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Dilithium 101

pwebranflakespwebranflakes Member Posts: 7,741
edited August 2012 in Galactic News Network [PC]
This article features useful information about Dilithium, including what it is, how to earn it, and how to use it in-game.


Link to the article.
Post edited by pwebranflakes on

Comments

  • russell1997russell1997 Member Posts: 34 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    anything in the PVE Queue should now reward fleet credits and Dilithium.
    After all isn't dilithium still considered an end game currency?
  • kobayashlmarukobayashlmaru Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    Here are my thoughts:

    Overall:
    This is too wordy to be a useful 101 guide. That said, a 101 guide is a good addition. I just hope it can be cleaned up a bit so my fleetmates will find it useful instead of asking my to constantly explaining it.

    "How Dilithium is Earned?"
    The link to the Wiki page needs to be more prominent as it's the most important thing in this entire article. I get that you want to sell gold subs, so why not make this less wordy and put in a nice chart or table to clean it up?

    How do I use Dilithium in-game?
    Can you put a table or chart that shows all the places they can be used and where? It's not obvious because of the wordiness of your paragraphs. Essentially said, "You can buy ships, ground equipment, duty officers, craft, and tip foundry authors. Here are the places to go."

    Also, why didn't you mention starbases here? (or did you and I missed it, thereby validating my point? :) )

    How do I use the Dilithium Exchange in-game?
    This explains the screens but still doesn't relaly help me understand what I'm doing. For example, "A. This is the ?Buy ZEN? tab.". You should bread this into two sub-sections. "How do I buy Dilithium" and "How do I buy Zen".

    Lastly, the footnote is confusing. The focus of this article is on Dilithium, so why does *footnote mention Zen three times and Dilithium once? I also thoght made a typo initially until I re-read it a few times. Is there no cap on the amount of dilithium you can place (and why is that nap/no cap not mentioned here)?
    Kobayashi Maru
    Join Date: Sept 2008


    "Holographic tissue paper for the holographic runny nose. Don't give them to patients." - The Doctor
  • burstdragon323burstdragon323 Member Posts: 853 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    You claim the playerbase controls the Dil Exchange.

    This is INCORRECT.

    It is actually controlled by MERCHANT PLAYERS, which you do nothing about, so they have full reign to ruin the game.
  • ferdzso0ferdzso0 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    You claim the playerbase controls the Dil Exchange.

    This is INCORRECT.

    It is actually controlled by MERCHANT PLAYERS, which you do nothing about, so they have full reign to ruin the game.

    that is not true. they control what they can, but the biggest control is still in Cryptic's hand. the day they release new content the exchange shifts (utnil fleet bases this meant that dilithium would lose value, but with fleet bases this meant it gains value).

    yes, ofc the need for zen is coming from the players, but I cannot believe, that Cryptic does not take into consideration the dilithium exchange at a new release, and its price, because it has an obvious effect on the market (even more obvious, than your merchant players, plus these are more appearent on the exchange, not on the dil exchange)

    10k DPS Vesta threads: 1; 2
  • meurikmeurik Member Posts: 856 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    Still waiting for the day that we can have an entirely "PLAYER CONTROLLED ECONOMY" in the game, where the players build things, sell them, and the supply/demand determines it's cost. Certainly not where we are now with STO's economy. The "Dilithium squish" of 2011 certainly helped in reducing the amount of varied currencies in the game, but since then we've gradually gotten more and more currencies to keep track of. Which is bloody hilarious considering Star Trek HAS NO ECONOMY in the 24th/25th Century.
    HvGQ9pH.png
  • drogyn1701drogyn1701 Member Posts: 3,606 Media Corps
    edited August 2012
    meurik wrote: »
    Which is bloody hilarious considering Star Trek HAS NO ECONOMY in the 24th/25th Century.

    Of course Star Trek has an economy. The economy in the Federation may not be based on currency exchange, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's just based on service. The implication (though it's never really stated) is that each person provides a service to society at no cost, and therefor needs no wages. Think of it this way, you run a store, but if you get your inventory for free, you don't have to pay any rent or utilities on your building or any other expenses, and you don't have to pay any expenses to live in a house and eat 3 squares a day... you don't have to charge your customers anything. If everyone provides everything for free, it all circles around and nobody needs any money... provided no one gets greedy.

    When Starfleet officers (lookin at you Picard) say there's no money in the 24th Century, that's what they mean.

    However... there's plenty of monetary systems around outside the Federation.
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  • vykorprimevykorprime Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    meurik wrote: »
    Still waiting for the day that we can have an entirely "PLAYER CONTROLLED ECONOMY" in the game, where the players build things, sell them, and the supply/demand determines it's cost.

    Just because you want an economic model more favorable to you personally, does not mean it should be implemented.
    Star Trek HAS NO ECONOMY in the 24th/25th Century.

    The term you're looking for is a "post-scarcity economy". Economic transactions still happen; simply the materials formerly considered scarce (and thus rationed by economic systems) are no longer scarce. There are always other scarcities.
  • meurikmeurik Member Posts: 856 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    No, the term i'm looking for is exactly as stated: There isn't any money in the 23rd/24th/25th Century

    Granted, there have been numerous contradictions throughout the years. But overall, they keep getting back to the idea that "The Federation no longer has a monetary economy system".

    Confirmed, No money:
    - ST: The Voyage Home; Gillian: "Don't tell me they don't use money in the 23rd century", Kirk: "Well, we don't."
    - ST: Deep Space Nine (In the Cards); Jake Sisko: "I'm Human, I don't have any money."
    - ST: Voyager (Dark Frontier); Paris: "When the New World Economy took shape in the late 22nd century and money went the way of the dinosaur, Fort Knox was turned into a museum."

    Contradictions:
    - ST: Undiscovered Country; McCoy: "Maybe it's a retirement party?" Scotty: "That suits me, I just bought a boat."
    - ST: Voyager (The Gift); Janeway: "Tuvok's meditation lamp. I was with him when he got it six years ago from a Vulcan master, who doubled the price when he saw our Starfleet insignias."

    And then we have this one...

    Picard: "The economics of the future is somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century... The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of Humanity."
    HvGQ9pH.png
  • brigadooombrigadooom Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    Gold members also have a special perk that allows them to refine Dilithium automatically upon logging in, up to one previous week?s worth.
    This has never worked for me.
    ----
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • talgeezetalgeeze Member Posts: 199 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    brigadooom wrote: »
    This has never worked for me.
    I never found what the refining login message was. Now I have.

    By the way, I don't understand why this article didn't came way sooner.
  • brigadooombrigadooom Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    talgeeze wrote: »
    I never found what the refining login message was. Now I have.

    By the way, I don't understand why this article didn't came way sooner.

    The one that says 'Dilithium Refining Failed' every time I log in or change zones?
    ----
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • trek21trek21 Member Posts: 2,246 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    meurik wrote: »
    No, the term i'm looking for is exactly as stated: There isn't any money in the 23rd/24th/25th Century

    Granted, there have been numerous contradictions throughout the years. But overall, they keep getting back to the idea that "The Federation no longer has a monetary economy system".

    Confirmed, No money:
    - ST: The Voyage Home; Gillian: "Don't tell me they don't use money in the 23rd century", Kirk: "Well, we don't."
    - ST: Deep Space Nine (In the Cards); Jake Sisko: "I'm Human, I don't have any money."
    - ST: Voyager (Dark Frontier); Paris: "When the New World Economy took shape in the late 22nd century and money went the way of the dinosaur, Fort Knox was turned into a museum."

    Contradictions:
    - ST: Undiscovered Country; McCoy: "Maybe it's a retirement party?" Scotty: "That suits me, I just bought a boat."
    - ST: Voyager (The Gift); Janeway: "Tuvok's meditation lamp. I was with him when he got it six years ago from a Vulcan master, who doubled the price when he saw our Starfleet insignias."

    And then we have this one...

    Picard: "The economics of the future is somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century... The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of Humanity."
    But the fact still remains, this is a game, and all games need some sort of currency... and STO is soft canon at best, so it can stretch those 'contradictions' just a little.

    And about your player-economy... where would the profit to the devs be in that?
    Was named Trek17.

    Been playing STO since Open Beta, and have never regarded anything as worse than 'meh', if only due to personal standards.
  • illcadiaillcadia Member Posts: 1,415 Bug Hunter
    edited August 2012
    For the record, the gold member auto-refine only works if you DO NOT refine on a day in which you have unrefined dilithium. Then it'll autorefine when the dayroll hits.
  • jkstocbrjkstocbr Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    Whether we like Dilithium or not, it is a very good article explaining the system in detail ... which is its purpose. Keep these types of articles coming in!
  • darkenzedddarkenzedd Member Posts: 881
    edited August 2012
    Well Dilithium kinda became worthless once you put all the other currencies in the game.
    All end game gear should be made available to buy via Dilithium and that includes all the Borg gear in the stf vendor.
    All the time they are not, Dilithium is just another form of EC....
  • argent007argent007 Member Posts: 220 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    so instead of fixing things that became broken because of Cryptic's fumblings [cough]nukara[/cough]


    they release, instead, an article about a currency system that's been in place for the better part of a year now?


    cryptic fix things already [cough]exchange[/cough]





    no i don't need a cough drop, but thanks to the first person to offer one
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • pwebranflakespwebranflakes Member Posts: 7,741
    edited August 2012
    argent007 wrote: »
    so instead of fixing things that became broken because of Cryptic's fumblings [cough]nukara[/cough]


    they release, instead, an article about a currency system that's been in place for the better part of a year now?


    cryptic fix things already [cough]exchange[/cough]


    no i don't need a cough drop, but thanks to the first person to offer one

    Need a cough drop? :P

    I actually wrote the blog, therefore, no time was taken away from fixing anything :) I don't dev/ fix bugs. Rest assured that the dev team is hard at work everyday addressing issues that QA, the Community, and the Devs find, and is getting fixes into the game as fast as they can (make sure to watch the Release Notes forum). Sometimes things take more time, like the exchange, but if you are watching the Dev tracker, you've seen a few posts lately addressing these and mentioning that more fixes are on the way. Some fixes were even included in the last couple patches.

    Dilithium has been in-game for quite sometime, but we decided to publish this article now because we are seeing more players than ever. It's an important aspect of the game and it can be confusing at times. You'll continue to see articles like this, and Guest Blogs written by the community, that continue educating players, new and old, on some of the game's features.

    Also, thanks to everyone who submitted feedback in this thread about the article! Please continue to do so as I will build on it as it is published from month to month.

    Cheers,

    Brandon =/\=
  • zeuxidemus001zeuxidemus001 Member Posts: 3,357 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    Need a cough drop? :P

    I actually wrote the blog, therefore, no time was taken away from fixing anything :) I don't dev/ fix bugs. Rest assured that the dev team is hard at work everyday addressing issues that QA, the Community, and the Devs find, and is getting fixes into the game as fast as they can (make sure to watch the Release Notes forum). Sometimes things take more time, like the exchange, but if you are watching the Dev tracker, you've seen a few posts lately addressing these and mentioning that more fixes are on the way. Some fixes were even included in the last couple patches.

    Dilithium has been in-game for quite sometime, but we decided to publish this article now because we are seeing more players than ever. It's an important aspect of the game and it can be confusing at times. You'll continue to see articles like this, and Guest Blogs written by the community, that continue educating players, new and old, on some of the game's features.

    Also, thanks to everyone who submitted feedback in this thread about the article! Please continue to do so as I will build on it as it is published from month to month.

    Cheers,

    Brandon =/\=

    We don't rest anymore we pop cough drops and grind dilithium :) (You would think though with the rise in KDF players I've seen based on that we would get some love for once for the KDF)
  • phyrexianherophyrexianhero Member Posts: 768 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    The Pi Canis sorties for KDF provided dilithium until a few patches ago (nothing was in the release notes about it being removed) -- can I assume this is a bug?
    Playing since January 2010. STOwiki administrator. Accolade hunter.
    My STOwiki page | Reachable in-game @PhyrexianHero
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  • dalolorndalolorn Member Posts: 3,655 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    argent007 wrote: »
    so instead of fixing things that became broken because of Cryptic's fumblings [cough]nukara[/cough]

    they release, instead, an article about a currency system that's been in place for the better part of a year now?

    cryptic fix things already [cough]exchange[/cough]

    no i don't need a cough drop, but thanks to the first person to offer one
    Need a cough drop? :P

    *snip*

    Cheers,

    Brandon =/\=

    That made me laugh. :D

    Infinite possibilities have implications that could not be completely understood if you turned this entire universe into a giant supercomputer.p3OEBPD6HU3QI.jpg
  • zerobangzerobang Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    You'll continue to see articles like this, and Guest Blogs written by the community, that continue educating players, new and old, on some of the game's features.

    why do that on the homepage?
    why not in-game?
    or at least in the game-launcher?

    Cryptic often tells us that the Forum / Homepage users are a *minority*.
    The players who are just playing are getting none of that information.

    Anyway the UI is very intuitive i don't see a reason to explain every button of it.
    The only button that needs pointing out to new players is that bermuda-triangle menu below the mini-map, that will get easily overseen and there are plenty of options in there like the Dilithium Exchange or the new Notification Settings that popped up in there.


    Anyway you guys should take a good look at your Dilithium Store and think about the items and prices that are in there.
    Just Yesterday i was looking for a Disruptor Pulswave rifle and got cramps when i've see that there are only Mk X rifles and those cost >20k dilithium (at least true for the NPC on the First City Ground Map, didn't look any further)...

    Most of those should be convenience items, a 3 day grind is not convenient at all, and the items in that Dilithium Store are not exactly Endgame equipment,
    chances are by that time i have already found the item i was looking for somewhere else by just playing.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • srspellssrspells Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    Love the article, good and helpful for newcomers.
    -Spells
    || Open Door Policy ||
    | Dues Ex Mechina |
    Fleet Leader
  • sortofsortof Member Posts: 196 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    meurik wrote: »
    Still waiting for the day that we can have an entirely "PLAYER CONTROLLED ECONOMY" in the game, where the players build things, sell them, and the supply/demand determines it's cost.

    That can't ever happen in a "free to play" game. You know why ? Because there will be always at least two commodities you have to pay for, and that is the existence of the game itself, and your own existence in time, playing it. Noone will create you a virtual free market and maintain it for free, so you can exercise you mercantile abilities. Once a developer invests time (and not just time) so he can provide a "virtual" environment for you to play in it, and once you invest your time in it (what is also real and measurable), virtuality stops, and it becomes a real life trade.

    In fact, in STO as it is, you have a free market, but the main commodity is a real life one, and that is zen/dollar/EUR or other currency. It is genius move to create a "virtual" market what is only virtual in appereance, because it all boils down to the fact that an illusion you like and got fond of is maintained by real life efforts, and you are made to pay for it, in one form or another. (currency or time)

    You will not have a PLAYER CONTROLLED ECONOMY because that leaves on side of the deal out, the developer. And you need two for a deal. Sure, you could create your world where players are the masters, but that world needs to be created, organised, sold, and once you start these activities, you have become a developer.
    Whatever we deny or embrace, we belong togheter./ Pat Benatar
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