Player vs. Player

We're at the end and I am sure some readers have noticed that I didn't cover Player vs. Player yet. After a lot of thought, I decided that this really needs an article unto itself. That said, I'll offer some very limited first impressions, but check back soon when we cover it all in the detail it deserves.

PvP is accessed in two ways. There are global queues in the UI where you simply pick the scenarios you want to wait in line for and a pop-up window beams you in as soon as one kicks off. The second way is through the map itself. Players can fly to the neutral zone and go to sectors on the map that throw them in line for the queue in question.

The later way is kind of silly. There are Klingons and Federation right on the sector map hanging out and chatting as if they're friends, while they wait in line to kill each other. I found little reason to ever really go to the Neutral Zone. Instead, I worked on PvE while I waited in line for a random scenario.

Once in the space scenarios, though, I had a blast. There are a range of games and lots of balance and bugs to work out, but PvP in space is refreshing. MMOs and games in general tend to reduce PvP to a series of strange things. It becomes mechanic based tactics, not a real fight. That's why people bunny hop in shooters. It's absurd, but it can work.

Space combat is slower and tactical. This translates well. Since ships have turn rates, they fly around naturally and behave like ships should. It makes the PvP experience analogous to the PvE experience, just with smarter enemies. I absolutely loved the basic ship PvP. It felt like the same game, which is a problem too many MMOs have.

There is a lot more to PvP, but as I said, that's a topic unto itself that we'll cover in a future article. There's just too much to fit into this piece. So check back for details on the various arenas, the Klingon experience and more in a future article.

Bottom Line

The question is: Will Star Trek Online succeed when it launches in February 2010 based on what they've shown in Beta to date?

Yes and no. This game is no WoW killer. It's obvious that they had a limited timeline to complete the project and while every game has sacrifices that must be made to get it out the door and there was no way they could get everything every Trek fan wanted into it, this game definitely could use more time in the incubator. It's not polished and with only a month to go, I expect their time will be spent on game-breakers, not new content.

That said there is a lot of content in the game, at least on the Federation side. There is never a lack of things to do and the basic missions, PvP and content is quite fun.

The core of this game is really good. Conceptually, I have few problems with it. Most of my complaints are about wanting more of things they started and that's a good sign.

It's a game you can lose time to. A few times I would say I'd be down in "15 minutes" and show up an hour later without realizing I'd been at it so long.

For business model followers out there, STO appears to be headed down the exact same path as Champions Online. While no specifics are yet out there, there is an "STO Store" in the UI, which will no doubt feature cosmetic items and "short cuts" for those who want to toss some real life coin on top of their fee. Like Champions though, I don't expect anyone to need to use the store to compete.

So, as is usually the case, this game isn't as bad as some say, nor is it as good as some hope. It's a game and it's got its warts, but the bottom line is that the core ideas are fun and playable. The license should ensure it sells quite well and there will no doubt be a first month crash as some of the less polished elements annoy people, but I don't think that crash will be epic. The game should carve out a solid, profitable following and set it up well for years to come.

If you really like Star Trek, can deal with some warts or just want to have a different MMO experience, this is a game worth picking up at launch. If you're an absolute Trek purist or have no tolerance for bugs, then waiting is definitely a better idea. Is it perfect? No. Does it have everything a Trek fan dreamed of? Of course not. If you enter the STO experience though with a firm eye on what it is and not what it is not, Star Trek Online is a refreshing take on a very stagnant MMO genre.