I never thought of Star Trek being an MMO. Never thought the complexities of starship management could be put together with tactical command and away team missions.
Star Trek Online is amazing the way it brings strategy, action, and even people together to accomplish joint objectives.
Grinding is more fun than in 'conventional' fantasy RPGs because in some instances you need to team up in order to survive in war zone areas.
The whole thing is intense and immersive enough that I found it was worthy of recording every minute of gameplay on fraps as I progressed through my typical newbie Lieutenant days, the highlights of which are right here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSrMQm1RqdE
I also managed to have some awesome informal zone conversations and a fleet was formed right there and then...
Playing STO for me is definitely, like going where no RPG has gone before.
Comments
i enjoy the mix of styles this game has going on and its only going to get better and more diverse as it goes.
And that the ships are surprisingly customisable. Which is awesome.
I wish there were more C-store stuff to purchase though; the stuff that's worth spending on seem to be at higher levels (No, I don't think costumes or NX- replicas are worthwhile at low levels lol).
Having more low cost (<100c) and low level items would make things more interesting.
I'll bring the chicken for those that do not like lamb as well.
I'll even make some Roger-style potato salad. (Me and slightly obscure references again...)
It's hilarious how the enemy Romulan players react.
If it ever happens, a trekkie will be less scared. One day humans might look back on STO the game and consider it's role in helping to prepare thousands for the idea of us not being alone. A little seed being planted in our minds based on fantasy which in the end makes it easier to accept some of it being reality.
Some of it, maybe, if we are lucky in our lifetimes. We hope anyway, while many don't think twice about it. That is the seed.
I definitely agree with your philosophy! There is so much untapped 'instructional' value for these games. The Devs have done a good job with giving a very 'strategic' feel to the game both in terms of the rather complex missions and the 'starship management' aspects of it.
I thought the detail of the DOFF system made the individual doffs (and captaining a starship) that much more immersive thanks to all the personalisation and backstory hints.
The 'technical' aspect of some of the mission tasks are to me, also A Good Thing. They're not exactly mind boggling but you do need to use a bit of memory and adaptive reasoning skills to know how to work the mission.
Contrast with 'point and click' quests from other games.
Lastly, I had my first taste of PvP yesterday night and found it more engaging than a lot of 'true' first person shooters? Why? The game seems well balanced and your personal character's configuration and equipment work hand in hand with your own gaming mentality.
At first, trying to 'counter-strike' it with a minigun didn't work. So I switched to using fire & maneuver tactics (flanking, cover, etc) to cause casualties on the opposing team to frustrate them. The tactical effect was that I had 3 snipers gunning for me at any one time which left the enemy bases ripe for the picking. That, and I had 3 other teammates to outflank and eliminate said snipers in a matter of seconds once they gave away their position.
Interestingly, STO is not one game but lots of little games piled in a rather robust package with 'just enough' of the good stuff to get you thinking.
Well worth the price of my little c-store credits.
By bringing a stock level 30 exploration cruiser into a level 50 map.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaOfgGOFtbg
It was not that bad!
Edit : Welcome to Star Trek Online btw!
Ever got curious about how the other two Federation officer classes play out? Try a Klingon?
And if you play advanced / elite difficulty missions (the challenge is more fun to me) the episodes will last a long time indeed.