Where has all the freedom gone?

System

Having leveled a character on Tribble significantly, two things are REALLY bothering me, and one other is still weighing heavy from the F2P features matrix.

First of all, linear episode progression SUCKS. I got through the first few Klingon-front missions, and found that the Devidian missions (which I don't like) are jammed in there with them. OK, fine, I'll play them to get to LC12 so I can test the DOff system...whatever. Played through until the next one was Night of the Comet (which might be my least favorite mission in the entire game), and I thought, OK, TRIBBLE this, I'm at LC12, I'll just level some other way until the Romulan series unlocks. I'll miss City on the Edge of Never, but whatever. Now I'm almost a Captain, and STILL the only storyline mission available to me is that stupid Night of the Comet mission that I DO NOT WANT TO PLAY.

Here's a hint, Cryptic:
Being forced to do something I do not want to do, in order to do something that I do want to do, is not fun. It's WORK.

Secondly, the gap between the amount of dilithium gained per level and the amount needed for a new ship is RIDICULOUS. I'm a Captain 1, leveled mostly through the Doff System. I skipped my Commander-level ship thinking that the stipend from both Commander and Captain levels should be enough to get a Captain level ship, so whatever, right? Well, it's not. I still don't have enough. I suppose the intent is that I have to grind for it. Well, TRIBBLE that. Lemme repeat something:

Being forced to do something I do not want to do, in order to do something that I do want to do, is not fun. It's WORK.

Thirdly, and this is something I've commented on before: why do I have to level a Fed character to create a Klingon one? F2P Matrix still says Fed to 25 before Klingons unlock; Tribble does it early. Why do my friends need to grind up a Fed before they can play a Klingon? Lemme repeat this again:

Being forced to do something I do not want to do, in order to do something that I do want to do, is not fun. It's WORK.

As it is on Tribble right now, this game is NOT FUN. It's WORK. If it is still that way when it reaches Holodeck, I will probably give up and stop playing. And that really hurts my feelings, because I love Trek, and I really do like this game.

I'm not asking for everything to be free, or for an "I-win" button. I just want to be able to choose my path. I want to be able to choose which missions I do; I want to be able to choose my ship; I want to be able to choose my faction. Right now all those choices are in the process of going away.

On a positive note, the Doff system is pretty sweet (even if there is a MASSIVE imbalance between Diplomacy and Marauding). Many thanks to Heretic and the rest of the team for all the effort they put into it. I just hope it's not wasted because nobody wants to play the rest of the game.

Archived Post

It's just gone, they have no interest in people actually enjoying the game anymore, those days are past. The current plan is to make as much money as possible at the expense of our time and enjoyment until the game goes T/U.

Archived Post

dunno if all the current missions is there but you can click the available mission on the top of the screen and get it from there

Archived Post

I want the following fixed:

1. Remove the hardlined story progression restrictions. Keep new "Overview" setup and accompanying journal features.
2. Bring back ship tokens. I shouldn't have to grind for my next ship, especially as a gold member.
3. Fix daily dilithium refinement limit (its too low)
4. Change exploraiton missions back to normal, they shouldnt be dailies (BTran excluded)

Cryptic, listen to your customers or suffer. We are NOT an IP to be screwed with. Trek fans will show you just how tough we can be when crossed.

Archived Post

This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Cryptic Studios Community Rules and Policies. ~Stormshade

Archived Post

thethanatos wrote: »

This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Cryptic Studios Community Rules and Policies. ~Stormshade

Hahahah... yeah. Frankly, I think that could actually happen.

Archived Post

Indeed, it could happen, and I would go!

STO was touted as an MMO for Trek fans who don't necessarily like "grinding" MMOs like WoW. Without a major shift in the current thinking, it is becoming an MMO where you either a) pay to win or b) grind and you MIGHT be able to match what the people who paid to win get. That will seriously turn off all the Star Trek fans that play the game. STO has so much potential... yes, I realize there were development deadlines, but changing things that already work, just so you can draw in a different crowd is never the way to go. SOE learned that the hard way with the CU and NGE, and I (a guild leader with an entire player city, trillions of credits and literally a year's worth of actual playing time logged - yes, I was a SWG addict), along with a lot of others, simply walked away and never looked back. Don't repeat their mistake.

PS - BTW, SWG started hemorrhaging players the moment it introduced the holocrons and Jedi gridathon path to uberness. As I see it holocrons taking people out of the community and putting them into a perma-grind mode hurt SWG to the point where SOE HAD to bring in new players, hence the "need" for the CU and NGE.

Archived Post

bythekid wrote: »

dunno if all the current missions is there but you can click the available mission on the top of the screen and get it from there

Yeah, that's the problem, if you absolutely hate Night of the Comet because the damn thing bugs out and everyone's immortal, for instance, you can NO LONGER PROGRESS IN THE GAME. You can't simply say "TRIBBLE this, I'm going over here" anymore, because the game will keep saying "do this first to advance".

If the Dividans were pulled out, put in their own arc, like the Breen already are, and you were allowed to actually pick the starting mission from any strand at will, I'd be thrilled. And sure, you could stick warnings on the Borg or Breen saying "doing this before level 41 is a bad idea, but hey, your choice", I'd be thrilled.

Archived Post

Cryptic wants a structured introduction into the game, we want freedom of choice. I think there may be room for a middle ground.. Cryptic could just make the Klingon front content progress in order. That way new players have t o play the progression and get a broader understanding of the game... and we ( after playing Klingon front) can go off and play outside a linear arc

Archived Post

breakout wrote: »

Cryptic wants a structured introduction into the game, we want freedom of choice. I think there may be room for a middle ground.. Cryptic could just make the Klingon front content progress in order. That way new players have t o play the progression and get a broader understanding of the game... and we ( after playing Klingon front) can go off and play outside a linear arc

A structured introduction to the game is all well and good, but at the same time, having to do every mission in the game in lockstep is excessive. Especially given that several... let's call them "divisive", missions (IE: Night of the Comet) are now mandatory and occur pretty early in game progression.

A new player, who's unfamiliar with the game can limp along through researcher rescue pretty easily, and then slam face first into Skirmish, and follow that with a side of What Lies Beneath before realizing that the game is Free 2 Pay, and bolts. And there's no warning, in game, that this is even slightly different from EVERY other mission in the game, just BAM brick wall.