Executive Producer Daniel Stahl recently sat down to talk to DigiBytes about the future of STO. Check out the written interview through the link below.
To be honest I am still expecting uproar from the KDF. I'd brace yourselves people, mostly because of one small sentence
For now, the only KDF content we?re discussing is the upcoming revamp of the Klingon tutorial.
Read into that whatever you will. Personally, I'm going to read it as "We've already finished all the new KDF stuff which is coming in may, so we don't need to discuss it any more"
So Stahl said very recently, when asked about KDF content, that his answer was "May."
Here he says:
RC: A while back it was mentioned that some of the Federation player content involving Klingons might be re-engineered into KDF content by letting players enjoy the story from another viewpoint. Is this something still in the works?
DSTAHL: It is still on our to-do list, but there is no estimate to when these missions will be converted. For now, the only KDF content we?re discussing is the upcoming revamp of the Klingon tutorial.
Does that mean the tutorial is what he was talking about for May?
Or does that "there is no estimate" line mean that some of the mission retrofitting COULD be in May but that he can't announce the date. Ie. "there is no estimate" could be said about ANYTHING planned for May because Cryptic isn't releasing public estimates for things that will launch in May?
So Stahl said very recently, when asked about KDF content, that his answer was "May."
Here he says:
Does that mean the tutorial is what he was talking about for May?
Or does that "there is no estimate" line mean that some of the mission retrofitting COULD be in May but that he can't announce the date. Ie. "there is no estimate" could be said about ANYTHING planned for May because Cryptic isn't releasing public estimates for things that will launch in May?
He does seem to be specifically talking about converted Fed missions when he says 'no estimate'. What caught my attention was the comment that the only thing the were discussing was the tutorial. I have to hope he means 'discussing with the public', rather than 'discussing internally'; unless that tutorial includes a lot of cool stuff.
Read into that whatever you will. Personally, I'm going to read it as "We've already finished all the new KDF stuff which is coming in may, so we don't need to discuss it any more"
Doesn't compute for me. I'm reading it more of "KDF gets this, and this big pile over here is the faction agnostic stuff both sides get to try to smooth out the difference with volume.
Sometimes I hear or read some of the interviews and all I can say is...why? What's the point of having the interview if all that we're gonna get is very vague, half answers. I would rather not hear a thing than to have our taste buds get ready for a nice, groovy update only to get maybe a half spoonful of cold, soggy cereal.
No, I am not who you think I am. I am someone different. I am instead a banana.
So Stahl said very recently, when asked about KDF content, that his answer was "May."
He was asked about the next KDF Exclusive Mission...not generally about KDF Content. To which of course, he replied May as we all know.
A KDF Tutorial...well, that would be an exclusive KDF mission...meh. Meh, I say. Meh...
As for your other discussion going on there, have to agree. I can level a Fed 1-50 faster than I can level a KDF 20-50. The combination of SB24 and Patrols just makes it fly by in comparison. I'll have a Fed at 50 before completing Romulan Mystery (second series of six, for those that don't remember off hand). KDF on the other hand, it's usually a case of skipping the Dominion series and being into Breen or even Undine before hitting 50.
Back when there were 3 Mirror a day and I was spreading it out over multiple days to take advantage of that, yeah - I could see getting a KDF toon to 50 before finishing Federation War... but that was only from taking advantage of the 3 Mirror and waiting.
Don't have to do that on a Fed. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am...
Speaking of SB24, I used to say I ran my Feds for EC and my KDF for Dil. With the recent addition of the Dil Claims... well, outside of wanting to run a KDF simply to want to run one - there's nothing there. It's fewer everything around the board...meh.
So yeah, going back to being pretty happy with the STOked mention of an exclusive mission for May and having that ripped away with the tutorial thing here... did I mention I'm feeling pretty meh about Cryptic and the KDF? Meh...
I can get to top level from 20 during the devidian series.
Well...
Sure. But the problem is that KDF starts at 20. Which means people can't start by rolling KDF toons. Which reduces the population of a faction that would already be smaller, all things being equal.
Personally, I think KDF should either start at level 1, with content to support it, and be an option for a new player... Or they ought to make all factions start at 50 and require a level 50.
The inbetween area when it unlocks is a hard time for people to commit to an alt. And if they do commit to hitting level 50 on their main, redoing things with a Klingon is considerably less appealing as it's neither a new and unique experience nor is it one without another 15+ hours time investment.
My stated preference, from where we are, would be to make all missions faction agnostic and have all factions start at level one and make the faction distinctions more apparent in kits and skill trees so that KDF Tac feels different than Fed Tac even when content is the same.
This interview comes closer to confirming a Romulan faction in May. If Cryptic deems the addition of a tutorial all that it takes to complete the Klingon faction, they'd better be bracing for bad press. Because I know my standards for a completed faction are lower than those of most die-hard KDF. KDF already seem more predisposed to quitting the game. And whether or not Romulan fans are happy with less, slapping a tutorial on the KDF and calling it done seems like PR suicide that will torpedo the Klingon faction (in an unproductive way, even; faction merger would be more productive) and stain the rollout of the Romulans.
I really can't fathom how a Klingon tutorial with no other substantial changes (massive content, refurbished content, shifting the starting level up or down) would be seen as acceptable. And if Romulan faction is a paid-for feature (and it HAS to be) then the whole Klingon situation just seems like deliberately shooting yourself in the foot from a marketing and PR standpoint.
I wouldn't be surprised if the only thing KDF gets in May is a tutorial revamp, or maybe another "one-off" mission. I mean every other time we've been told that an upcoming patch would be big for the KDF it's been... hugely disappointing.
& while ANYTHING is a step forward I'd really like to see more. Maybe another 3-5 mission story arc + tutorial to fill in lower levels, 2-5 new ships (or even ship "skins" for customization) and then 2-3 new character costumes.
Stahl: "The KDF will be getting more Klingon based ships before we?ll see a Lethean ship."
In other words, we will never see a Lethean ship. :rolleyes:
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
To be honest I am still expecting uproar from the KDF. I'd brace yourselves people, mostly because of one small sentence
Read into that whatever you will. Personally, I'm going to read it as "We've already finished all the new KDF stuff which is coming in may, so we don't need to discuss it any more"
my, my, my...you're quite the optimist
NO to ARC RIP KDF and PvP 2014-07-17 Season 9.5 - Death by Dev
Whenever I read "we're planning on having such and such before the end of the year" I cringe, with May only 2 months away I think it's time they started being a little less vague and a little more forthcoming.
With May being a supposedly major update and them still being tight lipped I can't help but think that it's being over hyped and that when it does arrive people are going to be seriously disappointed.
If something is not broken, don't fix it, if it is broken, don't leave it broken.
Whenever I read "we're planning on having such and such before the end of the year" I cringe, with May only 2 months away I think it's time they started being a little less vague and a little more forthcoming.
With May being a supposedly major update and them still being tight lipped I can't help but think that it's being over hyped and that when it does arrive people are going to be seriously disappointed.
We're about two weeks from PWE's end of the fiscal year report and the next report isn't until mid-May.
So I expect PWE will be talking about what STO is doing in May VERY soon (17 days or less) if there's any major expected business impact.
THAT is the entire IDEA behind releasing "Teasers" in Interviews. The concept is to generate "buzz" and interest, not to provide useful data upon which players can make rational decisions.
Personally, I think Cryptic should just come out with their plans for May. That's three months for word of mouth to spread. Alot of former players may ne enticed to come back and new players may consider subscribing.
Of course, they may be afraid of TRIBBLE up royally (can't imagine why :rolleyes: ) and want to keep a lid on things.
How the Devs see Star Trek, apparently:
Star Trek: The Original Grind
Star Trek: The Next Grind
Star Trek: Deep Space Grind
Star Trek: Voyage to the Grind
Personally, I think Cryptic should just come out with their plans for May. That's three months for word of mouth to spread. Alot of former players may ne enticed to come back and new players may consider subscribing.
Of course, they may be afraid of TRIBBLE up royally (can't imagine why :rolleyes: ) and want to keep a lid on things.
Cryptic will tell you because "things may change". True, but it should be on tribble in a month to test.
If they still don't know, then there is a serious problem within cryptic.
But in reality it is called "PR". They will release bits of info to keep people interested.
In the STOked interview, he said to check back at the end of March about what will be happening with the Meh Update. It's already end of Feb, so end of March is not that far off, and it still leaves April before you get to May for that Meh Update...
Just sad. All the KDF gets is a changed tutorial. So much to the big KDF update :mad:
Dstahl never said the big KDF update would be May. That's clearly a Romulan thing. He did say tho the KDF would get a big season update (Now to find that reference)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] ***Disenchanted***
Real Join Date: Monday, 17 May 2010
Comments
To be honest I am still expecting uproar from the KDF. I'd brace yourselves people, mostly because of one small sentence
Read into that whatever you will. Personally, I'm going to read it as "We've already finished all the new KDF stuff which is coming in may, so we don't need to discuss it any more"
Kirk's Protege.
Here he says:
Does that mean the tutorial is what he was talking about for May?
Or does that "there is no estimate" line mean that some of the mission retrofitting COULD be in May but that he can't announce the date. Ie. "there is no estimate" could be said about ANYTHING planned for May because Cryptic isn't releasing public estimates for things that will launch in May?
[Unrepentant] Lapo@overlapo: the problem with space STF
is that you can't properly teabag your defeated opponent
Unrepentant: Home of the Rainbow Warrior and the Rainbow Brigade.
There is enough content to get to from 1-50 with that.
Fe's and one offs can do the rest.
Aside from content; more "purpose" and customization (ships/costumes) is needed.
How do you figure?
He does seem to be specifically talking about converted Fed missions when he says 'no estimate'. What caught my attention was the comment that the only thing the were discussing was the tutorial. I have to hope he means 'discussing with the public', rather than 'discussing internally'; unless that tutorial includes a lot of cool stuff.
Doesn't compute for me. I'm reading it more of "KDF gets this, and this big pile over here is the faction agnostic stuff both sides get to try to smooth out the difference with volume.
Extremely well. Thank you.
I can get to top level from 20 during the devidian series.
Get out of here with your darned common sense.
"We are smart." - Grebnedlog
Member of Alliance Central Command/boq botlhra'ghom
He was asked about the next KDF Exclusive Mission...not generally about KDF Content. To which of course, he replied May as we all know.
A KDF Tutorial...well, that would be an exclusive KDF mission...meh. Meh, I say. Meh...
As for your other discussion going on there, have to agree. I can level a Fed 1-50 faster than I can level a KDF 20-50. The combination of SB24 and Patrols just makes it fly by in comparison. I'll have a Fed at 50 before completing Romulan Mystery (second series of six, for those that don't remember off hand). KDF on the other hand, it's usually a case of skipping the Dominion series and being into Breen or even Undine before hitting 50.
Back when there were 3 Mirror a day and I was spreading it out over multiple days to take advantage of that, yeah - I could see getting a KDF toon to 50 before finishing Federation War... but that was only from taking advantage of the 3 Mirror and waiting.
Don't have to do that on a Fed. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am...
Speaking of SB24, I used to say I ran my Feds for EC and my KDF for Dil. With the recent addition of the Dil Claims... well, outside of wanting to run a KDF simply to want to run one - there's nothing there. It's fewer everything around the board...meh.
So yeah, going back to being pretty happy with the STOked mention of an exclusive mission for May and having that ripped away with the tutorial thing here... did I mention I'm feeling pretty meh about Cryptic and the KDF? Meh...
Well...
Sure. But the problem is that KDF starts at 20. Which means people can't start by rolling KDF toons. Which reduces the population of a faction that would already be smaller, all things being equal.
Personally, I think KDF should either start at level 1, with content to support it, and be an option for a new player... Or they ought to make all factions start at 50 and require a level 50.
The inbetween area when it unlocks is a hard time for people to commit to an alt. And if they do commit to hitting level 50 on their main, redoing things with a Klingon is considerably less appealing as it's neither a new and unique experience nor is it one without another 15+ hours time investment.
My stated preference, from where we are, would be to make all missions faction agnostic and have all factions start at level one and make the faction distinctions more apparent in kits and skill trees so that KDF Tac feels different than Fed Tac even when content is the same.
This interview comes closer to confirming a Romulan faction in May. If Cryptic deems the addition of a tutorial all that it takes to complete the Klingon faction, they'd better be bracing for bad press. Because I know my standards for a completed faction are lower than those of most die-hard KDF. KDF already seem more predisposed to quitting the game. And whether or not Romulan fans are happy with less, slapping a tutorial on the KDF and calling it done seems like PR suicide that will torpedo the Klingon faction (in an unproductive way, even; faction merger would be more productive) and stain the rollout of the Romulans.
I really can't fathom how a Klingon tutorial with no other substantial changes (massive content, refurbished content, shifting the starting level up or down) would be seen as acceptable. And if Romulan faction is a paid-for feature (and it HAS to be) then the whole Klingon situation just seems like deliberately shooting yourself in the foot from a marketing and PR standpoint.
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& while ANYTHING is a step forward I'd really like to see more. Maybe another 3-5 mission story arc + tutorial to fill in lower levels, 2-5 new ships (or even ship "skins" for customization) and then 2-3 new character costumes.
In other words, we will never see a Lethean ship. :rolleyes:
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
my, my, my...you're quite the optimist
RIP KDF and PvP 2014-07-17 Season 9.5 - Death by Dev
With May being a supposedly major update and them still being tight lipped I can't help but think that it's being over hyped and that when it does arrive people are going to be seriously disappointed.
We're about two weeks from PWE's end of the fiscal year report and the next report isn't until mid-May.
So I expect PWE will be talking about what STO is doing in May VERY soon (17 days or less) if there's any major expected business impact.
Personally, I think Cryptic should just come out with their plans for May. That's three months for word of mouth to spread. Alot of former players may ne enticed to come back and new players may consider subscribing.
Of course, they may be afraid of TRIBBLE up royally (can't imagine why :rolleyes: ) and want to keep a lid on things.
Star Trek: The Original Grind
Star Trek: The Next Grind
Star Trek: Deep Space Grind
Star Trek: Voyage to the Grind
Cryptic will tell you because "things may change". True, but it should be on tribble in a month to test.
If they still don't know, then there is a serious problem within cryptic.
But in reality it is called "PR". They will release bits of info to keep people interested.
Dstahl never said the big KDF update would be May. That's clearly a Romulan thing. He did say tho the KDF would get a big season update (Now to find that reference)
***Disenchanted***
Real Join Date: Monday, 17 May 2010