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I just cannot walk away...

As much as I want to just turn my back on this game on the count that its developers don't even PRETEND to even want to strive for making it into the much better game the IP deserves to have bearing its name, I simply cannot. I;; probably be downloading it again on my next day off from work. I don't know how long I will be back, but I am coming back.

I still firmly believe that this game falls dreadfully short of what the Star Trek name actually deserves. But for better or for worse, it Is what it is.

So hello, again, everyone.
"There can be no meeting of the minds between two parties
if both parties are not willing to meet in the middle."
-Ambassador Samuel J. Stone
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Comments

  • truewarpertruewarper Member Posts: 928 Arc User
    Welcome... :)
    52611496918_3c42b8bab8.jpg
    Departing from Sol *Earth* by Carlos A Smith,on Flickr
    SPACE---The Last and Great Frontier. A 14th-year journey
    Vna res, una mens, unum cor et anima una. Cetera omnia, somnium est.
  • tribbulatertribbulater Member Posts: 291 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    I think that from time to time we should reflect on the game as a whole rather than our specific frustrations with it.

    As a whole, Star Trek Online is a pretty great game, with some pretty awesome ships, with a vision of the future where all the races and factions are starting to work together, where you can do quite good space combat and not-bad ground combat (IMO, I know some people disagree).

    It has some excellent story-telling and mission writing in places, on par with the shows (again, IMO). It has a ton of free content (for a player going through all of it), it has a great F2P model. Cryptic regularly gives away lots of fairly high-end rewards for fairly simple levels of participation or just as giveaways. It has a reasonably good social environment for meeting and chatting and missioning with friends.

    Yes, if you've already played everything through (except not many people have, especially for all factions), and you are just looking for some sort of challenging/interesting 'end-game' content, it can be frustrating. And yes, there are some bugs and issues with various features. And yes, sometimes Cryptic pulls marketing moves that leave the entire player base scratching their heads and wondering who on their marketing team is secretly trying to destroy STO.

    But overall, it's a very good game with a lot to offer for minimal cost. And they're still working on improving it, which is more than I can say for some other space games with bigger budgets and more players.
  • alcyoneserenealcyoneserene Member Posts: 2,412 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    Same here. I think the game is really poor in my experience over the many years I've played it, and do want to walk away completely and stop wasting time with it.

    I don't care that much about ST IP in itself or how STO manages to make itself live up to ST or not, but I'm here for the gameplay and that's where it fails to me big time: all powers not activating reliably or timely, poor network performance with lag and rubberbanding, unresponsive menus, game balance issues, landfill of worthless items stacking endlessly, lack of properly challenging end-game content that's not tied to "do more DPS or GTFO", excessive grind tied to boring events, casino gambling orientation, no 3D space, clunky poor ground combat, bugs on top of more bugs, poor players (this is the game's fault too for not demanding higher skill and instead rewarding equipment-based performance excessively).

    For now I'm still hanging in with it, cause it has potential to be a lot of fun sometimes, but no longer care about it much, and the challenge is to have fun, which often fails but not enough to become free hard drive space.
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  • ussvaliant#6064 ussvaliant Member Posts: 1,006 Arc User
    I personally really enjoy the game. I wouldn't have been playing for the past 9 years continuous if I didn't.

    However the state of the servers and lets be honest it isn't going to get any better despite the sticky thread asking for Lag feedback, has made me consider putting the game on the shelf to forever collect dust numerous times this past 6 months.
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    Hello rubber banding my old friend, time to bounce around the battlezone again, where are all my bug reports going?, out of love with this game I am falling, As Cryptic fail to acknowledge a problem exists, Shakes an angry fist, And from Support all I'm hearing are the sounds of silence.
  • jagdtier44jagdtier44 Member Posts: 376 Arc User
    I enjoy the game in spurts, I'll come back and play for a while get tired of it again an drop it. I usually will find an alt I want to gear up, or create a new one with a theme.

    With that said I've become.. pretty choosy about how and if I spend my money in STO.. It is like you said the only game really like it out there after all
  • fallenkezef#4581 fallenkezef Member Posts: 644 Arc User
    Well it seems to have gone a decade without having to literaly blow up the entire setting and remake from scratch before rolling back every update and re-creating the first year of the game so doing better than some mmo's I can mention.

    I'm still new and not yet jaded so I'm loving this game. I wouldn't mind some more love for the KDF but I understand the focus is Feds and you can only do so much before it's just creative re-skinning and copy-pasta.

    This Khitomer alliance, combined design thing seems interesting.
  • ltminnsltminns Member Posts: 12,569 Arc User
    Soon to a theater near you - Anti-I Quit, Anti-Doom Threads not allowed.
    'But to be logical is not to be right', and 'nothing' on God's earth could ever 'make it' right!'
    Judge Dan Haywood
    'As l speak now, the words are forming in my head.
    l don't know.
    l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
    That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
    Lt. Philip J. Minns
  • ichaerus1ichaerus1 Member Posts: 986 Arc User
    You can walk away. It would be difficult to do. But you choose to return. It is what it is. I myself, am choosing a different path. Maybe your choice here will lead to a better experience.
    ltminns wrote: »
    Soon to a theater near you - Anti-I Quit, Anti-Doom Threads not allowed.

    Before too long, only threads giving praise to Cryptic and the mods will be the only things allowed. With hymns, and holy oil application required during the rituals.
  • meimeitoomeimeitoo Member Posts: 12,587 Arc User
    ichaerus1 wrote: »
    You can walk away. It would be difficult to do. But you choose to return.


    This reminds me of this program I saw about a bank that kept giving business loans to a shop that wasn't doing great. And when they finally went under, the program makers asked why the bank had kept sinking money in. And the answer was as logical as it was simple: "Because we've already put so much money into it, quitting on it now would just be an all-out loss. So we kept hoping for better days, and that one extra loan might do it."

    Same goes for me: even when I might contemplate on leaving, I keep reminding myself I'm already so invested in the game (finanically and otherwise), that the best way to not make everything a totall loss, is to simply keep going.
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  • flash525flash525 Member Posts: 5,441 Arc User
    I left years ago, and between my first leave, and my last, I did come and go from time to time, and I'd by lying if I said I haven't logged in since (usually just to check my zen is still stacking, and to claim any anniversary rewards for if/when I do return full or part time).

    As it stands though, for me at least, there's simply too much going on; too many ships, too many items, too many setups, too many exclusive rewards, and far too many areas of the game that should've got some TLC by now, but have simply been left out in the cold. Heck, there's mechanics from launch that still haven't been fixed yet - Benzite Bridge Officers anyone? I mean, c'mon.
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  • mneme0mneme0 Member Posts: 498 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    coldnapalm wrote: »
    Basically, once they abandoned the Romulan faction...I am barely on.

    Don't worry, with Picard out soon they will have an R&D promo Romulan Borg Command Escort Dreadnought or something for you to gamble for!
  • thunderfoot#5163 thunderfoot Member Posts: 4,540 Arc User
    This is game. It is only a game. It should not be allowed to become a lifestyle choice. Priorities.
    If you're looking for praise for being brave enough to return to something you dislike, then I'd like you to go and watch what Ricky Gervais said as host of the Golden Globes. He was spot on brilliant. I think what he said applies here as well.

    A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
  • seaofsorrowsseaofsorrows Member Posts: 10,918 Arc User
    I don't understand why anyone would play a game they don't enjoy.

    There are things in life you have to do rather you like it or not.. get up everyday and go to work, pay your bills, etc.. playing a game is purely recreational and purely optional.

    I have been playing on and off since LoR and I have burned out a few times. When I find myself feeling the game is no longer fun, I take a break.. usually 1-4 weeks or so then play again. If it's fun.. I stay, if not.. longer break.

    If you're playing the game, but you don't enjoy it.. frankly.. you're nuts.
    Insert witty signature line here.
  • salazarrazesalazarraze Member Posts: 3,794 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    meimeitoo wrote: »
    Same goes for me: even when I might contemplate on leaving, I keep reminding myself I'm already so invested in the game (finanically and otherwise), that the best way to not make everything a totall loss, is to simply keep going.

    This is one of the saddest things I've ever read on this forum.
    If you're playing the game, but you don't enjoy it.. frankly.. you're nuts.

    Seriously, so true. The video game industry is a $150 billion a year juggernaut. There's other things out there for you if you're not enjoying yourself. I frequently take breaks to play fallout, Ark Survival, EU4, GTA, FIFA and a handful of other games. Enjoy yourself, people. You have options. Not Star Trek options but you have plenty of other options when you want to take a break.
    When you see "TRIBBLE" in my posts, it's because I manually typed "TRIBBLE" and censored myself.
  • jonsillsjonsills Member Posts: 10,354 Arc User
    I don't understand why anyone would play a game they don't enjoy.

    There are things in life you have to do rather you like it or not.. get up everyday and go to work, pay your bills, etc.. playing a game is purely recreational and purely optional.

    I have been playing on and off since LoR and I have burned out a few times. When I find myself feeling the game is no longer fun, I take a break.. usually 1-4 weeks or so then play again. If it's fun.. I stay, if not.. longer break.

    If you're playing the game, but you don't enjoy it.. frankly.. you're nuts.
    Y'know, over the years there have been a lot of things that you and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye on, but this? Dead straight.

    Play games for fun. That's why they're there. If a game isn't fun any more, don't play it any more. I walked away from WoW when I realized that the playstyle the devs required past a certain point wasn't fun for me. Sure, I'd spent years playing, and invested a fair bit of cash (mostly fifteen bucks a month, but sometimes a tad extra), but I've never been much for the sunk-cost fallacy.

    I take breaks from STO from time to time, just as I take breaks from CO, and from the Fallout franchise (although I'm having fun with variant builds in F76 - my latest is a strength-oriented melee toon who looks like a sweet little old lady), and from pretty much every other game on my hard drive. STO is one that I consistently come back to, though, because for all its many faults I'm still having fun.
    Lorna-Wing-sig.png
  • warpangelwarpangel Member Posts: 9,427 Arc User
    Pretty much the opposite to me. I really like the game, but it just doesn't give me enough reason to play it more than the 10 minutes a day it takes to pick up the event-of-the-moment.
  • sennahcheribsennahcherib Member Posts: 2,823 Arc User
    I don't understand why anyone would play a game they don't enjoy.

    There are things in life you have to do rather you like it or not.. get up everyday and go to work, pay your bills, etc.. playing a game is purely recreational and purely optional.

    I have been playing on and off since LoR and I have burned out a few times. When I find myself feeling the game is no longer fun, I take a break.. usually 1-4 weeks or so then play again. If it's fun.. I stay, if not.. longer break.

    If you're playing the game, but you don't enjoy it.. frankly.. you're nuts.

    you can enjoy some parts of this game, but not the totality; it is my case. I created cool toons, and there are the reason why i still play at sto. I just use my imagination, and I avoid 70% of this game.
    Tfos are a crappy apart of this game; for 3 of my toons, i use the random stuff for the marks bonus, and it is always the same 4 or 5 tfos; those fu.... borg tfos, starbase 1 etc. they should give a way to earn marks without the need to do these crappy tfos.

    I have already made breaks, not 1 or 4 weeks, but 1 year or more. From time to time, I launched the game just to not loose my account like I don't know if the accounts are deleted after a delay. I was tired, but really tired; too many grind, too many random stuff where you waste your time and ressources (example: the r&d rcs console), same tfos done ad nauseam, the gamble boxes and for the TOS enterprise scam; i was just disgusted. I came back for my toons and for the episodes (this part is interesting).

  • thegrandnagus1thegrandnagus1 Member Posts: 5,165 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    I don't understand why anyone would play a game they don't enjoy.
    jonsills wrote: »
    Y'know, over the years there have been a lot of things that you and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye on, but this? Dead straight.

    Like Obi-Wan said, "only a Sith deals in absolutes". Clearly the OP enjoys the game or he wouldn't play it. It's also clear he doesn't enjoy it AS MUCH as he wishes he did. Those 2 things are not mutually exclusive, so whether you agree with him nor not(I have my complaints, but enjoy it overall) stop acting like you can't understand what he actually meant.

    The-Grand-Nagus
    Join Date: Sep 2008

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  • sthe91sthe91 Member Posts: 5,403 Arc User
    I don't understand why anyone would play a game they don't enjoy.
    jonsills wrote: »
    Y'know, over the years there have been a lot of things that you and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye on, but this? Dead straight.

    Like Obi-Wan said, "only a Sith deals in absolutes". Clearly the OP enjoys the game or he wouldn't play it. It's also clear he doesn't enjoy it AS MUCH as he wishes he did. Those 2 things are not mutually exclusive, so whether you agree with him nor not(I have my complaints, but enjoy it overall) stop being so glibly dogmatic.

    There was nothing dogmatic about what they said. I disagree with the OP on his points just as these two gentleman also do. If you are not having fun, why play the game?
    Where there is a Will, there is a Way.
  • thegrandnagus1thegrandnagus1 Member Posts: 5,165 Arc User
    edited February 2020
    sthe91 wrote: »
    I don't understand why anyone would play a game they don't enjoy.
    jonsills wrote: »
    Y'know, over the years there have been a lot of things that you and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye on, but this? Dead straight.

    Like Obi-Wan said, "only a Sith deals in absolutes". Clearly the OP enjoys the game or he wouldn't play it. It's also clear he doesn't enjoy it AS MUCH as he wishes he did. Those 2 things are not mutually exclusive, so whether you agree with him nor not(I have my complaints, but enjoy it overall) stop being so glibly dogmatic.

    There was nothing dogmatic about what they said. I disagree with the OP on his points just as these two gentleman also do. If you are not having fun, why play the game?

    See the post above mine (from @sennahcherib ) as an example of someone who actually understands what the OP means. Someone isn't going to play a game they don't enjoy AT ALL. We all enjoy STO to varying degrees. It's clear the OP also has major issues with the game and it has disappointed him. That doesn't mean he doesn't have ANY fun playing it like some people are PRETENDING like he said.
    Post edited by thegrandnagus1 on

    The-Grand-Nagus
    Join Date: Sep 2008

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  • tribbulatertribbulater Member Posts: 291 Arc User
    I think it's a case of mismatched expectations. If you play for free, it's a lot of game and a lot of content and a lot of giveaways for absolute free. Hard to be disappointed.

    If you paid $80 for a month or two's sub and some Zen and a ship pack, and played all the available content using those and the freebies, then you've had a lot of game content for $80; easily comparable to other titles of similar value. So you're likely not disappointed, although there may be aspects of the game you wish were better.

    If you've bought a life sub, and dropped $800 or more on Zen and other items, such that you've spent $1,000 or more on a video game which you then expect to deliver a ton of quality entertainment forever... I can see how someone would be disappointed with it. Although in that case I also think the problem is only partially because Cryptic isn't delivering, and is more because the buyer felt they were buying something more than Cryptic can possibly deliver - and feels remorse for having paid large for something that it turns out will never likely exist. That's more on the buyer for "wishful buying", in my mind.

    At any rate, it's a simple video game. It doesn't have the budget of TV shows or movies, it doesn't have the audience, it isn't funded by CBS or Paramount. Players should probably think of it more like the movies: you pay $15, you have some hours of entertainment, you walk out and it's gone. If you didn't get the entertainment value you wanted for the dollars you spent, that's your cue to stop spending.

    (Not saying Cryptic couldn't do better with what they have and what we pay, by the way, but that's a different topic than the OP.)
  • echattyechatty Member Posts: 5,913 Arc User
    edited February 2020

    you can enjoy some parts of this game, but not the totality; it is my case. I created cool toons, and there are the reason why i still play at sto. I just use my imagination, and I avoid 70% of this game.
    Tfos are a crappy apart of this game; for 3 of my toons, i use the random stuff for the marks bonus, and it is always the same 4 or 5 tfos; those fu.... borg tfos, starbase 1 etc. they should give a way to earn marks without the need to do these crappy tfos.

    I have already made breaks, not 1 or 4 weeks, but 1 year or more. From time to time, I launched the game just to not loose my account like I don't know if the accounts are deleted after a delay. I was tired, but really tired; too many grind, too many random stuff where you waste your time and ressources (example: the r&d rcs console), same tfos done ad nauseam, the gamble boxes and for the TOS enterprise scam; i was just disgusted. I came back for my toons and for the episodes (this part is interesting).

    Agreed here, I have many toons, all of which I love for various reasons.

    There are ways to get marks other than the TFOs, There is also the new patrols, which give out choice marks. 30 for the first patrol and 15 for subsequent patrols. They're the ones under the Patrols tab of the TFO window. They do have a cooldown, like the Romulan Patrols, but still a fair way to get marks.

    Give them a try. I know they don't give out a lot of marks, but it's you, by yourself, which is what I like. Then again, sometimes you'll get into one already in progress by someone else, but you still get the rewards for helping them.
    Now a LTS and loving it.
    Just because you spend money on this game, it does not entitle you to be a jerk if things don't go your way.
    I have come to the conclusion that I have a memory like Etch-A-Sketch. I shake my head and forget everything. :D
  • leemwatsonleemwatson Member Posts: 5,331 Arc User
    My biggest bug-bear is the lack of 'common sense engineering' with ship HP and weapon's hardpoints and arcs. I've always said they should have followed the SFC series (which got most of it right). However, I can get past this. The only thing that puts me off is playing queues riddled with leechers/AFK'ers (Auto-kick for inactivity is really needed). That being said, I play on both PC and XBOX (which is actually a better experience believe it or not) and my will to play the game is still as strong as it was when I started.
    "You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
  • sennahcheribsennahcherib Member Posts: 2,823 Arc User
    echatty wrote: »

    you can enjoy some parts of this game, but not the totality; it is my case. I created cool toons, and there are the reason why i still play at sto. I just use my imagination, and I avoid 70% of this game.
    Tfos are a crappy apart of this game; for 3 of my toons, i use the random stuff for the marks bonus, and it is always the same 4 or 5 tfos; those fu.... borg tfos, starbase 1 etc. they should give a way to earn marks without the need to do these crappy tfos.

    I have already made breaks, not 1 or 4 weeks, but 1 year or more. From time to time, I launched the game just to not loose my account like I don't know if the accounts are deleted after a delay. I was tired, but really tired; too many grind, too many random stuff where you waste your time and ressources (example: the r&d rcs console), same tfos done ad nauseam, the gamble boxes and for the TOS enterprise scam; i was just disgusted. I came back for my toons and for the episodes (this part is interesting).

    Agreed here, I have many toons, all of which I love for various reasons.

    There are ways to get marks other than the TFOs, There is also the new patrols, which give out choice marks. 30 for the first patrol and 15 for subsequent patrols. They're the ones under the Patrols tab of the TFO window. They do have a cooldown, like the Romulan Patrols, but still a fair way to get marks.

    Give them a try. I know they don't give out a lot of marks, but it's you, by yourself, which is what I like. Then again, sometimes you'll get into one already in progress by someone else, but you still get the rewards for helping them.

    I totally forgot the patrols, I'm going to try, thx :)

    If only, the devs could add more ground places to be with our away team; with the time, I have almost lost the pleasure to play the space content (except the missions), but it is always a pleasure to play with my boffs (I dedicated a lot of time to make them also cool :p )
  • echattyechatty Member Posts: 5,913 Arc User
    You're welcome :)
    Now a LTS and loving it.
    Just because you spend money on this game, it does not entitle you to be a jerk if things don't go your way.
    I have come to the conclusion that I have a memory like Etch-A-Sketch. I shake my head and forget everything. :D
This discussion has been closed.