MMOdata.com has STO subs falling to 60k and I would imagine by now that number has fallen to less than 50k. You know a game is bad when the exec producer gets fired in the first few months. What is going to happen to this game in another 10 months when all the lifetime sub money has been spent and less than 25k of paying subscriptions are left?
"Sean (Murray) saying MP will be in the game is not remotely close to evidence that at the point of purchase people thought there was MP in the game." - SEANMCAD
This game is terrible, I will never buy a Cryptic game ever again, and I will warn others about them. They have ruined our chance forever for having a good Star Trek MMO.
This game is AWSOME. And the devs have really outdone themselves with the great updates and content they have added. I seriuosly dought ant other company could have done a better job at it. It was a breath of fresh air when the old head of STO quit and Daniel took over as the exec producer. STO is one of if not the best MMO on the market and alot more secure then any Blizzard's PC virus and hacker friendly games. And considering EVERY MMO that is released is unfinnished the STO team really shine comared to all the others. But I am posting on MMORPG.com witch is about 99% trolls so bring on the flames Lol.
This game is AWSOME. And the devs have really outdone themselves with the great updates and content they have added. I seriuosly dought ant other company could have done a better job at it. It was a breath of fresh air when the old head of STO quit and Daniel took over as the exec producer. STO is one of if not the best MMO on the market and alot more secure then any Blizzard's PC virus and hacker friendly games. And considering EVERY MMO that is released is unfinnished the STO team really shine comared to all the others. But I am posting on MMORPG.com witch is about 99% trolls so bring on the flames Lol.
No flames, STO is just pure rubbish. It's like buying a Porsche and when they deliver it, you find out it's made by Skoda. But, I guess somebody might as well like it! Hang on, I'll just call your local hospital and get an appointment for you.
I think the best game design is a contribution of player suggestions and dev team design, with dev team design trumping player suggestions because the dev team should have a vision for the game, should have far more information than the players, and should know the future of the game.
Cryptic going on and on about making the game with player suggestions and relying so heavily on community input makes me think they don't have a vision for their game and they don't have any idea of where the game is going in the future. Their prime directive (so to speak) seems to be "makes as much profit as possible any way possible."
Don't forget about the post launch statements they made about features they had been talking about all along; most comments were either our engine can't do it, or (worse) we don't know how to implement it in the game. It doesn't surprise me that they need to rely on what the players tell them so much.
"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
This game is AWSOME. And the devs have really outdone themselves with the great updates and content they have added. I seriuosly dought ant other company could have done a better job at it. It was a breath of fresh air when the old head of STO quit and Daniel took over as the exec producer. STO is one of if not the best MMO on the market and alot more secure then any Blizzard's PC virus and hacker friendly games. And considering EVERY MMO that is released is unfinnished the STO team really shine comared to all the others. But I am posting on MMORPG.com witch is about 99% trolls so bring on the flames Lol.
One of the big issues with the game that obviously still isn't being addressed is the sector space a.k.a Tron in Space. The concept of sector space is flawed and could be done much better whilst giving the game a more "Trek" feel to it. It adds nothing to the game in my opinion.
The funny thing is that STO is a game centred around mini-instances, and that technology could actually simulate a ship being "at warp" and yet they refuse to do it. I won't go into details here. The irony is that CCP "borrowed" the whole warp concept and made it work in Eve Online.
This game isn't the greatest MMO ever, but certainly no where near the worst game produced either! They had some real good ideas such as the character creation, NPC Bridge officers and good star ship combat. My biggest complaint was with the exploration missions which lacked in my opinion. People complaining about the C-store is fair enough, but it looks like most games are heading into this direction I fear. The C-store items are not anything you must have and are mostly fluff so it really doesn't bother me much other than it being in a game I'm subscriping to. But to people saying all these changes/fixes don't matter any, you couldn't be more wrong! Those changes have shown they really do care and have enthusied the community. So far I haven't seen any lack of new players.
This game started as a smelly brown stuff (that usually originates from the toilet after u've used it) thrown at a wall and sticking there... that was phase 1
Now they are sticking flowers on to improve it... that is phase 2
talking about repeating itself, the whole gaming indistry feels a bit like just before "Elite" came, all focus in on Casual gameplay. now to figure out that new elite game is.
No. The game flopped simply because it's not Star Trek. It's a online space shooter with your toon wearing starfleet uniforms and using star trek vessel skins.
No. The game flopped simply because it's not Star Trek. It's a online space shooter with your toon wearing starfleet uniforms and using star trek vessel skins.
Did you see the uniforms in game? I haven't seen those uniforms on any Star Trek shows or movies.
Yeah, I guess the TV shows/movies uniforms are in the game, you just have to buy them.
For their current players I hope that this game wont fail. Even if its only because its the only Star Trek MMO around.
But I do hope that they (and other MMO companies) realise that their payment model failed. Asking too much money for too little content compared to other MMO's. If it wasnt based on Star Trek, I wonder if they even wouldve tried to put an extra price on part of the content. Not to mention that they didnt do much with their ip. Its a shell of a game compared to what it couldve been.
I personally hope it does fail. So that a better publisher and dev team can give the Star Trek name the proper MMORPG experience it deserves. Not this travesty of game design.
"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)
STO isn't even worth my truthful comment. I'll just slide in with mainly repeatable missions, sad and pathetic content for RA's, DStahl's absolute love for C-Store, a great failure of PvP queues, awesomely disgusting PR moves, such as a welcome back weekend based on fact that their game was down for a day or so just now, and most of their additions from "season 2 - the crap patch of all time" are buggy as hell and some of the quests can't even get completed.
The comment about the Klingon gameplay is a load of crap IMO, their solution is just going to make PvE a complete grindfested bore like it is with the Federation gameplay.. How many "Kill X many Federation" patrols can you possibly expect us to do Cryptic.. THIS IS BORING SHIT and you guys know it!..
Season 2 was a joke.. Season 3 will no doubt be a joke as well.. the problem isn't with content.. the problem is that what you guys consider "content" is a mind numbing grind that isn't fun. Give us something to do ffs! Put RvR into the game. It has to be in the game, that's the only way people are going to enjoy it because your content creators are narrowminded and bad at their jobs.
Stop telling us no to things that SHOULD be in the damn game! and should have been in the game since launch.. and stop making that bullshit excuse that the C-Store is there to "pay" for content that you couldn't provide us.. The Nebula class ships that you will no doubt charge for were ALREADY IN THE GAME at launch, they just weren't playable, so don't brag about it being some new feature- you're scamming us.. its obvious. You shouldn't be making money off this. Galaxy-X was such a scam.. $25 for a ship?! you've got to be shitting me and it doesn't look any better than the Galaxy Class- its like you guys just took the galaxy class and added an additional nacel and said "ok guys pay us $25".
This company is unethical.
If you're truly listening cryptic.. GET RID OF THE GRIND.. that is the problem with your game. Stop it with this End Game content crap, people don't want it or enjoy it.. they want Starbases and RvR.. that's what they've wanted all along.
What STO should have been: EvE Online skinned with Star Trek Styled ships and space combat + DDO Style ground combat.
I am sad to say I was one of the people who pre-odered the deluxe collectors edition, only to cancel my sub after hitting the "cap" in 2 weeks of gameplay. STO is a trainwreck as far as I'm concerned, it "may" have made a decent single player game with LAN/Coop play built in, but it is NOT up to even the most basic MMO standards, Hello Kitty online is more MMO then STO.
Companies shouldn't get second chances once they've launched games so brazenly incomplete. I don't care how good the game is 6 months out, they out and out ripped off the early adopters and this trend needs to stop. It blows my mind that still today, well after STO's launch they still have to do damage control regarding how bad it was when they brought it to the market in pretty much every single press junket and interview. It shouldn't have to be this way.
Players, don't accept crap games.
Developers, don't lowball your way into crap contracts with your publishers.
STO is a trainwreck. I hope we've all learned something.
I do hope you don't use Microsoft with that kind of stance on software, remember ME? How about Vista launch.
Players do accept crap games. I think what most people don't understand is some people know it maybe a pile now, but want to stick around for when it comes around. Everyone and their mother knows NOT to buy an MMO within the first 6months of release.
Do I think the game is a pile sure do. I played probably 40hrs in 3months. Will I go back? Not in its current form any way or shape. Now if I can control my ship from the bridge that maybe enough for me to go back to check it out.
MMO's have taken years to turn around before, AO is a case in point. But AO did not have loads of new MMO's chasing at its heels. STO has the IP and thats all. On the basis of this I dont se it turning round till two years after launch by which time it may have folded. But crossed fingers and it may develope into a strong MMO.
Players do accept crap games. I think what most people don't understand is some people know it maybe a pile now, but want to stick around for when it comes around. Everyone and their mother knows NOT to buy an MMO within the first 6months of release.
I agree that yes, people do accept crap games, absolutely they do. Maybe I'm just cynical though (thanks SOE and Cryptic), but I tend to think the majority of people are quite happy to be fished along in hopes that their game will someday be playable. And THAT'S the problem. I only WISH that everyone and their mother knew better than to not buy an MMO younger than 6 months, but that's clearly not the case. Players, like investors, can't seem to get over the here and now. If people continue to buy into crap games via a slick sales pitch, developers will continue to make crap games out of the gate, and for ME at least, that's unacceptable. People have every right to support whatever game they see fit, they just forfeit their right to bitch about it when they get taken for a ride because the devs will (as they have many times in the past) just shrug off complaints, believing we'll all just get over it and come crawling back and choke down the swill they're trying to sling into our gaping maws.
You're right, Bob. I think we've seen the prevailing attitude right here on these forums. How many times have we heard players say that they don't want to wait because they fear trailing everyone else who got in early and they'd always be playing catch up?
Players do accept crap games. I think what most people don't understand is some people know it maybe a pile now, but want to stick around for when it comes around. Everyone and their mother knows NOT to buy an MMO within the first 6months of release.
I agree that yes, people do accept crap games, absolutely they do. Maybe I'm just cynical though (thanks SOE and Cryptic), but I tend to think the majority of people are quite happy to be fished along in hopes that their game will someday be playable. And THAT'S the problem. I only WISH that everyone and their mother knew better than to not buy an MMO younger than 6 months, but that's clearly not the case. Players, like investors, can't seem to get over the here and now. If people continue to buy into crap games via a slick sales pitch, developers will continue to make crap games out of the gate, and for ME at least, that's unacceptable. People have every right to support whatever game they see fit, they just forfeit their right to bitch about it when they get taken for a ride because the devs will (as they have many times in the past) just shrug off complaints, believing we'll all just get over it and come crawling back and choke down the swill they're trying to sling into our gaping maws.
Again, leaving aside the obvious that everyone needs to make money, this is simply the result of our current model of consumer culture. These MMO games just happen to serve as a shining example of how the whole system is essentially broken. I'm sure no one wants me to wax philosophical/political in a gamming forum, but the truth is that gamers are now experiencing the mighty and brute force of the capitalist system working as intended. In the beginning when they were new and the territory was new and artists were trailblazing new ground, gamers began to believe that games would always be innovate and new. That's how free markets are supposed to work right? Competition for your dollars breeding better and better things for everyone?? Right?
Wrong. The reason? The monetary system and those that control it are not interested in innovation: THEY NEVER HAVE BEEN. If you don't believe me go watch "Who killed the Electric Car" and tell me how "free markets" usher in innovation. Free Enterprise only adapts to new innovation if they are FORCED too. And guess what? If they think they can make money by making the same crap, the way they have always made it, that is exactly what they will do. They don’t have to innovate, or release a “finished” product, meh... people will still buy it. So you are totally right.
All they have to do is manufacture NEED. That is it. That is how the whole system is run right now. Make you believe that you want it. This is why marketing departments are taking over, because it’s not about what’s in the box that matters to them, it’s about what people think is in the box. MMO gamers are still looking for that next new game that will be the “one” like that once a decade rock album that blows your mind. Until that happens they will just keep feeding you scraps and make you think “it could be”.
Back to my music analogy: if you feed people crap music for long enough, and put pretty faces on the covers, and fake it having lots of social “coolness” (gangsters that hoes love!) the music itself becomes irrelevant. This is the lesson here: style wins over substance. Expect more of the same.
PS that being said STO isn't the worst game in the world as people make it out to be, its just unfinished.
Players do accept crap games. I think what most people don't understand is some people know it maybe a pile now, but want to stick around for when it comes around. Everyone and their mother knows NOT to buy an MMO within the first 6months of release.
I agree that yes, people do accept crap games, absolutely they do. Maybe I'm just cynical though (thanks SOE and Cryptic), but I tend to think the majority of people are quite happy to be fished along in hopes that their game will someday be playable. And THAT'S the problem. I only WISH that everyone and their mother knew better than to not buy an MMO younger than 6 months, but that's clearly not the case. Players, like investors, can't seem to get over the here and now. If people continue to buy into crap games via a slick sales pitch, developers will continue to make crap games out of the gate, and for ME at least, that's unacceptable. People have every right to support whatever game they see fit, they just forfeit their right to bitch about it when they get taken for a ride because the devs will (as they have many times in the past) just shrug off complaints, believing we'll all just get over it and come crawling back and choke down the swill they're trying to sling into our gaping maws.
Again, leaving aside the obvious that everyone needs to make money, this is simply the result of our current model of consumer culture. These MMO games just happen to serve as a shining example of how the whole system is essentially broken. I'm sure no one wants me to wax philosophical/political in a gamming forum, but the truth is that gamers are now experiencing the mighty and brute force of the capitalist system working as intended. In the beginning when they were new and the territory was new and artists were trailblazing new ground, gamers began to believe that games would always be innovate and new. That's how free markets are supposed to work right? Competition for your dollars breeding better and better things for everyone?? Right?
Wrong. The reason? The monetary system and those that control it are not interested in innovation: THEY NEVER HAVE BEEN. If you don't believe me go watch "Who killed the Electric Car" and tell me how "free markets" usher in innovation. Free Enterprise only adapts to new innovation if they are FORCED too. And guess what? If they think they can make money by making the same crap, the way they have always made it, that is exactly what they will do. They don’t have to innovate, or release a “finished” product, meh... people will still buy it. So you are totally right.
All they have to do is manufacture NEED. That is it. That is how the whole system is run right now. Make you believe that you want it. This is why marketing departments are taking over, because it’s not about what’s in the box that matters to them, it’s about what people think is in the box. MMO gamers are still looking for that next new game that will be the “one” like that once a decade rock album that blows your mind. Until that happens they will just keep feeding you scraps and make you think “it could be”.
Back to my music analogy: if you feed people crap music for long enough, and put pretty faces on the covers, and fake it having lots of social “coolness” (gangsters that hoes love!) the music itself becomes irrelevant. This is the lesson here: style wins over substance. Expect more of the same.
PS that being said STO isn't the worst game in the world as people make it out to be, its just unfinished.
Agree, the only TRUE force of innovation is War and Fear. Seriously, you look at almost all of the major scientific and technological breaktroughs that occured througout history, were they driven by the desire to make money? No, they were driven by the desire to have better weapons and tools then thier "enemies", or to acheive some kind of political victory over another nation. Take the moon landing, we only went there because people thought the russians might beat us to it, Now look at the the US, planning to scrap shuttle missions altogether.
"Free" markets and competition are only meaningfull if you have a finite consumer base with limited expendable income. Most MMO gamers do not fall into those catagories. MMO gamers are more akin to gambling addicts, constantly in search of the "next big score" and MMO developers know this. That is why "beta" keys are given out to advertising agencies (*Read as gaming websights/magazines) to "promote" the game and act as a kind of "exclusive club" to build "hype" for a game. The publishers then capitalize on this hype by selling the game at a higher retail price, offering long term subscriptions at a "discount" to lock in profits, and then releasing an unfinished product because they KNOW people will continue to subscribe to it while waiting on that "it'll get better" carrot.
Basically MMO gamers are a captive audience of suckers, and yes that makes me one too. Which is why I developed the following philosophy:
If I go to the movies I will spend roughly $20 for ~2-3 hours of entertainment, or roughly $6.67 per hour of entertainment.
If I spend $60 on a game and $15 for the monthly sub and get at least 40 hours of entertainment that month then I come out ahead in the Money/Entertainment ratio, or roughly $1.87 per hour of entertainment.
Comments
MMOdata.com has STO subs falling to 60k and I would imagine by now that number has fallen to less than 50k. You know a game is bad when the exec producer gets fired in the first few months. What is going to happen to this game in another 10 months when all the lifetime sub money has been spent and less than 25k of paying subscriptions are left?
This game is terrible, I will never buy a Cryptic game ever again, and I will warn others about them. They have ruined our chance forever for having a good Star Trek MMO.
This game is AWSOME. And the devs have really outdone themselves with the great updates and content they have added. I seriuosly dought ant other company could have done a better job at it. It was a breath of fresh air when the old head of STO quit and Daniel took over as the exec producer. STO is one of if not the best MMO on the market and alot more secure then any Blizzard's PC virus and hacker friendly games. And considering EVERY MMO that is released is unfinnished the STO team really shine comared to all the others. But I am posting on MMORPG.com witch is about 99% trolls so bring on the flames Lol.
No flames, STO is just pure rubbish. It's like buying a Porsche and when they deliver it, you find out it's made by Skoda. But, I guess somebody might as well like it! Hang on, I'll just call your local hospital and get an appointment for you.
Did that one guy actually type all that with a straight face?
Don't forget about the post launch statements they made about features they had been talking about all along; most comments were either our engine can't do it, or (worse) we don't know how to implement it in the game. It doesn't surprise me that they need to rely on what the players tell them so much.
"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
Hahaha! Good use of irony and satire!
You weren't serious, right?
One of the big issues with the game that obviously still isn't being addressed is the sector space a.k.a Tron in Space. The concept of sector space is flawed and could be done much better whilst giving the game a more "Trek" feel to it. It adds nothing to the game in my opinion.
The funny thing is that STO is a game centred around mini-instances, and that technology could actually simulate a ship being "at warp" and yet they refuse to do it. I won't go into details here. The irony is that CCP "borrowed" the whole warp concept and made it work in Eve Online.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
LOL i learned a while ago to never buy anything again from these guys for the first few years.
The scam you into getting a lifetime sub for a terrible game(s).
I just tried champions again en its still terrible.
STO is a awful game with some good parts for some people,but most will quit after the first month.
The old city of heroes is way better and thats saying alot for such a old game.
So WARNING , DONT EVER SUB WITH THESE GUYS BEFORE YOU TRIED IT.
AND NEVER GET A LIFE TIME SUB.
You have been warned.
This game isn't the greatest MMO ever, but certainly no where near the worst game produced either! They had some real good ideas such as the character creation, NPC Bridge officers and good star ship combat. My biggest complaint was with the exploration missions which lacked in my opinion. People complaining about the C-store is fair enough, but it looks like most games are heading into this direction I fear. The C-store items are not anything you must have and are mostly fluff so it really doesn't bother me much other than it being in a game I'm subscriping to. But to people saying all these changes/fixes don't matter any, you couldn't be more wrong! Those changes have shown they really do care and have enthusied the community. So far I haven't seen any lack of new players.
This game started as a smelly brown stuff (that usually originates from the toilet after u've used it) thrown at a wall and sticking there... that was phase 1
Now they are sticking flowers on to improve it... that is phase 2
...the future is wide open for phase 3
...and yep, i'm a pre-order Lifer... sigh...
STO Failed big time! "Failed" as in past tense.
The only good thing about the game was the chest slidder on the character creation screen.
Reply to Bob_Blawblaw
talking about repeating itself, the whole gaming indistry feels a bit like just before "Elite" came, all focus in on Casual gameplay. now to figure out that new elite game is.
No. The game flopped simply because it's not Star Trek. It's a online space shooter with your toon wearing starfleet uniforms and using star trek vessel skins.
Did you see the uniforms in game? I haven't seen those uniforms on any Star Trek shows or movies.
Yeah, I guess the TV shows/movies uniforms are in the game, you just have to buy them.
I personally hope it does fail. So that a better publisher and dev team can give the Star Trek name the proper MMORPG experience it deserves. Not this travesty of game design.
"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)
STO isn't even worth my truthful comment. I'll just slide in with mainly repeatable missions, sad and pathetic content for RA's, DStahl's absolute love for C-Store, a great failure of PvP queues, awesomely disgusting PR moves, such as a welcome back weekend based on fact that their game was down for a day or so just now, and most of their additions from "season 2 - the crap patch of all time" are buggy as hell and some of the quests can't even get completed.
The comment about the Klingon gameplay is a load of crap IMO, their solution is just going to make PvE a complete grindfested bore like it is with the Federation gameplay.. How many "Kill X many Federation" patrols can you possibly expect us to do Cryptic.. THIS IS BORING SHIT and you guys know it!..
Season 2 was a joke.. Season 3 will no doubt be a joke as well.. the problem isn't with content.. the problem is that what you guys consider "content" is a mind numbing grind that isn't fun. Give us something to do ffs! Put RvR into the game. It has to be in the game, that's the only way people are going to enjoy it because your content creators are narrowminded and bad at their jobs.
Stop telling us no to things that SHOULD be in the damn game! and should have been in the game since launch.. and stop making that bullshit excuse that the C-Store is there to "pay" for content that you couldn't provide us.. The Nebula class ships that you will no doubt charge for were ALREADY IN THE GAME at launch, they just weren't playable, so don't brag about it being some new feature- you're scamming us.. its obvious. You shouldn't be making money off this. Galaxy-X was such a scam.. $25 for a ship?! you've got to be shitting me and it doesn't look any better than the Galaxy Class- its like you guys just took the galaxy class and added an additional nacel and said "ok guys pay us $25".
This company is unethical.
If you're truly listening cryptic.. GET RID OF THE GRIND.. that is the problem with your game. Stop it with this End Game content crap, people don't want it or enjoy it.. they want Starbases and RvR.. that's what they've wanted all along.
What STO should have been: EvE Online skinned with Star Trek Styled ships and space combat + DDO Style ground combat.
I am sad to say I was one of the people who pre-odered the deluxe collectors edition, only to cancel my sub after hitting the "cap" in 2 weeks of gameplay. STO is a trainwreck as far as I'm concerned, it "may" have made a decent single player game with LAN/Coop play built in, but it is NOT up to even the most basic MMO standards, Hello Kitty online is more MMO then STO.
I do hope you don't use Microsoft with that kind of stance on software, remember ME? How about Vista launch.
Players do accept crap games. I think what most people don't understand is some people know it maybe a pile now, but want to stick around for when it comes around. Everyone and their mother knows NOT to buy an MMO within the first 6months of release.
Do I think the game is a pile sure do. I played probably 40hrs in 3months. Will I go back? Not in its current form any way or shape. Now if I can control my ship from the bridge that maybe enough for me to go back to check it out.
MMO's have taken years to turn around before, AO is a case in point. But AO did not have loads of new MMO's chasing at its heels. STO has the IP and thats all. On the basis of this I dont se it turning round till two years after launch by which time it may have folded. But crossed fingers and it may develope into a strong MMO.
I agree that yes, people do accept crap games, absolutely they do. Maybe I'm just cynical though (thanks SOE and Cryptic), but I tend to think the majority of people are quite happy to be fished along in hopes that their game will someday be playable. And THAT'S the problem. I only WISH that everyone and their mother knew better than to not buy an MMO younger than 6 months, but that's clearly not the case. Players, like investors, can't seem to get over the here and now. If people continue to buy into crap games via a slick sales pitch, developers will continue to make crap games out of the gate, and for ME at least, that's unacceptable. People have every right to support whatever game they see fit, they just forfeit their right to bitch about it when they get taken for a ride because the devs will (as they have many times in the past) just shrug off complaints, believing we'll all just get over it and come crawling back and choke down the swill they're trying to sling into our gaping maws.
You're right, Bob. I think we've seen the prevailing attitude right here on these forums. How many times have we heard players say that they don't want to wait because they fear trailing everyone else who got in early and they'd always be playing catch up?
Again, leaving aside the obvious that everyone needs to make money, this is simply the result of our current model of consumer culture. These MMO games just happen to serve as a shining example of how the whole system is essentially broken. I'm sure no one wants me to wax philosophical/political in a gamming forum, but the truth is that gamers are now experiencing the mighty and brute force of the capitalist system working as intended. In the beginning when they were new and the territory was new and artists were trailblazing new ground, gamers began to believe that games would always be innovate and new. That's how free markets are supposed to work right? Competition for your dollars breeding better and better things for everyone?? Right?
Wrong. The reason? The monetary system and those that control it are not interested in innovation: THEY NEVER HAVE BEEN. If you don't believe me go watch "Who killed the Electric Car" and tell me how "free markets" usher in innovation. Free Enterprise only adapts to new innovation if they are FORCED too. And guess what? If they think they can make money by making the same crap, the way they have always made it, that is exactly what they will do. They don’t have to innovate, or release a “finished” product, meh... people will still buy it. So you are totally right.
All they have to do is manufacture NEED. That is it. That is how the whole system is run right now. Make you believe that you want it. This is why marketing departments are taking over, because it’s not about what’s in the box that matters to them, it’s about what people think is in the box. MMO gamers are still looking for that next new game that will be the “one” like that once a decade rock album that blows your mind. Until that happens they will just keep feeding you scraps and make you think “it could be”.
Back to my music analogy: if you feed people crap music for long enough, and put pretty faces on the covers, and fake it having lots of social “coolness” (gangsters that hoes love!) the music itself becomes irrelevant. This is the lesson here: style wins over substance. Expect more of the same.
PS that being said STO isn't the worst game in the world as people make it out to be, its just unfinished.
Agree, the only TRUE force of innovation is War and Fear. Seriously, you look at almost all of the major scientific and technological breaktroughs that occured througout history, were they driven by the desire to make money? No, they were driven by the desire to have better weapons and tools then thier "enemies", or to acheive some kind of political victory over another nation. Take the moon landing, we only went there because people thought the russians might beat us to it, Now look at the the US, planning to scrap shuttle missions altogether.
"Free" markets and competition are only meaningfull if you have a finite consumer base with limited expendable income. Most MMO gamers do not fall into those catagories. MMO gamers are more akin to gambling addicts, constantly in search of the "next big score" and MMO developers know this. That is why "beta" keys are given out to advertising agencies (*Read as gaming websights/magazines) to "promote" the game and act as a kind of "exclusive club" to build "hype" for a game. The publishers then capitalize on this hype by selling the game at a higher retail price, offering long term subscriptions at a "discount" to lock in profits, and then releasing an unfinished product because they KNOW people will continue to subscribe to it while waiting on that "it'll get better" carrot.
Basically MMO gamers are a captive audience of suckers, and yes that makes me one too. Which is why I developed the following philosophy:
If I go to the movies I will spend roughly $20 for ~2-3 hours of entertainment, or roughly $6.67 per hour of entertainment.
If I spend $60 on a game and $15 for the monthly sub and get at least 40 hours of entertainment that month then I come out ahead in the Money/Entertainment ratio, or roughly $1.87 per hour of entertainment.