Beta sign ups for Star Trek Online are now being accepted on the official Star Trek Online website. Of course, if you signed up for the six months or lifetime subscription of Champions Online, no pressure! The rest of you, however, what are you waiting for?!

Sign up for the Star Trek Online beta here!

I wonder how much Cryptic Cash this will cost us.

Thanks for the heads up.

I signed up, but only because I have nothing better to do.

Signed up.

Originally posted by JDexter

I wonder how much Cryptic Cash this will cost us.

-Laughs- A lifetime sub or a six month sub to Champions online. 

Joking aside, it hasn't been THAT long since they took the IP over from Perpetual. They are already at beta? Maybe its just me but I haven't seen any news or even a crescendo of information like Bioware has done that builds excitement. The only thing I've gathered so far is it will be half assed as far as some features the player base considers Trek.

At any rate, It seems awfully fast to be going to beta this year.

Originally posted by synergi

Originally posted by JDexter

I wonder how much Cryptic Cash this will cost us.

-Laughs- A lifetime sub or a six month sub to Champions online. 

Joking aside, it hasn't been THAT long since they took the IP over from Perpetual. They are already at beta? Maybe its just me but I haven't seen any news or even a crescendo of information like Bioware has done that builds excitement. The only thing I've gathered so far is it will be half assed as far as some features the player base considers Trek.

At any rate, It seems awfully fast to be going to beta this year.

Indeed, I have to agree. I like the Star Trek Uni. a lot, and would hate to see this MMO get rush and sacked...if ya know what i mean.

My understanding that STO is going to be a high end graphical game requiring a really fast expensive high end system to play on. I remembered reading a FAQ put out by Cryptic that they recommended players use either 64bit WinXP or Vista 64 bit systems, broadband connections, at least 8 GB of RAM, Video Cards with 256MB or higher.

I rechecked Cryptic site and noticed they removed that FAQ, but the damage has already been done IMHO.

This is one Star Trek Fan who is NOT going to sign up for the beta or buy the game due to it's reputation as being a high end graphical game. 

This game has gone to beta so fast because its using all existing technology. Its using all of the same stuff that they used to make Camps online and that just got released i think. That also should answer you questions on what kind of computer you will need. Specs should be close to identical to Champs.

If you havent hear any hype on the game its most likely due to the fact that they are really pushing Champs right now and have been for the last few months. Star Trek wont be out until sometime next year so it makes sense to them to promote their newest game now ans start in on Startrek sometime around Christmas most likely.

From what I can tell it will not be a hardcore trek fans game but will still be better then what trekers have available to them now. I hear its alot of instancing. I hate instances but really like trek so I might give it a go. I got a beta slot reserved through a contest a few months ago so I am just waiting to get in now. Maybe by the end of the year.

Originally posted by synergi

Originally posted by JDexter

I wonder how much Cryptic Cash this will cost us.

-Laughs- A lifetime sub or a six month sub to Champions online. 

Joking aside, it hasn't been THAT long since they took the IP over from Perpetual. They are already at beta? Maybe its just me but I haven't seen any news or even a crescendo of information like Bioware has done that builds excitement. The only thing I've gathered so far is it will be half assed as far as some features the player base considers Trek.

At any rate, It seems awfully fast to be going to beta this year.

You mean all the information from bioware like the fact that they are making a fully voiced mmo with cut scenes, or that they are making a story driven mmo with fully voiced cut scenes or that they are making a fully voiced story driven mmo with cut scenes?

I have read and seen a lot more about what you get in sto than swtor but have seen a lot less hype

however i wasn't expecting beta for another 6-12 months

From what I can tell it will not be a hardcore trek fans game but will still be better then what trekers have available to them now. I hear its alot of instancing. I hate instances but really like trek so I might give it a go. I got a beta slot reserved through a contest a few months ago so I am just waiting to get in now. Maybe by the end of the year.

 It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.

Originally posted by Thalarius

My understanding that STO is going to be a high end graphical game requiring a really fast expensive high end system to play on. I remembered reading a FAQ put out by Cryptic that they recommended players use either 64bit WinXP or Vista 64 bit systems, broadband connections, at least 8 GB of RAM, Video Cards with 256MB or higher.

I rechecked Cryptic site and noticed they removed that FAQ, but the damage has already been done IMHO.

This is one Star Trek Fan who is NOT going to sign up for the beta or buy the game due to it's reputation as being a high end graphical game. 

I doubt it will be REALLY high on the System Req., One: companies have learned if they make a game to HIGH END than it leaves a LOT of the population out of the mix. And aspecially if they want to get a broad aduience. Granted it is a newer mmo so more than likely it will have a tad bit higher req....but we dont know til the game is out. The footage of the ship to ship battles looked great imo the Avatar/ground combat looked to be ok, but its still alpha/beta so im not one to judge til there a lot closer to release/beta testing.

Its like trying to eat a cake when its not even full baked, its not done and still needs to be cooked before tasting it...now weather they bake  a good cake or not thats the question >.0 {friedly humorus sarcazim} {grabs a fork and knife}

Originally posted by Thrawl

From what I can tell it will not be a hardcore trek fans game but will still be better then what trekers have available to them now. I hear its alot of instancing. I hate instances but really like trek so I might give it a go. I got a beta slot reserved through a contest a few months ago so I am just waiting to get in now. Maybe by the end of the year.

 It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.

I think the PvP area is a massive open world area. Something like the Neutral zone. Once you enter it you are fair game. But for the story lines alot will be instanced I think. This will allow for timetravel and alternate reality action I am thinking. But I think massive fleet on fleet action in open space will be in.

Since this isnt a normal mmo maybe the instancing will work out. But my gut says instancing is just a way to give everyone some thing quick and easy. I will give it a shot but if it turns into a game like parts of  WoW where you are running the same instance over and over and over again for a certain drop or faction or any other reason then it was fun to do I am out.

Originally posted by Coldsteel6d

Originally posted by Thrawl

From what I can tell it will not be a hardcore trek fans game but will still be better then what trekers have available to them now. I hear its alot of instancing. I hate instances but really like trek so I might give it a go. I got a beta slot reserved through a contest a few months ago so I am just waiting to get in now. Maybe by the end of the year.

 It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.

I think the PvP area is a massive open world area. Something like the Neutral zone. Once you enter it you are fair game. But for the story lines alot will be instanced I think. This will allow for timetravel and alternate reality action I am thinking. But I think massive fleet on fleet action in open space will be in.

 

Since this isnt a normal mmo maybe the instancing will work out. But my gut says instancing is just a way to give everyone some thing quick and easy. I will give it a shot but if it turns into a game like parts of  WoW where you are running the same instance over and over and over again for a certain drop or faction or any other reason then it was fun to do I am out.

Yea it wouldn't be bad if you were doing a story line that took you to a planet and these planets were instanced. If done properly it would give you the feel of a good ole RPG. As long as the story lines are will written, which I see no reason that they wouldn't be. As far as the battles are concerned as long as it's an open PvP area than I'm in. 

Originally posted by Thrawl

From what I can tell it will not be a hardcore trek fans game but will still be better then what trekers have available to them now. I hear its alot of instancing. I hate instances but really like trek so I might give it a go. I got a beta slot reserved through a contest a few months ago so I am just waiting to get in now. Maybe by the end of the year.

 It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.

Of course its heavily instanced.  Its a game that takes place in the vastness that is space and also includes planet/station environments.  How could it not be heavily instanced?  The alternative would be for the game-world to be incredibly small and limited, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what Star Trek is about.

Also, while massive battles are attractive in concept... they really don't work out very well in application.  Everything turns into a huge blob with ridiculous lag that ruins gameplay.  Restricted numbers in battles are actually the best way of handling massive combat in games like this.  One of the biggest complaints about Eve is the lagginess that comes from massive fleet battles.

Give me a smooth 10x10 fight with outstanding graphical effects and strategic gameplay anytime over a 500x500 blobs that produces horrible framerates, horrible lag, weak graphical effects, and tactics that are numbed down because of the massive amount of firepower.

Originally posted by comerb

Originally posted by Thrawl

From what I can tell it will not be a hardcore trek fans game but will still be better then what trekers have available to them now. I hear its alot of instancing. I hate instances but really like trek so I might give it a go. I got a beta slot reserved through a contest a few months ago so I am just waiting to get in now. Maybe by the end of the year.

 It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.

 

Of course its heavily instanced.  Its a game that takes place in the vastness that is space and also includes planet/station environments.  How could it not be heavily instanced?  The alternative would be for the game-world to be incredibly small and limited, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what Star Trek is about.

People's expectations of technology are sometimes unreal.

In the 90's, they managed to make a endless universe, with planet landings, gas giant orbit harvesting, mining, space stations to land on and much more.... On one 512kb diskette, running on a computer with 512kb ram and a cpu so small it would be used ton a hairdryer today.

And now, technology has advanced so much they can't do that? Bullcrap!

Originally posted by wolfmann

Originally posted by comerb

Originally posted by Thrawl

From what I can tell it will not be a hardcore trek fans game but will still be better then what trekers have available to them now. I hear its alot of instancing. I hate instances but really like trek so I might give it a go. I got a beta slot reserved through a contest a few months ago so I am just waiting to get in now. Maybe by the end of the year.

 It would be a real shame if it was heavily instanced. But if they are using the same template they used for CO it will be. I don't know how well that will go over with those looking to have some massive faction based space battles. If everyone is restricted to only 20vs20 or 30vs30 battles it's going to feel more like a small arena than a massive space game. I personally won't bother with it. I guess we just wait and see how this is going to play out.

 

Of course its heavily instanced.  Its a game that takes place in the vastness that is space and also includes planet/station environments.  How could it not be heavily instanced?  The alternative would be for the game-world to be incredibly small and limited, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what Star Trek is about.

People's expectations of technology are sometimes unreal.

In the 90's, they managed to make a endless universe, with planet landings, gas giant orbit harvesting, mining, space stations to land on and much more.... On one 512kb diskette, running on a computer with 512kb ram and a cpu so small it would be used ton a hairdryer today.

And now, technology has advanced so much they can't do that? Bullcrap!

Wouldn't be cost effective.  The amount of servers and processing power it would take to create a universe of appreciable size while still making it within the "standards" of to-days games would be staggering.  And would ultimately result of a huge waste of unused space for a small sense of immersion.  Lets not forget that a game used to fit on a 512kb diskette... now its rare to install a game that takes up less than 5GB.

Then you have to deal with the complication of implementing systems that allow you to transverse that huge universe smoothly and efficiently, even though you'd have to transfer sessions between multiple servers at an accelerated rate.  As well as transverse from things like space -> planets in a realistic fashion.  

Sure, it could probably be done... and it would be pretty cool I admit  But the juice wouldn't be worth the squeeze, at-least not in a financial sense.  And the development time would be staggering.

Originally posted by Thalarius

My understanding that STO is going to be a high end graphical game requiring a really fast expensive high end system to play on. I remembered reading a FAQ put out by Cryptic that they recommended players use either 64bit WinXP or Vista 64 bit systems, broadband connections, at least 8 GB of RAM, Video Cards with 256MB or higher.

I rechecked Cryptic site and noticed they removed that FAQ, but the damage has already been done IMHO.

This is one Star Trek Fan who is NOT going to sign up for the beta or buy the game due to it's reputation as being a high end graphical game. 

That FAQ isn't there anymore because it never existed in the first place or at least not the BS your claiming about the System Requirements. I've been a member of the STO site since the first day it went live and the FAQ they posted within a day or two of the site going up claimed they were going to try to keep the System Requirements as low as possible to reach as broad an audience as possible. This is the only FAQ they have ever posted on their site and even though it has been added to it's still there to this day. Look, if you don't like the game just say so but don't start making stuff up as it just makes you look foolish.

As for the Beta I already signed up the first day they were taking apps.

Bren

I have played games where there are huge battles between hundreds of people either in pvp or in a raid setting. Games like DAOC and the old EQ. these were common events and "lag" in my opinion was based more on someones rig and isp then the game itself. I rarely ever experienced it with a decent pc and great isp. If anything I would dial the graphics down from ultrs to high and away I went.

Even when it was laggy, I would prefer the awesomeness that was a huge battle over a small controlled one. 10 vs 10 with awesome graphics and framerate is still just a bar fight. I will take the 100 vs 100 epic event with medium to sub medium graphics anyday.

Originally posted by Coldsteel6d

I have played games where there are huge battles between hundreds of people either in pvp or in a raid setting. Games like DAOC and the old EQ. these were common events and "lag" in my opinion was based more on someones rig and isp then the game itself. I rarely ever experienced it with a decent pc and great isp. If anything I would dial the graphics down from ultrs to high and away I went.

 

Even when it was laggy, I would prefer the awesomeness that was a huge battle over a small controlled one. 10 vs 10 with awesome graphics and framerate is still just a bar fight. I will take the 100 vs 100 epic event with medium to sub medium graphics anyday.

I agree. what's the point of playing an MMO if it ISN'T massively multiplayer? I'd rather enjoy high graphics while I'm out exploring strange new world, and enjoy massive combat with low graphic setting when blowing up someones ship.