Release notes/20100727

Skillpoint Cap increased to Level 51

 * Players now earn a new Rank at 46 and unlock these new Fleet Abilities at 48. These are click team buffs that last for a 30 second duration. Depending on the captain, the buffs provide the following:
 * Tactical Fleet provides a damage and attack vector skill buff to your entire team over the duration. Tactical Fleet bonuses do not stack with other active Tactical Fleets.
 * Science Fleet provides a shield damage resistance and science skill buff to your entire team over the duration. Science Fleet bonuses do not stack with other active Science Fleets.
 * Engineering Fleet provides a damage resistance and engineering skill buff to your entire team over the duration. Engineering Fleet bonuses do not stack with other active Engineering Fleets.
 * Players that progress to level 51 will:
 * Earn the “Slip Space” high speed sector space propulsion ability.
 * Unlock access to new refit ships (Federation) or a captured Fek’ihri ship (Klingon).
 * Access to a whole new tier of Mark XI loot and items.
 * With the newly earned skill points, players can now more completely fill out their higher tier skills.
 * Unlock Vice Admiral Daily Missions: PvP, Exploration, Special Task Force, Fleet Action.

Exploration Cruiser Retrofit (T5 Galaxy w/ Saucer Separation - Fed Only)

 * Bridge Officer Slots (Seating changed)
 * Lieutenant Tactical Station
 * Commander Engineering Station
 * Lieutenant Commander Engineering Station
 * Ensign Engineering Station
 * Lieutenant Science Station
 * Weapon Slots
 * 4 Fore
 * 4 Aft
 * Console Mods
 * 4 Engineering
 * 2 Tactical
 * 2 Science
 * Saucer Separation
 * Recharge Time 10 minutes
 * Creates Saucer Pet:
 * Saucer has 2 Phaser Arrays
 * Engineering Team and Emergency Power To Shields (Has 900 of your crew)
 * You command the Stardrive section (Makes you Escort-like):
 * Buffs your Impulse Speed
 * Buff your Turn Rate
 * Changes your power levels to Escort Power Levels
 * Reduces your Hull HP and Shield HP
 * Your Crew reduced to 100

Long Range Science Vessel Retrofit (T5 Intrepid with Ablative Generators - Fed Only)

 * Bridge Officer Slots (Seating changed)
 * Lieutenant Tactical Station
 * Lieutenant Engineering Station
 * Commander Science Station
 * Lieutenant Commander Science Station
 * Ensign Science Station
 * Weapon Slots
 * 3 Fore
 * 3 Aft
 * Console Mods
 * 2 Engineering
 * 2 Tactical
 * 4 Science
 * Ablative Generators:
 * +900 Damage Resistance Bonus (+90% Damage Resistance)
 * Energy Weapons Offline
 * Shields Offline
 * Lasts up to 30 Seconds or until you turn it off or Auxiliary goes offline
 * 5 minute Recharge Time

Tactical Escort Retrofit (T5 Defiant with Cloak - Fed Only)

 * Bridge Officer Slots (Seating changed)
 * Commander Tactical Station
 * Lieutenant Commander Tactical Station
 * Ensign Tactical Station
 * Lieutenant Engineering Station
 * Lieutenant Science Station
 * Weapon Slots
 * 4 Fore
 * 3 Aft
 * Console Mods
 * 2 Engineering
 * 4 Tactical
 * 2 Science
 * Cloak
 * Regular, non battle, cloak

Kar’Fi Battle Carrier (T5 Captured Fek’Ihri Ship - Klingon Only)

 * Bridge Officer Slots
 * Commander Science Station
 * Ensign Science Station
 * Lieutenant Commander Tactical Station
 * Lieutenant Tactical Station
 * Lieutenant Engineering Station
 * Weapon Slots
 * 4 Fore
 * 3 Aft
 * Console Mods
 * 2 Engineering
 * 3 Tactical
 * 4 Science
 * Special Abilities
 * 1 Hangar Bay
 * A Fek’Ihri Frigate
 * Kamikaze Fighters
 * These are Fek’Ihri fighters that will Kamikaze into their target if they are not destroyed after a set amount of time.

Dabo

 * You can now play Dabo in Quark’s Bar or the new Dabo room on Drozana Station!
 * Pick your stakes and place a bet on up to three locations on the wheel.
 * Get paid based on what combinations of symbols show up in each of those locations!
 * Click the Info button for a full pay schedule.
 * See where on the wheel other players are betting, and who the biggest winner is.
 * Get that wheel spinnin’ and save your Gold-Pressed Latinum for the awesome Dabo store items!

Scanning Game

 * Check out the new Scanning Minigame, which gives you a chance to improve the results of your harvesting!
 * When you interact with a harvestable item, on ground or in space, you'll see a new window.
 * This will show you two waveforms, one blue (the target) and one red (the current).
 * Click the on-screen buttons or the keyboard arrow keys to change the frequency and amplitude of the red waveform to match the blue one.
 * Be quick! You need to do this before the ambient noise becomes too great!
 * If you match the two waveforms, you will get more (and sometimes better!) items.
 * If you don't succeed in time, or if you decide not to play the minigame (press "Quit" or the "F" key) then you will get the normal harvesting results.

Fleet Emblems

 * You can now designate Fleet Emblems for your fleet to display on their ships!
 * Join or start a Fleet if you are not already a member of one.
 * Create or customize your emblem by opening your Fleet window (The arrow on the bottom right of the mini-map). Go to the Uniform tab, then click the button on the bottom right to edit the Fleet Emblem.
 * Once you create your emblem, or join a fleet with an emblem already created, you can visit the Costume or Ship customization tailors to apply or remove the Emblem to your Uniform or Ship.
 * In the Fleet Emblem Tailor you can customize your Emblem with the following controls:
 * There are 2 layers for the Emblem, Front and Back.
 * Each layer can be tinted with 2 user chosen colors, for a total of 4 colors that are customizeable.
 * The back layer can be rotated about its center.
 * The front layer can be rotated, moved, and scaled.
 * You also get a chance to choose an emblem "Background." This is what the Emblem sits upon when applied to a Uniform (for example, you can choose a circular patch). On ships, your emblem is placed directly on the surface of the ship.

Federation Diplomatic Corps

 * The Federation Diplomatic Corps is a new system that rewards players for their efforts to promote the United Federation of Planets peacefully.
 * New metric: Diplomacy Experience. This tracks non-combat activities.
 * As players perform actions that are in line with the goals of the Federation Diplomacy Corps, they are rewarded with Diplomacy Experience.
 * Diplomacy Experience allows players to rise in the ranks of the FDC all the way up to the rank of Federation Ambassador.
 * Each rank can grant new titles, abilities, transwarp powers, opposing faction bridge officers, or costume options, as well as opening up new Diplomatic missions!

First Contact Missions

 * One of the new mission types available to captains rising in the ranks of the Federation Diplomatic Corps are First Contact missions.
 * Ambassador Jiro Sugihara will occasionally contact a captain with opportunities to meet with representatives of a race not previously officially greeted by the Federation Diplomatic Corps.
 * Players will meet with representatives of these races aboard their ships and learn about their culture, as well as discuss certain topics with the Alien ambassador.
 * Your knowledge of Federation history will aid you greatly in your conversation, as will paying attention to the Diplomatic Entourage’s description of their history and culture.
 * Do well in your First Contact and you will be rewarded with faster progress through the ranks of the FDC!

200 Day Veteran Rewards are in!

 * Players that meet the 200 day requirement will receive:
 * The Redoubtable Title
 * FREE extra ship slot
 * FREE Veteran Jacket
 * A 3% Captain and Officer Skill Point Boost through Lieutenant Commander 6

Player Ship Interiors

 * All FED and KDF bridges now have a ready room built into them.
 * There is a new tab for Layout on the Bridge selection screen of the Ship Tailor. Select a Small Medium or Large interior for your ship.
 * Trophy display is supported in the ready room and the lounge. Only the Bridge owner is allowed to change what Trophies are on display on their ship.
 * Regardless of size each Layout has a Bridge Deck, Crew Deck and Engineering Deck.
 * Ship interiors feature new sliding doors that emulate the doors from the TV series.
 * Red sliding doors are Turbolifts. Use these to move between the different decks of your interior.
 * Trophies
 * Players can now earn trophies to display on their ship by completing select episodes and accolades. These Trophies are retroactive.
 * There are also trophies for taking first place in a fleet action, these Trophies are NOT retroactive but ARE totally awesome to compensate.
 * Federation and Klingon ship models are granted (respectively) upon completing the appropriate rank up missions, these Trophies are retroactive.

General

 * Player collision capsules have been reduced in size to ease up on player collisions.
 * Several improvements have been made to make the camera follow better.
 * Players may now trade commissioned Bridge Officers directly to each other.
 * Several fixes have been made to jumping and leaping.
 * A new option in Video Settings has been added for Lens Flare Quality.
 * Added congratulatory call-outs for specific Klingon ranks.
 * Civilians that wander about should now properly collide with each other without getting stuck.
 * Renaming previous ships should now properly free up the name for future ships.
 * The draw distance of the sector space border signage has been extended, so it appears from further away for those who have slower machines.
 * The lighting in the ship tailor has been adjusted.
 * Klingon Honor now shows the correct icon (instead of the Starfleet Merit icon).
 * Improved the Lighting fixes for ship headshots.
 * New store vendors are in the center of Earth Space Dock and Qo’nos under the great hall with the other vendors.
 * Older science consoles have been updated to be brought in line with the stats of newer science consoles. These older consoles now have the term “Prototype” in their name and can be sold to vendors on DS9, Drozana Station and ESD for a some Latinum.
 * The audio in Risa’s caves no longer persists after you beam away.
 * A new “sleeping” emote has been added. /em sleeping.
 * Various graphics fixes and optimizations.
 * Photon Mines are now correctly called Photon Mines in their mouseover description.
 * Security Protocol Mk III is no longer offered twice by a vendor.

Powers

 * Three new fleet abilities (one for each captain career) are granted at level 48. They are click team buffs that last for a 30 second duration. Depending on the captain, the buffs provide the following:
 * Tactical Fleet provides a damage and attack vector skill buff to your entire team over the duration. Tactical Fleet bonuses do not stack with other active Tactical Fleets.
 * Science Fleet provides a shield damage resistance and science skill buff to your entire team over the duration. Science Fleet bonuses do not stack with other active Science Fleets.
 * Engineering Fleet provides a damage resistance and engineering skill buff to your entire team over the duration. Engineering Fleet bonuses do not stack with other active Engineering Fleets.
 * Improved Hirogen enemy ship powers.
 * Fixed a bug with the Jem’Hadar rifle spray.
 * New Captain skills have been added to the skilltree to allow specialization with the new Level 51 ships: Retrofit Cruiser, Escort, and Science vessel for Federation Captains, and Kar'Fi Carrier Captain for the KDF.
 * Energy return for cannons was using the beam delay. It has now been fixed to use the proper firing cycle of the specific cannon.
 * Changed the Engineering Proficiency ability from an ongoing passive to a player click usage with duration. Updated versions for new unlocked ranks. Added small shield HoT over duration.
 * Changed the Scientific Aptitude ability from an ongoing passive to a player click usage with duration. Updated versions for new unlocked ranks. Added small HoT over duration.
 * Changed the Strike Team ability from an ongoing passive to a player click usage with duration. Updated versions for new unlocked ranks.
 * Fixed Tier 5 Hegh'tal Bird of Prey base turn rate. It was set too low.
 * Turn rates and inertia for large player ships have been slightly re-tuned in order to minimize drifting in system space.
 * Turn speed in Sector Space is now based on your current speed. The faster you move, the more slowly you turn.
 * Fixed which skills all mines and the Tricobalt device utilize. All mines were using the Photon projectile skill and the Tricobalt device was using Plasma. All mines and the Tricobalt device now use the correct skill.
 * Fleet Support: Changed ability from a passive chance to a player click usage. Updated versions for new unlocked ranks.
 * Improved the way mines spread when NPCs use them.
 * It's now possible to use regular non-Xbox joysticks and gamepads.
 * Scatter Volley: Versions II and III were using the wrong multiplier, causing more damage than the equivalent version of Rapid Fire. - Cannon Rapid Fire improves base damage by approx. 30%, 40%, 50% for versions I, II, III - Scatter Volley improves base damage by approx. 15%, 20%, 25% (but is AoE) for versions I, II, III.
 * The Borg Tractor Beam power should now be resistible with Polarize Hull.
 * Torpedo Spread: Increased travel speed of torpedoes for all damage types by 50%.
 * Palm Strike/Rifle Butt: Fixed bug that prevented associated Hold from being resisted (this would affect boss critters as well as players with Hold resistance or immunity).
 * Palm Strike/Rifle Butt: Lowered the base chance of the Hold being triggered from 50% to 10%.
 * Knockback/Expose: Fixed bug that prevented associated Hold from being resisted (this would affect boss critters as well as players with Hold resistance or immunity).
 * Automated Defense Turrets no longer shoot cloaked targets.
 * Security Escort: Fixed a bug that would allow for unlimited Security Escorts to be summoned. The maximum is now 2 pairs (4 total) per tactical officer.
 * The TOS Cruiser is now able to correctly equip Dual and Dual Heavy Cannons.
 * Fix added to remove any active ability from the player if the bridge officer that bestowed the ability is unslotted.
 * Max Shield Damage Resistance is now capped at 75% so you can no longer achieve perfect shields with multiple shield abilities.
 * Tagged shield healing abilities so that they count towards healing totals in PvP/fleet action leader boards.


 * Powers: Mask Energy Signature:
 * Improved stealth to be near cloak quality at version III.
 * Lowers weapon, shield, and engine power levels, but provides a defense bonus that lingers for 5 seconds after stealth is dropped.
 * Emergency Power to X:
 * Improved ability set so that each has a short duration secondary effect –
 * Weapons has a 5 second duration energy weapon damage bonus;
 * Shields has a shield heal;
 * Engines has a 5 second duration speed bonus (Increased duration from 4 to 5)
 * Auxiliary has a 5 second duration Perception and Stealth bonus
 * Photonic Shockwave:
 * Fixed bug that would allow the momentary knockback stun to be extended by repel abilities and Tractor Beam.
 * Added duration to UI tooltip.
 * Attack Pattern Beta III Training:
 * Fixed Klingon power tree that granted APBIII training to tactical captains without achieving rank 9 on combat maneuvers.
 * Go Down Fighting
 * Fixed calculation error that was applying skill as addition rather than multiplication, causing larger than expected damage buffs when the player is at full health.
 * Attack Pattern Omega III Training
 * Fixed bug that granted this automatically to Tactical Klingon players upon reaching Captain rank.
 * Perception buffs are now StealthSight buffs.
 * The net potency for the abilities should be unchanged, but StealthSight is a better method for buffing.

Missions

 * 8 New Klingon-only missions are available!
 * 2 Starting at Level 10 (Klingon House vs. House conflict)
 * Contacts: J’mpok and Sirella
 * 2 at Level 20 (Klingon raid on Federation territory)
 * Contact: J’mpok
 * 4 starting at Level 30 (Klingons vs. the Fek’ihri)
 * Contact: J’mpok
 * New Undine/Borg Themed Missions are available to all factions
 * These missions are given out by Captain Nicholas Martin for Federation characters.
 * These missions are given out by Captain K’rav for Klingon characters.
 * Both of these contacts can be hailed remotely.
 * These missions are available starting at level 46.
 * Seven new non-combat episodes are available!
 * These are found in the world if you head to these locations.
 * You can find five starting at Memory Alpha.
 * You can find one on Vulcan.
 * You can find one on Starbase 39.
 * You can find one in the Bajor System.
 * A New Fleet Action is available in the Pelia (Undine) Sector
 * The Federation contact for this mission is Nicholas Martin, Klingons simply need to fly to the map in the Undine Sector.
 * Feds and Klingons will be on the same map and will WORK TOGETHER for this fleet action.
 * Players from opposing factions can’t team.
 * Players from opposing factions can’t fight each other while in the Fleet action.
 * Fixed a bug in the mission Suspect where Drake was being reported as falling through the floor.
 * Fixed typos in several Star Cluster missions.
 * The accolade icon for the Azura has been updated.
 * Various fixes have been made to several missions.
 * Fixed instances where players were being called out by character rank and nickname – now they will use character rank and character's last name.

PvP

 * Ker’rat
 * Players are now able to engage the opposing team in Ker’rat and other PvP maps.
 * Various faction and spawn location issues have been fixed in Ker’rat.
 * There is now a Vice Admiral version of Ker’rat.
 * Players will no longer be able to get stuck next to the warp core in the Assimilated Cruiser PvP map.
 * Players will no longer occasionally spawn at enemy spawn points for all PvP maps.
 * Players should no longer be occasionally assigned to an incorrect faction in PvP.
 * Players should no longer unexpectedly be removed from PvP maps.
 * Players should now be able to join a PvP match once the match has started (if the PvP prompt is still up).
 * PvP Scoreboard now properly displays scores for shield healing.

UI

 * A "Bulletins" list item has been added to the minimap dropdown menu.
 * When you choose a character and start playing, you may see a popup window displaying game bulletins. These will be general announcements and items of interest from the GMs. You will only see the most recent bulletins when you start playing, but you can see all bulletins by using the "Bulletins" list item in the minimap dropdown menu.
 * An error message should now be displayed when you attempt to commission a ship after you already have the maximum number.
 * Players can now submit bug tickets in the Tailor and ship customization screens.
 * The C-Store border texture has been improved.
 * Default ship powers that affect shield facing now default to Tray #6.
 * Fixed a condition that would sometimes cause dialog boxes to reappear after progressing through them.
 * Fixed issues with certain Fleet permissions overlapping the scroll bar.
 * Fixed a minor bug with checkbox positioning in the Character Creator.
 * Improved the way Fleets are found in a search.
 * Powers and items with limited lifetimes now have an indicator in the tooltip.
 * Text in contact dialogs must now take at least 40% of the dialog box.
 * The Badges tab in the Inventory has been renamed the Assets tab. You can now find your Starfleet Merits / Klingon Honor and Energy Credits there.
 * The ESC key now leaves the Away Team Picker.
 * The Queue system is now more reluctant to launch PvP maps without the proper number of characters on each team.
 * Updated art for Klingon rank pips.
 * When transitioning into certain new locations, the name of the location now fades in, then out.
 * Added a "Match level?" radio button to the Join Team window.
 * Exploit icons should no longer flash in your tray when you are targeting a friend.
 * Periodic buffs should no longer appear to flicker.
 * Corrected icons for inline randomize and reset in the Klingon Tailor.
 * Clicking the XP bar now shows a popup window with all the rewards at all experience levels.
 * Removed a check that was preventing names of contacts from showing up when they weren't targeted.
 * Fix for a position issue with contact names while the contact is targeted.
 * Fix for incorrect grade being reported when setting Fleet Event restrictions to Vice Admiral Rank.
 * Unused ship slots will now show in the ship selection window.
 * The cost of changes now updates in the Ship Editor UI.
 * Faction names when mousing over the target portrait should now display correctly when targeting a player.
 * Klingons now have a faction-themed interact bar.
 * There are now buttons to snap the ship view to different orientations in the Ship Customization screen.
 * A star now appears over extra items gained when you successfully match waveforms (when scanning Anomalies).
 * The Galaxy Map has been updated with the Deferi Sector and Pelia Sector.
 * The Stance options in the character creator no longer overflow the screen.
 * The Character Creation screen should now correctly show gender-specific traits (i.e. for Orion characters).
 * Emblems have been added to the Assets tab in the inventory.
 * Item tooltips now have an 0.8 second delay.
 * “X” has returned to the Search UI to denote items you’re excluding.
 * Some ability tags have been expanded (i.e. “Meleedmg” is now more readable as “Melee damage” in the Character Select UI).
 * You should properly see the number of Honor / Merits, Skill Points, etc. you gain at the end of a PvP match again.
 * The combat log should no longer show negative numbers for healing.
 * Automatic camera rotation has been slowed down a bit.
 * The “Higher settings in tailor / character select” option is working properly again.
 * The Purchase button is now grayed out if you do not have enough Energy Credits to select a new bridge layout.
 * The Energy Credit cost now properly updates when you rename your costume.
 * The Private and Mute check buttons no longer overlap in the Chat Admin UI.
 * Fixed an issue that caused the Klingon version of Aux power to the Structural Integrity Field to display with a Federation Blue icon.
 * Fixed an issue where Klingon engineering Bridge Officers wouldn't get icons in the away team picker.

FX

 * Added improvements to death conditions during various states (crouch, stun, groundstun, knockback, and vaporize).
 * Several bug fixes and improvements to many FX have been made.

Ships

 * There have been several cosmetic improvements to both new and existing ships models, including the Dreadnought Cruiser, Intrepid / Voyager, Sovereign, Nomad, and Defiant.
 * Added a "None" option for the Secondary Dish on Tier 5 Science ships.
 * Adjusted the collision on certain ships.
 * The camera distance for certain ships in the Ship Editor has been adjusted.

Characters

 * Female Orion characters can now wear badges on certain uniform pieces. Tiaras can also be worn.
 * Fixes have been made to Klingon arm badges.
 * Improved customization options for Nausicaan, Orion, and Klingon characters.
 * Minor improvements have been made to Ferengi character models.
 * New rank pips have been added.
 * Various fixes have been made to Nausicaan and Klingon uniforms.
 * A female version of the Klingon TOS uniform has been added.
 * The clipping on female Klingon gauntlets has been fixed.
 * Various male and female Klingon clothing options have been touched up.
 * Some eye attachments on the liberated borg costume parts now have borg laser FX.

Audio

 * Borg ambient chatter has been added (Whirrs and clicks).
 * Fixed the floors in Defiant variants 1-4 so they make carpet footfall sounds instead of metal ones.
 * Adjusted the sound of certain ship engines.
 * Ambient sounds have been added to the Vulcan ground map.
 * Some ambient sounds have been adjusted to prevent flanging.

Known Issues
Many of the following issues will be addressed in a bug fix patch as soon as we can get the fixes through.
 * The contact that provides Klingon Faction level 51 daily missions is missing.
 * Mission objectives do not advance in “Bringing Down the House” if the user kills Tarsens crew before entering the cargo room.
 * Players are not receiving the perk for finding all of the unique particles from the new anomaly scan minigame.
 * Shield and scaled healing rewards are not being given in PVP maps.
 * Klingon faction players are not hearing all of the Dabo audio on the Drozana station.
 * Klingon episodes need additional loot rewards other than the final mission arc item.
 * Some of the new sectors do not properly show player location while look at the Galaxy Map.
 * Anomalies are being given out at player level. We have a fix coming for this to allow players to get lower level anomalies even if they are above the sector level.