It’s going to be really, really hard to fill the void that 20 years’ worth of knowledge developing Star Trek Online creates, but that’s just what Cryptic Games is facing as senior environment artist Nick “Taco” Duguid had his final day of working on the MMO this week.
Duguid has been called “an institution” by colleagues as he’s worked for Cryptic for almost 20 years, with his most recent work being the the visual overhaul for Earth Spacedock, so naturally his farewell is a bit misty-eyed. “Just submitted my final checkin to STO, and I’m now logged out of everything,” he writes. “Feeling those feelings for sure.”
Duguid’s departure is one more part of the Embracer-powered brain drain at the studio, as it suffered a devastating layoff round and shuffling of its MMOs over to relatively inexperienced overseas subsidiary DECA Games this past October – earning the whole situation the dubious honor of “winning” our Stormiest Future Award as a result.
We don’t know exactly how many Cryptic staff working on STO remain – rumors from last fall suggested it was a skeleton crew – but well-wishes for his next step from peers and some generally good humor from the developer himself might lessen the blow a bit; Duguid himself referenced the accidental creation of a megaship he dubbed the U.S.S. Thundercougarfalconbird as his real “legacy” creation. Wherever he goes, we’re certain that any studio will be lucky to have him.
Just submitted my final checkin to STO, and I'm now logged out of everything. Feeling those feelings for sure.I appreciate everyone talking about ESD II as my 'Legacy' or whatever. But . . . let's be honest. If I have a singular legacy in STO . . .
— Nick Duguid (@tumerboy.bsky.social) 2025-01-11T00:20:28.021Z
