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So im trying this out..
Zlayer77
Member Posts: 826
after playing a few days now, I can see the reason why this game whent free to play.. But as its now free, you cant really complain.
To be honest with more and more titles going free to play, the reasons for paying a subscription, become less and less.
with GW2 on the Horizone I think we might be moving into a new Era of MMOS. Were free to play becomes the standard....
Star Trek have enough content, and decent gameplay to make it a far better choise then paying a subscription for say SWTOR...
They have a cash shop yes, but you can still kill alot of hours playing the game... for Free.. Im guessing you get forced to buy the best RMT ship if you want to do something at maxed out level, but its still going to be cheaper then paying a monthly subscription...
So what do the rest of you think? free to play is going to be the new top dog? or will subscription based games survive into the next decade??
Comments
Man i love this game...enjoying it more than star wars. Theres so much to do and none of it is the generic quests i find in other mmos...on tope of that the player made missions are awsome. Customizing ship and the ship combat is addicting. So many different worlds it realy makes you feel like a intergalactic explorer. And I like the graphics more than star wars too.
First taste of it this morning myself and through the very first training section it really does feel like just another single player star trek game, BUT, my experience so far is extremely limited so i will push on for a little while and see how it goes.
It must be Thursday, i never could get the hang of Thursdays.
"...I can see the reason why this game whent free to play.. But as its now free, you cant really complain."
Sure there will be complaints. It's not free to the subscribers or the LTS. They still have good cause to be disgruntle. Also the game is not completely F2P.... silver (guest) account were nerfed for the F2P "trial experience". Cryptic expects a good percentage of F2P players to run to the Cshop and pay for what was taken away and then pay for extras. If past issues continue with Cryptic's shoddy customer service, you can sure bet there will be complaints.
Beyond the above there remains a very large body of disgruntle players who were banned because they were speaking out. Now that the doors are open and no one needs a key to play, uncomfortable queries will rise. Burying threads that contain complaints will become increasingly difficult.
STO was released in a highly unfinished state and remains so. When the company manages to alienate it's most ardant fanbois - it deserves every complaint it gets.
That is not to say that the game is not fun. It doesn't mean that the IP's theme music isn't great (although it does get really annoying after a while). It doesn't mean that hearing Nimoy's voice isn't a treat. But make no assumption that "free" doesn't come with a price and experience doesn't lead to regret and complaints.
So what do the rest of you think? free to play is going to be the new top dog? or will subscription based games survive into the next decade??
F2P is nothing new. Trial games have been around for decades. As far as MMO F2P goes, Turbine is leading the way. STO has a long way to go with its F2P offerings before "Freeium" rises to the levels of Dungeons & Dragon Online or Lord of The Rings Online. Cryptic should have released with F2P from the start, not waited until the company was failing. Turbine has proven that the F2P model is a viable and profitable option. However what Cryptic demonstrated was arrogance and deception. Any MMO which thinks it can pull the wool over financial backers' and players eyes by trying to roll out polished poo and call it gold, is destined for distain once players catch whiff.
Bottom line, F2P works. Whether it becomes a default feature of all new MMOs is wholely subject to the greed and foresight of game companies.
Few days in now and i still get an overwhelming feeling of a single player game rather than an MMO. There is a little chat but i have tried a few group PvE encounters and it is more like an 'every man for himself' rather than a 'group' experience.
I do like the mission structures and the way they have woven in the lore to some of them, but again it all seems very random? I think they were probably aiming for an open ended feel for the game, but it all ends up feeling a little here and there so far. The major loss in that flow is that i am collecting items that i have no idea what the use is for as i probably haven't take the required starter quests to learn about it.
The biggest thing i have to consider though is that the game was probably very different when it was pay to play as there are no doubt hundreds of people like me stumbling around at the moment without a clue, so i cannot fault it for that reason.
I am sure there are far greater depths to this game and i have just skimmed the surface so far, so it will stay on my computer for a good while yet i would say.
It must be Thursday, i never could get the hang of Thursdays.
No this games about as deep as a childs wading pool. It only gets more repeatitive the further you go on.
okey so heres the deal... on free to play
1.. I can only have one charecter, Im not an alt junky so who cares...
2.. There are some custimazations on ships you have to pay for.. but I see no reason at all to do this untill you hit max level..
3.. You get fewer bankslots.. who cares
Might be more things I dont get as free player but it dosent stop me from running missions and having some Free fun... Compared to LOTRO and AOC were they make you pay for content.. it dosent look like STO is doing this.. So as far as I can see I can access the hole game and dont pay anything...
Cstore sells; ships, Crew, Duty officers, bankslots, More Money cap, Added charecter slots, xp boosts and Skins( new uniforms, bridges etc)
a Note is that you can Convert ingame Dilithuim ore for C points so given enough time you can access C store things for free. The conversion is bad though so I guess it will take a long time but the option is there....
As this is mostly a PVE game.. and compared to for example EvE online you dont lose your ship if it gets blown up its a Win Win situation for free to play people...
Hitting the max level I might feel like I need to spend some Real money to get the Uniforms I want and the best ship for my class, some extra bankslots and maybe a few more duty officers.. But this wont cost me a fortune and most of it is not even necessary... But I might be tired ot the game by then And dont spend a single dime...
But to be fair now.. IT IS free to play... Its not pay to win... or Pay for content...
I also play leauge of legends.. that game is FREE to play also.. but I have spent some money on SKINS (dont effect gameplay) and if Cryptic keeps the C-store like it is I will probably give them some money.. not because I have to but because I want to....
A good thing though is that the C-store lets me PICK the things I feel would ad to may gaming experince... For example I might like one type of Ship.. and I want those Uniforms, and I feel like a few more duty officers might be fun.. Or I want a borg on my bridge.. I can pick the things a want and pay for them and skipp the things I dont like... Cryptic needs to eat.. and I personaly dont mind, if the game is fun enough to eventually spend some money on it.. But the Free to play Option lets me decide for myself if its worth it or not...
Compare this to the subscription based MMOS out there right now and I see little reason for playing them... I think this type of Free to play system is much better then having to fork up 15 bucks a month...
Im personaly a star trek fan.. and now I can play star trek for FREE.. Iv stated this before the game is not good enough for a subscription.. even 2 years after release but as a free to play game dude why complain?
yes it will cost me time to play but if Im having fun with my time, who are you ore anyone ells to tell me to stop??
i certainly dont think this game is any worse than TOR..has a f2p guy i have'nt came across any obsticles in quests,ships,anything really..yes its not the ideal star trek game everyone would luv to see but we have to play with what we have..so i cannot complain..the ship battles are quite tactical so thats a good thing..the ground combat is quite good as well with your away team having there own abilities,and you do need them..all in all quite a good game that could have been so much more imo.
Right on. I found myself unsub to TOR and play STO more just because of F2P.
There are many reports of how fast F2P is growing. If TOR cannot make it as a sub game, then i think the era of sub game is over.
For a 2 year old game, I would argue there is hardly anything to do. Featured episodes are few, very generic and montonous. "Exploration" missions consist of 5 or so preset scenarios and become nauseatingly repetitive after an hour. Endgame consists of overly repetitive grinding that makes mat farming in WoW look like a walk in the park. There are some very well done player created missions.... assuming you are lucky enough to find amidst the tens of thousands of garbage missions. Ship customization is good for the Federation side, yet practically non-existant on the Klingon end.
Graphically I would agree that STO is a beautifully designed game from an art perspective. Cryptic does have a top notch art department. It is a shame they cannot apply that same skill toward developing the content.
i would agree that some of the missions are somewhat repetative,but is'nt that the same with all the mmo's of late..not even swtor is any different in that respects.has for the amount of content.that depends on your perspective.
by that,what i mean is pick any mmo and you will find people who will burn through content so quickly it does'nt matter how much you have..i think what i like about this game is,i get the choiuce of wether or not i want to do ground missions or space ones.i dont get that in any other mmo.the foundry is one of the best things i have seen in any game..its a shame they dont employ this type of thing in other mmo's.have to say i,m pleasantly suprised with star trek..even more so with f2p..i,m lvl 33 and i have'nt even looked at the CS..to me its not about getting the best gear its about having fun,which i am.
Getting back to the foundry,i do not think they employ this type of thing in any other mmo but please correct me if i,m wrong.
3 words can sum up why this game is a flop... No Player Crews.
"I am not in a server with Gankers...THEY ARE IN A SERVER WITH ME!!!"
Yes, MMOs generally have repetition in their missions/quests. However, all other MMOs in my experience offer a much greater diversity and variety in their quest/mission scenarios whereas STO has about 5 basic types. It is very easy to see them all... just run exploration missions for an hour or so and you'll see them all at least half a dozen times, if not more. Also, the Klingon faction is still severly lacking in content IMO and the repetitive nature of the content is even worse there. I alone have wiped out entire fleets of ships doing Empire Defense missions on my Klingons that one has to wonder how the Federation, Romulans and Borg can keep producing ships so fast.
Also, being able to choose between ground and space does not apply all the time either. The Featured Episodes all contain some element of both space and ground which must be done to complete the mission for the rewards. Dailies also involve ground to some extent. Later at level cap, if you want elite MK XII gear, you will have to run elite ground STFs.
User Generated Content (UGC) via the Foundry is nothing new or groundbreaking either. City of Heroes launched the Mission Architect a couple of years before STO was in BETA. The Foundry in STO suffers from the same issues that the MA in CoH does - it is filled with junk and the decent stories are few and far between in addition to being difficult to find. Just as was done in CoH, it is only a matter of time before the bored folks in STO discover they can start griefing ratings to drive down the good missions and promote the junk to the top of the list.
Lol Truth what you see as its biggest flaw I see as its biggest strength! If they had player crews as first envisioned i would of past up this game period. I love my customized bridge crew and love the fact I don't have to worry they will lose link in a clutch situation or ignore my orders when given lol.
I’m sorry but I don’t know what this means. What form would this take? Would you have a Science Officer Player (SOP) and a Engineering Officer Player (EOP) along for the Third Person Ride as the Captain Player steers the ship and fires weapons. The SOP presses her “Scan Target for Weakness” ability, then presses the “Target Weakness Buff” ability plus one ore two more keys. Then the EOP presses the “More Power” key, followed by “Repair Structural Integrity”, next pressing the “Access Jefferies Tubes”.
SWG had Multi-Player Ships, Where a captain could steer, a second player could man a turret, and a third could run around the interior and “Use” panels to perform ship repairs. I enjoyed the repair task, but wished the damaged panels would show up on the map so I would know which way to run. Instead of running 60 degrees clockwise I often ran 300 degrees counter clockwise to the next panel. As the Captain was following his target in a continuous loop as was the normal strategy in SWG space battle only the captain could see and target the enemy ship. The “ARC” of the Turret Player could not see or target the Enemy the ship was following. Nor could the Turret see or target the Enemy Ship attacking from behind. Only ships that passed momentarily broad side could be fired upon by the Turrets, long enough to hit 2 or 3 times not the 20 or 30 hits need to destroy an enemy ship.
Again how would Player Crews work in your idea?
Boy: Why can't I talk to Him?
Mom: We don't talk to Priests.
As if it could exist, without being payed for.
F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing.
Even telemarketers wouldn't think that.
It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
All I know is its much more fun than what it was. Still buggy and clunky ground game though. My son made me laugh when he said he has a $60 copy of swtor that he got about an hours worth of fun out of and is now enjoying this ten times more and its free. Personally, I think this is on par with SWTOR, its clunky, buggy, and not really a well suited MMO. 90% of the time its solo stuff. Just like that $200 million dollar tragedy. But for this game, the price is worth it.
what you mean featured episodes are few...im level 48 now and i just started the cardassien season and still have 3 more seasons to go. So far I only finished the Klingon and Romulan episodes. And some of these missions have me solving puzzles to hack computers and such...and other missions is making me negotiate and giving me choices to choose sides similar to mass effect. But i guess you can go ahead and enjoy your mmos with go kill x number of these and collect x number of these quests like swtor. The Missions in Star Trek are story driven. And I played a lot of very well done foundry missions...some of them took about 2 hours to finish.
There is a special event coming on Feb 2nd(the game's 2 year anniverssary) and if you play during that event you get a free ship:
http://startrekonline.com/node/2839
My favorite thing about STO is the Foundry(aka user generated content system):
http://startrekonline.com/foundry
You already get free ships when you level up in the game, so this is nothing new. The Odyssey Class they are giving out for free will not be as good as nor include the features its C-Store version will have.
At least they did not put this one into those idiotic grab bags this time.
It is a new *type* of ship. Sorry that wasnt obvious enough that you understood
I understood it just fine. It is important to let people know that the reward ship is not any better or worse than existing free ships in the game, and that they should be prepared for the better version to be in the C-Store in the near future. The free version will also exclude the features the C-Store version will have.
As the ship has not yet been released or the stats finalized, neither you nor I have any idea whether it is "better or worse than existing free ships in the game". And that is why I did not comment on that topic. You, however, are speaking in absolutes about things you dont actually know
Stephen D'Angelo posted the current stats on the official site here; http://www.startrekonline.com/node/2839
"Starship Details
The pinnacle of Federation starship design, the Odyssey Star Cruiser will carry the Federation into a new generation of exploration.
The Odyssey class is the largest vessel ever created by Starfleet. Its massive size makes it very resilient, but its turn rate is reduced by the bulk of the vessel. The Odyssey's unique split saucer pylon reduces subspace wake at higher warp speeds. The Odyssey is designed as an extreme long-range vessel, and can operate for long periods of time away from support. Because of this, it is the most versatile cruiser ever developed by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and features Universal Ensign and Lieutenant Commander Bridge Offer Stations that can by operated by any Bridge Officer class.
Requires: Vice Admiral rank (level 50)
Weapons: 4 Fore, 4 Aft
Device Slots: 4
Console Upgrades: 2 Tactical, 4 Engineering, 3 Science
Bridge Officer Stations: 1 Lieutenant Tactical, 1 Commander Engineering, 1 Lieutenant Science, 1 Ensign Universal, 1 Lieutenant Commander Universal
Hull Strength: 42,000
Maximum Warp: 9.996
Turn Rate: 6
Impulse Modifier: 0.15
Shield Modifier: 1.15
+10 Power to Shields, +10 Power to Auxiliary"
So it is a Cruiser (a ship type that already exists) with stats that do not make it much better or worse than existing Cruisers. The Universal BOFF stations are new, but do not really add much of anything in my experience. Players are already posting (see threads here http://forums.startrekonline.com/forumdisplay.php?f=218) their potential builds, which if you read through the posts are not much different than what they can do with existing ships in game, including the free ones. See what they are posting here: http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=250322
The specs are not going to change so radically in the next week to make the Oddessy radically different from what D'Angelo posted. If anything, they will be tweaking the C-Store version to justify the cost.
Those who are excited about the Odyssey coming up might want to check out the video preview of the "new' bridge that will come with it. See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LljlmA42OJU . The thread on the official STO forums is here: http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=251088.
Players who are familiar with STO will recognize the signature, ludicrous stadium size of the bridge, as well as it being a re-hash of the existing Star Cruiser and Prometheus bridge designs. So far, the feedback on the forums is looking to be negative, but IMO this was to be expected.
I tend to agree with the post on the official forums that something like this would have looked much, much better. (original at http://www.deningart.com/gallery/concept_STO_BridgePS.html).