Is the game any good?
Brakk -- 2010-01-22 18:19:31
Hard question to answer. I am liking it, but only for potential really, and the space combat. Even for a beta, the game is lacking a LOT of polish, and the headstart launch is just days away on the 29th. Beyond aesthetic polish, there are a lot of bugs, and nearly no content for the 'badguys'. I call them Klingons, who really wants to play those other things anyway?
I like the space combat, and grit my teeth anytime anyone compares the game to WoW or Champions Online. The UI looks like a barely reskinned Champions UI, yes, but the gameplay has about as much in common with Champions as FreeRealms has in common with E.V.E. Online.
A more apt comparison would be Pirates of the Burning Seas. In fact if you have played that game it is remarkably similar, even to a fault, like the awful look and play of shore combat (I have not played PotBS much at all since the big combat overhaul but hear that was much improved).
Another thing seemingly ripped right from PotBS (to my dismay) is the travel style. A flat 'ocean' map to sail around makes perfect sense in PotBS, but it is grossly out of place in STO. Instead of laying in a course and THEN hitting warp, you instead warp to something called "Sector Space" which is a silly, flat, miniature representation of the galaxy that you fly around in model ships to get from point A to point B. I hate this screen. It should be replaced with some type of navigation console to make the game more immersive. I am sure TNG has shown a few warp maps that would have looked WAY better than this.
Anyway, again like PotBS and in a good way, the ship combat is pretty darn fun. The weapons are more simplified than PotBS in general, but a third dimension is added with space, as are variable shield tactics which add strategy. I also like how most of your abilities come from your Bridge Officers. I enjoy the concept of using them in dual roles like this.
The away team missions have promise and IMO show some decent game design ideas like flanking, the expose/exploit system, special attacks tied to weapons (a la the new FreeRealms combat), etc... However, it falls apart with horrible AI for both the enemies and your NPC Bridge Officers, and even worse pathing (think early Anarchy Online pet pathing). On some levels I can't even the away team follow me because I can't predict where they will and will not go. So I have to order them to places ahead of me and follow them inch by inch.
If you have never played STO beta and wonder how they handle away teams and bridge officers in groups, it works pretty well. The away team is always 5 members max, and other captains take the place of bridge officers, using the NPCs just to fill in any remaining gaps. A screen comes up as you beam to the planet that lets the group decide which members from what ship are beaming down. I think the away team content will eventually be pretty fun once they get some polish on it. Right now it is mostly frustrating.
The game would benefit heavily from the addition of more non-combat missions; it is mostly pew-pew right now, but that is true for almost all MMOs, which tend to have either combat or horrible FedEx quests.
I like the space combat, and grit my teeth anytime anyone compares the game to WoW or Champions Online. The UI looks like a barely reskinned Champions UI, yes, but the gameplay has about as much in common with Champions as FreeRealms has in common with E.V.E. Online.
A more apt comparison would be Pirates of the Burning Seas. In fact if you have played that game it is remarkably similar, even to a fault, like the awful look and play of shore combat (I have not played PotBS much at all since the big combat overhaul but hear that was much improved).
Another thing seemingly ripped right from PotBS (to my dismay) is the travel style. A flat 'ocean' map to sail around makes perfect sense in PotBS, but it is grossly out of place in STO. Instead of laying in a course and THEN hitting warp, you instead warp to something called "Sector Space" which is a silly, flat, miniature representation of the galaxy that you fly around in model ships to get from point A to point B. I hate this screen. It should be replaced with some type of navigation console to make the game more immersive. I am sure TNG has shown a few warp maps that would have looked WAY better than this.
Anyway, again like PotBS and in a good way, the ship combat is pretty darn fun. The weapons are more simplified than PotBS in general, but a third dimension is added with space, as are variable shield tactics which add strategy. I also like how most of your abilities come from your Bridge Officers. I enjoy the concept of using them in dual roles like this.
The away team missions have promise and IMO show some decent game design ideas like flanking, the expose/exploit system, special attacks tied to weapons (a la the new FreeRealms combat), etc... However, it falls apart with horrible AI for both the enemies and your NPC Bridge Officers, and even worse pathing (think early Anarchy Online pet pathing). On some levels I can't even the away team follow me because I can't predict where they will and will not go. So I have to order them to places ahead of me and follow them inch by inch.
If you have never played STO beta and wonder how they handle away teams and bridge officers in groups, it works pretty well. The away team is always 5 members max, and other captains take the place of bridge officers, using the NPCs just to fill in any remaining gaps. A screen comes up as you beam to the planet that lets the group decide which members from what ship are beaming down. I think the away team content will eventually be pretty fun once they get some polish on it. Right now it is mostly frustrating.
The game would benefit heavily from the addition of more non-combat missions; it is mostly pew-pew right now, but that is true for almost all MMOs, which tend to have either combat or horrible FedEx quests.
Re: Is the game any good?
Brakk -- 2010-01-22 16:39:06
Made a thread on the STO forums because I am sure others can do better.
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=77127
A few good ones so far, some are not getting the point, but the marketing guy did pretty good, TWICE (lee harvey sulu and predator sulu). During work hours too, heh.
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=77127
A few good ones so far, some are not getting the point, but the marketing guy did pretty good, TWICE (lee harvey sulu and predator sulu). During work hours too, heh.
Re: Is the game any good?
Arlaine -- 2010-01-23 18:55:04
I had such high hopes that since Blizzard (a company renowned for releasing concurrent Mac-PC versions of their games)/Activision bought Cryptic (who also have a Mac client for CoH/CoV) that they would release a Macintosh version of STO. But, alas, I shall have to go without trying this one until/if they do. Sounds like I should be glad to wait until they come up with some content and bug fixes. ;)
Arlaine (who used to have her parents audio tape the ST [original] on Friday nights while she marched in the band)
Arlaine (who used to have her parents audio tape the ST [original] on Friday nights while she marched in the band)
Re: Is the game any good?
Rrys -- 2010-01-24 05:23:50
One question! Where are the space Dwarves?
Re: Is the game any good?
Brakk -- 2010-01-24 07:50:38
They are called Klingons, silly.
Activition owns Cryptic Studios? I am pretty sure their parent is Atari, the new (few years back) name for French publisher Infogrames.
I will always have a place in my heart for Infogrames, they brought me Independence War (I-War in some countries).
Also, CoH/CoV is actually published by NCSoft and a NCSoft paid Transgaming Technologies to do the Mac port.
Activition owns Cryptic Studios? I am pretty sure their parent is Atari, the new (few years back) name for French publisher Infogrames.
I will always have a place in my heart for Infogrames, they brought me Independence War (I-War in some countries).
Also, CoH/CoV is actually published by NCSoft and a NCSoft paid Transgaming Technologies to do the Mac port.
Re: Is the game any good?
AmAvocet -- 2010-01-29 01:41:39
This sort of sums up how I feel about STO:
http://www.pvponline.com/2010/01/28/first-contact/
http://www.pvponline.com/2010/01/28/first-contact/
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Da BRAKK: Where's Sulu?
Brakk -- 2010-01-22 15:42:45
So that brings us to today's comic, which is a tribute to the winner of the "Top 5 Questions in STO Zone Chat Competition" (made up and scored by me).
Top 5 questions in STO Open Beta Zone Chat:
5) How do I get a Tribble?
4) How do I hail Starfleet?
3) Where is the Earth space-station?
2) How do I get to my Bridge?
1) Where's Sulu?
See, the first quest out of the tutorial is to go see the Admiral of the Earth space-station. He is in the Admiral's office (It makes sense, but number 6 on that list is probably "Where is the Admiral?"). He sends you to talk to some lustspawn of George Takai (here my lack of Trekkieness will surely get me in trouble). The funniest thing about it to me is that Sulu is about 4 steps from the Admiral, and the only other NPC in the room. Most people just go running off and then notice they are supposed to find Sulu and don't even bother reading who gave them the quest.
The saddest one on the list to me is number 3. When you go to your map, there is a system list, a local map, and a galaxy map. On all three of these is the SOL system. There is even a series of concentric rings on these maps with Sol at the center. You literally can't miss it. The followup is even more painful. "Why didn't they just call it Earth System, or not abbreviate it, and just leave it 'Solar System'." Sigh.
Hint: Sol is the actual NAME of our sun. Latin for SUN.