Star Trek Online Producer, Daniel Stahl writes this look at the technology behind the game that will allow players to truly explore a vast universe without requiring an army of developers.

Hello, my name is Daniel Stahl and I’m a producer on Star Trek Online.

Ask any Star Trek fan to quote the opening to the TV show and you’ll hear the words “…to boldly go where no one has gone before.”

It’s a defining characteristic and mission statement in Star Trek. Explore. Go out there and see what you find.

As a producer, it begs the question, “How?” How can you explore someplace new in an MMO where there are zones and maps and contacts and missions that everyone seems to have access to over the course of their character’s career? Most game content is hand created by a staff of designers and artists who spend time placing things where they should be, making sure that there is a natural progression to what you do. It is a lot of work just to make a single planetary system.

Read the Dev Blog: Going Someplace New

Seems like an interesting/ingenious idea.  Something like this will take a lot of time to program and setup in the beginning, but once running, and running well, it would save countless hours and provide unlimited expansion, providing what is essentially a limitless universe.

Will it work? heh  That's the big question, isn't it?  But the idea of having a game world so large that I'll never be able to fully explore it myself is very appealing.

 Ask any Star Trek fan to quote the opening to the TV show and you’ll hear the words

“…to boldly go where no one has gone before.”

Bah!!!  Revisionist Heretic!!!

Here's the Original intro to the Original Star Trek, spoken by Capt. James Tiberius Kirk himself-

www.youtube.com/watch

"...to boldly go where no Man has gone before"

Man, as in Mankind, as in humanity; not some politically correct powder puff muddying of a once clear destiny.

Kirk 'd knock ya on yer ass if he heard such watered down limp wristed gender neutral pablum!