More Starship Mechanics updates

I’ve done some more work on Stealth Detection Ratings, and updated the Starship Mechanics article with the new information, although I’m still not very clear on how the rating is actually used.

I’d also like to thank ConcreteDragon for pointing out that I managed to completely forget to update the examples and Implications sections when I updated the ‘Tier Modifier’ for Impulse speeds and turn rates on Thursday. I’ve made the appropriate changes now.

Starship Mechanics updated

Just wanted to thank Tiran_Diaz for pointing out that the ‘Tier Modifier’ for Tier 1 and 2 ships is actually 192, not the 200 I’d been using. I’ve updated the Impulse Speed and Turn Rate sections of the Starship Mechanics article with the new number, which more accurately models the results in-game (and makes more sense).

Starship Mechanics

There are quite a few aspects of how starships function in Star Trek: Online that aren’t very well explained. The new Starship Mechanics article grew out of some testing I did to determine the relationship between the ‘Captain’ skills and a ship’s speed, turn rate and hull strength, but has expanded to cover several other aspects of how ships function.

Like all articles here, Starship Mechanics is a work in progress, but more so in this case than usual. As I mentioned a few days back, the amount of time I have to dedicate to The Engines Cannae’ Take It! may be significantly reduced in the near future, so rather than waiting until I had everything I wanted to cover, I’ve gone ahead and published what’s finished, and touched on some of the areas that I’m still investigating.

Anyway, I hope you find the article interesting and/or useful – please let me know what you think, and if you spot any mistakes or errors.

(Please note that some of the information in the Starship Mechanics article supersedes that previously presented in the Ship Power Levels article. I’ve updated Ship Power Levels with links to the appropriate sections in Starship Mechanics.)

Starship Weapons Overview updated

I’m currently unable to play due to the connectivity issues being suffered by many European players, so I’ve taken the opportunity to update the Torpedoes section of the Starship Weapons Overview with new information on torpedoes and crew damage.

Starship Weapons Overview updated

Still waiting for Tribble to become available for more testing, so I took the opportunity to make a couple of minor updates to the Starship Weapons Overview article.

Nothing particularly major, although the Damage Modifiers section should hopefully be a little clearer now.

Starship Weapons Overview updated

Just a couple of small changes to the Starship Weapons Overview article – the Torpedoes section has been updated to include the special effects of Photon and Quantum torpedoes (chance to injure and/or kill crew), and I’ve added the results of some testing of torpedo flight speeds.

Starship Weapons Overview

War has made the universe a dangerous place in Star Trek: Online, so it’s best to understand the capabilities and functions of the weaponry available.

The new Starship Weapons Overview article introduces some of the key concepts governing weapons in STO, takes a look at all the various types and presents the results of testing how damage bonuses are applied.

Hopefully this information will be useful to everyone, although more experienced players may find the Damage Modifiers and DPS Comparison over Range sections most interesting.

As always, the article is a work in progress and will be updated as I continue to shoot stuff, so please feel free to let me know what you think (and point out any mistakes I may have made).

Skills: The Numbers Updated

Made a couple of updates to the new Skills: The Numbers article.

The testing I’ve been doing with weapons seems to confirm that weapon skill bonuses are applied to the ‘base’ damage of a weapon, as reported by STOked, so I made a clarification to the phrasing of the How Skills Work: Stats and Bonuses section.

(There’ll be more details on the damage bonuses in an upcoming article. For now, check the STOked article if you’re interested, as their results seem to match mine.)

I also realised that I’d forgotten something in the Build Implications section, so added it under the heading of ‘One for All, Not All for One’.

Skills: The Numbers

The skills system is one of the most important aspects of Star Trek: Online, affecting how well your characters perform at almost everything they do, and intrinsically tied to their progression through the ranks and grades. Unfortunately, it’s also rather poorly explained, which leads to much confusion among new players and beta veterans alike.

Following on from the general overview of the STO skills system given in Character Basics, the new Skills: The Numbers article takes a closer look at how skills work, the numbers involved, and some of their implications for deciding where to spend your hard-earned skill points.

Hope you find it helpful – as always, any feedback, comments, ideas or criticism are gratefully received.

Weapon Ranges

More server maintenance once again means more time to flip through pages of notes and put together an article.

Weapon Ranges presents the results of testing the effects of range on the different types of starship weapons in Star Trek: Online, something that turns out to be particularly important to those captains who prefer to arm themselves with cannons or turrets, but should be useful for any aspiring Admiral to know.

Hope you find it helpful – feedback, comments, ideas and criticism are gratefully accepted.