Massively has an intriguing Q&A with Cryptic concerning space combat.

Here’s a snippet…

Lok1: Why is combat so important in STO? Why does it happen frequently?

Al Rivera: There are several reasons. We wanted to build an exciting game that appealed to Trek fans and non-Trek fans (let’s call them future Trek fans) alike. The epic space battles from Wrath of Khan to the Dominion War of Deep Space 9 offered great gameplay potential. We wanted to create something exciting, unique, and decisively Trek – and the tall combat mechanics of Star Trek offered an abundance of all 3. But combat is not the only option is STO. There are plenty of exploration, research, gathering and humanitarian opportunities throughout the STO universe.

-Drexel-: How will the use of our weapon systems and abilities be limited during combat?

That’s a pretty big question, so let’s focus on the basics. There are 4 power systems – Weapons, Shields, Engines and Auxiliary. During combat you will need to manage power between these 4 systems, which will modify one system at the expense of another. Your ship has a several weapons slots where you can equip weapons like beam arrays, cannons, torpedoes and mines. Your weapons and some abilities have limited firing arcs – for instance phaser arrays have a 250 degree firing arc, while cannons have a 45 degree firing arc. Many weapons can be fired at once, but firing too many energy weapons will drain your weapon power. Some weapons, like torpedoes have individual cool-down timers as well as linked cool-down timers, as are many Bridge Officer abilities.