STAR TREK ONLINE: The |OT| of Going Where No Gamer Has Gone Before....

The naval stuff is pretty fun, but geez does every mission turn into some really long grind of pew pew lasers? Seems like no matter the mission I get, you have to fight your way through hordes of boring encounters. Do they mix things up eventually a bit more eventually?
 
BattleMonkey said:
The naval stuff is pretty fun, but geez does every mission turn into some really long grind of pew pew lasers? Seems like no matter the mission I get, you have to fight your way through hordes of boring encounters. Do they mix things up eventually a bit more eventually?
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Pretty much all of the launch missions were like that, with some exceptions like the Guardian of Forever arc.

The post-launch content is generally much better. Try talking to the Deferi Ambassador [Earth Space Dock, or Qo'nos], or your Section 31 / KDF contact near Drazona Station - they've got much better missions on offer.

Alternatively you can download Tribble and test out the mission I made [search for "The Law Giveth" under User Generated Content in your contacts list], or wait a few weeks for Foundry [aka UGC] to come out of testing.
 
I like that space battles are long and require forethought, but many times I find the number of battles required in a mission gets tedious. I.E. five long battles when one or two would do.
 
czartim said:
I like that space battles are long and require forethought, but many times I find the number of battles required in a mission gets tedious. I.E. five long battles when one or two would do.
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What gets me is when they try to lowball the amount of battles you'll do.

Objective: Destroy three Nausicaan patrols

*Player destroys three Nausicaan patrols*

New objective: Destroy two more Nausicaan patrols
 
So are all missions shared if people are hanging out in the same area or something? Don't quite get it but have gone on away missions where suddenly I have other players in my away team instead of my npcs and then they would rush ahead and do the dialogue and such without me.

czartim said:
I like that space battles are long and require forethought, but many times I find the number of battles required in a mission gets tedious. I.E. five long battles when one or two would do.
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Yea the combat is cool, but it feels wrong when your light cruiser is taking out fleets of klingon vessels without problem....

I know lot of people complained about it not feeling like trek and I can see why, though obviously they need action in a MMO style Trek game. I just wish they lowered the amount of encounters and enemy numbers.
 
Try turning the difficulty up, Battlemonkey. In the open Beta the difficulty setting was *just* right by default, but I guess a vocal minority complained and it got nerfed. Post-launch they added a difficulty setting which definitely spices things up.

Also, you can disable auto-teaming in the options somewhere.
 
Difficulty makes you fight less ships? My point was that it's odd that you take out entire fleets with your single ship. Making each of those ships harder really doesn't change much of that.
 
So I logged on the other day, and... I think my guy was the victim of a transporter malfunction!
m9bsi0.jpg
 
Is it normal that whenever you beam up, you're human turns into a Vulcan? :lol My character seems to transform back and forth between trips... at least it's not permanent.
 
BattleMonkey said:
Is it normal that whenever you beam up, you're human turns into a Vulcan? :lol My character seems to transform back and forth between trips... at least it's not permanent.
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I have noticed the characters change for the transporter effect. I don't know if it's just supposed to be a simpler model to make the effect easier or what, but it is noticeable. Like my guy's eyebrows (as seen floating above) become much more prominent and sinister looking. It's like he's getting replaced with some Mirror Universe counterpart.


EDIT: In happier times.
2rg05sx.jpg
 
Is there a way to find the more interesting or diplomacy missions or you just got to wander around and get lucky? Lot of these missions are just so annoyingly long and tedious, the diplomacy ones are somewhat interesting. Player made content grants any experience and such or it's just for fun I assume?

Don't know if I will play past the first month at this rate, while I enjoy many aspects of it, the tedium of so many missions and well... the game crashes on me constantly.
 
BattleMonkey said:
Is there a way to find the more interesting or diplomacy missions or you just got to wander around and get lucky? Lot of these missions are just so annoyingly long and tedious, the diplomacy ones are somewhat interesting.
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It's tricky, to be sure. Generally I'd avoid the "Patrol [x] Sector" or "Defend [x] Sector" missions if I were you. Once you start ranking up your Diplomat level [get Diplomacy points] you're eligible for more diplomacy type missions in the Expanse/Nebula random-generated-missions. After a few levels there you get access to First Contact missions which are pretty cool.

Player made content grants any experience and such or it's just for fun I assume?
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Player made content grants combat experience [i.e. you still get points for killing ships]. Cryptic are also looking into a parallel reward scheme, but are trying to avoid it being exploitable.

Don't know if I will play past the first month at this rate, while I enjoy many aspects of it, the tedium of so many missions and well...
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That's understandable. It's certainly a game going in the right direction - it's almost unrecognisably better than at launch! If I were you I'd let this month ride out and then jump back in the day they get User Generated Content out of Beta and onto the Live servers. I know I'm going to be pretty busy making a tonne of diplomacy-style missions [Garidians from "A Final Unity" anyone?].

the game crashes on me constantly.
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Have you enabled Dynamic Lights? Turn them off for a much nicer time.
 
Sir Fragula said:
Have you enabled Dynamic Lights? Turn them off for a much nicer time.
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I guess I'll try, been playing with settings with no real luck. It also is completely random, I can't replicate the crashes, it just randomly freezes and crashes to desktop. Sometimes I can play for hours just fine, and then sometimes it will crash every few minutes on certain missions. Though it seems like it does only happen when on the ground, but looking at the forums it happens to many others and they don't seem to have a fix or idea why but seems like ATI cards are having lot of issues with the game. Dynamic lighting does seem to fix it for some.

If anything It's one of the main reasons why I really will be quitting after the first month, it's getting frustrating and killing the enjoyment I do get out of the game. Perhaps wait for the game to evolve and improve some more before coming back if I'm not addicted to SWTOR by that time.
 
BattleMonkey said:
I guess I'll try, been playing with settings with no real luck. It also is completely random, I can't replicate the crashes, it just randomly freezes and crashes to desktop. Sometimes I can play for hours just fine, and then sometimes it will crash every few minutes on certain missions. Though it seems like it does only happen when on the ground, but looking at the forums it happens to many others and they don't seem to have a fix or idea why but seems like ATI cards are having lot of issues with the game. Dynamic lighting does seem to fix it for some.

If anything It's one of the main reasons why I really will be quitting after the first month, it's getting frustrating and killing the enjoyment I do get out of the game. Perhaps wait for the game to evolve and improve some more before coming back if I'm not addicted to SWTOR by that time.
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You have the exact same symptoms that I had before turning it off. I'm 90% sure Dynamic Lighting to off will work for you.

Honestly, if I were you I'd put another £10 or whatever down when Foundry goes live and see how you like community [read *my*] created missions. The third weekly mission series [basically they're funnelling the bulk of their new mission content into a number of 5-6 episode arcs] should be starting / completed by then too, so that'll help.
 
I'm excited for creating missions. Sounds fun.

Also, what are the diplomatic missions? I may have done some, but I tend to skip the dialogue unless my hot crew members are talking.
 
There is a simple one you do if you go to the celes system, but after that, I haven't found too many diplomatic missions. I'm not sure how deep they can get, but they are more dialogue focused with pretty much no pew pew.
 
There should be a number of them in the Bajor system, Vulcan, Memory Alpha and possibly Andoria off the top of my head. You should get some randomly when doing Exploration missions [that is, the missions in Nebula or Expanse sectors].

Come to think of it, there's quite a few in Deferi space.
 
Yea turning off dynamic lighting has stopped the game from crashing on me so far, well that is some progress.

Chriswok said:
I'd snap this up in the Steam sale if I thought it was going to be Free to Play in the near future. Just can't bring myself to pay monthly for it.
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I think there is a good chance of it happening. They commented before that they want to see how Champions Online does for them when it goes free to play, and that it could determine if they do the same for STO.
 
Ooh, now that IS tempting. I enjoyed the beta, in regards to it being a Game, but once Beta ended and they wanted a monthly fee the Grinch in me said 'Nah'. If they microtransactioned things (like they already seem to have done with the store), I'd come back and pick and choose when to hand my spacebucks over.
 
With the microtransactions already built in, the game seems like it would be easier to integrate into a free to play. I'm sure they are going to get a boost in players now in the holiday from all these sales, but if people stay on as subbers I think will be an important factor as well, more and more competition is going to hit the market and the game went off to a bad start.

And for those looking at the steam sale, Amazon still has the game for digital download for $2.50 for the basic edition, and $5.00 for deluxe. Steam really doesn't do anything for the game, patching is still done in the games launcher, so you can save a bit more through Amazon.
 
I really would use microtransactions if they went FTP. I normally don't like them, but I care enough about Star Trek that I would pay for some cosmetic stuff willingly just to help with the fantasy.
 
Aye. I'd buy the uniforms and stuff from the store if it was FTP, rather than monthly fee AND a store. If STO appears in the Steam Recap sale, I'll buy it.
 
I just figured out how to walk around the interior of the ship :lol

Course it's pretty sad how pointless it is. Can't even sit down at my desk in the captains office.
 
Its a shame that this was an MMO. I mean, its the level of customization and exploration that I always wanted from a Star Trek game, its almost literally my fantasy, but because I had to pay 15 bucks a month I didn't play more then a month because I couldn't justify the expense for how much time I would have for it.
 
The_Technomancer said:
Its a shame that this was an MMO. I mean, its the level of customization and exploration that I always wanted from a Star Trek game, its almost literally my fantasy, but because I had to pay 15 bucks a month I didn't play more then a month because I couldn't justify the expense for how much time I would have for it.
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Yeah, when I played it, it seemed like an awesome single player game.
 
The_Technomancer said:
Its a shame that this was an MMO. I mean, its the level of customization and exploration that I always wanted from a Star Trek game, its almost literally my fantasy, but because I had to pay 15 bucks a month I didn't play more then a month because I couldn't justify the expense for how much time I would have for it.
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Even full price it seems like a pretty substandard rpg at launch. The stuff they are adding is nice and perhaps in the future it could be nice, but so much of the game seems barren and lifeless. Got to DS9 and expected it to be awesome, instead it was all so boring. Even Quark's Bar was so... dead. Really so far it barely feels like I'm playing a MMO, outside of flying around sector space, I don't see much player interaction. The mission creation tools though will open things wide.

I do hope the game goes free to play, as I won't resub at this point with EVE taking my money, and surely I will be jumping in on SWTOR.
 
Willy105 said:
Yeah, when I played it, it seemed like an awesome single player game.
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Seriously. I would pay twenty bucks a year for content packs if I was able to play a single player game that didn't require servers (and therefore fees).

I really really would kill for an awesome Star Trek RPG.
 
BattleMonkey said:
I just figured out how to walk around the interior of the ship :lol

Course it's pretty sad how pointless it is. Can't even sit down at my desk in the captains office.
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I was really surprised they added that since launch. Not only the different bridges (with bridge officers) but the entire interior. The halls, engineering room, captains quarters, sickbay, and I think a ten forward. Like said though pointless in the end.
 
Effect said:
I was really surprised they added that since launch. Not only the different bridges (with bridge officers) but the entire interior. The halls, engineering room, captains quarters, sickbay, and I think a ten forward. Like said though pointless in the end.
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If they let you do more with it, I mean even for roleplayers and those just wanting to have fun, there is no interactivity. You should be able to do some personalization and make the ship at least feel more alive. In SWG you could walk around ship interiors and it even served a purpose at times in game, as well as various social things you could do for the heck of it.
 
BattleMonkey said:
If they let you do more with it, I mean even for roleplayers and those just wanting to have fun, there is no interactivity. You should be able to do some personalization and make the ship at least feel more alive. In SWG you could walk around ship interiors and it even served a purpose at times in game, as well as various social things you could do for the heck of it.
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Yeah. There were times when I spent entire sessions just messing around on my Yacht in SWG without even going planet side. Just in orbit around a planet running around in the ship decorating it. It was my house as I couldn't find a decent spot I liked on a planet. That and I didn't have to worry about upkeep. :)
 
BattleMonkey said:
I just figured out how to walk around the interior of the ship :lol

Course it's pretty sad how pointless it is. Can't even sit down at my desk in the captains office.
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I'm impressed by the enormous lounge with a twenty foot ceiling found on my dinky science vessels.
 
How does one get the special episode missions? The Deferi ambassador at space dock still wont give me any missions. Do you have to be a specific rank to start them?
 
BattleMonkey said:
How does one get the special episode missions? The Deferi ambassador at space dock still wont give me any missions. Do you have to be a specific rank to start them?
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Yeah, level 10 or 11 I think.

Devs have mentioned they're working on "remastered episodes". Basically they're taking some of the more popular launch missions, giving them tweaks such as level-agnostic revamps, class specific dialogue, cutscenes and other gameplay improvements. Aim is to release them between weekly episode series to avoid content lulls.
 
Looks like I was wrong! Next series is actually Romulan themed:
http://www.startrekonline.com/feature_episodes
Series 3: Cloaked Intentions
Battles between former allies threaten to tear the Romulan Star Empire apart. Find the heart of the conflict before it engulfs the quadrant!

Episode 1: The Vault
The crew find themselves in a tight situation when they are ordered to investigate an energy surge on an abandoned Romulan starbase.
Debuts: January 29, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. PST.
My Notes: For those who read the backstory to the latest Star Trek movie, this is the Romulan research station where Nero upgrades the Nerada with Borg Technology.

Episode 2: Mine Enemy
Coming soon!
Debuts: February 5, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. PST.

Episode 3: Frozen
Coming soon!
Debuts: February 12, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. PST.

Episode 4: Coliseum
Coming soon!
Debuts: February 19, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. PST.

Episode 5: Cutting the Cord
Coming soon!
Debuts: Feburary 26, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. PST.



They've also released the latest "Engineering Report" detailing a list of changes incoming.
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?p=3277595#post3277595

Highlights for me include
  • Duty Officers: new "equipable" characters which provide stat bonuses, powers, crafting or other gameplay abilities. These fill the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Engineer and other positions not represented through the Bridge Officer mechanic.
  • Development of enhanced "over-the-shoulder" style for ground combat.
  • New pilot-able shuttlecraft, including Delta Flyer.
  • Time scale for bringing User Generated Content tool "Foundry" out of beta to live following upgrades to story tools in early February.
  • 1 year anniversary week-long event at faction headquarters. An "old favourite" character will be distributing limited availability items.
  • Work will begin on "remastering" old missions. The intention is to update the missions to the newer tech to improve performance and management, while improving the content itself. For example, the early mission on the cargoship Azure will have branching optional objectives specific to Science, Engineering and Tactical captains added, with additional benefits for teams with all three classes.
  • Queue system for private PvE instances; aids for those trying to gather "PUG" groups for the Special Task Force raid missions.



So good stuff all around!
 
That's good to hear, I have enjoyed the episodes I played and they are a step in the right direction. If they can just keep to it and have this weekly stuff coming for most of the year, that would be great. This will start when my 30 days are over for this.... not sure still if I will keep going or wait to come back later. Game gets better for sure once you get past those early levels.
 
They're testing out changes to the Earth Space Dock interiors right now on their test server, before rolling out the exterior changes. Basically the old Space Dock is being blown up in-game and replaced with the old Star Trek 3 Space Dock.

The changes are pretty nice:
STODock.jpg


EDIT: Actually disclaimer to the above, I wanted to see whether the game looked better with a warmer colour pallete so it's not 100% in-game.
 
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