International Picture Posting Month: Star Trek Online
Although I pre-ordered Star Trek Online in early 2010, I was initially disappointed with the game. It took three attempts over several years for me to warm to this MMORPG and make it a mainstay of my gaming activities. STO was a mess when it launched. The game had switched game studios during its development and its new owners Cryptic, were legally obliged to abide by the existing release date. Hence the game was incomplete and somewhat lacking. Furthermore there were systems and mechanics in place that were geared towards a more traditional MMO methodology. Many of these were subsequently sidelined as Cryptic endeavoured to tidy up and refine the game. The MMO went F2P in January 2012 and it proved beneficial in so far as providing the developers with a stable business environment. Over the next three years, Cryptic made the game more coherent and orderly. Long term story arcs were presented in episodic feature episodes, reputation and gear procedures were refined and eventually the skills system was overhauled into a simpler “tree” format. By 2015, STO was finally the game it should have been at launch.
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