"Free Trial Weekend
Our first free trial weekend, called the Welcome Back Weekend, is available to former players. Welcome Back Weekend features unrestricted play and begins Friday, May 7, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific and ends Monday, May 10, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific. Be sure to visit the Welcome Back Weekend homepage to register and download the game client!"
Why would they be offering a "Welcome Back Weekend" so soon, when the game has been "live" for barely 6 months? Something just aint right! Sounds to me like Cryptic are losing players, which can only mean one thing... the game hasn't held up to its expectations. A fair number of players must be leaving the game, otherwise why would they be having a welcome back so soon!?
A half-rate game, with limited appeal... that's the problem!
It saddens me to see that this game didn't live up to many player's expectations. I had very high expectations for STO. . . if I only knew how to program . .. . if only. . . .
It saddens me to see that this game didn't live up to many player's expectations. I had very high expectations for STO. . . if I only knew how to program . .. . if only. . . .
That'll teach Cryptic for rushing a game.
With all the cash grab schemes they've pulled off on us, the LTS's, the C-Store, the multiple box purchases to get uniforms, the Constitution original, etc, and now this cynical "Pay $200 to own the most powerful ship in the game" scam being called a "refer 5 friends program" I think it can be said of Cryptic that never has a MMO publisher made more money with less product.
At this point they've made most of the cash they will ever make on STO. Anything that sticks around afterward is bonus money. They will just draw down the Dev team to keep it profitable. IMHO, they never designed STO to be a true going concern, or else they'd have never launched this game in a state where it is literally only half there.
It is sad, because STO could have been like EVE, a long running MMO that keeps being added to that GROWS over time, not shrinks, it could have been a viable business for 10 years or maybe even perpetually, had it been kept up to date graphically, etc. STO may yet stick around a few years, but I expect that it will be in skeleton crew "server maintenance mode" by the time the D&D MMO they are about to announce launches.
Needless to say my experience with Cryptic, when added to my experiences with SOE have soured me greatly on the MMO genre. It seems that honest companies never get the license to make legendary Sci-Fi IP into a MMO.
Sadly, I have to say anyone sticking around has to get used to it. The "refer a friend" Galaxy-X "fleecegate" is but the first in what will be an ongoing series of atrocities that will happen whenever they want to soak the players for more cash. There will be less of them to soak each time, but nevertheless they will "wring" the cash register as much as they can to get more than that $15 out of those who remain.
They will stop only when the game declines to the point that Cryptic won't get more cash out of them than their development cost, not because doing these things is wrong both morally and ethically.
ya know I was just starting to feel this game was indeed moving forward, some of the decisions this week regarding the Galaxy X and this breakup of feedback just has bad idea written all over it imo.
I haven't felt this low about the game to date and I hate saying that for some such minor things.
Give me a reason to invite people into this game and I'll be happy to and have already tried (which i don't get credit for anyway in this new program mind you). All of which left.
Heck I can't even keep active players in my fleet and that's frustrating enough.
This was poorly timed at the very least and should have waited till the end of this month with the side-kicking and such, if not for season 2 to hit....
ya know I was just starting to feel this game was indeed moving forward, some of the decisions this week regarding the Galaxy X and this breakup of feedback just has bad idea written all over it imo.
I haven't felt this low about the game to date and I hate saying that for some such minor things.
Give me a reason to invite people into this game and I'll be happy to and have already tried (which i don't get credit for anyway in this new program mind you).
Heck I can't even keep active players in my fleet and that's frustrating enough.
This was poorly timed at the very least and should have waited till the end of this month with the side-kicking and such, if not for season 2 to hit....
Which is why the most constructive suggestion that anyone can make to Cryptic is to ban their marketing department (and their CEO) from the internet before they can market again.
I think everyone in this thread should get a grip and maybe realize that its financially responsible decision to offer these types of promotions. It doesn't mean they are desperate for subscriptions. Grow up a little.
I think everyone in this thread should get a grip and maybe realize that its financially responsible decision to offer these types of promotions. It doesn't mean they are desperate for subscriptions. Grow up a little.
They are tying what will be an exclusive ship that is superior to all other T5 ships (it has an extra innate gun and cloaking). Other ships with similar abilities will NOT be in game at the time this releases, giving Galaxy-X owners an advantage.
That they are charging $275 for this (5 boxes at $40 each and 5 subscriptions for one month at $15 each) definitely reeks of desperation.
They are tying what will be an exclusive ship that is superior to all other T5 ships (it has an extra innate gun and cloaking). Other ships with similar abilities will NOT be in game at the time this releases, giving Galaxy-X owners an advantage.
Could you link to any Dev stating this will be a Fed ship with cloaking? You may be reading too much into the T5 Galaxy.
The LTS is the fault of the player. It's a simple mathematical equation to figure out that it's far more economically efficient to pay for this game month by month.
The only way an MMORPG works out in favor of the Lifetime sub is if you play it non-stop for more than 2 years.
You don't. None of us do.
Video games do not last that long.
We put them down and come back to them.
You put STO down after 2 to 3 months. And STOP PAYING FOR IT. Come back to it 6 months after that. Pay for it again. You save money.
And LTS does not cover the cost of paid expansions.
It's a gimmick. And it seems to work on people. But don't blame cryptic for bad math skills. Blame the U.S. department of education.
They are tying what will be an exclusive ship that is superior to all other T5 ships (it has an extra innate gun and cloaking). Other ships with similar abilities will NOT be in game at the time this releases, giving Galaxy-X owners an advantage..
There's still no proof for this, as improved Galaxy (different from Galaxy X), Intrepid and Defiant class ships have already been announced... Cryptic has every right to provide 'Exclusive' rewards to encourage recruitment. (if they weren't exclusive, then why would anyone go out of their way to try recruitment...) And considering the size of the download queues for the Demo Client, this also appears to be a marketing Bonanza!!
I think the most humorous part about STO is how the a portion of game's own playerbase is so adamantly against any sort of promotions that might increase playerbase and revenue, which would probably have a positive influence towards game development.
And then they complain about the game's "sub-par" development in the very same thread.
"Urinating in one's own pot" seems to be an accurate sentiment of that part of the community's cannibalistic tendencies. Anyone who would stick around on a game (or its forum, for that matter) when they oppose it "both morally and ethically" without offering much constructive criticism or suggestions for improvement must enjoy flagellation. It's sadomasochistic and sad, IMPO.
I think the most humorous part about STO is how the a portion of game's own playerbase is so adamantly against any sort of promotions that might increase playerbase and revenue, which would probably have a positive influence towards game development.
And then they complain about the game's "sub-par" development in the very same thread.
"Urinating in one's own pot" seems to be an accurate sentiment of that part of the community's cannibalistic tendencies. Anyone who would stick around on a game (or its forum, for that matter) when they oppose it "both morally and ethically" without offering much constructive criticism or suggestions for improvement must enjoy flagellation. It's sadomasochistic and sad, IMPO.
We are not against benefiting getting more players but any MMO vet will tell you these items have to be vanity, not effective equip//gear/ships/statbonuses/etc. Otherwise the subs you gained from the person/people trying to get those special items, will be outweighed by the mass quitting done in retrospect.
I could say I called it though...
I may be wrong still, but the timing couldn't be better.
I predicted this would happen if they released The BIG 3, and more specifically the changes to SNB.
Cryptics hand is basically saying, "its the sci way or the highway"
Their subs dropped, because quite a few people, even people I knew, chose the highway option.
It so bad its reputation forming, so why trust them to ensure that our investment grows.
See, I keep seeing people say that the subscriptions dropped, but where are the hard numbers? Where are even the soft numbers from an analyst? Where are the numbers that weren't arbitrarily made up on the STO forums?
They are tying what will be an exclusive ship that is superior to all other T5 ships (it has an extra innate gun and cloaking). Other ships with similar abilities will NOT be in game at the time this releases, giving Galaxy-X owners an advantage.
That they are charging $275 for this (5 boxes at $40 each and 5 subscriptions for one month at $15 each) definitely reeks of desperation.
Strangely what you refer to as desperation, I would call marketing genius. That is if there are actually enough suckers out there to actually do all this for them just for this "superior" ship. Either way the argument seems to be that it's a bad idea while giving reasons that it's a good idea.
See, I keep seeing people say that the subscriptions dropped, but where are the hard numbers? Where are even the soft numbers from an analyst? Where are the numbers that weren't arbitrarily made up on the STO forums?
<Old lady voice> Where's the beef?!?
I like the Old lady voice quote hehe. Add some needed humor to my day.
The numbers really are pure observation not just quit posts, or "taking a break until" posts. But in game as well, generated from PVP que statistics, and population viewed by simply going around to stations, sectors, etc.
Obviously cryptic is the only one who can produce the hard numbers, but really the originating reputation they have, the path they have chosen, and the topic in the OP, is what pushes my observation to an educated one.
Desperate? Its just a weekend....
Pirates of the Burning Sea did a server merge ealier this year and gave a whole month free to former subscribers.....thats desperate.
Besides its not at all unknown for MMO developers to offer some extra free time when they have made big new changes.
Only a shame they decided to do it now instead of waiting until after the Memory Alpha revamp.
"Free Trial Weekend
Our first free trial weekend, called the Welcome Back Weekend, is available to former players. Welcome Back Weekend features unrestricted play and begins Friday, May 7, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific and ends Monday, May 10, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific. Be sure to visit the Welcome Back Weekend homepage to register and download the game client!"
Why would they be offering a "Welcome Back Weekend" so soon, when the game has been "live" for barely 6 months? Something just aint right! Sounds to me like Cryptic are losing players, which can only mean one thing... the game hasn't held up to its expectations. A fair number of players must be leaving the game, otherwise why would they be having a welcome back so soon!?
A half-rate game, with limited appeal... that's the problem!
LOTRO has regular free weekends, and has promotion deals where you only have to pay $10 a month.
WoW has scrolls of resurrection which you let you play on your old account for free for ten days.
Almost all MMOs have some sort of free weekend or promotion deal. So your claim doesn't really have any merit.
Desperate? Its just a weekend....
Pirates of the Burning Sea did a server merge ealier this year and gave a whole month free to former subscribers.....thats desperate.
Yes, let's compare STO to a dying game. That's an accurate comparison!
Hey I hear STO's doing better than SWG too! Hell, look at Tabula Rasa! STO is way above that! Rejoice!
Pirates of the Burning Sea hardly has enough people on per faction at any one time to get a group of 6..Lol.
That game had so, so much potential.
Anyway, I seriously feel that the cash shop/content-for-money options have eclipsed the actual game itself. Cryptic has released more "PAY FOR ME!" content then they have actual free content, in a game that we already paid $50+ for, and pay $15.00 a month to keep playing.
Cash shops make sense for games that are free to play. They don't make sense in pay to play games.
I mean hell. Navyfield's SDEnterNET is one of the greediest companies I have ever seen in my life..and they still release boat-loads of free content..
I have nothing against cash shops in free games because the company has to make money some how. But when I have to pay $15.00 a month, on top of the $90 I already payed for the game, I'd like a new free ship every once in a while...
Dose not shock me at all. They have hide things in the past. When they loudly jumped up and down about there sales. They included there Champion MMO numbers as part of there sales numbers. When and they hinted was the contacts that made them put the game out so fast. Truth they got a big fat bonus for sailing a half finished game.The gane was rushed becouse they rushed it. Now there working a new MMO and this one is not done.
LOTRO has regular free weekends, and has promotion deals where you only have to pay $10 a month.
WoW has scrolls of resurrection which you let you play on your old account for free for ten days.
Almost all MMOs have some sort of free weekend or promotion deal. So your claim doesn't really have any merit.
Yeah. But those two games were far more enjoyable to play, had more and better content during launch, and didn't have all those damn load screens like STO. Also they didn't have all those pre-order TRIBBLE all over the place.
They are tying what will be an exclusive ship that is superior to all other T5 ships (it has an extra innate gun and cloaking). Other ships with similar abilities will NOT be in game at the time this releases, giving Galaxy-X owners an advantage.
That they are charging $275 for this (5 boxes at $40 each and 5 subscriptions for one month at $15 each) definitely reeks of desperation.
and who is going to be getting these ships? let me tell you who the blasted farmers!! what better way to repay themselves for all their hard work at making the game almost unplayable upon hitting RA5 than to get themselves another nice new ship with which to camp in the +2 borg sector. :mad:
and who is going to be getting these ships? let me tell you who the blasted farmers!! what better way to repay themselves for all their hard work at making the game almost unplayable upon hitting RA5 than to get themselves another nice new ship with which to camp in the +2 borg sector. :mad:
I think you hit the nail on the head there bud. Most of these new ships WILL be owned by botters.
dunno i think its a great game with alot potential, just released 1 jear too early. it needs alot more content and features and balancing. I hope there will be enough plyaerbase left if... i mean seriosly paying the full price for playing a beta is a little bit frustrating sometimes.
Desperate? Its just a weekend....
Pirates of the Burning Sea did a server merge ealier this year and gave a whole month free to former subscribers.....thats desperate.
Besides its not at all unknown for MMO developers to offer some extra free time when they have made big new changes.
Only a shame they decided to do it now instead of waiting until after the Memory Alpha revamp.
But as they say, "There's no such thing as a free lunch!" Even if it is Roast Beef
Then look at other MMORPGs to see how soon it was after launch that they had welcome back weekends. Would STO be the soonest to offer a welcome back after its launch? If so, is that desperation or good marketing, as some say? I think I'd prefer to call it desperation.
when your a kid you get bent out of shape when you are confronted with "unfair" and business.
part of growing up- no big deal
there is a site mmorpg or something that has a section decitaed to star trek - every thread negative-
and the crux is this- like the op- comparisons to other mmo's
then it dawned on me (a trek guy that happens to play an mmo- not an mmo guy playing trek,....)
MMO'rs have played thier fav game for years and have friends etc- i suggest that most of the attacks are an unconcious (or conscious) desire to protect their game
think about it- a game? people are so mad that they go on and on about a game? admist bills and death and every other real ife situation? makes no sense-
unless.......
people grow attached to things- are sentimental- and will defend those things-
simple
got banned for this reasoning on that site by the way.
I think everyone in this thread should get a grip and maybe realize that its financially responsible decision to offer these types of promotions. It doesn't mean they are desperate for subscriptions. Grow up a little.
Frankly, that's asking a lot from some of these whiners.
See, I keep seeing people say that the subscriptions dropped, but where are the hard numbers? Where are even the soft numbers from an analyst? Where are the numbers that weren't arbitrarily made up on the STO forums?
<Old lady voice> Where's the beef?!?
We all know the real numbers would have to come from Cryptic. At the the same time we all know they don't have the nut sack to give us those numbers either. Assumptions are being made from the "trends" people see in tools that are available, for example X-Fire, Steam, forum posts/views, in the game, guild activity etc etc. We all also know none of these are accurate but still the trend is the same across the board.
Some clown boasting they exceeded expectations of subs over a 100k a couple months ago is laughable and should tell ya how high the fail is at Cryptic. Who in there sane mind would think that having just over 100k (past tense) subs for a multi billion dollar franchise is beyond me and a lot of others. I guess that's why the game is meh imo and apparently to 10's or 100's of thousands of others who left.
Thinking the sub numbers are not declining every month is nothing more then wishful thinking and denial.
Yeah. But those two games were far more enjoyable to play, had more and better content during launch, and didn't have all those damn load screens like STO. Also they didn't have all those pre-order TRIBBLE all over the place.
Not to mention They didn't start doing those promotions until the game had been out for a while. I've never heard of an MMO talking about free weekends and so forth when it has just been released. If they spent a fraction of their time and effort working on content we all could actually enjoy as they did promotional and C-store content the game would be alot better.
Comments
That'll teach Cryptic for rushing a game.
With all the cash grab schemes they've pulled off on us, the LTS's, the C-Store, the multiple box purchases to get uniforms, the Constitution original, etc, and now this cynical "Pay $200 to own the most powerful ship in the game" scam being called a "refer 5 friends program" I think it can be said of Cryptic that never has a MMO publisher made more money with less product.
At this point they've made most of the cash they will ever make on STO. Anything that sticks around afterward is bonus money. They will just draw down the Dev team to keep it profitable. IMHO, they never designed STO to be a true going concern, or else they'd have never launched this game in a state where it is literally only half there.
It is sad, because STO could have been like EVE, a long running MMO that keeps being added to that GROWS over time, not shrinks, it could have been a viable business for 10 years or maybe even perpetually, had it been kept up to date graphically, etc. STO may yet stick around a few years, but I expect that it will be in skeleton crew "server maintenance mode" by the time the D&D MMO they are about to announce launches.
Needless to say my experience with Cryptic, when added to my experiences with SOE have soured me greatly on the MMO genre. It seems that honest companies never get the license to make legendary Sci-Fi IP into a MMO.
Sadly, I have to say anyone sticking around has to get used to it. The "refer a friend" Galaxy-X "fleecegate" is but the first in what will be an ongoing series of atrocities that will happen whenever they want to soak the players for more cash. There will be less of them to soak each time, but nevertheless they will "wring" the cash register as much as they can to get more than that $15 out of those who remain.
They will stop only when the game declines to the point that Cryptic won't get more cash out of them than their development cost, not because doing these things is wrong both morally and ethically.
I haven't felt this low about the game to date and I hate saying that for some such minor things.
Give me a reason to invite people into this game and I'll be happy to and have already tried (which i don't get credit for anyway in this new program mind you). All of which left.
Heck I can't even keep active players in my fleet and that's frustrating enough.
This was poorly timed at the very least and should have waited till the end of this month with the side-kicking and such, if not for season 2 to hit....
Which is why the most constructive suggestion that anyone can make to Cryptic is to ban their marketing department (and their CEO) from the internet before they can market again.
They are tying what will be an exclusive ship that is superior to all other T5 ships (it has an extra innate gun and cloaking). Other ships with similar abilities will NOT be in game at the time this releases, giving Galaxy-X owners an advantage.
That they are charging $275 for this (5 boxes at $40 each and 5 subscriptions for one month at $15 each) definitely reeks of desperation.
Could you link to any Dev stating this will be a Fed ship with cloaking? You may be reading too much into the T5 Galaxy.
The LTS is the fault of the player. It's a simple mathematical equation to figure out that it's far more economically efficient to pay for this game month by month.
The only way an MMORPG works out in favor of the Lifetime sub is if you play it non-stop for more than 2 years.
You don't. None of us do.
Video games do not last that long.
We put them down and come back to them.
You put STO down after 2 to 3 months. And STOP PAYING FOR IT. Come back to it 6 months after that. Pay for it again. You save money.
And LTS does not cover the cost of paid expansions.
It's a gimmick. And it seems to work on people. But don't blame cryptic for bad math skills. Blame the U.S. department of education.
to make money , why else
you work a biz- or it fails- simple
the added a bunch of stuff- fairly big changes- slider, death penalty, pvp changes, combat changes...
they are fairly significant. What i would have done is wait for one big kinda change that people have been yapp'n for.
And then they complain about the game's "sub-par" development in the very same thread.
"Urinating in one's own pot" seems to be an accurate sentiment of that part of the community's cannibalistic tendencies. Anyone who would stick around on a game (or its forum, for that matter) when they oppose it "both morally and ethically" without offering much constructive criticism or suggestions for improvement must enjoy flagellation. It's sadomasochistic and sad, IMPO.
We are not against benefiting getting more players but any MMO vet will tell you these items have to be vanity, not effective equip//gear/ships/statbonuses/etc. Otherwise the subs you gained from the person/people trying to get those special items, will be outweighed by the mass quitting done in retrospect.
I could say I called it though...
I may be wrong still, but the timing couldn't be better.
I predicted this would happen if they released The BIG 3, and more specifically the changes to SNB.
Cryptics hand is basically saying, "its the sci way or the highway"
Their subs dropped, because quite a few people, even people I knew, chose the highway option.
It so bad its reputation forming, so why trust them to ensure that our investment grows.
<Old lady voice> Where's the beef?!?
Strangely what you refer to as desperation, I would call marketing genius. That is if there are actually enough suckers out there to actually do all this for them just for this "superior" ship. Either way the argument seems to be that it's a bad idea while giving reasons that it's a good idea.
I like the Old lady voice quote hehe. Add some needed humor to my day.
The numbers really are pure observation not just quit posts, or "taking a break until" posts. But in game as well, generated from PVP que statistics, and population viewed by simply going around to stations, sectors, etc.
Obviously cryptic is the only one who can produce the hard numbers, but really the originating reputation they have, the path they have chosen, and the topic in the OP, is what pushes my observation to an educated one.
Pirates of the Burning Sea did a server merge ealier this year and gave a whole month free to former subscribers.....thats desperate.
Besides its not at all unknown for MMO developers to offer some extra free time when they have made big new changes.
Only a shame they decided to do it now instead of waiting until after the Memory Alpha revamp.
LOTRO has regular free weekends, and has promotion deals where you only have to pay $10 a month.
WoW has scrolls of resurrection which you let you play on your old account for free for ten days.
Almost all MMOs have some sort of free weekend or promotion deal. So your claim doesn't really have any merit.
Yes, let's compare STO to a dying game. That's an accurate comparison!
Hey I hear STO's doing better than SWG too! Hell, look at Tabula Rasa! STO is way above that! Rejoice!
That game had so, so much potential.
Anyway, I seriously feel that the cash shop/content-for-money options have eclipsed the actual game itself. Cryptic has released more "PAY FOR ME!" content then they have actual free content, in a game that we already paid $50+ for, and pay $15.00 a month to keep playing.
Cash shops make sense for games that are free to play. They don't make sense in pay to play games.
I mean hell. Navyfield's SDEnterNET is one of the greediest companies I have ever seen in my life..and they still release boat-loads of free content..
I have nothing against cash shops in free games because the company has to make money some how. But when I have to pay $15.00 a month, on top of the $90 I already payed for the game, I'd like a new free ship every once in a while...
When posts made by certain posters do keep stating the game is dying, why would you then blast someone for comparing STO to a dying game?
I'm puzzled.
Yeah. But those two games were far more enjoyable to play, had more and better content during launch, and didn't have all those damn load screens like STO. Also they didn't have all those pre-order TRIBBLE all over the place.
and who is going to be getting these ships? let me tell you who the blasted farmers!! what better way to repay themselves for all their hard work at making the game almost unplayable upon hitting RA5 than to get themselves another nice new ship with which to camp in the +2 borg sector. :mad:
I think you hit the nail on the head there bud. Most of these new ships WILL be owned by botters.
Welcome to BTO !
But as they say, "There's no such thing as a free lunch!" Even if it is Roast Beef
Then look at other MMORPGs to see how soon it was after launch that they had welcome back weekends. Would STO be the soonest to offer a welcome back after its launch? If so, is that desperation or good marketing, as some say? I think I'd prefer to call it desperation.
part of growing up- no big deal
there is a site mmorpg or something that has a section decitaed to star trek - every thread negative-
and the crux is this- like the op- comparisons to other mmo's
then it dawned on me (a trek guy that happens to play an mmo- not an mmo guy playing trek,....)
MMO'rs have played thier fav game for years and have friends etc- i suggest that most of the attacks are an unconcious (or conscious) desire to protect their game
think about it- a game? people are so mad that they go on and on about a game? admist bills and death and every other real ife situation? makes no sense-
unless.......
people grow attached to things- are sentimental- and will defend those things-
simple
got banned for this reasoning on that site by the way.
Frankly, that's asking a lot from some of these whiners.
We all know the real numbers would have to come from Cryptic. At the the same time we all know they don't have the nut sack to give us those numbers either. Assumptions are being made from the "trends" people see in tools that are available, for example X-Fire, Steam, forum posts/views, in the game, guild activity etc etc. We all also know none of these are accurate but still the trend is the same across the board.
Some clown boasting they exceeded expectations of subs over a 100k a couple months ago is laughable and should tell ya how high the fail is at Cryptic. Who in there sane mind would think that having just over 100k (past tense) subs for a multi billion dollar franchise is beyond me and a lot of others. I guess that's why the game is meh imo and apparently to 10's or 100's of thousands of others who left.
Thinking the sub numbers are not declining every month is nothing more then wishful thinking and denial.
Not to mention They didn't start doing those promotions until the game had been out for a while. I've never heard of an MMO talking about free weekends and so forth when it has just been released. If they spent a fraction of their time and effort working on content we all could actually enjoy as they did promotional and C-store content the game would be alot better.