Star Trek Online Forum » Perpetual Studios Version Discussion » A warning to Cryptic...

Dont get me wrong, City of Heroes is a decent game. But lets be honest CoH is a very simplistic. It doesnt have real crafting. The graphics were somewhat dated even at its launch. The game is heavily instanced. And ultimately there isnt anything to do except run mission after mission after mindnumbing mission.

Cryptic doesnt exactly do things in the conventional way either. City of Villains was sold as a stand-alone product when it should have been merely an expansion. Cryptic takes on another MMO project that basically is a mirror image of CoH's genre. Whoever is running things over there seems content with their minimalist approach. 

Star Trek deserves far better than minimal effort. Star Trek deserves more than a combat-focused boring mission grind. Star Trek deserves a virtual galaxy simulator with total freedom to live out our dreams.

Star Trek was a cerebral experience where combat only happened as a last resort. Holdecks, diplomacy, relationships, and exploration were the main focus of Trek.

The WoW clone approach wont work with Star Trek. At least not if you expect to tap the large fan base that has followed Trek lore for 25-40 yrs.

So here is a warning to you Cryptic. We wont settle for what PE was doing and we wont settle for a wow clone either. Ignore the marketing suits, you wont get wow players to leave for Trek anyway. You need  a different game, something to appeal to sci-fi fans. Clearly that approach needs to be a sandbox virtual world with quests yes (but not forced), social classes, and the freedom to do something other than shoot stuff. Personally Id be happy to just run my own bar on a space station or maybe mine dilthium crystals.

Do things right, and the sky is limitless. Make the mistake of putting minimal effort into this project and you'll see wrath that makes Star Wars fans seem tame by comparison.

good luck.

You should post that response on the game forum where the devs can see it for I would say all of us Trek fans agree with you totally on this.

I agree with you totally 100%, I don't want this to be a shoot em up and I'm not too happy about the "transwarp conduits" that will give people instant travel to the far reaches of the galaxy.  To me Star Trek is about exploration and getting there is and always should be half the adventure.

I'd say give 'em a shot.  No sense in bring up the company's past on a new game unless they have shown that it is in fact the same.  In the meanwhile, I'll be on EVE.  If this proves to beat it out (and surely it would have to be some fantastic experience to do so) then perhaps I'd make the Folger's switch.

well so far I wont play STO with only 2 races at release . I was hoping for most or all races on release I am very disapointed in that. Hopefully they change that back to what perpetual had was like 6 or 7 I could be wrong but I remember there being a bunch of raves.

well I lied they are stuill coming out with all those races so thats good I guess we will have to see...

Originally posted by FuuManChew35

well so far I wont play STO with only 2 races at release . I was hoping for most or all races on release I am very disapointed in that. Hopefully they change that back to what perpetual had was like 6 or 7 I could be wrong but I remember there being a bunch of raves.

They have more than 2 races. When they say "Federation or Klingon" they are talking about factions not the races you can be. There will be everything from Human to Gorn and you can even make a custom race if you want. The race selection in Cryptic's version of STO makes PE's look very sick by comparison.

Bren

Originally posted by Brenelael

Originally posted by FuuManChew35

well so far I wont play STO with only 2 races at release . I was hoping for most or all races on release I am very disapointed in that. Hopefully they change that back to what perpetual had was like 6 or 7 I could be wrong but I remember there being a bunch of raves.

 

They have more than 2 races. When they say "Federation or Klingon" they are talking about factions not the races you can be. There will be everything from Human to Gorn and you can even make a custom race if you want. The race selection in Cryptic's version of STO makes PE's look very sick by comparison.

 

Bren

I agree, and they said they are gonna introduce more factions in expansions like the Romulans and the Dominion.
 

There's nothing wrong with starting out with a handful of races until the game hits full-stride.  The danger is when it does, that addition needs to be added quickly.  Who plays a game with 2 races?  Apparently we do:

Yeah you should watch the full video on the main site.  You can make your own race and call it whatever you want. 

I would love to see it like this though.  Not just being on Federation or Klingon, but other factions like traders and neutral people.....so there can be pirates or explorers selling intel and technology.  Supposidly there is going to be some form of those but I havn't heard much about it.

I agree with the OP, but I would also warn trekkie fans - don't set your expectations too high.  They'll do a good job with it, but I really doubt it'll be what you say you're wanting (i.e., virtual galaxy that provides total freedom of play for everyone).

Originally posted by Deathstrike2

I agree with the OP, but I would also warn trekkie fans - don't set your expectations too high.  They'll do a good job with it, but I really doubt it'll be what you say you're wanting (i.e., virtual galaxy that provides total freedom of play for everyone).

 

I agree, they aren't going to make a game that is going to make every star trek fan happy. They are going to make a game that they will hope speaks to star trek fans but also brings in non fans or at least players who are not fanatic over Star Trek.

If the fans of Star Trek set their hopes too high they are going to be badly dissapointed. Keep it grounded and you should do well.

Originally posted by admriker4

Dont get me wrong, City of Heroes is a decent game. But lets be honest CoH is a very simplistic. It doesnt have real crafting. The graphics were somewhat dated even at its launch. The game is heavily instanced. And ultimately there isnt anything to do except run mission after mission after mindnumbing mission.

Cryptic doesnt exactly do things in the conventional way either. City of Villains was sold as a stand-alone product when it should have been merely an expansion. Cryptic takes on another MMO project that basically is a mirror image of CoH's genre. Whoever is running things over there seems content with their minimalist approach. 

Star Trek deserves far better than minimal effort. Star Trek deserves more than a combat-focused boring mission grind. Star Trek deserves a virtual galaxy simulator with total freedom to live out our dreams.

Star Trek was a cerebral experience where combat only happened as a last resort. Holdecks, diplomacy, relationships, and exploration were the main focus of Trek.

The WoW clone approach wont work with Star Trek. At least not if you expect to tap the large fan base that has followed Trek lore for 25-40 yrs.

So here is a warning to you Cryptic. We wont settle for what PE was doing and we wont settle for a wow clone either. Ignore the marketing suits, you wont get wow players to leave for Trek anyway. You need  a different game, something to appeal to sci-fi fans. Clearly that approach needs to be a sandbox virtual world with quests yes (but not forced), social classes, and the freedom to do something other than shoot stuff. Personally Id be happy to just run my own bar on a space station or maybe mine dilthium crystals.

Do things right, and the sky is limitless. Make the mistake of putting minimal effort into this project and you'll see wrath that makes Star Wars fans seem tame by comparison.

good luck.

the one thing that made me sad was the fact there "everyone is a captain" ie u have ur own ship starting out small and progress that way... as i see star trek i think if u want get things going at a good start instead of cannonballing into a vast universe that u might not be ready for the company producing this should have started everyone out as ensigns, in the accademy. have the captains as npcs that run the show at first and as people progress through the game can be promoted to certain classes. run there away missions, and work as a team with other crew members aboard some of the famous ships we've all grown to know and love over the years. i didnt like EVE online and tbh this sounds alot like it to me. think this whole idea needs to be packed away and rethought before they do some serious dmg.

Originally posted by mattneil2004

Originally posted by admriker4

Dont get me wrong, City of Heroes is a decent game. But lets be honest CoH is a very simplistic. It doesnt have real crafting. The graphics were somewhat dated even at its launch. The game is heavily instanced. And ultimately there isnt anything to do except run mission after mission after mindnumbing mission.

Cryptic doesnt exactly do things in the conventional way either. City of Villains was sold as a stand-alone product when it should have been merely an expansion. Cryptic takes on another MMO project that basically is a mirror image of CoH's genre. Whoever is running things over there seems content with their minimalist approach. 

Star Trek deserves far better than minimal effort. Star Trek deserves more than a combat-focused boring mission grind. Star Trek deserves a virtual galaxy simulator with total freedom to live out our dreams.

Star Trek was a cerebral experience where combat only happened as a last resort. Holdecks, diplomacy, relationships, and exploration were the main focus of Trek.

The WoW clone approach wont work with Star Trek. At least not if you expect to tap the large fan base that has followed Trek lore for 25-40 yrs.

So here is a warning to you Cryptic. We wont settle for what PE was doing and we wont settle for a wow clone either. Ignore the marketing suits, you wont get wow players to leave for Trek anyway. You need  a different game, something to appeal to sci-fi fans. Clearly that approach needs to be a sandbox virtual world with quests yes (but not forced), social classes, and the freedom to do something other than shoot stuff. Personally Id be happy to just run my own bar on a space station or maybe mine dilthium crystals.

Do things right, and the sky is limitless. Make the mistake of putting minimal effort into this project and you'll see wrath that makes Star Wars fans seem tame by comparison.

good luck.

 

the one thing that made me sad was the fact there "everyone is a captain" ie u have ur own ship starting out small and progress that way... as i see star trek i think if u want get things going at a good start instead of cannonballing into a vast universe that u might not be ready for the company producing this should have started everyone out as ensigns, in the accademy. have the captains as npcs that run the show at first and as people progress through the game can be promoted to certain classes. run there away missions, and work as a team with other crew members aboard some of the famous ships we've all grown to know and love over the years. i didnt like EVE online and tbh this sounds alot like it to me. think this whole idea needs to be packed away and rethought before they do some serious dmg.

Though I am still for the idea of being a captain of my own ship no matter how small this does sound like a good idea something on the level of say what AOC did ad have like the first 20 levels you serve under an NPC captain but essentially would that really make a difference since we owuld probably still all be captains in six months anyway?
 

<bumo>

There was one game that came fairly close to Star Trek, I'm thinking... Spaceflight or StarFlight.

You created your main name then loaded your ship with a crew. The crew specialized in certain areas necessary for flight, battle and exploration (to name a few). You became responsible for the lives of all the crewmemebers created.

Then, you exited the stardock (federation holding) and began your journey. The galaxy was huge. I was able to explore solar systems, asteroids and distant space stations. I met and learned the language of several races. I was attacked by unfriendly races. So many real-to-Star Trek scenarios that you began to think as Kirk would while engaging the help from Hostile Klingons.

Ships were upgradable and travel was limited by the amount of fuel tanks a ship could hold. Space travel included worm holes and warps -though it still took you forever to explore the outer limits. I once got stranded in space, ran out of fuel, but luckily there was a nearby spacestation that charged me 250k credits to tow.

I enjoyed the space system in EVE, but the training was too outlandish. I always felt like I'd never have enough to just enjoy the exploration.

Good luck, whomever is allowed to make this game. I will certainly play it, at least once if nothing else.

Originally posted by Ataaka

There was one game that came fairly close to Star Trek, I'm thinking... Spaceflight or StarFlight.

You created your main name then loaded your ship with a crew. The crew specialized in certain areas necessary for flight, battle and exploration (to name a few). You became responsible for the lives of all the crewmemebers created.

Then, you exited the stardock (federation holding) and began your journey. The galaxy was huge. I was able to explore solar systems, asteroids and distant space stations. I met and learned the language of several races. I was attacked by unfriendly races.

Ships were upgradable and travel was limited by the amount of fuel tanks a ship could hold. Space travel included worm holes and warps -though it still took you forever to explore the outer limits. I once got stranded in space, ran out of fuel, but luckily there was a nearby spacestation that charged me 250k credits to tow.

Starflight was a beautiful, beautiful game.  I loved it so much for all the reasons you'd given above.  The "big mission" was to save the universe from a slowly approaching doom.  Most of the time I did it...sometimes I was too late.  I'm thinking of picking up an amiga emulator to play it again...but if I recall there was a code wheel where you had to type in a password to play. 

"We are the Veloxi the Everyday!  By Jove you trespass in our territory!"

In my view, you can't expect much these days. But if a company has a true inspiration for the series and game and a vision to do things differently and push the boundaries of what's possible... then there is a chance for one of those rare revolutionary games to come through.

Expectations ofcourse always fail us, our minds can produce so much more wonderful things than a game can, and has a unique vision of everything. But don't give up hope, your vision is worth dreaming. And if not now, perhaps someday, a worthy game will be made...

* By company, I mean all the people involved in the company, not just the coordinators...

Originally posted by admriker4

Dont get me wrong, City of Heroes is a decent game. But lets be honest CoH is a very simplistic. It doesnt have real crafting. The graphics were somewhat dated even at its launch. The game is heavily instanced. And ultimately there isnt anything to do except run mission after mission after mindnumbing mission.

Cryptic doesnt exactly do things in the conventional way either. City of Villains was sold as a stand-alone product when it should have been merely an expansion. Cryptic takes on another MMO project that basically is a mirror image of CoH's genre. Whoever is running things over there seems content with their minimalist approach. 

Star Trek deserves far better than minimal effort. Star Trek deserves more than a combat-focused boring mission grind. Star Trek deserves a virtual galaxy simulator with total freedom to live out our dreams.

Star Trek was a cerebral experience where combat only happened as a last resort. Holdecks, diplomacy, relationships, and exploration were the main focus of Trek.

The WoW clone approach wont work with Star Trek. At least not if you expect to tap the large fan base that has followed Trek lore for 25-40 yrs.

So here is a warning to you Cryptic. We wont settle for what PE was doing and we wont settle for a wow clone either. Ignore the marketing suits, you wont get wow players to leave for Trek anyway. You need  a different game, something to appeal to sci-fi fans. Clearly that approach needs to be a sandbox virtual world with quests yes (but not forced), social classes, and the freedom to do something other than shoot stuff. Personally Id be happy to just run my own bar on a space station or maybe mine dilthium crystals.

Do things right, and the sky is limitless. Make the mistake of putting minimal effort into this project and you'll see wrath that makes Star Wars fans seem tame by comparison.

good luck.

Thank you for reading my mind and transcribing my thoughts. Well said.

Originally posted by kailomonkey

In my view, you can't expect much these days. But if a company has a true inspiration for the series and game and a vision to do things differently and push the boundaries of what's possible... then there is a chance for one of those rare revolutionary games to come through.

Expectations ofcourse always fail us, our minds can produce so much more wonderful things than a game can, and has a unique vision of everything. But don't give up hope, your vision is worth dreaming. And if not now, perhaps someday, a worthy game will be made...

This man speaks truth. Our expectations aside, is this the company that meets the aforementioned  criteria ?

I don't know. I'm asking you guys. I never actually followed any of the game companies, or people who ran them. I just always bought a game if I like it, barely noticing who made it.

Originally posted by Janetsy

Originally posted by kailomonkey

In my view, you can't expect much these days. But if a company has a true inspiration for the series and game and a vision to do things differently and push the boundaries of what's possible... then there is a chance for one of those rare revolutionary games to come through.

Expectations ofcourse always fail us, our minds can produce so much more wonderful things than a game can, and has a unique vision of everything. But don't give up hope, your vision is worth dreaming. And if not now, perhaps someday, a worthy game will be made...

This man speaks truth. Our expectations aside, is this the company that meets the aforementioned  criteria ?

I don't know. I'm asking you guys. I never actually followed any of the game companies, or people who ran them. I just always bought a game if I like it, barely noticing who made it

i used to be the same until i played swg since then i've started looking at who makes the game and what ppl say about them too

as for the op couldn't agree more

As long as Michael Bay doesn't get his hands on this game, I'm sure we can all rest easy...

then again, he would probably be a shot to the balls- trekkies would rage, but casual people would flock to it like stink on roadkill... only until they realize too late that its crap... (sorry, just saw transformers 2.... I'm raging against the man who screwed up transformers.. TWICE!) but seriously the studeos have a huge task ahead of them and this is not an easy franchise to cover.  Look at the first attempt at a star wars MMO.  Give them the time they need otherwise we may face that travesty all over again..

I followed the PE version for four years.. It wasn't looking good. Cryptic seems to be doin ok so far. I know they still got aways to go but they will go live.. sadly PE did not.

Bj

PE had an idea, it could have worked, but all in all, i like the Cryptic is heading with this game. Should be fun!

Originally posted by saint4God

There's nothing wrong with starting out with a handful of races until the game hits full-stride.  The danger is when it does, that addition needs to be added quickly.  Who plays a game with 2 races?  Apparently we do:

Indeed. Everything has to start somewhere.

The real question is, do you guys want to wait another 6 months to a year for a third/fourth faction, or do you want to play now with Starfleet and Klingons?