Star Trek Online - First few steps

I pre-ordered StarTrek Online from HMV in the UK just after Christmas because I was looking for something a little different. I've been playing WAR for over a year now and wanted to try something new and maybe come back to WAR when/if an expansion is announced.

Although I play MMO's most days, I'm quite casual when it comes to session time, some days I can play just over an hour, sometimes less. I've always liked the idea of Eve Online but know I wouldn't be able to invest the time required to progress as I would like. When I first saw Star Trek Online I thought this would give me the opportunity to try a space based MMO (well 60% of it is anyway) without requiring the hard core play styles you hear about for Eve.

Because I pre-ordered, I got access to the head start which started last Friday 29th Jan. I had a fairly busy weekend out of game so wasn't able to put in more than a couple of hours but I did manage to create Khannage of the USS Eisenstein who is a Tactical Officer. From what I can see I chose the DPS class and have a smaller ship that other classes but higher firepower.

When you begin you start on a ship within a fleet fighting a Borg invasion, it's pretty cool to feel as though you're in the middle of a battle and you want to get going picking up the actions/abilities etc. You start on foot but soon move into space which is my favorite part of Start Trek Online so far. The space combat is 3D and requires a lot of maneuvering and shield adjustment whilst picking the correct weapons and abilities to use.Some missions automatically enter you into a group and it's great fun to see numerous ships fighting a common enemy. These work in very much the same drop in/out play style as Warhammer Online's Public Quest system which is great to see in other MMO's.

The ground combat isn't bad, it's just not great. The movement seems a little unresponsive and generally the enemy try to rush into you for melee. The inclusion of flanking and cover is very interesting and does add a little to the combat however I think had the game only had this aspect then it wouldn't have been anywhere near to where it is now.

The head start has been pretty shaky so far, with the downtime, disconnects and 1000 player queue times (Sunday evening). I think Cryptic need to get some work done to the infrastructure as soon as possible so it doesn't impact the retail release.

As I play more I will post more of my experiences!

TIP: Oh and the menu to queue for PVP and go on your bridge is in the top right hand corner, to the right of the mini-map when you click the downward pointing arrow (to expand the options).