c-store
Latest
Captain's Log: The reverse slingshot effect
Captain's Log, Stardate 65056.3... Hello, computer (and players)! The slingshot effect is a maneuver, shown throughout the Star Trek franchise, which allowed starships to move back through the time continuum. By traveling at a high warp factor towards a star with a large gravitational pull, the ship would whip around it and time travel. While this seemed to only exist within the realms of the IP, it looks as though Star Trek Online's Executive Producer Dan Stahl took us on a reverse slingshot course, giving us a glimpse into the future of the game. Before we returned to the original timeline, he made sure to write up everything we saw along the way for those who couldn't make the trip. In layman's terms, for those of you who missed the news earlier this week, July's Engineering Report has been released. While this is a monthly publication that contains the development pipeline for STO, including some items that have been featured in past issues, there are always a few bullet points added that seem to spark a healthy amount of debate -- one of these includes the ability to auction off your in-game Emblems, a form of currency, for C-Store points that have been paid for with real money. For information on this, including a response from Cryptic's PR department, and more, read ahead past the jump for this week's Captain's Log entry. Ensign, warp 10! Let's pull a slingshot maneuver of our own...
Captain's Log: Shop till you drop (out of warp)
Captain's Log, Stardate 64997.8... Hello, computer (and players)! Over the past couple of weeks, there has been much heated debate about microtransactions within MMOs. Whether those microtransactions involve an accessory for your character, additional character slots, or a new mount, players have mixed emotions on spending real money to obtain such items. No matter what your position is on the topic, one thing for certain is that microtransactions are not going to disappear. In fact, they seem to be the future when it comes to how most studios will be delivering exclusive content and items. Star Trek Online is no stranger to such transactions -- the infamous Cryptic Store (C-Store) is full of items priced from just a dollar all the way up to $25. If you are new to the game or have never made a purchase before, at first glance, you may be wondering what you should buy. While some items are simply there as cosmetic enhancements, some will actually help in your battle against your favorite enemy. To help shed some light on your choices, this week's Captain Log is going to explore the top 10 must-have C-Store items that every STO player should not leave spacedock without. Ensign, warp 10! It's time to go on a virtual spending spree...
Behind the Mask: Perfect World and the future
If I were to describe the emotions of the Champions Online playerbase regarding the Perfect World buyout, I would have to say "mixed." Some players are happy that the days of Atari are behind them, and some are really skeptical about the future of the C-Store. CO is a fairly "pay-to-win" game in that Gold members have a lot of gameplay advantages over their non-subscribing counterparts. A lot of players are suggesting that the C-Store might become inundated with paid features and that we might possibly see the removal of certain free features (like global-purchased respecs). I am cautiously optimistic about the whole thing. Perfect World Entertainment holds controlling shares in Runic Games, and if the recent Mac and console ports of Torchlight are any indication of PWE's approach to management, I'd be more than happy to welcome our new alien overlords.
Champions Online shares new video of robot companion in hopes players will enjoy
Haven't you ever wanted your very own personal robot sidekick? A combination lackey and best friend, someone to hold your hand, listen to your problems, and help you violently assault several henchmen of a given criminal organization? If so, you might have some slight rage issues, but more importantly your needs will be catered to via the newest sidekick available in Champions Online. But if you need a little more convincing to let an uncanny valley sidekick into your heart (and wallet), the development team has put together a new trailer showing off the robot. Like any good robot accomplice, R.O.D. (Reprogrammed Onslaught Drone) is programmed for a single function, that being unloading a great deal of firepower at anything you tell him to aim for. That includes lasers, chainguns, missiles, and a variety of other attacks for the discerning robot-owner. Champions Online players might want to take a look at the trailer, because it's really all about sharing and enjoying.
Another month, another round of answers for Star Trek Online
About once a month, Star Trek Online has producer Dan Stahl sit down and answer the newest round of player questions regarding the game's future additions. It's May, of course, which means that it's time for the newest Ask Cryptic, covering the recent additions to the game's microtransaction store as well as plans for Season 4 and beyond. And as always, while there are more features being asked about than are planned for the next major update, there are very few elements not planned for eventual inclusion. Further ship customization is discussed, with the implementation of Duty Officers in Season 4 promised to help add more differentiation between individual ships. There's also mention of the debate about bringing lower-tier ships up to par for use in endgame activities, which is currently not on the table but is still under heavy debate in both development and on the forums. Players of Star Trek Online are encouraged to check out the latest round of answers for more info.
Cryptic just made flying more stylish in Star Trek and Champions Online
It's like a department store sale, but without all that walking around in meatspace. Cryptic Studios is offering its players extra costume slots for Champions Online in the C-Store. A Gold Member player can have three individual costume slots and one super group costume slot by level 40, but this C-Store item will allow that character to accrue six costumes by max level. These two additional costume slots will apply to every character on your account. Now you don't have to decide between the flats or the pumps -- you can get both! And to go with those pumps, Champions Online is now offering rainbow flight for your character. There is only one word to describe this addition to the C-Store: FABULOUS! Check out the teaser video for this after the break. (Bears not included.) Cryptic hasn't left out explorers of the final frontier. All Star Trek Online ships, except the Oberth Class ship, are 50% off from the C-Store. That's right, the Dreadnought Cruiser just dropped from super-expensive to semi-affordable. And don't forget that Q is offering a boost that doubles your rewards this weekend. All skill points, bridge officer skill points, merits, honor, marks, and emblems are now doubled when this boost is applied. (Energy credits and emblems earned in PvP are exempt.) Both of the STO promotions end on May 2nd at 1 p.m. EDT, but the Champions characters slots and rainbow flight are permanent additions to the C-Store. Don't forget the rainbow flight video after the break.
Cryptic is offering relief from tax-time woes
Cryptic, the maker of your favorite MMO Star Trek Online and the infamous Champions Online, has decided that this year's tax refund is insufficient. In the interest of giving you some relief, Cryptic is offering a 20%-off-everything sale on the C-Store items for STO and CO, meaning everything from now until Monday, April 18 at 1 p.m. EDT will cost 20% fewer Atari tokens. Those Elemental A-Symmetry Tights you have been staring at can now be yours for 380 tokens, and don't forget The Original Series bundle for your Star Trek Online ship and crew -- that only costs 1400 Atari tokens. For those looking to finally make a commitment to either or both of these games, this Tax Relief sale includes life-time subscriptions for Star Trek Online and life-time gold memberships for Champions. To find out where you can spend more of your tax refund -- or tomorrow's paycheck -- glide on over to the C-Store before 1 p.m. on Monday -- ooh! A Bajoran Militia costume pack!
Behind the Mask: Being resourceful with resources
Most of the time, we look at MMORPGs and talk about features, gameplay, community, content, and other things like that. We rarely look at an MMO's economy unless we're actually hardcore players, and almost invariably players think the economy is messed up in one way or the other. Champions Online is really no different. People complain about overinflated auction house prices all the time, about how transaction fees and auction limits ruin the economy, and how the value of certain super-rare items has plummeted. Overall, I'm very happy with CO's economy. Even though the AH interface is horribly broken (and I'm sure the devs are aware), many people use the AH and most goods are available for sale (even the elusive buttcape). Because the cash-shop items can be traded and sold, there's a certain strangeness in the market, but this is largely a good thing.
Star Trek Online now offering the original series bundle and at a special price
Set phasers to awesome when you beam into The Original Series Bundle for Star Trek Online. The creators of this iconic MMO are offering this classic package for 1400 Atari points in the C-Store. (That's approximately $17.50 US.) But you have to get it soon; Cryptic will not offer the bundle for this price for too long. This new package includes all of your favorite items from the original Star Trek series. Outfit your ship with the classic interiors like the bridge, engineering, and transporter room. Defend Federation space with the black and white Type 2 Phaser. This retro blaster will increase effectiveness as you level. Of course, what would a TOS bundle be without the uniforms James Kirk, Scotty, and Doctor McCoy wore in the television series? Cruise past the break to see a short one-minute video trailer featuring all the items in this package, then warp over to STO's C-Store for more screenshots and purchase information.
Champions Online unlocks a new archetype and a sale
With the conversion to free-to-play, it's easier than ever to get into Champions Online, but you're still a bit limited in your play choices. The latest archetype rollout is designed to help address that issue, giving players access to the Tempest. A ranged character build with a focus on electrical abilities, the new archetype is free to Gold players and available for purchase in the C-Store for Silver players. There's also a new video available to show off the stormy hero build before you buy it. Of course, you may not have the spare slots needed for a new archetype to even matter. That's thankfully mitigated by a sale on character slots at 20% off until March 30th. Champions Online players, subscribing or not, should be happy to learn that it's easier to get yourself a few new slots to play around with, whether reserved for the new archetype or other experimentation.
Behind the Mask: The responsible microtransaction
It's no surprise to anyone that I am a pro-microtransaction gamer. Microtransactions make lots of money for the publisher and focus more on pleasing the game's core audience instead of relying on the silent majority of its subscriber base. However, microtransactions can quickly feel like exploitation. When a publisher overcharges or underprovides, it can cause cascading failures as the game's core customers become upset. Champions Online has jumped into the freemium market, and the game itself is pretty fun without the player needing to pay any money at all. Gold subscriptions, which allow for much wider customization and access to numerous fun features, are also a reasonable expenditure. There are quite a few other things to buy in the store... some of which are a little more responsible than others.
Champions Online gains profits and players as a free-to-play [Updated]
Since Champions Online's relaunch as a free-to-play title a little less than a month ago, any player who has logged into the game has undoubtedly noticed the sheer number of folks running around Millennium City and environs. There are spandex-clad super-people everywhere you look, and groups are significantly easier to get. These are all good things for MMO players! Today we're also treated to the first official word on the success of the relaunch from Cryptic Studios and Atari, which both declare that the move to free-to-play has been -- as we suspected -- a huge success. To celebrate, they're offering all players, both subscribed and free-to-play, a thank-you gift for helping to make the game's reboot so great! The present offered is a free experience-boosting item that can be picked up from the Champions Online C-Store for at least the next little while. While the companies have not released any specific subscriber or traffic numbers, they have noted that unique logins, concurrent users, and revenue totals have increased by "over 1,000 percent" since Champions Online went free-to-play. As John Needham, CEO of Cryptic Studios, stated in the release: "We're extremely proud of what the Champions team has accomplished with the Free for All launch. It's a pleasure to thank our fans and welcome new ones with this gift." As for how long the gift will be around and whether it is one per account or one per character is currently anyone's guess as the item does not appear to be in the C-Store as of this writing. The gift appears to be a one-hour, 20% experience boost that you can acquire once per account. They also appear to be tradable! [Update: We've updated this post as the gift is now available in the C-Store, and we've also added the most recent trailer behind the cut. Enjoy! And guys... remember to keep the comments clean and on track with our CoC!]
Behind the Mask: I want to be with this game forever and ever
One of the saddest days for me was Tuesday -- the day Champions Online launched its Free for All expansion and went free-to-play. I was mostly sad because I didn't get to log in; people have been telling me about 15+ instances of Millennium City and having a blast teaming up with all the new faces. I even got to talk to Poz on the Massively Speaking podcast about how in the first few hours of F2P, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive and the launch went off with only a minor hiccup when the servers had some minor maintenance a few hours in. While I waited for Cryptic's CS department to look at my account issues, I got to thinking about how much it would suck to lose access to my free-form characters, to which until now I've had unlimited access for as long as the game continues to live. My lifetime account for CO sure is cool. There are a lot of criticisms about CO's F2P model and even more about lifetime accounts. Way back when they were first being offered, there were a lot of arguments that CO wouldn't last the 13 months or so it would take to pay it off. Now people are claiming that Cryptic is trying to steal more money by offering lifetime subs again. Why is a lifetime account worth it? Hit the jump and let's find out.
Everything you need to know about Champions F2P
It's no secret that Champions Online is rolling out with its free-to-play update tomorrow. In addition to everything offered for free members, there's just a ton of new stuff. While this patch isn't quite Revelations in terms of content, it is one of the biggest full expansions Champions has seen. Whether you're a returning player giving CO another shot, a new player checking out all the free stuff, or a current player itching for a rundown of all the added features, we've got you covered. With this full review of all of CO's latest features, you'll be well-equipped to start your new adventures in Millennium City and beyond.
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!]
The Perfect Ten: Most controversial MMO stories of 2010
Well, this is it, folks. The end of the year. A time of reflection, of massive weight gain and of lists. Man, we like our lists, do we not? Fortunately, at Perfect Ten Industries, we've been excelling in lists for months now. Frankly, we're just getting warmed up! While 2010 may not have been much to write home about in terms of newly launched MMOs, there was more than enough controversy to keep the discussion brewing for months. MMOs are big business, and when every move you make is closely scrutinized by millions of gamers, there's no room to slip up unless you like forum hyenas pouncing all over you, snapping and snarling at your faulty flesh. So let's take a jaunt down our top 10 list of the most controversial stories of 2010 on Massively, keeping in mind that it was devilishly hard just to keep this list to 10 at all. What's a week without being riled up about pixels and polygons, after all?
The Perfect Ten: MMO cataclysms
Today sees the launch of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, which represents a destructive "reboot" button on the world of Azeroth. The old has been made new by virtue of fiery explosions that have rent the very earth in twain, and WoW gamers will have to find their footing all over again. As you might imagine, it's made one big-ass mess, which is compounded by the fact that there are no janitor classes in the game to sweep it up (the next hero class, perhaps?). However, the notion of an in-game cataclysm is hardly the sole domain of Activision-Blizzard; on the contrary, large-scale apocalypses pop up all the time in MMOs. After all, nothing grabs the attention like the end of the world (but hey, you still feel fine)! In a list that in no way is meant to capitalize on any expansions that may or may not be on the market, we're going to strap on our Kevlar suits, slather our arms with 1000 SPF sunblock, and take a brief tour of 10 worlds that have dated cataclysms -- and lived to tell the tale.
Star Trek Online's C-Store goes as basic as possible
With the recent announcement that players will get a chance to design the next Enterprise, Star Trek Online players might want a chance to go back to basics. This coincides nicely with Cryptic's giving players the option to go as far back to basics as is fictionally possible with the advent of the latest items in the C-Store. The original NX-01 Enterprise as well as the uniforms of the prequel series (and its mirror-universe counterparts) are now available for purchase. Although the various options are available for purchase individually, players who either can't get enough of the pre-Federation series or enjoy saving money can also purchase a value bundle with all of the uniforms and the ship for just around $15. As it turns out, the ship itself is a Lieutenant-rank ship, meaning that players can start flying it as soon as they start a character. Star Trek Online has quite a bit on its plate for the future, but that doesn't mean you can't put down roots in the past.
Replay episodes or make your own with STO's Season Three
It's fitting that Star Trek Online's third major update is entitled "Genesis," because in several ways, it feels like a new beginning for the game. In a preview of December's Season Three, Cryptic reveals a trio of significant re-dos: a revamp of the visually lackluster sector space, the ability to replay your favorite episodes, and the beta of STO's player-created mission feature, The Foundry. While Cryptic is uncertain whether The Foundry will go live by Season Three, the studio does promise that players will at least be able to tinker with it on the test servers by then. The Foundry is one of Cryptic's answers to STO's perceived lack of playable -- and original -- content, allowing gamers to construct their own stories and episodes using STO's robust editor. "Using The Foundry, you can construct Episodes and share them with your friends. If you're not interested in designing missions, you'll still benefit from The Foundry: Player-created missions will be available to you to play and enjoy, right alongside the Episodes you know and love today." Cryptic has a number of other features on deck for the game following Season Three, including customizing Gorn characters, new uniforms and ships in the C-Store, ground combat improvements, and Klingon-specific updates.
Massively interviews Shannon Posniewski about Champions Online's F2P changes
Champions Online has made quite the big change with the recent decision to go free-to-play. We got together with Shannon Posniewski, Executive Producer for CO, and asked quite a few questions about how the F2P changes will impact new, current, and returning players. In addition to these questions, the CO devs have compiled a huge FAQ covering many of the common queries regarding F2P, as well as a primer on how archetypes will work. We tried to avoid asking many of the questions that have already been answered somewhere else, so be sure to check those out as well.
