Comments on: STO Update: Details On Story Arcs, Klingon Gameplay, Micropayments + more

By: Matt Oracle

Matt Oracle — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:09:35 +0000

So we finally have some news on the payment scheme the devs are going to be using for STO… hmm. Whilst a small fee might be justified, if Cryptic are to go for a payment scheme for STO like their Champions Online, then I would imagine that many Star Trek gamers will be very hesitant to put money down for this, especially in the current financial climate.

i have many fellow Trek friends and gamer friends who would love a good Star Trek game to hit the shelves, but I know that they most definitely don’t have that sort of money to continually fork out when their family budgets are already at the limits. Personally, I hope that the game ends up having a trial period or demo as I am still somewhat unsure about investing time and money in STO.

By: Pyork (JE)

Pyork (JE) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:00:52 +0000

I still don’t have a job so I probably won’t get to play… :(

By: Captain Wowser Uk

Captain Wowser Uk — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:19:05 +0000

This looks like a great starting point for the game, but I think most of the ideas above deserve a place in the game as it progresses with updates. This could truly be the most comphrensive virtual representation of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek universe – if we support it.

By: Mark Lynch

Mark Lynch — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:24:28 +0000

Well I have no idea how much this will cost in the UK, or if it will even be released in the UK.

But one thing for me which is certain, I will not pay $50 for a game and then after 30 days, be told that to continue playing, I will need to start giving out another $15 per month whether I use it every day or once a month. Which is the main thing that bothers me about subscription games like this.

I think the previous poster which said it would be fairer if you were charged $15 once you hit thirty days of connections was talking a lot of sense.

Mind you, I don’t think that I even have the time these days to get involved in an MMO.

By: Stewie G

Stewie G — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:27:49 +0000

In the case of MMOs, if you want a quality game that will stand the test of time, there is no way that they CANNOT charge a monthly fee. Sorry to those of you who already read my similar post in a different thread, but I’ve played both one time purchase MMOs and monthly MMOs. The one time purchase MMOs fall apart after the first year or so. It takes tremendous time and (computing) man power to keep an MMO running smoothly. The maps and ammount of content in even an average MMO is pretty staggering. There’s no way anyone will get decent gameplay, features, and update without paying somewhere along the line. MMOs are not like first person shooters, rts games, or even online games like Team Fortress. They are an entirely different beast and those servers need to be maintained constantly.

By: AJ

AJ — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:15:26 +0000

I think the opposite is true: Give the software away for free, and charge the monthly fee which covers ever-changing content and in-game events.

Right now, World of Warcraft is $19.95 in the US for the initial starter game, which is much more reasonable than $50. That price will definitely keep some people away.

Also, Cryptic should have a system in place which covers the inevitable overcrowding, lag and crash of servers once they get online.

By: Eli

Eli — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:53:49 +0000

Wait, nope. Still 50 bucks.

Greedy bastards.

By: Eli

Eli — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:53:06 +0000

I agree with you ross1701. I think the fee should definitely be based on the amount of time you actually spend playing the game, not just a straight-up month. So you only have to spend 15 bucks after you’ve actually played 30 full days worth of time according to the game’s internal clock.

Of course, if I was in charge of the business model, I would only charge users when they downloaded additional content to upgrade or expand their copy of the game, since it sounds like that will be a part of the game’s design anyway. But what do I know, math isn’t my strong suit. I guess selling a few hundred thousand copies of the game at 50 bucks a pop doesn’t earn you enough money to keep things going without charging a user fee on top of things every month anymore, I guess.

Or, because of the user fees, will the game be cheaper out of the box?

By: psytce

psytce — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:25:00 +0000

I believe that this game is going to be a lot of fun. I cannot wait until it comes out.

By: TrekologIst

TrekologIst — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:04:25 +0000

This game is going to be great, but I’m disappointed that they are not releasing a mac version. I am a rabid mac user and have virtually abandoned pc! :-(. What happened to IDIC in computing? l. That and I wish the space combat was more like Bridg Commander which as true 3d combat with roll pitch and yaw. I also am a fanboy that wants to walk around my ship and level up!