Star Trek

[ilovestrategy]

I got it and I LOVE this game! I thought it would suck but I'm actually having a lot of fun with it. Like I did with Lord of the Rings Online, I'm going to get the lifetime with this also. 

I've tried several other online games but they never held my interest like this one does.

[Moster]

Lifetime. How could I not get it being a lifetime Star Trek fan? I played City Of Heroes for sometime which is a game Cryptic did also. From my experience with COH, which was constantly updated with new free content and improved, I figured STO would get the same treatment from Cryptic.

On the negative side Cryptic has been taking some heat for Champions Online and hopefully they are not just living on past accomplishments.

[Phatguy]

ORIGINAL: ilovestrategy

My tax refund is coming next week so I'll be getting it. Do they have lifetime membership? I bought that for Lord of the Rings Online and I found that I LOVE lifetime! [&o]!  Best $199 I ever spent. 

I only went with the 3 month package when I came back after being a beta tester...to lazy to swith, especially being out on medical....Boy was I stupid not to have gone lifetime when I came back....

[Hertston]

ORIGINAL: Moster

Lifetime. How could I not get it being a lifetime Star Trek fan? I played City Of Heroes for sometime which is a game Cryptic did also. From my experience with COH, which was constantly updated with new free content and improved, I figured STO would get the same treatment from Cryptic.

On the negative side Cryptic has been taking some heat for Champions Online and hopefully they are not just living on past accomplishments.

Champions Online was a disaster, for me anyway. It was unbelievably laggy, to the extent it was literally quite unplayable most of the time; a problem I've never had with any other MMO. Cryptic's only resposnse was blame the ISPs (BT in my case, c'mon!), so I just gave up in disgust. CoH was OK but had the same problem I have with all of them, updated content or not they are all 'seen it, done that, got the T-Shirt' within the first three months, and only LotR and EVE survived on my hard-drive that long. I'd never do a 'lifetime' for that reason, the genre would have to experience a radical innovation overhall before I can imagine any game I'd play long-enough to justify it.

[JudgeDredd]

Well, what a difference two weeks makes!

I'm only at level 9 and the biggest thrill of all for me (getting a Constellation Class Cruiser) is only 2 levels away and I simply can't be bothered!

It's just same, same, same. I am honestly genuinely bored now. The same missions with the same strategy for them. The only real plus side is the Fleet battles which can be awesome...but even there I'm noticing lag now.

Problems?
1. Lag - bad lag especially on starbases and terra firma battles
2. Samey missions with samey strategy
3. I don't want to fire it up to see
a) How big the latest patch is
b) How long it will take to download
c) How long it's going to take me to log in after the patch has be downloaded
d) How bad the lag will be once I get in

The game is very well done and presented. I think it's been thought through with regard to making it Star Trek...but the missions are boring the hell out of me now. I mean, in WoW, I wanted to get to Level 10 to get bear form...then I wanted to get to level 20 to get cat form, then I wanted to get to level 25 to get a mount, then I wanted to get to level 40 to get a faster mount blah, blah, blah....it took me to level 55 to get bored of the horribly samey missions...but it took me that long because there were little offerings here and there to make you want to move on...not so with this. The one thing I desparately wanted to achieve is 2 levels away and I can't be arsed! [:D]

I actually cancelled my monthly subscription this morning. Reasons?
1. Customer service is ridiculously bad. I know their busy...but don't piss off your paying customers by asking them to resubmit their support issues!
2. Bombardment in game and out with spam for buying gold and energy
3. Lag - terrible on planet and getting bad in space now
4. I am still pissed about finding out the subs were not £8.99 but were £8.99 + VAT (which was NOT advertised on the Subs FAQ)
5. They took £1 from my paypal account. I have no understaning as to why they did that. I have bought many things (including subs) with Paypal and I've never had a company check by submitting a fee charge!!

I am just not happy with how they've conducted their business. They've got a sh!tload of things wrong in my view and I've got too many good games and too little gaming time to mess around with this one - and have them charge me for the pleasure (and allow them to charge me MORE than other established MMOs out there).

I may be back one day...but I think that's a long way off at the moment. There's alot to like...but ultimately, their choices in design and execution will get you unless you are made of sterner gaming "stuff".

[JudgeDredd]

And to prove my point - I fired it up....

[Jevhaddah]

I feel for yoo Judge.

I made the mistake of subscribing to Everquest 2 when it launched after many years of fun in Everquest 1. I ended up as a beta tester paying a monthly fee for the the dubious honour of finding bugs. The game in its current state bears little resemblance to how it look on launch [:)]

Soo I made the decision never to try a new MMPORG or indead single-player on release and to just adopt a wait and see policy.

Star Trek has always been formulaeic, Warp in, Beam Down, Solve problem/Kill Baddy, bonk bird (in Kirks time), Beam up and Warp out....

Without a good war against the Klingons or Romulans with STealth missions and loong quest lines leading to an ultimate conclusion I can't see how any Star Trek MMPORG can be anything other than it already is... formulaeic [:(]

A friend of mine bought and got to level 10 then unistalled it.

She wanted to be a Klingon but says that was not an option... It made her brow ridges stand out more and her fangs to show [:D]

Cheers

Jev

[JudgeDredd]

Well I am definitely going to adopt that approach in future. I bought it early because it was on BETA for pre-purchasers. Little did I know that the problems would continue. I guess I shouldn't have been so naive.

It isn't that it's a bad game - in it's current state, it's not worth £10 a month. I would need to see some serious time back from them for me to re-engage [:'(] I've spent way too much of my first months subscription sitting watching progress bars. I'm a programmer. I don't have to pay £29.99 and £10 a month to see progress bars - I can create them myself. [:D]

[Scott_WAR]

I tried to warn ya.............

[Dixie]

Tried it, dislike it, left it.  Like Judge said, every mission seems to be the same, that's if it works properly.  Don't bother complaining about it on the forums though, you'll quickly be spotted for what you are, a hater [:-]

[JudgeDredd]

Yes...I've noticed that over at the elitist STO forums

[GoodGuy]

I played City of Heros til like 2 years ago, and for way less than a year.
I rarely encountered lag even though I played the US version on US servers (I couldn't be arsed to play on EU servers, the amount of kids and retards when I played DAOC EU beta turned me off), due to my ISP providing really good pings (120 or less) and reliability.

Still, their support was terrible, solving a support ticket took a week or more at times. Rather bad customer service.

CoH had some levels/bonuses ppl were aiming for (like the ability to fly, at what.. level 14? can't remember), power ugrades etc... but the missions were usually pretty much the same: Go to some place, kill all, free someone, recover some artefact, blehbleh etc. There were some rare events like rikti assaults or the giant octopus that "required" all players in the area to team up, but that was it. I picked CoH as I never liked the WoW world, and as DAOC, Everquest etc. didn't do it for me either. Also, CoH has probably the most advanced teams and chat tools, making it very easy to recruit teams for missions. The UI has been thought through very well. Even WOW can't compete there, at least it couldn't when I checked out the EU beta.

I don't get the hype around WoW or Diablo 2, Diablo 2 had a decent story at least, though, it was just like the online players played the same quests over and over, just to get better armor or certain armor sets, for weeks!.

Repetitive...., lack of variety in online content, not my cup.
The only game I was almost addicted to was Tribes, but that was like a team E-Sport where you competed against others, and it took some skill to beat the opposing team, plus it wasn't pay2play. I guess games like ROF would fit in the same category.

[Hertston]

ORIGINAL: Dixie
Tried it, dislike it, left it.  Like Judge said, every mission seems to be the same, that's if it works properly.  Don't bother complaining about it on the forums though, you'll quickly be spotted for what you are, a hater [:-]

Seems to be the case with most MMOs. I think there is a certain degree of paranoia; while nobody expects their game to be the 'next WoW' they would like it to at least be successful enough to earn them all decent salaries and bonuses for a few years. Trouble is, with even the most likely 'heirs apparent' to WoW not having had the success anticipated nobody really knows what it is that makes a mega-successful MMO. What they do know is how important the scuttlebutt is, if word starts getting around that an MMO isn't exactly a triumph, or just isn't getting the expected subscriber numbers the reality tends to follow the rumour even if the rumour wasn't true. Nobody wants to sink time and money into an MMO that won't be around in a years time.. even those of us who never play one that long hope that MIGHT want to when we buy it!

[Dixie]

ORIGINAL: Hertston

ORIGINAL: Dixie
Tried it, dislike it, left it.  Like Judge said, every mission seems to be the same, that's if it works properly.  Don't bother complaining about it on the forums though, you'll quickly be spotted for what you are, a hater [:-]

Seems to be the case with most MMOs. I think there is a certain degree of paranoia; while nobody expects their game to be the 'next WoW' they would like it to at least be successful enough to earn them all decent salaries and bonuses for a few years. Trouble is, with even the most likely 'heirs apparent' to WoW not having had the success anticipated nobody really knows what it is that makes a mega-successful MMO. What they do know is how important the scuttlebutt is, if word starts getting around that an MMO isn't exactly a triumph, or just isn't getting the expected subscriber numbers the reality tends to follow the rumour even if the rumour wasn't true. Nobody wants to sink time and money into an MMO that won't be around in a years time.. even those of us who never play one that long hope that MIGHT want to when we buy it!

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

Yes...I've noticed that over at the elitist STO forums

Paranoia and die-hard trekkies/trekkers, what a combination. I've seen the forums for STO, and they make this place look like the BEst Friends Forever Club Message Board [:D]

The arguements are many, but they always end up with name calling and sulking. I can understand that a MMO might not be finished when it's released, there's always new content etc that can be released. But releasing it when it's not ready is something else. If someone wants to compete with WoW and Eve (no matter how you feel about them) then they'd better make sure the product is capable of attracting and keeping players. A half-arsed approach like STO is not going to get anywhere.

Sadly STO fails, badly. That's a shame because Star Trek + MMO should = Major win.


I'd steer clear of this one, at least for several months. Go and play A Final Unity through DOSbox if you can find it somewhere.

[Jevhaddah]

I am seriously concidering going back to EQ1 just to see if it's still as playable and enjoyable as I remember, I have no illusions about seeing it through 'Rose Tinted Glasses' I know I probably am seeing it so [:D]

Dated Graphics don't bother me nor do loong quests for a 5+wis item etc EQ1 was the only MMPORG that I have played where you had to work to earn yer rewards at ALL levels and sometimes it was as frustrating as hell.. but... who knows.

None of the more modern MMPORGS seem to do it for me with there dumbing down and uber fast levelling....

Rose Tinted Glasses.. maybe.....

Cheers

Jev

[Scott_WAR]

Have you seen the commercial on TV for STO? Now when they release the version of the game they showed in the commercial I will run right out and buy it.

When exactly did it become OK to engage in false advertising?

[PunkReaper]

Star trek must be one of the prettiest games I have ever played. The space battles are great with phasers flashing, photon torpedoes flying all over the place.... stunning. Sadly a game doesn't survive on looks alone. For a game set in the vastness of space it makes space seem so small. in Eve Online you could travel for days not seeing anyone, mining etc...but in STO the area seems so small and crowded and there is so little to do. Where is the "Seeking out new worlds and new civilisations"..... such a missed opportunity, so sad.

[Scott_WAR]

ORIGINAL: Dixie

Tried it, dislike it, left it.  Like Judge said, every mission seems to be the same, that's if it works properly.  Don't bother complaining about it on the forums though, you'll quickly be spotted for what you are, a hater [:-]

Heh, If you go take a look at those forums now even the most ardent defender of the game is mad. It seems that the price for STO has been dropped, the special "pre-order only" items are being offered to anyone that buys the game now, AND they are including 60 days play time instead of the usual 30. Those that bought the game at release who are about use up their 30 days and then must pay to continue playing are feeling a little betrayed.

[JudgeDredd]

ORIGINAL: Scott_WAR

ORIGINAL: Dixie

Tried it, dislike it, left it.  Like Judge said, every mission seems to be the same, that's if it works properly.  Don't bother complaining about it on the forums though, you'll quickly be spotted for what you are, a hater [:-]

Heh, If you go take a look at those forums now even the most ardent defender of the game is mad. It seems that the price for STO has been dropped, the special "pre-order only" items are being offered to anyone that buys the game now, AND they are including 60 days play time instead of the usual 30. Those that bought the game at release who are about use up their 30 days and then must pay to continue playing are feeling a little betrayed.

I understand that sentiment, but we (including me) can hardly grumble about it. This kind of shenanagins happens all the time and it's getting more and more regular. They can drop the price of the game all they want and offer as many days as they want...but until I get 30 days free for the waste of time I had in my first 30 and they (more importantly) drop the monthly price, I won't be revisiting it soon. On top of that I'd need to see some seriously changed content and more server capacity. The game has to mature and I understand that, but I'm not going to play it until it's matured. And I'm certainly not going to pay an over inflated monthly price to take it into maturity.

[Dixie]

Plus, telling your player base that the "don't get it" won't always go down well [:D]