capn Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 http://www.startrek.perpetual.com/ It's been a while now since it was announced that Perpetual Entertainment has been licensed to develop a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the Star Trek franchise. Slated to be released sometime next year (although this seems unlikely to me given that no screens have been released), the game is said by its designers to bring something totally new to the often disparaged genre. And while the idea of being a crewmember aboard a Federation ship, with the potential of upward mobility to Captain, it is the tendency of these games to promise more than they can deliver. Having watched the growth of the genre from the barebones MUD precursors to this World of Warcraft craze that has taken the internet by storm, I can usually get a feel for how successful upcoming games will be. Very few of them are on their own merits what most would classify as a "good game." They are constructed to be timesinks, making their profit on the continued consumption of their services via fees, and so the trick is to make the game compelling (or addicting) enough to keep that lifeline strong. Naturally, the best way to ensure this is to structure such a game around a franchise that already has a tremendous fanbase. So we've seen Star Wars Galaxies and the Matrix Online, both of which were fairly mediocre games. And the potential for either of these was exceptional; it's the implementation that's the thing. World of Warcraft's massive success is in no small part due to its excellent construction, comparatively speaking, and Blizzard's dedication to the game. Sony, on the other hand, had a monopoly on MMORPGs with EverQuest for a good many years; not because of its superior design, but rather the lack of any viable competition. It used basically the same formula in Star Wars Galaxies and EverQuest 2, but these subscription bases are dwarfed next to Blizzard. How does this all factor in to Star Trek Online? The idea is novel; it voices one of our geekiest desires. But can the newcomer Perpetual pull it off? It would be a daunting task for even the most accomplished creative team. And I have seen nothing to indicate that they are capable as of yet. What is your take on this? And, when it comes out, do you think you'll consider playing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bapman Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 I'll consider plaing it but they'd have to make it that interesting. I mean if the game is like the series that we are warping to a terrotory for about a week and then explore gas giant or view a sun going supernova... then no thanks. Sadly... an ST game will have to give up its original premise of space exploration if it wants to survive the game world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TetsuoShima Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 It will definately depend a great deal upon the price for me, even if the game gets great reviews and everybody loves it, I will not play it if it's too expensive. Now, if it's cheap and if it sucks, I won't play it either. It better have the right balance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bapman Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 Like World of Warcraft. Now you can't get more perfect than that... or can you ;)... tunTunTUN [creepy music] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S0V13T Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 I'll never pay a monthly fee on top of a software purchase fee to play a game. Theres just nothing good enough, imo to make me want to do that. Now if it was say a one time purchace of $200, and no monthly fees, I'd go that far. Only if it was good, mind you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arktis Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 I'm with S0V13T on this one. Of course, I am very distasteful of MMORPG games anyways, since they are highly addictive and have been known to cause people to be hunched over their computers in the dark even while they have company over. Sound like anyone you know? Does to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tadair Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Having read about this in this months PC Gamer (UK), I have a feeling that a majority of the players will gravitate towards the Security and Flight Command classes, since Engineering seems to just involve pressing buttons to keep the engine running, and while Science get to go on away missions, they're less involved in the fighting. Also, with real crew levels, even if many are NPC's, you may end up with squabbles over who gets the helm and so forth, with some people coming online for a play, but finding no available jobs to do. However, one thing that could aid it is the bunch of existing fan-run RPG's around the web, if a number of them gravitated over, it'd help establish a community, they'd still be able to run their stories on the side too. Monthly cost is also a minus for me, I play Guild Wars which only costs for buying the original game and any expansions you want (the first expansion is due out about 10-11 months after the original game, so they're not overdoing that either). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S0V13T Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 We've had thios topic before, but it deserves to be mentioned again. Heres the link to the first thread about this game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabrood Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 For me it's very simple: I will never pay a monthly fee just to play a computergame. It just isn't worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exterus Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 It depends on the game. If I can play a greedy little ferengi and apply to join the orion syndicate, I'm in. If it's WoW with phasers, no way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulse0066 Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 The way I see it, right now, I have no expectations for this game whatsoever. Before Star Wars Galaxies came out about two and a half years ago, I had too high of expectations. The game sounded great, and was being made by the developers of the almighty EverQuest. However, when the game came out, it could only hold my interest for a few months at a time. Then, out of nowhere, Sony Online decides, after 2.5 years, to completely change the entire way the game works (combat, skill progression, etc.)... That just goes to show that the developers of the game have the right to do whatever they want to the game at any time, which can tend to drive casual players away. About the subscription fee, I suspect it will be around $14.99/month as it is with EQ2, WoW, CoH/CoV, SWG, etc... The game is due to start the beta testing sometime next year and out for final release in 2007, from what I've read. Knowing most MMO developing companies, those dates are subject to change, to say the least. Basically, it's too early for me to make a decent opinion about the game due to the lack of concrete information. We'll all just wait and see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbbb Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 Looks odd for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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