PVP:Yes | Distribution:Retail | Retail Price:n/a | Pay Type:Subscription
Desktop Client | System Req:
Star Trek Online Previews: Inside Beta: A Three Hour Tour
MMORPG.com's Chris Higgins writes this overview of his time in one of Cryptic's Star Trek Online Closed Beta play sessions, giving an overview of the first three hours of gameplay.
By Christopher Higgins on December 17, 2009
Ever since I first heard that Star Trek was going to be made into an MMORPG, I have been chomping at the bit to get into closed beta. I love Star Trek, not to the point I have my living room made up to look like a bridge but I enjoy the shows, movies, and lore. Needless to say when I was presented this opportunity to play closed beta I was all over it.
I have heard many game companies say that most players quit a game in the first 15 minutes. So when logging in I was thinking "How will Cryptic grab me by the seat of my pants and hold my interest?" It's a fairly simple question, and one that could easily be answered during my three hour play session. If they don't have me hooked by the time they turn off the servers for the night, they've failed.
When logging in for the first time my task was to create a character that would be part of Starfleet. The choices were standard Starfleet races like Human, Vulcan, and Bajoran to name a few. The game also offered a custom race you could make. Looking at it quickly, each race has attributes, some of which are required for that race and some are optional. Using these Attributes you can create your own unique race. You can also customize the look of your character quite a bit. Star Trek Online also has new uniforms which were designed for this game and you can change the color and look as well. You then have to choose a class and have Tactical, Science, and Engineering to choose from. I did not spend a lot of time looking at the skills because I wanted to dive right in to the action so I blew through most of this to get into the game.
;)
Right out of the gate, I thought that Cryptic did a great job making the tutorial seem like gameplay and giving players a way to get accustomed to the game while not stopping the action. I've played a number of tutorials where the action stopped every few seconds for explanation and while there are indeed some voiceovers explaining how to play the game, they felt unintrusive to the gameplay.
I especially liked the fact that through the tutorial and beyond, you never felt the need to load up on missions. You got missions as you went and it had a very quick flow to it. In time, you finish the tasks presented to you and you get command of your ship to fly into battle.
Space combat is pretty fast paced and fun. I would say it's very similar to Pirates of the Burning Sea's naval combat but at a much, much, faster pace. Also, this is three dimensional space so combat can get a bit disorienting at times. I found myself flying into a group of NPCs that changed my direction by accident quite a bit. Overall though, I was having fun shooting photons and phasers at the mission objectives. All of these missions lead up to a fight with a Borg cube. Once you complete the task you head for a Starbase in orbit around Earth.
;)
After docking, you are free to move around the Starbase. There are lots of things that you can do while on the Starbase: character customization, equipment, ship customization, socialization, and the like are all available. At least in the early stages of the game this starbase acts as a hub.
Even with all of those things to do, your first trip to the station is on business. You have to meet with an Admiral who gives you command of your ship and commends you for a job well done. You will also be able to grab missions from various NPCs around the Starbase. Once you are finished with all of your business, you beam back to your ship and warp to Sector Space.
Sector Space is where I spent most of my time. Each individual system is its own instance while Sector Space is a public zone. It is in Sector space, along with your fellow players, that the exploration part happens as you navigate your ship from system to system. When you find one you like, or need to visit, you are able to enter the system's instance.
Instead of exploring deep space, I headed back to the Starbase to pick up some missions and stay close to Earth. One of the best missions in terms of the new player experience asks players to visit a number of different systems, giving them an opportunity to explore space, get a feeling for how Sector Space navigation works and take part in a number of both ground and ship based scenarios.
;)
When I first warped into a new system for this mission chain, I was given a choice. I could enter the system solo or with a group. I almost chose solo, but stuck with the group instead. Some people left and others were added in but I finished my mission in no time. This kind of reminded me of Warhammer Online's public quests. Overall, I was impressed with how easily the grouping flowed.
One of the last things I did before logging off from my first STo experience was customize the look of my ship. You can change body styles and for your introductory ship you have some options. They have some new looking light cruisers that are pretty nice. However I was able to customize this ship to look like the USS Reliant from Star Trek II "Wrath of Khan".
This not in open beta and is still only in play test which gave me only three hours to try things out and get a feel for the game. However I can honestly say that it had me in the first 15 minutes. Like the newest Star Trek movie, this game puts action first and really does a good job of grabbing your attention. After logging out I was asked what I thought and I said, "If City of Heroes and Pirates of the Burning Sea had a baby, it would be Star Trek Online." I thought overall Cryptic did a good job of capturing the spirit of Star Trek and presenting it in a way that was enjoyable and fun.
Was never a huge Star Trek fan, but I did love Next Generation. Also wasn't as excited for this as everyone else, but I do enjoy Champions Online and this looks good enough that I preordered my copy. A good sci fi MMO is hard to come by.
Sounds like a pretty good start to me!
"If City of Heroes and Pirates of the Burning Sea had a baby, it would be Star Trek Online."
I know what you are trying to say with that sentence,..but if someone who has played both CoH and POTBS and knows nothing about STO other than that sentence, well it might be an instant turn off. Just saying.
Seems promising...I've always liked MMO's that take a break from the fantasy setting, especially ones that take a break by going to the sci-fi setting...I'll probably check this one out if it comes around before swtor.
I've been an ST fan since the original came out in '67! Which, I guess, marks my age. :) This looks like a lot of fun and so, when it comes out in stores, I plan to buy it! And if there is a monthly fee, I'll pay it! So desu ka!
I don't envy Cryptic's task. They have alot of fans to try and please. Each with their own preconceived notions of what Star Trek should be and what that universe means to them. I'm still pretty undecided on this mmo and probably will remain so until they open up beta and I can get a better sense of how they treated this big, old sacred space cow.
I always thought that playing a captain would be great for higher level characters where you've finally made it to get your own ship and the whole game opens up even more for you: exploration, diplomacy, planet surveying, ship-to-ship fighting, etc... while the lower levels are the cadet years where you hone the foundation for your eventual captain (i.e., archaeology, Picard; medicine, Crusher; science, Janeway). Of course, my vision would frustrate the end-gamers and be more complicated for the designers... oh, well, maybe it'll happen in some parallel universe.
Typical mmorpg.com.
Before the ad space is purchased they have huge concerns and are deeply troubled about Cryptics ethics, after a few G's are dropped in Banner ad space the game is quite compelling, and most of all fun.
"If City of Heroes and Pirates of the Burning Sea had a baby, it would be Star Trek Online."
I just threw up.
Why no detail regarding the missions? What is the deal -- this is the second MMORPG review that has vaguely mentioned missions, and then left it at that.
When you grouped on the explorer mission, what did you have to do? Was it combat only like everything seems to be?
If this game is so damn fun, why isn't there any detail about the missions?
My question about the group instance: was cooperation and teamwork required, or did everyone just do their own thing?
Me too.
We all want to know, not much out there on the details... damn NDA gives them the right to censer (spelling) what comes out, so mid Jan we will all know.
Cryptic has been an advertiser of ours for years. It doesn't matter one way or the other to us whether or not they buy ad space. Is it possible at all that we have had concerns about the game and now that we're into the game, we're seeing that there are good points as well? Is it possible that the people voicing concern and the person writing this article are different and might have different opinions?
No one has said that the game was perfect, but we're not going to call something a complete train wreck when it isn't, and we're not going to stop voicing concerns when and where we have them.
i don't care about advertising policies at all
what i want to know are details
we got - "that was fun" "this is instanced" "that isn't instanced"
so are you or are you not allowed to give any details - - - as this article stands, at least for me, it is worthless
as for the "parents" of STO, i did not play either of those games so that also was of no use descriptively
Cryptic has been an advertiser of ours for years. It doesn't matter one way or the other to us whether or not they buy ad space. Is it possible at all that we have had concerns about the game and now that we're into the game, we're seeing that there are good points as well? Is it possible that the people voicing concern and the person writing this article are different and might have different opinions?
No one has said that the game was perfect, but we're not going to call something a complete train wreck when it isn't, and we're not going to stop voicing concerns when and where we have them.
Just concede you're part of the Illuminati/New World Order, are responsible for World Trade Building 7's demolition, and in fact, were on that grassy knoll in 1963.
It's much simpler that way.
It was three hours. A more complex hands-on preview should follow next week. Up until now we've had very short windows to play.
well you are in luck it is set for a feb release and they have a 2 week open beta set for january. :) This will give everyone a chance to see the game and make their own minds up yet still preorder if they wish to get the goodies :)
Can anyone say "WOW Killer"
:)
You have to be telling a joke Pirates of the burrning see!! I ws like omg I tried to beta that game and instanly hated it.
You probably turned off a lot of folks even saying that. The naval battelts were lame, so if thats what we have forward to looking too, then no thanks.
I guess one persons personal favorite are another persons pos.
I will take some of what you been smoking, wow killer he he he. If I wanted wow I would play it. Why does everybody want a wow killer. Let those who play wow play it and stay on the other side of the universe.
Me too.
Hmmmm. That's a worry really?
I think at this stage it would be fair to call PotBS a fail?
Forum activity and server closures tell the story?
I find it funny that some people tend to say how great and how 'fun' PotBS is - but as I asked in another thread "Do you still play PotBS?"
This is what I remember about Pirates of the Burning Sea: they basically made a ship game, then tacked on land based play in a half baked way. Character creation was cool, but the game was buggy, laggy, and broken.
This is what I remember about City of Heroes. Great character creation. Everyone is a hero, so no one is really. Instanced 'dungeons' regurgitated time and again making for monotonous game play. A big instance with lots of instances inside the main instance.
So what I gather then, if the two games were mated, would be a ship game with shoddily tacked on away missions. The humanoid avatars will have lots of customization options. The game will be heavily instanced with instances within instances. Combat also will be instanced. So is that an accurate summation?
I am a HUGE Star Trek fan, but I think if we are going to create this type of game then Bioware's Star Wars game offers a more compelling version. I can't wait to feel like a miniature sitting in that big oversized command chair. How heroic that will feel...
well i think his point was that POTBS had an inovative ship combat which is not the same as it being a good mmo unfortunatly. However, it does boad well for the ship combat in STO as it was very realistic in POTBS requiring skill as oppossed to just who had best gear and the highest lvls.
my thoughts exactly,
a Instance, inside a instance, which is inside another Instance????
Is there any point for pvp? esspecially now with the news of klingons being pvp only sans all the key features youll get playing Starfleet? they have every right to place pvp in such a manner, but they best not being holding their breath if they expect that aspect of the game to hold any longevity.
I cant even fathom the genesis sytem now if all it amounts to is instances caked on more instances, i wonder how many people asked if they could venture to territory that another player discovered that is plotted on the star charts?
yes i am holding a pitchfork and torch...
Yeah, but as an MMO it was a failure.
If Cryptic have a good ship combat routine then that's nice... but if that's all they have then make it a single player game with online PvP arenas.
Charge $90 for the box.
Leave the MMO rights open for someone else who can bring more to the table than just a good ship combat routine.
The only turn off for me in this WHOLE review. Besides the PotBS + COH had a baby thing....
Is the "like the new star trek movie, they put action first"
REALY?!?!?!?!
You liked that abominasion of all things trek?
Scotty was reduced to a slapstick side kick.
Kirk was shallow and predictable.
Leonerd Nemoy as Spock was good... The other guy... not so much.
I can go on for a VERY long time picking that movie apart. So many things wrong, and yes I know it was a "alternate" timeline. I think thats the only thing that kept me from bombing that movie in all my reviews.
Hahaha. I hear you man.
Come on everybody. Give the people at MMORPG a break. They already said they didn't have a lot of time with the game and that they will have a more detailed preview coming soon.
And doubting their motives when reviewing games is not helpful and doesn't get us anywhere. Statements such as "could we get some more details about missions please?" is much more useful and gives the previewers an idea of what the community wants to hear about.
I for one am glad that MMORPG has been given the permission to release the info that they have. I am cautiously optimistic about this game, but with a month and a half to go until launch, I still have a number of questions. So I am glad for any info that is given.
Hoping this and SWTOR both turn out to be good games. We could use some mmo innovation in the market.
That's my two cents. Peace.
I have been following STO since Perpetual had it. I can't say this will be great or that will be great as I'm not in beta (and wouldn't blow the NDA if I was). I will say this as I've read almost every interview that I have found and watched every vid that I could find, the game sounds like it will rock.
After watching ship combat they guy was accurate when he said like PotBS but much faster (read less boring) and with 3d environment more options.
I have seen some beta vids that were on Youtube (probably deleted by now) and from what I've seen, I am looking forward to it. Space combat and ground combat looks fantastic, you even do more damage (ground) by flanking.
If they do the game world simularly to Champions Online, while not perfect, it will be okay. Kinda nice to be able to switch instances to get away from a tool.
As a previous poster stated, give the guys a chance, they make mistakes but when the forum blows up, they admit it. Far more than other game companies would do.
Klingons being 100% pvp...not true, they are adding pve content (going by what they said yesterday on forums) but there won't be a whole lot of pve at launch so still plan to level primarily through pvp....another case of where they actually listened to us.
Same thing with bridges. They originally stated that there will be NO ship interiors at launch....forums blew up...they had a little extra time (how the hell did that happen?) and so they added bridges, in fact I think you can choose one of 3?
Yes, I pre-ordered and will definately be in game (btw, I think open beta is pre-order only). I'd recommend anyone giving this game so much as a glance to go to startrekonline.com and check out the forums and see what the devs are saying (they have a dev tracker). Don't listen to doomsayers and their ilk.
Btw, no this won't be a WoW killer, maybe one will come along one day but I don't think this one will be it. (nothing against wow but maybe if they got knocked down a notch or two other games would stop copying them)
Please, let it NOT be a WoW killer...
Because then "those people" might come in to STO!
;)
Hahaha. I hear you man.
I hate it when people can't let go of the past. The movie was great and so was Zachary Quinto. My wife hates Trek, but she actually liked the movie and said she will gladly watch the sequel with me. That's saying a lot considering I can't get her to watch Next Generation...or any Sci Fi for that matter. She didn't care for Star Wars. She doesn't like Stargate. But she likes the new Trek.
Well, that says a lot right there. If someone who doesn't like Trek likes the new movie, then it's not really Trek then, is it?
Well, that says a lot right there. If someone who doesn't like Trek likes the new movie, then it's not really Trek then, is it?
Right. Just like TNG wasn't "true" Trek because Picard was not a swashbuckling hero like Kirk was.
Ever hear of the "no true Scotsman" fallacy?
Well, that says a lot right there. If someone who doesn't like Trek likes the new movie, then it's not really Trek then, is it?
Not at all. It just means in her eyes, it was a BETTER Trek!
ok in all seriousness with the bashing of the new movie..did you guys forget that between nemesis and enterprise trek all but died? the fan boys and the cannon huggers who kept insisting paramount keep trek inside it's restrictive mold let to it's near death. People like cryptic and jj abrahms are taking the ip and breathing new life into it much the way ron moore did galactica...maybe trek shoulda died off so you'd have nothing to whine about
No because it wont happen.
You mean that show that was like "Lost" set in space? That soap opera thing with the 2 second shots of spaceships to break up the drama scenes? ....okay...
You mean that show that was like "Lost" set in space? That soap opera thing with the 2 second shots of spaceships to break up the drama scenes? ....okay...
I agree to a point, but the overall point that is being made here is that it is all a matter of opinion as to what constitutes "true" anything.
Let's take... oh... Batman. As you may know, DC has built up and torn down all of their characters over time. Early Batman was with Robin and adventured in a squeaky-clean version of Gotham painted in bright primary colors. Later versions portrayed him as the solo and much darker "knight".
What's the "true" Batman?
There isn't one. Though, there is the Batman that YOU personally prefer.
That's all.
I personally think that TOS was the finest iteration of ST and it was all down hill from there. That and a buck gets me a cup of coffee. :)
Never liked phaser weapons and photon torpedoes. Somehow this whole Star Trek thing went passed by my. I wasn't of course raised with Star Trek running on tv day and night either, nor I had Star Wars but somehow I like Star Wars much better. Star Trek just feels like a fun of previous generation and weapons feel a bit outdated. But its not really my point. Star Trek feels like it had its time and it did well, but its time for something new. To chose between STO and SWTOR I without a doubt chose SWTOR. I also don't think STO will be very so popular, but thats only my opinion though.
And of course 3 hours is way too few to even touch what the game feels like. You need to play for at least 30 levels, then you will have enough impression and in-game developed experience to really judge if this game is worth monthly fee. Most of new MMOs will keep everyone who tries them for at least 15-20 levels. Because thats usually where you see a difference, either the game is fun and will keep be engaging and fun further on or you already feel grind and repetitiveness and poor creativity of developers.
This post reminds me of an episode of the Daily Show where they reported that Trekkies didnt like the new movie because it was "Fun and Enjoyable".
I mean if you look at things in the original series everyone other than Kirk, Spock and Bones are sidekicks.
TOS Kirk wasnt shallow and predictable???? "gee theres an attractive girl in a mini skirt I wonder if Kirk is gonna flirt with her"
I certainly don't consider myself a "Trekkie" though I do have a great fondness and respect for the IP and respect Cryptic enough to give the game a shot right out of the gate but I didn't expect that the game would hold my attention much longer than the first month but the more I hear about it the more I think they may be able to hook me in.
"And of course 3 hours is way too few to even touch what the game feels like. You need to play for at least 30 levels"
Sentiments like this are one of the problems I think mmo players tend to have and why our "opinions" seem to come off so negatively, I agree with the article in that often times you can tell in 15 minutes or so if you will like a game much and in the basically slow levelling world of mmo's level 30 can often times take as long to reach as a "good" console/offline rpg and if it does take that long and you then grow tired of the game have you not gotten your moneys worth and is the game truly a "failure".
Ultimately I'm certain devs would want to keep a person a customer forever but the truth is that is a rarety and will probably stay that way, but how/why would not being able to keep a particular player interested for more than a year be a "failure".
And that's to say that I love rpg's and mmo's are an extension of those games, they often cost the same or less than any other new game on the market and your first month is (as I know it) always free. If I enjoyed it enough to play it for a month I would probably not mind subbing for atleast a few more months and if after that time I felt the need to move on why is that a bad thing?
Its because fanboys have gotten so much that they seem to take things for granted. We're so negative about everything and everything has to be the way we want it or else...doom and gloom. Honestly they could have taken ten years to make this game and included everything people are complaining about now and I believe there would still be some proclaiming this game a failure without playing it.
You can't say STO is anything like POTBS or COH
ALL PVP IN STO IS INSTANCED!
STO is NOT a "MMO" it is a single player game with instanced multiplayer options.
Um... that's exactly like PotBS
I call games like this Graphical Lobby Games.
There is a graphical lobby, where you wait for (and choose) missions. Interaction there is limited. In PotBS the 'lobby' was the Travel Map. You could travel there, and chat - everything else you had to go to an instance.
I would point out that POTBS PB were infact an instance..the open sea ships fights were instances that closed either when a group was full or when the timer to join had expired. The OP's comparrison to POTBS dealt not with instances but how the ship battles were fault. Such as broadsides and having to manuver your ship. Along with the fact that skill and tactics were just as important as your lvl and the ship you had. :)
Oh by the way your discription sounds like Guild Wars and COH/COV to me
P.S. Unless you are breaking the NDA you agreed to perhaps you should wait and try the two week open beta in january before you keep screaming how bad the game is.
Woah...strong words! I just plan on saving my money and seeing the Clash of the Titans remake...
RELEASE THE KRAKEN!
I'm fully awake after downing 2 mt. dews in the last 30 mins. I started yawning through this article. Wheres the action or the fun factor? Painting my ship pretty colors? Ya that sounds compelling. You gave me the impression that the grouping was very tedious with lots of the standard waiting for more people to join garbage that every game deals with. If thats the case just say it. Why bother with this at launch? Another quick postive impression of this game with nothing bad to say? Give us a break already.
My thoughts so far: 1) tutorials should not have to be reviewed because it's not really the -real- game, and, 2) the space combat is like POTBS but faster which means it translates to being a lot more simplier and not strategic. The reason why the ship battles in POTBS are rad is because they are slow because you have to take time to think...still not impressed.
Woah...strong words! I just plan on saving my money and seeing the Clash of the Titans remake...
RELEASE THE KRAKEN!
How poor are you? You have about 4 months to save up 10 dollars for a ticket for a movie.....
How poor are you? You have about 4 months to save up 10 dollars for a ticket for a movie.....
I just wanted to say "release the kraken!"
although i understand what you are saying i disagree. The fact that STO battles are faster does not mean they are simpliar The fact there is less time to think does not mean you do not need to just that you can not waste time. Add to that the fact the battles are 3D as oppossed to 2d ie your ship was on the flt water and you just had to look porst starborad aft and forward to look for the enemy as oppossed to those 4 directions and above and below. Think more inline with airwarfar then ship combat.
I'm amazed how many rude people there are here. I think the point of this thread is that in the 3 hours that were played, the game grabbed him and kept his interest. This is not a detailed review, but rather the a positive bit of info about the start of the game. Be patient and a lot more info will be coming over the next month including a chance to beta if you choose. I for one am leaning toward Star Wars, but I am definitely not writing this game off and will try it before forming an absolute opinion.
my thoughts exactly,
a Instance, inside a instance, which is inside another Instance????
Is there any point for pvp? esspecially now with the news of klingons being pvp only sans all the key features youll get playing Starfleet? they have every right to place pvp in such a manner, but they best not being holding their breath if they expect that aspect of the game to hold any longevity.
I cant even fathom the genesis sytem now if all it amounts to is instances caked on more instances, i wonder how many people asked if they could venture to territory that another player discovered that is plotted on the star charts?
yes i am holding a pitchfork and torch...
I've been trying to warn people it's PotBS in Space for a while now :/.
If you look at this game - everyone but Kirk is a sidekick.
Nice early snapshot. Thanks ^_^. I like the starbase as a hub idea. Ship navigation and combat sounds fun. I'd like to hear more sometime about the away missions, and what its like to group. I wonder what its like to group with people, all of whom have control of their main character and their own away team of NPCs. How does that work? Is grouping still helpful? Is it crowded? Is it fun?
P.S. I just saw that a more detailed hands on might be coming soon. That's awesome, and thanks again for the early look. It was a nice introduction to the game.
Are your plugs for SWG and your bashing of STO before it even goes live connected in some way? Seems kinda like a marketting campaign tbh.
Also, I've played MMOs that have instanced PvP before. City of Heroes was exactly like this actually. It was/is definitely an MMO too, contrary to what you seem to be saying.
I sadly agree :(
I said something of ground combat in another post. I may as well say something briefly on flight combat here.
Its not how you think it is people. Wow, space and ships are so cool..... not so. Space combat is nothing more than pressing your shield button up. Exactly like AoC was in the shield regard. Then you tab to a bracket, the ships are small, like smaller than your thumbnail.
Once you tabbed to your bracket ... you cant even see the enemy... you press the fire button. Every ten seconds you press the missile button.
Sometimes, alot of the time, you are full throttle and cant even tell you are moving. Its very strange.
The "complexity" of space combat is auto attack. Thats it. Its also difficult in the fact that your ships handle like tuna boats.
So I have the option of playing with people as opposed to having to play with people? Sounds good to me.