With the next season coming out later this year, additions to the Duty Officer system were promised in recent interviews of Dan Stahl. I believe he said that the next season will have the biggest update the duty officer system has had since its release.
Probably just largest amount of new doffs sold for $.
My guess is that Cryptic's employees take charge of certain systems and when they are gone, there is no further major development in that system until someone replaces them. Money making additions excluded ofc.
There a few things I need to add to this: no one likes to take responsibility for other people's TRIBBLE, programmers included. It is much much easier to write totally new code than to learn and modify an existing one. I am not saying what Heretic wrote is TRIBBLE. But TRIBBLE or not it is his TRIBBLE. It takes time and effort to assimilate other people's TRIBBLE. Even if I am payed for such a thing, I can do it whole heartedly, or as a chore, depending on my adaptability to Heretic's particular TRIBBLE. In short, it is hard if not impossible to make someone else's dream live on, if that's not your dream.
You see even a replacement cannot guarantee a thing. Creativity, genuine interest, love for your work cannot be expected, or asked for. It is either there, or it is not. That's life.
My suggestion would be to Cryptic, if some doffer talent would show up with genuine coding skills, to hire her/him/them. Even as part time contributors or such. X3 is a good example of how modders became part of the dev team.
Whatever we deny or embrace, we belong togheter./ Pat Benatar
You know it's interesting; I was perusing the DoFF forum today and the lack of ANY dev posting anytime recently is astonishing - and quite telling. No feedback, no give-and-take, no nothing. The strengths that once made the system so pleasurable are now gone.
I mean, when was the last time a dev posted here or anything of import? And before that?
Ok, I love this game and I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way:
It at least appears that Lock Boxes are less often funding new content and more often replacing old content.
I realize lock boxes are funding the game. I'm ok with that. I really am. However, the content in lock boxes are moving out of niche items that expand the way the game works and moving into the realm of being better duplicates of already existing things.
Ok, I love this game and I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way:
It at least appears that Lock Boxes are less often funding new content and more often replacing old content.
I realize lock boxes are funding the game. I'm ok with that. I really am. However, the content in lock boxes are moving out of niche items that expand the way the game works and moving into the realm of being better duplicates of already existing things.
I think you really meant to say "lock boxes are less often RELEASING new content and more often replacing old content."
As the primary source of revenue for cryptic (mentioned by Branflakes and Trail Turtle both separately) they are clearly the source of the money that pays for new content. And that is the definition of "funding".
Now, assuming that's what you meant, I agree tentatively, however I think that what we're seeing is exactly what was intended. To a certain extent, the Free To Play model has been and always will be Pay to Win. Fleet ships and Lockbox ships are straight up better than the free ones. Not so much so that you require them (except in PvP), but they are better.
The new doffs from lockboxes are just like a fleet ship: better than the free version. I think that's intentional.
I also think that in this case the change was more than I personally would have gone for were I on the development team. But since I don't know their long-term plans or what data they were reviewing when they decided to implement the new doffs, I can't say for certain. Still, I'd rather one doff per award pack and I'd rather them be only slightly better or better for certain builds. Not across the board better in all ways.
I can't agree more with Zero on this. I play STO off and on, but the main attraction to this game has always been the DOFF system for me. It's something that's unique and not really seen in many games.
I don't know if I would count this as "evidence" necessarily, but consider this: when Heretic was still here working on the DOFF system, I was practically glued to the game. I couldn't get enough of the officer exchanges and all the new stuff going on over in Cardassian space. Then Heretic left, and shortly after that, I stopped playing for a long time; I only recently came back after Legacy of Romulus launched.
I came back expecting huge improvements, or at least expansions, to the DOFF system, but... as everyone else has said, it's pretty much exactly the same. There were no new chains (outside of a lockbox specific one, apparently) added in my long absence. Why wouldn't a brand new sector block have a long list of appealing DOFF missions? Why wouldn't Romulans, the focus of the expansion, be able to get Romulan DOFFs easily? Where's the reward for doing DOFF missions?
Zero makes a good point -- why should opening a lockbox be the only method of getting a good DOFF? I understand that Cryptic needs to make money, but not adding any new DOFFs for people who actually use the system, and instead catering to people who are only interested in active powers seems a bit inane. If we just have to pay to get them handed to us, why even have the system at all? At least give us something to work for! Now, to be clear, I don't mind DOFFs in lockboxes. But there should be some ways to use the actual system to get new stuff too -- that is what it was made for.
You know... even despite being completely underwhelmed by the lack of new DOFF content when I came back, I was still dumbfounded to see that DOFFJOBS and the spreadsheet are still holding strong. That's a real commitment; even in the face of being practically snubbed by the developers, these people still band together in an entire community dedicated to a feature that the devs seem to ignore. These people are passionate about DOFFs, and for good reason. It used to be fun, and it used to be rewarding. It brought people together, and that's powerful. The fact that Zero, who is largely responsible for such things as DOFFTrekker can come here and make a post about the sorry state of affairs of the system and not have a single dev comment on it is really depressing. This is a red flag, guys -- if there were ever a time to take notice, and try to offer some reassurance that the DOFF system isn't dead, now is the time. Heretic was always around to give us updates. Can't we get a hint about what's to come?
We want to continue DOFFing, but if there's no new content, there's little reason. I can't speak for everyone, but I don't care about the active powers. I care about the system, the thrill of the search and the advancement involved. I don't want to pay to have something handed to me. I want to work hard for something neat, even if it's not as good as what someone else can simply buy. I want some variety, something so I don't have to do the same 20 missions because they're the only ones worth doing in the grand scheme of things.
Please just give us some incentive to remain passionate about something that's provided a lot of fun and entertainment, something that's unique and a break from the constant shooting. That's all we really want, or at least... all I really want.
You know it's interesting; I was perusing the DoFF forum today and the lack of ANY dev posting anytime recently is astonishing - and quite telling. No feedback, no give-and-take, no nothing. The strengths that once made the system so pleasurable are now gone.
I mean, when was the last time a dev posted here or anything of import? And before that?
Doffing.... the new pvp.
Just be glad they don't post things that never happen, are blatant lies, or betray a thorough lack of understanding of actual in-game mechanics, abilities, or skills, while simultaneously insulting the players base.
It's even more infuriating then the big long silence.
Just be glad they don't post things that never happen, are blatant lies, or betray a thorough lack of understanding of actual in-game mechanics, abilities, or skills, while simultaneously insulting the players base.
It's even more infuriating then the big long silence.
Luckily for doffing interviews have stated that season 8 will contain "the largest update the doff system has seen since its launch".
Comments
Probably just largest amount of new doffs sold for $.
There a few things I need to add to this: no one likes to take responsibility for other people's TRIBBLE, programmers included. It is much much easier to write totally new code than to learn and modify an existing one. I am not saying what Heretic wrote is TRIBBLE. But TRIBBLE or not it is his TRIBBLE. It takes time and effort to assimilate other people's TRIBBLE. Even if I am payed for such a thing, I can do it whole heartedly, or as a chore, depending on my adaptability to Heretic's particular TRIBBLE. In short, it is hard if not impossible to make someone else's dream live on, if that's not your dream.
You see even a replacement cannot guarantee a thing. Creativity, genuine interest, love for your work cannot be expected, or asked for. It is either there, or it is not. That's life.
My suggestion would be to Cryptic, if some doffer talent would show up with genuine coding skills, to hire her/him/them. Even as part time contributors or such. X3 is a good example of how modders became part of the dev team.
I mean, when was the last time a dev posted here or anything of import? And before that?
It at least appears that Lock Boxes are less often funding new content and more often replacing old content.
I realize lock boxes are funding the game. I'm ok with that. I really am. However, the content in lock boxes are moving out of niche items that expand the way the game works and moving into the realm of being better duplicates of already existing things.
I think you really meant to say "lock boxes are less often RELEASING new content and more often replacing old content."
As the primary source of revenue for cryptic (mentioned by Branflakes and Trail Turtle both separately) they are clearly the source of the money that pays for new content. And that is the definition of "funding".
Now, assuming that's what you meant, I agree tentatively, however I think that what we're seeing is exactly what was intended. To a certain extent, the Free To Play model has been and always will be Pay to Win. Fleet ships and Lockbox ships are straight up better than the free ones. Not so much so that you require them (except in PvP), but they are better.
The new doffs from lockboxes are just like a fleet ship: better than the free version. I think that's intentional.
I also think that in this case the change was more than I personally would have gone for were I on the development team. But since I don't know their long-term plans or what data they were reviewing when they decided to implement the new doffs, I can't say for certain. Still, I'd rather one doff per award pack and I'd rather them be only slightly better or better for certain builds. Not across the board better in all ways.
I don't know if I would count this as "evidence" necessarily, but consider this: when Heretic was still here working on the DOFF system, I was practically glued to the game. I couldn't get enough of the officer exchanges and all the new stuff going on over in Cardassian space. Then Heretic left, and shortly after that, I stopped playing for a long time; I only recently came back after Legacy of Romulus launched.
I came back expecting huge improvements, or at least expansions, to the DOFF system, but... as everyone else has said, it's pretty much exactly the same. There were no new chains (outside of a lockbox specific one, apparently) added in my long absence. Why wouldn't a brand new sector block have a long list of appealing DOFF missions? Why wouldn't Romulans, the focus of the expansion, be able to get Romulan DOFFs easily? Where's the reward for doing DOFF missions?
Zero makes a good point -- why should opening a lockbox be the only method of getting a good DOFF? I understand that Cryptic needs to make money, but not adding any new DOFFs for people who actually use the system, and instead catering to people who are only interested in active powers seems a bit inane. If we just have to pay to get them handed to us, why even have the system at all? At least give us something to work for! Now, to be clear, I don't mind DOFFs in lockboxes. But there should be some ways to use the actual system to get new stuff too -- that is what it was made for.
You know... even despite being completely underwhelmed by the lack of new DOFF content when I came back, I was still dumbfounded to see that DOFFJOBS and the spreadsheet are still holding strong. That's a real commitment; even in the face of being practically snubbed by the developers, these people still band together in an entire community dedicated to a feature that the devs seem to ignore. These people are passionate about DOFFs, and for good reason. It used to be fun, and it used to be rewarding. It brought people together, and that's powerful. The fact that Zero, who is largely responsible for such things as DOFFTrekker can come here and make a post about the sorry state of affairs of the system and not have a single dev comment on it is really depressing. This is a red flag, guys -- if there were ever a time to take notice, and try to offer some reassurance that the DOFF system isn't dead, now is the time. Heretic was always around to give us updates. Can't we get a hint about what's to come?
We want to continue DOFFing, but if there's no new content, there's little reason. I can't speak for everyone, but I don't care about the active powers. I care about the system, the thrill of the search and the advancement involved. I don't want to pay to have something handed to me. I want to work hard for something neat, even if it's not as good as what someone else can simply buy. I want some variety, something so I don't have to do the same 20 missions because they're the only ones worth doing in the grand scheme of things.
Please just give us some incentive to remain passionate about something that's provided a lot of fun and entertainment, something that's unique and a break from the constant shooting. That's all we really want, or at least... all I really want.
Doffing.... the new pvp.
Just be glad they don't post things that never happen, are blatant lies, or betray a thorough lack of understanding of actual in-game mechanics, abilities, or skills, while simultaneously insulting the players base.
It's even more infuriating then the big long silence.
a history of sto pvp: 2010 - 2011
a history of sto pvp: 2012 - 2013
Luckily for doffing interviews have stated that season 8 will contain "the largest update the doff system has seen since its launch".
If i had received 1 ec everytime this or something similar was announced reagrding PvP, there would be no more lockbox ships for sale on the exchange.
I believe it when i see it.
a history of sto pvp: 2010 - 2011
a history of sto pvp: 2012 - 2013