I really don’t have it in for Cryptic, the designers of Star Trek Online, though it may seem so if you happened to read my impressions of the Champions Online beta last August. Many called me out for being overly hostile, for being too critical of a beta, blah-blah-blah. Folks, I’ve been around forever and I’ve played every MMO ever designed. I can spot a loser from a mile away and no amount of polishing and tweaking can fix fundamental design problems. I pegged Champions Online as a complete loser of a game and the ensuing months have proven me correct.
So it is with a heavy heart that I must slam Star Trek Online, which I have been slogging through for several days now.
First, the obvious: Cryptic is over-extended as a company. Making a solid MMO is a mammoth undertaking, a chore made all the more difficult by an ever-expanding market and increased competition. If you can’t deliver something as good as or better than the competition then you are doomed. When one considers Cryptic is a relatively small company, it’s utterly amazing they opted to take-on Star Trek and Champions Online at the same time. This business decision spelled disaster for both products as neither has received the attention they require.
In terms of Champions Online, Cryptic didn’t face a rabid fan-base full of demands and expectations, so its failure was barely visible to the gaming public. But with Star Trek, Cryptic is messing with a popular brand and its failure to deliver a compelling experience will be far more devastating.
The Star Trek Online graphics engine is stale and runs like crap, much like Champions Online. This can be attributed to a lot of players piling on the servers, which in turn hurts the frame-rate, but still: on a powerful Quad-Core machine there is no excuse for the choppy, unacceptable frame-rate I am experiencing.
Graphics can be optimized and streamlined, so that’s no big deal. The big deal arrives in the form of gameplay, the same area Cryptic dropped the ball in Champions Online.
There is nothing new in Star Trek Online you haven’t seen before and seen done better, especially in a game like EVE Online, a title the designers of STO may have wanted to investigate. Same derivative introductory sequence you played in City of Heroes and Champions, same skill mechanics, same interface, same everything, just decked out in Star Trek aesthetics. Same body, different suit. On the upside, Star Trek Online appears to be more group friendly, but that plus is also a negative for gamers who tend to play solo, which represents the overwhelming majority.
Death has no bearing on anything, so if you and your team are on a space-based mission, everyone can die endless times with no impact on your mission. You can trick yourself into thinking tactics will have some kind of impact on the outcome of a space battle or you can be a realist, cut to the chase, and plow your craft into the enemy, rinse and repeat. Zero sense of accomplishment or purpose. Empty and hollow, two things I did not want in a Star Trek MMO.
Just about every aspect that sucks in Star Trek Online can be attributed to Cryptic’s game-engine, the same engine they incorrectly believe can be used for every game concept. It may save the company a ton of money in development, but the game suffers. You can’t just shoe-horn a new MMO in an old-engine and expect miracles. Then again, perhaps Cryptic’s margin for success is so low in terms of costs that they don’t need a ton of players to turn a profit.
I have a laundry list here of things that suck about Star Trek Online, but then I realized it is pretty much the same list I had from Champions Online, so I’m not even going to bother spelling out the same issues.
Just know this: Star Trek Online is not a good game, nor does it have a high likelihood of ever being great. It is yet one more cookie-cutter experience from Cryptic, a company who once innovated the MMO genre and is now content to function on auto-pilot, seemingly blind, deaf and dumb to past errors of judgment.
I’m not a Trekkie by any stretch of the imagination, so it is possible that hardcore fans of the show will be more forgiving, but I don’t think so. When compared to Trek games of the past, like Starfleet Academy, STO will come up short in every category.
Many wonder why it is World of Warcraft has been so dominant since its launch and no other MMO has been able to take it down. The answer is quite simple: no one is trying. Every attempt is half-hearted or, worse, a direct rip-off of WoW’s style and interface. Cryptic has the talent and ability to deliver something better and it’s depressing to see them once again releasing a pile of junk.
Help me Bioware-Kenobi, you’re my only hope.
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Comments (21)
This by far the best write up of STO and cryptic I read anywhere. You hit the nail on the head.I was hoping that Cryptic would have put more polish in this SiFi game. Put they fail in using their own proprietary engine. Bad choice.Tabula Rasa I wish they would bring that back. at least is was better than STO.
I love how you're reviewing STO based completely off of your experiences in the starting area, during beta. ANY reviewer worth his salt knows that it's neigh impossible to review an mmo in a short stint like that. Concider the state of world of warcraft at launch. it was small, buggy, and un-fun. After a year, it became a much better game. ALL mmos do that. Even AoC is decent now, and we all know how terrible that was at launch. You've lost alot of credibility, and I'll never read your blog again.
Boring show me boobs and I may agree
This is a fair and accurate review, i hate to bring the bad news to all those who were waiting for it that haven't gotten in open beta, but the game sucks.
Well arent we the one who got out of bed the wrong side this morning? Didnt get your leg over? (You are old enough for that arent you and you do know what I mean?).The game can be and is being improved all the time. If it carries on the way it is then the game will become an all time classic.You mention the graphics are crap? You need to look at your machine, you might have some gremlins (tribbles) in there. My system isnt the best on the market but I can run the game without any problems at all.Btw, get back to playing WOW, you t!t.
What a load of crap, you obviously haven't played the game past Ensign. Brining up the kindergarten MMo WOW to compare a real MMO to shows the true extent to your ignorance. I seriously hope this isn't you real job, cause they need to fire you. Why don't you actually try the game before you sentence it to death. Eve on line, really, you compare this game to EVE, there is nothing similar between them except they are in space. How about you actually try the live game instead of beta's, its like my 2 year old telling me she doesn't like a type of food that she has never tried before.
Who are you and why should I care what you think of STO?
Someone who has been writing about video games for over 20 years. The same guy who warned you about Vanguard, Hellgate London, Tabula Rasa, Champions Online and countless other MMOs that ripped you off and failed to deliver. Who are you and why should I care what you think?
I'm no fan of WoW by any stretch of the imagination, but I am curious: why do you consider Star Trek Online a "real" MMO, while you consider WoW a "kindergarten" one? One thing I notice in all the hate mail is no one is bothering to explain why they believe Star Trek Online to be good. This isn't surprising, really. Most of the outrage undoubtedly comes from people who foolishly purchased lifetime subscriptions or feel the need to justify their pre-orders.
So you believe it is okay to push a woefully under-developed game like Age of Conan on the public as long as it is somewhat fixed within two years? It's that kind of attitude from gamers, this acceptance of shit and immediate generation of excuses that ultimately leads to more unfinished, unpolished garbage stinking up store shelves and digital download bandwidth. The more you tolerate it, the more it will happen. You gamers need to get some balls and demand to be treated like consumers, not cos-playing losers who lick up any excrement placed before them.
You need to get with the times and realize that nobody delivers a finished product anymore, especially when it comes to MMOs (Thanks Atari). HOWEVER, instead of being massively pessimistic like you, players who actually care about this game will look to its positives, and analyze its potential. Ship combat is AMAZING. I've had more fun in my few pvp matches in my little ship than I've EVER had in all my years of WoW, EQ, WAR, AOC, etc. Character creation is really interesting, and the bridge officer system is truly unique. There are many people who genuinely enjoy this game for what it is, and the prospect of growth makes us tingle. Isn't that what a game is all about?
btw: there IS a death penalty. permanent crew death in pve. you have to buy crew with merit at a starbase.
I have to say I do not agree with this article. I really enjoy the game! In my opinion it is the best Star Trek game ever made. With Bridge Commander coming in a close second.
I personally think that the commenters here are naive. Whoever says we're not allowed to demand this is just a idiot. WoW had bunch of stuff during launch, and even EVE Online had. Yes they've developed during time, but they had good content during launch too. STO in other hand is quite empty, and as people on the forums have pointed out, maybe its due its being developed by cryptic? I wouldn't go blame ATARI, since ATARI managed to publish a well polished car game, Test Drive Unlimited, which I happen to like alot, since it's the closest game to Forza/GT for PC. Do you people seriously think that cryptic can get things working in two years? Well think again, look at the history.. has cryptic been able to bring you quality game at launch? No? Well too bad, because if this game fails, it will bring shame to not only cryptic, but it will make some gamers very angry (I guess most are already at this point). You don't go fucking over good IPs, unless you're purposely asking to be hated.
I find it even more disgusting that fanboys go as far as defend this piece of shit. I'm telling you what you guys sound like. You sound like those StarGate Worlds fanboys over mmorpg.com http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/242/view/forums/forum/604/General-Discussion.html that go defending game that will not return until good 2 years. I know the case is not the same here with STO, but you sound just as sad as those fan boys.
I do blame ATARI because they are THE ONES BACKING THE GAME. THEY DECIDE WHEN IT COMES OUT. Its simple economics. You are an idiot if you think that the beta will be the same as the final product.
"It's only beta" is not an arguement when the headstart is at door and release is in 1 week. There will be no content in the game during the launch, it's simple cold fact.
I have followed Jacks reviews for awhile and I can say without a doubt hes at least 80% of the time right. I am a huge star trek fan and I would hate for this game to fail but it seems to have been rushed. I did not read one review before the game went live because I did not want to know how beta or alpha was I wanted to know how the game play would be myself. Now that I am reading the reviews everything I am feeling is wrong with the game Jack has already said. I am a LC3 got my new ship and plan to play until I am level capped to give the game a chance. So far the "New Game Feel" lasted till about level 5 when I realized all the quests are the same and the game play gets really boring. Maybe it was Cryptic maybe it was Atari all I know is this game could be more enjoyable with just a little more fluff... I know fluff is not really what we look for in an MMO, well not hard core MMO players, but that's what makes star trek so great was all the fluff and exploration. Not killing people and getting loot but exploring new worlds and seeing new things with every level. Also where is the trade system in this game...Beside the exchange, which btw is horrible to use, I see no exchange or trading going on with merchants, that was a big let down as I thought this would be the first MMO I played that did not rely on a money based system.
Plain and Simple..........STO is a Revamped Starfleet Command and Away tema/Elite force. Nothing new to keep you playing. I was expecvting more RPG to immerse myself in the climb from Cadet flying shuttle craft and Away team based missions leading to my own vessel (MULTIPLAYER VESSELS) this is 2010 a small task to get multiple players in 1 vessel each having a console e.g as SWG has been doing multi-player vessels, with success may I add since 2001. I'm very disapointed at what they Haven't done. I'll enjoy my Revamped Starfleet Command until something better appears.
Dimi...I played the beta and I've played the live. It hasn't changed at all. This game is absolute crap. It has teh same depth as a puddle in your driveway. The only thing good about it is the space combat, and even that is rather lacking.As far as death penalty...there is NONE. You respawn a few meters away from where you died with a ship in brand new condition.On a scale of 1-10 I give STO a 3.
Come on guys , you know this game sucks. Champions Online was the worst. Awesome review......