STO Member since February 2009. I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born! Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
I was interested in STO the day it came out, but balked at paying a monthly fee. Then one day I was surfing the net and saw it was FTP. I was in in a second. Now have an LTS and several C-store purchases. Thanks for the hard work devs! Don't let the haters get you down.
Not to put a dampener on this party, but i'm curious; In what way?
Season 6: Adding new grind mechanics (Fleet Starbases)
Season 7: Adding new grind mechanics (Personal Reputation, Dilithium re-balance)
In the past year since F2P, how much story content have we gotten?
During Season 6; 5 Feature Episodes + 1 KDF episode + PVE Events
During Season 7: 5 Reputation Story Missions + 1 STF + PVE Events
How much has PVP been improved over the past year?
Huh?!? PVP? What the hell is that??? PVP hasn't seen any major fixes or additions since launch of STO. Instead, it's become broken repeatedly after all the PVE additions with no regard for it's PVP impact. Most notably, whenever they add a "unique console ability" to one of their lockbox/C-Store ships.
Sorry, i'm just not buying the whole "improved alot since F2P". We hear big things are coming in the form of the Year 3 anniversary event, and later launch of Season 8. But then again, haven't we heard similar statements in the past???
Ahhh, but if one doesn't do PvP....
It's a whole different mind-set.
STO Member since February 2009. I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born! Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
But I really hate the direction the game has been taking with the grinds (starting with starbase grinds geared for large fleets)... and I especially despise season 7.
Not to put a dampener on this party, but i'm curious; In what way?
Season 6: Adding new grind mechanics (Fleet Starbases)
Season 7: Adding new grind mechanics (Personal Reputation, Dilithium re-balance)
In the past year since F2P, how much story content have we gotten?
During Season 6; 5 Feature Episodes + 1 KDF episode + PVE Events
During Season 7: 5 Reputation Story Missions + 1 STF + PVE Events
How much has PVP been improved over the past year?
Huh?!? PVP? What the hell is that??? PVP hasn't seen any major fixes or additions since launch of STO. Instead, it's become broken repeatedly after all the PVE additions with no regard for it's PVP impact. Most notably, whenever they add a "unique console ability" to one of their lockbox/C-Store ships.
Sorry, i'm just not buying the whole "improved alot since F2P". We hear big things are coming in the form of the Year 3 anniversary event, and later launch of Season 8. But then again, haven't we heard similar statements in the past???
meurik, I respect your opinion but I disagree and I'm going to try to explain why:
1st - All F2P MMOs are based on rewarding time played and that is why we have to grind so much. Remember that, given the time needed all game items are available to you for free. This creates the desire to get stuff faster by buying then with real money. This is OK too after all Criptic must get some money to survive, hire ppl to develop more content for the game, pay for servers, etc... that is the whole point. So, there will always be grind on any F2P.
2nd - This game model brought more money and make it possible to increase the dev team and we can see the results over time. The game is more polished, we have much more stuff to do than before and Season 8 will be the first real opportunity for us to feel what a full team of 50 devs can do for a game in 6 months.
3rd - Game quality perception changes from person to person according to play style. I'm not a fan of PVP so I don't feel as much as you do the poor state of PVP gameplay. I give you that.
No game is perfect but this game is clearly improving and given a few more years it will be at the same level as EVE for example (which I also play) and took 10 years to get where it is today.
I agree that PVP must improve a lot and it is a crucial component to every game that wants to be called complete but I'm sure it will happen.
And the most important for me: it gives my an opportunity to be in touch with the Star Trek universe that I love so much, specially now with no new series on TV and between movies. I remember when my first toon reached the rank of captain. The first thing I did was to get a defiant and head over to DS9 (in the past we rank up slower than today). That felt so good when I approached DS9 for the first time, the series music playing... I enjoyed a lot.
--- My sig begins here ---
Member since Jan 24th 2010 (more or less)
Career Officer
That theme song is the only reason I didn't give Enterprise a chance to watch until I was able to view it online and skip through it. Same thing with M.A.S.H., though I hear it's a great show. Maybe I'll get around to it.
On-Topic:
Yes, HAPPY F2P!
I started when F2P went live, just because I didn't want to dump money into something that I may not have liked.
There have been a bunch of ups and downs, but that's because of the IP. I'll explain.
People who love Trek can be very harsh on how the game is handled. This is to be expected, and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. It shows the passion people feel towards the franchise. If I owned a gaming company, I would actually be nervous utilizing the Trek IP.
Yes, the Dil sink is a bit... off, to say the least. I'm sure the Devs have received the message from the players by now (hopefully).
Yes, there are still a bunch of bugs that haven't been squashed.
Yes, the C/Z Store needs to cater more toward what players want.
Yes, we could use more actual content, rather than grind.
Yes, PvP needs more incentive.
Yes, the crafting system DEFINITELY needs to see some love.
That being said, I still enjoy playing this game. The best thing about the F2P structure is that people can casually play and not feel like they're losing money if they don't.
Also, the PvE in this game doesn't force anyone to P2W. One can play at his/her leisure for completely free at a casual pace. The career paths aren't bound to specific ships, leaving players more options. The artwork is amazing (as long as your computer can run it at a high setting). The list of pros can go on, but I don't have time for that.
Happy anniversary!
Been on here since open beta and I still enjoy the games. Sure there are some annoyances *cough* cost of ships on c-store *cough* but I do love the game and still get friends interested enough to try it.
Here's to 3 years and hopefully many more to come!
meurik, I respect your opinion but I disagree and I'm going to try to explain why:
1st - All F2P MMOs are based on rewarding time played and that is why we have to grind so much. Remember that, given the time needed all game items are available to you for free. This creates the desire to get stuff faster by buying then with real money. This is OK too after all Criptic must get some money to survive, hire ppl to develop more content for the game, pay for servers, etc... that is the whole point. So, there will always be grind on any F2P.
2nd - This game model brought more money and make it possible to increase the dev team and we can see the results over time. The game is more polished, we have much more stuff to do than before and Season 8 will be the first real opportunity for us to feel what a full team of 50 devs can do for a game in 6 months.
3rd - Game quality perception changes from person to person according to play style. I'm not a fan of PVP so I don't feel as much as you do the poor state of PVP gameplay. I give you that.
No game is perfect but this game is clearly improving and given a few more years it will be at the same level as EVE for example (which I also play) and took 10 years to get where it is today.
I agree that PVP must improve a lot and it is a crucial component to every game that wants to be called complete but I'm sure it will happen.
And the most important for me: it gives my an opportunity to be in touch with the Star Trek universe that I love so much, specially now with no new series on TV and between movies. I remember when my first toon reached the rank of captain. The first thing I did was to get a defiant and head over to DS9 (in the past we rank up slower than today). That felt so good when I approached DS9 for the first time, the series music playing... I enjoyed a lot.
I'll go point-by-point as a response;
1. I'm perfectly fine with the "spend time to get the gear, and you will be rewarded" as well as "spend money, and you'll get the gear faster". There's a flaw in the current system for STO, in that all the gear and ships cost Dilithium. You can either spend time by grinding Dilithium Ore, and refining up to 8000 per day. Or, you can buy Zen instantly, and convert that Zen into Dilithium. The problem there, is that the current exchange rate for Dilithium -> Zen is incredibly bad. Since I don't buy any Zen, i'm okay with that, since I can convert Dilithium into alot of Zen very quickly. But for those who want a "quick fix" by buying Zen, to convert to Dilithium, the current Exchange is basically (to put it bluntly) TRIBBLE. One thought, would be add the OPTION, to buy things for -either- Dilithium or Zen. Or a combination in that you reduce the Dilithium cost, with an added Zen fee.
2. Each time we hear a dev response, they continue to claim the team is getting larger and larger. Yet we don't see any faster turn-over in terms of patches, new content etc. We do see higher quality ships (generally caused by a better modeller making the ship model). But we don't see any fixes to any of the older ships, we see no attempt at bringing the older ships or story content "up to par" with the newer content. What we see, is devs valiantly attempting to bandage, a broken system. Bandages are fine, but at some point, you need to operate to stop the bleeding.
3. I'm not much of a PVP fan either. I generally tend to PVE mostly in MMO:s. In STO in particular, but that's because i'm a big "lore geek", and alot of the story content is very well done (in terms of story telling). Lots of bits and pieces from existing lore, tied into STO lore. PVP has seen virtually NO UPDATES since launch, which is a huge travesty. PVE has improved over the years, when it comes to NEW content. The older content has remained largely untouched, save for a few remastered episodes. (What happened to remastering ALL episodes, Mr Stahl?!?)
Here's hoping like most of the Trek series mainly DS9 and TNG that the 3rd year is when things get interesting and the first two years were just a trial run with some hidden gems.
So yaaaaayyyy we survived one year of f2p when many said this was the end and we are heading into the 3rd year....Engage
Happy F2P Anniversary STO! and Thanks Cryptic for a great game.
I originally played in BETA and then headstart for which I got the collectors edition and the Red Matter Capacitor I played for 4 months after headstart and I must say that I had exhausted all the content and the game was all but dead for me, it had hell of a lot of issues back then and people was saying all the doom and gloom.
I returned about 4 months ago after I had vowed never to return but I was curious what cryptic had done to my favorite shows game. I've been a trek fan since the early 70s.
I must say that they have improved the game immensely and I subbed after 2 weeks of being back. I don't really need to sub as they have made it a breeze to make enough zen to never have to pay for it again but I chose to give them my cash to help to keep the game afloat + there are a few nice perks
I think generally when people are complaining about the Dil situation, they are rushing to get to the finish line too quickly and with all MMOs, that's not the name of the game.
I'm a lifer since beta (about 3 years ago)...seen all new versions from 0 to 8 and the amount of people that came and long gone....human nature is to whine and gripe about anything. I have seen this in every single new version of the game.
For what its is...STO has managed to rise above and overall not a bad job....by no means perfect...but also not the worst as compared to so many other MMOs that came and went during that time. The model of F2P injected new blood into the game and helped to resucitate a dying breed of players who felt left out and quit altogether. If you dont adjust or become alittle more open minded you will be left behind. F2P also brought a different type of gamers and even some who thought most of them would be detrimental for the brand. At times, that was true since a bunch of inmature players also used the F2P model as expected.
However, the ends justified the means and I'm sure the typical F2P player has grown so much in playing style and most are not the same as they were 1 year ago...most are good people and even great players.
So yes...welcome to all my F2P player friends, I personally glad you are here and thanks for injecting new life into STO
The real travesty comes when comparing this train wreck of a game to how gorgeous Neverwinter is. It really reveals their priorities and explains a lot when you see that STO is just here to pay the development bills for another game and not much else.
It really reveals their priorities and explains a lot when you see that STO is just here to pay the development bills for another game and not much else.
Funny, how you hear this from people playing CO about how the only point of CO is to pay for STO...
The real travesty comes when comparing this train wreck of a game to how gorgeous Neverwinter is. It really reveals their priorities and explains a lot when you see that STO is just here to pay the development bills for another game and not much else.
They been working on NW for how long now...?... 4 years...?
STO had what, 18 months to get up and going...?
Somehow, I'd be even more disappointed if Never Winter DIDN'T look as good as it does.
And hiring about 30 new employees for STO doesn't really show a LACK of priority, as far as I'm concerned.
STO Member since February 2009. I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born! Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
I'll go point-by-point as a response;
2. Each time we hear a dev response, they continue to claim the team is getting larger and larger. Yet we don't see any faster turn-over in terms of patches, new content etc. We do see higher quality ships (generally caused by a better modeller making the ship model). But we don't see any fixes to any of the older ships, we see no attempt at bringing the older ships or story content "up to par" with the newer content. What we see, is devs valiantly attempting to bandage, a broken system. Bandages are fine, but at some point, you need to operate to stop the bleeding.
Given that in Season 7 we got a new Sector Block (Tau Dewa) with some new/different patrol mechanics and patrol types; and an entire new ground zone (New Romulus) which is larger then any previous ground zone - and more like an actual plenet (which players were requesting) with areas to explore, accolades to find, new missions and cutscenes to unlock (that clue you into the overall story with regard to New Romulus); the new Embassy Holding (the interior Map and layout is nice IMO); and a few new PVE que content in addition to another Space and Ground STF ('The Vault Ensnared'; 'Mine Trap'; and the 'Azure nebula Rescue'); and also the new Tholian Red Alert -- I tend to believe the STO Dev team has in fact increased in size quite a bit since the Atari days; and I don't feel they're just trying to 'bandage a broken system'; They are continually trying to expand the endgame.
Also, aside from Blizzard (with the Cataclysm expansion) - since 1999 with all the MMOs I've played, I've rarely seen a developer go back and revamp old content to a great degree (and Cryptic even did that with the 'Stranded in Space', 'Diplomatic Orders', and the 'Doomsday Device' mission revamps) -- in MMOs it's 'add new content or go into maintenance mode' -- and STO is far from that state. They've even managed to finally add a much requested QoL feature where you no longer have to re-enter your account ID and password when switching characters; and are developing an on-line web-based portal (accessible via phones and mobile devices as well (which was also a player requested feature); and adding the ability to do some Character and Fleet management with it.
So, given all that (and it's a completely separate argument as to whether you LIKE where the development is going -- and the fact you may not is a completely valid position), I don't think one can claim the STO Dev team hasn't expanded in size; or isn't doing a lot of work on STO, they are.
(BTW and IMO - if you want to see a Cryptic MMO that they themselves have out in what I consider 'maintenance mode' these days, look at 'Champions Online' -- which is unfortunate as that game still does have a lot of decent potential that isn't being realized due to a lack of development resources.)
Formerly known as Armsman from June 2008 to June 20, 2012 PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
The game survived Atari trying to strangle it in it's crib and is now producing new stuff on a regular basis.
Exactly this. I don't think Atari realized that they had to (or at least didn't want to) fund more than pre-launch development, which caused the lack of content and corresponding lack of enthusiasm from the players. Now that new content has been coming out regularly, the game is much more fun. Is it perfect? No, but it's moved lightyears in the right direction.
You have been for about 3 years now. You hate the game so much put your money where you mouth is and leave, they aren't going to change anything as long as people are paying and the game is growing from it.
Instead of hijacking another persons post you should have made your own.
Well said. I think that no matter what, some peoples glass will always be half empty.
Happy Anniversary, however, what did I see in the last three years, broken promises from getting level caps raised with a good stream of content in the first year to content being called lock boxes and turning players in hamsters on wheels.
None of those are examples of broken promises. They've always said that they'll raise the level cap when they feel there's enough content to justify the current levels. They never promised that the level cap would be raised by a certain time. The only promise they made about raising level caps was that it wasn't going to be soon.
And they have been putting out lots of new content - it may not be content you find any interest in, and of course some people don't consider the same things 'content' as other people, but it's there.
And for other people posting about dilithium and Cryptic not doing enough to help get the price of zen back up, I can point you to a lot of archive posts over several months of players complaining that all Cryptic was doing was putting new stuff in the C-Store and that we were never getting new non-C-Store content and that Cryptic should stop making stuff for the C-Store and concentrate on making content that doesn't require real money to enjoy.
I myself enjoy STO, and have been playing since Beta. There are some things I'd like to see improved, but we're really no worse off than any of the dozen other MMOs I play (3 of them paid subscription ones, the rest free.)
None of those are examples of broken promises. They've always said that they'll raise the level cap when they feel there's enough content to justify the current levels. They never promised that the level cap would be raised by a certain time. The only promise they made about raising level caps was that it wasn't going to be soon.
And they have been putting out lots of new content - it may not be content you find any interest in, and of course some people don't consider the same things 'content' as other people, but it's there.
And for other people posting about dilithium and Cryptic not doing enough to help get the price of zen back up, I can point you to a lot of archive posts over several months of players complaining that all Cryptic was doing was putting new stuff in the C-Store and that we were never getting new non-C-Store content and that Cryptic should stop making stuff for the C-Store and concentrate on making content that doesn't require real money to enjoy.
I myself enjoy STO, and have been playing since Beta. There are some things I'd like to see improved, but we're really no worse off than any of the dozen other MMOs I play (3 of them paid subscription ones, the rest free.)
It must be glorious to have a short memory. I remember when the only content we got was costume pieces and the devs telling us to be grateful. No, it is content when you tell people STO has put in new content and find out its a lock box or a small mission that you need to repeat constantly.
I am grateful that the game has gone to f2p, however I am not grateful that the game has fallen into a gimme your cash and hamster wheeling. I have been here since beta, and I remember the big fuss over the Galaxy-X and the long cue times of the new FEs. Since Season 6, I haven't been in any cue times during the game's big events. That must say something there.
1st - All F2P MMOs are based on rewarding time played and that is why we have to grind so much.
But grind has the opposite effect on me. If the main thing available to do is grind instead of playing fun, engaging missions, then I am far less likely to spend much time in this game as compared to others with more mission/quest content.
I run New Romulus occasionally, but I can't do it that often because it becomes monotonous. As additional "stuff to do" it's great, and it is an excellent change of pace. But as primary content it fall short.
Hopefully with the expanded dev team and Season 8 being touted as containing more story content things will improve from that perspective. But early on Season 7 was also touted as being "story-focused" and it certainly is not. It contains light story to account for a bunch of repetitive "kill 10 boars" type quests.
If all real content (storyline episodes) are gated behind reputation grinds like the New Romulus missions are, I probably will not see most of them, because I just can't run the hamster wheel long enough to get there.
It must be glorious to have a short memory. I remember when the only content we got was costume pieces and the devs telling us to be grateful. No, it is content when you tell people STO has put in new content and find out its a lock box or a small mission that you need to repeat constantly.
I am grateful that the game has gone to f2p, however I am not grateful that the game has fallen into a gimme your cash and hamster wheeling. I have been here since beta, and I remember the big fuss over the Galaxy-X and the long cue times of the new FEs. Since Season 6, I haven't been in any cue times during the game's big events. That must say something there.
You seem to be the one with the short term memory. I remember when the only thing I had to do when logging on was hour long STFs, and there were only 3 to choose from. Since then, we've had another STFs, the existing ones broken down into smaller portions, the DOFF system, Nukara, New Romulus, the 2800 FE, a few individual missions like Klingon one (forget the name right now), Fleet Starbases, tons of little events like the Vault, Mine Trap, Fleet Defense, and many more. Not to mention all the stuff that has been added in the form of new ships, both lockboxes and ones that aren't, like the Vesta or Sovereign Refit.
We've had plenty of content, so there's no broken promises there. And yet the Klingon faction is still starting at level 24, and people are complaining about there not being enough to do, so it's obviously not time yet to raise the level cap either - and again, they never gave a date or time when the level cap would be raised, just that it wouldn't be anytime soon, and only when they felt they were ready, not only with enough existing content for current levels, but there also has to be enough content to justify the new levels. So again, none of the things you listed as broken promises are.
You seem to be the one with the short term memory. I remember when the only thing I had to do when logging on was hour long STFs, and there were only 3 to choose from. Since then, we've had another STFs, the existing ones broken down into smaller portions, the DOFF system, Nukara, New Romulus, the 2800 FE, a few individual missions like Klingon one (forget the name right now), Fleet Starbases, tons of little events like the Vault, Mine Trap, Fleet Defense, and many more. Not to mention all the stuff that has been added in the form of new ships, both lockboxes and ones that aren't, like the Vesta or Sovereign Refit.
We've had plenty of content, so there's no broken promises there. And yet the Klingon faction is still starting at level 24, and people are complaining about there not being enough to do, so it's obviously not time yet to raise the level cap either - and again, they never gave a date or time when the level cap would be raised, just that it wouldn't be anytime soon, and only when they felt they were ready, not only with enough existing content for current levels, but there also has to be enough content to justify the new levels. So again, none of the things you listed as broken promises are.
Again with the level cap, so fixated on one thing. OF course, they split the three STFs, in order make more missions. Yes, they finally added another STF after two and half years of saying another one is in the works and ready to go.
Broken promises, ask the KDF players about levels 1 to 24, ask the PvPers about new maps and a new revamp. I am not one of those players who think that just because they added a small grindy mission that this game is gaining meaningful content to promote to all new players. Maybe enough players who gather together and say devs we want your best not your half-TRIBBLE with these seasons and maybe instead of getting a gleam in your eye about the new lockbox, you will go batpoop crazy over a new sector of space that has missions on every planet, a new sector of space that included a brand-new pertinent PvP map, a new set of sector-specific zen products like a Romulan costume and a pertinent STF to that sector.
Another broken promise: Crafting Revamp, when? The devs have killed PvP and Crafting while nearly killing STFs.
However, I will play the content, why because I love Star Trek and I do love this game.
Actually, the supposed 'promises' can't be classified as 'broken' yet, because the game has not shut down...
If that happens before They manage to do something with any of the things They Have 'Listed' as being on Their TO-DO List, THEN one can say a 'Promise' has been broken.
I've yet to see anything mentioned so far, has having a Definitive Time as for when it would be worked on, let alone added to the game.
Assumptive Promises don't count.
We get that there are disappointments as far a some people are concerned, but why come in here and 'Rain on the Parade'...
It just makes ya look like a disgruntled whiner who can't get their way...
... it's not pretty and takes away from the festiveness of the occasion.
Can we just move on from the downward spiral this conversation has taken?
STO Member since February 2009. I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born! Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
Comments
WOW...
They looked soo young back then...
<snicker>
:P
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
Ahhh, but if one doesn't do PvP....
It's a whole different mind-set.
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
But I really hate the direction the game has been taking with the grinds (starting with starbase grinds geared for large fleets)... and I especially despise season 7.
- disappointed lifetime subscriber
meurik, I respect your opinion but I disagree and I'm going to try to explain why:
1st - All F2P MMOs are based on rewarding time played and that is why we have to grind so much. Remember that, given the time needed all game items are available to you for free. This creates the desire to get stuff faster by buying then with real money. This is OK too after all Criptic must get some money to survive, hire ppl to develop more content for the game, pay for servers, etc... that is the whole point. So, there will always be grind on any F2P.
2nd - This game model brought more money and make it possible to increase the dev team and we can see the results over time. The game is more polished, we have much more stuff to do than before and Season 8 will be the first real opportunity for us to feel what a full team of 50 devs can do for a game in 6 months.
3rd - Game quality perception changes from person to person according to play style. I'm not a fan of PVP so I don't feel as much as you do the poor state of PVP gameplay. I give you that.
No game is perfect but this game is clearly improving and given a few more years it will be at the same level as EVE for example (which I also play) and took 10 years to get where it is today.
I agree that PVP must improve a lot and it is a crucial component to every game that wants to be called complete but I'm sure it will happen.
And the most important for me: it gives my an opportunity to be in touch with the Star Trek universe that I love so much, specially now with no new series on TV and between movies. I remember when my first toon reached the rank of captain. The first thing I did was to get a defiant and head over to DS9 (in the past we rank up slower than today). That felt so good when I approached DS9 for the first time, the series music playing... I enjoyed a lot.
Member since Jan 24th 2010 (more or less)
Career Officer
The game has come a long way in a very short space of time. Very much looking forward to this coming year.
That theme song is the only reason I didn't give Enterprise a chance to watch until I was able to view it online and skip through it. Same thing with M.A.S.H., though I hear it's a great show. Maybe I'll get around to it.
On-Topic:
Yes, HAPPY F2P!
I started when F2P went live, just because I didn't want to dump money into something that I may not have liked.
There have been a bunch of ups and downs, but that's because of the IP. I'll explain.
People who love Trek can be very harsh on how the game is handled. This is to be expected, and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. It shows the passion people feel towards the franchise. If I owned a gaming company, I would actually be nervous utilizing the Trek IP.
That being said, I still enjoy playing this game. The best thing about the F2P structure is that people can casually play and not feel like they're losing money if they don't.
Also, the PvE in this game doesn't force anyone to P2W. One can play at his/her leisure for completely free at a casual pace. The career paths aren't bound to specific ships, leaving players more options. The artwork is amazing (as long as your computer can run it at a high setting). The list of pros can go on, but I don't have time for that.
Happy anniversary!
Been on here since open beta and I still enjoy the games. Sure there are some annoyances *cough* cost of ships on c-store *cough* but I do love the game and still get friends interested enough to try it.
Here's to 3 years and hopefully many more to come!
I'll go point-by-point as a response;
1. I'm perfectly fine with the "spend time to get the gear, and you will be rewarded" as well as "spend money, and you'll get the gear faster". There's a flaw in the current system for STO, in that all the gear and ships cost Dilithium. You can either spend time by grinding Dilithium Ore, and refining up to 8000 per day. Or, you can buy Zen instantly, and convert that Zen into Dilithium. The problem there, is that the current exchange rate for Dilithium -> Zen is incredibly bad. Since I don't buy any Zen, i'm okay with that, since I can convert Dilithium into alot of Zen very quickly. But for those who want a "quick fix" by buying Zen, to convert to Dilithium, the current Exchange is basically (to put it bluntly) TRIBBLE. One thought, would be add the OPTION, to buy things for -either- Dilithium or Zen. Or a combination in that you reduce the Dilithium cost, with an added Zen fee.
2. Each time we hear a dev response, they continue to claim the team is getting larger and larger. Yet we don't see any faster turn-over in terms of patches, new content etc. We do see higher quality ships (generally caused by a better modeller making the ship model). But we don't see any fixes to any of the older ships, we see no attempt at bringing the older ships or story content "up to par" with the newer content. What we see, is devs valiantly attempting to bandage, a broken system. Bandages are fine, but at some point, you need to operate to stop the bleeding.
3. I'm not much of a PVP fan either. I generally tend to PVE mostly in MMO:s. In STO in particular, but that's because i'm a big "lore geek", and alot of the story content is very well done (in terms of story telling). Lots of bits and pieces from existing lore, tied into STO lore. PVP has seen virtually NO UPDATES since launch, which is a huge travesty. PVE has improved over the years, when it comes to NEW content. The older content has remained largely untouched, save for a few remastered episodes. (What happened to remastering ALL episodes, Mr Stahl?!?)
So yaaaaayyyy we survived one year of f2p when many said this was the end and we are heading into the 3rd year....Engage
Oh and the Klingons can come to:D
I originally played in BETA and then headstart for which I got the collectors edition and the Red Matter Capacitor
I returned about 4 months ago after I had vowed never to return but I was curious what cryptic had done to my favorite shows game. I've been a trek fan since the early 70s.
I must say that they have improved the game immensely and I subbed after 2 weeks of being back. I don't really need to sub as they have made it a breeze to make enough zen to never have to pay for it again but I chose to give them my cash to help to keep the game afloat + there are a few nice perks
I think generally when people are complaining about the Dil situation, they are rushing to get to the finish line too quickly and with all MMOs, that's not the name of the game.
Look forward to another years anniversary.
Thanks all and Thanks Cryptic!
For what its is...STO has managed to rise above and overall not a bad job....by no means perfect...but also not the worst as compared to so many other MMOs that came and went during that time. The model of F2P injected new blood into the game and helped to resucitate a dying breed of players who felt left out and quit altogether. If you dont adjust or become alittle more open minded you will be left behind. F2P also brought a different type of gamers and even some who thought most of them would be detrimental for the brand. At times, that was true since a bunch of inmature players also used the F2P model as expected.
However, the ends justified the means and I'm sure the typical F2P player has grown so much in playing style and most are not the same as they were 1 year ago...most are good people and even great players.
So yes...welcome to all my F2P player friends, I personally glad you are here and thanks for injecting new life into STO
Funny, how you hear this from people playing CO about how the only point of CO is to pay for STO...
They been working on NW for how long now...?... 4 years...?
STO had what, 18 months to get up and going...?
Somehow, I'd be even more disappointed if Never Winter DIDN'T look as good as it does.
And hiring about 30 new employees for STO doesn't really show a LACK of priority, as far as I'm concerned.
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
Given that in Season 7 we got a new Sector Block (Tau Dewa) with some new/different patrol mechanics and patrol types; and an entire new ground zone (New Romulus) which is larger then any previous ground zone - and more like an actual plenet (which players were requesting) with areas to explore, accolades to find, new missions and cutscenes to unlock (that clue you into the overall story with regard to New Romulus); the new Embassy Holding (the interior Map and layout is nice IMO); and a few new PVE que content in addition to another Space and Ground STF ('The Vault Ensnared'; 'Mine Trap'; and the 'Azure nebula Rescue'); and also the new Tholian Red Alert -- I tend to believe the STO Dev team has in fact increased in size quite a bit since the Atari days; and I don't feel they're just trying to 'bandage a broken system'; They are continually trying to expand the endgame.
Also, aside from Blizzard (with the Cataclysm expansion) - since 1999 with all the MMOs I've played, I've rarely seen a developer go back and revamp old content to a great degree (and Cryptic even did that with the 'Stranded in Space', 'Diplomatic Orders', and the 'Doomsday Device' mission revamps) -- in MMOs it's 'add new content or go into maintenance mode' -- and STO is far from that state. They've even managed to finally add a much requested QoL feature where you no longer have to re-enter your account ID and password when switching characters; and are developing an on-line web-based portal (accessible via phones and mobile devices as well (which was also a player requested feature); and adding the ability to do some Character and Fleet management with it.
So, given all that (and it's a completely separate argument as to whether you LIKE where the development is going -- and the fact you may not is a completely valid position), I don't think one can claim the STO Dev team hasn't expanded in size; or isn't doing a lot of work on STO, they are.
(BTW and IMO - if you want to see a Cryptic MMO that they themselves have out in what I consider 'maintenance mode' these days, look at 'Champions Online' -- which is unfortunate as that game still does have a lot of decent potential that isn't being realized due to a lack of development resources.)
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
There was a time...long ago...when those with the Atari name were not trying to kill the gaming industry from within by use of gross incompetence.
Exactly this. I don't think Atari realized that they had to (or at least didn't want to) fund more than pre-launch development, which caused the lack of content and corresponding lack of enthusiasm from the players. Now that new content has been coming out regularly, the game is much more fun. Is it perfect? No, but it's moved lightyears in the right direction.
Well said. I think that no matter what, some peoples glass will always be half empty.
None of those are examples of broken promises. They've always said that they'll raise the level cap when they feel there's enough content to justify the current levels. They never promised that the level cap would be raised by a certain time. The only promise they made about raising level caps was that it wasn't going to be soon.
And they have been putting out lots of new content - it may not be content you find any interest in, and of course some people don't consider the same things 'content' as other people, but it's there.
And for other people posting about dilithium and Cryptic not doing enough to help get the price of zen back up, I can point you to a lot of archive posts over several months of players complaining that all Cryptic was doing was putting new stuff in the C-Store and that we were never getting new non-C-Store content and that Cryptic should stop making stuff for the C-Store and concentrate on making content that doesn't require real money to enjoy.
I myself enjoy STO, and have been playing since Beta. There are some things I'd like to see improved, but we're really no worse off than any of the dozen other MMOs I play (3 of them paid subscription ones, the rest free.)
Exactly, Before we had no idea if the game would survive and for how much longer.... no there is no doubt.
It must be glorious to have a short memory. I remember when the only content we got was costume pieces and the devs telling us to be grateful. No, it is content when you tell people STO has put in new content and find out its a lock box or a small mission that you need to repeat constantly.
I am grateful that the game has gone to f2p, however I am not grateful that the game has fallen into a gimme your cash and hamster wheeling. I have been here since beta, and I remember the big fuss over the Galaxy-X and the long cue times of the new FEs. Since Season 6, I haven't been in any cue times during the game's big events. That must say something there.
But grind has the opposite effect on me. If the main thing available to do is grind instead of playing fun, engaging missions, then I am far less likely to spend much time in this game as compared to others with more mission/quest content.
I run New Romulus occasionally, but I can't do it that often because it becomes monotonous. As additional "stuff to do" it's great, and it is an excellent change of pace. But as primary content it fall short.
Hopefully with the expanded dev team and Season 8 being touted as containing more story content things will improve from that perspective. But early on Season 7 was also touted as being "story-focused" and it certainly is not. It contains light story to account for a bunch of repetitive "kill 10 boars" type quests.
If all real content (storyline episodes) are gated behind reputation grinds like the New Romulus missions are, I probably will not see most of them, because I just can't run the hamster wheel long enough to get there.
This is a game; I'm here to have fun.
You seem to be the one with the short term memory. I remember when the only thing I had to do when logging on was hour long STFs, and there were only 3 to choose from. Since then, we've had another STFs, the existing ones broken down into smaller portions, the DOFF system, Nukara, New Romulus, the 2800 FE, a few individual missions like Klingon one (forget the name right now), Fleet Starbases, tons of little events like the Vault, Mine Trap, Fleet Defense, and many more. Not to mention all the stuff that has been added in the form of new ships, both lockboxes and ones that aren't, like the Vesta or Sovereign Refit.
We've had plenty of content, so there's no broken promises there. And yet the Klingon faction is still starting at level 24, and people are complaining about there not being enough to do, so it's obviously not time yet to raise the level cap either - and again, they never gave a date or time when the level cap would be raised, just that it wouldn't be anytime soon, and only when they felt they were ready, not only with enough existing content for current levels, but there also has to be enough content to justify the new levels. So again, none of the things you listed as broken promises are.
www.divisionhispana.com
Again with the level cap, so fixated on one thing. OF course, they split the three STFs, in order make more missions. Yes, they finally added another STF after two and half years of saying another one is in the works and ready to go.
Broken promises, ask the KDF players about levels 1 to 24, ask the PvPers about new maps and a new revamp. I am not one of those players who think that just because they added a small grindy mission that this game is gaining meaningful content to promote to all new players. Maybe enough players who gather together and say devs we want your best not your half-TRIBBLE with these seasons and maybe instead of getting a gleam in your eye about the new lockbox, you will go batpoop crazy over a new sector of space that has missions on every planet, a new sector of space that included a brand-new pertinent PvP map, a new set of sector-specific zen products like a Romulan costume and a pertinent STF to that sector.
Another broken promise: Crafting Revamp, when? The devs have killed PvP and Crafting while nearly killing STFs.
However, I will play the content, why because I love Star Trek and I do love this game.
If that happens before They manage to do something with any of the things They Have 'Listed' as being on Their TO-DO List, THEN one can say a 'Promise' has been broken.
I've yet to see anything mentioned so far, has having a Definitive Time as for when it would be worked on, let alone added to the game.
Assumptive Promises don't count.
We get that there are disappointments as far a some people are concerned, but why come in here and 'Rain on the Parade'...
It just makes ya look like a disgruntled whiner who can't get their way...
... it's not pretty and takes away from the festiveness of the occasion.
Can we just move on from the downward spiral this conversation has taken?
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion