Read the first post again. I stated exactly where it went. I've been on test since the start, from when it wasn't possible to get anything above the LTC ship. As I said, I flew my T2 escort all the way to RA, because there was no way to get anything higher. Now that I'm at RA, again, as I stated, the "free" T-Points are not enough to buy any of the RA/VA ships, and the 10K rank up "bonus" was not enough to buy a DL priced ship, even with the 7K or so that I managed to save up. So I'm still stuck with no way to get a level-appropriate ship without an idiotic amount of grinding or paying cash money for the "privilege" of beta testing.
OK, I see the problem now. Sorry I missed it the first time. Obviously, you wasted your dilithium that should have been saved for ships on consoles. My bad, I thought you were actually whining about a bug or something. I didn't realize you were blaming the game for your inability to play.
What this has turned to is "Free to Grind, Pay to Play." I am extremely disappointed in this. It's like those latinum grubbing Ferengi took over the Federation.
First, we're nerfed by our ship token rewards that we counted on being taken away from us.
Second, prices are gouged on everything.
Thirdly, even MK items are no longer craftable.
I feel like I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't.
Bottom line, I didn't sign up for a lifetime membership and a preorder before the game even launched to have my faith in it betrayed and ripped apart. I didn't sign up for these rule changes. That's what it is. They changed the rules.
This is a dealbreaker for me. If this is what they call making the game better, I'd like to know who's interest they have in mind. This is no longer fun for me, AT ALL.
OK, I see the problem now. Sorry I missed it the first time. Obviously, you wasted your dilithium that should have been saved for ships on consoles. My bad, I thought you were actually whining about a bug or something. I didn't realize you were blaming the game for your inability to play.
Yeah, because if I just had those two Mk X consoles I could have bought with ALL the rank up DL that I ever got, then my Miranda would be doing just fine at VA1. If only I hadn't been so WASTEFUL trying to buy a couple level appropriate consoles when I hit Captain. Then everything would have been just fine.
So your advocating not upgrading consoles, weapons, shields or anything else. Instead just save it for buying a ship at each new tier?'
This doesn't sound crazy to you?
Yes, for tribble testing, with the speedy leveling that is not realistic to what F2Pers will be playing, that is exactly what I am advocating. No, that does not sound crazy to me. When released to holodeck, leveling will be slower, giving more time to collect dilithium and the like, and should be plenty for ships and consoles. In tribble, you level up too fast for it to matter. So yes, dont waste it in tribble.
Yeah, because if I just had those two Mk X consoles I could have bought with ALL the rank up DL that I ever got, then my Miranda would be doing just fine at VA1. If only I hadn't been so WASTEFUL trying to buy a couple level appropriate consoles when I hit Captain. Then everything would have been just fine.
OK, I see the problem now. Sorry I missed it the first time. Obviously, you wasted your dilithium that should have been saved for ships on consoles. My bad, I thought you were actually whining about a bug or something. I didn't realize you were blaming the game for your inability to play.
Neither am I, haven't paid a thing, and I'm still flying in a RA ship.
Yes, for tribble testing, with the speedy leveling that is not realistic to what F2Pers will be playing, that is exactly what I am advocating. No, that does not sound crazy to me. When released to holodeck, leveling will be slower, giving more time to collect dilithium and the like, and should be plenty for ships and consoles. In tribble, you level up too fast for it to matter. So yes, dont waste it in tribble.
Glad you see the truth now.
If you can stop stroking your epeens for a moment, the actual problems should be obvious. Cryptic set up a test of the F2P Beta without the most crucial piece of the system active - Dilithium gain. They enabled all the limitations of the Dilithium system and left out any way to get it in useful amounts. F2P test fail #1.
Additionally, there is increased XP gain from story missions. This means that players will outlevel their ship and gear much faster than normal. That magnifies the problems created by the missing Dilithium system. F2P test fail #2.
But wait! There are prizes for leveling up on Tribble and only a limited amount of time to do it. So players log in and level their toons like no tomorrow to get their characters to VA (which, with the increased XP gain, isn't that difficult). Unfortunately, there's that missing Dilithium thing again. Players that couldn't afford new ships were faced with an increasingly grueling leveling experience because everything costs Dilithium and the only way you could get it was the level-up award. Since they couldn't get new ships why not get better gear? That would partially alleviate the ship problem, for the next-higher tier, anyway. So Cryptic guaranteed that many people would level as fast as they could by offering level-gated incentives with a time limit. This, on top of F2P test fail #1 and #2 gives us F2P test fail #3.
So Cryptic finally enables the entire Dilithium system. We finally have a way to get the Dilithium we need and the ship prices are ratcheted down an order of magnitude. But uh oh. The coupon we get isn't retroactive. So all those players that leveled their characters during the week and can't afford tier-appropriate ships because they used what Dilithium they had gearing up to help account for the fact they couldn't afford a tier-appropriate ship in the first place? They're screwed. F2P test fail #4.
Whoa, what's this?! We get 1200 Cryptic Test Points to try out on Tribble! Awesome! Wait...what's that? C-$tore prices have gone up so that 1200 CTP's can't buy any RA/VA ships? Oh, but if we buy C-Points on Holodeck we'll get an equal amount of additional CTP's on Tribble? Okaaayyy, I see how it is. F2P test fail #5.
The entire first week of the F2P Beta should have been called the DOff / FED Mirror Event / F2P Build Stress Test Beta, but if they called it that then many people would have waited until the second patch to start playing on Tribble. The test results from leveling for the entire first week will in no way help in judging how effective the Dilithium system is because that system was almost-wholly missing from the F2P server. The problem isn't that players leveled fast or spent their Dilithium on gear instead of ships. The problem is that the system wasn't ready for people to progress past Lt. Cmr 2 and it should have been limited to that until the last patch. And that is F2P test fail #6.
I just hit Captain earlier today, and was able to get the proper tier ship without spending and of the Test C-Store points, in fact, I got it via the system in the game itself. It still needs work in terms of the commander level tier but it does work
I just hit Captain earlier today, and was able to get the proper tier ship without spending and of the Test C-Store points, in fact, I got it via the system in the game itself. It still needs work in terms of the commander level tier but it does work
It works now. If you hit RA/VA before the last patch you'd be S.O.L. That's the problem.
So your advocating not upgrading consoles, weapons, shields or anything else. Instead just save it for buying a ship at each new tier?'
This doesn't sound crazy to you?
Not if you know how to play. You can do missions with the base stuff you get at the beginning of the game. It will be a bit tougher, but you'll get past it. Also, you can buy upgrades with energy credits, craft stuff at Memory Alpha and find stuff on missions. I've survived easily playing the game this way so far, you can too.
What I don't get is why someone would spend all their dilithium on consoles when they see that they can't afford a ship at the Commander rank. That's crazy. Simple logic says if I can't afford a ship now, I might not be able to afford one later, so I should save the only currency that I have that can buy ships, since there's no fast way to earn more yet.
Rule #1 about RPGs: never pay in game money for "upgrades" unless your character is just starting out, you'll find better stuff on missions.
Rule #1 about F2P MMO games: nothing is free. They'll make you earn everything, or pay real world money to get it faster.
If you can stop stroking your epeens for a moment, the actual problems should be obvious. Cryptic set up a test of the F2P Beta without the most crucial piece of the system active - Dilithium gain. They enabled all the limitations of the Dilithium system and left out any way to get it in useful amounts. F2P test fail #1.
Wah. That's why it's called a beta. Beta = incomplete. If you don't like it, go back to Holodeck. Crying about it won't help.
But wait! There are prizes for leveling up on Tribble and only a limited amount of time to do it. So players log in and level their toons like no tomorrow to get their characters to VA (which, with the increased XP gain, isn't that difficult). Unfortunately, there's that missing Dilithium thing again. Players that couldn't afford new ships were faced with an increasingly grueling leveling experience because everything costs Dilithium and the only way you could get it was the level-up award. Since they couldn't get new ships why not get better gear? That would partially alleviate the ship problem, for the next-higher tier, anyway. So Cryptic guaranteed that many people would level as fast as they could by offering level-gated incentives with a time limit. This, on top of F2P test fail #1 and #2 gives us F2P test fail #3.
Out of all you said, this is the only one I disagree with. You're right with everything else.
Honestly, if you want to level the fastest you can, you wont even return to ESD to claim your dilithium/new ship once you level up past LTC; its completely unnecessary. You can just keep running story line missions, filled with a little bit of the DOff system, and level extremely easy in a tier 2 ship all the way to RA. So no, it doesnt make any sense to buy better gear, especially if you know that shortly afterwards, you're just going to outlevel that gear... makes no sense...
But yes, the rest of what you said is true. Ideally, they should have made it retroactive, so people who planned poorly should at least be able to buy a end game ship...
Yeah, I have to say that I'm quite surprised at the amount of qq going on in this thread. It's a *test* server. Bugs/unexpected changes/missing systems are kind of to be expected. I mean, they could wipe all our characters at any given time as it is.
A lot of the people making complaints in this thread are acting as if these were characters on Holodeck who got screwed somehow. If that were the case, I'd *fully* be behind the cause. But, it's not Holodeck.
If you made it to level 51, you've accomplished getting what you need for the rewards. Why not just start a new character and, you know, help test the new build instead of sitting on a level 51 and complaining you're missing out on something? Isn't that the point of a test server, to test things?
Yeah, I have to say that I'm quite surprised at the amount of qq going on in this thread. It's a *test* server. Bugs/unexpected changes/missing systems are kind of to be expected. I mean, they could wipe all our characters at any given time as it is.
A lot of the people making complaints in this thread are acting as if these were characters on Holodeck who got screwed somehow. If that were the case, I'd *fully* be behind the cause. But, it's not Holodeck.
If you made it to level 51, you've accomplished getting what you need for the rewards. Why not just start a new character and, you know, help test the new build instead of sitting on a level 51 and complaining you're missing out on something? Isn't that the point of a test server, to test things?
Cryptic's past history with STO has been "To hell with making a good game. We'll try to get away with milking as money out of people while giving them the finger for as long as we can." This is why I have 0 hope of anything EXCEPT minor bug fixes will happen on Tribble before F2P. They'll only fix it if CBS gets involved and/or their "cash cow" nets them a bankruptcy.
Yeah, I have to say that I'm quite surprised at the amount of qq going on in this thread. It's a *test* server. Bugs/unexpected changes/missing systems are kind of to be expected. I mean, they could wipe all our characters at any given time as it is.
A lot of the people making complaints in this thread are acting as if these were characters on Holodeck who got screwed somehow. If that were the case, I'd *fully* be behind the cause. But, it's not Holodeck.
If you made it to level 51, you've accomplished getting what you need for the rewards. Why not just start a new character and, you know, help test the new build instead of sitting on a level 51 and complaining you're missing out on something? Isn't that the point of a test server, to test things?
That's entirely too reasonable for these forums, sir. It's not like I said something just like it on page 1. And was ignored. I honestly think they should have done a server wipe with the Thursday patch. Too many people ground through the incomplete build, and at this point they don't have a whole lot they can contribute to actual testing with those toons, since they were forced, by a bad build, to do it wrong.
I'm not saying the first build wasn't bad. It was. It was horrible. But that's why this is a test server. What has me really alarmed are the people who go to the Holodeck forums and start complaining about systems which are still in the process of being developed. The economy is changing. They can't really do a whole lot of Alpha testing on this with any sort of accuracy, so they have to inch it out to the beta, which means we're going to be seeing a lot of broken builds. It happens. That's WHY you have test servers. It isn't a preview. It isn't a "come see what we'll have next week!"
Cryptic's past history with STO has been "To hell with making a good game. We'll try to get away with milking as money out of people while giving them the finger for as long as we can." This is why I have 0 hope of anything EXCEPT minor bug fixes will happen on Tribble before F2P. They'll only fix it if CBS gets involved and/or their "cash cow" nets them a bankruptcy.
Which, to be honest, is a completely separate point from the complaints in this thread. Most, if not all, of the complaints were that the Dilithium system was added/changed/modified *after* people got their characters to 51 under the 'old' way and didn't get any compensation for the new way which seems to alleviate getting ships/gear/etc somewhat.
I can understand that complaint if this were Holodeck and their characters got shafted. But, it's a test server and things are *going* to change, not always optimally for existing characters. Wanting to hold on to a level 51 (after already earning the coming prizes when F2P goes to Holodeck) in a test environment and being *mad* about gaffes just seems as if the point of this being a test server is missed.
That's entirely too reasonable for these forums, sir. It's not like I said something just like it on page 1. And was ignored. I honestly think they should have done a server wipe with the Thursday patch. Too many people ground through the incomplete build, and at this point they don't have a whole lot they can contribute to actual testing with those toons, since they were forced, by a bad build, to do it wrong.
I'm not saying the first build wasn't bad. It was. It was horrible. But that's why this is a test server. What has me really alarmed are the people who go to the Holodeck forums and start complaining about systems which are still in the process of being developed. The economy is changing. They can't really do a whole lot of Alpha testing on this with any sort of accuracy, so they have to inch it out to the beta, which means we're going to be seeing a lot of broken builds. It happens. That's WHY you have test servers. It isn't a preview. It isn't a "come see what we'll have next week!"
Which, to be honest, is a completely separate point from the complaints in this thread. Most, if not all, of the complaints were that the Dilithium system was added/changed/modified *after* people got their characters to 51 under the 'old' way and didn't get any compensation for the new way which seems to alleviate getting ships/gear/etc somewhat.
I can understand that complaint if this were Holodeck and their characters got shafted. But, it's a test server and things are *going* to change, not always optimally for existing characters. Wanting to hold on to a level 51 (after already earning the coming prizes when F2P goes to Holodeck) in a test environment and being *mad* about gaffes just seems as if the point of this being a test server is missed.
I'm just upset that, while we needed a unified currency, they made it absolutely horrid. Considering they said nothing would change for a Gold player, we are testing as Golds to be able to spend hundreds of dollars or grind for months on end. Morally bankrupt is the term.
I JUST hit captain... the system is still messed up I CANNOT get a Captain level ship as it stands and I haven't spent any dilithium I have earned. ATM there is no plausible way to earn enough Soylent D before a given level to be able to buy the next teir ship... what's worse is they kept the buy ship card thing in from when you earn each tier ship so I couldn't get Dilithium for my captain ship until I had purchased the commander ship, simply because it wouldn't give me the mission. Meaning I had to waste the Dilithium on my commander and didn't have near enough for a Captain level ship.
Honestly this is really ticking my off. If I didn't already have a lifetime sub, if I was a new player, I would get to this point and walk away from the game. I seriously would like to do that with tribble, except for the fact I know it accomplishes nothing walking away from a test.
Seriously Cryptic, this system is insane. It will scare more customers away then customers it will attract revamp the dilithium system COMPLETELY and try it again. The economics don't work and frustration level is through the roof.
The point is I'm flying around in a Miranda because it's either that or my T2 Saber escort. I'm not playing PAY2TEST or GRIND2TEST. Sorry.
Yes, you are paying to test, if you subscribe or are a LTS, then you are "paying" to test. That is the whole point of a "beta". There is no "alpha" contrary to popular belief(I didn't set it up so don't ask me why, maybe its a greek thing) but this is a test. **** is broken or doesn't work right. I'm not a Cryptic apologist, but I work with software and **** is broken until you fix it. This is a test, **** will be broken, cstore, dilitium , etc. get over it or go to Holotdeck where it works for now. If it is still broke on Holodeck, then complain, you have gripe then because Holodeck is the real deal, not Tribble. They don't call it a test server for nothing.
I'm just upset that, while we needed a unified currency, they made it absolutely horrid. Considering they said nothing would change for a Gold player, we are testing as Golds to be able to spend hundreds of dollars or grind for months on end. Morally bankrupt is the term.
Oh, I'll agree on that point. But I think another thread needs to be started on the *current* state of Dilithium and whatnot, instead of complaining about not having any when the new system went into place.
Yes, you are paying to test, if you subscribe or are a LTS, then you are "paying" to test. That is the whole point of a "beta". There is no "alpha" contrary to popular belief(I didn't set it up so don't ask me why, maybe its a greek thing) but this is a test. **** is broken or doesn't work right. I'm not a Cryptic apologist, but I work with software and **** is broken until you fix it. This is a test, **** will be broken, cstore, dilitium , etc. get over it or go to Holotdeck where it works for now. If it is still broke on Holodeck, then complain, you have gripe then because Holodeck is the real deal, not Tribble. They don't call it a test server for nothing.
Cryptic has said one thing, and so far, has done everything the exact opposite way from what they said. I don't trust that they will improve the economy before it goes live.
But Cryptic could to something nice to surprise me like actually making it right.
Oh, I'll agree on that point. But I think another thread needs to be started on the *current* state of Dilithium and whatnot, instead of complaining about not having any when the new system went into place.
Fair enough, but if we don't keep the heat on them now, then nothing will change before it goes live.
I JUST hit captain... the system is still messed up I CANNOT get a Captain level ship as it stands and I haven't spent any dilithium I have earned. ATM there is no plausible way to earn enough Soylent D before a given level to be able to buy the next teir ship... what's worse is they kept the buy ship card thing in from when you earn each tier ship so I couldn't get Dilithium for my captain ship until I had purchased the commander ship, simply because it wouldn't give me the mission. Meaning I had to waste the Dilithium on my commander and didn't have near enough for a Captain level ship.
Honestly this is really ticking my off. If I didn't already have a lifetime sub, if I was a new player, I would get to this point and walk away from the game. I seriously would like to do that with tribble, except for the fact I know it accomplishes nothing walking away from a test.
Seriously Cryptic, this system is insane. It will scare more customers away then customers it will attract revamp the dilithium system COMPLETELY and try it again. The economics don't work and frustration level is through the roof.
Listen, I don't know how it will work on Holodeck, but this a test so I'm not getting my panites wadded up over stuff here. I'm actually having a good time. Of course I have a life and am not spending my non working hours on here. A couple hours a night and I am fine. got my andorian crew and maybe a LT CMD ship, but I sold enough TRIBBLE to up its weapons etc. I have 90000 dilitijum so at captain I will buy a new ship. Hopefully Holodeck will not be like that, and it probably won't because of the *****ing, but you need to know how to capitalize on the exchange. I have made a killing even at LT CMD there. So instead of ****ing away my diilithum, I bought some lower level armor and am doing fine. If anything, I'm learning how to up my wife and son when I sign them up for silver. But lastly and most importantly, tell Cryptic what you don't like, but quit *****ing and complaining, this is a test, it isnt' set in stone. Of course with a wife and kids, I only get an hour or two a night on here, maybe you people who have made admiral a 'test" need to either find a job or a little companionship.
Fair enough, but if we don't keep the heat on them now, then nothing will change before it goes live.
True enough, but again, that's what a new thread which is more on topic (with characters who are currently leveling up, not those who have already reached max level) showing why the current system is inadequate and perhaps with suggestions on how to fix them, should be used, IMO. (Holy run-on sentences..)
Cryptic has said one thing, and so far, has done everything the exact opposite way from what they said. I don't trust that they will improve the economy before it goes live.
But Cryptic could to something nice to surprise me like actually making it right.
Listen, I'm not defending cryptic, espeically because of how I have seen some moderators 'ban ' posts. but what have they done that is opposite? You paiid for Holodeck. So far Holodeck works like always. Tribble(and Redshirt for that matter) are a bonus for subscribers to play with(and I am loving the Doff system by the way). It lets you try out new stuff. I'm not getting ****ed off about bugs or over pricing on Tribble, now as a LTS, if the **** with my stuff on Holodeck , I'll be ****ed and rightly so, that is what I paid $300 bucks for. Tribble and Redshirt are bonuse and I'm glad to see how stuff will work. Especially because it gives me a clue as to what my wife and son will have to experience as silver players(I aint' paying $600 for non trekkies, LOL)
True enough, but again, that's what a new thread which is more on topic (with characters who are currently leveling up, not those who have already reached max level) showing why the current system is inadequate and perhaps with suggestions on how to fix them, should be used, IMO. (Holy run-on sentences..)
Your right, and thank you. Most people(I hope) have a life and will play this game casually as F2P, because they have a life.
Your right, and thank you. Most people(I hope) have a life and will play this game casually as F2P, because they have a life.
Well, I'll be honest. Right now, I"m doing my best to get a character to 51 because I want all the 'rewards' for doing so. I've gotten all the Tribble um.. tribbles in the past, and I want all the special stuff now.. I'm not even customizing any BOFFs beyond my away team (since I have to look at them a lot), which is totally opposite how I'd play on Holodeck. And, while I'm reporting bugs, it's only the major ones I find that are preventing/hindering me from reaching that goal. I 'm also not bothered about new ships if I can't afford them, as this is just a test character (although new ships make it *easier* to level, so I'll be reporting my findings on current dilithium levels for sure).
One that's done, I fully intend to playtest a KDF character and a second character Fed and find the small niggling bugs, along with more feedback on systems as they're added/changed (because they most certainly will be).
But, right now, I could care less how I make 51.. A beat up old ship and mismatched crew are perfectly acceptable right now.
What I don't get is why someone would spend all their dilithium on consoles when they see that they can't afford a ship at the Commander rank. That's crazy. Simple logic says if I can't afford a ship now, I might not be able to afford one later, so I should save the only currency that I have that can buy ships, since there's no fast way to earn more yet.
The thing about that is we got enough Dilithium at Lt. Cmr for a new ship but were a little short for Cmr. At the time it wasn't clear the deficit was intentional. There certainly wasn't anything in the release notes about it. So it wasn't anywhere near as clear-cut as you're making it out to be. Keep trying, though. :rolleyes:
Out of all you said, this is the only one I disagree with. You're right with everything else.
Honestly, if you want to level the fastest you can, you wont even return to ESD to claim your dilithium/new ship once you level up past LTC; its completely unnecessary. You can just keep running story line missions, filled with a little bit of the DOff system, and level extremely easy in a tier 2 ship all the way to RA. So no, it doesnt make any sense to buy better gear, especially if you know that shortly afterwards, you're just going to outlevel that gear... makes no sense...
But yes, the rest of what you said is true. Ideally, they should have made it retroactive, so people who planned poorly should at least be able to buy a end game ship...
I went the play-til-Captain-in-a-T2-ship route and at the end of the Commander levels combats took forever. Not enough weapon slots and no higher-level BOff skills. I would have gone crazy fighting Romulans in my T2 Nova.
And this is more than people whining because they planned poorly, or QQing because stuff doesn't work right on Tribble. It's that people have spent a week testing the F2P Beta and because of Cryptic's poor planning it was, for some of them, basically a wasted effort. I wanted to test out the new STF's but since it doesn't look like I'll be getting an RA/VA ship there's really no point. I mean, how useful would it be to run them and say 'yep, I had a lot of trouble flying my Captain ship in Infected'?
That's my beef with the way this has played out. I can pretty much forget about testing any RA/VA stuff since I won't have a ship appropriate to the level. It's cool that Cryptic fixed the issue, but it would have been even better if they gave anyone that made Captain prior to the last patch one of those ship discount tokens. But as things stand now I'm just in it for the rewards.
The thing about that is we got enough Dilithium at Lt. Cmr for a new ship but were a little short for Cmr. At the time it wasn't clear the deficit was intentional. There certainly wasn't anything in the release notes about it. So it wasn't anywhere near as clear-cut as you're making it out to be. Keep trying, though.
They have also "fixed" it so that you're forced to grind for ships at every rank, because you can't NOT spend the DL on a ship no matter what you do, unless you go C-Store all the way.
Comments
OK, I see the problem now. Sorry I missed it the first time. Obviously, you wasted your dilithium that should have been saved for ships on consoles. My bad, I thought you were actually whining about a bug or something. I didn't realize you were blaming the game for your inability to play.
This doesn't sound crazy to you?
First, we're nerfed by our ship token rewards that we counted on being taken away from us.
Second, prices are gouged on everything.
Thirdly, even MK items are no longer craftable.
I feel like I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't.
Bottom line, I didn't sign up for a lifetime membership and a preorder before the game even launched to have my faith in it betrayed and ripped apart. I didn't sign up for these rule changes. That's what it is. They changed the rules.
This is a dealbreaker for me. If this is what they call making the game better, I'd like to know who's interest they have in mind. This is no longer fun for me, AT ALL.
Neither am I, haven't paid a thing, and I'm still flying in a RA ship.
Yes, for tribble testing, with the speedy leveling that is not realistic to what F2Pers will be playing, that is exactly what I am advocating. No, that does not sound crazy to me. When released to holodeck, leveling will be slower, giving more time to collect dilithium and the like, and should be plenty for ships and consoles. In tribble, you level up too fast for it to matter. So yes, dont waste it in tribble.
Glad you see the truth now.
If you can stop stroking your epeens for a moment, the actual problems should be obvious. Cryptic set up a test of the F2P Beta without the most crucial piece of the system active - Dilithium gain. They enabled all the limitations of the Dilithium system and left out any way to get it in useful amounts. F2P test fail #1.
Additionally, there is increased XP gain from story missions. This means that players will outlevel their ship and gear much faster than normal. That magnifies the problems created by the missing Dilithium system. F2P test fail #2.
But wait! There are prizes for leveling up on Tribble and only a limited amount of time to do it. So players log in and level their toons like no tomorrow to get their characters to VA (which, with the increased XP gain, isn't that difficult). Unfortunately, there's that missing Dilithium thing again. Players that couldn't afford new ships were faced with an increasingly grueling leveling experience because everything costs Dilithium and the only way you could get it was the level-up award. Since they couldn't get new ships why not get better gear? That would partially alleviate the ship problem, for the next-higher tier, anyway. So Cryptic guaranteed that many people would level as fast as they could by offering level-gated incentives with a time limit. This, on top of F2P test fail #1 and #2 gives us F2P test fail #3.
So Cryptic finally enables the entire Dilithium system. We finally have a way to get the Dilithium we need and the ship prices are ratcheted down an order of magnitude. But uh oh. The coupon we get isn't retroactive. So all those players that leveled their characters during the week and can't afford tier-appropriate ships because they used what Dilithium they had gearing up to help account for the fact they couldn't afford a tier-appropriate ship in the first place? They're screwed. F2P test fail #4.
Whoa, what's this?! We get 1200 Cryptic Test Points to try out on Tribble! Awesome! Wait...what's that? C-$tore prices have gone up so that 1200 CTP's can't buy any RA/VA ships? Oh, but if we buy C-Points on Holodeck we'll get an equal amount of additional CTP's on Tribble? Okaaayyy, I see how it is. F2P test fail #5.
The entire first week of the F2P Beta should have been called the DOff / FED Mirror Event / F2P Build Stress Test Beta, but if they called it that then many people would have waited until the second patch to start playing on Tribble. The test results from leveling for the entire first week will in no way help in judging how effective the Dilithium system is because that system was almost-wholly missing from the F2P server. The problem isn't that players leveled fast or spent their Dilithium on gear instead of ships. The problem is that the system wasn't ready for people to progress past Lt. Cmr 2 and it should have been limited to that until the last patch. And that is F2P test fail #6.
Z
It works now. If you hit RA/VA before the last patch you'd be S.O.L. That's the problem.
Z
Not if you know how to play. You can do missions with the base stuff you get at the beginning of the game. It will be a bit tougher, but you'll get past it. Also, you can buy upgrades with energy credits, craft stuff at Memory Alpha and find stuff on missions. I've survived easily playing the game this way so far, you can too.
What I don't get is why someone would spend all their dilithium on consoles when they see that they can't afford a ship at the Commander rank. That's crazy. Simple logic says if I can't afford a ship now, I might not be able to afford one later, so I should save the only currency that I have that can buy ships, since there's no fast way to earn more yet.
Rule #1 about RPGs: never pay in game money for "upgrades" unless your character is just starting out, you'll find better stuff on missions.
Rule #1 about F2P MMO games: nothing is free. They'll make you earn everything, or pay real world money to get it faster.
Wah. That's why it's called a beta. Beta = incomplete. If you don't like it, go back to Holodeck. Crying about it won't help.
Out of all you said, this is the only one I disagree with. You're right with everything else.
Honestly, if you want to level the fastest you can, you wont even return to ESD to claim your dilithium/new ship once you level up past LTC; its completely unnecessary. You can just keep running story line missions, filled with a little bit of the DOff system, and level extremely easy in a tier 2 ship all the way to RA. So no, it doesnt make any sense to buy better gear, especially if you know that shortly afterwards, you're just going to outlevel that gear... makes no sense...
But yes, the rest of what you said is true. Ideally, they should have made it retroactive, so people who planned poorly should at least be able to buy a end game ship...
A lot of the people making complaints in this thread are acting as if these were characters on Holodeck who got screwed somehow. If that were the case, I'd *fully* be behind the cause. But, it's not Holodeck.
If you made it to level 51, you've accomplished getting what you need for the rewards. Why not just start a new character and, you know, help test the new build instead of sitting on a level 51 and complaining you're missing out on something? Isn't that the point of a test server, to test things?
Cryptic's past history with STO has been "To hell with making a good game. We'll try to get away with milking as money out of people while giving them the finger for as long as we can." This is why I have 0 hope of anything EXCEPT minor bug fixes will happen on Tribble before F2P. They'll only fix it if CBS gets involved and/or their "cash cow" nets them a bankruptcy.
That's entirely too reasonable for these forums, sir. It's not like I said something just like it on page 1. And was ignored. I honestly think they should have done a server wipe with the Thursday patch. Too many people ground through the incomplete build, and at this point they don't have a whole lot they can contribute to actual testing with those toons, since they were forced, by a bad build, to do it wrong.
I'm not saying the first build wasn't bad. It was. It was horrible. But that's why this is a test server. What has me really alarmed are the people who go to the Holodeck forums and start complaining about systems which are still in the process of being developed. The economy is changing. They can't really do a whole lot of Alpha testing on this with any sort of accuracy, so they have to inch it out to the beta, which means we're going to be seeing a lot of broken builds. It happens. That's WHY you have test servers. It isn't a preview. It isn't a "come see what we'll have next week!"
Which, to be honest, is a completely separate point from the complaints in this thread. Most, if not all, of the complaints were that the Dilithium system was added/changed/modified *after* people got their characters to 51 under the 'old' way and didn't get any compensation for the new way which seems to alleviate getting ships/gear/etc somewhat.
I can understand that complaint if this were Holodeck and their characters got shafted. But, it's a test server and things are *going* to change, not always optimally for existing characters. Wanting to hold on to a level 51 (after already earning the coming prizes when F2P goes to Holodeck) in a test environment and being *mad* about gaffes just seems as if the point of this being a test server is missed.
Yeah, I know. What was I thinking...
And, it's miss, not sir.
I'm just upset that, while we needed a unified currency, they made it absolutely horrid. Considering they said nothing would change for a Gold player, we are testing as Golds to be able to spend hundreds of dollars or grind for months on end. Morally bankrupt is the term.
Honestly this is really ticking my off. If I didn't already have a lifetime sub, if I was a new player, I would get to this point and walk away from the game. I seriously would like to do that with tribble, except for the fact I know it accomplishes nothing walking away from a test.
Seriously Cryptic, this system is insane. It will scare more customers away then customers it will attract revamp the dilithium system COMPLETELY and try it again. The economics don't work and frustration level is through the roof.
Yes, you are paying to test, if you subscribe or are a LTS, then you are "paying" to test. That is the whole point of a "beta". There is no "alpha" contrary to popular belief(I didn't set it up so don't ask me why, maybe its a greek thing) but this is a test. **** is broken or doesn't work right. I'm not a Cryptic apologist, but I work with software and **** is broken until you fix it. This is a test, **** will be broken, cstore, dilitium , etc. get over it or go to Holotdeck where it works for now. If it is still broke on Holodeck, then complain, you have gripe then because Holodeck is the real deal, not Tribble. They don't call it a test server for nothing.
Oh, I'll agree on that point. But I think another thread needs to be started on the *current* state of Dilithium and whatnot, instead of complaining about not having any when the new system went into place.
Cryptic has said one thing, and so far, has done everything the exact opposite way from what they said. I don't trust that they will improve the economy before it goes live.
But Cryptic could to something nice to surprise me like actually making it right.
Fair enough, but if we don't keep the heat on them now, then nothing will change before it goes live.
Listen, I don't know how it will work on Holodeck, but this a test so I'm not getting my panites wadded up over stuff here. I'm actually having a good time. Of course I have a life and am not spending my non working hours on here. A couple hours a night and I am fine. got my andorian crew and maybe a LT CMD ship, but I sold enough TRIBBLE to up its weapons etc. I have 90000 dilitijum so at captain I will buy a new ship. Hopefully Holodeck will not be like that, and it probably won't because of the *****ing, but you need to know how to capitalize on the exchange. I have made a killing even at LT CMD there. So instead of ****ing away my diilithum, I bought some lower level armor and am doing fine. If anything, I'm learning how to up my wife and son when I sign them up for silver. But lastly and most importantly, tell Cryptic what you don't like, but quit *****ing and complaining, this is a test, it isnt' set in stone. Of course with a wife and kids, I only get an hour or two a night on here, maybe you people who have made admiral a 'test" need to either find a job or a little companionship.
True enough, but again, that's what a new thread which is more on topic (with characters who are currently leveling up, not those who have already reached max level) showing why the current system is inadequate and perhaps with suggestions on how to fix them, should be used, IMO. (Holy run-on sentences..)
Listen, I'm not defending cryptic, espeically because of how I have seen some moderators 'ban ' posts. but what have they done that is opposite? You paiid for Holodeck. So far Holodeck works like always. Tribble(and Redshirt for that matter) are a bonus for subscribers to play with(and I am loving the Doff system by the way). It lets you try out new stuff. I'm not getting ****ed off about bugs or over pricing on Tribble, now as a LTS, if the **** with my stuff on Holodeck , I'll be ****ed and rightly so, that is what I paid $300 bucks for. Tribble and Redshirt are bonuse and I'm glad to see how stuff will work. Especially because it gives me a clue as to what my wife and son will have to experience as silver players(I aint' paying $600 for non trekkies, LOL)
Your right, and thank you. Most people(I hope) have a life and will play this game casually as F2P, because they have a life.
Well, I'll be honest. Right now, I"m doing my best to get a character to 51 because I want all the 'rewards' for doing so. I've gotten all the Tribble um.. tribbles in the past, and I want all the special stuff now..
One that's done, I fully intend to playtest a KDF character and a second character Fed and find the small niggling bugs, along with more feedback on systems as they're added/changed (because they most certainly will be).
But, right now, I could care less how I make 51.. A beat up old ship and mismatched crew are perfectly acceptable right now.
The thing about that is we got enough Dilithium at Lt. Cmr for a new ship but were a little short for Cmr. At the time it wasn't clear the deficit was intentional. There certainly wasn't anything in the release notes about it. So it wasn't anywhere near as clear-cut as you're making it out to be. Keep trying, though. :rolleyes:
I went the play-til-Captain-in-a-T2-ship route and at the end of the Commander levels combats took forever. Not enough weapon slots and no higher-level BOff skills. I would have gone crazy fighting Romulans in my T2 Nova.
And this is more than people whining because they planned poorly, or QQing because stuff doesn't work right on Tribble. It's that people have spent a week testing the F2P Beta and because of Cryptic's poor planning it was, for some of them, basically a wasted effort. I wanted to test out the new STF's but since it doesn't look like I'll be getting an RA/VA ship there's really no point. I mean, how useful would it be to run them and say 'yep, I had a lot of trouble flying my Captain ship in Infected'?
That's my beef with the way this has played out. I can pretty much forget about testing any RA/VA stuff since I won't have a ship appropriate to the level. It's cool that Cryptic fixed the issue, but it would have been even better if they gave anyone that made Captain prior to the last patch one of those ship discount tokens. But as things stand now I'm just in it for the rewards.
Z