Adding more gameplay to our gameplay.

capnmanx

STO's dev team have, on occasion, tried to diversify the gameplay in STO. They've done this by adding things like scanning mini-games, diplomacy, the Doff system, and shooter mode. These are all nice additions; but ultimately, progress in STO is still almost all a combination of 'use power/weapon on enemy' and 'press F to continue'.

Pretty standard for an MMO; but the thing is, there are already mechanics in the game that could be used for other types of play. Running and jumping for example; there are games out there that are almost completely based around those two simple things. I know the jumping section in 'Infected' wasn't exactly a huge hit with STO's players; but I doubt people would have minded quite as much if that big pool of green burny death wasn't there.

Anyway, archaeology, and poking around old ruins, is just one of those things that Starfleet likes to fill its time with; so why is it never anything more involved than 'look at pillar and press F'? Have the devs never played Tomb Raider? Or point and click adventure games for that matter; we have inventories, we have both interactive objects and usable items, so why are we never finding secret doors by trying to jam miscellaneous junk into the hands of nearby statues? Sure, I'm being silly with it, but you get what I mean.

Shooter mode is another thing that opens up possibilities. Let me run a scenario by you.

There's a fully automated mining complex on a planet or asteroid somewhere; it sent out a tweet saying it had detected an incoming meteor shower and then went dark. You go to investigate and find that it took a hit, and its automated systems are down; while you are trying to fix it, another wave of meteors comes along and your ship is fully engaged in taking out the really big ones. So, you have to take control of the facility's handy point defence turret, and blow up the little ones yourself.

Might not be everyone's cup of tea; but it would be something new.

I kinda started thinking about this because I wanted an excuse to bump my 'Suggestions for future exploration revamp' thread; but eventually concluded it was more of a general gameplay matter. :P

So, should Cryptic be thinking about ways of making gameplay a bit more diverse? Should they be looking at single player games, rather than just MMOs for their inspiration? Should we be leaping chasms, clambering up rock surfaces, and getting chased by giant boulders? Should kleptomanics Guybrush Threepwood and George Stobbart be role models for intrepid space adventurers? Discuss.

---EDIT---

*Disclaimer* Don't take everything I say seriously. I know and accept that the devs do in fact play other games; possibly even including Tomb Raider, and point and click adventures.

melisande77

I think more interaction with abilities, especially in ship combat would be good. With the exception of some science ones(I am not science so no idea what they do) and Beam Overload, boff abilities are very much fire and forget, spamming spacebar to just keep them cycling. Shields cannot be rotated manually, so instead we just rely on Tac Team to keep your proper facing full.

I think just making abilities more interesting to use and less passive buffs would be the way to go. For example, making Tac abilities more in line with Beam Overload, sacrificing some long term damage for a massive short term boost. CRF could rapidly boost one cycles fire, but at the cost of the new cycle, etc. Engineering would be a bit more how it is now, but instead of being cycled, slotting EPtX would always provide the constant boost, (helping engineering ships actually be comparably powerful) which could be sacrificed for a lesser boost than a tac skill. Science skills could interact with each other, using a Tachyon Beam after a Viral Matrix is on would produce some effect. In general the idea should be look at say MOBAs and what they do with skills and try and turn BOFF skills into that, spicing up combat and making abilities more satisfying to use.

capnmanx

melisande77 wrote: »

I think more interaction with abilities, especially in ship combat would be good. With the exception of some science ones(I am not science so no idea what they do) and Beam Overload, boff abilities are very much fire and forget, spamming spacebar to just keep them cycling. Shields cannot be rotated manually, so instead we just rely on Tac Team to keep your proper facing full.

I think just making abilities more interesting to use and less passive buffs would be the way to go. For example, making Tac abilities more in line with Beam Overload, sacrificing some long term damage for a massive short term boost. CRF could rapidly boost one cycles fire, but at the cost of the new cycle, etc. Engineering would be a bit more how it is now, but instead of being cycled, slotting EPtX would always provide the constant boost, (helping engineering ships actually be comparably powerful) which could be sacrificed for a lesser boost than a tac skill. Science skills could interact with each other, using a Tachyon Beam after a Viral Matrix is on would produce some effect. In general the idea should be look at say MOBAs and what they do with skills and try and turn BOFF skills into that, spicing up combat and making abilities more satisfying to use.

Not really the sort of thing I was thinking of, but what the heck; existing gameplay needs love too. :P

Your idea seems ambitious; I like that.

Making more of a game out of power use itself certainly sounds like something I would like to see; though I would worry about it making it even harder to keep track of everything that's going on than high level gameplay already does. Making clearer distinctions between how the different types of abilities work, like you suggest, might keep that from happening though; so maybe it wouldn't be an issue. Sci ability combos sounds like it could be particularly fun.

alexsanderita

capnmanx wrote: »

Might not be everyone's cup of tea; but it would be something new.

I for one declare this to be my cup of tea, and then we're already two. I think we're many.

Most like something new to be added to the old MMO mechanics and these fit the setting too.

Puzzles, for instance, would be great, if they were funny - unlike the Defera temple one.

bpharma

Actually I kinda like this idea but why not expand upon it further? Have open ended missions that can be completed using some of these mechanics or just good ole fashioned pew pew goodness but make it easier one way than the other. While we're at it you could even through in parts being affected by your skill point distribution.