Not sure if anyone has mentioned it but I expect the level 25 entry fee is also to hide how badly the KDF is missing content from reviews when the game goes F2P. Most bloggers and reviewers won't make it 25 levels then roll another toon just for a short review.
Yeah, the Klingon Academy seems like it's a waste of development time. And why would anyone buy the new Klingon Academy uniform?
/sigh
I'm reminded of a few posts from earlier in the summer when one zealous pro-fed poster was pointing out that the KDF were getting development time and resources and they kept quoting the Klingon Academy as part of this amazing content development the KDF was getting.
/double sigh
It's not wasted development time. The plans orginally develop and partial executed under Atrai owner ship was to add to the Klngons bit by bit as time want on. The plans were to create new Academy and Tutorials for the Feds and KDF. When PWI finally got control they altered the current plan more to their liking resulting in what's been explained in the FAQ and by Stormshade. I know exactly how things can change drastically. At my previous job, the group is was in went through 14 different managers and 3 different corporations in a 14 month period. OY!
Stormy, Dan... Whoever... Please listen to your players on this one... the level 25 lock off is a baaad idea... I normally rail on people using this term but in this case, I think it fits, this is almost on par with Star Wars Galaxies' NGE level bad.
Locking off the KDF faction by that high a level, especially during the initial push of f2p will severely hurt, if not kill the faction and correspondingly the KDF vs Fed PvP. The Federation will be swamped with new players, and with the level lock off the KDF wont receive anything like it. New blood will be rare, meaning that Fed vs KDF matches wont be able to keep up with the influx of new players Fed side. Fed vs KDF queues will be seen to take forever to pop and eventually these new fed players will give up trying to enter matches and only PvP in Fed vs Fed (to some degree this is already happening, I know... but F2P will make it much worse.)
I can't believe that I'm going to ask this, especially considering that A: I'm mainly a fed based player who only plays his KDF toon on occasion, and B: not a PvP'er... But I beg you to delay the FE series 4 and get what content designers you have on to designing KDF content (along with the tutorial) and get it released before the F2P switch over so a Klingon character can be made from level 1, just the same as a Fed character and without it being locked behind any kind of wall... The game will be served better in the long run.
Most people here are concerned that level condensing is hurting the KDF faction if it is done at the high level end like Cryptic plans to.
But i think it would be worse if they let you only play the low levels. Cause then you get bored after only 25 levels...
Stuck as a Commander...
I think it's a pretty clever move actually. It demands some (more) patience and sacrifice at the beginning.
But when you actually roll a Klingon it will feel complete until Level cap... the actual level cap.
It may be another year or even more before the KDF has enough high quality episodes to be able to play from Level 1 to 51 without having to PvP or crappy star cluster missions.
How many KDF'ers would be willing to wait, continue playing, - and pay $180 if you sub like me- another year, for -maybe- this to happen?
Espescially when they've waited a year and a half already?
This change is going to suck for people who only want to play KDF, because they have play through 25 levels of Fed first. However, comparatively speaking that isnt actually alot of people. The majority of players want to play Fed regardless of how much content the KDF has simply because for the "average joe" Trek is about the Feds.
So I think the end result of this change is that more people will wind up making KDF alts once they have reached max level on their Feds than do now, and they will do so because they will already have a fairly high level character and wont have to go through alot of grinding. And I think this will actually result in more people playing KDF than do now, even if it takes a little longer to accomplish.
I'm not saying I like what their doing, but I do think it will have the results I just mentioned.
The Federation will be swamped with new players, and with the level lock off the KDF wont receive anything like it. New blood will be rare, ....
I feel sorry for that new blood. I really do. After grinding all that we have, having half the progression simply handed to newbs...
I wanna tear that newb's throat out (in-game only, of course :rolleyes:) and I haven't met him yet. And it's not even really his fault.
This change is going to suck for people who only want to play KDF, because they have play through 25 levels of Fed first. However, comparatively speaking that isnt actually alot of people. The majority of players want to play Fed regardless of how much content the KDF has simply because for the "average joe" Trek is about the Feds.
So I think the end result of this change is that more people will wind up making KDF alts once they have reached max level on their Feds than do now, and they will do so because they will already have a fairly high level character and wont have to go through alot of grinding. And I think this will actually result in more people playing KDF than do now, even if it takes a little longer to accomplish.
I'm not saying I like what their doing, but I do think it will have the results I just mentioned.
We also know that relatively few people get to max level in a timely manner, or even to the required level to play KDF.
Basically only those that pick up STO and play it seriousl for any length of time have a chance to try out the KDF. The casual fan, the people who we are hoping come back to look again, will not have the opportunity.
So while the people who JUST want to play KDF is small, also small is the number of people who will max out a toon and roll a KDF alt (or even hit 25 to unlock them)
What is NOT small are the amount of casual people who will try the game and NOT have any chance to try out the KDF, which means there is NO chance that the KDF "style" can grab them and keep them playing (as it clearly has to 10 to 20% of our playerbase.)
This change is going to suck for people who only want to play KDF, because they have play through 25 levels of Fed first. However, comparatively speaking that isnt actually alot of people. The majority of players want to play Fed regardless of how much content the KDF has simply because for the "average joe" Trek is about the Feds.
So I think the end result of this change is that more people will wind up making KDF alts once they have reached max level on their Feds than do now, and they will do so because they will already have a fairly high level character and wont have to go through alot of grinding. And I think this will actually result in more people playing KDF than do now, even if it takes a little longer to accomplish.
I'm not saying I like what their doing, but I do think it will have the results I just mentioned.
i know you firmly believe that, but i firmly believe the opposite and statistically, if you look at other mmos, with equal opportunity, the factions even out.
I do not agree with the poll you did last year.
Personally, if i am forced to make a toon on one side, im not gonna switch over to the other side when ive bothered to lvl to 25 in a game. I feel this will be a knife in the back of the KDF, and am unsure as to when/If they remove it again once there is enough content for them that the damage can be undone. I can only say that i personally (subjectively) think this is a horrible, HORRIBLE mistake.
How many KDF'ers would be willing to wait, continue playing, - and pay $180 if you sub like me- another year, for -maybe- this to happen?
Espescially when they've waited a year and a half already?
That's an awful lot to ask a gamer.
I don't see an alternative. If the KDF is going to have type of quality episodes it deserves then it's going to take a lot of time. Even DStahl said recently that this won't happen over night.
I created a new Klingon when the Qo'noS revamp went live to see what it was like as a KDF Newbie. Right after those tour quests you got jack to do other than Star Clusters, Sorties or PvP. Going to Level 25 is rough but they know the faction is $%^& when it comes to PvE content. It wouldn't be wise to go F2P and open that part of the game up to a much bigger audience.
The only quick(er) solution I can see is to take the best Foundry missions and remaster them to be Featured KDF Episodes. And even then we hear there are problems converting foundry missions to dev missions. Plus some of the coolest ground environments I've seen in the foundry are built object by object on top of some other existing dev map which would look tacky for the devs to release.
Nope, I don't see many options here. It's the same as it's been since open beta - continue playing Starfleet until the KDF gets better. At least this time we know they are spending money and putting real man power into fixing this mess.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned it but I expect the level 25 entry fee is also to hide how badly the KDF is missing content from reviews when the game goes F2P. Most bloggers and reviewers won't make it 25 levels then roll another toon just for a short review.
...oh my. I think you may be on to something, here.
It doesnt have to be an exact date. I will settle for which quarter of the year its expected in.
They can't do that. When Cryptic says coming "Soon(TM)", it sounds a lot better than if they say third quarter 2013. Like how Airline pilots use the "half hour delay" trick when they know it's going to be more like two hours. So the passengers know they are delayed, but half an hour doesn't sound so bad. Then the pilot can just say another half hour, then another half hour, then another. etc...
I remember how bitter everyone was after the August 2011 Ask Cryptic was released. And Dan Stahl said that, other than the Borg Sector Space Invasions, there isn't going to be anything released until the end of September or end of October. Of course those dates are subject to change, meaning get pushed back, doubtfully moved earlier. Since the backlash that caused, I would be surprised if Cryptic ever gave dates more precise than "Soon(TM)" again.
Personally, if i am forced to make a toon on one side, im not gonna switch over to the other side when ive bothered to lvl to 25 in a game. I feel this will be a knife in the back of the KDF, and am unsure as to when/If they remove it again once there is enough content for them that the damage can be undone. I can only say that i personally (subjectively) think this is a horrible, HORRIBLE mistake.
My 5 cents
Again, i need to reinterate how good this actually is for the KDF!!
The flood of newbs? They flood ESD and NOT Qo'noS!! This is good.
This is good, because only those new players that become VERY interested in playing the KDF side will do so. Increasing the KDFs chances of interested quality players!
The KDK will be able to dodge the largest portion of the same exact newb questions that will flood the ESD chat lines over and over and over again! This is Good!
The resident KDF personel will always be happy to recieve new people, especially if they have shown such are large degree of interest.
... Did I mention there would be little to no newb question spam?...
Nope, I don't see many options here. It's the same as it's been since open beta - continue playing Starfleet until the KDF gets better. At least this time we know they are spending money and putting real man power into fixing this mess.
And when are they going to get better? People have been waiting since open beta like you said.
It was always "soon".
And "soon" became a year and a half, and how much has happened? Not much of anything.
People have waited that long, how much longer are they supposed to wait?
Someone said it best earlier. Delay FE series 4 for now, and give some people who have been waiting since the game launched what they have been asking for.
Then we get the people saying that it will be better with PWE controlling Cryptic, and yet since PWE took over we've had more major bugs, such as weapon arcs, and yet MORE chat issues.
So all we have to rely on so far is a trail of broken promises and bugged content.
And now they say "soon" and "give us more time", while yet again, TRIBBLE over the KDF.
Have they fixed the cloaking bug with the Advanced Battle Cloak? No. How long have they known about this issue? Months.
We haven't even received an acknowledgment about the screwed up weapon arcs.
Again, i need to reinterate how good this actually is for the KDF!!
The flood of newbs? They flood ESD and NOT Qo'noS!! This is good.
This is good, because only those new players that become VERY interested in playing the KDF side will do so. Increasing the KDFs chances of interested quality players!
The KDK will be able to dodge the largest portion of the same exact newb questions that will flood the ESD chat lines over and over and over again! This is Good!
The resident KDF personel will always be happy to recieve new people, especially if they have shown such are large degree of interest.
... Did I mention there would be little to no newb question spam?...
PREACH IT! Your exactly right...how on earth these ppl are mad about this is beyond me. Cutting KDF leveling time in half=KDF RAGESPAM? just silly. This is good for now ppl, sure we'd like more content early game kdf side, but until there is some, how about starting at a level that CAN do content...:)
PREACH IT! Your exactly right...how on earth these ppl are mad about this is beyond me. Cutting KDF leveling time in half=KDF RAGESPAM? just silly. This is good for now ppl, sure we'd like more content early game kdf side, but until there is some, how about starting at a level that CAN do content...:)
And what about getting EC, crafting materials, crafting experience, and dilithium?
As it is now at level 6, the KDF is 4 levels behind the Fed side in that.
Again, i need to reinterate how good this actually is for the KDF!!
The flood of newbs? They flood ESD and NOT Qo'noS!! This is good.
This is good, because only those new players that become VERY interested in playing the KDF side will do so. Increasing the KDFs chances of interested quality players!
The KDK will be able to dodge the largest portion of the same exact newb questions that will flood the ESD chat lines over and over and over again! This is Good!
The resident KDF personel will always be happy to recieve new people, especially if they have shown such are large degree of interest.
... Did I mention there would be little to no newb question spam?...
You do realize that little trickle of newbs you so dearly want to drive away are still data points that say 'people play KDF' right? Driving people away is the most efficient way to reduce apparent demand and ROI for KDF content.
And when are they going to get better? People have been waiting since open beta like you said.
That's all true and they didn't have the man power to do anything significant about this problem under Atari. There wasn't enough KDF players to justify the amount of work required. That's why you never saw any kind of commitment from DStahl to allocate resources for making unique and full featured KDF Episodes. The farthest he would go is making Faction Agnostic episodes and the Foundry.
The main difference now is that PWE is willing to spend the required resources and money on finally making the KDF what it should have been all along. Yes it's more waiting and we've already waited and waited and waited. Who knows how long its going to take but at least now you know they are putting their money where their mouth is.
That's all true and they didn't have the man power to do anything significant about this problem under Atari. There wasn't enough KDF players to justify the amount of work required. That's why you never saw any kind of commitment from DStahl to allocate resources for making unique and full featured KDF Episodes. The farthest he would go is making Faction Agnostic episodes and the Foundry.
The main difference now is that PWE is willing to spend the required resources and money on finally making the KDF what it should have been all along. Yes it's more waiting and we've already waited and waited and waited. Who knows how long its going to take but at least now you know they are putting their money where their mouth is.
Really? They were actively working on the KDF academy, and where is it? Pushed back.
The KDF got stabbed in the back when they restricted the levels the KDF could do the FE missions, while at the same time NOT restricting the missions for the Fed side, which does not have a lack of content.
And before anyone says the FE restriction for KDF was part of the plan for the KDF and going level 25(because some already have), this happened BEFORE PWE acquired Cryptic.
You do realize that little trickle of newbs you so dearly want to drive away are still data points that say 'people play KDF' right? Driving people away is the most efficient way to reduce apparent demand and ROI for KDF content.
I said nothing at all about wanting to drive away anyone. I never alluded to it at all.
I was noting that as the set up is right now, that they will be naturally concentrated as Feds.So please stop attempting to put words in my mouth.
Irrelevant.
Considering they have already said that PW what's them to make a fully fleshed out KDF.
Again, i need to reinterate how good this actually is for the KDF!!
There will be less people playing the KDF than currently stuck it out.
This is a blow to the faction. A big blow. It puts the community/players in a bottle. And leaves them there to wither.
And there's no new fixes, no new content coming. They've been promising that they love the KDF and want to do KDF content since the very beginning. But all they ever do is make stuff for the federation.
Look at the Klingon specific torpedoes. They came out for the federation. In a fed only mission with Klingon opera in it.
That's what's coming for the Klingon "fans." New fed content.
And the KDF gets turned into a monster play faction.
/sigh
It is a dagger in the back. And I'll listen to no more of their spin doctoring on it.
There will be less people playing the KDF than currently stuck it out.
This is a blow to the faction. A big blow. It puts the community/players in a bottle. And leaves them there to wither.
And there's no new fixes, no new content coming. They've been promising that they love the KDF and want to do KDF content since the very beginning. But all they ever do is make stuff for the federation.
Look at the Klingon specific torpedoes. They came out for the federation. In a fed only mission with Klingon opera in it.
That's what's coming for the Klingon "fans." New fed content.
And the KDF gets turned into a monster play faction.
/sigh
It is a dagger in the back. And I'll listen to no more of their spin doctoring on it.
Thus proving my point that only serious players would join the KDF.
Really? They were actively working on the KDF academy, and where is it? Pushed back.
The KDF got stabbed in the back when they restricted the levels the KDF could do the FE missions, while at the same time NOT restricting the missions for the Fed side, which does not have a lack of content.
And before anyone says the FE restriction for KDF was part of the plan for the KDF and going level 25(because some already have), this happened BEFORE PWE acquired Cryptic.
The Foundry was pushed back initially, same goes for The Duty Officer System and a whole host of other things. I agree with you about the "Re-Leveled" FE's for the KDF, though - I don't understand why it was done only for the KDF when the Feds have much more content to level up with.
And your last point about things happening before PWE - true. That is the reason why we are seeing these changes in direction. The plan DStahl had under Atari is NOT the plan he has now after PWE and after he got approval to expand Cryptic to finally do the things that need to be done.
Comments
It's not wasted development time. The plans orginally develop and partial executed under Atrai owner ship was to add to the Klngons bit by bit as time want on. The plans were to create new Academy and Tutorials for the Feds and KDF. When PWI finally got control they altered the current plan more to their liking resulting in what's been explained in the FAQ and by Stormshade. I know exactly how things can change drastically. At my previous job, the group is was in went through 14 different managers and 3 different corporations in a 14 month period. OY!
Locking off the KDF faction by that high a level, especially during the initial push of f2p will severely hurt, if not kill the faction and correspondingly the KDF vs Fed PvP. The Federation will be swamped with new players, and with the level lock off the KDF wont receive anything like it. New blood will be rare, meaning that Fed vs KDF matches wont be able to keep up with the influx of new players Fed side. Fed vs KDF queues will be seen to take forever to pop and eventually these new fed players will give up trying to enter matches and only PvP in Fed vs Fed (to some degree this is already happening, I know... but F2P will make it much worse.)
I can't believe that I'm going to ask this, especially considering that A: I'm mainly a fed based player who only plays his KDF toon on occasion, and B: not a PvP'er... But I beg you to delay the FE series 4 and get what content designers you have on to designing KDF content (along with the tutorial) and get it released before the F2P switch over so a Klingon character can be made from level 1, just the same as a Fed character and without it being locked behind any kind of wall... The game will be served better in the long run.
But i think it would be worse if they let you only play the low levels. Cause then you get bored after only 25 levels...
Stuck as a Commander...
I think it's a pretty clever move actually. It demands some (more) patience and sacrifice at the beginning.
But when you actually roll a Klingon it will feel complete until Level cap... the actual level cap.
How many KDF'ers would be willing to wait, continue playing, - and pay $180 if you sub like me- another year, for -maybe- this to happen?
Espescially when they've waited a year and a half already?
That's an awful lot to ask a gamer.
This change is going to suck for people who only want to play KDF, because they have play through 25 levels of Fed first. However, comparatively speaking that isnt actually alot of people. The majority of players want to play Fed regardless of how much content the KDF has simply because for the "average joe" Trek is about the Feds.
So I think the end result of this change is that more people will wind up making KDF alts once they have reached max level on their Feds than do now, and they will do so because they will already have a fairly high level character and wont have to go through alot of grinding. And I think this will actually result in more people playing KDF than do now, even if it takes a little longer to accomplish.
I'm not saying I like what their doing, but I do think it will have the results I just mentioned.
I feel sorry for that new blood. I really do. After grinding all that we have, having half the progression simply handed to newbs...
I wanna tear that newb's throat out (in-game only, of course :rolleyes:) and I haven't met him yet. And it's not even really his fault.
We also know that relatively few people get to max level in a timely manner, or even to the required level to play KDF.
Basically only those that pick up STO and play it seriousl for any length of time have a chance to try out the KDF. The casual fan, the people who we are hoping come back to look again, will not have the opportunity.
So while the people who JUST want to play KDF is small, also small is the number of people who will max out a toon and roll a KDF alt (or even hit 25 to unlock them)
What is NOT small are the amount of casual people who will try the game and NOT have any chance to try out the KDF, which means there is NO chance that the KDF "style" can grab them and keep them playing (as it clearly has to 10 to 20% of our playerbase.)
i know you firmly believe that, but i firmly believe the opposite and statistically, if you look at other mmos, with equal opportunity, the factions even out.
I do not agree with the poll you did last year.
My 5 cents
I don't see an alternative. If the KDF is going to have type of quality episodes it deserves then it's going to take a lot of time. Even DStahl said recently that this won't happen over night.
I created a new Klingon when the Qo'noS revamp went live to see what it was like as a KDF Newbie. Right after those tour quests you got jack to do other than Star Clusters, Sorties or PvP. Going to Level 25 is rough but they know the faction is $%^& when it comes to PvE content. It wouldn't be wise to go F2P and open that part of the game up to a much bigger audience.
The only quick(er) solution I can see is to take the best Foundry missions and remaster them to be Featured KDF Episodes. And even then we hear there are problems converting foundry missions to dev missions. Plus some of the coolest ground environments I've seen in the foundry are built object by object on top of some other existing dev map which would look tacky for the devs to release.
Nope, I don't see many options here. It's the same as it's been since open beta - continue playing Starfleet until the KDF gets better. At least this time we know they are spending money and putting real man power into fixing this mess.
...oh my. I think you may be on to something, here.
They can't do that. When Cryptic says coming "Soon(TM)", it sounds a lot better than if they say third quarter 2013. Like how Airline pilots use the "half hour delay" trick when they know it's going to be more like two hours. So the passengers know they are delayed, but half an hour doesn't sound so bad. Then the pilot can just say another half hour, then another half hour, then another. etc...
I remember how bitter everyone was after the August 2011 Ask Cryptic was released. And Dan Stahl said that, other than the Borg Sector Space Invasions, there isn't going to be anything released until the end of September or end of October. Of course those dates are subject to change, meaning get pushed back, doubtfully moved earlier. Since the backlash that caused, I would be surprised if Cryptic ever gave dates more precise than "Soon(TM)" again.
Again, i need to reinterate how good this actually is for the KDF!!
The flood of newbs? They flood ESD and NOT Qo'noS!! This is good.
This is good, because only those new players that become VERY interested in playing the KDF side will do so. Increasing the KDFs chances of interested quality players!
The KDK will be able to dodge the largest portion of the same exact newb questions that will flood the ESD chat lines over and over and over again! This is Good!
The resident KDF personel will always be happy to recieve new people, especially if they have shown such are large degree of interest.
... Did I mention there would be little to no newb question spam?...
And when are they going to get better? People have been waiting since open beta like you said.
It was always "soon".
And "soon" became a year and a half, and how much has happened? Not much of anything.
People have waited that long, how much longer are they supposed to wait?
Someone said it best earlier. Delay FE series 4 for now, and give some people who have been waiting since the game launched what they have been asking for.
Then we get the people saying that it will be better with PWE controlling Cryptic, and yet since PWE took over we've had more major bugs, such as weapon arcs, and yet MORE chat issues.
So all we have to rely on so far is a trail of broken promises and bugged content.
And now they say "soon" and "give us more time", while yet again, TRIBBLE over the KDF.
Have they fixed the cloaking bug with the Advanced Battle Cloak? No. How long have they known about this issue? Months.
We haven't even received an acknowledgment about the screwed up weapon arcs.
Which reminds me....where is the September Ask Cryptic?
They haven't even started asking for questions yet!
next Tuesday?
PREACH IT! Your exactly right...how on earth these ppl are mad about this is beyond me. Cutting KDF leveling time in half=KDF RAGESPAM? just silly. This is good for now ppl, sure we'd like more content early game kdf side, but until there is some, how about starting at a level that CAN do content...:)
And what about getting EC, crafting materials, crafting experience, and dilithium?
As it is now at level 6, the KDF is 4 levels behind the Fed side in that.
And now the KDF gets to wait an extra 19 levels?
You do realize that little trickle of newbs you so dearly want to drive away are still data points that say 'people play KDF' right? Driving people away is the most efficient way to reduce apparent demand and ROI for KDF content.
That's all true and they didn't have the man power to do anything significant about this problem under Atari. There wasn't enough KDF players to justify the amount of work required. That's why you never saw any kind of commitment from DStahl to allocate resources for making unique and full featured KDF Episodes. The farthest he would go is making Faction Agnostic episodes and the Foundry.
The main difference now is that PWE is willing to spend the required resources and money on finally making the KDF what it should have been all along. Yes it's more waiting and we've already waited and waited and waited. Who knows how long its going to take but at least now you know they are putting their money where their mouth is.
Really? They were actively working on the KDF academy, and where is it? Pushed back.
The KDF got stabbed in the back when they restricted the levels the KDF could do the FE missions, while at the same time NOT restricting the missions for the Fed side, which does not have a lack of content.
And before anyone says the FE restriction for KDF was part of the plan for the KDF and going level 25(because some already have), this happened BEFORE PWE acquired Cryptic.
I said nothing at all about wanting to drive away anyone. I never alluded to it at all.
I was noting that as the set up is right now, that they will be naturally concentrated as Feds.So please stop attempting to put words in my mouth.
Irrelevant.
Considering they have already said that PW what's them to make a fully fleshed out KDF.
There will be less people playing the KDF than currently stuck it out.
This is a blow to the faction. A big blow. It puts the community/players in a bottle. And leaves them there to wither.
And there's no new fixes, no new content coming. They've been promising that they love the KDF and want to do KDF content since the very beginning. But all they ever do is make stuff for the federation.
Look at the Klingon specific torpedoes. They came out for the federation. In a fed only mission with Klingon opera in it.
That's what's coming for the Klingon "fans." New fed content.
And the KDF gets turned into a monster play faction.
/sigh
It is a dagger in the back. And I'll listen to no more of their spin doctoring on it.
That's just another lie in a long list of lies involved with KDF and development.
PvP'ers will come to STO, discover that the PVP faction is seriously lacking, leave in disgust, and never come back.
If they limit PvP acess for a short will, revamp the faction and then open it to all, pvpers will visit, like it, remain and/or sub.
The logic is a double edged sword, as it has the ability to work in both positive and negative ways.
I am not the owner of a successfull MMO corporation however (which perfect world is) so I am willing to bow to thier (not cryptics) wisdom.
Thus proving my point that only serious players would join the KDF.
Only your opinion.
The Foundry was pushed back initially, same goes for The Duty Officer System and a whole host of other things. I agree with you about the "Re-Leveled" FE's for the KDF, though - I don't understand why it was done only for the KDF when the Feds have much more content to level up with.
And your last point about things happening before PWE - true. That is the reason why we are seeing these changes in direction. The plan DStahl had under Atari is NOT the plan he has now after PWE and after he got approval to expand Cryptic to finally do the things that need to be done.
Seems like a better solution would have been to fix the KDF and then go F2P.
That would involve adding content. You may be asking for too much here. Maybe if F2P brings in cash.