Sorry this has been so late to being posted. This is what happens when you get distracted and forget. Anyways, this is my 'shaky cam' video interview of Thomas Marrone of Cryptic Studios back in August.
Eve Online Now In On-Deck Circle
June 9th, 2010 | No Comments
Being so disappointed in what was offered in Star Trek Online, I started to look into what Eve Online could possibly offer, and if that was more of what I was looking for in a space MMO.
So far, it is, but you know how fickle I can be.
Eve reminds me a lot of the paper and pencil game I love of Traveller, or, more specifically Megatraveller. Four ‘empires’ are available at the start, each following a stereotype of a society. You have the galactic hereditary empire (which definitely corresponds to Traveller’s Third Imperium in many ways) matched against their former slaves (much like the Jewish people who fled from Egypts slavery). They are diametrically opposed. Then, you have the progressive hippies (Obama supporters) against the evil capitalists (Dick Cheney forever). Or, something like that.
As I started my trial account, I decided on the evil capitalists, since they are Ayn Rand-ish in philosophy, and I’m currently reading Atlas Shrugged. (See my political blog to understand that choice.)
Using the name Sevnara (one of my standard names for MMOs – I used her for Star Trek Online too), I am now going through the tutorials of the game. So far, I am liking things a lot. Eve has a lot of elements I had wanted incorporated into Star Trek Online. Mind you, from what I understand, many of those elements have only been recently introduced into Eve from my reading of the various blogs via the Capsuleer application I downloaded for the iPhone. But, having those elements there, though it is going to take me time to get there, means now I have a goal beyond “get to Admiral”, which is the only goal I could have on Star Trek Online.
I am still new to Eve, and I have not joined a corporation as of yet (the guilds of the game), so I will have to see how that all goes. As of now, though, I’ve done like I did with Star Trek Online – Eve Online has now three months of my time locked in, so please Eve, don’t blow it for me.
Moving On
June 9th, 2010 | No Comments
I have unsubscribed to Star Trek Online.
As much as I love the Star Trek Universe, I cannot express how disappointed I have become with the game. Every single thing I pointed out in my earlier post about my concerns has not been addressed. Instead, I’m just playing World of Warcraft in space, using ships instead of my dark elves or tauren.
I wanted something different, I didn’t get it.
So, I have moved on. I have changed the subtitle of the site to reflect a broader focus for this blog, so I won’t have to go and wipe it out. As things such as World of Warcraft’s Cataclysm come along, I will be reporting on my experiences here.
One More Month
April 30th, 2010 | No Comments
I have one more month to go on my subscription.
Unless something changes, however, it will be my last month for a while.
I had very high hopes for the Star Trek MMO. Cryptic has good people working for it, but the execution has been rather lacking so far. It’s City of Heroes in Space at this point, without even the content from that product to support it.
Weeks ago, I put out a post with what I saw as the flaws coming out of beta. Little if any of these flaws have been addressed. Add to that my personal issues with arthritis, and this game just doesn’t hurt mentally, it hurts physically. I’m giving it one more month to see if things improve. Yes, Cryptic, that means a full slate of Klingon quests not involving pvp. That’s going to be the key factor as to my continuing to subscribe, because I cannot deal with pvp while I am nursing arthritic attacks.
I have a lifetime sub to Champions Online, so I’m in that until the end, so it isn’t like I’m going to abandon Cryptic completely any time soon. But I need to make choices in my gaming dollars, and Star Trek Online’s flaws are enough to put it on the cutting room floor at this point in time.
Subscription
March 3rd, 2010 | No Comments
I have decided to pay for a 3 month subscription to Star Trek Online at this time. Not only was it the most affordable to me at the moment (including the fact I don’t like to be pestered every month), but it also allows me to continue the game at a leisurely pace while I wait for the PvE Klingon content to arrive.
I’m in, but…
February 11th, 2010 | No Comments
I am now in the Star Trek Online game. You can find me via @ltfngr or my characters, Sevnara and Kazgorath. I’m holding off on creating a third character for a while.
As per my previous post, a few things are better than they were, but some of the issues I raised are not only still a problem, but the server stability issue is even worse than I expected.
Unfortunately my plans for joining the Blood of Kazgorath has not panned out. I have joined Nova Fleet at this time, which is the fleet tied to MMOJunkies. I expect my Klingon will end up on the Trekcast fleet by the end of the night. I decided that though I love klingons, the lack of pve content puts me in a bind. As I stated before, my arthritis acts up during pvp combat, so I would be near useless.
See you all in the game.
NDA Has Lifted – My Reasons Behind Not Buying Star Trek Online Now
January 13th, 2010 | 4 Comments
I have been a long time fan of Star Trek, watching old reruns on Saturday afternoons back in the mid-1970s. I was at the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention when Cryptic Studios made their announcement about the creation of Star Trek Online. In fact, I was in line to ask a question during the webcast but it ended 2 people before I got to the microphone.
I was at last August’s Star Trek Convention, and was 15th in line to see the preview of the game. I was extremely excited about it, and eventually even hooked up with Sata Alvarez and the STO Radio/MMOJunkies bunch.
But, ever since I got into the closed beta for Star Trek Online, my disappointment in what I was expecting and what was being shown to me started increasing. It is now time for the Open Beta and the Non Disclosure Agreement has lifted, I can now explain my statement:
I am not purchasing Star Trek Online at this time.
First, Star Trek to me is all about interaction. Exploring new worlds, meeting new races, confronting dangerous enemies, all of these things are interactive. Star Trek Online seems to have missed much of what I was expecting in interactions. Most interactions will be taking place as captain of your ship while on your ship. Space missions are 75% of the game, at least, at the moment. Most of the missions I’ve done in the beta had no component about beaming down, or really negotiating. Those that did seemed stale, and carted you through a predetermined path. Since there are no ‘factions’, like other MMO games you can work up to have races like or dislike you, it seems very stagnant.
Second, game balance is an issue with the combats. Some people like tough combats, true, but taking 20 to 30 minutes to take down one ship, when they seem to have unlimited energy and you do not is not right. Add to that ship imbalances as to what you are facing at the beginning of the game, and the game quickly turns into one where I want to toss my keyboard through the window. Any game that makes me scream at the computer is not a good one for me to continue playing. This issue is the primary reason my two good friends who have been in the beta will not be purchasing the game.
Third, lack of content. This is primarily focused on my favorite race, the Klingons, but I expect it will rear its ugly head in the ‘end game’ as well. Klingons are not a full starting race or alliance in the game. They unlock after the tutorial is completed, but their entire side is based upon player vs player combat and advancement. Let me point something out: I have arthritis. I am horrible at player vs player combat, except when I am the healer, and even then if it is a first person shooter (STO isn’t), I’m lousy. I wanted to go through player vs enemy level raising just like you can in the Federation. That’s currently not possible in the game. The lack of player vs enemy conflicts on the Klingon side is a game killer for me. Just look below at the blog and see my picture with Gowron and Martok. Klingons were the thing I most hoped to be able to play, and a wall has been placed at this time for me to be able to enjoy that experience.
Lastly, bug management. I don’t want to razz on Cryptic too much, as it is a different development team than from Champions Online, but you have to look at history. Bugs reported back in closed beta for Champions Online are still present in that game. Will the same thing occur with Star Trek Online? I sure hope not, but the track record is not very good. And, if the launcher for Champions Online goes out of whack, it also affects STO as they use the same launcher. Considering the login fiasco that happened opening day on Champions Online that took three days to resolve, I don’t really want to be near the bigger launch of STO.
So, these are the reasons I am not purchasing Star Trek Online at this time. I do expect after the first month or two that I will purchase the game. Like I said, I’m a Star Trek fan from a long ways back, and the game will eventually lure me in. But, it won’t happen until at least one MMO subscription I’ve maintained has dropped and the initial problems that will occur with the launch are over.
If you believe these not to be issues for you, I wholeheartedly endorse you purchasing Star Trek Online. Like I said, it will suck me in eventually, but right now I’m Odysseus resisting the sirens calling me to play.
Star Trek Online
January 7th, 2010 | 4 Comments
I will not be purchasing Star Trek Online when it comes out at the beginning of February. I may purchase it at a later date, but not at launch.
I cannot go into further detail at this point until next week, when the NDA gets lifted.
I know this may come as a shock to some of you who knew how excited I was back in August about this title. I will explain further when I can do so.
Blood of Kahless
October 24th, 2009 | No Comments
I have joined the Blood of Kahless fleet for Star Trek Online.
The primary reason I joined this fleet is they are dedicated to the Klingon cause, and are very, very active. I got tired of waiting on friends trying to make up their mind as to what they are planning to do concerning the game. As beta has now started, it was important to me to be able to join a fleet now instead of waiting. So, I apologize to Trekcast (http://trekcast.com) and others.
Non-Disclosure Agreement
October 22nd, 2009 | 2 Comments
Please remember when I start the Star Trek Online closed beta, I will be unable to relay any information from the beta due to the non-disclosure agreement I will be signing.
At this point, I can’t even say if I am involved or not.
Just keep this in mind.
