I'm having quite a bit of fun with this game, but one of the huge things that destroys the Star Trek feel of the entire game is how limited you are to following canned missions. One of the great things about every other MMO in the world is the ability to go running off in some random direction and explore. Find stuff. learn the land, have fun. We should be able to do the same thing by picking a random star, finding a planet, and beaming down for a look around.

We should even be able to scan the planets for life forms, structures, technology, etc and make the choice about whether we want to go check it out. It shouldn't be limited to some canned mission and then you never get to go back to the planet again. What if my buddies and I want to go kick it next to the waterfall on Risa 7 for some reason? Every other classic MMO gives us this ability but in Star Trek Online this aspect of multiplayer game is missing.

It makes the whole game feel like a linear, single player game.

you can go to Risa and hang out if you want...just sayin.


Also, the way this game is designed wouldn't lend itself to that kind of exploration. The planets are more or less generated randomly...they probably did that so they wouldn't have to put content on hundreds of different planets. Most planets have nothing on them cept rocks trees and grass. Pretty boring, IMO, just to stroll around and look at with nothing to do.


Now, if they put those anomalous readings around, then atleast you'd have something to look for.

They should make some random planets explorable. Populate them with random resources and maybe the occasional random alien race that may or may not be hostile.

What you just described are the star cluster missions.

They could easily add an open exploration zone. Just look at the map and see that Federation space is completely unmapped.

So there's enough there for first contact etc.

Yeah, that's not going to happen. The total amount of static content in this game would fit in a timble and you want them to create multiple static WORLDS?

You really have no idea what you are asking for do you?

The entire game engine is built around randomly generated content based on a very tiny set of samples. Nothing in this game is large for a reason, you would need to redesign most of the engine to accomplish that, and that is never going to happen.

What i wish cryptic would do is leave all the systems and planets from patrols and missions OPEN after the mission has been complete.
Then you can just mill around there, gather samples or whatever you fancy once its done.
Maybe even add a few roaming random mobs in some of those systems that one can kill like in a...*shock*...normal MMO!

Nah but seriously, i think something like this alone could add vastly greater sense of an open universe than right now.
Especially with some local killable wildlife.