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Ask Cryptic: June 2012

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
In this brand-new edition of Ask Cryptic, Executive Producer Dan Stahl delivers answers to player submitted questions.


Link to the article.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    wonder how i missed the ask question thread?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Q: (Kirkfat) Players don’t really get rewards for playing some of the best story missions in the game (via the Foundry). Will this ever change?

    Dstahl: As a prolific Foundry author, you bring up a valid point about rewards. The answer is yes, it will change. We have always wanted to find the right way to offer rewards for Foundry missions without leading to abuse of the reward system. Our temporary solution is to start featuring Foundry content similar to what you’ve been seeing in the in-game bulletins as the Foundry Spotlight. Based on the success we’ve had with this low budget form of promoting Foundry missions, we plan to make it a full blown feature in the Mission Journal. By doing so, Foundry Spotlight missions will be setup similar to how Feature Episodes are promoted within the Journal. This will allow us to attach premium rewards to specific player made content that is being featured. This also allows us to prevent abuse of the reward system, while rewarding high quality player-built missions with excellent rewards so that players have even more incentives to play them. There are some technical features required in order to make this happen, but we have already started the ball rolling to get this in shortly after Season 6 releases.

    Epic win! :D

    I just hope that last part really turns out to be true :o
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    I am enjoying Dan's pragmatism of late.

    That was a good read. Thank you.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Dan,
    Thanks for taking the time to respond to my questions and grouping them together with a optimistic answer.

    Its good to here from you we were starting to fear that someone threw you in the brig.

    Great dodge on account bank question though......:D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Interesting...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Season 7 = story, eh? I like it. I just hope that Cryptic focuses on STORY, not gimmicks or new game mechanics to tell the story with.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    So while Kdf and PvP are pre whiteboard in-design discussions about conditionals for the possibility of future implementations, subject to change and no commitments....
    So where do the Romulans fit in all of this? We’ve been thinking about this for a long time. We have a plan.

    I mean you Dstahl EP of STO, on behalf of the company and the STO devs have a plan worked out? When did this happen? Unless the plan is scrap the RSE this sounds like something concrete. i can't believe it
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    What about the door to my ready room on my Odyssey bridge? I can't watch my Orion slave girl "dance" videos in private...

    :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Account-wide bank slots.... this month.... Yay ! :D

    Now I´d like to know if I have to go to a terminal for this or if I can just access those bank slots from my inventory. Obviously I´d prefer the latter. :o
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Is it possible to get an ETA of when well see any of the fleet advancement stuff on Tribble?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    so this month season 6 on trible, and july on holodeck?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Sounds like it's best to just wait for Season 7 and see if there's enough mission content to justify coming back. Sucks that it's two "seasons" away.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    njdss4 wrote: »
    Sounds like it's best to just wait for Season 7 and see if there's enough mission content to justify coming back. Sucks that it's two "seasons" away.

    Since Foundry spotlight missions are about to start getting rewards attached to them, you are about to have a new mission every Friday that actually grants you something of value(at least, comparable to official missions).
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    hmm

    Some good questions very well answered.
    and
    Some hard questions successfully dodged.
    Well played sir, well played.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Good questions, carefully worded answers.

    Couldn't help but notice the 'politician spin' in some.

    With regard to this one;
    Q: (diogene0) We need more Foundry versatility. Why not release something closer to what the current mission builders use? We could make custom interiors, ground maps. Do you fear that players could do a better job than your team?

    Dstahl: If you are referring to allowing the ability to “MOD” the game, then it becomes an issue of security and maintaining strict control of our assets. Our goal with the Foundry was not to create a MOD tool, but to allow players to use something very similar to our in game editor to write their own missions using existing assets. This allows missions created by players to exist in the same game world as the live shard. That said, the Foundry teams are working on toolsets that will allow more flexibility in designing interiors and possibly even ground maps. You’ll see some of these features in the Neverwinter Beta with the goal of having those features trickle into STO in the future. Instead of fearing what players can do, we encourage players to spend the time making content that is awesome. By doing this, we have one of the most amazing player driven content communities out there. Our goal is to keep providing tools that will allow players to build even more complex and beautiful missions in the future. It also has led to some job interviews for players who have made some great missions.

    Not sure where Dan got "Mod" from that question. diogene0 is asking for a more precise and complex tool-set than the current WYSIWYG foundry interface, something more similar to what the devs currently use.

    To draw an analogy to another game with LOTS of UGC, the current foundry tool-set is equivalent to the Portal 2 Puzzle Maker, what diogene0 is asking for is something more like the Valve Hammer Editor.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    A lot of great foundry news in this one! I know I myself consider what you are doing with S6 to be major! I am both elated and terrified. If it goes well it opens the door for new features and abilities to be added regularly!

    Additionally, answering the FE question and story content questions hopefully puts some people at rest who were afraid "Story Was Dead". You never said you were done, you simply said 5 string missions with a new mission mechanic type were under review.

    Still, going way better than where we were at a year ago!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Still no word on the inclusion of Katanas, huh? :(

    Excuse me while I relieve some stress...

    /headwall

    /headwall

    /headwall

    /headwall

    ...Okay, I'm good. I'll ask about Katanas again on the next Ask Cryptic, but I'm good for now. :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    I'm ACTUALLY very pleased with this one .... :::: thumbs up!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Koppenflak wrote:
    I am enjoying Dan's pragmatism of late.

    That was a good read. Thank you.

    I agree, although I would say Dan has always been pragmatic... more than most.
    will be a mystery that you’ll have to ponder on for a little while longer

    His "Yup, Deal With It" attitude is the "as of late" that I'm enjoying. :D
    Cuz we sure love mysteries around here. lol ;) :rolleyes:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Ok so, Season 6 = -fleetstarbase
    -fleetstarbase
    -fleetstarbase
    -fleetstarbase
    -fle....
    -..
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Q: (DTums) Are there any plans to expand content or rewards for gold members?

    Dstahl: We do plan to introduce further Gold member benefits as they make sense. For example, the Account Shared Bank is a C-Store service being released this month and will come with some free bank slots for Gold members past and present (you’ll get the slots even if you are currently Silver but were at one time Gold).

    Whoopy! Gold members have to pay to get an Account Shared Bank. How's that a benefit? Oh, wait, we get some free bank slots. Yeah, and? The fact that the LTS is on sale at the moment indicates that Cryptic do want Gold members, but don't want to give them (us) any benefits. The proper way is to make Account Shared Banks a Gold member-only benefit. If Silver members want this service, then they should become Gold members, not spend a few dollars on the C-Store.

    Once again you show that you're not really interested in rewarding those that pay a monthly subscription fee (or who have invested a good few hundred dollars to become LTS)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Brackynews wrote: »
    I agree, although I would say Dan has always been pragmatic... more than most.


    On this I have to disagree. Until recently ('Recently' being his reinstatement as EP) he always struck me as a bit of an optimist, talking things up with the community to a greater extent than the Dev team could actually meet the subsequent expectations of.

    Now he feels... far more measured.

    If you asked me what the middle ground between optimism and pesimissm is, then the answer is "pragmatism".
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    One thing still bothers me. I've been getting conflicting reports of whether the rank capacity increase will happen at the S6 release or not. Can somebody confirm this?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Rank isn't increasing in Season 6 but they've made it clear that Lvl >50 will be coming in the future. The real problem is what they will called the new ranks :P
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Thomas45 wrote: »
    Rank isn't increasing in Season 6 but they've made it clear that Lvl >50 will be coming in the future. The real problem is what they will called the new ranks :P

    I would assume that on the Fed side they would use the next two naval ranks. Admiral, then Fleet Admiral.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    "demoted to Captain"
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    I would assume that on the Fed side they would use the next two naval ranks. Admiral, then Fleet Admiral.

    I agree. I believe that will be the next rank. And i hope they work on it ,,,,i hate flying around namelessly just shooting bugs :(
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    Thomas45 wrote: »
    Rank isn't increasing in Season 6 but they've made it clear that Lvl >50 will be coming in the future. The real problem is what they will called the new ranks :P

    Will likely be Admiral (4 star) and Fleet Admiral for Feds, General and Dahar Master (not Field Marshal) for KDF
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    I hope this puts an end to the "Will we ever get a complete KDF form 1 to 50?" question that comes up in every ask Cryptic. As one who has three max level KDF toons, two of which I leveled from the original starting level, and one from the new starting level, I prefer starting half way.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2012
    I wish removed content would come back with season 6.Like defend sector block missions, 2 DS9 fleet actions...and what ever else i cant remember that was removed from the game.
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