Ginormous Star Trek Online beta patch is live

Excellent patch. Having more fun with this game than eve, warhammer and age of conan combined!

Still lacking that something special. It is weird because I really want to like the game though. I keep trying it and getting bored after about 45 minutes.

it just does not feel like exploration. it feels like a fancy game lobby where I join 2-5 other people (typically) in an instance for 5-10min. Sometimes I might leave the lobby and find myself alone or other times I might join a battle with maybe 25 others - but when there are a lot of people it is more like a rush to kill something first than a feeling of teamwork.

Since Left 4 Dead 2 came out I have logged like 40+ hours on it and the thing that keeps bringing me back is playing with 3 other people on expert mode. Expert draws in players aimed at teamwork and I would say the far majority of the games are really fun, even in a PuG setting. In contrast, it really highlights how MMOs feel lonely and almost more like a fight to see who can get to the resource/glowy/mob first.

I remember Ultima Online being very social (it still is). Everquest forced grouping to get past the newbie zones. Dark Age, Asheron's, and the other 2nd gen MMOs also made grouping a necessity. I guess WoW was sort of 3rd generation, and it too still emphasizes grouping in the higher levels. Although with WoW it has become more of a job where there is less chatting and socializing and more running the instance as efficient as possible to get the loot quickly.

Somehow I would love if MMOs were to incorporate more game mechanics that encouraged socializing. Like how about poker tables at starbase where players can play one another for in-game currency? Or RP tools that have nothing to do with killing, buffing, or healing a NPC or player?

(You're welcome, Rubi!)

So far as actual *patches* go, I'm actually impressed (I know!). There's a staggering amount of changes in that patch, more-so than expected, I'd hazard to guess.

However, of course, the core gameplay/depth at this stage remains unchanged.

Back to my usual nay-saying self for a moment:
If anybody out there remains unconvinced that Jack Emmert is.. well, how can I put it delicately; ok I can't. Just read a transcript from a recent dev chat with him to form your own opinions:

http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Gaming/Star-Trek-Online-Live-Chat-Transcript/td-p/91426

A couple of highlights:

- Guest-1133: How is it going to compete with current MMO's? Namely World of Warcraft and the New Star Wars The old Republic that will be launching soon.
Jack-Cryptic: Star Wars isn't till 2011 at the soonest. Different IP. And WoW? Look, it's perhaps the finests example of MMORPG's around. We set out to make the best Star Trek game we could, NOT the best MMORPG we could. We just happen to be online, I think.


- Guest-1290: What can players expect as an end game in STO when we've hit max rank?
Jack-Cryptic: yep.
(..okaaaay?)


- Guest-1190: You mentioned incorporating the more famous episodes of ST into the game. Can players interact with characters from the series or the movies?
Jack-Cryptic: No. None of the actors, certainly. Costs a ton to use their images!


- Guest-1151: What is the most technically advanced feature of the game that you feel is not only one of the coolest but is something that the development staff is the most proud of?
Jack-Cryptic: The sheer number of different maps that people are going in and exiting.


- Guest-1206: Can a small group of players operate a vessel together as a crew?
Jack-Cryptic: No. Each player is a captain of his own ship. We discussed this possibility early in development, but threw it out.


..etc etc. Great stuff... :-o

Anyhow, on a slightly 'interesting' note, I'm not sure if anybody's noticed, but there's now an option in-game to enter your Facebook, Twitter, Livejournal and Raptr account information to directly upload achievements, screenshots, etc to your favorite social network.
Nothing says 'casual' like a Facebook feed! =)

I honestly, sincerely.. nay *genuinely* can't fathom how anybody could shell out a lifetime sub for this. Month to month casual play? Sure! But $300 up front? I'll never understand it, sorry.

Anyhow, live long and prosper. =)

They've added quite a bit of polish in this last patch, for sure. I would agree the ground based combat is a bit simplified, and feels very much like CoH/CoV did. You can sprint and dive, although I haven't seen any significant net effects or benefits in doing so. It's more about setting up expose/exploit combos and keeping your shields/health up than anything. I pretty much use sprint to get around faster between fights.

Space combat is a different animal entirely. While ship movement is slow compared to ground based combat, there's definitely a lot of strategy involved. You typically want to have your side facing your target (Typically firing arcs overlap on the sides so you can fire both front and rear) when firing energy weapons at the start of a fight to tear down your target's shields since torpedoes don't do much with active shields going. The problem is, that puts your target out of position to hit them with forward firing torpedo bays since they are out of the firing arc. Plus, energy weapons do more damage up close, although it's harder to keep your target in the "sweet spot" of both firing arcs. Meanwhile your target is also positioning themselves to protect their own shields and hull. It's like naval combat from the old (And new, I suppose) Pirates! game, just in space.

So ship based combat is about dropping your target's shields and finishing up with torpedoes and all the related positioning, while managing your own shields, your energy levels to divert more/less power between weapons, shields and aux systems. On top of that there is the fact that your target isn't exactly stationary and often there is more than one. I haven't even got to PvP yet, so that should be interesting as well with targets better than just the AI.

It's a good game, and I'm really getting a kick out of the open beta for sure. I'm also trying to judge the game on it's own merits (Including how responsive to the public Cryptic has been with this patch and known issue notes!) to avoid the "It isn't EVE/WoW" trap.

is there going to be a subscription per month does anybody know?

OMG unbelievable - Cryptic strike again!
Just like the last minute nerf in Champions Online, they've gone and made a *huge* change to ST:O right before launch, but of course *after* selling Lifetime Subs:

241 page thred here:
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?p=1546053#post1546053

Official response here: (which begins with "I know quite a few of you are upset over this, so let me try and explain this change to you.")
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showpost.php?p=1549072&postcount=271

Cryptic advertised and sold the game with no skill cap - ie a 'skills based title' with no limits, rather than a 'level based title'.
However, now they've gone and CAPPED the skills - after customers have purchased lifetime subs etc.

Does this sound familiar? That would be because they did a similar thing in Champions Online. That would be because this organisation is unscrupulous in it's revenue decisions. That would be because these guys have proven over and over and over again that they are simply not to be trusted to do the 'right' thing.

They are, Cryptic. Steer clear.

I feel so sorry for those who bought a LT, I really do, but to say the writing was on the wall is an understatement.. buyer beware next time huh?

The previous poster to Super Healer, had a valid point. You don't advertise one type of game to get lifetimes subs and then change the game after people have made those purchases.

It's dishonest, but not surprising, seeing as how they did the exact same thing with Champions Online.

you know if they made the combat a lot more similar to the tried and proven bridge commander instead of starfleetcommand - this would be way better.

still only one autofire - that sux.i'll not play this game if i need to press a key every second to keep firering.