HI there ST Fans ;0-0
I am a avid ST fan of a few years and unlike some I love all the shows quite literally, not because they are amazing in everyway, but because they are in some ways at least representative of some of the best things, we as members of the universe can be .
As the title indicates, I am cautious and the reasons are in part due to reviews I've seen from 2 of the biggest players , and while the average is a bit higher there are other factors to consider when joining a online community and those as well give me great pause but lets start with these things:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/startrekonline/review.html
" Ground combat is a clumsy disaster Most battles aren't tense or exciting because they're far too easy Shallow, disjointed exploration Missions are repetitive and poorly written. "
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/star-trek-online/1069983p1.html
" Every encounter is instanced, meaning STO is, like Champions Online, more moderately than massively multiplayer. "
Space battles seems a clear and distinct recurriing theme from reviews and fans ( less so control ) and while yes, that IS part of st lore, its def. NOT the whole banana. I watched ST not for that alone, but for the ideology of meeting news races and struggling sometimes to work together in various ways to diplomatic solutions. I harken back to bridge commander which I loved on some level though it was simplistic in other ways and I sure hope STO has managed to at least beat that

I've not one to revel in ground combat as I"d rather make frirends not war, but if combat it must be should it not ast least be interesting and not shallow, and if it has been fixed, please someone say so here; and I really love exploration < I dont like to TWITCH that much as I find it boring and repetitive> so I'm hoping either reviewer was wrong or that its been fixed too ?
I recently became level 30 in unnamed MMO and for the most part reallly enjoyed the diversity and 'help' I could find from other players online when I needed a group to complete quest, and having read this comment from gamespy really makes me cautious to quickly adopt STO as my new MMO 'IF' the part about 'moderately MO' is true ? If so I am going to massively pass, because while I LOVE ST, I dont love most things moderate unless we're talkiing about the weather

THanks anyone for any insight you can provide.
cheers
wamarine
Comments
also stay away from C-store purchases for the time being as well ( it is a very sore spot for players, and there is a LOT of gripes about the lack of product vs profit ).
spend as little as possible to get the taste of the game, and make your decision.
DON'T fall for what a lot of players have... dont throw hundreds of dollars away ( many have $300,$400, $500 invested, and are very very disappointed in the game, the marketing, and the touted misleading advertising issues )
spend very little. get a feel. come to your own conclusions.
then...if you love it...go for it.
if you dont...you arent out hundreds of dollars.
.
Also of possible interest, is that the Federation are getting some diplomacy missions in the next update, which is due this week.
true. that is a very important thing to consider OP, considering the tone of your post.
It's not the Trek you may be used to.
.
NO offense sir, but thats ridiculous.
palease.
chow
Yup I noticed that, but as mentioned in my original post I dont mind other parts of a game long as they aren't too simplistic in nature or boring or cause repitive injury < not that other MMO's dont suffer from similar things>
I"ve come to really love a certain MMO's ability to /find other people playing and get help from them for a given quest, so if this 'instanced' comment from one of the reviewers is true, I may have to pass for awhile, because thats not what ST means to me in a nutshell and if STO is meant to cater to a different audience so be it, but I aint it < I'll decided based on other comments/the demo>
cheers
mamarine
If you've got some spare time and have a few extra dollars, read the Star Trek Novel, Needs of the Many. It explains how the federation is at war right now. The poster is correct. The feds are fighting a war on two fronts.
1- With the Klingon Empire.
2- With the Undine.
It is a different tone. The game is going in a direction more colored by DS9 than say TNG.
Anyways, one huge difference between now and when you read those reviews ... is when the next patch update goes in, Diplomacy goes live. And that's a non-combat system for advancement.
It's still sparse, still a tad incomplete, so it'll be a long grind if you want to truly level up that way. But it's now possible.
Do like others have suggested ... don't buy a lifetime sub. That's a marketing gimmick. Play monthly. Try the demo. Take it slow. See if you like it.
It's a video game. It's not going to feel exactly like the shows. You have to decide if it feels enough like the shows to suit you.
you are actually pointing out a LOT of the concerns, and gripes that a LOT pf players are posting here.
1... the game is easy .. (VERY easy. and leveling is too quick and lacks the life-building of the characters IMO).
2... the missions are very similar (albiet the storyline mission are a little more varied, but not a whole lot) (( and my hands HURT after playing this game for a while ... very repetative controls...spamming is a very appropriate description of gameplay ))
3... instancing is the whole basis of the game... everything is instanced
4... you may find yourself not liking this game if that is truly your stance. A lot of people left for this same issue.
good luck. !
But you also need to keep in mind that this game is very young and was hurried into release before it was polished.
The dev team is very in touch with the players and as accomodating as they can be with our requests. I think they want as much out of this game as we do and try hard to make it happen.
Being an MMO player Im sure you understand that alot of players of these games want everything immediately and whine when it doesnt happen. So the devs get badmouthed far more than they deserve.
Being a fan of the franchise you also understand the vastness of possibilities for this game and you just need to be a bit patient as they work their way into the storylines. The game will evolve into something better than it is if people stick it out and keep it up and running long enough.
In terms of the game being moderately MMO....I completely agree with that assessment. Unfortunately I think its just the nature of the engine they chose and couldnt be truely changed without reinventing the wheel.
The introduction of difficulty levels and squad support were good steps in bringing people together more often. Previous to that all content until you hit admiral rank was soloable and grouping was laughable.
There are further improvements to be made in this direction but they are showing an effort.
I do as little ground combat as I can get away with because I dont find it enjoyable...your weapons auto target and theres no need to aim or anything. Basically you press the 1 key a bunch of times and then the 2 key every so often. They give you ground skills but most arent nearly as effective as they could be and you could easily muddle through ground pve combat without using any of them and still win.
I think that whole system needs a revamp in the worst way.
Space combat is similar in terms of simplicity but the skills are more effective and you have more oppurtunities to customize your playstyle.
Overall I say give this game an honest try and stick around long enough to see the continuous improvements. In time it will be the game alot of us were expecting at release.
I enjoy the combat (or I wouldn't be playing
The game is heavily instanced but you can do all the missions in groups or have it set to auto group with other people doing the same instance. I can't really talk about how good the LFG tab is though, I've never used it.
Okay, thank you so much for your honesty and info, I shall try demo and see where it leads me, but I suspect in the end Ill feel like #4.
cheers and thx
wamarine
Btw, I am trying to download demo torrent,,,it works, but it keeps ditching my router hence my connection, is this a known issue I wodner ?
thx
wamarine
LOL- really? We are not at war and using violence in a truelly effecient manner to gain our goals?
Why did I shoot everything that crossed my path on my rise to RA5?
The Federation is at war and does not reflect the older shows and movies to a degree enjoyed by some of the fans who find violence upsetting.
I am not one of those fans.
Yes I can clearly tell that happened, from perusing these forums its clear the 'mindset' of those posting ( while sometimes right on with their assessment) <grin>
I might believe that, if I see indication of that directly from the devs, Im not one to take idle opinion unless its from <ahem> the top. Anything less imho is total lip service.
If that is the case, Im major IFFY on it, because I expect more of ST.< the shows/movies bring out the best in fans right , why shouldn't the games ?
Does this 'squad' support you mention alllow people to group on demand to finish a quest that can't be handled through solo means ? < like other MMO's we all are aware of>
UGH, yes nondesireable 100%, thanks for the warning
Again no offense, but I need more than lip service to consider that a viable comment
cheers
wamarine
STAR TREK as a franchise contains elements that currently are in conflict with what people have come to expect from MMO's. This may or may not change, but it seems unlikely to me that Cryptic (or any other company, for that matter) could resolve these issues in 30 months.
My advice is, if you enjoy the game in its current state, have fun with it. If not, wait for it to grow. Check up on the demo and the website every few months. Things take time...
Many here seem to be under the illusion that no one else gets the bigger picture, but I assure you that presumption is faulty.
Just because it takes time to grow a game means nothing, its whats done with what you have that matter, and this seems to have started out <if gamespy review && gamespot are to be believed> on a bad note, and no amount of fan lip service is going to convince me, as I already said in a previous message , but thx just the same
I look fwd to trying these new 'diplomatic' offerings, but honeslty just as other MMO's have 'combat', I sure hope there are plans afoot to enhance and remove simplifications , because there is way more than one way to achieve victory in 'combat'
If as others have stated, that it is 'moderately' MO then I'm likely not to be intrigued at all ( assuming devs have no desire to change that ?), though I have downloaded demo and we shall see, though I am very picky about my ST but for good reason as the shows and movies ( and yes, most of us get that violence is there its part of life and this is no different, but there are levels of same too lets not forget that ) clearly portray something very positive, and I am part of the vision.
cheers
wamarine
Then stop posting in this thread, and start reading the engineering reports, and the dev tracker?
Oh and your reviews are old and outdated. You want comments from the top of the STO food chain?
Here you go
That's a recent interview. With the exec producer of the game. Straight from the top. And far more up to date than the reviews you read.
Enjoy.
Is STO faithful to the STAR TREK franchise as I see it? In my opinion, not quite, but that's due in part to things being a work in progress, and also to the undeniable fact that most MMO's are combat-based and there's not much that can be done about that, at least not yet.
The masses have to expect and demand a different playstyle (other than combat-based l00t-grinds) so that STO can more faithfully manifest the franchise. Is it ever going to happen? I truly don't know...
Is your first sentence a question or a comment, I can't tell exactly..if its a question dont ask me Im new here, if its a statement I'll consider it, but I do not like your tone, so next time drop it or dont reply to me again cuz I dont like rude people , on any level , period. Oh and btw, I read dev forum and it seems just more bickering < like some here> and I also read engineering, and while it contains more 'info' it couldn't be more vague; no thanks, but thanks just the same.
I came here for information, not scolding about my forum perusal habits, so dont bother with that tone with me ever again, and if you do I will report it as abuse.
Those reviews aren't 'that' old, but sure I get the idea, I will check it out assuming comments made are indeed from devs and from those recently having played the game.
cu
wamarine
Agreed 100%, and thanks mucho for that very considerate response.
cheers
wamarine
... must not have adhered to my forum reading rule #47:
" read everything in a Fran Drescher voice.... "
everytime I fail to do it.... I post something hotheaded.....
.
Heh. I used to try to read everything in a Big Bird voice. It helped. I switched to Stephen Hawking voice for awhile. But lately I've been reading everything in a Kristen Stewart voice, treating the forums like a Twilight diary. It really makes things much easier to enjoy.
On your questions...Yes STO is far too dependent on instancing and does not feel Massively Multi-player at all. It feels more like an Online Game hosting small instances. Ground combat is mind numbingly repetitive and boring and probably should be reworked from scratch. Space combat stopped killing my fingers when they added full auto-fire after repeated player complaints.
STO still feels sloppily unfinished even when playing Season 2 on the Test Server. The game seems very combat focused for ST, but features the average amount (LOTS) of combat as every other MMO I have played. The PvP is a joke so do not bother...and don't even get me started on the nearly complete lack of RP in a ST game...and no sitting in Quarks discussing the weather on Bajor with other bored people is not enough RP for me.
Frankly, space combat and the fact that this is the ST IP is all that keeps me interested in further development. I bought a LT Sub to STO and I guess I have all the time in it's lifespan to see if they ever put the ST before the MMO. I would love if they would tone down or remove the money grubbing C-Store personally.
The game really doesn't start to hit its stride until you rank up to Commander. At that point the pool of options, skills, abilities, and tactics becomes broad enough to allow decent creative play. It can be a difficult grind to get to that point, but if one quits before then they are cutting themselves short.
I'm not upset, and I have no idea where you got that idea, BUT having said that, your comments are appreciated and extremely helpful to me.
cheers
wamarine
You really should read entire thread, and not take things out of context, but ok thx for the input
cheers
wamarine
The 'tone' I meant, was the necessity some people think they need to put a ? at the end of a 'statement', which usually indicates they are pushing a DUH at you, and there is no reason to pull a tude on me or anyone else, though sure you can hide behind your poor me all you want.
If you truly wanted to 'help' me, you would simply have said, sorry your having trouble, but beyond perusing these forums and asking questions, you might be better serviced by checking here and here.
cheers
wamarine