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Star Trek Online: A Noob’s First Impressions

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  • Grand_NagusGrand_Nagus Member UncommonPosts: 335

    Originally posted by Dinendae

    Originally posted by Grand_Nagus

    One other thing; the new epsiode of STOked just came out where they interview the new EP, Stephen D'angelo. In this interview it is finally confirmed that Cryptic did not set the release date:

    It was confirmed a long time ago by Cryptic's devs, and I believe Jack as well, that they had the same deadline as Perpetual. 

    I have heard that from any official source prior to this interview. Do you have a link?

  • LoginnameLoginname Member Posts: 5

    Cryptic took STO and agreed to the deadline for it's release, it's their fault for accepting it.  They made a really bad game with a good IP.

  • HarryhausenHarryhausen Member Posts: 11

    Of course, we know (well, most of us anyway) that many games hide the repetativeness of the mechanics with variety and flare. STO doesn't even try.

    Grinding in STO isn't doing "similar" missions over and over, it is doing the exact same missions over and over. Running through the exact same underground base to click the exact same consoles over and over and over and over again.

    Then, there are the STFs, only a handful to date, which means if you want more of a challenge (and this is really being generous as they aren't a challenge as much as they are just frustrating wave after wave of mobs. Death is part of the mechanic as you must die over and over again in order to complete many of them. They actually refer to this as "working as intended") you have only a few missions to choose from and, again, must repeat the same content again and again.

    Featured Episodes are good but way to few and far between. The entire concept may be flawed as a game mechanic as it takes months to make them but only half an hour to complete. Which, again, means if you want to enjoy better content, you have to wait for it or play the tiny amount of FEs over and over until more is developed.

    The game launched with barely any content. The thin amount is also in your face repetative as well. So, repetition is all you have. Obvious, mind numbing repetition. The only "newness" the game achieves is in the endless skins added to the MT store constantly.

    Of course, the Nagas will never ever admit these things. A handful of people on the STO forums have invested heavily in this game both monitarly as well as emotionally. They refuse to see the truth and will flame anyone that has a negative opinion.

    This is also hurting the game as the official forums are not welcoming to critique or negative feedback. What you see here is multiplied 10 fold on their forum. People that disagree are quickly silenced and great ideas fall by the wayside.

    STO could have been one of the greatest MMOs ever. Instead, it's a hollow representation of a grand universe. It's a missed opportunity many times over, starting with the dismal launch.

  • Grand_NagusGrand_Nagus Member UncommonPosts: 335

    Originally posted by Harryhausen

    Of course, we know (well, most of us anyway) that many games hide the repetativeness of the mechanics with variety and flare. STO doesn't even try.

    Can you explain exactly what you mean by "hide it with variety and flare"? And I dont mean some vague general statement, I mean what specifically are you talking about? Because I could log in LOTRO, COX, or AOC right now and do mission after mission which will involve going to essentially the same locations and killing the same NPCs. How is that hiding anything?

    Just so we're clear, I dont disagree STO is repetative. I just dont agree that other MMOs "hide" it. So again, explain EXACTLY what you mean, and HOW they do it. Give SPECIFIC examples. All I'm doing is asking you to explain your own statements, not someone else's, so it shouldnt be that hard.

  • DinendaeDinendae Member Posts: 1,264

    Originally posted by Grand_Nagus

    I have heard that from any official source prior to this interview. Do you have a link?

    It was after they started spinning about STO, concerning why they released the game in the state it was in. Other than that, I am not going to go back through the thousands of posts on the official forums just for confirmation.

    "Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan

  • DinendaeDinendae Member Posts: 1,264

    Originally posted by Grand_Nagus

    Can you explain exactly what you mean by "hide it with variety and flare"? And I dont mean some vague general statement, I mean what specifically are you talking about? Because I could log in LOTRO, COX, or AOC right now and do mission after mission which will involve going to essentially the same locations and killing the same NPCs. How is that hiding anything?

    Just so we're clear, I dont disagree STO is repetative. I just dont agree that other MMOs "hide" it. So again, explain EXACTLY what you mean, and HOW they do it. Give SPECIFIC examples. All I'm doing is asking you to explain your own statements, not someone else's, so it shouldnt be that hard.

    I think he(?) is referring to the fact that most MMOs try to mix up the missions just a bit, in that you get a quest to deliver something to NPC X, and can also pick up quests to collect items or kill things in that area, as well as sometimes getting quests to study lore or explore; they mix it up, just a little bit at least. In STO, unfortunately the majority of the quests were go kill/scan x of x. Sure, almost all MMOs basically have the same types of quests repeated; it's just that in Cryptic's games it is so blantantly obvious that it tends to detract from the game. CO and STO aren't alone there though; CoH/CoV suffered from the same problem, though to be fair it wasn't quite as blatantly obvious.

    "Oh my, how horrible, someone is criticizing a MMO. Oh yeah, that is what a forum is about, looking at both sides. You rather have to be critical of anything in this genre as of late because the track record of these major studios has just been appalling." -Ozmodan

  • Grand_NagusGrand_Nagus Member UncommonPosts: 335

    Originally posted by Dinendae

    Originally posted by Grand_Nagus

    I have heard that from any official source prior to this interview. Do you have a link?

    It was after they started spinning about STO, concerning why they released the game in the state it was in. Other than that, I am not going to go back through the thousands of posts on the official forums just for confirmation.

    I just dont remember seeing that, and for some odd reason not even one person who I have asked has been able to provide a source, which is pretty strange for the internet.

  • Grand_NagusGrand_Nagus Member UncommonPosts: 335

    Originally posted by Dinendae

    Originally posted by Grand_Nagus

    Can you explain exactly what you mean by "hide it with variety and flare"? And I dont mean some vague general statement, I mean what specifically are you talking about? Because I could log in LOTRO, COX, or AOC right now and do mission after mission which will involve going to essentially the same locations and killing the same NPCs. How is that hiding anything?

    Just so we're clear, I dont disagree STO is repetative. I just dont agree that other MMOs "hide" it. So again, explain EXACTLY what you mean, and HOW they do it. Give SPECIFIC examples. All I'm doing is asking you to explain your own statements, not someone else's, so it shouldnt be that hard.

    I think he(?) is referring to the fact that most MMOs try to mix up the missions just a bit, 

    Again, I'm asking for a specific example in a specific MMO that I can actually log in and see for myself. "Most MMOs" is a vague general statement. 

  • RavingRabbidRavingRabbid Member UncommonPosts: 1,168

    Once this game goes F2P I'll redownload it and play it.

    ***teaches hot Vulcan ladies how to dance!***

    All my opinions are just that..opinions. If you like my opinions..coolness.If you dont like my opinion....I really dont care.
    Playing: ESO, WOT, Smite, and Marvel Heroes

  • HarryhausenHarryhausen Member Posts: 11

    You are funny Nagas. I'll try to explain it ONE more time even though you are intentent on obfuscation ..    ..

    I will use Wow since Blizzard is one of the companies that hide repetativeness the best imo.

    Wow has made repetative questing seem less repetative by giving you varied ways to do them. Some are done the usual way, others on a flying mount. Some are collecting quests, some  killing quests. Others are assasination quests while others are "find someone or something".

    This type of variety is also mixed up in different zones that have other quest mobs pathing around, some even being elites. This makes the player find different ways to complete the quest because the area is not just made for THAT particular quest. There are many many quests there. Some are to high and to dangerous for one's level and must be avoided while trying to finish the quest one is currently on.

    Not only this, but other players are there. They are doing your same quest line, which may mean that some objectives must be shared or fought over, AND, some players are there doing other quests completely unrelated to your's. Which means they can help, be in the way, share quests, pvp, or simply socialize.

    And there are multiple paths to endgame. Two full factions and many racial starting areas. This does alot for variety and makes rolling alts much more attractive

    ALL of this mixes in a variety to the repetative quest types that make the entire game seem more spontanious and much less repetative. It gives a huge sense of variety, competiton, and danger.

    Now, let's see how they do it over at STO. We find the same kill 5, click 5, tyoe quests, but they are all the same. They all happen in personal zones that have absolutely nothing else in them to distract or otherwise introduce variety.

    One is forced to play the same cluster missions over and over and over. Which are the same 5 or so mission types in the same places and with the same objects. Then, we have the story driven missions. Despite their great graphics and decent stories, they are all built the same. Dialogue, kill 5, beam to space, dialogue, kill 7 ships in waves of 3, 3, and one capital. This formula is used over and over and over in the story missions.

    Then we have STFs. Complete zerg fests. The entire mechanic is based on wave after wave of mobs. There is little strategy as in the usual dungeon crawl. The method is always to blast away, die several times, and keep repeating that until you get through. It isn't fun, it's frustrating and boring.

    And finally, FE. The cream of the STO crop. These are just basically souped up story quests. They work exactly the same. Dialogue, kill 5, dialogue, kill 5 in space. etc. Although they are of better quality than all the quests in the game, they are still exactly the same as all other quest types.

    The over instancing of the game makes the quests empty of life and opportunity. It makes socializing and competing with others in quest zones impossible. There are no variables outside of the methodic linear quest direction. Nothing to break up the monotony of doing the same thing over and over.

    I could extrapolate on this more, but I have talked with you before and I know the truth isn't what you are after. You are to emotionally invested in the game as a lifer and you feel you have some import on the official forum. These two things seem very important to you and it makes it impossible for you to admit certain truths about STO.

    The game comes off as completely repetative for three main reasons.

    It is over instanced with no sandbox to encourage player made variety. The player is often alone in his own instance following a completely linear path to completion. This linear design is so in your face at times that there is actually a road to follow in the zones that lead you right to your placed objective just sitting there waiting for you. There is nothing else there.

    The quest designs are to few and the same type is used through the entire game. Only a few graphics are tweaked as the main difference. There is so little variety in this regard that they actually "revamp" the same missions with new shineys and call them "new". That is how shallow developement has been.

    And it is to shallow. Offering the same cluster quests over and over again to complete levels as there just is not enough content in the game. There is only one leveling path for Feds, and Klingons don't even start until after lvl 20 (under FTP) or so. And even then, you get alot of the Fed quests to do.

    If you stil don't understand this, I really can't help you further.

     

     

     

  • Grand_NagusGrand_Nagus Member UncommonPosts: 335

    Originally posted by Harryhausen

    You are funny Nagas. I'll try to explain it ONE more time even though you are intentent on obfuscation ..    ..

    I will use Wow since Blizzard is one of the companies that hide repetativeness the best imo.

     

    So all of this was just to compare STO to WoW? I dont think anyone(well, most people) disagrees WoW is a good game, which is why its the most popular in the market. But you said ALL other MMOs hide their repetitiveness compare to STO. Every. Single. One. So after all of this the only one you can actually name as an example is WoW?

  • HarryhausenHarryhausen Member Posts: 11

    Sigh.

    As I thought.

    Thanks for wasting my time...again.

  • OzmodanOzmodan Member EpicPosts: 9,726

    Sorry, but I have to disagree with this brief review.  If you want to play a space game, some of the f2p ones are better than this one.   If you like to explore, than this game is a zero for you.  Half the action in Star Trek takes place on the bridge, but not in this game.   Beyond the characters and ships looking like they should, the rest of the game is just a very poor attempt at using the IP.

    If you enjoy it, have at it, but I think a room full of monkeys could do a better job.

  • lostkosslostkoss Member Posts: 149

     

    Ozmo, its not a terrible game.

    The industry;

    Its not all the IP could be either and they had to pump it out in 2 years, that was in the contract.

    The IP deserves a better game, but STO is good for what it is. If it had  bigger money and backing at launch it could have been better, more fleshed out. It amazes me that after  at least 10 years , they still expect a video game to be made as fast as a movie, and launch simutaneously. It never works out, and they waste a huge amount of money on essentially a "dead end game" that has no hope whatsoever.

    STO itself;

    I think it is a fun game that could be better, like a lot of them. MY thinkiing is that it is about ready for launch now :)

     

    If you haven't tried it , why not? Its been on steam with a months play for like 5 bucks and it is either going FTP or gone FTP.

     

    Either way, its fun to hang out in the trek world if you don't take it too seriously. You can quickly run out of content if you absorb it too voraciously.

     

     

    Have a sense of humor, no need to get ALL MODDY ! :) A Simpson's quote shouldn't be worth a warning. You are lucky anyone is bothering to read this rag.

  • LoginnameLoginname Member Posts: 5

    Not only is the game play overly repetitious. The game mechanics compound the feeling. All the ground mobs and NPC ships all feel the same. You don't have to really play any mob in the game differently. Lieutenant feels like Vice Admiral.

    Now a year and a half after launch I still don't think it's in a launch ready state. Maybe, in a another two or four years at the current rate of progress.

  • DreadstoneDreadstone Member UncommonPosts: 125

    First, I disagree with all who don't like this review because it didn't wait for the F2P debut.  This review was two to three months away from F2P and a lot of people might be interested enough to not want to wait.  I know I am, especially since I have such a negative image of F2P.  I subscribed to STO for it's first year (although I really only played about six months) before cancelling.  I have been wondering what it is like now.  Based on this review I might subscribe for a month before it moves F2P to see the improvements.  That might lure me into giving the F2P a try in spite of my bias.  It definitely sounds interesting to be able to compare before and after F2P.  Plus Star Trek is my favorite franchise.

    But I'm not sure how much I remember and I don't know if I want to spend the time figuring out how to invest points in my builds.  As I remember, the talent system didn't seem particularly intuitive or maybe I felt too restricted by the choices I thought you were suppose to make.  At any rate, I'm really not in the mood to spend a lot of time 'studying' how to play a game.  There's going to be too much going on in gaming in Dec 2011 & Jan 2012;  updates to WoW, Rift, FFXIV is finally going to paid subscriptions and SWTOR launches.  There might not be any time left for real life if I try to sample everything!

     

  • Overlord72Overlord72 Member Posts: 5

    You all should be happy this review did not wait for the F2P launch, even the Nagus here is eating his words at what an abomination Cryptic has made of this game that once had potential.

    R.I.P. STO - you could have been a contender....

  • BeanpuieBeanpuie Member UncommonPosts: 812

    One day, eventually on a very slow rotation between mmo's  ill try out STO again for the sake of seeing how far they have gotten compared to what they had at launch.

     

    Always was curious about the Foundry, wondering if players had enough tools and know how to making interesting stories/missions that people would care about.

    Always wondered if they had some that were set up as a series of episodes, with a couple of reoccuring characters that you would give a care about let alone wonder what would happen to them next after the usual session of pew pew blow the klingon up.

    Though after looking through startrek, it wasnt so much of character development that carried the show exclusively, but also the hot button topics that made people wonder what or how the future handled such issues.

    racism, sex, contant challenges of the prime directive, class warfare, religon, loyalty and trust, one's personal heritage vs. their duty, the old guard vs. the new generation.

    the main thing about said topics all of them could be tied in to battles and war and also not involve a single phaser shot and still hold its own to be compelling if not teeth gritting due to the tough choices that were made given the situation.

     

    Though, the Current MMO industry, i guess character development and hot topic issues aren't marketable, and could get them in trouble by the PC police if they tried.

     

  • BeanpuieBeanpuie Member UncommonPosts: 812

    Originally posted by Grand_Nagus

    Originally posted by Harryhausen

    You are funny Nagas. I'll try to explain it ONE more time even though you are intentent on obfuscation ..    ..

    I will use Wow since Blizzard is one of the companies that hide repetativeness the best imo.

     

    So all of this was just to compare STO to WoW? I dont think anyone(well, most people) disagrees WoW is a good game, which is why its the most popular in the market. But you said ALL other MMOs hide their repetitiveness compare to STO. Every. Single. One. So after all of this the only one you can actually name as an example is WoW?

    After STO goes F2p and i try it out from start to end,

    maybe i should do a comparison between  STO  and SQO.

  • BoneserinoBoneserino Member UncommonPosts: 1,768

    Just have to say my piece on behalf of STO here.

    Everything Harryhausen says about the gameplay is true.   I see it also.  Particularly in the ground combat.   The difference for me I guess is that I just enjoy the atmosphere of the game, the sights and sounds and such, and also the fact that you have a mission and a story in the episode quests that all makes it seem as if you are going about your daily  business as a Federation grunt.  That for me is enough to provide the variety that Harry says is lacking.  It really all depends on how you look at it. 

    I mean lets face it a dungeon crawl is a dungeon crawl, in any game.  I really fail to see how "most" games "hide " this more effectively than STO.  I would much rather play this type of linear quest than the kill X rats and take them to Y quests found in most fantasy games I have played.

    I find the action fast paced and fun, and I thoroughly enjoy the space battles.  I have just started looking at  the player made content and it seems plentiful and polished.  It is also graded by other players (five stars)  and many missions have multiple continuing storylines.  Have not tried out PvP but likely won't  since that is not really my thing anyway.

    Things I don't like are fairly few at the moment.   But mainly the instancing, as Harry says ,which really doesn't let you relax and just  explore a planet. 

    I definitely think Trek could have been more but so could just about any game.  And what is here, is great fun, for the casual gamer who grew up loving ST.  And no, I don't give a rats butt, that there is little exploration or diplomacy in the game.  It is not absent but it really takes a backseat to what is essentially a combat oriented game.   Why do people get so uptight about a game taking a few liberties with an IP??  Movies do it with books.  Whats the difference?

    Its like any other game out there folks.  F2P so absolutley no risk in trying this.  You might even have some fun for a few months.  Live long and prosper!!

     

    FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!

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