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Lets get serious: a REAL solution to the Klingon PvE issue
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Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
We've all heard about it: Klingons lack a complete PvE leveling path. Unfortunately, the Devs cant address this in a timely manner; its not their fault, they simply dont have the resources. The best thing they can do is make faction neutral missions(Featuerd Episodes), but those have (so far) been far between and many feel they do not really "feel" like Klingon missions.
There isnt any perfect solution to this issue; if there were, I'm sure the Devs would have already done it. But the best solution I have heard(let me emphasize this is not my idea) that is both realistically possible and can be done in a fairly reasonable amount of time is to make use of the community and the Foundry.
A few months ago Stormshade posted a thread asking what were people's favorite Foundry missions. The purpose of this thread was to pick missions for the community spotlight. I say make a new official thread asking people's favorite KDF missions and pick the best of them to actually add to the game as official KDF episodes.
Of course, certain rules will need to be in place; these mission cant use canon characters and cant contradict the existing story of the game. But I honestly think that if Cryptic actually does this the Klingon PvE issue can be resolved by the end of the year. There are some very talented mission authors out there, and in light of this ongoing problem it makes no sense to not to use that talent.
This solution would allow the Devs to continue with their "normal" development plans of improving the game as a whole without having to devote significant time to content that only 1 faction, which currently makes up the minority of the playerbase, can play.
Again; there is no perfect solution to this. But I think this is about the best all around thing that realistically can be done; and something really needs to be done to resolve this issue; both for the spirit of the community and if there is ever going to be any hope of additional factions being added one day.
There isnt any perfect solution to this issue; if there were, I'm sure the Devs would have already done it. But the best solution I have heard(let me emphasize this is not my idea) that is both realistically possible and can be done in a fairly reasonable amount of time is to make use of the community and the Foundry.
A few months ago Stormshade posted a thread asking what were people's favorite Foundry missions. The purpose of this thread was to pick missions for the community spotlight. I say make a new official thread asking people's favorite KDF missions and pick the best of them to actually add to the game as official KDF episodes.
Of course, certain rules will need to be in place; these mission cant use canon characters and cant contradict the existing story of the game. But I honestly think that if Cryptic actually does this the Klingon PvE issue can be resolved by the end of the year. There are some very talented mission authors out there, and in light of this ongoing problem it makes no sense to not to use that talent.
This solution would allow the Devs to continue with their "normal" development plans of improving the game as a whole without having to devote significant time to content that only 1 faction, which currently makes up the minority of the playerbase, can play.
Again; there is no perfect solution to this. But I think this is about the best all around thing that realistically can be done; and something really needs to be done to resolve this issue; both for the spirit of the community and if there is ever going to be any hope of additional factions being added one day.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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So while I can understand the criticism that the FE's are all fed slanted ... I desire just plain old missions so much that I'm willing to put up with it.
That said, more foundry interaction, such as what you suggest, is appreciated as well.
However, the Community spotlight idea could be modified to say those specific Foundry missions would receive standard XP and rewards, while still being Foundry missions.
Include a search filter for community spotlight missions and perhaps it will encourage other players to use the Foundry, even if just for those missions. This would at least give KDF players a PvE option for leveling.
Is there a specific reason for this that they have stated, rather than player speculation?
If they cant be official, this would certainly be the next best. As long as it solves the actual leveling problem with actual KDF content, then I support it
Cryptic should just have a foundry contest for KDF missions and the top 3 missions they pick out of the bunch get re-mastered and turned into real missions with real rewards.
Let the community do 1/2 of the work if they are so short on resources. The contest alone would generate a boost in general missions for the KDF and put them in the spotlight so folks who ignore them can play them.
Another idea I had to help boost the KDF population was to have one toon slot be KDF only that didn't count toward your quota of toon slots. So any new account got 3 neutral toon slots and 1 KDF only toon slot.
And then there is my idea for a KDF "bake sale" where a KDF Cstore item has all its funds put toward the development of a KDF specifc feature. We can have a target goal amount and if we raise that much Cryptic promises we get that feature developed.
- Governance:
- House Conflict:
- Personnel and Supply:
The FEDs got the First Contact missions and while they're a little staid, it'd be great to have micro-misisons for KDF that represent a narrower, but more rewarding hybrid between that and existing Exploration tech.Squash rebellions either through words or combat (plug a series of "concerns" into the same generator but ones that rely on species-specific lists, a KDF rebellion might be that they find themselves more suitable to lead a colony than Qo'nos while Gorn might reference their genocide.
Allow players to select a House then have various "House" conflicts: from marriages to assassinations to changes of leadership (might work better with the duty officer system)
Allow players to enter micro-missions as they come up: from timed transport protection/raid encounters to freeing prisoners to taking some of your own (maybe melee scenarios or ones with environmental hazards)
I discovered that they added a level-appropriate random item or badge last night.
Some of the subscriber quest are good enough to be made into holodeck quest. I say the sooner the better.
To me the Feature Episodes are good but they are Federation quest. It doesn't seem right playing them as my Nausicaan tactical.
When I was did the Defari quest, I got to the part where I was playing doctor. I felt like I should have stabbed them with my D'k tahg and did the heghtay, then gone trough his pockets. The Nausicaan interrogator or drink maker wasn't believable either.
Faction-neutral content would pile on fast to help take more of the sting out of KDF leveling, KDF-specific content would be churned out regularly. You'd get a new KDF episode every two months, by my estimate. Slow? Hell yes, it's slow. But it's better than the current situation by a long shot, and, at least to this layman, doesn't sound unreasonable.
To be honest, I thought that was the underlying purpose of the Foundry to begin with. What better way to improve the game and reward the players than to incorporate the best Foundry missions into the official game?
I'd be interested in knowing why Foundry missions can't be "live" content, as well.
Z
I just mentioned it because in the other thread somebody brought it up. One would think that if the mission were vetted and approved by the dev team that it would be all right. However, it also should no longer be editable by the author anymore once approved; that would leave the door open to abuse. At the very least, if an author changed one of these missions, it should revert to a standard Foundry mission.
From a licensing and legalities standpoint, I'd be willing to bet that keeping it a Foundry mission but making it a Community Spotlight mission with better rewards would be easier to do.
Some of the existing Foundry missions are as good as dev offering, especially since you can create binary endings.
Considering some 75% of the playerbase is Fed, I suspect that's the one thing preventing them from going full-bore KDF all the time. It's hard to be profitable if 75% of your install-base (less so, since many play both sides), doesn't see anything for months at a time.
Yeah, I get that. Thats why I'm saying make this idea happen already. Why they havent done this already instead of all the feet dragging is hard to even comprehend.
That's why there's a discussion: some want the costly, lengthy PvE episodes that I burned through one afternoon on Tribble.
Me? I'd be content with taking the best Foundry missions by players (Captain-revo's are pretty sweet) and repurposing them as KDF PvE progression. Reward the authors by splattering their name over the credits and giving sweet, unique loot as the mission reward.
The idea of making Foundry missions actual KDF episodes. Isnt that what this thread is about?
You're right. I misread the OP.
I thought it was just about offering ideas to solve the issue.
I'm guessing the same labor laws that prevent them from accepting player submitted ships or story ideas would prevent them from publishing it as their own live content.
This.
I don't know why Cryptic seems to be dragging its feet with its community spotlight concept. Unless it really is harder then just flaging a mission as "Spotlight" and add an XP reward along with a level appropriated item/mark pickup.
There are soo many very high quality missions now for both factions that it shouldn't even be a time concern of slogging through mission after mission to find one to spotlight. This could quickly bolster PvE options for both the Klingons and Federation very quickly but it just hasen't happened yet. I really think they dropped the ball on this one, at least the way its been handled so far.
I think so, but I actually think it would take a very similar amount of time.
Keep in mind that we make foundry missions using existing resources, and can do so relatively more quickly than what we would expect from Developers (i.e. making new assets for missions like the landed B'Rel in Doomsday).
Considering there is nothing on the horizon for KDF PVE (apart from patrols with an optional pvp element) I think its about time this idea was entertained in a serious manner.
In general I would tend to agree, and this only further supports the idea of using this content to help fix this problem.
-Auspice
According to the agreements we click to use the Foundry and the game itself, authors already give up all rights
The time to work through the mission may be the same, but, on average, the time required would be less. Further, the time to develop a concept and write a story would be greatly reduced (or non existent even).
-Auspice
Now, we need a Cryptician to tell us if this is possible.
Well I guess we know Cryptic's response to this idea
It seems that everyone agrees with this in concept, I suppose the only question is whether it can be done legally.
At least that is what i have gleamed from various discussions, and seeing as they are located in California, and the states quagmire of labor laws, i can understand it.