For this week’s “Founder Spotlight,” we sat down with Sovereign77x, who shares his insights as one of the highest rated Foundry authors.  Please read and enjoy!

Q:  You are the author of the Deadly Intentions trilogy and Forget Me Not.  These missions are very highly rated by the STO community. How would you explain your success as a Foundry author, and do you have any advice for new authors?

This is an excellent question, and I’ll try to give it a good answer.  To be blunt, I can’t pretend to know exactly why some of my missions have been so successful; specifically, my Deadly Intentions mission series.  These missions are keeping company with some outstanding works of art from brilliant Foundry authors, and I’m not above calling it a lucky break.  What I can do instead is tell you about my writing style and some of the positive feedback I’ve received from people who have played my missions.

I strive to maintain a very strong balance between story and action.  I do not believe that these two elements are mutually exclusive, and I hope that players find my missions to be thought-provoking as well as a lot of fun.  My ultimate goal is to create something that feels like an interactive movie, and my favorite movies are both intelligent and exciting (e.g. Inception).  I also like to create combat scenarios that are more challenging than typical STO missions.  Sometimes this gets me into trouble with players, but it seems to pay off more often than not.

My missions pivot between the big picture and personal narrative.  At the end of Deadly Intentions (spoiler alert) your character has to make a horrible choice for the sake of the greater good.  Once you’ve resolved the crisis at hand, you report back to the admiral who originally sent you on the mission.  Upon learning about your actions he orders you to make an appointment with your ship’s counselor; he’s concerned about you, and the enormous psychological burden you must now carry.  This simple moment takes the epic scale of the story and reduces it to something that is intensely personal.

The final thing I would mention in terms of my style is that I’m not afraid to take risks.  The controversial ending of Deadly Intentions is a good example of this, and more recently my new mission, Forget Me Not, caused a bit of a stir on Podcast UGC for the use of a unique story-telling technique to create a more personal connection between the player and the narrative.  Like the challenging combat scenarios I mentioned earlier, this sometimes gets me into trouble; nevertheless, I’m willing to create something that people might hate in order to create something that they also might love.

My advice for new authors would be this: get feedback and help from others.  When I create a mission, I involve several trusted friends and fleet members in my creative process.  These individuals are supportive of my efforts, but they’re also not afraid to give me constructive criticism.  The trickiest part of this collaboration is harnessing the power of feedback while maintaining the integrity of my personal vision.  This is something I’m still learning; if you can figure it out there is no limit to what you can accomplish.

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Forget Me Not
By Sovereign77x

Mission ID: ST-HFMIG9X2P
Length: 30 to 60 minutes (determined by your choices)
Faction: Federation
Level Requirement: 16+

Synopsis:

A supply convoy has gone missing while under the protection of your former protégé and close friend, Commander Samantha Taryn. In a time when so much is sacrificed, and so many lives are lost, you will go to extraordinary lengths to bring this one Starfleet officer home.

Author’s Notes:

My primary purpose with this mission is to offer radically different game play experiences to players based upon their decisions. If you are looking for a solid combat experience, you’ll find it here; however, if you are looking for a mission that is dialogue and puzzle driven–one that you can complete without firing a shot–then you’ll find it here also.  At one point in the mission, you will have the option to complete your objectives using stealth, rather than force.  Players can customize their stealth experience by choosing whether they want to play in normal or expert mode.  I’ve also employed some unique storytelling to create a more personal connection between the player and the mission.  I hope you enjoy it!

Player Comments:

“WOW!  What a fantastic mission!  The dialogue and story line could’ve been lifted straight off the tv/movie screen – very trek and really pulled me in” – 5 Stars

“almost made me cry lol but love it anyways ” – 5 Stars

“Excellent mission!  I love the story and choices that were offered!” – 4 Stars

Hi Everyone,

For a living, I run a IT business from home. I profession is in working with the home family PC, I also educate the owners of the family PC of the dangers of identity theft, from pc being compromised. Plus maintenance to the PC too.

With the recent spick of STO Accounts being attacked and or hacked, I just wanted to share to everyone on some basic maintenance to help in prevention. continue reading…

Are YOU ready to play as a Klingon faction member?

PREPARE YOURSELF for April 1-7, 2012!

The Klingon Awareness Week #2 Guide Book (PDF and TXT formats)
Version 1.1 and 1.2*

Contains the KAW #2 Event Calendar! Scheduled Klingon Foundry mission play! Community activities! And MORE!

This guide book is FREE.

via FTP (courtesy of fellow warrior/STO player Faelandaea)
http://fantasylifeclothing.com/sto/kdf/STO_KAW2_GUIDE-BOOK_v1.1.pdf (PDF file; 1.22 MB)
http://fantasylifeclothing.com/sto/kdf/STO_KAW2_GUIDE-BOOK_v1.2.txt (TXT file; 47K)

via FileFactory
http://bit.ly/HMOMD9 (PDF file; 1.22 MB)
http://bit.ly/H94Ww5 (TXT file; 47K)

via MediaFire
http://bit.ly/H94VbC (PDF file; 1.22 MB)
http://bit.ly/He5J86 (TXT file; 47K)

via Uploadingit
http://bit.ly/H951zT (PDF file; 1.22 MB)
http://bit.ly/HCH3cL (TXT file; 47K)

* Version updates (new file updates) will be posted to this locale, as well as
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?p=4130106 (STO Forums).

ALSO: See the official blog post for KAW #2 via StarTrekOnline.com!

And sign-up for the STO Bat’leth Tournament from GatesofStovokor.com and Targs (Tribbles) in Ecstacy for Saturday, April 7, 2012! This is an actual STO event by fans — with REAL prizes! Details are here.

Episode 7 of PrimetimeUGC featuring an interview with PWE_Branflakes aka Brandon Felczer of PWE.

Follow us on Twitter @Primetime_UGC

In this week’s episode, Bazag and Galactrix play “Over There” by Drogyn1701 and are joined by guest Woody_Valley.

If you missed the live version of the show, you can watch it on YouTube above.

continue reading…

Attention Federation players! STO will be celebrating “First Contact Day” on April 5, 2012 with an in-game event!

Visit Utopia Planitia (Mars, Sol System, Sirius Sector Block) to celebrate with the crew of the new U.S.S. Enterprise-F — and pick up a replica of the Phoenix!

This event will run through April 9th.

“First Contact Day” marks the flight of Zephram Cochran’s warp ship, the Phoenix, and First Contact with the Vulcans on April 5, 2063. (As seen in the 1996 movie “Star Trek: First Contact.”)

Attention Klingon players! Join in the week-long “Klingon Awareness Week #2” event, co-sponsored by GatesofStovokor.com, StarbaseUGC.com and the STO Community! (April 1-7, 2012)

Volume Two of “Star Trek Online Mission Reviews – Case Studies” from Evil70th is now available for download.

As Evil70th states, “It never hurts to have another set of eyes look at your work.” With a focus on best practices, recognizing mission design excellence, and making helpful recommendations, his evaluation reports have been requested by numerous Foundry authors. Each overview is an excellent opportunity for new and veteran STO Foundry devs to see how others crafted their missions — and where edits, fixes and improvements can be made.

This volume of case studies is available for free. (It is published under a Creative Commons License and does not violate STO Terms of Use.)

Volume 002 (2.91 MB; PDF format)

via FileFactory: http://bit.ly/GXy0Rq
via MediaFire: http://bit.ly/GZc0us
via Uploadingit.com: http://bit.ly/GWc4GS

For more information on Evil70th’s reviews, including reviews cited in this volume, visit: http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=236755

Rosvik made this very handy manual to help new authors with map transitions and Foundry mechanics.  It is in word format.  Enjoy!

Also, thanks to Tucana for the neat banner here.

Download the Word Doc.

With the release of a new furry pet and a new location for mining, its time to look at what’s new on the foundry side

Fed side:

Alone In The Dark – Prologue by kempoh

War and Q by RogueEnterprise

Welcome to the Vanguard, Part 1 and 2 by Odyssey47

Terror Knocks at the Door 4/4 by AdmiralMurphy

assault pol collony by Nook

Battle of Risa by RachelJBB

Mission 2: The Solace Series by johnak

KDF side

The Abandoned by Drazur_Southclaw

Now if you have a mission coming out this week please let us know by leaving a comment below or go to the forums and leave it in the thread called promote your foundry mission. and remember only a commander can save the galaxy.

So … like … sorry for the last show. Apparently that wasn’t so popular. Well its back to the old way of doing things! Terry is back from Cryptic and spills the beans!

Click here to listen to the Podcast!
Right click and select “save as” to download the mp3

Show Notes
-Terry’s Back YAAAY!
-Mugatos Redux
-Mining Event
-Official or No: Is the Content Drought Over?
-Terry Talks About Her Time at Cryptic
-Branch 20: Is it Coming Soon!?
-Terry and Hav Rage About Romulan Ridges!
-Are Console Clickers Cheating and/or Destroying Dilithium/C-Store Conversion and Hence STAR TREK ONLINE!?!? DUM DUM DUUUUM!
-Star Trek Online Control Set Ups – Is that an obstacle for non-gaming players?
-TANGENT: Hav is DRAGONBORN! FUS RO DAH!

Reviews
Empty Promises by rjc_foxtrot

Mailbag – Email us and send us mission recommendations to podcastugc@starbaseugc.com !

END OF SHOW

Podcast UGC is distributed for free in mp3 format on www.starbaseugc.com and iTunes. Podcast UGC is syndicated on Trek Radio and Subspace Radio. It’s aired live on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 Eastern on www.trekradio.net and www.justin.tv/podcastugc. Any other distribution or airings of Podcast UGC is strictly prohibited without permission. Star Trek and Star Trek Online are the rights of their respected owners.

Hello everyone, I’m Video James, a new contributor to UGC.

My newest mission, Mind Flayer, is now available for beta testing. Please play, rate and review, and point out any and all bugs you see!

Find out more by clicking the” more” button!
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With the community-championed “Klingon Awareness Week” (KAW) in-game event almost upon us, STO Foundry authors and developers are encouraged to continue their contributions to the Klingon faction.

With the launch of KAW #2 on April 1st, there will be team-based Klingon Foundry mission (“The Song of Circe’s Demise”) — with a nod to April Fools Day! And we know how the Klingons DON’T like to be fooled!

If you have a Klingon Foundry mission that you would like to include in the forthcoming KAW #2 event, please send an in-game message to Tucana. We look forward to highlighting your mission in the forthcoming KAW #2 Guide Book, as well as KAW #2 event activities!

Let’s make this a successful event! Qa’pla!

• Mission Title:  The Needs of the Few
• Author:  Kirkfat
• Project ID:  ST-HMXXUBCKU
• Allegiance: Federation
• Level:  All Levels

Author’s Description:  A newly warp-capable species is in the process of applying to join the Federation.  You are tasked with exploring their world and making a recommendation to the Federation Council.

Author notes:  This is my second diplomacy mission.  There is no combat and plenty of reading involved.  In some ways, it is very similar to “The Return to Terra Nova,” as far as mission mechanics go.  However, my goal was to center the mission around a choice, which I was unable to do in “The Return to Terra Nova.”

Overview:

This mission is another classic diplomatic style mission by Kirkfat. As such, he is not hesitant to breach one of the more difficult subjects that has shown its face in most levels of society, both past and present. After all is said and done, the decision of how this scenario ends is up to you. Although the mission is fictional, it gives the player the experience of being able to make a choice on the final outcome.

Format:

The mechanics of this scenario are not extremely complicated, with the main intent to find yourself in the shoes of a Federation Captain tasked with making a recommendation to Starfleet on the worthiness of a new species becoming a Federation member. As you explore this society, you must not only debate your conscience, but also the Prime Directive and its application to your final decision.

Locations:

The maps in this mission fit the scenario perfectly with some very impressive builds. The somber locations truly fit the story. Without going into any great detail, you truly get to see the different aspects of this Federation candidates world.

 Summary:

If you truly enjoy experiencing all the facets of the Star Trek genre, you should include this mission in your list of “things to do”. As he did on his “Return to Terra Nova” mission, Kirkfat has again shown us that the STO experience need not only be about destroying an enemy in battle and exploring unknown reaches of space. He courageously touches on a subject not far from some of the issues that plague some areas of the world today, both past and present. The only difference, even though it is fictional, is you get to decide if this world is worthy of becoming a Federation member based on your observations and study of their society. Another fine diplomatic style mission authored by Kirkfat, the master of the Foundry tutorials for which many of us are in his debt.

My Rating:  5 Stars

For this week’s “Founder Spotlight,” we sat down with mygod_itsfullofstars.  He was kind enough to share his insights and advice.  Enjoy!

Q: You are the author of 3 missions: “What Are Little Ferengi Made Of?”, “Checks and Balances”, and “Murder Most Moul”. Would you say that all of these missions share a type of ‘style’? Is there a central design philosophy or perhaps a ‘genre’ or adjective that would describe a mygod_itsfullofstars mission?

 One of the things I like best about the Foundry community is that there’s such a variety of skills.  Some people stand out as mapmakers.  Others are masters of trigger mechanics, challenging game design, or thoughtful puzzles.  So, it’s natural, I guess, that as I write and play Foundry missions, I should be thinking about what I bring to the table.

 

I’d say that the projects I’ve published so far share three main attributes.  First, I do my best to create engaging stories populated with interesting characters.  If the bad guys have an evil plan, I want it to be an intelligent and intelligible one, not a convoluted, Rube-Goldberg-esque scheme.  Since characters often drive the story, I want them to appear three dimensional, have coherent motivations, and to sometimes frustrate expectations, the way that real beings do.  The ultimate goal is to produce something vital and fully realized enough so that players can become invested beyond killing this mob or achieving that objective.  “What Are Little Ferengi Made Of?” actually started out as a story synopsis I sent to a STOked contest well before I played with the Foundry.  I just focused on the narrative.  I’d say I’ve come closest to creating a fully realized story and characters in “Checks and Balances,” though I suppose my true measure of my success is for other people to decide.

 

Second, I think all the stories I’ve told so far expand on something in the game, the metagame, or Star Trek lore that already exists.  “Checks and Balances” came out of my wondering at the aftermath of the Breen featured series and wanting to play with the Deferi obsession with balance, which struck me as needing some more complexity.  “What Are Little Ferengi Made Of?” obviously followed from “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” and from my thinking about the nature of playing a character in a game like STO.  In the context of the game, that little electronic avatar on the screen is supposed to be an independent actor.  But, take a step back, and they’re an automaton, whose every move is being controlled by some unseen force.  The whole point of the mission is playing with that distinction.  In “Murder Most Moul” I sacrificed some of the story elements and gave in fully to a commentary approach.  It’s really meant as a shared in-joke with anyone who’s authored missions, been playing STO for a while, or been paying attention to events around the game itself (whether lockboxes, calls for new factions, or the return of Daniel Stahl).

 

Third, and on more of a gameplay level, I also strive for at least some bit of innovation somewhere in the mission.  In “Checks and Balances,” it was the Rugat Killing Field and in the player-composed letter at the end.  It was the plot twist and the final space battle in “What Are Little Ferengi Made Of?”  I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to add some unexpected elements to ground combat.  I’m not the most technically skilled author around, but I don’t want to forget that the Foundry is ultimately a tool for creating parts of a game and not only a means of producing fiction.

continue reading…

The Star Trek Online (STO) community is rallying behind the upcoming “Klingon Awareness Week #2” (KAW) during the week of April 1-7, 2012 — and StarbaseUGC will be involved!

We are also very honored to be working with GatesofStovokor.com.

Details on StarbaseUGC’s involvement will be revealed close to March 30th. In the meantime, we’re issuing an invitation to ALL Foundry developers/authors of Klingon missions for a couple of special StarbaseUGC featurettes. We will need your participation! Note: This is NOT a contest. However, it is a good way to promote your Foundry work!

To be considered, please get in contact with Tucana within STO’s messaging system (email). You will need to provide the following:

* Full Name of at least one Klingon Foundry mission (episode) you’ve published. You may list all of your Klingon missions, if you’ve published more than one.

IMPORTANT: A “Klingon Foundry Mission” means a player must log into STO as a Klingon faction member (Klingon, Gorn, Orion, etc.) to play the Klingon Foundry mission. All new players to STO begin as Federation characters. Players will be able to create a Klingon character after they unlock the first sector block of Federation content. (Level 25+. Average time: about five hours into the game. Their Klingon character will begin at a rank approximately equal to the Federation character that unlocked the content. Players can create their new Klingon toon at that time.)

Deadline: Monday, March 26, 2012 @ 10pm Pacific.

Let’s bring honor (and awareness) to STO’s Klingon faction — and STO Klingon Foundry missions! Qa’pla!

Star Trek Online (STO) has posted Season 5, Dev Blog #34. Among the exciting nuggets of news…

Also, for this weekend only, from around 10 a.m. PDT tomorrow, Friday, March 23, to Monday, March 26 around 10 a.m. PDT, we are hosting a special Dilithium Mining Weekend event! During this time, visit the asteroid and pick up the Orange EV suit for free! (This suit normally costs 80,000 Dilithium, and the price will go back up next week!)

We’ll see you this weekend in the Vlugta Asteroid Field, near Deep Space Nine and Bajor (Beta Ursae Sector Block). Access the “Captain’s Log” menu (“L” key), then look for the “Dilithium Bonus” banner in the “Overview” tab.

As of this writing, you CAN claim multiple, free orange-colored EV suits which you could use for all of your character’s Standard Away Team members! Suit up your crew! Other colors are offered for sale within the mission, too.

UPDATE 3/26/12 (8pm PDT): The free suits are no longer available for this event.

Learn more:
via the official STO site

Brandon “BranFlakes” Felczer, Community Manager @ Cryptic has announced the second of their new “Foundry Challenge” contests.

While on a patrol assignment in the Pi Canis Sector, you intercept a distress call from a planet in a nearby star system. While the message is severely distorted, you can make out enough to know that the situation is dire, and time is of the essence. You order a course change and engage at maximum warp.

As you arrive, you attempt the hail the site that the distress call originated from, but there is no response. As you continuously try to contact the surface, sensors begin picking up a strange anomalies occurring in the core of the planet. Also, warp signatures leaving the system are detected. While on a patrol assignment in the Pi Canis Sector, you intercept a distress call from a planet in a nearby star system…

As BranFlakes writes, “You will have from Wednesday, March 21st until Wednesday, April 18th to make your Foundry mission.” Like the first contest, the STO community will have a chance to play the missions, then “cast one [1] official vote for a winner.” The exact date for the contest winner announcement was not mentioned. The winner will be awarded “500 STO Promo Points for the C-Store.”

To qualify for the contest, all contestants must reply to this thread. The official rules are also outlined within the thread.

We wish all STO Foundry devs/authors the best of luck!

Learn more:
via the official STO Forums
via “Foundry Challenge #2 Discussion Thread” @ the official STO Forums
via @trekonlinegame (Twitter)

So while Terilynn was down in Los Gatos checking out top secret Cryptic stuff of which I’m absolutely jealous over, this left NemesisChiken and I to do the podcast ourselves. When RSA showed up, I jumped at the chance to have them on the show, but I now realize how much of a mistake that might have been. This is, indeed, the most inappropriate episode of Podcast UGC there will probably ever be. And because its short, and because I am, as All Things Trek call me, a “glutton for punishment”, I went ahead and did something I’ve never done before: I left the preshow on the final MP3. So people who download us only and never tune in live now get a chance to hear what we do before we start up the show. However, keep in mind, that also means I had to do one other first for the show: not simply cut out cuss words, but literally bleep them out! Yikes!

It’s The Man-Trek Show! … what have I done?

Click here to listen to the Podcast!
Right click and select “save as” to download the mp3

Show Notes
-Terry’s Gone! AHHH!
-Cute Mugatos. Wait, cute Mugatos? WTF?
-Ship Interior Duty Officer Assignments. Wait don’t we already have these?
-What We Want Out of PVP
-Examples of Cryptic Removing Content Instead of Fixing It
-Fire At Will, FIXED!

Reviews
Forget Me Not by Sovereign 77x

Mailbag – Email us and send us mission recommendations to podcastugc@starbaseugc.com !

END OF SHOW

Podcast UGC is distributed for free in mp3 format on www.starbaseugc.com and iTunes. Podcast UGC is syndicated on Trek Radio and Subspace Radio. It’s aired live on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 Eastern on www.trekradio.net and www.justin.tv/podcastugc. Any other distribution or airings of Podcast UGC is strictly prohibited without permission. Star Trek and Star Trek Online are the rights of their respected owners.