Her Ongoing Mission

The Green Skinned Chronicles (aka. my time in the Star Trek Online Beta)

(WARNING: MASSIVELY NERDY ROLE PLAYING TO FOLLOW)

Captain's Log:  Stardate 20100125

I've spent some time now as commander of the Avalon, and gained quite a bit of experience both in space combat and on ground missions.  For the most part, my missions have been fairly interesting, though nothing grand like Captains Kirk or Picard would have experienced.  Most of my orders involve something like, "Go patrol these sectors!"  When I get there, there are usually enemy ships that I need to destroy, we circle each other and trade fire, and then we warp out to another sector to do it again.  Some missions have been pretty interesting, though.  These have often involved hidden outposts that I have to beam down to and explore.  I have to say, I've enjoyed my away missions more than my time on the bridge.  Maybe it's just because the away missions seem more rare right now.  Yet there's something to be said about leading a team of five and watching them efficiently work together to dismantle a horde of Klingons or Orions.

As for ship battles, there's still a thrill to outgunning three ships at a time, though it can still start to feel like a routine.  I had no idea that my life in Starfleet would be so violent.  There have been times when I've been glad to have the help of other ships in the vicinity, though there are times when I am glad for the chance to fulfill a mission on my own.  For some reason I've always found solace in solitude.  There's just something more relaxing about being able to complete a mission on my own pace without feeling beholden to the other commanders.

I wonder if there will be more variety as I advance in Starfleet?  Will the missions get more interesting and engaging?  Or have I hit the status quo?  Only time will tell.  For now, though, it's still rewarding to get new weapons and armor, or new equipment for the Avalon.  I guess it will do for now.

Lieutenant Neajea signing off.

...OK, I'm going to pull back the curtain for a minute and talk as myself.  The Klingon race is now available in the Beta, so of course I decided to go try them out.  The result?  I don't think I'm going to spend much time as a Klingon.  I guess they're the PVP race or something, and boy does it show.  This game may not be heavy on the story elements, but they don't even try with the Klingons.  They just basically say, "OK, you're a Klingon now.  Go kill stuff."  PVP has never been something I look forward to in any game, MMO or not.  I don't have as much fun competing against others in a video game, and I usually just walk away angry and frustrated.  I never really tried any of the Battlegrounds stuff in WOW, and I really don't even like group quests and stuff like that.  So when the main draw of the Klingon race is that you're going to be doing a lot of PVP, I basically just throw up my hands and say, "Done!"  Maybe you like PVP.  Well go have a blast.  That isn't for me.  The Federation stuff is still fun for now, though I'm interested in seeing what the other factions will be like.  Right now, I have no idea how long I'll be playing Star Trek Online.  We're still in Beta, so I can't help but wonder what direction they'll choose to go in supporting the game once it's released.  WOW was about the only MMO I ever got into before, and it was the repetition in that one that always turned me away (and yet I keep going back every few months...).  I understand that's the norm for MMOs, so who knows how long STO will keep my interest?  In the words of the great Lieutenant Alia Neajea, only time will tell.