STAR TREK ONLINE

[Doineann]

Trunksmad

There is, 14.99 for one whole month. But if you want I could send you the codes on the back of my cards. I dont have a use for them other than bookmarks.

No thanks. I'd have to buy the game, and there is a book I'd rather spend my money on. Star Trek: Online looks awesome, but it's not the holy writings of Michio Kaku.  

[Trunksmad]

Why you want to buy the cd? the website has the launcher on it. Just download it, make an account, let it update, and then ask someone for a friend code. If you are the type to not be busy much, you can make it up the ranks in no time. heack, it only took me about week to make Lt Cmd, and at that rank you get to choose if you want to be on the klingon's side (I highly recommend you dont thought, they are just mainly a focus on PVP side).  

[Doineann]

Thanks for the advice. I'll consider it.  

[Junimaia]

To appease the Guardian, my science officer wished to give the gift of tribble. And in return, the Guardian gave us the gift of defying gravity...





...what? I was bored.  

[AndyX]

Curtis25

whats the difference between the regular version of the game and the collectors edition?

bonus items mostly. the collector's edition has a com badge pin and an art book and several in game items such as TNG uniforms and DS9 uniforms.

the online Digital Deluxe Edition has TOS uniforms and a few other bonus items.

there is a SyFy bundle at the atari online store which has a special deflector dish and the best buy exclusive targ and tribble, maybe 1 or 2 other things  

[AndyX]

Tier 5 Ship "Rear Admiral" Rank ship
Luna class slightly modified. the warp nacelles were swapped out with another class of ship and the pylons supporting the nacelles were changed ever so slightly
 

[Junimaia]

Hoo... rear admiral. I haven't played anywhere near that long.

I just restarted because I been away from STO too long and felt like having a fresh start. Going the way of the scientist this time. A short adorable betazoid science officer with green pigtails. Because nothing's funnier than seeing klingons get their asses handed to them by a little girl in green pigtails. Granted, I've seen shorter aliens, so I could be eating those words soon.  

[Matt Pniewski]

My Impressions after playing the Demo-


Star Trek Online probably features the best character customization feature of any popular MMO, giving more options than any other game I've played. I must admit I was taken back by the endless combinations of races, aesthetics, and skills to chose from.

As soon as you leave character creation, the game throws you into a very intuitive combat mission, which seems a bit too easy even for a tutorial. You find yourself face to face with the Borg, one of the most dreaded enemies in the Star Trek Universe, who seem to fall like flies. As you walk around a starship completely overrun, you wonder how a group like this could even do to much damage.

You run through a ruined ship, following orders, eventually being told to beam back to your ship, down to a planet, ect. The gameplay is one hundred percent linear at this point, and even after a few more missions, the game continues without variables, even at the end of the demo. You can only travel to the predetermined areas set out for. Which defeats the purpose of an MMO.

The moment you get involved in ship to ship combat, your standing still. You are told how to move the ship, and giving vague instructions regarding combat. This becomes quite frustrating several times in the game. They only tell you keyboard shortcuts, and when they are not available they refer to your screen without any indication of what you are supposed to be doing. Much of ship to ship combat, and even simple navigation, comes down to guesswork.

Several cursewords later, and plenty of frustration, i found myself able to operate the ship, albeit not very well. I still stumbled through some of the commands, but was able to hold my own. Even knowing how to operate the ship, the controls were still clumsy, and poorly thought out.

I should, however, point out that all this time you are joined by NPCs and fellow players. Which becomes the real high point of the game, seeing members on the same mission, and instictively deciding to flank opponents without saying a word. In games like "World of WarCraft" it occasionally informs you that your mission is meant for multiple players. To which I end up doing solo, with relative ease. I never find myself looking for people to join my party, though i never deny anyone's help. In Star Trek, there is an automatic kinship between you and other players. Cooperative gameplay is not only available, but desirable.

In short, the game is full of problems. I'd like to say I've seen beyond the demo, but the subscription fee is a bit high for a game like this. It's worth playing, but not for the price. If I should ever come into contact with discounted game time cards, I'd gladly join the fleet. But fifteen dollars a month is way too much.