hurry, I just found out, a giveaway from STO!

Since I have been spending most of my gaming time on Star Trek Timelines, I haven't kept any of my eyes on Star Trek Online. So, with very little time left to cash in on a giveaway, I will post this here, just in case you happen to be playing too and didn't know about it either https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/9739823

Starship Sunday V

Starship Sunday is a showcase feature of cannon spacecraft seen in Star Trek television episodes and movies.

This week; USS Bozeman, NCC-1941, Soyuz Class. Seen on Star Trek The Next Generation, Episode 5x18 Cause and Effect. First aired 23 March 1992.

In 2278, Starship Bozeman entered an area of space known as the Typhon Expanse and was reported lost when it entered a temporal distortion. Later, in 2368, the Bozeman was able to escape the distortion and encountered the Enterprise D, but both ships collided, causing the Enterprise to be destroyed. Being within a close proximity to the unstable temporal distortion, a temporal causality loop was formed where Bozeman continually and repeatedly encounter, collide and destroy the Enterprise over and over.

Eventually, the Enterprise crew would change this pre-determined series and outcomes of events and both ships were freed of the loop. The crew of the Bozeman would learn there were almost one hundred years in the future, from when they started their last voyage.

The Bozeman, still in active service, would be forced to make a course correction when the Amargosa star was destroyed in 2371. Two years later, the Bozeman was back in action when a Borg cube invaded Sector 001, a part of the defending Earth fleet.

Make time for the lines

In Star Trek related gaming, I have been spending a little more time on my Android app, Star Trek Timelines than my PC game. Slowly leveling up....

....discovering some interesting bugs, some which are amusing....

....another gave me a temporary advantage to the game.

I finally collected a doctor, a character with a very elusive trait it seems, to finish off some previously uncompleted missions, due to being locked to not having one.

Although I have unlocked a lot of the universe so far, I find myself going back to finish off episode and playing them over and over, in an attempt to collect rare rewards and level my characters up.

There's no hurry really, I have all the time in....

What ever happen to....

....the Vulcan Shuttle Surak? Only ever seen for a brief moment, during Start Trek The Motion Picture, delivering Spock to the disabled Starship Enterprise. I thought how it docked was pretty cool too!

However, after this short scene, it was just gone. And, when I mean gone, poof, never to be seen again onscreen. This has always struck me as odd, since Star Trek, from the shows through the movies, has recycled many ship models in either their original form or modified to stand-in for something else/new. But, not this one?

Even out in the real world, only one model was produced. Although the box art has been updated over the years....

....finding one in a local store can be a daunting task. The internet has opened up the possibilities of acquiring one with better success, these days.

Still, I wonder if this forgotten ship will ever make another appearance onscreen, someday....

What if?

With the third Star Trek movie, set in the J.J. Abrams' re-visioned but alternate universe, set for release soon, I thought I would have a look back and consider something. With a new cast and other big changes, what if one thing wasn't changed from the Star Trek most of us have known all our lives?

If you have seen the first two films or not, you might be familiar with the above picture anyways. Right before the first movie rolled into theaters, there was a mass media blitz of commercials on just about every electronic device that could broadcast them.

This simple scene from those commercials, showing the Enterprise under construction in an Iowa field (yeah, but don't go there) set in motion a mixed bags of emotions on how this icon was....changed....improved....altered....pick your own wording.

However, what if the ship remained as it always was, as many wished it would have stayed as, how it could have been....

 

Starship Sunday IV

Starship Sunday is a showcase feature of cannon spacecraft seen in Star Trek television episodes and movies.

This week; HMS Bounty, Klingon K'Vort Class. Renamed for Star Trek IV The Voyage Home, released 26 November 1986.

In 2285, the commander and crew of the late Starship Enterprise captured a Klingon Bird of Prey, while in orbit above the Genesis Planet. Under new command, the Bird of Prey left orbit as the unstable planet exploded and traveled to Vulcan. It was there, during a three month period of exile, the ship was named with a nod to historical irony. 

The Bird of Prey departed for Earth, only to be informed a probe of alien origin was causing environmental havoc to Earth. The crew, deducing the probe's intentions, traveled back and time, collected two humpback whales, then traveled forward in time, so a response to the probe could be made.

When the Bird of Prey arrived back to the correct time, it was caught in the same effect as other starships, losing power. Unlike the other starships, the Bird of  Prey returned inside the atmosphere and was crashing to the Earth. Narrowly missing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Bird of Prey made a water landing in the bay. The whales were freed from the sinking ship and the crew was rescued.

It is unknown if the ship sunk to the bottom or was later salvaged by Starfleet Intelligence.

A first escape through electric dreams

At the start of the 1980's, there were a few choices of video game machines on the market that could be purchased for the household. Atari was one, Colecovision was another. My family chose the Vectrex. With a built in screen, which freed up the television for other activities and a fairly simple to use control system, this was what we got.

One of the games that had been acquired was Star Trek The Motion Picture, which bore little in relation to the movie of the same name. In modern terms, it was a first person shooter against opponents who were vectored ships made out of sticks of light.

It was a very simple operation to get started with. Roll out the built in control panel, place the cartridge into the side, reach around back, turn the knob to power things up....

....pop in the plastic color screen to cut the intense screen brightness down and blast away enemies, dock with wormholes and dodge incoming fire.

Okay, there was some creative license used for the game content and ship depictions, but for the time and technology, it worked. I can remember playing for hours and hours, trying to beat my previous high score. The odd time I had a friend come over and managed to talk them into playing, we would challenge each other against our lined foes.

One drawback I can still remember to this day, the sore eyes. Even with the colored plastic screen in place, staring and tracking at those lines of light wore down my eyes, might like looking at freshly fallen snow on a bright day. Worse, driving, at night, into the snow.

Ah, the memories looking back. I suppose, as good as any place to start, huh?

Getting the right cew

Like most other MMO's, Star Trek Timelines has a Daily Rewards feature and collect a good one, I think.

By the numbers, my newly acquired Captain Janeway has some pretty good skill attributes right off the bat. She joins my roster, along with other legendary captains as Picard and Sisko, helping me to progress through the game's storyline. However, what does the color and stars mean?

Well, if I am interpreting things right, here is how I see things. White, one star characters are the most common to collect and can't be fused with duplicates. Green, two stars are a little harder to get and can be fused once. Blue, three stars are harder still to acquire and can be fused twice. Purple, four stars are the really rare ones, being able to be fused three times.

So, my theory goes something like this, one and two star characters can be viewed as disposable, held onto until a better  three or four star is collected and leveled/fused up to meet or beat the skills and attributes of the lower characters.

For example, here are two different versions of Wesley Crusher. The one star version is probably the most common and easiest to collect. Skill wise, the one star variant doesn't bring much to the table, except for the starting stages of earlier missions. The three star version could come in quite handy for progressively harder missions, due to the higher ceiling of skills and levels.

Also, taking into account that having a standard account, meaning I haven't spent any real world money yet, I am limited to having only 25 crew slots available. So, somewhere along my journey among the stars, my one star Wesley will be jettisoned....er, retired, when a better character is offered.

Plus, I never did like his sweater....

Ships and planets

A random selection of certain shots from all of the Star Trek shows and movies with one theme, ships and planets. Above is probably one of the most easily remembered scenes from the Original Series.

The Next Generation brought the world the scene, repeated many times over it's seven year run.

While Deep Space Nine had a few shots of Federation runabouts in orbit, I wanted a more rare image of the Defiant doing the same.

The Enterprise E spent most of it's onscreen time in space, however, I did  find one image the fit the criteria.

Voyager in orbit, not as rare as one would think.

Last, but not least, NX-01 Enterprise rounds out this series of themed images.

Blazing a mission path

As I progress through Star Trek Timelines, I thought I would share a few tips for some of you who might have been giving the game a try. So, I will breakdown how I do Away Team missions.

Here is a start screen for a mission. On the left, I have three slots for crew to attempt this. The top middle shows the mission path, from start to finish and all of the alternate routes to completion.

So, the people I will pick for the mission path will need a Command Star, Diplomacy Wreath, Science Beaker, Security Phaser and/or Engineering Tool.

I pick Cretak, a Romulan I acquired through a free spin of the Dabo Wheel (I will explain that later). Out of the eight requirements for the mission, she unlocks four.

Next, I pull her out and select Spock, from Star Trek The Voyage Home. Once again, half of all the mission paths are open.

Satisfied with my first two choices, I put them back in and complete the crew with Tom Paris, from Star Trek Voyager. Seven out of eight mission requirements unlocked, but only one option to final the mission. Also, none of my choices can make use of the Suggested Traits, little bonuses that stack on the skill numbers to push them over the minimum requirements. Confused? Let me show you....

First, I choose Tom Paris, since his Command Skill at 54 is far above the minimum 29 needed.

Then, the game will apply a random bonus, depending on Suggested Trait or in this case, I think it's because I have brown eyes....

....and collect a Critical Success! The rewards range from something that can be equipped immediately or used to be combined with other items to create something that other crew members can use. Now don't worry if selected crew members come up a little short on the minimum requirement, the random bonus might be just enough to carry the attempt into the Target Zone or even beyond it.

Word of advice, keep an eye on used characters. After using one, they will suffer from a cool-down penalty, with red, reduced skill numbers. Another handy tip is not using a character that doesn't have the right skill for the mission requirement. Tom Paris doesn't have a Diplomacy Wreath, so selecting him for a mission that needs one for completion will have consequences.

So, in brief, use characters that have equal to or higher skill numbers than the mission requirements. Find characters that also offer Suggested Traits bonuses, if available. Don't be afraid to challenge a mission multiple times to find the right Away Team members that bring the highest chances of success.

But, most important of all, be mindful of the rewards you collect, you might just level up a character needed for an even more challenging mission.

The Enterprise - In Pike's Time

When it comes to Star Trek, the Starship Enterprise has a large number of fans, including yours truly. However, with the Original Series, I have more of a fondness to Pike's version then the evolved ship that Kirk would later command. Here are a few reasons why I prefer the real, first Enterprise.

With the taller bridge dome, larger navigational deflector dish and spiked nacelle caps, it just has this certain, unique look about it that is somehow lost on the later version. This ship would be shown prominently in two episodes, the original pilot called The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before.

It would make another major appearance in The Menagerie Part 1 and 2, which was a second attempt to get The Cage on the air, a clip show with a new story. During the first season, it would still make other appearances, slowly phased out with the revised model. However, it would pop up in other seasons, if one knew to look for it....

....as seen in Mirror, Mirror, for just one example.

Even from behind, the original Enterprise has a look that would set it apart from later versions. On the left, the ends of the nacelles would sport this look for The Cage. From the second pilot, the look on the right would take over and carry on to the end of the series.

Pike's Bridge brings a duller, more subdued look that I like, over the very colorful, almost distracting redress from Kirk's time. Granted, when the pilot was first produced in 1964, color televisions weren't the mainstay in people's homes, yet. By the time the second pilot aired in 1966, color was all the rage and more televisions were available to the masses to show this all off. Pike's Bridge also brings a simpler, more practical design, some of that was lost during Kirk's era.

Okay, the wider corridors from Kirk's era are bigger, allowing for more crew traffic to pass each other, something that Pike's era lacks. Can't be all perfect, I guess....

Pike's Briefing Room has the Knights of the Round Table look and feel to it. The circular room has that aesthetic quality that I find appealing. Kirk's Briefing Room looks like an after thought, almost as if a crew quarters was remodeled....

....and perhaps, it was. Pike's cabin is very simple, modest sized and mostly no nonsense accommodations. It also lacks personal touches....

....in stark contrast to Kirk's quarters. Smaller and more colorful, but defiantly compartmentalized.

Finally, the only other area shared onscreen with all of the Enterprise's is the transporter room. Once again, only a splash of color separates the eras from each other.

So, there you have it, the nutshell of why Pike's Enterprise has a special hold on me. Time to leave orbit and set a new course....