Star Trek Online: Non-Combat Missions
One of the commonest laments you’ll hear from Star Trek Online devotees is that the game is too orientated around confrontation and combat; there aren’t enough diplomatic, exploration and general non-combat missions in the game. It’s a matter I have mixed feelings about, because if you watch Star Trek TOS, then Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise didn’t always live up to the ideals that The Federation extols. However, this did change in later shows. I certainly wouldn’t be averse to having more non-combat missions in the game, although they would have to be of some substance to merit my interest. The removal of the Exploration Cluster missions from STO, in July summer 2014 was justified in my opinion, as they were somewhat arbitrary. However, if you take content out of a game, then it would be preferable to see something else put back in its place.
One of the commonest laments you’ll hear from Star Trek Online devotees is that the game is too orientated around confrontation and combat; there aren’t enough diplomatic, exploration and general non-combat missions in the game. It’s a matter I have mixed feelings about, because if you watch Star Trek TOS, then Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise didn’t always live up to the ideals that The Federation extols. However, this did change in later shows. I certainly wouldn’t be averse to having more non-combat missions in the game, although they would have to be of some substance to merit my interest. The removal of the Exploration Cluster missions from STO, in July summer 2014 was justified in my opinion, as they were somewhat arbitrary. However, if you take content out of a game, then it would be preferable to see something else put back in its place.
Having recently created a new Star Trek: Discovery era alt, I’m playing through the games content once again and have noted that a lot of it has been revised and streamlined. However, despite the removal of some content deemed sub-par or no longer relevant to the narrative, there are still some odd missions here and there that vary from the standard design. One of which is “Trade Deal” which can be found on Starbase 39 via Lt. Commander Brocal. She is trying to broker a trade deal between the Federation, Ferengi, Rigelians and the Deferi. Naturally there’s a snag and an impasse has been reached so the player has to visit each Ambassador and listen to their side of the story. Depending on how you respond, additional dialogue options then appear which give you a greater insight into the matter so you can successfully resolve the matter. Despite its somewhat linear design it is an enjoyable change from the standard “pew pew” missions.
Success in “Trade Deal” comes from reading all the dialogue and not rushing to what obviously appears to be the next stage. However, the fact that it requires reading, and playing at a measured pace will not endear it to some STO players. However, it does provide a hint as to what more non-combat missions could be like. There is also a diplomatic mission on Vulcan called “Ancestral Sin” where the player has to solve a threat made against a visiting Romulan Ambassador. Again the successful resolution of this mission comes down to the sequence of events that the player pursues and although a little dry, it does make for a welcome change from simply taking aggressive action against the latest Federation enemy. If Cryptic are going to ever integrate more of these sorts of activities in to STO then they would have to try and make them narratively engaging and possibly add a puzzle element to them to give them some added interest.
As for exploration, to make such a mechanic have any real depth other than the superficial, you’d need to have a lot of hidden mission chains placed in new map areas. Simply exploring an area and getting an accolade for cataloguing what is physically there is not something I’d want to do for too long. Going to a star system and making first contact with a race and then establishing trade or diplomatic relations is an interesting prospect, but then you’re effectively creating full blown feature episodes. The choice for Cryptic would then be do they create new narrative based around exploration or continue to write missions around established lore and canonical material. I’d personally like to have both, but I get the impression that the developers tend to stick with what has proven to work. However, as Star Trek Online seems to be faring well due to the current interest in Star Trek: Discovery, may be further resources will be allocated to expanding non-combat content in the game in the future.
New Ships, Keybinds and Voice Acting
There has been a degree of controversy over the Discovery Operation Pack that has recently been made available for purchase in Star Trek Online. The bundle featuring ships, bridge officers, cosmetic items and more is displeasing some core players who feel that it is over priced and lacks anything relevant for Romulan and Klingon races. Personally, I’m only interested in two specific items from the pack, such as the Tier 6 Gagarin Miracle Worker Battlecruiser and the combat pet Tardigrade but at present they cannot be purchased separately. So, I shall not be parting with any money at present. The Gagarin Miracle Worker Battlecruiser is relatively similar to the Tucker Tactical Miracle Worker Cruiser, which I already own. However, it is an improvement aesthetically speaking (a subjective point, admittedly), so for me the obvious compromise is to purchase the fleet version and forgo the unique space trait and settle for an additional console slot. As I’m not a high-end player, the look and feel of a ship has as much appeal to me as its stats.
There has been a degree of controversy over the Discovery Operation Pack that has recently been made available for purchase in Star Trek Online. The bundle featuring ships, bridge officers, cosmetic items and more is displeasing some core players who feel that it is over priced and lacks anything relevant for Romulan and Klingon races. Personally, I’m only interested in two specific items from the pack, such as the Tier 6 Gagarin Miracle Worker Battlecruiser and the combat pet Tardigrade but at present they cannot be purchased separately. So, I shall not be parting with any money at present. The Gagarin Miracle Worker Battlecruiser is relatively similar to the Tucker Tactical Miracle Worker Cruiser, which I already own. However, it is an improvement aesthetically speaking (a subjective point, admittedly), so for me the obvious compromise is to purchase the fleet version and forgo the unique space trait and settle for an additional console slot. As I’m not a high-end player, the look and feel of a ship has as much appeal to me as its stats.
Although not as bad as some MMOs, STO does suffer from a degree of skills bloat, which means that space combat can be somewhat of a “clickfest” at times. Therefore, a lot of players, especially those who pursue high DPS, use keybinds to facilitate the efficient activation of skills. There are third party tools that allow multiple abilities to be assigned to a single hotkey. Most people tend to use the spacebar for this, which can then be quickly used to activate each skill, one after the other. It certainly removes extraneous mouse movement and furious clicking but after some recent experimentation, I have decided return to the old school approach. Manually picking skills and making tactical decisions is half of the fun of space combat and automating this process robs the game of some of its allure, or at least for me it does. Oddly enough, while doing some research as to how to use keybinds and what software to use, I discovered that the console version of STO allows players to automate skills use, as well as weapons fire. On the PC version, only the latter is available. I wonder if Cryptic intend to address this disparity?
Finally, I read this week about allegations of sexual misconduct made against voice artists and actor Vic Mignogna. I am only familiar with the man through Star Trek Continues and his voice work in STO as Captain Isaac Garrett and was not aware that he was well known in the Anime community for his vocal talents. A few contributors to the STO subreddit have raised the question as to whether his dialogue should now be removed and replaced with an alternative actor. It certainly made me stop and think. I am by no means an advocate of kneejerk reactions, but I can also understand why companies, especially those based in leisure industries would want to distance themselves from such a situation until due process has run its course. It will be interesting to see what (if anything) developers Cryptic decided to do. Irrespective of Vic Mignogna’s respective innocence or guilt, the entire matter is escalating and potentially getting subsumed into the wider ongoing culture wars. #Animegate is sadly now a thing and as such I wouldn’t want to see that anywhere near STO or take root in its community.
Star Trek Online: Ninth Anniversary and Stuff
I have suffixed the title of this post “and stuff” so I can address several Star Trek Online related thoughts in a single blog post. Despite the fact that I frequently play STO it is does oddly get neglected in my writing. So, let us start with the issue of the ninth anniversary. As ever Q is back with the anniversary event and once again, we are stabilising Omega Molecules. This year’s reward is a Tier 6 Vulcan T’Pau Scout Ship. There are also emotes and sundry other items to earn during the duration of the festivities, but I more interested in the anniversary itself. Not many MMOs make it to nine years and if they do, they aren’t necessarily in as good shape as STO. The game has a stable and loyal playerbase and is currently tied-in to Star Trek: Discovery. Further established Trek actors are supplying voice acting and the game seems to be doing well across both PC and consoles. Like LOTRO, STO uses the IP well and seems to “fill in the gaps” in the existing lore as well as expand and extrapolate established canon. One of the best things about STO is that there’s always something to do in-game as well as new content in the pipeline. Perhaps this along with the handling of the IP is why the game endures.
I have suffixed the title of this post “and stuff” so I can address several Star Trek Online related thoughts in a single blog post. Despite the fact that I frequently play STO it is does oddly get neglected in my writing. So, let us start with the issue of the ninth anniversary. As ever Q is back with the anniversary event and once again, we are stabilising Omega Molecules. This year’s reward is a Tier 6 Vulcan T’Pau Scout Ship. There are also emotes and sundry other items to earn during the duration of the festivities, but I more interested in the anniversary itself. Not many MMOs make it to nine years and if they do, they aren’t necessarily in as good shape as STO. The game has a stable and loyal playerbase and is currently tied-in to Star Trek: Discovery. Further established Trek actors are supplying voice acting and the game seems to be doing well across both PC and consoles. Like LOTRO, STO uses the IP well and seems to “fill in the gaps” in the existing lore as well as expand and extrapolate established canon. One of the best things about STO is that there’s always something to do in-game as well as new content in the pipeline. Perhaps this along with the handling of the IP is why the game endures.
In October last year, Cryptic released a new Star Trek: Discovery themed “starting experience” that allows players to create characters from 2256. As ever there’s a fairly involved narrative which references Klingon lore from that era and the war with the Federation. There’s the added bonus of Jeffrey Combs playing Captain Thy'kir Shran, the great-grandson of Thy'lek Shran from Star Trek: Enterprise. However, due to the main story of STO being set in 2409, the writers have to once again fall back on that old tried and tested Trek “get out of jail card”, time travel. Hence, Agent Daniels makes a further appearance and uses more temporal shenanigans to bridge the timelines. It’s an acceptable plot device if you’re new to the game, but it’s already been previously used in 2016 in the Agents of Yesterday expansion. Plus, if you don’t create a new character and play through this specific tutorial, the follow up story set in the twenty fifth century that is available to established alts, is a little confusing to say the least.
Now I happen to enjoy Star Trek: Discovery and am therefore happy to have content from this era along with voice acting from Mary Wiseman added to the game. But there is a downside to this. In an attempt to streamline and coherently curate all the previous episodes of STO, Cryptic have had to alter their running order. Some stories have been taken out of the chronological sequence and categorised as Side Content: The Galaxy at Large. If you are a dedicated trek fan who starts playing the MMO from scratch, you may have to play a fair amount of content across multiple factions before everything falls into place. After nine years that game does seem to be sagging under its irregular narrative growth. But despite these occasional quirks the stories available do all have a strong Trek feel to them. Last summers Victory is Life expansion contained some of the best written material outside of the shows themselves. It certainly tapped into the best elements of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It’s a shame it is not officially canonical.
Another issue that Cryptic have been trying to address of late is encouraging players to participate more in the various group PVE missions or Task Force Operations as they have been renamed. This content provides among other rewards, rep tokens which are required for reputation faction advancement. In the past it would be difficult for players to find a group for some of the less popular TFOs, so the developers came up with the Universal Endeavor system. This offers daily TFO challenges along with bespoke rewards. They also added a facility to join a random TFO with enhanced loot. As of the 23rd January and the start of the 16th STO season, Personal Endeavors have been added to the game, offering three random tasks that can be completed by replaying missions, running TFO or visiting the various battlezones in the game. If you are presented with a task that is not to your liking, you can reroll another using tokens that are given as part of the Personal Endeavors rewards. The system also provides perk points that can be spent to unlock account-wide bonuses that apply to all characters equally. For the casual player this offers an enjoyable challenge, where the dedicated min-maxer will have yet a further set of options to tweak their build.
After a year of trying a variety of ships in STO I have returned to my Tucker Tactical Miracle Worker Cruiser. The prevailing game meta has changed once again and frankly I’m not quite au fait with the latest popular theories, so I have opted for a lore-based phaser beam weapons and selected gear for a standard Auxiliary to Battery build. Everything equipped is Mark XV and upgraded to Epic level. As I no longer have any DPs parsers installed and I’m not inclined to go down the rabbit hole, I have no idea what my “official numbers” are like, but stuff dies and dies quickly, and I no longer fly like a complete fool which helps a lot. Overall, I find myself well placed at present to enjoy STO. I bought the game on launch and it took both me and Cryptic a while to find our respective feet. I played the game on and off during it’s first four years and it wasn’t until the launch of the Delta Recruitment Event in May 2015 that it fully got a hold on me. By then a lot had been done to file down the rough edges. STO still has some that need attention but I’m glad that nine years on the game is still alive and kicking. I mean what other MMO has Horta combat pets or Gorn’s in Hawaiian shirts?
Screenshots
There is a strong social element to video games, regardless of the genre. Gamers like to share their thoughts and opinions with others via forums, blogs and videos because of their common interest. So, it is hardly surprising that video game enthusiasts like to take screenshots and preserve a record of their activities. Subsequently, the ability to capture an image from a game has now become an integral aspect of gaming culture and many titles now have a dedicated screenshot facility. This may range from a simple screenshot key to a comprehensive photo mode in which you can pause the game and pan the camera around the game environment. It’s a far cry from two decades ago when players would often have to rely on bespoke third-party programs such as FRAPS to take screenshots, or simply use the PrtScn button and then paste the image into a photo editor.
There is a strong social element to video games, regardless of the genre. Gamers like to share their thoughts and opinions with others via forums, blogs and videos because of their common interest. So, it is hardly surprising that video game enthusiasts like to take screenshots and preserve a record of their activities. Subsequently, the ability to capture an image from a game has now become an integral aspect of gaming culture and many titles now have a dedicated screenshot facility. This may range from a simple screenshot key to a comprehensive photo mode in which you can pause the game and pan the camera around the game environment. It’s a far cry from two decades ago when players would often have to rely on bespoke third-party programs such as FRAPS to take screenshots, or simply use the PrtScn button and then paste the image into a photo editor.
The MMO genre, with their rich persistent worlds, lends itself greatly to screenshots. Often the environments and the graphical design is reason enough to capture images. I have done this often in games such as LOTRO and STO and have folders filled with pictures of landscapes, vistas or battles. Screen captures also provide a convenient means to document achievements and social activities. Players will often take a group picture after a successful raid or at in-game events such as festivals. The convenience of this system also makes it ideal for collating data regarding builds and equipment. Taking a screenshot of your skills tree and how you’ve spent your points is so much easier than meticulously transcribing the details. And as game preservation and history becomes a more important subject, images taken over a period of years can be invaluable in documenting change. I have several hundred LOTRO screenshots taken over a period of nine years. Many show features and systems that have been altered or replaced.
There are specific aspects that contribute to a good screenshot. Like photography, these are based in composition, lighting and creativity. Furthermore, such images can be enhanced using standard photo editing software. Tweaking the brightness or contrast can make a difference and improve the overall presentation. However, in recent years, some games have gone a stage further and introduced a far more comprehensive photo mode that does more than just capture what is initially apparent. I first encountered this facility in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. The player can pause the game at any time during proceedings, and then move the “camera” around the environment to either see the subject form an alternative angle, or as a means to explore aspects of the world not immediately clear. Different elements can be made the focus, while others reduced in clarity. The game UI can be removed, and the finished image framed with specific borders if chosen. There is a similar functionality in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and it produces some compelling screenshots.
However, there can be some problems associated with taking screenshots. Some contemporary triple A games have started using anti-tamper software that blocks third party apps such as FRAPS. I have experienced this with such titles as Star Wars: Battlefront II and Ghost Recon: Wildlands. One solution is to take a screen capture using the in-game overlay that is built into the client launcher, such as Origins or Uplay. The down side to this is that you have to customise settings of each launcher if you want to use a standard screen capture key. Alternatively, if you have a Nvidia graphics card then GeForce Experience software offers a universal screenshot facility. This not only works for games but can capture images from your desktop as well as videos played via VLC Player or similar software. But regardless of the technicalities as to how you take your screenshots, ultimately, they are a distillation of all the reasons why we game. Like conventional photographs they are a means of capturing a moment for posterity, that can later be shared and reflected upon.
Star Trek Online: The Other MMO
It’s a curious thing that despite having played the MMORPG Star Trek Online, fairly regularly since its launch in 2010, I don’t write about it consistently. This realisation has given me pause for thought because I’ve spent a of lot of time playing my primary character over the years. I enjoy the fundamentals of this game. It is very lore friendly, with strong narratives and themes. As a hybrid free-to-play game it is very accessible, especially to new players. There are regularly events and activities scheduled throughout the year, outside of the core game content. And yes, if you want to sink a fortune buying ships from the cash store, you certainly can do so but it is not essential to have a positive game experience. Yet despite many positive points, looking back over my written output this year, STO doesn’t get as much attention from me as LOTRO. Which I guess is the reason for this post. I feel “obliged” to say something about the game.
It’s a curious thing that despite having played the MMORPG Star Trek Online, fairly regularly since its launch in 2010, I don’t write about it consistently. This realisation has given me pause for thought because I’ve spent a of lot of time playing my primary character over the years. I enjoy the fundamentals of this game. It is very lore friendly, with strong narratives and themes. As a hybrid free-to-play game it is very accessible, especially to new players. There are regularly events and activities scheduled throughout the year, outside of the core game content. And yes, if you want to sink a fortune buying ships from the cash store, you certainly can do so but it is not essential to have a positive game experience. Yet despite many positive points, looking back over my written output this year, STO doesn’t get as much attention from me as LOTRO. Which I guess is the reason for this post. I feel “obliged” to say something about the game.
At present in Star Trek Online, the seasonal festival Q’s Winter Wonderland, is in full swing. As ever it is packed to the gunwales with activities. Players can battle the Kramp’lhri, enjoy a snowball fight, try Klingon fishing as well as take part in a pie eating competition. The daily “Fastest Game on Ice” contributes towards claiming a new, shiny Fek’Ihri S’torr Warship (T6). If you earn this on one character it unlocks across your entire account for other alts. Compared to other Winter Festivals, the one in STO doesn’t quite feel as false and contrived. Having the bizarre variety of events pan out as part of a scheme cooked up by Q works quite well lore-wise. The events themselves are also enjoyable and there is plenty of scope to earn the respective yuletide barter currency. After all, who doesn’t want a Christmas sweater for their Gorn captain?
The episodic nature of much of the narrative content of STO means that it‘s a game that can be tackled in either bite size chunks or at length, depending on your preference. I often play in fits and starts, when I’m between other games. At present I’m slowly advancing some alts through older content and bringing them all slowly up to speed with the various reputation factions. I have sufficient ships at present and have a build that I am happy with, that gets things done. So, there’s no need for any major tweaking for the moment. STO certainly provides me with a healthy fix of MMO excitement but unlike other games such as LOTRO, it doesn’t blow me away with its community and wider social component. I converse and exchange ideas with other in Reddit Alert chat when I log into the game, but I don’t “know” other players as I do in other games. And I miss that to a degree but the community although friendly is very insular and self-sufficient. If you want more, then you have to seek it out. It doesn’t proactively come to you.
Unlike some MMOs that have struggled in recent years, STO seems to be ticking over quite well at present. It is currently tied-in to season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery and has voice acting credits from Mary Wiseman, reprising her role as Starfleet Cadet Sylvia Tilley. A road map for the year ahead has already been published, indicating that the game has further feature episodes, epic events and taskforce operations to come in 2019. Admittedly a lot of this will be more of the same, but for an MMO that is coming up to nine years old, the addition of new content is always welcome. If Cryptic could also spend some time on “quality of life” improvements and polishing some of the game’s rough edges, then that would certainly improve community relations. They’ve been strained of late. But overall, I am pleased to have this MMO at my disposal as it has proven, over yet another twelve months, to be a dependable game. Whether filling the gaps in my leisure schedule or being its focus.
Pick-up Groups and MMOs
Star Trek Online has recently revamped group PVE activities and rebranded them Task Force Operations. These are just instanced events designed for five players, that have a handful of objectives and a boss fight at the end. Players can group with friends or use the auto-grouping tool that is available, to play through TFO of their own choosing. Alternatively, there is the option to join a pick-up group and play a random TFO for greater rewards. Now although not unduly complex, TFOs usually have a basic set of rules to follow if you want to complete them quickly and efficiently. For example, closing dimensional portals reduces the number of trash mobs joining the TFO, so it makes sense for at least one of the five players to focus on this activity. However, PUGs are open to all players and therefore there is always a chance that you may group with an inexperienced player or someone who wants to do things “their way”. Either way, if you are seeking optimal gameplay, then PUGs may not be the best place to look.
Star Trek Online has recently revamped group PVE activities and rebranded them Task Force Operations. These are just instanced events designed for five players, that have a handful of objectives and a boss fight at the end. Players can group with friends or use the auto-grouping tool that is available, to play through TFO of their own choosing. Alternatively, there is the option to join a pick-up group and play a random TFO for greater rewards. Now although not unduly complex, TFOs usually have a basic set of rules to follow if you want to complete them quickly and efficiently. For example, closing dimensional portals reduces the number of trash mobs joining the TFO, so it makes sense for at least one of the five players to focus on this activity. However, PUGs are open to all players and therefore there is always a chance that you may group with an inexperienced player or someone who wants to do things “their way”. Either way, if you are seeking optimal gameplay, then PUGs may not be the best place to look.
Now, you may well ask “why are you stating the bleedin’ obvious about PUGs?” Well the reason I’ve chosen to succinctly distil and reiterate their respective pros and cons is because I continuously come across gamers regularly lamenting the iniquities of PUGs, as if they’re supposed to function in a fashion that is contrary to their nature. It’s a bit like complaining about a compass for pointing north or a politician for lying. Joking aside, pick-up groups are not intended to be efficient. They are designed to facilitate group play in an expedient manner. Many MMOs have players who either cannot find a guild, do not want to be in a guild or simply have time restrictions that impede grouping with regular friends and online colleagues. PUGs and auto grouping tools are a means to facilitate such players in accessing instances and other content designed to be played as a group. It’s not as if game developers are oblivious to the potential shortcomings of such systems. Hence in STO and other MMOs, players will receive a bonus reward for playing via auto grouping.
The key to successfully using any PUG mechanic in an MMO is to greatly temper your expectations and to use auto grouping tactically. For example, I recently used LFF chat in LOTRO to run a particular 6-man instance. I did not expect to successfully complete everything but was simply tagging along to see if we could defeat the first boss, which I needed for a deed. The group performed poorly, and it was a struggle to progress, but we did get to the end. Not only did I complete the deed, but I also got the benefit of some loot that I wasn’t anticipating on getting. For me this was an added bonus, so I was not discouraged by the multiple wipes that the group endured. Where some players felt we’d performed poorly, I was pleasantly surprised because I had been realistic about what we could achieve as a group, right from the start.
PUGs are not always a bad experience and there are many factors that determine their outcome. Some groups in certain games require very little direct interaction. The TFOs in Star Trek Online can be undertaken without any need for chat. I personally always say “hello” and “good game” but it’s not essential. Quitting a group for whatever reason usually doesn’t involve too big a penalty. It may result in a thirty-minute sanction or reduced rewards but nothing more. Depending on the game, some will offer rewards even if the primary goals of an instance aren’t even achieved. This alone can make the use of auto grouping viable for some players. As the MMO genre has been around for over two decades, it has developed several universal foibles. One of these is the capricious nature of collaborating with random strangers. Would you expect five random people in the real world to work extremely efficiently together after just meeting? Of course not. So why should something as frivolous as a game be any different? Frankly excessive criticism of the PUG system with regard to MMOs is redundant. PUGs in other genres of games is a separate matter.
LOTRO: The Return of Lifetime Subscriptions?
Please note the question mark in the title. This is not a news post announcing that Standing Stone Games are offering lifetime subscriptions for The Lord of the Rings Online once again. Don’t go getting over excited. I am simply raising the question as to why they haven’t chosen to do this since they announced their “acquisition” of both LOTRO and DDO back in December 2016. Because broadly speaking, it would appear that LOTRO is doing well under the auspices of SSG as opposed to Turbine. The game had a much-needed expansion, Mordor, added a new race and has a clear road map for what is beyond the recently released Update 23: Where Dragons Dwell. Furthermore, we have the imminent launch of a new progression server on the 8th of November. The licensing issue has been laid to rest and changes at Middle-earth Enterprises and the Tolkien Estate have surely had beneficial results. The game may not have the player base of some MMOs, but its core audience appears to be loyal and stable. Surely, with LOTRO enjoying a gaming renaissance, now would be a good period to capitalise upon?
Please note the question mark in the title. This is not a news post announcing that Standing Stone Games are offering lifetime subscriptions for The Lord of the Rings Online once again. Don’t go getting over excited. I am simply raising the question as to why they haven’t chosen to do this since they announced their “acquisition” of both LOTRO and DDO back in December 2016. Because broadly speaking, it would appear that LOTRO is doing well under the auspices of SSG as opposed to Turbine. The game had a much-needed expansion, Mordor, added a new race and has a clear road map for what is beyond the recently released Update 23: Where Dragons Dwell. Furthermore, we have the imminent launch of a new progression server on the 8th of November. The licensing issue has been laid to rest and changes at Middle-earth Enterprises and the Tolkien Estate have surely had beneficial results. The game may not have the player base of some MMOs, but its core audience appears to be loyal and stable. Surely, with LOTRO enjoying a gaming renaissance, now would be a good period to capitalise upon?
Some people will argue that lifetime subscriptions are not necessarily good for the MMO genre. It raises capital for the developers in the short term but may discourage further expenditure from players in the future. Certainly, in the days of subscription only MMOs, that may have been plausible. However, as most games of this type now have a F2P hybrid model with additional tiers of payment, I’m not sure if such an argument holds true. Lifetime accounts may well offer a monthly stipend of in-game store currency, but it doesn’t cover expansions packs and such like. Furthermore, stipends accrue at a fixed rate and sometimes having only half of the cost of an in-store item may encourage the player to avoid waiting and buy further currency. Simply put, you could write multiple posts about the psychology of MMO players and what determines their personal spending habits. Hence binary statements about the effectiveness of lifetime subscriptions are not so relevant.
Star Trek Online, another MMO with a hybrid business model, still offers lifetime subscriptions. They currently have a sale where the price for such an account has been discounted from $299.99 to $199.99 (sale ends 6th December). The game no longer offers monthly subscriptions (which was $14.99) and has replaced them with a “starter pack” that allows you to permanently unlock most of the same perpetual benefits for a one-time fee. However, when you add up the cost of all the services and features that are contained with the lifetime subscription, there is still a substantial discount compared to purchasing them individually. I bought such a subscription back in April 2015 and consider it to be excellent value. In recent months I have begun to feel that it was a mistake not to have done the same with LOTRO back in the Codemasters days. The irony is that I tracked down a Collector Edition, complete with a lifetime account code, earlier this year. Sadly, the grace period in which SSG honoured such products has long expired.
SSG have experimented with various methods of monetising LOTRO over the last two years. The Mordor expansion saw an increase in lootboxes within the game that has subsequently been dialled back, possibly due to their unpopularity and the changes in the law in specific European countries. The new Legendary Server which launches soon requires a VIP subscription for access. Then there is the outstanding issue of a new class being added to the game, that will naturally require purchasing. Surely offering lifetime subscriptions or something of a similar nature is the next logical step. There are many LOTRO players who already have them, but there are equally players like me, who missed the boat or were reticent to buy last time they were available. Because a lot of the doubts about the games long term future have now been addressed, I would welcome the opportunity to purchase such a service. LOTRO has a very dedicated playerbase, many of whom are “altaholics”. I suspect that the demand for a new lifetime subscription offer would be surprisingly high. I hope that SSG therefore considers this option.
Re-installing MMOs
Having replaced my hard drive with a solid-state drive, I’ve had to re-install various games, along with all the other apps and programs I use. However, the smaller size of the new SSD has meant I’ve had to think long and hard about which title I choose. At present, I’ve limited myself to the two MMOs that I regularly play; namely The Lord of the Rings Online and Star Trek Online. Both have improved loading times as a result of running via a SSD and are performing a lot better than previously. I also prefer clean installations, rather than long term game setups that have been through numerous patches and updates. It was interesting to note that LOTRO now installs into a Standing Stone Games folder, rather than one marked Turbine. Sadly, STO required using either Steam or Arc as a means of installing the game. I opted for Arc, purely because it has a useful facility for redeeming game codes build into the launcher. Plus, you can bypass Arc and launch the game client directly if you want.
Having replaced my hard drive with a solid-state drive, I’ve had to re-install various games, along with all the other apps and programs I use. However, the smaller size of the new SSD has meant I’ve had to think long and hard about which title I choose. At present, I’ve limited myself to the two MMOs that I regularly play; namely The Lord of the Rings Online and Star Trek Online. Both have improved loading times as a result of running via a SSD and are performing a lot better than previously. I also prefer clean installations, rather than long term game setups that have been through numerous patches and updates. It was interesting to note that LOTRO now installs into a Standing Stone Games folder, rather than one marked Turbine. Sadly, STO required using either Steam or Arc as a means of installing the game. I opted for Arc, purely because it has a useful facility for redeeming game codes build into the launcher. Plus, you can bypass Arc and launch the game client directly if you want.
LOTRO being the older of the two games and still saddled with only a 32-bit client, proved to be the more problematic to download and install. The Akamai service that handles this process is very slow, irrespective of your internet connection. Despite having a 65MB fibre connection it took over four hours to install LOTRO, which is presently a 28GB download. STO being more of a space-centric game is a smaller 14GB install and was done in under ninety minutes. Due to the instanced nature of many of the zones, you can start playing the game while it downloads. With LOTRO you have to simply watch and wait as the blue bar slowly inches across the screen. Let us hope that SSG address this installation issue if we ever see the alleged 64-bit version of the game they’re developing. I also had to update my Nvidia graphic drivers and install Direct X 11 to get both games up and running. Something I shall prepare for in advance if I have to re-install any of these games again any time soon.
Here’s a tip if you find yourself in a similar position with either of these two MMOs. You may wish to back up the various files in “The Lord of the Rings Online” folder, which is usually a sub-folder of “Documents” on a standard Windows installation of LOTRO. These have details of minor UI customisations such as the order of your bags on the quickslot bar and what chat channels you utilise. It also has all your personal settings regarding screen resolution and general game preferences. It’s not essential that you do this, but it can save you some time tweaking your new installation once its complete. Similarly, with STO, you may also wish to copy your screenshots folder (usually located here: {Local path to program}\Star Trek Online_en\Star Trek Online\Live\screenshots\). Not only does it contain your previous screen captures, but more importantly it has details of any custom outfits you may have created for your characters.
What’s in a Name?
“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.
There are two types of MMO players (actually there aren’t but I’m invoking a figure of speech as an opening gambit for the overall thrust of this post, so there). Those who meander through the character creation screens only to be taken by surprise by the fact that at the end, they now have to provide their avatar with a name of some kind. And then there are those who have a complete dossier compiled in advance, shedding light on the entire back story and life history of their new alt. Naturally, the latter group will already have a name prepared with much love and care. It will be relevant, appropriate and most importantly of all, it will afford them a much greater degree of connection with their in-game character. Because names are an integral part of identity and that is a much bigger aspect of MMO player psychology than some imagine. Would you simply want an index number instead of a character name?
Tee-hee, chortle and guffaw
“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.
There are two types of MMO players (actually there aren’t but I’m invoking a figure of speech as an opening gambit for the overall thrust of this post, so there). Those who meander through the character creation screens only to be taken by surprise by the fact that at the end, they now have to provide their avatar with a name of some kind. And then there are those who have a complete dossier compiled in advance, shedding light on the entire back story and life history of their new alt. Naturally, the latter group will already have a name prepared with much love and care. It will be relevant, appropriate and most importantly of all, it will afford them a much greater degree of connection with their in-game character. Because names are an integral part of identity and that is a much bigger aspect of MMO player psychology than some imagine. Would you simply want an index number instead of a character name?
I take a fairly hard line when it comes to character naming in the MMO genre. If a game has specific guidelines to begin with then they should be respected. I’m all for player freedom but an MMO is by its very nature shared space and so that means (or at least should in principle) that other players are due a degree of consideration. So, let us take it as read that inflammatory names, racial abuse, religious trolling and like have no place and should not be tolerated. In a game such a LOTRO, there is a great deal of lore that impacts upon names. The game goes so far as to make suggestions depending on race and region etc, which can be helpful. However, if you simply wish to give your character a generic fantasy sounding name, I don’t have a problem with that. What I do find tedious are the endless permutations of known character names, such as Legolas (in LOTRO) and James T Kirk (in STO). But for me, the greatest sin in naming after this, is giving your character your own name. Is there anything that screams “I have had the capacity to think creatively surgically removed” more than a Hunter running about the major quest hubs named “Colin Peters” or “Jacinda Barrington-Humphries”?
They drink it in the Congo…
Now joking aside, not everyone is equally creative, which is why there are plenty of online name generators that can assist you when it comes to the right name. Another strategy if you run multiple alts is to follow a naming convention and use various permutations thereof. This is a useful workaround and certainly is helpful to friends and colleagues who loose track of who is and who isn’t online within the guild. I have used name generators for inspiration in the past. However, I also think it’s important to find a name that suits your character (especially if you’re of a role-playing bent) and that is also user friendly and pronounceable. It’s all very well coming up with a cunning, lore appropriate name for your High Elf window dresser, but if everyone subsequently mangles said name every time you’re on Discord (because you always end up being known to your guild mates by your primary characters name and not your own), it gets very old fast.
Isn’t there a hat company there, on Bagel Street?
One of the things I use to get frustrated with about LOTRO was that it would suggest names, irrespective of whether they had been taken or not. Thus, you’d find a cool name for your shiny new Dwarf Quantity Surveyor only to discover there were already a dozen or so variants already on the server. More recent MMOs have addressed this issue by having an account name that suffixes your chosen name, thus accommodating duplicates. The issues still persists in LOTRO, but I have solved it for myself by not creating any alts. Overall, I think that as character customisation becomes more complex in gaming, then there needs to be scope and support for equally complex naming conventions. I know that jarring, trivial and puerile names can spoil the immersion of some players in MMOs. So why can’t phasing technology be used to remove those that bother us, or at least allow you to rename the offenders from your own perspective? Because it’s clear that despite the various changes and trends that have come and gone in the MMO genre over the last decade, names remain a very important facet of player engagement.
Numbers, Spreadsheets and Calculations
Over the last few days, I’ve been working towards achieving “ally” reputation status with the Men of Dale while playing LOTRO. There were two particular armour pieces that I desired, which would enhance my statistics, that were gated behind this achievement. I’ve been also grinding for several jewellery items, which require 5,000 Motes of Enchantment. I was sufficiently close last night that I actually took the time to work out exactly how much XP was outstanding and what was the optimal way to earn it. I made a few notes on paper and determined that three repeatable quests and five tasks would be sufficient to reach the target. As of today, the calculation proved right, and I now have the two armour pieces equipped. The jewellery is proving more difficult as Motes of Enchantment are a lot harder to come by. That project remains an ongoing concern.
Over the last few days, I’ve been working towards achieving “ally” reputation status with the Men of Dale while playing LOTRO. There were two particular armour pieces that I desired, which would enhance my statistics, that were gated behind this achievement. I’ve been also grinding for several jewellery items, which require 5,000 Motes of Enchantment. I was sufficiently close last night that I actually took the time to work out exactly how much XP was outstanding and what was the optimal way to earn it. I made a few notes on paper and determined that three repeatable quests and five tasks would be sufficient to reach the target. As of today, the calculation proved right, and I now have the two armour pieces equipped. The jewellery is proving more difficult as Motes of Enchantment are a lot harder to come by. That project remains an ongoing concern.
Now an odd thing occurred as I did the mental arithmetic last night and figured out exactly what permutation was required to get the required rep. Just for a moment I had this brief flash of insight in which the arbitrary nature of MMO mechanics became very clear. And for an instance it spoilt my fun. Luckily this was a fleeting experience, and, in a few moments, I was back to killing spiders in Lhingris for spiny carapaces and chatting on Discord to friends. It is the social element of MMOs that helps mitigate the mundane nature of some of the basic mechanics of the genre. It is a curious thing though because where as I find all the number crunching, min-maxing and esoteric formulas somewhat dull, others consider learning all this data and becoming an expert as part of the games allure. I have a basic grasp in LOTRO of the various stats and which ones are relevant for Lore-masters. However, the intricate details are lost on me. I choose not to know because in doing so, it diminishes my enjoyment of the game.
Star Trek Online is another MMO that has a player base that delve deep into the mathematics behind the game. You will find endless discussions on the games sub-reddit regarding builds and how best to maximise DPS or survivability. It is surprisingly complex and at first glance quite captivating. I have flirted with DPS parsers and tweaked my build in the past. However, it quickly becomes clear that a lot of people’s preferences are subjective and not just based on data. Weapon type, class and play styles determine various schools of thought. Also, if you want to pursue the “best builds” you frequently need access to a lot of rare items and traits, which are really only the province of the long term and heavily invested player. That’s fine and I certainly don’t begrudge those players that play so diligently, but for us who are somewhere between the shallow and the deep end, such tinkering is not applicable to us.
When thinking of the “spreadsheet” culture that goes hand-in-hand with some games, I suppose the most obvious example is EVE Online. I never got any further than four days into a two-week trial with that niche product and I learned very quickly that the realities of that MMO were far removed from what I had assumed. For me, the selling points of the two MMOs that I play the most are their narrative, intellectual property and the provision of goal orientated achievements. The social aspect is also a strong consideration. Although both LOTRO and STO require an element of analysis and technical understanding, it never overshadows the leisure that they provide. A quick skirmish or random task force can satisfy my urge for combat. Riding around Middle-earth or meandering round the promenade on Deep Space Nine helps me relax after a tough day. A game that requires me to track everything, weigh up every pro and con and maintain a complex inventory simply doesn’t strike me as fun. However, it is very much a question of “horses for courses”.
Where is the Community?
The title to this post is rhetorical. I’ve figured out where the specific community in question is. As regular readers know, my first MMORPG was The Lord of the Rings online back in 2008. It had back then an active blogging community, which still exists today to a degree. The official forums are active and continue to be useful for information, but for me the primary source of news, guides and general analysis of the game is written content that is maintained by individual players. There are also lots of active streamers and video on You Tube, but I find I can locate and digest the information I require far quicker when it is presented as text. I guess I am simply a product of my generation and prefer the written word as my primary source of data for most things. However, more recent MMOs have developed communities around different platforms. As a result, it can take a while to determine where they are and get used to their habits and ways.
The title to this post is rhetorical. I’ve figured out where the specific community in question is. As regular readers know, my first MMORPG was The Lord of the Rings online back in 2008. It had back then an active blogging community, which still exists today to a degree. The official forums are active and continue to be useful for information, but for me the primary source of news, guides and general analysis of the game is written content that is maintained by individual players. There are also lots of active streamers and video on You Tube, but I find I can locate and digest the information I require far quicker when it is presented as text. I guess I am simply a product of my generation and prefer the written word as my primary source of data for most things. However, more recent MMOs have developed communities around different platforms. As a result, it can take a while to determine where they are and get used to their habits and ways.
I also play Star Trek Online and have a lifetime subscription. This MMO has an active official forum but the biggest community associated with the game is based on reddit. There are several individuals who regularly post STO related content to You Tube, although the majority are focused upon ship builds and DPS parsing. Sadly, the game does not seem to have a major blogging community. Yes, there are some but that is not where the major interaction and discussion around the game takes place. So, if you want to stay abreast of developments in STO and keep an eye on community opinion, then you have to embrace the appropriate sub-reddit. And therein lies the rub. I don’t find this platform especially useful. It’s greats for informal discussions, but not so good at collating and indexing detailed content in an easily accessible fashion. I often have to tab out of the reddit and use Google to search it effectively.
Blog posts broadly have the advantage of being clear and unambiguous “chunks” of information. Reddit by its conversational nature tends to explore a topic in a very episodic fashion. You have to sift a thread to remove the irrelevant and superfluous and then try and collate and distil that which is left for the detail you require. Plus, although, lore and wider aspects of the game are discussed, the STO community is very much fixated upon the prevailing meta, builds and number crunching. I have a passing interest in these subjects but would like to see more material based around player experience, lore and general community activities and such like. Or is it a case that these elements are simply not what most STO players want? Is it a game that is predominantly driven by the intellectual property and player min-maxing? I’m still not entirely sure, so I’ll continue to look. Perhaps there are still STO blogs to be found, out there in the “final frontier” beyond reddit.
Star Trek Online: Red Alert Controversy
Developer’s Cryptic announced this week that the various Red Alerts that are currently available continuously in Star Trek Online would hence forward, only be available to players on the weekend. Their official explanations was as follows. Starting this weekend, Red Alerts are moving from being always available to being special weekend events, with improved rewards! When these Red Alerts are live, you’ll be able to earn 35 Marks of your choice every time you play, with no cooldowns to prevent you from getting back into the action. These Task Force Operations will return to the galaxy regularly, as the groups of invaders do their best to take control of the four quadrants of the galaxy. As with any change of this nature, it has not been met with open arms by the STO reddit community and the official forums.
Developer’s Cryptic announced this week that the various Red Alerts that are currently available continuously in Star Trek Online would hence forward, only be available to players on the weekend. Their official explanations was as follows. Starting this weekend, Red Alerts are moving from being always available to being special weekend events, with improved rewards! When these Red Alerts are live, you’ll be able to earn 35 Marks of your choice every time you play, with no cooldowns to prevent you from getting back into the action. These Task Force Operations will return to the galaxy regularly, as the groups of invaders do their best to take control of the four quadrants of the galaxy. As with any change of this nature, it has not been met with open arms by the STO reddit community and the official forums.
Red Alerts are spaced based, five player PVE events that can be joined either through the in-game queue listing facility or via an onscreen “distress call” while travelling is certain areas of sector space. They have a simple set of objectives, culminating in a capital ship fight, that have to be achieved in a ten-minute period. There are several varieties of Red Alert, themed around the Borg, Elachi, Tholians and the Tzenkethi. Once completed the player received 480 Dilithium ore and a reputation mark package that allows them to choose from a selection of factions. Red Alerts up until this change have been on a 30 minutes cooldown. However, many players consider them a quick and convenient facet of the game. If you are pushed for time they provide a quick fix of gameplay, they are also convenient for testing a gear build, and naturally they are a very useful means of earning marks for full reputation and rep related gear projects.
It has been noted by the STO community that this change to Red Alerts has come shortly after a recent announcement via the Priority One podcast, that PVE queues per se are having a random Task Force Operation added to them. One of the biggest problems with these group PVE activities available in STO is that some, unlike the Red Alerts, only offer a specific kind of reputation mark as a reward. There is a very strong game meta in STO with regard to builds, leading to certain reputation gear being more popular than others. Hence some group PVE events available in the queue manager are continuously busy and finding a five-man team is not a problem. Conversely, for the others the opposite is true. You can join a PVE queue for Battle for Procyon V, which only offers Fleet and Temporal marks as a reward and wait all evening for another 4 players to join. Because of this Cryptic feel that introducing an optional random Task Force Operation that offers enhanced rewards and quicker cooldowns will help resolve the problem.
Unfortunately, there are cogent arguments to be made that such a facility will have quite the opposite effect. Those players with more time available may well be happy to endure the caprices of random queues. After all, reputation marks of all types are useful. However, those who have less time at their disposal, seeking specific rep marks will find themselves even less likely to find a group in a timely fashion. Plus, there is the issue of the reduction of choice. Although the proposed random queues are optional let us not forget the removal of the convenient Red Alerts. And players are also concerned about the commercial ramifications that could come with this change. The reputation mechanic in STO is getting an additional sixth tier added to it in the months ahead. Naturally this will require further rep marks to achieve. Yet it is being added at a time when the opportunity for earning such marks is being altered; or as some players see it, restricted. Will the in-game store be offering purchasable rep marks in the foreseeable future?
As ever with F2P games, there is scope for game content and systems to be subordinate to revenue generation, rather than putting quality and player experience first. I can see how developers Cryptic do not want to introduce the expanded rep system only to see veteran players complete it too quickly due to stockpiled assets. However, I as a player do not want to find my progress in the game go from an equitable pace to a tedious grind. The potential of a cash store workaround also concerns me. It remains to be seen whether this debacle will encourage Cryptic to change their current course of action. The game is still in a very good place overall at the moment with both console and PC versions doing well. The tie-in with Star Trek: Discovery is certainly a marketing boon, so it would be a shame to see the game commit an act of self-harm. As ever with the MMO genre, it’s a question of wait and see, although I think a response from Cryptic and some clarity would go a long way.
Dailies
Broadly speaking, dailies are repeatable quests or activities that are designed to keep you engaged and busy within the MMO genre. They are a supplement to main story quests and often offer a long-term goal and reward or provide barter tokens for a range of gear. They can sometimes be used as an alternative means of gaining high-end gear for players who cannot or will not raid. Dailies also offer an additional means to level an alt, for players who are tired of repeating primary content that they are over familiar with. Along with log-in rewards, dailies are designed to entice players into regular play. They offer quick, repeatable content along with a clearly defined bauble or trinket, making them ideal for players who have a limited amount of game time. Hence, you’ll find variations thereof present in most MMOs.
Broadly speaking, dailies are repeatable quests or activities that are designed to keep you engaged and busy within the MMO genre. They are a supplement to main story quests and often offer a long-term goal and reward or provide barter tokens for a range of gear. They can sometimes be used as an alternative means of gaining high-end gear for players who cannot or will not raid. Dailies also offer an additional means to level an alt, for players who are tired of repeating primary content that they are over familiar with. Along with log-in rewards, dailies are designed to entice players into regular play. They offer quick, repeatable content along with a clearly defined bauble or trinket, making them ideal for players who have a limited amount of game time. Hence, you’ll find variations thereof present in most MMOs.
Dailies are more often than not, just busy work. By their nature they are additional game content and not mission critical to the player. The central narrative of an MMO usually only links to dailies tangentially, so if you elect not to do them you’re not missing out on a major plot point. Skipping a day means you simply postpone your reward date by another 24 hours, but as the dailies often feed into a long-term goal, such delays are not deal breakers. In some cases, dailies are simply a means of generating specific currencies and once you have maxed out a particular skills line you can still repeat the content and gain the designated reward. Furthermore, in some MMOs, dailies do not even require your alt to undertake any direct task. They are carried out by companions, crew or automated resources. You simply assign the correct assets to the task in hand and return at a later date to see if they successfully completed it.
Due to limited leisure time, I am currently only playing Star Trek Online and doing so by logging in across five alts and undertaking dailies. This involves either sending duty officer on time-based mission or ships on admiralty missions. Both sets of dailies draw upon card-based assets and can be set and forgotten. By choosing specific missions that offer Dilithium as a reward, I am using five alts to farm this resource and in-game currency. Dilithium can then be stockpiled and spent next time Cryptic make Phoenix Prize Pack available in the game. The Prize Packs offer a range of rewards, many of which can be bartered and traded in so that the player can get specifically what they want. For me the most valuable item obtainable is the Phoenix Tech Upgrade Kit. Upgrading gears sets is a key aspect of STO and these upgrades apply 51,200 Technology Points and have not further Dilithium costs. With the recent increase in gear cap from Mark XIV to XV, I conservatively estimate I need about 200 or so to fully upgrade my ground and space gear to Gold level.
Dailies are often viewed in most MMOs as arbitrary, dull and repetitious. It is fair to say that they don’t always have the depth of writing as other main quests but let us not fool ourselves as to their purpose. Dailies are to a degree filler. A way of stretching game content by providing a relatively simplistic task with an extended deadline. The MMO genre has proven time and time again, that the player base always consumes content quicker than it can be produced and so dailies are one of many ways of providing content that slows player progression while still providing them with something to do. Dailies, love them or loathe them, are a necessary evil. One we all too often bitch about while paradoxically still carrying out. They are the gaming equivalent of the clip show, which were a convenient way of padding the length of a season on TV, back in the sixties and seventies. They’re also a way of keeping you connected to a game, during times when your patience is running thin. I’m sure they could be replaced with something better, but until that comes around this is all we have and sometimes that’s just enough to keep you playing.
The Problem with Giveaways
Cryptic are currently running a promotional giveaway for Star Trek Online, in which the top prize is an exclusive ORIGIN Millennium Gaming Desktop themed PC with artwork from Star Trek Online: Victory is Life. It’s worth $3, 272, looks spiffy and has robust specifications. There all also various other runner up prizes, such as the Gamma Vanguard and Gamma Vanguard Starter Pack. If you enjoy STO then this is a good value giveaway with a fair selection of rewards. Or at least it is at first glance. If you read the ubiquitous small print that comes with any sort of endeavour such as this, you’ll quickly spot that you can only enter the giveaway if you’re resident of North America. And therein lies the problem with so many competitions these days. Despite games having a global market, giveaways are frequently hamstrung by regional restrictions, rules and regulations.
Cryptic are currently running a promotional giveaway for Star Trek Online, in which the top prize is an exclusive ORIGIN Millennium Gaming Desktop themed PC with artwork from Star Trek Online: Victory is Life. It’s worth $3, 272, looks spiffy and has robust specifications. There all also various other runner up prizes, such as the Gamma Vanguard and Gamma Vanguard Starter Pack. If you enjoy STO then this is a good value giveaway with a fair selection of rewards. Or at least it is at first glance. If you read the ubiquitous small print that comes with any sort of endeavour such as this, you’ll quickly spot that you can only enter the giveaway if you’re resident of North America. And therein lies the problem with so many competitions these days. Despite games having a global market, giveaways are frequently hamstrung by regional restrictions, rules and regulations.
Let us not kid ourselves about the purpose of giveaways, competitions and prize draws that are common place to the gaming industry. They are marketing and promotional tools primarily designed to attract new customers and secondly to placate existing players. One of the biggest challenges any service industries has to face is churn; the attrition or turnover of customers. MMOs suffer this continuously. Therefore, they need to keep players engaged, enamoured and involved. Giving away in-game trinkets and baubles can only go so far. However, offering a tangible physical prize that is both exclusive and high-value is one way to attract attention. As human beings we tend to like the thrill and excitement of competitions and the chance of winning a prize. Often, the logical part of our brain which calmly tell us to consider the odds, is completely ignored by our emotions who want feel special and win something shiny. This is why companies such as Cryptic run giveaways. The buzz they create gets results.
But competitions of this kind are an administrative nightmare. Every country has its own bespoke set of rules regarding competitions, the prizes they offer and the age of those who can enter. Then there are issues pertaining to tax, physically shipping the prize to the winner and ensuring that the entire process is administered in a transparent and fair way. And those are a bunch of very difficult dots to join. Hence companies such as Cryptic often elect to limit the scope of the giveaway to a specific region. However, where such action may solve one problem, it causes another because those parties that are excluded are left feeling like second class customers. You may get a similar feeling when you see advertisements for some great deal that is only applicable to new customers of a service that you already use. I’ve phoned British Telecom several times in the past and berated some poor schmuck in customer services because I can’t have a shiny new router despite twenty-five years of loyal custom. You only have to go and visit the STO Reddit and you’ll find complaints about this PC giveaway already.
This problem seems to stem from the gap between global markets and regional bureaucracy as well as supply chains. I’m sure at present, it not an easy hurdle to overcome, but I certainly think that it needs to be addressed. Perhaps there is a compromise to be had. Can a high value prize such as a PC be sourced to other parts of the globe by local business partners? Can alternative prizes be offered to those who enter outside of North America? A solution will no doubt increase the level of administration required and all too often in business, it is the bottom line that dictates decisions. But sometimes if you’re trying to gain goodwill you have to go the extra mile. And before anyone trots out arguments about “entitlement”, this is not a matter of hurt feelings or anything as trite. It’s a matter of being publicly seen to treat all your customers the same, which is a sound business practise.
Victory is Life
Star Trek Online is a curious beast compared to other MMOs. Although the characters that you create have gear, skills and traits to advance, it is your ship that is the real focus of in game min-maxing. The game also has several strong narrative arcs that dovetail superbly into existing Trek lore. The fact that numerous actors from the original TV shows have returned to voice their characters in the game, is another feather in the hat for Cryptic, the games developers. STO recently had a major lighting and game engine overhaul to accommodate it’s launch on the console market. Yet despite many very positive factors, there are still times when STO feels a little clunky and lacking in polish. Cutscenes can be problematic and the game has some persistent bugs and glitches. However, despite some flaws the MMO has a strong and loyal fanbase who play actively and pay prodigiously. This is also a game with a large number of whales in its wider community.
Star Trek Online is a curious beast compared to other MMOs. Although the characters that you create have gear, skills and traits to advance, it is your ship that is the real focus of in game min-maxing. The game also has several strong narrative arcs that dovetail superbly into existing Trek lore. The fact that numerous actors from the original TV shows have returned to voice their characters in the game, is another feather in the hat for Cryptic, the games developers. STO recently had a major lighting and game engine overhaul to accommodate it’s launch on the console market. Yet despite many very positive factors, there are still times when STO feels a little clunky and lacking in polish. Cutscenes can be problematic and the game has some persistent bugs and glitches. However, despite some flaws the MMO has a strong and loyal fanbase who play actively and pay prodigiously. This is also a game with a large number of whales in its wider community.
This year is the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Subsequently, Cryptic decided to base their latest expansion Victory if Life around the show. Released on 5th June, the new content features the voice talents of Alexander Siddig, Andrew Robinson, Armin Shimerman, Aron Eisenberg, Jeffrey Combs, J.G. Hertzler, Nana Visitor, René Auberjonois, Chase Masterson, Max Grodénchik, Bumper Robinson and Salome Jens. I won’t list all their respective characters but for fans and aficionados, this is a big deal. Star Trek Online is an officially sanctioned product and has the full support of CBS. As a result, the game enjoys a level of continuity and lore compliancy seldom seen in other MMOs with licensed intellectual properties. Although STO has as mentioned, suffered from lapses in QA from time to time, the standard of writing has never been poor and with regard to Victory if Life, I believe that it has surpassed its own high standard.
There have been some complaints that Victory if Life is more of an update in scope and size, rather than a full-blown expansion, such as Delta Rising from 2014. And I think that it there a degree of truth to in some of the criticism levelled at the release. The additional five levels are trifling and make no real tangible difference to your character. The increase in gear upgrade cap from Mark XIV to Mark XV again only really have an impact on min-maxers seeking a nominal percentage gain in DPS. Then there are the three bespoke Jem’Hadar missions that are more like tutorials. Yes, they’re fun but they don’t really feel any different to the starter missions for the other races. In fact, these ones seem even light in content. And then there are the six missions that make up the Victory if Life story arc. Technically it’s seven but one was held back until 28th June, as a feature episode to keep the sense of engagement going. Yes, compared to other arcs it is a rather compact series. Yet I am prepared to overlook all these points, purely because this arc finally feels like STO has finally met it full narrative potential.
Victory is Life addresses the issue of what has happened in the Gamma Quadrant since the end of the Dominion War. Odo returns as an Ambassador for the Changelings, bearing ill news of the ravages of Hur’q. Seeking an alliance proves difficult with the Klingon’s particularly ill-disposed towards helping a recent enemy. Yet the Iconian war has granted many worlds a new sense of perspective, so it is interesting to see more diplomatic overtures from Cardassia and even Ferenginar. Naturally Odo crosses the pass of Kira Nerys and we get to see how the years and current affairs have affected their relationship. Elim Garak once again proves that there’s more to his role in the proceeding than immediately meets the eye. And as ever Quark proves that he has a heart of latinum as well as an eye to the main chance. Victory if Life succeeds in taking the characters we know and love from the TV show and giving them an equally viable story within the frame work of STO.
What becomes abundantly clear while playing Victory if Life is the presence of multiple original cast members. We have seen returning cast members interact before in STO but never on this scale. And the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine remains exceptional. Listening to the precise and measured delivery of Andrew Robinson as Elim Garak, along with gruff yet emotional resonance of René Auberjonois as Odo is an absolute joy for fans. But I believe of all the six missions that feature in the expansion it is “Quark’s Lucky Seven” that is the jewel in the crown. This wonderfully conceived caper story plays out like a Ferengi version of Oceans Eleven. Quark, Rom, Nog, Leck and Brunt join forces to steal a priceless artefact, located in possibly the most dangerous place in the galaxy. Superbly written, wonderfully acted by a much beloved cast, it totally nails the essence of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The bar has just been raised and this is the standard by which all future STO content will now be judged by. That’s a big ask but it’s only what the franchise deserves. Well done Cryptic. More please.
The Dilemma of Skill Points
This post stems from an issue that came up recently while progressing through The Elder Scrolls Online. However, similar situations have occurred in other MMOs that I’ve played over the years. Most games of this genre have a standard mechanic in which the player is awarded skill points as they level up through the game. These points are subsequently spent unlocking new abilities or improving existing skills. Often there are a finite amount of skill points to earn in the game. Naturally, at some point, even the most casual MMO player will have to consider how they intend to spend their skills points, because they do have an impact upon your build. That is the entire point of the skills point mechanic. You customise your skills according to how you play and what type of build you wish to achieve. More often than not, the new player who is still at a relatively low level, will simply read what abilities can be unlocked and make an intuitive choice. At this stage, putting a few skill points into health, stamina, or increasing your DPS seems a sensible choice.
This post stems from an issue that came up recently while progressing through The Elder Scrolls Online. However, similar situations have occurred in other MMOs that I’ve played over the years. Most games of this genre have a standard mechanic in which the player is awarded skill points as they level up through the game. These points are subsequently spent unlocking new abilities or improving existing skills. Often there are a finite amount of skill points to earn in the game. Naturally, at some point, even the most casual MMO player will have to consider how they intend to spend their skills points, because they do have an impact upon your build. That is the entire point of the skills point mechanic. You customise your skills according to how you play and what type of build you wish to achieve. More often than not, the new player who is still at a relatively low level, will simply read what abilities can be unlocked and make an intuitive choice. At this stage, putting a few skill points into health, stamina, or increasing your DPS seems a sensible choice.
But then there reaches a point in the game, where you find yourself hoarding a lot of skills points and faced with a multitude of options. Suddenly, its no longer simple. Unless you have a very clear idea about how you intend to develop your build, it becomes a very confusing prospect. Do you put points into flower arranging, so you can increase you Lupin attack, or do you go for heavy embroidery? The fear is that you’ll make the wrong choice and gimp yourself, further down the line. Now most MMOs have a system in which you can refund skill points, should you require to change your allocation. However, this often involves a significant expenditure of in-game currency or worse still, a purchase from the cash shop. As a result, this potentially punitive system will often dissuade players from experimenting. This was certainly the case with me recently, while I was levelling through ESO. I also had a similar experience in STO when the revised the skill tree system was introduced. The only MMO that I currently play that allows a greater degree of choice is LOTRO. By default, the game offers three skill point slots, allowing you to create bespoke builds to swap between.
Now, the easiest resolution to this dilemma is to find a specific build online and to slavishly copy it. I have done this myself both with STO and ESO, but I resent it on some level. Yes, it is quick and easy solution, but it is also robbing the player of the opportunity to learn and experiment in the game. And buying gating the ability to reset your skill points behind some sort of financial penalty, the developers are contributing to creating a culture of risk aversion among players. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating turning an MMO into a job and I am not a fan of having to watch hours of videos to discover the esoteric intricacies of a game (yes, I’m looking at you ESO). However, it is beneficial to allow the player to experiment within reason, without imposing a penalty for the luxury of change. Hence, I believe that the LOTRO option of having three skill points slots is an equitable compromise.
Choice is always a good thing but there’s also a wise old adage about having “too much of a good thing”. Games such as MMOs need to encourage the player to try different builds and embrace experimentation. However, I appreciate that this is a fine line to tread. If you offer too much assistance, then it’s only a matter of time before the usual suspects throw their toys out of the pram, claim that everything is being dumbed down and that their life has once again “been ruined”. I think that this “dilemma” as I’ve described, is just a symptom of a wider problem associated with the MMO genre. That of providing optional information, advice and suggestions to the player, so they can get the most out of the game. Few games have adequate tutorials and “tip” systems. However, that is another blog post altogether (insert Airplane gag here). Returning to ESO, I must applaud ZeniMax for including their Skills Advisor system in the last patch. It provides exactly the sort of broad guidance I was looking for. Other MMOs please take note.
Guilds, Kinships and Fleets
I’ve been in the same LOTRO kinship (a.k.a. guild) since 2009. It’s relatively small in size, made up of a core group of about 20 players and their various alts. Everyone knows each other, and we all get along. There’s a broad spectrum of members from across the UK and Europe and the average age is about 35 plus. We’ve had some drama in the past from a few individuals, but they’ve either left or stopped playing. I don’t recollect there ever being an occasion when someone was. After ten years the kinship is at a point where it just ticks over without any major problems. There are events and activities for those who wish to participate, or if you prefer to simply potter about Middle-earth, then you’ll be left to do so. In the past we’ve had our own kinship website and forums, along with TeamSpeak server and other external support facilities. Bu all of these have fallen by the wayside as the Kinship has evolved. We now just focus on playing the game. Overall, the kinship is a friendly bunch and a good fit for my casual style of gameplay, which is why I’ve remained a member for nine years.
I’ve been in the same LOTRO kinship (a.k.a. guild) since 2009. It’s relatively small in size, made up of a core group of about 20 players and their various alts. Everyone knows each other, and we all get along. There’s a broad spectrum of members from across the UK and Europe and the average age is about 35 plus. We’ve had some drama in the past from a few individuals, but they’ve either left or stopped playing. I don’t recollect there ever being an occasion when someone was. After ten years the kinship is at a point where it just ticks over without any major problems. There are events and activities for those who wish to participate, or if you prefer to simply potter about Middle-earth, then you’ll be left to do so. In the past we’ve had our own kinship website and forums, along with TeamSpeak server and other external support facilities. Bu all of these have fallen by the wayside as the Kinship has evolved. We now just focus on playing the game. Overall, the kinship is a friendly bunch and a good fit for my casual style of gameplay, which is why I’ve remained a member for nine years.
LOTRO was my first MMO and when I started playing in 2008, co-operative play was the key to progression. Much of the games content was not solo friendly, therefore joining a kinship would at that point, greatly enhance a player’s experience. However, over time things have changed. Not just for LOTRO but for many other games from the MMO genre. Despite having played Guild Wars 2, The Secret World, Rift and SWTOR, I’ve never joined a guild for any of these games. There was (and remains for me) no compelling reason to do so. When I started playing LOTRO, part of the charm of the game and indeed the genre, was the social aspect. For me the notion of playing online with others was still a novel experience. However, as newer MMOs emerged, I found that I was more concerned with their gameplay and narrative, rather than cultivating new friendships. Furthermore, due to the increase in casual gaming, more recent MMOs are far more casual friendly.
There are always exceptions to the rules, though. The Fleet system in Star Trek Online offers a wealth of benefits and a player is potentially limiting their options if they do not join one. Fleet holdings such as the Starbases and dilithium mines are maintained by players contributing resources. Once holdings reach optimal capacity, they can provide gear, weapons and consumables, all of which are of a superior quality to that from standard vendors. It’s a relatively similar situation in The Elder Scrolls Online. Being in a guild allows access to quality crafted items which are not so readily available elsewhere. Hence in both these games I have joined guilds, simply to gain access to these facilities. In STO I am a member of REDdit Alert Fleet and although they are a friendly bunch, I am not socially active within it. I maintain a level of civility and ensure I contribute to the fleet projects but beyond that I tend to keep myself to myself and pursue my own goals within the game.
Playing any MMO successfully requires a substantial investment of time. The same can be said about joining a guild. A guild is more than just a collective designed to facilitate group content. It is often a closely knit social group in which members become firm friends, get to know each other and provide mutual support. They can become very intimate environments, sometimes doubling as group therapy or a virtual pub in which players can blow off steam after a tough day at work. For me, my best experience in a guild coincided with my best experience with an MMO. It was during a two-year period of my life in which I had the time and inclination to dedicate to both a leisure activity and a social group. It was a time that I enjoyed immensely. Now, although I like the social aspects of guilds in STO and ESO, they are mainly a means to an end. However, if I ever get nostalgic, all I have to do is return to my LOTRO kinship to be reminded of prior good times.
Star Trek Online: New Ships, Old Prices
Yesterday saw a lot of new content come to Star Trek Online. First off, we saw the start of the eighth anniversary event and the opportunity to earn a Bajoran Interceptor. There’s also a new featured episode; Scylla and Charybdis which further explores the Tzenkethi story line. And then there’s the release of the new Discovery lock box, which ties STO into the new Star Trek: Discovery television show. New lock boxes, means new ships. This time round there’s an opportunity to win a Tier 6 Crossfield-class Science Vanguard which boasts a formidable array of stats. Judging by the discussion on the official STO subreddit, the new vessel seems to have been very well received by the player community. The universal console, Mycelium Ambush, when activated temporarily disables ships weapons and transports the vessel forward. It then releases an energy pulse, impeding the engines of nearby enemy vessels while enhancing your own starship's weapons. After a few seconds, multiple torpedoes are launched, and your starship's weapons are disabled again in order to transport back to the original position.
Yesterday saw a lot of new content come to Star Trek Online. First off, we saw the start of the eighth anniversary event and the opportunity to earn a Bajoran Interceptor. There’s also a new featured episode; Scylla and Charybdis which further explores the Tzenkethi story line. And then there’s the release of the new Discovery lock box, which ties STO into the new Star Trek: Discovery television show. New lock boxes, means new ships. This time round there’s an opportunity to win a Tier 6 Crossfield-class Science Vanguard which boasts a formidable array of stats. Judging by the discussion on the official STO subreddit, the new vessel seems to have been very well received by the player community. The universal console, Mycelium Ambush, when activated temporarily disables ships weapons and transports the vessel forward. It then releases an energy pulse, impeding the engines of nearby enemy vessels while enhancing your own starship's weapons. After a few seconds, multiple torpedoes are launched, and your starship's weapons are disabled again in order to transport back to the original position.
Now considering that the new Discovery lock boxes have only been available for 24 hours, it would appear that many players have been stockpiling keys in preparation for its launch. Subsequently, despite being a rare drop many players have acquired the new Crossfield-class Science Vanguard and they are readily available on the exchange. The price is currently around 620 million energy credits, which is a tidy sum. The ship has also turned up for sale on third party websites available for sale at $125. Furthermore, the arrival of new ships has not depressed the prices of older vessels. Both Kelvin timeline ships are still holding steady at 260 million energy credit and the jewel in the crown of STO, the Tier 6 Constitution class Cruiser remians over 1.5 billion energy credits. So far, the economy adjustment that was anticipated by the introduction of the re-engineering system has yet to happen, although it is still only early days.
The problems STO faces with its in-game economy are really no different from many other MMOs. Frequently, the accumulation of wealth becomes a meta game in its own right. LOTRO has a similarly skewed game economy with everyday items that can be easily gathered, priced extremely high. This is not through supply and demand, but simply because such prices can be charged and paid for. Because gold is simply created in MMOs, rather than linked to any other sort of economic resource to base its levels, it doesn’t take long for hyperinflation to occur. Hyperinflation is detrimental to new and returning players. It can often lead to the auction service becoming the exclusive province of the virtually super rich. Hence we see the introduction of money sinks to try and remove surplus capital from games. These may be auction house fees, non-craftable consumables or housing fees. However money sinks seldom return a game’s economy back to a state of normality.
Cryptic have adjusted the in-game economy of STO several times over the last eight years. It is now far harder to earn energy credits, the games primary currency, than it was four years ago However, the damage is already done and there’s an immense amount of currency in circulation, often stockpiled by power players. The game’s crafting and upgrade system is also a contributory factor to hyperinflation. Until recently, if you craft and upgrade a ships weapon for example, there has been no control over which modifiers are added to it. Hence players would sell on items that didn’t meet their expectations. These items then flood the in-game auction house at inflated prices, as players seek gear with the attributes they require. The new re-engineering system is supposed to make obtaining the modifiers that you desire easier. It will allegedly level the playing field and make players less reliant on crafted items for sale on the exchange. Cryptic hope that this system will ultimately depress prices and eventually lead to less superfluous items entering the game’s financial ecosystem.
MMO economies are strange and esoteric beasts. Despite external factors created by developers, designed to slow and divert wealth creation, it is frequently impossible to slow player progression and dampen their enthusiasm. MMO gamers often rise to the occasion and embrace grind rather than capitulate to it. I suspect that it will take a considerable amount of time before we see any major change in the STO economy. Furthermore, the re-engineering system may well remove the surplus of crated items on the exchange, but I cannot see it impacting upon the prices of rare Tier 6 vessels. If someone is prepared to pay 1.5 billion energy credits for the latest and rarest of ships then the prices will remain as they are. The only other alternative is to make such items bound which would then incur a new set of problems, along with a great deal of player outrage. So for the meantime it is simply a question of watching and waiting to see in what direction the STO market goes.
Keeping Busy in Star Trek Online
Unlike other MMOs, there are always plenty of events scheduled in the Star Trek Online. The game includes a handy calendar which provides information on what is planned for the months ahead. It’s a clever way to keep the players engaged and occupied and as a result, STO is the game that I tire with the least and dabble with most. Where other games will often end the year with a nebulous Producer’s letter which offers a road map hinting at what lies ahead over the next twelve months, STO just gets on with things. Q’s Winter Wonderland event is drawing to a close next Thursday, but already we have two new events that have launched today. The Arena of Sompek makes a welcome return with its five-man survival battle against endless waves of mobs. Then we have a Featured Episode Replay, offering an opportunity to repeat specific missions and receive rewards that have been previously retired, such Breen and Romulan Bridge Officers and Epic Ground devices such as The Shard of Possibilities and the Ophidian Cane.
Unlike other MMOs, there are always plenty of events scheduled in the Star Trek Online. The game includes a handy calendar which provides information on what is planned for the months ahead. It’s a clever way to keep the players engaged and occupied and as a result, STO is the game that I tire with the least and dabble with most. Where other games will often end the year with a nebulous Producer’s letter which offers a road map hinting at what lies ahead over the next twelve months, STO just gets on with things. Q’s Winter Wonderland event is drawing to a close next Thursday, but already we have two new events that have launched today. The Arena of Sompek makes a welcome return with its five-man survival battle against endless waves of mobs. Then we have a Featured Episode Replay, offering an opportunity to repeat specific missions and receive rewards that have been previously retired, such Breen and Romulan Bridge Officers and Epic Ground devices such as The Shard of Possibilities and the Ophidian Cane.
There’s another change on the horizon for STO. At present upgrading gear is very much a lottery as you have no control over the modifiers that you receive. However, this will soon change with the games new re-engineering system. Players will be able to alter the mods that don’t suit their build or are deemed as sub-optimal to their game play. Re-engineering will utilise a new currency, salvage, a resource granted through the recycling of unwanted gear. Cryptic are currently working on the specifics of the system and it will soon be tested on Tribble server. Re-engineering will also showcase some new epic mods as an incentive. In a recent blog post Cryptic said “We hope re-engineering will be a way for neophyte and veteran Captains alike to better create equipment that matches their particular playstyles and builds.” The new mechanic will hopefully have a knock-on effect on the games economy, reducing Energy Credit creation and the existing surplus of unwanted gear on the exchange.
Star Trek Online is also due an expansion in 2018. So far, all we know about it is that it will be focused on Deep Space Nine, the Dominion, and possibly the Gamma Quadrant. As the TV show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is twenty-five years old this year, it makes sense to return to this region and explore the story further. Cryptic have previously made all new content for the game free of charge, so unless they have a radical change of policy, the next expansion should follow suite. Then in February we have the eighth anniversary of STO. This will mean a special project that will offer a new ship as a reward. Perhaps Cryptic may take the opportunity to tie the game into Star Trek: Discovery? And as well as all this, we can expect regular events such as First Contact Day and the Summer and Winter Festivals. If there’s a Friday the 13th in the year, we’ll also see the episode Hearts and Minds make an appearance. As you can see STO has a busy schedule for 2018, with plenty to do. Unlike other examples of the genre, STO appears to be in a good place at present with a lot of content lined up. Hence it remains my go to MMO for the fourth year.
A Year in Gaming
As 2017 draws to a close, it is time once again time to reflect upon the subject of gaming as it has remained a primary form of entertainment for me over the last twelve months. I have enjoyed most of the new titles that I’ve bought this year but not all of them. There’s been some that have failed to please and others that have proven to be flawed. Then there has been my ongoing relationship with the MMO genre as I still have a handful of these games installed on my PC. Let it suffice to say that only one of these titles has managed to maintain my interest. I suspect that the MMO genre per se is in for a year of change in 2018. As for the wider aspects of gaming, I wouldn’t say it has been an especially edifying year for the game industry or the associated fan culture. The “goodwill” based band-aid that has remained in place for the last few years was finally torn off in 2017, exposing a festering self-inflicted wound.
As 2017 draws to a close, it is time once again time to reflect upon the subject of gaming as it has remained a primary form of entertainment for me over the last twelve months. I have enjoyed most of the new titles that I’ve bought this year but not all of them. There’s been some that have failed to please and others that have proven to be flawed. Then there has been my ongoing relationship with the MMO genre as I still have a handful of these games installed on my PC. Let it suffice to say that only one of these titles has managed to maintain my interest. I suspect that the MMO genre per se is in for a year of change in 2018. As for the wider aspects of gaming, I wouldn’t say it has been an especially edifying year for the game industry or the associated fan culture. The “goodwill” based band-aid that has remained in place for the last few years was finally torn off in 2017, exposing a festering self-inflicted wound.
I started off the year by purchasing The Elder Scrolls Online Imperial Edition, as I fancied spending time in an MMO. Sadly, the game failed to grab my attention. This was mainly due to having spent so much time playing Skyrim and being somewhat burned out on the entire Elder Scrolls vibe. I also found the requirement for mods somewhat troubling, feeling that a game should have adequate UI facilities present. It’s also a very solo friendly MMO, which in some way negates its multiplayer status. Why not just play a fully customised version of one of the earlier games in the franchise? I also tried in 2017 to make a sustained return to LOTRO. Northern Ithilien held my interest but once the game moved onto the Black Gates it soon waned. Mordor is a great zone on paper but its grindy requirements and relentlessly dour environment killed my passion. STO remains a casual friendly experience and due to there being regular events throughout the year, it facilitates setting goals and achievements. I also jumped on the Destiny 2 bandwagon and was surprised how agreeable it is. Its genre spanning nature scratched several of my gaming itches.
My single player experience was also varied in 2017. For Honor proved to be exactly as I expected; gripping in principle but beyond my personal skillset to play to any degree of success. However, Sniper Elite 4 proved to be a sound buy. The main game and DLC were well conceived and their extensive game maps allow for multiple and varied play throughs. I also dabbled with co-operative play which proved a very interesting experience. Overall this was rewarding purchase as I clocked up over 91 hours in-game. Thanks to discount key sites, I managed to purchase several titles at low prices. I bought Mafia III after it was reduced by 75% and enjoyed the games central story. I also pre-ordered the Gold Edition of Middle-earth: Shadow of War and secured a discount. Although the structure of that game has been compromised to accommodate microtransactions, I still liked the gameplay and the preposterous lore-breaking narrative. 2017 also included some minor surprises. I was not expecting further DLC for Two Worlds II but Topware released both new single player and co-op content. I was also intrigued by the recent update to Star Trek: Bridge Crew, allowing the game to be played in conventional desktop mode, rather than VR.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a year in gaming without some sort of controversy and man did 2017 have one. The blight that is microtransactions which has been slowly spreading from mobile gaming to the so-called Triple A scene, reached a head November. Star Wars: Battlefront II received such a backlash from its customer base that the story even appeared in mainstream news. Disney eventually intervened and ensured that EA suspended the real money loot boxes in the game. It would appear that the genie is finally out of the bottle and loot box culture is now coming under the scrutiny of legislative bodies all over the world. Apple has recently waded into the debate as it wants loot box odds to be fully disclosed. What happens next is anyone guess but I think that game developers may have to rethink the monetisation of their games. I also think that the tide is slowly turning with regard to early access and games that launch in a patently broken state. I avoided buying Friday the 13th: The Game until six months after it’s problematic release and I still feel that it is very much a work in progress. Several high-profile gaming commentators are loudly advocating a boycott of this trend and I think it may be getting some traction. Time will tell.
2017 once again validated my position of distancing myself from parts of the gaming community. The past twelve months have shown that a substantial number of gamers remain unreconstructed, self-centred, emotionally illiterate man-children. Developers, journalists and You Tube personalities are still regularly threatened and abused if something that is vaguely controversial is said. Outdated and blinkered views about gaming and its culture still abound. You only have to see how Jim Sterling’s Commentocracy has raised the hackles of the usual suspects, to recognise that gaming culture is still far from united. However, I believe this stems from a broader malady that seems to be permeating all aspects of modern life. But the hate, bile and stupidity are not the total picture and there are still many bloggers, streamers and content creators that celebrate and promote the positive side of gaming. I intend to make such individuals my focus in 2018. I’m not one for making predictions but I have a feeling that 2018 may be a milestone year for gaming. Potentially it presents an opportunity for the industry to either get on track or alternatively implode and suffer a slow long death. Perhaps next year’s review will have the answer.
