Ones at the end are new. And yes, Hooray for Cardassians!

for the love of god! you people and "I paid for beta access". We paid for a life time sub or a 6 month sub. The CB access was part of the package, not THE package. there was also no statement that we would get in before others that fit their desired early test profile.

And, if you put that kind of money just to get into CB, your a nimrod. Really, who in their right mind would pay that much for such a thing?

I am not complaining, rather I think it is funny to see the forums awash with them. It seems to interject into all the threads. Although, it is lessening a bit this week with Blood Moon out.

The sad thing is that those who "bought" CB access and are complaining about not getting in right away will probably not actually test as much as they will complain about the game not being finished. In that I actually wish Cryptic had not attached CB to the premium subs.

Angel, I hear you there. Some sap thinks his idea to utilize beta spots in contests and promotions for paid transactions was a great idea. I think I read that they gave away a few hundred more beta spots this week in another contest.

It seems to me that beta is for testing. It would make way more sense to set aside a few weeks or even a month or more to a "preview" period where those giveaways have access. Sort of like saying, "Here, play the game for free!"

Plus, like every MMO that has major game changing patches the first few weeks of release, then that would be happening inside a preview weekend and not the final paid game.

I believe beta testers should be picked on the criteria of how well they will test the game, either through equipment testing, available schedule, or even an online interview test. Definitely not a contest or, worse, a bonus in a offer for sale.

My only complaint is that I think that people who did pay for the access, even if it is just a "perk", are not getting equal returns. By that I mean everyone paid the same amount, yet some people are going to get more access time. Because it was money transaction, I feel that sets the bar higher on treating everyone more equal. It isn't like movies let some of their paying ticket holders into the movie after others. Even movies that are screeners - if you have a ticket you can at least get in line to see the movie.

Messed up. I hope STO does well - but I feel the marketing department of Cryptic should come up with a new strategy.

I rarely play the noob card, but seriously, what kind of MMO amateur pays for a life time sub before there's even gameplay footage available?

It's one thing if you just want to be supportive of the game, but your sense of entitlement for some standard of quality is incredibly naive.

As someone said, you bought a subscription, not beta access. Beta access is an additional gift, so even if you only get access to the last hour of beta, you can't really complain.

About the other thing, I was admittedly quick to judge.

From my personal experience with MMOs, you can NEVER know what you are going to get until you play the thing.

The Brad McQuaids and Paul Barnetts of the development world will tell potential customers whatever they want to hear, no matter how preposterous (I'll never forget Barnett's "WAR is like led zepplin and sex" comments... what the hell...) to get them desperate to play. I think we've all had the "omg this is gonna be the most awesome game ever and waiting to play it is unbearable!"-feeling, and I think a lot of us have been ultimately disappointed when we find that the game doesn't live up to the hype.

Buying into hype (literally) is a huge gamble in MMOs. Well, not HUGE in terms of money invested, but, again just from my experience, the more you invest in anticipating awesomeness, the more disappointed and (usually) angry you will be when it dawns on you you are not playing the game you were promised.

But it's your life and your money and I sincerely hope this game turns out well but considering the market in recent years, I can't help but be a cynic.