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Meet the Team - Al Rivera (September 8, 2008)

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  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Dustnite wrote: »
    Whenever I watch the Star Trek shows there is almost always some form of fight going on be it ship combat or phaser combat. I think most casual fans of the Trek series are going to want to play for that aspect, but it doesn't necessarily mean its going to be an all combat game. Will there be a focus on it? That's what I'm not sure about. I'm reserving judgment until more information is released.

    I do like that they are putting time into combat systems because that's one of the main problems I had with EvE Online. It's shallow combat system left much to be desired, requiring no skill or just buttloads of time to achieve anything combat worthy.

    I don't know how people can say combat was never a focus in Star Trek when the entire series has several episodes tied to someone shooting something.

    DS9, voyager and Enterprise perhaps, but that wasn't so much the case with TNG and TOS, which represent the real "roots" of Star Trek, or as it boils down to, the Trek which Gene Roddenberry still had a hand of control over. Once he passed on, Trek became very combative, and drifted away from the original vision.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    sounds like an awesome game in the making. I would love to play this when it comes out. Im sick of the grind fests that are out there now and i dont care too much for the space mmo's out there. They all seem too pvp for my liking with no or little story element
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    DS9, voyager and Enterprise perhaps, but that wasn't so much the case with TNG and TOS, which represent the real "roots" of Star Trek, or as it boils down to, the Trek which Gene Roddenberry still had a hand of control over. Once he passed on, Trek became very combative, and drifted away from the original vision.

    Who decides what the real roots of Star Trek are? Is there a focus group hiding in your basement? :)

    I mean TNG was leading up to the combative things we saw in the following Trek series and it showed other aspects of Star Trek. I personally love the Voyager series more than any other more for the trying to get home aspect than anything else.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    I'm extremely satisfied with the Lead Designer Al Rivera. I think he has the requirements to take this game in new directions, well above his previous work in titles. An underdog for sure who I feel will get the job done above expectations.

    Thanks for the article!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Dustnite wrote: »
    Who decides what the real roots of Star Trek are?

    Are you serious?

    I'm not even going to bother answering this, because any Trek fan can answer this.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Are you serious?

    I'm not even going to bother answering this, because any Trek fan can answer this.

    Not that you need to, that just proves you don't know what the hell your talking about then.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Dustnite wrote: »
    Not that you need to, that just proves you don't know what the hell your talking about then.

    Oh really?

    Who determines the roots of Trek? Simple. Gene Roddenberry.

    TOS and TNG up to the time of his death. That is the roots of Star Trek. Period.

    Everything that came after Gene's passing doesn't represent the roots. DS9 and Voyager was Rick Berman's vision of Trek, not Gene's. In fact, Gene wouldn't buy off on DS9 while he was alive because it was too dark, too gritty and wasn't the Trek he wanted to portray. So, when did DS9 go forward? Once Gene had passed, and wasn't there to object anymore.

    So yes, I do know what the hell I'm talking about.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Oh really?

    Who determines the roots of Trek? Simple. Gene Roddenberry.

    TOS and TNG up to the time of his death. That is the roots of Star Trek. Period.

    Everything that came after Gene's passing doesn't represent the roots. DS9 and Voyager was Rick Berman's vision of Trek, not Gene's. In fact, Gene wouldn't buy off on DS9 while he was alive because it was too dark, too gritty and wasn't the Trek he wanted to portray. So, when did DS9 go forward? Once Gene had passed, and wasn't there to object anymore.

    So yes, I do know what the hell I'm talking about.

    See that wasn't so hard to answer was it :)

    So now that that's out in the open. If we're really looking at the spirit of Star Trek and not the creative control of Gene Roddenberry (which would be hard since he is not living anymore), what would we really be expecting out of this game?

    Well rounded out combat, exploration, political intrigue, engaging storyline. These are all things people want, its just one piece of the puzzle. No need to take things entirely out of context.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    I think what a lot of people are forgetting is that this game isn't just about Star Trek. It's about creating a great game to play. This might be someone's first introduction to Star Trek, Cryptic can't count on Roddenberry love to get them over the flaws as a game.
    What you're asking of them is to write you a brand new Star Trek script for every single mission. That's not their job, and if it was, this game would never get made. Their job is to produce an enjoyable game with the right ships, the right visual appeal and the right atmosphere, so that as wide an audience as possible can enjoy the game as a game. It's then our duty as a community to give this game a Star Trek feel.

    At the end of the day, Combat, and especially PvP, is a really fun experience for a lot of people, and not focusing on Starship Combat, which is not a particularly well-mined area of MMORPG's, would be a bone-head decision. I mean we're talking about a major selling point for the game here. I doubt they'll be able to do better than WoW, but Space Combat better than Eve? There's a pretty good chance that they'll at least be able to provide a different experience.
    The number of fans who won't pick this up because the combat's a major point compared to the number won't pick it up if the combat's no fun is smaller by a factor of thousands.

    But obviously, if you don't like combat, there is no reason for you to enter PvP areas. There's no reason for you to go on base assault missions. There are ALWAYS other things you can do instead.

    Off the top of my head, here is a brilliant way to play the game as if you were in the TOS era:
    This will be a massive galaxy, with a huge amount of content.
    Explore areas where the PvPer's aren't interested in going. Spend your time on self-designed missions, where you produce a list of all the planets, their life-forms, and the in-game missions ("research opportunities") available there, exactly as if you were on one of those sector mapping missions that are always getting interrupted by planets exploding or Q turning up for a pint of shandy. You might not get the fanciest ships that way, but maybe that shouldn't matter. Certainly it's realistic, in that the way a captain makes his name is through risky strategies. That's how Kirk and Picard got the Enterprise, and that's how Sisko made Captain. Playing it safe and just doing mapping is how "Tapestry Picard" ended up stuck never progressing into command.

    Here's another one:
    Obviously, there are going to be many, many ships. You could do R&D on these ships. Work out what works best under what circumstances. Try and find exploits in the game engine to produce odd effects, as if you were researching new ways to "warp subspace". Research all the different aliens out there, and as that's customisable, that'll be really interesting to people thinking about designing their own race.

    If you don't want the game to be about combat, what do you want the game's killer hook to be instead? Because chances are, even if they don't include it, with a little ingenuity, you can create it yourself. Incidentally, "It's Star Trek" is not a killer hook. That line of thinking is what makes shoddy games that only sell to the die-hard fans. A killer hook is something that makes a game great, no matter where it's set.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Oh really?

    Who determines the roots of Trek? Simple. Gene Roddenberry.

    TOS and TNG up to the time of his death. That is the roots of Star Trek. Period.

    Everything that came after Gene's passing doesn't represent the roots. DS9 and Voyager was Rick Berman's vision of Trek, not Gene's. In fact, Gene wouldn't buy off on DS9 while he was alive because it was too dark, too gritty and wasn't the Trek he wanted to portray. So, when did DS9 go forward? Once Gene had passed, and wasn't there to object anymore.

    So yes, I do know what the hell I'm talking about.

    But have you considered all the implications? For example, Gene was enamoured with the idea of Wesley serving on the bridge as a teenager. No matter how bone-headed that decision was. And as for the money thing... I don't think anyone's ever properly explained how that system's supposed to work.
    I love the old series, but it had its flaws.
    Also, and let me be quite clear, there is no game concept within what you're describing. What would the game be? Constructing the most gripping analogy for a pseudo-scientific concept? Punching a fanged alien in the face while kissing a hot alien chick? Stopping your first officer and doctor from squabbling?
    It's the same problem with all these people saying "We should be able to have a crew", when a moment's thought would tell you that there will never, ever be enough people willing to play second and third banana for that to be worthwhile. And then there's the simple fact that some fans won't work with other fans who think DS9 was a better show than TOS, or who think Spock could beat Worf in a fight, and blah, blah, blah.
    I'm pretty certain not a week went by in TOS without Kirk punching someone in the face or something being blown up or shot at. Just because the damn phasers never worked as a weapon in TOS is no reason to say it wasn't about combat. For god's sake, you're named after the characters who got killed every week! It wasn't ALWAYS a space anomaly that got them!

    And finally, the thing that is going to make or break this game is going to be whether or not this community can band together to make it fun, or whether it'll degenerate into partisan bickering. Thank you for doing your part.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    I like the passion going into this game... sweet
    But I do hope that (maybe not at first) the game is at least 50/50 combat-non-combat orientated. I just hope updates and add-ons isnt primarily aimed at combat gameplay. I want to be able to create a character that never has to fire a phaser ever and have fun.

    I dont care much for DS9 as I also belives it falls out of sync with Genes vision, and I think he never would have labled it Trek. XD
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Hello.

    Do you love what you are making or is it just a job to you? Being a devoit fan does not cover this question.

    (Didn't read everything.)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Qouting Al Rivera-
    I can promise you that I will do all that I can to ensure this IP is treated with respect and accuracy. This is not going to be another cookie-cutter MMO with a Star Trek skin on it. STO will be the unique experience that you have been waiting for.

    whatever dude. theres only so many ways you can design an mmo, We know cryptic isn't trying to do any ground breaking stuff, and your already using the champions engine. :) so yea I'm looking forward to champion trek lol no offense and yes i know... someones gonna get me for that one lol.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    aguila432 wrote: »
    whatever dude. theres only so many ways you can design an mmo, We know cryptic isn't trying to do any ground breaking stuff, and your already using the champions engine. :) so yea I'm looking forward to champion trek lol no offense and yes i know... someones gonna get me for that one lol.

    No need to get you for it, it's already a beaten dead horse buried among the various graphics threads about what the game engine is. People still haven't gotten that message apparently.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    I am looking forward to this. This looks great and I saw the trailer. I know I will enjoy this.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Hey Al, congrats on living your dream to design STO. I have been playing Star Wars Galaxies for four years now and I started that after dropping Star Trek Empires at War. I enjoyed the game but it was too limiting in terms of ship design, combat, exploration and most of all -- story line.

    I love a good story line/plot and that is one of the things I really appreciated about the entire Star Trek genre. I am happy to hear that you are interested in that as well. I would like to encourage you to give as much freedom of diversity to characters and ship equipment as possible. That goes double for exploration.

    I'd also ask that you consider instituting some kind of penalty for players in high level, high risk situations according to their faction -- i.e. fail a Romulan mission and you could be demoted, flee a Kligon battle or allow yourself to be captured and you could be demoted, destroy a freighter as a federation ship and you lose reputation, etc... I also hope the reward system is factionally aligned as well.

    Other than that, man I wish you all the luck in the world! I am really looking forward to experiencing STO and I want to thank you for taking on this endavour.

    You are awesome!

    Peace.

    p.s. my favorite Trek episodes are also Sisko's retaking of DS9 and the Borg assimilation of Picard. You gotta work those in somewhere in STO!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Personaly i think that they show us the combat first just to start the hype for the game for players thats not trekkers , they will probably move on to the other areas soon.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Congratulations
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    What I really want to know being a treky is will there be cloaking tech for the star fleet i mean the khitomer accords no longer exists and if im corect then the ban on that particular pice of tech is lifted right ;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    sounds great can't wait to hear more
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Sorbek wrote: »
    Finally someone who else love DS9!!!! Dominion War anyone??

    Great info and great news about the shield/firing arcs, and diverting power to other systems!!!

    This game is so going to rock!

    I did enjoy the dark stories of DS9, one of my favorites In the Pale Moon Light,

    My so looking forward to learn the ship controls and design of ships.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Welcom on board. I wish you the best of luck. Can you do me a favor, I want 3d chess as a minigame in ten forward?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    Capitan Geko Says:
    Q: Is there anything you would like to add?
    A: I want to make sure that everyone knows what a devout Star Trek fan I am. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to have been given the responsibility to design this project. I can promise you that I will do all that I can to ensure this IP is treated with respect and accuracy. This is not going to be another cookie-cutter MMO with a Star Trek skin on it. STO will be the unique experience that you have been waiting for.

    I'm gonna hold you to it! :D. Good Luck.
    BTW Nice Interview.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    darthbane wrote:
    What I really want to know being a treky is will there be cloaking tech for the star fleet i mean the khitomer accords no longer exists and if im corect then the ban on that particular pice of tech is lifted right ;)
    Nagilum wrote: »
    sounds great can't wait to hear more

    You can not awnser with that. I asked a specific Q and This is not an awnser
    Nagilum wrote: »
    sounds great can't wait to hear more
    . This is goinig to sound childish but you didnt awnser it and i want one I WANT AN AWNSER PLEASE
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2008
    A pleasure to meet you Al. I look forward to seeing what STO has to offer us the players in the future. Well done so far!

    :)
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