Cryptic selling playable races in STO

By Oli Welsh Published 3 February, 2010

Klingons and Ferengi available at launch.

Cryptic is offering content via micro-transactions right from launch day with Star Trek Online, with two playable races now available from the Cryptic store (via Massively).

The races are Federation Klingons (the Klingon Empire is a separate, antagonistic faction in the game) and Ferengi. The right to create Klingon characters costs 240 Crytpic points - roughly £2, €2.50 or $3. Ferengi cost 80 points. The new races begin with unique racial traits but are otherwise cosmetic additions.

Is this fair game, or is Cryptic nickel-and-diming MMO subscribers? Why not ask the developer yourself - we've got a live interview with producer Craig Zinkievich tomorrow evening,

Star Trek Online launched yesterday in North America and is out over here on Friday.

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (40) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Dissociative #1 2 years ago

    Cryptic got worse by the day. All they seem to see these days is the £££.

  • Spekingur #2 2 years ago

    Sorry, Oli, but you don't have the prices right.
    Ferengi cost 80 Cryptic Points.

    http://www.startr ekonline.com/store

    @Dissociative: Oh my gawds. A business thinking about making money?! WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO?!?!
    Edited by 1 at 03/02/10 @ 10:34

  • chudders #3 2 years ago

    How much is the sub per month? Bit of a pisstake to charge extra on top.

    Cynical and unnecessary.

    Edit: I'm not criticising their right to make money, I thought the justification of a monthly sub was that you are paying for content to be developed/added.
    Edited by 1 at 03/02/10 @ 10:40

  • Bealsy #4 2 years ago

    You could klingon to those ferengi ears forever.

    /leaves

  • bad09 #5 2 years ago

    @ Bloodkult

    quarks mum fought for the right to wear clothes and this is set in the Trek future.

    / takes off geek hat

    Can't say the beta swayed me in anyway to dip my MMO toes, if anything that laggy mess of confusion put me off trying an MMO again TBH. Besides, charging for content on a game you charge monthly for anyway seems massively wrong to me.

    / waits for a non MMO Trek game to come along

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #6 2 years ago

    My apologies Spekingur, corrected.

  • Dissociative #7 2 years ago

    I have ofc no problem with a company making money. But if you have a interest in mmos and follow them like I do you would see that some of their practices of late have been a bit suspect.

  • Tyranix #8 2 years ago

    Nickel and diming, the way of the future.

    Oh wait...this is more like dollaring and...dollaring. Cryptic's greed disgusts me.

  • Spekingur #9 2 years ago

    So wait, it's only Cryptic and not the other MMOs you are against doing this?

    I'll bet you that SWTOR will have a store like this. And it's not like these races are necessary. You already get umpteens amount of races to play - not counting the fact that you can make your own race.
    Edited by 1 at 03/02/10 @ 10:47

  • Waffleaber #10 2 years ago

    I'll give them the benifit of the doubt at the moment that you'll be able to unlock the races without paying like you could with the Klingons in the beta and that these microtransactions are simply a shortcut.

  • Spekingur #11 2 years ago

    Note the Klingons you buy through their store is to be able to make a Klingon character on the Federation side.
    The playable Klingon side does not need to be bought to play.

  • Murton #12 2 years ago

    Can't blame Cryptic for this, EA started the whole affair by selling unlock codes for Need for Speed two years ago and now other publishers are realising that some people want their rewards now without having to actually play the game to earn them.

    From what I understand both races are unlockable via some in-game achievement or another, all they're doing is selling the ability to access these bonus characters from the start, it's not something that I agree with personally but Cryptic wouldn't be offering it if there wasn't at least some interest in it.

  • DFawkes #13 2 years ago

    To be fair, you get some free Cryptic Points with the game (at the very least your first copy) so you won't have to pay for them seperately if you don't want to.

    I can see it becoming worse as time goes on though, that'll be most of the free points you get already spent if you want those races. Plus they'll probably charge for respecs (1000 in Champions Online), character slots (which I believe are 4 for 1200) and renaming, so it could get very cheeky very quickly, especially for a subscription based MMO.

  • Snidesworth #14 2 years ago

    Only dabbled briefly with STO during the beta, but I don't see a huge problem with this, especially if Murton is correct about them also being unlockable via achievements. The prices are quite low and it's almost purely cosmetic content. It's something for the enthusiast and not a must have feature.

    Still, it might set a bad precedent for the future if more and more content ends up being charged for instead of patched in as part of the regular subscription fee.

  • Rirekon #15 2 years ago

    So charging £1-2 for a new character race = bad, but charging £20 for an expansion with a new character race = good?

    I don't get it

  • Shakey_Jake33 #16 2 years ago

    Typically, an MMO is either subscription-based, or microtransaction-based. I don't think anyone is complaining about Cryptic wanting to make a profit, people are concerned about the increasing trend of microtransactions within the subscription space. And rightly so.

  • Roland_D11 #17 2 years ago

    Wow, Cryptic Points, yes? Finally someone who names these points thing correctly ;-)

  • Branoic #18 2 years ago

    I don't get what the problem is. It's not like you're short changed with the vanilla game. The list of available species is extensive right from the start. Add to that the totally awesome character creator, where you can make just about anything - yes even your own Klingon or ferengi a-like, and there is no issue. If people want to actually pay Crytpic for something they could make themselves in the creator (minus the fairly insignificant species traits) then let them!

  • Metalfish #19 2 years ago

    Erm, could this not be a tactic to create a "rare" set of characters? By locking something off with a charge you'll massively reduce the incidence of it within the gameworld.

    Of course this has the side effect of creating a "prestige product" that is a nice little money spinner....

  • Bodd #20 2 years ago

    People defending Atari/Cryptic on this should probably be aware of the current state of their other MMO, Champions Online. Despite being live for nearly 6 months, CO still doesn't have enough content to justify the box price, never mind the sub; but they have just announced the first paid-for content pack, Vibora Bay. Atari and Cryptic seem to think they can simultaneously behave like a free-to-play game with premium paid content. and charge a subscription. The playerbase mostly seems to think otherwise. Looks like STO will be heading in the same direction - down and out - after the initial hype subsides.

  • login_name #21 2 years ago

    If you don't charge for the "box" and/or don't charge a subscription fee, then I see no problem. If I have paid for your game and continue to pay for the upkeep via a sub fee, then I do not expect to have to pay for these so called extras. It's not like either this or Champions Online are brimming over with content. In fact it's been the number one issue with Champions since day 1. Admittedly, this by itself is not that bad (if you can unlock via gameplay) but this is just the beginning. Soon you'll have to pay just to fill the gaps that shouldn't be there in the first place à la Champ's new "expansion".

    Cryptic have lost a lot of respect from me recently.

  • Gaol #22 2 years ago

    Bodd is spot on. STO is pretty dire in terms of gameplay, performance and design. You'd have to be selling something a lot, lot better to get away with using both the subscription and microtransaction models.

  • Boomerang #23 2 years ago

    More companies are trialling this method of generating *spits at the word* revenue. We're gonna see a lot more of it sadly.

    If people are prepared to pay a few quid to unlock nice things, then they'll pay it. If not, publishers will learn that we in the west aren't interested and have voted by keeping our wallets closed. (In the east it's a successful business model and is being tested more here. See EA's Battlefield Heroes.)

    I do, however, loathe the situation you get in some games where the players who have the coolest kit/skills etc are the ones who paid the most money. Shouldn't work like that imo.

  • makeamazing #24 2 years ago

    I'm enjoying it so far, i can see that it could get pretty boring if they are not careful... though at the moment, there is enough story to keep me interested... more so than Champions online did :)

    I think one of the big issues for the game is that it the levels all seem very "small"... you beam onto a planet and it doesnt feel like you are going to anywhere like a city. Most of the planets ive been to so far, are just very linear areas, follow a path etc. Hopefully they will improve this aspect.

    As someone else said, when you reach level 6 you unlock the Klingon race, which you can play included in the subscription, this is if you want a federation klingon character (I dont see the point of doing this when you already charge, but still).

  • Murton #25 2 years ago

    To those attacking the amount of content, you clearly not only haven't played the game but haven't read the Eurogamer preview either. STO uses procedurally generated content for its "non-story" missions meaning that there is essentially, infinite amounts of content to be explored.

    Boomerang: whether you buy them or not these "premium unlocks" are becoming more popular all the time and will continue to do so. The unlock codes for Need for Speed and Dirt 2 for example are derived from lines debug code that were written to make life easier for testers in the early beta stages of testing and represent zero work from a development point of view, even if only a dozen people actually buy the unlocks they're still turning a profit on them so unfortunately, premium unlocks through microtransactions are here already and they're not going away any time soon.

  • actionfitz #26 2 years ago

    extra content should be 'extra'.
    Not ready-made content withheld from the games' launch to be sold separately. Total Bullshit.
    Seriously, you think Blizzard would have got away with charging extra for Nightelves or Undead races when wow launched?

    Extra races released later on in an expansion (like Blood Elves and space goats in WOW TBC) is fine.
    This strategy by Cryptic looks like a total dick-move in my book.
    They dont have the balls to charge for all of the games launch content up front.
    my 2c.

  • chudders #27 2 years ago

    I'm sorry Murton, but a random dungeon generator is no substitute for considered and well crafted content, and whilst I admit that I haven't played it, I can't imagine STO's 'procedurally generated content' is anything but the same with a flowery name. Do you still think that's enough for a sub-based mmo?

    And just because premium DLC seems to be more and more prevalent, doesn't mean to say that it's good, necessary or welcome. I'm already missing out on a large part of gaming because I simply cannot justify to myself paying a monthly sub for a game (my principle, my problem). I doubt I'm the only one, and this continued trend for money=content is only going to make that worse for me in years to come.

    I'm not asking you to give a shit by the way, just voicing an opinion.

  • Shikasama #28 2 years ago

    It is getting seriously boring seeing the 'omg company wants to make money' replies to these threads.

    It's interesting how a couple of years ago, the games industry was reporting billions and millions in revenue and profit, but now they can't survive without charging you for the game hundreds of times over. Especially in an MMO where piracy is a complete non-issue.

    Yeah, companies like money. We all know that and do not need it pointed out to us, however companies also need customers to make that money, and treating their players like walking ATMs is getting right up my shitpipe. It's the same with football clubs. We are fast approaching hyper capitalism and it makes me so angry that people swallow this shit up. Why should you pay EXTRA for something that was developed for the game you just paid 40 quid for and then have to pay another X amount per month to play.

    This is on top of the already shady practices (such as not including the VAT on advertised pricing in the UK). They'll be able to do it however because of the power of the license. People won't care because it's star trek. That's fine. It's good that you feel that way and have a game that you like.

    Just stop being condescending pricks when the majority point out that you're being a consumerist sperm sponge for a corporation hiding behind terms like 'true fan'.

  • Shrike #29 2 years ago

    They're capitalising on the goodwill and hype that comes with the licence - about as much as anyone could expect them to. Cryptic have realised that what draws people in to their games is the breadth of character customisation - in this case, character, crew and ship customisation - and so they're charging a premium for it because it's the only thing in the game with any worth. Kind of a shame that they forgot about content, community features, gameplay and technical stability.

    I didn't want to be negative about STO but playing the beta I got to the stage where if it looked like it was going to tank, felt like it was going to tank and tanked like it was going to tank, it was probably going to tank. They might as well have called their 12-month sub offer the 'Projected Game Lifespan Subscription'. It'd be more honest than that 'Lifetime' deal.

  • Seoh #30 2 years ago

    I'm starting to have serious doubts about cryptic. You either charge a sub and get everything included or you use microtransactions, hell i could even understand a lower sub price paired with micros but this is aweful.

    They are charging champions players for filling in content gaps by pitching it as an expansion pack, next thing STO will be doing the same. It used to be the subscription covered server costs and content updates seems like with cryptic it only covers server.

  • Antaios #31 2 years ago

    I still have no idea what Cryptic Points are and how I obtain them. That's how cryptic they are.

  • Spekingur #32 2 years ago

    Seems that most of the people commenting here have no idea how those unlocks work (additional content, call it horse armour if you want) - and some comment with prejudice without having actually played the game.

    It's like if I would say that Nintendo is a no good company because all they make are lousy platform games where you always do the same thing over and over.

  • dacicus #33 2 years ago

    hxxp://en.wikip edia.org/wiki/Cryptic_Studios

    So, Cryptic is doing this and that....No people, Cryptic does not exist anymore. And Cryptic did a good job on COH/COV (they've supported the game quite a long time).
    Champions it's something that replaced Marvel Universe Online. Star Trek Online was picked up from someone else. And the pricing policy and support, blame the master. Every ATARI published game, release in the last two years has an atrocious support. Each of them it's horribly overpriced. And yet, ATARI bought Cryptic and rushed two unfinished products out. Don't fool yourself: the team that created COH/COV is not around anymore....

  • Silvervein #34 2 years ago

    First off, I'd like to say that I did play trek during both beta and early access (using code a friend gave me), and I do like that game a lot.

    With that out of the way, I'd like to say that the idea of selling extra content in a game that already has a subscription is not one I would even consider supporting in any way. As someone said in this thread, the whole reason you pay a subscription for the game is to cover company costs, including development of the game. Money shops in subscription based games are nothing more than a sneaky back door way of increasing monthly subscription. It makes me wonder why won't they just get it out of their chest and say that they all need a new ferrari and a third house, so they raise your sub to 30 bucks a month.

    And no, having a money shop in a subscription based game is not necessary. Look at allods. It's a very nice *FREE* to play game with money shop, and even then the shop items are not necessary to be able to play or level. I do support this kind of idea, as opposed to what's going on in some other mmo's.
    Edited by 1 at 03/02/10 @ 18:24

  • login_name #35 2 years ago

    It's like if I would say that Nintendo is a no good company because all they make are lousy platform games where you always do the same thing over and over.

    And most people would agree with you, if they released a half finished product, charged full box price, a sub fee and 240 Nintenbucks for every level and unlock in the game they didn't complete before it shipped. It's ok though, you can unlock his white pants by collecting every coin in each level 200 times.

  • Spekingur #36 2 years ago

    @login_name: Yes, because that's exactly what is being done with Star Trek Online. Get informed. You are on the internet, use it.

  • Rubarack #37 2 years ago

    That's exactly what's happening with CO and the only reason it hasn't happened with STO is it hasn't been out long enough for them to sell their first bit of content.

  • Quint2020 #38 2 years ago

    I've been watching the Quick Looks of the beta over at Giant Bomb and I've got to say it's the first MMO I've been interested in for an age.

  • login_name #39 2 years ago

    @Spekingur

    I have a 6 month CO account (big mistake) and beta tested STO. What I described is pretty much exactly what is happening with CO and it's not that far off where STO is at (at least from my last play time in there). Give it a few months and we'll see if they treat STO with more respect than CO.

    Do I pass the internet test?

  • Spekingur #40 2 years ago

    No.