Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
This game is good
Rocketeer
Member UncommonPosts: 1,303
I dont get why people complain so much here, you almost managed to dissuade me from buying the game, but i figured what the heck only two space mmos out there, might aswell give it a try. Didnt regret it.
To make it easier to flame me im going to numerate my points why i consider this game good(Please only quote the part you want to comment on, this is going to get long).
1. As background, im a 2004 eve player, and played WoW almost as long on and off cause my RL friends stick to that. I also have several highlvl toons in CoX and tried most other mmorpgs aswell atleast to the midlevels. I was one of those hypefooled by warhammer(though i learned better within the first week), annoyed by AoC, tried LOTRO(the IP was tempting me) bought into Hellgate and even tried SWG NGE. So i have seen alot of fail, and alot of things that stood the test of time. Im used to fail releases that get better, and fail releases that ... well dont.
2. This game doesnt feel like fail. Why? Let me compare it to CO, which i tried in the open weekend. I hated it before i reached lvl 2, tldr; version: didnt like graphics, gameplay to much like other mmorpgs. Couldnt stand it the same way i couldt stand lvling a paladin in wow again, first time was ok, second time not really. STO is different for two reasons:
a) your flying a spaceship in manual control, and things like speed, turnrate and pointing various parts of your ship to the enemys matter, trying to outmaneuver enemys so you can give them broadsides and stuff is plain fun.
b) the groundcombat is different. In WoW, CO and LOTRO you run around and fire your skills either in melee or at range. Depending on class you kite or do range, maybe you dont, but its similar. In STO you control a team, its more like kotor for those that know it. And not only can you gear and skill up your toon and ship, but also those crewman. Also cover works, i was amazed by this. If you fire a gun and someone ducks behind cover you will hit the cover, not the npc, same with yourself. Double tabbing a direction key makes your toon do a roll in that direction(like in some other games i cant remember), also you have a personal shield.
3. The game doesnt feel like beta, it does feel like a new game where there is still alot of stuff to add, but not like the horrible launches some other games had where it took months to get the basics working(like with pets in warhammer). Everything i tried basicly just works, no stupid bugs or annoying glitches yet. No lag either.
4. The instances here are not as bad. When i read about it i thought it would be like guildwars or hellgate, where you get your own missionarea and never meet someone in it. But thats not the case, you see other players flying around pretty everywhere you go. I guess they call it open instances or something. Also the loading isnt that bad, it goes fast enough that i cant even read those supposedly helpful oneliners on the loading screens.
5. If not in fleetaction, yes you can do pretty much everything alone. It requires quite a bit of skill(or patience) if you want to play lone ranger since your usually meeting enemies in groupsize. Just one additional ship makes it go so much smoother that people usually stay in my group even after the mission is done, to do others.
For example with two ships i usually fly towards the enemy on parallel with full energy to guns till my frontshield buckles, by that time your usually passing them by which means they can no longer fire at your frontshield but at your side shield. I pass them by and then turn do a 180° turn with evasive maneuvers active(its one of these pointless skills that do nothing you know, only a bit over +200% speed and turnrate for 8 seconds) over the side with the stronger shields(which exposes my back and other side shields which are still at 100%) and then switch to full shield power and tank them(usually 1 dead by now). This would work alone, but once you give full power to shields your damage becomes pathetic. So while i try to survive(shield rerouting, skills etc) my groupmate stays a bit at distance with full power to weapons(and supporting me if necessary with engineering teams and stuff(dont fly with retards andcomplain )) and lays into them with energy weapons and torps(which is hard for me because i dont have a aft torp, and turning towards the enemy to fire torps usually ends up getting you surrounded).
And that wall of text above is just a standard fight. Compared to running to a pig in a forrest and hitting 123141 it does sound a bit more interesting doesnt it? Also the fights take alot longer than usual in mmorpgs, and the lightshow aint halfbad either.
6. Deathpenalty. Yeah its not there, doesnt bother me though. The pocket change it takes in wow to rep armor is hardly a penalty either, and if i want immersion and deathpenalty, well i play eve.
7. The items make sense. In CO or warhammer i got to choose between rewards, and had totally no idea what they where doing(in wow you got items where you knew what they did, namely nothing, willpower on twohand swords ftw). Here, if you get a better phaser, or stronger shields, or a suit that gives you -12% energy damage in groundcombat, or a kit that lets you lay mines ... Lets just say you immediatly know what good the item is doing you, its just that obvious.
8. They mix it up. You never know when you take a mission wether you have to fight pirates in space, or do a goundmission to do X. Also they do escalations, and unexpectet turns in the story of the missions.
For example your supposed to fly a Vulcan ambassador from earth to a tempel in some other system with your ship, your getting ambushed by klingons in space claiming the guy is fake and ordered to turn him over immediatly(yeah sure, spacecombat), fighting in the tempelarea against those klingons on the ground, turns out real ambassador got killed and you got a shapeshifter(doh, klingons where right) which you get ordered to capture on ground(bossfight), guy flees and beams up to his ship, you follow and get a spacecombat. Turns out the guy is flying a bigass ship, no chance in hell breaking his shields, but you can survive...maybe?, Starfleet coms you telling you to hold out, reinforcement on the is way. Group of starships arrive, together you kill him.
That was a mission i got on lvl 4 or so, no matter how you spin it, thats not at all like collecting kobolt candles in some mine or killing a dozen pigs for a pastry.
9. Its fun. Because its different. Chances are, if your currently playing some other mmo and consider this one, you dont want a carbon copy of your current game. And yeah, the fights are really like in the series, or close enough for my taste anyway. The ganging up and just wasting stuff with DPS is pretty much canon if you so will(battle against a borgcube in some episode), as is the splitting up and going after different enemies. To me it looks pretty epic if 10+ starships are battling it out with 10+ others. Skills like 'fire at wil' are also pretty cool when your ship flys through a enemy group shooting left and right.
10. The first time in ... well years, im enjoying solo pve content in a themepark mmo. Not just 'yeah this is ok', but sitting before my pc actually grinning when my vulcan science office gives a npc some riflebutt, and then watching the stunend guy getting disintegrated by my tac officer with a disruptor sniper rifle blast. The mix of flightsim, item hunt, good missions, and simply watching your 'pets' laying into the enemy with phaserrifles and lobbing photon granades at your command doesnt get old. Most of the time your actually feel like the captain of a spaceship, even when running around some mission looking for that last damn computer console.
Yeah, so thats my take at STO, im not really good at this review stuff, so feel free to ask question. Im pretty lowlvl still though(and yeah im prepared to hit a brickwall of fail like with T3/T4 at warhammer) but i try my best to answer your questions.
P.S.: The game is in 3 perspectives. 1) 3rd person view alone or with team 2) in normal space 3) in warp(this is not the loading between instances, you fly around to other systems/encounters within the same map part, normal space is limited to impulse speed, in 3 you fly at warp). You see other ships/encounters while in warp, and can be intercepted by them(not common), in which case you get into a open instance with them(talking npcs here). Some missions have you patrol this space in warp looking for enemies.
Comments
Post another review in an hour...
great post glad to see someone in these forums likes STO
Have No Fear Cohas is here!!!
Yeah I'm starting to enjoy it abit more each time to be honest. No fooling myself though, it needs alot of work.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
yeah i am also having fun on it, but i agree it needs work to do, but potential is high imo the more time i spend on it the more fun i am having .. taking into account is recently released
looking forward to see content patch
Totally respect your opinion, OP, but much of the criticism surrounding this game have to do with lack of depth/content and most of the things that characterize the IP (social interaction, diplomacy, exploration). Since you haven't played much and don't seem to be a Star Trak fan, I can see how you came to your conclusion at this point of time.
I would appreciate if you came back here in, say, 1 week - just to check if you opinion has changed at all.
there is no game at launch with tons of high end content, not even with some of it ..
content patch is coming and may determine how many people will stay and how many will quit,
there is a lot of work to do, but so far so fun
for example, death penalty is a MUST imo and has to be added quickly
Sure its fun...for about a week or two.
I can understand where you are coming from, and no im not a star trek fan, but i did watch the television show as kid(and yeah i would probably watch it still given the chance), both the one with kirk and the one with picard, also deepspace nine and voyager. So yeah i know enough about the franchise to get excited over flying a intrepid class(voyager), galaxy/sovereign class or a defiant. Which probably also means i know enough to be disappointed if they dont perform like in the series. Though i guess seeing as this game plays 30 years in the future one could make some allowances.
I agree on the content btw, i can already see how it is spread thin for the klingons for example. Depth i cant say much about yet, though it is quite complex imho, lots of times i end up being lost, in a positive sense cause if i never was lost the gameworld would probably be to small. Whereas in a convential mmo the choice of weapon for example is basicly meaningless apart from optics and maybe alpha capability, here your entire combat completly changes just by going from 250° phaserbanks to 45° dual disruptors. I like it when you can effect your gameplayso immensely by such small changes.
But yeah it probably is lacking content and depth, then again, which mmo didnt lack both of those at release? Im not blaming a mmos lack of initial content if the existing content is fun and engaging enoughto pass the time until the inevitable content patches/upgrades come. In warhammer for example i instantly disliked the pve but liked the scenarios, in CO i absolutly didnt care if they added new whack-a-moles with different skins later on, etc pp.
So yeah, imho this game has a very good foundation. It would be easy for the devs to simply keep adding ships, mission areas, items and other stuff(and maybe more informational tooltips). And yeah i probably will stay around here, dont like the design of the official forums much on STO.
Why do people complain so much? Because people have different tastes in gaming. The OP did a great job of being very specific about what he enjoys in STO. What amazes me is that most of those numbered examples struck me in exactly the opposite way to the OP. There was very little about STO that I was able to enjoy. But you really can't judge a game based on others' reviews you just have to try it. The nice thing about STO is that I knew I didn't like it pretty quickly.
If you like the Game good for you!...To each his own for certain...
But the 2 points you made above I found opposite of my experience...I played CB, OB and Launch...I tried...I REALLY tried...lol...Anyway it is true they mix in different types of Missions, and I know the Mission you detailed above...Thing is during My 1st Rank grind that was one of only 4 or 5 Missions I can remember that there was actual Ground-type Combat...There was the early one where you beam down to the Azure...There was the one you mentioned...There was the Borg one in the early tutorial...I think there was another...In between those there was a TON, and I mean a TON of boring (for me anyway) Space "rinse and repeat" Missions...Seriously...If I warped into one more Sector only to see something like "Destroy Enemy Formations 0-5" I was gonna lose it...
So while you do a great job of selling these exciting Missions I did not feel that way at all...Should they increase the number of Missions like the one you described by about 50%, then I think they'll have something...
As far as the Game being fun because it's different...That lasted one or two days for me...Once the shine wore off (and I'm one of the Folks who feel the Game looks great) it really just bored me to tears...
He has said everything I have several times now. Point is there are people who just want to hate. The game is different so they have to talk crap about it. Sure the game is missing content. Well for people who didnt eat sleep or go to the bathroom that hit max level sure. But if you take the time, read the quests , interact. Know the story behind it the game is very enjoyable.On top of that it should take 2-3 weeks for those who are not rushing and enjoying the game to reach max level. By that time the devs have promised a large content patch with Raid Episodes, more fleets and so on. They have alot of content lined up to be released THIS MONTH, and Next. So anyone crying about no end game sure there isnt much to do. PVP and Explore. Get your skills, get your items. The good stuff is coming. If you had taken time to enjoy the game you wouldnt be crying about no content.
I do realize this type of combat is new to most people. Space and Ground . It means people with skill benefit where casual players hate it and quit. Or Those RPG elitists who aren't that good at fps games, or using real skill. Not just spamming 1 2 3 4 5 arent having a load of fun either. This game is more for those people who want action. Who want a story, and want skill to matter. All the game is missing is a death penalty to make it a hardcore game.
I've said it time and time again. Play the game for longer than a week. Get into Cardassian Space and follow the missions. Pay attention to the story. Youll love it.
1 Mission has you killing federation officers and it ends up your on a holodeck going through training. You weren't aware of it until it was over. It was an awesome story twist and from there it only gets better.
oh and about the repeat patrol style missions. That is what standard work in star fleet would be like. It is also no different than any other game. Go here kill 10. Turn in. GO BACK AND KILL them again and loot x. Bring loot back Now go kill 25 more + named mob that is the exact same as the others youve been killing but has a special name to make him seem important for story. If this bothers you then playing mmorpgs should not be your thing.
Well I'm coming up on a week of playing and I'm still enjoying myself. Found some diplomatic missions were opened up and am trying those out. Seems like there is always something new to figure out in this game which is quite refreshing.
Currently Playing: World of Warcraft
Im really looking forward to getting lvl 11 and getting access to three new classes, cause i didnt like the weapon layout of the miranda im currently flying at all. So yeah the game would have to change pretty dramatically for the worse in order for me to loose interest if im already enjoying it this much in a ship i dont particular like.
And yeah i cant even decide if i want a escort, a cruiser or a science vessel. All of them sound fun if for different reasons, which for me means its a good sign. Cause even if i get disappointed by cruisers for example(the turnrate supposedly gets godaweful), i will probably still enjoy flying a science or escort vessel.
I can see how someone who for example enters the game looking for fastpaced dogfights, is first disappointed by the startership for 11 lvls, and if he then doesnt like the escort class for some reason( which is the only one that has the maneuverability for dogfights as i take it) getting disappointed by the whole game. I can also see that someone who for example prefers one part of the game over the other gets annoyed by not being able to choose which part he will be playing.
P.S.: I decided after a mere 2 hours that CO is ... well pretty much the most boring mmo i ever tried, and i didnt even give aion that much time. And what i could say about wow ... well it wouldnt be pretty. But you know what? You wont find me over in their forums dissing them with nonsensical oneliners or bait postings. While it is terribly interesting for me and i guess others that honkabc1980(name made up, i hope...) doesnt like STO, it would be even more interesting if he told us abit about why he doesnt like it if he already has the urge to communicate us his dislike.
If you like the Game, of coarse you are going to think it’s good. Enjoy it. I personally would rather drop my pants flip my legs above my head and rub the back of my legs with a cheese grater. That would be more fun than this game to me.
The only thing that shows a good game from a bad one is how many people are playing in a month or two.
Everyone’s tastes are different. Opening a thread saying this game is good, or This Game Sucks. Don't make it so.
MMORPG's are not My thing huh? Well guess I'm on the wrong site huh?...lol
STO is the 8th MMO that I either Played for an extended period of time or I tried out...I kinda like MMORPG's...
I'm well aware of the way MMO's are run and how the Missions are set up...Maybe it's just the fact that it's flying a clunky Ship, I don't know, but this Game bored me to death...I'm the one who is always trying to talk My Guildies into playing the new thing cause I LOVE Games from the get go...SWG, Vanguard, EQII, AoC, LOTRO...I LOVED those Games from Day #1...I tried out Fallen Earth and it was not for me...But the Game was cool enough and I could see how it can be fun...I simply never got that feel from STO...Maybe it was unrealistic expectations...I don't know...But for the 1st time ever I really disliked an MMO Game almost from the get-go...It says something to me about the quality of the Game...But it's only My opinion...Just one opinion...That's all...
And please...People don't simply come here to hate...That's rediculous...Those Folks are 1 in 100...Most of Us come here to discuss Our opinions and give our feedback...You can't just tell Folks MMO's are not for them, or keep Playing the Game until You say it's going to get fun...That's not how it works...You're over defending...It comes off a bit fanboish, that's all...
The interesting thing about the OP's review is that it doesn't contradict much what a lot of the people who don't like the game say.
The key is the OP doesn't reference the 3 biggest complaints as far as I know them to be:
1. That it doesn't offer much in the way of the Star Trek IP other than looks and the names of things. The Star Trek IP is vast and combat is a relatively small part of it. Yet this game is almost all combat.
2. Yes a lot of the individual features can be fun, but the game doesn't fulfill what a lot of players look for in an mmorpg. (this ties in a lot to number 1.)
3. Least important in my opinion but a big deal to some, and I admit it is annoying, Full Box Price, Full Sub Fee AND a Cash Shop?
A lot of people can agree with everything the OP said and still feel like this game offers a shallow Star Trek experience that seems more like a standalone RPG with multiplayer.
Im personally enjoying the game. I dont like some things but all in all im having fun. If you dont like the game...move along and criticse the next game.
(BBBBBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH raises plunger in salute to Deanna Troi best Star Trek Chick...ever!)
All my opinions are just that..opinions. If you like my opinions..coolness.If you dont like my opinion....I really dont care.
Playing: ESO, WOT, Smite, and Marvel Heroes
BUMP
So to sum up what your saying, Your opinion of the game is the only one that counts, and people who DON'T like the game must keep silent?
What I mean by mmorpgs are not for you is you said the game bores you and you didnt like the repeat missions of zone in kill 5 squads. All IM saying is EVERY mmo has quests like that and more often.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course and not everyone needs to hear your opinions. When someone posts this game is good you dont come in and flame him for stating he likes/loves the game.
I've been playing for weeks.I still enjoy the game. I am also a Star Wars fan. One of those anti star trek type of star wars fans. But I am more of a MMO fan than anything. I bought this game with no expectations. Not reading hype. I went in blind and I am very pleased. In fact I enjoy that it isnt 100% star trek. I feel there isnt enough star trek to make a complete mmo. There is plenty of diplomacy style missions still. So using that as an argument is not valid. But also the game wasnt created to be a Liver. Game. Thus meaning you build everything, and everything you has has a negative or positive effect. The game wasnt made to be all happy and singing and dancing all the time. The story chosen for the game and timeline was picked for a reason. To be more involved in the conflicts and wars of its time period. A time in which diplomacy didn't mean much. There are still attempts but thats not what the game is about and if you were expecting that some how when it wasn't ever said in the first place then yea you are disappointed. Then again if your basing off that style of thinking then 90% of the games you place your disappointed in. Unless your playing Mortal or Runescape. Even then those games are modelled around combat and war.
And what makes a game good? WHat makes a game good infact does differ from person to person. Not what a site ranks it or votes on it. Not if it actually wins awards. What makes the game good and successful is if it lives. If it stands. SWG is Successful. Until it closes its doors and shuts down. It is successful. If 1 person likes it. it is a good game. So saying that people liking it and saying it is a good game doesnt make it one. Is false. You dont like it makes it a bad game to you. Me liking it makes it a good game to me. The game will succeed and it has had great sales for a launch. Im not expecting 2million or close after the first month. That just means all the bad players and crybabies are gone. All those people who were hoping for a scifi wow are gone. Then the game can progress.
This is MMORPG.com. People will voice their opinion on EVERY game. Even the ones you like. If you want only the fanboys to comment, you should post on the Star Trek Online Forums. this is a place were people look for opions and want to hear both sides, good or bad so they can make an informed opinion about the game.
Sure, some of the opinions are harsh. But they are just that,,,,, OPINIONS. Every one's game of coice WILL get negative opinons. the bottom line is, you can't make a thread saying "This game is good" and expect the people who hate the game to be Silent.
OP is enjoying the game for what it is, (as it should be) and not focusing on what the game doesn't have (i.e hardcore PVP) so he's having a pretty good time. It remains to be seen if it will have long term appeal, but I suppose if its fun for at least a month or two, he got his money's worth.
What many of the complaints are about is what the game isn't. Not really virtual world, lacking deep combat or content etc, not close enough to the IP, etc which makes it seem like the game is just totally horrible if you go by only whats posted in the forums.
As the OP found out, trying it himself ended up providing him an entertaining game experience, so all's well.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I guess this pretty much sums it up better than i could have said it myself. Im not saying this is true to the IP, or that it is a classical MMORPG in the line of ultima/everquest/wow. And yes the cash shop does bother me on a principle lvl. Im just saying that im having fun in this game dispite all this, because i went into the game with an open mind, instead of expecting a certain kind of gameplay and then getting dissapointed cause it was different.
And yes i was pleasently surprised. After reading this forum beforehand, the game is better than i expected it to be. Last time i got pleasently surprised by a mmo was ... well never, which i blame on the usual hype which no mmo can realistically ever hope to fullfill and which i completly ignored this time.
To tell the truth when thinking about the threadtitle i wasnt thinking so much about fun or how it compares to other mmos, and more on the simple quality of the game(a point that got entirely to short in my op, cause i couldnt find the right words). Content aside, this feels damn polished for a game not even a month old. With warhammer for example my first reaction was "well they have to sort the bugs out, and rework the mailsystem, auction house not working either, horribly lag, balance between classes is all to hell, content missing, graphical glitches, wtf did that npc just jump through the wall?,boring past tier 1" etc pp. So yeah i simply knew there wasnt going to be anything but shallow content for half a year or more, by which time the game had already tanked, cause there was to much gamebreaking stuff needing to get changed first.
With STO, and this is just my personal feeling, the underlying code of the game is sound, the devs can really focus on just adding content, instead of having to worry about having to rewrite the whole network layer first or something like that.
So to reiterate, missing content gets added anyway, and difficulty(and thus necessarity for groups) can be modified by a few numbers in some database. I dont know cryptic well enough to comment on their likelihood of doing either.
See people complaining the game doesn't have DEEP combat clearly haven't played Long.
The game has a very in depth combat system. Cover, Flanks, Expose, Exploit, Tons of skills to work with and thats just ground.
In space you got tons of mechanics to work with. Skills, power levels, Directional weapons, and so on.
"See people complaining the game doesn't have DEEP combat clearly haven't played Long."
two things bother me about this Comment.
1} This isn't the complaint I read in this thread.
2} If they are not playing long, there is a Reason. they don;t like it. you mean you have to play crap till it gets better?