Star Trek Online

[R.S. Barker]

Uber Star Trek geek here. That said, my only hope is that someday they decide to fathom that people like me would much prefer to play a single player campaign offline - away from the noodles who so arbitrarily cause me angst when they do something out of character, or wish to be a glory hound and ruin my experience.

I've given up online gaming completely because of such tactics.

If they charge/force people to pay to buy the game and then turn around and charge another 120 bucks a year just to play online - they can, in my best Forrest Gump voice "kiss my Vulcan buttocks"

Besides, I truly can't see people signing up to play the role of a science/engineer/communication officer and just idly sitting on the bridge or at their station while the photons, phasers and disruptors are flying.

YMMV...

[Scott Tortorice]

I'm somewhat surprised that nobody has revived the whole Bridge Commander franchise. With modern PC tech, such a game could rock. Just look at what Ubi accomplished with the Silent Hunter series.

I agree with the online nonsense. Once a game gets popular, you get all the rubes who think it is oh so much fun to grief other players. I left that nonsense behind when I graduated from HS, I don't need to be a part of that scene again. Darn kids....

Still, this game's ship & crew management features sounds intriguing. I hope they can deliver a unique MMO experience and not just release an EvE/Jumpgate clone with ST trappings.

[Michael Dorosh]

Uber Star Trek geek here. That said, my only hope is that someday they decide to fathom that people like me would much prefer to play a single player campaign offline - away from the noodles who so arbitrarily cause me angst when they do something out of character, or wish to be a glory hound and ruin my experience.

I've given up online gaming completely because of such tactics.

If they charge/force people to pay to buy the game and then turn around and charge another 120 bucks a year just to play online - they can, in my best Forrest Gump voice "kiss my Vulcan buttocks"

Besides, I truly can't see people signing up to play the role of a science/engineer/communication officer and just idly sitting on the bridge or at their station while the photons, phasers and disruptors are flying.

YMMV...

Depends on the game; the guys in the new LOTRO subforum (I am one of them) are happy with buying a game and then 10 dollars a month access to the servers, but the game is set up differently, so that there are really multitudes of "solo" quests in the world and interaction with others is minimal.

You can also buy a lifetime membership for, I believe, 300 dollars which will get you online play in perpetuity. Given that only a fraction of Middle Earth is currently playable and yet it at present consists of hundreds of quests and instances (possibly thousands?) and hundreds of thousands of square metres of terrain, I can see there being a lot of game play value there even with the additional cost of the 'modules' as they come out.

But the game is structured so that the 'care bears' are most satisfied, and person-vs.-person combat is restricted to one tiny segment of the world cut off from the rest. The game is largely based on imagination and scenery - the strengths of the LotR genre.

For Star Trek to avoid the traps you're talking about, I would think they could successfully do something similar by relying on their own strengths - an emphasis on science, diplomacy and problem solving. By having individual solo quests/instance based on solving issues just like in the show - Interplay had a couple of Star Trek video game titles based on that theme that I enjoyed in the 1990s. It was heavily scripted, but basically, you beamed the landing party down and looked for clues in how to solve a scientific or diplomatic problem - investigate a murder with possible Klingon/Romulan intervention, fix an ailing supercomputer bent on destruction, etc. The potential to do it poorly is large, and it's not as exciting as simply a series of space battles - but for me personally, one battle is pretty much like the next. The less that takes place on the bridge, I'm fine with that. If LOTRO can make wandering around picking rhubarb seem interesting and fulfilling, Star Trek can make a go of it too.

[mfl]

From what I can tell, while a fan of Star Trek, I don't think I would like this one. Rather liked and wish someone would fix the holes in the "Birth of the Federation" game more than they did. Great game for me--other than the on-line drops from a memory lag which sometimes occured. I also sort of like the Federation and Empire boardgame from way back. Guess, I'm not up to the role playing star trek.
Mike

[ravinhood]

Is it pay to play or no monthly fee?

[Scott Tortorice]

Pay to play. No specific price yet, AFAIK, but probably the standard $14.95.

[Scott Tortorice]

New vid:

[YOUTUBE]CLj-PkFfFX4[/YOUTUBE]

That's a busy HUD!

[ravinhood]

I'll stick with Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 then when it comes out. I ain't payin to play no game online anymore cept maybe one month just to see it in action. I spent $1500 playing Everquest for five years and when I look back now that's a lot of money I could have spent on other games I'd still have in my library I could play today. I know $15 a month doesn't seem like much but when you add it up over the years it's a lot. Hell I could buy a nice large inch tv with all that I spent on EQ. Damn I wasted it all help me Jesus.

[Redwolf]

5 years at $15/month is $900. 5 years ago that wouldn't be a nice LCD TV

Compare to people's money on booze, smoking, a car that has just slightly less mileage, an expensive car etc.

[Scott Tortorice]

I probably will try it, but only when they do one of those free trials. The innovative crew management functions, along with the more thoughtful ship to ship battles, could hook me. However, it is really going to have to hook me to get me past the boredom I feel whenever Star Trek or Star Wars is mentioned.