OH yeah I would dig strafing in space. Also some ability to do loops and barrel turns. Now THAT is so awesome. But no, this game can not be awesome. It has to be mediocre when it comes to space combat, and to be honest thats how many players prefer it, unfortunately. Its all about making the game accessible to the average player who can't handle complicated space maneuvers, mostly because they get sick or dizzy. Also lets face it, strafe is cool but it would make escorts into the ultimate killing machine (as opposed to very good killing machines).
I still want the strafe though, I suppose it could help the more ponderous ships as well.
We're stuck with certain modes of flight because that's how Star Trek does it, basically submarine maneuvers without the water, that and CBS has put limits on what Cryptic can make these ships do. All I want is vertical translation, so I can do like in the movies and have my ship descend or rise up to a target. Even if it's at a limited speed and draws power like reverse impulse it would still be useful and wouldn't break CBS's prohibitions on ship maneuvering. But side strafing? You never see a ship do that in Star Trek, so it will never happen here, even if Cryptic would consider it, I doubt CBS would allow it.
Sometimes I don't like these limitations but we can thank CBS that the game at least vaguely resembles Star Trek, God knows what would become of it without their control.
If something is not broken, don't fix it, if it is broken, don't leave it broken.
best space combat engine to date was SWG:JTL. true 3d with yaw pitch and roll
may it RIP
however that was designed for small starfighters, the POBs were extremely slow and sluggish by comparison, tbh it was annoying as all hell being a pob pilot, no dogfighting. you basically broadsided another pob and exchanged cannons like pirate movies
so i couldnt see a full twitch based 3d engine working here, it wouldnt make sense to see a cruiser flipping itself up down and sideways (though a ship should be able to do a barrel roll and go upside down)
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I don't think this kind of manoeuvring is beyond the lore of Star Trek. The Defiant for example flew on a dime and Voyager had some pretty impressive manoeuvrability. Even the Enterprise E did a few rolls in the Movies. The problem is this is how Cryptic has made the game and would require a complete overhaul in the engine. The question is not should they but can they?
It wouldn't simply be difficult to modify the engine to make it happen, but then they'd have to add yet more keybinds for x-axis strafing and z-axis elevation/declination. Rolling is already part of the turning animation, but is probably subject to the same engine limitation that makes straight up/down movement and flips both impossible. At best, it would serve as a temporary means of compensating for the 5sec wait time between alternating tactical teams (roll the ship to expose a different shield facing).
They could conceivably hack a roll-the-ship toggled special power that rolls the model (in either the direction you're already turning, or randomly-chosen if you're not turning) and flips the port/starboard shield facings, though.
Manuevering thrusters would be what would be used to strafe or move verticaly. They are used for docking for one thing. So the ability is already in lore and could be added to the game. But since they are done with manuevaring thrusters the speed would be incredibly slow and not a big advantage.
But i could swear NPC small ships have the ability when i am flying my Vo'quv because i cant turn fast enough to give them another shield to fire at lol. But then again in my Vo'quv I can do a power slide when turning the same moment i hit full stop after being in full impulse.
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The engine is capable of supporting a great deal more maneuverability than we are allowed, play Champions Online which uses the same engine and you'll find the flight mode there doesn't have STO's limitations.
That said we've already had a flat no from Cryptic about 3D flight and CBS has forbidden that ships be allowed to roll or invert, so there's no point in beating a dead horse. We're never going to have full 3D flight mode, that doesn't tell us what we could get, but the Devs have essentially turned a deaf ear to the subject and we've had no feedback on the matter for a very long time.
If something is not broken, don't fix it, if it is broken, don't leave it broken.
Its not a technical limitation, its a design limitation. Its a casual game that is (probably) aimed at older ST fans who have more money than time. No item-loss on death, no open combat, replicate commodities on-demand, lots of free transwarps, etc... You dont even have to aim at your target, just select and click auto-fire. Really there are only 1 or 2 complex systems here and they are mostly knowledge oriented. Its just not a complex immersive space sim/shooter, its a fantasy coop dungeon crawler with ST artwork, that's all.
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I still want the strafe though, I suppose it could help the more ponderous ships as well.
Freelancer has lateral and vertical strafing, and full 3D flight, but you also have to aim and time your shots. Totally different from this game.
Sometimes I don't like these limitations but we can thank CBS that the game at least vaguely resembles Star Trek, God knows what would become of it without their control.
may it RIP
however that was designed for small starfighters, the POBs were extremely slow and sluggish by comparison, tbh it was annoying as all hell being a pob pilot, no dogfighting. you basically broadsided another pob and exchanged cannons like pirate movies
so i couldnt see a full twitch based 3d engine working here, it wouldnt make sense to see a cruiser flipping itself up down and sideways (though a ship should be able to do a barrel roll and go upside down)
Fleet Admiral Rylana - Fed Tac - U.S.S Wild Card - Tactical Miracle Worker Cruiser
Lifetime Subscriber since 2012 == 17,200 Accolades = RIP PvP and Vice Squad
Chief of Starfleet Intelligence Service == Praise Cheesus
Exposing fakes since 2374
They could conceivably hack a roll-the-ship toggled special power that rolls the model (in either the direction you're already turning, or randomly-chosen if you're not turning) and flips the port/starboard shield facings, though.
But i could swear NPC small ships have the ability when i am flying my Vo'quv because i cant turn fast enough to give them another shield to fire at lol. But then again in my Vo'quv I can do a power slide when turning the same moment i hit full stop after being in full impulse.
"I'm drunk, whats your excuse for being an idiot?" - Unknown drunk man. :eek:
That said we've already had a flat no from Cryptic about 3D flight and CBS has forbidden that ships be allowed to roll or invert, so there's no point in beating a dead horse. We're never going to have full 3D flight mode, that doesn't tell us what we could get, but the Devs have essentially turned a deaf ear to the subject and we've had no feedback on the matter for a very long time.
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