Will Star Trek Online be ready for its launch?

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 12th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, New titles, Opinion, Star Trek Online

It's no secret that a lot of people in the MMO blogosphere are excited about Star Trek Online, considering that it's more or less a built-in home run from many of the same people who play MMOs. But there are certainly questions to be asked about any MMO due out soon, especially one with three more months before it hits launch day. Bio Break asks the question in simplest terms: will the game really be all set for a February release?

As Syp mentions, the game's videos and screenshots have pushed combat heavily in a series renowned for protagonists talking through their problems instead of shooting first. With the currently allotted time for beta, if something major does crop up, there's not much to be done to fix it in the short span of time without resorting to a launch day patch. There's a definite question of readiness when Champions Online had a launch that was somewhat stormy, and it certainly did some damage to Cryptic in the eyes of a lot of players. That doesn't mean that Star Trek Online won't be excellent, of course, but it does mean a healthy does of skepticism might be in order.

Tags: beta, betas, bio-break, cryptic, cryptic-studios, launches, new-titles, opinion, star-trek-online, sto, syp

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Bryan said on 11:17AM 11-12-2009

I think this time might be different as Star Trek is using the engine Champions Online uses, thereby eliminating a good portion of testing and coding needing to be done, in turn speeding up the development process.

Instead of beta testing for a few months and the engine being fixed etc, they can spend all that extra time on content which is a good thing. The real question is whether Cryptic is truly going to be able to catch the Star Trek feel and not just give us a combat only mmo. That's what I want to know. Guess I'll find out in February.

JP said on 11:19AM 11-12-2009

I think the words "overly ambitious" are applicable

What was it that Scott Jennings said in his post on MMORPG.com? "Fast, Good, Cheap. Pick two". I have no knowledge about the 'cheap' part. I'm not allowed to speak about the 'good' part, but it's certainly being done fast, isn't it.

That said, I can count on zero fingers the fast games that have been good though, can't I?

Loopy Garou said on 1:16PM 11-12-2009

I can't decide whether Cryptic has too much ambition or too little. They seem to take on projects that could be amazing if developed with lots of resources and vision. Yet they seem content to quickly produce very mediocre games on small budgets that will inevitably have low (but perhaps stable) subscription numbers. Seems like they take on projects that require more ambition than they really have....

Halldorr said on 11:43AM 11-12-2009

Well, like Bryan said, their development time was cut drastically due to using an established engine they used for Champions.

torak said on 11:48AM 11-12-2009

IMHO, like any MMO if you pre-order or join it at launch, you will regret it. Wait a month and read the reviews...

That's just me, so far I haven't been wrong.

In all honesty I say wait six months for any new MMO.

Firebreak said on 11:59AM 11-12-2009

I have to agree launch day or even week is always a mess, I would wait at least a month before buying a MMO but I think that 6 months is a good call too.

eyeball2452 said on 11:48AM 11-12-2009

I have never seen an MMO that's ready to go on day 1. This either happens due to high expectations or a better product on the market. I wouldn't buy an MMO on day 1, but that's not to say that others shouldn't if they feel confident in supporting the development team. However, I find a problem with buying a piece of software that is flawed or incomplete.

As for STO ... I loved CoH, but the main developers of the game stayed with NCSoft and formed a new studio, Paragon. Therefore, Cryptic really has to rebuild their brand and I wouldn't consider CO a very good start. Maybe STO will turn out better. The previews look awesome, but you never really know until you get to play the closed or open beta.

Super Healer said on 11:57AM 11-12-2009

The game was announced in July 2008 by Cryptic and was probably in development way before then (disregarding the previousl developers work) so its hardly been rushed. No one really knows if it will be "ready" until February and I think its a bit unfair to judge it by previous games standards.

That said, I just hope the beta testers out there actually do what they are supposed to do and GIVE FEEDBACK to the developers about problems and bugs, so then it might actually be ready on release.

I think too many beta testers are only there to get a preview of the game before anyone else then complain that it isn't good enough and stop playing, rather than doing their job which is to help out the devs!

Mavicz said on 12:22PM 11-12-2009

I COMPLETELY agree with you. I have become completely disenchanted with the MMO community, and the moronic mindset that has come to open, and closed beta's

No one is willing to be a part of the process anymore. People just log in. Say WoW is better, and leave after downing the game completely to all their peers.

Loopy Garou said on 12:50PM 11-12-2009

Lots of Champions beta testers gave amazing feedback that could have helped make Champions a much better game if Cryptic had the time/resources/vision to listen to and implement the feedback. Sadly, that didn't happen. I wouldn't be so quick to blame the beta testers.

Rambie said on 12:57PM 11-12-2009

I also agree, I think too many people just cynical about any new MMO. They hold it up against established MMOs that have gone through many patches and upgrades. No MMO at launch is perfect some are worse than others, not even the top-dog WOW. Does anyone else remember it's growing pains?

I too am disappointed that some features are not going to be in STO: Captian's quarters/ready room, Klingon starting areas, and others. Hopefully some of them can be added later. I'm not in the beta and I didn't buy a CO subscription.

Sure I've been burned before by launching MMOs but I hope that STO is good at launch but there seems more cynical/bitter people every MMO launch.

Ironraptor said on 1:40PM 11-12-2009

I would love to give feedback, but 2 hours a day and only twice a week when iam not home or or have other plans kind of makes it hard to provide usefull feedback.

Minos said on 12:19PM 11-12-2009

Set phasers to phail!

Seffrid said on 12:29PM 11-12-2009

Most experienced beta testers will tell you that the problem isn't getting them to provide feedback, it's getting the developers to act on that feedback! Most MMOs are full of bugs a year or two after launch that were reported in beta and never dealt with.

Testers shouldn't regard a beta as just a free preview, and developers shouldn't regard it as just a stress test for the servers!

I hope STO is a good game and that it is launched when it's ready to be, be it February or whenever. If not, as the new sci-fi kid on the block it runs the risk of being buried by SWG:TOR - assuming, of course, that Bioware don't themselves mess up on that one! I certainly think 99.9% of gamers would put Bioware's reputation for doing things well far ahead of Cryptic's!

LaughingTarget said on 12:36PM 11-12-2009

Since most of the utopian themes of the original series have been mostly unwound by this point in the franchise, complaining about the spirit of Trek not apparent in the videos is a little strange. What spirit? Original series softcore porn and less than veiled promotion of communism? The balanced aspect of TNG between fighting and diplomacy? The more combat push of most of the movies (reboot included) and most of the last three seasons of DS9? Which spirit are we talking about?

For me, I won't pay up front for a MMO. I'll hold my decision until after either getting into the testing phase or a free trial.

The Platypus said on 1:35PM 11-12-2009

What you said, Laughing Target. Much has been made of this nebulous concept called "the spirit of Trek," and how this game and the recent movie don't live up to it because of all the combat. But I've been watching Trek since the 1970s and there has always been plenty of talk about "phasers" and "photon torpedoes" - sure, if they could talk their way out if it, they would. But combat was plenty prevalent in the original series -- and really, how well would an MMO do if it focused primarily on calmly discussing one's differences with one's enemy?

The story is that there's a war on. That's the story. There used to be a peace, and now there isn't. I buy it. Klingons are Klingons. What's the problem?

Nostranonymous said on 12:46PM 11-12-2009

player driven expanding universe is key to long term subscriptions.Cryptic should take advantage of its strongest asset,i.e. the character creation system;and apply that to the random generation of content as players explore new sectors. If they could somehow blend Eve with Spore using the CO toolset and allow the trekkies an enviroment conducive to rp then they might have a better chance at retaining and growing populations.

Jester said on 12:47PM 11-12-2009

For those who think that b/c they're using the same engine as Champions will allow the game to go much more quickly please remember, the engine may be the same but the combat's very different. You have not only ground combat but space combat as well, they're two totally different methodologies and neither one will necessarily be the same as Champions combat system in anyway.

And for those who say "Well no MMO is perfect at launch" that's true but its also true that Champions has had one of the worst launches in the last 4 years of all the major titles that have come out. Even Tabula Rasa's launch wasn't as rocky as Champions was.

If Cryptic uses the same testing theories as they did with Champions, STO will launch in no better shape or probably worse shape than Champions did since the game is going to be more complicated by virtue of having ground and space combat alone.

Star Trek is a very tough property to cultivate in a game form, very few have ever had success. An MMO is the largest challenge for the IP and this short of a beta test will lead to nothing but disaster.

devilsei said on 9:24PM 11-14-2009

"You have not only ground combat but space combat as well, they're two totally different methodologies and neither one will necessarily be the same as Champions combat system in anyway."

True, but remember that the Ship Combat is nothing special, they've restricted it to two dimensions (if my memory serves me right at least), so really its just ground combat with ships instead of the actual character, no fancy zooming above and behinds unless its a skill or anythin like that.

Brian! said on 1:30PM 11-12-2009

I don't think that the engine is the biggest hurdle in MMO development. In fact, there are plenty of software packages one can license to handle client/server code in an MMO. Look at the new Star Wars, Bioware even licensed HeroEngine for their game to give it a big jump start.

What I think STO lacks is solid testing. Cryptic isn't horrible about listening to their playerbase, but they are not that great either. The Champion Developer's egos and lack of solid play-testing time lead to a product that needed major fixes after launch. They actually said they didn't know because they needed the data from having all the players going - yet why did they make their beta 3-4 hours twice a week for months? They could have gotten that data ages before launch.

My confidence in Cryptic is 4/10 now. I think that STO will look nice and I feel, like Champions, it will start off pretty fun and cool. I am worried, like CO, it will lack depth beyond blowing things up in a very repetitive fashion. I worry it will be instance happy like Chapions (maybe even more so) creating more and more of a feeling that you are playing a single player game.

The big problem with massive single player games isn't that the game won't be fun, but the development time to make it a MMO could have been spent making a much better single player game. Take Dragon Age. Awesome game. The reason I love MMOs is because I love interacting with thousands of players. I love team-based play. Same reason I am so excited for Left for Dead 2 - fun team play!

STO = Rocky start with initally fun gameplay. A month later people will be reporting that the end game lacks and the game feels like it lacks depth. It will end up a fizzle with near-death blows given by the WoW expansion and Star Wars (BioWare, so far, looks to be doing it right).