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The Squall breezes into Champions Online
Champions Online is on a roll this week with its bevy of new archetypes to check out. First it was the Star Wars-inspired Unleashed archetype, and today Cryptic announced the arrival of its newest hero, The Squall. As its name suggests, the Squall is a weather-based superhero who takes on the role of an avenger. By wrapping the awesome forces of nature around his little pinky, the Squall can whip up hurricanes, slap down tornadoes, and throw a big ball o' wind at enemies that are really irking him. The archetype primarily focuses on mid- and long-range attacks to repel and disorient enemies, but he suffers when bad guys get up close and personal. The Squall archetype can be unlocked across an entire player's account for 920 Cryptic Points.
New Champions Online archetype available in regular and controversial editions
It might seem a little late for a demonic archetype, but Champions Online has still rolled one out into the store. The Scourge is a new ranged archetype focused on poisoning and debuffing the target, with less durability and melee power to balance its slow ranged ramp-up. Like all archetypes, it's free to subscribing players and available for free players in the cash store. But it's also tied to a new grab bag offered in the cash store, which is provoking a few player concerns. The Cursed Grab Bag, among other things, contains a special token to unlock the Cursed archetype, which is essentially a color-shifted version of the Scourge archetype. Some players are a little concerned about the slippery slope being established here, as the Cursed archetype is not free to subscribers (although color-shifting powers is). As a result, concerns have been raised about what this cosmetic change might mean for future archetypes being released, although as others point out, you can always just change the color if you subscribe to begin with.
Star Trek Online: Deep space exploration on a budget
It's never been a better time to be a fan of the final frontier, particularly with Star Trek Online's recent Season 3 update. But if you've been biding your time on STO, just waiting for that perfect deal, today might be your lucky day. Amazon is selling the digital download version of STO for a mere $2.50 -- and that includes a full month of gameplay. Seeing as how a month's subscription runs around $15, it's quite a steal. But we'd advise you to go for the deluxe edition of STO on Amazon instead. For $5, you not only get the game and 30 days of play, but also a classic series uniform set, the Joined Trill race and a handful of other goodies that would cost you well over $10 to buy separately on the C-Store. Speaking of Cryptic's in-game store, the company has announced that all C-Store items (excluding the two newest additions) are 20% off from now through January 3rd, 2011. Since a wise starship captain is frugal with his ship's budget, this seems like the perfect time to snatch a few bargains without worrying about breaking the bank. [Thanks Omali!]
Captain's Log: Supplemental on STO's treatment of canon
Welcome to another edition of Captain's Log, everyone's (well, mostly my) favorite column about Star Trek Online. Guess what? It's Thursday, which means Thanksgiving is upon us -- assuming you're in the U.S., in which case I hope you already knew that. At any rate, in the spirit of the holiday, we're going buffet-style this week, talking about a little of this and a little of that. But don't worry; most of you are probably slipping into a food coma already, so I'll keep things light, mostly. For an appetizer, we'll nibble on Cryptic Studios' little preview of Season 3. For a nice second course, I'll revisit my opinion on STO's treatment of Star Trek canon. And for dessert, I'll suggest some Black Friday shopping on the C-Store!
Captain's Log: Is the state of the game good, bad or ugly?
Newsflash! This just in: Star Trek Online has endured a turbulent life so far. You had no idea, right? Except for the part where Captain's Log has discussed that very topic for the past two weeks -- and who here doesn't hang on my every word? (Don't answer that.) STO's rocky road also features prominently in the latest state of the game letter from Cryptic Studios. Executive Producer Daniel Stahl offers some visions for the future of the game and drops some hints of what to expect in coming updates. He also comes this close to sharing frank information about STO's performance. So what does Stahl's vaguenesses imply, and what does Cryptic have in store for STO?
Star Trek Online rethinks microtransactions in the latest State of the Game
Upbeat but still working hard: That is the motto of Star Trek Online's Dan Stahl in the latest state of the game. STO's executive producer strikes a positive note by saying that the game is enjoying a "healthy subscriber base" as well as an increase in the number of lifetime subs. The team is also proud to be releasing more frequent content in the form of weekly episodes. Stahl then tackled three of STO's biggest complaints: the microtransaction shop (C-Store), ground combat and skimpy Klingon content. For players who are rankled that some of the better ships can only be purchased via the C-Store, Stahl reports that this will be changing: "I'm happy to say that we have been evaluating your feedback and looking at our internal resources and finding ways to ensure that coveted items such as ships can be be obtained in game as well as via micro-transaction." Improvements to both ground combat and the Klingon faction are on their way, he promised, stating that the team has struggled with the Klingon's "identity crisis" since the first day of the game. While the faction's content will grow to become more robust, Stahl admits that the team doesn't have the resources to beef up the Klingon side to be on par with the Federation, especially since only a fraction of the playerbase fight on that side. You can read the full state of the game on the official STO site.
A quick Star Trek Online PvP interview with Jack Emmert
We recently had the opportunity to ask Cryptic's Jack Emmert a few questions regarding Star Trek Online and its PvP elements. With the looming open beta (tomorrow!) and similarly imminent February 2nd launch, we consider ourselves lucky to get some fairly definitive answers on topics like the game's Cryptic Store and the Klingon faction's future -- including if deeper customization is in the wings or not. It's a quick read, but with less than 24 hours until open beta kick starts, that's probably a good thing. We wouldn't want to take away from anyone's Star Trek movie marathon, which is obviously what everyone is doing the day before, right? Khan!
Anti-Aliased: Microtransaction mayhem pt. 2
Plus, it's not like this has never happened before Many complaints about this format seem to stem from the notion that this is a new practice. However, keen observers of the industry will note that this practice is absolutely nothing new. The first introduction of this format is, amazingly enough, World of Warcraft. Name changes, server transfers, character re-customizations, and the eventual faction transfers are all a part of their suite of premium services. Perhaps you never thought about it because Blizz never used the dreaded terminology, but these are microtransactions. You're paying extra to take advantage of a service, even though you're paying for a subscription. Over in another superhero fun land, NCsoft has been selling character costume packs, extra character slots, and other goodies all for premium prices in City of Heroes. Oddly enough, no one has rioted over the sale of wedding outfits and mystical armors, even when the magic pack comes with a brand new power that you otherwise can't get in-game. "Microtransaction is a loaded word in our culture -- it makes people think of unfair item shops and poorly formatted 'free to play' games.'" Lastly, the original subscription/microtransaction model -- Xbox Live. XBL offers all subscribers some pretty nifty services, like cross-network friends lists, cross-game communication, massive yearly updates, and the ability to play games online. But, it also pushes the sale of videos, music, game add-ons, and original games via the Xbox Live Marketplace. It may not seem like it, but this is the definition of the microtransaction model. You're paying a subscription to purchase more content.So why all the angry? Why Cryptic? Why Champions? Why does everyone lash out now?First off, people are angry because microtransactions are coming with the game's launch, and that makes them visible. CoH added their microtransactions years after the launch. Xbox Live was originally just playing games online, adding in microtransactions after a few years of service. World of Warcraft followed the same trend, adding their "premium services" well after launch. Cryptic hasn't slipped them in later, under people's noses. Another reason people are angry -- Cryptic called them microtransactions. WoW offers "services," XBL offers "content," and CoH offers "packs." Microtransaction is a loaded word in our culture -- it makes people think of unfair item shops and poorly formatted "free to play" games. That word alone has put many people off simply because it exists. I'll put money down and say that some of the naysayers didn't go on to do their homework regarding what Cryptic was offering. But Cryptic isn't offering anything new. It's a shop of "services" like name changes, costume changes, and other account level data changers coupled with some silly cosmetic options. Plus, Cryptic has stated that anything that has an in-game effect can still be acquired in-game. Don't want to pay for the costume change token? Earn one in game. Stop saying the sky is falling It's not. You don't like it, then don't buy from it. This isn't anything extremely experimental or surprising. It's not price gouging if you don't actually pay for it. And it's not like Champions is going to ship with huge swaths of content missing, forcing you to buy items from the Cryptic Store to progress through the game. It's simply an option, nothing more. Take advantage of the beauty of the system -- if you don't want it, don't pay for it. Colin Seraphina Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who is paying for sparkling angel wings, if they're available. When she's not writing here for Massively, she's rambling on her personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message her, send her an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow her on Twitter through Massively, or through her personal feed, @sera_brennan.
Anti-Aliased: Microtransaction mayhem
You know, I would be quite amiss if I didn't take the time to weigh in on the microtransaction and subscription argument that has been going around town lately. It seems to be the buzz on everybody's lips.For those of you not in the know as to what I'm talking about, here's the deal. With the upcoming release of Champions Online, Cryptic is taking a double-edged approach to generating revenue. The game is going to run on a standard subscription package, but it will also let players have the option of buying extra "account options" and costume pieces via Cryptic Points.Now, some people feel as if this is a perfectly fine way to conduct business, while others find this system to be nothing more than price gouging and unnecessary. How do I feel? Well, jump the break and I'll give you my feelings on both sides of the argument.
