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NDA Dropped; beta info here
Blurr
Member UncommonPosts: 2,155
Okay so the NDA has officially been dropped, which means it's open season on giving you all the information you've been waiting for.
Firstly I want to say that I've been playing MMOs since before it was even really a genre, and frankly, STO is about the best we could have hoped for in a Star Trek MMO.
Some people are worried about the time frame that Cryptic is going with, a very ambitious schedule, and I kind of was too. However, I have to say that from week to week, they have been making pretty signifigant improvements each time, with more than I've seen any other MMO in development go through. They also are adding a lot of things based on user feedback, and give us a new survey every week to get feedback on the latest changes.
I'll try to go over some points that I think need mentioning, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask them here. I'll do my best to answer what I can.
Character Class and Role
Of the 3 careers (Eng/Sci/Tac) when you create your character, it will mostly affect what you do on ground missions. In general, all careers are pretty equal in what they can do in space (aside from a few abilities). Basically this means that you can do good as a Tactical on a Science ship, or Engineer on a Tactical, or whatever. It really mostly depends on how you load out your ship and what bridge officers (boffs) you choose to go with. The most effect will be seen on your ground missions. An engineer will get things like teleporting in phaser turrets, causing enemy weapon malfunctions, etc.Science will do things like cause gravimetric shifts or using a medical tricorder to heal, or even putting up stasis fields. Tactical will get abilities that are most directly suited to combat with things like stealth or focus fire or overwatch. So when you make your character and you're picking your career, think mostly about what you want to do on ground missions. Choosing your role in space is mostly done after you start the game based on what abilities and boffs you pick and such.
Combat and Ships
Okay so let's get this out of the way right here. There is no "Holy Trinity" (Tank/DPS/Healer) system, at least as we usually think of it, ingame. Enemy ships have an AI that knows who's causing it the most damage/trouble at the time, and usually they go after that person. This means if you're a high dps escort, you've got to get in and do your damage and then fall back, otherwise you're gonna get rocked. With your cruiser, you can take the punishment so you can just hang around and pile on the damage all day.
The best way I can describe how STO combat feels is like a naval battle game (for example, if you've ever played the Battlestations games) combined with EVE. A large part of combat really is positioning, and which sides you're presenting to the enemy. As a cruiser player, I want to usually present my broadside to the enemy so I can focus all my weapons at the same time, but this means I'm also taking all my damage on (usually) one side. This is both good and bad cause I can focus shifting shield power to that side to strengthen it and not worry about the rest, but it's going to take more damage overall, and at some point I'll likely have to turn about so that I can use the opposite side shield and let that one regenerate. If you're an escort, most of your weapons are going to be forward firing so you're really going to want to come in for strafing (think ground attack planes) runs. Face the enemy, unload your weapons, and then scoot before he gets a chance to pound you. Science ships don't have as much raw firepower as the others, but they do get to innately target subsystems of the enemy. I'm not sure of the exact mechanics, but this means with each shot you're not only chipping away at his shields/hull, you're also reducing the effectiveness of his weapons/engines/maneuvering/resistance/whatever.
There's also a lot of positioning involved because of things like Mines that can be dropped, gas clouds (vented plasma) that will stick to your ship and do damage over time, etc. Not to mention a big facet of the combat system, collision detection. That's right, if you hide behind an asteroid, weapons will hit the asteroid (or not fire) and not hit you. There's also collision detection between ships. At this point I don't think you cause/recieve any damage from bumping into another ship (though there is a "ramming speed" power that I've heard about), but it's possible you could use another ship as a screen to hide behind (though I haven't been able to manage it yet). In addition, while it sounds relatively simple to just have everyone attack the same shield quadrant, the AI isn't stupid and will try to maneuver their weak sides away from you, this means you have to outmaneuver them if you want to keep punishing them.
I should also mention that movement is really important. According to the devs, there's a defensive bonus you get for your movement speed. This means that if you're moving at full speed, you're going to take less damage/hits than if you were simply sitting there. This means it's almost always better to be moving, which also helps with positioning (see above).
Tribbles
Tribbles are in game and they can cause you trouble if you're not careful. I looted one and thought 'Cool!' but little did I realize what I was in for. Essentially what they are is an out of combat heal/regen item. (Think food from WoW) So when you're not in combat, you take out your tribble and pet it, and you'll regenerate your health a little faster. (You actually see yourself pull out the tribble, pet it, and it purrs and makes a little squeaking noise, super cute) Apparently they also get bigger if you pet them alot more. Where they can cause trouble is if you have food items in your inventory. Klingon Gagh and Earl Grey Tea and all that are in game, and are basically kind of like potions to give you a bit of a heal (note I don't find I need them all that much really). The problem is if you have food in your inventory and a tribble in your inventory, at some point the tribble will eat one of the food items and you will have 2 tribbles. Awesome right? Well in the space of a day or so of play that 1 tribble I looted turned into 16 friggan tribbles. They clog up your inventory and sell for 0 credits, so you don't make any money off of them, lol. Essentially you have to give them away or 'discard' them. This is super cool and so very Star Trek, but you have been warned! lol
Patches and Adjustments
Cryptic have really outdone themselves in STO so far. In closed beta we could expect a major patch basically every week. They also listened very closely to player suggestions and there was a great flow of information back and forth. I'd say this definately bodes well for the speed of iteration on the game, and you shouldn't be worried about getting patches and fixes for any problems that might crop up. Also I am sure they'll be putting out additional content very quickly.
Conclusion
In the end I absolutely love the game and I've preorderd both the CE and DDE version. I don't regret it one bit and if they offer me a lifetime sub I'll buy it in a heartbeat. If you have any questions feel free to post em and I'll try to answer as best I can.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
Comments
Thanks for the info.
My question is, outside of Tribbles that everyone seems to be interested in, what about depth and immersion? From what I understand there's no crafting, is that right? I also hear that the game missions get old quickly. So what exactly is the catch? What's going to hold my interest after a month of play?
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
It's pretty evident you've made up your mind already, so lets not play these little forum games, shall we?
If anyone has any actual questions on beta or game systems and whatnot, feel free to post them.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
It's pretty evident you've made up your mind already, so lets not play these little forum games, shall we?
If anyone has any actual questions on beta or game systems and whatnot, feel free to post them.
Um, excuse me but I'm really asking. Do you not want to answer or what? There are a lot of people out there wading through all the information to figure out if they want to spend the cash or not. No need to get offended about it.
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
It's pretty evident you've made up your mind already, so lets not play these little forum games, shall we?
If anyone has any actual questions on beta or game systems and whatnot, feel free to post them.
Good info up until this post. Sounds like we've got a serious fanboy on our hands
.
It's pretty evident you've made up your mind already, so lets not play these little forum games, shall we?
If anyone has any actual questions on beta or game systems and whatnot, feel free to post them.
Um, excuse me but I'm really asking. Do you not want to answer or what? There are a lot of people out there wading through all the information to figure out if they want to spend the cash or not. No need to get offended about it.
I kind of agree here. I'm not a hater whatsoever... yet these are some serious issues (at least to some including me) brought up about the game. I'm interested in hearing the answers too.
Aurelion-Ellwaen-Aulric
Being a Star Trek fan, but not nut-case about it, but I'd like to know if you can do the "Picard Manuever". Well I forget the actual name of this maneuver but he did it in one episode where he did a "mini-warp" from in front of a ship that was attacking them, and then reappeared behind it's attacker and blasted it with their aft weapons.
Is there a "mini-warp" maneuver in combat?
It's pretty evident you've made up your mind already, so lets not play these little forum games, shall we?
If anyone has any actual questions on beta or game systems and whatnot, feel free to post them.
Looks like you got things mixed up Blurr, you're the one who has his mind made up. Why make a thread and not answer true questions like Zekiah politely asked!
OK, good post about the mechanics of the game and combat, but as others have said, why do you play the game.
Its a serious question, what are your "rewards" for completing missions or beating off an NPC attack?
What are your goals? Are you "leveling up" your abilities, which enable you to do additional content? Are you part of some sort of interconnected "story" that you advance from one mission to another?
Just trying to see what the long term appeal of the game is to the average player, who might just not be as enamored with the game as the OP apparently is.
(NDA revelation posts that fail to list any negatives are usually suspect around these parts)
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Zekiah raised a perfectly valid question, and did so in a perfectly reasonable manner.
I'd like to see an answer to it, and I'd also like to know in a more general way what the game offers outside of missions and combat, ie the "fluff" extras that make MMOs popular with a lot of people such as crafting, harvesting, housing, collection quests, auction house, all those features that are considered essential by many players but which don't always get included especially early on.
Also, what is the balance of the game in terms of optimum player numbers, ie solo versus group versus raid content? Are all playstyles equally viable?
It's pretty evident you've made up your mind already, so lets not play these little forum games, shall we?
If anyone has any actual questions on beta or game systems and whatnot, feel free to post them.
Well, let's put it this way, it is possible that people have their minds made up. However, for the sake of argument or just full disclosure, in your experience what would keep a player playing in a month?
Is it just the Star Trek Universe, are the missions really compelling to keep players on for 8 hours per day (if one was so inclined) or does the game play better with someone logging in for a mission or two then logging off. Sort of catching an episode of Trek and then doing something else?
It's a hard question to answer as everyone's mileage may vary.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
It's pretty evident you've made up your mind already, so lets not play these little forum games, shall we?
If anyone has any actual questions on beta or game systems and whatnot, feel free to post them.
Um, excuse me but I'm really asking. Do you not want to answer or what? There are a lot of people out there wading through all the information to figure out if they want to spend the cash or not. No need to get offended about it.
Well I know what you're doing, and you know what you're doing, but I guess you'll just keep rolling along eh? Okay I will play the game.
From what you seem to say, someone's given you a very jaded view of the game. It seems to me that this person probably hasn't tried the game, so you should scold them for giving you information as if it were true despite not knowing the reality of it. As any experienced MMO vet knows, depth and immersion are relative terms, and are very subjective experiences especially in this genre. If you're asking for my personal opinions, then yes I definately feel there's depth to the game. As for immersion, do I feel like I'm a starship captain in the Star Trek universe? Absolutely! Everything from buying a Raktajino, to getting orders from Sulu's great-grandson, to exploring new worlds and new civilizations. I even saved a pre-warp civilization from being poisoned by radioactive artifacts, just like Data in one of my favourite episodes.
There is crafting in the game, but for those of you expecting the tired old "grind x pelts until you get 20 skill ups", you're going to be disappointed. First of all, you have to remember that this is Star Trek, we got replicators to make stuff out of thin air. What you do craft is kind of like experimental stuff. I haven't played with it myself much, but essentially what you do is gather samples from anomalies, and then give them to a federation researcher who'll combine them into something for you. No need for enless hours of grinding skillpoints and watching a little bar fill up over and over.
I would say anyone who tells you the missions get old quickly, probably doesn't have much of an imagination. There's everything from settling mining disputes to reactivating abandoned space stations, chasing down infiltrators, gathering science samples, inspecting the bar of a cheating ferengi, solving a murder mystery, I could go on. If you wanted to, you could break down the quests from any game into simple repeated steps. With Star Trek though, you totally gloss over those ideals and get drawn into the story so you feel like you're actually doing adventures for starfleet.
What's the catch? And what's going to hold your interest after a month of play? It's fun! Is a game being fun enough to hold you? It sure has been for me and I've been playing it since October. I still preordered and will likely play for at least a year.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
It's pretty evident you've made up your mind already, so lets not play these little forum games, shall we?
If anyone has any actual questions on beta or game systems and whatnot, feel free to post them.
It was such a nice trip and then...BOOM! He blew it!!! I dont understand. It was a good question. I have the same questions and more. Is there a Good PvP? Like a Realm vs Realm thing? And how about the ground missions? Are they repetitive? Plz answer.
I am playing the open beta, day one, its kinda buggy this far, bu the content has been fun. I have no idea about crafting, but it seems there is plenty of immersion potential for this game, between the starbases and the bridges of ships. As ive only been playing fo a few hours I have NO IDEA what kind of longevity I can expect from this game, but since 90% of MMO's out there dont hold me more than a dew months, if not less. Im going to rely on the fact that this game is STAR TREK!!! to hold me in a bit longer. From what I can tell this is definately NOT a hardcore mmo, but it is very fun, the mix of ground based and space based combat is great, and the space combat is very well done, and quite enjoyable. Again, the game is still in beta and I refuse to issue a verdict yet, talk to me, or anyone else 30-60 days after feb 2nd launch to get a real idea of this game.
What about my question earlier?
I'm at 85% downlaod on steam, and can't wait to try beta. My question was legit.
Sounds like a dev attitude, there, frankly. Not going to answer uncomfortable questions?
Let me ask: what is the crafting like? How does it work? Is it grindy? How useful is it, and can you make things that other players will want?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Sounds like a dev attitude, there, frankly. Not going to answer uncomfortable questions?
Let me ask: what is the crafting like? How does it work? Is it grindy? How useful is it, and can you make things that other players will want?
Did you read his response in post 12, he does go into a little bit about crafting mechanics of the game.. says you gotta research some anamolies and bring the info back to some researcher... but in blurr's defense he states he hasn't messed around w/ that yet.
Honestly you can do just as well solo as you can do with a group. Being with groupmates makes things a lot harder as missions will scale up their enemies to give you a harder fight. However, since you're with another person you can enact all sorts of strategies and such that you couldn't on your own. I haven't tested any raid content but both group and solo are equally viable.
One of the greatest features is the auto-teaming feature, which allows you to auto-join the group of anyone who's started the mission about the same time as you. This immediately puts someone on your side and makes it more fun.
As far as strategies of 1 person vs 2, multiple people is (imho) way more fun. With 2 or more people, you can do flanking maneuvers, swap targets, play off eachother and all sorts of stuff like that. For example, maybe I've loaded myself out with lots of energy weapons which are great for wailing on the enemy shields, and my buddy is in an escort which is fast and has high firepower, but low strength and limited arc. I can take the focus of the enemy and keep battering his shields down while my buddy swoops around for the perfect positioning, and while I keep the shields down, he can unload and rip the enemy apart.
I would say playing with more people in the game is just plain more fun (and really, shouldn't that be the way it's supposed to be in an MMO?). It's way more fun seeing two federation ships battling a squadron of klingons rather than just taking them on yourself (though that can be fun sometimes).
Oh I almost forgot, open missions! Open missions are an absolute BLAST! For example Starbase 24 or the Tostig system are two of the first "Fleet Actions" you'll encounter. Essentially they are open to anyone who shows up, and everyone works toward the same goals. So you have like 15 other federation ships with you, and you're swarming a klingon siege fleet (they're sieging Starbase 24) and you have to weaken their forces in order to get at their more powerful ships. Essentially fleet actions have a number of stages that you have to progress through that move a little storyline along.
I'll go in depth onto the Tostig system. This is a fleet action where you have to halt a Gorn advance. The Gorn have decided that they're going to advance into federation space, so they've launched an attack on the Tostig system. They've got mines laid all over the place, and they've trapped a number of federation/civilian mining vessels within their minefields. The first phase has you taking down the Gorn squadrons (have to kill 60 of them or something) and you also have to clear the minefields to rescue 10 different mining vessels. The klling Gorn is pretty straighforward, but clearing the mines means destroying them without getting caught in them yourself. Phase two has you going after the Gorn command structure, so you have to break through the gorn lines and head to where all their command cruisers are at. These guys are tougher and they come in packs as well, so you have to use a bit more care and tactics in this. It creates some pretty epic battles. Of course, once you've taken out a lot of their command cruisers, the Gorn commanders are pretty pissed, so they send out a Dreadnought. This is one big massive ship that hits like a truck and wants to feed you to it's young. This culminates with everyone in the open mission all piling on for an epic boss fight that is just awesome.
But see it doesn't end there. After you get a little higher level within that system (I think you have to do another mission set too) but you find out wait a minute, the Gorn aren't just being jerks, they're being smart. Turns out they're actually covering a Klingon force that's trying to take over the planet of Tostig and establish a beach-head from which to launch attacks on the federation. The Gorn were just a decoy! Now you have to go back and continue the fight on the planet itself. I won't go into all the details, but you're doing a set of ground missions now where you have to blow up their shield generators, and then disable their artillery cannons, which you can also commandeer to turn them on the klingons. It gets pretty epic here too.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
Having been in the closed beta for a few weeks and played a character up to rank 8 or 9 my opinion is there really isn't anything spectacular about the missions. They are well done, don't get me wrong, but doing the predominantly combat heavy Federation missions wasn't compelling to me. I haven't logged into the Open Beta and don't plan to. The reason is the space combat. It's okay but the idea of not being able to keep the front of my ship pointed at target and the enemy ship being able to fly underneath or over me and still blast me (and me not be able to hit him with the Phaser Banks I had loaded) was kind of a turn off. I just prefer being able to move/point 360.
I'm also disappointed in the lack of Klingon PvE content with respect to Episodic content. If this had of been in, as I've said before, I probably would have purchased it even with the RMT/item shop rumors. I've always been a big Worf fan and through DS9 watching the war with the Dominion with the Klingons under General Martok out of the station I grew to like Klingons even more. Heck I even rolled one when my pencil & paper group played the RPG. I like PvP, and played alot of PvP in the beta. That said, PvP isn't all I want and nor would I like it to be the focus of my Klingon playing.
This may have been the Star Trek MMO Blurr dreamed of, and I respect that. That said, I've been playing MMOs for as long if not longer than Blurr and he most certainly doesn't speak for me when he made the statement STO is the best we could have hoped for in a Star Trek MMO. My hopes and expectations were certainly "detailed".
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
Sorry I was writing out a big long post (see above) haha. As far as I know there is no "mini-warp" maneuver, but there is an ability called "Evasive Maneuvers" which everyone gets, and what it'll do is make you really fast and maneuverable for a short time. So what you could do is go into a head-on fight with someone, and then when they least expect it, hit evasive maneuvers and skim right past them so now you're shooting your rear weapons at his aft!
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
It's pretty evident you've made up your mind already, so lets not play these little forum games, shall we?
If anyone has any actual questions on beta or game systems and whatnot, feel free to post them.
One question i have for you Blur is in the misisons / Grouping side of it
My brother and i will be buying this on launch day. now my question is simple.
Can players do the same missions grouped as a Fleet or are they solo?
It sounds to me like they borrowed some ideas from Warhammer like open groups and waiting for PvP instanced group queues. I'm really waiting to hear something that will keep me, depth, immersion etc. Most MMOs out these days are like lemons, they look tasty on the outside but inside it's sour. I realize the game will appeal (no pun intended
) to some but probably not the SWG/UO sandbox types. I'm still waiting to hear differently.
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
The fleet actions sound a lot like Warhammer's PQs, which is good, as they were one of the best features of that game. It's good to see other games using similar mechanics.
To my fans: there, see? I said something positive.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
I am not sure if there is or not. I have not seen all the skills for space. I kinda doubt it though and here is why. You can not be in full impulse and fight. Full impulse will start draining all your power from weapons, shields, etc, till they are at 0 and it does it fairly quickly. When exiting out of full impulse, it take about 15 seconds or so for you to get your power back to your shields and weapons. Warp is really only used for exiting missions so I doubt anything like that is there. There are tractor beams to hold the enemy in place, there are plasma clouds to slow them down and do damage to their ship. There is even an abandon ship manuever that will cause your warp core to explode and blow up your ship, at least its there for now, I could see that one getting taken out of the game.
I see where you're coming from. Yes I agree it is still open beta and Cryptic could potentially still cack things up pretty bad if they don't watch what they're doing. That being said I believe they're painfully aware of what happened to them on CO launch day, and they'll be watching very closely to make sure they don't do anything too drastic.
There was even a post on the beta forums entitled "Cryptic don't you dare!" and essentially (I believe) said something along the lines of Don't you dare screw this up like you did with CO. The devs even responded and said essentially "yes, we realize what happened there and we're going to be very very careful".
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000