Interested in Star Trek Online Playthroughs?

[Nealithi]

*snip*

Wow, so much vitriol over a game. I'd read all of it (and I haven't) but I have to go to work in 15 minutes.

I have problems with the Iconion War story, but they are focused more on presentation and pacing. There wasn't enough war in the first half of the story, and the second half didn't seem as desperate as it should have been. I enjoyed it otherwise for what it was and the questions it posed the the player.

You didn't like it. Okay, but seriously, did you need to write something that long to say it?

Oh Worffan101 has a point. The war had years of buildup and there was a sense of excitement. But the missions often felt hamfisted to shove something else our way. Like flying with Tom Paris was less about the mission and how important it was. And saying hey new 'pilot' class ship type! Battles where you would be winning with no real issue. "No it is all lost we cannot have hope! Flee for your lives!" Then break in the middle for the summer event which had nothing to do with the big war event going on. If they had say made it so your character should be injured or traumatized, then put a war R&R theme that summer it would have been less jarring.
I mean I like STO. But there are parts that are done very badly. And while I did the Iconian war, I was not satisfied by it. Mainly because it seemed like most of the time you were a redshirt along for the ride. Not a person IN the story. Note Chuck's review of Dragon Age Inquisition for how that comes across.

[CharlesPhipps]

Well, having done some more research, I think the issue is the fact that the Iconian Arc was probably doomed to be disappointing to someone because it was the culmination of the entire game up until that point.

I felt it was a mistake, honestly, to have the Iconians replace the Undine even if I did love the big huge Iconian Base where you discover their plans for the rest of the galaxy. I was initially bought into the game by the Star Trek Online anthology and its talk about the Undine War.

Speaking of it, though, I am very much of the belief the Sword of Kahless must be recovered!

This seems prime Klingon adventure material.

[tyrteg]

Heh. Never thought I'd create an account for SFDebris forum but I guess my inability to watch injustice happen and just stand idly by has caught up with me again.

Like many here I've been playing STO for a lot of time. I've seen it's ups and downs and personally I love it and I am quite happy with where it is now. Much as I loathe STD I do have to say that I enjoy Discovery missions in STO and it allows the different actors to truly shine. In several cases it made me like the two-dimensional cardboard cut-outs that are presented on STD by giving them proper backstory and fleshing them out more (hi officer Landry).

But my enjoyment of Star Trek Online is not why I'm writing this post. It's because of the unjust presentation of Star Trek Online that's being given here. I'm reading opinions from people who played the game 5 years ago for 2 hours but "know" that it's rubbish and a Star Trek theme-park at best. Great! Thanks for your opinion. Looking forward to reading your opinion on Warframe, Destiny 2, hell even TOR. If all you need is 2 hours to know that a sprawling story-oriented MMO is shit - I bow to your astounding divination skills.

Then I'm reading a more constructive criticisms of different parts of story-arks from 4 years ago. Good to know you didn't like the Iconian War ark Worffan101. Care to write about the Gamma Quadrant Ark? The one that wasn't done on a very limited budget (mostly used to get famous VAs) in a hope of saving an aging MMO from cancellation? What's your opinion on Quark's Lucky Seven? Nowadays generally seen as one of the best STO episodes with an all-Ferengi cast of DS9 voice actors.

I'm seeing a lot of comparisons here between STO and Voyager. And I'd like to point out one thing - Voyager never EVER took a chance. When STO was approaching it's cancellation for a lack of general interest - they took a risk. They created a new story ark with tons of actors brought back from the TV show. They promoted it to high heavens and unsurprisingly it didn't live up to the expectations. But you know what it did? It brought back a lot of players. And since then the quality has been going mostly up. Sure, plenty of hurdles on the way but plenty of gems like the DS9 story-ark that brought back so many actors from that TV series and gave us (in my opinion) the best conclusion to the plot's left behind by the TV series. No other video-game gave me such a chance to see beloved characters voiced by actors who returned to their roles after 19 years and made the story feel alive. Made me feel like I was watching lost episodes of DS9 but this time? I was one of them. One of the characters on screen. With my trusted crew - solving the mysteries that the Female Changeling wanted hidden. Listening to Weyoun. Helping Odo and Kira. It made my childhood dreams come true and I'm a much happier person for having experienced it.

And it's not the only wonderful thing that STO did that I believe should be presented in this topic.
I've given up a few years ago on Chuck making a STO Let's Play and I don't really care if he finally decides to review the one Star Trek experience that is missing from his Trek portfolio. However I will not stand by and watch my favorite game get slandered without presenting at least a few counter-points of why the game is awesome and worth every penny you won't pay for it because it's free. All of it. Unlike TOR. So here some of my reasons for why STO is awesome:

Legacy of Romulus Our chance to see what happened in the Prime universe after JJ Trek. Also an almost BSG experience with having a fleet surviving with limited resources, shell-shocked from the destruction of their home-world and running from a devious adversary that might have moles planted on your ships.

Delta Rising Again our chance to see what happened in Delta Quadrant after Voyager left. Our chance to join Tuvok and Tom Paris. And all those characters you wished you could fly alongside of when you were a kid.

The Gamma Quadrant act. All of it. I won't list individual points because it would go on for pages.

New Frontiers. And the chance to see a new species rise up in the universe. Watching their first steps in space. I genuinely cried when we saw the newborn amoeba from TNG's Galaxy's Child and heard the young captain's reaction to it. Which was the same awe and wonder that I felt when I first saw it on TV.

Risa The "beach episode" as Nealithi derisively called it. And my first night there on one of the remote beaches when I looked up at the stars and saw the alien moons hanging above and watched the waves splash against the shore and it felt like I was right there. On the beaches of Risa.

Or how about the group mission where we fight the Borg Queen. The mission that helped my little sister overcome her fear of the Borg when she and her crew of skirt-totting ferocious cat-ladies beat up the Queen, species 8472 and the Voth at the same time and made them run in defeat.

Or hearing General Martok (voiced by J. G. Hertzler) talk aboard his flagship about T'Kuvma as Discovery lore is getting incorporated into the Trek canon which gave me the chills even though I personally dislike STD.

Or the first genuine horror story I played in a video-game in one of the Foundry missions created by players for players that are now sadly gone.

Or watching Aron Eisenberg(Nog) react to a tour of in-game Deep Space Nine station with shouts of joy and talking all the time how "the stairs" and "that vase" are exactly where they were in the show.

Or listening to Chase Masterson and how happy she was to be able to play Leeta as more than just empty-headed fanservice girl and playing Mirror Leeta as a bad-ass threat to our universe.

Or reading the wonderfully written short story about Captain Va'Kel Shon and his Enterprise being a ship that Kirk would be proud of: https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/10804994-jayce%27s-navy-interstellar%3A-through-the-valley

I could go on and on but let me just say that although this game has plenty of flaws, the story-telling is hit and miss and it's age is showing both in graphics and game-play - it has a wonderful heart - a core that allows you to dream and for a moment be a Starfleet Captain out there in space flying with the best of them. It has a huge expansive universe full of stories to explore and places to visit and experience and it's still growing better with more characters from the show with many more stories to tell. And that is all I wanted to say on this matter.

[Nealithi]

Heh. Never thought I'd create an account for SFDebris forum but I guess my inability to watch injustice happen and just stand idly by has caught up with me again.

And it's not the only wonderful thing that STO did that I believe should be presented in this topic.
I've given up a few years ago on Chuck making a STO Let's Play and I don't really care if he finally decides to review the one Star Trek experience that is missing from his Trek portfolio. However I will not stand by and watch my favorite game get slandered without presenting at least a few counter-points of why the game is awesome and worth every penny you won't pay for it because it's free. All of it. Unlike TOR. So here some of my reasons for why STO is awesome:

Legacy of Romulus Our chance to see what happened in the Prime universe after JJ Trek. Also an almost BSG experience with having a fleet surviving with limited resources, shell-shocked from the destruction of their home-world and running from a devious adversary that might have moles planted on your ships.

New Frontiers. And the chance to see a new species rise up in the universe. Watching their first steps in space. I genuinely cried when we saw the newborn amoeba from TNG's Galaxy's Child and heard the young captain's reaction to it. Which was the same awe and wonder that I felt when I first saw it on TV.

Risa The "beach episode" as Nealithi derisively called it. And my first night there on one of the remote beaches when I looked up at the stars and saw the alien moons hanging above and watched the waves splash against the shore and it felt like I was right there. On the beaches of Risa.


Or the first genuine horror story I played in a video-game in one of the Foundry missions created by players for players that are now sadly gone.

First off. Hi tyrteg! I hope this is one of many posts to come from you and welcome to the SFDebris Forums.

But I do need to critique your rebuttal. I removed parts I shan't be going over. So first off, you should not need a foundry mission, IE a fan fic, to tell a good story in the game. What Lies Beneath, was a great mission that I dare someone to play on a dark night, alone, with the lights off. The sense of isolation is palpable.
My issue with the summer event "Beach Episode" is that they still did the summer event in the middle of the Iconian war. Summer event can be fun. I have done it several years. But dropping it into the war makes it feel like a beach episode from anime. Sorry, it broke immersion for me.
Okay, the Lukari arc was pretty good. I will grant you that. So no arguments from me.
Legacy of Romulus, if you read the thread you will note I said it makes the tie up with Hakeev mean more coming from a Romulan character. But after there is little Romulan specific.

And your last point on Free to Play. Minor tooting of self horn. I am a Lifer and regularly open Lock Boxes and have . . . 27? Characters. . . I recently did a purge and I am at work. I will have to take a census when I get home. So I do like the game. But I have to agree it has some serious weaknesses when it will be reviewed for story content.

So honesty is not actually slander.

But please bring more debate points. I and others will enjoy hearing a new perspective.

[CharlesPhipps]

I will say that Star Trek Online feels like one of the most improved and streamlined games I've ever played. It started off as very very bare bones and basic and has gradually improved itself tremendously. The fact I can play it on Xbox One and Playstation 4 is also a huge credit to it. They really did have a lot of ambition and I give any game credit that allows you battle the demons of Klingon Hell and rescue a bunch of souls in a Star Trek game.

This thread even got me to return to Star Trek, though I'm worried about what I've done wrong because I finally finished the Delta Quadrant arc but have yet to trigger the Iconian War.

[tyrteg]

Hi, thanks for the pleasant welcome.

As I stated in my previous post - my point wasn't trying to convince everyone that "STO is the best game ever!" and Chuck should make a Let's Play right away. All I wanted was to give a fair representation of the game and mention some of my favorite experiences that make it worth playing. Personally I'm not a Lifer but I will admit that I have spent quite a bit of cash on the C-Store ships. T6 Yorktown is the most beautiful ship I've ever had the pleasure to command and the Klingon and Romulan Flagships are just as well done imho.

Honestly if there is one mission-arc that I feel shouldn't be missed it is the Gamma Quadrant. The way they wrote all the characters is surprisingly good and the way they are voiced is unbelievable. I know my posts are mostly gushing but 'I can't help but adore the first time you meet Elim Garak and hear his voice - it's honestly hard to believe that 20 years have passed since mr. Robinson played that character. He sounds like he's just finished with filming yesterday. And the way STO gives you the chance to enjoy the classic Garak-Bashir game of truths and lies except this time YOU the player are the straight gullible and somewhat naive Starfleet officer (or a Klingon warrior used to straightforward solutions faced with Dominion plots within plots) makes it another dream come true. And honestly the game design only makes it better. I haven't realized it when I started the act but while you're talking with Garak he has several idle gestures programmed and one of them is a slight head-tilt that I never noticed him doing in the show - but once I saw him do it in STO - it really clicked for me at it was one of the big "oh it really IS him" moments.

I really don't want to spoil the story-line but I'll say if you're going to play it just for 2 hours of your life (which isn't that big a waste even if you don't end up liking it) skip all the tutorials and go straight to the Gamma Quadrant act. Or even better - start a Jem'Hadar character and you're going straight to the best stuff STO has to offer. It doesn't drag, it wonderfully compliments the story of the TV series and it's probably the last chance you'll ever get to listen to Odo and Kira interact. To help Martok and Worf in battle. To see Bashir and Garak reunite and hear Julian talk about his life with Ezri. And to get Quark, Rom and Nog do a heist to save the whole galaxy.
If Chuck played just this one story-line - with a few minutes talking about the history of STO and the delightful joy that all the cast expressed in the interviews about reprising their roles in the Gamma Quadrant story-arc it would make for a fun entertaining 2 hour-long videos

[Worffan101]

Well, having done some more research, I think the issue is the fact that the Iconian Arc was probably doomed to be disappointing to someone because it was the culmination of the entire game up until that point.

I felt it was a mistake, honestly, to have the Iconians replace the Undine even if I did love the big huge Iconian Base where you discover their plans for the rest of the galaxy. I was initially bought into the game by the Star Trek Online anthology and its talk about the Undine War.

Speaking of it, though, I am very much of the belief the Sword of Kahless must be recovered!

This seems prime Klingon adventure material.

It is recovered, by Quark, Nog, Lek, Rom, and (IIRC) Cousin Gaila in a scream-inducingly hilarious heist mission during the Dominion arc.

Probably the best Author's Saving Throw I've ever seen, but then again all of Victory is Life was fantastic.

[CharlesPhipps]

I was inspired to restart Star Trek: Online because of this and managed to finally defeat the Delta Quadrant arc. Some thoughts about the game since my return.

1. I think Chuck could actually do a review of this game but it's interesting to question how far he would get or how much he could make it interesting. I'd also be inclined to ask him to do the Klingon side rather than the Federation.

2. The game really has improved over the past few years and is much more enjoyable. I also appreciate all the cutscenes and new material.

3. The Kobali suck and the fact that Harry Kim (I) is being sent back to live with the Zombie Hordes is kind of terrifying. No one have any issues with kidnapping and brainwashing? Yes, they brought him back from the dead. Which is good. Bad? Kidnapping and brainwashing.

4. The end of the game does imply the Vaadwaur are given back their dead but I certainly think they may still have a point about the Kobali's actions being worthy of invasion. I also note their cryogenics is designed to make sure only their soldiers survived.

5. I finished "Yesterday's War" and liked the finale with Sela. It humanizes her while also keeping her from being a complete Karma Houdini. I also think Tasha Yar's ending is slightly more dignified even if it still sucks.

6. Started the Iconian War and I've got to say it is feeling a bit disappointing. Then again, I'm getting a strong sense of "This is them badly ripping off Mass Effect's Reapers." I'm only to the part where they Death Star the Preservers, though.

[Eishtmo]

I didn't put up the "Star Trek Theme Park" as a slight against the game. I have 14 maxed out characters on it for dog's sake! I do enjoy it, but as serious meat to chew into, uh, it's mostly fluff. There are good bits here and there, but nothing that could be really delved into.

Well, except maybe the general outrage over the Kobali, which I find perplexing. I simply don't get it. Especially the sheer raging that goes on about it.

[CharlesPhipps]

I didn't put up the "Star Trek Theme Park" as a slight against the game. I have 14 maxed out characters on it for dog's sake! I do enjoy it, but as serious meat to chew into, uh, it's mostly fluff. There are good bits here and there, but nothing that could be really delved into.

It's a pew-pew-pew game but it's improved a great deal.

Best campaigns?

Yesterday's War, IMHO.

Well, except maybe the general outrage over the Kobali, which I find perplexing. I simply don't get it. Especially the sheer raging that goes on about it.

Doylist versus Watsonian?

Doylist?

Fans get into arguments over silly things all the time.

Wastonian?

Your PC if he's a typical Star Trek do-gooder will be probably be appalled by the multiple layers of evil shit going on.

1. The Vaadwaur have had massive numbers of their civilian population in stasis kidnapped. Basically, their medical staff and children according to the records inside. The Kobali have no intention of releasing them.

2. The Kobali have been taking their deceased from the failed stasis pods and raising them up as Kobali. Which is either resurrection + brainwashing or something more akin to alien xenomorphs/demonic possession where a new personality inhabits the body.

3. The Kobali then sent these guys into battle against the Vaadwaur.

4. The Kobali kept Harry Kim's body from them with plans to resurrect him and then brainwash him into being one of them.

5. The Kobali keep all of this secret from the Federation.

Now for some people, like the Klingons, there's no such thing as reverence for the dead. They consider corpses to be shells with no meaning. Eat it, throw it away, whatever. However, for many other cultures, reverence for the dead plays a key role in the mourning process as well as cultural traditions. Sometimes its religious.

Anyway, Star Trek is all about respecting cultural traditions. Certainly, the Vaadwaur show massive disrespect for the Vaadwaur's dead. That is the LEAST ISSUE involved there as they also have millions, potentially, of Vaadwaur living as hostages. Basically, keeping them in hopes they'll die off "naturally" and using them as spare parts. Which is akin to waiting for someone in a coma who could be woken at any time to die so you can steal their organs.

It is fucked-up shit.

And you know what? I'm entirely cool with it because this is some old fashioned Kirk-realpolitic. We're allied with the Kobali because the Vaadwaur are allied with the Iconians.

Just don't pretend this is Good vs. Evil guys.