I decided to go against community feedback and give Arc a try. I was also HOPING to eventually recieve some kind of incentive (like Zen) to allow my activities to be monitored by this company. It was pointless but obvious spyware before the recent beta update. Now? My gods! It's a jumbled, compacted eyesore that does nothing more than slow down the process of getting into the game. The normal client launcher was fine. I liked not having to load dozens of icons, thumbnails and video player windows.
Arc will be removed from my PC if some serious improvements haven't been made at the next update. If I am forced to use only Arc to launch STO and Neverwinter, I'm very likely to stop playing them, period. I'll miss the games, sure. The rights to make online games of my two favorite fictional multiverses are pretty much pwnd. But trust me, I can always spend more time and money on my first love, Eve. She is a sadistic lover but I love her nonetheless.
Keep in mind that Arc is still in beta. They might offer some sort of reward for it's official full release for players who install it during a certain period of time. (I'm hoping anyway)
Hmm.....seems to be no way to access my account info through the Arc console in the game (Shift+Tab to open the console). I wanted to see my sub status to see how close I am to my next stipend.
But even if I go to http://www.perfectworld.com/ in the Arc browser accessed through the console in game, I see no way to log in and check my account info.
I can click the Zen button in the console but all I can do is look at my Zen purchase history. Even on the PWE website my lifetime sub is not listed here.
I can minimize the game and bring up Arc itself and click my avatar on the top right to access my account info, then click on Games in the list on the left and it shows how many days I've been subscribed to STO. (It seems at this time I still have a few days before I get my monthly Zen.)
Would be nice if we could access this type of info from within the game we are playing by using the Arc console.
Edit: Oh! I noticed a My Account button at the character select screen with Arc running. When clicking it, it brings up the log in page in the Arc console for the STO site. But.......when logging in, it just takes me to the support page for checking/creating support tickets, instead of bringing me to my account details. Just like it does when going to the forum page in Arc and logging in.
Kinda ironic. When using the Arc console to log into the STO forums or account page, it takes me to the support page instead, which is a bug.
Guys you dont have to quit the games over Arc. Just use Steam to play these games u can successfully boycott Arc AND get your fix, and I assure you Steam is not some kind of crappy bloatware or whatever.
I had to reformat for the new year and i didnt even want to bother using that Arc launcher after all I have heard. Seeing as i already had a few games on Steam i just decided to go for that with everything.
Im not sure. someone suggested starting the steam download and then pausing it and pointing the install directory to your current STO location, or perhaps copy/paste the old into the new install directory. All the Steam version is the same installation file-tree with even the old launcher and patching system that you can now launch from Steam and your Steam friends can see you're playing STO and you get the Steam overlay option, etc.
Guys you dont have to quit the games over Arc. Just use Steam to play these games u can successfully boycott Arc AND get your fix, and I assure you Steam is not some kind of crappy bloatware or whatever.
I had to reformat for the new year and i didnt even want to bother using that Arc launcher after all I have heard. Seeing as i already had a few games on Steam i just decided to go for that with everything.
Call me old fashioned but I don't have anything on Steam and it pretty much looks to me just as useless to have as Arc.
Can you just use it to install then never run it again?
Can you just use it to install then never run it again?
yes, just install steam and install STO through steam.. it'll download the regular old launcher..
steam will create shortcuts to STO, but these will require you to go through steam and thus login twice, once to steam, once in the STO launcher..
instead, just replace the shortcuts steam created with shortcuts directly to the STO launcher executable..
on my system i just created a new shortcut on my desktop and I selected the following path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Star Trek Online\Star Trek Online.exe" and you won't have to start steam.
On ARC itself.. I'm no big fan of it, I already use steam for managing my games library and I don't need or want a separate application per publisher, whether it's EA, Ubisoft or PWE...
But as a software project manager, I do understand the need for it, especially the need for the ARC website.. if I worked for PWE management and found each game having its own website infrastructure and its own launcher, it'd be one of the first things i'd want to get rid of... having to maintain so many duplicate implementations of what's essentially the same thing is not a good use of a company's resources.. they are better spend on developing actual games.. so yeah I think it pays off for PWE in the long term as they can replace all the teams maintaining separate sites & applications with a single one..
Provided they don't break steam compatibility, even if at some point they'll make me sign in with steam to get the STO updates (i'm assuming at some point the double launcher will be eliminated), I'm fine with most of this..
The person above me beat me to it and stated how to get it to run without launching Steam.
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Looking for a new fleet? Drop by the in-game chat channel, "tenforwardforum", and say hi to the members of A Fleet Called Ten Forward (Fed) and The Orion Pirates (KDF). If you already have a fleet you are happy with, please feel free to drop by our chat channel if you are looking for a friendly bunch of helpful people to socialize with.
yes, just install steam and install STO through steam.. it'll download the regular old launcher..
steam will create shortcuts to STO, but these will require you to go through steam and thus login twice, once to steam, once in the STO launcher..
instead, just replace the shortcuts steam created with shortcuts directly to the STO launcher executable..
on my system i just created a new shortcut on my desktop and I selected the following path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Star Trek Online\Star Trek Online.exe" and you won't have to start steam.
On ARC itself.. I'm no big fan of it, I already use steam for managing my games library and I don't need or want a separate application per publisher, whether it's EA, Ubisoft or PWE...
But as a software project manager, I do understand the need for it, especially the need for the ARC website.. if I worked for PWE management and found each game having its own website infrastructure and its own launcher, it'd be one of the first things i'd want to get rid of... having to maintain so many duplicate implementations of what's essentially the same thing is not a good use of a company's resources.. they are better spend on developing actual games.. so yeah I think it pays off for PWE in the long term as they can replace all the teams maintaining separate sites & applications with a single one..
Provided they don't break steam compatibility, even if at some point they'll make me sign in with steam to get the STO updates (i'm assuming at some point the double launcher will be eliminated), I'm fine with most of this..
Excellent, thank you.
I'm still not happy using Steam but if it's not required to be in the background then thats the next best thing.
There is a major problem with the size of Arc vs the size of Steam.
Arc is 30 times larger than Steam post install, yet if offers no improvement to the technology for basically being a clone, in fact it is less than a clone. Not even the most malicious spyware accounts for this bloating.
For all the extra mass Arc has one would think that it would offer some super cool functionality but really you can match any feature Arc has to Steam, and steam still has features left over, such as its award gallerys, game/software import, and discrete silent mode. The interface is also clunky compared to expectation. Arc is a let down for all the hype that was attempted to be made about it.
Please stop marketing this now and send your programmers to efficiency training before attempting it again.
Your Isokinetic Cannon deals 150902 (37320) Kinetic Damage(Critical) to Vonph Battleship.
Ok, was able to import Star Trek Online in to Steam without having to redownload the entire 16gb thing (which is a very good thing for those of us with less than stellar Internet plans and connections). The following is the procedure I used, it might have a redundant step or two;
Add Star Trek Online through the Steam store, press Play and let it download the launcher as well as about 140mb worth of files.
Log in to the launcher as normal and allow it to download a few mb's worth of game files. Close the launcher down and exit out of Steam.
Copy the 4 directories in your Star Trek Online directory in to the newly created one under Steam. Verify the game files twice, it may need to download additional (small) files. Pressing Play will cause it to redownload the launcher.
You should now be able to log in and play the game just fine.
Time is a funny thing; There is always too much of it. Except when you need it the most, then there is never enough.
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I think this is really going to be a big mistake. STO has enough problems with all the bugs and glitches, but more importantly, the lack of high end content. I'm seeing more and more Fleet mates log in less and less because once you hit level 50, its all fleet mark, dilithium ore, and reputation farming, doing ESTFs, Fleet Actions, and Dyson "Ground and Pound."
I hear more Fleet mates saying they've not been logging in as often because they are getting bored of doing the same stuff over and over. I've been trying to actively recruite for my Fleet, but it seems all I'm accomplishing is filling up my fleet with game retirees.
Add ARC to this, and in my opinion, you're only giving another reason for players stop logging into STO.
I say, forget ARC, fix the bugs, and develop a very large pool of interesting, and rewarding level 50 content. I also think it my be a good idea to introduce additional bonus rewards and XP when teamed. This is not forced teaming, just bonus for teaming, to make teaming more attractive.
It is kinda "funny" how all PWE communications have gone silent regarding this Arc disaster lately..
My guess is that 95% of the PWE/Cryptic staff has the same opinions about this as 95% of the playerbase seems to have but don't dare speak up. *shrugs*
Sorry for double post, delete the other one if necessary.
Since we get no serious responses to our concerns about this I'm now trying Steam as a last attempt at avoiding Arc and still be able to play STO in the future. I love the game, but Arc will never be installed on my PC until it's optional.
No one playing STO really wants Arc, that's the truth. I've seen many valid reasons for not wanting it and some stupid responses from PWE. (Sorry BranFlakes).
For a while I thought of starting a petition and making a small "No to Arc" website to get attention to our concerns, but I think and hope this ship will do like Titanic all on it's own.
.....I have never experienced ARC, but I am running my game from my old installer and so far have not encountered anything trying to install ARC.
.....I have found an old post on how to install STO without ARC. But it's old, so who's to say it still works.
.....I already have STO on steam. I don't usually log into it from there. However, if forced to choose between ARC and Steam, Steam wins hands down. I already have friends there.
.....If you haven't tried steam, I recommend it. The steam community is a good one and the client is unobtrusive.
>>>>>.....I stand corrected, you can use alternate email addys with the Steam STO launcher. <<<<<
i will never use ARC and if ARC is forced on to me i will let my account fade into oblivion but i will also say if steam does not ever have to see the light of ARC i will from then on use sto via steam sorry PWE cryptic sto only reason i have account with the both of you i do not care for your other game nor will i ever
.....If you're running multiple STO accounts from various email addys, you would have to have a separate steam account for each STO account. Not a huge hurdle, but one to be aware of.
From what I can see Arc is some...Launcher client thing.
I just don't get why it's so aggravating, don't most MMOs have this??
Yes, Arc is a Launcher, but for PWE's games. You're right, most MMOs have this and some companies, like Blizzard and OG Planet, use unified launchers for their games. This is why Arc is.
The biggest complaint I've seen is that many players don't want this because they'd rather use the Launcher provided by Cryptic instead of something PWE is offering. I've seen many reasons - from the understandable (they use old computers) to the tin-foil hat-wearing ridiculous (it's a piece of malware that's seeking to transmit all of their data to China).
I have a vague understanding of what Steam is. So, it's like a launcher to play STO, but I still don't fully understand why people hate it. I'm only asking because I'm worried about downloading it after reading some of the posts in this thread.
I have a vague understanding of what Steam is. So, it's like a launcher to play STO, but I still don't fully understand why people hate it. I'm only asking because I'm worried about downloading it after reading some of the posts in this thread.
Thanks for the replies!
Unless you have an old computer (probably something like 5-6 years old), don't worry about it. I've downloaded both Arc and Arc Beta and both run fine on my computer. The only big difference is that it uses up a little more computer power than it should, but it's nothing compared to Google Chrome or Firefox.
A lot of the threads on there is just either people who just don't want change or are trying to frighten people. Do what YOU want to. If you want to get Arc, get it. These people aren't going to charge into your house and demand that you join them in boycotting Arc no more than PWE coming into your house and demand you use Arc.
Actually, wrong. Steam doesn't care about PWE/Cryptic accounts as long as STO is installed on a computer, anyone who has it on their account guard or approves it through account guard can play STO through the same steam account.
Comments
Keep in mind that Arc is still in beta. They might offer some sort of reward for it's official full release for players who install it during a certain period of time. (I'm hoping anyway)
But even if I go to http://www.perfectworld.com/ in the Arc browser accessed through the console in game, I see no way to log in and check my account info.
I can click the Zen button in the console but all I can do is look at my Zen purchase history. Even on the PWE website my lifetime sub is not listed here.
I can minimize the game and bring up Arc itself and click my avatar on the top right to access my account info, then click on Games in the list on the left and it shows how many days I've been subscribed to STO. (It seems at this time I still have a few days before I get my monthly Zen.)
Would be nice if we could access this type of info from within the game we are playing by using the Arc console.
Edit: Oh! I noticed a My Account button at the character select screen with Arc running. When clicking it, it brings up the log in page in the Arc console for the STO site. But.......when logging in, it just takes me to the support page for checking/creating support tickets, instead of bringing me to my account details. Just like it does when going to the forum page in Arc and logging in.
Kinda ironic. When using the Arc console to log into the STO forums or account page, it takes me to the support page instead, which is a bug.
I had to reformat for the new year and i didnt even want to bother using that Arc launcher after all I have heard. Seeing as i already had a few games on Steam i just decided to go for that with everything.
P.s there is someting majorly wrong with the forum btw i am not an ensign and did certainly not just join the forum
Is the Arc interface still a cheap(er) looking knock-off of everyone's most hated OS, Windows 8?
Call me old fashioned but I don't have anything on Steam and it pretty much looks to me just as useless to have as Arc.
Can you just use it to install then never run it again?
steam will create shortcuts to STO, but these will require you to go through steam and thus login twice, once to steam, once in the STO launcher..
instead, just replace the shortcuts steam created with shortcuts directly to the STO launcher executable..
on my system i just created a new shortcut on my desktop and I selected the following path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Star Trek Online\Star Trek Online.exe" and you won't have to start steam.
On ARC itself.. I'm no big fan of it, I already use steam for managing my games library and I don't need or want a separate application per publisher, whether it's EA, Ubisoft or PWE...
But as a software project manager, I do understand the need for it, especially the need for the ARC website.. if I worked for PWE management and found each game having its own website infrastructure and its own launcher, it'd be one of the first things i'd want to get rid of... having to maintain so many duplicate implementations of what's essentially the same thing is not a good use of a company's resources.. they are better spend on developing actual games.. so yeah I think it pays off for PWE in the long term as they can replace all the teams maintaining separate sites & applications with a single one..
Provided they don't break steam compatibility, even if at some point they'll make me sign in with steam to get the STO updates (i'm assuming at some point the double launcher will be eliminated), I'm fine with most of this..
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CUUCUUMBEER! "-With slight partigen with it."
Proud member or DPS-800 "-We kill dem mines with our scitter turrets."
Excellent, thank you.
I'm still not happy using Steam but if it's not required to be in the background then thats the next best thing.
Arc is 30 times larger than Steam post install, yet if offers no improvement to the technology for basically being a clone, in fact it is less than a clone. Not even the most malicious spyware accounts for this bloating.
For all the extra mass Arc has one would think that it would offer some super cool functionality but really you can match any feature Arc has to Steam, and steam still has features left over, such as its award gallerys, game/software import, and discrete silent mode. The interface is also clunky compared to expectation. Arc is a let down for all the hype that was attempted to be made about it.
Please stop marketing this now and send your programmers to efficiency training before attempting it again.
This here is my BOOM stick.
Add Star Trek Online through the Steam store, press Play and let it download the launcher as well as about 140mb worth of files.
Log in to the launcher as normal and allow it to download a few mb's worth of game files. Close the launcher down and exit out of Steam.
Copy the 4 directories in your Star Trek Online directory in to the newly created one under Steam. Verify the game files twice, it may need to download additional (small) files. Pressing Play will cause it to redownload the launcher.
You should now be able to log in and play the game just fine.
I think this is really going to be a big mistake. STO has enough problems with all the bugs and glitches, but more importantly, the lack of high end content. I'm seeing more and more Fleet mates log in less and less because once you hit level 50, its all fleet mark, dilithium ore, and reputation farming, doing ESTFs, Fleet Actions, and Dyson "Ground and Pound."
I hear more Fleet mates saying they've not been logging in as often because they are getting bored of doing the same stuff over and over. I've been trying to actively recruite for my Fleet, but it seems all I'm accomplishing is filling up my fleet with game retirees.
Add ARC to this, and in my opinion, you're only giving another reason for players stop logging into STO.
I say, forget ARC, fix the bugs, and develop a very large pool of interesting, and rewarding level 50 content. I also think it my be a good idea to introduce additional bonus rewards and XP when teamed. This is not forced teaming, just bonus for teaming, to make teaming more attractive.
My guess is that 95% of the PWE/Cryptic staff has the same opinions about this as 95% of the playerbase seems to have but don't dare speak up. *shrugs*
Sorry for double post, delete the other one if necessary.
No one playing STO really wants Arc, that's the truth. I've seen many valid reasons for not wanting it and some stupid responses from PWE. (Sorry BranFlakes).
For a while I thought of starting a petition and making a small "No to Arc" website to get attention to our concerns, but I think and hope this ship will do like Titanic all on it's own.
/Rant
.....I have found an old post on how to install STO without ARC. But it's old, so who's to say it still works.
.....I already have STO on steam. I don't usually log into it from there. However, if forced to choose between ARC and Steam, Steam wins hands down. I already have friends there.
.....If you haven't tried steam, I recommend it. The steam community is a good one and the client is unobtrusive.
>>>>>.....I stand corrected, you can use alternate email addys with the Steam STO launcher. <<<<<
system Lord Baal is dead
(Sorry, I'm a bit of a noob.)
@f4tamy | Sad Pandas
do you know what steam is? if so its that but only for PWE/cryptic games
system Lord Baal is dead
I'd like to know too.
I play STO through Steam.
From what I can see Arc is some...Launcher client thing.
I just don't get why it's so aggravating, don't most MMOs have this??
Thanks for the tip.
Yes, Arc is a Launcher, but for PWE's games. You're right, most MMOs have this and some companies, like Blizzard and OG Planet, use unified launchers for their games. This is why Arc is.
The biggest complaint I've seen is that many players don't want this because they'd rather use the Launcher provided by Cryptic instead of something PWE is offering. I've seen many reasons - from the understandable (they use old computers) to the tin-foil hat-wearing ridiculous (it's a piece of malware that's seeking to transmit all of their data to China).
Thanks for the replies!
@f4tamy | Sad Pandas
Unless you have an old computer (probably something like 5-6 years old), don't worry about it. I've downloaded both Arc and Arc Beta and both run fine on my computer. The only big difference is that it uses up a little more computer power than it should, but it's nothing compared to Google Chrome or Firefox.
A lot of the threads on there is just either people who just don't want change or are trying to frighten people. Do what YOU want to. If you want to get Arc, get it. These people aren't going to charge into your house and demand that you join them in boycotting Arc no more than PWE coming into your house and demand you use Arc.
Actually, wrong. Steam doesn't care about PWE/Cryptic accounts as long as STO is installed on a computer, anyone who has it on their account guard or approves it through account guard can play STO through the same steam account.
Only a few that I'm aware of, I know Gameforge has one, that's what's forever sworn me off using them