It may have missed your attention, but ST:NH has completed its 4th birthday. This means the mod is now one of the old rabbits, but not yet one of the old iron.
For this year we have come up with something very special, a wish the community has already wanted from the beginning, 4 years ago. For a long time we didn’t have a chance, because steam exclusivity was mandatory. But now we have a solution in accordance with the paradox rules, which allows us to make the ST: New Horizons mod available for download outside of Steam. But not only that. It was important to us to leave a Legacy for the people involved and for the ST:NH project itself.
So we made all relevant milestones of the mod freely available on Gitlab and in memory of those years, we gave everyone involved the opportunity to share some thoughts about it.
It was a great time. But when you see all the other projects that have come out of this one, I look forward to seeing new legacies presented soon.
So now everyone pay tribute to the voices of the mod and have fun with the all versions in this new Legacy – that will always be up to date with Steam.
I grew up watching The Next Generation on syndicated television, it’s bright, optimistic, philosophical and of course carpeted vision of the future ingrained in me a deep love and fascination with science fiction, greatly coloring who I am. Decades later, amid new heights in the advancement of our own space travel, Stellaris provides one of the best platforms for the depth and width of my beloved universe to be realized in full technicolor. Upon this platform, New Horizons was built, a mod that dared to take on that immense dream and turn in to reality. For over two years I have been lucky to have been a part of that dream. I have worked with many talented people, made new friends, debated moral issues, explored Star Trek in new lights and spent countless hours and long nights building models and crafting iconography. It has been an experience I will soon not forget; I look forward to boldly stepping into the future with our team, whatever wonders it may hold.
Kharak – PDG STNH 2D Lead
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I remember this one moment forever, 10 days after the release of stellaris. I was deep into the game, when shaggo asked me if i knew about image editing, gimp or photoshop. I replied that I had, “no idea, I’ve never done that before”.
In retrospect, this was the moment that STNH was founded.
It’s been an incredible journey, from the idea, just to have a star trek game, to a mod that is many times bigger than the basic game that regularly uses our developments. it’s just a joy to see how the mod has evolved over the years, from a small spark that has become the greatest star trek game ever played.
So many people said to us in the first year, “what we imagine, we can never realize”. “There’s no way we could have built such an idea of a game from scratch.”
I’m so proud of our pdg group that has formed around the development of stnh, hundreds of helpers who have been involved over the years. true to the motto, everyone can help, it doesn’t end in chaos, no, it ends in what ST:NH is today: a homage to the idea behind Star Trek.
I am looking forward to the future, and no matter what shaggo and I do, the internet will do its thing and we will make sure that everyone can participate in the future of stnh.
So I would like to introduce you all to the ST:NH Legacy, a Git Repo, with all relevant versions of ST:NH released on Steam.
Grinsel/G-man – PDG STNH 3D & Sound Lead (and co-founder of STNH)
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I’ve watched “Star Trek : The Next Generation” as a kid and I was immediately hooked. This “forced” me to play a lot of Star Trek games in the Star Trek golden age back then.Birth of the Federation, Armada, Bridge Commander, just to name a few.
When I discovered Stellaris, my first thought was: This would be awesome with a Star Trek mod!
I wouldn’t have bought it otherwise.
I had no idea how to mod the UI back then, and I was actually hoping that someone else would create a Star Trek UI. But that didn’t happen, so I gave it a try and ended up creating 8 different UI submods.
One last thing: The ST:NH community with all its contributors is simply amazing. It has so many helpful and skilled modders, who are working together to create something great.
So answer the call, if you want to be part of the best Stellaris/Star Trek mod out there!
Cutter Slade – PDG STNH UI Lead
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STNH and me? STNH was one of the only projects that meant so much to me, I wouldn’t lie if I said that many others joined NH but it will always be the first one, Star Trek but mainly NH brought me friends, a community but mostly NH brought me a goal.
How and Why? Almost four years ago I wanted to deepen my knowledge of the Star Trek lore, after having discovered it thanks to Star Trek Enterprise, after discovering Stellaris not so long ago I discovered STNH after a few months of existence in the workshop. I played it and spent a lot of time there despite the content that some could judge to be limited compared to today’s but nevertheless I enjoyed it until a detail strikes me, the Mod was in English, hating English — or at least having difficulties — I joined the Discord with the idea of translating the Mod into French. At the time, there was only a madman wanting to do the work of a dozen people, but after nearly four years and various titles acquired over time, I’m still here and the Mod has never stopped growing.
Whether in difficult times or just for fun I thank all of you for being part of our community.
-Ael – PDG STNH French Translator & Public Moderator
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Star Trek has always meant so much to me, I remember watching TNG with my dad on BBC2 on weekday evenings when I was a young child. It’s been a world of heroes, wonder and escapism that has stuck with me throughout my life
I was introduced to STNH whilst looking for a spiritual successor to Birth of the Federation, which I loved playing. I was very much a lurker on the Discord until I saw a recruitment add to join the team as part of the localilsation team – sometimes you just have to take a gamble and put yourself out there! Working under the wing of former dev Harel and learning how the code worked was a challenging experience as PDX code seems to have a mind of its own, but I love a challenge, and having always worked in IT I was determined not to let this mysterious code get the better of me.
Getting the chance to lead the Events team has been a real privilege, getting the chance to tell the stories that I hope our fans want to play is a massive thrill and getting to be creative after working a day job that involves fixing issues and following process is a great way of unwinding.
I am so excited to see where Star Trek will go in the future & I know that STNH will be along with it, PDG has provided an excellent community and it’s been a joy to help shape, train & guide the members here and see the genuinely fantastic ideas the SW, ST & SG teams come up with. Nothing beats the thrill of waiting whilst that publish button is hit, it is the closest I will get to sitting in that chair on the bridge of the Enterprise
Russ – PDG STNH Events Lead
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One day Shaggo came to me and asked if I was interested in modding. “sure why not could be fun” AND NOW I HAVE TO WRITE LOCALISATION in terrible english
Akyla – PDG SWFR Events Lead
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I saw New Horizons in an early state, and noticed many of the races were using default names – so I created a ton of namelists using canon sources and sent them to the mod team, not expecting anything of it. I got a nice reply, asking did I want to join the team, as they needed more writing, so I did.
I then spent a ton of time working with Zoom and the other writers writing the names, descriptions and events for New Horizons. During that time, I learned how to cause numerous bugs, which proved invaluable as then it allowed me to find out how to fix said bugs! In this debugging role, I spent a lot of time looking at the scripts for events and other features, which then allowed me to create my own events. I generally didn’t want to pester other people for artwork, so I then started creating my own!
So basically I ended up as a jack of all trades for the team, and really enjoyed pushing out patches and talking with the fans on Steam, Facebook and Reddit. I am so happy when people play it and say it’s the best Trek game they’ve played, because there’s so much love put into it, from the inclusion of so many species, to the fantastic ships, to the special events that crop up when you’re playing certain races, to the relics you can come across as you are playing. If we as fans can create this, what a studio with real money behind it could do.
Please employ me.
Kodiak – PDG STNH Bug Buster
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So I was since my childhood a star trek fan and one of my most beloved games was Birth of the Federation. I just loved the way it combined strategy and live action fights. It was just beautiful how my fleets clashed with an invading Borg Cube. Then came Armada and I loved the way the Borg could be played assembling fleets of assimilated enemy vessels. The way was clear when I saw a let’s-play of a young STNH on youtube. I saddled the horse and bought the game and looked into the mod.
Back then the title of the update was… Assimilation. And it was so only proper to start with the Borg. I was shocked how good the implementation was the Battle balance – only two spheres fought whole fleets down. It was just astounding how the Borg felt. Like in the series and the movies. Just right the whole way. I followed the mod for one or two years, if I remember right and shifted my focus from the Borg to the Federation and its Mirror Counterpart. It was then that I was approached by someone to work on something. And even due to a rocky start i still work on it and hopefully i can show my work soon. The last month when I became a real member of PDG was just amazing and I learned much from the big old ones that started the whole Ship.
Doco – PDG SGP Events Lead
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“Best Mod Ever, and I would love to see for this mod a sub mod that will add some of the features of the DLC into the mod like the ability to destroy planets I have brought this up many times. also maybe a sub/mod that will be cross universe like ST vs SW vs SG or the such also a Stargate mod”
Praetor Shinzon – ST:NH Closed Beta Tester
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Bought Stellaris back in early 2018 simply because I was tired of an old and busted modded BOTF from years back. I had found Sins of a Solar Empire with its Star Trek mod but didn’t quite take care of the itch. Then I stumbled on STNH for Stellaris. Had to try it out. Back then the Stellaris game engine was a bit harsh and I even gave the game a poor review after 36 hours of gameplay. I left for a while and eventually came back to try again. Stellaris has matured and so has STNH and now I have 416.3 hours on record, more than just about every other game I have on Steam combined. By comparison, it took me 83 hours to platinum the FFVII Remake and put it down. I’m proud to say I’ve never once played the base Stellaris game nor do I have any desire to. Stellaris and STNH are endless and the community that supports it is awesome and I’ve been proud and humbled to be a member of the beta community. Cheers to 4+ more years of STNH!
KnightRdr – STNH Closed Beta Tester
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I started playing Stellaris three years ago and I was loving the game, the grand strategy, the freedom to control the fate of not just an empire but a galaxy with almost every game a different story. However, as I played more and more I began to recognize the same events, the same patterns, and the same end results. Sure I could just crank up the difficulty but that wouldn’t truly change the way I played the game or give me the original feeling of wonder as I explored and learned.
So I started looking to add mods into the game so I could just see what people had created and uploaded to the workshop. It was there I came across the STNH mod as it had just received a major update and so many people were talking about it. So being a huge sci-fi fan that I am, I downloaded the mod and was amazed at the level of detailing and redesign that this team from all over the world had dedicated themselves to developing for everyone for free, in their free time just blew me away. It was a sight to behold, the ability to recreate the Star Trek universe however I wanted.
Now I work in localization as an English writer and haven’t been on the team as long as many of the others but everyone has done an amazing job welcoming me and others onto the team and showing us how we can help. The work and dedication that has gone into STNH and the other mods just blows me away every day. I am honored to be a part of its community and have the opportunity to work alongside them. I know great things will continue to come from this community and I’m excited about what the future has in store for all of us.
BattleFrontline – PDG STNH Localisation Team
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I’ve been playing Star Trek games since I had a computer that was fast enough to actually be able to run them. One of the series that stood out was Star Trek Armada and the sequel. After some time, I noticed that very few Star Trek games were coming out and the ones that did come out were not that good. When I saw that Star Trek: New Horizons came out as one of the top recommended mods for Stellaris, I knew I had to at least give it a go, since it combined the aspects of storytelling, strategic planning, and combat that I had missed since playing ST: Armada so long ago.
After some time of playing, I noticed that they consistently had a notice out there for anyone who wanted to help. I never worked on mod before, and I had no idea what I would be doing, but I decided to put my name out there and see if they need help with anything. I initially thought that I would work on events, and I did learn how to code them, but I ended up helping out with localisation. To make a long story short, I eventually became the head of localisation, something I never thought would happen. I’ve done what I can for streamlining the work, updating formulas, keeping the troops in line, recruiting more troops, updating the tools we use, keeping the events team happy, and more. I am pleased with the help that I contribute towards making a mod that is enjoyed by so many people.
Baahb – PDG STNH Localisation Lead
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oh boy where to begin, I was first introduce to Stellaris thru my brother who bought the game for me back a couple years ago (not sure what date I got it), but over time it became my favorite game downloading and trying different mods out, and then I saw a Star Trek mod. STNH mod was by far the most I ever played with this game both Vanilla and old mods combined, then I was approached by one of the Devs of STNH and was ask if I wanted to join the Beta team and I was not sure at first for it seemed like a job more than having fun with the mod. Then he convince me to try it out with no obligation on my part, if I didn’t like being a Beta team I could have always backed out, needless to say that I’m still a Beta tester and it has been great, if it wasn’t for my medical condition that has slowed me down with continuing testing for this awesome mod I would have been playing and testing everyday.
Zorrino STNH Beta Tester
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I guess my story is a bit different from most of the others, as it was New Horizons that got me into watching Star Trek and not the other way round. Naturally, I’ve watched some of it before, but it wasn’t such a big thing for me back then. Up until everything changed.
Early 2019 I was thinking about getting into Stellaris modding and learning how to make my own content for the game. And then it just happened to coincide with one of the New Horizons developers starting a workshop on how to create events for the game. Of course, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, even though I had to wake up at 5am every Saturday to actually attend the workshop. So I signed up for the workshop and after a few months of training joined the dev team.
Since that moment I’ve been working on creating new stories for the mod, fixing bugs and occasionally causing new bugs. And of course I’ve binge watched most of Star Trek, not only for «professional» reasons, but also because I’ve realised how much I actually enjoy watching it.
What I like the most about the mod and PDG in general is the sense of community, this group of like-minded people striving to achieve a common goal. I don’t know what awaits PDG in the years to come. But seeing as it’s already 4 years old and has expanded well beyond the New Horizons project, I can’t imagine anything less than a bright future and new exciting prospects.
Felis – PDG STNH Events Team
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Star Trek sparked my interest from the very first minute I discovered it. It literally consumed me and I consumed it. I have been a Star Trek fan for only 5 years but it really has a special place in my heart.
When I discovered ST: New Horizons back in 2016 I instantly thought about helping the team. I loved Stellaris and I loved Star Trek. The perfect match. I started out as a german translator but quickly became the first person who had the official role of ‘Head of localisation’. Together with Oninoni, who is sadly not part of the team anymore, we built the foundations on which we still localize today, 4 years later. A lot of people have come and gone and we have gained a lot of experience.
I really liked my role but after about 3 years I had to take a break. Now I am back as a proofreader and german translator and doing the best I can!
Zoom – PDG former Head of Localisation & current Proof-Reader
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Star Trek has been a major part of my childhood. I still remember my cousin and me role playing away team missions in the woods, we had so much fun. Captain Picard and the crew of TNG set a moral compass for us that we still uphold today. Re-watching the episodes as an adult made them even more interesting, properly understanding all the social issues it touched which are still relevant today.
As a longterm grand strategy player and occasional modder, I was overly hyped when Stellaris was announced. After playing the game for a week with fellow modder G-Man, it became obvious for us that this is the perfect framework for a star trek mod. So we searched the workshop and the paradox forums but didn’t find any star trek mods at that point. A bit frustrated, we remembered our prior modding work on hearts of iron 3. After having a quick look at the stellaris script, we began to see the great moddability and endless potential of the Clausewitz Engine. Even though we didn’t have any experience with 3d / 2d, we decided to just jump into it and make a star trek mod ourselves.
I never expected the mod to take off as it did. After a few days in the workshop, we discovered some other modders who were doing portraits and other artworks. When we all joined forces, I still remember the incredible pace the team was able to push out new content. In the early days we released a new species and shipset every week. STNH version 0.8 was a huge milestone, it was the patch where we finished revamping nearly every part of the base game. From that point onward, the mod just became bigger and better, introducing pioneering mechanics, narrative and a sheer amount of content, a lot of which eventually has found its way into the vanilla experience as well.
Birth of the federation was one of my first games on my own PC and I have been waiting for a spiritual successor ever since. Being part of creating this game myself has been a huge honor for me and definitely inspired me a lot. So many amazing people helped us on the road and I will be forever grateful for every contributor who helped realize our dream star trek game come to life. In that spirit, we will always boldly go where no one has gone before. Stay tuned for what the future holds
Shaggo PDG STNH Project Lead (and co-founder of STNH)