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Neutral as 3rd Faction

edwarlordedwarlord Member Posts: 120 Arc User
I've made minor adjustments. People seem to respond better to an independent, rather then a neutral, faction. Thanks paareth ;)

Everyone should start out as Independent.

Then as you progress one can choose a side if they wish, or continue on as an Independent. What is with this picking a side before having all the adequate information present. Thats just bad decision making at its best. Another important point to touch upon is. Some people just want to venture out as traders, merchants, or freelancers without being slapped as FED/KDF and its USS/IKS branding. (Jem'Hadar Attack Ship with USS designation... really?)

Independent is quite simply put the easiest way to implement a 3rd faction.

+There is no need for an overarching storyline.

+ECS and SS ship designation. The latter being unlocked at T5.

+We don't need new episodes tailored for us. Maybe a few diologue changes in the way people affiliate and address us. But for sure the episode rewards that are faction restricted should be available to us.

+We don't need an "independent" capital like ESD is for FED. Because we aren't tied down our capital is which ever center is most popular or easy for us to go to. But if an independent center is needed I propose Ferengar, lol.

+Independent ranks are easier and more simplified:
T1 Ensign or Crewmen
T2 Lt.
T3 Lt. Cmdr
T4 Cmdr
T5 Captain (or DaiMon if the Independent Faction instead becomes the Ferengi Alliance).

+Even ships are easy to implement. T1-T4 ships would be the various lengths of Tuffli with the shortest length being available for T1, and the longest for T4. T5 is the D'Kora.

+Our uniforms would be Off-Duty, no Uniform selection.

The simplicity of this faction comes at a price...

-As shown above, there is only 1 ship type for each tier hence no choice (except if you've acquired other unique ships: jem, galor, breen, etc. that aren't faction bound). This bit is VERY lucrative for Cryptic if they make this faction, hint hint. *nudge nudge*

-The ships aren't geared towards any one career they are simply generic, with the exception of the D'Kora. Such IS the way it is, being independent. The other two factions are "geared" for war. But if backed into a corner you bet your @ss we'll fight!

And before I start seeing posts about how this independent faction is not balanced. Please look at how much attention, content, ships FED has over the KDF. Clearly its not balanced nor will it be. And it isn't about balance with this faction. Its about an independent faction thats... independent *shock* and not tied down for the most part. Unlike KDF who clamor for more content more ships, etc.
If you want balance go make a thread about a Defera Faction and propose balance there, lol.
Post edited by edwarlord on

Comments

  • duaths1duaths1 Member Posts: 1,232 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    so you are basically proposing a Ferengi faction, aren't you?

    thank you, but for playing neutrals pls install another game. /starfleet academy or whatever

    this is a Star Trek game and we do have Factions. The third faction was voted by players to be Romulans, a looong time ago.

    Yes, it would be nice, if we COULD start as a normal citizen and decide which faction to enter - after playing through 20 lvls worth of content for every playable race on its own homeplanet, but that would be a totally new game and Cryptic does not have ressources to do so.

    lorewise - who would you fight? for what?
    even if you say - you would join the forces of one of the factions, then, you would get a designation and would have to obey orders.
    or would be the faction bound to DOFFing only?

    IF there is EVER going to be a neutral faction, it will be after Romulans, Cardassians and Ferengi, which are the 3 most anticipated Factions here. BTW - you can buy a Tuffli and pretend to be a neutral merchant :D
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,236 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Ferengi are feds now. :p (technically they're not a member but they might as well be)

    I can kinda see a "mercenary" faction working. Especially if we get fun races like the Boslics to play as. :D
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
  • azurianstarazurianstar Member Posts: 6,985 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    People have brought this up many times in the past and many have suggested a Merchant Faction. That way you don't have to deal with being members where they shouldn't belong.

    Pro-Federation side deals with the Ferengi Commerse Authority, and the KDF side are Privateers that deals with the Orion Syndicate.


    Missions would be different from PvE, where players start with a basic ship and have to upgrade it over time to earn more money. Go to worlds and establish trade and start getting to know contacts and the items needed on that world. Then over time establish trade routes.

    So by the time you hit Tier 5, you have multiple routes that you could take and manage your way into secret dealings were you could get connections in Starfleet or the High Council and haul secret goods that you have to act stealthily. Or deal with the worst of the underground and having to avoid Starfleet or the KDF miltary or face massive fines or jail time.


    And a updated Risa could be an important hub for some dealings.



    Even the Reputation system could be enhanced where instead of building reputation with 1 faction and maximizing it, you got a choice to go legit and deal with honest goods or deal with contraband.
  • edited December 2012
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  • cptskeeterukcptskeeteruk Member Posts: 559 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Drop the factions all together in my opinion and use a allegiance system so you basically start the game neutral you have a place that you go to and have one of each faction have a rep there which tells you about the faction what its about and then you choose, you can either ignore choosing and just play neutral but you forfiet missions tailored to each faction or you can join one and if you get bored you can hop alleigance to a different faction by a sorta re-faction token from the zen store perhaps which basically just lets you switch sides which just more or less switches missions you can access and ships.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • zahinderzahinder Member Posts: 2,382 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    I would really like a neutral faction to basically function as a 'grab bag' of minifactions anyone cares to be -- merchants, traders, mercenaries.

    In my wilder imaginings, imagine if Fleets could get various options that open up specific doff assignments, ships, and so on. 'We have a contract with Nausicaans, so we can do some Marauding and buy some of their ships.'

    This would also free the devs up to allow Romulans or Gorn Separatists by Fleets just doing their own thing.
    Campaign: The Fenwick Cycle NWS-DKR9GB7KH

    Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?

    Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?

    Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
  • edwarlordedwarlord Member Posts: 120 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    @cptskeeteruk thats a good idea :)

    @zahinder food for thought indeed lol

    @duaths1 If they plan on a Neutral faction and are thinking of a good Center for it then yes the Ferengi Alliance. But again I'm trying to make it as easily as possible for Cryptic to impliment. As neutrals we wouldn't really need a center. The center would be where ever there is the most traffic lol.
  • cptskeeterukcptskeeteruk Member Posts: 559 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    For a neutral faction to have a decent time of trading we would need a non centralized trading enviroment i.e the exchange would have to go and instead there would be local trading areas per sector space i.e ds9 would be independent of prices and stock of say the trading area on esd. This would encourage traders to seek bargains from one area of space to another instead of just being at once exchange spot where everything is in one location. Imo this should be done regardless.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • foschiadanzantefoschiadanzante Member Posts: 37 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    duaths1 wrote: »
    lorewise - who would you fight? for what?

    Anyone. For money.
  • edwarlordedwarlord Member Posts: 120 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Anyone. For money.

    Lmao! Indeed ;)
  • edwarlordedwarlord Member Posts: 120 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Anyone. For money.

    Lol, indeed. Some people just cant get past naive ideals and ideology ;)

    @cptskeeteruk Agreed yet again.
  • azurianstarazurianstar Member Posts: 6,985 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    f2pdrakron wrote: »
    This isnt Wing Commander: Privateer ...

    Its quite late to go around making inputs on how the game should play, especially when I see being asked is having a game on the lines of Privateer that despite being a excellent game is simply not we have here with STO.

    I am going to say this, its getting old the bright ideas of dead end factions that would even more dead that the KDF because the ideas being forward simply do not work well with the existing factions future content expansion meaning they would get nothing from it, they are mini factions with a few ships, a few missions that would have zero growth.

    We DONT need a faction that by design would be in a worst state that the KDF currently is.

    You forgot that it's canon that there are Merchants and Freighter Captains that don't operate under the UFP.
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  • sandormen123sandormen123 Member Posts: 862 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    I think a neutral faction would work very well. The FED already got some 'mercenary' outfit. I could ask to why, since there isn' much reason for it. Being neutral, there can be a great possibility for trading, privateering, section 31 activity, etc. etc.

    Completely ignoring the possibilities would be a sad move.
    Having the klinks becoming friends with the rommies is only showing me that the factions are being washed out anyways, so why deny the possibility.
    /Floozy
  • azurianstarazurianstar Member Posts: 6,985 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    f2pdrakron wrote: »
    No, I do not ... they are registered with the Federation (meaning under their flag, just like todays merchant ships) or they dont.

    But thats it, you dont suddenly get involved into Starfleet affairs and far too many things on the game are made under the assumption you are a commissioned officer of either Starfleet or the Klingon Defense Force.

    Take the Breen episodes, remove the faction and they make no sense because they are the assumption you are a envoy from either the Federation of the Klingon Empire and they have their own ships and their own officers, no need to "outsource" it.

    Worst you have the 2800 were the start is a conference about the Borg, makes no sense to have a non-allied or member of any of the factions present since what would be the point of having a freighter captain there?

    What you people seem to be arguing is you want a sandbox game with no real missions or no real story because that is neutrality, the content you would have would mean nothing but endless patrols and the cluster exploration missions.

    I say this, I think it was a error to have the KDF at launch and it perhaps been better to make it a alternative faction later but that ship have sailed, I am looking at the realities of the game as it stand and I see these proposals as nothing but "tear down the walls and build anew" and they cannot do that.

    Kasidy Yates wasn't a Federation Cargo Captain, she was independent, later working for the Bajorans.

    And I never said Privateers do military / storyline missions, they would have their own little world / storyline. Remember this is supposed to be a Trader / Merchant faction. Which people would have something else different to do in STO than just running another Tac/Eng/Sci Escort/Cruiser/Science/Carrier.
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,236 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Another example is of course the Boslics. They traded with the major powers and sometimes worked as mercenaries.
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
  • zahinderzahinder Member Posts: 2,382 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Actually, some of that Borg meeting would make MORE sense, since it's written as if you aren't obviously part of any of the parties involved (which doesn't really make sense, normally -- why is the KDF acting like you aren't a loyal member of the empire?)
    Campaign: The Fenwick Cycle NWS-DKR9GB7KH

    Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?

    Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?

    Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
  • paarethpaareth Member Posts: 91 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Not against a new type of gameplay, and it puzzles me people are? But I think there are better candidates first.

    Dominion / Cardassian
    Romulan
    Borg

    There were independent species and races in star trek from time to time, rather than neutral call it independent and it'd work better. This way you could include any mini factions that you like under one umbrella.

    My personal preference is individual mini factions that you can level up in, maybe 10-20 levels or so. So you'd level romulan for romulan ships, pvp etc. With the best foundry missions being voted on and used to make the episodes. Sort of like what we have now, only they get a base in their own sector of space (which already exists), ships which we already have a start in and the pvp queues are (any) faction vs your faction.

    All in all much of its already there if the went with romulan/cardassian etc, if we are just waiting on missions well take the best mini faction missions as the storylines. A Romulan / Cardassian alliance could work, and would give plenty of breadth to what ships could be released, heck even throw the dominion in there :D.

    If you like the merchant theme however, you could suggest that for the existing factions? No reason why merchant missions couldn't be designed, no game mechanics need to change much, just the missions are less about kill and more about collect/trade/protect etc.
  • edwarlordedwarlord Member Posts: 120 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Better candidates for a 3rd faction? Not better just more complex to implement. As I mentioned the Neutral faction is the easiest to implement. But you do make a good point, an Independent Faction as a catch all for mini factions would work better.

    For some reason Neutral just doesn't sound good or to boring for some people xD
  • furyofthefugafuryofthefuga Member Posts: 157 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    A neutral/independent faction/way of starting out certainly has my support.
  • jumpingjsjumpingjs Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    I am quite for this. A ferengi faction or a trading faction that requires a bot of fighting here and there. OR A SECTION 31 FACTION!!!
    Hopefully I'll come back from my break; this break is fun; I play intellectual games.

    I hope STO get's better ...
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,236 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    I agree, and if it works, it'll give the devs a good idea as to how to add a major faction(such as Romulans, Dominion, Undine, Borg) later.
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
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