Captain's Log: Six months of Star Trek Online
by Ryan Greene 
Jul 29th 2010 at 3:00PM
Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Captain's Log
Can you believe Cryptic Studios' STO went live half a year ago? This Monday marks the big anniversary, and it sure has been a bumpy ride getting here. Awash in new content, and occasionally mired in controversy, STO is older and wiser now. So let's scoop up the sands of time with our beach pail of reminiscence, as we fondly recall the past six months of STO.
Hello, worlds!
After a whirlwind development, Cryptic released STO on February 2nd, 2010. Players and Star Trek fans received the game with roughly equal parts rejoicing and weeping. The developers at Cryptic had gotten a lot right. Blasting Klingon (or Federation) scum in starship combat was joyous. The final frontier looked glorious. And the abundant fan service, whether recalling the original series or more recent fare, felt wondrous.
Unfortunately, players and onlookers alike soon noticed that STO suffered from some glaring deficiencies. Most missions consisted of shooting enemies in asteroid field after asteroid field. Exploration and diplomacy were rare and meaningless. Crafting was weak and uninspired.
And the Klingon Empire was a mere shadow of its supposedly glorious self. Even as developers promised more factions to come, the Klingon faction had been saddled with PvP-only gameplay and severely limited starship options. Enter Season 1
In hindsight, STO's release sounds rougher than it seemed at the time, at least to me. Despite the flaws, the game was stable and enjoyable. And the addition in early March of the game's first raid episode, The Infected, started opening up the endgame a little bit. But any way you sliced it, content was pretty thin.
Then Cryptic released Season 1, the game's first major injection of content, and things really got poppin'. Season 1 hit live servers in late March, bringing with it a bevy of improvements, including respecs, new uniform options, PvP interface upgrades, new fleet actions and some PvE content for Klingons.
More importantly, the speedy introduction of Season 1 showed that the developers could back up their promises. Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich had gushed about big content additions right from the start, and Cryptic's people clearly meant to deliver. In just a few months, STO had expanded with new missions, updated crafting and a host of other features.
What's new
Speaking of minty-fresh content, let's take a quick peek at a few of the features the developers have rolled out over the past six months. Of course, any such list absolutely must include the epic, occasionally delayed Season 2 patch, Ancient Enemies, which finally went live this week!
- New executive producer -- The sudden departure in July of STO head honcho Craig Zinkievich took the galaxy by surprise. I didn't see it coming, and as far as I know, we still have no serious explanation for it. But Daniel Stahl, formerly a producer on STO and now the boss, has the game well in hand. Stahl's promotion brought with it a renewed focus on improving the existing game and an indefinite (and extremely wise) hold on the development of additional factions.
- New level cap -- With its introduction this week, Season 2 lifts the level cap from 45 to 51, allowing players to reach the rank of vice admiral. Considering the developers have used admiral, rear admiral and now vice admiral, I wonder how many more admirals they can come up with before having to invent new naval titles. Arch Captain? Supreme Captocrat?
- New mission types -- The developers have done a fine job of updating and expanding the quests in STO, having introduced special task force missions, diplomacy missions, weekly missions and more since launch.
- Crafting changes -- In May, Cryptic overhauled Memory Alpha and the sorry excuse for crafting with which the game had launched. Now dubbed Research and Development, the system for making kits, weapons and consoles offers a genuine sense of progression, though it's still not one of STO's more exemplary features.
- Difficulty settings -- Cryptic's introduction of advanced and elite modes to STO was one of the smartest things it's done in the past six months. No longer is the game (always) facerollably easy -- I lose fights quite often now, really -- and the greater risks bring greater rewards.
- Ship interiors -- Players have clamored for this for a long time, and the folks at Cryptic actually deliver in Season 2! On the Tribble test-server event over the weekend, I got to stroll about hallways, a lounge (sans bartender, strangely), engineering and my very own quarters. I even swung by sick bay for my six-month checkup, too!
STO has come a long way, blossoming from a fun, thin game into a funner, fuller MMO. Nevertheless, certain areas definitely still need some attention.
- Ground combat -- It always amazes me when I encounter someone who enjoys the non-starship portions of STO, because I find ground combat so gruelingly painful. The developers have done a fabulous job overhauling certain systems, such as commodities missions and Memory Alpha, so I can only wait and hope this one's next.
- Klingons -- Season 2 introduces some nice PvE content for Klingons, but the faction still lags wayyy behind the Federation. Stahl's emphasis on improving current factions over adding new ones is exactly what we need, but I don't want to wait another six months before the Klingon Empire feels like more than a hastily conceived afterthought.
With guides, interviews and more, we wear our love for STO on our sleeves. Please enjoy Massively's wealth of STO knowledge, and be sure to read Captain's Log every Thursday!
- Massively's STO launch day roundup
- Community guide to STO
- World of Warcraft player's guide to STO
- Beginner's guide to STO, parts one and two
- Three handy guides to STO ground combat
- Federation guide to choosing your first starship
- Guide to the Klingon tutorial
- Massively's guide to the character traits of STO
- Guide to Memory Alpha and crafting
- Musings on the many controversies surrounding STO
I know it's a horrible cliché, but STO has a very bright future. Sure, the naysayers love to say nay, but the folks at Cryptic keep moving right along. Seasons 1 and 2 have changed the game's landscape dramatically in the six months since STO went live, and I expect much the same from Cryptic in the next six months.
After today's release of Season 2, I have absolutely no idea what comes next for STO. But I sure look forward to finding out!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Alluvian_Est-Endrati said on 3:31PM 7-29-2010
It would be nice to see more Klingon content on the horizon. While perhaps a bit much to ask for, this faction practically demands its own story-driven introduction on par with the Federation one. I do rather like the variation thus far on Star Clusters and I would definitely like to see more of the same: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate!
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Liltawen said on 6:01PM 7-29-2010
I would too ( and Orion diplomacy missions!). 6 isn't nearly enough. But the problem is Star Trek really seems to have some really furious IP dragons to get past ( both at CBS and Trekkie fandom); and there just haven't been that many 'Klingon' TV episodes/content.
MMOs never have 'enough' content when they launch-what else is new? It's coming along.
Alluvian_Est-Endrati said on 3:35PM 7-29-2010
It would be nice to see a bit more Klingon content on the horizon. Their faction really deserves to have a great introductory quest-line & story to be on par with that of the Federation. I definitely like what has been done with the star clusters thus far for them and would like to see more 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate!) PvE content like this for them down the road.
A shame the Romulan faction (and other factions in general) has been postponed. Hopefully this does not turn into a situation like the 4 other capital cities from WAR such that it will never see the light of day.
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InfamousBrad said on 3:35PM 7-29-2010
"STO's release sounds rougher than it seemed at the time, at least to me. Despite the flaws, the game was stable and enjoyable."
Here's the part that almost nobody seems to get:
No matter how long STO had stayed in development, roughly the same percentage of Star Trek fans were going to be disappointed in it. No MMO that can plausibly be built with today's technology, even if you spent half a decade and half a billion dollars on it, that could live up to the MMO that only exists in their heads. No matter how long Cryptic kept it in-house and kept working on it, there were going to be an awful lot of people who said, "it doesn't have (fill in the blank)? I'm out of here!" No matter how long Cryptic kept it in-house and kept working on it, any massively multiplayer game was going to draw a certain number of people who just didn't feel "special" enough because they can't be the one coolest person in the whole universe, because everybody else gets the same stuff they get. No matter how long Cryptic kept it in-house and kept working on it, some people were going to blow through it all in a weekend and then complain "that's all there is? I'm out of here!"
/Cryptic had nothing to gain by not shipping it when they did./
Instead, they concentrated their development resources, from the very beginning on delivering a game that was fun to play, however little of it there was, and shipping that game on time and within budget. Doing that meant that two years from now, which seems to be how long some people wish they'd kept working on it, it'll still be as close to the game that exists only in people's heads as it's possible to be ... only Cryptic will have the extra 24 months' worth of income to have invested in it, and thus they won't be laying off 70% of their development staff (like every other MMO outside of CCP and Jagex and Blizzard has had to).
People who focus on "how much" gameplay there is don't understand games. Tetris had only five "attacks" and the only difference between levels was how fast "enemies" came at you. People played the heck out of it, and still do. What matters is whether or not the game is any fun.
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THAC0 said on 3:56PM 7-29-2010
I'm glad at least someone else gets it! :D
Graill said on 4:15PM 7-29-2010
This is really poorly thought out.
"Here's the part that almost nobody seems to get:
No matter how long STO had stayed in development, roughly the same percentage of Star Trek fans were going to be disappointed in it."
You really believe that? Simply Amazing, while your opinion is as valid as mine......(blink, smile) i am stupified that you actually typed that piece. The entire argument of tech and time and "people dont understand" really?
I have stated on many occasions i have worked at RTI in a military capacity, i KNOW what devs do, what they are capable of and exactly how lazy they are, even the very high paid ones. If you arent breathing down their neck and shoving QDR's down their throats, they will do the least work. Your argument simply makes no sense with its content verse the final STO release and the massive updates constantly, coupled with an over whelming negative reaction from subbers.
The bottom line is they knew they were gambling in releasing a Trek MMO in this state, unfinished, bugridden, and not remotely in keeping with the trek universe. hell they even skill tree choices in the wrong ship cloumns to this day. I have a friend that beats his head on the wall for that lifetime sub, yet he still plays, i ask why..........then i read about people like you Brad, its hope isnt it? That keeps you folks going. Good luck on that, i really wish you well on your....trek. (smile)
Angel said on 8:48PM 7-29-2010
I've been expressing this reality since closed beta. This should be a kind of common wisdom in the MMORPG player community. But, as it is with all things that make sense and are proven through history this particular reality is viewed as being wrong because it is right. It is the difference between faith and fact. Brad is speaking of fact.
Pan said on 5:01AM 7-30-2010
That was 1 big nonsensical arguement.
Bryan said on 3:38PM 7-29-2010
All of those fixes/additions still did not change the core game, hence why it will always be a failure. I don't want to be a naysayer, I love Trek, but this is not Trek. This is pirates of the burning sea in space. It's a mockery and should have been renamed Sun Trek or something, since it is reminiscent of a cheap knockoff of the original IP. Cryptic, and I NEVER do this to game companies, is on my list of 1 of "never buy" companies.
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THAC0 said on 5:16PM 7-29-2010
what should it have been like?
mwilliams said on 3:52PM 7-29-2010
InfamousBrad, you are right on with this one. I think most companies that take on an existing IP like Star Trek are always in for a rough ride from the beginning. There are so many expectations from the fans that now company could possibly meet them all.
I play STO and like it alot. Yes there are things that need to be changed, but I can say that about any game I have tried. With Stahl as EP now, I think they will head in the right direction.
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Full Frontal Gamer said on 6:33PM 7-30-2010
If that is the case, then what about Bioware and Knights Of the Old Republic?
Graill said on 4:02PM 7-29-2010
I celebrated also, but much sooner, somewhere after 60 hours and numerous unanswered tickets.
My parting gift was 1 of every type of tribble left in my bank (yes, 1 of each) and 30 cases of saurian brandy...uncorked, i left the latch to my bank unlocked........
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Mike said on 4:23PM 7-29-2010
Brad, I agree with you, but have to disagree on a few points... you're assessment of the different types of players is accurate BUT I do think if Cryptic had held off the one or two months until they had what Season 1 had, then I don't think there would've been as many "buy the box and then don't sub" people, like myself. There would've been a lot more subs and a lot more income.
The game couldn't hold me because it was too repetitive (for being random, I wish it had something more like 10 or 20 different types of things going on in the random generator then, if I didn't see a certain 1 of them for a few days or a week, I'd be definitely happy considering it random... but with the 4 things they had, (blow guys up in space; blow guys up in space, visit a planet; visit a planet, kill guys; visit a planet, collect things) which included the same things, it wasn't random at all. They couldn't pull from the vast library that IS Star Trek and pull more then that? Really?
If at launch they had this, and the exploration didn't feel as random, I'd still be playing. Now, for me to come back, not only does STO have to have more around to do, they have to convince me it won't be another round of the same random crap, thus making it even more difficult for me to pull out my credit card again.
I think if they just spent an extra few months (months, not years) building up more random content, starting with at least the one end-game content, it would've felt a lot more like Star Trek abd they would've made a LOT more from sub fees, and profits would been greater overall. There would still be the dissenters, of course, but they would've been much better off. I feel I will definitely come back, its just a question of when...
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THAC0 said on 4:47PM 7-29-2010
I like STO and I play it! Go ahead and down vote me for this LOL. Haters...
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Samael said on 6:36PM 7-29-2010
People defending the filth that is Cryptic. That is funny to see.
For the people that says that using an existing IP such as Star Trek is crippling them. Come talk to me next year when BioWare launches SWTOR. I will assure you right now and bet whatever you want me to bet that SW:ToR will be a much much much better recieved game than STO was, simply because BW knows what they are doing, and knows that the way to make long term money is to keep the customers happy.
The failure that is STO has nothing to do with it being an established and loved IP, it has everything to do with the fact that Cryptic is an incompetent developer. I do not understand why people keep defending such a sorry excuse for a game developer, I think it is lack of knowledge or holding on to hope that a gaming company just cannot be this callous and this incompetent.
They will add things that should have been at launch and then act like they are doing their customers a favor by not charging for said content. This type of attitude gets them no where.
I never wish ill on anyone or anything. But I seriously would like to see Cryptic fail completely and utterly to the point where they have no customers left and become the butt of every joke in this industry. So that every other company out there looks at them and goes "Lets see what they did, and never go that route."
If and when this game and CO goes F2P, if they can get away with it, they will find a way to screw over their LT subs.
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Deadalon said on 6:57PM 7-29-2010
Cant say much about STO other than I tried the Trial - and desided that the core of the game was not what I would play in MY Star Trek world. Alot of the game is flawed to the core and nothing will be able to fix it.
Cryptic got it all wrong with this title.
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Jaiyeson said on 7:52PM 7-29-2010
For all the people defending cryptic by saying the game that star trek fans would want cannot be done. I point over to bioware.
Why wouldnt cryptic focus on the social aspects that make up star trek. Go light on the ship combat and even lighter on the ground combat and HEAVY on the storyline and diplomacy. I would even say take ground combat out completely and wait for an exspansion before that becomes finalized etc etc. I mean there are so many options they could have taken to make this game good... or a clasic even.
I wanted to love you star trek online... Instead I walked away feeling like I just played a game that had all the limitations put on it of the playstation 2 system.
In addition, I would gamble in saying that the majority of people who go to gaming blogs/ game review sites do not make up the majority of MMO players etc. While the bad reviews and negative player feedback hurt the game I truly do believe it crippled itself.
lol just a scenario:
Billy: "Oh boy the new star trek game!!"
48 hours later
Billy "::yawn:: I dont understand... so if I target and enemy ships subsytems I still have to kill the entire crew and blow their ship up? There has to be at least 2,000 people on that romulan vessel they cant even fire back and their engines are offline!! Not only is this not star trek... Its not even a very good game.. I am already doing the same thing over and over and over... Maybe I will make it to the end of the month but I am not subbing"
Cryptic was happy they made an MMO in 2 years, they bragged about it even. If you are paying for a sub and are not happy with this game please unsub and play a diffrent game. Our wallets are the only thing that can do the talking to companies like cryptic.
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Faryon said on 11:35PM 7-29-2010
Recently resubbed and find the space portion of the game to be enjoyable, but a bit repetetive. I completely agree that the ground combat needs work.. Recently I have begun to just let my away team handle all the fighting when soloing; all I do is tell them which target to attack and then drop som fabrications. This has made ground combat almost bearable, but I would really like to see big changes made to it as soon as possible.
I'm not really a big Star Trek fan, mostly because I feel the series took themselves way too serious and because I feel the Roddenberry vision of the future is boring, so this game actually appeals to me because of the high amount of (space) combat and some cool scenarios. I know many Trek fans feels that Cryptic slaughtered the IP, but if you step back and think about it for a bit they really couldn't have made the game much differently without spending several more years in development and hiring an army of writers to write, imo boring, non-combat quests and questlines.
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Phunter said on 1:51AM 7-30-2010
What I don't like is the shallowness of the game and the boring and irritating encounter design. Even the end game missions are just more the same. The mission designs, with them tacking on sub-quest after sub-quest, don't seem to have any point other than to drag things out (Proto-Borg, I'm looking at you) and irritate you. Run down a hallway, kill some mobs, click on a flashing object. Rinse and repeat.
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