Many Games, Handle Them

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Tyler F.M. Edwards

It is well-known that I enjoy playing multiple different games from day to day. I bore easily, and there’s just too many good games these days to limit yourself to one at a time.

But over the last few months, I think I may have bit off more than I can chew. I’ve been juggling so many games it’s starting to give me a headache just trying to find time for them all (first world problems). It’s at the point now where I fear something has to give.

I thought I’d run down the games I’ve been playing (or trying to play) over the last few weeks, and what concessions I’m willing to make to lessen the load.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

I’m still chugging along in SW:TOR. The “new game smell” has started to wear off a bit, but on the whole I’m still enjoying myself. I’ve nearly finished the agent storyline, and I continue to putter around with my various alts, mainly my sage and assassin.

I do think this game will be a long-term — though not necessarily permanent — investment, but I’m little unsure how to proceed for the immediate future. I plan to play through the various expansions, but I’m not in a rush to. This is an older game with a lot of content, and I intend to take my time working through it all. I had considered focusing on alts to see more of the launch story before moving on to expansions, but I’m not sure.

I’m also undecided as to whether I want to keep subscribing. I don’t want to keep subscribing indefinitely, and I’m definitely starting to chafe under the psychological pressure to play it creates, as I always do, but I’m not eager to give up my subscriber perks.

Raids are also a stumbling block. I don’t plan to make raiding a major activity in SW:TOR, but I’d at least like to do them once for the story. Non-subscribers can’t access raids at all, as far as I know. That’s vexing.

The Secret World

I’m in an odd spot with TSW right now. I’m extremely happy with the state of the game, but after three years and ~700 hours, there isn’t a whole lot left for me to do. My Dragon and Templar have finished Tokyo and are well-geared. My Illuminati is moth-balled indefinitely. I do mean to continue leveling my other Dragon at some point, but I’m no rush.

I try to do my daily dungeon run when I can, but I’m often distracted by other things. I still need to do the new Tokyo dungeons at some point.

A lot of people are very excited by the new subscriber perks, but I was fine with the old system, and the new cosmetics aren’t really to my taste. I have nothing against the new system, but it doesn’t do much for me — though the bonus bullion is nice, I grant.

So TSW isn’t doing a whole lot to crowd my gaming plate, though I wouldn’t mind spending a bit more time with it if I could find the time. It remains my favourite game of the modern era.

And since I haven’t evangelized it in a while, I will once again encourage all and sundry to try this game. It’s the perfect marriage of the best of both single-player and MMO elements, equally enjoyable solo or with others, and it features some of the best-storytelling and most inventive gameplay in gaming history. ~~I still have plenty of trial keys — just send me a note through my contact page if you’d like one.~~

Edit: I have just learned that Funcom has discontinued the buddy key system. There is currently no way to try The Secret World for free. That… sucks.

World of Warcraft

I had intended to play a lot more WoW this month. Don’t want to waste subscription time, even if I paid with gold and not real money.

But once I got my moose, I pretty much stopped logging in but to kill Kazzak once a week on my two max level characters and do my daily garrison chores.

I keep saying I need to put at least some effort into leveling my monk. I do want her ready for Legion. But I didn’t particularly enjoy Draenor the first time, let alone the third time, and with so much else tempting me on the gaming front, WoW keeps getting passed over.

Sooner or later I’ll need to get back to it earnest. I want my monk ready for Legion. There’s the pre-launch event. And the expansion itself, though I still haven’t decided if I want to buy it at launch or wait a while.

Heroes of the Storm

Rationally, Heroes of the Storm would be the best choice for me to abandon. It takes up a lot of time while offering none of the features that usually attract me to games — no story, no artistry. It’s just a mindless slaughterfest.

And I admit I don’t have the best headspace for competitive gaming. I don’t cope well with defeat, especially if I’m already in a bad mood from my real life (which is usually the case). At least I don’t take it out on the other players as so many do.

Yet I do not wish to stop. For all its frustrations, winning is a thrill. Just in the last few days I’ve had some incredibly exhilarating, highlight-reel worthy plays. An hour or so before writing this, I watched my team’s Falstad fly into a bush, watch the enemy team kill the boss mercenary, and then use his gust ultimate to push them all out of the way at the perfect moment, allowing he and I to capture the boss right out from under the enemy team.

Nothing beats the adrenaline rush of stuff like that.

And the constant stream of new heroes and content makes it a game that always feels fresh.

So perhaps I should give up Heroes, or at least put it far on the back burner, but I don’t think I’ll do either of those things.

Also, as a reminder, I’m still looking for people to recruit via my referral link if anyone wants to try it. I might even give some coaching or newbie tips if you’d like some.

Elder Scrolls Online

And there’s Elder Scrolls Online, a game I have been slowly plugging away at for months now. Thanks its glacial pacing, I’m still nowhere near level cap.

As much as it pains me to say it, I think this is the game I’m going to leave by the wayside to stop my head from exploding. Not because it’s a bad game — it’s a pretty good game — but of all the games I’ve been trying to juggle, it grabs me the least. It may offer little cause for complaint, but there’s also little about it that truly impresses me and makes me go, “Wow.”

I had thought of at least playing long enough to finish the main story and wrap up the Aldmeri Dominion storylines — I have grown rather fond of Raz and Ayrenn — but with how slow this game is, that could still take me many weeks.

Maybe I’ll be back at some point. I certainly won’t rule it out. But even if I’m not, I definitely got my money’s worth.

I got as far as the end of Greenshade, and I know one of my readers was curious what I’d think of that zone, so I’ll just cover my thoughts on it briefly.

Greenshade was decent — possibly my favourite zone to date, though definitely not by much. I really liked the early bits with the Wilderking. It was the first time I’ve seen ESO cast off its low fantasy shackles and make me feel like I’ve truly come to a world of magic and mystery.

But that was also over far too quickly. And that’s the problem with Greenshade. It has, like, three different storylines that are only loosely connected, and none of them really get enough time to be fleshed out as they deserve. On the whole it’s still a solid zone, but I definitely wouldn’t rate it as anything special in the greater scheme of game stories. It maintains ESO’s standard quality level when it comes to storytelling: okay, not great.

And more

And that’s just what I’ve been able to find time for. There’s other things I’d like to play but can’t find the time for, and even putting ESO aside, I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to get to in the immediate future.

I still have a few unplayed games sitting around in my Steam library. Particularly I still haven’t gotten around to loading up the remastered Age of Mythology, and now that they’ve put out a new expansion (seriously), I really need to make time for that.

I’ve also been meaning to get back to Defiance for what must be around a year now. Now that the show’s gone, I would like to experience what the game has to offer while I still can. Though at the same time part of me wonders if it’s even worth investing in the game now.

Part of me would like to get back to Star Trek: Online at some point. It’s a very rough game, but I was enjoying the Romulan story. It might be worth another shot someday.

Then there are co-op missions in StarCraft. Wish I had a regular partner for those, but even without one, they’re decent fun, and I’d probably do more of if I had the time. Plus I want to play through Legacy of the Void on brutal and get some more achievements at some point. And there’s the upcoming Nova DLC.

Then there’s Diablo III, the (perhaps faint) hope of an Overwatch beta invite, and sometimes I have to try new games for work.

Really the list is just endless. Going forward, I’ll have to make more careful choices about what games to play. Go less mad on Steam sales.

You know, I always thought Syp over at Bio Break was a bit mad for his strict game rotations and schedules and the like, but these days I’m starting to see the method to his madness.

Cheating on WoW: Star Trek Online Revisited

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Tyler F.M. Edwards

I have a turbulent relationship with the Star Trek franchise. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say I used to be a big fan, but no longer consider myself such. However, I still have enough love for the Star Trek universe that a Trek MMO holds a lot of appeal to me, at least in theory.

Unfortunately, when I tried Star Trek Online several years ago, I found it a baffling and frustrating experience with little to recommend it. I gave up almost immediately, and it went down in history as one of the very few MMOs I have genuinely disliked.

But that was a long time ago. Since then, STO has gone free to play and launched two expansions — Legacy of Romulus and Delta Rising — and I have evolved a lot as a gamer. Despite misgivings, I decided it was time to give the game a second chance.

Revamps and Rommies:

Something that has changed dramatically about Star Trek Online since I first played it is the new player experience. The previous tutorial was rushed, throwing you into the deep end almost immediately. STO is an unusual MMO with an excessive degree of complexity, and it would have a very steep learning curve even without a shoddy introductory experience.

But the old tutorial has been completely thrown out and replaced. The new version is much slower, much better at teaching new players the ropes, and a bit more story-driven. It’s not exactly Shakespeare, but it certainly beats the original, “Here’s Borg; pew pew.”

It probably helps that I am a much more experienced gamer now. I first tried STO relatively early in my MMO career, but after playing nearly every major title on the market, I’m much better equipped for the complexity of Star Trek Online.

Another big change is that the Klingon Empire has been fleshed out as a proper faction, and you can now play a Klingon character immediately, instead of having to unlock it by playing a Starfleet character to level twenty. The Klingon tutorial deserves some credit for giving you command of your ship in the most Klingon way possible, though overall the story leaves something to be desired.

But as a big Romulan fan, the most important change for me is the addition of the Romulans as a playable faction.

Sort of, anyway. The Romulans are not really their own faction, but are more analogous to World of Warcraft’s Pandaren; around level ten, Romulan players are prompted to ally with either the Federation or the Klingons, effectively joining that faction. It’s also worth noting that players are not part of the Romulan Star Empire, but a splinter faction with a much higher ethical standard.

This was a controversial decision among certain fans, and I have mixed feelings on it. On the one hand, it makes good gameplay sense to not further spread the playerbase among another faction — I think having two factions in the first place was a pretty poor idea — and it does suit the Star Trek ideals.

On the other hand, it does feel like playing Romulans Lite. Romulans who aren’t backstabbing slimeballs feel fundamentally wrong, and I did often find myself wishing I could have signed up with the Star Empire instead.

On the plus side, Romulans do have their own unique line of ships and some substantial story content which is of a pretty high quality. I did end spending most of my time in the game as a Romulan.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the game’s awesome character customization. You still have a tremendous ability to customize the appearances of your character and ship, right down to body language.

To boldly go:

By some combination of the better tutorial, my increased skill as a gamer, and the appeal of the Romulans, I managed to enjoy Star Trek Online enough this time around to really get into the game and explore what it has to offer.

STO is almost two games in one, dividing its time evenly between sequences where you control your character (often supported by a team of NPC bridge officers) and space missions where you pilot your ship.

The ground combat is bizarre. It’s like they tried to combine every single combat style there is. It’s a weird mash-up of a traditional tab target MMO, an action combat MMO, and a shooter. Crouching, aiming, active dodging, melee combos… It has every mechanic in the book.

It’s not entirely unpleasant, but like much of the game, it’s needlessly complicated and a little confusing. Thankfully most of the content seems easy enough that you can just ignore a lot of the frills and shoot things until they stop moving.

The space combat is a bit of a mixed bag. It’s very unique compared to combat in other MMOs, and it does feel very authentic to the space battles in Star Trek, but it can also be awkward at times, and the fights often drag on for far too long. I like longer, more substantive fights, but some of the battles I had in STO just seemed endless.

Overall, I enjoyed the space combat, and it’s probably the most compelling part of the game, but it’s terribly inconsistent.

When it comes to group content, there are five and ten-man missions that can be easily accessed through short queues. I didn’t quite figure out the finer details of group combat in STO — I know it has some version of the tank/healer/DPS trinity, but I didn’t really see how it plays out in practice — but I did enjoy the group content I did, even if it was a bit chaotic and confusing.

They captured the look and feel of the Star Trek universe very well. Turn off your UI during a big battle, and you’d think you were watching one of the larger battles from the TV shows.

STO has PvP, but when I tried to queue for it, I was helpfully told there were a grand total of zero other players in the queue, and that went on long enough that I eventually just gave up. I guess PvP isn’t a big part of the Star Trek Online experience.

Another activity is the duty officer system, which allows players to send various crewmembers on missions to gather loot, experience, or craft new items. It’s a pretty simple system that almost runs itself, but hey, free loot.

The final source of content is the Foundry, a platform for players to create and share their own missions. I’m a big fan of the Foundry in Neverwinter, also developed by Cryptic, but in STO, I had trouble using it due to travel restrictions enforced on lower level players. The one mission I tried was nothing special.

On the plus side, unlike in Neverwinter, the official missions actually have decent story and gameplay, so the Foundry isn’t quite so necessary.

Red alert:

Star Trek Online does still have quite a few issues. For one thing, its free to play model is very poor. Lock boxes rain from the sky, and as in Neverwinter, the entire server is spammed everytime someone gets a rare drop from them. Ships are available for real life cash, and these aren’t just cosmetic skins — these are very powerful ships, often with unique abilities. “Pay to win” is a supremely subjective term, but this is about as close to objectively pay to win as we’re ever gonna get.

In theory, you can trade in-game currency for cash shop currency, but like Neverwinter, this requires obscene amounts of grinding to get even the cheapest items, and if my experience in Neverwinter is any guide, you’ll eventually reach a point where progression without spending money is all but impossible.

STO is also an overcomplicated game. The improved tutorials help a lot, but this is still a game that could probably scrap at least a third of its systems and mechanics without losing anything of value or harming the core gameplay. This is not a newbie-friendly game.

Which is a very poor choice on the part of the designers. This should be a game any Trekkie can easily jump into, but you really need to be an experienced gamer and/or willing to do a lot of research.

And there are other hiccups. The interface is still awkward and obtrusive. The voice-overs often leave something to be desired, especially on the Klingon side. The graphics for ground sequences aren’t the best.

Is it worth it?

Star Trek Online is a very flawed game. It occasionally borders on Rube Goldberg levels of unnecessary complication, the free to play model is just bad, and it has various other minor issues.

However, to my infinite surprise, I actually enjoyed my time in it. It has improved in many ways, and for all its other flaws, it does deliver an impressively authentic and nostalgic Star Trek experience, and it’s definitely not just another Warcraft clone. With good mission design and stories that manage to squeak ahead of the MMO pack, it provides an experience that is far more enjoyable than the confusion I experienced during my first trial of the game.

I’m even considering continuing to play for a while — at least until I finish the Romulan starter storyline. It’s not a good choice for inexperienced players or those without a very high tolerance for invasive monetization, though.

Superior Realities

Tag Archives: Star Trek Online

Many Games, Handle Them

Cheating on WoW: Star Trek Online Revisited

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