To Broadly Go

Having gone MMO cold turkey since April and being saturated with fantasy multiplayer games, I've been looking forward to the arrival of Star Wars: The Old Republic with baited breath. Good quality sci-fi games online with friends have been in short supply in recent years and it was pre-CU/NGE SWG some six years ago where I last got a satisfactory fix of fricken' pewpew lasers. Star Trek Online caught me on the hop, as all of a sudden here's a game people are wanting to play and apparently isn't half bad.


With reports from closed beta (NDAs be damned) being very promising, I was lured into a trap where Steam offered a version of the game to buy, which gave open beta access, early start complete with a KHAAAAN emote! Come on, how could that not tempt me ...



Genesis
With the ten gig beta download completed, I logged in and began the character creation process. The engine is the same as Champions Online from Cryptic but with the benefit of the Star Trek framework to inject their cunning into, it has become a far more malleable beast and provides the same superb level of configuration but with considerably more focus than previously. Yes you can still create aliens with a penis coming out their forehead if you're dedicated enough, but the random options don't offend your sensibilities and it's easy enough to get into the action with a distinct but not crazy looking character.

Servers
Staying in the action was a different matter altogether. While server stability is always an issue in the early days of a game launch, touting open beta access as a big thing then having a stream of server fails and disconnects in the first few hours isn't good for business. Fifteen disconnects during the character creation phase was almost a disheartening process, especially when you have to begin carefully crafting your alien hottie all over again on each occasion. But anyway, leaving it for a couple of hours and opting for a relaxing cup of tea, gave the servers time to restabilise and allow me to get on without further problems. Over the beta, the server performance has improved dramatically and in the last week I've suffered two disconnects and only a single period of sustained failure to get back in. It's not a surprise that the servers slow to a crawl when America wakes up, and here's hoping either regional servers are introduced, or the server farm grows considerably.

I haven't seen a single xXLEGOLASXx yet. Only one J.L.Picard too. The ability to name both your characters and ship has thrown up a beautiful range of names so far, and it's been a lovely surprise to see some of the creativity in action. Gamers aren't often commended for their skill in this area, so I salute them.

Graphics
Graphically it ran terribly on my machine at home, unless everything was set to the absolute minimum. That's a limitation of my rig, not the game however, but it definitely gimps a little of the love I can afford the game at the moment. You want immersive, you need it pretty and my five year old kit with a two year old mid-range graphics card isn't cutting it. What has impressed me in the two week period so far is the number of patches made and the improvements I've seen in performance. Far, far beyond what Champions Online provided (and that did reasonably well in beta) and every time I load it, it feels like someone added just a little more shine to the game just for me...  and magically I can push another slider all the way to the right without compromising game quality.

Universe
The universe is engaging and clearly a lot time has been spent on the look and feel of the environment. There are a range of comforting noises and visual cues present that anyone who has watched Strar Trek over the years will be familiar with. Setting it after all the films and series is smart, you're not bumping into legends, but the NPCs are just characterful enough that you'll remember where you left them when trying to hand a quest in. Within the first hour or two of playing, you'll discover that Sulu in the Stardock is the STO equivalent of Mankrik's Wife in Warcraft. It's so obviously you will facepalm yourself upon realising the truth of things. Zug zug pew pew.

Getting Started
The tutorial wasn't overly long, but explains all the basics but there's still quite a knowledge gap there for things like experience points and upgrades. Don't rush the tutorial though, as you get to play with everything at your leisure and it's nigh on impossible to get killed. Basic ground combat is very straight forward and you'll get to grips with it immediately, but the ship-based combat may take a little longer. Prepare to use all your fingers to make the most of the overwhelming number of controls on offer. The cool kids will want the ship combat, and while it's not massively different from any form of combat in an RPG really, there's something quite fantastic about strafing runs across the bow of another ship, picking out a shield to focus fire on and then hammering the structural integrity. There's obviously a few more tactical elements to it than my amazing powers of description share with you, but more importantly there's surprising emphasis on the power of teamwork instead of being a lone ranger.

Questing
I'm really unsure how this will pan out longer term as at the moment it already feels a little formulaic. While there haven't been any quenkers, Kobolds with candles or ten random drops from eighty mobs, and there are little storylines for most of the quests, it still needs refinement. But the one thing I have discovered, it just doesn't seem to feel boring at any point. While that's fine in the early stages, something wonderful needs to happen before the cool kids all rush and bluster their way toward whatever the endgame can offer. This game has a month to impress the hardcores.

Summary
I really could be wearing my latex Vulcan ears and sitting here in Beverly Crusher's science uniform quite frankly. As a Star Trek fan through my formative scifi years, this has provided me with a very pleasant jolt of gaming and for the first time in a few years I caught myself wistfully wishing away a work day so I could get home and go photon torpedo the life out of a few dirty Gorn. If the game continues at this pace into live, it bodes exremely well for a decent scifi adventure in the MMO market, and that's very overdue and most welcome.