CAG Star Trek Online Fleet/game discussion thread

The space battles are so fun! I enjoy the fast action, arcade-y controls, and tactical strategy you can employ. I think I'm pretty comfortable with my decision to go lifetime now.
 
I knew I shouldn't have started on the beta because now I'm hooked. I've been avoiding MMOs since SWG but I think this one's got me for a lifetime sub. Now I just gotta decide between the Amazon Borg crew member or all the Direct2Drive extras at a higher cost and with no physical package. Have we found a majority favorite on here yet?
 
I almost went w/Amazon, but it's going to take too long to get the game (I can't get Release Date delivery where I live)--plus they never got back to me about the pre-order codes for beta access (needed to pre-purchase the lifetime sub promo). Went with Steam's Digital Deluxe and happy so far. Lots of nice items for $20 less. Got code in a few minutes.
 
In the beta.. Liking it a lot, got a lifetime subscription.. The ability to make a goblin captain and crew helped me a lot with that decision!
 
[quote name='eastx']That's great Docvinh! Would you like to join the CAG Star Trek Online Fleet? Just PM your Steam userID to me and I'll send you an invite.

Zeldafan, you're invited too.

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[/QUOTE]

Thanks, Jp already took care of me though.:)
 
I'm doing a hold on codes for now. Got a few more PMs and I need to clear through those before I do any more. Also, having a bit of a family emergency at the moment, so everyone who PM'd me: have a little bit of patience for me.

Thanks!
 
Also: now you all are making me doubt the Collector's Edition. It seems the only "in game" items worth anything are…

Amazon's Collector's Pre-Order
Borg Officer (STO site says "These special Officers are not customizable.", does that mean no armor, shield, weapons or anything? or just no visual customizations?)
Costumes
Red Matter Capacitor

Whereas the Steam Deluxe Edition Pre-Order has
Joined Trill
Registry Prefix
Costumes
Automated Defense Battery
Chromodynamic Armor
Emotes

For $20 less. So I'm thinking I may just go with the steam pre-order. Even though the nice art stuff, badge, and physical copy are alluring. Thoughts?
 
[quote name='eastx']That's great Docvinh! Would you like to join the CAG Star Trek Online Fleet? Just PM your Steam userID to me and I'll send you an invite.

Zeldafan, you're invited too.

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[/QUOTE]

No invite for me? :(
 
Has anyone used the xbox 360 controller yet? I played beta 5 hours just to make sure I'd like everything. I'm a happy camper, purchased my lifetime already. I also went /w amazon (I love prime) for the $10 gift card (towards video games). I have always done CE's in the past for MMO's and have 9 out of 10 times been disappointed. This time, I'm just going to go standard.
 
I thought about trying the 360 controller but wasn't sure if it was compatible and I couldn't see being able to do everything needed for the game off of the controller.
 
If you haven't seen it, I recommend Giant Bomb's coverage of STO. They have a bunch of videos posted. They're full of hilarious commentary, it's like a podcast combined with gameplay.
[quote name='Lawyers Guns N Money']I think I'm gonna break out my nostromo n52 for this. Seems like it'd be a good fit.[/QUOTE]
I bought a G13 for this. It works really well with the game, and it makes combat more manageable.
 
Keen314, why dontcha wanna join the fleet?

The NostromoN52 and G13 look great. Will have to get one.
 
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It's my first MMO, and I have no desire to make any commitments. I plan on soloing what content I can for my first character. Maybe I'll group up later on.
 
Apologies Eastx, I'm still getting the hang of using the Steam friend/online system so by the time I see your messages, it's too late to really have a meaningful response to them. :p

I'm wondering how Steam handles the Headstart--are they going to send us a code to activate on the STO site via email, or do we just log in on the day/time it's supposed to start and start playing?
 
The way I understand the headstart is that your account will be using the pre-order key as the headstart allowance. So as long as you have the pre-order key in your account listing on your ST:O account you should have access to ST:O. This also makes me think they will just be sending out a patch that converts the Beta Client into the full client on the headstart or release day.
 
The pre-order bonuses are tied to the retail keys so you wont get those unlocked until you input your retail key into the Activate Key section of the ST:O website. I'm trying to find the posts on the ST:O forums to verify this information but those forums are a mess currently.
 
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS


Ok, just did the coolest quest ever. Just did the "City on the Edge of Nowhere" mission and it was incredible! It was just like watching an episode of a television show. B'vat the central villain, time travelling to the past, helping the Enterprise and meeting B'vat as a younger Klingon and then the final battle! When I saw two more Klingon Cruisers my heart sunk as I had gotten pretty pummeled from the first two. And then when I saw the beam from another cruiser out of nowhere and the Enterprise swooped in: amazing! I was cheering! Finishing off the quest with the Enterprise and having Spock send you off...amazing, just amazing.

/nerd.
 
Definitely great mission set. I think that is one of the first few episodic mission sets which are just a blast.

[quote name='gunm']Ok thanks. Makes sense. Steam seems on top of things so far. I'm getting excited now![/QUOTE]
I actually found most of the answers in the Pre-order FAQ on their website.

Q: How does the pre-order work? How do I get into Open Beta and the Head Start? A: When you purchase the preorder, you’ll receive a Key that works for Open Beta and Head Start. Keys will either be e-mailed to you or given to you at the store. Each retailer is sending out keys at different times so check with them about timing.

Q: Will I receive my retailer exclusives during the Head Start? A: No. The exclusives are tied to the retail product, not to the preorder key. In other words, you’ll need to purchase the full version of the game and input that key.

Q: If I preorder the game, but don’t pick up the retail game, will I be stopped from playing past the Head Start? A: Not right away. We will have a grace period of several days to give everyone the opportunity to pick up the retail copy of the game.

Q: How do I get my items?
A: After you’ve entered your retail keys(s) and create a character, you’ll enter your first map and immediately see a pop up screen. This will notify you of the item(s) available for you in our C-Store, online microtransaction store. You’ll be able to collect these items for free at any time and they’ll be applied to that particular character.
Q: How do I get the exclusive costume pieces and the Joined Trill? A: Once you’ve added your retail key to your account, the costume pieces and Trill are unlocked for you during character creation.

Q: If a player creates a character during headstart, then enters his retail key at launch (which opens up the exclusives), do pre-existing characters receive the exclusive items and costumes? A: Yes, except for the Joined Trill.

Q: Can I "install" my exclusive Trill symbiote after I create a different character? A: No. Trill is a species option players can choose during character creation, not a symbiote they can implant into an existing character after character creation.

The worst part about that is that I really want to use the Joined trill. What I'll do though probably is get to Level 6 early, create my Klingon character and then once the Trill unlocks transfer all of my equipment to that character and delete my original. Probably. The only thing the pre-order didn't address was how you actually use the headstart, like if they were just going to patch the Beta Client. That would be my guess.
 
Aw, kind of sucks that Joined Trill cannot be used in Headstart. Now I'm more annoyed about the two slot character limit.
 
Well the two slot character limit becomes 3 at a later point I think once hit you hit a certain level. I know I currently have 3 slots on available on the beta client. I'm not too worried about the character limit as I've got the extra 2 from the Lifetime sub.
 
[quote name='gunm']I almost went w/Amazon, but it's going to take too long to get the game (I can't get Release Date delivery where I live)[/QUOTE]
According to the FAQ, they're going to have a "grace period" (doesn't say how long) for folks that aren't able to get the game ON launch day. Sounds like they'd give you a couple days maybe...
 
I totally didn't think of using my G15 macros. Gaaaah....it'd make things so much more manageable. I find myself overwhelmed when I'm trying to balance my powers with redistributing shield power.
 
[quote name='Lawyers Guns N Money']According to the FAQ, they're going to have a "grace period" (doesn't say how long) for folks that aren't able to get the game ON launch day. Sounds like they'd give you a couple days maybe...[/QUOTE]


Yes, although for me, the shipments take about 3-5 business days on average.

What ultimately made me cancel Amazon is that they didn't send me the pre-order activation code within the two days they indicated. After I submitted a request to get it, I waited another two days on top of that with no resolution. I figured the Steam deal was pretty good and it's been seamless so far, so I'm ok going that route.
 
I really want to like this game. I've watched the Giantbomb videos for the past 2 weeks, and I really like this game. I want to make the plunge for a lifer, but I need the last final "push." I'm not into Star Trek, at all, but I'm finding the story interesting, and the "episode missions" to be awesome. Anyone wanna budge me just that little bit to pre-order it on steam. I've got the page opened as we speak, just all the negative comments towards Cryptic (or whatever) and their bad rep has me second guessing myself, a tad.

Anyone?
 
2 extra character slots, whether you decide to play 16 months straight or pick up and drop back off you never have to worry about paying another sub fee. You also have to look at the fact that a crappy MMO like Matrix Online lasted 5 years and you have die-hard trekkies who will do anything in their power to keep it alive for as long as possible. I've also worried about Cryptic and their somewhat not so good rep but you also have to look at the fact that they have done quite a bit to this game already since the opening of the Open Beta to improve the game and they will likely have paramount on their back to keep the game alive because of the licensing and what not. I'm sure Paramount get's a portion of every copy sold and a portion of the subscription fees.
 
That's pretty cool for them, as far as royalties and fees and that. I've heard that the most recent patch changed the game dramatically, and people have seen what the devs have done in just the past few days, and are very impressed. The free month in the box is a joke, becuase that first month the servers are down/buggy with all the updates and fixes, so I like the lifer option becuase you can play when the game should be in its prime---esentially, free, at that point, too.
 
Yeah, that huge patch they pushed out last week address a huge portion of everyone's gripes about the game. I'd say they have put a lot of work into shoring up the problems and trying to address the complaints/criticisms people have had. The game has changed immensely since the beginning of the Open Beta. I can attest to that personally.
 
[quote name='tipio']I really want to like this game. I've watched the Giantbomb videos for the past 2 weeks, and I really like this game. I want to make the plunge for a lifer, but I need the last final "push." I'm not into Star Trek, at all, but I'm finding the story interesting, and the "episode missions" to be awesome. Anyone wanna budge me just that little bit to pre-order it on steam. I've got the page opened as we speak, just all the negative comments towards Cryptic (or whatever) and their bad rep has me second guessing myself, a tad.[/QUOTE]

The Lifetime subscription is assuredly a gamble. The question isn't so much "will the game still be around 16 months from now", bur rather "will I still want to play the game 16 months from now." Anything less than 16 months and you're better off going monthly. Even if you love the game now, could you see yourself playing it for that long?

Consider your typical gaming habits - how long does it take you to complete a typical game? Are you the type to play it over the course of a couple weeks, or are you the kind to hammer out entire games over a weekend? Naturally the first type would very well benefit from a lifetime sub, but the second one notsomuch.

If you're that on the fence, why not opt for the 12-month sub? If you grow to hate the game early, you're out far less money, and up to 24 months its just as good a deal as the lifetime sub.
 
Funny you guys mention that. Last week when the beta started, I played maybe 2-3 hrs and stopped. I played again yesterday and didn't realize I played 3hrs straight without stopping! Exactly the reason why I stayed away from MMO's but I guess I'm hooked now. I still like the space battles more than the away missions, but it has gotten a lot better since the ealy beta days.

Why does it take 30mins in between transwarp to spacedock? i can't understand this. Also it seems to stutter and lag a little big on the ground missions and a tad in space. is that my system setup or options, or is that inherent in the MMO?
 
So I finally decided after playing the beta basically all day today that I'm in. I went and paid off my reserve at GS and can't wait to get my consitution class ship! I really wanna play more, but I think I'm gonna hold off til Friday since everything is getting erased tomorrow night anyway :(
 
It takes me a while to complete a game, in full, if ever. I like playing games for the experience and world. I don't like when game is finsihed and done for. I still won't beat Banjo-Kazooie becuase I love going back and exploring the world, and having the looming threat of Grunty needing to die overhead. I think I might go for the 12 month sub, as it's still a deal. I suppose the issue is if this game takes off, and does a surefire excellent job at revolutionizing MMOs, like WoW did, seemingly, years ago, I want to be the one who says "I don't have to pay anymore money, I'm already in."

I bought WoW the day it came out, years and years ago when I was in high school. I hate that I have to pay money every month, just to play around on my character, and level him up if I want to. There's a rub with locking in for only a year--what if I like it? I mean, it's such a gamble becuase is Cryptic going to push out all those content upadates like WoW did it's first few years, with battlegrounds, and AQ, and every other awesome content update?
 
The poor framerate on the ground seems to be either the game or lag, because my system can handle way more complex graphics than that. I do hope they'll improve that over time.

If you buy the game and join our fleet (or any fleet), you'll have a built-in group of friends to play and socialize with for the life of the game. You won't have to worry about going in and making friends raw.
 
It's definitely a gamble on whether Cryptic will support it like it should be or if it'll take the standard MMO path of just lasting a few years. I think with something like Star Trek they know that they can really push out expansions and more and more content. It is such a full universe that it could thrive on just expanding upon old episodes/movies plots or just throw in more and more villain story lines. You also have to think about if they decide to open play as Romulans or Borg or other species too. That's all a bunch of other campaigns you can run.
 
[quote name='Salamando3000']Consider your typical gaming habits - how long does it take you to complete a typical game? Are you the type to play it over the course of a couple weeks[/QUOTE]
^This is what I do. I grabbed a lifetime because I don't plan on playing through all the content super fast. A few hours a week here and there will eventually get me to the max level. I'll cut back on playing when there's a ton of other new games coming out, and get back in to STO when there are those lulls in new releases (like every summer).
 
[quote name='jp0213']It's definitely a gamble on whether Cryptic will support it like it should be or if it'll take the standard MMO path of just lasting a few years. I think with something like Star Trek they know that they can really push out expansions and more and more content. It is such a full universe that it could thrive on just expanding upon old episodes/movies plots or just throw in more and more villain story lines. You also have to think about if they decide to open play as Romulans or Borg or other species too. That's all a bunch of other campaigns you can run.[/QUOTE]

If they recreate episodes from the tv series or movies, I'm all in. I know a majority of episodes wouldn't work, but some could make awesome missions.
 
[quote name='boneless']If they recreate episodes from the tv series or movies, I'm all in. I know a majority of episodes wouldn't work, but some could make awesome missions.[/QUOTE]
They've already started tieing into The Original Series with one mission so I mean with the Trek universe and some time travel which they've always liberally used it opens up quite a bit. Hell even using a "holodeck" to recreate past missions to play them out in different ways would be cool too.
 
So, has there been much announced as to what to expect in terms of end-game content? Primarily interested in how on-foot-heavy it'll be. It currently looks like rolling a Tactical character is the way to go for soloing, but I imagine there's a lot of people going that route. Might make it a little hard to find a group if everyone's a red shirt.
 
Is it hard for anyone else to justify playing the beta at this point? I really want to play, just to play but I can't the thought out of my mind that it's just going to get wiped in the next 24-36 hours anyway.
 
Lol, me too. But the space battles are fun...I must say it's also fun just to mess around and not have to worry about leveling for once.
 
[quote name='Keen314']^This is what I do. I grabbed a lifetime because I don't plan on playing through all the content super fast. A few hours a week here and there will eventually get me to the max level. I'll cut back on playing when there's a ton of other new games coming out, and get back in to STO when there are those lulls in new releases (like every summer).[/QUOTE]


I played enough of the game to go for the life plan. After 1.5 years you start coming out ahead. I also didn't plan on rushing through the game. I'll be out of town for the head start but that's really just like Beta phase 2. I like the life plan because I don't feel compelled to HAVE to play the game. I can play at my own pace.

Is there a CAG group/clan I can join? I got the retail box version from amazon if that matters.
 
We have a fleet and we've been gathering on Steam using their groups system. I know a few people that are using a shortcut to the game outside Steam and just using the friends system there.
 
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