I've played many Star Trek games, from Bridge Commander, Legacy, Elite Force, and so on. My stand out favorites have to be STO (despite its faults), the SFC series (hence the name), and both Armada games. In fact, I was persuaded from the beginning to buy Sins just to play this mod. While I still act as a beta tester, I've also recently been setting up the wiki - which is why I've come to you all for a big announcement!
If you haven't seen the new STA3 Gamepedia, you should really check it out. We're still in the very early stages, adding articles, images and information, so we'd like the community to help out in anyway they can. We'll be accepting any and all contributions to the wiki, such as ship articles or info, but most importantly - images! Send us your favorite screenshots, (preferrably in high quality 1080p and at least 1680x1050 or 1920x1080), for submission to our Picture of the Day pool, or to any of our articles. Have a nice shot of your fleet? Send it via PM to either myself or Bane, and we'll credit you on the wiki!
The link to the wiki is here: Startrekarmada3.gamepedia.com
Thank you for your time, and see you out there!
SFC3
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I remember the first Star Trek game I ever played. It was the early '90s. I was a spritely young man - well-muscled, sun-bronzed, with an epic mullet and a fashion sense that proudly advertised my stubborn refusal to believe the '80s were over. My father had just bought our family's first computer and, coming from a family of ravenous Star Trek fans, hadn't been able to resist purchasing a floppy disc version of Star Trek: 25th Anniversary on his way home.
I was enthralled. Tense starship combat combined with all the point and click adventure and puzzle-solving a boy could ask for. I still rate it (and its sequel, Judgement Rites) among the finest games I've ever played. I count the first time I won an engagement with four Klingon battlecruisers among the greatest triumphs of my early gaming career.
What followed over the years was something of an infatuation with Star Trek games. I played as many as I could afford. Some were good. Others were terrible. One of the best came in the form of 2000's Star Trek: Armada, followed a year later by the also enjoyable Armada II. But those games had their time, and were gradually forgotten as Star Trek games became fewer and farther between, and both I and gaming moved on to bigger, newer things.
One of those things was Sins of a Solar Empire, to which I immediately became addicted. When Rebellion was released in 2012 I immediately snatched it up, relishing the moment my first ever Titan ripped through an enemy fleet. But again, as time moved on, I found myself looking for new experiences. And, for the first time, I decided to take a serious look at mods. It was early 2013 when I first laid eyes upon the ModDB page for Rebellion. And at the top of the page, there it was:
Star Trek: Armada III.
The title alone brought back the happy memories of the Armada games - of securing the Omega Particle and defending Earth from a Borg assault, of counter-attacking into Borg space, and of quelling a Cardassian uprising. The project officially had my attention. I played other mods and other games in the meantime, and on Christmas Day was one of the first to download Armada III 0.95. What a day that was - the mod wasn't even complete and was still almost everything I had hoped it would be. After years left in the wilderness Star Trek fans had a strategy game worthy of their devotion, produced not as a cash-in, but as a labour of love.
It was then that I became a prolific poster (read: pest) on this page, especially after CTA was announced. I checked regularly for updates, eventually getting to know the devs a little in online conversation. In the second half of 2014 Gul Dukat messaged me, inviting me to become a member of the mod's beta testing team because, in his words, I was "consistently not irritating".
And so it began - I was officially involved in the mod, if only in a modest capacity. Max in particular greeted me with enthusiasm, but then Max is the kind of guy who seems enthusiastic about EVERYTHING.
"Pancakes for breakfast, Max?"
"HOLY F***ING HELL PANCAKES FOR BREAKFAST WOULD BE AMAZEBALLS THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER WHAT KIND OF SYRUP IS THERE?!!!"
"Blueberry."
"SWEET MOTHER OF GOD BLUEBERRY THIS IS EPIIIIIC!!!!"
Seriously, I'm not even sure if he sleeps...
Time passed, the mod developed, and I was moderately surprised to see my input taken seriously by the devs. As release day for CTA drew closer conversation and ideas about the Axanar project became more frequent. When it was released in late 2014, CTA was the culmination of an enormous amount of work and dedication, much of which I got to witness with my own eyes. It was a pleasure to be a part of such a project.
But again, the wheel turns, and now we find ourselves delving ever deeper into Axanar: Strategic Operations, and once again I've managed to weasel my way into the action. Bane put the call out to the modding community looking for people to help out, and so I volunteered to become a dev in training. Axanar is an exciting project. The upcoming film and now the mod are true continuations of the Star Trek franchise. This is definitely something of which I want to be a part.
I urge everyone to check out and follow the Axanar: Strategic Operations mod. It's going to be huge.
Moddb.com
So that's my story - from point and click adventures to helping build the Star Trek game of my dreams. Looking back, it's been a lot of fun. Looking forward promises not to disappoint.
'Til then, stay classy.
OrionSlaver
"Stay Classy Trek Heads!"
Nuuu, "We want it; and we want it NOW" *stomps foot like a pre-teen*
Give us teasers, give us a nibblet! The Borg demand such. :)
1.2.2 is well on the way. Won't be long now. ;)