1) Missing Romulan Star Empire
2) Lack of Customization (Ships/Chars)
3) Per Char unlocks in C-Store (i used to be a supporter of the Store, until BO-slots and later the "premium" BO's came... now i don't buy new c-store tokens at all)
i'm not saying i didn't get your point, Yreodred, and the comparsion to the JJ Enterprise didn't offend me at all
but looking at your examples, the line comes between our personal tastes. you think the Galaxy-X is an ugly version of the Galaxy, while I personally find that it grew on me, though it does look a little odd
To me, in the end, it's only a matter of our personal tastes... I like most of them, because i think they're cool... and you don't like most of them, because they're unnecessary or just odd to you
I guess i'm not sure what i'm trying to say... but I do respect your opinions, even as i have my own
1) klingon's backlog - pve - ships - general content
2) respeccing - captain should be able to save atleast on secondary spec so we can switch on the fly when we swap ships.
3) devidian featured epsodes - were a little too much of a chore. started strong but as you go on meh.
4) Ship inaccuracies - negvar , k'tinga , defiants a little to big in relative terms.
5) more featured episodes overall this should really be the the driving pve force such an excellent story telling vehicle
BONUS ROUND
Top 5 compliments
1) Defiant-R - So so so good. Really brings the game to life very imersive flying this ship.
2) Featured episodes - there should really be more of these i would really recommend putting these out more often.
3) Nova + sabre for such low tier ships they really are fun to fly.
4) getting rid of astrometrics - bravo
5) Foundry - step in the right direction
SUPER EXTRA BONUS ROUND!
#1 WTF moment in sto
klingon tier 2 cruiser the K'tanco 0_o when the tier 2 cruiser was anounced this screamed to be filled with the D-5 a seriously cool canon ship from ENT . The K'tanco just misses the mark visually IMHO.
1. Ship issues:
A. model issues", Captn Logan's been workin hard, but he needs a crew. A lot of ships in this game have errors, look cheesy and need some serious lovin. As a Star Trek Fan, I love the ships. To see the state some of them are in, (Intrepid ect.), really ruins things for me.
Windows in the wrong place, misshapen saucers, odd grill like structures everywhere. A serious need for smoothing ect. ect. ect.
I mean look at this ship, http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j432/lancemikemack/roswellsaucer.jpg
this is a model that's been in the game for how long?! I paid real money for it in the C store!
This is what it's SUPPOSED to look like http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j432/lancemikemack/intrepid1.png
Not even close! I've been waiting PATIENTLY since season 3's release hoping to see it fixed.
Some work was started, then apparently stopped.....
There have been threads and threads asking for this to be fixed. I'm NOT the only one this is important to.
How many months have we gone without a weekly series? You couldn't spare Captn Logan for a few days to fix this already?
I like to look lovingly at my ship, as it cruises through space.
Now that sector space really looks like space, I'd like my ships to look as pretty and accurate as possible.
When they don't, it really takes a lot away from my enjoyment of the game. I'm sorry, I'm a Star Trek fan and the ships are beloved characters that need loving attention to detail, not just the slap dash job some have been clearly given.
B. Inaccurate Ship tiers . The Nova, The Akira, are modern ship designs that SHOULD have a higher tier equivalent. There is no logical reason why either of these ships shouldn't be available as T5 ships.
They are NOT the constitution class.
C.. There are NPC ships ingame that I would love to play, but can't. And they're everywere. As a hologram at the shipyard, the Typoon class cruising around Earth Space dock, as wrecks on just about every map ect.
I want to fly some of the original Perpetual ships that were designed by John Eaves and Doug Drexler BADLY.
But I see them dangle before my eyes, a shiny toy I can't play with NOT FUN. I know, I don't know jack about the complexities about getting these models as playable ships. But by my perspective, they are in the game, most of the work is done.
Some of your ship artists desperately need to take a page from these fella's books. A lot of Cryptic's ship designs just don't feel Trek. I really hate the pylons with holes in them. The bulky cluttered feel to them. It's just NOT TREK. Sleek and Elegant guys, that's the ticket, That's the ships we love. You've done some ships like the Nomad and the Excalibur, they are a step in the right direction.
If you ask me, getting John Eaves on your staff would give most of us nerdgasms! He's the man you need!
If HE HAD DESIGNED THE ENTERPRISE F............ oh boy I tingle!
2. Lack of character customization options. Caitain mane hair, My Vulcan, can't wear a visor. I've got reward bridge officers from Romulas, Borg, photonic and the Klingon faction I got through Diplomacy, that I can't even put in a crew uniform, or alter in anyway. Now why exactly is that? How am I gonna ruin someone else's enjoyment of the game by changing the look of MY BRIDGE OFFICERS no one but MYSELF will really ever see unless I invite them onto my ship? Being able to do things like this won't BREAK the game and it would make some of us happy. Now what's wrong with that?
3. Lack of Klingon content, This is not only NOT cool for those that love to play this faction, But it's holding up the faction I've been waiting for. The Romulans. And we have NO IDEA when this is issue is going to move forward, or even if it will. It's just dead.
4. Infinite space? I think not, It just feels so small, confined. I want to feel like I'm in something BIG. But at the same time, I want to be able to travel it quickly. I don't see why the quantum slip stream can't be adjusted so that I can get to where I want to go faster, so I can actually enjoy myself more. It's current cool down seem to me to be nothing more than a time sink.
5. The Foundry. We have the perfect tool, right in our hands to add more content to this game than anyone person could play. But you can't level your character up on them. You can't get emblems or merits, or diplomacy with them.
I don't see why someone at Cryptic can't be put in charge of looking at some of the better rated ones and adding xp, rewards ect. to the ones they deem worthy.
Put the most creative amongst us to work, (not literally put them on the payroll), but there are people who have forums rating these missions. Why not take the best, add xp, merits, rewards to them and add them to the game? (see # 3)
Having said all this, I REALLY like this game. I want to REALLY LOVE it!
I want beautiful looking ships, I want to play the Vesta, the Ambassador ect. ect.
I want to play a Romulan in a warbird too. I've waited a year already. I don't want to wait another !
I've bought a lifetime subscription and nearly everything in the c store.
I've spent MORE MONEY THAN I DARE TO TELL MY GIRL on this game.
I play nearly EVERY DAY for hours.
1) Current skill 'tree' organization.
It's messy. Real Messy. It doesn't flow together well, and many people don't spread their points around in a manner that would truly benefit them in very many ways. It's so messy in fact that much of it is still very much at debate in the forums. It was poorly planned and poorly implemented (my apologies to the designer). It takes some time to understand the meaning behind each point and skill you invest (i.e. high learning curve) and thus, it is very easy to accidentally waste points, especially for the new player. Some of this is caused by the original intent of the current tree. At one time, they had intended the skill tree to be a constantly evolving entity. It was intended at one point for there to be no skill point cap, and that new skills would be added to the tree frequently to keep you spending (similar concept to EVE), but this changed somewhere along the way, and the skill tree didn't receive any update or change to reflect this. It's still ugly and un-intuitive. Splitting skill points between space and ground combat will go some of the way to making this better, but I believe the whole tree needs a redesign; from the way the tree explains what it's doing to you, down to the way it looks and functions fundamentally.
2) Progression
We all know that Lower Level Characters in games have less knowledge at their finger tips and thus, less abilities to apply in battle; but it is my firm belief that low level play in STO isn't anywhere near as fun as higher levels. The biggest part of this problem is that you go for long stretches of time without gaining any new powers. You gain access to something new every 5 levels. You don't gain access to your first power until around level 3 (and it's a ground power), and then don't see anything new until 8, then you have to wait another three levels to see a new ship. IMO you should see something fresh and new every time you level. You need to feel that you're getting stronger, and you just don't see that. If I have to spend 10 levels in the same ship without access to a new weapon slot, if I can't make my ship feel more powerful except only once every 5 levels (one space ability, and then a ship replacement), then another method should be established to make me feel like my character is learning as she levels up. That's what "Experience" stands for after all, doesn't it? Learning. We need more of it. A new ability probably for every other level might help this out some. IN fact, I'm going to take a page from my next suggestion and say that there should be many abilities available to the character, but only a set number of slots with which to 'equip' them.
3) Ground Kits
So... let me get this straight. I can customize my BOFF ground abilities with whatever I want them to have, but my ground abilities are completely tied to what kit I have equipped? It's kind of frustrating that my Pets are more customizable than I am. Wouldn't it be more fun if, say, as a Science Officer, I could choose one or two healing abilities, and then choose a control and debuff ability for the other two slots? A "Custom Kit" should exist where I'm allowed to choose my own ground skills, and given a title based on whatever combination I come up with. Better yet, I'll even go so far as to say that Kit's in General should be eliminated from the game and all starship captains are given the ability to choose what skills he or she has access to on the ground. In order to further differentiate you from your BoFFs, your power pool should have different powers attached to it, and you should be given access to a new power every other level or so. The idea behind this has been explored before by games like Guild Wars. Basically you have access to a lot of abilities at one time, but you only have 4 or 5 slots to fill. (1 at Lt, 2 at Lt. C, 3 at Com and 4 by Capt... Possibly a 5th at VA depending on various things) The game becomes more tactical without ever changing the pacing of it. If coupled with my last suggestion you learn something new every time you level up. Couple it with my first, and when you redo the skill tree, you can probably find a way to tie everything together in a way that cleans up the UI and makes the skill tree a more fun experience.
4) Tutorial It should be noted before you read further, the tutorial is getting a huge overhaul, and some of the things I mention here will be addressed when that happens, so hopefully this whole point will be null and void when that update hits, though I am aware that this has been delayed some. That said, the current tutorial gives you the bare basics without any choice. Now that there are three ships available at T1, an escort, a cruiser, and a science ship, I feel you should be given a choice upfront at character creation or perhaps when you are given command of your own ship as to which ship you are going to eventually take control of. Concerning this, to keep things civil, the Console that comes with the Oberth class, and the Grappling hook that comes with the NX should remain C-Store exclusive. I also feel that the NX should come equipped with heavy cannons, but that's another subject. I'm even more frustrated that I can't skip the tutorial or turn off the little orange pop-ups that hold my hand every step of the way until around Lt. 5
5) Ground Armor
To clarify, I have no problem with it's functionality. On the other hand, It is an art asset that is rarely used. If you run through ESD during prime time you'll see what I mean. Most people turn the graphics off. On the other hand, Kit graphics are usually left on. So yes, this is kind of a tie in with suggestion three. Here's the deal. Armor Graphics impede the players creativity a little bit. It covers up all that wonderful customization that the player may have spent a ton of time getting Juuuuuuust right. Kit's graphics on the other hand, supplement the players tailor options. You can see the players customization while still giving him a visual progression. If you do away with the kits all together and replace that system, the kit graphics have no where to go, and that would be a shame because they DO get used. So do away with the current armor graphics (since so few people use them anyway. Not many people like to cover up all the time they spent at the tailor) and replace them with the kit graphics or something similar. I spent an hour making my character looking Just So. I want to see that. I'm not opposed to graphical progression so long as it doesn't cover up my customization efforts, otherwise the time and credits I spent at the Tailor were wasted, and people don't much like wasting either of those resources, especially during 'fun time'.
My complaints with STO can fill a phone book. But I stay on to play with my friends..that and I grew up on Trek.
Anyway..here goes:
1: Engdame
Yeah, I got two toons to VA, now just grinding about doing random mishes for Emblems. It gets boring very quick...even mixing up the Emblem missions still isn't enough.
2: Same old
When you roll a new char, expect the same missions arcs. They should rig it so each class has a unique missions setup for them. Tactical: Self Explanitory..go blow stuff up. Engineer: Repair this, help a colony there..and yes, some combat. And Science: Again, some combat missions...but redo the exploration stuff for story arcs for the char to get better. Heck..look at COH and others...playing a new archtype focused around the origins and you get different setups.
3: KDF
I love the KDF, but I'm not a good PVPer and seeing the Klingon Lore out there, their storylines, I'd enjoy heavily.
4: Feature Eps
More of these...now. This I command.
5: Fleet based stuff.
My fleet's small, just me and some close friends and all our alts. But, there should be stuff for fleets to do, events, special bonuses based around how many you have in your fleet. Even some basic missions for a fleet for special loots. And yes, a Starbase. Exchange, Crafting, you name it. It'd make things more social for a fleet.
1. No rational and solid play content related to the game story. current content is a few hours long at best.
2. No real star trek style crafting function in game. Just a gimmic crafting to which everyone end result is the same
3. No real exploration and diplomatic function in the game. I do not see any real star trek function for this segment. just endless missions with no direct interaction with the worlds you explore.
4. No choices in sto for making decisions at your current rank. Also alot of content text and missions do not make since with the rank you are at. its just all thrown together with no thought in mind.
example" a NPC captain rank giving authority to an vice admiral rank toon to take action. This is not done in star trek or real world scenario.
5. C-store has become the petaQ of STO. Every new item we ask for or wish to see in the game now comes with a price, yet cryptic is always silent about this until it comes time to release such items. This is the only space mmo game i know of which charges its customers on top of the subscription to fly new ships/shuttles
True until just this week. Eve Online have introduced a micro transaction store.
But as of now, the only things in it are skirts and shirts and pants and shoes. You can't buy a Nightmare from it. You can't buy ANYTHING with any gameplay effect whatsoever. So it's the same as the person you quoted was lamenting.
My beefs:
1) The KDF morass. The part that annoys me isn't the fact that the KDF shipped in half-*** condition. What bothers me is the fact that the faction hasn't been significantly improved SINCE then. Usually, most developers who ship half an MMO work to create/supply the other half as a priority. Heck, Age of Conan shipped with basically their tutorial and little to nothing else. But it didn't take them 18 months to actually add the rest of the content (such as it is).
2) Armor/kit graphics. Most games make your armor look BETTER as you level/rank up. Not here though. To me, if I'm not wearing Polyalloy Weave, there's no sense in even turning on the visuals. And if my away team is wearing Integrated Targeting, I definitely don't want to turn visuals on for them. Kit graphics can be similar. While my tac character looks like a gunslinger with her kit showing, my engineer looks like a burro walking along the Rio Grande.
3) Bridges and ship interiors. I'm still disappointed that bridges (especially C-Store exclusives) still don't have the ability to adapt to the number of bridge officers I have. There are tons of empty consoles and spaces on my bridge and I have enough BOs to fill them but....
4) Lacking and sometimes downright wrong documentation/information and/or broken/useless abilities. When players have to tell you that the tooltips in your game (presumably written by people who KNOW the game since they're making a living from it) are wrong, that's a wee bit of a problem. Also, if one-sixth of a tier of skills is considered "useless" or not worth investing in (hello Maintenance), some red flags should go up somewhere.
5) Lack of commensurate rewards from the Foundry. Yes yes, I know why it was done but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
4) Lacking and sometimes downright wrong documentation/information and/or broken/useless abilities. When players have to tell you that the tooltips in your game (presumably written by people who KNOW the game since they're making a living from it) are wrong, that's a wee bit of a problem. Also, if one-sixth of a tier of skills is considered "useless" or not worth investing in (hello Maintenance), some red flags should go up somewhere.
I've given some thought to some of that problem from time to time. And the development team can certainly feel free to correct me, but here's my hunch/guess ...
The game when it was in the development/pre-launch stage had a lot more people working on it. People who were brought in from their other game.
This is just a guess, but it's my guess that the skill tree was developed by people who are no longer with the company or no longer directly involved in STO (there's been a lot of turnover in their staff in the past year). So what you've got is people who are working on a system they didn't develop so they're partially unaware of the problems you've cited, and partially not versed enough in the original intent of the system to really correct it properly.
Whereas most of us players have been playing within the system the entire time. And know its problems and limitations. We just don't have the tools available to correct it.
Hence there's a disconnect. We look at that skill tree and go "How can this hole possibly still be there? Don't they know?" ... and they're looking at the skill tree and are thinking "Well, if it ain't broke ..." or something along those lines. Not knowing that yes, it is broke. And has been for a long time. Anyone who has leveled to 41+ and scoffed at the thought of paying that many skill points for a slight bump in Chroniton Projectile Damage, knows the skill tree needs a lot of work. But that's us, the players. The devs may just think it's all peachy keen. Or not know how to fix it since the folks that originally helped make it, are off working on Champions, Neverwinter, or some other company entirely.
I could be wrong though. I just don't want to think that it's the alternative ... the alternative being, they know it's the way it is, they made it that way on purpose and they willfully refuse to even bother to address the issues because somehow people over at Cryptic HQ think this setup is actually worthwhile and working. That would be cause for concern.
1. No log-catcher option to save role-play stories rp'ed with friends. Some people enjoy creating fan fic from their adventures. Not having this is lame. All we need is a code to be able to grab a log, something like LOGCATCHER=1 for ON and 0 for OFF. Store the log in the folder on the drive where the game is in a CHATLOG folder. That would be really nice.
2. Clothing, uniforms, other props, should be INVENTORY ITEMS. And the ability to store inventory should go WAY UP! A starship is huge, and it should be able to carry a lot of gear. Every other game on the planet that is worth its salt has real inventory for gear and clothing. And if you buy something, you should be able to store it and re-equip it later, instead of repurchasing it.
3. How about a text box like a comic book bubble for dialogue above a character's head instead of the pop up windows?
4. If you have unlocked the TOS interior set and a Constitution Class ship, how about letting your character add that upon requisitioning the ship? How about automatically matching the ship interior to the exterior by default, but letting the player customize a change if that is their preference? It's all eye-candy anyhow, but it is more logical to have the exterior and interior match up based on the ship you have, if you have already unlocked the bridge interior, at least.
5. Purchasing extra slots on a per-character basis instead of a per-acct basis -IS- Lame. But if the stuff was inventory item, then guess what? It wouldn't be an issue anymore. Except officer slots. And officers should do their job and be assigned to different areas. If you want a Doctor on the ship, you should have them in sickbay. Even better, you should be able to interact with the characters on the ship. That is SORELY lacking in making this feel like Star Trek. Trek is about people, not hardware. This game is the opposite.
6. Ship customization is weak. I want hard points at different secions of the ship that can be fit to odd-numbered nacelles, etc. Cosmetic only, but there are a lot of ship classes out there that we can't even fake that would be fun to be able to make for this game.
And if you buy something, you should be able to store it and re-equip it later, instead of repurchasing it.
I'm not sure I follow this. Could you give an example? I thought you could re-equip stuff you buy later? But I think I'm just not reading what you wrote properly.
I really like your idea for a log storage mechanic. Would make playing this game a lot more fun.
I'm not sure I follow this. Could you give an example? I thought you could re-equip stuff you buy later? But I think I'm just not reading what you wrote properly.
What I refer to, is when you create a uniform, then you change it, you have to then change it back and pay for it each time. In-game credits or whatever, but how hard is it really to have a drawer in your quarters where you keep a few uniforms? LOL
What I refer to, is when you create a uniform, then you change it, you have to then change it back and pay for it each time. In-game credits or whatever, but how hard is it really to have a drawer in your quarters where you keep a few uniforms? LOL
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. Now I get it. Ok. Thanks for explaining. Makes perfect sense to me now.
What I refer to, is when you create a uniform, then you change it, you have to then change it back and pay for it each time. In-game credits or whatever, but how hard is it really to have a drawer in your quarters where you keep a few uniforms? LOL
You make an excellent point. Unfortunately, I remember recently hearing on a podcast or reading somewhere on these forums Cryptic is exploring more money sinks in the game, not less.
I just had a splendid idea. What if the cost of things was tiered and tied to your level. The higher you increase in rank, the more stuff costs, sort of like how it is with respecing.
1. Special Task Force Missions- Now don't get me wrong these missions are of a good concept but the later ones are so bugged and difficult for the casual players to complete. Khitomer Accord is a notable example of too tough, while Terradome being a big mess in the big department. I would suggest a redesign of KA and fixing the bugs in Terradome.
2. Lack of end content and story- The story of this game is notable for trying to be after TNG era Star Trek It gives us that but it has some notable plotholes that are regretable. This also makes the feeling while grinding of no point in it when you consider that there is nothing but PvP and broken STF missions, the foundry is not a suitable aid in this department.
3. GM support- This is perhaps the biggest flaw of the game, the support is not nearly as efficent as blizzard. Also their indifference to the fact that not many people can finish the STF mission chain, glitches in common missions.
4. So little add ons during a Season Launch- I realize there is a lot to fix here in the game but they need a positive bonus to add new content that isn't one mission chain. We need more than that.
5. Too much PvP- World of Warcraft being a comparison this game could ease back on it and add some better semblence of true Fleet action such as a big arena for large groups of players to fight each other.
1) Soundtrack
2) Facebook sync support dropped
3) Lack of full Sol system & planet beam down points (Earth, mars, moon etc)
4) The fact that you can't walk by and see/assist someone else in battle, as you can in WoW
5) The fact that the game is not one big server/universe
After looking over all of the OPs list, I realized that none of those things disappointed me because I'm a pessimist and I've played Cryptic games before and had no expectation of any of those things going in. So mine are as follows:
1.) Underused existing mechanics:
I only became disappointed in end game content after I saw the Crystalline Entity, a fully fleshed out 20-40 man raid boss already in the game... without a loot table or any way to put a 20-40 man team together to raid him. Talk about missed opportunities. That thing still floats around Alpha Centauri screaming "I could instantaneously make WoW quality raid content, but instead I'ma troll Lieutenant Commanders LOLOLOLOLOLO"
2.) Space isn't big
The changes to sector space went LIGHT YEARS toward fixing this, but it still upsets me that I can't be flying around deep space and receive a distress call from a fleetmate who just detected a borg cube on long range sensors on an intercept course and I'm the only one in range to respond in time and save them... or, you know, give them the comfort of not dying alone. Which brings me to my next point:
3.) Borg are too easy
Presumably they're working on this. But C'mon, did anyone in Cryptic SEE Best of Both Worlds or First Contact? 1 cube is a match for 30 ships easily. In STO 1 cube is a match for 30 people with hand phasers MAYBE. Yes I know Voyager beat the borg a lot, but they always did some serious cheating with every engagement. I distinctly remember them getting pwned by a single sphere a couple of times when it was a fair fight (only to have Seven or Echeb save the day with some technobable of course).
1. Not being able to buy any ship because a certain ship (Model/Tier) doesnt scale up with slots, functionality and Bridge officer stations, Hull, shield everything, as you rank up.
Thus being limited to flying one and the same ship all over again.
2. Not enough ship modfication, lack of extra parts, hull plating, coloring (Nacelle color or Deflector color), lack of alot of different types or materials.
3. Not being able to do stuff on the bridge and no actual engine for both 'Sector space' view and Bridge mode view all in one.
4. Not one big universe where you would have to travel alot more distance then you would do now. Its virtually a big 3D map. (Would like to see 'System' space and 'Sector space' all-in-one.
-- Dont get me wrong, they already made big improvements on the 'sector' space in the past, but it still doesnt feel like a big space to me, rather a big map.
5. Missing full 360 ship rotation which somtimes annoys me with keeping my 45 arc. Also missing banking and stuff...
As long as this is constructive criticism I think it's important to tell Cryptic where we want to see the game to improve, so:
1) KDF Content. I'm really hoping to see the KDF fleshed out in Season 5, in fact I'm hoping that Season 5 will be mostly dedicated to our beloved Klingons. They need to be brought up to speed with the Federation to be a fully fleshed out faction. To be clear this means that a lot of PvE missions unique to the KDF need to be created. Retelling some of the best Fed missions from the KDF perspective is a great start, but not enough on it's own. I realize that this is risky since only a small percentage of players currently roll a KDF toon. Nevertheless, this is a chicken and egg problem and Cryptic needs to step up to solve it. Make it a celebration! "We're going to finally do right by the Klingons and you WILL want to experience all the great stuff we've made for them!" Oh and they need to be playable for new users from the very start.
2) Fleet support. This is my second hope for Season 5 (or Season 6). Right now joining a fleet doesn't really change the game much. There aren't a whole lot of options in the game to really spend time with your fleet members, and do things in the game together feels about the same as working with any random team-up. We need to have fleet based events, space stations, and contests to make being part of a fleet have more meaning that it does now.
3) Endgame Content. I've taken my time playing STO simply because I know that there really isn't much to do when you hit the maximum level. Now to be fair, the regular release of Featured episodes and the Foundry, help out here. Still when you reach the level cap you want to feel like there's still a lot for you to accomplish - accomplishments that only your high level and game experience make possible. The STF's are great, but there are only a few of them, and they are all focused on the Borg. We need both greater variety, and a greater number of STF's, and possibly other options as well for our VA toons to tackle. STO is my first MMORPG, and I love it, but when talking to friends who have spent years playing WOW, they say that hitting the level cap is just the beginning, not the end. I'd like to be able to say the same thing about STO. I know that Cryptic has been busy addressing other areas of the game, and has added a lot of great stuff. Please show the endgame some love as you continue to move forward. Eventually we could have a large collection of endgame content if Cryptic just keeps plugging away at it.
4) Unsatisfying exploration. Star Trek is fundamentally about exploration. This part of the game feels very generic, and uninteresting. I know this is a real challenge from a development standpoint, but what I would love to see is exploration that is meaningful. I'd like to discover something challenging, surprising, dangerous, or just fascinating. That's what happens in most of the Star Trek episodes. It would be great if there was a feeling of satisfaction that came with exploration. Even better would be some sort of real long-term effect in the game world. Perhaps a system that once charted is available to visit again and again, with new missions that periodically become available. That would make me care about the world and it's people. I realize that there are only so many resources at Cryptic to create missions. I suggest to supplement this, Cryptic make a section of the foundry that is dedicated to exploration themed missions. These could be vetted, and when found suitable, could be added to a queue of random missions to pull from when exploring. Not only would this save Cryptic resources, it would be a wonderful way to promote the best work of foundry authors. The Star Trek community is brimming with creativity - why not use that for the good of all STO players?
5) BOFF & ship interior missions. Next to exploration, Star Trek is about people and relationships. The Enterprise, is always defined by it's crew, especially the bridge crew. I love that I can create my own character and see him/her develop and grow into a capable leader. It allows my imagination to run wild, and I imbue him/her with the qualities and back story that I feel is appropriate for the character I'm creating in my head. This is all great, but the ST shows are not just about the captain of the ship. All the bridge officers play an important role. As it is, I can customize the appearance of my BOFFs, change their name, and give them a back story if I choose, but after that they are basically drones. (The upcoming addition of DOFFs and their relationship with BOFFs should help a little.) What is needed is to have some sense of connection to these people besides their appearance and abilities. Mass Effect 2 does an good job of this with missions specifically created to fill in the back story of the crew and bond them to you in loyalty. Something like this would do much to make me feel attached to my BOFFs and to have a sense for what makes my captain and bridge crew unique and compelling. Many of these missions could occur right on my ships interior, and could involve visiting an officer's quarters, playing a game of poker with them, etc. In fact missions that occur on my ship would again, be very much in following the Star Trek series. Missions like this would help me to feel like my ship is a living, breathing environment and to grow attached to it, just like we grow attached to the Enterprise.
Overall I love STO, and I love how hard Cryptic works on this title, and how openly they communicate and listen to their players. I hope that these suggestions for improving the game will be taken seriously, and give STO years of satisfied subscribers.
2. More Trek content. Trek is not about war everywhere and shoot em up, boyz. Trek is about exploring the unknown, diplomacy, etc. Starfleet is not the US armed forces - or any nowadays army - either.
3. Realistic combat/war: IF there is a war, make it feel like a war (open PVP zones with some territory control, e.g). More important: please get rid of Mirandas single-handedly destroying Negh'vars or B'rel BOP regularly shooting Typhoon class battleships. Introduce bigger ships slowly or even better, let the Tactical officer advice, that they have no chance against a foe like that, if one appears. And then make it so!
More open instances, but then spawn the NPC ships in a meaningful fleet formation. The main fleet formation seems to be "Slaughter of the Lambs".
Also: One ship wins vs Borg cubes? Laughable. Make them rare and then make them something that puts fear into the hearts of players! It could even be something like a big daily/weekly, where a borg cube is headed to system XYZ and players of both factions amass to hold it off within a certain timeframe. And all players should then get either a message ingame like: "The danger to colony XYZ has been adverted by the valiant efforts of ..." or "New recruits swell the ranks of the borg, as colony XYZ was assimilated, while our protectors failed."
4. A much bigger galaxy with true exploration missions. Basically the ideal would be: If I decide to go on a five year mission to explore space, that should be a definite possibility supported by fun content.
5. Skill system should change.
Split it into Space and Ground. Tiring to see space dolls that max out every skill available, but need help getting across the street, as they have no ground skills at all or ground combat machines that probably don't even have a license to fly a spaceship as they are considered spacedock security hazards. (Heard this is in the making, though...)
Have a close look at the skills themselves and make it much more transparent what each skill does!
_____
On a brighter note: I do see the game is improving. Not as rapidly as we wish for, but it does get better.
Last sidenote: Not every Federation ships needs the "I'm mean and bad" dark-n-edgy skins. It is not what you usually see in Star Trek. Also: Adjust ship seizes to be more realistical.
Comments
1) Missing Romulan Star Empire
2) Lack of Customization (Ships/Chars)
3) Per Char unlocks in C-Store (i used to be a supporter of the Store, until BO-slots and later the "premium" BO's came... now i don't buy new c-store tokens at all)
but looking at your examples, the line comes between our personal tastes. you think the Galaxy-X is an ugly version of the Galaxy, while I personally find that it grew on me, though it does look a little odd
To me, in the end, it's only a matter of our personal tastes... I like most of them, because i think they're cool... and you don't like most of them, because they're unnecessary or just odd to you
I guess i'm not sure what i'm trying to say... but I do respect your opinions, even as i have my own
EDIT: The newest dev diary's come out
2) respeccing - captain should be able to save atleast on secondary spec so we can switch on the fly when we swap ships.
3) devidian featured epsodes - were a little too much of a chore. started strong but as you go on meh.
4) Ship inaccuracies - negvar , k'tinga , defiants a little to big in relative terms.
5) more featured episodes overall this should really be the the driving pve force such an excellent story telling vehicle
BONUS ROUND
Top 5 compliments
1) Defiant-R - So so so good. Really brings the game to life very imersive flying this ship.
2) Featured episodes - there should really be more of these i would really recommend putting these out more often.
3) Nova + sabre for such low tier ships they really are fun to fly.
4) getting rid of astrometrics - bravo
5) Foundry - step in the right direction
SUPER EXTRA BONUS ROUND!
#1 WTF moment in sto
klingon tier 2 cruiser the K'tanco 0_o when the tier 2 cruiser was anounced this screamed to be filled with the D-5 a seriously cool canon ship from ENT . The K'tanco just misses the mark visually IMHO.
1. Ship issues:
A. model issues", Captn Logan's been workin hard, but he needs a crew. A lot of ships in this game have errors, look cheesy and need some serious lovin. As a Star Trek Fan, I love the ships. To see the state some of them are in, (Intrepid ect.), really ruins things for me.
Windows in the wrong place, misshapen saucers, odd grill like structures everywhere. A serious need for smoothing ect. ect. ect.
I mean look at this ship, http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j432/lancemikemack/roswellsaucer.jpg
this is a model that's been in the game for how long?! I paid real money for it in the C store!
This is what it's SUPPOSED to look like http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j432/lancemikemack/intrepid1.png
Not even close! I've been waiting PATIENTLY since season 3's release hoping to see it fixed.
Some work was started, then apparently stopped.....
There have been threads and threads asking for this to be fixed. I'm NOT the only one this is important to.
How many months have we gone without a weekly series? You couldn't spare Captn Logan for a few days to fix this already?
I like to look lovingly at my ship, as it cruises through space.
Now that sector space really looks like space, I'd like my ships to look as pretty and accurate as possible.
When they don't, it really takes a lot away from my enjoyment of the game. I'm sorry, I'm a Star Trek fan and the ships are beloved characters that need loving attention to detail, not just the slap dash job some have been clearly given.
B. Inaccurate Ship tiers . The Nova, The Akira, are modern ship designs that SHOULD have a higher tier equivalent. There is no logical reason why either of these ships shouldn't be available as T5 ships.
They are NOT the constitution class.
C.. There are NPC ships ingame that I would love to play, but can't. And they're everywere. As a hologram at the shipyard, the Typoon class cruising around Earth Space dock, as wrecks on just about every map ect.
I want to fly some of the original Perpetual ships that were designed by John Eaves and Doug Drexler BADLY.
But I see them dangle before my eyes, a shiny toy I can't play with NOT FUN. I know, I don't know jack about the complexities about getting these models as playable ships. But by my perspective, they are in the game, most of the work is done.
Some of your ship artists desperately need to take a page from these fella's books. A lot of Cryptic's ship designs just don't feel Trek. I really hate the pylons with holes in them. The bulky cluttered feel to them. It's just NOT TREK. Sleek and Elegant guys, that's the ticket, That's the ships we love. You've done some ships like the Nomad and the Excalibur, they are a step in the right direction.
If you ask me, getting John Eaves on your staff would give most of us nerdgasms! He's the man you need!
If HE HAD DESIGNED THE ENTERPRISE F............ oh boy I tingle!
2. Lack of character customization options. Caitain mane hair, My Vulcan, can't wear a visor. I've got reward bridge officers from Romulas, Borg, photonic and the Klingon faction I got through Diplomacy, that I can't even put in a crew uniform, or alter in anyway. Now why exactly is that? How am I gonna ruin someone else's enjoyment of the game by changing the look of MY BRIDGE OFFICERS no one but MYSELF will really ever see unless I invite them onto my ship? Being able to do things like this won't BREAK the game and it would make some of us happy. Now what's wrong with that?
3. Lack of Klingon content, This is not only NOT cool for those that love to play this faction, But it's holding up the faction I've been waiting for. The Romulans. And we have NO IDEA when this is issue is going to move forward, or even if it will. It's just dead.
4. Infinite space? I think not, It just feels so small, confined. I want to feel like I'm in something BIG. But at the same time, I want to be able to travel it quickly. I don't see why the quantum slip stream can't be adjusted so that I can get to where I want to go faster, so I can actually enjoy myself more. It's current cool down seem to me to be nothing more than a time sink.
5. The Foundry. We have the perfect tool, right in our hands to add more content to this game than anyone person could play. But you can't level your character up on them. You can't get emblems or merits, or diplomacy with them.
I don't see why someone at Cryptic can't be put in charge of looking at some of the better rated ones and adding xp, rewards ect. to the ones they deem worthy.
Put the most creative amongst us to work, (not literally put them on the payroll), but there are people who have forums rating these missions. Why not take the best, add xp, merits, rewards to them and add them to the game? (see # 3)
Having said all this, I REALLY like this game. I want to REALLY LOVE it!
I want beautiful looking ships, I want to play the Vesta, the Ambassador ect. ect.
I want to play a Romulan in a warbird too. I've waited a year already. I don't want to wait another !
I've bought a lifetime subscription and nearly everything in the c store.
I've spent MORE MONEY THAN I DARE TO TELL MY GIRL on this game.
I play nearly EVERY DAY for hours.
You've got my loyalty!
It's messy. Real Messy. It doesn't flow together well, and many people don't spread their points around in a manner that would truly benefit them in very many ways. It's so messy in fact that much of it is still very much at debate in the forums. It was poorly planned and poorly implemented (my apologies to the designer). It takes some time to understand the meaning behind each point and skill you invest (i.e. high learning curve) and thus, it is very easy to accidentally waste points, especially for the new player. Some of this is caused by the original intent of the current tree. At one time, they had intended the skill tree to be a constantly evolving entity. It was intended at one point for there to be no skill point cap, and that new skills would be added to the tree frequently to keep you spending (similar concept to EVE), but this changed somewhere along the way, and the skill tree didn't receive any update or change to reflect this. It's still ugly and un-intuitive. Splitting skill points between space and ground combat will go some of the way to making this better, but I believe the whole tree needs a redesign; from the way the tree explains what it's doing to you, down to the way it looks and functions fundamentally.
2) Progression
We all know that Lower Level Characters in games have less knowledge at their finger tips and thus, less abilities to apply in battle; but it is my firm belief that low level play in STO isn't anywhere near as fun as higher levels. The biggest part of this problem is that you go for long stretches of time without gaining any new powers. You gain access to something new every 5 levels. You don't gain access to your first power until around level 3 (and it's a ground power), and then don't see anything new until 8, then you have to wait another three levels to see a new ship. IMO you should see something fresh and new every time you level. You need to feel that you're getting stronger, and you just don't see that. If I have to spend 10 levels in the same ship without access to a new weapon slot, if I can't make my ship feel more powerful except only once every 5 levels (one space ability, and then a ship replacement), then another method should be established to make me feel like my character is learning as she levels up. That's what "Experience" stands for after all, doesn't it? Learning. We need more of it. A new ability probably for every other level might help this out some. IN fact, I'm going to take a page from my next suggestion and say that there should be many abilities available to the character, but only a set number of slots with which to 'equip' them.
3) Ground Kits
So... let me get this straight. I can customize my BOFF ground abilities with whatever I want them to have, but my ground abilities are completely tied to what kit I have equipped? It's kind of frustrating that my Pets are more customizable than I am. Wouldn't it be more fun if, say, as a Science Officer, I could choose one or two healing abilities, and then choose a control and debuff ability for the other two slots? A "Custom Kit" should exist where I'm allowed to choose my own ground skills, and given a title based on whatever combination I come up with. Better yet, I'll even go so far as to say that Kit's in General should be eliminated from the game and all starship captains are given the ability to choose what skills he or she has access to on the ground. In order to further differentiate you from your BoFFs, your power pool should have different powers attached to it, and you should be given access to a new power every other level or so. The idea behind this has been explored before by games like Guild Wars. Basically you have access to a lot of abilities at one time, but you only have 4 or 5 slots to fill. (1 at Lt, 2 at Lt. C, 3 at Com and 4 by Capt... Possibly a 5th at VA depending on various things) The game becomes more tactical without ever changing the pacing of it. If coupled with my last suggestion you learn something new every time you level up. Couple it with my first, and when you redo the skill tree, you can probably find a way to tie everything together in a way that cleans up the UI and makes the skill tree a more fun experience.
4) Tutorial
It should be noted before you read further, the tutorial is getting a huge overhaul, and some of the things I mention here will be addressed when that happens, so hopefully this whole point will be null and void when that update hits, though I am aware that this has been delayed some. That said, the current tutorial gives you the bare basics without any choice. Now that there are three ships available at T1, an escort, a cruiser, and a science ship, I feel you should be given a choice upfront at character creation or perhaps when you are given command of your own ship as to which ship you are going to eventually take control of. Concerning this, to keep things civil, the Console that comes with the Oberth class, and the Grappling hook that comes with the NX should remain C-Store exclusive. I also feel that the NX should come equipped with heavy cannons, but that's another subject. I'm even more frustrated that I can't skip the tutorial or turn off the little orange pop-ups that hold my hand every step of the way until around Lt. 5
5) Ground Armor
To clarify, I have no problem with it's functionality. On the other hand, It is an art asset that is rarely used. If you run through ESD during prime time you'll see what I mean. Most people turn the graphics off. On the other hand, Kit graphics are usually left on. So yes, this is kind of a tie in with suggestion three. Here's the deal. Armor Graphics impede the players creativity a little bit. It covers up all that wonderful customization that the player may have spent a ton of time getting Juuuuuuust right. Kit's graphics on the other hand, supplement the players tailor options. You can see the players customization while still giving him a visual progression. If you do away with the kits all together and replace that system, the kit graphics have no where to go, and that would be a shame because they DO get used. So do away with the current armor graphics (since so few people use them anyway. Not many people like to cover up all the time they spent at the tailor) and replace them with the kit graphics or something similar. I spent an hour making my character looking Just So. I want to see that. I'm not opposed to graphical progression so long as it doesn't cover up my customization efforts, otherwise the time and credits I spent at the Tailor were wasted, and people don't much like wasting either of those resources, especially during 'fun time'.
Anyway..here goes:
1: Engdame
Yeah, I got two toons to VA, now just grinding about doing random mishes for Emblems. It gets boring very quick...even mixing up the Emblem missions still isn't enough.
2: Same old
When you roll a new char, expect the same missions arcs. They should rig it so each class has a unique missions setup for them. Tactical: Self Explanitory..go blow stuff up. Engineer: Repair this, help a colony there..and yes, some combat. And Science: Again, some combat missions...but redo the exploration stuff for story arcs for the char to get better. Heck..look at COH and others...playing a new archtype focused around the origins and you get different setups.
3: KDF
I love the KDF, but I'm not a good PVPer and seeing the Klingon Lore out there, their storylines, I'd enjoy heavily.
4: Feature Eps
More of these...now. This I command.
5: Fleet based stuff.
My fleet's small, just me and some close friends and all our alts. But, there should be stuff for fleets to do, events, special bonuses based around how many you have in your fleet. Even some basic missions for a fleet for special loots. And yes, a Starbase. Exchange, Crafting, you name it. It'd make things more social for a fleet.
@VengefulDjinn
I do 100% agree with you and i think that a big part of the player base does too.
Live long and prosper.
2) Content
3) End Game Content
4) PvP
5) Ship Customisation
1) The borg are SUPER WEAK !!! Like a fly against a wiindshield, in an escort you can do a fly by and splatter them down one by one.
2) Yeah, thats all i got so far.....
2. No real star trek style crafting function in game. Just a gimmic crafting to which everyone end result is the same
3. No real exploration and diplomatic function in the game. I do not see any real star trek function for this segment. just endless missions with no direct interaction with the worlds you explore.
4. No choices in sto for making decisions at your current rank. Also alot of content text and missions do not make since with the rank you are at. its just all thrown together with no thought in mind.
example" a NPC captain rank giving authority to an vice admiral rank toon to take action. This is not done in star trek or real world scenario.
5. C-store has become the petaQ of STO. Every new item we ask for or wish to see in the game now comes with a price, yet cryptic is always silent about this until it comes time to release such items. This is the only space mmo game i know of which charges its customers on top of the subscription to fly new ships/shuttles
Exactly my point.
True until just this week. Eve Online have introduced a micro transaction store.
But as of now, the only things in it are skirts and shirts and pants and shoes. You can't buy a Nightmare from it. You can't buy ANYTHING with any gameplay effect whatsoever. So it's the same as the person you quoted was lamenting.
My beefs:
1) The KDF morass. The part that annoys me isn't the fact that the KDF shipped in half-*** condition. What bothers me is the fact that the faction hasn't been significantly improved SINCE then. Usually, most developers who ship half an MMO work to create/supply the other half as a priority. Heck, Age of Conan shipped with basically their tutorial and little to nothing else. But it didn't take them 18 months to actually add the rest of the content (such as it is).
2) Armor/kit graphics. Most games make your armor look BETTER as you level/rank up. Not here though. To me, if I'm not wearing Polyalloy Weave, there's no sense in even turning on the visuals. And if my away team is wearing Integrated Targeting, I definitely don't want to turn visuals on for them. Kit graphics can be similar. While my tac character looks like a gunslinger with her kit showing, my engineer looks like a burro walking along the Rio Grande.
3) Bridges and ship interiors. I'm still disappointed that bridges (especially C-Store exclusives) still don't have the ability to adapt to the number of bridge officers I have. There are tons of empty consoles and spaces on my bridge and I have enough BOs to fill them but....
4) Lacking and sometimes downright wrong documentation/information and/or broken/useless abilities. When players have to tell you that the tooltips in your game (presumably written by people who KNOW the game since they're making a living from it) are wrong, that's a wee bit of a problem. Also, if one-sixth of a tier of skills is considered "useless" or not worth investing in (hello Maintenance), some red flags should go up somewhere.
5) Lack of commensurate rewards from the Foundry. Yes yes, I know why it was done but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
1 - The look of armour and ground weapons. From tier 1 - 10 it looks all the same.
2. - PVP games. The same thing over and over if your lucky enough to get enough players to play.
3. - Bunny hopping NPC's during a mission, annoy the hell out of me.
4. - The skill system could use a bit of tweaking, some skills seem a bit beyond me some days.
5. - TBA season 4.
Apart from that, Bloody good game which the developers seem to be happy to have a look at and change.
I've given some thought to some of that problem from time to time. And the development team can certainly feel free to correct me, but here's my hunch/guess ...
The game when it was in the development/pre-launch stage had a lot more people working on it. People who were brought in from their other game.
This is just a guess, but it's my guess that the skill tree was developed by people who are no longer with the company or no longer directly involved in STO (there's been a lot of turnover in their staff in the past year). So what you've got is people who are working on a system they didn't develop so they're partially unaware of the problems you've cited, and partially not versed enough in the original intent of the system to really correct it properly.
Whereas most of us players have been playing within the system the entire time. And know its problems and limitations. We just don't have the tools available to correct it.
Hence there's a disconnect. We look at that skill tree and go "How can this hole possibly still be there? Don't they know?" ... and they're looking at the skill tree and are thinking "Well, if it ain't broke ..." or something along those lines. Not knowing that yes, it is broke. And has been for a long time. Anyone who has leveled to 41+ and scoffed at the thought of paying that many skill points for a slight bump in Chroniton Projectile Damage, knows the skill tree needs a lot of work. But that's us, the players. The devs may just think it's all peachy keen. Or not know how to fix it since the folks that originally helped make it, are off working on Champions, Neverwinter, or some other company entirely.
I could be wrong though. I just don't want to think that it's the alternative ... the alternative being, they know it's the way it is, they made it that way on purpose and they willfully refuse to even bother to address the issues because somehow people over at Cryptic HQ think this setup is actually worthwhile and working. That would be cause for concern.
2. Tooltips
3. Tooltips
4. Tooltips
5. Tooltips
...Seriously. :mad:
2. Game content Didn't I scan these 5 rocks 3 day's ago?
3. Vice Admiral PVP is that a PVP or 20 PVE Ships with 100 fighters? can I get a PVP targeting system you mean my whole team is cloaked?
4. Fleets? They were suppose to have starbases right and be all bad fars Why am I joining with all the solo content?
5. End game material. When does the war end do we all get assimilated?
6. New game content like the Gamma quadrant? Tholan's, Delta quadrant.
7. Weekly episodes? I guess they got canceled its ok it happens to all the great shows Enterprise, STU, the original STO
8. :eek:The fact that I making my own adventures. Yes that right folks its Cryptic's mind control do are work for us!
9. Star Trek the CCG flopped as a mini game think of all that money buying virtual packs!
10.:rolleyes: And this is the greatest! (Where's Data! I thought he Captained the Enterprise? )
:cool:Thanks I be here all week
zevermoon
2. Clothing, uniforms, other props, should be INVENTORY ITEMS. And the ability to store inventory should go WAY UP! A starship is huge, and it should be able to carry a lot of gear. Every other game on the planet that is worth its salt has real inventory for gear and clothing. And if you buy something, you should be able to store it and re-equip it later, instead of repurchasing it.
3. How about a text box like a comic book bubble for dialogue above a character's head instead of the pop up windows?
4. If you have unlocked the TOS interior set and a Constitution Class ship, how about letting your character add that upon requisitioning the ship? How about automatically matching the ship interior to the exterior by default, but letting the player customize a change if that is their preference? It's all eye-candy anyhow, but it is more logical to have the exterior and interior match up based on the ship you have, if you have already unlocked the bridge interior, at least.
5. Purchasing extra slots on a per-character basis instead of a per-acct basis -IS- Lame. But if the stuff was inventory item, then guess what? It wouldn't be an issue anymore. Except officer slots. And officers should do their job and be assigned to different areas. If you want a Doctor on the ship, you should have them in sickbay. Even better, you should be able to interact with the characters on the ship. That is SORELY lacking in making this feel like Star Trek. Trek is about people, not hardware. This game is the opposite.
6. Ship customization is weak. I want hard points at different secions of the ship that can be fit to odd-numbered nacelles, etc. Cosmetic only, but there are a lot of ship classes out there that we can't even fake that would be fun to be able to make for this game.
I'm not sure I follow this. Could you give an example? I thought you could re-equip stuff you buy later? But I think I'm just not reading what you wrote properly.
What I refer to, is when you create a uniform, then you change it, you have to then change it back and pay for it each time. In-game credits or whatever, but how hard is it really to have a drawer in your quarters where you keep a few uniforms? LOL
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. Now I get it. Ok. Thanks for explaining. Makes perfect sense to me now.
You make an excellent point. Unfortunately, I remember recently hearing on a podcast or reading somewhere on these forums Cryptic is exploring more money sinks in the game, not less.
1. Special Task Force Missions- Now don't get me wrong these missions are of a good concept but the later ones are so bugged and difficult for the casual players to complete. Khitomer Accord is a notable example of too tough, while Terradome being a big mess in the big department. I would suggest a redesign of KA and fixing the bugs in Terradome.
2. Lack of end content and story- The story of this game is notable for trying to be after TNG era Star Trek It gives us that but it has some notable plotholes that are regretable. This also makes the feeling while grinding of no point in it when you consider that there is nothing but PvP and broken STF missions, the foundry is not a suitable aid in this department.
3. GM support- This is perhaps the biggest flaw of the game, the support is not nearly as efficent as blizzard. Also their indifference to the fact that not many people can finish the STF mission chain, glitches in common missions.
4. So little add ons during a Season Launch- I realize there is a lot to fix here in the game but they need a positive bonus to add new content that isn't one mission chain. We need more than that.
5. Too much PvP- World of Warcraft being a comparison this game could ease back on it and add some better semblence of true Fleet action such as a big arena for large groups of players to fight each other.
2) Facebook sync support dropped
3) Lack of full Sol system & planet beam down points (Earth, mars, moon etc)
4) The fact that you can't walk by and see/assist someone else in battle, as you can in WoW
5) The fact that the game is not one big server/universe
1.) Underused existing mechanics:
I only became disappointed in end game content after I saw the Crystalline Entity, a fully fleshed out 20-40 man raid boss already in the game... without a loot table or any way to put a 20-40 man team together to raid him. Talk about missed opportunities. That thing still floats around Alpha Centauri screaming "I could instantaneously make WoW quality raid content, but instead I'ma troll Lieutenant Commanders LOLOLOLOLOLO"
2.) Space isn't big
The changes to sector space went LIGHT YEARS toward fixing this, but it still upsets me that I can't be flying around deep space and receive a distress call from a fleetmate who just detected a borg cube on long range sensors on an intercept course and I'm the only one in range to respond in time and save them... or, you know, give them the comfort of not dying alone. Which brings me to my next point:
3.) Borg are too easy
Presumably they're working on this. But C'mon, did anyone in Cryptic SEE Best of Both Worlds or First Contact? 1 cube is a match for 30 ships easily. In STO 1 cube is a match for 30 people with hand phasers MAYBE. Yes I know Voyager beat the borg a lot, but they always did some serious cheating with every engagement. I distinctly remember them getting pwned by a single sphere a couple of times when it was a fair fight (only to have Seven or Echeb save the day with some technobable of course).
Thus being limited to flying one and the same ship all over again.
2. Not enough ship modfication, lack of extra parts, hull plating, coloring (Nacelle color or Deflector color), lack of alot of different types or materials.
3. Not being able to do stuff on the bridge and no actual engine for both 'Sector space' view and Bridge mode view all in one.
4. Not one big universe where you would have to travel alot more distance then you would do now. Its virtually a big 3D map. (Would like to see 'System' space and 'Sector space' all-in-one.
-- Dont get me wrong, they already made big improvements on the 'sector' space in the past, but it still doesnt feel like a big space to me, rather a big map.
5. Missing full 360 ship rotation which somtimes annoys me with keeping my 45 arc. Also missing banking and stuff...
6. All unbalanced things in this game (PvP?)
1) KDF Content. I'm really hoping to see the KDF fleshed out in Season 5, in fact I'm hoping that Season 5 will be mostly dedicated to our beloved Klingons. They need to be brought up to speed with the Federation to be a fully fleshed out faction. To be clear this means that a lot of PvE missions unique to the KDF need to be created. Retelling some of the best Fed missions from the KDF perspective is a great start, but not enough on it's own. I realize that this is risky since only a small percentage of players currently roll a KDF toon. Nevertheless, this is a chicken and egg problem and Cryptic needs to step up to solve it. Make it a celebration! "We're going to finally do right by the Klingons and you WILL want to experience all the great stuff we've made for them!" Oh and they need to be playable for new users from the very start.
2) Fleet support. This is my second hope for Season 5 (or Season 6). Right now joining a fleet doesn't really change the game much. There aren't a whole lot of options in the game to really spend time with your fleet members, and do things in the game together feels about the same as working with any random team-up. We need to have fleet based events, space stations, and contests to make being part of a fleet have more meaning that it does now.
3) Endgame Content. I've taken my time playing STO simply because I know that there really isn't much to do when you hit the maximum level. Now to be fair, the regular release of Featured episodes and the Foundry, help out here. Still when you reach the level cap you want to feel like there's still a lot for you to accomplish - accomplishments that only your high level and game experience make possible. The STF's are great, but there are only a few of them, and they are all focused on the Borg. We need both greater variety, and a greater number of STF's, and possibly other options as well for our VA toons to tackle. STO is my first MMORPG, and I love it, but when talking to friends who have spent years playing WOW, they say that hitting the level cap is just the beginning, not the end. I'd like to be able to say the same thing about STO. I know that Cryptic has been busy addressing other areas of the game, and has added a lot of great stuff. Please show the endgame some love as you continue to move forward. Eventually we could have a large collection of endgame content if Cryptic just keeps plugging away at it.
4) Unsatisfying exploration. Star Trek is fundamentally about exploration. This part of the game feels very generic, and uninteresting. I know this is a real challenge from a development standpoint, but what I would love to see is exploration that is meaningful. I'd like to discover something challenging, surprising, dangerous, or just fascinating. That's what happens in most of the Star Trek episodes. It would be great if there was a feeling of satisfaction that came with exploration. Even better would be some sort of real long-term effect in the game world. Perhaps a system that once charted is available to visit again and again, with new missions that periodically become available. That would make me care about the world and it's people. I realize that there are only so many resources at Cryptic to create missions. I suggest to supplement this, Cryptic make a section of the foundry that is dedicated to exploration themed missions. These could be vetted, and when found suitable, could be added to a queue of random missions to pull from when exploring. Not only would this save Cryptic resources, it would be a wonderful way to promote the best work of foundry authors. The Star Trek community is brimming with creativity - why not use that for the good of all STO players?
5) BOFF & ship interior missions. Next to exploration, Star Trek is about people and relationships. The Enterprise, is always defined by it's crew, especially the bridge crew. I love that I can create my own character and see him/her develop and grow into a capable leader. It allows my imagination to run wild, and I imbue him/her with the qualities and back story that I feel is appropriate for the character I'm creating in my head. This is all great, but the ST shows are not just about the captain of the ship. All the bridge officers play an important role. As it is, I can customize the appearance of my BOFFs, change their name, and give them a back story if I choose, but after that they are basically drones. (The upcoming addition of DOFFs and their relationship with BOFFs should help a little.) What is needed is to have some sense of connection to these people besides their appearance and abilities. Mass Effect 2 does an good job of this with missions specifically created to fill in the back story of the crew and bond them to you in loyalty. Something like this would do much to make me feel attached to my BOFFs and to have a sense for what makes my captain and bridge crew unique and compelling. Many of these missions could occur right on my ships interior, and could involve visiting an officer's quarters, playing a game of poker with them, etc. In fact missions that occur on my ship would again, be very much in following the Star Trek series. Missions like this would help me to feel like my ship is a living, breathing environment and to grow attached to it, just like we grow attached to the Enterprise.
Overall I love STO, and I love how hard Cryptic works on this title, and how openly they communicate and listen to their players. I hope that these suggestions for improving the game will be taken seriously, and give STO years of satisfied subscribers.
2. More Trek content. Trek is not about war everywhere and shoot em up, boyz. Trek is about exploring the unknown, diplomacy, etc. Starfleet is not the US armed forces - or any nowadays army - either.
3. Realistic combat/war: IF there is a war, make it feel like a war (open PVP zones with some territory control, e.g). More important: please get rid of Mirandas single-handedly destroying Negh'vars or B'rel BOP regularly shooting Typhoon class battleships. Introduce bigger ships slowly or even better, let the Tactical officer advice, that they have no chance against a foe like that, if one appears. And then make it so!
More open instances, but then spawn the NPC ships in a meaningful fleet formation. The main fleet formation seems to be "Slaughter of the Lambs".
Also: One ship wins vs Borg cubes? Laughable. Make them rare and then make them something that puts fear into the hearts of players! It could even be something like a big daily/weekly, where a borg cube is headed to system XYZ and players of both factions amass to hold it off within a certain timeframe. And all players should then get either a message ingame like: "The danger to colony XYZ has been adverted by the valiant efforts of ..." or "New recruits swell the ranks of the borg, as colony XYZ was assimilated, while our protectors failed."
4. A much bigger galaxy with true exploration missions. Basically the ideal would be: If I decide to go on a five year mission to explore space, that should be a definite possibility supported by fun content.
5. Skill system should change.
Split it into Space and Ground. Tiring to see space dolls that max out every skill available, but need help getting across the street, as they have no ground skills at all or ground combat machines that probably don't even have a license to fly a spaceship as they are considered spacedock security hazards. (Heard this is in the making, though...)
Have a close look at the skills themselves and make it much more transparent what each skill does!
_____
On a brighter note: I do see the game is improving. Not as rapidly as we wish for, but it does get better.
Last sidenote: Not every Federation ships needs the "I'm mean and bad" dark-n-edgy skins. It is not what you usually see in Star Trek. Also: Adjust ship seizes to be more realistical.