Tempora

An interesting but bizarre article for this particular game, there is surely no gameworld you can name (certainly none in my experience) that is more actively destructive or obstructive to immersion and involvement in the theme, no game yet released whereby the lore is so utterly dispensible and irrelevent to your experience....the avatar customisations might be superb, but every other aspect of the game works to defeat any resonace for every choice, every style, every nuace you might attempt to bring to your creation consequently rendering the whole theme remote and trivial. I know people do rp well here but that is in the face of the most dreadfull and unhelpful gameworld in all creation, a dreadful mess made by folks who really dont seem to have any interest or understanding of the theme its based upon imo.

Well this weekened simply proved to me that there has been no progress whatsoever in the areas this game most needed help. Of course that means if you loved it before its not surprising you still do, but if you didn't theres absolutely nothing that has been added that could change your mind.

Ironically the much applauded avatar customisation is still redered completely irrelevent by a gameworld can only respond in an identical linear manner no matter what you are, or aspire to be. Its like they created an invincible villain in the form of a world that completely nullifies any reason to exist!

The new content is literally the same repetitive and unimaginative drivel they delivered at the start, the zones are just as inorganic and relentlessly static as before, there is still zero immersion, zero involvement, zero reason to care or feel what you are doing is worthwhile or fun or even passably engaging.

Have they done a lot with the game...maybe...has it made any worthwhile difference, not that I can see and tbh they dont seem to be doing anything imaginitive or progressive that could change that.

I'd have to say rating Champions Online as best capacity for Role play is about the most ridiculous and inappropriate accolade anyone could give it. Of course roleplay exists there and all power to those that make the effort, because like every other feature it has been given the most basic and uninspired of attention by Cryptic.

While the diversty of the avatar creator is undeniable, its the soul destroyingly apparent redunancy of the gameworld, the completely unconvincing and inconsistent style and theme realisation that make immersion and involvement in the game, elements invaluable to ongoing rp, perhaps the most challenging and unrewarding of any mmo to date.

The problem is they are just adding more of the same, the few areas the game the was good at (well the one area really - customisation), are now slightly better but the many, many areas it was underperforming are every bit as poor as they were, that may be fine for those still playing but it hardly changes anything for those that weren't impressed before.

The tremendous customisation counts for absolutely zilch when presented with a world that responds in the same way no matter what, when the lone journey you are forced to take is identical no matter what, theres not even a vague illusion anything matters on any important level thanks to a complete lack of conviction in what is going on - no choice, no consequence, no involvement, no immersion, no fun, no point! Its as true today as it was in alpha when they actually had a valid excuse......now the explanation appears to be a profoundly clueless design.

The avatar customisation is undeniably awesome BUT there is a profound lack of player involvement, a serious lack of mission variety, wild inconsistency in mood/tone and a real lack of atmosphere. The gameworld is sterile, generic and for all intents and purposes dead. Given the choice Foxbat wouldn't be seen dead in this this dismal locale.

What Cryptic need is to develop some conviction in the theme and then go back to first princples on the gameworld to hopefully breathe some life, some fun and some variety into the stagnant sewer of a world they have atm.

Unlike most, if not all, other mmo's Cryptic just don't seem to have bothered when it comes to world and quest design. Theres no variety in any given task, no options as to any resolution, no element of player involvement or choice either in the world or levelling journey. It's baffling how awesome an avatar creator can be grafted to so inept a world....

Sooo Cryptic have placed themselves in a very difficult situation with regard to retcons, when a game's sole appeal revolves around the superficial variety of the avatar - the ability to change too frequently and too easily pretty much destroys replay value, although I guess it might buy some goodwill prior to a free trial.

@Kaphik
I made no attempt to suggest war was not an element of Star Trek, but this establishing timeline is painting a picture that will find it very difficult to capture the spirit and attitude Star Trek presented for the vast majority of its life (the things that actually defined the franchise and set it apart). Even when dealing with war the message was invariably about finding other ways to resolve crises - the key here is what tools cryptic will provide the player with aside from some phasers and a few photon torpedoes..

Err Star Trek online??..... I get the impression these guys just want to make a generic space war MMO, thats another franchise, this sample really seems to lack or miss the point of what makes Star Trek unique.

If RP was being taken seriously then gameplay wouldn't be considered as an entirely different aspect of the game...the comicbook theme provides a consistent foundation for both...when you just insert generic mmo mechanism X and hope for the best then they diverge and one undermines the integrity of the other. This reads very badly for the game imo.

Partisan bias in the comic book world has to be the craziest form of prejudice ever....90% of comic writers and artists cycle between the major camps and stamp their own flavour on them in the process.

The games are clearly taking two different approaches, CO is going all out for customisation, whereas DCUO is doing its best to bring the world to life..... I think the latter approach is the most significant thing an MMO can try to do but it will be down to who delivers on their promises in the end and at what cost.