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Ask Cryptic: April 2012

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
edited April 2012 in Galactic News Network [PC]
In this brand-new edition of Ask Cryptic, Executive Producer Dan Stahl delivers answers to player submitted questions.


Link to the news article.

=====

The questions linked above were answered during the in-game "First Contact Day/ In-Game Ask Cryptic Event" that happened today. After these questions were answered, Dan opened up the chat so players could ask more questions. Here were his responses:

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: OK - bear with me - I'm going to pick questions at random

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: STO in China or other Regions. PW is actively working on moving STO into other regions, but China is not likely since Trek is not that popular there. Japan/Russia are more likely.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Are the Fed getting a Carrier? It is possible that we will introduce a limited version of a Carrier for the Feds, but it will most likely only have a single flight deck. Stay tuned.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Talks of Faction Wars - Fleet Progression is a precursor to Faction v Faction Fleet game play - So post Season 6 it is a possibility.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Poker on your ship - only if Software dev who put it there gets around to finishing it :) (nudges Jeff)

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Renaming top rank to be Captain - we are pretty set on the current names, although we still may introduce an "always call me this" option in the future.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: KDF showing armor - that is the holy grail for the character art team. It is tied to changes Al wants to make with Kits so that Kits become costume options instead of tied to gear. Eventually.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Saucer Sep for older ships - Yes we have plans to do this - we are working on tech for it. All Galaxy would be next.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Duty Officer App - It is very likely and Cryptic is committed to doing this - see Careers page for open positions!

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Morn at the Bar - Morn is in hiding at the moment, but will be making an appearance soon.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Other Faction uniforms - unlikely as we still plan to get to multiple factions.There are options though - maybe a Cardassian fed, etc... stay tuned

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE - making more things tradeable between characters - loot and tradeability is being revamped for Season 6.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Account merge issues - former EP Stephen D is on task to address this and look for a revamp website/flow soon.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Next ship = Ferengi related :)

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Increasing Dev team - we continue to hire - Cryptic is adding newe employees every week. I have 5 open positions now - see Careers Page.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: More Species - they are coming! You may even see one prior to Season 6

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Upping level cap - we do plan to do this but probably not until Season 7 or later

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: ETA for Season 6 = midJune - until then events in April and May

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Bugs in recent patches - I'm working closely with directors at Cryptic to overhaul QA processes - I agree it has never been perfect. It is a priority for me.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Buying memberships with EC - probably not, but we are introducing many new tradeable items that will help with EC inflation.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: logging out to switch chars - this has annoyed me for years - it is an infrastructure issue with the engine - requires the engine team to fix - Requests submitted.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Membership for Cpoints - interesting - will investigate.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: My opinion of F2P STO - it is liberating to be able to control my own destiny in terms of running a retail business that has a direct impact on my headcount. I like it.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Skipping cutscenes - it may be possible in some cases, but in others not. Will make a mental note to do what we can to allow skips (esp on replay)

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: More T5 Ships = Fleet made Shipyard makes new top tier ships in S6

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Engine Trails - unfortunately we tried to turn them off but it is server drawn so it turns all trails off in zone for everyone - so we have to remake it to do what you want. maybe someday.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Hair Tech - no doubt - I'm going to go pester Matt and say what ever happened? I think this is tied to work Matt needs to do.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Doffs on Exchange - yes this is annoying - look for an update as soon as Software can work it into a current branch build.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Fleet Bases - more will be explained in May - staying hush on that for the moment - 1 detail they are instanced for Fleet.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: re: More Crafting - Yes it was on the cusp of Season 6 - will now come shortly after S6 - but new sets will be somewhat craftable as part of Fleets in S6

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Interiors for Card/Jem ship - not anytime soon - it will be a side project for an artist over the next year if at all.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Trait Respec = Al and I are working out the details for this - it will come post S6 but most likely this year

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Odyssey dev patch - good idea - will mention to art

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Exploration details - think of Fleets building outposts and colonies on new worlds and expanding out into the unknown - that is the gist of the current design doc - not final yet though.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Account wide bank = most likely in S6 update.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Solo players and Fleets - we are working on design doc for public fleets for solo players that offer similar but limited features - most new content will be for all Lvl 51 players in S6.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Fleet size and new system - stay tuned for details - we want fleets of all sizes to have similar experience where big fleets can simply do things more effeciently

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: re: cross team for Borg - agree this needs to be addressed. I'll ping content about it again.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: missing DOFF rewards - we have it on our schedule to hit all of these at some point, but no dates yet.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Cheaters in PVP - PW and Cryptic QA continuously investigate - email me details at dstahl@crypticstudios.com if you think something shady is happening.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Ship roles and STF - we continue to balance and that is a specific task for Systems. I'll bring it up again with Al.

<Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: one sector space - no update - got put on hold until we do a major expansion
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Neat foundry news. I like everything I'm reading.

    But, FYI, I think you may have misunderstood Castmodean's question. He was talking about the roadmap that you wrote and posted many, many moons ago. It's still there, informing the players of the short-term and long-term goals, many of which have been abandoned, with no visible signs that this roadmap even counts for anything now.

    It's also creating a lot of false expectations that they devs are working on specific things that are probably not being done by anyone at all, stuff like a cutscene camera tool.

    So, can you please update that roadmap with things that are real, while removing the make believe stuff?

    Also, to clarify about tagging? TOS stuff, etc. Is anyone working on assets beyond hooking up doors? We really need assets, instead of a platform for a captain's chair with no captain's chairs. We need a sickbay and a transporter pad, for heaven's sake. These are logical assets that need to be included. Is that what you mean by "tagging"

    Is adding new STO-specific assets part of someone's job description?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Great "event", thx for your time, Dan & Brandon! Should make this regular! :)
    Although... It kinda felt bad that we couldn't see your ingame avatars. Next time let's do this on Risa #1! :D (Or Drozana to let klinks join too.)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Thanks for taking the time with the updates Dan!
    Things are looking really good can't wait to see some of this roll out :)

    Happy first contact day!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Q: (Cmdr_Funke) I have built Star Trek models for twenty years. Will the Model errors be addressed concerning the scale of DS9 and its details, as well as various errors with other ships?

    Dstahl: As a video game, we have to balance gameplay and aesthetics with the published scales of ships and bases from the show. We’ve spent a huge amount of time playing with the scale of DS9 and at the end of the day, we like it where it currently is. As far as ship models, we have to balance our technology, rendering budgets, and manpower versus the time needed to be to the square inch accurate. At the end of the day, we strive to strike the right balance.

    have to say that it is frustrating that every time people talking about DS9's scale, the response back is always "well we fixed that". Every time I have heard someone talking about DS9's scale, it's about the interior and it's annoying to have the response always be "it's fixed... OOOOH you were talking about interior".

    That being said, DS9 is what it is and there are probably better uses of resources than redoing the interior entirely, which is probably really the only way it could be fixed.

    Any ETA for Season 6? I'm not asking for a date, just a rough rough rough estimate, like "latter half of this year"
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Well... I really appreciate the effort that went into these answers.

    Nothing they're working on excites me and anything that does excite me sounds like it's a year off or more or contradicts with what they've decided to do.

    I'm a lifer -- not going anywhere -- but I just got a good deal on twelve months of gametime in another game I enjoy more so, outside of Foundry authoring when time permits, I can't really say STO will be my primary gaming home anymore in the foreseeable future.

    I think the dev team and I just don't find the same things exciting, not even remotely. As in, these answers reinforce for me that there might not even be any overlap.

    Well, Jack's right about the tech drops. Glad he decided to be a thorn in somebody's side about that, as "annoying" as it may be. I think he's probably got the best grasp on the experiences I'd like at Cryptic, aside from the fleet starbases (which never appealed to me, sorry), and I'd love it if Jack ever got to actually make a game with the features and accessibility he wanted, with the resources, content, and business models he seems to prefer personally. It's nice that he's continuing to turn up and be a loudmouth on things like nonsensical tooltips and fleet action revamps and now the insane Borg tech drops.

    *sigh*

    I appreciate the effort but you might as well call Season Six something like "Season Six: That thing you wanted is not on the Schedule for another year."
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    *considers joining a fleet*
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Q: (Cmdr_Funke) I have built Star Trek models for twenty years. Will the Model errors be addressed concerning the scale of DS9 and its details, as well as various errors with other ships?

    Dstahl: As a video game, we have to balance gameplay and aesthetics with the published scales of ships and bases from the show. We’ve spent a huge amount of time playing with the scale of DS9 and at the end of the day, we like it where it currently is. As far as ship models, we have to balance our technology, rendering budgets, and manpower versus the time needed to be to the square inch accurate. At the end of the day, we strive to strike the right balance.

    There is a great, stickied post by fellow user Blayyde that has a basic size chart for the ship types in game, including shuttlecraft, which provides a good example of why the ships aren't in scale, epsecally in the case of the shuttles. If the shuttles were modelled exactly to scale, they'd be little more than non-descript specs on the screen, if that. :D

    Besides, it's not like Star Trek has any more a stellar reputation of accuracy than any other sci-fi franchise when it comes to scale. ;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    I'm curious what THIS means:
    <Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Talks of Faction Wars - Fleet Progression is a precursor to Faction v Faction Fleet game play - So post Season 6 it is a possibility.

    Will fleets be forced to participate in some sort of PvP gameplay to progress? There are plenty of fleets in game that have nothing to do w/ PvP, i.e; RP fleets.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    I'm definitely curious about how these items relate to each other for solo players:

    <Dev> Oaks@dstahl: RE: Solo players and Fleets - we are working on design doc for public fleets for solo players that offer similar but limited features - most new content will be for all Lvl 51 players in S6.

    <Dev> Oaks@dstahl: re: More Crafting - Yes it was on the cusp of Season 6 - will now come shortly after S6 - but new sets will be somewhat craftable as part of Fleets in S6

    Dstahl: In addition, we will be revamping the rewards structure for Season 6 as a part of our Fleet Advancement system, so look for alternative ways to get MK 12 gear as part of that update.

    Dstahl: Al has some ideas around this and we are currently discussing how the new shipyard that will be an unlockable feature of Fleet Starbases might be involved in this sort of Refit opportunity. No guarantees that we’ll do it yet, but what you are asking for is in line with the type of ships we want to see coming out of Fleet Starbase Shipyards.


    Any chance of more comments on this before May?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Well... I really appreciate the effort that went into these answers.

    Nothing they're working on excites me and anything that does excite me sounds like it's a year off or more or contradicts with what they've decided to do.

    I'm a lifer -- not going anywhere -- but I just got a good deal on twelve months of gametime in another game I enjoy more so, outside of Foundry authoring when time permits, I can't really say STO will be my primary gaming home anymore in the foreseeable future.

    I think the dev team and I just don't find the same things exciting, not even remotely. As in, these answers reinforce for me that there might not even be any overlap.

    Well, Jack's right about the tech drops. Glad he decided to be a thorn in somebody's side about that, as "annoying" as it may be. I think he's probably got the best grasp on the experiences I'd like at Cryptic, aside from the fleet starbases (which never appealed to me, sorry), and I'd love it if Jack ever got to actually make a game with the features and accessibility he wanted, with the resources, content, and business models he seems to prefer personally. It's nice that he's continuing to turn up and be a loudmouth on things like nonsensical tooltips and fleet action revamps and now the insane Borg tech drops.

    *sigh*

    I appreciate the effort but you might as well call Season Six something like "Season Six: That thing you wanted is not on the Schedule for another year."

    Same here based on whats been said and what is happening in the game I'm in same boat with you since I might just stop by now if there is like a new mission or something might seem obtainable I'll stop by but other than that there isn't anything in the game right now that makes me wanna stay glued with it just no synergy for me now :( That and some other problems its just not meshing well with me until some changes occur within the game.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Is the "public fleet" idea similar to the starting Super Group, called the “New Champions”, over on CO? If so, what is this public fleet going to be called?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    I wouldn't say i am dissapointed but there was nothing really surprising there either.

    Live long and prosper.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    I'm disappointed that no one will even fathom an idea in regards to the wait which Cardassians or Romulans will become playable.

    All I asked was if it was one, two, three years or longer before we can see either. I'd bet my subscription that most Cardassian and/or Romulan fans would prefer entering the game at the same stage the KDF did at launch. All we really want is to fly our ships and fight for our culture.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Questions chosen at random? That's a slap in the face to anyone who puts together a good set of questions.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Thanks Dan for answering my question but I don't quite think you answered it correctly. My Question was about exploring the ALPHA Quadrant side of the FEDERATION not more of the Alpha Quadrant itself. Thanks anyways and the confirmation that the Tholians are in the Alpha Quadrant is a nice plus though.:) And thank you for taking the time to answer random questions online too lots of great answers!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    i like what i hear
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Liked hearing the various answers. However, I didn't get an answer on when Katanas are going to show up.

    And I really want an answer to that, even if it is a rough answer.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    KiraYamato wrote:
    Liked hearing the various answers. However, I didn't get an answer on when Katanas are going to show up.

    And I really want an answer to that, even if it is a rough answer.

    You will get your Katanas when we get our factions. :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    KiraYamato wrote:
    Liked hearing the various answers. However, I didn't get an answer on when Katanas are going to show up.

    And I really want an answer to that, even if it is a rough answer.

    The roughest answer They can give is SOON™.... ;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    DaveyNY wrote: »
    The roughest answer They can give is SOON™.... ;)

    Not quite that rough.

    I want something of a Generic Timetable. Meaning this: Are Katanas coming next month? Mid-Summer? This year? Season 6? Season 7?

    An answer similar to any of the examples I provided is what I want.

    So, Cryptic, what is the answer to my question? :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    The amount of cruisers that are being released is rediculus.
    lets have a look at the ships real quick here....

    tactical ships (escorts)
    Vice admiral
    -tactical escort retrofit
    -multi vector advanced escort :)
    rear admiral
    -advanced escort
    -fleet escort

    science ships (science)
    vice admiral
    -long range science vessel retrofit
    rear admiral
    -deep space science vessel
    -advanced research vessel
    -recon science vessel

    engineering ships (cruisers)
    Vice admiral
    -odyssey tactical cruiser
    -odyssey operations cruiser
    -odyssey science cruiser
    -dreadnought cruiser
    -exploration cruiser retrofit
    rear admiral
    -assualt cruiser
    -star cruiser
    -advanced heavy cruiser retrofit


    if anything science captains DESERVE another ship, they have ONE vice admiral ship engineers have FIVE, whats with all the cruisers?
    why do you keep delaying the release of escorts and science ships?:mad::mad::mad:
    and I just have to say this...you can call it the odyssey tactical ship all you want, but at the end of the day.... its still a cruiser. same goes for the science version of the odyssey
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Q: (Celtus) Will there be a possibility to upgrade OLDER ships with more slots for consoles or weapons to make them more useful for newer content?

    Dstahl: We have been riding the edge with CBS in regards with retrofit ships in the game. Since STO takes place 40 years past the events of the movie Nemesis, there is concern of having too many old ships battling it out with newer enemies. That said, we have talked about ways to customize older starships and consider a crafting-like retrofit system. That does not have buyoff yet and so we are on hold until we can work out all the details of how that would even work.

    /facepalm

    Nice selective question answering there dStahl.

    There were plenty of questions regarding LOWER TIER ships on this months thread, but you take the one that specifically asks about OLDER ships.

    LOWER TIER =/= OLDER (At least some of the time)

    Nova
    Excalibur
    Sabre
    Olympic
    Akira

    All these ships are NEWER than some of your T5 ships!

    If old is an issue, then kick the Excelsior, Galaxy, D'kyr and so forth, down a tier or two where they belong.

    Otherwise, bring those newer, lower tiered ships UP.

    Forget it. This topic is just not worth it anymore, and since there is no movement on the horizon in the forseeable future, there really isn't much point in sticking around.

    /sigh
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Nice selective question answering there dStahl.
    Better to get some sort of answer than none at all. Cryptic may be the name of the company (and an appropriate word for some of the answers), but geez, so many players are Cynical.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    /facepalm

    Nice selective question answering there dStahl.

    There were plenty of questions regarding LOWER TIER ships on this months thread, but you take the one that specifically asks about OLDER ships.
    Lol, i was thinking just the same thing.
    BigGunner wrote:
    The amount of cruisers that are being released is rediculus.
    lets have a look at the ships real quick here....
    I hate to be the first one telling you, but if you haven't noticed by watching the shows: Star Trek is a cruiser dominated universe.
    In my opinion there are already too much (pew pew) escorts in this game. Maybe it's just me, but i want to play a game that is more like what i saw in the shows, not some generic Sci Fi action game, with dogfighting spacefighters and thousands of minespam and huge Carriers driving around.
    If i wanted to, i would play another game for sure.


    Live long and prosper.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    /facepalm

    Nice selective question answering there dStahl.

    There were plenty of questions regarding LOWER TIER ships on this months thread, but you take the one that specifically asks about OLDER ships.

    LOWER TIER =/= OLDER (At least some of the time)

    Nova
    Excalibur
    Sabre
    Olympic
    Akira

    All these ships are NEWER than some of your T5 ships!

    If old is an issue, then kick the Excelsior, Galaxy, D'kyr and so forth, down a tier or two where they belong.

    Otherwise, bring those newer, lower tiered ships UP.

    Forget it. This topic is just not worth it anymore, and since there is no movement on the horizon in the forseeable future, there really isn't much point in sticking around.

    /sigh

    some of the lower ships are just to small or old to justify them having sufficient hit-points and capabilities to be tier 5, but others are a perfect fit. knocking the galaxy out of tier 5 is silly, it should have been the star cruiser next to the sovereign natively at tier 5 all along. what about the intrepid then, its basically a smaller, scaled down version of the galaxy, it certainly shouldn't be a higher tier then it.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Just wonder when the fleet gets its StarBase like the one like for example like ESD, it's it possible for a Vice admiral level 50 to have a smaller verision like starbase 375, to have it's fleet of ships arranged in manner, that will be awesome.

    also wondering if you later customise the interior decks of the captiain quarters, with a walk in wardrobe, also armory. like purchasing something like from Ikea.

    Is it possible to go to your ships hanger and select your shuttle craft, instead of via transporter pad, and walking up to your collection of shuttles in that hanger of the type of ship that you have currenty have on,

    I know that there's a Blueprints of the Galaxy class, deck by deck, is it possible to have some thing like that for each ship class, maybe later down the seasons.

    regards
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    thanks for the Q & A in game. It was different and fun.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Completely ignored my question about fixing the chase camera. How can you continue to ignore such basic and game breaking issues?

    The current implementation is buggy and slow to the point of useless.

    1. When turning it often gets caught in a swinging loop. <<< GAME BREAKING!!!
    2. Chase cam should not show me the top(or side) of my ship while turning, it should show what is in front of me. <<< BAD IMPLEMENTATION

    Every single person that prefers to use the keyboard to control their ship is being forced to use this stupid buggy camera implementation... It's my fracking game view - and I can't trust it...

    Could you create and ignore a more serious bug (and annoyance)??? I don't see how...

    I love the game, but seriously, WTF???
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    Thanks Oaks, for sticking around to answer questions after the monthly Q/A, very insightful even though some of it was bad news.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2012
    will sto ever have dammaging atmospheres or gravity from planets?
    say if you were to fly to close to earth you sheilds would take damage.
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