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Thread: Okay JtL: Here Comes The Competition
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OddjobXL
Wed Mar 16, 2005 7:59 am
#1
Let me say this pretty clearly. I am not a Trekkie, Trekker or any permutation thereof. I really don't want to have to go out and figure out the Star Trek universe after spending small piles of time and money learning about the Star Wars universe for SWG. I'm vested in this place. I'm not going anywhere unless I can't resist any longer.
Gamespot has the first details about Star Trek Online (no clicky - you can find it if you really want to). Everyone is a crewman on a starship and there are multiple stations and roles. There's space combat, away teams, all that good stuff.
"Much of Star Trek Online's content will focus around space travel in starships. Starships will have two instanced areas, the main bridge and the engineering bay, where players will be able to use their specialties to better navigate the ship under the watchful eye of a captain player, who directs, among other things, the flow of power to the ship's various systems. Currently, the game is planned to let individual players focus on their own specialties on the bridge (so a player using a flight control officer will actually sit that character at a panel on the bridge)--any gaps in crew will be filled by computer-controlled characters. Starships will make for four major types of content in the game: social, bridge missions, away missions, and everyone's favorite plot device, the holodeck. All ships will have common social areas where players can walk about in a third-person perspective and play leisurely games of pool or darts when they're off duty.
"As Dahlgren explains, the idea behind starships is also to make players feel like an actual crew, rather than a bunch of random players thrown together. The designer suggests that players may essentially approach being part of a crew like being a part of an online game clan. Bridge missions, however, will be far less casual. They'll involve battles to take over enemy ships by first disabling their shields in combat, allowing a team of players to beam aboard the enemy starship with the ultimate goal of disabling that ship's warp core, crippling it. Away missions will take place on terra firma and will actually include first-person shooter content--these missions will take place in instanced areas and play much like a cooperative multiplayer shooter. Finally, the holodeck will let players basically simulate all other content, including mock player-versus-player duels and mock crew-versus-crew bridge missions."
Okay, there are things JtL can do better than STO. We're talking about trade, smuggling and piracy. Space mining - not a top ten item for me, I don't think I can hack the excitement level, but looks like we'll have that as well.
Devs, please, I love my YT and I love my crew. But I'd really love an actual functional reason to be taking my ship and my crew out there. Whether it's combat effectiveness (currently lacking) or content that requires, say, holds and cargo capacities - give me a reason to get my crew motivated and out in space. This is the single best part of SWG for me, which says alot considering there's absolutely nothing out there to do aside from blowing up weak NPCs and enjoying the view. Don't, man, don't make me learn how to speak Klingon and do the friggin' Vulcan Peace Sign. I don't want to trade in myadorable, but hot,Twi'lek dancers for them treacherous green Orion viperesses.
Make MPS a strongpoint of the game by giving us content in space. And the more content we get the more we'll need to hire fighter escorts. That's another thing we do that Star Trek can't - WWII style aerial combat and dogfighting. Make better missions available from Space Stations for everyonetoo with more random variations in content. Doing the same old wham-bam duty missions but with slightly different opposition forces is dull. Throw in random encounters, random plot twists and even mission changes. Hey, toss out NPC ships that actually will have something to say when we comm them sometime. Maybe even offer us random missions like NPCs on the ground. And what ever happened to dynamic POIs? Maybe they slow down the servers groundside but might they work in space a bit better?
Fight back, devs! Save The YTs! Save The Decimators! Save The Novas! Because I don't wanna be tempted but I am....
Message Edited by OddjobXL on 03-16-2005 07:00 AM
Asterz
Wed Mar 16, 2005 8:20 am
#2
No need to worry its a well known fact that Star Wars is better and more fun than Star Trek (i.e the films and EU) and that all Star Trek games are rubbish instead of just 95% of Star Wars games being rubbish. SWG has nowt to fear. Look on the bright side at least we wont have to worry about runing into Star Trek fans in SWG when it launches. Always a bonus.
Note: Just in case any Star Trek fans decide to take offence to this...you just proved my point. 
OddjobXL
Wed Mar 16, 2005 8:39 am
#4
It seems to be pretty fun for folks with good ships. I had fun before everyone had a better ship than me. One thing PvPin JtLdoes have whether or not I'm still involved is a much better class of people.
/salute
Meanwhile - Devs, we need that PvE content as described above. Now.
Datink_Nieleft
Wed Mar 16, 2005 9:16 am
#5
OddjobXL wrote:
It seems to be pretty fun for folks with good ships. I had fun before everyone had a better ship than me. One thing PvPin JtLdoes have whether or not I'm still involved is a much better class of people.
/salute
Meanwhile - Devs, we need that PvE content as described above. Now.
You can chalk that up to the pilot mentality, ala WW I where pilots were knights of the sky and with a honor code all of their own. I find that here in JTL as well. Makes for a better time for both the victor and the victim.
ArcadyHerigorn
Wed Mar 16, 2005 10:16 am
#6
I don't think this will be too much competition. I went to read the FAQ on Star Trek Online and it won't be released until 2007. By then this game will be all it should be or will have gone the way of some of the other MMORPG's, I guess.
One thing I found really interesting was that if you have to log or drop your connection an NPC will spawn to take your place in the crew. If your crew has an away misssion and you don't have enough live players to accomplish the mission NPC will spawn to help. I think this is a great idea SOE should implement. It wouldn't take away from the social aspect but on those times when you couldn't find live players you could still have fun, instead of frantically searching the galaxy for a player to help you. Standing in the starports spamming for help so you get put on peoples ignore lists.
The other day I crashed to desk top while being the gunner on a YT-1300, this left the underside of the ship vulnerable and nearly failed the mission. If in this case an npc would have spawned to take my place, although not as good as me it would have been some help.
Or those cursed missions everyone is stuck on because so many Ace pilots would rather come here and complain there is no content when they could be out helping someone stuck on a mission. If 2 NPC wingmen would spawn to help it would be nice. The fun we had the other night was the best I have had in so long, 2 imps gunned on a privateer ship to help a fellow imp complete his last tier 4 mission. I can honestly say that when the rebel A wings came accross the ship and I blasted my turret gun was the first time I had that Star Wars feeling ever in this game. If they would just get the chat and mission interface easier to use in space on these kinds of missions it would be awesome.
Skuzz
Wed Mar 16, 2005 2:57 pm
#7
Lol You did say star trek right? What makes you think a star trek game would draw any significant number of star wars fans to it? By and large they are very differnt types of folks. Not exclusively but you get what i mean im sure. I think SWG is 'quite' safe from any star trek game that may come out. hehehe 
OddjobXL
Wed Mar 16, 2005 6:53 pm
#8
I think I'm tempted. Could be I'm the only one. Star Wars hasn't done a whole lot for me since I was using acne cream but the game designideas in SWG got me interested in the setting far more so than anything Lucas has done lately. I had alot of catching up to do on the EU and so forth but it was worthwhile and I enjoy the content in the game alot more because I understand where it comes from. Which is a two-edged sword. As I slowly morph into a (mild) Star Wars fan I also notice where SWG doesn't get things right in terms of setting and mood. But if the gameplay ideas in STO get me excited I could find myself picking up books with Vulcans on the cover instead of Jedi. I'm a roleplayer first and a sim-head second. If I'm an MMO player at all it's because MMOs are starting to appeal to the roleplayer and simulationist in me. I'd did the l33t lewt grind back before there was an "A" in "D&D". It's other kinds of content and context that interest me now in my dotage.
I'd like to see some more content for multiplayer ships in JtL in a big way. We need iconic, and profitable, activities to make going in space in these barges worthwhile. Combat's not it. Your average Firespray or Krayt is better in a fight. Heck, I could probably do nearly as well in a Syck. There's no trade, smuggling or worthwhile piracy to be had. Why am I out there? It's a question my crew confronts every Tuesday night when we get together. Mostly it's roleplaying and shooting at small ships which is surprisingly entertaining with a good group of friends. Sometimes other groups get involved and pose as smugglers for us to chase or we get involved in some GCW related roleplay on the side. But most of the content is us. We've got an awesomely fun tool in the MPS. It's a great and a beautiful thing.
Now let us find a way we can actually us it for something. Give me a break at trying to keep this repetative experience fresh by giving it some direction and purpose. Trade, smuggling and piracy. Those are the touchstones.
munhihausen
Wed Mar 16, 2005 7:14 pm
#9
Is there a word in Klingon for 'lonlieness'?
Ahh yes...DARRRDAK!
Sifer2
Wed Mar 16, 2005 9:03 pm
#10
Im impressed by thier game concept design though. Making both a First Person Shooter an Large Ship combat mission system sounds quite cool. But yes im a much bigger fan of Star Wars than Star Trek so they wont be able to bring me over to thier side. All the same I would'nt mind running around the Enterprise as a crew member for a few days.
Cyrus_Biddissi
Thu Mar 17, 2005 5:23 am
#11
I'm somewhat intrigued to see how the Star Trek: Online works out, but I'll always be a way bigger fan of Star Wars!
Now if large ship battles were added to SWG then there is no way I'd even consider Star Trek: Online!!
Mmmm Star Destroyers vs Mon Cal Cruisers.........!
Cya!
NACHODEWI
Thu Mar 17, 2005 5:59 am
#12
I was always wondering why no one got busy making a Star Trek online game. I will closely follow this. My favorite TV series is Stargate. I would love to see an online Stargate game with tons of dangerous planets to explore.
GregorianPipes
Thu Mar 17, 2005 6:00 am
#13
I could see the appeal to some people for STO. I just wish the devs for this game would focus more on space. I wish the new expansion would come out a bit later in the year and include tons of space content as well as the wookie planet.
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