MMO population woes

[Vielfrab]

Call me a glass half empty kind of guy, but because STO is an MMO that I'm really looking forward to (moreso than any game in years), I am concerned about the flood of the general MMO population upon release.

For instance, how often will the following occur...

Captain's Log: While surveying the Brusilis Nebula in the Delta Quadrant, we encounter a Federation vessel of the Oslo class bearing signs of heavy modification. A transcript of the ship to ship communication follows:

Myself: This is Captain Brenner of the Starship Juno IV, whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?

Contact: LOLZ, wut r u, sum kind of RP nuB?

Myself: Your communication seems garbled, has your transmitter been damaged?

Contact: WTF r u talking abouT? LOLZ

Myself: If you need assistance I can beam a team over to diagnose your problem. My sensors don't seem to be picking up anything overt.

Contact: Spar?

Myself: Brenner out.

Log addendum: what appeared to be a Federation Starship was in fact a lifeless asteroid. I have ordered a full overhaul of the sensor array and after an assessment of the "communications" that took place, have designated the entire event as due to radioactive bombardment from the nebula.

[ngille]

First off, ROFL that was awesome.

You are pretty much guaranteed to have that type of communication in game at some point or other (if not quite often) as not everyone is an RPer. I, personally am not but if it had been me in the other ship I might have played along for a lil bit.

To answer your question though, yes this game will attract that type of player especially as people get burned out on WoW and other fantasy types and get tired of the gankfest that is EVE online (nothing against people that enjoy that game I just don't like the penalties and pvp in it, just an opinion)

[Moryan_Sorg]

:D yeah, it'll definitely happen.

I'd say just find people you like gaming with and game with them when you want to avoid this kind of thing. IMO, MMOs are about meeting people, so i'm willing to put up with this for all the great people I'm capable of meeting.

There's really not anything else to do about it. Let people talk and play how they want to play as long as they aren't griefing. Star Trek is about accepting cultures, no matter how odd, correct? Though, sometimes phasers are necessary :)

[Corehaven22]

Hahahaha.... :D

Yea, its going to happen.

But I think this game is going to attract a more mature audience than other MMO's. By mature I mean older. There are going to be a lot of adults playing this. A lot of hardcore fans. And yea, some idiots.

Im guessing it might not be overly annoying. Thats optimism. Im just hoping and even guessing we will run into at least the same level of descent people as not so descent ones.

Thats the experience Ive had on these forums so far. You can get at least some vague idea of what the community might be like from just hanging aorund the forums. Ive enjoyed it. So I somewhat expect to enjoy the community in the game as well.

[laladiel]

its times like that, it would be good to have weapons, or maybe a tractor beam and a black hole near by.

[KODudna]

Unfortunately I have to agree with everyone, those people will be in here. However, I do not think in great numbers. It is my hope that STO, being a Star Trek game, will attract a different, more mature crowd (as has already been mentioned). So hopefully you won't be having to interact with such individuals too often. ;-p

Also, maybe you'll be gifted with an in-game "ignore player" function! Have hope!

[Sportzter]

This sounds like an outstanding game and the Videos are solid so far.

Three will always be population problems that you mentioned, and it really can't be helped as long as they are paying customers and abide by the rules.

However, I would think that the relative maturity level for a game of this type would be higher than most Sci-Fantasy games. While this is just my opinion and I have no scientific or analytical data to back me up, I think a 10 year old boy would be much more inclined to go and fight as an Orc in WOW as opposed to a Cardassian in Star Trek Online. I could probably only venture to guess that the kids that do have the game are children of parents that are interested in the ST universe and while that does not preclude jerks from playing, there might be some maturity that goes with buying this type of title.

Just my opinion and I might be way off.

-Sportzter

[DracoPalin]

there is of course an easy way to forgoe the 10 year old telling me to go F&%# myself.(does this bother anyone else?) Simply make it mandatory to verify your age of at least 16 or 18 even to play.

[Dext]

First off, ROFL that was awesome.

You are pretty much guaranteed to have that type of communication in game at some point or other (if not quite often) as not everyone is an RPer. I, personally am not but if it had been me in the other ship I might have played along for a lil bit.

To answer your question though, yes this game will attract that type of player especially as people get burned out on WoW and other fantasy types and get tired of the gankfest that is EVE online (nothing against people that enjoy that game I just don't like the penalties and pvp in it, just an opinion)

Will If you play a game you are RPing in a way. you playing a Role that you are not doing in RL as far as mmo's go.

[Aegross]

Call me a glass half empty kind of guy, but because STO is an MMO that I'm really looking forward to (moreso than any game in years), I am concerned about the flood of the general MMO population upon release.

For instance, how often will the following occur...

Captain's Log: While surveying the Brusilis Nebula in the Delta Quadrant, we encounter a Federation vessel of the Oslo class bearing signs of heavy modification. A transcript of the ship to ship communication follows:

Myself: This is Captain Brenner of the Starship Juno IV, whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?

Contact: LOLZ, wut r u, sum kind of RP nuB?

Myself: Your communication seems garbled, has your transmitter been damaged?

Contact: WTF r u talking abouT? LOLZ

Myself: If you need assistance I can beam a team over to diagnose your problem. My sensors don't seem to be picking up anything overt.

Contact: Spar?

Myself: Brenner out.

Log addendum: what appeared to be a Federation Starship was in fact a lifeless asteroid. I have ordered a full overhaul of the sensor array and after an assessment of the "communications" that took place, have designated the entire event as due to radioactive bombardment from the nebula.

I lol'd,big time
Don't worry about these people,they are usually level-o-matics and don't communicate that often,so you won't be bothered.If they do bother you,just RUN!!:)

EDIT*:I also think this game won't be crowded by immature people,as this game and the ST franchise is more known by adults,here in Belgium anyway,the series hasn't been broadcasted for 5 years now.:(

[Iwulff]

What you are presenting seems like RP. RP's are normally a small group, probably a bit bigger in STO, but still a minority. They would be able to place a RP 'server'... probably won't if the one server concept goes through.

I won't be talking like a Federation captain, but more as I normally (understandable English) would in other MMORPG's.

[dinendae]

there is of course an easy way to forgoe the 10 year old telling me to go F&%# myself.(does this bother anyone else?) Simply make it mandatory to verify your age of at least 16 or 18 even to play.

That problem with that is, a lot of kids will just use their parent's credit card. There's just no sure way to put realistic age restrictions in (as AoC found out).

[the_reaper87]

Well you'll be happy to know that it's been almost 6 years and I've still not fluent in internet speak, so as usually I'll be speaking in full sentences. Not generally a RPer, but if someone was to address me in such a way I may reply in kind. It depends on:


a - If I've on the run.
b - I'm doing something in the menus.
c - Not there.
d - Borg near by, in which case I will engage running speeds.
e - If I've on the run.
f - My communication equipment is "Malfunctioning".

[ZebOswalt]

.My thought is if they have the PVP servers , RP Servers and Normal Servers most of that can be avoided. Though personally I tend to not be in character in games. Espeashly in one ware it’s a flight sim. I have the helm skills of Troi. Land missions are gonna be my fav. I’ve been using SW JedI Star fighter to improve my skills at playing flight sims, but not enough to speak fed talk. I never did finish Star Fleet Academy. Still, I can see how Rping can help some one immures in the game. I may also get a few of the older flight sims for Star Trek. Still, yep there are going to be those whom prefer not to Rp. And those whom love it. Diffrent Servers will help that a lot.

[jamzgub]

zeb, you gotta remember theyve said that the space fighting, is going to be slow paced and not a dogfight, those flight sims wont help you at all me thinks!

i hope for the one server, but im not sure it will work very well as the damn thing will crash once too many people enter an area!

the retarded talking im not too worried about, its the USS PWNSAUCE and such dribble that i dont want to be seeing or Entreprise

[qoona]

Captain Noobz Pwnzorg of USS IPWNU is hailing you sir
On screen
U R A N00B! GTFO! ILL PWNZ URZ!

[coot]

Haha, nowadays you see that sort of stuff happening even in some RP servers (though thankfully, to a much lesser extent). It's pretty much guaranteed on a normal server. In my experience it's something the solely-achievement-focused gamplay has brought about. I'm hoping this game will have relatively less of that :)

[Aethelstan]

I actually expect a similar situation to that in UO to emerge in STO. For anyone whose familiar with the geography of Britannia from the Ultima games, in UO, at least on my shard when I played, the majority of the playerbase gathered (when not hunting) in the immediate vacinity of W. Britain bank and later Luna/Umbra. The Rp community therefore, built itself up in Yew & Trinsic, and later spread to Cove and Vesper, until everywhere except for dungeons (and sometimes not even then) and that tiny pocket around W.Britain Bank/Luna was basically a stronghold of RP.

Now to put that in STO terms, say the main gathering spot for people in the Federation is Earth. The RP community might decide to congregate on Vulcan when not exploring/on a mission/fighting or for arranging events. And as the RP matures and grows some might say 'you know what, I prefer Andor to Vulcan' , then another group might all be Tellerites and say 'lets go hang around Tellar instead' and so on and so forth.

The non-RP'ers, once they've found their 'hub' are unlikely to change it, and while you won't be able to avoid them completely (nor should you in my opinion) you should be able to RP in relative peace. As I said, you shouldn't avoid non-rp'ers, I think thats the most important thing to consider here actually, not what most of you seem concerned about with non-rp'ers ruining rp but the other way around.

In too many RP communities in other games has it devolved into a 'them and us' situation, where anyone not in a small, select group or with connections to that group is literally ignored or treated as a non-rp'er even if they are trying to get into roleplay. RP'ers want to be able to RP in peace, non-rp'ers want to be able to just play the game their way, and people who have never RPd before might want to give it a go, so be open minded about it.

[Im-Kris]

I'd say there will be more adults than children playing so it wont be that much of a problem, but i do hope there is a heavy rp presence, even though i dont usually rp that much.

[Redfield]

Anyway, there will always be people like that in a mmo game, what would really be cool: Voice Chat real communication but then you hear the 8 y old screaming and stuff like that....
Yet it will be cool to actually hear a fallow Captain.

[thedixiepig]

the fact of the matter is even some of us older users, use game speak. I play wow begrudgingly, (nothin to play on my xbox right now) and If you cant get down with the game speak you cant communicate with someone who might be able to help you. although all these problems could be avverted with headset integration. I prefer to speak to my firends (like XBL) instead of having to type every comm out. IMHO if the older and more mature users get headsets we should all have no prob right. then we could have real communication pings "Captian the klingon vessel is hailing us", "on screen" that'd be dope add in a webcam and its on. although my bridge might look kinda funny with a couch and a flatscreen in it.

[Derel]

L33t speakers are always going to be there. Nothing we can do about. It is mostly up to the fleets/guilds to figure out what they are going to do since they are the communities within the community. Some may say RP at all times, others RP in global (or would you call it galactic) but nonRP in fleet chat. And as someone stated before, people using headsets may hardly ever type a work, much less a sentence.

[jakeeyes]

I hate to pee on the proverbial cheerios, but I have to disagree with the 'more mature' concept. With the recent release of the Abram Star Trek reboot, many non-trekkers/ees are flocking to the property. As a matter of fact, I am going to see it tonight with 3 Trek HATERS who claim it looks 'pretty sweet in spite of being Trek'. If it becomes the blockbuster that it appears it will be, a whole new, commercialized audience will find their way here. With it, inevitably, will come the l33ters to pwn us noobs. Will they be a nuasance? Yup, but with there power leveling comes subscriptions, which brings in money, which means constant updates, which means a more enjoyable game over all...

[MagnusTyrel]

The Ignore button will be our RP's best friend in STO, fun times... :D

[Iwulff]

The Ignore button will be our RP's best friend in STO, fun times... :DThat is one of the reasons I prefer RP's to be on a seperate server.

[MKIceman]

I agree, I'm hoping for separate servers as well. The new movie is the best thing to happen to Star Trek gaming in terms of revenues, which translates into immense player diversity. The 'one server' concept won't cut it, in my opinion.

[cocoa-jin]

I just hope the game comes with a vry large 'Ignore List'. That way I can forever ignore these types.

[DrJackWolfe]

Just considere Leet Speaker a glitch in your universal translator systems.

[Hagon]

Will If you play a game you are RPing in a way. you playing a Role that you are not doing in RL as far as mmo's go.I'm not playing a role. I'm manipulating a toon in a game.

[Loekii]

Just assume they learned to speak from a Pakled. :D
The Pakleds are a heavyset humanoid species native to the Alpha Quadrant. To the casual observer, the Pakleds appear to be intellectually challenged, especially in their verbal skills.

[JMD10222]

Just assume they learned to speak from a Pakled. :D



lol nice one :D

[MathGeek]

Isn't one of Crypitc's emphasis to use a single server?

[dinendae]

Isn't one of Crypitc's emphasis to use a single server?

Yes, that's what they are shooting for. Even if they don't manage it, I wouldn't get my hopes up for special designation servers (PvP, RP, etc.).

[mendal]

I would appreciate if someone would RP to me but I usually take a more liberal approach to RPing. Overdoing it may actually make some people dislike you. I would say simple respect and patience would make any conversation feel like RP.

[Riska]

I would appreciate if someone would RP to me but I usually take a more liberal approach to RPing. Overdoing it may actually make some people dislike you. I would say simple respect and patience would make any conversation feel like RP.

I would agree with that, some people are more accomplished at RP then others, the more forced it is, the more annoying it can be.

[eNDIE]

Call me a glass half empty kind of guy, but because STO is an MMO that I'm really looking forward to (moreso than any game in years), I am concerned about the flood of the general MMO population upon release.

For instance, how often will the following occur...

Captain's Log: While surveying the Brusilis Nebula in the Delta Quadrant, we encounter a Federation vessel of the Oslo class bearing signs of heavy modification. A transcript of the ship to ship communication follows:

Myself: This is Captain Brenner of the Starship Juno IV, whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?

Contact: LOLZ, wut r u, sum kind of RP nuB?
Myself:/IGNORE


The solution:)

[Sinclair]

To the opening poster:

Sir, the universe is what you make of it. Even in Trek not everyone always spoke the same language. In the case of a discussion being too 'l33t' sounding, you can simply view people talking that way as traitors to your faction, challenge them to a duel, and blow them out of space, or ignore them and move on like you would two people talking in a grocery store whose language you did not comprehend.

I agree it can be a problem. Its all a matter of how we choose to see the problem and respond to it. There are always.....options.

[Rupedogg86]

:D yeah, it'll definitely happen.

I'd say just find people you like gaming with and game with them when you want to avoid this kind of thing. IMO, MMOs are about meeting people, so i'm willing to put up with this for all the great people I'm capable of meeting.



Yes, I agree with Moryan Sorg. I hope and expect the game to have potential for meeting great people to play with, but undoubtly there will be someone to quote endless amounts of chuck norris jokes or other pointless garble.

I hope STO will attract a more mature gaming community.