MMO's are dynamic. As
such there's always going to be some inconvenience as developers struggle to
keep the content fresh and engaging.
Still, there are ways to minimize the pain that Star Trek Online doesn't
seem to have discovered yet.
The Gray Area:
I don't know of any game released in the past 5 years that
hasn't needed at least one major update.
It's usually a relatively painless process and if it comes from a source
like Steam you may never have to worry about it. Distribution channels like Steam and Origin
usually roll the updates into their installation routines so that a fresh
install doesn't have you spending half the night waiting for downloads to complete
before you ever see the title screen.
I came to know Star Trek Online via Steam and installed the
game using it's mechanisms. Star Trek
Online installation files compress into 4GB and expand to 10GB on installation.
Imagine my surprise when I restored the
game from my installation backup only to find another 3.5GB of downloads
waiting to be completed. The process was
automatic but unexpectedly ate up an hour of my weekly Lan party.
Speaking of updates, Star Trek Online seems to update itself
every time I log in to the game. That's
good in the sense of keeping the game up to date with fresh content and bug
fixes but it takes away from time in the game.
Updates aren't limited to just starting the game
either. Most missions involve the
download or update of mission content before the game will continue. At least the load screens are
interesting. As large as the game
installation is it appears that Cryptic does not provide the complete
installation package but rather provides a basic structure then adds to it as
needed. Since distribution is via
online, It's likely that including the complete package would overwhelm most
broadband connections and unnecessarily burden update servers by uploading
files to clients that were not yet in
use.
Since I've spent so much time on the start screen perhaps I
should segue to the next minor annoyance, namely the login screen or rather
getting to it.
Star Trek Online is a property that has changed ownership
three times and has had two different developers since the project began in
2004. With that much turnover there's
bound to be some bugs and they show up prominently in the confusing
registration process. In my experience I
wasn't sure if I was registered with the developer, Cryptic or the Publisher,
Perfect World Entertainment. I still
don't know which one I signed up with but at least I can get in the game.
This is a free to play MMO which means you don't have to
invest anything but time and hard drive space to enjoy the game. You can purchase a subscription and upgrade
your experience or make a one-time purchase of individual upgrade
packages. The problem is that both the
publisher and the developer offer upgrades both in-game and outside of the
game. Both use different currencies with
a confusing exchange rate that rivals any Forex chart. Here's
a suggestion; either standardize on an in-game currency or get rid of it
entirely. Such ambiguity just confuses
potential customers and a confused customer is rarely a paying customer.
The End:
So there it is.
Everything I know about Star Trek Online. With 55 hours into the game there's
definitely something I like about it.
What I'm not sure of is whether its attributable to the game itself or
just my desire to have a decent Star Trek title to play again. The game has issues but patches are a daily
occurrence and nothing I've citied above has caused me to completely give up on
the game. The partnership with Steam was
an excellent distribution move as was the change from purely subscription based
to Free to play.
In the end the game is free and thus far has given me a lot
more enjoyment than some recent titles that I actually paid for. If I continue to enjoy the game then at some
point I'll likely purchase an upgrade package if for no other reason to show
support for it.
What's nice about this game is that the penalty for not
putting skin into the game is little more than an inconvenience. In many free to play games with paid options,
players who purchase upgrades are often able to unfairly dominate other
players. Star Trek Online thus far
doesn't seem to follow that model. Purchasing
a subscription may get you a better ship or help you advance your Starfleet
career but it won't allow you to bully anyone because of it.
It's an MMO with a
focus on more personal experience.
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