If you're planning on buying this game based on these Quick Looks, please don't until you're able to try it for yourself. The game becomes very disappointing once you've played for a few hours and your initial wonder has departed.

I've hit level 6 yesterday and I'm done with the game as it has already become extremely repetitive and boring (I'll probably give away my beta account on the forums soon so other people can try before they buy, look out for it).
 
My biggest problems were lack of 'M' in MMORPG as the game loves putting the player in solo areas called 'Pause zones' (meaning you can pause the game for up to 45 seconds because you're on your own). Also how incredibly unbalanced the game is (away combat is stupidly easy whereas some space missions are too difficult and take far too long), I don't think the game scales according to party size. It tries to do something that Warhammer Online did with public quests and open parties (notice how a third person just appeared in Brad's group?) but the execution isn't nearly as good.
 
The away 'quests' are a joke, with usually one objective - go somewhere, scan something, fight the enemies that spawn, then get told to do it 3 more times. Most of these take place on shamelessly generic planets each distinguished by a single unique tree or plant. The entire away team combat is very weak being both uninteresting and simple, allowing your eyes to notice how ugly the game is (not just technically, but artistically  too).
 
While 'Space' itself is (by it's very nature) an empty expanse, the game does nothing to balance that with richly detailed worlds or an immersive experience. For instance, while in Sector Space you can enter your Bridge only to realise it was entirely pointless - you can't control your ship from there, nor can you interact with anything.
 
Character progression is a total mess (tool tips are vague and too similar to each other), and your 'class' isn't defined or explained well. The levelling system is let down by the lack of clarity and over-abundance of ambiguous numbers.
 
Yes, this is a Beta, however the official release date is very soon (early Feb I think) for this phase to be anything other than stress testing and bugs. STO's problems are at it's very core and it's sadly obvious that this game was rushed to release and needed a lot more development time. February 2011 would of made a lot more sense.

Star Trek fans deserve to finally be given a good modern Trek game, but without any bias I can honestly say this game will tank faster than other recent MMO's such as Age of Conan and Warhammer (both of which had a significantly better first impression than STO). Hopefully it will survive as a small niche MMO (similar to EVE), and Cryptic will steadily improve it over time so it can eventually become the game it deserves to be. Time will tell.
It's a shame that the only aspect of the game that impressed me was it's stability. It plays flawlessly on my 3 year old machine (1900x1200 @~55fps high settings) with no crashes apart from when the servers go down (which is to be expected in a beta). However I understand that this is partly due to STO running on the same dated engine Cryptic uses for it's older MMO's.
 
Edit: Title typo, possible to fix?

"Set Shasers to Fun" is a fitting name, I think.

"I've hit level 6 yesterday and I'm done with the game as it has already become extremely repetitive and boring."

dude at least hit a higher level then tell em what you think until then i bid you goodbye.

Can't exactly hit level 40 in the open beta -- the level cap's 16 for now. That said, I totally agree with the sentiment of the OP in that you need to try this game through open beta or a trial (when the game's live) before considering any subscription plans or purchases. It's not horrendously terrible, but the heart of the gameplay in Star Trek Online is definitely not for everyone (and that's beyond the whole "MMOs aren't for everyone" argument).
 
@Zaph said:

" ...as the game loves putting the player in solo areas called 'Pause zones' (meaning you can pause the game for up to 45 seconds because you're on your own).  "

" ...and Cryptic will steadily improve it over time so it can eventually become the game it deserves to be. "

" Yes, this is a Beta, however the official release date is very soon (early Feb I think) for this phase to be anything other than stress testing and bugs. STO's problems are at it's very core and it's sadly obvious that this game was rushed to release and needed a lot more development time. February 2011 would of made a lot more sense. "

" @Zaph said:

"I've hit level 6 yesterday and I'm done with the game as it has already become extremely repetitive and boring."

 If anyone actually needed a reason to ignore this guy. There it is... You played to level 6 and think you can judge the game? That's like watching the first 5 minutes of a movie, and then saying the entire thing sucked. You can't play an MMO to level 6, and then give an opinion on it. Anyone that has ever played an MMO knows better. Sure it is repetitive and boring at a low level. So is WoW (and every other MMO for that matter). In WoW, at level 6, you have like 2-3 abilities, and you basically do the same thing over and over. It isn't until later in the game that your character becomes more involved, and the game gets more challenging. STO is not going to be any different.  Get to at least Captain (Level 40 out of 50) before you start spouting nonsense. "

" @Zaph said:

"I've hit level 6 yesterday and I'm done with the game as it has already become extremely repetitive and boring."

 If anyone actually needed a reason to ignore this guy. There it is... You played to level 6 and think you can judge the game? That's like watching the first 5 minutes of a movie, and then saying the entire thing sucked. You can't play an MMO to level 6, and then give an opinion on it. Anyone that has ever played an MMO knows better. Sure it is repetitive and boring at a low level. So is WoW (and every other MMO for that matter). In WoW, at level 6, you have like 2-3 abilities, and you basically do the same thing over and over. It isn't until later in the game that your character becomes more involved, and the game gets more challenging. STO is not going to be any different.  Get to at least Captain (Level 40 out of 50) before you start spouting nonsense. "

If you need to get to level 40 out of 50 before deciding whether an MMO is good or not, then it isn't.
 
I could see this having the same problem as Champions, where at the start your skill-set is so limited and the combat so one-dimensional, that you're bored by the time you get to the more complex gameplay (if it even exists).  If the combat isn't immediately satisfying in an MMO then it's done.
 
The ship combat looks like it could be fun if it gets more involved.

The game start to get less fun at level 6, but I have heard it gets better again after level 12.
All MMO's have boring levels even WoW.

" If you need to get to level 40 out of 50 before deciding whether an MMO is good or not, then it isn't."

"If at level 6, quests are repetitive and boring, think that will improve by 40?"

"I disagree.   In fact, there are plenty of MMOs out there that feel epic the first 10 or 15 levels (Aion, for example) and leave a terrific impression when you first jump in. They have a gentle learning curve, well-explained quests, an easy to use HUD, etc. If a game leaves a sour impression from the get-go, chances are it's not going to get much better from then on."

" @Jimbo said:

" If you need to get to level 40 out of 50 before deciding whether an MMO is good or not, then it isn't."

I had to get to 40-50 before I started liking WoW... So did a lot of other people. Most didn't really start liking it until they hit max level, and after a lot more content was added to the game.
 
@Zaph said:

"If at level 6, quests are repetitive and boring, think that will improve by 40?"

Umm, yes? That's how it happens with every MMO I've ever played. And I've played... All of them.
 
@Symphony said:

"I disagree.   In fact, there are plenty of MMOs out there that feel epic the first 10 or 15 levels (Aion, for example) and leave a terrific impression when you first jump in. They have a gentle learning curve, well-explained quests, an easy to use HUD, etc. If a game leaves a sour impression from the get-go, chances are it's not going to get much better from then on."

That may be the case for a few, but there are just as many that are a slow start, but become amazing after awhile. EvE Online is a good example. Some people swear by that game, but only got to that point after a year of playing or more. Because the game starts off really slow, and simple, and takes forever to get to a point where you can do anything. Yet that didn't stop the game from being successful, and surviving for 5+ years. 
Similarly, there are just as many MMO's that start out fantastic, and feel extremely epic, and then fizzle out in the end. So you can't even judge a game if it starts out flawless, and seemingly perfect. Just like you can't judge a game if it starts out feeling slow, and boring.
 
You guys can try and justify your opinion all you want, but the fact of the matter is, you simply cannot judge an MMO in it's entirety after only playing it for 15-20 hours. And you shouldn't be starting threads telling people it's crap, and disappointing when you have no backing to what your saying. I say you have no backing because, again, 15-20 hours isn't enough to formulate an informed opinion about the game as a whole. It just isn't. Plain and simple. You may be disappointed with the short time you spent with it, but that might be because you haven't spent enough time to discover it's hidden depth. Or enough time to discover something that will make the game enjoyable to you.
 
I'm not saying STO is perfect, I'm not even saying your wrong. I might decide that the game isn't worth buying or paying for as well, but it sure as hell won't be after only a handful of hours playing it. Over the next 10 days. I plan on downing 50-60 hours into it or more... You don't see the Giantbomb guys only putting 5-10 hours into Dragon Age, and then reviewing it. Do you? No, they play it for the entire 50+ hour story. Similarly. I feel like an MMO has to be treated like a lengthy 60+ hours singleplayer game at the VERY LEAST, before you can give a valid opinion on it. "

" @Jimbo said:

" If you need to get to level 40 out of 50 before deciding whether an MMO is good or not, then it isn't."

I had to get to 40-50 before I started liking WoW... So did a lot of other people. Most didn't really start liking it until they hit max level, and after a lot more content was added to the game.
 
@Zaph said:

"If at level 6, quests are repetitive and boring, think that will improve by 40?"

Umm, yes? That's how it happens with every MMO I've ever played. And I've played... All of them.
 
@Symphony said:

"I disagree.   In fact, there are plenty of MMOs out there that feel epic the first 10 or 15 levels (Aion, for example) and leave a terrific impression when you first jump in. They have a gentle learning curve, well-explained quests, an easy to use HUD, etc. If a game leaves a sour impression from the get-go, chances are it's not going to get much better from then on."

That may be the case for a few, but there are just as many that are a slow start, but become amazing after awhile. EvE Online is a good example. Some people swear by that game, but only got to that point after a year of playing or more. Because the game starts off really slow, and simple, and takes forever to get to a point where you can do anything. Yet that didn't stop the game from being successful, and surviving for 5+ years. 
Similarly, there are just as many MMO's that start out fantastic, and feel extremely epic, and then fizzle out in the end. So you can't even judge a game if it starts out flawless, and seemingly perfect. Just like you can't judge a game if it starts out feeling slow, and boring.
 
You guys can try and justify your opinion all you want, but the fact of the matter is, you simply cannot judge an MMO in it's entirety after only playing it for 15-20 hours. And you shouldn't be starting threads telling people it's crap, and disappointing when you have no backing to what your saying. I say you have no backing because, again, 15-20 hours isn't enough to formulate an informed opinion about the game as a whole. It just isn't. Plain and simple. You may be disappointed with the short time you spent with it, but that might be because you haven't spent enough time to discover it's hidden depth. Or enough time to discover something that will make the game enjoyable to you.
 
I'm not saying STO is perfect, I'm not even saying your wrong. I might decide that the game isn't worth buying or paying for as well, but it sure as hell won't be after only a handful of hours playing it. Over the next 10 days. I plan on downing 50-60 hours into it or more... You don't see the Giantbomb guys only putting 5-10 hours into Dragon Age, and then reviewing it. Do you? No, they play it for the entire 50+ hour story. Similarly. I feel like an MMO has to be treated like a lengthy 60+ hours singleplayer game at the VERY LEAST, before you can give a valid opinion on it. "

Thanks for the heads up. Never understood the Star Trek craze so I don't have much of a reason to even try it out (aside from maybe making some ridiculous looking characters).

I agree with the OP about the game overall.  I saw a lot of people expressing their future commitment to the game in the comments, but that's definitely not the best way to judge the game.

"Also if you re-read the very first line of my original post, you'll see that I am not telling people to avoid this game at all. I recommended that if they're considering purchasing STO, they should make sure they try the Beta before parting with cash. What followed was my opinion of why I think this game has no right to be released next month."

The game isn't so bad for me. I don't often play MMO's, and I do like Star Trek. But I don't see myself paying for the monthly subscription

looking at the game i can't see a ton of depth and therefore a high skill cap based on the combat, which is all i ever want in a mmo.
 
i'll pass.

If this didn't have a monthly fee people would be more forgiving.  Should have gone the Guild Wars route.

Nothing like the beta to try this game out. My advice is to play it until the beta is over and then you can give better opinions of it. And don't forget it is a beta.

" @Jimbo said:

" If you need to get to level 40 out of 50 before deciding whether an MMO is good or not, then it isn't."

I had to get to 40-50 before I started liking WoW... So did a lot of other people. Most didn't really start liking it until they hit max level, and after a lot more content was added to the game. "

<blah blah blah>
 

"Yeah, WoW got about a billion subscribers by having 'most' of them sit through 40+ levels of unenjoyable content before deciding to start using the good stuff.  Great example."

I played it to level 11, got a sweet new spaceship and got tired of it. I agree with Zaph's opinion. It has a nice premise and space combat is entertaining, but you can tell it's broken and rushed. Once you start to really play you realize that this game is not ready for release. Gameplay is blah MMO to me, but like Zaph said, try it for yourself as there are lots of people on there enjoying themselves, and I was one of them until recently.
 
By the way, you don't have to dig up the whole mountain to know that shoveling mud sucks. Figure that one out.


 

From a reviewer or MMO enthusiast's position, yes, you do need to spend many hundreds of hours experiencing all the content before you can truly judge an MMO. However, from a normal consumer's position, all that needs to be judged is whether the MMO is worth their money to continue playing, and this doesn't require hundreds of hours for an appropriate answer. I think the two stances are being confused here.
 
The first and only MMO I've paid for, City of Heroes, did a great job of dangling the symbolic carrot and enticing players to keep leveling up, as characters showed reasonable growth and progression through the levels. By the time I hit level 6 there, I wanted to reach level 14 to gain my travel power. After that, I wanted to gain a new attack at level 22. There was always something that encouraged diligence and progression, be it new powers or a desire to try out new power sets on alts.
 
They key for the typical consumer is those first few levels -- the trial period, if you will. It's like a demo for any non-MMO game -- it should give you a taste of what you'll be experiencing with the full version. For CoH's early levels, the combat was sluggish, yes. Traveling from mission to mission was pretty slow, too. However, it was entertaining all throughout for me, and that's why I kept playing. It wasn't because of the powers I'd get from level 38 and beyond, the Portal Corp story arcs, or the end-game Hamidon encounter. The game that was in front of me at that very moment was entertaining enough that I wanted to experience that growth and progression, and see just how powerful and badass my character could become.
 
In retrospect, did those early levels feel terrible by the time I was fighting at the level cap? Yeah, they weren't as entertaining anymore. If they were dreadful and boring when I had first picked up the game, though, I would have quit playing. Very few games, if any, are worth 80-200 hours of gameplay just to get to the good part. I'm sure masochists and MMO enthusiasts out there might disagree with this, but there's absolutely no sense in putting that amount of time into a game unless you know definitively beforehand that it'll increase the amount of time you'll play and enjoy the game by tenfold, and there's usually no way to know that for certain.
 
On this same thread, somebody who picks up and plays Star Trek Online should enjoy it from the early levels to want to keep playing. The level cap's currently forced down to level 16, and the end-game content is locked away and completely untested, so there's no way to say whether it's worth playing just for the end-game. The only way to judge whether you should put money down on the actual game is by playing with the early content to see if the game's mechanics are entertaining or not. I think STO's rather divisive in this regard -- while a few friends of mine are enjoying the game so far, I'm only enjoying bits of the space combat with a few glaring annoyances, while finding the ground combat absolutely abysmal.
 
I wouldn't want somebody to drop $50 or more to find out a game they thought looked neat in a video wasn't. Hence, just like any game out there with a demo or trial version, people should try the open beta and see if the game appeals to them before putting any significant money into this game. It's not a matter of whether STO's good or bad, it's a matter of whether it's worth their time outside of the Giant Bomb videos.

.  You use EvE Online as a prime example...  It's a niche game with a small but hardcore fanbase.

" @Jimbo said:

"Yeah, WoW got about a billion subscribers by having 'most' of them sit through 40+ levels of unenjoyable content before deciding to start using the good stuff.  Great example."

Yeah, it was a great example. Thanks. There is a reason why the number one question when a person starts playing an MMO is "what is the end game like?" That alone proves my point. You can keep trying to disagree, but what I said was fact, not opinion. You can't judge an MMO based on only a handful of hours of play when the average person is probably going to spend hundreds of hours on it before they experience all the content. I mean, you can, but that'd make you an idiot, and your game opinion would become pretty worthless after people started catching on to how you do thing. You would never succeed as a game reviewer by doing that type of thing, that's for sure.
 
Yeah, he acknowledge the fact that he only played to 6, that still doesn't effect my point. Of course he's not going to like the game after only playing to level 6. If anyone played an MMO to level 6, then had to stop and give an opinion on it, they'd probably always say that it was a bit thin, and not that interesting. Smart, decent people wouldn't say anything at all, because they'd realize they can't give an informed opinion after such a short playtime. They definitely wouldn't create a thread about their insignificant amount of time with the game. I'm sure you are only disagreeing about this because you don't want to be wrong. That's how most internet disagreements go. So I said my peace, and I won't show up in this thread again. I think normal people that read this will see what I said, and realize I have a good point even if there is one or two random people trying to make up ways to disagree with me. =)   Edit: Just because I thought maybe I was going crazy. I asked a ton of people if they felt like after only playing an MMO for 5-6 levels, that they could give an opinion on it. Any opinion at all... Each and every one of them said "Hell no." They all went on to elaborate that you need way more time with an MMO then that. Before you can start sharing an opinion of the game to other people. "

As stated multiple times in this thread, if one needs to go through a shitty 50 hour beginning to get to the epic 51st hour ending, then it's not worth it. Shockingly, I'd rather be playing something that was just fun.
 
Despite this, I tend to be enjoying the beginning of STO. I...love the ground combat. This might be because I've been hunting it down at every opportunity (I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT!) and I am a customization whore. But...yeah. Still love the space combat, but I'm looking for the ground combat more. Teams are fun to be fun in space, though I'm not sure if I would prefer team ground to solo ground, but I've never been on a team ground.
 
Still, I agree with the TC. This is a game you have to try before you buy. You will either like it or dislike it. Don't give yourself the illusion of 'it might get better later!'. It won't, it'll be just as amusing as it was in the beginning as it is at the end.

I think the thing that scares me is that this game is due for release in less than a month. It definitely has its potential, but the polish isn't quite up there yet.  I agree with OP, try before you buy.

I would love to play the beta, but i also knew before even watching the "set phasers to fun" thing that this game was going to be crap. Even so I had an urge to buy the game to get the beta code. Im sooo glade this post came up because now I am never going to play this game and I will do it (or not do it) happily, now realizing I am not missing any enjoyment at all that I wont already get from watching Brad, Vinny, and Dave.

" I would love to play the beta, but i also knew before even watching the "set phasers to fun" thing that this game was going to be crap. Even so I had an urge to buy the game to get the beta code. Im sooo glade this post came up because now I am never going to play this game and I will do it (or not do it) happily, now realizing I am not missing any enjoyment at all that I wont already get from watching Brad, Vinny, and Dave. "

" @DRE7777 said:

" I would love to play the beta, but i also knew before even watching the "set phasers to fun" thing that this game was going to be crap. Even so I had an urge to buy the game to get the beta code. Im sooo glade this post came up because now I am never going to play this game and I will do it (or not do it) happily, now realizing I am not missing any enjoyment at all that I wont already get from watching Brad, Vinny, and Dave. "

So you going to skip the game just because a random internet user told you it was bad? Even when a lot of other people say they like it. "

Man. 6-8 hours in, now, and it's really bad. There are comedic levels of bugs. The quests, I mean uh, missions, are strung together broken dialog boxes. The interface is horrible, when it works. You're constantly mashing space (or 1 or 2 or 3 or whatever), just like Brad was, it never gets better. Eventually you get to some overwhelmingly huge battles where you're just happy to get through them, and after a solid hour of that it's not even the small amount of fun it was at the beginning.
 
It's a bizarre game. The art department seems to have finished most of the character models and ships, and that's about all that's done. It plays exactly like someone took the Champions code, made some rooms with Star Trek stuff in them, with the right noises and stuff, and shrugged. There are still multiple references to "powers." When you get bridge officers (pets) you can change their "costumes". I'm seriously shocked that they're releasing it soon.
 
It's weird because for that first little while, it hits the right buttons in your head. You go "heehee, this is fun, phasers! Vulcan monastery!" It helps you laugh off the first few dozen bugs. And then it fully sinks in how little they give a shit about making a good game. Either Cryptic is just deathly afraid of doing anything remotely new, or they didn't even try.  Either way it's one of the worst MMOs I've ever tried. There are better free-to-play games out there.
 
I hope we get a fourth installment of the GB guys checking it out, after the weekend, or they go over it on the Bombcast. People should know how much it sucks.

I really enjoyed the QLs.  After playing however i agree with the TC.  Ive found little to no ground missions and what there was was pretty dull after the 3rd time.  Space combat is fun for a few hours, but after that it got pretty old.   I really dont feel much like I am playing a MMO, it feels more like a bad single player game.

It's a Star Trek game.  It will always have fans and they will support it.  Star Trek fans are literally the reason festivals like Comic Con keep happening.  This is not an MMO made for everyone and even casual fans of the series (not the new knuckleheaded movie) will stick around at least for the endgame possibilities.  It's not fair to compare this to Champions even though they probably have similar failings (heavy reliance on instancing for example) because Champions has broad appeal where as STO will never have that.  People mostly either love Star Trek or hate it.  Those who feel indifferent may try this game but they won't be paying Cryptic's bills.  The hardcore fanbase will and just like Comic Con it will keep on rolling thanks mostly to them.

Space combat is actually fun and well done.

  I'm not making any sort of judgment on Star Trek Online, as I have not played it and have no plans to do so. I'm just saying that first impressions can and do go a long way in an MMO. 

" I'm really enjoying the space combat in the game.   I just got a Tier 2 ship last night, which is rather cool since it flies a lot different than the initial ship everyone starts with (I picked the escort, a ship focused on speed and fire power).  I have enough credits to buy another ship and might try a cruiser or science vessel. The ground combat needs a lot of improvement.  It just doesn't feel very fluid at all.  The game also still very buggy, which can be frustrating at time.  I have ran into multiple issues with quest objectives not being registered correctly.  The game also needs tuning to run better on different hardware.  I can play every other game on the market at high settings, but this one just chokes my computer if I try anything above a medium setting.  Overall, I am having a good time.  I just have some worries regarding the end game as the mission designs are not that varied.  If anything, this game makes with that a Freelancer sequel would be announced.  There haven't been enough space sims coming out in the past 10 years. "

" @Lind_L_Taylor: I would buy into that if it the retail copy wasn't going to be shipped in less than a month.  Open Beta is used more for stress testing and the fact that this game is in open beta and contains multiple performance issues and bugs does not look good to me at all for the final copy.  I have beta tested several MMOs before and the open beta phase is almost always just for stress testing and minor bugs.  This game still has some pretty substantial bugs that I have encountered.    If they delayed the game by 6 months, then I wouldn't be as critical; however, this game is scheduled for release soon.   I can't imagine much changing between now and then.  It's unrealistic from a production standpoint to expect that many changes to occur in that small a window. "

"  Either Cryptic is just deathly afraid of doing anything remotely new, or they didn't even try.  Either way it's one of the worst MMOs I've ever tried. There are better free-to-play games out there. "

" @Symphony said:

  I'm not making any sort of judgment on Star Trek Online, as I have not played it and have no plans to do so. I'm just saying that first impressions can and do go a long way in an MMO. 

That should be your standard disclaimer because in this thread it certainly sounds like you're passing judgement to me.  You don't have any intention on ever playing the damn game so I'm extremely puzzled why you are commenting if you neither know nor care what happens to STO. Jesus! 

" @Lind_L_Taylor said:

" @Symphony said:

  I'm not making any sort of judgment on Star Trek Online, as I have not played it and have no plans to do so. I'm just saying that first impressions can and do go a long way in an MMO. 

That should be your standard disclaimer because in this thread it certainly sounds like you're passing judgement to me.  You don't have any intention on ever playing the damn game so I'm extremely puzzled why you are commenting if you neither know nor care what happens to STO. Jesus! 

If you can't wrap your head around the idea of people commenting on topics they don't necessarily have a vested interest in, you probably shouldn't be frequenting internet forums.  And how exactly am I passing judgment on it? I never once mention it other than just to say I am NOT judging it.   Jesus! "