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How many subscribers does STO have???

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
How many subscribers does STO have???:confused::confused::confused:
Post edited by Unknown User on
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  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Well, considering the entire MMO market segment is hurting right now, the fact that they haven't shut down the servers is a good sign. Keep your fingers crossed.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    We have more than 10 and less than 10 million.

    Honestly we just aren't allowed to talk about it - (and honestly it was a no-no everywhere else I've worked) so it's not just a "Cryptic Thing"

    The good news is that despite the fact that the video game industry is hurting big time, STO is doing just fine and we are super excited to get Season 2 into your hands and start delivering the weekly series as well as starting work on the Season 3 secret stuff :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    If STO is doing fine but that you labor under a small team, why not hire more people to design the game's assets in order to keep the momentum/winning streak going?

    I keep hearing the team is small. Does Star Trek as an IP even deserves a small team? I fail to understand why more isn't invested in this, especially when there's yet more work to do, more scenarios to be created, etcetera.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Zoberraz wrote: »
    If STO is doing fine but that you labor under a small team, why not hire more people to design the game's assets in order to keep the momentum/winning streak going?

    I keep hearing the team is small. Does Star Trek as an IP even deserves a small team?

    I'm with you on this one. I wish our team size was about 10 times bigger. The fact is that while Star Trek is doing well, the game industry in general isn't. As a major publisher, Atari is not immune to the slump in game sales so as a company in general - we are doing as much as we can with what we have.

    We are working on it though... as a small win - we have a new content designer starting tomorrow who is someone who actually played the game prior to coming to Cryptic. I'm pretty happy about that :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Doing more with less is one way in a hurting economy they can keep things out of the red. Their small team is probably one reason (of many I'm sure) that they can keep STO's servers up. I would rather have a small hard working team keep STO around for years than a big team with their fingers crossed that they'll have a job after each update. Just my 2 cents.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    how many people work on STO
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Zoberraz wrote: »
    If STO is doing fine but that you labor under a small team, why not hire more people to design the game's assets in order to keep the momentum/winning streak going?

    I keep hearing the team is small. Does Star Trek as an IP even deserves a small team? I fail to understand why more isn't invested in this, especially when there's yet more work to do, more scenarios to be created, etcetera.

    I have no idea what their subscriber base is like, but it can't possibly be anything remotely like the 10 million that World of Warcraft boasts.

    Look at all the other second tier or third tier MMOs out there. STO gets new content at a much higher rate than those other games.

    Would it be nice if we got new content at the same pace as World of Warcraft? Yeah, that would be nice, however I don't see how it's remotely reasonable to expect that level of content addition. We're getting new stuff at a pretty decent pace all things considered.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    dstahl wrote: »
    We are working on it though... as a small win - we have a new content designer starting tomorrow who is someone who actually played the game prior to coming to Cryptic. I'm pretty happy about that :)

    Fantastic!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    dstahl wrote: »
    We are working on it though... as a small win - we have a new content designer starting tomorrow who is someone who actually played the game prior to coming to Cryptic. I'm pretty happy about that :)

    It is me, please say it is me. I once accidently opened PaintBrush, so i´m qualified ! :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Ashur1 wrote:
    It is me, please say it is me. I once accidently opened PaintBrush, so i´m qualified ! :D

    He said designer, not artist. :D

    Designers do the level design, quest/event scripting, etc. They take the output of the programmers and artists and turn it into a final product.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Benfea wrote: »
    He said designer, not artist. :D

    Designers do the level design, quest/event scripting, etc. They take the output of the programmers and artists and turn it into a final product.

    Scripting you say ? No problem, i can write and have a good imagination. And since everyone else is doing the real work, all i have to do is carry the USB stick to the server-room, right ? RIGHT ?! :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    I'm a content designer. Content design is a great job. It's really too bad I don't really have the credentials to work at Cryptic Studios for Star Trek Online. ^_^;

    This said, having a content designer added to the team is great - with poor Kestrel having a partner now, it'll allow for more quality missions to be written. :)

    When I spoke of more people, though, I really meant it as an investment (Microsoft's X-Box was running at a loss for the company for a long time while Microsoft was trying to settle into the gaming console niche). Consider how Bioware is handling Star Wars - what kind of investment do they have, what kind of team they have working on it, what kind of gameplay and polish will the game offer. Mister Stahl, I'm sure you've seen the screenshots and eyed the Star War website and press releases like I did - so, I'm certain you can at least relate.

    Right now, I tend not to judge Star Trek Online too roughly (though I have my lapses in enthusiasm and my bouts of moody cynicism) because the game launched after two years of development instead of the four years most MMOGs take to crank out. It makes me wonder how, in the next 18 months, the game will grow.

    When STO will have reached 48 months of active development time (game production and post-game production), what will it look like? Will it have adjusted its offered playstyle enough to give stiff competition to the other MMO giants? My hope is that the answer will be yes, and more than just because I invested in a lifetime subscription. In the years it took for Star Trek Online to be developped (nearly a decade), I'm sure I'm not the only one that held this romanticized picture of how epic, sweeping and awesome it could possibly be.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    dstahl wrote: »

    We are working on it though... as a small win - we have a new content designer starting tomorrow who is someone who actually played the game prior to coming to Cryptic. I'm pretty happy about that :)

    Now that = cool. Congrats to whomever you are, and I'll be curious to see how working for CS affects said new employee's opinions on forum discussions... *EG*...

    Seriously though, I have often read how the Devs are also gamers, so having a recruit from the community (or at least a STO player) is great news.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Zoberraz wrote: »
    When I spoke of more people, though, I really meant it as an investment (Microsoft's X-Box was running at a loss for the company for a long time while Microsoft was trying to settle into the gaming console niche).

    Interesting you should mention that. I was less familiar with dstahl's background than the other devs and it turns out his background was managing web content for Magic and Star Wars TCG at Wizards and working on the launch team for the 360.

    I will say that the MMO market is different in terms of expected cost recovery.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    dstahl wrote: »
    We are working on it though... as a small win - we have a new content designer starting tomorrow who is someone who actually played the game prior to coming to Cryptic. I'm pretty happy about that :)

    I had my eye on that job posting for a long time and I was waiting for it to be filled. I look forward to your new designer joining the fray.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Interesting you should mention that. I was less familiar with dstahl's background than the other devs and it turns out his background was managing web content for Magic and Star Wars TCG at Wizards and working on the launch team for the 360.

    I will say that the MMO market is different in terms of expected cost recovery.

    What is even a stranger small world moment was the other day when I realized that the CTO (who was software lead on STO prior to becoming CTO) was none other than the creator of the Magic: The Gathering D'Angelo rulings database which my team at Wizards spent a ton of time integrating with... and neither of us had connected the dots until last week because it was all done remotely at the time :p (way back in 99)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    dstahl wrote: »
    What is even a stranger small world moment was the other day when I realized that the CTO (who was software lead on STO prior to becoming CTO) was none other than the creator of the Magic: The Gathering D'Angelo rulings database which my team at Wizards spent a ton of time integrating with... and neither of us had connected the dots until last week because it was all done remotely at the time :p (way back in 99)

    And now I'm just shocked that Diplomacy didn't take a Vanguard-slant and turn out as an in-game card-game.

    ;)

    Mountain, Mogg Fanatic, Go.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    superchum wrote: »
    And now I'm just shocked that Diplomacy didn't take a Vanguard-slant and turn out as an in-game card-game.

    ;)

    Mountain, Mogg Fanatic, Go.

    Oh noo, i´m starting to remember now. The plopp plopp plopp plopp you´re dead - decks. :eek:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    superchum wrote: »
    And now I'm just shocked that Diplomacy didn't take a Vanguard-slant and turn out as an in-game card-game.

    ;)

    Mountain, Mogg Fanatic, Go.

    The thought of integrating a card game mechanic as diplomacy was an idea that made he and I giddy with glee when we were brainstorming Diplomacy back prior to launch.

    I still think it would be an interesting component to make diplomacy more of a "game" where you played your hand against an alien world and were limited to your "diplomatic resources".

    Who knows - maybe that will find some phoenix like rebirth as a concept!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Ashur1 wrote:
    Oh noo, i´m starting to remember now. The plopp plopp plopp plopp you´re dead - decks. :eek:

    Heh. Aggro can be like that. Then again, combo decks tended to upset players more than aggro.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    dstahl wrote: »
    The thought of integrating a card game mechanic as diplomacy was an idea that made he and I giddy with glee when we were brainstorming Diplomacy back prior to launch.

    I still think it would be an interesting component to make diplomacy more of a "game" where you played your hand against an alien world and were limited to your "diplomatic resources".

    Who knows - maybe that will find some phoenix like rebirth as a concept!

    In all seriousness, it was the aspect of Vanguard I liked the most. It was certainly a clever way of integrating non-combat advancement into an MMORPG.

    So, you know, if you all want to keep exploring the game aspect you describe here ... I'd love to test it out when it's ready.

    :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    superchum wrote: »
    Heh. Aggro can be like that. Then again, combo decks tended to upset players more than aggro.

    To be honest, i mostly hated counter decks. Nothing is more frustrating than hearing that nagging little voice saying: No, you don´t, I don´t think so, Take that back to your hand and now discard your hand. :mad:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Zoberraz wrote: »
    I'm a content designer. Content design is a great job. It's really too bad I don't really have the credentials to work at Cryptic Studios for Star Trek Online. ^_^;

    This said, having a content designer added to the team is great - with poor Kestrel having a partner now, it'll allow for more quality missions to be written. :)

    When I spoke of more people, though, I really meant it as an investment (Microsoft's X-Box was running at a loss for the company for a long time while Microsoft was trying to settle into the gaming console niche). Consider how Bioware is handling Star Wars - what kind of investment do they have, what kind of team they have working on it, what kind of gameplay and polish will the game offer. Mister Stahl, I'm sure you've seen the screenshots and eyed the Star War website and press releases like I did - so, I'm certain you can at least relate.

    Right now, I tend not to judge Star Trek Online too roughly (though I have my lapses in enthusiasm and my bouts of moody cynicism) because the game launched after two years of development instead of the four years most MMOGs take to crank out. It makes me wonder how, in the next 18 months, the game will grow.

    When STO will have reached 48 months of active development time (game production and post-game production), what will it look like? Will it have adjusted its offered playstyle enough to give stiff competition to the other MMO giants? My hope is that the answer will be yes, and more than just because I invested in a lifetime subscription. In the years it took for Star Trek Online to be developped (nearly a decade), I'm sure I'm not the only one that held this romanticized picture of how epic, sweeping and awesome it could possibly be.

    r u a moderator
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Ashur1 wrote:
    To be honest, i mostly hated counter decks. Nothing is more frustrating than hearing that nagging little voice saying: No, you don´t, I don´t think so, Take that back to your hand and now discard your hand. :mad:

    Heh. I totally understand. It's what drove me to aggro decks. Aggro red decks specifically. My friend spent a good year or so beating the snot out of me with control decks. It finally clicked. Force him to use his cards. Be aggressive. Turn 1 goblin. Turn 2 goblins. Turn 3 ball lightning. Turn 4 ... do you have any counters left? No. Bang. Dead.

    Then when he finally got sick of me being the aggro player, I got together with some folks on a couple of forums and helped design Turbo Fog, the game's silliest deck. Little kids loved playing against it. I let them cast whatever the heck they wanted. They got their dragons on the table. Their critters. It let them draw tons of cards and turn things sideways.

    They just never did any damage. And eventually ran out of cards.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    superchum wrote: »
    Heh. I totally understand. It's what drove me to aggro decks. Aggro red decks specifically. My friend spent a good year or so beating the snot out of me with control decks. It finally clicked. Force him to use his cards. Be aggressive. Turn 1 goblin. Turn 2 goblins. Turn 3 ball lightning. Turn 4 ... do you have any counters left? No. Bang. Dead.

    Then when he finally got sick of me being the aggro player, I got together with some folks on a couple of forums and helped design Turbo Fog, the game's silliest deck. Little kids loved playing against it. I let them cast whatever the heck they wanted. They got their dragons on the table. Their critters. It let them draw tons of cards and turn things sideways.

    They just never did any damage. And eventually ran out of cards.

    Yes, Magic led many innocent people down the path to the dark side. :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    dstahl wrote: »
    What is even a stranger small world moment was the other day when I realized that the CTO (who was software lead on STO prior to becoming CTO) was none other than the creator of the Magic: The Gathering D'Angelo rulings database which my team at Wizards spent a ton of time integrating with... and neither of us had connected the dots until last week because it was all done remotely at the time :p (way back in 99)

    ZOMG! I spent a loooot of time (and money lol) playing M:tG, and I must both thank and curse you both for that! (Seriously, though, that is some awesome info, sir!)
    Ashur1 wrote:
    To be honest, i mostly hated counter decks. Nothing is more frustrating than hearing that nagging little voice saying: No, you don´t, I don´t think so, Take that back to your hand and now discard your hand. :mad:

    Ooooh, you would've hated playing with me then, heh. My main deck was a blue/artifact counter deck that was all built around counterspells, capsize, and memory crystals. :D It was a good deck one-on-one, but when we played 3-5 people at a time, I always seemed to get ganged up on and killed first... I don't know why... :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    I liked my Merfolk deck. Not the most powerful, but always fun to play.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    dstahl wrote: »
    The thought of integrating a card game mechanic as diplomacy was an idea that made he and I giddy with glee when we were brainstorming Diplomacy back prior to launch.

    I still think it would be an interesting component to make diplomacy more of a "game" where you played your hand against an alien world and were limited to your "diplomatic resources".

    Who knows - maybe that will find some phoenix like rebirth as a concept!

    I still think a major missing mechanic in this game is bluffing.

    It's a Trek staple, used VERY frequently on all shows by all factions.

    I'd like to see some sort of bluffing system. I think the upcoming Poker mini-game could even tie-in through rewards bought with chips or via accolades.

    The idea being that bluffs can scare away enemies, maybe change your apparent or effective level temporarily, use consumable effects for CC similar to the Orions' Seduce or Psionic attacks.

    And ultimately play into a system/game that involves pure PvP bluffing.

    AND I think non-Federation bluffing would fill the role of the Diplomacy system for other factions.

    I mean, Klingons aren't deceivers but they are big on insults and tall tales, trying to intimidate opponents through bragging and intimidation. Romulan bluffs might take a different form.

    And it might be interesting if Federation bluffing comes more from side features like Poker whereas bluffing would be more integral to other factions. You definitely get the feeling Federation captains bend their rules a bit when they bluff or lie or bluster whereas these types of things are standard procedure in varying forms for other factions.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    I still think a major missing mechanic in this game is bluffing.

    Excellent point. We need about 100% more bluffing.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Hopefully, if we go for the card game mechanic, Betazoids would get bonus racial "cards" to play.
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