i honestly beleive if cryptic had done some damage control on there own forums from the begining they may have actually had a viable game (viable, not succesful), but bad news travels fast.
I have to disagree with your analysis on Cryptic here; the clamped down pretty quickly on negative posts in their forums. What they had no control over were other forums such as these; they did try to influence them, which is why we saw early on some Cryptic people trying to defend the game here incognito. Fortunately they kept giving themselves away, mainly by making statements that only someone on the inside would know.
Cryptic quickly changed tactics and not only started deleting critical threads in their forums as fast as possible (which to be fair they had every right to do, since they were their forums), but also in blatantly encouraging STO fans to bash posts that could in any way be viewed as critical.
As such, no amount of spin could save what is a subpar MMO; as you stated bad news travels fast, and the flood of mediocre (at best) reviews from the big name websites helped seal STO's reputation.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
I have to disagree with your analysis on Cryptic here; the clamped down pretty quickly on negative posts in their forums. What they had no control over were other forums such as these; they did try to influence them, which is why we saw early on some Cryptic people trying to defend the game here incognito. Fortunately they kept giving themselves away, mainly by making statements that only someone on the inside would know.
Cryptic quickly changed tactics and not only started deleting critical threads in their forums as fast as possible (which to be fair they had every right to do, since they were their forums), but also in blatantly encouraging STO fans to bash posts that could in any way be viewed as critical.
As such, no amount of spin could save what is a subpar MMO; as you stated bad news travels fast, and the flood of mediocre (at best) reviews from the big name websites helped seal STO's reputation.
you dont think that with the cash shop and star trek name they could at least break even? thats what i mean by viable.
IF THE ONLY DEFENCE FOR CRITICISM OF A GAME IS CALLING SOMEONE A TROLL OR HATER, THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE GAME
To be honest I think their forum clampdown has fed into a lot of the negative too. Most people don't like to be told to shut up and they especially don't like being ignored. They could have either taken the criticism with a grain of salt but left it there and maybe responded to some of it by clarifying their vision for the game, or do what they did and wield the banhammer, close all negative threads, and silence all the critics. They even had to create a separate forum for the c-store because their recent actions caused so much uproar. No coincidence it is near the bottom of the forum too.
People are usually forgiving if you are willing to give them the chance, but if you shut them out and ignore them.. the end result is not pretty.
you dont think that with the cash shop and star trek name they could at least break even? thats what i mean by viable.
A few months ago, yes, but now? No, I don't; if they haven't made all their money back then I am beginning to think it's too late. Everytime they turn around, they seem hell-bent on alienating those few players still loyal to them; you know, the ones still willing to buy the C-Store junk? The latest fiasco (the Galaxy X situation) shows that they don't even understand the basics of their own business (or most other businesses either): Repeat business. More so than most other businesses a MMO relies on customers returning month after month to spend more money, whether through subscription feesad/or a cash shop.
That they cannot seem to grasp the simple fact that you shouldn't drive away your customers if you rely on repeat business says a lot about Cryptic, and none of it good. So no, if they haven't turned a profit by now, then that ship has already sailed.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
To be honest I think their forum clampdown has fed into a lot of the negative too. Most people don't like to be told to shut up and they especially don't like being ignored. They could have either taken the criticism with a grain of salt but left it there and maybe responded to some of it by clarifying their vision for the game, or do what they did and wield the banhammer, close all negative threads, and silence all the critics. They even had to create a separate forum for the c-store because their recent actions caused so much uproar. No coincidence it is near the bottom of the forum too.
People are usually forgiving if you are willing to give them the chance, but if you shut them out and ignore them.. the end result is not pretty.
Crying about negative posts in interviews ad forums, and stating that your players just don't get it, wasn't helpful either.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
A few months ago, yes, but now? No, I don't; if they haven't made all their money back then I am beginning to think it's too late. Everytime they turn around, they seem hell-bent on alienating those few players still loyal to them; you know, the ones still willing to buy the C-Store junk? The latest fiasco (the Galaxy X situation) shows that they don't even understand the basics of their own business (or most other businesses either): Repeat business. More so than most other businesses a MMO relies on customers returning month after month to spend more money, whether through subscription feesad/or a cash shop.
That they cannot seem to grasp the simple fact that you shouldn't drive away your customers if you rely on repeat business says a lot about Cryptic, and none of it good. So no, if they haven't turned a profit by now, then that ship has already sailed.
that was kind of the point of my story about planes and doing the "preventative maintanance". maybe it doesnt come across the way i meant, cause you said it better. if they had dealt with the problem at the begininning they might be able to break even now is what i was trying to get across.
IF THE ONLY DEFENCE FOR CRITICISM OF A GAME IS CALLING SOMEONE A TROLL OR HATER, THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE GAME
That they cannot seem to grasp the simple fact that you shouldn't drive away your customers if you rely on repeat business says a lot about Cryptic, and none of it good. So no, if they haven't turned a profit by now, then that ship has already sailed.
I think you're right -- though it seems I generally agree with whatever you write, Dinendae.
It's almost certain that they haven't made back their initial investment (with such an abbreviated development period, who knows?). The thing is, they haven't just driven away their potential repeat customers, they've also tarnished their brand. There's a difference between someone saying, "I don't think I want to play Star Trek Online anymore" and someone saying, "I am never going to play another Cryptic game as long as I live," and you see an awful lot of the latter.
As precarious as Atari's financials are, they have really screwed themselves by 1) acquiring an MMO studio and subsequently 2) making most MMO players want to avoid them like the plague.
I think you're right -- though it seems I generally agree with whatever you write, Dinendae.
It's almost certain that they haven't made back their initial investment (with such an abbreviated development period, who knows?). The thing is, they haven't just driven away their potential repeat customers, they've also tarnished their brand. There's a difference between someone saying, "I don't think I want to play Star Trek Online anymore" and someone saying, "I am never going to play another Cryptic game as long as I live," and you see an awful lot of the latter.
As precarious as Atari's financials are, they have really screwed themselves by 1) acquiring an MMO studio and subsequently 2) making most MMO players want to avoid them like the plague.
I try to be fair in my criticisms, after taking into account all the facts that I have. That being said, I am not entirely sure they haven't recouped their losses; as you correctly point out the quick turn around on this MMO, in addition to the multitude of marketing shennanigans they have pulled, means they very well could have turned a slight profit. If so I find that unfortunate, merely for the reason that there will not be anything to dissuade Cryptic and Atari that this method of producing MMOs is faulty. That would mean more rushed out of the door MMOs for them, although fortunately in the future a great number of MMO players will be more jaded towards Cryptic's promises.
As to your comment regarding Atari screwing themselves, I must disagree slightly. For starters, acquiring a MMO studio wasn't a bad idea; Atari just bought into the wrong studio's hype. A decent MMO studio, such as Turbine for example, could have been a much needed boon to turning things around for Atari. Secondly the bad press isn't entirely Atari's fault, although they do deserve scorn for some of it (such as the various marketing blunders); Atari bought into Cryptic's promises of being able to mass-produce AAA title MMOs in record time. For that, Atari gets a pass from me for the state CO and STO launched in.
However, if the next MMO turns out the same way, then Atari rightly deserves to take most of the blame; even though their Cryptic branch is actually creating the MMOs, Atari should realize by now that Cryptic's model doesn't produce MMOs with decent subscription staying power. This should be especially evident if Cryptic has indeed missed out on the $20,000,000.00 bonus for generating the undisclosed amount of revenue that Cryptic negotiated with Atari during the buyout. If Cryptic has missed that boat, and releases this next MMO in as bad a shape as the last two, then Atari rightly deserves the criticism it will get.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
anyone besides me think that cryptic will be rebranded (change there company name) before there next release?
If Atari's marketing gurus even have one working brain cell, they should do it. However, I do not think it will help; after all, people are still spreading the message that Atari is in actuality Infogrames.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
Ah, I just checked out the price on this ship, 2000CP which I understand is equivalent to $25. KInda expensive. The CDF reaction appears to be "It's the same price as the WoW celestial steed".
Ah, I just checked out the price on this ship, 2000CP which I understand is equivalent to $25. KInda expensive. The CDF reaction appears to be "It's the same price as the WoW celestial steed".
Yep, though to be fair it is far cheaper than buying five additional accounts and subscribing for a month with each of them!
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
Ah, I just checked out the price on this ship, 2000CP which I understand is equivalent to $25. KInda expensive. The CDF reaction appears to be "It's the same price as the WoW celestial steed".
Yep, though to be fair it is far cheaper than buying five additional accounts and subscribing for a month with each of them!
and the wow servers will still be up in a years time as well.
IF THE ONLY DEFENCE FOR CRITICISM OF A GAME IS CALLING SOMEONE A TROLL OR HATER, THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE GAME
and the wow servers will still be up in a years time as well.
I'm still withholding judgement on STO getting closed down; we still don't have a decent idea of how the Cryptic branch of Atari has been performing, other than a general sense of badly, and I want to see another financial report or two from Atari before deciding.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
I hadn't touched any news or forums regarding STO in a little bit. Then I get an email from Cryptic about the upcoming stuff for the 4th of July weekend. I dug into this more out of morbid curiousity and what I found was a series of laughable yet sad actions by Cryptic.
So, the Feds are getting Cloak, and not just on a limited basis of the Galaxy X (more on that later lol), but the ship will be on the C-Store. I believe this will sell like hotcakes with the lemmings still left in that game. Congrats Cryptic, you're further relegating the Klingon faction into pointlessness.
What I was really amused about was the Galaxy X going to the C-Store. When I left STO, the ship was supposed to be an exclusive reward for those that pushed hard and sucker... I mean, "persuaded" 5 friends to join the game (getting one other person to stick around is a feat in itself). After a bit of time, they go ahead and will be releasing the Galaxy X for all the Fedbears on the C-Store. Way to go Cryptic! You just p*ssed off some more of your best fans! Keep it up because you guys are certainly great at it!
Watching what's going on with this game is pleasing now that I have left it. Like watching torpedoes hit the side of a ship and seeing the crew racing about.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
Got to ask myself where are all the cryptic supporters now that they have put a ship in there c store, so no more "its only fluff" bs, thing even has a cloak lol.
How low can this company go? charging full rate subscription for a half assed game and now start selling ships in there store? really crytic? with a cloak? why are poeple still playing this shit and paying these people money.
Really glad i got into beta to see for myself how messed up this game was before buying.
Even funnier with ppl from crytic jumping ship before it sinks.
Dont know if to laugh or feel sorry for the people that bought into this game.
As to your comment regarding Atari screwing themselves, I must disagree slightly. For starters, acquiring a MMO studio wasn't a bad idea; Atari just bought into the wrong studio's hype. A decent MMO studio, such as Turbine for example, could have been a much needed boon to turning things around for Atari. Secondly the bad press isn't entirely Atari's fault, although they do deserve scorn for some of it (such as the various marketing blunders); Atari bought into Cryptic's promises of being able to mass-produce AAA title MMOs in record time. For that, Atari gets a pass from me for the state CO and STO launched in.
I didn't mean to imply that it was a bad idea for Atari to get into the MMO business. In fact it was probably long overdue. I meant that as an A-B one-two punch. Get into the business, and then immediately tarnish the brand. As for whether the fault belongs to Cryptic or Atari, from my perspective, it's no longer worth trying to parse it. They're the same company now, and since I wasn't present during the performance reviews of all the different employees, I'm not going to try to single out who made the good decisions and who made the bad ones.
After a bit of time, they go ahead and will be releasing the Galaxy X for all the Fedbears on the C-Store.
Correct me if I am wrong but isn't it going to be available for the Klingons as well, or did they nix that idea?
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
I didn't mean to imply that it was a bad idea for Atari to get into the MMO business. In fact it was probably long overdue. I meant that as an A-B one-two punch. Get into the business, and then immediately tarnish the brand. As for whether the fault belongs to Cryptic or Atari, from my perspective, it's no longer worth trying to parse it. They're the same company now, and since I wasn't present during the performance reviews of all the different employees, I'm not going to try to single out who made the good decisions and who made the bad ones.
Ah, i see what you were saying. As for trying to correctly assign blame, it's kind of ingrained into me at this point: When STO was getting into the beta phases, and people started getting a sense of how bad the game would be at launch, we started seeing the "poor Cryptic/evil Atari" posts on the official forums. Ever since that started, i have been trying to point out which one (Atari or Cryptic) was responsible for what mess. I guess it has become habit with me now.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
hey din, check your in box if you havent lately please.
Yep, I did.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
After a bit of time, they go ahead and will be releasing the Galaxy X for all the Fedbears on the C-Store.
Correct me if I am wrong but isn't it going to be available for the Klingons as well, or did they nix that idea?
I haven't followed up on it well enough to know that answer. But considering the hack job that STO was released as, and still is, I'm not really sure if Cryptic wouldn't do that.
When the RAF / Refer A Sucker program got ushered in along with the Galaxy-X carrot, we did raise a stink from the Klingon side of the house that the reward gives a Federation ship while the KDF continues to languish with no equivalent reward. Supposedly Cryptic said they would "consider" a KDF equivalent but we know what they mean by that. As of now there is absolutely no mention of an equivalent Klingon warship as a reward. The Galaxy-X rug is pulled from the RAF players to be whored out to everyone. So with the events unfolding and Cryptic being Cryptic, a KDF RAF ship is as likely as me going home tonight to find 3 supermodels wearing lingerie laying ready in my bed. It's just not going to happen.
This new tactical maneuver with the Galaxy X for the RAF program and later the C-Store purchase deserves a Star Trek name. "Attack Pattern Fleece"
These guys are literally trying to make as many subsequent cuts and cause as much bleeding as possible to get their money from whoever is left. And it's entertaining just watching it all happen from a distance now. Hey guys, watch that cliff further down that path...
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
After a bit of time, they go ahead and will be releasing the Galaxy X for all the Fedbears on the C-Store.
Correct me if I am wrong but isn't it going to be available for the Klingons as well, or did they nix that idea?
When they first announced it, there was something about it being available to both factions. I don't know if that was a misprint or was written as intended. Klingons flying around in a galaxy x is beyond dumb and lazy. I guess they reconsidered as from what I've heard, it's not available to klingon characters.
$25? That's insane, especially considering STO is a Subscription-based & Microtransaction game. They're really shaking down whoever is left out there. Even better considering they're charging people for content to fix up a half-ass*d game on top of paying monthly already.
The greed is strong with this one
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
Comments
I have to disagree with your analysis on Cryptic here; the clamped down pretty quickly on negative posts in their forums. What they had no control over were other forums such as these; they did try to influence them, which is why we saw early on some Cryptic people trying to defend the game here incognito. Fortunately they kept giving themselves away, mainly by making statements that only someone on the inside would know.
Cryptic quickly changed tactics and not only started deleting critical threads in their forums as fast as possible (which to be fair they had every right to do, since they were their forums), but also in blatantly encouraging STO fans to bash posts that could in any way be viewed as critical.
As such, no amount of spin could save what is a subpar MMO; as you stated bad news travels fast, and the flood of mediocre (at best) reviews from the big name websites helped seal STO's reputation.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
you dont think that with the cash shop and star trek name they could at least break even? thats what i mean by viable.
IF THE ONLY DEFENCE FOR CRITICISM OF A GAME IS CALLING SOMEONE A TROLL OR HATER, THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE GAME
To be honest I think their forum clampdown has fed into a lot of the negative too. Most people don't like to be told to shut up and they especially don't like being ignored. They could have either taken the criticism with a grain of salt but left it there and maybe responded to some of it by clarifying their vision for the game, or do what they did and wield the banhammer, close all negative threads, and silence all the critics. They even had to create a separate forum for the c-store because their recent actions caused so much uproar. No coincidence it is near the bottom of the forum too.
People are usually forgiving if you are willing to give them the chance, but if you shut them out and ignore them.. the end result is not pretty.
A few months ago, yes, but now? No, I don't; if they haven't made all their money back then I am beginning to think it's too late. Everytime they turn around, they seem hell-bent on alienating those few players still loyal to them; you know, the ones still willing to buy the C-Store junk? The latest fiasco (the Galaxy X situation) shows that they don't even understand the basics of their own business (or most other businesses either): Repeat business. More so than most other businesses a MMO relies on customers returning month after month to spend more money, whether through subscription feesad/or a cash shop.
That they cannot seem to grasp the simple fact that you shouldn't drive away your customers if you rely on repeat business says a lot about Cryptic, and none of it good. So no, if they haven't turned a profit by now, then that ship has already sailed.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
Crying about negative posts in interviews ad forums, and stating that your players just don't get it, wasn't helpful either.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
that was kind of the point of my story about planes and doing the "preventative maintanance". maybe it doesnt come across the way i meant, cause you said it better. if they had dealt with the problem at the begininning they might be able to break even now is what i was trying to get across.
IF THE ONLY DEFENCE FOR CRITICISM OF A GAME IS CALLING SOMEONE A TROLL OR HATER, THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE GAME
I think you're right -- though it seems I generally agree with whatever you write, Dinendae.
It's almost certain that they haven't made back their initial investment (with such an abbreviated development period, who knows?). The thing is, they haven't just driven away their potential repeat customers, they've also tarnished their brand. There's a difference between someone saying, "I don't think I want to play Star Trek Online anymore" and someone saying, "I am never going to play another Cryptic game as long as I live," and you see an awful lot of the latter.
As precarious as Atari's financials are, they have really screwed themselves by 1) acquiring an MMO studio and subsequently 2) making most MMO players want to avoid them like the plague.
I try to be fair in my criticisms, after taking into account all the facts that I have. That being said, I am not entirely sure they haven't recouped their losses; as you correctly point out the quick turn around on this MMO, in addition to the multitude of marketing shennanigans they have pulled, means they very well could have turned a slight profit. If so I find that unfortunate, merely for the reason that there will not be anything to dissuade Cryptic and Atari that this method of producing MMOs is faulty. That would mean more rushed out of the door MMOs for them, although fortunately in the future a great number of MMO players will be more jaded towards Cryptic's promises.
As to your comment regarding Atari screwing themselves, I must disagree slightly. For starters, acquiring a MMO studio wasn't a bad idea; Atari just bought into the wrong studio's hype. A decent MMO studio, such as Turbine for example, could have been a much needed boon to turning things around for Atari. Secondly the bad press isn't entirely Atari's fault, although they do deserve scorn for some of it (such as the various marketing blunders); Atari bought into Cryptic's promises of being able to mass-produce AAA title MMOs in record time. For that, Atari gets a pass from me for the state CO and STO launched in.
However, if the next MMO turns out the same way, then Atari rightly deserves to take most of the blame; even though their Cryptic branch is actually creating the MMOs, Atari should realize by now that Cryptic's model doesn't produce MMOs with decent subscription staying power. This should be especially evident if Cryptic has indeed missed out on the $20,000,000.00 bonus for generating the undisclosed amount of revenue that Cryptic negotiated with Atari during the buyout. If Cryptic has missed that boat, and releases this next MMO in as bad a shape as the last two, then Atari rightly deserves the criticism it will get.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
anyone besides me think that cryptic will be rebranded (change there company name) before there next release?
IF THE ONLY DEFENCE FOR CRITICISM OF A GAME IS CALLING SOMEONE A TROLL OR HATER, THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE GAME
If Atari's marketing gurus even have one working brain cell, they should do it. However, I do not think it will help; after all, people are still spreading the message that Atari is in actuality Infogrames.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
Ah, I just checked out the price on this ship, 2000CP which I understand is equivalent to $25. KInda expensive. The CDF reaction appears to be "It's the same price as the WoW celestial steed".
Yep, though to be fair it is far cheaper than buying five additional accounts and subscribing for a month with each of them!
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
and the wow servers will still be up in a years time as well.
IF THE ONLY DEFENCE FOR CRITICISM OF A GAME IS CALLING SOMEONE A TROLL OR HATER, THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE GAME
I'm still withholding judgement on STO getting closed down; we still don't have a decent idea of how the Cryptic branch of Atari has been performing, other than a general sense of badly, and I want to see another financial report or two from Atari before deciding.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
I hadn't touched any news or forums regarding STO in a little bit. Then I get an email from Cryptic about the upcoming stuff for the 4th of July weekend. I dug into this more out of morbid curiousity and what I found was a series of laughable yet sad actions by Cryptic.
So, the Feds are getting Cloak, and not just on a limited basis of the Galaxy X (more on that later lol), but the ship will be on the C-Store. I believe this will sell like hotcakes with the lemmings still left in that game. Congrats Cryptic, you're further relegating the Klingon faction into pointlessness.
What I was really amused about was the Galaxy X going to the C-Store. When I left STO, the ship was supposed to be an exclusive reward for those that pushed hard and sucker... I mean, "persuaded" 5 friends to join the game (getting one other person to stick around is a feat in itself). After a bit of time, they go ahead and will be releasing the Galaxy X for all the Fedbears on the C-Store. Way to go Cryptic! You just p*ssed off some more of your best fans! Keep it up because you guys are certainly great at it!
Watching what's going on with this game is pleasing now that I have left it. Like watching torpedoes hit the side of a ship and seeing the crew racing about.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
Got to ask myself where are all the cryptic supporters now that they have put a ship in there c store, so no more "its only fluff" bs, thing even has a cloak lol.
How low can this company go? charging full rate subscription for a half assed game and now start selling ships in there store? really crytic? with a cloak? why are poeple still playing this shit and paying these people money.
Really glad i got into beta to see for myself how messed up this game was before buying.
Even funnier with ppl from crytic jumping ship before it sinks.
Dont know if to laugh or feel sorry for the people that bought into this game.
I didn't mean to imply that it was a bad idea for Atari to get into the MMO business. In fact it was probably long overdue. I meant that as an A-B one-two punch. Get into the business, and then immediately tarnish the brand. As for whether the fault belongs to Cryptic or Atari, from my perspective, it's no longer worth trying to parse it. They're the same company now, and since I wasn't present during the performance reviews of all the different employees, I'm not going to try to single out who made the good decisions and who made the bad ones.
Correct me if I am wrong but isn't it going to be available for the Klingons as well, or did they nix that idea?
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
Ah, i see what you were saying. As for trying to correctly assign blame, it's kind of ingrained into me at this point: When STO was getting into the beta phases, and people started getting a sense of how bad the game would be at launch, we started seeing the "poor Cryptic/evil Atari" posts on the official forums. Ever since that started, i have been trying to point out which one (Atari or Cryptic) was responsible for what mess. I guess it has become habit with me now.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
IF THE ONLY DEFENCE FOR CRITICISM OF A GAME IS CALLING SOMEONE A TROLL OR HATER, THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE GAME
Yep, I did.
"Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan
I haven't followed up on it well enough to know that answer. But considering the hack job that STO was released as, and still is, I'm not really sure if Cryptic wouldn't do that.
When the RAF / Refer A Sucker program got ushered in along with the Galaxy-X carrot, we did raise a stink from the Klingon side of the house that the reward gives a Federation ship while the KDF continues to languish with no equivalent reward. Supposedly Cryptic said they would "consider" a KDF equivalent but we know what they mean by that. As of now there is absolutely no mention of an equivalent Klingon warship as a reward. The Galaxy-X rug is pulled from the RAF players to be whored out to everyone. So with the events unfolding and Cryptic being Cryptic, a KDF RAF ship is as likely as me going home tonight to find 3 supermodels wearing lingerie laying ready in my bed. It's just not going to happen.
This new tactical maneuver with the Galaxy X for the RAF program and later the C-Store purchase deserves a Star Trek name. "Attack Pattern Fleece"
These guys are literally trying to make as many subsequent cuts and cause as much bleeding as possible to get their money from whoever is left. And it's entertaining just watching it all happen from a distance now. Hey guys, watch that cliff further down that path...
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
When they first announced it, there was something about it being available to both factions. I don't know if that was a misprint or was written as intended. Klingons flying around in a galaxy x is beyond dumb and lazy. I guess they reconsidered as from what I've heard, it's not available to klingon characters.
Wow just wow... now there are reports that this $25 ship is only available per character not for your entire account.
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=165734
ok found out it just needs to be unlocked at RA5.. but in typical Cryptic fashion info about it was buried in their FAQs.
$25? That's insane, especially considering STO is a Subscription-based & Microtransaction game. They're really shaking down whoever is left out there. Even better considering they're charging people for content to fix up a half-ass*d game on top of paying monthly already.
The greed is strong with this one
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)