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Star Trek Online: Sign Up for Beta!
MikeB
Community ManagerAdministrator RarePosts: 6,555
Beta sign ups for Star Trek Online are now being accepted on the official Star Trek Online website. Of course, if you signed up for the six months or lifetime subscription of Champions Online, no pressure! The rest of you, however, what are you waiting for?!
)
Sign up for the Star Trek Online beta here!
Comments
I wonder how much Cryptic Cash this will cost us.
Thanks for the heads up.
I signed up, but only because I have nothing better to do.
If you stand VERY still, and close your eyes, after a minute you can actually FEEL the universe revolving around PvP.
Signed up.
-Laughs- A lifetime sub or a six month sub to Champions online.
Joking aside, it hasn't been THAT long since they took the IP over from Perpetual. They are already at beta? Maybe its just me but I haven't seen any news or even a crescendo of information like Bioware has done that builds excitement. The only thing I've gathered so far is it will be half assed as far as some features the player base considers Trek.
At any rate, It seems awfully fast to be going to beta this year.
"It is better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees,"
-Laughs- A lifetime sub or a six month sub to Champions online.
Joking aside, it hasn't been THAT long since they took the IP over from Perpetual. They are already at beta? Maybe its just me but I haven't seen any news or even a crescendo of information like Bioware has done that builds excitement. The only thing I've gathered so far is it will be half assed as far as some features the player base considers Trek.
At any rate, It seems awfully fast to be going to beta this year.
Indeed, I have to agree. I like the Star Trek Uni. a lot, and would hate to see this MMO get rush and sacked...if ya know what i mean.
My understanding that STO is going to be a high end graphical game requiring a really fast expensive high end system to play on. I remembered reading a FAQ put out by Cryptic that they recommended players use either 64bit WinXP or Vista 64 bit systems, broadband connections, at least 8 GB of RAM, Video Cards with 256MB or higher.
I rechecked Cryptic site and noticed they removed that FAQ, but the damage has already been done IMHO.
This is one Star Trek Fan who is NOT going to sign up for the beta or buy the game due to it's reputation as being a high end graphical game.
This game has gone to beta so fast because its using all existing technology. Its using all of the same stuff that they used to make Camps online and that just got released i think. That also should answer you questions on what kind of computer you will need. Specs should be close to identical to Champs.
If you havent hear any hype on the game its most likely due to the fact that they are really pushing Champs right now and have been for the last few months. Star Trek wont be out until sometime next year so it makes sense to them to promote their newest game now ans start in on Startrek sometime around Christmas most likely.
From what I can tell it will not be a hardcore trek fans game but will still be better then what trekers have available to them now. I hear its alot of instancing. I hate instances but really like trek so I might give it a go. I got a beta slot reserved through a contest a few months ago so I am just waiting to get in now. Maybe by the end of the year.
-Laughs- A lifetime sub or a six month sub to Champions online.
Joking aside, it hasn't been THAT long since they took the IP over from Perpetual. They are already at beta? Maybe its just me but I haven't seen any news or even a crescendo of information like Bioware has done that builds excitement. The only thing I've gathered so far is it will be half assed as far as some features the player base considers Trek.
At any rate, It seems awfully fast to be going to beta this year.
You mean all the information from bioware like the fact that they are making a fully voiced mmo with cut scenes, or that they are making a story driven mmo with fully voiced cut scenes or that they are making a fully voiced story driven mmo with cut scenes?
I have read and seen a lot more about what you get in sto than swtor but have seen a lot less hype
however i wasn't expecting beta for another 6-12 months
It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.
Our spirit was here long before you
Long before us
And long will it be after your pride brings you to your end
I doubt it will be REALLY high on the System Req., One: companies have learned if they make a game to HIGH END than it leaves a LOT of the population out of the mix. And aspecially if they want to get a broad aduience. Granted it is a newer mmo so more than likely it will have a tad bit higher req....but we dont know til the game is out. The footage of the ship to ship battles looked great imo the Avatar/ground combat looked to be ok, but its still alpha/beta so im not one to judge til there a lot closer to release/beta testing.
Its like trying to eat a cake when its not even full baked, its not done and still needs to be cooked before tasting it...now weather they bake a good cake or not thats the question >.0 {friedly humorus sarcazim} {grabs a fork and knife}
It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.
I think the PvP area is a massive open world area. Something like the Neutral zone. Once you enter it you are fair game. But for the story lines alot will be instanced I think. This will allow for timetravel and alternate reality action I am thinking. But I think massive fleet on fleet action in open space will be in.
Since this isnt a normal mmo maybe the instancing will work out. But my gut says instancing is just a way to give everyone some thing quick and easy. I will give it a shot but if it turns into a game like parts of WoW where you are running the same instance over and over and over again for a certain drop or faction or any other reason then it was fun to do I am out.
It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.
I think the PvP area is a massive open world area. Something like the Neutral zone. Once you enter it you are fair game. But for the story lines alot will be instanced I think. This will allow for timetravel and alternate reality action I am thinking. But I think massive fleet on fleet action in open space will be in.
Since this isnt a normal mmo maybe the instancing will work out. But my gut says instancing is just a way to give everyone some thing quick and easy. I will give it a shot but if it turns into a game like parts of WoW where you are running the same instance over and over and over again for a certain drop or faction or any other reason then it was fun to do I am out.
Yea it wouldn't be bad if you were doing a story line that took you to a planet and these planets were instanced. If done properly it would give you the feel of a good ole RPG. As long as the story lines are will written, which I see no reason that they wouldn't be. As far as the battles are concerned as long as it's an open PvP area than I'm in.
Our spirit was here long before you
Long before us
And long will it be after your pride brings you to your end
It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.
Of course its heavily instanced. Its a game that takes place in the vastness that is space and also includes planet/station environments. How could it not be heavily instanced? The alternative would be for the game-world to be incredibly small and limited, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what Star Trek is about.
Also, while massive battles are attractive in concept... they really don't work out very well in application. Everything turns into a huge blob with ridiculous lag that ruins gameplay. Restricted numbers in battles are actually the best way of handling massive combat in games like this. One of the biggest complaints about Eve is the lagginess that comes from massive fleet battles.
Give me a smooth 10x10 fight with outstanding graphical effects and strategic gameplay anytime over a 500x500 blobs that produces horrible framerates, horrible lag, weak graphical effects, and tactics that are numbed down because of the massive amount of firepower.
It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.
Of course its heavily instanced. Its a game that takes place in the vastness that is space and also includes planet/station environments. How could it not be heavily instanced? The alternative would be for the game-world to be incredibly small and limited, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what Star Trek is about.
People's expectations of technology are sometimes unreal.
In the 90's, they managed to make a endless universe, with planet landings, gas giant orbit harvesting, mining, space stations to land on and much more.... On one 512kb diskette, running on a computer with 512kb ram and a cpu so small it would be used ton a hairdryer today.
And now, technology has advanced so much they can't do that? Bullcrap!
It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.
Of course its heavily instanced. Its a game that takes place in the vastness that is space and also includes planet/station environments. How could it not be heavily instanced? The alternative would be for the game-world to be incredibly small and limited, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what Star Trek is about.
People's expectations of technology are sometimes unreal.
In the 90's, they managed to make a endless universe, with planet landings, gas giant orbit harvesting, mining, space stations to land on and much more.... On one 512kb diskette, running on a computer with 512kb ram and a cpu so small it would be used ton a hairdryer today.
And now, technology has advanced so much they can't do that? Bullcrap!
Wouldn't be cost effective. The amount of servers and processing power it would take to create a universe of appreciable size while still making it within the "standards" of to-days games would be staggering. And would ultimately result of a huge waste of unused space for a small sense of immersion. Lets not forget that a game used to fit on a 512kb diskette... now its rare to install a game that takes up less than 5GB.
Then you have to deal with the complication of implementing systems that allow you to transverse that huge universe smoothly and efficiently, even though you'd have to transfer sessions between multiple servers at an accelerated rate. As well as transverse from things like space -> planets in a realistic fashion.
Sure, it could probably be done... and it would be pretty cool I admit But the juice wouldn't be worth the squeeze, at-least not in a financial sense. And the development time would be staggering.
That FAQ isn't there anymore because it never existed in the first place or at least not the BS your claiming about the System Requirements. I've been a member of the STO site since the first day it went live and the FAQ they posted within a day or two of the site going up claimed they were going to try to keep the System Requirements as low as possible to reach as broad an audience as possible. This is the only FAQ they have ever posted on their site and even though it has been added to it's still there to this day. Look, if you don't like the game just say so but don't start making stuff up as it just makes you look foolish.
As for the Beta I already signed up the first day they were taking apps.
Bren
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beat();
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I have played games where there are huge battles between hundreds of people either in pvp or in a raid setting. Games like DAOC and the old EQ. these were common events and "lag" in my opinion was based more on someones rig and isp then the game itself. I rarely ever experienced it with a decent pc and great isp. If anything I would dial the graphics down from ultrs to high and away I went.
Even when it was laggy, I would prefer the awesomeness that was a huge battle over a small controlled one. 10 vs 10 with awesome graphics and framerate is still just a bar fight. I will take the 100 vs 100 epic event with medium to sub medium graphics anyday.
I agree. what's the point of playing an MMO if it ISN'T massively multiplayer? I'd rather enjoy high graphics while I'm out exploring strange new world, and enjoy massive combat with low graphic setting when blowing up someones ship.
Our spirit was here long before you
Long before us
And long will it be after your pride brings you to your end
-Laughs- A lifetime sub or a six month sub to Champions online.
Joking aside, it hasn't been THAT long since they took the IP over from Perpetual. They are already at beta? Maybe its just me but I haven't seen any news or even a crescendo of information like Bioware has done that builds excitement. The only thing I've gathered so far is it will be half assed as far as some features the player base considers Trek.
At any rate, It seems awfully fast to be going to beta this year.
You mean all the information from bioware like the fact that they are making a fully voiced mmo with cut scenes, or that they are making a story driven mmo with fully voiced cut scenes or that they are making a fully voiced story driven mmo with cut scenes?
I have read and seen a lot more about what you get in sto than swtor but have seen a lot less hype
however i wasn't expecting beta for another 6-12 months
I mean yes the voice overs, a peek at the game world, the walk through, probably one of the best MMO trailors ever made. While not official the slip about player housing. Now what has STO released to perk your interest?
I really don't care they are using Champions engine. Thats still a short time to build a MMO the size Trek should be. They've been working on Champions how long? IT just came out and now STO is going to beta too?
Rushed..
"It is better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees,"
Lag has nothing to due with a rig, that's framerate. And your ISP has nothing to due with lagging when in a large-scale battle, the bandwidth required by a singular user of an MMO... even during the most stressful of times, is not significant enough to saturate a high-speed connection, that bottleneck is almost always on the server side which is handling thousands of connection requests. You -may- have lag problems because of routing issues or whatever because of your ISP... but they will always be present regardless of whats happening in-game. Lag from massive battles comes from too many functions being sent to a singular processor(or group of processors) that is in charge of the "area" that the battle is being fought in. The system bogs down because it simply doesn't have the processing power to handle everything that's happening.
Most MMOs have pretty serious issues with huge battles. Warcraft, Warhammer, AoC all have rather serious issues that affect game-play in large scale battles. Even games like Eve and Darkfall, which are ultimately designed to handle massive battles eventually bend and break under the weight of enough players... and do so rather frequently because players continually push those boundaries trying to win the blob race.
The laggy awesomeness of a 100v100 battle wears itself pretty thin incredibly quickly. Sure, its pretty cool the first couple times you do it... after that you just want a playable game. Pretty much anyone will tell you from playing Eve, a 10v10 is a million times more enjoyable than a 400v400 after you've had your share of both scenarios a couple of times.
Lag has nothing to due with a rig, that's framerate. And your ISP has nothing to due with lagging when in a large-scale battle, the bandwidth required by a singular user of an MMO... even during the most stressful of times, is not significant enough to saturate a high-speed connection, that bottleneck is almost always on the server side which is handling thousands of connection requests. You -may- have lag problems because of routing issues or whatever because of your ISP... but they will always be present regardless of whats happening in-game. Lag from massive battles comes from too many functions being sent to a singular processor(or group of processors) that is in charge of the "area" that the battle is being fought in. The system bogs down because it simply doesn't have the processing power to handle everything that's happening.
Most MMOs have pretty serious issues with huge battles. Warcraft, Warhammer, AoC all have rather serious issues that affect game-play in large scale battles. Even games like Eve and Darkfall, which are ultimately designed to handle massive battles eventually bend and break under the weight of enough players... and do so rather frequently because players continually push those boundaries trying to win the blob race.
The laggy awesomeness of a 100v100 battle wears itself pretty thin incredibly quickly. Sure, its pretty cool the first couple times you do it... after that you just want a playable game. Pretty much anyone will tell you from playing Eve, a 10v10 is a million times more enjoyable than a 400v400 after you've had your share of both scenarios a couple of times.
I don't want to sound rude or look like i am flaming but you can't possible be completely correct here. I am not tech god so I cant sit down and give a great reply to you but I can say for a fact that i have been in hundreds of battle, raids, or other events where others are bitching about lag, or framerates, or times people have died due to the healers or other crucial members of the event being lagged out to where they could not perform their assigned tasks. During these times I was having no trouble at all. Or at the very least it was minimal.
So I am not saying you are wrong in what you say, but you can't be completly right. I am sure there are issues on the server side. I know there are. But what i am saying is that there are issues on the players side as well and alot can be done on your part (the player) to resolve them. I am willing to shell out some more cash to have 100 vs 100. Some people are not and want to play every game that will ever come out on max settings with a WoW rig. Something this epic will take more then a machine that can run something as simple as WoW. Eventually there will be a cap at the server sure, but not at 100 vs 100. maybe 400 yea but not 100. I know it cant be because I have been there on EQ pre PoP dragon raids and DAOC relic raids.
Actually 10 vs 10 battles wore really thin on WAR scenarios. after do that over and over with no real large scale open world RvR I quit. 10 vs 10 is so boring to players like me it might as well be you and your buddies playin some FPS on split screen at home on a PS3 or Xbox. Its nice the first 20 times or so but gets boring and predictable fast.
Big battles kept me in DAOC for years. WAR ended for me inside 4 months. All because of instanced small scale scenarios. Anyone else have that experience? The subscription numbers would tend to agree at least on some level.
Actually 10 vs 10 battles wore really thin on WAR scenarios. after do that over and over with no real large scale open world RvR I quit. 10 vs 10 is so boring to players like me it might as well be you and your buddies playin some FPS on split screen at home on a PS3 or Xbox. Its nice the first 20 times or so but gets boring and predictable fast.
Big battles kept me in DAOC for years. WAR ended for me inside 4 months. All because of instanced small scale scenarios. Anyone else have that experience? The subscription numbers would tend to agree at least on some level.
So you prefer the WAR battles where the whole area freezes up, people are rubber banding all over the place, and you basically can't do anything but watch on in frustration?
I'm not saying 10v10 battles are more fun than 200v200 when they work. I'm saying 400v400 battles generally don't work at all, and by default a 10v10 battle is better.
Besides, WAR sucks in general. Its not fun regardless of the situation. It's RvR system is crap.
if you like Trek (like I do), you will hate this game. Unless you think Start Trek was the 'Captain Kirk Show'.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2