Stability of game for you?

cavalerius

So, I was just wondering, cause I still use the old STO launcher to play and haven't installed or ever used Arc, how stable is the game for you? Do you constantly come across one time bugs that you can never replicate again, does the game crash every now and then prompting you to scan and verify your files? DO you get disconnected like I do almost every loading screen?
Because I've never used the arc launcher, I have no idea if the system operates differently and the stability of my game is frustratingly poor. But I'm a Trekkie through and through, hooked on the game as my only source of Trek content...
Just want to know how you'd rate the stability of your game, why you'd rate it that, and if I should swap to using the Arc launcher.

theraven2378

I log through steam, I may get the odd server hiccup or two every so often but on the whole the game runs fine

goodscotch

With a recent large update to Windows 10, Arc stopped working for me. So I circumvent it now and launch the game directly. There is no difference at all in how the game runs.

plaztikman64

Afaik, it doesn't matter which way you start the game, because they all load the same platform, or game files so to speak. And because of that, you'll connect the same way to the server but the only difference is that you'll have steam and arc still running in the background, using resources like memory or bandwidth every so often.

If you encounter frequent crashes, you should begin with scanning the game files for validation, and if that doesn't work, a fresh install would be the next step. You should run HDD defragmentation before you do so, just so the files don't get scattered across you hard drive again, which saves time while loading the game or switching instances and so on. Checking the drivers would be the next step...or perhaps before you even do anything at all

necreliosis

I was having a problem with the Arc Overlay crashing the game a launch, so I disabled its read/write/execute permissions so it can't launch. I do this now each time Arc updates since it reverts the permissions on the file. I believe they need to add an option to disable the Arc overlay to reduce potential problems.

dalolorn

Minimal issues. Technically I run the game through the 'old' launcher, but since I'm starting it up through Steam the net effect is similar to having the game on Steam.

DX11 loads for ages with no immediately noticeable improvement, so I use DX9 - but I crash whenever pigs fly and disconnect mostly when the server's going off for maintenance. (Or, of course, when I want it to disconnect, AKA logging out. )

My last PC's interactions with STO included frequently freezing up for no apparent reason, but technically even that didn't cause crashes, it just needed me to sit and twiddle my thumbs for a while until it unfreezes.

On the other side, my younger brother's PC, while originally identical to my last one, experiences many of the symptoms you described - I've attributed it to a freak interaction between the rest of his software, STO, and the age of the hardware inside, but short of outright replacing the whole thing I couldn't say how to fix it.

forcemajeure

I've used Arc for over 2 years I think, on WinVista, Win7, and now Win10. No problems with Arc at all although a few with Win10, non-STO related.

The game itself afaik doesn't care how you launch it. From my experience STO/Cryptic does have one of the shakiest server connections of any major MMO I play (about 7). However that means in practice that it is mostly stable, with occasional rubber-banding, slow loading screens, Server Not Responding delays and a disconnect maybe a couple times a week. 3-4 hours a day in-game on average.

Game itself has always been very stable, I can't recall the -game- crashing on me more than a few times, it's generally the servers that TRIBBLE out. The main server problems tend to pop up when new patches, seasons, or events come on and something has been adjusted and they haven't gotten the bugs out yet.

If your own system frequently has connection problems, you might want to try diagnosing your own ISP/connection path to the Cryptic servers and see if the problem lies somewhere between you and them.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sto/comments/3r1rys/how_to_analyze_problem_with_internet_connection/

http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline/#/discussion/1162154/pc-network-and-other-technical-issues-read-this-first-before-posting

The above two threads might help a little with the connection testing process.

leemwatson

I still use the old launcher and play on a laptop without issue. I very rarely get a map transition crash, but nothing else to complain about. Aesthetic bugs don't bother me. Unless the bug is actually game-breaking it doesn't bother me either. Only current issues I've noticed is Warp out and Transwarp animations are bugged, again, not game breaking and random movement of your ship in Tholian RA.

leemwatson

leemwatson wrote: »

I still use the old launcher and play on a laptop without issue. I very rarely get a map transition crash, but nothing else to complain about. Aesthetic bugs don't bother me. Unless the bug is actually game-breaking it doesn't bother me either. Only current issues I've noticed is Warp out and Transwarp animations are bugged, again, not game breaking and random movement of your ship in Tholian RA.

I have run this game on 2 laptops btw. My older can still play this game fine, but with tweaks of the graphics settings, my newest one runs on max.

jonsills

Running under Steam, the worst I get is that occasionally there's a "System Not Responding" message for anywhere from twenty seconds to almost two minutes while changing maps. It doesn't happen every time, and it's not long enough to annoy me; only twice in the past month has it led to disconnection, which in this instance I attribute more to local ISP issues, probably weather-related, than to anything on the other end.​​