Star Trekkin' across the Universe
C'mooooooon. Who doesn't like Star Trek, in its many variations, just a little, or a lot?!
Well, with my geek-wood well and truly raging I thought I'd finally post a few thoughts on the latest MMO - Star Trek Online. I missed the beta of STO at the end of last year (which was a little annoying because I'd paid for a beta key) so had to wait until the official launch in February this year. Yes, it had glitches and bugs like they all do at-launch but I have to honestly say that I was seriously impressed with how much they'd crammed into this from the outset. Admittedly I'm not the biggest Trekkie - far from it - especially standing next to my fella who knows far too many Klingon words than he should do. But I thought OK, he likes Star Trek and I enjoy MMOs to relax so let's give this a go together and see what happens. Well...first clicky clicky is a review of sorts with game details, second clicky clicky is just a few images...
Six months of hilarious fun and many afternoons/evenings misspent sitting in front of our computers side-by-side to be precise! Anyways (yes I heard the yawn at the back), the details. I think it's set a couple of decades after the last Voyager episode and whilst it's based squarely on the TV show's universe, it nods knowingly and expertly to JJ Abrams film in places (i.e. Spok's use of Red Matter, Nero's revenge, etc). The amount of detail and level of depth of the game is pretty staggering. It uses locations, characters, stories from all series as well as using the books (I'm assuming there are dozens of them) as source material. In a genius move, they hired Zachary Quinto (new Spok) to voice the Vulcan charged with teaching you the ropes (he pops up on Earth's space station too) and Leonard Nimoy (old Spok) as the narrator! Every time you enter a new area or complete a major mission arc he breaks the action up with an explanation of the situation or the current war with whichever species you're about to deal with. It's all so cleverly and lovingly put together.
Anyone remember the Guardian of Forever? Approaching DS-9 to dock (nicely reconstructed inside too)
The game currently takes place in the Alpha and Beta quadrants (which means there's still ample room for expansion, bring on the Delta Quadrant I say!) and as you progress in rank you traverse large story arcs facing off against Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians and Borg (in that order). Each of the main enemies' AI is pretty accurate - in battle, the Klingons charge at you, the Cardassians are just sneaky, and the Borg, well in space they're just damn powerful foes and on the ground, they act like they should - f*cking creepy if you ask me. The developers have incorporated their adaptive shielding in an interesting way too... Worth noting that there are many more species you face off against including Gorn, Jem'Hadar, Terrans (from the Mirror Universe), Arkonians, Hirogen, Naussicans, etc, etc.
You obviously start as Ensign with a basic ship with limited capabilities, and like any MMORPG, you progress through the ranks Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain and Admiral (each rank has 10 grades so it's a good, long journey). Character customisation is fantastic - you have most of the standard Starfleet races in there (they add more periodically) or you can create a completely new species. Obviously when you reach the next rank, the biggest (and most exciting) reward is your new ship. At the beginning you have to decide whether to be tactical, engineering or science-based - so similarly the ships are classed Escorts (tactical), Cruisers (engineering) and Science Vessels (duh). There are three variations of each at every rank so you can either choose one of the basic models or mix and match to create something unique - the customisation is pretty impressive too so it's rare to see two exact ships in the game. And of course, half the fun in picking a new ship...is picking it's name.
It goes without saying that the better the ship, the more armed you are, the more abilities you have and the faster you are - but once again ALL of this is widely customisable by adding various devices, different types of shields/deflectors/sensors/weapons, etc. Which brings us onto space battles - GREAT FUN!! They've built solid gameplay in space, and they're truly 360 degree battles. Enemy AI is clever and your ship's controls are pretty intuitive, despite the range of abilities you have at the top levels. Best of all, the battle LOOK awesome - whether you choose phasers, plasma beams, cannons, disruptors, mines....it all looks and sounds just how it should - which in essence is the core strength of the game - it really does make you feel like you're IN Star Trek - which is hugely fun.
Yes you still come across the odd glitch or bug - but the developers are pretty good at addressing them in the patches - which are becoming less and less frequent. A good sign meaning they're ironing out all the wrinkles pretty quickly and focusing on adding new content. Speaking of which they've already released two major updates already.
There's still so much I haven't even touched on - R&D, the economy (which is quickly becoming pretty robust I reckon), the various exploration missions, tours of duty, player vs player tasks, Fleet Actions (all in orgies of space battles and ground missions). The detail in everything is something to be applauded - they've done the Star Trek universe real justice in my book.
So all in all, very impressed with the game, and looking forward to seeing how they grow and adapt it :)
Best of all - it's been something new that JR and I have discovered, share and enjoy together. Granted I'm a little faster than him with picking things up but it's nice to team up and kick some Klingon ass once in a while :)
So here are the pics - a couple of each of my ships and if you look carefully, you'll be able to see JR in his Constitution class ship too.
The USS Rinaldi-B (Lieutenant Commander)
The USS Rinaldi-C (Commander) hated this ship }:-(
The USS Bounty (Captain) - my nod to Voyager, LOVED her!
Current ship, the USS Pegasus (Admiral) - yes I know Garth....!
Out of interest, other than madisonbear, is anyone else on STO?
Right, it appears I've sploshed and gushed my nerdjuice everywhere so I'd better stop.
And seeing as I'm not a HUGE Star Trek fan - it's worrying how much I now know about it :S
Well, with my geek-wood well and truly raging I thought I'd finally post a few thoughts on the latest MMO - Star Trek Online. I missed the beta of STO at the end of last year (which was a little annoying because I'd paid for a beta key) so had to wait until the official launch in February this year. Yes, it had glitches and bugs like they all do at-launch but I have to honestly say that I was seriously impressed with how much they'd crammed into this from the outset. Admittedly I'm not the biggest Trekkie - far from it - especially standing next to my fella who knows far too many Klingon words than he should do. But I thought OK, he likes Star Trek and I enjoy MMOs to relax so let's give this a go together and see what happens. Well...first clicky clicky is a review of sorts with game details, second clicky clicky is just a few images...
Six months of hilarious fun and many afternoons/evenings misspent sitting in front of our computers side-by-side to be precise! Anyways (yes I heard the yawn at the back), the details. I think it's set a couple of decades after the last Voyager episode and whilst it's based squarely on the TV show's universe, it nods knowingly and expertly to JJ Abrams film in places (i.e. Spok's use of Red Matter, Nero's revenge, etc). The amount of detail and level of depth of the game is pretty staggering. It uses locations, characters, stories from all series as well as using the books (I'm assuming there are dozens of them) as source material. In a genius move, they hired Zachary Quinto (new Spok) to voice the Vulcan charged with teaching you the ropes (he pops up on Earth's space station too) and Leonard Nimoy (old Spok) as the narrator! Every time you enter a new area or complete a major mission arc he breaks the action up with an explanation of the situation or the current war with whichever species you're about to deal with. It's all so cleverly and lovingly put together.
Anyone remember the Guardian of Forever? Approaching DS-9 to dock (nicely reconstructed inside too)
The game currently takes place in the Alpha and Beta quadrants (which means there's still ample room for expansion, bring on the Delta Quadrant I say!) and as you progress in rank you traverse large story arcs facing off against Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians and Borg (in that order). Each of the main enemies' AI is pretty accurate - in battle, the Klingons charge at you, the Cardassians are just sneaky, and the Borg, well in space they're just damn powerful foes and on the ground, they act like they should - f*cking creepy if you ask me. The developers have incorporated their adaptive shielding in an interesting way too... Worth noting that there are many more species you face off against including Gorn, Jem'Hadar, Terrans (from the Mirror Universe), Arkonians, Hirogen, Naussicans, etc, etc.
You obviously start as Ensign with a basic ship with limited capabilities, and like any MMORPG, you progress through the ranks Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain and Admiral (each rank has 10 grades so it's a good, long journey). Character customisation is fantastic - you have most of the standard Starfleet races in there (they add more periodically) or you can create a completely new species. Obviously when you reach the next rank, the biggest (and most exciting) reward is your new ship. At the beginning you have to decide whether to be tactical, engineering or science-based - so similarly the ships are classed Escorts (tactical), Cruisers (engineering) and Science Vessels (duh). There are three variations of each at every rank so you can either choose one of the basic models or mix and match to create something unique - the customisation is pretty impressive too so it's rare to see two exact ships in the game. And of course, half the fun in picking a new ship...is picking it's name.
It goes without saying that the better the ship, the more armed you are, the more abilities you have and the faster you are - but once again ALL of this is widely customisable by adding various devices, different types of shields/deflectors/sensors/weapons, etc. Which brings us onto space battles - GREAT FUN!! They've built solid gameplay in space, and they're truly 360 degree battles. Enemy AI is clever and your ship's controls are pretty intuitive, despite the range of abilities you have at the top levels. Best of all, the battle LOOK awesome - whether you choose phasers, plasma beams, cannons, disruptors, mines....it all looks and sounds just how it should - which in essence is the core strength of the game - it really does make you feel like you're IN Star Trek - which is hugely fun.
Yes you still come across the odd glitch or bug - but the developers are pretty good at addressing them in the patches - which are becoming less and less frequent. A good sign meaning they're ironing out all the wrinkles pretty quickly and focusing on adding new content. Speaking of which they've already released two major updates already.
There's still so much I haven't even touched on - R&D, the economy (which is quickly becoming pretty robust I reckon), the various exploration missions, tours of duty, player vs player tasks, Fleet Actions (all in orgies of space battles and ground missions). The detail in everything is something to be applauded - they've done the Star Trek universe real justice in my book.
So all in all, very impressed with the game, and looking forward to seeing how they grow and adapt it :)
Best of all - it's been something new that JR and I have discovered, share and enjoy together. Granted I'm a little faster than him with picking things up but it's nice to team up and kick some Klingon ass once in a while :)
So here are the pics - a couple of each of my ships and if you look carefully, you'll be able to see JR in his Constitution class ship too.
The USS Rinaldi-B (Lieutenant Commander)
The USS Rinaldi-C (Commander) hated this ship }:-(
The USS Bounty (Captain) - my nod to Voyager, LOVED her!
Current ship, the USS Pegasus (Admiral) - yes I know Garth....!
Out of interest, other than madisonbear, is anyone else on STO?
Right, it appears I've sploshed and gushed my nerdjuice everywhere so I'd better stop.
And seeing as I'm not a HUGE Star Trek fan - it's worrying how much I now know about it :S