The root of the problem

Victor1st · Site Admin

Well, as i thought, the open beta of Star Trek: Online aint going so well.

What follows is a post i made in the STO forums, i think folks here should read it as well if ya aint in the open beta...
================================

Let's sort some facts out here folks...

The current state of this open beta is literally going to be the game which is released on release day. When a game enters open beta (ANY GAME) the developers are saying to the press and media "hey folks! here's your free trial!" Most games to go disk print exactly two weeks before launch, they are then packed into the case with the manuals one week before launch and shipped out roughly 4 to 5 days before launch to arrive in the store, the game you are playing RIGHT NOW will be the final version of Star Trek: Online...just with all the closed sectors opened up. No amount of whining, bearing your head off a wall, holding your breath till you turn blue, shouting at the devs or kicking a puppy will change this...unless a SERIOUS and game wide bug or "cheat" is found, then they will be forced to hold back the release, but even then, they dont have to, they can simply release a 0 Day Patch...its bad for publicity, but the game still gets released.

Now...

A lot of you wont know me in this forum from the rest of the crowd, some of your however will recognise my name. I've been running the oldest and largest Star Trek gaming site for more than 10 years, i worked in Activision while Star Trek: Aramda was being planned by Mad Doc Software, i cut my teeth in the gaming industry at Interplay just before they started on the starfleet command series of games, iv'e been round the block several times when it comes to PC games.

Is this game ready for launch? No, it isn't...

Should we be burning effigys of Cryptic staff? No, we shouldn't.

Things started going pear shaped for Star Trek: Online due to two things.

1: Atari...The Atari of old, the groundbreaking trendsetter Atari is dead, this Atari is only in name, all of their old staff is gone, they quit the sinking ship long ago. Atari took over Cryptic for one reason, and one reason only...they know a good quick money maker which they can then dump when they need to. Check on Atari's past 5 years, they take over companys...suck them dry, then quietly drop the dead carcass.

2: CBS/Paramount...The game being worked on by Cryptic is not the ORIGINAL Star Trek: Online, lets not forget this folks. The original Star Trek: Online was announced by the former Viacom/Paramount Vice President of Marketing and Products...Mr Harry Lang his name was. Anyone who remembers me from those old days will remember the lambasting and roasting i gave Lang for his handling of the trek gaming franchise over the past 15 years. That original game was going to be a much different beats than the game Cryptic is making now, the ships would have been floating cities in space, populated by real players....however the biggest problem with the original Star Trek: Online was the developer...Perpetual Entertainment. They went bankrupt, literally tens of millions of CBS and Paramounts dollars went down the drain.

Cryptic are now in the unenviable position of being FORCED to set a release date by the actual franchise holder (CBS) and the companies owner (Atari). I bet if this game was still under full control of Cryptic there would be a snowballs chance in hell that this game would have been released next month...

If ya wanna blame someone...blame Atari and CBS.

As for me...i wont be touching this game, not for at least 6 months. After 6 months or so (and if Atari havent sucked them dry) Cryptic will have stabalized the game and added much more content. If they dont then Star Trek: Online will be dead within a year and a half...tops.

Growler67 · Commander

UbiSoft is famous, or should I say infamous, for doing the same with niche developers primarily in the Flight Sim genre. They force the release date based on economic seasons rather than the polich of the product and generally what is release is months, at least, too early forcing patches at the same pace to Band-Aid fix the problems that wouldn't have existed if the development weren't rushed.

I see the logic in setting a release date to keep the developers from sitting on their backsides "wasting" resources, but when an unfinished product is released, the genre and moreso the industry suffer the long lasting effects of retribution by true fans. The fanbois and ADHD crowd will always spend their money on the "latest and maybe not so greatest" which also causes more harm than good for the industry in the long term.

I stated all along I am against the Pay2Play aspect of gaming trends. Once I buy a product, at ever increasing prices mind you, why should I have to continue paying for the privalege to continue playing it? Seriously?

Industry trends are adolescent and far from stable, and much less in favor of franchise fans. Make the fast cash and move on is the current mantra and has been for some time. Good companies are very few and very very far between these days. Entities like Spectrum Holobyte, MicroProse, InterPlay, CaveDog and others that showed a connection to franchise fans were rewarded with loyalty and even understanding if a product was delayed or while waiting for a patch. Can't say there is much available in the tank for the industry from the true customers point of view these days.

Sad, truly sad.

Darknight · Captain

My only thought...just push the release back...its a great game, just need some de-bugging thats all...and some more servers so you can actually log in without issues....I really thought that there would be huge problems with this, but Cryptic has put out a good game...granted it is still beta.

Growler67 · Commander

Darknight @ Tue Jan 19, 2010 3:56 pm wrote:

...granted it is still beta.

Did you not read the OP by Vic? Beta is the same as the release product, just a preview for a select few that get into the Open "testing". It really isn't "testing" for testing sake but rather to see how the server network will react to stress. Unless there is a serious "showstopper" bug the game is the same as that will be released.

Age · Site Admin

They do some tweaking in open beta as well like skills upon release something will be changed.

angusNUBangus · Lt-Jg

Can you post the link where you posted it in the STO forums? I want to read what everyone has to say.

Zach · Lieutenant

http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=68396

Darknight · Captain

I dont think that it is so much of a show stopper, but I have found and reported many bugs that I would be disappointed if they released with...example being stuck in walls, not being able to do the objective, and the spawning as the opposite mode...either human in space or ship on the ground. Just little bugs that all

Zach · Lieutenant

According to my sources, there is going to be at least one more major bug fixing patch released before the retail date on Feb 2nd.

Also, the game has not gone to print/press yet and will not until about 3 days before launch, so lets say Jan 30th.

Alot can change in the last week or two before an MMORPG retails and I would expect there to be daily patches in the weeks after launch, to fix issues that are found.

It was like that with Champions.

Steve Angelis · Admiral

And some people wonder why this place died off....

Growler67 · Commander

Steve Angelis @ Sun Jan 24, 2010 11:13 pm wrote:

And some people wonder why this place died off....

Because we're not a bunch of "Goose Stepping" fanbois? When something is right it's right and when something isn't it's honest to point it out rather than putting on the blinders or "rose colored glasses" and believe the press releases.

Maybe the fact that nothing much has been released in such a long time would have more to do with it than comments made about a product that is (and will continue) to suffer growing pains. I've yet to come across a game title that has EVER been flawless upon release. If you know of such a thing perhaps you can list this "mythical unicorn" of a product.

Steve Angelis · Admiral

OR.... people are tired of the constant blah blah blah negativity? I have played it, I know of a lot of flaws in the game, but it is something new and, I know this part is hard, but maybe just maybe enjoy it for what it is?

Victor1st · Site Admin

Steve Angelis @ Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:34 am wrote:

OR.... people are tired of the constant blah blah blah negativity? I have played it, I know of a lot of flaws in the game, but it is something new and, I know this part is hard, but maybe just maybe enjoy it for what it is?

This place died off cause of a number of reasons. Legacy was a steaming pile of junk, which you supported...where is Legacy now? Infact, where is Bethesda now? Legacy is in the trash bin, most of the moders gave up with it and theres very few players caring about it.

This place turned negative roughly the time Activision took over the entire franchise cause I seen where the PC games franchise was headed, and we are at that point now. I knew of an MMO in the works for Star Trek 6 months before Harry Lang originally announced it. When Perpetual took the original ST:O over I criticised them, told folks they would be bankrupt before the game was finished, hey, guess what, i was right.

Trouble with the Star Trek gaming community now is it;s full of yes men, brown nosers or sugar high XBOX teens who think every game should be a shooter or a hack and slash, well, guess what Steve, YOU GOT YOUR WISH! Welcome to Star Trek: Online...the new space beat-em-up game with no depth, very little content, and at most a shelf life of about 1 and a half to two years, cause thats how long im giving it until Atari or Cryptic pulls the plug.

The final nail in what was left of the Star Trek gaming franchise has now been hammered in. The franchise will officially die when Star Trek: Online goes to public release. It will be a slow, painfull death as many of the old time gamers who made this franchise a COMMUNITY is replaced by people like you Steve...a bunch of yes men.

Hope yer happy, as for me, i dont really care anymore, i gave up caring about Star Trek gaming when Legacy was released, theres nothing left in this franchise anymore thats WORTHY of the name "Star Trek" being on it, certainly not Star Trek: Online.

The reason this site stays open is for the last few remaining old timers who still pop round to visit now and again, this site is a safe haven for them, away from the crowd of ADHD button mashing idiots who all think Star Trek should be all about shooting anything and everything that moves...cause thats exactly what ST:O is...a shooter, wrapped in a Star Trek skin.

Sooner or later, probably long after this site closes...maybe in 5 to 10 years once the stench of Star Trek: Online is forgotten about maybe a publisher will take over the dead franchise and start making decent games with meat on it. Until then folks the Star Trek gaming franchise is in the capabale hands of yes men...like steve...

Steve Angelis · Admiral

Actually I did not like Legacy as I recall saying, the controls were a joke, but I could be wrong. And me a yes man? Ya you say that, I do not care. Why? Because I have learned one thing. People and times change, and you are stangnant, which is WHY this place is dead. Last time I checked, the STO forums was quite active and people there are giving both positive and negative comments. I will openly admit there is a lot about STO that I do not like, but it is what it is and whining and complaining like a bunch of children about how sucks will not change anything. You want to call me a yes man, you go right ahead. I will just simply call you an old man who does not know how to get over his personal prejudice and a man who likes to complain about things to which you no longer have any say in. That simple.

I love how you are now putting words in my mouth for that matter. When and where did I ONCE say I was looking for a 'shooter or a hack and slash'? Please, show me a quote anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE on the internet or any forum where I said that? This further proves how stangnant you have become. Anyone who does not agree with you and become a 'yes man', as you so kindly put it of YOU, is instantly everything you claim to not be. One way or the other with you, no other.

Oh, and for the record, I am not an XBox fan, never have been and I do not see myself ever being one for a multitude of reasons, none of which are really relevant to this conversation.

You are right about one thing, and that is that the Trek Community is not anything of what it once was. There is something that you seem to have completely forgotten though. STO was not made to make you happy and it sure as hell was not made to appease your need for self gratitude or whatever you want to call it. STO was made to make money and for, now, I am starting to get the idea that this last thing is beyond your current understanding, but hey, worth a shot, for FUN. Do you know what fun is anymore? People in there are having FUN, they enjoy it for what it is. Please, tell me what is wrong with someone enjoying it? If Cryptic or whoever wants to make a crap load of money off of people for it, hey, good for them, let them. People are playing it, they enjoy it, and to be blunt, with the way the world is right now, people are sick and tired of the constant negativity so they come online to have some fun and have some more fun, which, from seeing people in it first hand, they are doing just that.

Do you ever have anything good or positive to say about, well, anything anymore, that is not about yourself?

Just so this is on the record, no, I am not a huge fan of the game. I find the controls for starship flying too much like Legacy, which I did not like in the first place, and the ground combat to be not of my liking, and I will not be personally getting the game anytime soon, partially in part due to the financial problems I am having. Do you see me going around though bashing it whenever I get the chance? No. Why? Because, again, and this is I know a hard word for you to understand, people are having FUN with is, so why ruin their fun with a bunch of negativity that is not needed.

Oh, just to make another thing clear. Negativity is not the same as constructive criticism, which I am fairly certain they are taking in with welcoming arms, but again, I could be wrong. I am just a simply 'yes man'.

Hey, this is your forum, and if you want to post away all the crap you want about how much you hate STO and how it will die in ___ years or months or whatever, go ahead, your forum, your rules. Just remember why people are not coming here anymore, and no, it is not because of Cryptic and STO, but rather, your attitude towards the game, and to be blunt, everything in general.

Darknight · Captain

On the other hand vic, I agree about legacy, it was crap, but ST:O with maybe some little content added down the road could last for a while...have you actually played it? Just a question...