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Cryptic intends for us to play about 2 hours a day

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
Lets consider the facts:

1) I takes approximately 50-60 hours to reach the "end game".

2) Cryptic is planning on releasing a decent amount of new content about a month after launch.

3) The servers are only up about 2 hours a day.

Actually, the 3rd one was just a joke. But seriously, unless Cryptic actually plans on people running out of things to do, then that means that the new content should be going live around the same time a person who plays about 2hrs a day for 30 days is reaching the end game.

The question is, do you think the "2hr a day" model is reasonable? Why or why not?
Post edited by baddmoonrizin on
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Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I take my MMO's slowly and play around 2 hrs a day sometimes less. I think they have a good plan if that is indeed their plan.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Lets consider the facts:

    1) I takes approximately 50-60 hours to reach the "end game".
    By what standard do you get this number? I've been playing on average of 2-3 hours a day, 5 days a week, since the headstart. I have followed the storyline, done some grinding and overall explored the content before me, I'm only a Ltcdr grade 3.

    2) Cryptic is planning on releasing a decent amount of new content about a month after launch.
    Which is unusaul in my experience. Most MMO's are not so fast on content expansions, imo.

    my 2 credits worth.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Roach wrote: »
    By what standard do you get this number? I've been playing on average of 2-3 hours a day, 5 days a week, since the headstart. I have followed the storyline, done some grinding and overall explored the content before me, I'm only a Ltcdr grade 3.

    Several people who are currently admiral claim thats about how long it took them. Perhaps they are mistaken, perhaps not.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Several people who are currently admiral claim thats about how long it took them. Perhaps they are mistaken, perhaps not.

    That's because they're power-leveling, whether they want to admit it or not.
    I've been playing, on average, more than two hours a day since the Head Start release and I'm only Commander 2.

    And once I'm done with this one I have a second Federation character to work on and a Klingon.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Rikaelus wrote: »
    That's because they're power-leveling, whether they want to admit it or not.
    I've been playing, on average, more than two hours a day since the Head Start release and I'm only Commander 2.

    And once I'm done with this one I have a second Federation character to work on and a Klingon.

    Let me repeat the fact that those people make be mistaken about what they said. However, 60 hours is 60 hours, whether you do it all at once or spread over an entire month. Just because someone is powerleveling(aka playing a lot at once) doesnt change the amount of hours required to reach a specific level.

    That said, not all playtime is the same. You may be spending some of your time running around Earth spacedock RPing or just talking to other players, while the power leveler may be ONLY doing missions and nothing else.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Even back in CB I was on the its too easy to level side and still think it is. I don't want a Lineage two style grindfest but also hate the wow and Sto style easy mode.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    For me it is. I often spend more than 2 hours playing in a evening, but then I have whole days that I don't play. For others they may play more.

    Should I actually manage to get to cap prior to them releasing more content, then I'll build an alt, help friends, play something else, do something else.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    It's reasonable if they don't want gamers playing their game. Otherwise.. it's a joke.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Where are you getting 60 hours from? In that recent dev chat, the quoted figure was 80 hours.

    http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Gaming/Star-Trek-Online-Live-Chat-Transcript/m-p/91428

    Now granted, that's still only 20 hours more, but 20 hours is a fair chunk of time.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    It's reasonable if they don't want gamers playing their game. Otherwise.. it's a joke.

    That or they don't want casuals to feel alienated like they do in so many other MMOs, so they make it easy for everyone to get to the highest levels.

    I ran a World of Warcraft guild and can vouch for the fact that keeping lower-level people involved is difficult once the bulk of your members are top level. Even in an RP guild where such things are a lesser priority, it was often a problem.

    If nothing else the current progression rate help eliminate that problem.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I'm at Captain 2 with ~33 hours of /played time. Unless it slows down dramatically, 50-60 hours seems about right. That includes spending a lot of time customizing all my bridge officers, playing around on the Exchange, etc. If I skipped all the customization I bet it would take 6-10 hours off my time pretty easily.

    Levelling is extremely fast in STO, I would prefer it if it were about half the current speed. It seems like just as I finally get my tier ship all geared out the way I want, it's time to switch to the next tier.

    EDIT - That's about 2.75 hours per day on average, but I play in "blocks", not daily. Usually 2-3 days a week for 6+ hours (on my days off work with nothing else to do).
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Rikaelus wrote: »
    That or they don't want casuals to feel alienated like they do in so many other MMOs, so they make it easy for everyone to get to the highest levels.

    I ran a World of Warcraft guild and can vouch for the fact that keeping lower-level people involved is difficult once the bulk of your members are top level. Even in an RP guild where such things are a lesser priority, it was often a problem.

    If nothing else the current progression rate help eliminate that problem.

    There's no need to alienate anyone, and as has been said before... STO IS NOT WOW.

    Would it really be so bad if there were enough things to do so that EVERYONE could enjoy it? "Hardcore" and "casuals" alike?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Rikaelus wrote: »
    That's because they're power-leveling, whether they want to admit it or not.
    I've been playing, on average, more than two hours a day since the Head Start release and I'm only Commander 2.
    .

    You power leveller!!!

    Ive been playing the same amount of time and only made it to lieutenant commander 3 :p
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I do only play about 2 hours a day... And I presume this is what Cryptic intended seeing as how this is a more "casual" MMORPG...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    It's reasonable if they don't want gamers playing their game. Otherwise.. it's a joke.

    Who said anything about Cryptic wanting people to play? All they want is your $15 a month, if you only play 5 hours during that month then you are making Cryptic very happy indeed.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Seljek wrote: »
    Who said anything about Cryptic wanting people to play? All they want is your $15 a month, if you only play 5 hours during that month then you are making Cryptic very happy indeed.

    5 hours for $15 is cheaper than a lot of games which offer the same gameplay for 3 times the money...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Content heavy or not, 2 hrs is my standard play time. I have 9 hrs job,fiancee, friends and i love my 8 hours sleep. When you give priority to health and family 2 hrs is all you get after that it doesn't matter if Crytpic intends me to play 2 hrs or more!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Darius01 wrote: »
    5 hours for $15 is cheaper than a lot of games which offer the same gameplay for 3 times the money...

    You have to take into account expansions every 3 months or so along with the initial fee of getting the account.

    Just in case you really want to figure it out. It isn't as simple as just $15 a month.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    It's reasonable if they don't want gamers playing their game. Otherwise.. it's a joke.

    I am a gamer, tried and true. I don't have much more than 13 to 15 hours a week to play due to various obligations. All of my friends are also gamers and have some what less and a little more time every week to play games. I know a few people who have far more time to dedicate to this hobby. They are not very high in number. All things considered, it looks like they are aiming STO at what I generally see as the dominant gamer population: those who have life obligations that limit the ammonium of time they can play in a week. I would guess that is a pretty large slice of the gamer population.

    Your statement is a rather short sighted.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Seljek wrote: »
    You have to take into account expansions every 3 months or so along with the initial fee of getting the account.

    Just in case you really want to figure it out. It isn't as simple as just $15 a month.

    Not to mention the poor misguided souls who have always dreamed of playing as a Ferengi (No offense, Nagus :p) They have to pay extra for the honor.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Not to mention the poor misguided souls who have always dreamed of playing as a Ferengi (No offense, Nagus :p) They have to pay extra for the honor.


    Except cryptic points come in almost every single copy of the game.

    Plus why are you complaining about that? Where did it state that ferengi were going to be a base part of the game?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    There's no need to alienate anyone, and as has been said before... STO IS NOT WOW.

    Would it really be so bad if there were enough things to do so that EVERYONE could enjoy it? "Hardcore" and "casuals" alike?

    What kind of things are you suggesting?
    Can't those who have reached Admiral redo everything they've already done?

    Technically speaking those who make it to max level have more to do than those who haven't.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Ayenn wrote:
    I am a gamer, tried and true. I don't have much more than 13 to 15 hours a week to play due to various obligations. All of my friends are also gamers and have some what less and a little more time every week to play games. I know a few people who have far more time to dedicate to this hobby. They are not very high in number. All things considered, it looks like they are aiming STO at what I generally see as the dominant gamer population: those who have life obligations that limit the ammonium of time they can play in a week. I would guess that is a pretty large slice of the gamer population.

    Your statement is a rather short sighted.

    It doesn't matter really how far you spread those hours.. running out of content is running out of content. Whether you do it in 2 weeks or 4, you'll still be running out of things to do.

    You don't seriously expect the stuff being added in the 45 day patch to sustain another month of play do you? We're talking really minor things that will take a few hours all together.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    "about 2 hours a day" is the general number used for casual MMO gamers.

    if its true or not, its not the point..

    it does seem this game is balanced around that to allow for everyone to be at or near admiral 5 in time for the "45 day content patch" (2 hours a day, 45 days = 90 hours, taking players 60, devs say 80) and the upcoming content they've released information about is aimed at those levels.

    is it a good thing? well, that depends on the future.

    if cryptic see's us all at high levels, exploring the universe they've made and fighting borg and "ancient adversaries" and whatever they feel like throwing in at us, and thats the game they're building towards, then a quick progression to there is a good thing, because grinding out years of work to get to the level cap for the "real game to begin" isnt fun.

    if cryptic wants us to see the universe at every level, to have a rich and filled storyline that engages us on our journey and once we hit admiral the majority of that journey is over then letting us get there so quickly is going to shoot that in the foot, esp with only 2-3 slots as standard.

    from the speed and the announced upcoming content, i think they plan to have a large amount of the game taking place in the admiral stages, in which case letting us get there at this speed is fine, casual gamers can get there in a month or two and if there's enough to do then everyone is happy..

    also, i'd need to check the dev tracker, but i think the first few raid-isodes are due in within the next 7 days..
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    tedgp123 wrote: »
    Except cryptic points come in almost every single copy of the game.

    Plus why are you complaining about that? Where did it state that ferengi were going to be a base part of the game?

    They were in the closed beta, and Cryptic told everyone that they were taken out due to being bugged. :rolleyes:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Lets consider the facts:

    1) I takes approximately 50-60 hours to reach the "end game".

    2) Cryptic is planning on releasing a decent amount of new content about a month after launch.

    So unless Cryptic actually plans on people running out of things to do, then that means that the new content should be going live around the same time a person who plays about 2hrs a day for 30 days is reaching the end game.

    The question is, do you think the "2hr a day" model is reasonable? Why or why not?

    Actually, if you read the adventures, it is more like 150 hours. The 2 hours per day is a reasonable estimate of someone that is 1 standard deviation from the mean in terms of game time.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Seljek wrote: »
    You have to take into account expansions every 3 months or so along with the initial fee of getting the account.

    Just in case you really want to figure it out. It isn't as simple as just $15 a month.

    If you play 2 hrs a day thats 730 hrs per year total.
    If you get an expansion every 90 days for $30 thats $120 invested into all expansions.
    Add in your initial $50 up front cost and the $15 monthly cost (assuming you pay month to month).

    Thats $350 spent over the course of one year for 350 hrs entertainment or about $0.48 per hour. That comes out to be $29.20 per month average.

    Of course YMMV if you buy any non expansion DLCs or C-Store items.

    By comparison, an average movie (say 105 minutes) costs $6.86 per hour at the theater or $4.25 if you watch it at home (though home viewing is cheaper with repeated viewings). Thats almost 9x more expensive entertainment.

    Anyway, point is this - I think Cryptic believes that there is a larger casual market out there than hardcore market and are aiming this game at them. Many of these folks may only stick around for a month or two anyway, so my guess is their business plan balances churn vs new customers and believes the pool of possible casual customers is large enough to balance out the churn and allow the game to perform better revenue wise than if they invested more money into a smaller more hard-core customer base.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    So what you're saying Nagus, is that it appears that Cryptic designed Star Trek Online for those of us that have jobs and spouses and lives, rather than for those that lurk in their mothers basements playing video games for 18 hours a day?

    Uhm... that's bad again why?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Battleunit wrote: »
    Actually, if you read the adventures, it is more like 150 hours.

    Yes, because it takes 90 hours to read a few paragraphs of text.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Uhm... that's bad again why?

    Um... I said it was bad where?
This discussion has been closed.