Remnant Q&A with Cryptic

http://www.remnantgamingnews.com/star-trek-online/188-qaa/177-star-trek-online-qaa

Remnant Gaming News: How does grouping with other players effect the points earned by each player?

Cryptic Studios: Well this is an MMO so we encourage people to team up and play together so whether you’re fighting alone or with a team you will earn rewards for completing missions.

RGN: Are fleet's restricted to using an in-game system to design their logo's or will they be able to submit their own designs?

Cryptic: Right now it’s in-system to design your logo. We might have in the future where you can submit your own logo’s but that’s tricky since Star Trek is a franchise controlled not just by Cryptic, but by CBS and Paramount as well. We have to be very careful with what makes it into the game, both for contractual and for immersion reasons.

RGN: Will players be able to toggle certain parts of the HUD like the shield indicators surrounding their ship, for example?

Cryptic: We’re definitely working on making the UI and HUD customizable, so everyone can enjoy Star Trek Online in their own way. The UI tends to be the last thing finished in a game, but we want to make elements like that toggle-able.

RGN: Can you tell us about any of your immediate update plans the team will be pursuing after launch? Is there content that may not reach launch that we may see soon after?

Cryptic: We announced recently that we would have bridges in our game. So we’re looking after launch having more ship interiors based on player feedback. Of course there are many other things we are working on that will be released after launch, that we haven’t yet disclosed and just really listening to the fans and community of what they would like see put in the game.

RGN: Can multiple fleets form alliances in any sort of ongoing fashion or just temporary ones like Raid Groups?

Cryptic: It really depends on the size of the fleets. But multiple people will be able to team up and play together. I don’t think at launch people will just be able to group up and form their own raid other then the raid missions we have setup.

RGN: Will there be a cap on the number of members in a fleet?

Cryptic: Yes, for technological reasons. The great thing about technological advancements, however, is this number can always improve as our tech does.

RGN: Will there be any sort of mail/messaging system that players can use to send messages and even trade items?

Cryptic: Yes you will be able to message other players and you will also be able to trade items. For example if I have a few of the same items but a friend of mine doesn’t any. We’ll be able to trade items.

RGN: Will it be possible for ship captains to record astro-metric data (maps) of the systems and sectors they explore, and then perhaps share that data with other players?

Cryptic: The map system is pretty detailed and list all of the systems within the sector so you will be able to tell your friends that you were just in a certain system, sector, star cluster, etc. and tell them the name of where you were and then they will be able to look up on their map and go there as well.

RGN: How many levels of rank can you have in a fleet and how controllable are the permissions?

Cryptic: We’re still fine-tuning a lot of our fleet mechanics. Features such as these are still up in the air, so I don’t want to give you any number until things are more concrete. Sorry!

RGN: How is “kill stealing” being addressed in STO? Is there some sort of “tagging” system in place or planned? Will it be a factor when in combat with other ships not in your group?

Cryptic: The way the game works, you tend to get more rewards for completing objectives within a mission, and the majority of the time you’re in one specific place, everyone has the same mission, meaning someone “kill stealing” you is actually just helping you progress through whatever stage of the mission you’re working on. That’s definitely a major benefit of the instancing system.

We'd like to thank the folks at Cryptic Studios and the Star Trek Online team for their time.

Neat article with a few interesting points!
Btw the fleet limit atm is set at 250, so we're still safe