Star Trek Online: Here We Go Again!

[HaemishM]

So if they follow the CO beta schedule, that means they've had 6 whole hours of testing time! 

[Malakili]

So if they follow the CO beta schedule, that means they've had 6 whole hours of testing time! 

wasn't it 2 sessions of 2 hours per week?  Maybe I'm remembering wrong.  Either way -    Worst beta I've been in in that respect.

[VainEldritch]

So if they follow the CO beta schedule, that means they've had 6 whole hours of testing time! 

wasn't it 2 sessions of 2 hours per week?  Maybe I'm remembering wrong.  Either way -    Worst beta I've been in in that respect.

According to STOked... you're right.

 

[HaemishM]

12 whole hours? THEY'LL MAKE THAT DEADLINE FOR SURE!

[Tannhauser]

They should at least have ME-type cover, seeing those toons standing 3' away from each other firing annoys me.

[Triforcer]

I haven't read the forums in awhile.  Apparently, the Klingons are not available at character creation- you unlock them "a short time after the tutorial."   


I guess that will give them the time in the morning they budgeted to create the Klingons and reskin fed ships.  If they type REALLY fast, they can create Klingon missions minutes before an unlocked Klingon player would reach them!

[Sir T]

Actually, the reason you can't see the Klingon ship internals and corridors, or even read the missions, is that they are cloaked.  

[UnSub]

I haven't read the forums in awhile.  Apparently, the Klingons are not available at character creation- you unlock them "a short time after the tutorial."   

The logic in that is so there is only one tutorial. Once you finish the tut you can create a Klingon character.

[Samprimary]

I have to wonder what kind of disconnect or pathology results in game companies and their controlling interest/financiers making such terrible timeframes for the production of games. It's not like there's eight billion skillion examples about what happens when you do this. The entire industry is littered visibly with the dessicated corpses of scores of cautionary tales.

[Count Nerfedalot]

I have to wonder what kind of disconnect or pathology results in game companies and their controlling interest/financiers making such terrible timeframes for the production of games. It's not like there's eight billion skillion examples about what happens when you do this. The entire industry is littered visibly with the dessicated corpses of scores of cautionary tales.

Oh that one is easy.  It's because studio mouthpieces like Mark Jacobs and Brad McQuaid keep telling the gullible money people that "their" successes show they know how to beat the odds and deliver a winner on a ridiculously short timeframe with a shoestring budget when the reality is they have no clue why the games they were originally involved in succeeded (in spite of their involvement), and the people they hire as project managers are either in way over their head or just plain ass-kissing incompetents who couldn't manage a project to boil an egg much less an extremely challenging software project on a ridiculously fast-tracked development schedule.

So the project ends up over budget and in a total mess design-wise, the code is crunched meaning it's buggy as hell and completey un-maintainable, much less extensible, the money guys lose patience as the truth of the situation slowly sinks in past the sunshine-and-roses bullshit the project and studio management has been blowing them, and the line gets drawn, the deathmarch to live grinds away, good developers get ground up and spit out, the project ships and flops, management gets rewarded for shipping on time, the surviving devs get promoted/transferred or cash out, new hire entry-level folk get put in charge of live, and the gaming public gets stuck with another turd.

[UnSub]

If you look at how Atari (as it is now) refers to Cryptic, you'll see multiple mentions of the Cryptic Engine and how it makes MMO development quicker. It does, but it also does not - it provides the underlying structure up front, but things like art and content development still take time.

I wonder also if it is linked to Cryptic's performance bonuses that were set at the time they were bought by Atari.

[Malakili]

I wonder also if it is linked to Cryptic's performance bonuses that were set at the time they were bought by Atari.

I'd be shocked if it wasn't involved in this decision.

[Nevermore]

It's launching the week in between Mass Effect 2 (Jan 26) and Bioshock 2 (Feb 9) according to GameSpot.

They're launching a Sci Fi MMO the week after Mass Effect 2 hits?  Are they specifically trying to not make money? 

[Malakili]

It's launching the week in between Mass Effect 2 (Jan 26) and Bioshock 2 (Feb 9) according to GameSpot.

They're launching a Sci Fi MMO the week after Mass Effect 2 hits?  Are they specifically trying to not make money? 

i don't really see how they are in competition with each other.

[bhodi]

It's launching the week in between Mass Effect 2 (Jan 26) and Bioshock 2 (Feb 9) according to GameSpot.

This is perfect if you want to hide your flop from investors by giving yourself several excuses for why the sales numbers are so bad.

[Venkman]

Bridges back in for launch. And apparently it was press release worthy or something.

[Malakili]

Bridges back in for launch. And apparently it was press release worthy or something.

They really needed to do something like this.  I mean, it probably isn't a big deal for the "average" player, but I think the ST fans were up in arms about this, and lets face it.  ST fans are going to make or break the game.  If they do a good enough job with the game to keep Trek fans around, then they'll probably have a big enough playerbase to at least stay afloat, but if they drive away the Trek fans by making the game not trek-y enough, I don't think they'll have any core player base.

[Mrbloodworth]

STO housing.

[NowhereMan]

I can't wait for hearing people bitching about grinding for just the right throw for the tactical station.

[Ratman_tf]

We probably did.

I'm just glad I wasn't part of it this time.

[satael]

Screenshot like the last friday's (Friday Screenshot http://www.startrekonline.com/node/502) pic really aren't selling the game to me. Especially the two different coloured beams really irk me for some reason.

[Mrbloodworth]

Was this posted yet?

[Simond]

I can't wait for hearing people bitching about grinding for just the right throw for the tactical station.

Or getting the seats reupholstered in fine corinthian leather.

[Malakili]

I'll freely admit that the idea of hanging out on my bridge and filing a captains log SOUNDS cool, but in reality, I have seen nothing to indicate this isn't going to be a simply quest grinder MMO.  Exploring the cosmos and surviving out in the reaches of space is a really cool idea that seems like it would suit a star trek MMO, but in reality, I don't think that is the experience they are going for.

(reponse to the video)

[LK]

That was the gayest looking "Engage" I've ever seen in that video. Like a pirate captain pointing to the horizon.

Klingons and Federation at war just for the sake of two factions is the most retarded shit ever. It would have been infinitely more entertaining to actually watch that happen in a television series with excellent scripting to set the new status quo rather than being some footnote in a third-rate MMO.

Hope for a brighter future, this new Star Trek status quo is not.

[NowhereMan]

Yeah, suddenly having the Klingons at war with the Federation is quite a change from the last time we saw the Star Trek universe. I'd have thought they'd have had an easier time going with the Romulans as the enemy now lacking a homeworld and launching raids on other factions for profit and revenge type crap. That way they could have set up the Klingons as a third faction for an expansion (if they wanted to go that way) and do it through in game events and story rather than just going, "Hey the Klingons don't like the Federation any more. Worf is torn."

[Khaldun]

If ever there was a time for a procedural-content design, an exploration-themed ST would be it. Imagine if you had six servers or shards, and on each of them, the galaxy beyond Federation/Klingon space was generated procedurally as players explored outward--so you had six variant Milky Way galaxies developing over time. Lots of potential, good IP for something different.

[Malakili]

If ever there was a time for a procedural-content design, an exploration-themed ST would be it. Imagine if you had six servers or shards, and on each of them, the galaxy beyond Federation/Klingon space was generated procedurally as players explored outward--so you had six variant Milky Way galaxies developing over time. Lots of potential, good IP for something different.

No kidding, The idea of being a federation starship out exploring is an awesome premise for a game.  The idea of being a federation starship doing "quests" makes me throw up a little.

[Venkman]

Where was this thinking a year ago!!?!!?

 

[Ingmar]

Yeah, suddenly having the Klingons at war with the Federation is quite a change from the last time we saw the Star Trek universe. I'd have thought they'd have had an easier time going with the Romulans as the enemy now lacking a homeworld and launching raids on other factions for profit and revenge type crap. That way they could have set up the Klingons as a third faction for an expansion (if they wanted to go that way) and do it through in game events and story rather than just going, "Hey the Klingons don't like the Federation any more. Worf is torn."

Well, that's just how it is in the movie reboot, right? I assume that's not what was licensed for this game.

[UnSub]

I maintain my stance that this is an IP where you aren't trying to make the most amount of people happy; you are trying to minimise the number of people nerdraging against you.

Either way, time left until release is working against Cryptic. It'll probably sell 800k boxes easily, but player retention is going to be interesting.

[Lantyssa]

The little video someone linked mentioned the movie reboot.  Time-wise it's after Nemesis, but the destruction of Romulus has happened, too.  No idea how they'll run with that.

[Malakili]

I maintain my stance that this is an IP where you aren't trying to make the most amount of people happy; you are trying to minimise the number of people nerdraging against you.

Either way, time left until release is working against Cryptic. It'll probably sell 800k boxes easily, but player retention is going to be interesting.

Agree on this one.  I know some people who are nerdraging hard already.

[Malakili]

The new website is up, and they released a new video which shows more about combat, and ship and bridge officer customization.  Mixed bag.

www.startrekonline.com/videos

[Count Nerfedalot]

I maintain my stance that this is an IP where you aren't trying to make the most amount of people happy; you are trying to minimise the number of people nerdraging against you.

Either way, time left until release is working against Cryptic. It'll probably sell 800k boxes easily, but player retention is going to be interesting.

Agree on this one.  I know some people who are nerdraging hard already.

I'll go out on a limb and predict STO sets a new western MMO record for box sales at release, with well over a million people trying it out.  Provided, of course, that they don't totally shoot themselves in the foot with a botched beta.  Combine the 800k+ existing hardcore MMO players still looking for their next fix with all the Trekkies who might have just dabbled in MMOs up till now, and I think release day will be very crowded. 

Again though, that is dependent on there not being a groundswell of bad word-of-mouth prior to release.  Which leaves Cryptic with an interesting choice.  If they *really* intend to get this one right, then they have to go with a solid beta to work out the kinks.  But if they do so, word will get out about the true state of the game, and if it is bad that will hurt box sales.  On the other hand, they could maximize initial box sales by promising lots of good trekie-attracting features and showing pretty pictures and scripted play "samples" right up to release without ever actually letting the unwashed masses in to kick the tires on an open beta of any length.  This would minimize the window through which a bad buzz could escape, while also reducing their chances of actually getting any of the load-dependent functionality right.

Given the time limit they've publicly imposed on themselves, I might hope for the best, but I fear and expect something a lot closer to the worst.

Too bad too, because a space exploration-based PvE MMO would rock my world if done even halfway right.  OK, ANY exploration-based PvE MMO would do that, but especially space.  I mean, c'mon, there's what, 500 BILLION stars just in our galaxy?  You don't even need multiple servers to fit everyone in one universe even with each player having their own ship! LOL