Mr. Joe Blancato, Cryptic Studios, Marketing

Yes Fans, the early release of show 57 is live as I type this, and the itunes release will follow shortly on it’s heals (it is set on 360 minutes to live).

This week Julie is the first to crawl out of the sick bed and into the production chair, finishing up show 57.  Thanks to Fran for fighting her illness long enough to take the show live. 

And on to business…

This week we have the great pleasure of welcoming Mr. Joe Blancato to the show.   Joe is a marketing specialist for cryptic and offers listeners with an inside insight into Star Trek Online.   Mr. Blancato has promised to come back with even more of the Cryptic team to talk about Champions online.  We hope you have as good a time listening to the show as we did producing it.

See you online,

Julie and Fran

Welcome to the Captain’s Table

Beyond the reference that many people may know from old Errol Flynn movies or Luxury Liners (and believe me Luxury in my house two movies in one weekend) those who are regulars to Star Trek Online (STO) are aware that the first content patch, Season One, has hit the holodeck (what Cryptic calls their servers). 

I am sure that more than one “lifer”, anxious to try out the new content, went first to the Cryptic Store to grab the free items that include a title “Career Officer” and access to exclusive officer’s club called “The Captain’s Table.”  After applying the title that brought me back to my military days and a sergeant I knew named R.A. “Regular Army” Ware (hi there R.A. if you are reading this) the title at the bottom of the list caught my eye – imperial assault cruiser.  Mind you it’s simply window dressing, but the artists that dressed this particular window did a fantastic job. For those of you who wondered what that Imperial Assault Cruiser looked like before you buy, here is what we (and that is the royal “we”) found on the forums posted by one “Farkoid”.

If you are like us (dyed in the wool trekkies) you have been playing STO since the moment it was available to you. As a result, having attained rear admiral you no doubt found that all those wonderful “very rare” anti-polaron weapons are only available in the Gama Sector for marks of exploration you gain searching the B’Tran Cluster. After listening to weeks of outcry on both zone and fleet chat for being able to “respecc” it wasn’t my first stop but it was high on my list.  The outcry online was, of course, dimmed into insignificance by the din on the forums at the thought of having to pay for a respecc in the Cryptic Store…only to find out after the “Season One” patch hit that players are given periodic free respeccs and the ability to pay for them with star fleet merits (a type of virtual currency) as well – My, my all that good complaining gone to waste.   After looking for a code or logo in my inventory, or the sudden appearance of an active “reset” button on my respecc screen I went searching for the answer…And found it in the person of the Lieutenant Commander  Okret who’s duty station was in the middle of the central hub at the Sol Space Station.

Sporting my new title of “career officer”, having carefully completed my first respecc, I went off in search of “The Captains Table”. In fact, I searched all of the Sol Station only to come up empty handed.  Then someone in Fleet Chat told me “it’s outside”.   I had my transporter chief beam me up and asked my science officer to scan for new structures; curiously I found none.  What I did find was a very small nebulae that was simply hanging in space 17.5 km off my port bow.  I watched as another ship disappeared into the nebulae and I soon followed. I thought I was about to enter a worm hole and thus forced to abandon my search for The Captain’s Table. Appearing on the other side of the entrance to the nebulae I found a space station amidst the same solar winds that now buffeted my ship. 

The entry to The Captain's Table - Sol System.

My first officer immediately asked me if I wanted to return to the Sol system. Thinking I had somehow erred I accepted the request.  But like the proverbial cat, curiosity got the better of me and I re-entered the nebulae.  On the other side I decided to dock at the station this time and found,  that curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought her back.  

The Captains Table - Exterior

Upon setting foot on the station I was cheerily greeted by the concierge who welcomed me to the Captains Table.   It was explained to me that not only was the Captain’s table exclusive to those whom “Cap” (the proprietor) had invited personally, but it was also strictly neutral territory – and thus captains on all side of the current conflicts were welcome there. Not only that, it was told that The Captain’s table was not only separate from space, but also time, and so famous captains of days gone by would be stopping by from time to time.

Stepping through the entry arch down the hall I was greeted by the site of an opulently furnished lounge with a bar tended by none other than “Cap” himself.  Exploring further I found another lounge down the hall with a spectacular view of the surrounding space.  I bought myself a Saurian Brandy and decided to spend a bit of time hob knobbing with my fellow captains. 

As many before me have noted I am sure, it is both enjoyable and immersive to find that the surrounding NPC captains are talking about your exploits, a few of them even being those officers you helped on your way up to rear admiral.  Bidding my the other captains goodbye I did a bit of further exploring and found the station was complete with facilities such as a bank and a tailor.

Then it occurred to me that the Season One patch also came with off duty clothes.  So it was off to the tailor’s shop to a new set of clothes, free of charge of course.  There were many options, and the clothes of my choosing (As you can see below) were of a more formal nature. And so I will end our tour of The Captain’s Table with a quote from Men In Black, uttered by Agent J as portrayed by Will Smith:

I make this look good

Rear Admiral 1 of 9 Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01 commanding

Star Date 3019.1.15 (local time)

The upcoming patch to our holodeck systems to be delivered by Star Fleet, promises military exercise between Federation ships.  While we continue our exploration B’tran cluster we have come upon a Class m planet the Federation has designated Gamma Canaris III.  Scans show the plant to be a pre-warp, pre-industrial civilization.  Atmosphere consists of 78% Nitrogen, 21 % Oxygen, with trace amounts of Argon and Carbon Dioxide – Notably, Carbon Monoxide is absent.

For the record, I am noting that I am beaming down to the service over the expressed cautions of first officer Ven Hero [Author’s note: Yes the bridge officer came with that fantastic name]. Per my first officer’s recommendation, I am accommodating the builshi…the prime directive by having the Ship’s Chief Physician, Dr. Dydzia, remove my ocular implant for the duration of the away mission.  It currently covers part of the right side of my face and has caused me to be known among the other field grade Star Fleet admirals as Rear Admiral “OMGosh what is that on your head?”  I have asked Lieutenant Commander Quargg, a young Ferrengi Engineering officer to send a probe down to the planet to enable me discern the customs regarding clothing of the indigenous population.  I found his initial reply of “Alright but it will cost you” a bit disturbing; I have asked first officer hero to have a discussion with him while I am away.

Captains Log: Away mission to Thorin’s Gate

Rear Admiral 1 of 9 Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01

Star Date 3019.2.15 (local time)

Against the wishes of my first officer, and I believe this is only because I took the keys to the starship before I left, I have been on Gama Canaris III for a month now.  I have come to know the local population that call themselves “Dwarves” residing in a place they call “Thorin’s Gate”.  Thorin’s gate, which is tantamount to an enormous subterranean dwelling, is apparently named after one of their great heroes that slew some great beast or other.  It was, by their estimation, a monumental effort.  The prime directive forbids me telling them I could have finished off the smelly thing with a hand phaser or two and saved this Thorin the trouble.

I have found my hosts quite gracious and accommodating. How Ironic – Star Fleet gave me charge of enough firepower to level a planet as a young lieutenant (and without much assurance that I would rejoin the Borg collective at that) feeling they could somehow “ingratiated “ my crew of neophytes and I into a battle against my own people, while treating us like cannon fodder. The Dwarves, on the other hand have given me a small but comfortable dwelling in one of their subterranean residential areas and furnished me with a barrel of the strongest ale I have ever tasted in my life. Three times I have fallen into a drunken stupor and found myself in remote areas of this land.

Captains Log: Away mission to…someplace called “Moria”

Rear Admiral 1 of 9 Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01

Star Date 3019.2.15.2 (local time)

It appears that electro-magnetic storms are preventing both communication with my ship as well as beaming. Either that, or my first officer found the spare set of keys to the Starship under the mattress in my quarters.  In any case, it appears that the dwarves have more in common with Star Fleet than I thought.   The old adage, there is no such thing as a free lunch seems to apply my hosts have asked me to render service in repayment for their hospitality.  Since I appear to be marooned (at least for the moment) I find myself with little choice but complying.  They have sent me on a long, and somewhat tedious journey, to yet another subterranean dwelling…this one called “Moria”.  The Dwarves claim the subterranean city, which they are calling a “mine”, rightfully belongs to them.  This seems far from the truth however, as the place is primarily inhabited by a race of beings called “orcs” by the dwarves. Having had some dealings with these “orcs” I expect them to be of Klingon heritage. For the time being I have been tasked with reclaiming an area known as “The Waterworks”.  It appears to have once been a mighty facility for generating electricity from water turbines but the place is now over run with 10 foot amphibians and numerous other organisms, also subject to some form of gigantism.  Fortunately, my training in the Klingon Bat’leth has stood me in good stead and I am able to handle a large 2 handed Dwarven sword they call a “Claymore” with some proficiency.

As the days of the last month have turned into weeks I have come to suspect that my first officer is behind all of this.

[posted for Julie Whitefeather by the Webmaster]

New and Interesting:

Derek Smart may be a smart ass, a jack ass or “large and in charge” depending on you look at it, but he is great for getting publicity.

EA may have set the bar so high for Star Wars The Old Republic that even Superman couldn’t clear it. 

And now for the rest of the story…

Kaltxi everyone,

The interesting thing about those mmos that have actual “role playing servers” is that no one on them ever role plays.  Even if you try, the average player will look at you like you have fifteen heads.  It’s sort of an odd aspect of the hobby considering that one of the acronyms often applied to it is massively multiplayer online role-playing game.  The sad truth of the matter is that the only reason most people gravitate toward a role playing server like World of Warcraft’s (WoW) Earthen Ring server is that they somehow feel that the decent person/asshat ratio will be very low.  While it hasn’t happened in WoW, in other mmos we often see role playing servers merged with other servers, or eliminated altogether if there is more than one. Fortunately for those of us with active imaginations (I am certainly one of them) there is only one server in Star Trek Online.  And so, as mentioned yesterday, I present my latest effort, Na’vi me, with a special thanks to whoever the player was that first had idea – it was a good one and it is A LOT of fun.

Name:  Erzuli Taronyu “The Hunter”

Profession: Captain of Pandora’s Revenge

Favorite Quote: “Do you know how difficult it is to fit a tail into a Starfleet Uniform.”

Favorite Entertainer(s):  Blue Man Group*

Favorite Music: Blues… “The blue’s ain’t nothin’ but a good Na’vi feelin’ bad.”

Favorite Song: “Am I blue?”

Turn offs:  Ketuwong (Alien) people who attend a Na’vi wedding for the first time and think no one has ever heard the joke, “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue – say there’s always something blue at a Na’vi wedding!”

Biography:

She gained her immortality and lost her tail after recreating an “accident” involving two rubber bands, a nuclear particle accelerator and fifteen hundred gallons of Saurian Brandy.  Many people had attempted to recreate the famous accident that cast immortality upon Wowbagger “the infinitely prolonged” but no one had ever achieved it.  It is said that those who tried ended up looking silly, dead and usually both.

The situation immediately brings two questions to mind, the first being, “What does one do with immortality?”  Let’s face it friends, forever is a mighty long time. Most sentient species have some concept of an afterlife, but few people ever consider what they would do with an “eternal reward” even if they had it. Oh there are, of course, some cultures (especially on Earth) that believe they come back in some grand continuous cycle of lives repeating endlessly – and to tell the truth just considering the concept gave her the screaming heebee geebees. 

Those who know the history of Wowbagger (and may have even had the good fortune to be insulted by him) know that he occupies his portion of forever by insulting the universe…individually, and “here’s the clincher, in alphabetical order.”

Of course, after successfully repeating Wowbagger’s accident, Erzuli was immediately faced with a second question as well.  She could spend a few millennia hanging around the forest. However when you are part of an indigenous tribe that communes with nature through their tails (unlike some Earth men who,  rumors have it, talk out their posteriors – a remarkable concept to be sure) what do you do when you have suddenly lost your tail?  Well, without the tail, communing with nature, let along actually hanging around in it would be darn difficult to begin with.

Then the words of those who invaded her happy home as a child sprung to mind. It was something that Earth people belonging to a club they called “Starfleet” with what they called a “motto” – travel the universe, meet new and interesting people and kill them. There was another expression that an Earth woman had taught her. She wasn’t like the others. She once told Erzuli “before setting out for revenge you must first dig two graves – One for the one upon whom you seek vengeance, and your own.” It seemed fine to Erzuli, and as good a way to occupy forever as any…time to start digging.

Until later my friends,

Kiyevame

Na’vi words were from “Learn Na’vi” (http://www.learnnavi.org/)

*A popular comedy/performance art group in Chicago.

** Wowbagger the infinitely prolonged” is a character by one of my favorite authors, Douglas Adams.

Side Notes

Another peculiar aspect of roleplaying, a slight problem really, applies only to Star Trek Online.  Many of the players will be fans of one of the series: The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and Voyager.  The star ships like those that were featured in each series are there for the player to obtain – Voyager, The Enterprise, and the Defiant.  The only problem is that these ships are not in the top tier of ships (Tier Five).   What this means is that they are much weaker in combat, whether pve or pvp, than their Tier Five counterparts – and even updating them with Tier five weapons and consoles does not make them competitive.  So as you level from the Captain tier to the Rear Admiral Tier, you are forced to leave behind that ship you enjoy so much, as it sits unused in the shipyard.

Yet no matter how much a developer does to answer their critics and give their customers what they want there will always be those for whom the glass is not merely half empty, but the other half is full of toxic waste. One developer who was a guest on our show once told us “if you lose a customer, you don’t just lose a customer – you gain a detractor.”  Would that it were more people had the attitude espoused by Mr. Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve:

“One thing that you hear [Valve] talk a lot about is entertainment as a service, it’s an attitude that says ‘what have I done for my customers today?’” – Gabe Newell, co-founder Valve

Still, even if it were the case – Even if the development industry was full of nothing but Gabe Newell clones the task would still be a monumental one.  To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, you can please some of the people some of the time but someone will always be ticked off all of the time. Even when you discount the customers, spoken of by Glen Swan (one of the community managers from Funcom featured on show 55) who want a spaceship in games like Age of Conan, finding a median in the often conflicting customer demands is problematic at best. It is an exercise in multiple regression that might have even befuddled Einstein.  It is something that many a developer, I am sure, has only considered possible by changing the name of the developer’s studio to “Free Lunch.”

Even that would likely not work for long for as we all should know (and don’t seem to) there is no such thing as a free lunch. Some see the “free to play” business model as the savior of the industry (or at least their little corner of it) hoping to repeat the success of Turbine.  But free to play doesn’t mean free for everyone, and if it does, doesn’t mean the entire game is free – someone, somewhere, has to pay to keep the servers open.  When Cryptic Studios first announced the subscription plus cash shop model for Champions Online, and now STO, many players seem to forget that companies like the 800 pound Blizzard Gorilla have been doing it all along; it is just recently that they have opened an actual shop instead of calling things a “fee.”  Unlike games like Allods, which is designed to be unplayable if you do not support the cash shop, STO is designed (at least so far) so that you can ignore the cash shop and never be disadvantaged. Even so, it seems that what is good for the Blizzard goose is not good for the Cryptic gander these days. It’s a bit odd, however, that those players who complain the loudest, the “un-silent minority”, are those players who no longer seem to be playing the game. It doesn’t help matters when the impression some players have of cash shops are those created by Gpotato, which seem one step short of two big guys named bubba, waiting for the players in a dark ally, demanding their wallet.

In the end, no matter what developers try there will always be those players who are not happy deciding that the game is not for them, but are determined to bring the game down and the company that makes it along with it.  There was an old expression that was prevalent when I was growing up, and is just as applicable now as it was then.  It especially applies to those whom are determined that if they don’t like a product no one else should either:

Don’t get mad and go away – just go away.

I have been introduced to a new game lately, and I find myself playing a lot of it; quite against my will. The game is called “hide and go aggravate” and is a new twist on one of everyone’s childhood favorite game that involves seeking – and believe me if you find yourself an unwilling participant in a game of “hide and go aggravate” you will indeed do a lot of seeking, but very little findings, for that is the nature, and the purpose of the game. 

The game recently arose out of player vs. player (pvp) in Star Trek Online (STO).  It is one of those examples of emergent gameplay that are the result of player taking the path of least resistance. For those not acquainted with pvp in Star Trek Online, there are both ground and space combat matches.  Those pvp matches set in space go until one side or the other gains 15 points…without a time limit.  Unfortunately (at least unfortunately for my peace of mind) cloaking technology (making a ship disappear for those one or two of you out there who have never seen Star Trek) is such a major part of the Star Trek universe that they couldn’t leave it out without the complaints reaching a deafening din.  You would think then that the side having use of cloaking technology (the Klingons) would be the one making the most use of it to prolong a match indefinitely.

You would think.

But it isn’t.

As a Federation player (think Alliance vs. Horde for all you Warcraft players out there) I only rarely had to wait until the Klingons and their cloaked ships came out of hiding. Perhaps that is because they knew just how easy it was to wipe up the arena with our warp plasma ejected from our exploding ships.  However, now that my Federation Liberated Borg character has reached the level of  rear admiral “OMG what’s that on your face” I have been playing more of my Klingon character.  More often than not (at least in the lower levels) I find myself circling for what seems like an eternity while the Federation players hide…somewhere. And they have become very, very good at it.  More than once I have found myself logging off the game in disgust.  The odd factor in this is that Cryptic has arranged pvp matches so that win or lose, every side gains.  If this were truly about gaining something it would benefit the Federation players most to get the match over quickly if they had little chance of winning. After all, in the time they spent trying to aggravate the Klingons they could have lost that match and been half way through another (which is called “power leveling” by the way, but that is another story).

After spending an hour chatting with Joe Blancato from Cryptic Marketing during yesterdays recording session of show 57, it seems that the STO team has a lot of changes in mind – hopefully one of them will do something to address “hide and go aggravate.” 

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather

(posted for Julie Whitefeather by The Webmaster)

“I beamed back onto my ship and hailed Star Fleet to report my progress.   In times gone by there would have been such a thing as “being kicked upstairs”. After all, those who wear the Admirals insignia rarely fly anything but a desk.  But these are not those times; these are desperate times.  When Benjamin Sisko first flew the U.S.S. Defiant through the Bajor Wormhole he had no idea what the future held – and what a furor it would unleash…” Rear Admiral 1 of 9, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01

As soon as my character hit rear admiral 3, Leonard Nimoy’s voice rang though the computer’s speakers with a very familiar “congratulations admiral”.   I was “hailed” by Star Fleet and Admiral Quinn gave me a mission summoning to the Gamma Quadrant – now I know what that transwarp conduit located just outside the Sol System is for. 

Welcome to the Gamma Quadrant

Exiting the other end of the transwarp conduit to the Gama sector found me in the midst of a Federation Fleet, with a Klingon Fleet camped on their doorstep.  Another liberated Borg, much like myself, welcomed me to the front lines.  Those who stay in the Gama Quadrant will not find themselves on a leisurely stroll through the corridors of Earth Space Station or the promenade of Deep Space 9. Any needs the new rear admiral or her crew (you have to be rear admiral 3 to get the quest that gives you access to the Gama Quadrant)  are served by individual ships who serve particular needs, found by winding your way through a central corridor that runs through the massive fleet of ships.

One of the early story line quests gave me the mission of rescuing colonists whose world had been beset by the Borg and Species 8472 (known as the “Undine” to you non-assimilated types out there). In the process of rescuing the colonists and simultaneously battling both Borg and Undine, a desperate colonist ran up to my bridge crew and I.  “Help us,” she cried out, “We’re being invaded and it’s like being caught in the middle of a battle between two giants.”  The first image that came to mind was a scene from the movie Time Bandits where Napoleon, portrayed by Ian Holm, is seated between two of his generals and exclaims, “With you on one side and him on the other it’s like being at the bottom of a bloody well” – and that aptly portrays the theme of the Gama Quadrant. 

Players find themselves in the midst of a titanic battle while trying to protect the interests of the Federation.   The player will find daily exploratory missions to an adjoining expanse, the reward for which are medals which garner very rare items once enough are accumulated, at the rate of five per day.  There are story missions and an abundance of patrol missions.   This quadrant is also the site of the new “raidisode” (read five person raid/instance for all you World of Warcraft players out there).   When it says “five players required” believe you me it means it.  No matter how good you are, no matter how well equipped your ship, the solo player will find the Borg that make up the antagonists in “The Infected”  will simply laugh at the even the toughest shield strengths and blast away the individual player in seconds.  This is one time where there is no substitute for a team.  This is not to say there is no room for the solo player.  The lone ship and her crew will find it possible to complete the missions by themselves. The Borg and Undine in this case are far from being easy, even in the case of a well shielded, heavily armed ship.

One of the many pleasures in Star Trek Online (STO) are the continuation of story lines that were started in the many Star Trek series.  STO being set beyond the latest time line covered by any of the Star trek shows or movies, it is a common occurrence to meet the relatives  of, or those influenced by characters that the fans are familiar with – and the Gama Qaudrant in Star Trek Online is no exception.  One of the earlier storyline missions has the player rescue a ship, only to meet the “son of Q” (the Q played by John Delancie) that was born during the Star Trek Voyager years.  Having once rescued the ship this new Q has you complete the rescue “with feeling this time.”  Having completed the same rescue mission a second time the New Q is still not satisfied and has you do it “again as if your life depended on it.”   It is then that the player is given a chance to go back and participate in a famous battle from Star Trek lore.

If Star Trek Online is your game, and you are ready for a challenge (aside from letting the Klingons drive you into the ground like a tent stake in pvp) you will find it in the Gama Quadrant.

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather

(posted for Julie Whitefeather by the Webmaster)

Update:

Side Notes

Let me add a little update here.  We have managed to obtain an interview with a member of the team that brings us all my favorite mmo.  I am always afraid to put the cart before the horse, so I will let you all know tommorow.  Much can happen between now and the scheduled recording time.

Also, in catching up with some of my favorite blog sites we found a very nice endorsement over at Kill Ten Rats (see below) Thanks Ravious for the kind endorsement!

- Julie

“No Prisoners, No Mercy – How could anybody not like a podcast about MMOs run by two nuns?!  Not only that, they are great journalists snagging tons of interviews from across the board for game companies.  Sister Julie Whitefeather and Sister Frances  have a good format with some interesting discussion.  A lot of time and love is put in to this podcast.  Butter doesn’t melt in the mouths of these two ladies.” – Ravious, Kill Ten Rats

Perhaps “Star Trek Online” faces its biggest challenge with its price tag. You’ve got to buy the game, and then you’ll have to shell out as much as $15 per month in subscription fees to keep playing. – Dirk Lammers, “ Star Trek Online falls short in several areas”

During recording of the No Prisoners, No Mercy show (being edited now) with community managers from Funcom one of the subjects that came up was reviews, and of course the epitome of bad reviews – where the author who penned the article played the beta for 10 minutes and wrote a two word review “It sucks.”  Aside from pointing out how proud his English professor would have been of such a lofty, and well thought out review I was brought to another conclusion. More than once I have penned a private message to the author of a review whose works I otherwise respected and found myself saying “Come on, you know better.”  Then it occurred to me that perhaps they didn’t.

Time and again, as members of the game development industry pass through our doors, the voice they tell us that they hear, the opinions that matter, are those who are actively involved in the community that make up their target market.  As one senior producer opined of professional reviewers, “They may spend one or two levels with our game before they write the review.” 

More the rule, rather than the exception, are those authors whose lack of acquaintance with both the game and mmo market in general shows in their review – and the review by Dirk Lammers is no exception.  The claim Cryptic Studios will face a “challenge” because their prospective customers will have to both buy the game and pay a monthly subscription fee so blatantly screams of a complete lack of knowledge of the MMO gaming market that is like a slap in the face with a dead mackerel – it instantly negates the credibility of the remainder of the review and anything else the author has written on the subject.

Note to Mr. Lammers and anyone else reading these words or considering penning a game review: before faulting a game developer with something you might want to at least find out whether or not it is the industry standard. In other words “look before you leap”.

Mr. Lammer’s insistence that “But the frenzied pace hits the brakes when combat moves to the ground” tells of an author who was not only determined to find fault with the game ahead of time, but tells those who really are acquainted with the work of Cryptic Studios that the author hasn’t kept current with the product being reviewed.  I can only assume that there was a significant lead time between the writing and the publication of the review.

Does the review trouble Cryptic Studios? Well you would have to ask someone like Craig Zinkievich, executive producer for Star Trek Online, that question to find out the “straight skinny”.  Based on the professional developers we have spoken with, chances are they could care less – and doubtless neither will their target market.

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather

(posted for Julie Whitefeather by the webmaster)

 Star Trek Online’ falls short in several areas

That’s a tall order for the game as it stands now, but online games can improve over time.

 By DIRK LAMMERS, Associated Press Writer Dirk Lammers, Associated Press Writer – Tue Feb 23, 7:45 am ET

Two-and-a-half out of four stars.

The “Star Trek” franchise embarks on a bold journey into the massively multiplayer online realm in a game that excels in space combat but falls short in other areas.

“Star Trek Online” (Atari/Cryptic Studios, $50 with $15-per-month subscription fee, for the PC) thrives when multiple ships crisscross through space while exchanging phaser fire and photon torpedoes. The battles look spectacular, and piloting a starship around a planet while dodging enemy fire is both challenging and enjoyable.

But the frenzied pace hits the brakes when combat moves to the ground.

Away missions were a key part of both the original TV series and “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” but you’ll find yourself calling for Scotty to beam you up shortly after landing on your feet.

The first away mission, which acts as a tutorial, has your character beaming over to a damaged Star Fleet vessel to make some repairs and kill a few Borg. It does little to draw you in.

But when your character is given command of a Miranda-class Federation starship (think USS Reliant from “Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan”), things start to look up.

You’re sent out to explore the galaxies with various orders such as beaming a ship’s survivors to your own vessel or destroying various targets.

Maneuvering through 3-D space at impulse power takes some talent, and angling your ship to protect the forward, aft, port and starboard shields while multiple enemies are firing at will is no easy task.

The epic battles stray far from the character-driven original series and the diplomacy-happy “Next Generation,” but they’re a heck of a lot of fun. That said, even they grow repetitive as the adventure continues.

Despite some of these weaknesses, though, “Star Trek Online” offers plenty to please die-hard fans.

The game begins with a robust character creation and customization feature letting players choose to live as a human, Vulcan, Cardassian, liberated Borg or more. You can even create your own alien species.

And inside the closet you’ll find myriad uniform styles spanning the various movies and series installments. You’ll even get to name your character and ship, which really makes you feel like it’s your captain’s chair.

Both the new Spock, Zachary Quinto from the 2009 film, and Leonard Nimoy, who originated the role, generously lend their voices, and the game does a fabulous job sprinkling in subtle and some not-so-subtle episode references throughout.

The game avoids any “Star Trek” timeline issues by setting it far into the future, which returns the Klingons to enemy status. You just can’t beat a good villain.

Perhaps “Star Trek Online” faces its biggest challenge with its price tag. You’ve got to buy the game, and then you’ll have to shell out as much as $15 per month in subscription fees to keep playing.

And it was not long thereafter that I shot them all out the airlock.

Now rather than simply writing an article denigrating crafting in what is one of my favorite games, I will offer a few observations and a solution or two.  But first let’s start with our earlier article which really did denigrate Player versus Player (pvp) in Star Trek Online.

This last weekend I decided to indulge in a bit more abuse…I mean pvp.  As the Feds were lined up, waiting for all five players to log in to the arena, one player said, “I can’t wait to leave the pvp in this tier behind me.”  Now I could have pointed out that simply attaining the rank of captain doesn’t mean the pvp would be any better.  The simplest solution to the unbalanced pvp would be a pvp only buff for the Federation side only.  The main problem being that any time the Federation players engage in pvp they are easy targets for the Klingon players, and the largest culprits, despite what the “my e-peen is bigger than yours” crowd wants desperately to believe, are weak shields compared to Klingon DPS.  The buff would simply be a buff that could be given by a science ship to increase the shield strength (pvp only) that would be active only while in the arena.  This buff would be similar to the flasks (a type of potion for you non-wow players) in World of Warcraft that persist through death of the character.  This would also have the effect of making the player who chooses to fly a Science ship more valuable instead of eliciting the response “O.K. who brought a science ship to a cruiser fight?” So far the experienced of the staff is limited to the first three tiers and the virtual thumb on the scale is still firmly placed on the Klingon side. I heard rumors in the wind (read forums) that the pendulum swings back toward the Feds briefly in Tier 4 and that “corrects” itself in Tier 5.  This being the case (if it is) the buff would only work for the ships that are used in Tiers 1 through 3 – However, the answer still seems to be in balancing the shields and the ability to penetrate them to make the fight not only fair, but last a bit longer.

To craft, or not to craft, that is the question…

There are many players, myself included, who enjoy crafting in games.  Many players, including some of our regular guests on the No Prisoners, No Mercy show, who will quit a game if it doesn’t have good pvp.   It is important to note, at this point, that “good” crafting doesn’t necessarily mean “complicated” crafting.  The crafting system in Vanguard, for me at least, was complex and so much of a pain in the posterior that I couldn’t sit down for a month after I finally quit playing (which was about the same time that Brad McQuaid did a number on the Sigil employees.).

Crafting in STO is just about lifted directly from Champions Online.  Briefly it works like that: Go out and scan for anomalies as you travel through space.   You will then obtain an inventory full of icons that represent data, artifacts and whatnot.  This isn’t where the system fails.

Where the Star Trek Online system fails, and that is not to say it doesn’t function – it does, it’s simply worthless, is the next step.  All the crafting system amounts to is taking an item you already have in hand (say a medium hypo spray) and turn it, along with your collected data, in to a vendor and receive back an item of the next higher grade.  In other words, all you are really doing is going through a length process to obtain items that are easily obtain through other means – such as on the “auction house” or as pvp rewards.

Imitation is not always bad.

Despite the usual hue and cry of “It’s a wow clone” (and in the case of many writers it seems to be the case of they simply can’t think of anything better to write) this is one time where imitation is not only the sincerest form of flattery but a darn good idea.

If Cryptic is going to “take a note” from crafting in another game, it shouldn’t be from their own game – Champions Online.  If you are going to borrow, borrow from someone who has been doing crafting and industry correctly for a LONG time…

Eve Online

When it comes to crafting the folks at CCP do it right. Quite simply there is little that can equal their crafting system.  To begin with, crafting shouldn’t not be something added in as if to say “Oh yes, and maybe we should have crafting” (sort of the way Turbine initially did pvp in Lord of the Rings Online). Crafting should be desirable. There are many people, myself included, who would make it a major occupation.  Viewing crafting this way is beneficial for the developers and the publishers because, while there are many people who will quit a game with bad crafting, there are also many players who will stay in a game just because  it has good crafting, even when other parts of the game irritate the crap out of them (like Eve Online).

More depth

Crafting needs to have depth. It can’t simply be a matter of turn something in to a vendor for a better goody. The crafter should be able to go out and get the raw materials and create something of value in the game. Too often this turns out to be potions/hypo sprays and the like that are simply a few scraps thrown at the table of crafters.   There is an opportunity here that Cryptic can seize.  If they are going to introduce new ships into Star Trek Online there two ways it can, and should, be done.  First, make those ships craftable, and ONLY craftable. They should not be for sale anywhere in the game other than on the auction house created by crafters. Those ships, and their components, should be the top of the line, the best of the best. It should be what players want and long for.  This is also the point at which those ships, incredibly difficult to make in the first place, could be sale for a MODEST sum in the cash shop.  Not for a small fortune as Gpotato is doing, as they busily price themselves out of the market.

And that’s the way it is, on February 22, 2010

The No Prisoners, No Mercy Team

SIDE NOTE:

As a side note, here is one of the many, many spam messages our filter catches:

Hey great blog, I discovered your website when doing some study on some methods to develop my site. I was just wondering which spam software program you employ for comments because I get lots on my blogs.

The answer, of course, is the same spam filter that caught this automatic spam message.  Then there is the recent spam from a website that promised eternal youth in pill form that offered the following:

Thanks for sharing! it is good to encourage people to comment, not just reading. The only reason I writing blog rather than diary is because of the feedback.

At lest its better than the standard “Great blog, I have been looking for a site like this, I couldn’t agree more”…

You have been warned

Now I will continue for those of you who aren’t on the floor.

Say what?

What I mean is this is the point at which most of the forum trolls extol the virtues of “fine whine” (and I don’t mean daddy I want to go to Disney Land).  Ask the typical person who plays on the Klingon side (think horde for all you World of Warcraft players out there) about Federation players who pvp and you will begin to hear how we are all stupid, foolish, unexperienced, and every other denigrating adjective in the book.  The fact of the matter is that I have two graduate degrees and a 126 IQ and I am far from being stupid.  I am also not inexperienced at pvp, having been engaging in pvp in mmos since there were mmos in which to participate in pvp (some time I will tell you of the player who killed me in pvp and upon finding out I was a nun yelled “oh no I killed a nun I’m going to hell”)

At this point I should clarify for those who might not be regular listeners of the No Prisoners No Mercy show that everyone on staff here are fans of Star Trek, Star Trek Online, and Cryptic Studios. We also like the game…alot. In fact I purchased a lifetime subscription and still don’t consider it a waste of money.   In fact because  I care about STO and Cryptic Studios is why I point this all out….

When it comes to “in space” pvp Cryptic Studios not only dropped the ball, it went down into the gutter and dropped into the sewer.

Lets start by taking a look at a typical score for the evening. Note this is Tier 3.  First you will see all the damage done for the blue team on the left.  While the zeros in this case are, no doubt, from players who check “hide” when their turn comes up, this is usually not the only case. There are many times when you will see two or three players doing damage and zeros by the rest of the names.  This is the result of players who have come to embody the famous words “abandon all  hope ye who enter.”  They know, as do most of those interested in pvp on the Federation side, that pvp is no longer a place you go to enjoy yourself.  It is a place where you go for fast leveling and fast medals to get the best gear for your ship.  True there are a few valiant souls who are still stupid enough to put up a fight (my character is one of those with actual damage).

But why the utter hopelessness you might ask yourself?

Lets look at the ebra…I mean epeen…I mean damage chart again.  How nice for us, by the way, that Cryptic has furnished those interested in PvP with the bane of our existence – the damage meter.  Look at the damage done by those still trying on the Federation side (on the left). Now compare that to the damage being done on the Klingon side on the right.  A rough comparison of the ability of Klingons to do enough damage to get through Federation shields would be like someone cutting through a paper bag with a flame thrower.

Even those on the Federation side who care about pvp and care deeply have begun to give up any hope that this aspect of the game will be balanced any time sooner then the turn of the next century.  The executive producer, Craig Zinkievich, told us all he wanted pvp in Star Trek Online to be about tactics and not about a dog fight. 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but since everyone probably knows it anyway, the fight in pvp (at least in space) in Star Trek Online is, for the most part, already decided before the game has begun. But there is another factor at work there other than merely bad pvp for the Federation side – after all, on the Federation side we still have the pve, and belive me, the pve in Star Trek Online is nothing short of Fantastic.

I pity the Klingons

Even though the Klingons can grind my Federation character in to the dirt I pity them.  Why? Because pvp is all they have. Oh sure, you can go out to the “Kahless Expanse” and complete the one pve quest (one, count it, one).  If the pvp in Star Trek Online remains as unbalanced as it is, the Klingon side, and pvp can easily become deserted.   Don’t think so? Ask anyone who has ever played in the PvP arenas in Everquest 2.  Sure they were a novelty at first.  Now the pvp arena’s in EQ2 are completely deserted.

In short, as it sits right now, pvp in space in Star Trek Online is worthless.

And more is the pity is that this is where one of the Strengths of the game should have been. The saddest cut of all, is that it doesn’t need to be this way.  The game mechanics are all there for this to be some of the best space combat pvp on the internet. Eve Online? Yes, I still subscribe. Yes I have done pvp in Eve Online. But just like a frequent guest and I discussed off microphone, when it comes to one on one pvp in Eve Online the outcome  is already decided before the first shot is fired, and as Mr. Zinkievich pointed out, no one wants to lose their ship after taking 80 hours to earn it.

Mind you we aren’t naive enough to say something stupid like “Gee the game needed more work before it was published.”   First, that is asking Cryptic to repeat the most expensive month of development to begin with.  That, and more than likely that request would have gone over with their publisher, Atari, as well as a request, “Pardon me Mr. Publisher? Would you mind if I shoved a porcupine up your ass? I can only hope that there will be time to fix pvp before it becomes a ghost town. Think that can’t happen? Ask Mythic.

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather