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STO is not an mmorpg game
olepi
Member EpicPosts: 3,142
Star Trek online is not a MMORPG. It is basically a smallish online multiplayer shoot-em-up game. In a real RPG, there is a persistent world that the player "lives" in; deciding on what "role" to play in that world is the game. In STO, you have one role to play, the Captain. There is no world to "live" in, just a set of battle spaces. STO is not an RPG game.
Many have complained that the gameplay is repetitive, and shallow, consisting almost entirely of battles against a limited set of enemies. MMORPG's can become repetitive too; for example I am trying to grind faction with a certain town in the game I am playing, in order to get the town's mount to ride. I have to either kill X creatures, win X diplomacy bouts, or hope for drops off of the fish I catch when I am fishing. That can be repetitive, killing endless mobs waiting for the right drops.
But I don't have to do that at all. Instead, I could decide to not fight today, and just run around looking for new stuff. See that mountain over there? I've never been there. Wow! A cave that is not on the map. Let's go in .... oooh, some quests to do in here!
Or, I want to skill up my crafting (I make maces) so I can make a better weapon. Ooops, I need more mats, so that means go out prospecting and harvesting. Wait, I need new tools, so let's make those first.
And quests? Lots of them! At a low level, say lvl 10, there are probably 4-5 times the number of quests that you can do. So, I'm tired of the woods, lets head off to that desert island and see what I can do there. See? More lvl 10 quests, with different mobs, etc. Maybe I'l lgo underwater and see what is down there. Oooh! an underwater cave! Let's go in ...
See, in a real RPG game, you decide what you want to do, and when, and where. You decide what gameplay you want, and where. The game is the world you "live" in, and the role you want to play in it. It is a shame that Cryptic took a perfect example of IP for an MMORPG and make a smallish, linear, shoot-em-up.
That can be a lot of fun for those who like it, but don't buy STO expecting to play an MMORPG.
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2025: 48 years on the Net.
Comments
Quite right.
You've pretty much nailed it from my perspective as well. It lacks a sense of life. I'm not sure it exactly takes away from it but I agree the RPG aspect is non-existent. I was discussing this the other night with some folks I play another game with and generally , as much as I, they find it a good game. Sure, it has its problems as any will at this stage, but it plays well and is fun. As Star Trek games go, and I have played most of them, it surely shines; I just wish it felt more like a living breathing galaxy than a simulator.
The problem is this whole issue of being forced to be a Star Ship captain. If there had been classes added say for Researchers who might have a smaller ship with a research type crew who does missions of exploring planets and other scientific activities, or maybe a colonist class that develops a planet. They might mine dilithium for fuel, grow new kinds of crops or whatever, some kind of crafting to help the space far4ing community who they can call upon when the Klingons come.
Then again, this is only release, who knows what Cryptic may or may not add in the future.
It's almost the same reason why Guild Wars 1 never called itself a MMORPG, though it calls itself a CORPG because there is a lot of competition in the game, ratings and interesting PvP.
Sector Space, stations and social hubs are the equivalent to the outposts and cities, districts = instance number, though I don't think any STO instance can support more than 100 players at a time, most I've seen were 50.
And the mission related areas are the exploreable areas or missions from GW, the difference being the ability to hop in another person's instance (and automatically looking to fill spots) if you leave the open grouping feature on and STO's being 100% limited to quest content rather than being the whole area (a whole planet or a whole system that would be related to all quests you ever have to make, or will never get to make in that area and the extras that don't exist in STO like boss hunting for uniques, farming materials or imaginary points to do something, etc).
So IMO STO is a ORPG, not featuring enough to be a CORPG.
And yeah, there are a lot of other games in this website that should also be called ORPGs and not MMOs IMO.
I can agree somehow. At the lower levels I basically solo all the time - on ground missions I have an away team that buffs me, heals me, etc. Why group?
From what I understand though, at higher levels you will need to group, or you don't stand a chance supposedly.
This is the most StarTrek there will be, so what can one say? It is a good game under the circumstances, but not what most hoped for. *shrugs*
That is my real gripe with STO, Cryptic has probably stopped anyone else from making a real Star Trek MMORPG for a long time. It can be a fun game in it's own right, as a smallish linear shoot-em-up; but a Star Trek RPG it is not.
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2025: 48 years on the Net.
Mate, you've nailed it. This is the core problem, STO is nothing but an arcade, the persistence is laughable, the interaction - negligible. There is no 'world' to speak of.
That being said, it is a very good game for the console, definitely a step forward for those systems in terms of mmo's. As far as PC's go however, STO is nothing !
- Shijeer
Wow I thought I had already formed my opinion but the OP really hit me...YES you are right nail + head = OP.
I see good things in STO but what what I have played it is less fun as a game like 9 Dragons and it costs a bit more.
Honestly it makes me feel very sick because I have loved ST for 30 years and this is just, again imho from Beta (with all that beat kept in mind), a pale and profoundly...PROFOUNDLY...sad version of a EPICx3 universe. I am going to try to play one last time today but with what is there now I am feeling very sad for Cryptic.
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Achiever 60.00%, Socializer 53.00%, Killer 47.00%, Explorer 40.00%
Intel Core i7 Quad, Intel X58 SLi, 6G Corsair XMS DDR3, Intel X-25 SSD, 3 WD Velociraptor SATA SuperTrak SAS EX8650 Array, OCZ 1250W PS, GTX 295, xFi, 32" 1080p LCD
I've developed bipolar disorder from playing this game since closed beta. I wanted to like it and with every change they do it gets worse
I hate to say it but I have a feeling SW:TOR is going to end up the same as this. There will be no good MMO's again.
I agree you could call it an MMO, it is online and has multiple players. Massive? maybe.
But it is not an mmoRPG, STO is not an RPG game at all.
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2025: 48 years on the Net.
Knock on wood ! SW:TOR -must- be decent, we cant afford another failure of a grand IP brimming with potential.
- Shijeer
This is the single best response to a post I have ever seen. Intelligence in all its forms makes my heart soar.
It's better to lurk in forums and be thought a fool...than to endlessly "Quote" and remove all doubts.
Well lets look at history.
One comes from a company with a history of failures or medicore success.
The other comes from a company with an amazingly stellar track record - quite possibly one of the best development companies EVER if not the best.
I dunno - seems about even.
There will be eventually, but I think it will require an ET-like crash in the industry to wake up the devs.
As for SW:TOR, I think it has equal chances of being a quality MMO or this industry's ET (not in terms of quality, but in terms of failing such a huge IP).
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
There is hope. Hope in the Indie developers. Take Mortal Online for example, they give you a world you can live in and do anything you want. Unfortunately game developers like the ones developing Mortal Online aren't given the funding needed to release a complete game and the games come out unfinished. New players try these indie games out and see that they are buggy and incomplete and are turned away from this type of innovation. The result is that these developers end up having to close their game down due to lack of support.
In the end, we are left with the mainstream corporations shoveling out games like this because it appeals to the group that enjoys instant gratification and simplicity in their games, which is unfortunately a bigger group than those who enjoy innovation and complexity.
The second one has NO prior MMOs under its belt, though. That leaves a lot of room for failure.
When I hear them brag about how much voice acting the game has, that sets off alarms for me. An MMORPG has a lot of things more important to spend money on.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Seems like a pretty narrow and antiquated view of what an MMO is. EVE doesn't have half the stuff you said and nobody claims it's not an MMO.
It sounds like you just want the same tired old fantasy rpg that's been done a million times. Although you should try Vanguard, it's pretty decent and has a lot of the things you mentioned.
I agree you could call it an MMO, it is online and has multiple players. Massive? maybe.
But it is not an mmoRPG, STO is not an RPG game at all.
Perhaps, but in that sense I think MMORPGs are dead and will never be resuscitated. I think of the 1st and 2nd gen MMOs as real MMORPGs (SWG early, EQ, EVE, etc) but this new breed is are about developers designing the player experience more because the cost of development is such that leaving things to the players is too risky.
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I think CCP ( the makers of EVE online ) Should have made STO .
I think it would have been the best game ever , if EVE is anything to go by
http://www.speedtest.net/result/502097918.png
Speaking of STO's instancing (like you, I don't mind instancing as a rule), I find it very bizarre that while running Starbase 24 Fleet Action one can see all the chat from all the other instances. It is quite confusing and chaotic to read, and seems to serve no useful purpose.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Just the ships, then? Not for me, thanks.
I suggest that BioWare should have covered Trek, and Cryptic done SW:TOR.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
If your Star Trek dream is to be a hired killer for the federation this is your game.....it's not my game....but oh well.
It's better to lurk in forums and be thought a fool...than to endlessly "Quote" and remove all doubts.
Many a time after loggin into EVE I thought to myself, what would have happened if CCP had the rights to the Star Trek IP? Now that would have been one helluva game. I've actually had conversations about this question at more than one pub.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
Speaking of STO's instancing (like you, I don't mind instancing as a rule), I find it very bizarre that while running Starbase 24 Fleet Action one can see all the chat from all the other instances. It is quite confusing and chaotic to read, and seems to serve no useful purpose.
I don't know if they changed it yet, but in PvP maps zone chat (especifically Borg Hunt in the Neutral Zone, no idea if others follow this pattern of no secrecy) was also shared with Klingons.
Actually I find this to be a good feature. This is true in every public (ie non mission) area and I think it's a good addition. What it does is let you still converse and share information etc with people in other instances of the zone. I feel it closes the gap between instances because you can still get help and join groups with people from other instances.
I'd say it's about half way between true instancing and the "phasing" technology that Blizzard is now fond of.