E3 2002: Starfleet Command III preshow report

Activision will be showing off Star Trek Starfleet Command III, its upcoming tactical space combat game, on the show floor at the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo. The game will be the first in the series to take place in the Star Trek: The Next Generation timeline, and it will improve on its predecessors with better graphics, an enhanced multiplayer campaign, and a streamlined interface. The game is also designed to appeal to fans of the previous games as well as players new to the series.

"One of the guiding principles behind Star Trek Starfleet Command III's design is that even though this is a deep starship combat sim, you don't need to be a Starfleet Academy graduate to operate the game or understand its interface," said Erik Bethke, CEO and cofounder of Taldren, the studio that is developing the game. "Fans of the earlier games will be right at home, and new users will be clashing with other starships and conquering quadrants in no time."

Starfleet Command III will let players take control of all the crew members and systems aboard their ship. Players will have to balance the ship's resources between various systems such as shields and weapons, and they will have cloaking, tractor beams, and shuttles to increase their tactical options. Ships can be customized with new weapons, shields, sensors, and other systems, and players can recruit new crew members with improved skills and abilities. The game will also include an enhanced multiplayer mode that uses the Dynaverse 3 persistent online environment, which lets players be a part of the same fleet, travel together across the map, and join forces in battle.

Star Trek Starfleet Command III is in development at Taldren, the studio that created the previous games in the series, and it is scheduled for release near the end of the year.