I have to vote no confidence in this game. I was really excited when it was announced and that enthusiasm has gone down with almost every detail I hear.

Here's hoping I'm wrong.

Good article, and I agree with what several others said that the article hits the nail on the head except for the last two points. Alternate Universes and Time Travel are gimmicks that Star Trek used often, sometimes effectively and sometimes not. It's a story tool that Cryptic can use if they want to, but it's not at all necessary IMO.

I also agree that STO should be targeted toward Star Trek fans. The whole point of using an established IP is to attract those fans. If they just want to make an MMO that attracts any MMO gamers, they don't need to pay Paramount for the rights to develop a Star Trek game. They could just make up a new story and universe and be free to develop it in any direction that they want (see: EVE Online). And to be fair, while they have said that they want to make a great MMORPG game and not just a great Star Trek game, they've also said they want it to be a true Star Trek experience. So I believe they are trying to get it right on both sides of the coin, which of course is exactly what they have to do. To be truly successful, it will have to be a great Star Trek experience and a great MMORPG game experience.

On the topic of players creating their own races, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I did a bit of Star Trek fan fiction many years ago, and created new races in the stories. It was a lot of fun, and I also enjoyed reading what other writers came up with. So I expect that some players will take it seriously, and they'll write up some very cool races with history and background and culture that will be a joy to discover in the game. On the other hand, there will be players that create "TEH OMG AWSOMEFACE RACE!!!1!!1!" and unless Cryptic puts some oversight on race creation, there's going to be a lot of nonsense in the game.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Cerion 

Now Cryptic has been coy about their relations with Star Trek fans -- at points wooing them, and at other points openly mocking them.  But it can be said that they certainly are NOT designing STO to appeal to a core of Star Trek fans. They've readily admitted as much.  They're going for that same group, that nebulous, nomadic group where "all the usual suspects" show up.

 

Now, my question to you is: why are they doing that? Are they misguided in thinking they can hold a large section of the nomads, or it is their business plan to release big (box sales, CE, and extended subscriptions) and let the game wither away?

I don't know. I wish I knew.  Perhaps they're highly cynical about the longevity of an MMO game's life cycle.  I have an inkling, though it's only a gut feeling, that Paramount has its fingers in this deal (more than simply licensing) and is demanding an quick, early return on investment -- but hey, I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, lol.  Going for the nomad gamer would give you that quick return.

The Star Trek MMO is the one we have all been waiting for. The devs have mentioned procedurally generated content yet they mention nothing about player generated content, combining these two things is definitely the wave of the MMO future. I would like to craft holodeck adventures personally and would probably pay for the privilege but oh well.

I doubt the Prime Directive is going to play much of a role in this game, even though it should always be in your mind as you explore strange new worlds, unless you aren't in the Federation.

I don't really care for space combat in a Star Trek game, so this one is already down a few notches in my book, I'll give it a shot though as we all will. There is MMO precedent for allowing mutiple PC's on the same ship, check out Pirates of the Caribbean Online from Disney lol!

Perhaps champions was just a quick revenue generator for Cryptic so they could fund what they believe to be the real money maker? I just hope the game is good.

Originally posted by mynameisben

The Star Trek MMO is the one we have all been waiting for. The devs have mentioned procedurally generated content yet they mention nothing about player generated content, combining these two things is definitely the wave of the MMO future. I would like to craft holodeck adventures personally and would probably pay for the privilege but oh well.

I doubt the Prime Directive is going to play much of a role in this game, even though it should always be in your mind as you explore strange new worlds, unless you aren't in the Federation.

I don't really care for space combat in a Star Trek game, so this one is already down a few notches in my book, I'll give it a shot though as we all will. There is MMO precedent for allowing mutiple PC's on the same ship, check out Pirates of the Caribbean Online from Disney lol!

Perhaps champions was just a quick revenue generator for Cryptic so they could fund what they believe to be the real money maker? I just hope the game is good.

 

 

Are you completely sure you want to?

Edit: didn't grab everything for the change.

Originally posted by mynameisben

There is MMO precedent for allowing mutiple PC's on the same ship, check out Pirates of the Caribbean Online from Disney lol!

Or Star Wars Galaxies from 2003...

Originally posted by edgehead

I have to vote no confidence in this game. I was really excited when it was announced and that enthusiasm has gone down with almost every detail I hear.

Here's hoping I'm wrong.

Your not. It's worse then you've heard. With every detail STO looks worse and worse. On the other hand with every detail Star Wars - The Old Republic looks better and better.

Originally posted by Elannar

Originally posted by mynameisben

There is MMO precedent for allowing mutiple PC's on the same ship, check out Pirates of the Caribbean Online from Disney lol!

Or Star Wars Galaxies from 2003...

SWG has the best multiplayer set in space. On the new gunships you can have a pilot, operations and 6 gunners. All working together. SWG even has an awesome voice over IP built in to the game. Hey wait. You mean SOE the company that can do no right did multi role ship combat right?!? 6 YEARS ago? and cryptic can't? FAIL. If you want a game that has actual people running the entire ship and not just pressing npc buttons. There really is only one MMO that supports this, and ironically it's Star Wars Galaxies. How's that for a kick in the pants? There are also other multiplayer ships in SWG for 2, 4, and 8 player ships. And there is still room in the ships to for repair in flight. (That sounds just like Star Trek :P).

Originally posted by Erolis

Originally posted by Elannar

Originally posted by mynameisben

There is MMO precedent for allowing mutiple PC's on the same ship, check out Pirates of the Caribbean Online from Disney lol!

Or Star Wars Galaxies from 2003...

SWG has the best multiplayer set in space. On the new gunships you can have a pilot, operations and 6 gunners. All working together. SWG even has an awesome voice over IP built in to the game. Hey wait. You mean SOE the company that can do no right did multi role ship combat right?!? 6 YEARS ago? and cryptic can't? FAIL. If you want a game that has actual people running the entire ship and not just pressing npc buttons. There really is only one MMO that supports this, and ironically it's Star Wars Galaxies. How's that for a kick in the pants? There are also other multiplayer ships in SWG for 2, 4, and 8 player ships. And there is still room in the ships to for repair in flight. (That sounds just like Star Trek :P).

A system like that just wouldn't work in Star Trek, because in Trek you aren't flying ships as diversion or fun extra but are instead in your particular ship most of the time.  I'd wager for 95-00%+ of the players, having to log on to a ship, then being able to do almost nothing because the Captain, First Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Security Chief aren't logged in wouldn't be any fun.  Nor would it be fun to play on a ship where the captain was a jerk (or equally unfun if you couldn't rise up in the ranks because of your personality as viewed by a small set of other players).  Frankly, there just isn't a good way to capture this in an MMO without having the rest of the crew as AI.  If you want to play as a member of a crew and have other crew members also be players, then play a Pen and Paper RPG.

Btw, the SWG system wouldn't work in Star Wars if you were a member of the Imperial Military or the New Republic Military either.  These things just can't be done adequately with multiple real people unless you start paying people to show up or you are willing to accept certain breaks from reality such as logging in and being on a different ship each time.

Originally posted by Cerion

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Cerion 

Now Cryptic has been coy about their relations with Star Trek fans -- at points wooing them, and at other points openly mocking them.  But it can be said that they certainly are NOT designing STO to appeal to a core of Star Trek fans. They've readily admitted as much.  They're going for that same group, that nebulous, nomadic group where "all the usual suspects" show up.

 

Now, my question to you is: why are they doing that? Are they misguided in thinking they can hold a large section of the nomads, or it is their business plan to release big (box sales, CE, and extended subscriptions) and let the game wither away?

I don't know. I wish I knew.  Perhaps they're highly cynical about the longevity of an MMO game's life cycle.  I have an inkling, though it's only a gut feeling, that Paramount has its fingers in this deal (more than simply licensing) and is demanding an quick, early return on investment -- but hey, I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, lol.  Going for the nomad gamer would give you that quick return.

 

I believe it's CBS that is involved with the licencing of STO. But, you have to remember that the Trek license has been out for an MMO for like 4 years already. Perpetual botched it up and went down, so Cryptic might be feeling a bit of pressure from the suits with dollar signs in their eyes.

I agree with the article.

Here are my thoughts;

Uni-Server; I do LOVE champions "Everyone plays on the same server"  approach. However, for Star Trek I could really see there being two servers. One with no custom races. I'd pick that one, because I'd prefer more canon than someone making "Uncle Pedobear" race like they do in Champions Online.

NPC Depth; OP is totally right, I want to not only get some backstory to my NPCs, but I would like a little Baldurs Gate/Dragon Age where they argue or develop relationships in the background. Just some fluff would be nice. a dynamic system could be created not unlike Jagged Alliance treated Mercenaries (except on a more macro scale).

Let's say at first they create 50 NPC "Personalities" but let you name the Character (or pick the default random one) which get assigned based on whether its a male/female or whatever race it is. Then they create a matrix of relationships connecting each one to another.

"If Personality 31 and Personality 32 are together on the Bridge, randomly play voice conversation #432"

Players will only get 4-5 of these npcs, so it's possible you will get a totally different experience than I would, and if I start a new guy I would get a new crew as well. Then as the game continues to be developed, add new personalities to the mix.

Ferrengi; I don't care about playing Klingon or starfleet, Ferrengi sounds fun. Let us "Go Rogue" and save those nausicans and other bad guy races for a third faction!

Originally posted by Drachasor

Originally posted by Erolis

Originally posted by Elannar

Originally posted by mynameisben

There is MMO precedent for allowing mutiple PC's on the same ship, check out Pirates of the Caribbean Online from Disney lol!

Or Star Wars Galaxies from 2003...

SWG has the best multiplayer set in space. On the new gunships you can have a pilot, operations and 6 gunners. All working together. SWG even has an awesome voice over IP built in to the game. Hey wait. You mean SOE the company that can do no right did multi role ship combat right?!? 6 YEARS ago? and cryptic can't? FAIL. If you want a game that has actual people running the entire ship and not just pressing npc buttons. There really is only one MMO that supports this, and ironically it's Star Wars Galaxies. How's that for a kick in the pants? There are also other multiplayer ships in SWG for 2, 4, and 8 player ships. And there is still room in the ships to for repair in flight. (That sounds just like Star Trek :P).

A system like that just wouldn't work in Star Trek, because in Trek you aren't flying ships as diversion or fun extra but are instead in your particular ship most of the time.  I'd wager for 95-00%+ of the players, having to log on to a ship, then being able to do almost nothing because the Captain, First Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Security Chief aren't logged in wouldn't be any fun.  Nor would it be fun to play on a ship where the captain was a jerk (or equally unfun if you couldn't rise up in the ranks because of your personality as viewed by a small set of other players).  Frankly, there just isn't a good way to capture this in an MMO without having the rest of the crew as AI.  If you want to play as a member of a crew and have other crew members also be players, then play a Pen and Paper RPG.

Btw, the SWG system wouldn't work in Star Wars if you were a member of the Imperial Military or the New Republic Military either.  These things just can't be done adequately with multiple real people unless you start paying people to show up or you are willing to accept certain breaks from reality such as logging in and being on a different ship each time.

Don't know about the rest of you, but I grow tired of explaining, for the hundredth time, to people who clearly follow the development of STO, solutions that solve and refute their arguments.  Seriously Drachasor, why do you not let it sink into your head the solutions offered? Why do you instead offer up the same straw man arguments?

It has been suggested numerous times that if you log in, and none of your crewmates are live, then those positions would be filled by AI -- the same AI that Cryptic is ACTUALLY implementing now.  And you wouldn't be forced to play on any multi-crewed ship. You could still captian your own ship, so you can safely ignore that 'jerk' captain.  Presumably you'd only crew on a ship where you enjoyed the company of the players, and likely would be a Guild of some sort.

As far as one's personality flaws...well, an MMO can't do anything about that can they?

 

Don't know about the rest of you, but I grow tired of explaining, for the hundredth time, to people who clearly follow the development of STO, solutions that solve and refute their arguments.  Seriously Drachasor, why do you not let it sink into your head the solutions offered? Why do you instead offer up the same straw man arguments?

It has been suggested numerous times that if you log in, and none of your crewmates are live, then those positions would be filled by AI -- the same AI that Cryptic is ACTUALLY implementing now.  And you wouldn't be forced to play on any multi-crewed ship. You could still captian your own ship, so you can safely ignore that 'jerk' captain.  Presumably you'd only crew on a ship where you enjoyed the company of the players, and likely would be a Guild of some sort.

As far as one's personality flaws...well, an MMO can't do anything about that can they?

 

It could be like "Puzzle Pirates", but in Space, with Star Trek Stories and races.  Seriously, Puzzle Pirates has an excellent implementation of ships manned by semi-permanent, pick up, and NPC crews.  Check it out.

Exploration should take a big part of the game. As the article said, it's not just all about war and combat. I would like to boldly go where no man has gone before. Spend time exploring far away, discover new worlds, new civilization, new technology.

On the ship interior part. I accept that there's only limited access at launch. But I expect it to be available within a year, with full ship interior wandering, ship/starbase crew quarters customizable.

"to beam down on this Planet, you will have to purchase clearance from the Cryptic Store"

They will tell you that those particular planets will not affect your gameplay and are only vanity items.

Expect some of the content that is in the beta to be removed from the game before its release.

Seriously, Cryptic should not be involved with this game nor should Atari. If they really cared about Star Trek, they would not be rushing it. CO is going nowhere and neither will this game thanks to the poor design decisions of Bill Roper.

Honestly most of you need to go buy SIMS and download some star trek skins, because that is the only area your going to get your lovey dovey star trek feel. Make sure your playing online with others of your ilk.

This game will be just a go get X and bring it to Y. Go kill B and return for your reward from A.

The game most want could not be done with any realistic budget and certaintly not by Cryptic. Maybe Bioware but not Cryptic. Anyways a realistic Star Trek game would also allow me as a pirate type player to jump you as a carebear type starfleeter with only consequence being you might beat me or star fleet would try and hunt me down. PvP will not be that way, rather it will be capture the flag, planet, or whatever object they want to give and it will be in an instance...yea!

As for culture, I only care about it for the known races. If someone makes a new race, it is their job to flesh out the race with backstory. This is an MMO and if you see some race your unfimiliar with, do like everyone here preaches about and explore. Explore the person. Ask them about themselves. That isn't something that needs to be spoonfed from the creators. But I believe the developers should give tools to do this also. Like a backstory tab or something that is readable by other characters.

As for time and realities, these should be handled as maybe instanced quests. No need to make it some huge underlying part of the story.

I think exploration will be there, but some of it will be instanced. I think if  I visit a planet, I don't know if you will necessarily find that same planet on your own.

I don't really care alot about the crew and their personalities. Their NPCs, if they have no personality, then I'll just assume the are androids without an emotion chip or an uptight Vulcan.

I just want a mission where my bridge crew and myself are mysteriously changed into children then have to crawl around the ship's conduits to repel a boarding force of Klingons by throwing tribbles at them.

-w

All of the Star Trek we know and love is dead.  The latest film killed it.  In its wake will be a brand new universe - more seedy, more hollywoody, more sexy, more expletivy, and much less like the vision of Roddenberry than anyone thought Star Trek would ever become.

The question is - will they put it back or will they drive a stake into the heart of Star Trek and make all of the movies and tv shows we've seen be like the lost season of Dallas - one big dream?

How will the movie affect the game?  Hopefully it won't, but you never know.

Originally posted by battleaxe

How will the movie affect the game?  Hopefully it won't, but you never know.

The latest movie took place in two different universes: The original one we know from the TV series and previous movies (which is where Nimoy Spock and Nero hail from, and JJ Abram's parallel-but-time-displaced universe where Quinto Spock and Pine Kirk come from.

STO takes place in the original universe 30 years after Star Trek: Nemesis and 22 years after (old) Spock and Nero get sucked into a black hole in the new movie. The effects of the movie prior to the transportation of Spock and Nero into JJ Abrams' universe is in there. From the standpoint of everyone in the original universe, the Hobus system went into an absolutely ridiculous supernova that destroyed Romulus (and probably a whole slew of other planets, outposts, and starbases that noone seems to care about), and then Spock flew in to create a black hole to negate the effects of the supernova. He succeeded, but in the process got sucked into that black hole along with Nero's Narada and was never heard from again. Presumed dead.

So, 22 years later, where do we find ourselves? Well, in our (STO) universe, Vulcan still exists but Romulus is gone. This leaves the Romulan empire with a destabilized government and several different factions are claiming that they're the one true Romulan empire. This leaves them vulnerable to the Klingon's encroachment (Khitomer Accord = gone). The Federation has offered aid, but Romulans for the most part are a proud people. The majority of the factions have branded the minority of planets that have applied for Federation assistance as traitors.