Perpetual_Daron
Perpetual Entertainment
Executive Producer
Join Date: 13th May 2005
Posts: 87
Wow, a 22 page thread and still going! I certainly didn't intend to cause this much fuss. I'd just like to clarify a few things here. First, I don't believe I've ever promised player ship interiors, though I suppose there might be something I've forgotten. Second, I'm not saying that there won't be player ship interiors either. We will evaluate our ability to deliver player ship interiors once we get a little further into production and after we've fully understood what it will take to deliver a high quality capitol ship interior and experience. We do "understand the importance of player ships interiors to players and the pro-bridge/interior view is well represented within the team. I know everyone would like to get my commitment now, but well, it is a big galaxy.
However, I do want everyone to know that after careful consideration over a year ago, we decided against the "characters at consoles" mechanic for space gameplay. That doesn't mean we don't understand and value the importance of representing your character avatar in space.
Some won't like the mechanic decision we made and I understand that. But I'm confident that we thought through it very carefully and ultimately made the best decision for the game.
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Daron Stinnett
Executive Producer || Star Trek Online
Perpetual_Daron
Perpetual Entertainment
Executive Producer
Join Date: 13th May 2005
Posts: 87
I played Legacy on the PC and did not like the combat. I understand it is better on the 360, but either way the only comparison I would make to Legacy is that you are fully capable from an exterior view. I thought Bridge Commander had a better combat model, and there too players were most effective and generally played from the exterior view, but we're not going the "manage a bunch of subsystems" route.
The interface and style of space combat will have a lot in common with most MMORPGs whether ground or space. Though SWG JTLS is not a good comparison. Eve is a better comparison from an interface perspective, but the team doesn't feel like they succeeded in creating an entertaining combat model.
We still have a lot to develop so I don't want to go into too much detail. Some will love what we realize, some will hate it I'm sure. But I want everyone to come to a conclusion based on what it really is and on the whole package rather than the sketchy information we're able to provide at this point. And for those who feel this might be going in the wrong direction, don't worry, there's still plenty of time to cancel your subscription
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Daron Stinnett
Executive Producer || Star Trek Online
: Weirdly...wonders what Mr. Disney would say :
I guess I find it odd that for probably more money than it took to make all of Disneyworld, a Tripple A MMO developer finds it difficult to provide multiple types of gameplay experiences with a MMO infrastructure.
"We are not building two games" -Perpetual.
Maybe there lies the problem because it seems for a 'Tripple A' budget ,there is only imagination enough to use a MMO infrastructure to provide a very narrow type of experience instead of thinking of using a MMO infrustructure like a 'Disneyland' that can provide many types of experiences in one location.
One has to also ponder the activities of MMO makers who create little more than single player experience and yet want to reap the bounty of a potential 2 million + audience.
It sure is nice making a MMO for under 100 million....making 125 million in sales the first day...up to 800+ million in the first year and up to 79 million a month after that. (they do not even have over 60 miles of physical theme park attractions to upkeep. Just computers)
I guess that has me wondering what Mr. Disney would say the most. Hey. There is nothing wrong with making money hand over fist. It is what you do to get that money.
And right now...STO is no Disneyworld.
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The Return of the Robber Barons!
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When you have famous game developers stepping up and saying: MMO developers do no more work than required to make a single or multi-play player game yet reap unbelievable profits'...something is wrong.
Maybe it is because MMO's are still so new to the mainstream and after moving from single player experiences and multi-player experiences they do not understand what truly 'MASSIVE" Multi-play experiences could be delivered to them for the monies they provide (as well as multi-play and single play experiences that can be delivered with a MMO infrastructure too).
Hell no would a game developer really want to do what is required to create a Disneyworld. They want to stick to designing games of the 1995 era and reap 2009 profits.
People are catching on though. Thank goodness they love telling folks that WoW has over seven million players and how that equates to over 70 million dollars a month...for a game that cost less than 100 million to make. WOW has officially joind the BILLIONAIRE club and is closing in on the Trillion club.
A movie studio won't make as much as a MMO yet they will dump 200 million on a project where a game developer won't come close to getting that kind of production money (development money for STO was not supposed to be a problem)
One almost wishes the Department of Justice would to look into the activities of game developer and MMO game developers. This is getting out of hand. All the secrecy and hype has got to go.
