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Romance and relations (question for Cryptic)

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
With the officers of the bridge, there is only professional interaction. Why not put the possibility of including friendships and romance?
Post edited by Unknown User on
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  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Why? Is not RPing such things mainly a mental endevour?
    If implemented, will spurning such advances cause a loss in BOff ability use?
    If implemented, will such activities cause jealousy among the crew?
    Will Captains pets comments start to surface?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Roach wrote: »
    If implemented, will spurning such advances cause a loss in BOff ability use?
    If implemented, will such activities cause jealousy among the crew?
    Will Captains pets comments start to surface?
    Ohhhhh... you mean Cryptic needs to research all those issues before they can implement such a system?

    Indeed, that'd be a lot of work for no immediate cash influx. Better just offer another shiny toy... ;)
    Roach wrote: »
    Why? Is not RPing such things mainly a mental endevour?
    Oddly enough, there is a developer out there who decided that RP'ing in their MMO shouldn't happen only in the players' mind. Perhaps it's time more MMO's included proper RP and justified belonging to a genre called MMORPG. :rolleyes:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    It would be nice to see romance and friendship with your officers, as happens for example in Mass Effect and in others single player games
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    LordOfPit wrote: »
    Ohhhhh... you mean Cryptic needs to research all those issues before they can implement such a system?

    Indeed, that'd be a lot of work for no immediate cash influx. Better just offer another shiny toy... ;)

    Oddly enough, there is a developer out there who decided that RP'ing in their MMO shouldn't happen only in the players' mind. Perhaps it's time more MMO's included proper RP and justified belonging to a genre called MMORPG. :rolleyes:

    Not against RPing, just this type of interaction seems a little more mental than actual gameplay and while easy to program into a single player game would need a broad series of if/then/or evenst if brought to a MMO.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Curious... I thought every captain in the game was romantically involved with their harem of bridge officers.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    LordOfPit wrote: »
    Ohhhhh... you mean Cryptic needs to research all those issues before they can implement such a system?

    Indeed, that'd be a lot of work for no immediate cash influx. Better just offer another shiny toy... ;)

    Oddly enough, there is a developer out there who decided that RP'ing in their MMO shouldn't happen only in the players' mind. Perhaps it's time more MMO's included proper RP and justified belonging to a genre called MMORPG. :rolleyes:

    What game is this you speak of?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    CMikeHardy wrote: »
    Curious... I thought every captain in the game was romantically involved with their harem of bridge officers.

    Ya I agree, and this system would be way to complicated to implement, in Mass Effect you have a set number of characters each with their own unique looks and personalities. For STO were you can customize your BOFFs in a ridiculous amount of ways it would be too much work for the dev team for almost no pay out. I actually thought this would be a good idea early on but not so much anymore

    Also if they do add personalities in game that would just make things weird because that would also be customizable and im pretty sure theirs already a game in Japan that lets you create your own girlfriend...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    I do that mostly in my head. Almost all my bridge officers are female. All of my female officers have almost always worn skirts. Yes I did it on purpose.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    CMikeHardy wrote: »
    Curious... I thought every captain in the game was romantically involved with their harem of bridge officers.

    *quietly motions for his two Orion Female BOffs to step back into the turbolift*

    I have no idea what you're implying, good sir.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    It would be cool to have some kind of interaction with your bridge officers - like the doff system it could provide slight bonuses to gameplay.

    Banter between the senior staff has always been a big part of Trek, after all. And perhaps most importantly, there needs to be reason to actually go inside your ship interior more often :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    I don't think we need some forced form of romance (no, mass efect didn't portray a romance believable ;) ). Games cannot do that, it's always very cheesy and, well... forced, as already stated. I was actually kind of shocked to learn that the majority of players almost exclusively hold female BOFFs in skirts, if it would be possible people would also want sex animations, wouldn't they? ;)

    I would however welcome interaction with your BOFFs, at least while you are on your bridge. some basic personalities, small stories, chatting, playing poker or something like that.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    IMO, this is something best left to the individual players' discretion and imagination.

    Of all of my alts, I've only had this come up once - my human Eng captain and his andorian Tac XO have a long-standing unrequited attraction between them. They've never acted on or even openly acknowledged it, not only because of the fraternization issue but also because they're not biologically compatible (not that this has stopped couples in Trek before), and Rintala, a shen, is part of an andorian quad marriage. Of course, none of this prevents them from constantly winding up in situations with lots of "UST" and ship-teasing for the audience. ;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Actually, Star Trek fans of STO have always been hopeful since the games launch for shipboard experiences to have more meaning.

    Since the game is designed as one player to a ship, that does leave room for NPC engagement on the 'lower decks'. Perhaps not romance on the bridge itself, but social banter from passing NPC crew. Be it while in passing down a corridor or while hanging in the ships lounge. The single-player Voyager Elite Force did that pretty well. It would be an extension of NPC reactions we already experience on Earth Space Dock. Remember the Promotion Ceremonies that can happen there?

    Assuming STO gets to revisit starship interiors, it might finally become practical to offer actual shipboard missions for our Captains - not just our Duty Officers. I could see a light-hearted shipboard mission where our Captain gets to perform a wedding every now and then. Kirk did that. So did Picard. And so did Janeway.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Only my fed engineer has all female boffs, so he can perform the Riker maneuver.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    CMikeHardy wrote: »
    Curious... I thought every captain in the game was romantically involved with their harem of bridge officers.

    hehehehehehehehehehehe hell yes! :D

    this leads me to an idea:

    as i wrote before, it would be nice to get to customize captains appartement.
    so why dont have customizable appartements for every BOFF? and perhaps one could make 2 of them move together..

    souvenirs could be unlocked, found on missions, there could also be some c-store or unlockable (mission wise) items...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Eng: male captain, even mix of male and female BOs
    Sci: female, mostly female BOs
    Tac (both Fed and KDF): male, mostly male BOs

    Nope, no harems here. I leave that to my namesake. ;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    CMikeHardy wrote: »
    Curious... I thought every captain in the game was romantically involved with their harem of bridge officers.
    Quiet! I get enough flak from the Imperial Affairs Officer about out of chain of command/species cross mating.

    It would be cool to have some kind of interaction with your bridge officers - like the doff system it could provide slight bonuses to gameplay.

    Banter between the senior staff has always been a big part of Trek, after all. And perhaps most importantly, there needs to be reason to actually go inside your ship interior more often :)

    Banter , like what I saw in the older Baldurs Gate single player game would be awesome, as it can be added without requiring Player interaction or decision making and it would be awesome.

    The first time I hear a BOff say, " I got a bad feeling about this.." as I replay the Devidian Halloween mission, I would probalbly be so giddy as to explode.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    I really need to change my ship's name to the USS Slag Heap. Naught but Trill, Andorian, and Terran women in short skirts and midriff-bearing tops.

    ...oh, and a Breen... :p
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    I don't think cryptic has the resources to add romances or relations in any meaningful way.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    It's a MMO, you're supposed to befriend and romance other people :p.

    But seriously it just wouldn't work. Everyone has a different crew and lots of people don't want a certain personality and scripted relationships to be forced on their BOs (nor on their captain).
    You may want to make out with your Betazoid science officer in a skimpy skirt but what about the captain of the all-pakled U.S.S. Us Go ? What about the Klingon with the Gorn and Naussican crew ? Everyone's story is different, even with the Episodic content we have.

    But if you really want to romance NPCs, well you can make all the "Kirk meets alien princess in distress" missions you want with the Foundry.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    PC-to-NPC relationships (romantic or platonic or competitive) would be necessarily superficial, but even the little touches can provide a nice change of pace.

    Little random mini-missions on board your ship would be really cool.

    But for this to really work properly, Cryptic would need to overhaul how trigger logic works in their missions. Right now, triggers are really simple. The Devs have a few more tricks available than Foundry authors do, like triggering on a Player's profession to present optional objectives.

    What they would have to have is an expanded selection of triggers for things like species, profession, gender, and faction. On top of that, they would need to add new functionality for configurable personality traits and triggers that can take advantage of those.

    Furthermore, trigger logic needs to be more complex. Right now we have "IF-YES-THEN" triggers. What we need are "IF-YES/NO-THEN-ELSE" triggers with full logical operators like AND/OR/NOT.

    For example, IF my captain is MALE AND NOT Klingon, THEN play DIALOG "Flirting", ELSE IF my captain is FEMALE OR KLINGON, THEN play DIALOG "Rejection".

    Even better... Select Random Bridge Officer with the "Female" and "Flirtatious" traits, then run the "Flirting" mini-mission when the captain enters the Mess Hall. If the captain picks the "Hit On" response, add the trait "Romantic" to that BO. If the captain picks the "Reject" response, add the trait "Rebuffed" to that BO. The new traits would leverage different responses in the future.

    It would benefit both them and us.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    0o, yeah you all have thought about this too much...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Not only romance, but it would take a better interaction between the characters, now the characters interact only formally
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Mongoson wrote: »
    0o, yeah you all have thought about this too much...

    Simply following in the footsteps of the great James T. Kirk... alien girls are hawt! ;)

    No, really, this is actually more about making NPC's (and missions) more intelligently interactive to open up more gameplay options. It's not true roleplay unless there are real players involved. It would be more accurate to say that it's about better immersion.

    Allow me to give an example of what would be totally cool and is totally not available in the game (and probably never will be, but one can always hope).

    Let's say I invite you over to my bridge. We can chat/roleplay and be naturally interactive. In the meantime, though, my crew is milling around totally ignoring the both of us. In fact, we couldn't get a reaction out of them if we danced on their bridge stations.

    Now in a more perfect world, you or I could walk up to one of my bridge officers and start talking to them. It would probably be crude interaction at best, more like idle chit-chat than anything else, but at least it would be something.

    Now imagine that you and I could talk to the same bridge officer and get different reactions. They recognize that I am their captain and respond to me accordingly. You, as the visiting officer, get a different set of dialog options than I do.

    And what if I were to start something like a slap emote next to one of my bridge officers and it triggers a cowering reaction if they have a timid personality trait or an angry bluster if they are combative?

    Oh, and what if I were able to set flags for personality traits or moods on both my character and my BO's at will? Now I can simulate more kinds of interactions. Notice that the complexity level is going way up and the new tech required to enable it becomes less and less trivial.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Does anybody remember the Wing Commander games? One of them had an option where you could romance one of two different women. Your choices affected the narrative and the cutscene you got at the end.
    It would be cool if they could have implemented something like that with the storyline missions. Unfortunately I have to completely agree with bluegeek and say that, especially at this point, all of that would be way over Cryptics head.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    This is kind of unrelated but in the realm of crew interaction. Wouldn't it be cool if officers stand at attention as you walk down the hall, or even have certain missions pop up by merit of you going down inside your ship? Imagine for a moment, you head down to engineering, and crewman Jill comes up to you and salutes, and as you are about to leave she says, "Captain, I need to inform you of a problem on the ship..." leading into some cool side mission that is SHIPBOARD. I guess this has nothing to do with romance, but it does have to do with crew interaction which others have talked about on this.

    The Romance option does seem rather difficult the way things are designed, but seems somewhat comparative to the way SWTOR is played. One has to realize though that SWTOR is basically 8 KoToR Style games rolled into one and then made into a 'massively' format. Star Trek Online wasn't really built that way. I suppose they could come up with a system to coincide with crew morale, comraderie, friendship, and possibly romance... but the hard part is making something like that interesting for the diverse number of characters we have out there. Would it be cool? I certainly think so. I can even see a beneficial game mechanic for having a crew of officers who are gung ho about their captain. After all, that is sort of what we see happening in the Star Trek series. Picard initially gives Riker a hard time. The Crew hasn't developed friendships to start, or there are a couple of old ones here and there. As time develops though, the Enterprise becomes more than a crew, they become a family. Creating a game system, and even interesting storylines to develop that would be cool. That's why I offered the little shipboard scenario a while ago. Morale/Comraderie/Friendship/etc could be an interesting component to add to the game.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Moral choices are there, just think of the mission with Drake
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    TRIBBLE talking i want the option to make all my women nekkid and upgrade the size of my captains quarters bed to a super king size.




    ....my bridge will be empty
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    .../10chars
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2012
    Boff your BOFF's. Yeah, I'm down with that:D....
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