Star Trek Online post-launch interview

A: Are you happy with the single-server model for the game - any chance of splitting off, say, a dedicated PvP server?

CZ: Like anything it has its positives and negatives. We're always looking at ways to improve our servers, whether it's to be able to handle more of load from a standpoint of players being able to play, or perhaps not being on a single-server model as you mentioned. But at this point, we don't plan on adding a new shard.

A: There's a lot of effort made to tie in STO with the events of the last Trek film - did that cause any issues during development?
CZ: Not particularly. Well, not any more than there was to tie the rest of the story into the game. Since the game occurs in the prime universe, much of the events from the JJ Abrams didn't happen in STO's timeline. Granted, Romulus was destroyed, but Spock is presumed dead and Vulcan is still around. We did really enjoy building stories around the fractured Romulan civilization, though. It's a very interesting time for that part of the galaxy in 2409.

A: Are you happy with the Star Cluster missions - at the moment the procedural generation doesn't seem to be throwing up a lot of variation.
CZ: We do have plans to have more variation in these missions such as different mission quests you may go on and new species you may bump into and so forth. And of course, we want to add more, more, more! The universe is a huge place, and we want STO to reflect that.

A: How are the plans progressing to bring more diplomatic options into the game? 
CZ: It's coming along well. We're adding more dialogue driven missions and more exploration missions that have First Contact with different alien races. We definitely want to add more and more diplomatic missions. We know this is something the fans want more of, so we're working on giving that to them.

A: In regards to PvP, will you ever consider letting PvP have an impact on what systems are held by a particular faction? It would be great to be able to have a real organic frontline along the Neutral Zone...
CZ: We've already been discussing this internally for some time now. We don't want the whole game to turn into PvP, but we are looking at ways to have systems or sectors controlled by opposing factions. Maybe one week the Federation owns a sector, and the Klingons own it the next week. We also want it to feel dynamic, that your faction of choice having ownership over one of these systems or sectors has real game consequences. That you're not just fighting over one system or sector for bragging rights. But it's a ways down the line. Implementing world-changing PvP is one of those things that's very, very hard to do right. It's not something you can plop on the table, and if we go in that direction, we want to do it right on the first attempt.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Craig. Bring on those Sector battles