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Foundry Challenge #6 Discussion Thread
pwebranflakes
Member Posts: 7,741
Foundry Challenge #6 : Beyond the Web
We also have an Index of previous challenges HERE.
Feel free to link directly to the entry you are commenting on. And please remember: we're not here to tear each other up. Do not troll your fellow Captains, give feedback! Let the others know what you liked and disliked.
Let's get those creative juices flowing! :cool:
Post edited by pwebranflakes on
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The vague details will sure make for some nice variety. I'll try to make one.
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
-Thomas Marrone
edit: Oops guess psychoticvulcan already covered that.
I've seen a few posts about NPC contacts, but I've not seen anywhere in-game where you actually speak to a Tholian (sans for the one-off that hails you when you enter the Tau Dewa Red Alert). I'm thinking this is intentional, just like you probably wouldn't talk to a Salt Vampire.
Either way, I'm sure you all will get creative
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
No talking to Salt vampires?
There goes my Twilight/Star Trek cross over
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Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
They're people who don't LIKE us and often want to kill us, but they're people with goals and motives and such. IF they had a reason to, they could try to use diplomacy, in theory anyways.
My character Tsin'xing
You do know that there are many Tholian ambassadors almost everywhere in the galaxy in canon? :rolleyes:
Tholians are supposedly sentient beings, not zombies. So you can talk to them and they can talk to you. Just not in STO.
Starting this challenge without Tholian npc contact isn't reasonable. And we need space mobs too. Will we get them?
God, lvl 60 CW. 17k.
Agreed we need to be able to talk to them. And yeah space mobs are in the patch, which I assume will go live tomorrow.
Again, knowing the Foundry community, I'm sure you can get creative if you'd really would like to be able to have the player speak to a Tholian. This is a Foundry Challenge, emphasis on challenge
Space mobs are live on Tribble.
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
Space Mobs we are apparently getting this week with the ground mobs.
But I could not agree more.
We simply do not have the assets to make this a reasonable challenge.
Without contacts, the only way Tholians can actually appear in our missions is as an enemy mob group. Doesn't make for very good storytelling or the ability to make compelling villains if all they can do is shoot at you.
Also, we know the Tholian bridge is available In Game.
It would sure be nice to have access to it for a challenge based around the Tholians.
Just my initial reaction to the challenge as posted.
It's not a lot but it definately shows that the Tholians aren't a true monster race...
My character Tsin'xing
Yes of course we could use several workarounds. But this combined to the lack of tholian assets will make this a real challenge. It's hard not to make them invading some random fed or kdf place and just having the player kicking their asses.
At least it would be great if we could have ONE Tholian contact. Even if it's just an ensign. I know the foundry isn't perfect and that we have to use workaround but it's rather silly to force them to use tremendous amounts of time to compensate such a critical lack of assets. I know i have to use workarounds to create my missions but it's never a pleasure to do that. It's a chore. Not something we enjoy.
God, lvl 60 CW. 17k.
Temporal Investigations Audio Log A-786-98
Interviewer: "You look tired, you feeling well enough to proceed?"
Player: "I am tired, but I'll be O.K."
Interviewer: "How long do you think it's been?"
Player: "I don't know, days, weeks maybe."
Interviewer: "Sensor logs from Columbia state you was away for approximantly thirty-two point six seconds."
Player: "We both know that time is relative, why am I still here?"
Interviewer: "You stated in your report that it was a Romulan named Valdore that commanded the Romulan Intruders,
however a deck by deck sensor sweep has found no traces of him onboard. Care to explain".
Player: "What, I restrained him myself, if he isn't there then we have to look for him immediantly, let me talk to your superior".
Interviewer: "Calm down Captain, we arn't finished here yet, now..."
Player: {Raised Voice} "Would you listen to me, if we don't track him down soon then all this, the Federation, your precious Agency, possibly the Terran Species won't of even existed".
End Log
Episode Four - Head Of A Needle Episode Five: The Duality of Men Episode Six - Redemption Earned
Episode Seven - Shattered Universe Episode Eight - The Gepetto Condition Episode Nine - One Room, Two Officers
Episode Ten - Beyond The Farthest Star Episode Eleven - It's OK, It Won't Hurt Episode Twelve - A Protracted Officer
Episode Thirteen - Somewhen Episode Fourteen - The Boy Who Lived Episode Fifthteen - Empathy
nvm read the posts above
I agree they are not a monster race, but, in all the times they have spoken they make the phrase "of few words" too long. They make the Spartans look like wordy diplomats with their famous responses.
This is meant to be a challenge as much as a contest. Challenge yourself if you think they only way you can have a villain is if they explain themselves and taunt their opponent. Heck, I want to see a challenge that is simply, there is no villain. You can fight and all, it doesn't need to be just diplomacy, but the conflict isn't from some BBEG. Case in point, I don't think removing any of the Dividian taunting dialog in the Drozana series would ruin them as badguys. In fact, I think it'd make them stronger. Who negotiates with cattle?
All the more popular bad guys in the franchise have minimal dialogue either to progress the story line or to deliver some mood building intimidation to the situation.
The Tholians in the 'Tholian Web' and 'In a Mirror, Darkly'.
The Gorn in 'Arena' and again in 'In a Mirror, Darkly'.
Then there's the more recent Borg, Undine and even the early Dominion.
It wasn't until the characters got more dialogue that they became less intimidating.
The Dominion when they started more interacting, the Borg in Star Trek Voyager and then
later with the Undine when they're discovered simulating Starfleet Command.
So like designationxr377 said; "Who negotiates with cattle?"
Episode Four - Head Of A Needle Episode Five: The Duality of Men Episode Six - Redemption Earned
Episode Seven - Shattered Universe Episode Eight - The Gepetto Condition Episode Nine - One Room, Two Officers
Episode Ten - Beyond The Farthest Star Episode Eleven - It's OK, It Won't Hurt Episode Twelve - A Protracted Officer
Episode Thirteen - Somewhen Episode Fourteen - The Boy Who Lived Episode Fifthteen - Empathy
I still wish we were getting more Tholian stuff to play with for this challenge then just mobs, but ... I do see the emphasis on the word challenge.
Good Luck all.
I didn't say it was impossible, i said it has more to do with a "Be a Foundry MacGyver" rather than a challenge. We're supposed to create a mission involving Tholians with a string and a knife, without any Tholian prop, no contact, just a couple of mobs and that's it.
Anyway i've got a script i like now, but it won't be easy to make it work.
God, lvl 60 CW. 17k.
I actually came up with an approach that should work reasonably well. All Tholian dialogue gets relayed via a somewhat crude version of the UT which spits out text instead of voice. Thus giving me an excuse for having the SciBoff as the contact.
My character Tsin'xing
I'm sitting this one out. It's basically asking me to create reasons to kill 5/5 Tholians and attribute the plot to an evil Romulan or something.
No it's doable, but it requires ridiculous workarounds like forcefields, invisible walls, etc. I'll use them shamelessly, and it's going to be ugly, but at least i can blame BranFlakes for the topic of this challenge. If i didn't have an idea i love i'd be out of this one. Next time i'll boycott it no matter what if such a stupid topic is choosen.
God, lvl 60 CW. 17k.
Though I would say, just because we are the Kings of Workarounds doesn't mean we have to like it.
*Jaws is 10 times the movie it would have been if the mechanical shark had functioned properly. It took a fishy Godzilla movie and turned it into a Hitchcock style thriller.
*ST only had transporters because they ran out of money before they got around to making a shuttlecraft model and set.
*The old-school Dr. Who was as fun as it was mainly because that most of the cast and crew likely had more money in their pockets individually than was budgeted for the entire episode's shoot, etc.
Yeah, cause that story would be stupid, who would do that... :rolleyes:
Im really glad to see the TOS consoles myself, I've had a mission sat in my Foundry Roster for the past five months because I've been waiting for those to finish it of.
Next Request; Facility 4028 pieces... cause they were/are soo much more... as the Doctor would say... "Sexy"
Episode Four - Head Of A Needle Episode Five: The Duality of Men Episode Six - Redemption Earned
Episode Seven - Shattered Universe Episode Eight - The Gepetto Condition Episode Nine - One Room, Two Officers
Episode Ten - Beyond The Farthest Star Episode Eleven - It's OK, It Won't Hurt Episode Twelve - A Protracted Officer
Episode Thirteen - Somewhen Episode Fourteen - The Boy Who Lived Episode Fifthteen - Empathy
My character Tsin'xing
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
-Thomas Marrone
For example,
Admiral 1: How many Tholians do you need to TRIBBLE in a lightbulb?
Admiral 2: What is a lightbulb?
This is a peaceful mission dealing with Tholians and the props to do that are all in the foundry.
Also for this you don't need Tholians as well:
Make a mission revolving around Klingons. And at the end, reveal that the Klingons were in fact Undine. Then in a double cross, revel that the Undine were in fact masked Tholians. And then reveal that the masked Tholians were in fact nice Tholians from the mirror universe, who were forced to do what they did by the Iconians. Who, on the other hand, were controlled by Sela, who took control of the Iconians in a Coup d'?tat. Then, during the debriefing, a Section 31 agent shows up and informs the player, that Sela was blackmailed by Section 31 to play along. Finally, the mission ends with cliffhanger: a shady Klingon guy gives something to the Section 31 agent who salutes and leaves.
We are the weavers of shadowy phantasms. The merchants of dark rainbows burst into the glowing pulsating murk of the night!