Talk about scaling expectations. I remember when there weren't any featured episodes at all, and everyone got really excited when Zinc announced that we could use our tricorder to help find the scanny things.
I'm on record stating that our goal for Feature Episode series is 5 full series per year on top of all the other content and missions we add. And it is just that... a goal based on current headcount. We may end up making 4. We may end up making 6. We may end up making 10000... ok.. no that is impossible.
its not like Feature Episodes are the only thing we work on. The release notes for the last 6 months speak for themselves and you'll see that Feature Episodes are a small part of the updates we are constantly adding to the game.
We realize everyone wants more... because they are awesome. We will make as many as we possible can. What else am I supposed to say?
I think you guys maybe raised the bar a little high early one with two Series only separated by 2-3 weeks and I think it was even stated that was the standard you were shooting for. Then there was a nearly 2 month break with nothing and the first thing we get is insanely awesome, then we're told it might be another 3 months before we see another one and not much was mentioned in more specifics about what is coming in the mean time.
Shuttle missions are all well and good but they're apparently only designed to be a grind so people can craft a Delta Flyer from what we've gathered based on the morsels we've picked up here and there.
I think it may be that many aren't clear on what the "Content Team" is exactly. From what I've gathered "Content" means missions and since so much of the stuff on the Engineering report appears (from my layman's perspective) to be Systems Designer and Back End Tech and Art related in the near future it has the appearance that the people whose job it is to design missions aren't working on STO stuff for at least a month+ after this...
This is again just based on the fact that Klingon missions aren't mentioned in the Report as "In Development" and that it's already been stated (I forget where so maybe I'm imagining this) that there's currently nothing getting actively remastered.
its not like Feature Episodes are the only thing we work on. The release notes for the last 6 months speak for themselves and you'll see that Feature Episodes are a small part of the updates we are constantly adding to the game.
I think many are also under the assumption that there's several people making actual missions as their main job but it seems like we only ever hear about JHeinig and Gozer...and I don't know if it's even their sole job to create new missions and remaster episodes or if they're also wearing other hats...what do they do when not making Sorties and Featured Episodes? Do they have any lulls where they can make a diplomacy mission or something? Having something solid each week is great. It doesn't have to be Coliseum "OMG THAT WAS TEH AWESOME" good for us to be happy with it.
A solid, well written mission as a daily or weekly replayable would be great, especially in the DXP department...we're happy with ANY decent content as long as we get content. It doesn't have to be a super bowl every Saturday like with the Featured Episodes...in between Series' a random time travel or alternate dimension mission or trade dispute or whatever would be very welcome. There were far more one-and-done episodes in trek than there ever were story arcs.
Eventually people will start blaming Neverwinter development for stealing devs from STO (like STO was blamed for the 6 months of no new missions for Champions).
Maybe a Pie Chart would help
I'm amazed at how the game has progressed and I'm sure it will continue to get better. Thank you for all the hard work.
Please don't hate me.
You're my best friend.
Peace and Long Life.
Did I already mention the please don't hate me part?
EDIT:
Personally, I really do feel Cryptic is doing absolutely awesome with the resources we've been given and our contribution to Atari is public knowledge.
Yeah, even though they're still reporting big loses they aren't sinking nearly as fast as they did before Cryptic came along. I just wish you guys hadn't hitched your little dingy to the Titanic...
Talk about scaling expectations. I remember when there weren't any featured episodes at all, and everyone got really excited when Zinc announced that we could use our tricorder to help find the scanny things.
Speaking of which... there should be at least one new minigame a week Thomas
I think many are also under the assumption that there's several people making actual missions as their main job but it seems like we only ever hear about JHeinig and Gozer...and I don't know if it's even their sole job to create new missions and remaster episodes or if they're also wearing other hats...what do they do when not making Sorties and Featured Episodes? Do they have any lulls where they can make a diplomacy mission or something? Having something solid each week is great. It doesn't have to be Coliseum "OMG THAT WAS TEH AWESOME" good for us to be happy with it.
You forgot Charles!
Our content designers are responsible for all the content that goes into the game. So yes they have to wear ALL the hats. Want a new PVP map? One of them has to make it. Want a new STF? One of them has to make it. Want a new daily? Well I can make those, but I'm extremely busy and do them when I force myself to block out time after work. but you get the point... the content designers are working as fast as they can and every second of their work day PLUS hours they put in from home on the nights and weekends goes to making new content.
Talk about scaling expectations. I remember when there weren't any featured episodes at all, and everyone got really excited when Zinc announced that we could use our tricorder to help find the scanny things.
Hehe, so true, so true.
"Back in my day, we were impressed if an MMO added a handful of "kill 10 bears" quests in a year; unless you had an expansion, and you paid for a couple hundred more kill 10 bears quests at once!"
Speaking of which... there should be at least one new minigame a week Thomas
(if only that were possible)
Would love it if my "Engineer Option" for this week were to hack the consoles via a mini game instead of the 6 step puzzle process (not that I minded the puzzle)
I mean you guys did get about 5 mini-games from him right off the bat months ago
Everyone wants content: devs enjoy making cool things just as much as we enjoy playing them.
However, the devs are doing a better job than many give them credit.
Last year saw 52+ missions added after launch (and I excluded all exploration clusters and first contacts). That same team is still working at STO and, get this, they've grown during the past six months.
That's awesome. I remember waiting months to just get one new instance in WoW and years between paid expansions. Yes, WoW had two fleshed out facitons and polish but - the rate of non-expansion growth is small. The elephant in the room doesn't bust its chops. The STO team puts out more in a single year and they're not fast enough?
I don't want to say. I've played a lot of MMOs and I can't remember a game being this well supported (content-wise, not bugs) after launch. They're actually doing a good job - with or without the "small team" handicap. They do a good job compared to many larger teams.
I'm on record stating that our goal for Feature Episode series is 5 full series per year on top of all the other content and missions we add. And it is just that... a goal based on current headcount. We may end up making 4. We may end up making 6. We may end up making 10000... ok.. no that is impossible.
its not like Feature Episodes are the only thing we work on. The release notes for the last 6 months speak for themselves and you'll see that Feature Episodes are a small part of the updates we are constantly adding to the game.
We realize everyone wants more... because they are awesome. We will make as many as we possible can. What else am I supposed to say?
i like it
the missions are great
even the last reward the reman shield is great i love my neg-vah heavy battle cruiser it looks just amazing using it
now we need some good pvp rewards to get some more players into pvp
what i miss here is an c-store option to reset the career path of an char
my kling is engie its great
for the bad my fed is tac and an engie would support my playstyle a 100 times better
sadly i have work :eek: and playing only 6-8 hours each weekend it takes forever to get an new toon to va
give us an career respec token maybe same price as the excelsior refit heavy cruiser
Would love it if my "Engineer Option" for this week were to hack the consoles via a mini game instead of the 6 step puzzle process (not that I minded the puzzle)
I mean you guys did get about 5 mini-games from him right off the bat months ago
I mean you guys did get about 5 mini-games from him right off the bat months ago
To be fair, there's a BIG difference between putzing around in Photoshop and actually making a minigame work in STO.
I've had to poke around in some of the UI scripts, and it's pretty complicated stuff. Before that step there's also the matter of having someone actually program in all the puzzles and make sure that everything is actually solvable and yada yada yada...
I can see why minigames aren't front and center on the to-do list when there are things like, oh, say, User Generated Content and Ground Combat to deal with.
To be fair, there's a BIG difference between putzing around in Photoshop and actually making a minigame work in STO.
I've had to poke around in some of the UI scripts, and it's pretty complicated stuff. Before that step there's also the matter of having someone actually program in all the puzzles and make sure that everything is actually solvable and yada yada yada...
I can see why minigames aren't front and center on the to-do list when there are things like, oh, say, User Generated Content and Ground Combat to deal with.
Totally understandable: the Foundry has a ton of resources behind it (but will deliver more bang-for-the-buck). However, at least the UIs will be pleasant from the art direction.
Totally understandable: the Foundry has a ton of resources behind it (but will deliver more bang-for-the-buck). However, at least the UIs will be pleasant from the art direction.
That may be a matter of opinion.
I have a feeling the main players of Foundry content will be the same group that makes it. Probably no more than 12% of the population of this game, more likely half that.
Mini-games would give alternate resolutions to numerous things in game and would affect every player in both factions. Not to mention Poker...
At the end of the day, if it's not Cryptic-Made it's nothing but a Holo-Novel to my character. But Latinum never loses it's luster...
You know, the Foundry guys CAN make mini games with workarounds and text and such. I can see how to do it now. If all players want is to have to "think harder" to be classified as a mini game, Foundry can do that too.
I LOVED the Math puzzle today. Why some got offended that you actually made us pull out calculators today (mine was actually right next to me at the time) is beyond me.
I was just daydreaming today how to make some Indiana Jones style quests using the maps, and stuff in maps as reference points.
Any word yet on how many you will let each author create?
I have a feeling the main players of Foundry content will be the same group that makes it. Probably no more than 12% of the population of this game, more likely half that.
Mini-games would give alternate resolutions to numerous things in game and would affect every player in both factions. Not to mention Poker...
The devs get to use the Foundry too.
Also, 12% of 100k players is still 12,000 authors.
Now, give them the upcoming braching dialogue (which is epicly simple to use but very deep), triggers (which can be used ingeniously), and more and you'lll have some great incentives to get more players into testing. Not to mention the devs have some clever plans for promoting the Foudnry and getting more people to play with the tools.
A poker minigame would be nice but outside of maybe one Featured Mission, I wouldn't want it as a crutch. The Foundry offers more bang for the buck stil, even if the players weren't able to use the tools themselves.
Okay, Dan, not that it probably matters too much to you, heh, but you've just added major cool points (to your already impressive stack) in my book! Stranger in a Strange Land is my favorite book of all time, and Robert A. Heinlein is tied for my 2nd favorite author (Piers Anthony is my favorite, and Heinlein and Terry Pratchett battle for 2nd, with Heinlein probably edging out). My old corp/friends channel in Eve was named Valentine Michael Smith, and my fleet in STO is TANSTAAFL.
Talk about scaling expectations. I remember when there weren't any featured episodes at all, and everyone got really excited when Zinc announced that we could use our tricorder to help find the scanny things.
Amen, brother! During the beta, I didn't really look for the anomalies because the scan button (in space and on ground both) told you how many there were, but they could be anywhere, heh.
On that day. I will sing Faith of the Heart into a camera and publish it on youtube...
...the whole song.
I'll do it if you can get me ANY new mini-game within the next 3 months.
As a huge Enterprise fan (2nd favorite Trek series after Voyager), I would love to see this video be made, sir. I'm not a huge fan of the song itself, to be honest, but I think it would be epic, especially if your condition was met! I know Poker is supposed to be the next mini-game, but I'm waiting on 3D/Tri-Chess myself.
Honestly, I've never played a game (specifically an MMO) thats had so much "new" content pumped out consistently during its existence.
Normally, its like "oh, nothing new for 6 months to a year, then a big expensive EXPANSION pack" so I'm enjoying this more gradual yet continuous change in the game.
HOWEVER, new "episodes" are great and all, but remember, thats only 45 minutes or so per player (maybe an hour or two if they play it once or twice) of new content.
In my personal opinion, other than the foundry, the best way to add more long-term type content is to go with more Fleet Actions, STF's and larger-scale type missions involving more sector-control type features. Something that a player can spend hours and hours on one or two pieces of game content instead of just a one-shot-its-over deal.
Heck, a feature series with nothing but 5 new Fleet Actions would be truly EPIC! (Iconian war? Just a thought)
While that would be cool I'd just really like Cryptic to do what they said back in October about fixing the Crystalline Entity and Fluidic Space Fleet Actions to make them more PuG friendly and bring back the Deep Space 9 fleet action that is unavailable. Considering there's only 8 fleet actions for Feds and 5 for Klingons and half of them have major problems!
dstahl, please put some emphasis in getting these addressed soon now that Series 3 is wrapping up. Waiting until the queue system in Season 4 isn't going to do much if several of the fleet actions themselves aren't fun or playable.
Honestly my only concerns with Foundry are the Rating System, and Glut.
The former... let me be honest; I *hate* Star based rating systems; because they invite a very, very, very common form of abuse that becomes self-perpetuating.
Let me explain this in detail real quick:
Say an episode has a 4 star rating, right? But thought it was 'meh', and deserved a 2. Now, someone who's trying to be a serious reviewer is going to give it a 2 and be done with it - but most people don't think in those terms; and instead will mark it a 1 because "it doesn't deserve a 4, and 1 will bring it closer into line with what I think it deserves".
This is a phenomena you can look at on any site where rating is anything other than "Like/Dislike". The problem is, it becomes self-perpetuating, because as a defensive measure, people who really LIKE a given episode, start giving out 5s left and right to insulate their favorites from the aforementioned attempts to downgrade them. Meaning the system essentially becomes a Like/Dislike system, with 3 questionable gradients in the middle.
End result: The ratings will be skewed and ultimately less useful for it. (That said, I do applaud the feature that lets you see how many of each rating an episode gets. That at least will help some.)
As for Glut... glut is not something you can really fix honestly. It's just a natural byproduct of letting users create. There are going to be thousands of missions - probably tens of thousands - and sadly a lot of them will not be attempted. Now Sturgeon's Law rather accurately accounts for a lot of that - most of it isn't going to be very good any way; but there's going to be a lot of stuff to filter if you're going to find something worth playing. (It'll be easier if you're not a reviewer, but it's still not going to be easy most likely.
So I'm concerned about those two things... on the other hand; I learned to put up with them in Architect, and enjoyed that system immensely; so I can learn to put up with it here too.
I appreciate your suggestions. You obviously really like the Feature Episodes and want many more of them. As I said. We will make as many of them as we possibly can.
You have obviously figured out the secrets of MMOs. It boils down to content. Luckily, we have a very talented and highly trained staff of MMO experts who also know this and work on it every day for hours upon hours. It took 1/3 of my team 3 weeks to make "Coliseum". If you do the math that means that I could theoretically do 52 missions like today's a year (and trust me when I say that is a huge nearly impossible stretch). Unfortunately, we have many more things to do in the game other than Feature Episodes - which we all agree are awesome - but I don't have the luxury to just ship Feature Episodes non-stop and nothing else.
So what do you want me to say? We're not making content fast enough for you? That seems pretty obvious.
Dan, How far out before a new series do you start work on the first episode? You stated it takes 3 weeks roughly to make a mission. So does that mean you start and complete one mission before the 2nd or you start the 2nd episode a week or so after starting the first and finish them together? I think if you explained the time length to make an entire feature series, the masses will understand why they dont roll out as fast as they wish they would.
i have noticed that dsahl and probably the whole cryptic team is taking the community talk about lack of content personally because they working so hard to deliver. understandable. also it has also been the problem since launch of lack of content. the foundry will help alot in this area yes. but the real problem is what dstahl is been saying about lack of resources. know this game is a success, no matter what anyone says. the budget that dstahl and jack are recieving no matter how much it is, is ridiculous considering the possibilities of this game. if atari wants to pocket so much of cryptic money to keep them aflaot then why dont cryptic pull there products away from atari and go with a more finacial stable company? this is the true problem, seems that cryptic team is working like dogs to make atari survive while they reap the rewards and the cryptic community suffers. this is unfair. if cryptic cant pull away from atari because of legal mumbo jumbo then jack needs to fight harder, give him some grenades, mk 47 and lots of rounds. lol
Just doing some math to figure out the amount of time to make these missions. Assuming it takes roughly 3 week to make a mission. Then after a week and a half the next mission is started and both are worked on at the same time. The math for 5 episodes would look like this.
For a grand total of 9 weeks (2 months and some change) of Dev time to make a 5 part series. So when Dan said 5 series was idealistic for the year, this formula basically supports that number. The dev team is working on Feature episodes year round, but the development time is more then the end result. I will admit this was a rough estimate and some of the episodes make only take 2 weeks to finish or a week depending on the amount of content in it.
Just doing some math to figure out the amount of time to make these missions. Assuming it takes roughly 3 week to make a mission. Then after a week and a half the next mission is started and both are worked on at the same time. The math for 5 episodes would look like this.
For a grand total of 9 weeks (2 months and some change) of Dev time to make a 5 part series. So when Dan said 5 series was idealistic for the year, this formula basically supports that number. The dev team is working on Feature episodes year round, but the development time is more then the end result. I will admit this was a rough estimate and some of the episodes make only take 2 weeks to finish or a week depending on the amount of content in it.
These are only Featured episodes too.
Last year, the devs released 52+ missions (and only 10 were Featured Series, the rest were faction specific, Borg sector, Undine sector, FDC, brand new dailies (i.e. Orellius Block tie-ins, etc.)
i have noticed that dsahl and probably the whole cryptic team is taking the community talk about lack of content personally because they working so hard to deliver. understandable. also it has also been the problem since launch of lack of content. the foundry will help alot in this area yes. but the real problem is what dstahl is been saying about lack of resources. know this game is a success, no matter what anyone says. the budget that dstahl and jack are recieving no matter how much it is, is ridiculous considering the possibilities of this game. if atari wants to pocket so much of cryptic money to keep them aflaot then why dont cryptic pull there products away from atari and go with a more finacial stable company? this is the true problem, seems that cryptic team is working like dogs to make atari survive while they reap the rewards and the cryptic community suffers. this is unfair. if cryptic cant pull away from atari because of legal mumbo jumbo then jack needs to fight harder, give him some grenades, mk 47 and lots of rounds. lol
This quote is from Wikipedia, "On December 9, 2008, Atari SA announced that it had acquired Cryptic Studios." This means Atari bought Cryptic studios and owns the company. They left cryptic studios name and everything alone but they ultimately control the fate of cryptic. Saying you want Cryptic to break away from Atari is not going to happen. The only way too break away is for some other company to offer a substanial sum of money to Atari for Cryptic studios. Seeing how well STO and CO are doing, Atari is no fool.
Comments
I think you guys maybe raised the bar a little high early one with two Series only separated by 2-3 weeks and I think it was even stated that was the standard you were shooting for. Then there was a nearly 2 month break with nothing and the first thing we get is insanely awesome, then we're told it might be another 3 months before we see another one and not much was mentioned in more specifics about what is coming in the mean time.
Shuttle missions are all well and good but they're apparently only designed to be a grind so people can craft a Delta Flyer from what we've gathered based on the morsels we've picked up here and there.
I think it may be that many aren't clear on what the "Content Team" is exactly. From what I've gathered "Content" means missions and since so much of the stuff on the Engineering report appears (from my layman's perspective) to be Systems Designer and Back End Tech and Art related in the near future it has the appearance that the people whose job it is to design missions aren't working on STO stuff for at least a month+ after this...
This is again just based on the fact that Klingon missions aren't mentioned in the Report as "In Development" and that it's already been stated (I forget where so maybe I'm imagining this) that there's currently nothing getting actively remastered.
I think many are also under the assumption that there's several people making actual missions as their main job but it seems like we only ever hear about JHeinig and Gozer...and I don't know if it's even their sole job to create new missions and remaster episodes or if they're also wearing other hats...what do they do when not making Sorties and Featured Episodes? Do they have any lulls where they can make a diplomacy mission or something? Having something solid each week is great. It doesn't have to be Coliseum "OMG THAT WAS TEH AWESOME" good for us to be happy with it.
A solid, well written mission as a daily or weekly replayable would be great, especially in the DXP department...we're happy with ANY decent content as long as we get content. It doesn't have to be a super bowl every Saturday like with the Featured Episodes...in between Series' a random time travel or alternate dimension mission or trade dispute or whatever would be very welcome. There were far more one-and-done episodes in trek than there ever were story arcs.
Eventually people will start blaming Neverwinter development for stealing devs from STO (like STO was blamed for the 6 months of no new missions for Champions).
Maybe a Pie Chart would help
I'm amazed at how the game has progressed and I'm sure it will continue to get better. Thank you for all the hard work.
Please don't hate me.
You're my best friend.
Peace and Long Life.
Did I already mention the please don't hate me part?
EDIT:
Yeah, even though they're still reporting big loses they aren't sinking nearly as fast as they did before Cryptic came along. I just wish you guys hadn't hitched your little dingy to the Titanic...
Speaking of which... there should be at least one new minigame a week Thomas
(if only that were possible)
You forgot Charles!
Our content designers are responsible for all the content that goes into the game. So yes they have to wear ALL the hats. Want a new PVP map? One of them has to make it. Want a new STF? One of them has to make it. Want a new daily? Well I can make those, but I'm extremely busy and do them when I force myself to block out time after work. but you get the point... the content designers are working as fast as they can and every second of their work day PLUS hours they put in from home on the nights and weekends goes to making new content.
I'm good for the mockups at least!
I've got a 5 week head start, anyway.
EDIT: 6 weeks, if you count whatever revision of the Duty Officer stuff I'm on today.
Hehe, so true, so true.
"Back in my day, we were impressed if an MMO added a handful of "kill 10 bears" quests in a year; unless you had an expansion, and you paid for a couple hundred more kill 10 bears quests at once!"
... I'm seriously not exaggerating there either.
Would love it if my "Engineer Option" for this week were to hack the consoles via a mini game instead of the 6 step puzzle process (not that I minded the puzzle)
I mean you guys did get about 5 mini-games from him right off the bat months ago
However, the devs are doing a better job than many give them credit.
Last year saw 52+ missions added after launch (and I excluded all exploration clusters and first contacts). That same team is still working at STO and, get this, they've grown during the past six months.
That's awesome. I remember waiting months to just get one new instance in WoW and years between paid expansions. Yes, WoW had two fleshed out facitons and polish but - the rate of non-expansion growth is small. The elephant in the room doesn't bust its chops. The STO team puts out more in a single year and they're not fast enough?
I don't want to say. I've played a lot of MMOs and I can't remember a game being this well supported (content-wise, not bugs) after launch. They're actually doing a good job - with or without the "small team" handicap. They do a good job compared to many larger teams.
i like it
the missions are great
even the last reward the reman shield is great i love my neg-vah heavy battle cruiser it looks just amazing using it
now we need some good pvp rewards to get some more players into pvp
what i miss here is an c-store option to reset the career path of an char
my kling is engie its great
for the bad my fed is tac and an engie would support my playstyle a 100 times better
sadly i have work :eek: and playing only 6-8 hours each weekend it takes forever to get an new toon to va
give us an career respec token maybe same price as the excelsior refit heavy cruiser
Someday Powerhelm. It will happen.
If you build it, they will ohm.
To be fair, there's a BIG difference between putzing around in Photoshop and actually making a minigame work in STO.
I've had to poke around in some of the UI scripts, and it's pretty complicated stuff. Before that step there's also the matter of having someone actually program in all the puzzles and make sure that everything is actually solvable and yada yada yada...
I can see why minigames aren't front and center on the to-do list when there are things like, oh, say, User Generated Content and Ground Combat to deal with.
Totally understandable: the Foundry has a ton of resources behind it (but will deliver more bang-for-the-buck). However, at least the UIs will be pleasant from the art direction.
I've spent the last 5 minutes working on another pun like this, but to no avail. You win, sir.
On that day. I will sing Faith of the Heart into a camera and publish it on youtube...
...the whole song.
I'll do it if you can get me ANY new mini-game within the next 3 months.
That may be a matter of opinion.
I have a feeling the main players of Foundry content will be the same group that makes it. Probably no more than 12% of the population of this game, more likely half that.
Mini-games would give alternate resolutions to numerous things in game and would affect every player in both factions. Not to mention Poker...
At the end of the day, if it's not Cryptic-Made it's nothing but a Holo-Novel to my character. But Latinum never loses it's luster...
I LOVED the Math puzzle today. Why some got offended that you actually made us pull out calculators today (mine was actually right next to me at the time) is beyond me.
I was just daydreaming today how to make some Indiana Jones style quests using the maps, and stuff in maps as reference points.
Any word yet on how many you will let each author create?
The devs get to use the Foundry too.
Also, 12% of 100k players is still 12,000 authors.
Now, give them the upcoming braching dialogue (which is epicly simple to use but very deep), triggers (which can be used ingeniously), and more and you'lll have some great incentives to get more players into testing.
A poker minigame would be nice but outside of maybe one Featured Mission, I wouldn't want it as a crutch. The Foundry offers more bang for the buck stil, even if the players weren't able to use the tools themselves.
Okay, Dan, not that it probably matters too much to you, heh, but you've just added major cool points (to your already impressive stack) in my book! Stranger in a Strange Land is my favorite book of all time, and Robert A. Heinlein is tied for my 2nd favorite author (Piers Anthony is my favorite, and Heinlein and Terry Pratchett battle for 2nd, with Heinlein probably edging out). My old corp/friends channel in Eve was named Valentine Michael Smith, and my fleet in STO is TANSTAAFL.
Amen, brother! During the beta, I didn't really look for the anomalies because the scan button (in space and on ground both) told you how many there were, but they could be anywhere, heh.
As a huge Enterprise fan (2nd favorite Trek series after Voyager), I would love to see this video be made, sir. I'm not a huge fan of the song itself, to be honest, but I think it would be epic, especially if your condition was met! I know Poker is supposed to be the next mini-game, but I'm waiting on 3D/Tri-Chess myself.
While that would be cool I'd just really like Cryptic to do what they said back in October about fixing the Crystalline Entity and Fluidic Space Fleet Actions to make them more PuG friendly and bring back the Deep Space 9 fleet action that is unavailable. Considering there's only 8 fleet actions for Feds and 5 for Klingons and half of them have major problems!
dstahl, please put some emphasis in getting these addressed soon now that Series 3 is wrapping up. Waiting until the queue system in Season 4 isn't going to do much if several of the fleet actions themselves aren't fun or playable.
Agreed! As the major Piers Anthony fan like I said, I think Darren_Kitlor's pun is definitely top notch.
The former... let me be honest; I *hate* Star based rating systems; because they invite a very, very, very common form of abuse that becomes self-perpetuating.
Let me explain this in detail real quick:
Say an episode has a 4 star rating, right? But thought it was 'meh', and deserved a 2. Now, someone who's trying to be a serious reviewer is going to give it a 2 and be done with it - but most people don't think in those terms; and instead will mark it a 1 because "it doesn't deserve a 4, and 1 will bring it closer into line with what I think it deserves".
This is a phenomena you can look at on any site where rating is anything other than "Like/Dislike". The problem is, it becomes self-perpetuating, because as a defensive measure, people who really LIKE a given episode, start giving out 5s left and right to insulate their favorites from the aforementioned attempts to downgrade them. Meaning the system essentially becomes a Like/Dislike system, with 3 questionable gradients in the middle.
End result: The ratings will be skewed and ultimately less useful for it. (That said, I do applaud the feature that lets you see how many of each rating an episode gets. That at least will help some.)
As for Glut... glut is not something you can really fix honestly. It's just a natural byproduct of letting users create. There are going to be thousands of missions - probably tens of thousands - and sadly a lot of them will not be attempted. Now Sturgeon's Law rather accurately accounts for a lot of that - most of it isn't going to be very good any way; but there's going to be a lot of stuff to filter if you're going to find something worth playing. (It'll be easier if you're not a reviewer, but it's still not going to be easy most likely.
So I'm concerned about those two things... on the other hand; I learned to put up with them in Architect, and enjoyed that system immensely; so I can learn to put up with it here too.
Dan, How far out before a new series do you start work on the first episode? You stated it takes 3 weeks roughly to make a mission. So does that mean you start and complete one mission before the 2nd or you start the 2nd episode a week or so after starting the first and finish them together? I think if you explained the time length to make an entire feature series, the masses will understand why they dont roll out as fast as they wish they would.
1st episode -3 weeks
2nd episode - 1.5 weeks
3rd episode - 1.5 weeks
4th episode - 1.5 weeks
5th episode - 1.5 weeks
For a grand total of 9 weeks (2 months and some change) of Dev time to make a 5 part series. So when Dan said 5 series was idealistic for the year, this formula basically supports that number. The dev team is working on Feature episodes year round, but the development time is more then the end result. I will admit this was a rough estimate and some of the episodes make only take 2 weeks to finish or a week depending on the amount of content in it.
Last year, the devs released 52+ missions (and only 10 were Featured Series, the rest were faction specific, Borg sector, Undine sector, FDC, brand new dailies (i.e. Orellius Block tie-ins, etc.)
Big picture is good, in terms of content.
This quote is from Wikipedia, "On December 9, 2008, Atari SA announced that it had acquired Cryptic Studios." This means Atari bought Cryptic studios and owns the company. They left cryptic studios name and everything alone but they ultimately control the fate of cryptic. Saying you want Cryptic to break away from Atari is not going to happen. The only way too break away is for some other company to offer a substanial sum of money to Atari for Cryptic studios. Seeing how well STO and CO are doing, Atari is no fool.