Star Trek Online – Pre-order Penalty
It should stand to reason that pre-ordering an MMO should result in nothing but benefit; at least compared to someone who purchases it within the next few months. Over the weekend Atari offered Star Trek Online at a discounted rate of $10 off plus 60 days of additional free gameplay (for a total of 90 days). I would expect this kind of promotion to run a year or more after release, but certainly not 3 weeks after launch. Are players upset about this? You bet. They take it as a virtual slap in the face. Wait, it gets worse. Due to the tremendous outrage of the current player-base and the numerous posts that followed, Atari rescinded the offer from their website. Not only did they cancel the promotion, but they also canceled the extra 60 day deal they had made with players who purchased it over the weekend. This reminds me of a Dilbert cartoon, and that did not play out well for the consumer.
Atari broke one of my rules of operating an MMO; “For every new player award, there shall be a veteran reward”. Keeping players is important, so it is good business to reward existing players with something of equal or better value than what you are awarding new players. Now the question is raised of who is actually responsible for this. Atari published the deal, so personally I am resting the blame on them. Whether or not Cryptic Studios is completely exonerable, they are taking most of the flak. At the time of writing, they have not released a statement. At its neonatal stage, the last thing Star Trek Online needs is more controversy. I would like to hear your opinions though, and we promise not to ban you for it.
Star Trek Online – Pre-order Penalty
It should stand to reason that pre-ordering an MMO should result in nothing but benefit; at least compared to someone who purchases it within the next few months. Over the weekend Atari offered Star Trek Online at a discounted rate of $10 off plus 60 days of additional free gameplay (for a total of 90 days). I would expect this kind of promotion to run a year or more after release, but certainly not 3 weeks after launch. Are players upset about this? You bet. They take it as a virtual slap in the face. Wait, it gets worse. Due to the tremendous outrage of the current player-base and the numerous posts that followed, Atari rescinded the offer from their website. Not only did they cancel the promotion, but they also canceled the extra 60 day deal they had made with players who purchased it over the weekend. This reminds me of a Dilbert cartoon, and that did not play out well for the consumer.
Atari broke one of my rules of operating an MMO; “For every new player award, there shall be a veteran reward”. Keeping players is important, so it is good business to reward existing players with something of equal or better value than what you are awarding new players. Now the question is raised of who is actually responsible for this. Atari published the deal, so personally I am resting the blame on them. Whether or not Cryptic Studios is completely exonerable, they are taking most of the flak. At the time of writing, they have not released a statement. At its neonatal stage, the last thing Star Trek Online needs is more controversy. I would like to hear your opinions though, and we promise not to ban you for it.
Star Trek Online – Raidisode Fact Sheet
Today Cryptic Studios released a raid episode fact sheet for the upcoming raid episodes in Star Trek Online. The raid episodes, AKA Raidisodes, are projected to enter testing within the next week and published live the week following. This raid content will introduce a lot of end-game content to the current system, which is almost completely void of it. The raid content will be for Starfleet admirals and Klingon generals.
Raid content primarily focuses around the Borg.
STF: Infected
Starfleet has lost contact with one of its star bases. More than 400 officers could be lost, including a key member of Starfleet’s Borg Task Force. Infiltrate the base and take the fight to the Borg!
• Retake the Sibiran system and shut down a transwarp conduit being used by the Borg to establish a foothold in the Gamma Orionis Sector Block.
• Investigate the strange new nanovirus the Borg are using to assimilate entire worlds at alarming speeds.
• Retake Starbase 89 before its fully taken over by the Borg, and save what is left of the Starfleet personnel that are still there.
• Locate Captain Ogen’s Strike Team and Rebecca Simmons, the lead Borg Task Force researcher working on a cure for the nanovirus. Both went deep into the Borg infected starbase and haven’t reported back in quite some time.
• It’s a five-man mission. Players will not be able to complete it without teaming up with other players.
• The mission spans space and ground gameplay.
• Applies to level 43 +
• Encounters are daunting. Lots of enemies. Designed to be challenging.
• Releases this month.
STF: The Cure
The Klingon Defense Force has been conducting its own investigation into the Borg advance, and they believe that the Collective’s next target is the Vorn system. Enemies may have to unite when confronted by a greater foe.
• Assist the I.K.S. Kang in a desperate battle with the Borg.
• Explore a planet that has been completely assimilated. Can you rescue the warriors before they are taken over by the Borg?
• Fight at the side of Ja’rod, son of Lursa.
• Free Klingon ships from Borg control, and gain their assistance in a final battle with a Borg fleet.
STF: Khitomer Accord
Finally, the mysteries of the Borg attack on Vega Colony are revealed! Why did the Borg attack there, and how was an unprepared Starfleet able to defeat them?
• Confront the Borg before they can use temporal anomalies to change the past of the Federation.
• Warp back into your own past, in the hours before the attack on Vega Colony.
• Discover a base where thousands of Borg drones are being held in stasis. What are the Borg’s plans for this hidden army?
• Starfleet’s not ready for the Borg. A defeat here could mean that the entire Alpha Quadrant falls. Balance the scales and fight the Borg for the preservation of the quadrant.
• Learn the fate of a missing Romulan empress.
STF: Into the Hive
The fate of the Alpha Quadrant hangs in the balance. Enter a unicomplex and confront the Borg Queen herself.
• Rescue civilians trapped on an assimilated world.
• Follow the trail to a unicomplex, and penetrate deep into the Borg stronghold.
• Confront the Borg Queen, and fight for the fate of the galaxy.
STF: Children of Khan
Amar Singh escapes from Federation custody, and he and an underground group of Augments steal the U.S.S. Asgard and race toward the remains of the Mutara Nebula. Can you stop them before they start a new Eugenics War?
• Fight a fleet assembled by Princep Khan and his followers.
• Beam onto the Asgard, and battle through its corridors to save civilians and crew.
• Confront the Princep. Can you deal with his transporter tricks?
• Save the divided Asgard and give the saucer section a chance to escape!
Star Trek Online – Raidisode Fact Sheet
Today Cryptic Studios released a raid episode fact sheet for the upcoming raid episodes in Star Trek Online. The raid episodes, AKA Raidisodes, are projected to enter testing within the next week and published live the week following. This raid content will introduce a lot of end-game content to the current system, which is almost completely void of it. The raid content will be for Starfleet admirals and Klingon generals.
Raid content primarily focuses around the Borg.
STF: Infected
Starfleet has lost contact with one of its star bases. More than 400 officers could be lost, including a key member of Starfleet’s Borg Task Force. Infiltrate the base and take the fight to the Borg!
• Retake the Sibiran system and shut down a transwarp conduit being used by the Borg to establish a foothold in the Gamma Orionis Sector Block.
• Investigate the strange new nanovirus the Borg are using to assimilate entire worlds at alarming speeds.
• Retake Starbase 89 before its fully taken over by the Borg, and save what is left of the Starfleet personnel that are still there.
• Locate Captain Ogen’s Strike Team and Rebecca Simmons, the lead Borg Task Force researcher working on a cure for the nanovirus. Both went deep into the Borg infected starbase and haven’t reported back in quite some time.
• It’s a five-man mission. Players will not be able to complete it without teaming up with other players.
• The mission spans space and ground gameplay.
• Applies to level 43 +
• Encounters are daunting. Lots of enemies. Designed to be challenging.
• Releases this month.
STF: The Cure
The Klingon Defense Force has been conducting its own investigation into the Borg advance, and they believe that the Collective’s next target is the Vorn system. Enemies may have to unite when confronted by a greater foe.
• Assist the I.K.S. Kang in a desperate battle with the Borg.
• Explore a planet that has been completely assimilated. Can you rescue the warriors before they are taken over by the Borg?
• Fight at the side of Ja’rod, son of Lursa.
• Free Klingon ships from Borg control, and gain their assistance in a final battle with a Borg fleet.
STF: Khitomer Accord
Finally, the mysteries of the Borg attack on Vega Colony are revealed! Why did the Borg attack there, and how was an unprepared Starfleet able to defeat them?
• Confront the Borg before they can use temporal anomalies to change the past of the Federation.
• Warp back into your own past, in the hours before the attack on Vega Colony.
• Discover a base where thousands of Borg drones are being held in stasis. What are the Borg’s plans for this hidden army?
• Starfleet’s not ready for the Borg. A defeat here could mean that the entire Alpha Quadrant falls. Balance the scales and fight the Borg for the preservation of the quadrant.
• Learn the fate of a missing Romulan empress.
STF: Into the Hive
The fate of the Alpha Quadrant hangs in the balance. Enter a unicomplex and confront the Borg Queen herself.
• Rescue civilians trapped on an assimilated world.
• Follow the trail to a unicomplex, and penetrate deep into the Borg stronghold.
• Confront the Borg Queen, and fight for the fate of the galaxy.
STF: Children of Khan
Amar Singh escapes from Federation custody, and he and an underground group of Augments steal the U.S.S. Asgard and race toward the remains of the Mutara Nebula. Can you stop them before they start a new Eugenics War?
• Fight a fleet assembled by Princep Khan and his followers.
• Beam onto the Asgard, and battle through its corridors to save civilians and crew.
• Confront the Princep. Can you deal with his transporter tricks?
• Save the divided Asgard and give the saucer section a chance to escape!
Champions Online May Win Me Back
Two weeks ago I specified a few reasons why I was going to walk away from Champions Online when my subscription expired. Normally, I try to look at the positives of a situation, but my experiences with the game, Cryptic’s handling of it and the future plans didn‘t sit well with me. Or the rest of the playerbase, as a few readers explained their issues with the game in the comments section.
Last week, Cryptic backpedaled on its decision to offer paid for high-level content. Champions Online – Revelation, what the company claims is a “full-fledged expansion,” didn‘t go over well. The decision was reversed after people like us spoke our minds about paying for content in a game that is lacking just that. Commentator Snorlax returned to the post to pose a very good question:
“Do you see yourself coming back now that Cryptic has backpedaled on their paid content pack/expansion and put out some olive branches to the community?”
Initially, no. The company lost a good amount of my trust, the damage had been done. But Cryptic followed up last week’s olive branch with another State of the Game address that focuses on the free “expansion.” Costumes, perks, and additional lairs are always welcome additions. Two bullet points really caught my attention – Adventures Packs and Monthly In-Game Events.
Adventure Packs are story driven packages that are playable at “nearly any level.” That will make them perfect for all of the altaholics out there (and casual players). Personally, I am excited to see the story part take shape. Who wouldn‘t want to battle with “villains both new and established.” The more Foxbat the better.
If there’s something that small companies and small MMOGs excel at it’s usually community. Cryptic Studios is looking to be a large part of that by joining us side-by-side. We’ll be seeing a lot more of the developers in the virtual space they created thanks to the monthly in-game events. Dates, times and details will be announced as they happen.
Cryptic, you’ve got about a month to win me back. It’s been a good start.
Champions Online – Revelation will go live in mid-March. More information will be revealed when the official mini-site launches this week.
Champions Online May Win Me Back
Two weeks ago I specified a few reasons why I was going to walk away from Champions Online when my subscription expired. Normally, I try to look at the positives of a situation, but my experiences with the game, Cryptic’s handling of it and the future plans didn‘t sit well with me. Or the rest of the playerbase, as a few readers explained their issues with the game in the comments section.
Last week, Cryptic backpedaled on its decision to offer paid for high-level content. Champions Online – Revelation, what the company claims is a “full-fledged expansion,” didn‘t go over well. The decision was reversed after people like us spoke our minds about paying for content in a game that is lacking just that. Commentator Snorlax returned to the post to pose a very good question:
“Do you see yourself coming back now that Cryptic has backpedaled on their paid content pack/expansion and put out some olive branches to the community?”
Initially, no. The company lost a good amount of my trust, the damage had been done. But Cryptic followed up last week’s olive branch with another State of the Game address that focuses on the free “expansion.” Costumes, perks, and additional lairs are always welcome additions. Two bullet points really caught my attention – Adventures Packs and Monthly In-Game Events.
Adventure Packs are story driven packages that are playable at “nearly any level.” That will make them perfect for all of the altaholics out there (and casual players). Personally, I am excited to see the story part take shape. Who wouldn‘t want to battle with “villains both new and established.” The more Foxbat the better.
If there’s something that small companies and small MMOGs excel at it’s usually community. Cryptic Studios is looking to be a large part of that by joining us side-by-side. We’ll be seeing a lot more of the developers in the virtual space they created thanks to the monthly in-game events. Dates, times and details will be announced as they happen.
Cryptic, you’ve got about a month to win me back. It’s been a good start.
Champions Online – Revelation will go live in mid-March. More information will be revealed when the official mini-site launches this week.
Cracking the Tribble Code
My Precious
Tribble breeding is somewhat of a mini-game in Star Trek Online. The quickly multiplying furry little creatures first appeared in The Original Series episode The Trouble with Tribbles. Tribble act as a buff which can be activated while on the ground, and the buff does apply to space combat as well. A tribble will eat food in your main inventory or bank, and replace that food with a new tribble. When a particular tribble eats a particular food, a particular tribble will be created. So in other words; X tribble + Y food = Z Tribble. Right clicking on the tribble and clicking info will tell you the tribble type and the buffs. Here are some general tribble tips:
1) It takes one hour for a tribble to eat a food item.
2) Tribble can multiply in your main inventory and in your bank.
3) Adding a food item to your inventory will not reset the one hour timer.
4) The one hour timer only accumulates while you are online. The timer resumes where it left off when you re-enter the game.
5) The more powerful foods appear to make better tribble (i.e. – the 64% and 72% regen foods).
Tribble Type (Yellow) and Tribble Buff (Red)
Example Steps to Make a Ricossa Tribble
1) Loot, buy or breed a McCarry tribble.
2) McCarry tribble + Klingon grapok sauce = Howe tribble
3) Howe tribble + Klingon octopus = Ricossa tribble
4) Now you have a Ricossa tribble that has a DPS and a damage resistance buff which lasts one hour.
For more tribble recipes and information check out STO Intel.
Cracking the Tribble Code
My Precious
Tribble breeding is somewhat of a mini-game in Star Trek Online. The quickly multiplying furry little creatures first appeared in The Original Series episode The Trouble with Tribbles. Tribble act as a buff which can be activated while on the ground, and the buff does apply to space combat as well. A tribble will eat food in your main inventory or bank, and replace that food with a new tribble. When a particular tribble eats a particular food, a particular tribble will be created. So in other words; X tribble + Y food = Z Tribble. Right clicking on the tribble and clicking info will tell you the tribble type and the buffs. Here are some general tribble tips:
1) It takes one hour for a tribble to eat a food item.
2) Tribble can multiply in your main inventory and in your bank.
3) Adding a food item to your inventory will not reset the one hour timer.
4) The one hour timer only accumulates while you are online. The timer resumes where it left off when you re-enter the game.
5) The more powerful foods appear to make better tribble (i.e. – the 64% and 72% regen foods).
Tribble Type (Yellow) and Tribble Buff (Red)
Example Steps to Make a Ricossa Tribble
1) Loot, buy or breed a McCarry tribble.
2) McCarry tribble + Klingon grapok sauce = Howe tribble
3) Howe tribble + Klingon octopus = Ricossa tribble
4) Now you have a Ricossa tribble that has a DPS and a damage resistance buff which lasts one hour.
For more tribble recipes and information check out STO Intel.
Why I Quit Champions Online
Even though I purchased the six month package for Champions Online I haven’t actively played the game in weeks. I’ve kept the client up-to-date just in case, but since publishing the game’s review in mid-November I haven’t put in anywhere near the time that I had previously. My absence from VioletPreston has nothing to do with being busy. The holidays didn’t stop me from logging in, neither did other video games, or even other MMOG that I play. I didn’t play Champions Online because of the game itself, no other excuses.
Plan and simple, Champions Online lost its hold on me. I continued to dive in to the game, move around the world, soak up the atmosphere, read about its future and most importantly, evaluate the content beyond my reach. What I definitively learned, and I hope my review hinted at, is that the game lacks legs. The atmosphere has always been incredibly disjointed thanks to the instancing of most zones. Even though all of the settings make sense in the universe, they lack a cohesive flow. And the multitude of characters aren’t employed effectively either. Because of these continued slip-ups through the middle to later levels, Champions Online gets boiled down to its diverse arcade-y combat;. In essence, it becomes a soulless experience.
Signing up for an MMOG to me is more than just playing a game, I am signing up as a partner to the company. I expect certain things from the service provider, and when I don’t see those things I can get upset, annoyed and even downright angry. Cryptic Studios has managed to make me feel almost all of these emotions. I was expecting the cast of Champions characters to be used in an intriguing way. I was hoping that the game would offer better grouping and dungeon experiences later on. I maintained a desire to play alternate characters (perhaps CO’s greatest strength), but was hamstrung by being forced to do the same content over and over. Instead of fixing these issues with content updates, Cryptic turned around and announced a premium content patch. Adding content to the end game and charging for it – that was the last straw for me.
The tragedy of all of this is that my experience has made me incredibly stand-offish to Cryptic’s just released MMORPG Star Trek Online, a title I was originally excited for. I’ll likely play it, but my experience and the handling of Champions Online to date, assured that I wouldn’t purchase an advance subscription, or even the game at launch.
My Champions Online account is subscribed for another month plus, so Cryptic can do right by me. But the outlook is grime for my Champions Online characters. It just couldn’t satisfy me in the long run.
Why I Quit Champions Online
Even though I purchased the six month package for Champions Online I haven’t actively played the game in weeks. I’ve kept the client up-to-date just in case, but since publishing the game’s review in mid-November I haven’t put in anywhere near the time that I had previously. My absence from VioletPreston has nothing to do with being busy. The holidays didn’t stop me from logging in, neither did other video games, or even other MMOG that I play. I didn’t play Champions Online because of the game itself, no other excuses.
Plan and simple, Champions Online lost its hold on me. I continued to dive in to the game, move around the world, soak up the atmosphere, read about its future and most importantly, evaluate the content beyond my reach. What I definitively learned, and I hope my review hinted at, is that the game lacks legs. The atmosphere has always been incredibly disjointed thanks to the instancing of most zones. Even though all of the settings make sense in the universe, they lack a cohesive flow. And the multitude of characters aren’t employed effectively either. Because of these continued slip-ups through the middle to later levels, Champions Online gets boiled down to its diverse arcade-y combat;. In essence, it becomes a soulless experience.
Signing up for an MMOG to me is more than just playing a game, I am signing up as a partner to the company. I expect certain things from the service provider, and when I don’t see those things I can get upset, annoyed and even downright angry. Cryptic Studios has managed to make me feel almost all of these emotions. I was expecting the cast of Champions characters to be used in an intriguing way. I was hoping that the game would offer better grouping and dungeon experiences later on. I maintained a desire to play alternate characters (perhaps CO’s greatest strength), but was hamstrung by being forced to do the same content over and over. Instead of fixing these issues with content updates, Cryptic turned around and announced a premium content patch. Adding content to the end game and charging for it – that was the last straw for me.
The tragedy of all of this is that my experience has made me incredibly stand-offish to Cryptic’s just released MMORPG Star Trek Online, a title I was originally excited for. I’ll likely play it, but my experience and the handling of Champions Online to date, assured that I wouldn’t purchase an advance subscription, or even the game at launch.
My Champions Online account is subscribed for another month plus, so Cryptic can do right by me. But the outlook is grime for my Champions Online characters. It just couldn’t satisfy me in the long run.
