I respect your oppinion, but i simply dont understand how a Trekkie can be sattisfied with this. Sorry sir
When i heard Nimoy talk in the beginning of the game, I cried a bit inside.
I cant believe im hearing Spocks voice in this game, if feels so dirty and wrong.
If i must say one positive thing about the game tho, I did enjoy the deep space encounters. But it just gets old really really quick . And yes, i guess the graphics arent too bad either, alltho I really dont care much for em.
Well by your own admission you are not a trekie so you can't understand lol. Best leave that there, as beautry lies in the eye of the beholder or what ever they say
You did a deep space encounter and it got old realy quick? Why so? Is this not the same as any other MMO where you go and kill 10 boars or collect ten apples.
No doubt you were expecting something different which does not fit in with an MMO, maybe more scripted stories ala a single player game. If you were expecting that then ofc you will be disaapointed as this is not a sngle player game.
I expected something more than what it is. The Deep Space Encounters feel just like those cookiecutter quests you mention, just with another skin.
Its just too shallow and meaningless, to me at least.
No enough depth in the questlines, it seems they have done everything a tad too quick. Which in my oppinion has made the game very shallow.
I was expecting a real mmo, that gives me options, I dont feel this does.
It doesnt feel like an mmo at all. The heavy instancing made sure of that.
I just watched all the movies again, started on them the day after i started playing STO, made me feel even worse about the game.
I think I was expecting way more than you tbh, but im happy that your happy.
All we got here seems like a copy of all their other games with a star trek paintjob.
MMORPG.com is way too forgiving for this game. Compared to other MMO's it severely lacks features and content for a MMO, but still you pay an AAA sub. On top of that, part of the (precious few) content is offered through item mall or exclusive offers with lifetimesub/boxes. Its so obvious that Cryptic got away with this way too early release purely because of the ST IP.
Apart from the payment model, there is the incredibly shallow implementation of this famous IP. As others already pointed out its just some ST skins slapped on the CO engine. While the naval..ehm spacecombat seems nice, its just not spacecombat. The groundcombat is just really bad. Exploration, one of the important aspects in the series and something that can actually be created in MMO's, is nothing but a diceroll in this game.
Its interesting that the writer of the article mentions Guild Wars. Apparently its possible to do all this without even asking for a sub. Even Guild Wars, a 5yr old game, still offers more bang for the buck then STO.
Im really getting tired about the many articles covering this half assed game. There is nothing innovating, its not even a good implementation of an old concept. It lacks polish, it lacks features, it lacks even decent ground pve, it lacks content. Whats wrong with you ppl from MMORPG.com?
The title of the article should have been yet another MMO releases not ready. Future to come... most of the population max level before the free trial time is up, promises of more content, we are working on the issues state of the game developer talk on the boards, followed by mass cancellations do to not having said content. Then you will get some content that should have been in the game at launch that was half finished labeled as a "free expansion".
STO is an instance theme park and a half constructed theme park at that. It should not even be called a MMO with at most 80 hours of game play to max level. It is more like a single player game with a large multi-play option. I will give you space combat is somewhat fun, but that is hardly worth continuing to pay a sub after the free trial is up as most of the player base will have done all the games offers by then. But hey you can play the Klingons after you finish your limited federation content....oh thats right they released the game without ANY content for them...funny review considering the last 2 articles posted by Scott, maybe should re-read those then re-write this.
Good article. Any time you have tons of INSTANCES .. the game will never grow. I mean its STAR TREK! You want to play with 100s of people. In making a new online mmo.. you need to LEARN from your past.
The article was very nice to the game. There is so much more that was left out... but hopefully in time it might be fixed.
Times are hard right now. Fun game if you like very few people playing with you..
i think this first version of startrek onine has given cryptic a very good grounding, however i fear that now the game has released and they have gotten their money from the paying public that they will put it on the back burner and when ever they need new content will run ovre and mash the "genesis" button and say here you go kids another 10000 planets containing the same 5 quest types.
Which is unfortunatly what ive come to expect from most mmo companies basically rehash the same quest types over and over.
1. find 5 xx glowies in space or on ground (you may have to fight some mobs if its interesting)
2. kill 5 xx mobs space /ground
erm thats about it for the patrol missions, the true joy from the game comes from the well thought out episodes and i wish that every single mission followed those builds with a proper story and follow through. IF they could begin working through every single patrol mission and replace it with a multiple ending tree it would be truely great.
the other issue which i think is going to really bite them in the butt is lack of documentation and as per usual some abilities being incredibly overpowered that they are a must while others are pointless.
Also some ships are SOOO slow i can say this the galaxy's turning circle currently is the entire map.
THe key thing here is that it doesn't matter if it is heavily instanced or not....
It doesn't matter if some thing that it is or isn't a MMO
It doesn't matter if the content is light or repetative at the moment
The key thing for me is that it doesn't "LIVE" at the moment - The whole point of a MMO is that I can engage with real people and that things are more interactive - Your actions define what is happening - Even more so in a game where a war is going on - please don't make me fight stuff and tell me I've done well only to see the same thing tomorrow as there is another new player doing the same grind !!! (Space station 24 anyone ?
I want to explore - Steer by the thrid star on the right, set engines to warp factor 5 (is that the max now?) and keep going 'til morning !!!
If I want to fight the klingons to protect my people then let me win or lose some ground - Likewise as Sun Tze said - When in War prepare for Peace - If I wan't to engage in peace mssions (a la Enterprise C ) then make it work for me.
If I've had enough of this for the minute then let me build a lab or a workshop somewhere and do some research / building.
Just don't make me do the same things over and over again and make me think I am having Fun !
I was a sceptic.. I am no launch-boy ST fanbois... I just downloaded the game on a 'buddy' (aka Freebie) token this weekend after suffering some lag-fest PvP issues on my 'regular' MMO.
After I let the game download over night.. I had a day off, so I loaded it up. No issues.
I got into the character selection/customization and spent a good hour just messing around, exploring the various looks available. Cryptic does an excellent job at this. City of Heroes-styled character customization is one of their best features.. and adding it to STO makes this game all that more fun to play. Yes.. it is about the 'looks'.. this isn't a text-based game
Then, I started the tutorial. And you know what, IT WAS FUN... right from the start. The story was not hokey or silly or overdone.. it was a good 'intro' and I while I am totally new to the interface, I managed to get through without wasting a lot of time wondering what to do next. Good stuff.
The mixture of ground with space is a VERY powerful combination. That and your bridge officers.. your own personal NPC 'crew' that you can customize (appearance-wise) and train... makes a the whole 'grind' a lot easier to swallow.
Yes.. there are the 'delivery' missions and the 'destroy X' missions.. but the mixture of space, ground, customization... none to any high degree and just enough of each to keep it interesting.
Unlike EvE (and yes I did notice that link)... the complexity does to interfer with the fun factor. And unlike EvE.. my character is not a meat-sack stuffed in Pod that is stuffed into a Ship. I can walk around, interact with others... I can beam down to a planet and smack someone with the butt-end of a rifle... I am a character, not an organic brain-pod.
Also, the sense of 'team' is there.. you feel like your part of the Federation right from the start. You fight WITH other players as a default (instance grouping).. unlike EvE where you always suspect you're going to get robbed or killed for jollies.
I am pleasantly surprised at STO. The negative hype and reviews baffle me now that I've actually played it. Perhaps expectations are overblown.. perhaps being Topic of the Month game on MMO's means authors have to keep finding new reasons to make comments... dig up dirt.. on how great or terrible the game is in every possible detail.
Hey folks.. its fun. You want space + ground... STO has it, and while its not everything I dream of.. its got enough of what I enjoy right now to make it something I want to play a few hours here and there.
Its not EvE.. but then again not everyone likes playing EvE. Its definately Star Trek.. in looks, sounds, and action.
its got a good grounding but its important that cryptic capitilises soon else the only people playing after the 30 days free after buying will be the lifetime subscribers and the gold sellers
its got a good grounding but its important that cryptic capitilises soon else the only people playing after the 30 days free after buying will be the lifetime subscribers and the gold sellers
Amen to that the last borg patch really helped but imo they need to revamp the ground combat.
"Server stability has been an issue this first week, with unstable queues to log in, frequent server crashes occasionally leaving your character stranded logging into an instance, and other such teething pains. As the game’s only been released for a week, it remains to be seen if this is, as is most likely, temporary."
Server stability has been an ongoing issue since at least open beta and head start. It seems to becoming less and less of a problem, but you invariably get that "SERVER NOT RESPONDING" error message on any one of multiple loading screens, usually when zoning (remember zoning?) between sector space and system space, or between system and planet/space dock. It's annoying, and for some it's a showstopper. Another problem often discussed on the STO forums and in game is the one, global server and how downtimes, scheduled and otherwise, negatively affect a particular demographic (Europeans, East Coast, Central, Mountain, and/or Pacific players). There seems to be quite a bit of Anti-American/Anti-European animosity on the forums, less so in-game. Like other Cryptic games there's instancing everywhere. There is no persistent world, there is no EVE-like universe, it's all kind of slapped together MMO on the cheap. They even reused some icon art from Champions Online! It's a sad treatment of a classic IP. But if you're a Trekker like me, you're probably used to putting up with abuse and will likely tough it out for a while.
It's a sad treatment of a classic IP. But if you're a Trekker like me, you're probably used to putting up with abuse and will likely tough it out for a while.
And there we have it everyone.
Another game sold on IP hype, released early to hit targets to a fan base that would buy it just because of the IP and already being talked about being migrated to 8 button console players less than one month into launch.
If this does cause the meltdown of the MMORPG / PC gamer world I really really don't know what will.
Remember when we used to laugh at console players???
People of the PC world - unite and throw off your shackles of being forced to be pre-testers for one time buyers of console games - You only have your hard drives to reclaim !!!
Really, Scott? A link to EVE Online at the end of an article, ostensibly, about STO?
The favoritism for Aion and EVE on this site is really, really obvious but writing a review and then plugging your favorite game at the end, a game I and many other people just.do.not.like - apparently we don't get the superior game design of EVE Online and, alas, perhaps we never will. Then again, we're just gamers/consumers - not big-time reviewers in the high-flying world of websites devoted to MMOs, so we do of course prefer to have our opinions handed to us and to be reminded, constantly, at every turn, that EVE is a superior game and that if we were just smart enough to realize it, we'd start playing it.
I'm not trying to be overly sarcastic here but this is how your writing comes off to somebody that has had experience writing everything from journalistic pieces to technical manuals. Enough already with the EVE plugs.
If I want to hear about EVE it's been out for many years; I can find information all over this site along with all the glowing reviews. If I read an article on STO, please don't include a link to another game at the end. A game that you happen to like better.
"But a little more “MMO” in the mix would make the game go much further. Say, just as a wild example, marking out PvP-friendly sectors of space owned by fleets, with stations that they invest in and manage, which act as economic hubs and have to be defended by enemies which shift from day to day based on politics."
That would be EVE Online. Which, I think, holds more than a few lessons for successful space simming these days. Sounds like STO could have cribbed a few more lessons from their book. For those who don't care for EVE, one doesn't need to emulate EVE per se in order to take some useful concepts from game design at a meta level.
"But a little more “MMO” in the mix would make the game go much further. Say, just as a wild example, marking out PvP-friendly sectors of space owned by fleets, with stations that they invest in and manage, which act as economic hubs and have to be defended by enemies which shift from day to day based on politics."
That would be EVE Online. Which, I think, holds more than a few lessons for successful space simming these days. Sounds like STO could have cribbed a few more lessons from their book. For those who don't care for EVE, one doesn't need to emulate EVE per se in order to take some useful concepts from game design at a meta level.
Or, one could create a successful space MMIO without "cribbing" any lessons from EVE Online. Will wonders never cease. Originality. EVE Online isn't the end all, be all some people think it is - honestly, it's one of the most boring MMO's if not the single worst MMO I've ever played.
I'd much rather play STO than EVE, and that's saying a lot because STO ain't really a gem, either.
You can log in and achieve a quest goal and get out in 30 minutes if you are pushed for time. Most missions are broken up into out bite sized chunks.
The graphics are nice, not great, but good.
The ships generally fly like they do in the movies/series.
Auto-teaming for some small instance missions.
The Bad
A lack of in-game voice means almost no communication between players, which is a shame because the game supports auto-teaming nicely. This lack also makes coordination very difficult.
The randomness of auto-teaming, some missions have it, some don't
To call it's "crafting system" a crafting system is to insult crafting systems everywhere.
One escort ship is pretty much the same as the same ship of the same lvl.
Buffs/debuffs seem to mean nothing and seem hardly worth the effort.
You can survive nicely by hitting stuff until it dies without putting any thought into the combat at all, this is true in space and on land.
The Ugly
The server is down almost as much as it is up.
The server constantly loses connection
Incredibly long load times in a game that is almost completely instanced is totally unacceptable.
There are more bugs than there are devs on the planet earth. Cryptic was warned both during Closed and Open Beta that the game wasn't going to be ready.
The lack of content... the SERIOUS lack of content.
Depth, it has none. Let me be clear, I have seen deeper drops of water.
It is Star Trek in name only. Regardless of the justification that the Star Trek universe is currently at war, the only thing Star Trek about this game are the ships. It should have been called Star Fleet Command Online. If you loved TNG you will find that this game pretty much just requires you to kill stuff and will disappoint you totally.
Summary
Cryptic have totally failed to present this game for what it is, they have failed to manage the expectations of the people who will want to play it because it is Star Trek. That is a failure of Cryptic, not the fan-boys making angry posts on the forums. Cryptic also totally failed to provide for the number of people who would want to try this game based on its name alone, hence the awful server issues. As I write this the game is currently down again, as are the forums.
However, it has potential, lots of it... so.
Get it, play it, walk away for 6 to 12 months, come back and have another look. Don't expect it to be Star Trek cause it ain't, expect it to be just like any other shallow MMO where all you have to do is kill stuff and you won't be disappointed.
Sticking to the layout and design of the original discussion, I also will be using the sub-titles to rate my experience of this MMO.
The Good:
If you're into the Star Trek look and feel, this MMO has it. It has taken from the Star Trek universe the ships and gadgetry, as well as names from the Origional, TNG, DS9, and Voyager series that most are familiar with. Although these are not the original characters, but offspring to the represented characters.
What I liked most about playing this game in the beginning -- Open Beta to the first month of free usage -- was that I could actually control the very ships I grew up with and loved to build the models of. I could also design my crew(s), which by-the-way are more like Guild Wars versions of Heroes (customizable henchmen), so I could have an all-male, all-female, all-vulcan, all-andorian, all-alien, or mix-n-match crew of my choice.
The Bad:
It is not really a Star Trek MMO. Sure it has all the toys (ships) and gadgetry (consoles and weaponry), but it has totally no peaceful missions, no diplomatic missions, no first-contact situations ... at all ... period! It is a shoot-em-up hack-n-slash feast at best and should not carry the iconic name that was created to break the barrier of hatred and prejudism during a time when war, hatred and violence was abound. Throughout the years Star Trek stood for peace and non-violence in either diplomatic relationships between other species or in first-contact situations. However, this game supports a shoot-first-ask-questions-later dichotomy.
If it's not a member of the Federation the mindset is to kill it, take what is has, and then kill it some more to be sure it is dead. There are a few missions where all you do is look for five items either in space or on the ground, but 80% (in my experience with the game) is either space or ground combat and it's always the same ... Kill one mob, then kill five others; kill one mob, kill four more, then kill one last mob ... always the same. The location design may vary slightly, but the contact is always the same. So much so that it becomes very tedious and boring at times to continuous enter a mission with the same goal, Destroy enemy squad, destroy enemy squads (0/5), destroy enemy contact.
I recall entering eight instances, one after the other, with the same mission requirements, only the environmental layout was different, and all of them space-based.
The Ugly:
Sectored space is a superimposed grid laid out in space to give the look and feel of entering one of the Tron speed-cycle instances with the maneuverability akin to trying to navigate your starship inside a pizza box. Your ability to maneuver on the Z-axis are severely limited. It is not 360-deg, more like 45-deg zenith, and 45-deg nadir.
When you're flying your ship, you are literally outside the ship following it ... i.e., YOU are the camera ... and looking down on your ship flying through sectored space is quite unrealistic and not at all immersable as you follow this grid with extremely large billboard signs separating each Sector Block. These Sector Block separators are at most several light-years wide so you do not get the idea that you are flying through space, but rather through an Atari video game.
Ground-based activity is a rather small square that took very little time to cross in any direction. It has no real depth and no animation outside the mobs you are sent down to kill. No animal life forms, no wind movement, nothing to indicate that there is life on the planet outside of the mission story saying to scan this or that lifeform which are glowies that have no animation at all to them. One does not have any sense at all of planetary discovery when locked inside a small 1km X 1km square box.
All-in-all i was greatly disappointed with the game and I am a die-hard Trekkie (not Trekker) who recalls watching the very first aired episode (and the title of it) on broadcast TV. I bought the Pre-Order with the hopes and expectations of Star Trek, that is, more than just the toys associated with Star Trek, but was let down terribly by the senseless violence and the foam-at-the-mouth players who wanted more violence and complained about not having it. The forums are full of complaints by both those who abhored the violence-packed violence and those who wanted to be punished for dying too much rather than to try to play the game to stay alive. I really have nothing good to say about this game outside the fact that it is not Star Trek, and if you're just one of those MMO-kill-seekers then this is just another dull and boring trip through hack-n-slash lane and you would probably be happy playing it till another new-and-exiciting HnS MMO hits the market.
My subscription? Canceled!
This game should have been called Imperial Starfleet Online (for those who recall the episode Mirror Mirror) whose motto was "Terror Must Be Maintained".
Loving-kindness, Compassion, Altruism ... Think About It !!!
Comments
Well by your own admission you are not a trekie so you can't understand lol. Best leave that there, as beautry lies in the eye of the beholder or what ever they say
You did a deep space encounter and it got old realy quick? Why so? Is this not the same as any other MMO where you go and kill 10 boars or collect ten apples.
No doubt you were expecting something different which does not fit in with an MMO, maybe more scripted stories ala a single player game. If you were expecting that then ofc you will be disaapointed as this is not a sngle player game.
I expected something more than what it is. The Deep Space Encounters feel just like those cookiecutter quests you mention, just with another skin.
Its just too shallow and meaningless, to me at least.
No enough depth in the questlines, it seems they have done everything a tad too quick. Which in my oppinion has made the game very shallow.
I was expecting a real mmo, that gives me options, I dont feel this does.
It doesnt feel like an mmo at all. The heavy instancing made sure of that.
I just watched all the movies again, started on them the day after i started playing STO, made me feel even worse about the game.
I think I was expecting way more than you tbh, but im happy that your happy.
All we got here seems like a copy of all their other games with a star trek paintjob.
Star Trek deserves better
MMORPG.com is way too forgiving for this game. Compared to other MMO's it severely lacks features and content for a MMO, but still you pay an AAA sub. On top of that, part of the (precious few) content is offered through item mall or exclusive offers with lifetimesub/boxes. Its so obvious that Cryptic got away with this way too early release purely because of the ST IP.
Apart from the payment model, there is the incredibly shallow implementation of this famous IP. As others already pointed out its just some ST skins slapped on the CO engine. While the naval..ehm spacecombat seems nice, its just not spacecombat. The groundcombat is just really bad. Exploration, one of the important aspects in the series and something that can actually be created in MMO's, is nothing but a diceroll in this game.
Its interesting that the writer of the article mentions Guild Wars. Apparently its possible to do all this without even asking for a sub. Even Guild Wars, a 5yr old game, still offers more bang for the buck then STO.
Im really getting tired about the many articles covering this half assed game. There is nothing innovating, its not even a good implementation of an old concept. It lacks polish, it lacks features, it lacks even decent ground pve, it lacks content. Whats wrong with you ppl from MMORPG.com?
The title of the article should have been yet another MMO releases not ready. Future to come... most of the population max level before the free trial time is up, promises of more content, we are working on the issues state of the game developer talk on the boards, followed by mass cancellations do to not having said content. Then you will get some content that should have been in the game at launch that was half finished labeled as a "free expansion".
STO is an instance theme park and a half constructed theme park at that. It should not even be called a MMO with at most 80 hours of game play to max level. It is more like a single player game with a large multi-play option. I will give you space combat is somewhat fun, but that is hardly worth continuing to pay a sub after the free trial is up as most of the player base will have done all the games offers by then. But hey you can play the Klingons after you finish your limited federation content....oh thats right they released the game without ANY content for them...funny review considering the last 2 articles posted by Scott, maybe should re-read those then re-write this.
Have to agree with article on all points and also that im still playing because it is fun and im staying for a while longer.
But i also understood from the start that the game would be more guild wars like than a true mmorpg.
And the big negative is how the heck can ppl be max level after a week it seems like poor design by cryptic .
Should take at least 6month but best if it takes a year
-Semper ubi sub ubi!
always wear underwear
Good article. Any time you have tons of INSTANCES .. the game will never grow. I mean its STAR TREK! You want to play with 100s of people. In making a new online mmo.. you need to LEARN from your past.
The article was very nice to the game. There is so much more that was left out... but hopefully in time it might be fixed.
Times are hard right now. Fun game if you like very few people playing with you..
i think this first version of startrek onine has given cryptic a very good grounding, however i fear that now the game has released and they have gotten their money from the paying public that they will put it on the back burner and when ever they need new content will run ovre and mash the "genesis" button and say here you go kids another 10000 planets containing the same 5 quest types.
Which is unfortunatly what ive come to expect from most mmo companies basically rehash the same quest types over and over.
1. find 5 xx glowies in space or on ground (you may have to fight some mobs if its interesting)
2. kill 5 xx mobs space /ground
erm thats about it for the patrol missions, the true joy from the game comes from the well thought out episodes and i wish that every single mission followed those builds with a proper story and follow through. IF they could begin working through every single patrol mission and replace it with a multiple ending tree it would be truely great.
the other issue which i think is going to really bite them in the butt is lack of documentation and as per usual some abilities being incredibly overpowered that they are a must while others are pointless.
Also some ships are SOOO slow i can say this the galaxy's turning circle currently is the entire map.
Chalk up another fail for Cryptic. Here's hoping SWTOR doesn't suck.
THe key thing here is that it doesn't matter if it is heavily instanced or not....
It doesn't matter if some thing that it is or isn't a MMO
It doesn't matter if the content is light or repetative at the moment
The key thing for me is that it doesn't "LIVE" at the moment - The whole point of a MMO is that I can engage with real people and that things are more interactive - Your actions define what is happening - Even more so in a game where a war is going on - please don't make me fight stuff and tell me I've done well only to see the same thing tomorrow as there is another new player doing the same grind !!! (Space station 24 anyone ?
I want to explore - Steer by the thrid star on the right, set engines to warp factor 5 (is that the max now?) and keep going 'til morning !!!
If I want to fight the klingons to protect my people then let me win or lose some ground - Likewise as Sun Tze said - When in War prepare for Peace - If I wan't to engage in peace mssions (a la Enterprise C ) then make it work for me.
If I've had enough of this for the minute then let me build a lab or a workshop somewhere and do some research / building.
Just don't make me do the same things over and over again and make me think I am having Fun !
THERE ... ARE.... FOUR.... LIGHTS !!!
I was a sceptic.. I am no launch-boy ST fanbois... I just downloaded the game on a 'buddy' (aka Freebie) token this weekend after suffering some lag-fest PvP issues on my 'regular' MMO.
After I let the game download over night.. I had a day off, so I loaded it up. No issues.
I got into the character selection/customization and spent a good hour just messing around, exploring the various looks available. Cryptic does an excellent job at this. City of Heroes-styled character customization is one of their best features.. and adding it to STO makes this game all that more fun to play. Yes.. it is about the 'looks'.. this isn't a text-based game
Then, I started the tutorial. And you know what, IT WAS FUN... right from the start. The story was not hokey or silly or overdone.. it was a good 'intro' and I while I am totally new to the interface, I managed to get through without wasting a lot of time wondering what to do next. Good stuff.
The mixture of ground with space is a VERY powerful combination. That and your bridge officers.. your own personal NPC 'crew' that you can customize (appearance-wise) and train... makes a the whole 'grind' a lot easier to swallow.
Yes.. there are the 'delivery' missions and the 'destroy X' missions.. but the mixture of space, ground, customization... none to any high degree and just enough of each to keep it interesting.
Unlike EvE (and yes I did notice that link)... the complexity does to interfer with the fun factor. And unlike EvE.. my character is not a meat-sack stuffed in Pod that is stuffed into a Ship. I can walk around, interact with others... I can beam down to a planet and smack someone with the butt-end of a rifle... I am a character, not an organic brain-pod.
Also, the sense of 'team' is there.. you feel like your part of the Federation right from the start. You fight WITH other players as a default (instance grouping).. unlike EvE where you always suspect you're going to get robbed or killed for jollies.
I am pleasantly surprised at STO. The negative hype and reviews baffle me now that I've actually played it. Perhaps expectations are overblown.. perhaps being Topic of the Month game on MMO's means authors have to keep finding new reasons to make comments... dig up dirt.. on how great or terrible the game is in every possible detail.
Hey folks.. its fun. You want space + ground... STO has it, and while its not everything I dream of.. its got enough of what I enjoy right now to make it something I want to play a few hours here and there.
Its not EvE.. but then again not everyone likes playing EvE. Its definately Star Trek.. in looks, sounds, and action.
SWG/STO/(SWTOR)
its got a good grounding but its important that cryptic capitilises soon else the only people playing after the 30 days free after buying will be the lifetime subscribers and the gold sellers
Amen to that the last borg patch really helped but imo they need to revamp the ground combat.
"Server stability has been an issue this first week, with unstable queues to log in, frequent server crashes occasionally leaving your character stranded logging into an instance, and other such teething pains. As the game’s only been released for a week, it remains to be seen if this is, as is most likely, temporary."
Server stability has been an ongoing issue since at least open beta and head start. It seems to becoming less and less of a problem, but you invariably get that "SERVER NOT RESPONDING" error message on any one of multiple loading screens, usually when zoning (remember zoning?) between sector space and system space, or between system and planet/space dock. It's annoying, and for some it's a showstopper. Another problem often discussed on the STO forums and in game is the one, global server and how downtimes, scheduled and otherwise, negatively affect a particular demographic (Europeans, East Coast, Central, Mountain, and/or Pacific players). There seems to be quite a bit of Anti-American/Anti-European animosity on the forums, less so in-game. Like other Cryptic games there's instancing everywhere. There is no persistent world, there is no EVE-like universe, it's all kind of slapped together MMO on the cheap. They even reused some icon art from Champions Online! It's a sad treatment of a classic IP. But if you're a Trekker like me, you're probably used to putting up with abuse and will likely tough it out for a while.
And there we have it everyone.
Another game sold on IP hype, released early to hit targets to a fan base that would buy it just because of the IP and already being talked about being migrated to 8 button console players less than one month into launch.
If this does cause the meltdown of the MMORPG / PC gamer world I really really don't know what will.
Remember when we used to laugh at console players???
People of the PC world - unite and throw off your shackles of being forced to be pre-testers for one time buyers of console games - You only have your hard drives to reclaim !!!
Really, Scott? A link to EVE Online at the end of an article, ostensibly, about STO?
The favoritism for Aion and EVE on this site is really, really obvious but writing a review and then plugging your favorite game at the end, a game I and many other people just.do.not.like - apparently we don't get the superior game design of EVE Online and, alas, perhaps we never will. Then again, we're just gamers/consumers - not big-time reviewers in the high-flying world of websites devoted to MMOs, so we do of course prefer to have our opinions handed to us and to be reminded, constantly, at every turn, that EVE is a superior game and that if we were just smart enough to realize it, we'd start playing it.
I'm not trying to be overly sarcastic here but this is how your writing comes off to somebody that has had experience writing everything from journalistic pieces to technical manuals. Enough already with the EVE plugs.
If I want to hear about EVE it's been out for many years; I can find information all over this site along with all the glowing reviews. If I read an article on STO, please don't include a link to another game at the end. A game that you happen to like better.
Yikes.
"But a little more “MMO” in the mix would make the game go much further. Say, just as a wild example, marking out PvP-friendly sectors of space owned by fleets, with stations that they invest in and manage, which act as economic hubs and have to be defended by enemies which shift from day to day based on politics."
That would be EVE Online. Which, I think, holds more than a few lessons for successful space simming these days. Sounds like STO could have cribbed a few more lessons from their book. For those who don't care for EVE, one doesn't need to emulate EVE per se in order to take some useful concepts from game design at a meta level.
The ugly.....DeAnna Troy....the morning after sans makeup.
It's better to lurk in forums and be thought a fool...than to endlessly "Quote" and remove all doubts.
Or, one could create a successful space MMIO without "cribbing" any lessons from EVE Online. Will wonders never cease. Originality. EVE Online isn't the end all, be all some people think it is - honestly, it's one of the most boring MMO's if not the single worst MMO I've ever played.
I'd much rather play STO than EVE, and that's saying a lot because STO ain't really a gem, either.
The Good.
The Bad
The Ugly
Summary
Cryptic have totally failed to present this game for what it is, they have failed to manage the expectations of the people who will want to play it because it is Star Trek. That is a failure of Cryptic, not the fan-boys making angry posts on the forums. Cryptic also totally failed to provide for the number of people who would want to try this game based on its name alone, hence the awful server issues. As I write this the game is currently down again, as are the forums.
However, it has potential, lots of it... so.
Get it, play it, walk away for 6 to 12 months, come back and have another look. Don't expect it to be Star Trek cause it ain't, expect it to be just like any other shallow MMO where all you have to do is kill stuff and you won't be disappointed.
Sticking to the layout and design of the original discussion, I also will be using the sub-titles to rate my experience of this MMO.
The Good:
If you're into the Star Trek look and feel, this MMO has it. It has taken from the Star Trek universe the ships and gadgetry, as well as names from the Origional, TNG, DS9, and Voyager series that most are familiar with. Although these are not the original characters, but offspring to the represented characters.
What I liked most about playing this game in the beginning -- Open Beta to the first month of free usage -- was that I could actually control the very ships I grew up with and loved to build the models of. I could also design my crew(s), which by-the-way are more like Guild Wars versions of Heroes (customizable henchmen), so I could have an all-male, all-female, all-vulcan, all-andorian, all-alien, or mix-n-match crew of my choice.
The Bad:
It is not really a Star Trek MMO. Sure it has all the toys (ships) and gadgetry (consoles and weaponry), but it has totally no peaceful missions, no diplomatic missions, no first-contact situations ... at all ... period! It is a shoot-em-up hack-n-slash feast at best and should not carry the iconic name that was created to break the barrier of hatred and prejudism during a time when war, hatred and violence was abound. Throughout the years Star Trek stood for peace and non-violence in either diplomatic relationships between other species or in first-contact situations. However, this game supports a shoot-first-ask-questions-later dichotomy.
If it's not a member of the Federation the mindset is to kill it, take what is has, and then kill it some more to be sure it is dead. There are a few missions where all you do is look for five items either in space or on the ground, but 80% (in my experience with the game) is either space or ground combat and it's always the same ... Kill one mob, then kill five others; kill one mob, kill four more, then kill one last mob ... always the same. The location design may vary slightly, but the contact is always the same. So much so that it becomes very tedious and boring at times to continuous enter a mission with the same goal, Destroy enemy squad, destroy enemy squads (0/5), destroy enemy contact.
I recall entering eight instances, one after the other, with the same mission requirements, only the environmental layout was different, and all of them space-based.
The Ugly:
Sectored space is a superimposed grid laid out in space to give the look and feel of entering one of the Tron speed-cycle instances with the maneuverability akin to trying to navigate your starship inside a pizza box. Your ability to maneuver on the Z-axis are severely limited. It is not 360-deg, more like 45-deg zenith, and 45-deg nadir.
When you're flying your ship, you are literally outside the ship following it ... i.e., YOU are the camera ... and looking down on your ship flying through sectored space is quite unrealistic and not at all immersable as you follow this grid with extremely large billboard signs separating each Sector Block. These Sector Block separators are at most several light-years wide so you do not get the idea that you are flying through space, but rather through an Atari video game.
Ground-based activity is a rather small square that took very little time to cross in any direction. It has no real depth and no animation outside the mobs you are sent down to kill. No animal life forms, no wind movement, nothing to indicate that there is life on the planet outside of the mission story saying to scan this or that lifeform which are glowies that have no animation at all to them. One does not have any sense at all of planetary discovery when locked inside a small 1km X 1km square box.
All-in-all i was greatly disappointed with the game and I am a die-hard Trekkie (not Trekker) who recalls watching the very first aired episode (and the title of it) on broadcast TV. I bought the Pre-Order with the hopes and expectations of Star Trek, that is, more than just the toys associated with Star Trek, but was let down terribly by the senseless violence and the foam-at-the-mouth players who wanted more violence and complained about not having it. The forums are full of complaints by both those who abhored the violence-packed violence and those who wanted to be punished for dying too much rather than to try to play the game to stay alive. I really have nothing good to say about this game outside the fact that it is not Star Trek, and if you're just one of those MMO-kill-seekers then this is just another dull and boring trip through hack-n-slash lane and you would probably be happy playing it till another new-and-exiciting HnS MMO hits the market.
My subscription? Canceled!
This game should have been called Imperial Starfleet Online (for those who recall the episode Mirror Mirror) whose motto was "Terror Must Be Maintained".
Loving-kindness, Compassion, Altruism ... Think About It !!!
LMAO @ Rick Rollin' the Galaxy
Thats as close as I will be getting to this game.