ZAM interviews Star Trek Online executive producer Dan Stahl about his new role at Cryptic, and what he plans to bring to the development table

ZAM: Let's talk about Season 2 and some of the future content scheduled for later release… The "weekly episodes" launched in Season 2 seem really exciting; can you explain the general concept and design of these new episodes?

Stahl: The concept behind the weekly series is to provide a fun "look forward to" event every week that players of all levels and factions can equally participate in. Each week the new episode will become available at a set time and place and player will be able to group up and experience the story as it unfolds.

The missions themselves aren't meant to be groundbreaking or take longer to complete than our existing episodes, but they will follow a specific storyline and allow us to focus on characters and locations that might not normally be seen in regular gameplay.

In the first episode players will be sent to assist the Deferi who are being attacked by none other than the Breen, who were last seen as an ally of the Dominion. Why they are attacking and what they are looking for is something the players will uncover over the upcoming weeks. At the end, if players were able to complete all the episodes before the next series begins, they will receive a special mission reward, exclusive to Series 1.

ZAM: What's the story with the Deferi, the neutral alien race involved in these weekly episodes? Will they eventually play a greater role in the STO universe, or mainly serve as mission hubs?

Stahl: We are introducing the Deferi as a faction that has ties to both the Federation and the Klingon Empire and much like the Capellans from the original series episode "Friday's Child," the Deferi have their own opinions about the conflict between the Federation and Klingon Empire.

While the Deferi aren't planned as a new primary species to the game, they do provide interesting commentary on the differences between the two factions.

ZAM: Any details about the ancient new "nemesis" opposing the Klingon Empire? You mentioned this "mystical" enemy may introduce some new gameplay mechanics that we haven't seen in Star Trek yet…

Stahl: When making episodes that would be unique for the Klingon Empire, we wanted to focus on enemies that would use melee combat to emphasize the Klingon's history with swords and knives. That is where the idea to use the mythological Klingon foes—the Fek'ihri—came from.

The myth states that the Fek'ihri were conquered in ancient times by the Kahless the Unforgettable using the first bat'leth, the Sword of Kahless. We wanted to pursue the idea that perhaps this wasn't a myth and that the Fek'ihri are indeed a real threat.

ZAM: In our final interview with Craig, we learned more about the non-combat missions the Federation Diplomacy Corps will offer in Season 2. What are some of the rewards and perks that players can earn by gaining experience in the Corps? We've heard that high-ranking players will get the chance to lead "first encounter" missions and attend diplomatic functions, but how are these rewards represented in-game?

Stahl: As players rank up in the Federation Diplomatic Corps, they gain various titles and earn the opportunity to be selected for First Contact missions where they will represent the Federation in a diplomatic gesture towards a newly discovered Warp Capable species.

Just as was seen in episodes such as "A Matter of Honor" and "Sins of the Father," captains who have achieved the highest rank in the diplomatic corps are allowed to participate in the Officer Exchange Program. This program allows their ship to take on a crew member from the opposing faction as a way of improving relations.

ZAM: Some players are reporting a disparity between Cryptic's lofty goals for ship interiors and what they're actually seeing in the public test server… Players say ship interiors should be more interactive, include more turbolifts, feature the ability to assign crew to various ship stations and other issues. Is the team making progress on any of these ship features scheduled for Season 2.x updates?

Stahl: As we've been discussing over the development of Season 2, this is our first step toward allowing players to have ship interiors and while it doesn't have everything we wanted, it is a step in the right direction. We certainly want to add more features and more customization and will continue to develop this feature in future updates.

In regard to considering community requests for interiors, we will absolutely continue to work with player requests to ensure we are developing in the right direction.

ZAM: How about an exclusive hint regarding Season 3's "Secret Project" announced in the latest Engineering Report? We'll keep it just between us… honest! ;)

Stahl: While I can't confirm or deny what the Secret Project is, I do find it interesting to read all of the comments online about what it "could" be. One thing that is clear is that no single feature is going to please everyone all the time. We do hope that what we are working on does improve the game significantly and can't wait to show players what is in store as we get closer to November.

ZAM: Finally, since you took the helm as STO's executive producer, what is one question that you've always wished someone would ask you in an interview, but they never have? No matter how many times we tried, we never could get Craig to answer this question… the poor guy had been picked to death about every 'Trek question imaginable, he said.

Stahl: Oddly enough, since taking the helm as EP, no one has asked me to sing the Ultimate Klingon. During the pre-launch development I would bust out my guitar and start singing this song while waiting for my machine to patch.

I guess I'm going to have to wait until I'm retired and hit the Star Trek Convention circuit with my guitar. Now that's a funny thing to imagine.

For those who are curious… here are the lyrics to the Ultimate Klingon:

I'm having a really bad day!
I got sent to Rura Penthe!
Get your boot spikes out of my way!
Or you filthy Pahtk will pay!

Cause I'm the Ultimate Klingon!
Cause I'm the Ultimate Klingon!
You're not the Ultimate Klingon!
Cause I'm the Ultimate Klingon!!!

I'm a Dahar Master! ("No Way!")
I can kick your ass in Melee! ("Hey Hey!")
So all you Kirk's best do what I say!
Or I'll decloak my Bird of Prey!

Cause I'm the Ultimate Klingon!
Cause I'm the Ultimate Klingon!
You're not the Ultimate Klingon!
Cause I'm the Ultimate Klingon!!!

ZAM: Woot! We're sure the expo audiences would love to see a live performance sometime! Thanks again for taking the time to chat with us, Daniel. We're looking forward to hearing more from you in the future!

Stahl: Thank you, Zam!