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Star Trek Online: Inside Beta: You Got That Star Trek Feel
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com's Jon Wood continues our inside Star Trek Online's beta test series by answering the question of whether or not that game has managed to capture the overall feel of the IP.
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Star Trek Online, since the day it was first announced, has been steeped in controversy, from the days when it was in the hands of another development company right up until now, in the closed beta of Cryptic Studios' version. Much of that controversy has revolved around the idea of whether or not the game would "feel like Star Trek."
With that in mind, I made my way into the Closed Beta test with a single question in mind: Has Cryptic managed to create a game that feels enough like Star Trek to appeal to the legions of fans that particular franchise carries.
Let me preface this by saying that I've played a number of Star Trek games over the years, from Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity all the way up to Star Trek Legacy, and up until this point I have yet to really enjoy any of them. They've always felt a little bit like poorly designed games with a Trek skin. Logging in for the first time to Star Trek Online I'll be honest in saying that my hopes were high, but my expectations were low. Also, I'm a huge Trek nerd.
Read Inside Beta: You Got That Star Trek Feelin'?
Check out additional Inside Beta screenshots, here.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
I'll do you a deal Jon, you give me your beta log in and I'll give you my first born.... and my wife (not my car though, gotta have priorities)
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The person who is certain, and who claims divine warrant for his certainty, belongs now to the infancy of our species.
I agree with you on that last complaint, hopefully that's something they change before release.
Thanks for the preview, this game is really looking stunning.
From the screenshots, it looks like all the space battles are of a scale seldom seen in Star Trek. How many times in the movies or any series did you see 20 ships on screen battling it out? I know there are a few examples, but most altercations were limited to two or three ships max. In the numbers we see in screenshots the ships look almost disposable.
-----Zero Punctuation Eve Online Review-----
Let's be honest though, the reason that you didn't see large scale battles was because those shots were super expensive to create. As the technology improved for it, you started to see it more often. The precedent set in the Trek universe for the Federation at all out war was set in DS9, and quite frankly the major battles were HUGE and epic. Or there's I suppose the war with the borg... where lots of ships were.
If you think about it, that's the only way war makes sense. In war, there might be smaller skirmishes, but there are also always huge battles with lots of conbatants on either side. it's been that way throughout history.
Don't worry, there's plenty of opportunity in the game for small scale battles as well. You vs. 3 or 4 ships, etc. that captures the trek feeling you're thinking of.
Cryptic advertises the big battles cause they look cooler, that doesn't mean that's all there is to the game.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Very cool, glad you got a chance to check it out. Immersion is definately important, so i'm glad that upon at least initial review, the immersion appears to be there. Will just have to wait and see for the rest. Now, about sharing that closed beta account....
Let's be honest though, the reason that you didn't see large scale battles was because those shots were super expensive to create. As the technology improved for it, you started to see it more often. The precedent set in the Trek universe for the Federation at all out war was set in DS9, and quite frankly the major battles were HUGE and epic. Or there's I suppose the war with the borg... where lots of ships were.
If you think about it, that's the only way war makes sense. In war, there might be smaller skirmishes, but there are also always huge battles with lots of conbatants on either side. it's been that way throughout history.
Don't worry, there's plenty of opportunity in the game for small scale battles as well. You vs. 3 or 4 ships, etc. that captures the trek feeling you're thinking of.
Cryptic advertises the big battles cause they look cooler, that doesn't mean that's all there is to the game.
I grew up watching reruns of the original series and then TNG. I never really watched much DS9, so I guess I missed most of the larger scale battles you mentioned... other than the borg battles in the later movies. I see this as the only way to make this a real mulitplayer game after the one player / one ship decision was set in stone.
While this isn't the Star Trek game I envision, I still have to admit they had me at "to boldly go".
-----Zero Punctuation Eve Online Review-----
I think there was a massive fleet battle in First Contact.
On the issue of costume customization....dont forget Kirk's wrap around tunic, Deanna Troi's unique costume, Bones' short sleeve tunic, Worf's klingon stuff or the fact that no costume from either of the series was the same....the DS9 uniforms were different from the NG and Voyager crews
It would make for a pretty boring mmo if all you ever did was solo the game, right? Not that I'm a support of raid or die, but in general people should have the option to solo or to group. Grouping will likely take you out of the pure immersion, but is still a vital component of an online game. Sometimes you just have to give a little for the bigger picture.
Aside from the many spelling errors in this article......I have never read more...that said less than this article.
Two whole pages from closed beta that told me absolutely nothing. This used to be my go-to sight for information on MMORPGs now it appears to be just an Ad heavy bullshit source for no information what-so-ever.
Oh well....there is always Massively.com.
It's better to lurk in forums and be thought a fool...than to endlessly "Quote" and remove all doubts.
I don't think there will ever be "pure" immersion in an MMO until there is virtual reality. Hahaha
The game looks very promising my main concern has been how much time is spent in space doing space battles, vs ground/planet exploration
Hobbles into work
Boss:"What happened to you?"
Player:"PVP"
It would make for a pretty boring mmo if all you ever did was solo the game, right? Not that I'm a support of raid or die, but in general people should have the option to solo or to group. Grouping will likely take you out of the pure immersion, but is still a vital component of an online game. Sometimes you just have to give a little for the bigger picture.
I fall in the group that was hoping for grouping inside a ship as well as between multiple ships. I understand that they couldn't really force us in to player crews, but I would have loved the option. Some of my fondest gaming memories are from inside mulit-person ships in SWG.
-----Zero Punctuation Eve Online Review-----
Keep selling it. Use of phrases like "don't worry" tell me what I already knew.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Hobbles into work
Boss:"What happened to you?"
Player:"PVP"
In such a case, pray that they never produce an MMO based on life in a prison.
Regarding the OP, I think it's an interesting article, if a bit short. One of my main concerns about the game, one shared by many, is exactly how "Trek" will it feel. I know that they have to make allowances to ensure that it's also a fun MMO, but at least the first impression appears to be pretty good.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
Wow that's a bit harsh.
I found the article to be rather useful. Sure it may not seem like "ground breaking" news, but for a good many of us, we do care about many of the things mentioned in the article. We want to know if it will feel like Star Trek, or if it will be WoW in space (or Star Wars Galaxies for that case). I'm glad to see that a article was written looking at these things. There will be plenty of articles that will look at PvE and PvP and gameplay, but considering things like atmosphere is often barely mentioned in reviews.
The single-biggest IP-breaking aspect of the game is the lack of player crews. This article glosses over that with one or two sentences.
So much for being a big Trek fan.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
its already been mentioned that there wont be player crews...should they repeat the same information we already know or report on whats actually in the game
Yes, they should repeat it - for the sake of fans who haven't heard it yet.
Every preview or review should mention it at the start since it breaks the Trek IP.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Thanks good article..
Gotta say I was getting a little worried that I wasnt seeing any complaints or 'can do better.."'s till I saw em at the end
Hopefully this will be enough for all the people who haven't played the game, but still complain "it doesn't feel like star trek!".
On the subject of player crews, I completely understand where you're coming from. The problem is you would have to rely too much on other people to do anything in the game. Cryptic felt it would be more fun for everyone to be at the helm and in command. I understand some people don't like this, but I also understand there's a lot of people who like this idea better. Having played Puzzle Pirates, I can say that player crews for ships are great when everyone meshes well together, but they can be quite terrible if the team dynamic is off. I think it must have been a difficult design decision, but they've given out a number of reasons why they believe it was the right one. As an avid MMO player, I believe they made the right decision.
I urge anyone who's worried about having to be a captain to wait and try the game before saying it was the wrong decision.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
Yes, they should repeat it - for the sake of fans who haven't heard it yet.
Every preview or review should mention it at the start since it breaks the Trek IP.
there is a difference between objective reporting and whining
I was just curious were they going to let you beta the Klingons? Although i was plan on buying the game either or I wanted to get much information on to there side. I was aware of there progress being pvp oriented. Any information on that would be greatly apreciated.
Objective reporting requires coverage of positives and negatives. Not that this site has anything to do with 'reporting'.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Objective reporting requires coverage of positives and negatives. Not that this site has anything to do with 'reporting'.
hmmm then why do you continue to come to a website that you question their motives to discuss a game that you arent going to be playing????
I find many of the discussions interesting ( I have always enjoyed a good argument), and there are often good game design ideas brought up.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2