Star Trek Online

Lets start off with a little introduction. I am Lieutenant Commander Talak Rahl of the Operations Division of Lotus Fleet, and I am the Fleet Recruitment Coordinator. I joined Lotus Fleet just shy of about one month ago, but since I've joined, I have been amazed by the dedication and hard work that many members put into Lotus Fleet.

Now, Lotus Fleet was created for the purpose of being one of the premier fleets in the upcoming Star Trek Online game, and was created in January 2008. However, since the announcement from Perpetual that they were dropping out of development, many people became anxious and worried that ST:O would never come out. Those few months were fairly hard on Lotus Fleet, but with patience and perseverance, they were able to pull through those difficult times. Now, with the word that Cryptic has been working on ST:O, Lotus Fleet still has its door open to any new prospective members.

Let me state some of the highlights of the fleet. Lotus Fleet is a place for active, mature gamers to get ready and be prepared for the launch of Star Trek Online. One of the most brilliant things about Lotus Fleet, at least in my opinion, is that its built around a structure that reduces drama. In every MMO, there will be drama, and Lotus Fleet has a system in place to combat that, so instead of endless bickering amongst members, we can move forward and boldly go.

Another aspect of the fleet is our command structure. We have Fleet Admiral Nova and Admiral Redshirt; they are Lotus Fleet's Commanding Officer and Executive Officer, respectively. Under them are three divisions of Lotus Fleet: Command, Operations, and Academy. Each division has its respective commanding and executive officer, except command where Fleet Admiral Nova and Admiral Redshirt act in those positions for obvious reasons. These three division makes up Lotus Fleet as a whole, and all are essential in their function.

Operations is perhaps one of the largest out of the three sections of Lotus Fleet. Its purpose is to prepare the fleet for when Star Trek Online launches and to manage many of the events that are being held in the fleet. As of now we are working on getting together groups for training in Bridge Commander and Elite Force 2 for being better prepared once the actual game comes out. We are using Bridge Commander as the space combat aspect of ST:O and EF2 for the ground aspect of ST:O. Even if the gameplay turns out to be nothing like these two games mentioned above, the exercises and training still work as practice for formations and teamwork, as well as forming bonds between each Lotus Fleet member. There is also Roleplaying, for those that enjoy it. We have various ships that are being filled up as we speak with members that would like to RP. As far as Roleplaying goes, we actually condense the storylines from the various episodes that have been finished into a novel format for posting. There are also many other things in Operations that have not been mentioned, but for brevity's sake, I won't go into that. however, if you do have any questions, feel free to PM me, visit the site, or post here.

As for the Academy, this is actually open to anyone. That's right anyone. Even if you do not want to be part of Lotus Fleet, you may still join the Academy and graduate with a Lotus Fleet diploma (and yes we do have diplomas). At the Academy, you can take various tracks like Science, Engineering, Tactical, Medical, etc and there are over 60 courses to choose from. The Academy is in place also to get all of our members to the same level of Star Trek knowledge, at least, get some more relaxed fans relatively on the same level as the more knowledgeable ones. Right now, the Academy is still in the works, but it's very close to release, with estimated release date in about under two weeks, and so if you have any questions about the Academy you can leave a post here, PM me, or visit our site.

This pretty much concludes some of the major points that Lotus Fleet has to offer to prospective members, but what you see here is definitely not all we have. Further, we are also working on a new website, so if you don't like how our site is laid out, then you have no worries, since that will be changing very soon. (also sometime in September)

Regards,
Lt. Commander Talak Rahl

Chief Engineer of the USS Umpqua

Fleet Recruitment Coordinator

www.lotusfleet.com
 

what will be Lotus Fleet's policy on working with the Klingons ?

Ive considered playing a klingon captain with some loyalties to the federation. This is assuming of course that its even possible for the klingons and federation to interact

Originally posted by admriker4

what will be Lotus Fleet's policy on working with the Klingons ?

Ive considered playing a klingon captain with some loyalties to the federation. This is assuming of course that its even possible for the klingons and federation to interact

Well, if you've visited our site, we're obviously a Federation fleet. Concerning our Klingon policies, we will have to see how that works out as you said and we're still fine tuning our diplomatic treaties and such. I will have to talke more with the Diplomatic Corps section of Operations to answer your question more fully. However, we have had talks about opening a Klingon Division of Lotus Fleet, but for now those are just talks. I will be asking my superiors about Klingon allies, since it would prove interesting if it were possible at all.

Lotus Fleet sounds very appealing. Let me know when you've clarified your policy on klingons.

I see two playable options for myself....

scenario 1 - the game is geared toward conflict between factions (federation and klingon). I see myself roleplaying a renegade klingon captain with ties to the federation. I will of course work as a spy, reporting plans, possible attacks, and more to my federation friends. I will not engage federation ships unless forced to defend myself.

scenario 2 - the game works more like a competition between the factions with some cooperation possible. In this scenario I'd probably be a klingon captain assisting the federation when a fleet is necessary to repel a borg threat, etc. Pretty much the same as above but I wont need to worry about hiding a lot or reprisals from my fellow klingons.

oh and whats your website address

You bring up a lot of interesting questions that force us to think about some new Klingon policies, so Kudos to you :) However, I won't be able to give you a definite answer until probably after our next Fleet meeting (Wednesday 10:30 EST; you're always welcome to drop by on Teamspeak for the meeting.) I have been talking to the Executive Officer of Operations about Klingon alliances, but so far, we just don't know enough about the game to make any firm policies. I will be talking with the Commanding Officer of Operations, the Commanding Officer of Lotus Fleet, and the Senior Fleet Diplomatic Officer to come up with any solutions and throw around ideas, so I will keep you posted. If I can talk with all three of them before the next meeting, I will also update it here on this thread.

As for your 2nd question, so so so sorry about not posting a website link. That was really dumb of me, but anyways here it is: www.lotusfleet.com Good Luck as a rogue Klingon!

hey... im Hinaito off of the STO forums... i have to wonder... you said that training and stuff is from BC and EFII.... but what if i dont have either of those games...

Originally posted by PunisherX

hey... im Hinaito off of the STO forums... i have to wonder... you said that training and stuff is from BC and EFII.... but what if i dont have either of those games...

Yes, our primary training will be off of Bridge Commander and Elite Force II, however, we do realize that these games are VERY expensive now, so if someone doesn't have it, then that person would have to pay an arm and a leg just get a copy. We actually have many members that are in your position, and part of the process is to get our other members included, and not just the select few that have these games.

So, for members of Lotus Fleet that do not have games such as Bridge Commander or Elite Force II, we do have other things that members can do. Realize that Lotus Fleet just isn't about one thing and that training through Bridge Commander and Elite Force II is only one small aspect of what Lotus Fleet is about. We have Roleplaying, Trivia, and the upcoming academy that our members can participate in. Also, many of our members have other star trek games that you might have, and you can always ask them for a game or two if you're feeling bored. We are also still filling out positions in our Academy and Operations division, so if any of those jobs appeal to you then feel free to apply; however, I would caution you to get to know the fleet a little better before applying to any position.

We are still currently in the works as far as activities and events for the fleet, which our Events Division under Operations will be planning.

If you have any other questions feel free to post :)

Update from Lotus Fleet

A month has passed since my last post, and yes Lotus Fleet is still very much alive and doing very well. For now, I would just like to update the Star Trek community about how Lotus Fleet has been progressing since my initial post and what we plan for the future.

First off, the Academy. I realize that I stated that the Academy would be releasing somewhere in mid-September, and unfortunately at the time of the post, I had misunderstood what the Academy Commanding Officer had said. However, this does not mean that the Academy has been stagnated in anyway, but is in fact very very close to completion. Actually, in reality, all Lotus Fleet Academy courses and tests have been completed and are currently being uploaded onto our own Cadet User Interface (CUI), and the Fleet Officers and Academy staff will begin Alpha-stage testing of the Academy. So, please be aware that the Academy is coming on along extremely well and we're all very excited for its very near release. Hopefully, if all goes well, then the Academy will be released for public use sometime in early/mid-October. Everyone in Lotus Fleet is extremely proud of our Academy staff and anyone who helped write the courses; they put an amazing amount of work and effort to get everything together, and they should all be applauded for their devotion.

Now for our Operations division, many things have been developed and refined for the past month. I had stated in the past that our site should have been released somewhere around this time, and again, I apologize for the delay and the somewhat faulty information. But again, we are working on it and in fact, we have new forums that are very close to being released (very close meaning next week if everything goes well). However, the new website itself has seen a few more delays than we would have liked, but due to, as all of you have experienced, real-life complications, which is perfectly understandable, our website has been delayed for quite a while. But, I would like to happily report that Lotus Fleet has gotten off the ground with our new website and a team has been put together and they are working diligently on creating the "new face" of Lotus Fleet. Expect more updates concerning our new website in the upcoming months. Next, our Diplomatic Corp, headed by Lieutenant Commander ElijahMrE, our Fleet Senior Diplomatic Officer, has made a huge bounds in progress with our diplomatic policy and documents. Lotus Fleet is well on its way to forging new relationships with other fleets, and we're hoping that we will have some prolific alliances once Star Trek Online releases.

I would also like to add in a little note for our Admiral Redshirt. He has put in a leave of absence from Lotus Fleet because of one of his family member's health, and he has opted to spend more time with his family, naturally. Admiral Redshirt has been an invaluable asset to Lotus Fleet as the Executive Officer, and has contributed countless amounts of hours and dedication into the Fleet, and his retirement is in good faith. We all have hopes in our hearts and best wishes for Random Redshirt and his ailed family member.

Lotus Fleet has been a work in progress since the beginning of January, and we're continuing to develop and refine our fleet so that we may become one of premier fleets in Star Trek Online. Thank you for your time and stay