I'd vote to combine:
Fed + KDF (+Rom) Shipyards
Boff and character powers (i.e. all powers)
PvE Gameplay + Missions&Episodes
STO Discussion + General Feedback
Why discussion and general feedback? I don't get why you see them as identical. I'm not saying i'm opposed to this, it's just that both forums are already very active and have quite different topics. Can we discuss about gear in discussions for instance?
I'd vote to combine:
Fed + KDF (+Rom) Shipyards
Boff and character powers (i.e. all powers)
PvE Gameplay + Missions&Episodes
STO Discussion + General Feedback
I was also thinking this....
I like this, too. Essentially you get:
Space Builds Powers (where a lot of PvP talk would be) Missions (where most PvE talk would be) General (Feedback, Discussion, and Academy should be inclusive here, basically a catchall for whatever doesn't fit in above)
But to consider...
I would add Ground Builds for discussing play tactics, away team composition, equipment, etc.
What about the existing C-Store/Promotion forums? C-Store I suppose would fall under Ships/Powers... Or else General (where Promo talk could be) and/or News.
You'd mentioned DOffing and Reputations... I should think if it's about related abilities it would be Powers, if assignments or marks then Missions, etc. Or just make a DOffing/Rep forum.
Where do you put Art discussion? Ship design, costumes, sets, etc?
You still need Off-Topic (aka Ten Forward), Foundry, and Test (Tribble/Red Shirt), of course.
You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
Federation News Network
Release Notes
Dev Tracker
Ten Forward (Ten Forward/general offtopic)
Star Trek Online Discussion (Discussion, The Academy, General Feedback. Stick all the stickies from the academy in an 'index' post stickied at the top. Start using index posts rather than hundreds of stickies in general)
Shipyards (all factional shipyards in one section)
Gameplay (All factional gameplay in one section, + the 'pve' section)
(Subforum) Builds and Powers (Character builds + powers, bofficers and powers)
(Subforum) Duty Officer System
(Subforum) Missions and Episodes
PVP Section (PVP, possibly as a 'gameplay' subforum, but maybe standalone/accessible from the index.)
Controls/UI
Art
C-Store feedback
Foundry stuff - fine
Support - fine
Test Servers - fine
Fleet stuff - fine
News Network (Renamed to allow for a more neutral setting and not to make players think that only Federation information gets shared here)
C-store and Promotions (This would also be a place where feedback could be given on such things and where they are advertised)
No other changes need to be made.
Feedback Section Changes:
General Feedback
Federation Gameplay
Klingon Gameplay
Romulan Gameplay (This would be feed back related to Romulan Specific content)
Fleetyards
-Subtopics: PVE (Could then add more subtopics for Federation, Romulan, Klingon), PVP (Could then add more subtopics for Federation, Romulan, Klingon) (This would allow for discussions of just builds in both PVE And PVP being separated into their own topics)
You could still discuss general builds and information, but going to the Subtopics would allow for more Specialized information. Such as if a player only wants to discuss Romulan PVP Ship builds.
Character Builds and powers: (The Bridge officers and Powers Feedback could be Merged into the general part of this section) This would be where Ground based information would be discussed
- Subtopics: PVE, PVP
Duty Officers
PVE Game play
-Subtopic: Missions and Episodes
PVP Game Play
-Subtopics: Space (Arena, Cap and Hold), Ground (Arena, Assault), PVP Bootcamp
Controls and User Interface
The Art of Star Trek Online
After that there really are no other changes to the sections under the Art part.
You think that your beta test was bad?
Think about this: American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku
So, let's get started! Feel free to make descriptive suggestions or post something like this:
My first suggestion is that I think the General Community Feedback sub forum and the Star Trek Online Discussion forum should be merged. They essentially serve almost the exact same purpose.
I also feel like there's too many sub forums. Yet one thing I'd like to see return is the separate ship classification forums. I know. I'm contradicting myself. It's just I found the advice given back when it was a Cruiser, Escort, Science vessel separation to be a lot more focused. I am in favor of consolidating the mess as the index page is HUGE. But in the case of individual ship classes, I found you got better info about builds, choices, ships, etc when it was separated. To oversimplify it, when folks wanted advice on how to kit out and set up their Excelsior, back in those days they didn't get sidetracked with all that added info about how they should fly Escort X, Y or Z because those who give good Escort advice were mostly answering questions in the Escort sub forum.
So yeah, my advice contains contradictions. Sorry.
Also, I mean I understand that technically there is a difference between the Federation Gameplay Forum and the PVE Gameplay Forum. But, I mean, the separation of the PVE and PVP forums really only seems to exist for the purpose of the PVP forum. PVE issues get discussed widely in the general, discussion, Fed Gameplay, KDF Gameplay and Missions and Episodes Forums. I'd say trimming the PVE Gameplay Forum and moving those threads to one of the above forums would not really change the discussion dynamic at all. Just keep the PVP Forum for the specific PVP issues.
Should the shipyards sub-forum (builds, feedback, not art, etc.) still be separated by faction?
I say yes. I understand and support the desire to consolidate forums. But for ship builds, that's one of the few things I feel separation makes the flow of information go much smoother. And why I suggested further separation. I think having that added separation helps people get expert advice quicker. If I want to know what console to use on a Vesta, or what hangar pet to use on a Vo'Quv, I want a quick, in depth, educated answer from someone who flies that ship already. Merging it all into one lump forum would muddy that quest for clarity. In my opinion.
Are there any forums that you think should be combined?
Is STO discussion and General Community Feedback too similar or should we keep them separated?
Aw geeze, I should have read further before replying. Yes! AND MERGE!
Once we all come to, or at least try to, a consensus, the changes will be made.
The only thing I am concerned with this Shipyards. I realize it seems silly to segregate ship builds, but there is a definite divide between federation and klingon players and I would hate for a "Shipyard" Forum to degrade into a QQ forum about how Feds don't get KDF stuff or KDF don't get Rom stuff, Or how Rommies seem to have everything.
2. I agree the Academy needs rework. I suggest making it a Major Section with two subforums: "Gameplay Questions" and "Player Guides & Tips".
Gameplay Questions could include any FAQ's as stickies. In Player Guides & Tips, Guides can be nominated for stickies. I would also recommend expiring stickies on Guides that are over a year old without updates.
3. I know you'd like to discourage non-STO-related commentary, but it still happens anyway. I suggest renaming "Star Trek Online Discussion" to "Star Trek Community Discussion".
4. Split "Information" and "Discussion" into two sections. Leave the "Informational" subforums at the top, put the "Feedback" subforums next, then follow those with the "Discussion" subforums.
5. Rename "General Community Feedback" to "Star Trek Online General Feedback"
6. Keep "Federation Gameplay" and "Klingon Gameplay" sub-forums and add a "Romulan Gameplay" feedback thread.
7. I agree, the Shipyard Feedback subforums can be consolidated.
8. Rename "Character Build and Powers" to "Character Traits, Skills, and Powers"
9. Move the PvE and PvP Gameplay subforums up with the other Gameplay subforums.
10. Keep everything else as is.
This would change the hierarchy to look something like this:
Information
. Galactic News Network
. Release Notes
. Dev Tracker
- Academy
. . Gameplay Questions & FAQs
. . Player Guides & Tips
Feedback
. Star Trek Online General Feedback
. Federation Gameplay
. Klingon Gameplay
. Romulan Gameplay
. PvE Gameplay
. PvP Gameplay
. Shipyards
. Character Traits, Skills, and Powers
. Bridge Officers and BOFF Powers
. Duty Officer System
. Missions and Episodes
. Controls and User Interface
. The Art of Star Trek Online
. C-Store and Promotions
Discussion
. Star Trek Community Discussion
. Ten Forward
Foundry
(No changes)
Support
(No changes)
Fleet
(No changes)
Test Servers
(No changes)
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
I was thinking it could be combined in one forum with the DOFF system, as the same devs work on it, but how do you feel about that?
I like that idea. With one caveat. Have a Sticky post in that forum indicating that detail, that the same devs work on those things. That way if like six months to a year down the line a new player wants to know why fleet holdings and DOFFs are in the same forum, they can be directed to that easy to understand explanation.
Information
. Galactic News Network
. Release Notes
. Dev Tracker
- Academy
. . Gameplay Questions & FAQs
. . Player Guides & Tips
Feedback
. Star Trek Online General Feedback
. Federation Gameplay
. Klingon Gameplay
. Romulan Gameplay
. PvE Gameplay
. PvP Gameplay
. Shipyards
. Character Traits, Skills, and Powers
. Bridge Officers and BOFF Powers
. Duty Officer System
. Missions and Episodes
. Controls and User Interface
. The Art of Star Trek Online
. C-Store and Promotions
Discussion
. Star Trek Community Discussion
. Ten Forward
Foundry
(No changes)
Support
(No changes)
Fleet
(No changes)
Test Servers
(No changes)
I think I should explain my rationale for why I'd like to see things re-arranged this way.
The Information sub-forums obviously being the first place people need to look for important information, they need to be at the top. Closely followed by the Academy sub-forums so that players with questions can get the help they need.
By separating general questions from player guides, we should be able to avoid the long list of stickies and people can find the guides more easily. The best of the guides can be stickied in that sub-forum.
By placing the Feedback sub-forums before the Discussion sub-forums, threads can be better channeled into the right categories. And if people get a bit lazy and just post in "Star Trek Online General Feedback" that's okay... The mods can easily monitor that and move threads where they need to go.
Likewise, most posters will tend to choose one of the "Gameplay" feedback sub-forums to post in so it makes sense that those should come first. The rest of the feedback sub-forums are more targeted.
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
Another question to ponder: where do you all think feedback about the reputation and fleet holdings system should live? I was thinking it could be combined in one forum with the DOFF system, as the same devs work on it, but how do you feel about that?
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
It makes sense to have them all three in the same category, in terms of keeping the information consolidated for the benefit of the associated dev team. The three categories doesn't really warrant being stand alone forums.
For those suggesting Galatic News Network, it was the news station in Master Of Orion 2 back in '96, dunno if that is of any concern to Branblakes and co though.
I also feel like there's too many sub forums. Yet one thing I'd like to see return is the separate ship classification forums. I know. I'm contradicting myself. It's just I found the advice given back when it was a Cruiser, Escort, Science vessel separation to be a lot more focused. I am in favor of consolidating the mess as the index page is HUGE. But in the case of individual ship classes, I found you got better info about builds, choices, ships, etc when it was separated.
In regard to separate shipyard threads for factions, you said:
I understand and support the desire to consolidate forums. But for ship builds, that's one of the few things I feel separation makes the flow of information go much smoother. And why I suggested further separation. I think having that added separation helps people get expert advice quicker. If I want to know what console to use on a Vesta, or what hangar pet to use on a Vo'Quv, I want a quick, in depth, educated answer from someone who flies that ship already. Merging it all into one lump forum would muddy that quest for clarity. In my opinion.
I get what you're trying to say about separating builds, but do we really need to break them out by ship class AND faction?
I think a better organization would be something like this:
- Shipyards
. Escorts and Raptors
. Cruisers and Battlecruisers
. Science Vessels
. Birds of Prey
. Warbirds
. Carriers
. Cross-Faction (Lockbox)
Break out the unique classes into their own sub-forums and don't worry about faction. Most of the faction-related builds will end up in a faction-specific Gameplay sub-forum anyway.
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
Another question to ponder: where do you all think feedback about the reputation and fleet holdings system should live? I was thinking it could be combined in one forum with the DOFF system, as the same devs work on it, but how do you feel about that?
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
It's not a bad idea at all, but when you think about it all three systems have to do with an alternate form of character progression. Crafting could probably also be considered an alternate form of progression (and will probably involve the same devs, too).
So I'd consider re-titling the sub-forum as "Character Development Systems" or "Alternative Gameplay Systems" or something like that. You can specify which systems in the description of the sub-forum, and add to the description as needed for new systems along similar lines.
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
I agreee with alot of what I am seeing here. The Academy needs to be better defined so that will be the FIRST place people go with silly entry level questions. And the Stickies need to be consolidated and cleaned up. Some of them are so outdated Cochrane might have penned them.
I would like to see a new system altogether for the fleet recruitment subforum. No one goes there. New Players don't know it exist. There is no way to filter through tom to find the fleet you want. The entire forum is just a bunch of fleet recruiters shouting over top of each other into an empty canyon. That and Players usually get recruited into either a friends fleet or the first fleet that tackles them on ESD. This runs into the same problem with having a Fleet Recruitment channel in game. No one will go there, and New players will not know it exist. While I would like to have some sort of off-game fleet registry, the current system is messy and flawed.
Not sure how to fix this, nor the technology limitations we have. But a system where you can submit an ad... and then have it broadcasted to the rest of the forums. Subtly and infrequently. Just enough so that new players that stumble around in the forums can see "OH, there is a fleet. it sounds fun. let me click for more information!"
Or something...
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I have only two requests: First, a Suggestions forum, for people to post suggested additions (be they mini-games, new systems, changes/additions to CURRENT systems, items, powers, ships, anything).
Second, I would not at all mind being allowed to have polls in Feedback/Suggestions topics.
With Legacy of Romulus due out next month, and the introduction of a third faction, the time has come to start thinking about a forum reorganization. As you are the community and utilize the forums, I'd love to get your input and suggestions. Ultimately, I'll also need to make sure that the organizations make sense for the Dev team as they are reading the forums for feedback constantly, but I'd really like to involve you all in the process.
So, let's get started! Feel free to make descriptive suggestions or post something like this:
STO Forums
.Information and Discussion
..Federation News Network
..Release Notes
..Dev Tracker
Here's a few questions we should also think about:
Should the shipyards sub-forum (builds, feedback, not art, etc.) still be separated by faction?
Are there any forums that you think should be combined?
Is STO discussion and General Community Feedback too similar or should we keep them separated?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions
Once we all come to, or at least try to, a consensus, the changes will be made. The goal for this is a week or two before the expansion launches. NOTE: These changes will not include the future update mentioned here, nor will anything else be changing at this time, other than what forums we have and the organization of them.
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
New Forum should ditch fleetyards/gameplay format for each of the factions. It should just be New Romulus, Federation, and KDF sections with the ability to put a banner qualifier on the subject line identifying it as ship or gameplay related. Reman and Romulans should have default special avatars that differentiate them from other forum users, as well as default special insignia's differentiating fed Rom/Rems from kling Rom/Rems.
Rest of the forum seems meh and it needs some fine tuning. It would be nice if the different main sections-information and discussion, feedback, foundry, support, fleet admin, and text-could contain drop down menus that contained each of the subsections.
Along these lines and much like subscribing to a thread, it would be cool if I had a custom forum page that featured only the subsections I wanted to follow instead of having to parse through each of the sub sections to get to one I want to visit.
Edit: Another suggestion: Move our signature from the bottom of our message to below our user name, join date, and number of posts. That way, the forum should look much cleaner b/c half the page isn't taken up by .jpg signatures.
New Forum should ditch fleetyards/gameplay format for each of the factions. It should just be New Romulus, Federation, and KDF sections with the ability to put a banner qualifier on the subject line identifying it as ship or gameplay related. Reman and Romulans should have default special avatars that differentiate them from other forum users, as well as default special insignia's differentiating fed Rom/Rems from kling Rom/Rems.
Rest of the forum seems meh and it needs some fine tuning. It would be nice if the different main sections-information and discussion, feedback, foundry, support, fleet admin, and text-could contain drop down menus that contained each of the subsections.
Along these lines and much like subscribing to a thread, it would be cool if I had a custom forum page that featured only the subsections I wanted to follow instead of having to parse through each of the sub sections to get to one I want to visit.
Edit: Another suggestion: Move our signature from the bottom of our message to below our user name, join date, and number of posts. That way, the forum should look much cleaner b/c half the page isn't taken up by .jpg signatures.
The actual forum software isn't going to change at this time, per BranFlakes. That means no new features (yet).
This thread is about simply reorganizing the existing sub-forums into relevant topic areas that give players the ability to voice their opinions and give Devs the ability to sift through feedback looking for ideas and desirable changes.
Giving each faction their own section with their own set of sub-forums might be good for the players, but could make it more difficult for the Devs to collect information.
As I understand it, the Devs are not broken down into teams based on faction. In other words, the Klingons don't have their own programmer, system designer, and artists. So it's not efficient to break down things like PvP Gameplay and Art per faction and expect the Devs to scan all three sections while weeding out the extra irrelevant or duplicative posts.
The Devs are one big happy team, so we're just going to have to be one big happy Community posting all together.
Since we do have factions and some issues might be specific to those, the separate Gameplay sub-forums do make a certain amount of sense.
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
The game also promotes playing more than one character, given the abundance of character slots. It makes more sense to not separate by Faction, but by Gameplay/Mechanics.
Thanks so much for the feedback in this thread. I've compiled it and have come up with the following organization based on it:
Information and Discussion
.<Something> News Network (still taking suggestions for a name)
.Release Notes
.Dev Tracker
.The Academy
.Star Trek Online General Discussion
.Ten Forward
..Role Play Central
Feedback
.Federation Gameplay
.Klingon Gameplay
.Romulan Gameplay
.Feature Episodes and Events (FEs, STFs, Fleet Actions, queued events, etc.)
.PvP Gameplay
..PvP Boot Camp
.The Shipyard
.Captains and Bridge Officers (classes, traits, powers, builds, etc.)
.Duty Officer System
.Fleet Holdings System
.Reputation System
.Controls and User Interface
.The Art of Star Trek Online
.C-Store and Promotions
The Foundry for Star Trek Online
.The Foundry For Star Trek Online - Discussion & Feedback
.The Foundry For Star Trek Online - Mission Database
.The Foundry for Star Trek Online - Bug Reports
.Tribble - Announcements and Release Notes
.Tribble - Bug Reports
.Tribble - General Discussion and Feedback
.Redshirt - Announcements and Release Notes
.Redshirt - Bug Reports
.Redshirt - General Discussion and Feedback
This is by no means final, so I'd like to continue discussing the above, as well as other ideas.
Also, I've reached out to the content devs, and while the majority in this thread wanted to see a merge for the FED and KDF gameplay forums, it's actually better for them if it stays separated.
.Captains and Bridge Officers (classes, traits, powers, builds, etc.)
.Duty Officer System
.Fleet Holdings System
.Reputation System
.Controls and User Interface
.The Art of Star Trek Online
.C-Store and Promotions
The Foundry for Star Trek Online
.The Foundry For Star Trek Online - Discussion & Feedback
.The Foundry For Star Trek Online - Mission Database
.The Foundry for Star Trek Online - Bug Reports
Support
.Gameplay Bugs
.PC & Technical Issues
.Graphical Issues
Fleet Administrative Station
.Starbase One
.Qo'noS
.New Romulus
Test Servers
.Tribble - Announcements and Release Notes
.Tribble - Bug Reports
.Tribble - General Discussion and Feedback
.Redshirt - Announcements and Release Notes
.Redshirt - Bug Reports
.Redshirt - General Discussion and Feedback
This is by no means final, so I'd like to continue discussing the above, as well as other ideas.
Also, I've reached out to the conent devs, and while the majority in this thread wanted to see a merge for the FED and KDF gameplay forums, it's actually better for them if it stays separated.
Thoughts?
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
How about Alpha Quadrant News Network?
Also, Suggestions sub-forum under Feedback, please?
Suggestions about an individual aspect (Reputation, PvP, gameplay, etc.) can be posted in the appropriate Feedback subforum, as "Feedback" encompasses suggestions
Comments
I was also thinking this. Anyone opposed?
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
The Armada
Original join date: Feb 5, 2010
Twitter: @davejl_99, & @STO_BBArmada
God, lvl 60 CW. 17k.
Looks about right from where I'm sittin'
Is there any reason to keep the Federatio and Klingon Gameplay forums and not also include those in the PvE/Mission section?
At first glance, nothing seems to be wrong with it. Fine with me.
Infinite possibilities have implications that could not be completely understood if you turned this entire universe into a giant supercomputer.
Space Builds
Powers (where a lot of PvP talk would be)
Missions (where most PvE talk would be)
General (Feedback, Discussion, and Academy should be inclusive here, basically a catchall for whatever doesn't fit in above)
But to consider...
I would add Ground Builds for discussing play tactics, away team composition, equipment, etc.
What about the existing C-Store/Promotion forums? C-Store I suppose would fall under Ships/Powers... Or else General (where Promo talk could be) and/or News.
You'd mentioned DOffing and Reputations... I should think if it's about related abilities it would be Powers, if assignments or marks then Missions, etc. Or just make a DOffing/Rep forum.
Where do you put Art discussion? Ship design, costumes, sets, etc?
You still need Off-Topic (aka Ten Forward), Foundry, and Test (Tribble/Red Shirt), of course.
You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
Federation News Network
Release Notes
Dev Tracker
Ten Forward (Ten Forward/general offtopic)
Star Trek Online Discussion (Discussion, The Academy, General Feedback. Stick all the stickies from the academy in an 'index' post stickied at the top. Start using index posts rather than hundreds of stickies in general)
Shipyards (all factional shipyards in one section)
Gameplay (All factional gameplay in one section, + the 'pve' section)
(Subforum) Builds and Powers (Character builds + powers, bofficers and powers)
(Subforum) Duty Officer System
(Subforum) Missions and Episodes
PVP Section (PVP, possibly as a 'gameplay' subforum, but maybe standalone/accessible from the index.)
Controls/UI
Art
C-Store feedback
Foundry stuff - fine
Support - fine
Test Servers - fine
Fleet stuff - fine
Make it so
Information and Discussion Changes:
News Network (Renamed to allow for a more neutral setting and not to make players think that only Federation information gets shared here)
C-store and Promotions (This would also be a place where feedback could be given on such things and where they are advertised)
No other changes need to be made.
Feedback Section Changes:
General Feedback
Federation Gameplay
Klingon Gameplay
Romulan Gameplay (This would be feed back related to Romulan Specific content)
Fleetyards
-Subtopics: PVE (Could then add more subtopics for Federation, Romulan, Klingon), PVP (Could then add more subtopics for Federation, Romulan, Klingon) (This would allow for discussions of just builds in both PVE And PVP being separated into their own topics)
You could still discuss general builds and information, but going to the Subtopics would allow for more Specialized information. Such as if a player only wants to discuss Romulan PVP Ship builds.
Character Builds and powers: (The Bridge officers and Powers Feedback could be Merged into the general part of this section) This would be where Ground based information would be discussed
- Subtopics: PVE, PVP
Duty Officers
PVE Game play
-Subtopic: Missions and Episodes
PVP Game Play
-Subtopics: Space (Arena, Cap and Hold), Ground (Arena, Assault), PVP Bootcamp
Controls and User Interface
The Art of Star Trek Online
After that there really are no other changes to the sections under the Art part.
Think about this:
American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku
My first suggestion is that I think the General Community Feedback sub forum and the Star Trek Online Discussion forum should be merged. They essentially serve almost the exact same purpose.
I also feel like there's too many sub forums. Yet one thing I'd like to see return is the separate ship classification forums. I know. I'm contradicting myself. It's just I found the advice given back when it was a Cruiser, Escort, Science vessel separation to be a lot more focused. I am in favor of consolidating the mess as the index page is HUGE. But in the case of individual ship classes, I found you got better info about builds, choices, ships, etc when it was separated. To oversimplify it, when folks wanted advice on how to kit out and set up their Excelsior, back in those days they didn't get sidetracked with all that added info about how they should fly Escort X, Y or Z because those who give good Escort advice were mostly answering questions in the Escort sub forum.
So yeah, my advice contains contradictions. Sorry.
Also, I mean I understand that technically there is a difference between the Federation Gameplay Forum and the PVE Gameplay Forum. But, I mean, the separation of the PVE and PVP forums really only seems to exist for the purpose of the PVP forum. PVE issues get discussed widely in the general, discussion, Fed Gameplay, KDF Gameplay and Missions and Episodes Forums. I'd say trimming the PVE Gameplay Forum and moving those threads to one of the above forums would not really change the discussion dynamic at all. Just keep the PVP Forum for the specific PVP issues.
I say yes. I understand and support the desire to consolidate forums. But for ship builds, that's one of the few things I feel separation makes the flow of information go much smoother. And why I suggested further separation. I think having that added separation helps people get expert advice quicker. If I want to know what console to use on a Vesta, or what hangar pet to use on a Vo'Quv, I want a quick, in depth, educated answer from someone who flies that ship already. Merging it all into one lump forum would muddy that quest for clarity. In my opinion.
Aw geeze, I should have read further before replying. Yes! AND MERGE!
Good luck.
The only thing I am concerned with this Shipyards. I realize it seems silly to segregate ship builds, but there is a definite divide between federation and klingon players and I would hate for a "Shipyard" Forum to degrade into a QQ forum about how Feds don't get KDF stuff or KDF don't get Rom stuff, Or how Rommies seem to have everything.
1. I like Galactic News Network.
2. I agree the Academy needs rework. I suggest making it a Major Section with two subforums: "Gameplay Questions" and "Player Guides & Tips".
Gameplay Questions could include any FAQ's as stickies. In Player Guides & Tips, Guides can be nominated for stickies. I would also recommend expiring stickies on Guides that are over a year old without updates.
3. I know you'd like to discourage non-STO-related commentary, but it still happens anyway. I suggest renaming "Star Trek Online Discussion" to "Star Trek Community Discussion".
4. Split "Information" and "Discussion" into two sections. Leave the "Informational" subforums at the top, put the "Feedback" subforums next, then follow those with the "Discussion" subforums.
5. Rename "General Community Feedback" to "Star Trek Online General Feedback"
6. Keep "Federation Gameplay" and "Klingon Gameplay" sub-forums and add a "Romulan Gameplay" feedback thread.
7. I agree, the Shipyard Feedback subforums can be consolidated.
8. Rename "Character Build and Powers" to "Character Traits, Skills, and Powers"
9. Move the PvE and PvP Gameplay subforums up with the other Gameplay subforums.
10. Keep everything else as is.
This would change the hierarchy to look something like this:
Information
. Galactic News Network
. Release Notes
. Dev Tracker
- Academy
. . Gameplay Questions & FAQs
. . Player Guides & Tips
Feedback
. Star Trek Online General Feedback
. Federation Gameplay
. Klingon Gameplay
. Romulan Gameplay
. PvE Gameplay
. PvP Gameplay
. Shipyards
. Character Traits, Skills, and Powers
. Bridge Officers and BOFF Powers
. Duty Officer System
. Missions and Episodes
. Controls and User Interface
. The Art of Star Trek Online
. C-Store and Promotions
Discussion
. Star Trek Community Discussion
. Ten Forward
Foundry
(No changes)
Support
(No changes)
Fleet
(No changes)
Test Servers
(No changes)
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
I like that idea. With one caveat. Have a Sticky post in that forum indicating that detail, that the same devs work on those things. That way if like six months to a year down the line a new player wants to know why fleet holdings and DOFFs are in the same forum, they can be directed to that easy to understand explanation.
I think I should explain my rationale for why I'd like to see things re-arranged this way.
The Information sub-forums obviously being the first place people need to look for important information, they need to be at the top. Closely followed by the Academy sub-forums so that players with questions can get the help they need.
By separating general questions from player guides, we should be able to avoid the long list of stickies and people can find the guides more easily. The best of the guides can be stickied in that sub-forum.
By placing the Feedback sub-forums before the Discussion sub-forums, threads can be better channeled into the right categories. And if people get a bit lazy and just post in "Star Trek Online General Feedback" that's okay... The mods can easily monitor that and move threads where they need to go.
Likewise, most posters will tend to choose one of the "Gameplay" feedback sub-forums to post in so it makes sense that those should come first. The rest of the feedback sub-forums are more targeted.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
It makes sense to have them all three in the same category, in terms of keeping the information consolidated for the benefit of the associated dev team. The three categories doesn't really warrant being stand alone forums.
In regard to separate shipyard threads for factions, you said:
So are you basically suggesting this:
Shipyards
- Federation
. . Escorts
. . Cruisers
. . Science Vessels
. . Carriers
- Klingon
. . BoP's
. . Raptors
. . Battlecruisers
. . Carriers and Support Vessels
- Romulan
. . Warbirds (?)
OR this:
Shipyards
- Escorts
. . Starfleet
. . KDF
- Cruisers
. . Starfleet
. . KDF
- Science Vessels
- Carriers
. . Starfleet
. . KDF
- Warbirds
I get what you're trying to say about separating builds, but do we really need to break them out by ship class AND faction?
I think a better organization would be something like this:
- Shipyards
. Escorts and Raptors
. Cruisers and Battlecruisers
. Science Vessels
. Birds of Prey
. Warbirds
. Carriers
. Cross-Faction (Lockbox)
Break out the unique classes into their own sub-forums and don't worry about faction. Most of the faction-related builds will end up in a faction-specific Gameplay sub-forum anyway.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
It's not a bad idea at all, but when you think about it all three systems have to do with an alternate form of character progression. Crafting could probably also be considered an alternate form of progression (and will probably involve the same devs, too).
So I'd consider re-titling the sub-forum as "Character Development Systems" or "Alternative Gameplay Systems" or something like that. You can specify which systems in the description of the sub-forum, and add to the description as needed for new systems along similar lines.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
I would like to see a new system altogether for the fleet recruitment subforum. No one goes there. New Players don't know it exist. There is no way to filter through tom to find the fleet you want. The entire forum is just a bunch of fleet recruiters shouting over top of each other into an empty canyon. That and Players usually get recruited into either a friends fleet or the first fleet that tackles them on ESD. This runs into the same problem with having a Fleet Recruitment channel in game. No one will go there, and New players will not know it exist. While I would like to have some sort of off-game fleet registry, the current system is messy and flawed.
Not sure how to fix this, nor the technology limitations we have. But a system where you can submit an ad... and then have it broadcasted to the rest of the forums. Subtly and infrequently. Just enough so that new players that stumble around in the forums can see "OH, there is a fleet. it sounds fun. let me click for more information!"
Or something...
Sounds great.
www.divisionhispana.com
Second, I would not at all mind being allowed to have polls in Feedback/Suggestions topics.
No. No player polls. Please.
The Armada
Original join date: Feb 5, 2010
Twitter: @davejl_99, & @STO_BBArmada
New Forum should ditch fleetyards/gameplay format for each of the factions. It should just be New Romulus, Federation, and KDF sections with the ability to put a banner qualifier on the subject line identifying it as ship or gameplay related. Reman and Romulans should have default special avatars that differentiate them from other forum users, as well as default special insignia's differentiating fed Rom/Rems from kling Rom/Rems.
Rest of the forum seems meh and it needs some fine tuning. It would be nice if the different main sections-information and discussion, feedback, foundry, support, fleet admin, and text-could contain drop down menus that contained each of the subsections.
Along these lines and much like subscribing to a thread, it would be cool if I had a custom forum page that featured only the subsections I wanted to follow instead of having to parse through each of the sub sections to get to one I want to visit.
Edit: Another suggestion: Move our signature from the bottom of our message to below our user name, join date, and number of posts. That way, the forum should look much cleaner b/c half the page isn't taken up by .jpg signatures.
The actual forum software isn't going to change at this time, per BranFlakes. That means no new features (yet).
This thread is about simply reorganizing the existing sub-forums into relevant topic areas that give players the ability to voice their opinions and give Devs the ability to sift through feedback looking for ideas and desirable changes.
Giving each faction their own section with their own set of sub-forums might be good for the players, but could make it more difficult for the Devs to collect information.
As I understand it, the Devs are not broken down into teams based on faction. In other words, the Klingons don't have their own programmer, system designer, and artists. So it's not efficient to break down things like PvP Gameplay and Art per faction and expect the Devs to scan all three sections while weeding out the extra irrelevant or duplicative posts.
The Devs are one big happy team, so we're just going to have to be one big happy Community posting all together.
Since we do have factions and some issues might be specific to those, the separate Gameplay sub-forums do make a certain amount of sense.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
Thanks so much for the feedback in this thread. I've compiled it and have come up with the following organization based on it:
.<Something> News Network (still taking suggestions for a name)
.Release Notes
.Dev Tracker
.The Academy
.Star Trek Online General Discussion
.Ten Forward
..Role Play Central
Feedback
.Federation Gameplay
.Klingon Gameplay
.Romulan Gameplay
.Feature Episodes and Events (FEs, STFs, Fleet Actions, queued events, etc.)
.PvP Gameplay
..PvP Boot Camp
.The Shipyard
.Captains and Bridge Officers (classes, traits, powers, builds, etc.)
.Duty Officer System
.Fleet Holdings System
.Reputation System
.Controls and User Interface
.The Art of Star Trek Online
.C-Store and Promotions
The Foundry for Star Trek Online
.The Foundry For Star Trek Online - Discussion & Feedback
.The Foundry For Star Trek Online - Mission Database
.The Foundry for Star Trek Online - Bug Reports
Support
.Gameplay Bugs
.PC & Technical Issues
.Graphical Issues
Fleet Administrative Station
.Starbase One
.Qo'noS
.New Romulus
Test Servers
.Tribble - Announcements and Release Notes
.Tribble - Bug Reports
.Tribble - General Discussion and Feedback
.Redshirt - Announcements and Release Notes
.Redshirt - Bug Reports
.Redshirt - General Discussion and Feedback
This is by no means final, so I'd like to continue discussing the above, as well as other ideas.
Also, I've reached out to the content devs, and while the majority in this thread wanted to see a merge for the FED and KDF gameplay forums, it's actually better for them if it stays separated.
Thoughts?
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
Also, Suggestions sub-forum under Feedback, please?
Suggestions about an individual aspect (Reputation, PvP, gameplay, etc.) can be posted in the appropriate Feedback subforum, as "Feedback" encompasses suggestions
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=