Season 7 Dev Blog #12
By PWE_BranFlakes @ October 31, 2012 at 12:00pm
Multi-Mission Science Vessels: Vesta Line
It’s finally here. Straight from the pages of the “Destiny” trilogy of Star Trek novels, originally designed by Mark Rademaker, Cryptic Studios and the Star Trek Online team are proud to finally bring you the Multi-Mission Science Vessels: Vesta line.
For those of you who have been following the progress of the Vesta, this line of ships has been a long time in the making. Our ship artists, Jeff Miller and Adam Gibson, have worked for some time to capture every detail originally envisioned by Mark Rademaker, and we think you will be very pleased with its appearance. But the ship model is not the only detail we wanted to get right. The “Destiny” novels focus on the U.S.S. Aventine commanded by Captain Ezri Dax, a ship that was was key in defeating the Borg in the novel series. Simply put, this ship has a pedigree and we wanted to make sure we accurately represented its rich history and lore in as much detail as possible.
Designing the Vesta’s capabilities was a bit of a challenge. We spent a lot of time researching its specs and reviewing the novels. It was important to us that fans of the “Destiny” novels felt like they were commanding a Vesta class starship. But let’s face it; the Vesta is a technological marvel with every factory option known to Starfleet. It even has Intrepid-style landing gear! In game terms, the ship is a little over-powered. So the challenge was to bring to life as much detail as possible without breaking the game.
We first needed to decide what kind of ship the Vesta was. It’s big like a cruiser, it has cannons like an escort, it has a hangar bay stocked with a fleet of Runabouts like a light carrier, and it has advanced sensors and technology like a science vessel. We settled on it being a Science Vessel, but we decided to make a new class of science vessel. The novels classify the ship as a Multi-Mission Explorer, so we decided to call the entire line Multi-Mission Science Vessels.
Next, we took a close look at its technology. First and foremost, it had Slipstream Drive. That’s not uncommon in Star Trek Online, so we wanted to make sure the Vesta’s Slipstream was special. Next, it had several key pieces of technology that we wanted to put in the players hands: a Multidimensional Wave-Function Analysis Module, a Quantum Field Focus Controller, a Chroniton Integrator, and a Sympathetic Fermion Transceiver. The Multidimensional Wave-Function Analysis Module could be used to create a Multidimensional Graviton Shield to protect the ship from the powerful gravimetric forces of a wormhole’s event horizon. There was some definite game potential in that. The Quantum Field Focus Controller was key in the Vesta’s Slipstream Drive, but could also focus power to the main defector to fire a massive, sustained phaser beam or a powerful shield bubble – the later could even crush a ship. That one practically designed itself. The Chroniton Integrator could take sensor readings several seconds into the future, a key piece of technology for maintaining the ship’s Slipstream Drive. That would become the key to designing a better Slipstream Drive for the Vesta.
Then there was the Sympathetic Fermion Transceiver. Not much was said about this piece of technology except it “impressed” Geordi La Forge in more way then one. For those who have read the novels, you know what I am taking about. So this last piece of technology seemed important, but there was not much to go on other than the name. Fermions are subatomic particles. Sympathetic, in physics terms, refers to a body vibrating or resonating as a result of similar vibrations from another body. And a transceiver is simply a transmitter and receiver. That was going to be a challenge to design and try to remain true to both the novels and the game.
So that’s where we started. We soon realized there was just too much to put in one ship. So, like the Odyssey Class, we made three: the Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer: Vesta Class (a science model), Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Explorer: Aventine Class (a tactical model); and the Multi-Mission Strategic Explorer: Rademaker Class (an engineering model). Each ship in this line has a slightly different console slot configuration, a different power level bonus, and a unique costume. Each also has one unique Console Module item that can only be used on these three ships. The three consoles are part of a set and provide a two and three-piece set bonus when equipped on the same ship. The costumes are unique to each ship, but if you own more than one, you will unlock the appropriate costume parts to use on the others that you own.
So, in the end, we believe we truly represented the Vesta as it was intended. Fans of the novel series will recognize a lot of attention to detail in its design and fans of Star Trek Online will appreciate its capabilities. Now for the details you’ve been waiting for:
Multi-Mission Science Vessels:
Auxiliary Dual Heavy Phaser Cannon
The most technologically advanced line of starships in the fleet, the Multi-Mission Science Vessels come with a myriad of new technologies. Originally designed as a testbed ship for the experimental Quantum Slipstream Drive, Vesta type ships have been successful in combats against the Borg. One of the initial Vesta class ships, the U.S.S. Aventine, is commanded by Captain Ezri Dax.
Multi-Mission Science Vessels come standard with a Mark XII Auxiliary Dual Heavy Phaser Cannon. This cannon is designed to utilize Auxiliary power instead of Weapon power. The vessels also feature Sensor Analysis, Subsystem Targeting, a hangar bay stocked with a wing of Danube Runabouts hangar pets (other carrier pets may also be slotted), and is the only Science Vessel that can equip dual or dual heavy cannons. They also feature Universal Lieutenant Commander and Universal Ensign Bridge Officer Stations that can by operated by any Bridge Officer class.
Hangar Bay of Danube Runabouts
Base Stats (for all Multi-Mission Science Vessels):
- Rank Required: Vice Admiral
- Hull Strength: 28,000
- Shield Modifier: 1.35
- Crew: 750
- Weapons: 3 Fore, 3 Aft
- Device Slots: 3
- Bridge Officer Stations: 1 Lieutenant Tactical, 1 Lieutenant Engineering, 1 Commander Science, 1 Ensign Universal, 1 Lieutenant Commander Universal
- Base Turn Rate: 12 degrees per second
- Impulse Modifier: 0.16
- Sensor Analysis
- Subsystem Targeting
- Can Equip Cannons
- Aux Phaser Dual Heavy Cannons Mk XII [Acc]x2 [Dmg] (may only be equipped on a Multi-Mission Science Vessel)
- 1 Hangar Bay – with 1 wing of Danube Runabouts
Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer: Vesta Class
Vesta Class
The Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer: Vesta Class features a bonus Science Console slot, and bonus Auxiliary Power. The Vesta Class also comes equipped with a Sympathetic Fermion Transceiver universal console. The Sympathetic Fermion Transceiver creates a large Fermion Field around your ship. This field will continuously repair you and your allies’ hull and shields while also providing a buff to Starship Particle Generators.
The Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer comes with the Vesta Class ship Costume. Acquiring other Multi-Mission Science Vessels will unlock additional costume options for your ship.
Fermion Field
Note: Unlocking the Multi-Mission Surveillance Explorer: Vesta Class unlocks this ship for every Federation Vice Admiral character on an account.
Specific Class Stats (in addition to the base stats listed above)
- +15 Power to Auxiliary Systems
- Console Modifications: 3 Tactical, 2 Engineering, 5 Science
- Console – Universal – Sympathetic Fermion Transceiver
Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Explorer: Aventine Class
Aventine Class
The Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Explorer: Aventine Class features a bonus Tactical Console slot, and bonus Weapon Power. The Aventine Class also comes equipped with a Quantum Field Focus Controller universal console. The Quantum Field Focus Controller can reroute main power to the Deflector Dish and fire a high intensity Quantum Field Focus Phaser through the Main Deflector.
The Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Explorer comes with the Aventine Class ship Costume. Acquiring other Multi-Mission Science Vessels will unlock additional costume options for your ship.
Quantum Field Focus Phaser
Note: Unlocking the Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Explorer: Aventine Class unlocks this ship for every Federation Vice Admiral character on an account.
Specific Class Stats (in addition to the base stats listed above)
- +10 Power to Auxiliary Systems, +5 Power to Weapon Systems
- Console Modifications: 4 Tactical, 2 Engineering, 4 Science
- Console – Universal – Quantum Field Focus Controller
Multi-Mission Strategic Explorer: Rademaker Class
Rademaker Class
The Multi-Mission Strategic Explorer: Rademaker Class features a bonus Engineering Console slot, and bonus Shield Power. The Rademaker Class also comes equipped with a Multidimensional Wave-Function Analysis Module universal console. Multidimensional Wave-Function Analysis Module can create a Multidimensional Graviton Shield which protects you from control effects such as Gravity Wells and Tractor Beams. It can also repel close targets and reflect the damage of weapons that deal kinetic damage such as torpedoes.
The Multi-Mission Strategic Explorer comes with the Rademaker Class ship Costume. Acquiring other Multi-Mission Science Vessels will unlock additional costume options for your ship.
Multidimensional Graviton Shield
Note: Unlocking the Multi-Mission Strategic Explorer: Rademaker Class unlocks this ship for every Federation Vice Admiral character on an account.
Specific Class Stats (in addition to the base stats listed above)
- +10 Power to Auxiliary Systems, +5 Power to Shield Systems
- Console Modifications: 3 Tactical, 3 Engineering, 4 Science
- Console – Universal – Multidimensional Wave-Function Analysis Module
Console Set
The Multidimensional Wave-Function Analysis Module, Quantum Field Focus Controller, and Sympathetic Fermion Transceiver may be equipped on any Multi-Mission Science Vessel. They are each part of the Experimental Systems set.
The two-piece set bonus grants you Chroniton Integrated Quantum Slipsteam. When this set bonus is active it will upgrade your standard Quantum Slipstream. Chroniton Integrated Quantum Slip Steam is the fastest Slipstream Drive in the Federation and offers a 4X Slipstream turn rate modifier.
Chroniton Integrated Quantum Slip Steam
The three-piece set bonus grants you a Quantum Focused Shield Bubble. A Quantum Focused Shield Bubble is effectively a perfect shield. While active, your ship’s hull is invulnerable and will take no damage, including damage caused to yourself from Ramming Speed. Your shields too become hardened – the more Auxiliary power the more resistant they become – up to 100%. However, while active, all weapons are offline.
All special abilities from the Multi-Mission Science Vessel consoles, including the set bonus, are mutually exclusive and only one can be active at a time.
Quantum Focused Shield Bubble
The Vesta line of Multi-Mission Science Vessels is truly beautiful and extremely fun to fly – we can’t wait for you to be able to command them. All three Multi-Mission Science Vessels will be available in the C-Store for individual sale (2500 ZEN) or as a 3-pack bundle (5000 ZEN) when Season 7 launches.
Keep sensors locked on www.startrekonline.com for more news about Season 7's launch. We'll see you in-game!
Al "CaptainGeko" Rivera
Lead Designer
Star Trek Online
NOTE: You must have enough Ship Slots to commission the new ships. If you do not have enough space, you can purchase additional slots from the C-Store or keep the ships in your bank until you do have space.
NOTE: The above stats for all ships are subject to change.
mrnicemarine @ Jan 27th, 2013 9:46AM
Interesting ship design. I must say I haven't read the Destiny series, so I really can't say if it is close or not. However, the ship does have a Star Trek feel to it in the design, but I do have to say she definantly sounds over powered. Granted, a ship in the right hands, no matter the class, can be deadly. I wouldn't mind seeing the SoulWolf class enter into STO, but again, in the material I have seen for it, it too is overpowered by a huge margin and would mostly likely 'break' the game as I believe you put. Otherwise, nice work guys. Looking forward to seeing what else you come up with.
azyurion @ Dec 27th, 2012 8:39AM
They're not selling ships anymore l they're selling special devices and modules. For PVE you don't need any of them. For PVP ... meh.
archanarchist @ Nov 22nd, 2012 2:32PM
lmao at the pay to win complainers ill hapily fight u in any of my ships im a vet been here almost 3 yrs all my purchases have been dill or my stipend. ill happily fight anyone on any of my 8 lg/va chars and show just hw wrong u are if you think zen can help u in pvp, bar maybe a conole here or here which are mostly available in reward packs off exchange 1 or 2 i did have to fork out some stipend for, but they will be available on exchange soon enuff i was just impatient. not much of a fed player so i wont be picking 1 up myself but i look forward to fighting them. nothing more satisfying then blowing up someones ship u know they payed for in something free:P
mrnicemarine
Nice. I agree about the whiners. I started playing this game back during the Beta so I know what you mean. I remember when it took longer than half a day of play before you got to CMDR. My newest toon is already a captain and I only played with that char for maybe four to five days. And honestly, I wouldn't mind a good bit of PvP with another STO vet instead of the Noobs running around, blowing cash on fancy ships they don't know how to use.
catstarsto @ Nov 21st, 2012 10:30AM
Id still like to see the Curry or Shelly class carrier/science ship. It looks so much cooler. This ship seems to have lots of gimmicks, but they rarely help in pvp or pve missions, other then to show off an "ooh...aah" reaction, then back to phasers again to win it. This ship doent look Star Trek enough, its actually ugly, but not as bad as the Veteran ships look. If your going for a novel based ship, I recomend the USS WOLF. It was a giant rail gun to take on the borg. But you would probably nerf its cooldown to 2 hours. Im still upset that you nerfed the Voyager ships ablative armor, it used to last longer for your escape.
catstarsto
On that note, you should release Janeways shuttle with the Armor...but with a decent use time.
eddore2 @ Nov 19th, 2012 10:34AM
Neat ship! Just managed to activate mine last night. Nice lines. But got too cocky. Still get my butt kicked by the borg.
novasigma
then you are defanitly not doing something right if i can tank the borg with my engineer toon in an excelsor i deffantly will be able to in this
hood1703b @ Nov 18th, 2012 1:10AM
Nice ships. Nice consoles. Shame ship customisation won't let me keep the alterations I make for my own variations.
gizmox64
Do you mean you can't do an advanced custimization? I like the Serval. ship, but the Recon. skin. I know you can select the skins if you have the pack, but I too would like to use the base skin of the Recon. with some tweaks from other ships. Are you saying thats not possible?
morf33us @ Nov 17th, 2012 10:05PM
nice
stormwaltz2 @ Nov 15th, 2012 6:19PM
I'd just like to mention that I think calling the engineering variant the Rademaker was a classy decision. :)
didier0109 @ Nov 14th, 2012 11:46AM
You are talking about these Star Trek Novels, but I don't know what their names are. Could somebody give me some names of these novels? I would love to read them.
imadoctornota
Star Trek: Destiny, Book 1; Gods of Night. Book 2; Mere Mortals. Book 3; Lost Souls. They are great books! Which is why I find it weird that they make this ship and give credit to the books, but they are not part of STO's cannon. Go figure.
goaheadandsmoke @ Nov 13th, 2012 1:10PM
honetly love the ship idea but hate the patching all the time i play off my laptop and use sprint mobile hot spot i think its crazy to use half of my data plan to patch w.t.f. i have spent 200 bucks in three weeks and i cant stand the speed of the patching please address the speed issue other then content. cant log on cant spend 1 plus 1 is 2. but love the price of the ship i hate the haters love the game like wow
plyst1 @ Nov 13th, 2012 11:59AM
SOO many people bitch OH $50 for ONE ship WRONG Please read before you bitch 3 ships fro the price of 2 :D and furthermore you can get Zen Ships w/o spending a dime... Its called Dilithium people :) It takes alot but if you want something bad enough then you grind the Dil and buy the shisp id di that for my Dreadnaught.... Quickly regretted it but i managed to make it a decent tank but seriously apply enough effort and THOUGHT (thats rare these days) And they have Provided you a way to et these for free! Thank you and Carry On.
plyst1
Shame i cant Edit sooo many spelling errors lol
nymrod7 @ Nov 13th, 2012 11:15AM
need download speed sort it out
evilistclaudiu @ Nov 13th, 2012 8:45AM
veeerrryyy cool
slick97477 @ Nov 13th, 2012 1:40AM
wow that much money for a ship is not even right..and i have bought my fair share of ships but this is not right of PWE. Turning this game into a wallet game. If you dont have money to burn you dont get good stuff...Not even right...When i first started playing was more than happy to pay for subscription but since PWE took over i canceled and will never be renewed again. I will not pay to endorse a company that don't fix bugs and server crashes but will release new ships and boxes to make more money..That is not a company who cares about there customers but rather a company who cares to make there pocket book fatter.....
freezy321 @ Nov 13th, 2012 12:59AM
This ships looks impressive, perhaps there should be a try out option for big purchases like this. I already saved up and could purchase it on release, not sure if I would like it better then my Heavy Escort Carrier. p.s. will there be fleet versions of this ship and the Chimera Heavy Destroyer?
hasukurobi
This ship is totally diferent than the Heavy Escort Carrier. It is weaker on taking damage, but comes with more heals, cannot dish out as much damage except when its beam is ready to fire, but does a lot more than most Science Ships, and it is a bit slow to turn but nimble compared to any Cruiser. It is a great ship but VERY complex to fly properly.
mikeskyler101 @ Nov 12th, 2012 1:55PM
For those saying this game is pay to win, you are all wrong, this is the least pay to win ftpmmo I have ever played. I am a very good pvper and have only payed $20 in this game. Mostly everything worth having doesnt cost zen. hell, id pay more money if I could transfer zen to EC. Zen isnt what people need, ECs are what people need.
henri001 @ Nov 12th, 2012 10:07AM
Like most of the ppl here i agree that this game is Pay to Win. I have around 1 year that i play STO but is geting prety boring I understand that they need money but thous prices are to dam high 50 euro for ship is not okey for me I agree to pay pocket money like 10 or max 20 euro but thous prices are to high for something that is just a game to pas some time in it
wraenia @ Nov 11th, 2012 6:40AM
I have bought my fair share of Zen ships... I've spent a great deal of money on them and I feel there should be a newer variety of F2p ships. From lock boxes to the ships, the game is getting increasingly boring and looking more to sucker people out of their money. This game has the same bugs that it has had a year ago and despite the MANY complaints to resolve THESE issues, we don't have a problem with getting ZEN ships and crappy lockboxes. If I hadn't spent the considerable sum of money that I have, I would uninstall this game entirely, and stick to Mechwarrior Online and World of Tanks for my quick fixes.
killergill @ Nov 11th, 2012 3:24AM
It will be good for about 2 weeks, until ppl start crying it's op and then??? Who knows.
breadandcircuses @ Nov 10th, 2012 4:59PM
Looks like a great ship, if a bit overpowered. Of course, that really only applies in PvP, since the game can be run just fine in most ships everywhere else. And of course, in PvP it's pretty hard to ignore the edge that most endgame C-Store and high-end Lockbox ships have, lol. We'll have to see how it actually performs in combat, though the base stats look great. Oh, and it's 5000 Zen for 3 ships/consoles; you can get just one ship and its associated console for 2500 Zen.
hasukurobi
Due to its 6 weapon slots, low hull HP, Cooldowns and somewhat short durations for Special abilities as well as mutual exlcusivity of using one of them it is not as OP as it seems to be. It is a very ultimate Science ship though, like the Odyssey of Science ships.
patrickngo @ Nov 9th, 2012 10:42AM
I'm kind of saddened that they have to go to THIS extent to make the average skitleboat Fed 'competitive'.
strife1979 @ Nov 9th, 2012 4:36AM
Well it is crazy that you need to pay about 45 euro's for one ingame ship, this game starts to look like APB Reloaded where the most expensive permanent car is 70 Euro's o.o Such ashame, now don't get me wrong, STO IS a good game, but don't try to milk the game dry with over the top prices.
benjaminlsisko @ Nov 8th, 2012 9:49PM
Who in the HECK works in the creative/arts department? Ships from Cryptic look like ****!!!
lexington1709
Well, look at it this way. The Vesta hull wasn't designed by Cryptic.
leoll2
Are you a troll? The Vesta in one of the most beautiful ships ever released
diapereddoggie @ Nov 8th, 2012 4:02PM
this game is turning into a wallet game you have destroyed the name of startrek with your greed. gene roddenberry is rolling over in his grave because of this company. and i wont have any part of it all you cxare about is your own wallet and how to get into ours. so i tell you now. go burn.
autumnraynefyr
I believe that it is actually PW that has turned it into the wallet game.. <,<
amishrevolution
They know it's a wallet game, they're using Gene Roddenberry's spinning corpse to power the servers.
benjaminlsisko @ Nov 8th, 2012 10:31AM
Smh. Asinine garbage. EVERY ship can fire cannons nowadays. Sure we'll throw in cannons WHY NOT? 5000 Zen? LMAO. wow.. Its the "everything" class of ship. No wonder this game is this game is a joke.
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