Cryptic is finally putting the finishing touches on STO, while two groups of fans are holding their breath in anticipation. Can the developers please both camps?

With fewer than two weeks remaining until Cryptic Studios launches its long-awaited Star Trek Online, the finish line is finally in sight. After six years of tumultuous press and the folding of its original developer, Cryptic is making the final tweaks to gameplay bugs and technical issues before the MMO rolls out on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Video games and the sci-fi genre have always meshed well together, evidenced by the abundance of cross-over in both markets. Yet there's still a disparity between many groups; MMO fans who haven't watched a single episode of Star Trek, for example. Likewise, plenty of hardcore Trekkers were completely oblivious to the world of MMOs until they discovered STO's development. Cryptic faced the challenge of appealing to both audiences; living up to the iconic standard that 'Trek fans have come to expect, while creating a fun and immersive game that can compete in today's cut-throat MMO market.

Now that Star Trek Online has entered the "open" beta-testing phase, a substantially-higher number of players finally have the chance to try it out for themselves, instead of relying on the developers and the media for gameplay information. Just recently, we've seen a massive influx of STO talk and debate in podcasts, blogs and forum activity across the Web.

While it's still too early to make any real judgments or for informed opinions regarding STO's merit, the early-level content in the open beta has provided many players their first impressions of the MMO. Is it living up to the hype, so far? Is the dual-gameplay as innovative and as much fun as it sounds? Will STO be this year's best MMO, as some have speculated?

It all depends on the player you ask, as usual. But in STO's case, it also depends on the motivating factor that attracted the player to the game. Veteran MMO junkies might approach STO with vastly different expectations than Star Trek fans, for example.

A hardcore World of Warcraft raider is usually inspired by a different set of criteria than a casual MMORPG player, let alone a zealous Trekker who's never even played an MMO. The average WoW raider might be more interested in endgame material, challenging "boss battle" strategies and similar high-level PvE content. Also among the "MMO crowd" is a variety of players with other motivators, like great PvP mechanics, character progression or a brilliant and immersive storyline.

The old-school 'Trek fan will obviously appreciate those aspects as well, whether he or she has any MMO experience or not. But 'Trek fans will also be judging STO by their own set of criteria; faithfulness to the official series "canon," believable and well-developed continuity, the ability to play a wide variety of authentic races and classes, and even attention to the smallest cosmetic details of uniforms, ship design and landscapes.

The community might sense a recent disparity between player feedback, especially when it emerges from fan-specific blogs and forums (a Star Trek fansite as opposed to an MMO fansite, for example). While the Trekker camp let out a collective moan when the restrictions regarding Klingon character play was announced, others barely flinched. On the other hand, many Trekkers didn't even notice the recent fiasco concerning skill points being capped, which sent the hardcore "endgamers" into a tailspin.

At the end of the day, though, it's not that black-and-white. Much of STO's audience consists of "hybrid" fans that enjoy both the Star Trek IP and MMOs, at least to some extent—after all, how many gamers do you know that aren't into sci-fi, or vice-versa? In discussions with readers and via feedback, we've inferred that most fans are looking for something new; an MMO that isn't gambling its success on established or "safe" gameplay mechanics.

Most Trekkers were thrilled to learn that STO will feature both "space" and "ground" combat, which was well-received among MMO gamers as well. Some of those same Trekkers in the current beta-testing are now wondering if we will be seeing anything else besides button-mashing combat, like the exploration and diplomacy elements that helped the Star Trek franchise become what it is today.

But it's still early, and Cryptic has only unlocked a fraction of the content that will be available in just a few weeks. Until then, be sure to check out our beta preview coverage, including character customization, ship combat and away missions, with more to come. If you'd like to try out STO for yourself, grab an open beta key for ZAM subscribers before we run out!