In the final installment of our STO beta preview series, ZAM walks you through the ground and ship tutorial stages.

The Star Trek Online open beta-testing phase has drawn to a close. In a few days, Cryptic Studios will launch its early head-start program for pre-order customers, and the MMO is scheduled to officially launch next Tuesday, February 2. So far, ZAM has brought you specific coverage from inside the beta; we took a peek at the character customization system, ship gameplay and away-mission (or "avatar mode") combat.

Before we bring you our Star Trek Online full post-beta preview, we decided to offer one last peek at beta-specific gameplay. In this final installment of the series, we're taking a look at the first few steps players will take throughout STO's tutorial mission. Guided by the voice of Zachary "Spock" Quinto (depicted in-game as a ship's Emergency Medical Hologram, or "EMH"), new players are taught the basics by being thrown directly into the action.

Cryptic designed an impressive tutorial in Star Trek Online; it's a relevant and realistic scenario that introduces the new story seamlessly. Most of the tutorial is instanced and allows new players to learn the ropes at their own pace, without the stress of competing alongside other players, to accomplish the introductory missions. It's also presented on a grand scale; you're not the typical, insignificant lowbie that begins a player's life in most MMOs. Instead, you're already an officer in Star Fleet, answering the call to step up as Captain of your own command.

After being treated to a pretty awesome introductory cinematic (we don't want to spoil it for you), players will find themselves aboard their own new ship, receiving a distress call from the U.S.S. Khitomer. You're first tasked with the most fundamental aspects of ground-based gameplay; movement and world interaction. The third-person avatar gameplay in Star Trek Online is standard MMO fare; [WASD]-based movement with [Q] and [E] to strafe left and right. You can interact with NPCs and environmental objects by pressing the [F] key, or by right-clicking the mouse. (Tip: just tap [Shift] to toggle your character's "sprint" mode, which is limited and has a cooldown, but allows you to get around quickly).

Players will take the turbolift to their bridge area. Once there, we learn that the U.S.S. Khitomer is in rough shape—it's under heavy attack and being boarded by the Borg. It's your job to beam over and assist the crew in neutralizing the threat. After making your way to the transporter pad, you're thrown into a chaotic scenario aboard the Khitomer to learn basic combat techniques.

A modern-looking version of the Emergency Medical Hologram awaits you in sick bay, offering the first of several tutorial objectives. Actor Zachary Quinto's distinct voice instructs players to "scan" a patient; simply clicking on an injured crewman or using the [F] interaction key automatically fires up your tricorder. It's nothing too spectacular; just a demonstration of how you'll be interacting with most NPCs and objects in STO.

After one more example of object interaction (using one of the ship's control stations to transport a few invading Borg out the airlock), the real fun begins; combat gameplay. You begin your task by making your way down to engineering, through Borg-infested areas. Every new player is equipped with a standard-issue Star Fleet phaser pistol; as we described in our ground combat preview, you can use either keybinds or the UI action buttons to control your weapon and melee attacks, including character-specific abilities. (Tip: you can right-click the action buttons to set "auto-fire" mode; it's a must-have feature for both ground and space combat.)

Players begin by blowing up a few Borg devices that the Borg Drones are wiring throughout the ship (the familiar "pods" seen in the series). This allows you to learn the basics of ranged combat without the threat of retaliation. However, you'll finish by destroying a Borg device right next to a Drone, which illustrates the game's "environmental damage" mechanic; explosions, toxic gasses, fires and other environmental conditions will damage both players and mobs.

From this point on, the Borg Drones will fight back when engaged. As you make your way to engineering, you'll rendezvous with several security teams trying to defend the ship's warp core. Players will learn how to fight in close-quarters and use "aiming" mode to inflict more damage. The enemy Drones aren't that powerful and don't pose much of a threat, but if you happen to die, you'll re-spawn at the nearest checkpoint.

Finally, after making your way to through the remaining Borg Drones, you'll reach the engineering room. This is where you'll find one of the first examples of Cryptic's impressive art design and faithful rendering of Star Trek motifs. The style is quite distinct to Cryptic's proprietary graphics engine, but still delivers a faithful representation of modern-era 'Trek architecture and design.