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[LProtag]

I'll figure it out, probably can't start till next week. Also the price on Amazon just went up from 8 bucks to 14 for the collector's edition, which is kinda annoying. Probably should have just grabbed it at that price.

Edit:

Eh, went ahead and ordered it, still pretty cheap. Going to get to it next week and try it out again.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

So I was planning on doing the Breen episode reruns... but how? I go to the Deferi sector and talk to Ambassador Surah, but all he offers me are the regular daily missions.


EDIT: Ahh, the mission replay in one's ready room.

 

[Walshicus]

So I was planning on doing the Breen episode reruns... but how? I go to the Deferi sector and talk to Ambassador Surah, but all he offers me are the regular daily missions.


EDIT: Ahh, the mission replay in one's ready room.

Are you on now? Because in about ten minutes I'll be running through them too for the rewards. Happy to team up!

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

So you know, Sir Fragula, I dropped out because I started getting connection problems like the rubberbanding pretty bad. Bad enough my messages to you saying as much didn't seem to be going anywhere. Happens sometimes, my connection isn't always the best for online games, and STO is worse than other MMOs I've played in that regard.

 

[Walshicus]

Hah, no problem! If you do want to run through co-op and I'm on, feel free to send me an invite.

 

[firehawk12]

Is there any word on what they'll do now that Atari is getting rid of Cryptic?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

http://trekmovie.com/2011/05/17/ata...eloper-cryptic-promise-continued-sto-support/

A spokesperson for Atari confirmed with TrekMovie that Atari is looking to sell Cryptic and offered this reassurance to STO players:

Everything is business as usual and will be supported by Atari until a buyer is found, including operations of STO.

Neither Cryptic, nor CBS had any official comment on the Atari announcement. However, Cryptic’s Community Manager Wish Stone made the following comment on the official STO forums:

Support for Champions Online and Star Trek Online will be continuing as normal, our staff is working hard on their projects (and the folks from the Champions team deserve an extra cheer for their new stuff by the way) and there are no planned changes to the way any of our games and projects will operate.

 

[Walshicus]

Yeah, will be interesting to see what happens there. STO and Cryptic could definitely do with a better publisher than Atari.

 

[bengraven]

Makes me worry a bit. I don't actually play Cryptic games, but a friend of mine works there. Hope he gets to keep his job.

 

[Walshicus]

Makes me worry a bit. I don't actually play Cryptic games, but a friend of mine works there. Hope he gets to keep his job.

Well, they seem quite bullish. As I say, they've got a tonne of new starters in June so doesn't seem like they'd have done that if things were too bad.

FYI, there are some remastered episodes on the Test shard; the early P'jem mission has been fleshed out with some shuttle sequences on Vulcan and voice work. The Doomsday Machine episode has been completely redone too.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

The game is $3.75 today on Steam. I imagine most people in this thread already have it, but even if so it might be a worthwhile purchase--connect the new game key you get to your current account, and you get the bonuses from that version. The first four of these five things are available for purchase separately in the C-Store.

* Original Star Trek Uniform Set: Three uniforms from the original series (blue, red, yellow).
* Exclusive “KHAAAN!” Emote: An unforgettable moment from the second Star Trek Film. This exclusive emote allows players to relive Kirk’s unforgettable moment of fury, with the timeless cry… “KHAAAN!”
* Exclusive Klingon Blood Wine Toast Emote: Raise a glass like a Klingon! Greet other players with an exclusive Klingon gesture –the blood wine toast.
* Unique Registry Prefix: Give your ship the coveted NX prefix, seen only on a handful of elite Starfleet vessels like the Defiant, 22nd century Enterprise, and Prometheus.
* Unique Ship Item: Automated Defense Battery. This Tactical Module grants any ship a passive 360 arc attack power with a short range.

I've got the Automated Defense Battery. It is pretty weak and short range, but does help get rid of torpedoes coming your way.

 

[Inferno313]

For those still playing...
How has this game gotten better since launch?

I'm just curious, I'm probably gonna be buying it on Steam today, if only to play for the free 30 days. (Those are included, right?)

 

[Walshicus]

Yep, definitely. You'll get to play some much improved content and the look and feel is much better. 30 days might even bring you into the Season 4 release with a heap of engine improvements to ground combat, and the "duty officer" system for non-bridge crew [basically a card game].

 

[Vlodril]

Hey just got this one the steam sale. Should i start or wait for the starfleet academy update for the low levels?

Any eta on that?

 

[Walshicus]

Hey just got this one the steam sale. Should i start or wait for the starfleet academy update for the low levels?

Any eta on that?

If you are in the mood to wait, I'd do so until mid June when Season 4 is pushed live. Starfleet Academy will be present then, but the tutorial revamp is coming a bit later on now.

 

[NihonTiger90]

Bought this game at launch and kind of got tired of it because I'd played the beta and it felt kind of slow.

However, I'm thinking of getting back in for at least another 30 days once my DCUO free time runs out in July. Has the game improved a lot since launch?

 

[Inferno313]

Bought this game at launch and kind of got tired of it because I'd played the beta and it felt kind of slow.

However, I'm thinking of getting back in for at least another 30 days once my DCUO free time runs out in July. Has the game improved a lot since launch?

If you look at the 3 or 4 posts above yours you'd see the answer is yes.

Although you may want to wait until mid June when the ground combat is overhauled.

 

[NihonTiger90]

If you look at the 3 or 4 posts above yours you'd see the answer is yes.

Although you may want to wait until mid June when the ground combat is overhauled.

Haha, reading comprehension fail on my part. Thanks. I'll look into it in a couple weeks, especially since ground combat was one of the things that got dull for me.

 

[Symphonic]

So me and a friend have been playing through a bunch of the missions you get towards the start, and they're extremely repetitive. In space, it's either "kill these dudes, then these dudes, then holy shit these dudes" and on the the ground it's either "take out these squadrons" or "access this computer, then this one, then this one, oh one more", etc.

Does it get less like this as the game goes on? Is it just like this at the beginning or what?

Apart from that, the game was definitely worth the $3.75 we got it for. Not too shabby, just had that one question.

 

[Walshicus]

So me and a friend have been playing through a bunch of the missions you get towards the start, and they're extremely repetitive. In space, it's either "kill these dudes, then these dudes, then holy shit these dudes" and on the the ground it's either "take out these squadrons" or "access this computer, then this one, then this one, oh one more", etc.

Does it get less like this as the game goes on? Is it just like this at the beginning or what?

Apart from that, the game was definitely worth the $3.75 we got it for. Not too shabby, just had that one question.

The launch missions did this. Basically there were a few really cool episodes at launch [i.e. Guardian of Forever] and a lot of dross. Post launch 99% of new missions have been well made; plus some of the "fan-favourite" launch missions have been "remastered" with the latest engine technology.

Lucky for you though, is that it's now perfectly possible to level your character up using nothing but Community Content. For starters I'd recommend the following missions in the Community section:

• Brains Before Bounty
• Conjoined
• Uplift
• The Syndicate Extraction

Conjoined has some pretty cool tricks, while Brains Before Bounty is full of atmosphere. The Syndicate Extraction is a really well made prisoner rescue mission, while Uplift is my own attempt at a classic Trek style story.

 

[NihonTiger90]

The launch missions did this. Basically there were a few really cool episodes at launch [i.e. Guardian of Forever] and a lot of dross. Post launch 99% of new missions have been well made; plus some of the "fan-favourite" launch missions have been "remastered" with the latest engine technology.

Lucky for you though, is that it's now perfectly possible to level your character up using nothing but Community Content. For starters I'd recommend the following missions in the Community section:

• Brains Before Bounty
• Conjoined
• Uplift
• The Syndicate Extraction

Conjoined has some pretty cool tricks, while Brains Before Bounty is full of atmosphere. The Syndicate Extraction is a really well made prisoner rescue mission, while Uplift is my own attempt at a classic Trek style story.

That's excellent Has me more excited for getting back into this game.

 

[Vlodril]

Just did a few missions. Love that the changed the sector space and that they added some transporter and shuttlecraft sequences. Adds to the game. How do you play the community missions? Shouldnt i proceed with the normal ones?

 

[Symphonic]

Will give those community missions a shot, thanks!

 

[Walshicus]

Adds to the game. How do you play the community missions? Shouldnt i proceed with the normal ones?

In the available mission list on the left hand side of the window you should see like "community authored" [forget the exact term]. Click on that and you get the list of highest rated missions back. This is a bit useless just now, as it doesn't take into account number of reviews... so you probably want to manually type in the name of the mission if you know it, or choose "Hot" in the search type. Do this by clicking the downward facing arrow.



As to whether you should stick with the mainline missions... well, that's a valid point. If I were you I'd alternate between the plot missions, the Weekly series episodes [Breen, Devidian, Romulan] and some community content. But just remember that the plot missions are level specific whereas most of the new content auto-adjusts for your level.

 

[Vlodril]

Played one it was quite good. Not much xp though. How do you access the episodes? Is there another tab?

 

[Walshicus]

Played one it was quite good. Not much xp though. How do you access the episodes? Is there another tab?

The Community Content gives most of it's XP through a wrapper mission that should be available from... someone I can't remember in the contacts list. By that I mean you get a "complete 3 UGC missions" mission.


The feature episodes require you to be either rank 6 or 12 - depending on the series.

Breen: Contact Deferi Ambassador on Earth Space Dock or Qo'nos, then travel to the sector block "north" of Cardassian space.
Devidian: Enter the neutral zone [i.e. look for starbase K7] and you will get a new contact called Francis Drake for Fed. Can't remember the Klingon equivalent.
Romulan: Head to Starbase 39 near Romulan space and speak to Admiral T'nae. Klingons get a contact in a room near the High Council.

If you want to replay any of them, then head to your bridge [an option on the downward arrow near your minimap], go to your ready room and use the console on your desk.


Hope that helps!

 

[Vlodril]

Sure does. Thanks alot.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

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.

Waited a while, but at £4 I couldn't resist!

 

[Walshicus]

FYI: Seems that Atari have found a buyer for Cryptic: Perfect World. They're pretty big in China it seems.

http://gamutnews.com/20110531/12089...t-for-the-acquisition-of-cryptic-studios.html

 

[BattleMonkey]

For those still playing...
How has this game gotten better since launch?

I'm just curious, I'm probably gonna be buying it on Steam today, if only to play for the free 30 days. (Those are included, right?)

They added some cool new missions, but really a person can blow through all of them in a day easily. Some improvements and additions in other areas but really not a ton has changed.

The biggest addition really has been the foundry and user generated content.

 

[Kingbrave]

I just started yesterday, got it for cheap from steam. Pretty fun game.

 

[Vlodril]

Playing in the beta and playing now has certainly been different. They did fix some things (sector space is much better without the grid) and user generated mission is whats saving this game so far for me. Interesting stuff. They add alot especially with the use of transporters shuttle's etc.

Now i am going to try the episodes. Waiting to get LT CMDR so i can get the breen one. I got the other no problem but i want to play them in order (not that it will matter probably).

 

[nataku]

FYI: Seems that Atari have found a buyer for Cryptic: Perfect World. They're pretty big in China it seems.

http://gamutnews.com/20110531/12089...t-for-the-acquisition-of-cryptic-studios.html

The chances of STO going F2P just shot up significantly.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

The chances of STO going F2P just shot up significantly.

:HAPPY FACE:

 

[The Technomancer]

The chances of STO going F2P just shot up significantly.

I just hope that that doesn't mean trapping huge huge portions of the content behind microtransactions. I'm fine with some, but if there are ever significant gameplay advantages to things that can only be bought, or missions behind a paywall....ehhhhh

 

[Mr. Luchador]

I just hope that that doesn't mean trapping huge huge portions of the content behind microtransactions. I'm fine with some, but if there are ever significant gameplay advantages to things that can only be bought, or missions behind a paywall....ehhhhh

Not sure how they'd get away with it, as people would just play the Community missions?

 

[BattleMonkey]

Not sure how they'd get away with it, as people would just play the Community missions?

They will likely just restrict large portions of in game material as pay only. I wouldn't be surprised if like half the ships you can choose suddenly are cut in half with the rest having to be paid. Same with most of the costume options.

Champions Online by Cryptic shows how Cryptic will likely charge for most of the extras, but give you the core game. Champions is pretty much completely availble for free, but they just restrict all the customization and options are left as pay features.

They could also potentially do things to restrict community missions, like take away ability to rate others, limit how many you can play a week/month, and other silly things. Can also see them holding off the weekly episode stuff as some kind of premium content packs.

I just hope that that doesn't mean trapping huge huge portions of the content behind microtransactions. I'm fine with some, but if there are ever significant gameplay advantages to things that can only be bought, or missions behind a paywall....ehhhhh

This is how it is with all F2P games. Some are worse than others like the upcoming Conan f2p model which holds back majority of the game, but they have to make people want to give them some money so even STO is going to hold back alot.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

I just hope that that doesn't mean trapping huge huge portions of the content behind microtransactions. I'm fine with some, but if there are ever significant gameplay advantages to things that can only be bought, or missions behind a paywall....ehhhhh

There are some things you can pay to increase from a standard amount now, that I imagine they'd decrease for free players to make them want to spend. For instance, I think you can have 2 characters by default, but pay a few more bucks to permanently increase that number--easy to see that going to 1. Similarly, you can only have a handful of ships simultaneously to start with--maybe that would be decreased to 2, to only fit one regular ship and one shuttle.

They will likely just restrict large portions of in game material as pay only. I wouldn't be surprised if like half the ships you can choose suddenly are cut in half with the rest having to be paid. Same with most of the costume options.

Well, most of the costume options other than the 25th century uniforms are already pay things. But yeah, I could imagine a lot more of the vessels currently buyable in in-game cash moving over to the C-Store. Already there are some that are obtainable both ways, so maybe they'd still let you buy them with credits, but jack up the credit costs and stop giving you a free ship when you reach a new rank.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Speaking of things like those character slots, looks like they're having a sale on additional slots for the next week or so. 50% off regular prices, so it should work out to...

2 character slots: 250 tokens = $3.12
4 character slots: 425 tokens = $5.31

2 bridge officer slots (for a single character): 200 tokens = $2.50

2 ship slots (for a single character): 200 tokens = $2.50

2 costume slots (for each of your characters): 200 tokens = $2.50

 

[Walshicus]

I've still got 240 points from a survey they ran about a month after launch... haven't spent them yet!

 

[Mr. Luchador]

Man, I forgot how much fun this game was! Only 'level 4' atm, but still enjoying it. Hope it goes f2p, I'd happily buy the extra uniforms and that.

 

[The Technomancer]

Okay, I think I'm going to get back into this game this weekend, and this time I really mean it. Reactivating my account, rolling a whole new captain and crew.

 

[Mr. Luchador]

Is GAF Fleet still about?

 

[The Technomancer]

Fuck, this bullshit again. Even though I have sufficient funds in my PayPal account, the Cryptic site won't let me subscribe unless I link PayPal to either my credit or debit card, which there's no way in hell I'm doing.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Any word on next big update or season 4? Is that when the new ground combat update is coming? Been thinking of jumping back in to play with the Foundry and see what others are coming up with, got sick of RIFT pretty quick and I'm afraid of getting back into EVE as it will try to consume my life.

 

[The Technomancer]

So yeah, after having put a few hours into the game, two things that strike me:
1.)I'd forgotten how janky and unpolished it feels in places.
2.)I'd forgotten how much of an obvious labor of love it was. The sheer....trek-ness of it, from the serious to the downright cheesy, is just wonderful.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Any word on next big update or season 4? Is that when the new ground combat update is coming?

I don't pay extremely close attention to the reports of upcoming changes, but yeah, new ground combat is supposed to come with season 4. Not sure how soon they intend to roll that out, but it sounds like they'll be putting it on the test server pretty soon.

 

[Walshicus]

Any word on next big update or season 4? Is that when the new ground combat update is coming? Been thinking of jumping back in to play with the Foundry and see what others are coming up with, got sick of RIFT pretty quick and I'm afraid of getting back into EVE as it will try to consume my life.

July 7th is the target. It was put up on the Test server on Saturday but quickly pulled due to a bug. Might be back up today.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Well resubbed. The long monotonous missions are still a pain in the ass in this game but it is somewhat addicting and unique. I do hope the combat rebalance and new ground stuff does speed things up.

But have been playing the foundry stuff and really enjoying lot of the unique stuff people are doing.... some really creative missions being developed and really like how the foundry missions tie into the game world and are not just some instance that you jump into, they are actual destinations you have to go to on your map and such so they integrate with the game nicely.

 

[NihonTiger90]

Thinking about resubbing ahead of Season 4. Blame the Great Star Trek Netflix Watch going on in OT, lol.