My letter to CBS

darramouss1

IMHO this game has gone down paths it never should have and has turned in to something it never should have. I'm pretty sure that there will be enough players to keep it going for a while, however in that time you can be sure that PWE/Cryptic will continue to do to the game what the Borg do to their victims.

In my humble opinion this game needs to end so that another may spring up in its place. The only way that will happen in the near future is if CBS steps in. Hence my letter to CBS this morning.

I know many of you will disagree with my stance, however the beauty of a forum is that it's our place to express out thoughts and opinions. If you disagree with my opinion, fear not, I will understand and respect it. If you do feel the same way then I ask you too to write to CBS.

Most likely CBS will ignore my letter but as far as I'm concerned it's better to have written it and have it ignored than to just tolerate this mockery without doing anything.




To whom it may concern.

I am writing to you today regarding the licencing of the Star Trek IP to Perfect World/Cryptic studios for the purposes of the Star Trek Online game.

First let me preface this email by saying that I’m a huge fan of the Star Trek IP. As a young boy in Australia I must say that I discovered Star Trek at a very young age by accident. I discovered it whilst channel surfing on the sofa during a bout of illness. I found it to be awe inspiring and I became hooked by the first episode I saw, being “Wolf in the Fold”. From then on in I would set an alarm clock every Saturday to ensure that I didn’t miss an episode.

When The Next Generation was released it felt like my birthday and Christmas, all rolled in to one. I had seen all of the Original Series episodes many times over and was now being given the opportunity to experience Gene Roddenberry’s vision of a better tomorrow again. Each subsequent series continued to fan my passion for this majestic IP.

Upon moving to the United States 4 years ago I discovered Netflix. To me this was heaven as I now had every episode of Star Trek on demand. My watching multiple episodes per week was something that caused my wife a lot of frustration but she since learned to accept it and has since started to enjoy watching!

I was immensely excited when I discovered Star Trek Online. Not only was I being given the opportunity to explore the Star Trek IP, I would be able to do it as the captain of my own ship. I started playing the game and spent quite a lot of time on it. Admittedly, more than a person really should!! I understood that a game could never really emulate the ideologies and concepts that the series did but in the absence of any new Star Trek TV series it did nicely.

Unfortunately the game has since begun a slow progression away from the ideologies and principles of the IP. Over the past 4 years I have noticed the game degenerate to the point where you no longer explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, nor do you boldly go where no one has gone before.

Exploration and diplomacy have fallen by the wayside in place of a system where fighting and combat is the end-all and be-all of the game. You no longer travel to far away destinations. You click a button and you’re there. When you get there you kill things. All of the space in between worlds has been rendered useless, taking away the exploratory feel that all of the series gave us.

The game has now devolved to the point of being a money-grubbing exercise. Instead of evolving and developing the game in such a way that continually adds to a richer experience, PWE/Cryptic have created a monster where every new release makes everything before it completely irrelevant, including any content or material that you’ve paid for in the past. Iconic starships like the Galaxy class and Nebula class are pointless as new alien ships are created all for the purposes of sales. In fact, many times I notice the complete lack of any Federation ships as everybody flies fictional non-canon ships which essentially is like taking the Federation out of a Star Trek game!!

Most disappointing of all is that there is even a system where a person buys “keys” using real life money. These keys are used to open “boxes”, boxes that contain random, mostly useless items with the exception of extremely rare (non-canon) ships. People spend incredible amounts of money to obtain these ships, essentially creating an online gambling system. Associating the Star Trek IP with online gambling is deplorable.

As I mentioned earlier, I used to watch many episodes per week on Netflix. That has changed recently. This game has put such a sour taste in my mouth that I have watched less and less episodes on Netflix. Sure, I could just stop playing the game but as a diehard fan of the Star Trek IP it’s hard to just cease the only current and interactive source of the Star Trek IP I have.

CBS, I have been a fan of Star Trek for 35 years now. I love the universe that Gene Roddenberry created. I find it to be inspiring, engaging and full of wonderment. That universe is being tarnished by this game. I implore you to not renew the contacts with PWE/Cryptic when the times comes around next. I implore you to allow this broken mockery of Star Trek to end, so that another company may try their hand at creating a universe rich and diverse, a universe like the one Gene Roddenberry created. It’s time to give someone else a turn.

Regards,

@Darramouss (I used my real name in the real letter. Don't want to appear to be weird or anything.)

neoakiraii

You are weird already, and STO is not stopping CBS from milking the Trek IP by giving out licenses.

But thank you for the laugh this morning I needed it

thecosmic1

neoakiraii wrote: »

You are weird already, and STO is not stopping CBS from milking the Trek IP by giving out licenses.

But thank you for the laugh this morning I needed it

Same thing I was going to say.

CBS probably gets a thousand of these nerd rage letters a day about different Star Trek licensed products:

Dear CBS, the Enterprise A model I purchased did not have the proper color stickers in it. It has ruined my life-long Star Trek experience. Please do not give a license extension to AMT when theirs expires!

neoakiraii

thecosmic1 wrote: »

Same thing I was going to say.

CBS probably gets a thousand of these nerd rage letters a day about different Star Trek licensed products:

Dear CBS, the Enterprise A model I purchased did not have the proper color stickers in it. It has ruined my life-long Star Trek experience. Please do not give a license extension to AMT when theirs expires!

Oh I know, there is a facebook page on how Dimond Select toys is ruining Star Trek because their models are not 100% accurate.

These are those people who make being a Trek fan embarrassing.

When the game dies it will on it's own like all other MMOs that died.

firekeeperhu

not only fed ships are canon ships. and actually more locbox ships were canon than non-canon.

killer1986chris

I'd tell you how stupid you are, but I don't need anyone tattling on me to my mother...

taylor1701d

Doctor's orders;
Take 2 advil and a STOcation for no less then 2 weeks.

uryenserellont

It's embarrassing to read.

lawstanz

darramouss1 wrote: »

. . . Unfortunately the game has since begun a slow progression away from the ideologies and principles of the IP. Over the past 4 years I have noticed the game degenerate to the point where you no longer explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, nor do you boldly go where no one has gone before.

Exploration and diplomacy have fallen by the wayside in place of a system where fighting and combat is the end-all and be-all of the game. You no longer travel to far away destinations. You click a button and you’re there. When you get there you kill things. All of the space in between worlds has been rendered useless, taking away the exploratory feel that all of the series gave us.

The game has now devolved to the point of being a money-grubbing exercise. Instead of evolving and developing the game in such a way that continually adds to a richer experience, PWE/Cryptic have created a monster where every new release makes everything before it completely irrelevant, including any content or material that you’ve paid for in the past. Iconic starships like the Galaxy class and Nebula class are pointless as new alien ships are created all for the purposes of sales. In fact, many times I notice the complete lack of any Federation ships as everybody flies fictional non-canon ships which essentially is like taking the Federation out of a Star Trek game!!

You just described "J.J. Trek" which is what CBS WANTS trek to be. Yep, I went there. Good luck.

cbrjwrr

darramouss1 wrote: »

In fact, many times I notice the complete lack of any Federation ships as everybody flies fictional non-canon ships which essentially is like taking the Federation out of a Star Trek game!!

Really? Really?

You are picking on Lockbox/Lobi ships (which are canon) to make THAT point, when the majority of Fed ships are non-canon?

Seriously?



Do some basic fact checking.

haskanaeleva

thank you for trying to get something gone that I actually still enjoy and have invested money into that I still want to get out of it by playing, you selfish prick.

otherwise I agree with the rest.

duncanidaho11

OP, though long the response to your letter is rather brief.

Whatever you can complain about now in STO you can say years ago (in my experience all the way back to the F2P transition though I'm sure specific complaints can run much further back than that.)

For example, the non-canon Patrol Escort replaced the canon defiant at level 40. Granted one also had the alternative of the canon prometheus, but you had the option to use 2 non-canon hull types and all permutations of those with the prometheus. Galaxy -> Sovereign or Star Cruiser with the exact same problem. Later (I'm fairly certain) came the c-store retrofits of "canon" ships but the principle was established in the very core of STO that this wasn't just going to be a romp through nostalgia. It would try to do new things like any good game should do that's using an existing IP to launch itself from.

But that's a rather trivial complaint, what about all this grinding?! Well, do you remember how you use to earn Mk XII STF gear? Random loot drops specific to a single mission with independent probabilities so even after MONTHS of grinding (case for my XII Mako deflector) you'd still have no better odds of achieving it with your next match. The state of the game was even worse when it came to top-tier weapons and consoles. Horrendous exchange inflation with very few channels for low-savings players to earn their way up to the necessary equipment to play elite content appropriately (besides vendor trash grinding at a depressing scale).

NOW you can use reputation marks as a sure-fire way of earning good equipment. You can upgrade TRIBBLE into usable content. There's a resource now (VR materials and rare upgrades) that just about anyone can earn and sell for significant gains towards other content (which makes the economy of STO much easier to approach). You can raid a fleet store for the necessities. And far from having to play only a SINGLE PVE to achieve a given gear objective (well apart from specific crafting materials) you have a sizable list of choices. Battlezone, dailies, adventure zones, and PVE's. Granted despite that you have to replay content in order to achieve the best setup, that's the core format of this game. Small missions and co-op scenarios with a relatively open-ended rewards structure.

NOTHING has changed about that and that broad-scale fact should be obvious enough to those in higher-level administration (who let's just say probably aren't in a position to nick-pick) to make your letter sound quite disingenuous.

darramouss1

I appreciate everyone's points, whether I agree with them or not, and you many may mock the fact that I wrote a letter but think of it this way; complaining about the game and doing nothing accomplishes nothing. Sure, my letter may be ignored. It may not even be read. But it's something. Let's face it, Cryptic doesn't listen to anyone so unless you do something different, why bother complaining on this forum?

anazonda

Don't pick on the OP....

He helps provide valuable feedback to CBS, so they can hire people to put paper into the shredder.

garaks31

cryptic does listen but changes take time ending the game is not the solution

meimeitoo

haskanaeleva wrote: »

thank you for trying to get something gone that I actually still enjoy and have invested money into that I still want to get out of it by playing, you selfish prick.

otherwise I agree with the rest.

^^ I was pretty much going to say the same thing.

dova25

darramouss1 wrote: »

I appreciate everyone's points, whether I agree with them or not, and you many may mock the fact that I wrote a letter but think of it this way; complaining about the game and doing nothing accomplishes nothing. Sure, my letter may be ignored. It may not even be read. But it's something. Let's face it, Cryptic doesn't listen to anyone so unless you do something different, why bother complaining on this forum?

I congratulate for writing your letter.It doesn't matter if it will be read or toss away into a bin.

You did what you thought it is right to do.That is what matters in the end.

Qapla'

mustrumridcully0

darramouss1 wrote: »

The game has now devolved to the point of being a money-grubbing exercise. Instead of evolving and developing the game in such a way that continually adds to a richer experience, PWE/Cryptic have created a monster where every new release makes everything before it completely irrelevant, including any content or material that you’ve paid for in the past. Iconic starships like the Galaxy class and Nebula class are pointless as new alien ships are created all for the purposes of sales. In fact, many times I notice the complete lack of any Federation ships as everybody flies fictional non-canon ships which essentially is like taking the Federation out of a Star Trek game!!

You do realize that Startrek Online has been set several decades after the last episode of Voyager, and that CBS green-lighted the game with the full knowledge that it would play in a timeline where new ships would be the de facto standard and ships like the Galaxy and the Nebula would be old ships most likely surpassed by the new?

Even before Cryptic, when perpetual was trying to make this game, the concept designs didn't show players flying around in Galaxies or Nebulas - new ships had been designed for the game.

The fact that we even have Galaxy and what-not retrofits is most likely a concession to the players already that CBS never realy intended for the game*. If you're lucky, we will also see Tier 6 versions of the ships (that you have to rebuy all over again, of course, so luck is relative, i suppose).


I think you're looking for the wrong ally here...


*) One has to wonder how well CBS knows the fans of its IP here if they thought that people would want new ships over old ships...

stonewbie

darramouss1 wrote: »

I appreciate everyone's points, whether I agree with them or not, and you many may mock the fact that I wrote a letter but think of it this way; complaining about the game and doing nothing accomplishes nothing. Sure, my letter may be ignored. It may not even be read. But it's something. Let's face it, Cryptic doesn't listen to anyone so unless you do something different, why bother complaining on this forum?

You know i'm usually the first one to say "its not as if you can stop playing STO and go play that other Star Trek MMO". But Haskanaeleva brings up an excellent point...though they didnt display a lot of tact relaying that message. There are still a ton of other people who like playing STO. You or I dont need to know why they enjoy it, we just need to accept the fact that they do enjoy it. And there are also a lot of people out there who have spent real money on this game. So your meddling could end up costing them a lot of money which may or may not get refunded. Not that i dont think anyone will listen to you anyways. So yah...just like Haska said, i think it is pretty selfish of you to try and bring about change especially one that is as drastic as "end this game". If you dont like it then stop playing...and i dont even care if there isnt another Star Trek MMO out there for you to go to.


I may not like this game right now either, but i'm not about to try to convince anybody that the game should be cancelled. I'll try (and probably fail) to convince them to change it, but not cancel it.

haskanaeleva

darramouss1 wrote: »

I appreciate everyone's points, whether I agree with them or not, and you many may mock the fact that I wrote a letter but think of it this way; complaining about the game and doing nothing accomplishes nothing. Sure, my letter may be ignored. It may not even be read. But it's something. Let's face it, Cryptic doesn't listen to anyone so unless you do something different, why bother complaining on this forum?

so you also apreciate the point that you are trying to get a game "Killed off" because you hate it while other players still enjoy it(yes we still excist), and how that is an EXTREMELY selfish thing?
and yeah. I'm not known for my tact. directness tho, now thats a thing I do often.

tekehd

cbrjwrr wrote: »

Really? Really?

You are picking on Lockbox/Lobi ships (which are canon) to make THAT point, when the majority of Fed ships are non-canon?

Seriously?



Do some basic fact checking.

I've generally learned that what many of the self-labeled "trekkies" on this site know about actual Canon is a joke. Some of them seem to not have watched or remember large swathes of the shows, or dismiss shows (and therefore canon) if they contain things they don't particularly like.

ashkrik23

People kill me when they go on with, "This game doesn't fit Gene's ideals!"

Star Trek was made to make money, not offer some kind of idea of an ideal future.

Second, killing of this game does not mean a new game would pop up to replace it. Another MMO could never happen. You clearly haven't thought about the process people go through to actually make these things.

stonewbie

ashkrik23 wrote: »

Second, killing of this game does not mean a new game would pop up to replace it. Another MMO could never happen.

Or worse yet...STO 2 could come out and they could base it off of JJ Trek. /gasps

mustrumridcully0

ashkrik23 wrote: »

People kill me when they go on with, "This game doesn't fit Gene's ideals!"

Star Trek was made to make money, not offer some kind of idea of an ideal future.

Second, killing of this game does not mean a new game would pop up to replace it. Another MMO could never happen. You clearly haven't thought about the process people go through to actually make these things.

Though there have been attempts to make other Star Trek MMOs. I believe something like "Timelines" is the newest one.

The license is not exclusive. But if all the others have failed so far, it seems CBS's best bet to not kill of STO unless one of those attempts actually succeeds...
(And they may then not have to kill of STO, because everyone leaves for the better game.)

mustrumridcully0

sopwithsnipe wrote: »

This made me laugh.

Yeah there was NEVER any gambling associated with Star Trek.

No one ever bet quatloos on a fight

No one ever played poker.

No one played dabo.

No one ever bet on a game of darts

I forget was there betting on that shuttle race in the Delta Quadrant?

Anything else I'm forgetting? :P

Isn't Kirk constantly betting against the odds?
Spock: "I calculate our probabilities of success...blabla"...

wbaker256

sopwithsnipe wrote: »

This made me laugh.

Yeah there was NEVER any gambling associated with Star Trek.

No one ever bet quatloos on a fight

No one ever played poker.

No one played dabo.

No one ever bet on a game of darts

I forget was there betting on that shuttle race in the Delta Quadrant?

Anything else I'm forgetting? :P

For all your gambling needs :P

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Gambling

hevach

Remember when CBS said, "Canon is whatever the fans think it is"?

If the article is still online, go read it very, very carefully. This wasn't a love letter to fans, this was a dear john letter. A barely concealed prompt to go F yourselves. The subtext is: "We don't care. We're locked out of making movies, Paramount doesn't want a tie in TV show, and we aren't going to take the financial risk of a Star Trek show ourselves when our network is stacked with safe, uncreative, satatus-quo popular shows. We will continue to collect our free licensing money for products that will succeed or fail on somebody else's watch. No risks will be taken here, and no sleep will be lost over the risks of others."

They already vet everything in the game. They know as well as you do what's there, and if they cared as much as you seem to think they do, it wouldn't be there.


If you want somebody who cares the way you do, become a fan of an ABC property. As long as they're the bottom network in overall ratings and Disney needs them as a timeslot farm for their personal IP vehicles like Agents of SHIELD and Once Upon a Time they might actually put some care into shows.

ummax

okay firstly the federation is collapsing under its own weight of ships to the point of insanity this one made me laugh out loud. They even just released voyager (which I have on my one and only federation character because I prefer the messy KDF side who likes to solve things with a knife)

the KDF is low on ships because CBS didnt make a lot of them so they cant pull designs from the cannon to make ships but everything in the movies/tv shows we have

the romulans are in the same boat as KDF.

next you should see the history of this IP and IP's for such games in general and realize that most people dont want to develop a game for such an IP because its a giant headache. If cryptic drops it no one will pick it up because CBS has been sitting there for many years and I see no other Star Trek MMO's even in the planning stages

Next truly as someone who beta tested this game it has improved and gotten massive over the years.

Lastly just because you dont like the product does not mean that you should be asking people to shut it down thereby denying others (like myself) who enjoy the game the fun of playing it.

In short please dont take my toy away because you personally are not having fun with it. I have also enjoyed star trek since the original series as I am no spring chicken. At the moment the only people producing any further cannon for this franchise is this game LoL.