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Sorceror's Ideas Thread
sorceror01
Member Posts: 1,042 Arc User
I have been a member of these forums for quite a while. Though I don't post all too often, I do occasionally throw in my two cents on matters, and even start a thread or two for various reasons.
Mostly what I feel like talking about is potential ideas for the game. Things that could be done realistically, with varying degrees of work behind them. Occasionally, my ideas are liked well enough.
I even get a dev to chime in every once in a while.
Recent talk of new faction ideas, armor slots, and more, have spurred me to attempt to create an overarching Ideas Thread, where I can toss in an idea or two (or more!) and see how the community at large takes them.
Be advised: you all are more than welcome to spirited discussion in this thread, as long as it's kept civil. This isn't me sounding a trumpet for what I "absolutely need to see in the game OMG"; it's stuff that I think would be nice to see. Feel free to also point out any of the pros and cons of my ideas, too. It won't stop me from putting up more.
So here we go.
The Dyson Sphere
My very first "this would be cool if it was in the game" post on the forums concerned the Dyson Sphere, and how canonically speaking, very little had been done with this wonderful and fantastical celestial megastructure. I'd love to see it return somehow. Either as part of a mission arc, or maybe one of these new-fangled "space adventure zones" I heard talk about. Bonus: the Dyson Sphere can not only be a space adventure zone, but it can also potentially have multiple ground adventure zones, too, simply because it's that freakin' huge.
Consolidating Weapon Types
This was another idea I had a bit ago, I think some others did, too. Basically, I found fault in the fact that we seem to have various weapons that have the exact same weapon models, differentiated only by their firing mode types. Example: We have two different beam-type hand weapons in the Wide Beam and Stun Beam types. I suggested that all of them be merged, to one degree or another, and simply have the extra firing more activated by cycling the weapon itself.
Example:
A hand phaser can be switched from Wide Beam to Stun Beam mode. (since both use beams)
A phaser bolt rifle can be switched from Full Auto to Sniper mode. (since both use bolt shots)
A phaser beam rifle could switch from High Density to Multi-Target mode. (since both use beams)
And so on and so forth.
Naturally, some weapons actually do have different models and thus should probably remain separate weapons, to also "balance them out", i.e.; Pulsewave, Rapid Fire "Gatling" assault, and single shot "Burst Launcher" weapons shouldn't have this ability.
But overall, it'd make several rarely used weapons incredibly more versatile and interesting. Like I said, I always found fault with the idea that I had to switch hand phasers if I wanted to use either a Wide Beam or a Stun Beam setting. These weapons could clearly do more than that in shows and movies and books.
Would probably take a lot of monkeying around to figure out how to do it, though.
Tricorders
I recall that this was actually recently mentioned as a potential new item type, so I like to hold out hope that the devs saw the older threads on this subject and it stuck with them!
In Star Trek, there have always been various styles of tricorders, and the tricorder itself could be used for various and sundry scanning type activities. Making the tricorder an item, and assigning it tasks in-game other than simply scanning fo nearby quest objectives or crafting nodes, would add a lot to the Star Trek flavoring of the game.
In addition to assigning tricorder items appropriate stat-boosting values, they could also have actual scanner functionality. Such as, when first beaming down to a ground map, one could conceivably have to scan for life forms first before having any show up on their mini-map (one could even also have to scan the local area itself to improve map resolution, but one step at a time). Further, one could then do a scan for weapons signatures to try and discern any enemy contacts. And so on and so forth.
This would help lessen the "beam down onto a map and charge right towards the enemy contacts" that happens too often, and actually give players a reason to pause and actively inspect their surroundings via the tricorder. Bonus: for team play, having one player actively scan for various objects (life forms, enemies, quest objectives, or crafting nodes) would send the acquired data to all team members! Networking is fun.
Faction: The Typhon Pact
So a lot of faction talk happened after the launch of LoR. Everyone's getting in on it. People are tossing around ideas like Cardassians, Jem'Hadar, or Borg and Undine.
All things considered, weak ideas.
The Cardassians would be too much like angrier and more egotistical Romulans at this point. The Jem'hadar (in the Alpha Quadrant at least) are neither numerous enough nor compelling enough to warrant factionhood, and.... guys, let's leave the Borg and Undine as enemy factions, okay? Be serious.
Like how serious this idea is! I did some reading on it, and essentially, the Typhon Pact is a coalition of the more recognizable Breen, Tholian, Imperial Romulan, and Gorn races, with the somewhat more obscure Tzenkethi and Kinyasha playing second banana. These races banded together also to fight the Borg and to kinda try and one-up the Federation in therms of power consolidation.
This idea would require a lot of work, however. Like.... a lot a lot.
Firstly, they wouldn't be sharing any of the missions that current Starfleet, Klingon, or Republic Romulans do. Their goals are simply too different as are their concerns. Every mission would essentially have to be new and original.
Secondly, some of those races, while in-game already, would require a lot of work to make playable (I'm lookin' at the Tholians here). The Tzenkethi, while mentioned on DS9, have never been seen (it is assumed they are large monstrous felinoids, more bestial than even Caitians or Ferasans). The Kinyasha are completely unique to the novels, and also quite large and monstrous.
Thirdly, reconciling the fact that several of these species' ships have been made available to players as lockbox or prize ships. The short and sweet solution would be to simply offer potential Typhon Pact players an appropriately analogous Federation/KDF starship. But it may not be quite that simple, y'know?
And a lot of the Reputation trees currently available would have to be reworked a bit to reflect the Typhon Pact flavoring.
However, what could give the devs an interesting avenue to introduce the idea of the Typhon Pact are, oddly enough, the Gorn and the Imperial Romulans.
We all know that there are pretty heavy allusions to the Gorn Hegemony's dissatisfaction with being annexed by the Klingons. And the Romulan Star Empire is in complete disarray in several points throught the game. If a mission series that deals with Gorn Independence ever pops up, it could easily be established at the end of that arc that the newly emancipated Gorn seek protection from the Klingons by taking part in this crazy idea the Tholians and Breen thought up, in the form of the Typhon Pact's mutual protection.
And the Romulan Star Empire, absolutely at the end of it's ropes thanks to Sela and Hakeev's chicanery, along with significant numbers of their dissatisfied Romulan and Reman population splitting off to form the Reman Rebels and New Romulan Republic, may see the alliance as incredibly beneficial to them, at least in the short term.
It'd require a lot of work, on multiple fronts. But I think it'd definitely be the coolest "new faction" idea there is.
Faction: Unimatrix Zero
Okay, so. When I stated I wanted to leave the Borg alone as a faction, I was only half-telling the truth.
While for the most part, the Borg are a fun adversary to tangle with, there's been a window into a version of their world that has been left open for years now: Unimatrix Zero.
While in the VOY episodes of the same name, the Unimatrix Zero as the interlink Virtual Reality was destroyed, the end of the episode presented us with the fact that several Borg vessels had essentially been liberated from Collective control. Nothing further on this was touched on, other than the Liberated Klingon Korok's promise of "keeping in touch".
While it's easy to assume the Borg could have easily hunted down and re-assimilated or destroyed these freed vessels, I like to think enough of them got away and hid themselves, using their inside knowledge of Borg operations and newfound individuality and creativity to effectively elude the Borg. From there, they could have easily rebuilt Unimatrix Zero, and even started taking the fight to the Borg in limited degrees. Freeing more drones and ships, warding off marauding Borg ships from defenseless systems, using repurposed Borg ships and technology in ways regular Borg couldn't comprehend.
Unimatrix Zero could be a faction made up entirely of these Unimatrix Borg. Entities that still retain their individuality but are also connected via a collective consciousness . I imagine most of their initial mission arcs would be about skirmishes and fending off the Borg, maybe evolving into learning of some kind of "other side of the galaxy" threat (why WERE the Borg suddenly back and invading the Alpha Quadrant?), then seeking aide from their erstwhile allies in FED/KDF space.
This faction would be pretty fun to play as. Instead of handheld weapons, Unimatrix Borg would have various styles of cybernetic limb armatures, subtle or otherwise. They would also retain more of the classic TNG-style Borg looks, being Borg who are rejecting the overly gross cybernetic modifications we see on modern Borg drones.
Their ships would also be a mish-mash of standard Borg vessels, and assimilated and modified versions of other alien vessels, such as the transport ship the time-displaced drones from ENT acquired.
Topping it off, I think it'd be super wicked if they had the same color schemes as the future drone known as One. Light silvery chrome with neon green trim.
Obviously, this faction wouldn't make any sense if it appeared in-game before introducing access to the Delta Quadrant to the game as a whole.
Another idea that'd require a bit of work, especially in figuring out good ship tier progressions and a set of Reputation systems that make sense for liberated Borg living in the other side of the galaxy.
PADD emote idea
Okay, so. Taking a quick break between all this new faction talk to toss out a neat idea about a PADD emote.
Firstly, I am absolutely flabbergasted we don't have one by now. They're freaking ubiquitous, come on.
Secondly, though, instead of simply putting in a regular emote for the gadget, I had a neat idea to actually tie it in to something you do in game.
I propose that, whenever you open your Inventory or Character Sheet windows, maybe even any of the other miscellaneous menus, your character whips out a small sized PADD and begins goofing around with it.
How great would THAT be? It'd be a neat way for your character to look busy as you stand around sifting through menu screens.
(I think it'd be neat anyways.)
Faction: Ferengi Alliance
This is it, guys.
This is the faction that should happen next.
.... okay, let me explain.
The Ferengi would probably an incredibly interesting faction, because they'd have features and missions unlike any others. And while yes, traditionally they tend to be motivated by their need for profit, we've seen several occasions where they'll stuff the potential for maximum earnings to be pragmatic or even altruistic (or usually, just to save their own hides).
In an age of Undine espionage and the Iconian threat looming on the horizon, not even the Frengi would be safe, despite their prized neutrality. Their current Nagus, Rom, would probably perceive the necessity for the Alliance to start acting to save itself, either by bolstering their own territories or by buffing up their neighbors. And while most Ferengi traders aren't necessarily soldier types, they do tend to be trained in how to defend themselves and even learn to fight. In older times, Ferengi were even marauders, taking what they wanted from crews they incapacitated.
Ferengi Alliance players could start out as a Daimon who gets into a bad way and has to rebuild their reputation. They could even eventually come to the attention of the Nagus' intelligence services, and get in on secret dealings and information and espionage missions. These kinds of missions could lead to diplomatic-style set ups like the Romulan Republic had on Khitomer, where the Alliance seals deals with its neighbors for access to their space lanes and trading facilities and goods.
Another potential feature of the Ferengi would involve how the acquire wealth from doing missions. The Ferengi famously use latinum when dealing with themselves and smaller galactic powers and individuals. Missions done by Alliance captains could reward amounts of GPL instead of EC's. The Alliance could introduce branches of the Bank of Bolarus that could exchange set values of GPL into EC, and vice versa. Equipment and devices bought in Ferengi space, from Alliance merchants, would likewise trade only in GPL. Might limit the ability of non-Alliance captains in purchasing goods, unless you also let them open up Bank of Bolarus accounts (which could make for a hilarious non-combat short mission of signing paperwork and jumping through bureaucratic hoops). Yes, it's kind of a far-fetched idea. But it'd make sense as far as the Ferengi are concerned.
This is another idea that would need a lot of work done, both in making the Ferengi Alliance compelling and in designing enough ships for them. You thought Romulans had it bad!
Potential Alliance-friendly races could be Yridians, Bolians, maybe even Tellarites.
Ship: New Orleans class Starship Dorsal View / Deck Plan
One of the few kitbash starships that actually doesn't look too bad. The New Orleans is supposed to be a rather small, frigate style ship, much smaller than its use of Galaxy class parts would indicate. Usually in STO, smaller ships tend to be lower tiered, but the devs don't tend to make too many lower tier starships for the Z-Store. At least, not without also making a version or two for Endgame use.
Because of its smaller size, the New Orleans could be something like a strike cruiser. It seems like it's fairly well armed: The Ventral Pod seems to contain at least two more forward firing torpedo tubes, as well as its only aft launcher, and the strange pods on top of the Saucer seem to contain large phaser coils (possibly cannons?). The ship could potentially be a more easily available destroyer option for Starfleet. It could posses decent enough Hull Points and excellent maneuverability, while also having the firepower of an Escort.
Being a Z-Store ship, more than likely available at both a lower Tier and Higher Tier levels, the New Orleans class could come with a unique weapon type: Dual Photon Torpedo Launcher. The DPT Launcher could have an incredibly narrow firing arc similar to the Dual Cannon weapons, but as the name implies, launch photon torpedoes instead. The torpedoes would naturally be viable for enhancement with Torpedo Spread and High Yield moves, and could potentially have a second shaved off its reload time to boot. Obviously, this would be a forward firing weapon only, and would probably be exclusive to the New Orleans class completely. But it'd definitely give the little ship a huge punch against bigger targets, if it can get their shields down first.
Ship: Aerie class Starship Ship Preview
This is the vessel used by Anika Hansen's (aka Seven of Nine's) parents in their studies of the Borg. Definitely a Small Craft by STO's standards. Could have a similar BOff and Console layout as the Delta Flyer, with one Science seat and one Universal seat. Or switch it up and give it one Engineering seat instead, since it seems like it's just a much larger Runabout-style ship.
More than likely a Z-Store ship, I imagine it can come packaged with the Multi-Adaptive Shields, a kind of stealth shielding technology, that gives the ship an effect similar to a cloaking device, or a juiced-up Mask Energy Signature effect. Being a Small Craft piece of equipment it'd also be able to be changed around other small craft.
Allrighty, this should do for now. I'll post up some more ideas later on, ranging from ships, in-game activities, and even another faction or two.
Mostly what I feel like talking about is potential ideas for the game. Things that could be done realistically, with varying degrees of work behind them. Occasionally, my ideas are liked well enough.
I even get a dev to chime in every once in a while.
Recent talk of new faction ideas, armor slots, and more, have spurred me to attempt to create an overarching Ideas Thread, where I can toss in an idea or two (or more!) and see how the community at large takes them.
Be advised: you all are more than welcome to spirited discussion in this thread, as long as it's kept civil. This isn't me sounding a trumpet for what I "absolutely need to see in the game OMG"; it's stuff that I think would be nice to see. Feel free to also point out any of the pros and cons of my ideas, too. It won't stop me from putting up more.
So here we go.
The Dyson Sphere
My very first "this would be cool if it was in the game" post on the forums concerned the Dyson Sphere, and how canonically speaking, very little had been done with this wonderful and fantastical celestial megastructure. I'd love to see it return somehow. Either as part of a mission arc, or maybe one of these new-fangled "space adventure zones" I heard talk about. Bonus: the Dyson Sphere can not only be a space adventure zone, but it can also potentially have multiple ground adventure zones, too, simply because it's that freakin' huge.
Consolidating Weapon Types
This was another idea I had a bit ago, I think some others did, too. Basically, I found fault in the fact that we seem to have various weapons that have the exact same weapon models, differentiated only by their firing mode types. Example: We have two different beam-type hand weapons in the Wide Beam and Stun Beam types. I suggested that all of them be merged, to one degree or another, and simply have the extra firing more activated by cycling the weapon itself.
Example:
A hand phaser can be switched from Wide Beam to Stun Beam mode. (since both use beams)
A phaser bolt rifle can be switched from Full Auto to Sniper mode. (since both use bolt shots)
A phaser beam rifle could switch from High Density to Multi-Target mode. (since both use beams)
And so on and so forth.
Naturally, some weapons actually do have different models and thus should probably remain separate weapons, to also "balance them out", i.e.; Pulsewave, Rapid Fire "Gatling" assault, and single shot "Burst Launcher" weapons shouldn't have this ability.
But overall, it'd make several rarely used weapons incredibly more versatile and interesting. Like I said, I always found fault with the idea that I had to switch hand phasers if I wanted to use either a Wide Beam or a Stun Beam setting. These weapons could clearly do more than that in shows and movies and books.
Would probably take a lot of monkeying around to figure out how to do it, though.
Tricorders
I recall that this was actually recently mentioned as a potential new item type, so I like to hold out hope that the devs saw the older threads on this subject and it stuck with them!
In Star Trek, there have always been various styles of tricorders, and the tricorder itself could be used for various and sundry scanning type activities. Making the tricorder an item, and assigning it tasks in-game other than simply scanning fo nearby quest objectives or crafting nodes, would add a lot to the Star Trek flavoring of the game.
In addition to assigning tricorder items appropriate stat-boosting values, they could also have actual scanner functionality. Such as, when first beaming down to a ground map, one could conceivably have to scan for life forms first before having any show up on their mini-map (one could even also have to scan the local area itself to improve map resolution, but one step at a time). Further, one could then do a scan for weapons signatures to try and discern any enemy contacts. And so on and so forth.
This would help lessen the "beam down onto a map and charge right towards the enemy contacts" that happens too often, and actually give players a reason to pause and actively inspect their surroundings via the tricorder. Bonus: for team play, having one player actively scan for various objects (life forms, enemies, quest objectives, or crafting nodes) would send the acquired data to all team members! Networking is fun.
Faction: The Typhon Pact
So a lot of faction talk happened after the launch of LoR. Everyone's getting in on it. People are tossing around ideas like Cardassians, Jem'Hadar, or Borg and Undine.
All things considered, weak ideas.
The Cardassians would be too much like angrier and more egotistical Romulans at this point. The Jem'hadar (in the Alpha Quadrant at least) are neither numerous enough nor compelling enough to warrant factionhood, and.... guys, let's leave the Borg and Undine as enemy factions, okay? Be serious.
Like how serious this idea is! I did some reading on it, and essentially, the Typhon Pact is a coalition of the more recognizable Breen, Tholian, Imperial Romulan, and Gorn races, with the somewhat more obscure Tzenkethi and Kinyasha playing second banana. These races banded together also to fight the Borg and to kinda try and one-up the Federation in therms of power consolidation.
This idea would require a lot of work, however. Like.... a lot a lot.
Firstly, they wouldn't be sharing any of the missions that current Starfleet, Klingon, or Republic Romulans do. Their goals are simply too different as are their concerns. Every mission would essentially have to be new and original.
Secondly, some of those races, while in-game already, would require a lot of work to make playable (I'm lookin' at the Tholians here). The Tzenkethi, while mentioned on DS9, have never been seen (it is assumed they are large monstrous felinoids, more bestial than even Caitians or Ferasans). The Kinyasha are completely unique to the novels, and also quite large and monstrous.
Thirdly, reconciling the fact that several of these species' ships have been made available to players as lockbox or prize ships. The short and sweet solution would be to simply offer potential Typhon Pact players an appropriately analogous Federation/KDF starship. But it may not be quite that simple, y'know?
And a lot of the Reputation trees currently available would have to be reworked a bit to reflect the Typhon Pact flavoring.
However, what could give the devs an interesting avenue to introduce the idea of the Typhon Pact are, oddly enough, the Gorn and the Imperial Romulans.
We all know that there are pretty heavy allusions to the Gorn Hegemony's dissatisfaction with being annexed by the Klingons. And the Romulan Star Empire is in complete disarray in several points throught the game. If a mission series that deals with Gorn Independence ever pops up, it could easily be established at the end of that arc that the newly emancipated Gorn seek protection from the Klingons by taking part in this crazy idea the Tholians and Breen thought up, in the form of the Typhon Pact's mutual protection.
And the Romulan Star Empire, absolutely at the end of it's ropes thanks to Sela and Hakeev's chicanery, along with significant numbers of their dissatisfied Romulan and Reman population splitting off to form the Reman Rebels and New Romulan Republic, may see the alliance as incredibly beneficial to them, at least in the short term.
It'd require a lot of work, on multiple fronts. But I think it'd definitely be the coolest "new faction" idea there is.
Faction: Unimatrix Zero
Okay, so. When I stated I wanted to leave the Borg alone as a faction, I was only half-telling the truth.
While for the most part, the Borg are a fun adversary to tangle with, there's been a window into a version of their world that has been left open for years now: Unimatrix Zero.
While in the VOY episodes of the same name, the Unimatrix Zero as the interlink Virtual Reality was destroyed, the end of the episode presented us with the fact that several Borg vessels had essentially been liberated from Collective control. Nothing further on this was touched on, other than the Liberated Klingon Korok's promise of "keeping in touch".
While it's easy to assume the Borg could have easily hunted down and re-assimilated or destroyed these freed vessels, I like to think enough of them got away and hid themselves, using their inside knowledge of Borg operations and newfound individuality and creativity to effectively elude the Borg. From there, they could have easily rebuilt Unimatrix Zero, and even started taking the fight to the Borg in limited degrees. Freeing more drones and ships, warding off marauding Borg ships from defenseless systems, using repurposed Borg ships and technology in ways regular Borg couldn't comprehend.
Unimatrix Zero could be a faction made up entirely of these Unimatrix Borg. Entities that still retain their individuality but are also connected via a collective consciousness . I imagine most of their initial mission arcs would be about skirmishes and fending off the Borg, maybe evolving into learning of some kind of "other side of the galaxy" threat (why WERE the Borg suddenly back and invading the Alpha Quadrant?), then seeking aide from their erstwhile allies in FED/KDF space.
This faction would be pretty fun to play as. Instead of handheld weapons, Unimatrix Borg would have various styles of cybernetic limb armatures, subtle or otherwise. They would also retain more of the classic TNG-style Borg looks, being Borg who are rejecting the overly gross cybernetic modifications we see on modern Borg drones.
Their ships would also be a mish-mash of standard Borg vessels, and assimilated and modified versions of other alien vessels, such as the transport ship the time-displaced drones from ENT acquired.
Topping it off, I think it'd be super wicked if they had the same color schemes as the future drone known as One. Light silvery chrome with neon green trim.
Obviously, this faction wouldn't make any sense if it appeared in-game before introducing access to the Delta Quadrant to the game as a whole.
Another idea that'd require a bit of work, especially in figuring out good ship tier progressions and a set of Reputation systems that make sense for liberated Borg living in the other side of the galaxy.
PADD emote idea
Okay, so. Taking a quick break between all this new faction talk to toss out a neat idea about a PADD emote.
Firstly, I am absolutely flabbergasted we don't have one by now. They're freaking ubiquitous, come on.
Secondly, though, instead of simply putting in a regular emote for the gadget, I had a neat idea to actually tie it in to something you do in game.
I propose that, whenever you open your Inventory or Character Sheet windows, maybe even any of the other miscellaneous menus, your character whips out a small sized PADD and begins goofing around with it.
How great would THAT be? It'd be a neat way for your character to look busy as you stand around sifting through menu screens.
(I think it'd be neat anyways.)
Faction: Ferengi Alliance
This is it, guys.
This is the faction that should happen next.
.... okay, let me explain.
The Ferengi would probably an incredibly interesting faction, because they'd have features and missions unlike any others. And while yes, traditionally they tend to be motivated by their need for profit, we've seen several occasions where they'll stuff the potential for maximum earnings to be pragmatic or even altruistic (or usually, just to save their own hides).
In an age of Undine espionage and the Iconian threat looming on the horizon, not even the Frengi would be safe, despite their prized neutrality. Their current Nagus, Rom, would probably perceive the necessity for the Alliance to start acting to save itself, either by bolstering their own territories or by buffing up their neighbors. And while most Ferengi traders aren't necessarily soldier types, they do tend to be trained in how to defend themselves and even learn to fight. In older times, Ferengi were even marauders, taking what they wanted from crews they incapacitated.
Ferengi Alliance players could start out as a Daimon who gets into a bad way and has to rebuild their reputation. They could even eventually come to the attention of the Nagus' intelligence services, and get in on secret dealings and information and espionage missions. These kinds of missions could lead to diplomatic-style set ups like the Romulan Republic had on Khitomer, where the Alliance seals deals with its neighbors for access to their space lanes and trading facilities and goods.
Another potential feature of the Ferengi would involve how the acquire wealth from doing missions. The Ferengi famously use latinum when dealing with themselves and smaller galactic powers and individuals. Missions done by Alliance captains could reward amounts of GPL instead of EC's. The Alliance could introduce branches of the Bank of Bolarus that could exchange set values of GPL into EC, and vice versa. Equipment and devices bought in Ferengi space, from Alliance merchants, would likewise trade only in GPL. Might limit the ability of non-Alliance captains in purchasing goods, unless you also let them open up Bank of Bolarus accounts (which could make for a hilarious non-combat short mission of signing paperwork and jumping through bureaucratic hoops). Yes, it's kind of a far-fetched idea. But it'd make sense as far as the Ferengi are concerned.
This is another idea that would need a lot of work done, both in making the Ferengi Alliance compelling and in designing enough ships for them. You thought Romulans had it bad!
Potential Alliance-friendly races could be Yridians, Bolians, maybe even Tellarites.
Ship: New Orleans class Starship Dorsal View / Deck Plan
One of the few kitbash starships that actually doesn't look too bad. The New Orleans is supposed to be a rather small, frigate style ship, much smaller than its use of Galaxy class parts would indicate. Usually in STO, smaller ships tend to be lower tiered, but the devs don't tend to make too many lower tier starships for the Z-Store. At least, not without also making a version or two for Endgame use.
Because of its smaller size, the New Orleans could be something like a strike cruiser. It seems like it's fairly well armed: The Ventral Pod seems to contain at least two more forward firing torpedo tubes, as well as its only aft launcher, and the strange pods on top of the Saucer seem to contain large phaser coils (possibly cannons?). The ship could potentially be a more easily available destroyer option for Starfleet. It could posses decent enough Hull Points and excellent maneuverability, while also having the firepower of an Escort.
Being a Z-Store ship, more than likely available at both a lower Tier and Higher Tier levels, the New Orleans class could come with a unique weapon type: Dual Photon Torpedo Launcher. The DPT Launcher could have an incredibly narrow firing arc similar to the Dual Cannon weapons, but as the name implies, launch photon torpedoes instead. The torpedoes would naturally be viable for enhancement with Torpedo Spread and High Yield moves, and could potentially have a second shaved off its reload time to boot. Obviously, this would be a forward firing weapon only, and would probably be exclusive to the New Orleans class completely. But it'd definitely give the little ship a huge punch against bigger targets, if it can get their shields down first.
Ship: Aerie class Starship Ship Preview
This is the vessel used by Anika Hansen's (aka Seven of Nine's) parents in their studies of the Borg. Definitely a Small Craft by STO's standards. Could have a similar BOff and Console layout as the Delta Flyer, with one Science seat and one Universal seat. Or switch it up and give it one Engineering seat instead, since it seems like it's just a much larger Runabout-style ship.
More than likely a Z-Store ship, I imagine it can come packaged with the Multi-Adaptive Shields, a kind of stealth shielding technology, that gives the ship an effect similar to a cloaking device, or a juiced-up Mask Energy Signature effect. Being a Small Craft piece of equipment it'd also be able to be changed around other small craft.
Allrighty, this should do for now. I'll post up some more ideas later on, ranging from ships, in-game activities, and even another faction or two.
".... you're gonna have a bad time."
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
I know, right?
Some weapons it may just not be feasible for (like the Dual Pistols), but a lot of them could simply be smashed together and simply have a Firing Mode Cycle option.
Good Ideas though.
Honestly, I'd want more powers all around for all professions, along with more varied Kits. While Science is my profession du jour, it's not equitable to focus on one profession over all others.
I got some ideas....
Your handle is perfect for a Sci Captain IMO.
Im a bit old fassioned and would prefer a more weapons oriented game.
When asking non STO people what they think a Science ship would be like, they always describe a weak noncombat ship that must be escorted by warships.
Cryptic just copied the tired old WoW formula and had to have a Mage class.
I would really like to play on the Dyson Sphere thou, maybe encounter control buildings where you can shut off gravity to certain areas you need to reach high up places.
Man, I dunno what those friends of yours are talking about, my Science Ships are always incredibly beastly. Maybe they should "Lern 2 Science" more.
And the Dyson Sphere is simply rife with potential adventure ideas. Heck, maybe players could even earn a kind of Player Housing in the Sphere, by completing certain missions and quest chains!
Anyways!
Updated Original Post with: Unimatrix Zero faction Idea and PADD Emote Idea.
The only even remotely sciencey ship we saw fighting was the Pasteur.
I agree sci ships are beastly, broken.
Only in STO can you fly a Mage and throw spells about in a Sci Fi environment.
I think this has hurt sales more than the bugs. I personaly know at least two people who don't play because they found out about this mage class in Star Trek. Ruins their immersion.
Now the Dyson Sphere would draw them in, provided it wasn't infested with mages that is.
Imagine you are a Vulcan and landing on the planet Vulcan triggers a special mission...Welcome Home...you are now experiencing the Pon Far or you have an opportunity to undergo the Kohlinar.
Imagine something appropriate to the species that you chose. Pick a human and every time you go to earth you go home and have to do a mission to save your dad's business or have to investigate a murder that your Chief Engineer is accused of.
***I'd like to see ship interiors have missions also. Imagine dumb crewman #2 wants to replay the events of Wrath of Khan and programs holographic Khan too well and he tries to take over your ship.
Let us explore it... together. Each man hides a secret pain. It must be exposed and reckoned with. It must be dragged from the darkness and forced into the light. Share your pain. Share your pain with me... and gain strength from the sharing.
Though speaking of Alien captains, what I'd really like to see is something that was touted in the incredibly early days of the game, mostly in pre-Alpha and beta magazine articles and such. Namely, the feature of being able to save and Upload your custom made Alien captain into a Species Library, that other players could peruse. Bonus: that the game actively tags these characters as the proper Species name instead of the catchall "Alien".
I do also agree that the Cardassian Faction would be an egotisticalish version of the Rom. Republic. I guess my thought was they learned a little...humility after the bombardment of Cardassia during the Dominion War and tried to be more friendly if only to save their hides.
I'd like to add two points regarding the "Aerie" (a non-canon name actually)
-Your link to Ex-Astris does not work and never will because that page blocks all hotlinks.
-It's not a small craft. It has 4 decks and its own shuttle hangar (at the very rear).
(The MSD was visible in "Dark Frontier")
http://images.wikia.com/memoryalpha/en/images/2/2a/Raven_deckplan.jpg
It's probably bigger than the Aquarius.
The Typhon Pact was the worst st book ever. The author should cut off his own hands.
Ferangi faction?
sorry, but this game is better w/o