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Star Trek Online: Launch Day Interview
With today's launch of Star Trek Online, MMORPG.com's Jon Wood had the chance to ask a few questions of the game's development team, asking them to answer some of the questions that have been floating around and also to talk about the future of the game.
Interviews By Jon Wood on February 02, 2010
| MMORPG.com: | What, if any changes have happened between the end of open beta and launch day that players might be interested in. |
| STO Team: | We've been concentrating on bug fixes and tweaks to the UI, as well as balancing of PvP, and some changes to the starting gear for Klingons. We're doing our best to make some "quality of life" upgrades to make things just a bit more fun, especially since there's only a week between the end of open beta and launch. |
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| MMORPG.com: | Numerous comments from open beta testers state that the game will have difficulty sustaining a long-term population. What will be done to retain players beyond their first "free" month of gameplay? |
| STO Team: | We have a lot planned for after launch. We had things that we initially wanted to get in at launch but had to make hard decisions about moving it back. The nice thing about this being an MMO is that we can constantly add in new content. We have new exploration stuff going in, new endgame episodes that we'll be adding in every couple of weeks, new PvP scenarios and more ground fleet actions. These are to just name a few things we'll be adding in not too long after launch. We're also doing our best to keep players informed of what's in the chute. If you check out our "What's Next" page, you can see some of the stuff we have planned: http://www.startrekonline.com/upcoming_content |
| MMORPG.com: | Star Trek Online will require a subscription fee to play, but also gives players access to the Cryptic Store. What items are offered in the store and how does it affect gameplay? |
| STO Team: | It's fairly limited right now. It will include the Ferengi and Klingon races to be playable for the Federation side at launch. We want to get an idea of what players want before adding much more. But we're sticking to the notion that if it affects gameplay, there will be ways of attaining whatever is available in the store in-game. |
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| MMORPG.com: | Many open beta players have complained that the missions are repetitive. Why is this, and is more variation planned in the near future? |
| STO Team: | We definitely have plans for more exploration and more diplomatic missions. Also more fleet actions will be included. There are a lot of things that we are looking to add in the game that gives it great variation and different styles of gameplay. One of the things people have been talking a lot about is more interaction on your ship, so that is one thing we're looking at now. |
| MMORPG.com: | Can you tell us about any short term changes that may be coming to the Klingon faction, which many players feel is still not complete or polished enough to be included in the launch product? |
| STO Team: | We've done some tweaks to the Klingons and will continue to. Clearly, players are looking for a more rounded experience when playing the Klingon faction. Not too long after launch they will get more PvE missions and more exploration content. We'll continually improve them and add in new content for them along the way. |
| MMORPG.com: | There are many who criticize the heavy use of instances in the game. Can you give us the rationale behind the original decision? |
| STO Team: | Sure! It's an MMO so we want players to feel connected and that they can team up with their friends and play. Also at the same time it would lose its Trek feel if everyone was in the same map trying to defeat the same bird of prey. You never saw Picard run into another captain camping the same Q spawn. Space is vast and often in the shows and movies they were out there by themselves or only with a few other people. So it came down to wanting players to have the ability to socialize and team up with friends, but we didn't want everyone crammed into the same map. |
;)
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| MMORPG.com: | Can you speak to critics who believe that this game was "rushed out the door" by Cryptic? |
| STO Team: | We did have a very ambitious target date, but we also knew we could do it. Bear in mind, much of the work that typically goes into an MMO's "five-year" development cycle is engine/tech creation, or in some cases, revenue generation. We made up for a lot of that time in two ways: We're using the same engine we'd been developing for five years for Champions, and when we merged with Atari, we no longer needed to shop a concept to a publisher for a year while we kept the staff small. We've been fully staffed on this project since you first heard about its existence. So really, that two-year number is the meat and potatoes of what consumers see. It's the art; the living, breathing design; the content; and the gameplay changes we've made after getting the game into people's hands for real testing and feedback. |
| MMORPG.com: | Star Trek is Cryptic's second major MMO launch in recent memory. Can you give us an idea of some of the differences between the launch of this game and Champions Online? |
| STO Team: | I'd say we were less nervous and excited, but that would be a lie. This is like having your second child. Just because you remember the first one's birth doesn't make the second one any less scary/exciting/fun. The one thing we have taken from the Champs launch is to expect to be surprised by something. In this case, we were very surprised by the redemption rate we had in open beta. The sheer number of people who logged in, and stayed logged in, was humbling. Since then we've upgraded our server capacity and have plans to further smooth that out for launch. |
| MMORPG.com: | What elements are first on the "to-do list" for updates now that the game has gone live? |
| STO Team: | Well first out of the gates will be more endgame stuff, more PvE for Klingons and more exploration contents. Of course any bug glitches we notice and tweaking to balance. That's just to name some of things, but there will be quite a lot of goodies we will be adding not long after launch. |
;)
Incoming!!! *ducks*
The shop options for races aren't in game yet are they? I hope not, I was going to play at least 1 more month, oh well MO here I come.
Well the more I look into this game, as I've followed it for a VERY long time, is the fact that if feels FAR too repetitive.
I know that most mmo's are basically "go to this place and kill x badguys and return for reward" but this game feels a lot less enjoyable.
Based on all the hype I really was going for the exploration content and discovering new worlds etc but when you beam down to a world its basically a little map where there's 5 houses, some plants and hills and possibly 5 bad guys to kill.
I've put off purchasing the full game (after open beta I stopped) until I see whats next but this interview really doesn't boast my spirits.
The basic game is amazing and visually stunning, but there is no community feel, its brually hard to group based on the instance model, and the in game chat is brutal. Using Skype or MSN helps a ton with this but the fact that a game, in this generation of MMO's, shouldn't be so hard to group. Ask anyone who is currently in the game to tell you about the whole instancing thing.
It has a lot of growing to do, and I hope that people stay and keep it going but the fact that ON LAUNCH DAY the interview here has Cryptic saying "we're adding more stuff and more end game etc" scares the crap outta me.
Clearly it was a "get it out the door now and try to keep players" model.
I predict serious problems with maintaining a community. Good thing there's only one server so they don't have to shut some down as players leave.
Oh and the fact that it is only one server will have dire consequences. If there's any issues they shut the whole game down and piss EVERYONE off. Just ask anyone who paid for "a headstart" only to look at "server down" and then get in for a queue of over 1500 people!
Again I hope it all goes well and I plan on buying it and giving it a shot but before I do I'm sitting on the fence watching whats going on before throwing down my hard earned money on something that is bound to change a lot before its balanced.
Good luck STO.
I love this guy from Cryptic.
"Yeah you need to buy our game now cause we PROMISE to bring you a game after you purchase the box and a life time subscription. Don't worry about the fact that is just a mash the spacebar/f key game now. Content will come later."
Thanks but I'll keep my money to had to a developer who actually gives me a game, a story, and fun - like BioWare.
What a bunch of sour grapes losers! I played beta and head start and bought the lifetime membership last night, so the statement that all Beta players think the game is crap is a untruth! I have enjoyed playing the game and my friends have also, enough in fact that at least one of them bought a Lifetime subscribtion too. Is the game perfect? Of course not, but I like that its different from the norm and really enjoy both the space and ground combats. I have no problem with those that don't like the game, just quit saying all people hate it as the vast majority of the players I've dealt with on the game say they are enjoying it.
Normally, I at least understand when people start mindlessly bashing us... This, I don't understand. Can you clarify?
actually the game is rather fun. It does lack the "epic" feal of eq or WoW but it is still fun. It is extremely easy to group. If you set up you options you can auto group with people in the same instance which is very helpfull. There is no aruging over loot as the drops are tied to specific players. People do not sit around and chatt in the cities but this seems to be becasue most are very busy playing the game. I know as soon as i log in i am grouped and heading out to pvp. You can already see major houses and fleets forming ingame. Since i started closed beta in november they have made major improvements to it. What is nice is they really do listen to the players. As an example FEDs complained about our Battle cloaks and cloaks in genreal so they devs adjusted them. When we pointed out that the nerf had gone to far we had the COO of cryptic actually come ingame as a klingon to see it from our point of view and not just the Dev's he saw our problem and the next patch our cloaks were fixed. Yes many games you can see the Devs in them in beta but the COO is rare POTBS is the only other game i have played were we had that type of particpation of a sernior exc from a company. Is STO for everybody. Problably, not. Is it a fun game that many will enjoy I think so.
MMORPG.com:
Star Trek Online will require a subscription fee to play, but also gives players access to the Cryptic Store. What items are offered in the store and how does it affect gameplay?
STO Team:
It's fairly limited right now. It will include the Ferengi and Klingon races to be playable for the Federation side at launch. We want to get an idea of what players want before adding much more. But we're sticking to the notion that if it affects gameplay, there will be ways of attaining whatever is available in the store in-game.
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90% of your customers don't want a C-Scam..err store.
Also this 1 server nonsense is the pits. why? because cryptic is an american company and it makes no attempts whatsoever to hide the fact that american customers come first the rest of the world 2nd. the should have 3 servers, 1. USA, 2. EU, 3 Asia/oceiana. then they can take down the servers for maintenance at times when the population is at it's lowest and hold any ingame events at times that suit their customers time zone and not whats best for america.
finally they need to make the game alot harder. theres already people getting bored and flying around in high tiered ships. they got no chance of keeping customers unless they are going to add new content every week for the next year.
I Played the Beta and after many years on Starport Galatic Empires.
I anticipated a really neat game with few limits with
fantastic visuals and graphics.
Well I was both rewarded and slapped down.
The visuals are awesome and really have a great blending of brilliant colors,
but......
The game is too repetitive and has no team feeling at all and solid limitations.
I felt like I was alone guided by a txt based like game interface and had far to many
repetitive killing of drone.
My expierence with this game was not enjoyable and I will go back to the 2d game
I was playing because its so much more group oriented it may not have the graphics but
It has no repetitive motions and every day is different.
JoeLewd
STO, althoug a very fun game, is not an mmo in the classical meaning of the concept. You can't join more that 50 players in the same instanced zone (and that is a big social zone, instances are usually smaller: 5-10). There are lots of shooters and flight simulators that exceed that by far. STO is like Guild Wars (FAQ says it's not an mmo but a corpg), but with a monthly fee.
This is like trying to redefine the concept for profit. I don't think it's an honest policy and, eventually, this will blowback.
yeah i call shinanigans, we were promised, RIGHT ON THE DESCRIPTION, the moon and q-space for Champions, still dont have those...but their charging for Vibro Bay. STO has yet to have ONE SINGLE day it stays up for more then a few hours, that includes open beta AND the head start, so what they fixed that problem in one day?
Starship controls STILL infect flight in CO (how the hell is that even posible?). Yeah I'm not buying what their selling. They can't even keep both games seperate without code spill.
Cryptic says: The great thing about this being an mmo is that we can add more content later!
This means: This is an mmo so we can kick it out the door half finished and still make our deadline!
Normally, I at least understand when people start mindlessly bashing us... This, I don't understand. Can you clarify?
hahaha An hour later and still no response.
I hate that I bought this game. Right now, on release day, I'm trying to make myself log in and play it. I didn't play at all during the head start and I've been really disappointed with Cryptic as a whole in the past year or so.
I like Star Trek, but I don't have a lot of faith in STO. If their idea of improving the game is adding more of the same, it won't hold my attention.
"Cryptic says: The great thing about this being an mmo is that we can add more content later!
This means: This is an mmo so we can kick it out the door half finished and still make our deadline!"
Lol Netmeg you described every MMO that ever released in a nutshell! (pun intented). There isn't a MMO released that I ever played that didn't change from release or add a bunch more content. After all why are you paying a monthly fee if all you expect is the the content at release?
Jon,
That was a good interview; tough questions asked in a professional manner.
As for STO, I get the feeling from player feedback and from the answers to this interview's questions, that the game was rushed out as a hollow shell. It seems the core mechanics are solid and smooth, but the game is lacking diversity and uniqueness. Content can and will be added, but will it be of good quality, quantity and diversity? We'll have to wait and see. Still, the potential for fun and success is still there, but as is known in the MMO genre, there is only a small window to make or break an MMO's success and longevity.
Of course an MMO will add more content over time, that is the nature of MMOs. My point was that they are using that fact as an excuse to release a product that isn't ready for release.
Is it just me, or are they copy and pasting the same false promisses BS that they used at launch of CO?
We have a lot planned for after launch. We had things that we initially wanted to get in at launch but had to make hard decisions about moving it back. The nice thing about this being an MMO is that we can constantly add in new content. We have new exploration stuff going in, new endgame episodes that we'll be adding in every couple of weeks, new PvP scenarios and more ground fleet actions. These are to just name a few things we'll be adding in not too long after launch. We're also doing our best to keep players informed of what's in the chute. If you check out our "What's Next" page, you can see some of the stuff we have planned:
The above gave me an insta DeJaVu with CO! And those poor peeps left are still waiting for those promisses to be fulfilled.
Meh. So many people willing to trash a title when it isn't exactly the way they'd have designed it, or when it's not just like WoW (or even when it *is* just like WoW)...
My prediction is that STO will be a success because it does do many, many things differently than the Kings of the Hill.
It definitely has that Star Trek feeling. The instancing means that there are other people around you, but not so many that you lose that feeling of being special - a Captain of a Starship - in the process. Space combat has a tactical feel to it, and the ebb and flow of combat reminds me a LOT of the combat scenes in The Wrath of Khan. It's well done in that respect. If you're of the belief that space combat is nothing beyond mashing the spacebar, you're doing it wrong. There's no feeling quite like finding that mix of weapons and tactics that allows you (at Level 5) to obliterate a K'tinga in 30 seconds.
My experience has been that it is a LOT more 'mature gamer' friendly than most. It's a fine game for that (ever-increasing) number of players who have a job and a spouse and kids and a dog and a house and the like, and who strive to find a "life/game" balance. STO is *great* for the person who has an hour and a half (three times a week) between when the kids go to bed and when it's time to climb into bed to get some sleep before work the next day. There are a number of things you can do in an hour or less, and *still* feel like you've made some not-insignificant progress. You don't have to block out 4-6 hours for that big raid. You don't find yourself hearthing out from the middle of nowhere right in the middle of a quest to go get your rested experience.
Downsides? Yeah, there are some.
I had a rip-roaring time in my Klingon Noob Ship - it turns on a dime in comparison to the Fed ship - but I'd have liked more PvE options, since the tradeoff is that the Klingon Noob Ship is fairly frail in starter PvP. I'll wait until I can mail some better gear from my Fed to my Klingon (or until there are more PvE options) before playing Klingon Side in earnest.
The time it takes to get out of the Miranda is a little excessive on the Fed side, particularly since the WHOLE GAME changes when you get into your first Escort/Cruiser/Science ship, thanks to the specialization of each role (in combination with the specialization of your own character, and the specialized roles of your Bridge Officers - there are many, many, many effective combinations with which to play)
I really don't understand the Doom and Gloom Brigade. To y'all, *EVERY* MMO launch sucks, and *EVERY* MMO is destined to fail. I don't understand why y'all bitch about how existing games are stale and boring, and new games are either a rehash of the old game (I'm looking at you, Allods), or they're going to fail because they didn't cater to your every whim?
All in all, STO is an acceptable game where it is now, and there's still a lot of room for growth (and the developer appears keenly interested in this growth), and there's a lot of fun to be had while the gaps are filled out, if you're willing to allow yourself to have that fun.
It sounds quite meh to me... Its like driving over a bridge thats only half finished and expecting to be able to cross it, just doesn't work.
Oh man.
I'm usually one of the first to criticize Jon's articles, but I have to say, he did infact ever so professionally stick it to Cryptic several times in this interview. Those questions were very pointed. Not a yellow interview at all (yellow answers, but that's not Jon's fault).
Way to go Jon.
Boooo Cryptic!
That was a good answer to the question about Instances. I have not played beta. Addicted to CO for some reason, but if anyone has played the old startrek FPS there was an AI team by your side most all the time. For solo players who want the Star Trek feeling and not getting it with the game being so instanced is there any kind of AI available to complete that team desire?
They could sell AI team members in C Store with the option to dress them up any way you like. I am not a fan of star trek, it's a good show, i'll watch if nothing else. What about customization of characters, can you put Capt. Kirk in a mini dress and heels? Only because in RL he deserved it.
As far as repetitive, is there an example of an mmo which is not? I see the repetitive complaint about every mmo, what would be none repetitive? mini games? exploring fake landscape and space painted with someone elses idea of interesting? Am curiouis to what is not in mmo that makes it repetitive? Storyline? Every single person I have talked to clicks accept on all missions having no idea what text read so that can't be a majority issue. I read them more than they do. they should get screenplays written by talent with that kind of experience, Lots out there. Hell steal the plot of a good book or move adjusting it otherwise. Action? Different missions like finding stuff and collecting hiddin objects would be cool, thats been done, allow the chat channels to broadcast out of instance for those who just want to ask where it is and move on. PvP with lots of boundries preventing a gank fest? that would be interesting because its live content not fake, most humans can be very entertaining and or interesting, thats what they should do and the humans are already developed (thats debatable), and programmed. Get all those humans already connected to interact some how without causing grief to one and other. Then run for president. I bet a full blown working casino with real vegas odds, not cryptics .06% BS, allowing players to visit and play their game money would be surprisingly popular as a side feature in game look how popular poker is now, no missions requireing their use just their like RL as an optional distraction to break for a half hour or so. They have those clubs in mmos and I can't believe people hang in there and chat in third person language.
Sort of. I can see them not wanting the space battles to be too populated, true. But when I got to DS9 and found it's an instance and I was there with only 15 odd other players, it really took the wind out of my sails. I was expecting it to be packed (you know, like the show?). DS9 and Spacedock are supposed to be social hubs, and not instanced, yet they are.
Everyone that knows me knows I am an EVE die hard. I was very skeptical when this product was announced and really was discouting it out of hat. The reason was quite simply I am a die hard ST fan. I was part of the Taldren Inner Circle for the SFC2, ran an online fanzine for SFC that actually made it tinot the SFC2 box in PDF form and wrote more material for the game in way of fiction and tactical material than I can even recall.
Over the years though EVE was the only thing to come close to hitting my space needs and I figured STO would be way to dumbed down for me to enjoy.
I was invited to the beta and held off until the last minute. However 2 days of play and I was hooked. While it does not have the PvP or open feel of EVE, it does have a very Star Trek feel to it. I am not a fan of the ship movememnt system, it feels to much like it needs a joystick but it counters this with shield and weapon facings. This is a big deal as it brings a more tactical element to the combat.While I am not a fan of FPS play I do find that in STO this allows for a break from the starship and gives a nice twist to the overall fell of the game play.
The game is not as deep or involved as EVE but that is NOT a bad thing. The simplier play lends itself to the more casual scifi gamer. The graphics are a bit cartoony but then again Star Trek was not reknwoned for their great graphics in the TV series. The overall feel comes off nice.
The advantage of the STO system right now is it draws the player in quickly. You right from the start feel like you are involved. I have not yet got to the PVP but the early stuff is a lot more fun than EVE for a more casual play style.
While this day one launch has not been trouble free, few ever are. Overall the game has been very stable for me and the play pretty smooth, no lag as of yet.
The Star Trek name will carry this game far on name alone. However the game does have a certain element to it that makes it fun to play and keeps you coming back. Maybe not an earthshattering great title but a solid good one for sure. If you are a Trekkie you need to try this out.
C'mon, man. I don't think people are complaining because it's not like WoW or how they'd have developed the game. It is possible to objectively look at a game and see that it was, for the most part a cut and paste job on top of their existing engine.
A franchise like Star Trek has staying power. If you want to tap into that, you need to make an game with a lot of depth and longevity, but most importantly, you need to capture the soul of the IP.
I don't think Cryptic did this. I don't even think they tried to.
They didn't even tweak the interface for the quest delivery to be compatible with the on ship view screens. In fact, there's not a single instance in the whole game where they even utilize the view screen. The tutorial was a perfect opportunity to do this. Instead they use the same window that Champions uses. Thats one of many no-brainer core aspects of Star Trek that they didn't even try to get into the game. Almost every single episode of every Star Trek series and every movie had view screen communications.
The IP deserves better treatment. It deserves more development time and it deserves to have an engine designed from the ground up to suit the needs of the gameplay that would reflect and capture the soul of the IP.
I understand that money is an issue, but they didn't have to grab up the IP and rush it out as fast as possible, which is what happened.
So now, Cryptic has a lackluster in-house engine that they are going to cut and paste all their new IPs onto to sustain themselves. This kind of treatment is fine for something as obscure as Champions, but not something as popular as Star Trek.
they dont have any MMO out yet so keep your money and words
Sooooooooooooooo I went out and bought the game......got home.....attempted to input info and whammmmooooo Account server is down maybe? Problem is that they keep asking me for info This blows dead bears.....
CC is good. My info is up to date.
Ive never had iassues in any game ive played loggin in and playing.
Ive been on hold for an hour now......
(DDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH fires plungers at crytic studios!!!!!)
STO has a unique mechanic - most of your own "skills" come in the form of Bridge Officers, who are almost (you can't change race or gender) fully customizable AI-driven members of your crew who beam down with you for the missions/Episodes that take place on the ground. You can assign them individual Rally Points (so that you can take fullest advantage of cover and the Flanking combat mechanism), activate their abilities yourself or let them make the best of it (which is usually pretty good).
You can assign them to "consoles" on your ship, where you have control over their space-based powers, like Emergency Power to Shields or High Yield Torpedo.
You can change how they look once for free, and you can pay to change their looks (including uniforms) later. You can pay to change their skills, or they can learn different skills from other Bridge Officers you buy (or collect as Mission rewards) for free.
You can 'respec' your skillset almost completely at any time by switching out your complement of Bridge Officers. There are 2 character skills per Rank (10 levels) that everyone of your specialty (Engineering/Science/Tactical) that you cannot change/respec, and you cannot respec the 4 Racial Traits you selected at Character Creation (at this time). As stated before, you can't change Race or Gender, but *EVERYTHING* else about your character, crew, and ship are customizable at any time.
There is a Zone Chat that is zone-specific, but not instance-specific, so that if you're in Deep Space, you're in a chat channel with everyone else in Deep Space - though you may be in Orion Sector #20 with "only" 49 other people.ÂSounds like someone did not read interview.
I have seen some puff interviews here, this is not one. Just some straight questions, that a lot of people have been asking. You can not tie them up and torture the answers you want out of them after all:)
Otherwise, a good set of questions i think.
Everyone and their dog is trying to input their codes right now. The game servers have been *swamped* with players since the first day of Open Beta and Headstart. The Headstart had queues 1500 players deep at time. (This is also why I believe that the title will be a success. Game companies know what kind of response is 'typical' for an MMO (65% of Open Beta keys are redeemed, and 20% of the total number of keys are 'Concurrent Users'.
So, for 100,000 Open Beta keys out, 65,000 of them will be redeemed, and you'll have a load of 13,000 players concurrently. Cryptic has stated that the response has *FAR* exceeded anything that could be considered 'typical' response. This can't be anything but a good thing.
Cryptic is adding hardware to the cluster as fast as it shows up on the loading dock. They've been *exceptionally* communicative on this (and every other) issue, (including the overwhelmingly positive response rate during Open Beta) and I see that as a huge plus.
If you're trying to put in your keys, two paths will get you there -
A) Exceptional patience and persistence - the keys will go through eventually.
B) Wait until tomorrow.
A franchise like Star Trek has staying power. If you want to tap into that, you need to make an game with a lot of depth and longevity, but most importantly, you need to capture the soul of the IP.
I don't think Cryptic did this. I don't even think they tried to.
I think they did do this and it just didn't measure up to your expectations. If you wanted open exploration, player Bridge officiers, or crafting they probably did indeed fail to meet your expectations. On the other hand if you wanted a Star Trek game with conflict and strife thats fun to play and different main stream Fantasy MMO's this could meet your expectations. I'm sure there will be even more depth in the future as developers listen to their fan base. I disagree that Cryptic didn't try to do these things as you suggest as they are big Star Trek fans themselves. Plus what company that wants to make money dilibrately makes a crap game?
They didn't even tweak the interface for the quest delivery to be compatible with the on ship view screens. In fact, there's not a single instance in the whole game where they even utilize the view screen. The tutorial was a perfect opportunity to do this. Instead they use the same window that Champions uses. Thats one of many no-brainer core aspects of Star Trek that they didn't even try to get into the game. Almost every single episode of every Star Trek series and every movie had view screen communications.
If you followed this game at all you know the Bridges were thrown in at the last second due to their fans wanting them added. They have hinted they will add more features to them and add more areas of the ship in the future. One of the reasons they could make the game so fast was that they had the game engine already made, is there anything wrong with the Champions window other than its not the viewscreen? If that is a real problem why don't you suggest they replace the window with a viewscreen, I'm betting you would get a lot of support from us fans and the developers!
The IP deserves better treatment. It deserves more development time and it deserves to have an engine designed from the ground up to suit the needs of the gameplay that would reflect and capture the soul of the IP.
If you take in account the Game engine took them 3 years to develope (saw that somewhere else) and the last two to add what content they wanted to include, that seems like a very reasonable time period to me. They aren't (no MMO does) have all the possible content at the start of a MMO. The 9 gigs of download seems very reasonable amount of content to start a MMO in my opinion. The soul thing is too subjective as in my opinion its has it and to others it doesn't have it.
I understand that money is an issue, but they didn't have to grab up the IP and rush it out as fast as possible, which is what happened.
Most MMO's have money issues and I'm sure they had their fair share of concerns in that area, but I heard that part of the reason they got this property was the fact they could deliver a game in the two year period. Read somewhere that Paramont (think it was them) was upset that the last developer wasted all that time and had very little to show for it and wanted a game released fast.
So now, Cryptic has a lackluster in-house engine that they are going to cut and paste all their new IPs onto to sustain themselves. This kind of treatment is fine for something as obscure as Champions, but not something as popular as Star Trek.
Once again your personal opinion, but I really don't think its true. Would you like to be the one who could top SOE/Lucas Arts on the SWG debactacle? Personally I think they did a fine job so far, but want to see much more added in the future. With the proper input this game can go from nice to spectacular, and possibly even meet with some your ideas on a what a great star Trek game should be!
I lolled: great ways to satisfy your customers!
Well said man! Well said!
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
oh man are you wrong on this one
They didn't even tweak the interface for the quest delivery to be compatible with the on ship view screens. In fact, there's not a single instance in the whole game where they even utilize the view screen. The tutorial was a perfect opportunity to do this. Instead they use the same window that Champions uses. Thats one of many no-brainer core aspects of Star Trek that they didn't even try to get into the game. Almost every single episode of every Star Trek series and every movie had view screen communications.
[color=#ff6600]If you followed this game at all you know the Bridges were thrown in at the last second due to their fans wanting them added.[/quote]
"Cryptic Studios has revealed that bridge gameplay will indeed make it into the game for launch, and will serve as a social hub where players can socialize with others."
Cryptic didn't even announce Bridges until November 13th, 2009.
Having *anything* bug free and playable as a social setting in 10 short weeks is *amazing* - even if it doesn't live up to some folks' expecations at this time.
You were expecting today to be damn busy - you were going to be running your ass off, trying to get everything you have to do today done, and you knew it.
Now, you find out that you're going to have to serve, far, far, far more customers you were expecting today (doing whatever it is you do - whether that's being a computer guy, a bank teller, a shoe salesman, a plumber, a Customer service rep, a stockbroker, or a barista for 2 hours tonight at your Student Union Coffee Shop)
Whatcha gonna do? Hmm?
Sort of. I can see them not wanting the space battles to be too populated, true. But when I got to DS9 and found it's an instance and I was there with only 15 odd other players, it really took the wind out of my sails. I was expecting it to be packed (you know, like the show?). DS9 and Spacedock are supposed to be social hubs, and not instanced, yet they are.
Sorry I don't really know much about show and if anything it was original I watched now and then. I do watch it when its on late nights now and then. I have an advantage over all you ST fans
. For me this is all new and can't have any expectations. I do like space and modern tech mmo's way way more then the club and sword stuff. They are not bad, just burnt out on them. i'll take a rocket launcher over a bow and arrow any day. But then again I have to go check them out again for a change.
it is years and first time ever used emotes they are cool.
The other replies are actually good news to me. Not being as hard core as Eve IS not a bad thing, thanks for the reassurance my life will not be consumed by another game again. The comment, it seems STO attracts a more mature community is nice to hear. Repetiveness, well I am yet to find a game where that is not a complaint so what ever.
Mopar63 and Jonaylward, Thank you for the comments, It does sound like a game for me to at least check out. I have a pre-order sitting at store now, so gonna go pick it up.
K one more and then will never do again. 
.
Thanks again. cya in space.
they dont have any MMO out yet so keep your money and words
Where did I say they had to be MMOs? Dragon Age and Mass Effect embody true story development and actual game play with replay value. Thanks anyway tho.
eve has one server for the whole world to use. In the forums people were asking left and right if they would be able to purchase items such as the preorder ones to use at a latter time instead of having to purchase mutiple copies of the game in order to get them. So it seems people are happy with micro transaction options. Look at DDO resurection from the dead through the use of thier micro transtions store. In most games people who rush to power lvl get bored then claim it is the games fault that there is nothing for them to do while they wait for others to reach their lvl.
I think this poster is trying to accuse MMORPG.COM of unfairly bashing STO because the interviewer did not shy away from asking hard questions and pointing out the problems with the game.
If MMORPG.COM had only asked powder-puff questions like 'What is the coolest thing in STO' this same poster (or someone like them) would probably be accusing MMORPG.COM of having been paid off by Cryptic.
The interview was well-done and brought up legitimate points. Ignore those readers who can't realize this.
[Mod Edit]
After reading that interview, i dont believe anyone would want to buy this game that's obviously rushes and not ready. The guy ask questions and all we get are excuses for delays and lack of stuff.
ill never understand why cryptic appears to be sooo proud of their Mr potato head engine. the engine may have a lot of interchangable parts but no matter how you put it together its still not pretty. (not refering to graphics)
I think MMORPG.COM did a great job in this interview. They asked the tough questions that alot of people wanted answers to. I applaud them.
Redemption rate. Redemption rate? Don't they mean retention rate?
What MMO did bioware give us? Did I miss a release of a Bioware MMO? O you mean the pre release market hype. O yea because every MMO is as good as it's pre market hype.
There is PLENTY content in STO now. There are plenty ways to level up to break up anything "repetitive".
The sky is NOT falling. STO is a very solid game both ground and space.
I.E.
* You sign up for an Open Beta Code from MMORPG - it comes to your email, and goes directly in the SPAM folder. You don't find it there, and it's lost.
* You find the key in your SPAM folder, and fish it out of there, but then decide that you're going to get Mass Effect 2 and play that instead, so you never use the key.
Those are "Un-redeemed" keys.
Then they talk about Concurrent Users being a percentage of the keys that are redeemed.
* You sign up for Open Beta, find the key in your SPAM folder, *use it*, then go play ME2. That's a redeemed key, but you never count as a 'concurrent user'.
Get it?
What MMO did bioware give us? Did I miss a release of a Bioware MMO? O you mean the pre release market hype. O yea because every MMO is as good as it's pre market hype.
There is PLENTY content in STO now. There are plenty ways to level up to break up anything "repetitive".
The sky is NOT falling. STO is a very solid game both ground and space.
Im sorry but you are wrong. Anyone that claims STO has "plenty" of unrepetitive content is either delusional or just plan telling tales.
Who is the "STO Team" that is being interviewed in this article?
Is it an actual developer or some associate 'producer' / marketing intern that has been deputized to spread the company message to the press?
I'm sorry, but "vertical" flying is an expectation you have of the title that does not match with the limits of the original IP.
Go watch The Original Series - Enterprise vs. Klingon/Romulan were always "facing up".
Go watch Wrath of Khan...same thing, even in the dust cloud.
Go watch DS-9's huge battles...
Contrary to your personal preference, it's not 'broken', and can't be/shouldn't be 'fixed'. The Star Trek Universe has an "up" and a "down" to it.
Just out of interest, anyone know how many sales/subs they have day 1...?
That would be useless info. If we used day 1 sales or subs for anything, most the games that failed or still chugging along somehow look like success. 3 months later, that's when things will show what's what.
Oh I have a prediction for the klingon PVE. Go to xyz system, kill five federation squadrons. Go to lxb system, kill five federation squadrons.
Just look at city of heroes and city of villians... seems to me they are setting things up similarily and the two factions in that game don't play THAT differently. aka, if you didn't like the heroes, not likely to enjoy the villains. On the other hand, if you liked them, you would probably like the other one too.
Just want to give an amen to this post.
I like to call myself an "ultra--casual" gamer, very little time to play - never max out a character - but still love to play. To guys like me this game rocks.
MMORPG.com:
Star Trek Online will require a subscription fee to play, but also gives players access to the Cryptic Store. What items are offered in the store and how does it affect gameplay?
STO Team:
It's fairly limited right now. It will include the Ferengi and Klingon races to be playable for the Federation side at launch. We want to get an idea of what players want before adding much more. But we're sticking to the notion that if it affects gameplay, there will be ways of attaining whatever is available in the store in-game.
This screams "WARNING! WARNING! ABORT! ABORT! " to me. I'm very saddened to see one of my favourite TV shows ever turned into a cynical cash grab...
Edit: Also, I have to admit that I've been hard on Mr. Wood and the staff of MMORPG.com in the past few blogs they've posted. I basically accused them of being paid shills for Cryptic. However, he did ask some tough questions in this interview. The answers may set off warning bells for me, but the questions are ones I wanted asked.
My only question is: who was the person representing the "STO Team" in the interview?
Yes & no. If there are NO subs on day 1, it's not likely to get much better. If there are a massive number, especially after an open beta cycle, then that's a fair indicator of popularity/takeon. I wasn't trying to predict the future here, just get a handle on how much anticipation/excitement this title has created, in some sort of real terms.
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It depends on what you think repetitive content is. You can do mission story content, space cluster exploration content, fleet action content, sector space patrol content and PvP.
The missions are the story content. Exploration clusters are random incounters that can be space or ground combat, ground or space scaning or delivery to planets. Fleet actions are large group encounters for space combat. Sector patrol is killing a number of mobs. PvP is PvP.
Ok I'll bite... Wrath of Kahn when they are fighting in the nebula, Z+ and Z- moving vertical up and down when they had no forward or reverse motion, which this game lacks. At last i could never find it.
That is a very insightful translation.
It's up in the air whether people (who didn't opt for long-term subs) will be paying a sub fee.
"Playable"? What 'play' do you do on the bridge? Whatever.
Having to be harrassed into putting in an Iconic part of the IP at the last minute shows they don't understand or appreciate that IP to begin with.
Unless it was added after Open Beta, yeah. It was very repetitive.
Lets analyze the STO response a little closer....
MMORPG.com: There are many who criticize the heavy use of instances in the game. Can you give us the rationale behind the original decision?
STO Team: Sure! It's NOT an MMO but we felt that if we added a few chat rooms to the game we could call it that any way. The game would lose its Trek feel if everyone was in the same map trying to defaute the same bird of prey. The only way to handle this is to make the STO universe very large with dynamic quest locations and spawns, kinda like they do in lots of other well known MMOs. This takes lots of time and hardwork and money, none of which we are willing to put forth. Really its about getting the game out as fast as possible and exploiting the Star Trek IP to make money. Making the game NOT an MMO was the fastest way to acomplish this goal.
I think that besides Bill Roper not many people from Cryptic want to be known, there might be bounty hunters watching for new prey.
Jon you did an excellent representation of the community in your questions, thanks.
I do think the core design is flawed though, even with the 100% instancing they could have still given a massively feel to the universe. But when your gameplay is limited to a miniature universe map along with systems and planets that are cut to fit exclusively with the related episode tasks, this feeling is lost.
The STO gameplay is pretty much incomplete as mentioned, there will probably be a lot of changes in the future regarding bridge functions and mission variety, when it is done and trials are available I'll gladly try the game again.
I do not think that it is ready for release though even considering the fact it's a MMO and will never be complete.
While the excessive instancing can be relevant to the IP, it makes the full monthly fee questionable, "MMOs" with such a degree of instancing usually survive only with a reduced monthly fee, optional or non-existent combined with microtransactions and/or item malls, as in Guild Wars, DDO, CrimeCraft, League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, Global Agenda, etc.
Seriously insightful, thought provoking post. Single player games are for the most part going the way of the Do Do bird. I was never a fan of instancing and uninstalled Guild Wars after I realized there was nothing massive about hanging out with the same 4 people for 5 hours without the ability to get killed by some random person hiding behind a tree (love uo). Instancing, on any level pretty much ensures its not a true mmorpg game...I play Madden and COD but I don't consider them mmo's for the same reasons you cited. Spot on.
It's fairly limited right now. It will include the Ferengi and Klingon races to be playable for the Federation side at launch. We want to get an idea of what players want before adding much more. But we're sticking to the notion that if it affects gameplay, there will be ways of attaining whatever is available in the store in-game.
Lol...this really is priceless. I actually hope this company does keep churning out mmos because at this point their actions with CO and what appears to be their gameplan for STO is hilarious.
From the interview:
"But we're sticking to the notion that if it affects gameplay, there will be ways of attaining whatever is available in the store in-game."
So, the Federation Klingon and Ferengi captains are attainable in-game? How does one obtain them?
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"Also more fleet actions will be included."
Hmm, the ones I have played in were plenty repetitive. I thought fleet actions were going to be like Warhammer's PQ (and I aplauded Cryptic for putting them in), but they are very pale copies. PQs are far more diverse in gameplay.
----
"We did have a very ambitious target date, but we also knew we could do it. Bear in mind, much of the work that typically goes into an MMO's "five-year" development cycle is engine/tech creation, or in some cases, revenue generation. We made up for a lot of that time in two ways: We're using the same engine we'd been developing for five years for Champions, and when we merged with Atari, we no longer needed to shop a concept to a publisher for a year while we kept the staff small.
We've been fully staffed on this project since you first heard about its existence. So really, that two-year number is the meat and potatoes of what consumers see. It's the art; the living, breathing design; the content; and the gameplay changes we've made after getting the game into people's hands for real testing and feedback."
Yes, and they proved that two years of content development isn't enough. MMOs don't develop in a serial fashion, but in parallel. Having an engine already doesn't reduce time needed for content creation or testing of that content. It does reduce personel costs, but no one accused Cryptic of wasting money.
Anyone funding Cryptic by buying this game ought to have their head examined. Only suckers support bad developers.
Why lemmings flock to bad unfinished games is beyond me. If you are so desperate at throwing money away, why not at least do something constructive with it?
Very well put.
As for me, I am going to wait six months at least and then try the gratuitous free trial. If I feel the game has reached the point of where it should have been on launch day with a proper development time, I'll pick it up. Otherwise I will shrug and move on; there are far too many MMMOs out or coming out (and some excellent single player games as well) to waste my time on a game I do not enjoy, no matter how well I like the IP.
I found the one answer concerning how much development time is used up on the game engine alone a bit comical; most of the big name Western MMOs were based off of pre-existing engines (I'm not sure about the Asian ones, other than the WoW or Lineage II clones), and as has been pointed out, other things generally get developed alongside the work on the engine. Hasn't Bioware been woking on the storylines and such for SW:TOR for most of their development time as well as working on the engine?
Overall, I enjoyed the questions asked; I wish more interviews had asked questions along these lines over the course of last year. You would have still recieved the same canned answers I'm sure, but it would have been nice to see some more pointed questions.
I find it hilarious how the Cryptic/STO fanboys always say the IP doesn't matter, "it's just a game", "it wouldn't work in a game" "it wouldn't be fun in a game" when you mention things that are fundamental to Trek that are missing. But when you ask them to fix vertical flying they turn around and say "well it wasn't in the IP" as an excuse. I am speaking in general, not towards anyone particular but I have seen this flip flop many times now.
The pseudo-3D in the game isn't according to the IP, either, of course.
They should have either broken with the IP and gone for true 3D movement, or gone with totally 2D movement. I gather that the former isn't an option, due to the engine used.
No question asked about that in this 'hard-hitting' interview, or did I miss it?
The questions asked in this interview seem to be about general problems of the game. The thing you mentioned seems to be a more specific one.
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Mmh the kind of questions remind me of the interview with Funcom after the AoC release. Is this game really in such difficulties?
Thanks for the interview, Jon.
I'm not really understanding where this there was no 3-D movement in Star Trek idea came from; Wrath of Khan had it (remember the Enterprise coming up behind the Reliant, starting from from beneath it?), DS9's Defiant most certainly did loops, rolls, and other maneuvers such as the Immelman (especially during the Dominion War), and even the Enterprise E rolled during the big fight at the end of Nemesis (remember when their shield was getting pounded and Riker ordered them to roll the ship to bring a new shield to face the enemy?). Also, a lot of people seem to still get barrel rolls confused with just rolling.
STO's 45 degrees of up or down is rather limiting, unless you enjoy spiralling up or down to get to targets, and the game would have been better served with 60 - 90 degrees of up or down movement at least. All in all, it is one of many design choices that is leading to limited replayablity. A lot of the posts I see defending STO is from people having a blast playing the game for the first time (or still rather new to it); I enjoyed it as well at first, but it quickly becomes repetitive and stale much sooner than other MMOs. I also see a lot of posts defending the game, talking about how great it is going to be in six months or a year from now; what I don't see are valid reasons why people should spend money on the game until then.
Is there potential there? Of course there is! There is also potential in WAR, AoC, and Vanguard. In today's MMO market, potential isn't enough; you need a game that can keep your players subscribed long enough to realize that potential, or better yet realize at least some of that potential before the game ships.
So they basically admit that their release lacked content , but still put part of what is available in the item mall for their subs to pay extra for.
I guess thats one way of interpreting 'To boldly go where no MMO has gone before' . Meh.
Normally, I at least understand when people start mindlessly bashing us... This, I don't understand. Can you clarify?
I think I can help claify this.. It's like you people are interviewing Obama or some other democrat, where the questions you get to ask must get approval from the company you are interviewing first.. You don't ask any tough questions, or when you do, you dont follow up. The question was asked about why its so heavily instanced and can they expain this to the pissed of fans.. The man says, sure! because space is vast! .. you let let that slide...any one of us would have spent the rest of the interview asking what type of mental problems all the staff at Cryptic has been diagnosed with.. The tone of the interview is all sunshine and roses and never varries with you guys.
So, Cryptic Studios sound like they are bringing the genre down to new lows by (i) releasing a game that is obviously and clearly lacking content, and (ii) playing both the P2P and item shop financial models from the very start.
And so we get to see another genuinely amazing IP trashed by an MMO developer for fast and easy profit. Yay.
I hope we see STO go the way of AoC and WAR, and perhaps players will see the pattern emerging and how they are being taken advantage of. You already see a lot more caution in many of the posts around these boards. Sooner or later people are going to stop falling for the same trick.
"The nice thing about this being an MMO is that we can constantly add in new content"
Ah the universall 'copy / paste' excuse for lack of content and repetative game-play....
"but it WILL GET BETTER".... oh ok, then I'll come and play when it does get better shall I? "but if you do that we wont have money to make it better"
¬.¬
I've played the game now for a week and enjoy it. Its' like any game, you're either going to like it or not
Very good interview with some prying questions.
I can't believe the cheek of Cryptic thinking its acceptable to ask for a subscription AND have a cash shop too - its disgraceful and should not be supported by anyone.
Famous IPs + MMOs = FAIL almost every time (just ask Mythic and FunCom).
Hey Jon,
Just wanted to say thank you for asking some good and tough questions in this interview. If for no other reason than to maybe get in the developers minds what the actual feedback is for their game. It isn't just a "vocal minority" who are having some issues with the game. I loved his answer to the instancing question because it show just how full of shit these developers are. Who does he think is reading this? The reason for the multi shards is because that's how the engine is built. It had nothing to do with Star Trek. LMAO My follow up to him would have been, then why the **** did they the same thing in Champions Online? I would loved to have heard the b.s. response. Ah, anyway thank you for asking some tough questions bro. /salute
No kidding and I agree. STO looks like another rushed CO just to make a buck for a hollow game. I read nothing he said that even remotely made me feel like subscribing to STO, in fact it had the opposite effect.
Meh...a good idea gone lame. I'm reminded of the launch of SWG. Hopefully, like SWG, the sheer weight of the Star Trek fanbase will hold them over until they add in the missing pieces.
Yeah, Cryptic marketing have a consistent/well earned reputation in these regards. And their weirdness over the spacebar mashing ... there is all but no other option except to use out of game macros. Weirdly enough, they appear to have removed the ground-based auto attack (was one ability autofire, now zero ...).
You do get a relatively consistent game experience with Cryptic games, but they aren't really enough to keep you too long (unlike a Bioware, Square, etc.)
I am skipping this lame excuse for a game which I played in OB. It fails on so many levels it is as if they could care less about the Star Trek franchise and just decided to milk it for everything they could.
Maybe, and I mean by some miracle, Cryptic will get a wake up call and actually realize everything they did wrong and add it into the game!
For along time i was excited about this game.But with the feed back I have gotten from this site,the beta testers,the launch day interview responses,thefact that its a sub based game with a Cash shop, other sites,and the fact that its all instanced destroys my perspective of the game.
Star Trek is about exploring ,going where no man has one before.But you are set on a pre determined path here it seems.No open world?I can't even play as certain races unless i pay for them extra?I mean that alone seems like a huge scam to me.
I will see how it works out and monitor the game for a while.On that note .I would like to thank the beta testers for there feed back , and also Jon Wood for this interview. It saved me 50 bucks.
If they woulda copied the business model that DDO has inplace , p2p or f2p with CS , I may have even bought the game then.But man.This just totally seems like the exact opposite of what Star Trek should be about.When you Think of Star Trek being a game,the 1st thing that pops into my mind is Sandbox.Hell I woulda been stoked if they used the IP and copied Eve's style some.
Thanks again everyone who contributed to my decision to stay clear of this for now.Maybe in the Future if they do what they are saying they will do,I may try this.But still the cash shop thing is a huge turn off in its own.
P.S. If anyone from Cryptic is monitoring this. You do realize we are in a damn recession.The economy is pretty terrible and we as consumers are no idiots.We are trying to save a buck or two.Not get nickle and dimed to poverty.We look for these savings in multiple places, From car notes ,house notes,skimming the grocery bill and yes entertainment.If you had a marketing clue in this world, you would know that people would look at this business model and immediately shun it.I believe you may have completely turned the MMO consumer base against you.Just alil food for thought from my head to you .
Normally, I at least understand when people start mindlessly bashing us... This, I don't understand. Can you clarify?
Ok, this post was inane and trollish.... but you want to know why some of us think the editors (and more so the moderator/community managers) of this site are Aion/EvE fanbois, who unfairly moderate in favor of fans of those games, and against fans of other games...
I'll show you...
You stickied this piece of shit thread:
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/268722/Is-this-game-really-an-MMO.html
Which was abaout the 17th peice of shit thread from the same person, bashing the same game, for the same reasons. Your moderators, in spite of "Notice of increased moderation" have done NOTHING to intervene in the constant bullying that STO have endured for daring to voice a positive opinion of this game, yet I got a warning for posting a "Where's Sulu" thread (and STO in-joke, since I'm well aware you, and most people reading this don't play) Now in all fairness, after protesting, the warning was recended while the thread remained locked, but then a flamer, whos thread was locked for trolling, got his thread reopened simply by removing the word "idiots" even though his entire thread was bashing STO fans.
So yeah... this poster didn't come acrossed well or appropriately... but the excuse the fuck out us if things don't seem a little biased from where we're sitting.
Credit where credit is do...
The thread I was commenting (furiously) about has been removed from sticky. I appriciate this,as I do feel that stickying that particular thread implied endorsement of a particular opinion and editorial bias for and against certain types of MMO.
Edit: Oh and sorry for the rant... I was a bit miffed... to put it mildly.