Star Trek Online
- Thread starter CaptainRAVE
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I actually think that a game SHOULD be compared against one of many years, not 100% comparison, such things as volume of content shouldnt be compared but certainly the rest of the game should be compared. When you release a game you are aiming at beating the current competition, not the competition as it was 8 years earlier. You should be using everything thats been learned over the previous decade to improve your game at release, not simply release something in an 8 year old state and say well thats ok , others were like this so its fine for us to be like it too.
As I say, if you dont have the funds to get something into a decent state before release then you shouldnt be developing it in the first place. There is a strong motto that I (and many businesses) live by which is dont live beyond your means. If something costs £30 million, then make sure you have the £30 million to pay for it before acquiring it.
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Absolutely, the game was a mess at release. I never believed it would come this far (considering Champions Online was a mess, but has had little added to it - most of which has been borrowed from STO).
Season 3 tomorrow
This is indeed at least true
(though think how bigger their userbase would be if it had begun this way!)
Well actually i think STO graphics were better then Eve and WoW AT release.
But why not have user feedback to make something better? after all thats who the game is for.
Also I belive STO universe is bigger then Eve and WoW in terms of needing content created due to the huge reign Star trek storylines,races etc etc.
But why not have user feedback to make something better? after all thats who the game is for.
Also I belive STO universe is bigger then Eve and WoW in terms of needing content created due to the huge reign Star trek storylines,races etc etc.
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Those are exactly the kind of expectations that are killing PC gaming, especially MMOs. You can't possibly release a game in the same state as a game like WoW (as most get compared to) that has had thousands of man hours spent on it, millions-billions of pounds invested and over 10 million subscribers.
This is indeed at least true
(though think how bigger their userbase would be if it had begun this way!)
It certainly is a shame it wasn't like this at release.
I wouldnt say that the STO graphics are better per se, its all very subjective and personal. Even today I think that the WoW graphics are fantastically good artistically and aesthetically, though not technically, such different aspects of the whole make it difficult for me to declare that any titles graphics are better or worse by default than anothers.
Definitely should have user feedback to make things better, in essence having a userbase of 250,000 people is like having 250,000 beta testers who are paying you to beta test, thats got to be better than having 30 in-house testers that you are paying. Good to use that large number of beta testers for their feedback, though not necessarily doing what they say as quite often gamers can only see the short term impact of their wants and not the long term damage that some of their wants would do if implemented.
STO certainly has an enormous wealth of content which can be implemented, huge amounts of things that can be done, they just have to ensure that its done well and done in a timely fashion.
Of course you can.
Note I am not talking about volume of content, as I specifically pointed out. But there is no reason why a game cannot release in the same state of polish and stability and in the same state of gameplay and ease of access. Its repeated acceptance of half assed shoddy releases that is killing PC gaming by allowing more and more shoddy releases.
As I mentioned earlier, Daoc released with one entire playable race virtually devoid of content, 6 years after the quite awesome UO. There was , and is, simply no excuse for that kind of thing missing at release.
STO was stable on release? I never had one crash.
RE: Content, but if the ST world is bigger then the WOW or Eve universe, then surely its obvious you can't make that amount of content in 18months, let alone a few months. Its taken WoW years to develop content and it's still a small universe then what STO could be?
RE: Content, but if the ST world is bigger then the WOW or Eve universe, then surely its obvious you can't make that amount of content in 18months, let alone a few months. Its taken WoW years to develop content and it's still a small universe then what STO could be?
I didnt say that STO wasnt stable on release?
I also didnt say that an MMO should release with ALL of its content
I did however say that an MMO should release with sufficient content, ie. Not with a massive lack of content for a playable race (a la Hibernia in Daoc) and not with the majority of the content missing (a la AoC). This aspect of the conversation began as a discussion on the nature of general MMO releases, I've maintained that generic aspect throughout, I think you are taking things a bit too much on the personal STO target and this isnt about any single specific MMO title.
I'd happily agree thats its come a long way. As indeed did AoC and Daoc in the end, Daoc in particular going on to become one of the best MMOs ever imo. Although some big mistakes at launch can be a deathknell for an MMO, ie. AC2, with hard work and dedication sometimes those mistakes can be overturned and turned into a great game.
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It just needs some money spent on marketing and hope that word of mouth draws people back. I hope more people here try it out as most, if not all of the complaints after release have been addressed.
Should be ok to do so, they need to do a bit more of a marketing push as well. Though that also applies to many MMOs at the moment (LOTRO being a prime example of a brilliant MMO that really needs more marketing). Part of WoWs success is down to Blizzard expertise at marketing.
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And insane amounts of money to do it - how many MMOs can afford regular TV ads with Mr T?
And insane amounts of money to do it - how many MMOs can afford regular TV ads with Mr T?
Hell, Mr T will work for a few bars of Snickers
Money really shouldnt be too much of an issue though when we are talking about licenses the size of Star Trek and Lord of the Rings. Granted Eve as a license or World of Tanks as a license we might expect to not have the kind of presence or funds to have a decent market run, but not ST and LOTR.
Doesnt even need to be an expensive TV advert in order to garner public awareness, take the Cillet Bang or WeBuyAnyCar adverts for example, dirt cheap yet known to huge swathes of the public. Its all about the method of delivery rather than the superstar delivering
Soldato
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So how have they improved it since I left? I'm not actually sure WHEN I left, that might make answering that question more difficult
I found away missions to be my biggest issue - they were long, boring and had little reward...... have they improved that? I certainly don't expect it, but you never know
I found away missions to be my biggest issue - they were long, boring and had little reward...... have they improved that? I certainly don't expect it, but you never know