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Reasons to Play Again?
proteusblack
Member Posts: 40 Arc User
Several months ago (I think roughly a year?), I decided to stop playing STO... The reason was due to an ongoing stack of disappointment in the format of the game being majorly battle-grind/economy/measure-our-manhoods oriented... and the more I noticed this, the less like Star Trek the whole game felt like anymore.
Since then, I know the game has had some updates, though I know the updates didn't really change this fact.
However, recently, I've been craving to get back into a good involved space game of some type and STO keeps coming back to my mind. What I did enjoy about it was the level of customization with my character and my ships, as well as the fact that I do have many choices of different ways to play the game. I love the graphics and I love the potential that the games existing features have. I just don't want feel like all that potential is being cut out due to the game constantly directing me to the same cheap grind experience every time I want to do something.
Around the time I was deciding to quit the game, people were mentioning the Foundry, which I've played a few missions in. The foundry is another thing I really did love about the game... but sadly, it seemed a little bit as if the Foundry was just some trivial side-archive of user-created missions that are just there "if you wanted to do it", against the backdrop of the grindfest that seems to make up the majority of the game.
Anyway, I really am thinking of coming back to play, but I want to have a good enough reason to come back. I think any reason I come up with is going to have to omit as much of the cheap grindfest as possible, because a good reason for my preference would revolve around exploration, diplomacy, and just anything to make me feel more involved and more like I'm actually somebody and not just a stupid pawn. The Foundry is what still sounds the most promising.
How has the Foundry been doing over the last year? Has it evolved any? Could one be able to dedicate their time to the Foundry and get a wholesome round of experience from it?
I would like to try and change my philosophy of approach to the game away from the whole rat race ("everybody, hurry up and get that money, get the biggest and baddest hardware, get that superior crew, join that fleet and rank up!!!"), as well as away from feeling like simply a dime-a-dozen presence... (you know how when you got your first ship in the game, you probably felt "wow... even as a starter ship, this is beautiful!.... before eventually, you saw 50 other players in sector space or at ESD with the exact same one)... I want a way to approach the game with a different attitude, a different pace, and a different purpose... maybe one that the Foundry can justify?
What are your thoughts?
With expectations such as mine, is it honestly worth it to come back to this game?
Since then, I know the game has had some updates, though I know the updates didn't really change this fact.
However, recently, I've been craving to get back into a good involved space game of some type and STO keeps coming back to my mind. What I did enjoy about it was the level of customization with my character and my ships, as well as the fact that I do have many choices of different ways to play the game. I love the graphics and I love the potential that the games existing features have. I just don't want feel like all that potential is being cut out due to the game constantly directing me to the same cheap grind experience every time I want to do something.
Around the time I was deciding to quit the game, people were mentioning the Foundry, which I've played a few missions in. The foundry is another thing I really did love about the game... but sadly, it seemed a little bit as if the Foundry was just some trivial side-archive of user-created missions that are just there "if you wanted to do it", against the backdrop of the grindfest that seems to make up the majority of the game.
Anyway, I really am thinking of coming back to play, but I want to have a good enough reason to come back. I think any reason I come up with is going to have to omit as much of the cheap grindfest as possible, because a good reason for my preference would revolve around exploration, diplomacy, and just anything to make me feel more involved and more like I'm actually somebody and not just a stupid pawn. The Foundry is what still sounds the most promising.
How has the Foundry been doing over the last year? Has it evolved any? Could one be able to dedicate their time to the Foundry and get a wholesome round of experience from it?
I would like to try and change my philosophy of approach to the game away from the whole rat race ("everybody, hurry up and get that money, get the biggest and baddest hardware, get that superior crew, join that fleet and rank up!!!"), as well as away from feeling like simply a dime-a-dozen presence... (you know how when you got your first ship in the game, you probably felt "wow... even as a starter ship, this is beautiful!.... before eventually, you saw 50 other players in sector space or at ESD with the exact same one)... I want a way to approach the game with a different attitude, a different pace, and a different purpose... maybe one that the Foundry can justify?
What are your thoughts?
With expectations such as mine, is it honestly worth it to come back to this game?
Post edited by proteusblack on
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Comments
Beyond that STO is an MMO, not a SPG. You are going to see other people in the game. They are going to have ships similar to yours - if not exactly the same. Individuality is not the key-point of an MMO.
Ya... PWE got me. I only blame myself, but I'm wanting to do right by it...
Considering that, granted the game isn't subscription based, the whole F2P idea slightly gets crushed once you've let yourself become suckered into their tempting purchasable content.
You might hate it or you might love it, but really only you can decide that for yourself. You do not need a bunch of strangers deciding what is best for you.
Isn't that what all endgame is?
I don't intend on sinking anymore into it. I'm just wanting to make the most of the money that I did sink before I quit playing. (I guess that wasn't apparent in my previous posts, sorry).
I really don't think that getting other people's opinions on how they are enjoying the game as far as the factors I mentioned above is the same as them deciding what is best for me... lol
Thank you for the time you spent replying to try to help, but I don't think what you replied with really provided any. Thanks anyway.
Good luck deciding over whatever the pack tells you they think you should do.
If you disliked the Grind back then, I wouldn't recommend it ... it's basically all that's left now ... with DR you even have to grind to play the 8 new Story Missions (only thing that might be worth it) ... the other "content" is just "Grind Patrols" & "Pay Dilithium for better gear" [Story Mission - Grind Patrol x10 - Story Mission - Grind Patrol x20 and so on]
... stopped playing myself with Season 9.5 ... came back for DR to stop playing 6 days later ...
The most you can lose is a couple/few hours of free entertainment.
Don't look at the game as a chore, you'll never enjoy it that way.
Stay away from the parts of the game that annoy you and just have FUN.
It's only a competition if you plan on doing PvP.
The rest of the game while somewhat tedious at the moment, is still fun if you don't take it too serious.
:cool:
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
Yeah, I've been keeping an eye on the game's patches for a couple of months now. Some updates have been interesting, but some of them seem confusing. I'm mostly hoping to see some evolution in the Foundry system, and maybe a chance for it to become a little more prominent in the game. Isn't there a group of people somewhere that are working on a dedicated project for the Foundry to give it its own sector to replace the exploration clusters that were removed?
I want:
A lot of things in the game that one would think would be very difficult and require a lot of time to get, seem more like they are just handed to you. The structure of the economy in the game has so many "rare" or "special" things floating around like they are pennies that they're not actually rare or special. I think the game suffers from a bad case of spoiled demand "I want to have THIS stuff sooner and easier! I don't want to work for it!", cornering the devs into giving it to them and trivializing the game's process... I don't think most players play for the sake of the experience of playing as much as they might be simply playing the part of the mouse desperately striving for the cheese reward. This mentality is everywhere I seem to look in the game. I guess its because it's such a typical brainless mentality in the real world's societies too. The more focus a system puts on "rewards", the more it takes focus away from the enjoyment of getting there. The saying "It's not about the destination, it's about the journey" becomes trivial, or foreign, or a cliche to use as a joke. I guess if all the game is, is a rat race for cheese and people like that, good for them I guess. ... Sorry, I'm just thinking aloud and talking. I'm sure there are plenty of good counter points to be had. Maybe one day this game can evolve to balance the focus a bit more, or a new game like this might come out that is more focused on the "Trek" itself rather than "reward me! reward me! reward me pleeeease!!"
Eventually you are going to be grinding in this game if you want something beyond the basic gear and ships the game provides you. You can simply play through the main story missions and once done you can quit. However, starting at level 51 your enemies starts to become a bit harder and builds up until you are level 60. Level 60 is the new max level, however, there are not enough main story missions to carry through to that level. I assume you will probably get to around level 55 once all the main story missions are completed. I have seen posts where people stated they only play the main story missions and nothing else. Once done they delete their toon and start all over again. The Federation, KDF and Romulan factions all have missions that are unique to them which are mostly at the beginning and middle of the story line. Some shared missions are mixed in during that time. However, once you start the Cardassian Struggle story arc all missions are the same and progresses in the same order.
Grinding is only necessary if you want to go beyond the basics. Perhaps a new costume, more inventory slots, get reputation gear, maybe even a new ship. If so then you need to grind for dilithium ore which can then be refined to dilithium crystals that can be exchanged for Zen. The reputation system (available at level 50) also requires you to grind for specific marks; it's a grind 'cuz you need a lot of 'em and there are only a few missions that reward a specific mark type so you are going to play those missions over and over again. This is a MMO and the impatience of grinding is a way for PWE to make some money when players do not want to spend the time grinding and instead us Zen to purchase dilithium crystals. Reputation marks however cannot not be purchased. You must grind for them.
In the end STO is a free game. You loose nothing but time to give it another try. If you don't like it, then just uninstall and move on. Hopefully the real money that you have spent on the game provided you with some entertainment value.
If you are going to play MMOs you need to accept that there are certain gaming tropes that must be adhered to - while they make no sense from a canon perspective they are required to keep all the gamers happy. The story is singular as much as it possibly can be while still allowing you to play with others. That is as good as it can get in an MMO. And most MMOs are about "reward me." The reward is why most gamers play the game - and most gamers are not Trekkies.
Nope. Other games let you build diplomacy with factions, trade rare commodities with them, fight for them, hunt them, do all that with other players if you want as well. STO is just grind, nothing to do after it.
In STO? Yes.. in the good and succesfull games no.
Now, if you think that STO is a good example of a MMO, I guess you never played another one, so my advice is that you do.. MMOs are quite fun to play and enjoy.
Division Hispana
www.divisionhispana.com
In my OP, I mentioned that I did like how you could play your character in a variety of ways, and that is true, but really, its more like "you get to choose what themepark rides you want to get on, in somewhat whatever order you would like to get on them, while you dress yourself up in different face paints as you like". lol
Also, the new leveling "specialization" is 400 story mission replays to max - per character of course
It would seem the current regime is out to test what it would require to make people stop playing
1. You can craft Mk XI gear at crafting level zero if you so desire, however, without a massive investment into DOffs and accelerators, you won't be getting a purple out of the deal. Fair? Not necessarily. However, it has been said that the new system (individual schools, etc.) vs the one-rating-fits-all older system is so incompatible and unable to convert appropriately/fairly (do you get Mk XI purple crafting at day 0 but the trait after grinding the 15 levels? Pick a school? Bypass a month and a half of grind with an evening's work, cause that's what it took to max out the old crafting system?) that we're stuck with what we got. It only takes a month and a half or so of daily logins and that 6k / 20 hour mission to get a school up to 15 again...
2. I believe they are working on it while accounting for the eventual new Mk XIV stuff & traits that will be active even though we're level-reduced to 50...
3. Ha'nom. Science ship on a par with the Nebula, with Rommie Cloak & cannons. Though yeah, RR and KDF need more science options that aren't Dyson & Lockbox...
4. Hear hear. Connie as well. A large chunk of this game is the IP, and the ability to draw from lots and lots of the IP.
To rob a line: [quote: Mariemaia Kushrenada] Forum Posting is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever. However, opinions will change upon the reading of my post.[/quote]
Yeah normally when a question like that is asked, they've played bad MMOs.
If this is why you quit, I can assure you, it has gotten much much worse.
TRIBBLE to the fact that gear progression is tidily locked behind qued events that you need gear progression to compete in, the fact that you cant change maps these days without having tho reslot your entire tray, doffs, traits, and weapons, and the unpoliced rmt spam bots, the complete and total imbalance of pvp...
you know what. I could go on forever.
Sto has went from suck to blow in one single expansion
How is the Foundry doing?
If somebody didn't want to be so much a part of the rat race of much of the rest of the game, could they stick to the Foundry missions and still get a decent enough experience from the game?
...annnnd like every other whiner, you still spend almost everyday on it don't you?
Tell me, are you like being tied up in chains and whipped as well?
Before you (or anyone else) 'claims' that they no longer play STO, just remember, you will sound even weirder by hanging around a game forum of a game you refuse to play. It would be like trying to hang around an ex-girlfriend and advertising all of her bad points at the same time to everyone she comes across. Creepy and weird.
Reasons to play? Simple:
If you like the Star Trek Universe, then this game pretty much has it monopolised.
If you like MMO's this has one of the richest sources of content out of any MMO.
Character creation and development means you can create something unique to you.
Massive diverse playerbase who you can intergrate with be it for roleplay or casual matchmaking in PvP/PvE gameplay.
Its F2P, and by this I do mean FREE TO PLAY and not FREE TO WIN AGAINST ALL OTHERS.
Finally, the most important reason - YOUR CHOICE. If you like it, then play, if you don't, then don't.
I love the sci fi universe, like Star Trek and Star Wars, but I played SWTOR for all of 15 mins before uninstalling becasue I hated the game mechanics. I wanted to get right in and swing a lightsabre everywhere. That's not so, so I didn't take to the game. People on this forum who whine and moan, still put 1-3 hours a day into this game so they are clearly masochistic or mental.
Welcome to the STO Public Forum; where people may voice their opinions. If you don't like what they say, you're free to voice yours, but don't insult anyone in the process please.
Cheers!
Some people stick around to check the forums, and be informed if things get "better" or "back to normal", nothing weird about it, that's the main reason these forums exist ...
and it seems to work at least to some degree :
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=1285991
If you wanna compare a video game to your ex-girlfriend, go ahead ... but it seems kind of weird, doing so and calling others "mental" in the next sentence ... luckily I can get all the reviews & information I want about a video game, without risking a restraining order ... better call the cops next time anyone buys a video game magazine ...
I am not looking for the best gear or anything like that, and I find the game fun. I have not found the game to feel grindy to me but that can be due to the fact that I play everything on normal and am only level 42.
I am a lifetime member and have a bunch of saved up Zen so thusfar I have not purchased any zen.
The foundry missions have definitely made the game feel more like Star Trek to me. There are some pretty talented Foundry authors out there. I am able to level on foundry missions and then go do the sto story missions on and off. It has taken me 1 week to get this new character to level 42 and that is only playing very casually each day . I am aware that the grind will start at level 50 but there are plenty of foundry missions to keep me entertained.
I wonder, how often do people (or how many players) play STO without getting caught up in the numbers (their stats, their level, their money, the power of their ships, worrying about getting that MK XII piece, upping their reputation points, etc), and just play for the sake of the experience of the game world itself... Is this actually a thing on this game?
I keep coming back to the "rat race" metaphor, and it just seems to me, that the cheese in the race is always the focus, instead of the maze itself... and thus, there are so many mice who come, first being interested in the maze itself before they smell the cheese, and start running for it... and then when they get close to it, they are unsatisfied with it because it wasn't as great of cheese as they were expecting it to be. Doesn't this setup kind of destroy the value of the experience of the game? Focusing on the cheese? When there is so much grinding in the game, it seems like the grinding is perpetuating the focus and longing for the cheese, otherwise, it wouldn't really have to be grinding would it?
Is it possible to play this game without so much focus and worry on the numbers and still get a proper experience from it?
Edit:
This seemed like an relevant response to this post. It sounds hopeful. Thanks.
Which is what you do with Reputations in STO. We build diplomacy with factions (Reputation XP projects), trade rare commodities with them (Borg Neural Processors, Voth Cybernetic Implants, etc.), fight for them (battlezones and other missions), and do that with other players (public queues). There are few MMOs that don't have grind certain content to get certain gear.
Save yourself the aggravation until they deal with those issues....my advice anyway.