Aa Sudden Realisation (STO)

posted on April 1st, 2014, 11:50 pm

Okay, so I finally realised something today whilst deep in contemplative thought puffing away at my pipe (no joke, it's after April Fools).
I really dislike STO. From the IMO abysmal storyline to the idiotic references to various Star Trek events/characters, everything bugs me. I remember being so excited when I'd first heard about it, because I imagined something else. An MMO rogue-like with the possibility of working on a starship with friends, perhaps. Something that contradicted Star Trek (2009) by keeping Romulus from being destroyed. A game that didn't introduce "new classes" which are essentially recognisable starships, but with sharper corners and obnoxious nacelles. Something, in other words, more like Fleetops. Because I honestly think that everything Fleetops has done has shown more commitment to the Trek ideal than STO even tried to emulate.

Am I the only one who thinks this?

posted on April 2nd, 2014, 3:02 pm

No, you are not the only one. That game never worked for me, yes better graphics but it lacks something don't know what it was but never connected to it!

posted on April 2nd, 2014, 4:36 pm

I think my problem with it is the usual MMO problem. I'm grinding to afford that purple rare Mk.XII Quantum Torpedo launcher or something, that is only 2% better than the one I had, so I can grind to get something else, so I can grind to...

ad nauseum. There is no sense of purpose. It's almost as bad as EvE Online (which I was given a free trial of, deemed "Spreadsheet Simulator" and never played again)

posted on April 2nd, 2014, 7:42 pm

Don't play what you don't enjoy. It's your time, your money; your choice. But I don't think it's quite as devoid of the Trek spirit as you're making it out to be.

It's lore was never going to be allowed to contradict the 2009 film. The lead writer has talked in the past that she had written up a long elaborate future history leading from Nemesis to 2409. When it was submitted to CBS in 2008, they got the message "we need to talk". She had to rewrite large portions of her work because of it.

There's also a fair bit of good story content, especially in what has come post-launch, and while the release pace of new missions that advance the storyline has slowed to a snail's pace, Temporal Ambassador, Sphere of Influence, and A Step Between Stars are all excellent; and it's still a good place to hear some of the actors reprise their old roles (Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar, Michael Dorn as Worf, and Tim Russ as Tuvok respectively in those missions). The story arc they put in for Romulan Republic captains is excellent work, and it's an interesting development in the Trek universe to have a group of Romulans (even one led by D'Tan, the child who Spock talks to on a couple of occasions in the Unification two-parter) act as mediators and providers of common ground between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

There are also some good game mechanics. Bridge officers are nicely done, and I love the duty officer system both for the immersion and for some inadvertently hilarious stories (I once sent two officers to review some diplomatic papers; the resulting disaster saw both of them spend time in sick bay. In my imagination, I can see the doctors staring grimly at their patients, who whisper in horrified tones "The papercuts, the papercuts!").

On top of that, there are a lot of fantastic little nods and references like the unusually-frequent appearance of the number 47, and Sisko's baseball still being in his old office on DS9 (although now displayed in a glass case). The recent revamp of the game's UI to a more classic LCARS feel is another aspect of this -- Michael Okuda himself provided encouragement to the UI artist during the main portion of the project.

I do agree that there are things that the game can be criticised for. Older ship models generally aren't great, especially those that date from before launch. Some of the monetisation methods leave a bad taste in my mouth (lockboxes). End-game content is based on overly repetitive grind (although we're starting to get to a point where there's enough different things to do to at least put some variety in the daily routine). Story content is being released way too slowly. Some of the mechanics aren't what I'd want. It is a bit too focused on pew pew.

I like the game, despite its flaws. There's enough Trek spirit in it to keep me coming back, and even when Cryptic's own content is lacking there's always the Foundry to fall back on.

posted on April 3rd, 2014, 2:56 am

I had mixed emotions over STO. It's more the MMO concept than anything that turns me off, but I thought they could've done better starship designs. Aside form that, all I've seen is some youtube footage of a starship battle. Watching all that rapid fire gave me the feel of some fantasy mage dressed in a spaceship costume. Warp, shoot. Warp, shoot. That pretty well did it for me.

The big problem for me is, as others have said, the grind. I love the idea of hopping onto a server with thousands of players in a massive virtual throw down, but I am a rouge. Leave me to starve in a digital desert, fight my way out, battle foes one more powerful after the other, and perish in battle. If there was a Bleach MMO, I'd be Kempachi. Sadly, I am not the target audience. The most profitable MMOs reward teamwork above all. Can't take down a monster? Team up. More people, more subscriptions. Good for the game producers, a burn for me.

To that end, and somewhat to EvE's defense, I think EvE is a good game. They say you can go rouge, but having done the trial, you still have to grind even though you can do so 'automatically'. What I find attractive about the game is the absolutely massive (server-crashing massive) user-created factions, cutthroat business practices, piracy, and the ability to exact justice on the battlefield. At the end of the day, I am still a rouge, and cheap to boot. Plus, I figured I'd waste too many face smacks trying to figure out the political intrigue.

But, I digest. In short, EvE's a good game. STO isn't bad, and honestly that's better than I expected. I always fear for the series since its owners try to milk it for ratings rather than produce good material. For the time being, I'll stick with FleetOps, thank you ^_^

posted on April 3rd, 2014, 6:17 am

The big problem for me is, as others have said, the grind. I love the idea of hopping onto a server with thousands of players in a massive virtual throw down, but I am a rouge. Leave me to starve in a digital desert, fight my way out, battle foes one more powerful after the other, and perish in battle.

Ditto. I like going solo and doing my own thing and you just can't do it in most MMOs. It always seems to be a pattern of grinding and teaming up to kill Generic Boss #256. I rarely even bother with the AI companions in single player games that include them, like Fallout, Skyrim, and NWN.

posted on April 3rd, 2014, 7:53 am

Just to comment on points raised in the last couple of posts:

1) None of the storyline missions needs the player to be in a team. You'll have your NPC bridge officers along for most of them, but as a starship crew should be a large team, it shouldn't be a big thing. Additionally, the story missions should take you from 1st to 50th level, with no forced repetition (though you can elect to repeat a mission), and they scale to your level as well.

2) STO's end-game grind is very casual compared to other MMOs I've played. Most end-game rewards can be earned solo, although to do that you'll find yourself in instances with other players.

3) There is some content that requires you to be in a group, but the queue system for them means that such groups are transitory in nature. Almost nothing requires interaction between the players beyond each having an understanding of the objectives and a rough strategy.

4) Same goes for Foundry content; grouping strictly optional.

5) Most of the low-quality models are those that date from launch. It should be remembered that Cryptic had to develop the game in 18 months after Perpetual spectacularly dropped the ball, so some rough models are to be expected. Ships created since are generally of a far greater level of quality; the Odyssey and Regent classes being probably my favourite new Starfleet designs they've created, while the Ambassador class model created for the third anniversary is their best representation of a class seen on screen.

posted on October 13th, 2014, 2:15 am

i used to be satisfied by STO, meaning that i didnt agree with everything they did, but noticed patterns of logic behind things. they are a business, so i can understand needing some way to get money. especially since free to play does cost more due to thousands of players requiring more server power then the few hundred that would play with subscription. i understood those decisions as much as i would have tried to go around them if i was the manager there.

what murdered the game for me was when they destroyed what seemed like a orderly system by adding the romulans. things went way down hill. first, we have a faction that isnt really a whole faction, its a customization feature for the feds/klinks. they removed the PVP balance by giving the feds battle cloaks, and given the klinks.... new players? not really. the scimitar was accurate in its firepower, and is exactly why it should NOT have been added. it was a doomsday weapon, why are we allowed to fly doomsday weapons next to exploration vessels and expecting that anything will compare to the scimitar in tanking, firepower, or usefulness?

more recently the klinks have gone from off-balance, to destroyed. their only unique consoles have been gifted to the feds by the lockboxes where feds dont have to pay C-store for the consoles. the klinks on the other hand, have to spend real money (or grind the hell out of dill) for any of these decent consoles. and what does the lockboxes give in return? crap consoles that no one wants, not even the feds that have them for free because of events.
the uniqueness of the klinks (cloaking) was ruined by the romulans, who got better cloaking and better builds (see T'varo vs brel comparisons)

story wise, the klingons are 1000x better then the fed story, and 100x better then the romulan story, who just come off as needy and selfish. like, we just donated a bunch to get you guys a new world and helped you study this gateway you found that you wouldnt be able to study yourself, but as soon as we suggest caution, suddenly YOU CANT TELL ME WHAT TO DO. like... good lord, i havent earned SOME say in the matter? really? F- you too.

anyway, i dislike that the most fun faction has been murdered by the same people responsible for making it good.

oh, and the crafting revamp? scam. thats it. i hope you had aegis before the revamp, cause thats the only good thing to come from the update.

posted on October 13th, 2014, 8:28 am

I don't actually played the STO and i don't think i would anyway, but let me tell you why...
I have been asked from my friends to play it as a team, but what i saw was quite different from what i imagenet will be...
I imagenet it will be more like Star Trek: Bridge Commander in sense that ships, weapons, shields, abilities and etc... will be
more Star Trek -not Star Trek wannabes. I mean c'mon people, put aside usual MMO problem like grinding, i like grinding but please give me a break... Ships, weapons, shields, abilities and etc... especially the new ships-they are all abismall!... I am sorry if i offended anyone - i know that STO have lots of fans, and i think it is cool MMO aldo not very well balanced and lacking true Star Trek spirit!... The ships do look like wizards shooting magic over each other, and abilities are just sorcery... What people cannot understand is that is not enuf to put "Star Trek universe" names over new ships, weapons, shields, abilities and etc... But this things must look and feel Star Trek enuf to make you believe that they are actual part of this universe!... The STO ships, weapons, shields, abilities and etc... look and feel like they are part of different universe, not even alternate universe-just different!...
Luckily for everyone it exist Fleet Operations alongside other games and game mods which i think captured the true Star Trek spirit!!!

posted on October 14th, 2014, 8:29 pm

I have played it. STO is an enjoyable game, but I am not going to play it again. I think the following about STO:

• Missions are not varied well and sometimes boring (like flying around a planet and clicking scan object 5 times). The few featured episodes are an exception. All episodes should be like them.
• I don't like being forced into fixed roles. Players have to choose a career path (tactical, engineering, science) for their characters and of course this can not be changed afterwards.
• Fleet Actions were the most fun for me.
• Though it is free-to-play and they need to make money somehow, some prices are... well... Renaming a character a single time 3 EUR. The best ships are roughly 20-25 EUR each. You will find it very easy to spent a lot of money in the In-App-Store.
• Player characters and bridge officers gain XP, but Duty Officers don't. I guess they are treated like trading card.
• Weapons usually have the same range.
• Skill and (de)buff system is too complicated in my opinion.
• Players can only cloak in battle if they have a special battle cloak. Cloaking used to be different is Star Trek...
• Player rank makes a huge difference. If you are playing against someone with level 45 and you only have 36, you are very likely going to loose.