Star Trek Online...Does anyone have inside info?

The launch is less than 1 month away and I have my fingers crossed that this will be a good game. Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge about it? Any Alpha/Beta testers out there in Gamespot land?

I just want to know when i can preorder it over steam. D2D has it, but i would prefer it onsteam. :x

Stay away. It`s that bad. All STO did is make me want to try EVE Online again, which is easily the superior game...

It's going to suck.

It's going to suck.

Johnny_Rock

Well this isn't really insider information but I did notice that Star Trek Online is now available for pre-purchase on steam. I even contemplated placing an order and had my credit card poised for a new battering.

Then I saw the PRICE ......... £49.99 ($80.40 in dollars), I have never paid £50 for a game on the PC in my life and I am not about to start now. I don't care what the "Digital Deluxe Edition" has. Even if the Deluxe Edition had a special mission where you found Kathryn Janeway and Seven of Nine in a naked embrace and they begged you to holocam it, I still wouldn't pay 50 quid for it.

There was no indication on the page as to whether there would be a monthly fee either, that was another thing that put me off. I will play a wait and see game but it seems to me as if they will price gouge this game as much as they can.

From what i understand its another version of Eve with most of the things worse then eve but a more intresting Space combat system and with some lame planet moving.

The lack of any news is preventing me from pre-ordering...still hoping to hear something/anything about the game.

The lack of any news is preventing me from pre-ordering...still hoping to hear something/anything about the game.

Major_9000

Well there is a good bit of info on the game itself, you just have to serarch for it.

The thing thats holding me back right now, is theres no info (as far as i know)on the pricing (monthly pricing).

[QUOTE="Major_9000"]

The lack of any news is preventing me from pre-ordering...still hoping to hear something/anything about the game.

Curlyfrii87

Well there is a good bit of info on the game itself, you just have to serarch for it.

The thing thats holding me back right now, is theres no info (as far as i know)on the pricing (monthly pricing).

it looks like a fun game, but I fear this game will have a shortage of contents, like Champion O, due to it's short development time (2 years). I know they are trying to hype a random mission and environment generator, but it's impossible to create hundred of original missions, there will be a lot of repetitive mission objectives, architectures, textures... Anyway, if the price scheme is like Champion Online (200$ for a lifetime, 60$ for 6 months...), this will be an indication that Cryptic know that the game will not gather many peoples for a long time. Also, I am not a big fan of their deluxe/pre-order offer. They basically offer a 10$ deluxe edition with what everyone wanted, Star trek uniform from the TV shows. It's a really bad way to start when you charge 10$ for, obviously, the most interesting uniforms, something you could just offer for free...

I expect it to have a small community made up of fans but nothing too huge and nothing to attract non fans to the game. That's speculation but it's what I think is going to happen.

Champions Online with Star Trek Skins..............Thats it, Carbon Copy right down to the interfact and on foot gameplay. RUN AWAY.

Going to buy the game to support Cryptic Studios and leave it on my desk.

Going to buy the game to support Cryptic Studios and leave it on my desk.

OoSuperMarioO

[QUOTE="OoSuperMarioO"]

Going to buy the game to support Cryptic Studios and leave it on my desk.

Franko_3

If anyone is interested in getting a key for the "open" beta a site here is giving them out :-

http://www.loadscreen.net/2010/01/14/star-trek-online-beta-key-giveaway-500-keys/

You just have to sign up for their forum and make a post in the related thread there. They apparently have 400 odd invites left so if you are quick you can nab one.

Is there anyone that has been playing the BETA that can provide any insight?

Iam in the BETA at the moment, its a really fun game but REALLY buggy. Normally crashes every 30 minutes or so at the moment.

Like someone said the game is buggy and seing that it is so close to release that is a major problem. Whats funny is that the game has the same problems that the Champions beta had. Aside from the technical shortcomings the game is very underwhelming. If you call it Champions reskinned then youre not off by much. Ground combat is boring and repetetive. Space combat is soooo much less then it could be. It feels like youre just playing a normal toon with different abilities rather than piloting a ship. My biggest gripe with the game and with Cryptic is that...the company has learned nothing from Champions Online which for as much potential as it had is a failure. Once more we get one side of the conflict. Let this sink in...Star Trek a universe with so many races its hard to count them...so many military/diplomatic conflicts lets you play only for the good guys. I dont count the PvP Klingon crap later in the game becouse thats just...I will not start a rant.

[QUOTE="Major_9000"]

The lack of any news is preventing me from pre-ordering...still hoping to hear something/anything about the game.

Curlyfrii87

Well there is a good bit of info on the game itself, you just have to serarch for it.

The thing thats holding me back right now, is theres no info (as far as i know)on the pricing (monthly pricing).

1-Month Recurring 14.99

3-Month Recurring 41.97

6-Month Recurring 77.94

12-Month Recurring 119.99

Life-Time 239.99

Champions Online with Star Trek Skins..............Thats it, Carbon Copy right down to the interfact and on foot gameplay. RUN AWAY.

Zemus

Iam in the BETA at the moment, its a really fun game but REALLY buggy. Normally crashes every 30 minutes or so at the moment.

Daytona_178

No crashes as of yet on my side. The only thing that I have run into right now is the transition bug between space/ground, and a little rubberbanding here and there.

I came across a blog of someone on here who is testing it at the moment.

http://au.gamespot.com/users/chikahiro94/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=m-100-25782830

hope that helps the eager.

Im in beta right now. The core gameplay looks really promising, but there is a really big lack of polish. It is beta though, of course. The starship combat looks very very promising, but its needs alot of polish. The ground combat also seems decent, but there are way too many bugs and graphical glitches to make it fun. The first few parts of the game reminded me of the days when I played SWG, and that is a very good thing IMO. But cryptic needs to stamp out all the bugs along with the atrocious lag and I don't know if they can do that in a month.

I'm playing the beta also. It is filled with bugs, and the tutorials are crap. (That's important to me, because i'm not an MMO guy) It does look great, but i only feel like i'm in the star trek universe half the time. The rest of the time i feel like i'm playing an average MMO or space sim. I know it's just the beta, but it is lacking exploring content. Pretty much all i've done is space battles. I want to explore and make first contacts and such.

Overall, it seems promising. But i'm still not fully convinced.

I greatly appreciate the feedback from those of you in Beta, thanks.

I'm playing the beta also. It is filled with bugs, and the tutorials are crap. (That's important to me, because i'm not an MMO guy) It does look great, but i only feel like i'm in the star trek universe half the time. The rest of the time i feel like i'm playing an average MMO or space sim. I know it's just the beta, but it is lacking exploring content. Pretty much all i've done is space battles. I want to explore and make first contacts and such.

Overall, it seems promising. But i'm still not fully convinced.

Curlyfrii87

From what I've played, I can say that the game feels very combat orientated, notably space combat, which is alright because on foot combat doesn't feel as satisfying in the same way. They have taken the core aspects of Star Trek: Bridge Commander (the previous ST game to do space combat the best), but changed things up a bit, so that there is a maximum pitch (pitching the ship up or down) which is a bit bizarre. I wish they had included much more exploration/science/diplomacy stuff though, because at the moment scanning for anomalies is tedious and rather pointless (there is only one vendor who will accept them). There is definitely room for expansion on that front.

A lot of stuff is broken at the moment (notably in the Volanis Cluster; I couldn't complete several missions there), but it does show promise. Also, navigating across the galaxy is really time consuming, because you must transfer from one galactic sector to the next through a "gate", and have to select a new destination each time. I do like the visual design of interstellar space though, plus graphically the game is mainly good. Very satisfying explosions.

Major thing missing: Star Trek! (if that makes any sense). ;)

Cryptic has a track record of makingtrash games.

Im in beta right now. The core gameplay looks really promising, but there is a really big lack of polish. It is beta though, of course. The starship combat looks very very promising, but its needs alot of polish. The ground combat also seems decent, but there are way too many bugs and graphical glitches to make it fun. The first few parts of the game reminded me of the days when I played SWG, and that is a very good thing IMO. But cryptic needs to stamp out all the bugs along with the atrocious lag and I don't know if they can do that in a month.

shakmaster13

with only a month left, there is no way on earth they will have this game polished enough to be worth someone's money.

I urge anyone out there not to support unfinished games, and do not buy Star Trek Online, no matter how desperate you are for a new MMO or how diehard a Trekkie (trekker?) fan you are.

I see a lot of potential, but as with 70% of MMOs, this is intended to be a cash cow before a quality game and is being released before it is ready.

[QUOTE="shakmaster13"]

Im in beta right now. The core gameplay looks really promising, but there is a really big lack of polish. It is beta though, of course. The starship combat looks very very promising, but its needs alot of polish. The ground combat also seems decent, but there are way too many bugs and graphical glitches to make it fun. The first few parts of the game reminded me of the days when I played SWG, and that is a very good thing IMO. But cryptic needs to stamp out all the bugs along with the atrocious lag and I don't know if they can do that in a month.

Cdscottie

huh?

this is a PC game.

Not only is it a PC game, it is an MMO.

PC gamers, specifically MMO players, tend to be a bit on the nerdier side. I include myself in this category, before anyone thinks I intended that as an insult.

Factor in the whole idea that this is a STAR TREK MMO and you have a huge nerdgasm on your hands.

So, my question to you Cryptic is this: how, in the wide world of sports, did YOU NOT EXPECT A HUGE TURNOUT!? And why did you run out of keys, only to release more? Did it ever occur to you that maybe you had a finite amount of beta keys as to not strain your servers?

Sheesh, who runs these freaking companies? There is a definate lack of maturity, business sense, and common sense in so many developers if they dont have a corporate publisher.

Cryptic has a track record of makingtrash games.

-Rivfader-

]

huh?

this is a PC game.

Not only is it a PC game, it is an MMO.

PC gamers, specifically MMO players, tend to be a bit on the nerdier side. I include myself in this category, before anyone thinks I intended that as an insult.

Factor in the whole idea that this is a STAR TREK MMO and you have a huge nerdgasm on your hands.

So, my question to you Cryptic is this: how, in the wide world of sports, did YOU NOT EXPECT A HUGE TURNOUT!? And why did you run out of keys, only to release more? Did it ever occur to you that maybe you had a finite amount of beta keys as to not strain your servers?

Sheesh, who runs these freaking companies? There is a definate lack of maturity, business sense, and common sense in so many developers if they dont have a corporate publisher.

mrbojangles25

[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]]

huh?

this is a PC game.

Not only is it a PC game, it is an MMO.

PC gamers, specifically MMO players, tend to be a bit on the nerdier side. I include myself in this category, before anyone thinks I intended that as an insult.

Factor in the whole idea that this is a STAR TREK MMO and you have a huge nerdgasm on your hands.

So, my question to you Cryptic is this: how, in the wide world of sports, did YOU NOT EXPECT A HUGE TURNOUT!? And why did you run out of keys, only to release more? Did it ever occur to you that maybe you had a finite amount of beta keys as to not strain your servers?

Sheesh, who runs these freaking companies? There is a definate lack of maturity, business sense, and common sense in so many developers if they dont have a corporate publisher.

Cdscottie

yea, I havent been sleeping well at all lately (due to being sick lol, not because of this :P ), but I tried logging into the beta at 4AM today (this is 4AM monday morning, keep that in mind, because any sane person in the US should be sleeping) and couldnt log on lol. You would think the server load would be a fraction of what it was on Saturday and Sunday but, alas, no dice for me.

I am problably being too hard on them, to be honest. In actuality, I am sort of glad they were expecting a smaller player base and interest because it shows theyre not striving to be a "WoW killer" and would be satisfied with a few hundred thousand players. Besides, going out and setting up more servers is problably easy.

[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]]

huh?

this is a PC game.

Not only is it a PC game, it is an MMO.

PC gamers, specifically MMO players, tend to be a bit on the nerdier side. I include myself in this category, before anyone thinks I intended that as an insult.

Factor in the whole idea that this is a STAR TREK MMO and you have a huge nerdgasm on your hands.

So, my question to you Cryptic is this: how, in the wide world of sports, did YOU NOT EXPECT A HUGE TURNOUT!? And why did you run out of keys, only to release more? Did it ever occur to you that maybe you had a finite amount of beta keys as to not strain your servers?

Sheesh, who runs these freaking companies? There is a definate lack of maturity, business sense, and common sense in so many developers if they dont have a corporate publisher.

Cdscottie

Well, mmos potentially can improve through updates(or for the worst), but it was clear Star Trek online will be rough when you take into account of a 2 year development. I just don't see how an mmo can sustain players with such short development. However, after reading the good impressions in this thread, I wonder will you buds still be playing 6-12 months from now consistently?

Well I'd love to see a EvE type of following for this game. A bunch of dedicated players who end up creating an environment that is different then WoW and all of the other generic MMO's. As for the game right now, I'm still hoping to have a little more customization for ships more similar to the starfleet command games. I'd love to see a million and one different configurations out there instead of "What is the flavor of gear this week" feel.

[QUOTE="Cdscottie"]

[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]]

huh?

this is a PC game.

Not only is it a PC game, it is an MMO.

PC gamers, specifically MMO players, tend to be a bit on the nerdier side. I include myself in this category, before anyone thinks I intended that as an insult.

Factor in the whole idea that this is a STAR TREK MMO and you have a huge nerdgasm on your hands.

So, my question to you Cryptic is this: how, in the wide world of sports, did YOU NOT EXPECT A HUGE TURNOUT!? And why did you run out of keys, only to release more? Did it ever occur to you that maybe you had a finite amount of beta keys as to not strain your servers?

Sheesh, who runs these freaking companies? There is a definate lack of maturity, business sense, and common sense in so many developers if they dont have a corporate publisher.

OoSuperMarioO

Well, mmos potentially can improve through updates(or for the worst), but it was clear Star Trek online will be rough when you take into account of a 2 year development. I just don't see how an mmo can sustain players with such short development. However, after reading the good impressions in this thread, I wonder will you buds still be playing 6-12 months from now consistently?

Well that is something only time will tell. WoW never held my attention, so here's hoping a game with a subject I actually enjoy can do better.