OP can be right, but for the looks of it, everything the OP say in the first post is more like his personal opinion, tailored to his personal tastes... someone else can bet the different, but we arent going to know since people only get here to let out their frustrations...
example... I am here to get away of my boredom since I dont have STO and nothing else to do...
These posts are warnings so other people won't waste thier money on this so-called 'game'! Do something worthwile with your 50 bucks; go smoke crack or pay someone to hit you in the genitals with a hammer; just DON'T buy this game!
I swear, this STO must be one of the signs of the apocalypse; for it to have failed so utterly in every area you could; was Cryptic trying to ruin thier name? If so, great job!
... example... I am here to get away of my boredom since I dont have STO and nothing else to do...
How can you be bored when you visit MMORPG.com?
There are a stack of F2P MMOs listed here. Too many to get through in fact. Not all top quality - not all to everyone's taste - but surely there must be something there that interests you? Even a little?
... example... I am here to get away of my boredom since I dont have STO and nothing else to do...
How can you be bored when you visit MMORPG.com?
There are a stack of F2P MMOs listed here. Too many to get through in fact. Not all top quality - not all to everyone's taste - but surely there must be something there that interests you? Even a little?
I was thinking of trying STO for my self tomorrow, not sure, dont feel like going to the mall tomorrow, that places give me the creeps... All the malls in PR have some strange smell...
But some people get here with their own opinion of what they like and not, they intend to create a whole and sole true and try to save people from getting the game, thinking they are the saviors of players money, time or effort... OMG we have too many gaming Christs here!! lets start hanging them!!!
... example... I am here to get away of my boredom since I dont have STO and nothing else to do...
How can you be bored when you visit MMORPG.com?
There are a stack of F2P MMOs listed here. Too many to get through in fact. Not all top quality - not all to everyone's taste - but surely there must be something there that interests you? Even a little?
I was thinking of trying STO for my self tomorrow, not sure, dont feel like going to the mall tomorrow, that places give me the creeps... All the malls in PR have some strange smell...
But some people get here with their own opinion of what they like and not, they intend to create a whole and sole true and try to save people from getting the game, thinking they are the saviors of players money, time or effort... OMG we have too many gaming Christs here!! lets start hanging them!!!
Seriously, i know it seems like my opinion and everything, but don't buy this game. Just don't. I am telling you now, i can guarantee you $100, you will regret it. I've never been so sure about an MMO. Usually its ''umm, yeah, i can see why people like it but its not my cup of tea'' but seriously, this game, is the first time i can ever actually say to someone ''do not buy this game''. Think about that before going out and wasting money just because you are 'bored'.
The new AVP, Bad Company 2, Mass Effect 2 etc is all out/coming out. Save your money and get one of those, pay respectable developers, not Cryptic.
... example... I am here to get away of my boredom since I dont have STO and nothing else to do...
How can you be bored when you visit MMORPG.com?
There are a stack of F2P MMOs listed here. Too many to get through in fact. Not all top quality - not all to everyone's taste - but surely there must be something there that interests you? Even a little?
I was thinking of trying STO for my self tomorrow, not sure, dont feel like going to the mall tomorrow, that places give me the creeps... All the malls in PR have some strange smell...
But some people get here with their own opinion of what they like and not, they intend to create a whole and sole true and try to save people from getting the game, thinking they are the saviors of players money, time or effort... OMG we have too many gaming Christs here!! lets start hanging them!!!
Seriously, i know it seems like my opinion and everything, but don't buy this game. Just don't. I am telling you now, i can guarantee you $100, you will regret it. I've never been so sure about an MMO. Usually its ''umm, yeah, i can see why people like it but its not my cup of tea'' but seriously, this game, is the first time i can ever actually say to someone ''do not buy this game''. Think about that before going out and wasting money just because you are 'bored'.
The new AVP, Bad Company 2, Mass Effect 2 etc is all out/coming out. Save your money and get one of those, pay respectable developers, not Cryptic.
this is the problem right here. You can not be right or wrong. Reading this thread was like watching a glee club all high-5-ing and back slapping.
There are plenty of people enjoying it. MMORPG.com is like god's waiting room, EX-fans come here to die (or their love of mmo's to die). Some like to feign intellect by behaving as if they are exposing a conspiracy with each and every mmo release. Critique is fine, but pretending that everyone likes what you like is naive.
You can apply nearly every "why" question to dozens of games, and thats something the OP misses by a country mile --- there is no real purpose to a game other than playing it, the reward can be anything from the pleasure of playing to winning money etc. Why do you level in wow? What's the point of getting to lvl 80? Blahh blahh.
What alot of these "vets" fail to comprehend is that for them the thrill of MMO's is stale and old, they have experienced the mechanics of the genre time and time again. They often have expectations that are WAY out of line with the reality of the mmo genre. There is nothing wrong with wanting more features, but throwing a tantrum because the game is not what you IMAGINED it COULD have been is daft.
this is the problem right here. You can not be right or wrong. Reading this thread was like watching a glee club all high-5-ing and back slapping. There are plenty of people enjoying it. MMORPG.com is like god's waiting room, EX-fans come here to die (or their love of mmo's to die). Some like to feign intellect by behaving as if they are exposing a conspiracy with each and every mmo release. Critique is fine, but pretending that everyone likes what you like is naive. You can apply nearly every "why" question to dozens of games, and thats something the OP misses by a country mile --- there is no real purpose to a game other than playing it, the reward can be anything from the pleasure of playing to winning money etc. Why do you level in wow? What's the point of getting to lvl 80? Blahh blahh. What alot of these "vets" fail to comprehend is that for them the thrill of MMO's is stale and old, they have experienced the mechanics of the genre time and time again. They often have expectations that are WAY out of line with the reality of the mmo genre. There is nothing wrong with wanting more features, but throwing a tantrum because the game is not what you IMAGINED it COULD have been is daft.
True... if u ask me for a solution, They should delete all this negative comments on the net... only allowing neutral ones like:
Hey I am going to quit because I am tire of it, or is not my thing, or I am going to keep moving forward... have fun people... see ya later... and some stuff like that... Not like omg... i quit because i know better than anyone and this are the reasons of why is bad... and then he say ... wait I am the savior! dont expend your money there... and then someone deciding if it should get the game or not, doesnt buy it because of this nameless savior and that one could be enjoying it right now... thx for the not so useful favor mr.savior
Let me give u an example of a classic situation...
X player want open world PvP... he say instanced is like a basketball game, sport like, and not inmmersive, that one wants something like a big war! They want the freedom of move around, get anyone you have, let it be EPIC!!!
Y player want instanced PvP... he says that is better because open world is a mess, no rules, ganking, disorganized, or is just two big groups of players forming tough turtle shells ending in boring long fights, and is unstable (SB.exe, and crytek.dll crashes)...
In the end both of them are right... but they dont mix with each other, thats it, they need different bs... and is kinda convenient to the developers to make more game and get more bucks u know...
Originally posted by nikoliath There are plenty of people enjoying it. MMORPG.com is like god's waiting room, EX-fans come here to die (or their love of mmo's to die). Some like to feign intellect by behaving as if they are exposing a conspiracy with each and every mmo release. Critique is fine, but pretending that everyone likes what you like is naive.
If plenty of people are enjoying it, why are they enjoying it? This is a free forum (for the most part anyway) and anyone can post a review to this game. Isn't it a little telling that there are far more negative reviews that actually spell out why the reviewer dislikes the game than there are positive reviews that aren't "who else things this game is awesome!!!???"
This game is garbage to veteran mmorpg players, I believe. Its a shallow third-person space shooter that lacks much of the staples of mainstream mmorpgs. However, it might be an easy entry into the genre for many other players, which is where this game just might shine; opening doors for entry to new mmorpg subscribers.
But for more of a vet mmorpg player, I find that lacks lasting game-play appeal, as the OP eluded to. So my take based on my experience and having explored the experience posted of others is this:
- There doesn't seem to be much respect for the Star Trek IP.
- Space is space-less. Each map is nothing more than a confining shoe-box, a small space of nothing to interact with.
- There is no game-play freedom of exploration. No exploration to other planets or discovery; again, your confined to your shoe-box instance. There's nothing dynamically to do in this game that would be reminiscent of Star Trek.
- If you do see a planet on an instanced map, there is no "away-team" capability to freely explore its surface. Its nothing more than a static inactive marble that you bounce off of in your confined instance.
- Space flight is confining and lacks freedom. There's a limited z-axis that prevents looping or gaining weapons locks on ships that are above or below, yet in front of you in many cases. It just adds to the unnecessary maneuvering of your ship.
- Space is life-less, other than the instance nodes that you bump into to enter for a ship pve encounter, or to wait in a long line of trying to perform pvp with other players; its esentially a single-player lobby system game that your forced to pay $15 a month for. If you see an opposing faction player on a system map, there is absolutely no engagement.
- Content is sorely lacking to the point where very very early on in this game, the 'instanced' pve quests are nothing more than similar repeatable maps and mobs of previous quests done; the static nature of pve and its' redundancy is astounding.
- Quest copywriting seems very week that leads to weak story engagement or sense of draw that your actually contributing to a story-arc or meaningfully contributing to federation or klingon game-play.
- Space and ground game-play combat has the most limiting, redundant, Quake 3rd-person shooter type feel of any game in the mmorpg market; its shallow.
- There is no physics to ground combat as there is no physics to space combat that factor into game-play.
- Ground and Space pvp combat amounts to a frag-fest of limited players and non-tactical or strategic importance in any respect to story or game-play in this faction vs. faction environment.
- Like a 3rd-person or first-person shooter, the player-vs-player stuff is without any game-play contributory value, other than winning a small confining map, it amounts to run, gun, die, or run,gun, win, limp, die. But your rewarded as much for being a loser as a winner; no mmoprg game-play distinction. I havent found the game-play nutrition in this yet.
- There is no reasonable complimentary opposite to winning. You win in space and on ground, you get a battery or such (a weak reward), you lose on space or on ground, you miraculously reappear next to the fight to battle like a button mashing mindless drone without consequences again.
- The community (massively multiplayer) element of this mmorpg is very ***, as opposed to expanded and cooperative) due to the great number of single-player feel instances. Community feels fragmented to one of those several small instanced zones that does nothing to encourage the feel of massively multiplayer entertainment.
- No alternative industry, aka, no resource gathering towards community crafting, enterprise, or merchandising elements for the federation or klingons. Would be nice if this mmorpg staple were available to players, rather than being non-existant.
The rants even on the Star Trek Online site have been very frequent and persistent from players about how this product not only falls way short of being an appealing Star Trek Game franchise, but how weak its game-play is to a vet mmorpg garner for any type of lasting fun.
But then again, it'll be interesting to see how the 'new' subscribers to the mmorpg genre pick up on this game.
I was watching the whole marathon on Sci Fi (Syfy?)and almost considered picking this game up at the store, but I think I'll hold off on shoveling money into a company's pocket until they prove they've earned it. Until then, I'll stick with the StarQuest Online people who are trying with their every effort to implement features like avatar-focused gameplay with player crewed ships and fully functional interior/planetary colony features.
Excellent write up OP. Your point about the fundamental aspect of any game is spot on. It's analogous to the 80s when you could start buying extra lives in arcade machines. Originally the goal was to get as far as you could on your initial investment. Then the manufacturers worked out people would pay more to make a game easier.
Oh and to the people earlier QQing about text colour. Lrn2 internet - you can highlight any text with your mouse you know.
Great post OP, my only question is, why did you buy the game in the first place ? I mean you certainly read the comments on forum like here about the game being so bad, but yet you bought it and 3 days later here you are.
Anyway i'm a star trek fan too and the post you made is pretty much what i read over and over again from beta testers and why i did'nt buy this game. But yet some peoples need to pay to see, did'nt you played the beta ?
I, like many here, played beta and saw the same boring, over-instanced, and repetitive gameplay. If you’re looking for a good Star Trek game, this isn’t it. Glad I saved my money and spent it on Darkfall instead… now that was a good investment.
Wow, thats sad. Is the game really that bad? I wonder if we will EVER have a game as good as WOW was again? I hope so.
I honestly doubt it.
It's too much about money now. Too much about income streams and cost-cutting. Quality is expensive. It's cheaper to get big box sales by lying. Easier to get extra profit from RMT than long-term subscriptions.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Originally posted by D_TOX Developers who see nothing but $$$ signs without being willing to take risks and push the genre forward are quite frankly the cancer of the gaming industry, eating it up from the inside and spitting out the remains for players to chew on. And STO is a prime example.
Very good post, OP. Especially this bit.
The people who defend these companies' practices are right there with them - tearing the industry down.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Wow, thats sad. Is the game really that bad? I wonder if we will EVER have a game as good as WOW was again? I hope so.
Their was GOOD MMO's before WOW, EQ, Asheron's Call, Anarchy Online. But since WOW it's like every developpers wants to copy the giant behemoth and everyone is failling at it cause nobody will ever have the budget that Blizzard has.
If only small developpers could come up with something new and original, something that's not WOW but yet entertaining we could see successful games like we saw before WOW.
The OP brings up points that the game lacks appeal to veteran MMORPG players. I feel the game lacks appeal to even new and casual MMORPG players.
The UI is complicated and non-intuitive, the character movement stilted and clunky, and in typical Cryptic fashion, they don't bother explaining the game mechanics but still expect players to make choices on the mechanics without any information or figure it out for themselves.
I really have to wonder if this game can hold much interest for a Star Trek fan who has never played a MMORPG.
Comments
Appreciate the post OP and especially appreciate the detail you put in, not just "I dislike this game"
Wolfenpride: <--Giant fucking sword syndrome.
Probably cause im trying to compensate for miniscule manhood.
OP can be right, but for the looks of it, everything the OP say in the first post is more like his personal opinion, tailored to his personal tastes... someone else can bet the different, but we arent going to know since people only get here to let out their frustrations...
example... I am here to get away of my boredom since I dont have STO and nothing else to do...
NO!
These posts are warnings so other people won't waste thier money on this so-called 'game'! Do something worthwile with your 50 bucks; go smoke crack or pay someone to hit you in the genitals with a hammer; just DON'T buy this game!
I swear, this STO must be one of the signs of the apocalypse; for it to have failed so utterly in every area you could; was Cryptic trying to ruin thier name? If so, great job!
How can you be bored when you visit MMORPG.com?
There are a stack of F2P MMOs listed here. Too many to get through in fact. Not all top quality - not all to everyone's taste - but surely there must be something there that interests you? Even a little?
Nothing says irony like spelling ideot wrong.
How can you be bored when you visit MMORPG.com?
There are a stack of F2P MMOs listed here. Too many to get through in fact. Not all top quality - not all to everyone's taste - but surely there must be something there that interests you? Even a little?
I was thinking of trying STO for my self tomorrow, not sure, dont feel like going to the mall tomorrow, that places give me the creeps... All the malls in PR have some strange smell...
But some people get here with their own opinion of what they like and not, they intend to create a whole and sole true and try to save people from getting the game, thinking they are the saviors of players money, time or effort... OMG we have too many gaming Christs here!! lets start hanging them!!!
How can you be bored when you visit MMORPG.com?
There are a stack of F2P MMOs listed here. Too many to get through in fact. Not all top quality - not all to everyone's taste - but surely there must be something there that interests you? Even a little?
I was thinking of trying STO for my self tomorrow, not sure, dont feel like going to the mall tomorrow, that places give me the creeps... All the malls in PR have some strange smell...
But some people get here with their own opinion of what they like and not, they intend to create a whole and sole true and try to save people from getting the game, thinking they are the saviors of players money, time or effort... OMG we have too many gaming Christs here!! lets start hanging them!!!
Seriously, i know it seems like my opinion and everything, but don't buy this game. Just don't. I am telling you now, i can guarantee you $100, you will regret it. I've never been so sure about an MMO. Usually its ''umm, yeah, i can see why people like it but its not my cup of tea'' but seriously, this game, is the first time i can ever actually say to someone ''do not buy this game''. Think about that before going out and wasting money just because you are 'bored'.
The new AVP, Bad Company 2, Mass Effect 2 etc is all out/coming out. Save your money and get one of those, pay respectable developers, not Cryptic.
Ok we know what u dislike about STO, but what kinda of thing you was expecting. I mean, what kind of game u was hoping STO to be like...
How can you be bored when you visit MMORPG.com?
There are a stack of F2P MMOs listed here. Too many to get through in fact. Not all top quality - not all to everyone's taste - but surely there must be something there that interests you? Even a little?
I was thinking of trying STO for my self tomorrow, not sure, dont feel like going to the mall tomorrow, that places give me the creeps... All the malls in PR have some strange smell...
But some people get here with their own opinion of what they like and not, they intend to create a whole and sole true and try to save people from getting the game, thinking they are the saviors of players money, time or effort... OMG we have too many gaming Christs here!! lets start hanging them!!!
Seriously, i know it seems like my opinion and everything, but don't buy this game. Just don't. I am telling you now, i can guarantee you $100, you will regret it. I've never been so sure about an MMO. Usually its ''umm, yeah, i can see why people like it but its not my cup of tea'' but seriously, this game, is the first time i can ever actually say to someone ''do not buy this game''. Think about that before going out and wasting money just because you are 'bored'.
The new AVP, Bad Company 2, Mass Effect 2 etc is all out/coming out. Save your money and get one of those, pay respectable developers, not Cryptic.
this is the problem right here. You can not be right or wrong. Reading this thread was like watching a glee club all high-5-ing and back slapping.
There are plenty of people enjoying it. MMORPG.com is like god's waiting room, EX-fans come here to die (or their love of mmo's to die). Some like to feign intellect by behaving as if they are exposing a conspiracy with each and every mmo release. Critique is fine, but pretending that everyone likes what you like is naive.
You can apply nearly every "why" question to dozens of games, and thats something the OP misses by a country mile --- there is no real purpose to a game other than playing it, the reward can be anything from the pleasure of playing to winning money etc. Why do you level in wow? What's the point of getting to lvl 80? Blahh blahh.
What alot of these "vets" fail to comprehend is that for them the thrill of MMO's is stale and old, they have experienced the mechanics of the genre time and time again. They often have expectations that are WAY out of line with the reality of the mmo genre. There is nothing wrong with wanting more features, but throwing a tantrum because the game is not what you IMAGINED it COULD have been is daft.
True... if u ask me for a solution, They should delete all this negative comments on the net... only allowing neutral ones like:
Hey I am going to quit because I am tire of it, or is not my thing, or I am going to keep moving forward... have fun people... see ya later... and some stuff like that... Not like omg... i quit because i know better than anyone and this are the reasons of why is bad... and then he say ... wait I am the savior! dont expend your money there... and then someone deciding if it should get the game or not, doesnt buy it because of this nameless savior and that one could be enjoying it right now... thx for the not so useful favor mr.savior
Let me give u an example of a classic situation...
X player want open world PvP... he say instanced is like a basketball game, sport like, and not inmmersive, that one wants something like a big war! They want the freedom of move around, get anyone you have, let it be EPIC!!!
Y player want instanced PvP... he says that is better because open world is a mess, no rules, ganking, disorganized, or is just two big groups of players forming tough turtle shells ending in boring long fights, and is unstable (SB.exe, and crytek.dll crashes)...
In the end both of them are right... but they dont mix with each other, thats it, they need different bs... and is kinda convenient to the developers to make more game and get more bucks u know...
OP had substance to back up his criticism. I liked the orange.
Well said, a very constructive article and a good read for those who were on the fence about the game, I appreciate it OP.
Nope. I think the arguments are valid and deserve repeating over and over again until Cryptic finally gets it.
If plenty of people are enjoying it, why are they enjoying it? This is a free forum (for the most part anyway) and anyone can post a review to this game. Isn't it a little telling that there are far more negative reviews that actually spell out why the reviewer dislikes the game than there are positive reviews that aren't "who else things this game is awesome!!!???"
This game is garbage to veteran mmorpg players, I believe. Its a shallow third-person space shooter that lacks much of the staples of mainstream mmorpgs. However, it might be an easy entry into the genre for many other players, which is where this game just might shine; opening doors for entry to new mmorpg subscribers.
But for more of a vet mmorpg player, I find that lacks lasting game-play appeal, as the OP eluded to. So my take based on my experience and having explored the experience posted of others is this:
- There doesn't seem to be much respect for the Star Trek IP.
- Space is space-less. Each map is nothing more than a confining shoe-box, a small space of nothing to interact with.
- There is no game-play freedom of exploration. No exploration to other planets or discovery; again, your confined to your shoe-box instance. There's nothing dynamically to do in this game that would be reminiscent of Star Trek.
- If you do see a planet on an instanced map, there is no "away-team" capability to freely explore its surface. Its nothing more than a static inactive marble that you bounce off of in your confined instance.
- Space flight is confining and lacks freedom. There's a limited z-axis that prevents looping or gaining weapons locks on ships that are above or below, yet in front of you in many cases. It just adds to the unnecessary maneuvering of your ship.
- Space is life-less, other than the instance nodes that you bump into to enter for a ship pve encounter, or to wait in a long line of trying to perform pvp with other players; its esentially a single-player lobby system game that your forced to pay $15 a month for. If you see an opposing faction player on a system map, there is absolutely no engagement.
- Content is sorely lacking to the point where very very early on in this game, the 'instanced' pve quests are nothing more than similar repeatable maps and mobs of previous quests done; the static nature of pve and its' redundancy is astounding.
- Quest copywriting seems very week that leads to weak story engagement or sense of draw that your actually contributing to a story-arc or meaningfully contributing to federation or klingon game-play.
- Space and ground game-play combat has the most limiting, redundant, Quake 3rd-person shooter type feel of any game in the mmorpg market; its shallow.
- There is no physics to ground combat as there is no physics to space combat that factor into game-play.
- Ground and Space pvp combat amounts to a frag-fest of limited players and non-tactical or strategic importance in any respect to story or game-play in this faction vs. faction environment.
- Like a 3rd-person or first-person shooter, the player-vs-player stuff is without any game-play contributory value, other than winning a small confining map, it amounts to run, gun, die, or run,gun, win, limp, die. But your rewarded as much for being a loser as a winner; no mmoprg game-play distinction. I havent found the game-play nutrition in this yet.
- There is no reasonable complimentary opposite to winning. You win in space and on ground, you get a battery or such (a weak reward), you lose on space or on ground, you miraculously reappear next to the fight to battle like a button mashing mindless drone without consequences again.
- The community (massively multiplayer) element of this mmorpg is very ***, as opposed to expanded and cooperative) due to the great number of single-player feel instances. Community feels fragmented to one of those several small instanced zones that does nothing to encourage the feel of massively multiplayer entertainment.
- No alternative industry, aka, no resource gathering towards community crafting, enterprise, or merchandising elements for the federation or klingons. Would be nice if this mmorpg staple were available to players, rather than being non-existant.
The rants even on the Star Trek Online site have been very frequent and persistent from players about how this product not only falls way short of being an appealing Star Trek Game franchise, but how weak its game-play is to a vet mmorpg garner for any type of lasting fun.
But then again, it'll be interesting to see how the 'new' subscribers to the mmorpg genre pick up on this game.
I was watching the whole marathon on Sci Fi (Syfy?)and almost considered picking this game up at the store, but I think I'll hold off on shoveling money into a company's pocket until they prove they've earned it. Until then, I'll stick with the StarQuest Online people who are trying with their every effort to implement features like avatar-focused gameplay with player crewed ships and fully functional interior/planetary colony features.
Excellent write up OP. Your point about the fundamental aspect of any game is spot on. It's analogous to the 80s when you could start buying extra lives in arcade machines. Originally the goal was to get as far as you could on your initial investment. Then the manufacturers worked out people would pay more to make a game easier.
Oh and to the people earlier QQing about text colour. Lrn2 internet - you can highlight any text with your mouse you know.
Currently Playing: The Game
Great post OP, my only question is, why did you buy the game in the first place ? I mean you certainly read the comments on forum like here about the game being so bad, but yet you bought it and 3 days later here you are.
Anyway i'm a star trek fan too and the post you made is pretty much what i read over and over again from beta testers and why i did'nt buy this game. But yet some peoples need to pay to see, did'nt you played the beta ?
Wow, thats sad. Is the game really that bad? I wonder if we will EVER have a game as good as WOW was again? I hope so.
Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!
I, like many here, played beta and saw the same boring, over-instanced, and repetitive gameplay. If you’re looking for a good Star Trek game, this isn’t it. Glad I saved my money and spent it on Darkfall instead… now that was a good investment.
I LOL at this...
I honestly doubt it.
It's too much about money now. Too much about income streams and cost-cutting. Quality is expensive. It's cheaper to get big box sales by lying. Easier to get extra profit from RMT than long-term subscriptions.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Very good post, OP. Especially this bit.
The people who defend these companies' practices are right there with them - tearing the industry down.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Their was GOOD MMO's before WOW, EQ, Asheron's Call, Anarchy Online. But since WOW it's like every developpers wants to copy the giant behemoth and everyone is failling at it cause nobody will ever have the budget that Blizzard has.
If only small developpers could come up with something new and original, something that's not WOW but yet entertaining we could see successful games like we saw before WOW.
LOL, GG. You made me smile.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
The OP brings up points that the game lacks appeal to veteran MMORPG players. I feel the game lacks appeal to even new and casual MMORPG players.
The UI is complicated and non-intuitive, the character movement stilted and clunky, and in typical Cryptic fashion, they don't bother explaining the game mechanics but still expect players to make choices on the mechanics without any information or figure it out for themselves.
I really have to wonder if this game can hold much interest for a Star Trek fan who has never played a MMORPG.