test content
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc

My first mission, "The Second to Last Outpost" , is ready for review.

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
Well, my first mission is finally up and ready to be reviewed.

"The Second to Last Outpost"
Project ID: ST-HTY7R9LA2

In light of some people getting one-star reviews for their missions being "too long", I am kind of nervous.

The mission is approximately 2.5 hours in length if you take your time, read the dialog and not rush through it.

Please note that this is a story-driven mission with lots of dialog and information. When I say lots of dialog, I mean LOTS. There is also a ton of information both factual and fictional to add a bit of life to the story. There is a decent amount of combat, in my opinion.

And for the sake of your sanity, do not play it on "elite". It makes the ground parts a little "hairy". Do so at your own peril. ;)

I look forward to your comments and constructive criticisms.

Thank you in advance.

OldLordSkull
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    I have been informed that there is a bug in the mission that does not allow you to complete it. I am investigating and will republish soon.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Is this a Ferengi mission?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    No sir, it is not. Though, I can see where you got the idea from. ;) There are references to that episode in the mission, thus the title. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Republishing, hoping that the fixes take.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Two reviews so far. One was a five-star, the other was a two-star.

    The two-star one said the mission was "too technical, and too long". (Of course, in the mission description it tells you it will take about 2.5 hours to finish, and is highly story-driven.)

    Still, I appreciate the feedback, both good and bad.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    K, just finished it, took me a bit longer than 2.5 h though

    add the starting location to the mission info instead of only "Rendezvous with the ...."

    on Aox'Veo II, having the first enemy group to the left of your spawn point so close to the map's border made them disappear a few times into the void, therefore untargetable. Move them a few more meters in

    either the force fields in the cave are bugged or the spiders jump quite high, but you get overrun by them, and when trying to ignore you,they still managed to get me further down the caves. Maybe a bit too many of them spiders in general the caves ;)

    Add a respawn point outsude the portal's room, also, maybe tone it down a bit, too many talaron mines and medics, making the battle turn more to the annoying side after a while. Fun conclusion to the space battle however, would really like to see their faces when they realize what happened ^^
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Thank you for your feedback, sir!

    I can add that to the mission info. Thank you for pointing that out.

    I had no idea about that enemy group disappearing on AV2. I shall correct that.

    The spiders jump high! Oh, and there is a very nasty surprise if you get too close to that pen, the fields drop. ;) I can probably reduce the number. :)

    A respawn outside the portal room is a good idea. Also, I'll investigate the enemies that spawn to check the group makeup to get rid of those troublesome infinite heal medics.

    I'm glad you liked the final battle. :)

    Again, I appreciate your review and pointing out some things for me to look at! :)

    Thank you!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    It's a very good, very detailed mission. I enjoyed it a lot, but it could have been put out as a two parter IMO. The combat was well paced for the most part.. I played on advanced and it went well. The ground encounters were placed well with good sized groups and the space battles were well done. I could have done without the trip to ESD to start and finish, that could have been contact pop-ups, all I did was talk to an aide. I also could have done without the backtracking to fix things in the complex, he reads my mind, he could have had me fix stuff on the way in. I LOVED that you made the display work -- the star database and positioning on the map. I didn't notice it right away, I caught the light and centered it and then realized what you had done. Great use of the tools. There was some other nice effects use as well, all executed nicely.

    Great work overall despite the things I didn't like.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    Thank you for your review, CapnBludd!

    I have been told by a couple of people now that I could have split that into a two-parter. Perhaps next mission I won't make it so "epic sized". :) It is a haul to get through, I concur. :)

    Good point on the trips to ESD. I'll look into changing that in the next version.

    You're the second person to mention the backtracking in the outpost complex. I'll have to see if I can wrangle something...I pushed that map to the limits, and actually had to pare it down, as it wouldn't let me add any other objectives or details. :)

    I think you are the first person to catch the graphics on that display. :) Thank you! I am glad you liked that!

    Thank you for the comments and constructive criticisms, sir! I truly appreciate it!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2011
    I've read on the forums that missions being published after the latest patch are now breaking. Can anyone confirm this?

    I don't want to update my mission with the tweaks I've made only to have it break when it hits Holodeck.

    Furthermore, I'd like to thank the people that reviewed the mission and allowed it to be pushed to the general public. I truly appreciate it!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2011
    Thank you for the reviews! Please keep them coming!

    I will have to wait until that Foundry publishing bug is fixed before making any updates, as I do not want to break the mission for anyone looking to play it!

    So, if you have 2.5 hours you can spare, please give the mission a go. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited May 2011
    Version 1.2 now published.
    • Fixed several grammatical errors
    • Removed need to start and end at ESD for mission completion
    • Added a respawn point near the final ground battle
    • Reduced the number of Talarian Hook Spiders (but not by much)

    To do list:
    • Add "living" dialog to some ground inhabitants
    • Edit extra dialog to be "optional" reading

    Thank you for the reviews thus far! Please keep them coming. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2011
    I'd like to thank the gang at PodcastUGC for reviewing my mission on their show last night!

    Havraha and NemesisChiken gave 5 and 4 stars respectively. Altexist, I hope you replay it so you can finish the end...you were so close to the conclusion! I also look forward to Terry's review when she feels better.

    Thank you again for the review, the complements and the criticisms!

    I look forward to learning from the authoring of my first mission and attempt to bring more quality missions to the Foundry. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2011
    Up to 52 reviews now. Not bad for a mission that takes the better part of three hours when you read all the dialog!

    If you've played it and reviewed it, thank you!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2011
    A huge "thank you" for the gang over at PodcastUGC for selecting The Second To Last Outpost as one of their June Spotlight winners!

    I've learned a lot creating this mission, and I hope my next mission will be even better!

    Thanks again! :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2011
    I'm happy to say this completely deserved my 5 star rating. The attention to detail is amazing, and there is a great wealth of information to sink yourself into - should you wish to.

    I particular applaud you for the referencing to ST Canon, like Rasmussen and the Tkon, and even Kahn in DS9. It really helps to create links for a strong story. its a good foundation to build upon. Espeically, little things like '47.23%' ^^

    I found the pace quite good, and the dialogue especially good.

    I commend you on keeping the 'captain' aboard the ship while the crew transports to the romulan warbird etc. Again, it adds to the realism imo

    It IS long, but you alluded to that point and I having set aside the time, I really enjoyed playing this. I hope you continue to make such wonderful additions to the game, and to the foundry community as a whole.

    Thank you.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2011
    Wow!

    Thank you very much, Nynik! I am very glad that you enjoyed the mission! It was a labor of love to create...and stacks of notes to go through while writing it!

    I will definitely apply what I've learned in the next mission that I create!

    Thank you again!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    Temporarily withdrawn to repair map transitions that were broke, and to recheck all of my dialog.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    It appears that more than just map transitions and dialog were borked. Withdrawn until further notice. :(
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    Okay, after several hours of fixing map transitions, triggers, and dialog...I am done.

    I've tested the maps and triggers, and everything seems good.

    The Second to Last Outpost is republished.

    If you play my mission, please drop me a line here or in game if something else is broke so I can fix it. Giving me one star because of something that was broken with the Season 4 update is not fair...give me the chance to fix it please!

    I hope the Foundry updates never break our missions again, fellow authors! :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    Played through the mission this morning and it was great fun. The last ground fight is a tad difficult, fortunately the spawn point is close and they don't reset.

    Excellent story and I actually really appreciated a long mission. Though Portal could have been a little nicer to my science officer. It's not her fault she just graduated the academy. lol. I hope you keep making missions, this is probably the most fun I've actually had playing STO.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    Wow! Thank you very much, jer5488!

    Yeah, the Portal is a bit snippy, isn't he? ;) Tell your Science Officer I'll buy her a glass of Chateau Picard the next time I'm at DS9! :)

    I'm very pleased to hear that you enjoyed the mission! It was definitely a labor of love. Your enjoyment of my work makes it all worthwhile...and I most definitely will continue making more missions. :)

    Thank you once again for the kind words!

    Cheers!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    Had a whole bunch of reviews over the last two days!

    Thank you all who have played it, enjoyed it and given me feedback!

    I may edit a thing or two yet...but for now I am currently working on my next mission. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    Withdrawn again.

    There seems to be something buggy with Foundry missions now, where maps are crashing.

    So, to save myself from getting "Your mission is broke, 1-star" reviews, I have temporarily withdrawn the mission until the problem is resolved by Cryptic.

    I will post once it is live again.

    Thank you!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    For everyone who has asked me via e-mail or messaging:

    Yes, the mission is still withdrawn for now.

    The Foundry has been turned back on as of today, Aug. 19th, but I want to be sure that I don't start getting dinged with more one-star reviews if there is still something broken that is out of my hands.

    I will probably wait a day or two to see if anyone reports any troubles, then I will re-publish.

    Thank you for your interest in my mission!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    I'm not going to republish yet. Just trying to LOOK at a ground map in one of my missions crashed STO to the desktop. Ain't fixed yet.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    I'm not going to republish yet. Just trying to LOOK at a ground map in one of my missions crashed STO to the desktop. Ain't fixed yet.

    Oh, man! :(

    Sorry to hear that, brother! I am terrified to republish mine!

    I hope they fix it soon so you can get back in there and create!

    In the meantime, I am continuing to write out dialog branches for my next mission outside of the Foundry.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2011
    The mission has been republished.

    Please, if you see any of the problems that seem to be Foundry related, please drop me a line.

    Thank you.
Sign In or Register to comment.