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Ok, since the last thread about this game is two and a half years old lets try again. STO is now free to play and because Guild Wars 2 was such a let down I'm taking a shot at it. Anyone else playing? I'm almost level 10 and here's what I've seen so far.

1) You get your own starship. Right now I've got a Centaur. Yes, much of the promotional material featured those hideous abominations but by and large they're skins. You have the option to just pick a different skin so instead of something ugly you can instead fly a classic Trek ship. The feel of combat is quite a bit like in the shows and you can customize the ship greatly from appearance to equipment. This is certainly the game's strength.

2) If you want to craft exactly the look you want in a character this is the game for you. The character creator is far and away the most detailed I've ever used.

3) You're probably not going to care to be looking at your character that much. Again, your ship is this game's strength. Ground missions are not. They do a pretty admirable job of creating Trek scenarios and giving you things to do beyond shooting but again, you get your own starship.

4) It really is free to play. So far I've seen no real impediments to enjoying all the game has to offer without spending a dime. That being said, the cash shop has lots of customization options for your avatar's look, plenty of boosters, and access to some ships that are mostly cosmetic. You are taking it in the shorts with limited bag and bank space unless you pay for more which is kind of a pain because...

5) There's a lot of crafting in this game and it is all very materials intense. Like I said, I'm level 9 and my bank is already 65% full of crafting mats.

Overall it's looking like a pretty decent game. It has issues but given that it's completely free at the moment I guess I'm more willing to accept some lack of polish. Like I said, free, so at worst you're just out a download if you don't like it.

I have been playing for about six months and my only problem (other than bugs) is that you might as well play with speech off. Worst voice acting ever. And most inconsistent.

I love playing with the ship designer and I love that there are so few restrictions based on whether you pay or not (unlike ToR for example).

I also like that you are identified by an account handle (I think mine is aswitz but I can't remember), so when you make a new character on the account, your friends still know who you are (unlike again, ToR).

I also like that you can play as the Klingon Empire, which will be getting a major expansion this coming year (hopefully with less bugs than when they first tried it).

And there are rumors that we will get access to Romulan characters at some point soon... though that hasn't been confirmed as far as I know.


On the downside, for gameplay reasons, 8472 have been significantly weakened (think comparison of Borg from TNG to VOY) so seem rather meh.

Also, going through the story your third time is really a drag because there is no difference other than between factions.

Overall though it is somewhat enjoyable, and FREE.

The account handle thing kinda bugs me. There were times in WoW that the ability to disappear onto an alt was a welcome respite. That said, I don't see enough difference in the "classes" (Tactical, Science, Engineering) to really require an alt to experience different play styles. Hell, if you want a different look you can just go to a tailor and completely change everything about your character so I just don't see any reason to alt in this game.

Was going to play years ago but got busy. Might have a go at it now.

Need an MMORG since WoW just bores me.

Tyyr wrote:The account handle thing kinda bugs me. There were times in WoW that the ability to disappear onto an alt was a welcome respite. That said, I don't see enough difference in the "classes" (Tactical, Science, Engineering) to really require an alt to experience different play styles. Hell, if you want a different look you can just go to a tailor and completely change everything about your character so I just don't see any reason to alt in this game.

The thing is, since its free, and you can transfer items via mail for no charge, you can easily set up an alternate account if you don't want other folks knowing who you are.

Its one of the few that is really genuinely story driven without absolutely requiring you to follow it. SWTOR is very....forceful in that you cant get anywhere without following the class storylines. STO has a good, divergent storyline thats reasonably engaging but is by no means the only way to survive.

I still have my characters on there...i think they are around level 22/23 or something; if anyone wants to play, I'll have to download it but I'm usually up for.

Was going to play years ago but got busy. Might have a go at it now.

Same, but at the time I was still coming off WoW and I wasn't in the mood for another subscription based game. That and all the ships they used in the promotional art were hideous. So now that it's F2P and I found out you can use classic ships It's all good.

Need an MMORG since WoW just bores me.

Well the game's free now so there's no real barrier to entry. Let me put it to you like this. Last night I started off by helping out another ship survey some strange crystaline asteroids then stave off an attack by pirates hiding in those asteroids. Then I traveled to a starbase where I helped track down the Ferengi thieves who'd stolen explosives. I chased them across that star system finally duking it out with a bunch of Naussican pirate ships trying to cover for him. Then I beamed down to their base, fought my way through a lot of pirates to reclaim the stolen goods and apprehend the Ferengi theif. After I was done with that I traveled to a system and went on patrol, scanning local freighters for contraband and stopping the ones that were carrying it. When I returned to sector space there was a distress call and I warped in to help fight off a Borg incursion with a dozen other PC ships. I explored a few new star systems, dealt with some klingon raiders and pirates, helped with a medical emergency on one world then finished the night off by finding some random Klingon raiders to duke it out with a bit before calling heading back to spacedock and calling it a night.

There are also some other details that set it apart from other MMOs. You attain and train up your own bridge crew, picking the mix of skills you want to use. Ground combat on missions they accompany you, or you can adjust the mix by subbing in regular security redshirts in case you don't want your scientists there with you. You obtain deck officers which are NPC's that you direct to do minor side missions and in return gain rewards and things from them or station them on your ship for bonuses.

So far I'm enjoying it a great deal. Then again I thought Guild Wars 2 was hot shit until I finally got bored with it around level 55 since while it did greatly improve the conventional MMO it's still a conventional MMO. This is definitely not just a Trek skin on a conventional MMO though, they are doing a lot of stuff their own way.

I still have my characters on there...i think they are around level 22/23 or something; if anyone wants to play, I'll have to download it but I'm usually up for.

I'm usually around somewhere late at night EST, Tyyrlym. Level 11 right now, soon to be 12.

Okay I'm sold, I'll have to get this game.

Steam has the game on sale for 12$ US

Deepcrush wrote:Steam has the game on sale for 12$ US

That may be a special offer, since the game itself is free from both Steam and Cryptic themselves.

Yeah, different DLCs and all. Some pretty nice starter stuff.

I finally broke down and downloaded it. Currently I'm going back and forth between the Delta Volanis Cluster and the Memory-Alpha system. The DV Cluster has all sorts of anomalies in it, that can be scanned for weird stuff. In Memory Alpha, I use the weird stuff to make items to either equip or sell. Making the items increases my Crafting ability, both with creating the Schematics (need 1 per item you want to make), and making the item itself.

My ship's phasers are both crafted, two phaser rifles for ground missions are crafted, plus personal shields, and a couple body armor suits as well. It is a good way to equip your NPCs without paying energy credits (you just pay with time and repetition). Large Hyposprays and Large shield regenerators are also made there, and I've been equipping my NPCs with them too.

I suppose I should level my PC up more to make fancier tech, which can be sold for more money (or replace what I am currently using).

Leveling can be quite easy by doing the missions... just play with voice sounds off if possible.

So I downloaded it a few days ago and am a level 8 now. With this many of us on there is there any interest in creating our own fleet?