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TODAY!

Started by BlueBard, January 17, 2012, 02:52:42 PM

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BlueBard

Star Trek Online goes Free-To-Play TODAY.

I believe the servers will be down for maintenance until about 11 AM Pacific.  With any luck, I'll be on later tonight to help any newbies.

Boldly go!
STO/CO: @bluegeek

Kommando

Played it for a couple of hours today. I am a complete noob but it is fun.

BlueBard

I was only able to get on for a few minutes last night :(

But... for anyone starting out, Vice Admiral G'eek (G'eek@bluegeek) will be indefinitely posted at Earth Spacedock or Starfleet Academy to provide fleet support, recruit new members, answer questions, and generally help out.

I also started a new Starfleet Engineer in case anyone needs a low-level partner (Von@bluegeek)
STO/CO: @bluegeek

catwhowalksbyhimself

Downloading now, but it looks like it's going to take a while, so I'm probably going to play City of Heroes and will have to try this one later.

But I'll be on sometime before the weekend.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

captmorgan72

Downloaded and played for about 30 minutes. Major lag as in slideshow, even on low settings.  Don't know if it's the servers or my rig. According to "can you run it" my system easily meets min and half way meets recommended.

BlueBard

Quote from: captmorgan72 on January 31, 2012, 03:19:41 AM
Downloaded and played for about 30 minutes. Major lag as in slideshow, even on low settings.  Don't know if it's the servers or my rig. According to "can you run it" my system easily meets min and half way meets recommended.

Hm.  I'm not normally experiencing lag like that when I play and I have outdated video drivers on my laptop.  Might have been a coincidence?  You might consider posting your problem on the official STO forums... somebody probably has a few ideas to help.
STO/CO: @bluegeek

Kommando

I pay on my laptop and have no troubles. Definitely check and see if your drivers are up to date. Its slow going for me since I only play late at night after work, but I managed to get to level 10. Of course an IRL friend had to go tell me how he can hit level 40 in a weekend... Still, I'm enjoying the game.

BlueBard

Kommando, casual players really don't level all that fast.  There are lots of ways to increase your xp gain, but I'd rather just enjoy the game.

It took me about the same amount of time to level up a character to 10th level as it took you.  Speaking of which, that means I have a character available if you need a team-up.  He's an Engineer.
STO/CO: @bluegeek

captmorgan72

Fixed the problem and now all is fine. I am having a really tough time controlling my ship though. I am also not really satisfied with the camera during ship to ship battles. I liked the camera control in Starfleet command. Here it is either to far away or too close up.

BlueBard

Quote from: captmorgan72 on February 01, 2012, 03:14:22 PM
Fixed the problem and now all is fine. I am having a really tough time controlling my ship though. I am also not really satisfied with the camera during ship to ship battles. I liked the camera control in Starfleet command. Here it is either to far away or too close up.

Mousewheel will adjust camera distance.  Left click (?) and drag to adjust camera angle.  (Can't recall for sure right or left click)  Oh, and ESC to adjust the HUD display.
STO/CO: @bluegeek

Kommando

I think I'm on after everyone has gone to sleep. I've only seen you on twice.

captmorgan72

Quote from: BlueBard on February 01, 2012, 03:27:21 PM
Quote from: captmorgan72 on February 01, 2012, 03:14:22 PM
Fixed the problem and now all is fine. I am having a really tough time controlling my ship though. I am also not really satisfied with the camera during ship to ship battles. I liked the camera control in Starfleet command. Here it is either to far away or too close up.

Mousewheel will adjust camera distance.  Left click (?) and drag to adjust camera angle.  (Can't recall for sure right or left click)  Oh, and ESC to adjust the HUD display.
Ok, its all good now. Now I just have to learn the ropes.

Kommando

Feel free to add me as a friend. I'm @kommando (no  surprise there) and my current character is Krimson@kommando.

captmorgan72

How do you get new ships? I hope we don't have to spend real money on cryptic points or something to buy them.

BlueBard

Quote from: captmorgan72 on February 03, 2012, 01:51:59 AM
How do you get new ships? I hope we don't have to spend real money on cryptic points or something to buy them.

I believe that Gold accounts get free ship vouchers at every new rank.  Not sure about Silver accounts, but I believe that is also the case.  The catch is, you only get to choose from the basic models of escorts, cruisers, and science vessels.  If you want the gee-whiz ships, you need to buy them somehow.

You -should- be able to play all of the normal mission content without spending a single dime of your own money.  At least that's what Cryptic has promised.  For PvP, well, the jury is still out on that one.

The F2P plan is that you earn dilithium as you play and you can then trade that with players who have extra C-Store points.  If you can buy enough C-Store points with this in-game currency, you can effectively buy a C-Store ship "for free".  (Though obviously real $ are involved and somebody gave Cryptic $ even if you don't)

I'm still new to the dilithium economy, so I can't tell you much about what that's used for except that it is involved in crafting high-end gear and for certain vendors.
STO/CO: @bluegeek

captmorgan72

Thanks for the reply. My favorite class is the Defiant. I just love that ship. I see that I have to be a Captain to buy her and the price is very high. Right now I am a Lt 8. So far I have no dilithium at all. I haven't done any missions or seen any missions that pay it yet. I've upgraded my Centaur class enough that I can fight without dying right away, so that's something. I am really enjoying this game though, and I am sure that it helps that I love Trek.

Kommando

Once you can start doing Duty Officer Missions, you can start bringing in Energy Credits and Dilithium. Also, try the Explore Strange New Worlds missions as well. I've been using Dilithium to keep my bridge officers in the best gear I can fit them with (rank IV, as a L14 Lieutenant Commander). I did get a new ship when I went up in rank. Also, if you buy some C Store Points, it will unlock a few things like chat (as it puts you to Silver). From what I have been hearing, the existence of Silver makes Gold membership unneccesary.

captmorgan72

I'm a Lt Commander 7 now. I have a new ship too, a Saber class. I think of it has the poor man's Defiant. :P I have the weapon layout like a Defiant too. I just started doing duty officer missions, so hopefully I can start saving for my favorite ship. I am really loving this game so far. Its so addicting.

Kommando

A screenshot from my bridge

Spoiler

captmorgan72

Classic Enterprise. I like it. I haven't been able to play for awhile, school is keeping me busy. Hopefully this weekend I can play a bit. I have a quick question though. Can you unlock bridges or do you have to buy them?

BlueBard

Quote from: captmorgan72 on February 10, 2012, 01:29:04 AM
Classic Enterprise. I like it. I haven't been able to play for awhile, school is keeping me busy. Hopefully this weekend I can play a bit. I have a quick question though. Can you unlock bridges or do you have to buy them?

Ships come with a standard bridge, but if you want the "iconic" or fancy-schmancy bridges you do have to buy them.  The TOS Enterprise does come with the TOS bridge and a TOS ship interior, unless I'm badly mistaken.

The next Featured Episode series starts this Saturday.  If you complete the entire series within a week of the last episode, you will get some kind of special reward.  No idea what, but previous FE's have featured Breen and Reman Bridge Officers, and a Devidian weapon called an Ophidian Cane.  The FE's usually feature lots of neat new "toys" and new game functionality.  You won't want to miss it.

EDIT: I should mention that this FE ties in to a DS-9 story about the Dominion War.
STO/CO: @bluegeek

Kommando

I also unlocked the Klingon side the other day. Playing an Orion Female. Much fun.

Spoiler



Kommando

5 weeks later I hit level 50. My main is now a Vice Admiral. Since I am science, I can probably make good use of the Odyssey, but the Galor is much fun as well. I leveled while playing the Vault mission in the Romulan Arc.

captmorgan72

I just made Rear Admiral.  :thumbup: Freaking love this game. I also really love my Defiant. It will be my ship throughout my Starfleet career.

thalaw2

P'taQ!  Can't be played from China. 
革命不会被电视转播

BlueBard

Quote from: thalaw2 on March 16, 2012, 08:24:02 AM
P'taQ!  Can't be played from China.

Sorry, you'd think with Cryptic owned by Perfect World you'd be able to do that, right?

On the other hand, Star Trek is full of concepts that might be considered subversive ideas.  Or maybe Western games are blocked in general?
STO/CO: @bluegeek

thalaw2

I don't know what it is....Star Craft and War Craft are the hottest games in the country.  I would think that the Chines government would be completely behind something like Star Trek (being how it does have communist tie-ins).  Anyway...when I'm up for it I'll try playing through my VPN service.
革命不会被电视转播