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Two ways to improve STO from a Trekie fan who loves video games.

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
Hello, I have been playing Star Trek Online for a while and last night had a burst of ideas that would truly make this game better. I wish I could present these ideas in person, but I have almost no developing experience and only know some things STO is missing that would bring it a real sense of exploration that fans love about the series and would translate well into the game.

This came about when I read the information about the new Odyssey class starship about it saying something like it is meant for deep space exploration for extended periods of time. I know this was not meant as a real characteristic of the ship and only a narrative description, but it got me thinking how STO is really lacking in terms of exploration. Currently to 'explore' we go to the 'explore block' which is basically a separate block of space that has random anomalies inside. This.. Is just not exploration.

I hope you (Cryptic developers responsible for STO) will consider two changes I present. These come from from a strategy of imagining what STO would look like if it were the perfect Star Trek game (as I know is not possible) and ignoring the cost or limitations just to get the idea out. Then, afterward, trying one's best to make that a reality, even if step by step. I think this is easier done by someone who is not a developer and will not think of the limitations or costs so readily. Sure those are great challenges, but a necessary component of success is evolving and improving in new ways, even at steep difficulties.

If you watch the show (as developers of a Star Trek game that should be somewhat advised), there is a trend concerning exploration. The ship is moving, people are inside the ship interacting and making it run. First, the inside of the ship should be fully laid out (or at least more fully laid out, if only for personal exploration purposes, and the layouts should be unique for every ship. When the description of the Odyssey class said something like self-sustaining over long distances I immediately thought they every ship in thie game is like that. You do, however, need to go to bases and cargo ships for selling, buying, banking, etc. Now say this all concerns the particular class of Odyssey ship, it would be capable of going truly into deep space and indeed where no cargo ships would be able to go. So even though a bit less realistic, move the vendors and bank and such onto the interior of the ship (if only for the most advanced vessels), as this would truly make it self sustainable (the second main change shown later requires this), without having to stop exploring and go to some cargo ship or base for selling and buying, etc. The main point is to bring interaction to the interior of the ship. I have no reason to go into my ship if I have seen it before, there is nothing to do there. At the very least have the player able to explore and run around the interior of their ship while the ship is actually moving in space to the desired location or in the desired direction. Countless stories and quests can be done inside the ship alone while the ship is moving and. Officers can alert the player when the ship comes across something noteworthy. Optional aspects to this can allow the player to control the ship and its basic functions such as in tactical mode from the bridge and allowing the player to tell the officers what to do and they get it done through autopilot. This is simply a different means to control the ship than through tactical mode. Also important is to have the bridge display actually reflect what is outside and moving and happening. This is to bring STO to be like the shows, and the shows are why we like STO.

Secondly, the most important change would be exploration. Have you ever played Minecraft? When you explore from point A, the land is generated randomly as you go. You will never hit a wall and can go in one direction forever if you so wish. And if you choose to do so, you can go back along the same route or any other and get back to point A, and everything you explored so far will be as it was with new land generating itself as required to unexplored territory. It doesn't matter how this is done, wether you have to enter STO into a new 'explore' mode apart from the actual created universe (which would be less desirable for many reasons you can likely see), or have it integrated with the known universe and simply be space around all of that, such as beyond the current borders. In the TV shows the crew usually comes across either a space lifeform, a new curious planet, a new space-faring species in their on ships, a nebulae, a phenomenon, etc. Have these become randomly generated as a player explores new space. Have these be what the bridge officers would alert the player to having come across when you are in wherever in your ship (if you chose to be) moving your items around in the game, completing stories between crew members, or whatever. Perhaps you can simply sit on the captain's chair and look at the main viewer, seeing in real time what you would see if you were in tactical mode instead of being in tactical mode. Now, as the game is an MMO, anything one 'explores' and thus generates should be accessible to every other player. For instance, Player A discovers a particularly interesting planet far out thataway, and Player B wants to go there to start his/her exploration from there to someplace new. When players look at the game main map, they see everything there is now, but also everything everyone else unlocked/generated/explored beyond that. Now, the advanced ships' self-sustainability that is internal ship interaction with all the usual vendors makes sense because throughout this exploring you will need these vendors without coming back to stations or cargo ship areas.

This is indeed ambitious and presents challenges in terms of programming and such. But to be a truly great developer you should try and make truly unique and brilliant games. It is for the players, not the money afterall.. Right? The worst that can happen is that this is ignored or discarded is impractical or too challenging. I wish I could share these ideas in person, but I live on the other side of the country. I love Star Trek, as many do, and as a Trekie with an outside opinion, I think this would make the game great. Thank you for any consideration of these ideas you may give.
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