Revamped USS Enterprise to debut with Star Trek Online Flagship Celebration event
MMORPG Star Trek Online will be getting more representation from Star Trek: Picard this week, in the form of...a ship from Star Trek Online. On June 8, 2023, the in-game "Flagship Celebration" limited-time event will kick off. As part of the event, all existing playable Odyssey-class starships in the game will get a facelift, receiving an updated, high-detail ship model based on the appearance of the USS Enterprise-F, which was seen in the ninth episode of Star Trek: Picard's third season.
The fifth Federation Starfleet ship to bear the name Enterprise in Star Trek history, the Enterprise-F was originally a non-canonical ship design created for Star Trek Online. The design was first conceptualized by artist Adam Ihle, as the winning illustration for a "Design the Next Enterprise" competition held in 2011. That winning design was refined by artists at Cryptic, appearing in 2012 as the Odyssey-class starship. In 2022 the ship was then incorporated into Star Trek: Picard's third season at the request of Picard Production Designer Dave Blass.
According to a blog post by Star Trek Online Art Director Thomas Marrone, the Star Trek Online team rebuilt the Odyssey-class starship's in-game model to a much higher level of detail, meeting the needs of the show's CGI renderings. That work is now being fed back into Star Trek Online proper, with the "remastered" Odyssey-class model now being the highest-detail starship model in the whole game.
Marrone also showed off shots of the updated model and some of its bespoke new features (like custom window visuals and a brand new hull material texture), as well as a "technical readout" highlighting the design's various parts.
On June 8, 2023, players will be able to use the new design as a cosmetic skin preset for any Odyssey-class ship in the game. The design will also be applicable to all Odyssey-class variant ships as well, including the Yorktown, Sojourner, Endeavor, and Lexington classes.
Besides the addition of the revamped Odyssey model to the game, the Flagship Celebration event also involves gameplay. Players can complete team-based Task Force Operations each day of the event to build up progress. Once progress is completed, players can claim a reward in the form of a holographic bridge officer character based on Beverly Crusher. Dr. Crusher appears as she does in Star Trek: Picard season three (though she's wearing a Star Trek Online uniform).
Star Trek Online is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The Flagship Celebration goes live for PC players on June 8, 2023. Console players will receive the event at a later date.