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  • Captain's Log: Did Cryptic betray the spirit of Star Trek?

    by 
    Ryan Greene
    Ryan Greene
    09.09.2010

    Star Trek Online is terrible. Ground combat is tedious and messy. Space combat is repetitive. Missions are boring. The game engine is clunky and cartoony. The developers at Cryptic Studios are smelly doo-doo-heads. In short: STO is the worst. Or so people would have you believe. In its seven or so months of life, STO has attracted an impressive collection of detractors, naysayers and Debbie Downers. For this week's Captain's Log, let's discuss the phenomenon of anti-STO fervor. We've touched on certain aspects of it before, but the time has come to examine what I think is the biggest claim by those who really loathe STO. Does STO really betray the spirit of Star Trek? Read on as we play a little point-counterpoint, then feel free to add your two cents in the comments.

  • Captain's Log: Guide to Memory Alpha and crafting in Star Trek Online

    by 
    Ryan Greene
    Ryan Greene
    05.20.2010

    Attention, Starfleet! It's time again for Captain's Log, your favorite Thursday Star Trek Online column. After last week's roundup of incoming changes and improvements, let's discuss the latest much-needed upgrade to STO: the Memory Alpha overhaul! I am so excited about this change. Crafting in STO definitely got short shrift at launch. The system itself was not engaging, and progression was a confounding mess. While Cryptic Studios haven't fundamentally altered the former, last week's update to the Season 1.3 patch made such changes to the latter -- it implemented a dedicated crafting window and actual progression -- that I almost don't care. After bidding a brief farewell to the previous system, allow me to explain the basics of crafting: materials, missions and Memory Alpha.