Star Trek Online Update

[Evil Avatar]

In one of the odder development processes, the developers of Star Trek Online have posted a Blog entry (http://startrek.perpetual.com/2005/11/customer_survey_results.html) taking a look at some Nielsen Media Research the developer did on Star Trek Online.

Interesting. I find it most amusing that the developers aren't going to include ANY non-Federation races, but that something like 60% of the people polled would rather play as Klingon or Borg than Federation.

Seems like a clear case where the developer isn't listening (The "we know better than the player" syndrome.) and it will have a significant impact on the game.

[MajSheppard]

Well of course, how else are they going to make you buy the expansion?

[bean19]

A quote from the original article:

On average, the introduction of factions lead to an 8% increase in purchase intent for MMO gamers, and 6% for Star Trek fans. That the difference was so marginal, was a surprise to the team. One explanation for surprising result is that a Star Trek MMO is appealing regardless of factions. The other is that factions are just not valued, which I find hard to believe. IMHO, factions would have a greater effect than is indicated in the survey, but these numbers certainly don't support an argument that we should find a way to make factions happen even if it means sacrificing other goals.

[endrom]

This is going to be just like what and is happening to SWG, Can't people just stick with a idea that people would want to play, this is good for MMO's. People want to be borgs, bulk skulls, and heck throw in tribbles in to for laugh like the gnome class.

[Conner Dain]

This product will set a record for the fastest MMOG failure. I love ST, but I just don't see how this idea could work.

[XenonCJ]

They should keep it very simple to start. Start with TOS (and/or "Enterprise" I guess...), and work up and forward through Trek history from there. Plenty of room for QUALITY expansion from there...

[Chalex]

On a mostly unrelated note, will GMs be Q?

[SMES]

My conception of Star Trek, especially from the ever popular next generation series, is that the "soul" of star trek is the insight it gives to 20th (now 21st) century Earth life. Be it politics, culture, relationships, world events, etc., Star Trek is about the power of fantasy parody.

This game sounds pretty much like a big combat based battleground primarilly, just like every other MMO. I'd really like to see a MMO that is like EVE Online with it's business elements, but also with more diplomacy-type gameplay.

[Maskatron]

Looks like they're just being a bit lazy. They're not saying it wouldn't make a much better game...they're just saying they don't have the time/resources. Well, if you can't do it right...

[Xaerin]

You can be humans in a million and one mmo's, what will get people buying this one is if they capitalise on the aspects that make star trek what it is. I wanna assimilate!

[Evil Avatar]

A quote from the original article:

See, this is one area I know. Those are two different questions and they have decided to give one question more weight than the other because it GOES ALONG WITH WHAT THEY HAVE PLANNED, instead of looking at the data objectively and seeing that only 17% of their player base wants to play the Federation.

Notice that they give the full text of the question you have quoted, but that they don't give the actual data or show how they decided to "weight" it against purchase intent.

In market research, EVERYTHING is based on the wording of the question. They should have outright asked,

"Will you be more likely to purchase the game if it has more than one player race (leaving out the somewhat deceptive "faction" wording) or if it only has one race available at launch?"

See what a huge difference that would make to the way they worded the question and how they have decided to weight that decision back to purchase intent?

Edit: Also, click on the thumbnail for the next question down, the first chart under Features. What feature gets 51% interest? "playing as Starfleet, Romulan or Klingon".

There it is staring them right in the face AGAIN and they are ignoring it. Players don't want to just play as Federation.

[Watership]

Not only are they not listening they're forgetting the mistakes of other developers. First, Star Trek isn't exactly a great IP right now. The damage done by the Last Trek Movie and the Enterprise and Voyager will be felt for 10 years. Now this "non" federation aliens are not involved. Wow. Bad move. I can't be Jem'Hadar? Sheesh.

What really bugs me is that they mentioned the combat is 2d. And there was a freakout. One of the developers then told everyone to calm down, the Ships are in full glorious 3D. Just the combat is 2D.
....
Any space based game that limits your combat to FWD/BACK LEFT/RIGHT.. deserves to die a seriously horrible death.

And I wanna be a Jem'Hadar, bitch.

[bean19]

Evil - I'm not really invested in this and thus can't really give a contrary opinion to yours, but since the article addressed your concern, albeit not to your satisfaction, I thought it was worth quoting.

I'm glad I did as I can understand your position better now, although I'm still not passionate about or against factions.

It seems like the kind of feature that people would really, really like, and I think they know that, but I also think that they know how difficult it would be to acheive. I guess my thinking is that I wouldn't mind playing a really GOOD game that limits me to Starfleet at launch, but then adds in the Borg as a playable race in an expansion (I wouldn't care to play as a Klingon personally). However, I'd really dislike a game that doesn't do either side "right".

Gameplay for a Federation ship and gameplay for a Borg ship would be fundamentally different. You couldn't just swap out the art and call it a day.

Granted, it isn't an either or proposition. They COULD make a game with both factions and do both sides excellently, but could they make the game quickly enough that the game's technology doesn't suffer from the long development cycle? Could they afford to finance a long development cycle?

If I was producing this game, it would be an extremely tough call to make. I'd want multiple factions a lot, but I'd still have to get the game released within budget and within a reasonable development cycle.

[XenonCJ]

Not only are they not listening they're forgetting the mistakes of other developers. First, Star Trek isn't exactly a great IP right now. The damage done by the Last Trek Movie and the Enterprise and Voyager will be felt for 10 years. Now this "non" federation aliens are not involved. Wow. Bad move. I can't be Jem'Hadar? Sheesh.

What really bugs me is that they mentioned the combat is 2d. And there was a freakout. One of the developers then told everyone to calm down, the Ships are in full glorious 3D. Just the combat is 2D.
....
Any space based game that limits your combat to FWD/BACK LEFT/RIGHT.. deserves to die a seriously horrible death.

And I wanna be a Jem'Hadar, bitch.Spock: He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates 2 dimensional thinking.

[GrinR]

BEAM ME DOWN, SCOTTY!

Translation: I'm nerdy enough without meta-nerding in a nerd universe.

[Evil Avatar]

Any space based game that limits your combat to FWD/BACK LEFT/RIGHT.. deserves to die a seriously horrible death.

Star Fleet Command had 3D ships with battles limited to 2D and it worked just fine. It is all about having enough options to make you feel like you are in command of a real starship and not just having to hit the phaser or torpedo button a bunch of times.

[Bushido]

this is Star trek, nothing is 2D, chess evolved to like 8D. Bring on the borg playable race and Eve Style Flight combat with WoW style away missions and this will win in a big way.

[Citizen Philip]

Exactly where are they going to get a player base willing to pay every month for this?

The only fun game I could think of is: you all get a ship, and you all do away missions: when you do away-missons other players act the roles of the officers on your mission (and hilarity ensures).

Everytime you participate as an away officer on someone's mission your officer gets more experience. All ship based combat is under your control, as you play as captain.

If they had lots of away missions, it could be fun.

[superherotaco]

Well even though I haven't followed this game at all, from comming here for a few years I seem to recal when it was launched there was promises that they would incorporate non federation life forms, but they didn't have the time before launch to do it, but to "expect an update soon". Kinda spits in the face of the people that bought it with this promise in mind.

[Evil Avatar]

What this really should fall into is the Blizzard line of thinking, "If I can't do it right I'm not going to do it at all."

The developer doesn't have the time or resources to do the game right, so they are going to try to justify their bad decisions with market research. I've got news for them, Star Wars is a MUCH bigger property than Star Trek and the Star Wars MMORPG is still a failure because it was a bad game and was missing many of the features that people consider "Star Wars" out of the box (Jedi Knights, quick paced combat and space combat come to mind).

A bad game, or a game that is missing the features consumers want is going to fail.

The developer is even parroting the old "Star Trek isn't about combat." line. I guess they never saw TOS, because it was almost always about combat and that is the series that made Star Trek popular.

[Demo_Boy]

A faction system is where you kill Blackburrow Knolls so later Blackburrow Knolls aggro you more readily. bleh who cares, I need furs.
Multiple races means you can play as Borg, human or Klingon. That is cool.

I really admire Glen D, his designs have always been awesome, a little overdeep for mainstream, but brilliant really.

Can I say though, that I don't want to play as the nerd Federation that has to do good and obey the Prime Directive and all that nerdy stuff?
I want to play as a Klingon and shoot first ask questions later.
I want to play as a borg and assimilate a small army of weak ships and take over all whom I see.
The "malevolent effect" counts for a lot in sellability.

I fully feel that they obsucred the questions and are creatively interpreting the results. For sure the test was mandated by the publisher as a gating element to making sure the game will turn a profit.

[Cha-Ka]

This product will set a record for the fastest MMOG failure. I love ST, but I just don't see how this idea could work.

No way they're gonna pry the trophy out of the rapidly stiffening hands of The Matrix Online.

[Citizen Philip]

No way they're gonna pry the trophy out of the rapidly stiffening hands of The Matrix Online.

I believe The Matrix Online still has a pulse. Earth and Beyond was almost born aborted.

[Demo_Boy]

What is the Matrix?

[Orz]

Players are idiots. If you listen to what the players want, you will utterly destroy a game. Not to mention, it won't be yours any more.

If I ever got a game made, I'd listen to players... see if there's any inspiration to be had... and if none, screw em. They can take their treatises elsewhere. You don't let the tourists captain the ship.

[Adewade]

Am I the only one interested in seeing another fully co-op MMO?

The only one I can think of right now is A Tale In The Desert... and it just didn't hook me.

[endrom]

this is Star trek, nothing is 2D, chess evolved to like 8D. Bring on the borg playable race and Eve Style Flight combat with WoW style away missions and this will win in a big way.
That would be perfect!!! Wow that is a awesome idea man. But the the eve combat thing i would like more control, maybe the SWG space combat, but more indepth, Star trek had starfighters to.

[Chimpbot]

That would be perfect!!! Wow that is a awesome idea man. But the the eve combat thing i would like more control, maybe the SWG space combat, but more indepth, Star trek had starfighters to.

Yes, but those starfighers weren't really introduced until the very end of Deep Space 9. They haven't been seen since in a Star Trek series since...I'm not sure about the movies, though.

Star Trek just doesn't really fit the MMOG genre, personally...not in the way they'll probably end up doing it. Star Trek has always been more about big Capital Ship battles and less about ground or small ship-to-ship battles. Sure, there are the Away missions and whatnot...but the shows have always been focused around the big capital ship and it's crew. I really can't see how they can get the proper feeling in an MMOG.