This is my first review so I hope it fits the criteria for this thread.
I played Rose Tinted Mirror by isthisscience.
I don't believe in revealing too much about the plot because that takes all the fun out of it for people who haven't played it yet. I didn't take notes so I am doing this from memory. Bear with me.
First of all, the maps were very well put-together. The author did a great job of building environments. There was clearly pain-staking detail put into their creation. The UESPA command center was very nicely done. Take the time to explore it and appreciate it. Not only is it good looking, but it appears that the author made it very utilitarian for the characters who inhabit it. It definitely gives the feel that it is truly somewhere that you could see being a nerve center of a major operation like UESPA.
The interrogation of prisoners was very well-done. The dialogs used to simulate you accessing library computers, medical records, etc. are very creative. The actual interrogations are impressive. You have to decide what methods of questioning to use so as to not "lose the prisoner" (meaning they fail to reveal information - not actually lose them of course). The dialogs here do a great job of creating the sense of a great mystery by leaving you wondering what exactly is going on.
The next space map was very well-done. It definitely had the look of a functioning spacedock/starbase. I liked it. Again, not trying to reveal too much, but the little twists here were pretty cool. The themes of sacrifice and willingness to stand up against what's wrong help make the storyline that much better. These are themes that are strong throughout the story.
On the USS Theodorus...first of all, the ship was aesthetically pleasing. I personally have used some of the maps here in my missions (which I have no problem with seeing since Federation ships are built to nearly identical class-by-class schematics). It was pleasant to explore the maps and see how another author dressed up and utilized the same maps. The plot takes some good turns here. Again, the elements of sacrifice and doing the "right thing" are well-represented.
The final Bridge scene is great. It has everything you could want to wrap-up a mission like this. The Ready Room scene in particular is when you get the shocking bombshell that changed how I viewed everything. If you give it serious thought, the scenario makes you wonder how you would react if you were experiencing it in real life. The author does a great job of capitalizing on it by giving you multiple responses to choose from during dialog.
And of course, the ending was just great. But I won't spoil it. Go play it for yourself!
Overall, this mission was very cerebral. If you want to mindlessly smash your keyboard while picking up all kinds of loot, this is not for you. But if you want a mission that challenges your mind, tapping into areas of your soul that make you consider that right and wrong is never black and white, this is a must-play. A great job by isthisscience. I gave it a 5/5.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] "The time has come to see the world as it is." - Captain James T. Kirk Twitter - @SDVargo
Thanks for the review maninblack017, Uprising part 2 is now on the list!
I've also re-added lincolninspace's mission "a time to search". Try it out I'm sure he will return the favour. A s well, he's reviewed a lot of missions in this thread and if he's reviewed yours please review his! His map design is extremely creative and you will probably learn something from it!
Map 1 Kessik Orbit - Interesting Map. Nice to have a few things going on. I don't know if the second planet adds anything. Seems sort of off kilter. Maybe a Borg debris field instead?
Map 2 Kessik Bridge - Okay with the Cat theme. Not so much with them all standing like statues. Give them some pats and some varied animation. The bridge of a starship is a busy place.
Map 3 Unknown Space - Nice. Borg space. But how did I get here? I saw a transwarp conduit behind the lions pride. Let me beam back to my ship and use it. Good space battle here. I handled it no problem but I like me some cube cracking. A lesser geared ship may have some trouble with the way the mobs are stacked on top of eachother. But a good fight.
The continue button. This is your chance to give the captain a little dialogue, a little personality. Commander Data would say "Continue". Han Solo wouldn't. Just a thought. Also give me a choice of dialogue from time to time so I don't feel railroaded. RPGs usually give you a good, bad, and wisecrack line.
Map 4 Borg Tactical Cube - Nice. Borg Ambush. The borg assimilating my crew is a nice touch. I hadn't seen that before. Great Map! I managed to pull 3 gorn borg at once. Definitely a challenge.
Map 5 Borg Tactical Cube #777 - I like the closed in feel of this map. Borg maps need to be scary like this. It is a little grindy. And I'm not a fan of ground content, but thats just me. Nothing a few orbital strikes won't fix! A solid boss fight.
Map 6 Borg Space - Another great space battle. I like being sandwiched between the Tac Cube and the Transwarp Gate. Gave it a nice arena feel.
Map 7 Kessik Orbit - A nice little space battle. Some good dialogue.
Map 8 Earth Under Fire - Cool. Earth attacked by the Borg. Very Epic. Maybe have me fly to Earth rather than transwarp. I like to have a little map crossing at high warp in my missions. Gives me time to make tea and play detective in the holodeck.
Map 9 Earth Space Dock - Mission is starting to run a little long. My ADD is kicking in. You could lose 2-3 maps and this would be a little more engaging imo. Missed freeing the first hostage. And with the respawns back tracking is a major pain in the TRIBBLE.
That's as far as I got. Got stuck in a wall in earth spacedock. All in all a good mission. Well crafted. I can tell alot of time went into this.
Pirate attacks have been increasing in systems across the Empire. Whispers of a Pirate King can be heard from the Great Hall of the First City to the galleys of far flung Bird of Prey patrol ships. Very little is know about this shadowy figure, only that he is Klingon and that thus far he has thwarted all efforts at capture.
But High Command has a plan. A tempting prize has been left under light guard on the Klingon outpost of Zetacron Prime in the Hobb system. With the latest in survelliance equipment orbiting the planet, it is hoped that it will be possible to track the raiders to their home system, pursue them there and eliminate the threat to Imperial shipping.
Space Battles! Pirate Treasure!!! Beautiful Slave Girls!!! Naussican Eunuchs!!! Set Warp Engines to High Adventure!!!!
Go to the Hobb System Via the Donatu Sector in the Eta Eridini Sector Block
Map 1 Kessik Orbit - Interesting Map. Nice to have a few things going on. I don't know if the second planet adds anything. Seems sort of off kilter. Maybe a Borg debris field instead?
Map 2 Kessik Bridge - Okay with the Cat theme. Not so much with them all standing like statues. Give them some pats and some varied animation. The bridge of a starship is a busy place.
Map 3 Unknown Space - Nice. Borg space. But how did I get here? I saw a transwarp conduit behind the lions pride. Let me beam back to my ship and use it. Good space battle here. I handled it no problem but I like me some cube cracking. A lesser geared ship may have some trouble with the way the mobs are stacked on top of eachother. But a good fight.
The continue button. This is your chance to give the captain a little dialogue, a little personality. Commander Data would say "Continue". Han Solo wouldn't. Just a thought. Also give me a choice of dialogue from time to time so I don't feel railroaded. RPGs usually give you a good, bad, and wisecrack line.
Map 4 Borg Tactical Cube - Nice. Borg Ambush. The borg assimilating my crew is a nice touch. I hadn't seen that before. Great Map! I managed to pull 3 gorn borg at once. Definitely a challenge.
Map 5 Borg Tactical Cube #777 - I like the closed in feel of this map. Borg maps need to be scary like this. It is a little grindy. And I'm not a fan of ground content, but thats just me. Nothing a few orbital strikes won't fix! A solid boss fight.
Map 6 Borg Space - Another great space battle. I like being sandwiched between the Tac Cube and the Transwarp Gate. Gave it a nice arena feel.
Map 7 Kessik Orbit - A nice little space battle. Some good dialogue.
Map 8 Earth Under Fire - Cool. Earth attacked by the Borg. Very Epic. Maybe have me fly to Earth rather than transwarp. I like to have a little map crossing at high warp in my missions. Gives me time to make tea and play detective in the holodeck.
Map 9 Earth Space Dock - Mission is starting to run a little long. My ADD is kicking in. You could lose 2-3 maps and this would be a little more engaging imo. Missed freeing the first hostage. And with the respawns back tracking is a major pain in the TRIBBLE.
That's as far as I got. Got stuck in a wall in earth spacedock. All in all a good mission. Well crafted. I can tell alot of time went into this.
Thanks for the review. I use to have a map where you use the transwarp gate. Others said it only Increased loading times. I'll see about adding more life to the Lion's Pride bridge. The respawning thing on ESD would require me to make the enemies part of an objective. That would just make it another shoot 'Em up map. If my computer gets fixed soon I'll add these suggestions.
Thank you for the Review and i have been trying to fix teh EDS error in the text but every time i go to edit the story i get a crash from the program. I do not know if this is due in part because my hardware ( The different names for everything has bogged down my limited hardware ) SO i can not edit much of it,i have sent a ticket and waiting for help on this problem. If any one else in review of the mission finds grammar spelling errors please note the time a place for me a lot of them are meant to be in there like the "Engauge 5mm" i was how every able to add a disclaimer on the mission reminding people that this is not meant to be a part of Star Trek cannon, and just meant to be a laugh out loud can you spot all the Easter eggs and name what they are from" type mission. It is mostly inpart a check for your geekdom history. Here is an example of some of the misspells that i want in there.
"Lollypop" on the 2nd map during the "It was a good ship" objective" this was meant because the person naming these ships and there "Crew" is "Willie "The Eco warrior" Puffer and after meeting him you understand that his command abilities are not... well lets just say that its a metaphor for how thinking out side of the box can go wrong.
Ship "Rainbow Bright" the misspelling in the name and the contentious warping in is meant to show that the capt'n is not to bright. Also it is a misuse of the movie Riker uses on an episode when a battle sim gets real. Lets just call it a double Easter egg with a pun on top.
The misspells in the talking to others texts are meant to be the phonetic way they are talking to you most of the people you are talking to are not in their right mind if they had one at all so they are going to be grammar problems and spelling issues in their boxes.
All the names during the Orion battles are an extended metaphor for all the problems found dating and each engagement is the progression of improvement you make until you find the rite person. Also the mission objectives are what your toon is saying out loud to themselves during this process. This is hinted at during the 1st stage and also in the 2nd stage.
But to show you your reviews matter, i added more Dialog in the 2nd map to help you know what to do....
I am now working on the script for my second mission called "The search for Milkshake" where it will be yet again another zany mission this time aimed at the Pop/hiphop/rap influences from all the way back to the 80's
Hey dumb question - how do I make my missions eligible for awards?
It needs a certain number of plays and positive reviews I believe. I though it was 15 plays but my mission has 19 reviews and still does not qualify and most reviews are positive too only one fly by one star and l a community rating of 4 stars.
A TIME TO SEARCH: ENTER MY FOUNDRY MISSION at the RISA SYSTEM Parallels: my second mission for Fed aligned Romulans.
Since he's not an author his feedback is less technical or verbose but is from a point of view of a player which is just as important to have. They're also way more entertaining
Since he's not an author his feedback is less technical or verbose but is from a point of view of a player which is just as important to have. They're also way more entertaining
This is my review for ashkrik32's Perfection, Part 1
This is a good heavy combat mission, with a good story, good map design and is very well polished.
Now that I got that over with I'll say that this is not really my type of mission, too much combat for my taste. I understand that there are people there that do like this though so don't take this as too much of a criticism. I ended up taking a lot of breaks and surfing the net.
I noticed a few people note how it could be split up as well, and I agree. It took me a looooong time to finish, I don't even know how long. I also died countless times.
However after I got over that it is an extremely well made mission, the story flows well and is very polished. The maps are also pretty good too. I also like how you used NPC groups as just being on the map instead of forced objectives, this way I could decide how to accomplish the objective and not forced to kill everything.
I gave it a 4/5. If I was someone who looks for a mission with tons of heavy combat it would have been a 5/5. Again not a strike against you, just a matter of taste. If you notice a lot of my comments may revolve around this and you don't necessarily have to make changes that affect the amount of combat or difficulty if that is how you intended it to be
Kessik Orbit
Nothing happens on this map, I just load click a button and load the next map. Some of us call these types of maps "One objective Wonders". A rule I like to follow is to have as few map transitions as possible, or in other words have as much happen in one map as possible. It also makes me feel bad because the map is really nice and it looks like you put a lot of work into it but the player will never get a good look.
USS Lion's Pride Bridge
Cats everywhere! Once again another "one objective wonder" map.
Borg Tacitcal Cube Section #214
I like what you've done wihth the map
I found I'Zira Scar and Voporak what's this!
Borg Tactical Cube Section #777
Nice map work again
I started getting tired of all the fighting. After like the 999th group I just ran through all of them and got to the datanode and died so I could respawn nearby with my boffs and skip a few fights.
Something happened, I coudln't finish the "help U.S.S. Lion's Arch objective. Also there was a I.R.W. Valdore there I don't know what it was doing there. I ended up quitting the map and did it again. The next time it was fine, I think the NPC got destroyed.
Earth Space Dock
Like what you've doen with the map. Also like how you could avoid borg and just focus on the objective. Don't know if you actually did that on purpose or not.
Warp
THis map literally does nothing! How come it doesn't end in the previous map?
Combat Comments
I'm not a big fan of stacking Captain npc groups together. To me they're just fat meat shields and don't really provide much of a challenge other than they take FOREVER to kill.
Again to summarize, a very heavy combat mission which a fan of combat missions will enjoy immensely! Unfortunately that's not me so I gave it a 4 but I noticed a lot of people giving 5 stars commenting on how great the combat was.
Thanks for the review. The I'Zira and Voporak was a hidden cameo between one of my characters and a friend. The warp map was to provide closure instead of just beaming up from ESD and taking the gate.
A good first mission to learn the fundamentals of the foundry. It reminded me of my first mission, which was also quite simple and straight forward. Good first step to author-hood. I especially like the use of NPC Groups as part of the map instead of being objectives in the mission. I gave it a 4/5 because it is still quite simple overall.
Map: Nimrod System - Delivery run
No instructions when I warp in
The raiders attacking is kind of random, my first reaction is "??? what are they doing here." Then they sit around at their spawn. According to the dialogue they are attacking, this would be a good time to use the Patrol type npc group to have them fly towards the player (Who would be at the station)
Transition -> The button says "Go to Next Map" You can rename this to something like "Energize" or "Make it so" etc...I see you did it properly on the next map so you migh thave just forgotten to do it here
Map: Megar Station - Crew Deck
Very quick map, kkill two things and get to reach marker. I personally like to keep the map transitions to as few as possible, so the player doesn't have to continuously load maps.
In this case its a maps where nothing really happens other than "ok lets go to the next map"
Map: Nimrod System - Battle
Another quick map
The "Reveal" was funny though and I chuckled
I'm up for doing another editorial review later this week, but since mine are "deep in the mud" examinations, I'd prefer to do it for someone who is actually looking for my brand of microscopic attention.
Made my first foundry mission...edited it then republished it tonight would love some reviews on it and tell me what you all think.
It is called Earth Defense (fed)
Will make a klingon one in the near future
Commodroe of Shadow Raiders
Vice Admiral of Starfleet
Jazdia@captiantpol out
(STO)
Matriarch of Banished Orion Girls. Neela D'tan @captaintpol (with many alts)
May we sail and have fun always and forever. LLAP
(PC version NW)
Arwen@captaintpol TR - Tully's of RiverRun
Mai Kelly DC-Tully's of RiverRun
Neela BumKisses HR-
Arya Stark GF-
Sansa Stark CW- Team Fencebane
Crystal Marie OP-
(xbox version NW)
Arwen@Admiral Jazdia TR- Team Fenebane
Mai Kelly DC- " "
Ahsoka Tano CW- " "
Neela BumKisser HR- " "
A great mission albiet a bit long. The author has gotten a good hold of the fundamentals now and has built a well polished mission with a strong story and strong dialogue. Contains lots of ground combat with Borg so be prepared! I gave it 5/5 as there was definite a lot of effort put into making this mission.
Detailed things listed below. You'll see a few common things that I noticed happen in several maps.
Map - Ohniaka III
Telling Goren you are going to beam to the surface button -> "I beaming to the surface."
Also forgot to put title in the dialogue box
Map - Ohniaka III Colony
A lot of running around with not much happening. Think about adding a dialogue pop up after scanning each clouds giving some background (technobabble?) about what you just scanned.
They're also really really far apart lol, lots of running
Map - Ohniaka III - Encounter
Rather easy fight IMO. My crew and I were like woo we rule even though it was jsut a frigate group
Warning. Don't use a reach marker in space. It's hard to get to them becuase there is a Y axis as well. Use an interact i couldn't find it at first had to fly around. If you really do want to have a reach marker, use a flashign beacon to show where the player needs to go. Have it's Hidden->Visible trigger to be on Objective In Progress, and Visible -> Hidden trigger to be on Objective Complete
Map - Durivan VI - Collodi's Coordinates
The first scan objective "Scan Nearbye Borg Orbital Structure" typo
Also note that in space interact objectives display their names, so I see the scan object as "Station - Borg Colony M 01". You will need to rename it into something nice
Map - Rogue Borg Colony
Objective "Secure Klingon Masking Technology" interact has no name
I would have appreciated a bit more dialogue between objectives updating me on what's going on
Objective "Secure Additional Masking Technology" no name again
Map - Durivan VI - The Transwarp Gate
Need to name the interact object (same as the first problem in [Map - Durivan VI - Collodi's Coordinates])
One map objective wonder
Map - Borg Space Searching
Same name interact object thing here too.
After the scan a dialogue pops up giving me some info, this is what I was talking about for the ground borg map. Even something short like that keeps the immersion in the game vs "i am playing a game where i am to press some buttons until I'm done"
Map - Borg Unimatrix
Needs respawn points. I died near the end and had to walk ALL THE WAY BACK zzzz!!! Pretty annoying
Map - After the borg unimatrix
One objective wonder sorta with the borg cube in teh way the only thing other than click a button to change map
Something I'd suggest is to have something happen to force the player to make an "epic" escape. For example the Borg have discovered you and send a buncha ships after you. Then this splinter borg faction comes and saves the day with a big borg vs borg + you battle
Would it be too much trouble to put some kind of marker following the names of the missions in the first post to indicate how many times a mission has been reviewed in this thread? I'd like to play a mission that has not been reviewed or that has only been reviewed once and running through the thread to figure it out over and over gets draining.
I'd be glad to do it if I could... Maybe I'll post a quick count here to make it easier on you?
EDIT: Here's the list so far...
(From the old list)
Assault on DS9 1
Latinum is Forever 1
Treasure Hunt 1
This is Your Final Mission 1
Rose Tinted Mirror 2
Long Lost Friend 1
(From the current list)
Uprising - Act I: Off The Grid 3
Star Trek: Saturn: Ep. I (Intro) 2
Star Trek: Saturn: Ep. II 0
Traitor's Tales 3
Mirror Universe Mystery 1
Homesick Heroes (Romulan) 1
Fluidic Relations 3
Infinite Shift (Romulan) 1
Perfection, part 1. 3
The Freebooter's Gambit 3
The Raven and The Marionette 1
What Matters Most 0
The Sins of the Fathers 0
Orders Form The Top 0
Uprising: Act II - The Tempest 0
a time to search *note search "HLFRSWRPV" 0
Would it be too much trouble to put some kind of marker following the names of the missions in the first post to indicate how many times a mission has been reviewed in this thread? I'd like to play a mission that has not been reviewed or that has only been reviewed once and running through the thread to figure it out over and over gets draining.
I'd be glad to do it if I could... Maybe I'll post a quick count here to make it easier on you?
EDIT: Here's the list so far...
...
Thanks donperk. I was thinking of doing something like this as you're right some missions haven't gotten a fair share of plays. I'll add the review numbers
Opening Thoughts:
Eta eridini - Eta Eridani.
The mission description made me laugh at the end.
Map 1: Hobb System - Surveillance
- The effect here upon entering is really neat- the nebulas being so soft, they almost... flow? with the swirls on the planet (this is my artist coming through here). Nice touch of drama when you first enter.
-Oh first objective, where are you...? (had some trouble hitting the trigger, but it wasn't too bad.)
Map 2: Zetacron Prime Station
-like the sparking and fire details. They mesh nicely with the orange lighting of the set.
-the lone Klingon on the right side of the map here is standing on the corner of one of the wall supports.
-the interrogation/prison room is very interesting! I'm liking those generators poking out in between, honestly.
-Lets see - Let's see, because it's a contraction of let and us.
-I like that option at the end to choose the prisoner's fate- off to Qo'noS with you!
Map 3: Hobb System - Staging
-How did my ship end up up here?
-Oh, that map transition dialogue for your captain is perfect. Please don't change it. Ever. I'm not even playing a Klingon and I cracked up.
Map 4: System HoQev na'qla - Pirates' Cove
-oops, nothing to say about this!
Map 5: The Flayed Ferengi - Bridge
-interesting dialogue here, glad to see Jocelyn's a little more than just a pretty face.
Maps 6-8:
-There's a lot of quick map changes here is really all I have to say about them, but at least for some of them (if not all) it's a necessity of the storyline.
-Having a Klingon go to Bajor and then join a mixed Vulcan/Bajoran faith promises to be very interesting.
-I like the end comment too- working for pirates and not being them. Nice.
Map 9 (If this number is wrong I have lost count and if so I'm really sorry): Xectar System
-Liking the blue nebula here.
-onward!
-I find myself liking Jocelyn's little comments more than I initially expected... wouldn't mind knowing a little more about this Tonga Red incident.
Map 10: Temple of the New Day
-Jocelyn's image reads "Jocelyn Kris Robe", and I'm guessing Robe was an identifier when you were working in the Foundry...?
-I'd love to hear a little more from Heva, just as a personal preference, I'm really curious about her thoughts regarding her father and Klingon culture in general.~
-I do think the priest has the right amount of mysteriousness and not talking to suit his role there, nice.
Map 11: Xectar System - Battle
-"Your mother repairs plasma conduits, Starfleet."
-for a moment there, until Jocelyn speaks, I was confused as to whether they were speaking of Jocelyn or Heva (I think mostly because of the dialogue option earlier to tell Jocelyn you were her prisoner). It's not major as it becomes clear the moment Jocelyn shows up, but putting her name or something in the BoFF's dialogue might help.
Map 12: U.S.S. Concorde
-nice touch with the rumble effect. Also pretty much the entire map and its details!
-also liking the whole 'find the right klingon thing'.
-fighting is a nice challenge; a respawn point closer would be nice, though.
-Aaaand I seem to have gotten stuck here after the boss fight. On the Speak With Captain Zinskey objective, to be specific. He doesn't appear to be anywhere on the map, though the map marker is there; I can't make any trigger buttons appear. Honestly, it's entirely possible that I'm just missing something because I'm tired. Please note that at the time of posting I have not tried reloading the mission; I will try that tomorrow but at the moment I don't have time to go back through all of the maps.
Current Thoughts:
I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far and am looking forward to finding out what happens with Heva.
-Also, I just noticed the comment earlier about the first reach marker... I found it slightly below the coordinates you enter the map at.
EDIT: Okay, going to try this again!
Hooray, he appeared this time! Now to continue with the rest of the mission.
-I really like the touch of the crew dying along with Zinsky, and being unable to save them although you have multiple options. Or... seemingly, anyway! Nice, I like that little twist!
-Did not see the part with Jocelyn coming. Looking forward to a continuation of her story.
Map 13: Xectar System - Staging
-There's a nice sense of urgency in the dialogue here.
Map 14: Runabout
-this is an extremely large runabout.
-nice twist with the choices at the end! I hope this isn't the end of Kris?
Closing Thoughts:
Thoroughly enjoyed the mission, particularly the characters within, and I would love to see them return! Nice job, worth playing for anyone looking for a good story of medium length or so. And it's even more awesome considering it's a Klingon mission!
INFINITE SHIFT
my first and currently only Foundry mission is up on the Fed side, intended for a Romulan audience.
Thanks donperk. I was thinking of doing something like this as you're right some missions haven't gotten a fair share of plays. I'll add the review numbers
Thanks for doing this... it really helps, I think. I hope it doesn't become difficult to manage.
I did note that "The Raven and the Marionette" is showing zero on the first page summary. I'm pretty sure that you reviewed it recently, so it should indicate one review. I plan on getting to this one soon as well because I found the teaser to be intriguing.
Tonight I plan on doing a summary review of "Star Trek: Saturn: Episode I" and a detailed review of "Star Trek: Saturn: Episode II" since Episode II has not been reviewed yet.
Also, as mentioned elsewhere, I plan on doing a detailed review of "Infinite Shift" later this week.
Oh you included my reviews too? I didn't count myself because I plan on playing every single one.
Ah... well that's certainly up to you on how you manage the list. Not including your reviews would encourage the lower numbers (hopefully) to get some more love. But, yes, I did include your reviews in my counts. If you did an independent count then ignore my comments in this regard.
BTW noticed you mentioning your mission still only has one review. It's next on my list so you'll have two more soon (mine + catstar).
Oh cool! I knew that CatStar would be looking at it tonight -- I didn't know it was queued up next for you as well. Sweet! It will be nice to get it out of Red Text Hell. It's hard to tell people that there's a good TWO HOUR mission they can do when there are no rewards -- they can go do Admiral Bobo four times instead. :P
By the way, by "review" I just mean that one person gave it a star rating in game. No one on the forums (that I know of) has done a formal review yet.
EDIT: By the way: I am starting work on a short story-based mission that should clock in at around a half hour. It's the first of a series of unrelated short story missions that have the common theme of exploratory vessels that have gone missing.
Comments
I played Rose Tinted Mirror by isthisscience.
I don't believe in revealing too much about the plot because that takes all the fun out of it for people who haven't played it yet. I didn't take notes so I am doing this from memory. Bear with me.
First of all, the maps were very well put-together. The author did a great job of building environments. There was clearly pain-staking detail put into their creation. The UESPA command center was very nicely done. Take the time to explore it and appreciate it. Not only is it good looking, but it appears that the author made it very utilitarian for the characters who inhabit it. It definitely gives the feel that it is truly somewhere that you could see being a nerve center of a major operation like UESPA.
The interrogation of prisoners was very well-done. The dialogs used to simulate you accessing library computers, medical records, etc. are very creative. The actual interrogations are impressive. You have to decide what methods of questioning to use so as to not "lose the prisoner" (meaning they fail to reveal information - not actually lose them of course). The dialogs here do a great job of creating the sense of a great mystery by leaving you wondering what exactly is going on.
The next space map was very well-done. It definitely had the look of a functioning spacedock/starbase. I liked it. Again, not trying to reveal too much, but the little twists here were pretty cool. The themes of sacrifice and willingness to stand up against what's wrong help make the storyline that much better. These are themes that are strong throughout the story.
On the USS Theodorus...first of all, the ship was aesthetically pleasing. I personally have used some of the maps here in my missions (which I have no problem with seeing since Federation ships are built to nearly identical class-by-class schematics). It was pleasant to explore the maps and see how another author dressed up and utilized the same maps. The plot takes some good turns here. Again, the elements of sacrifice and doing the "right thing" are well-represented.
The final Bridge scene is great. It has everything you could want to wrap-up a mission like this. The Ready Room scene in particular is when you get the shocking bombshell that changed how I viewed everything. If you give it serious thought, the scenario makes you wonder how you would react if you were experiencing it in real life. The author does a great job of capitalizing on it by giving you multiple responses to choose from during dialog.
And of course, the ending was just great. But I won't spoil it. Go play it for yourself!
Overall, this mission was very cerebral. If you want to mindlessly smash your keyboard while picking up all kinds of loot, this is not for you. But if you want a mission that challenges your mind, tapping into areas of your soul that make you consider that right and wrong is never black and white, this is a must-play. A great job by isthisscience. I gave it a 5/5.
"The time has come to see the world as it is." - Captain James T. Kirk
Twitter - @SDVargo
I've also re-added lincolninspace's mission "a time to search". Try it out I'm sure he will return the favour. A s well, he's reviewed a lot of missions in this thread and if he's reviewed yours please review his! His map design is extremely creative and you will probably learn something from it!
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
I think it's on Earth Spacedock and the Console outside the Transporter Room.
I also mentioned to the author that I couldn't figure out where to start. Look! Feedback for the mission and we haven't even played it yet
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
Good. Directions right where I need to go.
Map 1 Kessik Orbit - Interesting Map. Nice to have a few things going on. I don't know if the second planet adds anything. Seems sort of off kilter. Maybe a Borg debris field instead?
Map 2 Kessik Bridge - Okay with the Cat theme. Not so much with them all standing like statues. Give them some pats and some varied animation. The bridge of a starship is a busy place.
Map 3 Unknown Space - Nice. Borg space. But how did I get here? I saw a transwarp conduit behind the lions pride. Let me beam back to my ship and use it. Good space battle here. I handled it no problem but I like me some cube cracking. A lesser geared ship may have some trouble with the way the mobs are stacked on top of eachother. But a good fight.
The continue button. This is your chance to give the captain a little dialogue, a little personality. Commander Data would say "Continue". Han Solo wouldn't. Just a thought. Also give me a choice of dialogue from time to time so I don't feel railroaded. RPGs usually give you a good, bad, and wisecrack line.
Map 4 Borg Tactical Cube - Nice. Borg Ambush. The borg assimilating my crew is a nice touch. I hadn't seen that before. Great Map! I managed to pull 3 gorn borg at once. Definitely a challenge.
Map 5 Borg Tactical Cube #777 - I like the closed in feel of this map. Borg maps need to be scary like this. It is a little grindy. And I'm not a fan of ground content, but thats just me. Nothing a few orbital strikes won't fix! A solid boss fight.
Map 6 Borg Space - Another great space battle. I like being sandwiched between the Tac Cube and the Transwarp Gate. Gave it a nice arena feel.
Map 7 Kessik Orbit - A nice little space battle. Some good dialogue.
Map 8 Earth Under Fire - Cool. Earth attacked by the Borg. Very Epic. Maybe have me fly to Earth rather than transwarp. I like to have a little map crossing at high warp in my missions. Gives me time to make tea and play detective in the holodeck.
Map 9 Earth Space Dock - Mission is starting to run a little long. My ADD is kicking in. You could lose 2-3 maps and this would be a little more engaging imo. Missed freeing the first hostage. And with the respawns back tracking is a major pain in the TRIBBLE.
That's as far as I got. Got stuck in a wall in earth spacedock. All in all a good mission. Well crafted. I can tell alot of time went into this.
What Matters Most - KDF Mission by bigdogofbria
On the Edge of an Empire: Part 2
Pirate attacks have been increasing in systems across the Empire. Whispers of a Pirate King can be heard from the Great Hall of the First City to the galleys of far flung Bird of Prey patrol ships. Very little is know about this shadowy figure, only that he is Klingon and that thus far he has thwarted all efforts at capture.
But High Command has a plan. A tempting prize has been left under light guard on the Klingon outpost of Zetacron Prime in the Hobb system. With the latest in survelliance equipment orbiting the planet, it is hoped that it will be possible to track the raiders to their home system, pursue them there and eliminate the threat to Imperial shipping.
Space Battles! Pirate Treasure!!! Beautiful Slave Girls!!! Naussican Eunuchs!!! Set Warp Engines to High Adventure!!!!
Go to the Hobb System Via the Donatu Sector in the Eta Eridini Sector Block
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
"Lollypop" on the 2nd map during the "It was a good ship" objective" this was meant because the person naming these ships and there "Crew" is "Willie "The Eco warrior" Puffer and after meeting him you understand that his command abilities are not... well lets just say that its a metaphor for how thinking out side of the box can go wrong.
Ship "Rainbow Bright" the misspelling in the name and the contentious warping in is meant to show that the capt'n is not to bright. Also it is a misuse of the movie Riker uses on an episode when a battle sim gets real. Lets just call it a double Easter egg with a pun on top.
The misspells in the talking to others texts are meant to be the phonetic way they are talking to you most of the people you are talking to are not in their right mind if they had one at all so they are going to be grammar problems and spelling issues in their boxes.
All the names during the Orion battles are an extended metaphor for all the problems found dating and each engagement is the progression of improvement you make until you find the rite person. Also the mission objectives are what your toon is saying out loud to themselves during this process. This is hinted at during the 1st stage and also in the 2nd stage.
But to show you your reviews matter, i added more Dialog in the 2nd map to help you know what to do....
I am now working on the script for my second mission called "The search for Milkshake" where it will be yet again another zany mission this time aimed at the Pop/hiphop/rap influences from all the way back to the 80's
Duncan-Idaho
It needs a certain number of plays and positive reviews I believe. I though it was 15 plays but my mission has 19 reviews and still does not qualify and most reviews are positive too only one fly by one star and l a community rating of 4 stars.
Parallels: my second mission for Fed aligned Romulans.
That's another reason I made this thread, so ppl can play each others missions and help each other get out of "Red Text Hell"
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
just FYI, I finally have time to play it tonight (finally phew)
Also everyone here who is interested on a different point of view on their missions should check out catstar's review thread.
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=865191
You can see his old reviews here:
http://www.catstarsto.com/federation-foundry-reviews
http://www.catstarsto.com/federation-foundry-reviews-2
http://www.catstarsto.com/klingon-foundry-reviews
Since he's not an author his feedback is less technical or verbose but is from a point of view of a player which is just as important to have. They're also way more entertaining
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
I look forward to it.
Here you go:
This is my review for ashkrik32's Perfection, Part 1
This is a good heavy combat mission, with a good story, good map design and is very well polished.
Now that I got that over with I'll say that this is not really my type of mission, too much combat for my taste. I understand that there are people there that do like this though so don't take this as too much of a criticism. I ended up taking a lot of breaks and surfing the net.
I noticed a few people note how it could be split up as well, and I agree. It took me a looooong time to finish, I don't even know how long. I also died countless times.
However after I got over that it is an extremely well made mission, the story flows well and is very polished. The maps are also pretty good too. I also like how you used NPC groups as just being on the map instead of forced objectives, this way I could decide how to accomplish the objective and not forced to kill everything.
I gave it a 4/5. If I was someone who looks for a mission with tons of heavy combat it would have been a 5/5. Again not a strike against you, just a matter of taste. If you notice a lot of my comments may revolve around this and you don't necessarily have to make changes that affect the amount of combat or difficulty if that is how you intended it to be
Kessik Orbit
Nothing happens on this map, I just load click a button and load the next map. Some of us call these types of maps "One objective Wonders". A rule I like to follow is to have as few map transitions as possible, or in other words have as much happen in one map as possible. It also makes me feel bad because the map is really nice and it looks like you put a lot of work into it but the player will never get a good look.
USS Lion's Pride Bridge
Cats everywhere! Once again another "one objective wonder" map.
Borg Tacitcal Cube Section #214
I like what you've done wihth the map
I found I'Zira Scar and Voporak what's this!
Borg Tactical Cube Section #777
Nice map work again
I started getting tired of all the fighting. After like the 999th group I just ran through all of them and got to the datanode and died so I could respawn nearby with my boffs and skip a few fights.
Something happened, I coudln't finish the "help U.S.S. Lion's Arch objective. Also there was a I.R.W. Valdore there I don't know what it was doing there. I ended up quitting the map and did it again. The next time it was fine, I think the NPC got destroyed.
Earth Space Dock
Like what you've doen with the map. Also like how you could avoid borg and just focus on the objective. Don't know if you actually did that on purpose or not.
Warp
THis map literally does nothing! How come it doesn't end in the previous map?
Combat Comments
I'm not a big fan of stacking Captain npc groups together. To me they're just fat meat shields and don't really provide much of a challenge other than they take FOREVER to kill.
Again to summarize, a very heavy combat mission which a fan of combat missions will enjoy immensely! Unfortunately that's not me so I gave it a 4 but I noticed a lot of people giving 5 stars commenting on how great the combat was.
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
Now for the review.
The Freebooter's Gambit by @bigdogofbria
A good first mission to learn the fundamentals of the foundry. It reminded me of my first mission, which was also quite simple and straight forward. Good first step to author-hood. I especially like the use of NPC Groups as part of the map instead of being objectives in the mission. I gave it a 4/5 because it is still quite simple overall.
Map: Nimrod System - Delivery run
No instructions when I warp in
The raiders attacking is kind of random, my first reaction is "??? what are they doing here." Then they sit around at their spawn. According to the dialogue they are attacking, this would be a good time to use the Patrol type npc group to have them fly towards the player (Who would be at the station)
Transition -> The button says "Go to Next Map" You can rename this to something like "Energize" or "Make it so" etc...I see you did it properly on the next map so you migh thave just forgotten to do it here
Map: Megar Station - Crew Deck
Very quick map, kkill two things and get to reach marker. I personally like to keep the map transitions to as few as possible, so the player doesn't have to continuously load maps.
In this case its a maps where nothing really happens other than "ok lets go to the next map"
Map: Nimrod System - Battle
Another quick map
The "Reveal" was funny though and I chuckled
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
Any takers?
Check out my other two missions - they are a bit more cooked.
It is called Earth Defense (fed)
Will make a klingon one in the near future
Commodroe of Shadow Raiders
Vice Admiral of Starfleet
Jazdia@captiantpol out
Matriarch of Banished Orion Girls. Neela D'tan
@captaintpol (with many alts)
May we sail and have fun always and forever. LLAP
(PC version NW)
Arwen@captaintpol TR - Tully's of RiverRun
Mai Kelly DC-Tully's of RiverRun
Neela BumKisses HR-
Arya Stark GF-
Sansa Stark CW- Team Fencebane
Crystal Marie OP-
(xbox version NW)
Arwen@Admiral Jazdia TR- Team Fenebane
Mai Kelly DC- " "
Ahsoka Tano CW- " "
Neela BumKisser HR- " "
A great mission albiet a bit long. The author has gotten a good hold of the fundamentals now and has built a well polished mission with a strong story and strong dialogue. Contains lots of ground combat with Borg so be prepared! I gave it 5/5 as there was definite a lot of effort put into making this mission.
Detailed things listed below. You'll see a few common things that I noticed happen in several maps.
Map - Ohniaka III
Telling Goren you are going to beam to the surface button -> "I beaming to the surface."
Also forgot to put title in the dialogue box
Map - Ohniaka III Colony
A lot of running around with not much happening. Think about adding a dialogue pop up after scanning each clouds giving some background (technobabble?) about what you just scanned.
They're also really really far apart lol, lots of running
Map - Ohniaka III - Encounter
Rather easy fight IMO. My crew and I were like woo we rule even though it was jsut a frigate group
Warning. Don't use a reach marker in space. It's hard to get to them becuase there is a Y axis as well. Use an interact i couldn't find it at first had to fly around. If you really do want to have a reach marker, use a flashign beacon to show where the player needs to go. Have it's Hidden->Visible trigger to be on Objective In Progress, and Visible -> Hidden trigger to be on Objective Complete
Map - Durivan VI - Collodi's Coordinates
The first scan objective "Scan Nearbye Borg Orbital Structure" typo
Also note that in space interact objectives display their names, so I see the scan object as "Station - Borg Colony M 01". You will need to rename it into something nice
Map - Rogue Borg Colony
Objective "Secure Klingon Masking Technology" interact has no name
I would have appreciated a bit more dialogue between objectives updating me on what's going on
Objective "Secure Additional Masking Technology" no name again
Map - Durivan VI - The Transwarp Gate
Need to name the interact object (same as the first problem in [Map - Durivan VI - Collodi's Coordinates])
One map objective wonder
Map - Borg Space Searching
Same name interact object thing here too.
After the scan a dialogue pops up giving me some info, this is what I was talking about for the ground borg map. Even something short like that keeps the immersion in the game vs "i am playing a game where i am to press some buttons until I'm done"
Map - Borg Unimatrix
Needs respawn points. I died near the end and had to walk ALL THE WAY BACK zzzz!!! Pretty annoying
Map - After the borg unimatrix
One objective wonder sorta with the borg cube in teh way the only thing other than click a button to change map
Something I'd suggest is to have something happen to force the player to make an "epic" escape. For example the Borg have discovered you and send a buncha ships after you. Then this splinter borg faction comes and saves the day with a big borg vs borg + you battle
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
I tried to play What Matters most but couldn't trigger the first objective.
It looked like it was a reach marker that the player started in.
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
Hmmm I thought I fixed that. I'll have to check.
Thanks for the review mate. I'll see about updating with some of your comments.
Would it be too much trouble to put some kind of marker following the names of the missions in the first post to indicate how many times a mission has been reviewed in this thread? I'd like to play a mission that has not been reviewed or that has only been reviewed once and running through the thread to figure it out over and over gets draining.
I'd be glad to do it if I could... Maybe I'll post a quick count here to make it easier on you?
EDIT: Here's the list so far...
(From the old list)
Assault on DS9 1
Latinum is Forever 1
Treasure Hunt 1
This is Your Final Mission 1
Rose Tinted Mirror 2
Long Lost Friend 1
(From the current list)
Uprising - Act I: Off The Grid 3
Star Trek: Saturn: Ep. I (Intro) 2
Star Trek: Saturn: Ep. II 0
Traitor's Tales 3
Mirror Universe Mystery 1
Homesick Heroes (Romulan) 1
Fluidic Relations 3
Infinite Shift (Romulan) 1
Perfection, part 1. 3
The Freebooter's Gambit 3
The Raven and The Marionette 1
What Matters Most 0
The Sins of the Fathers 0
Orders Form The Top 0
Uprising: Act II - The Tempest 0
a time to search *note search "HLFRSWRPV" 0
What were you trying to do with the reach marker?
Thanks donperk. I was thinking of doing something like this as you're right some missions haven't gotten a fair share of plays. I'll add the review numbers
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
What Matters Most by bigdogofbria
Opening Thoughts:
Eta eridini - Eta Eridani.
The mission description made me laugh at the end.
Map 1: Hobb System - Surveillance
- The effect here upon entering is really neat- the nebulas being so soft, they almost... flow? with the swirls on the planet (this is my artist coming through here). Nice touch of drama when you first enter.
-Oh first objective, where are you...? (had some trouble hitting the trigger, but it wasn't too bad.)
Map 2: Zetacron Prime Station
-like the sparking and fire details. They mesh nicely with the orange lighting of the set.
-the lone Klingon on the right side of the map here is standing on the corner of one of the wall supports.
-the interrogation/prison room is very interesting! I'm liking those generators poking out in between, honestly.
-Lets see - Let's see, because it's a contraction of let and us.
-I like that option at the end to choose the prisoner's fate- off to Qo'noS with you!
Map 3: Hobb System - Staging
-How did my ship end up up here?
-Oh, that map transition dialogue for your captain is perfect. Please don't change it. Ever.
Map 4: System HoQev na'qla - Pirates' Cove
-oops, nothing to say about this!
Map 5: The Flayed Ferengi - Bridge
-interesting dialogue here, glad to see Jocelyn's a little more than just a pretty face.
Maps 6-8:
-There's a lot of quick map changes here is really all I have to say about them, but at least for some of them (if not all) it's a necessity of the storyline.
-Having a Klingon go to Bajor and then join a mixed Vulcan/Bajoran faith promises to be very interesting.
-I like the end comment too- working for pirates and not being them. Nice.
Map 9 (If this number is wrong I have lost count and if so I'm really sorry): Xectar System
-Liking the blue nebula here.
-onward!
-I find myself liking Jocelyn's little comments more than I initially expected... wouldn't mind knowing a little more about this Tonga Red incident.
Map 10: Temple of the New Day
-Jocelyn's image reads "Jocelyn Kris Robe", and I'm guessing Robe was an identifier when you were working in the Foundry...?
-I'd love to hear a little more from Heva, just as a personal preference, I'm really curious about her thoughts regarding her father and Klingon culture in general.~
-I do think the priest has the right amount of mysteriousness and not talking to suit his role there, nice.
Map 11: Xectar System - Battle
-"Your mother repairs plasma conduits, Starfleet."
-for a moment there, until Jocelyn speaks, I was confused as to whether they were speaking of Jocelyn or Heva (I think mostly because of the dialogue option earlier to tell Jocelyn you were her prisoner). It's not major as it becomes clear the moment Jocelyn shows up, but putting her name or something in the BoFF's dialogue might help.
Map 12: U.S.S. Concorde
-nice touch with the rumble effect. Also pretty much the entire map and its details!
-also liking the whole 'find the right klingon thing'.
-fighting is a nice challenge; a respawn point closer would be nice, though.
-Aaaand I seem to have gotten stuck here after the boss fight. On the Speak With Captain Zinskey objective, to be specific. He doesn't appear to be anywhere on the map, though the map marker is there; I can't make any trigger buttons appear. Honestly, it's entirely possible that I'm just missing something because I'm tired. Please note that at the time of posting I have not tried reloading the mission; I will try that tomorrow but at the moment I don't have time to go back through all of the maps.
Current Thoughts:
I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far and am looking forward to finding out what happens with Heva.
-Also, I just noticed the comment earlier about the first reach marker... I found it slightly below the coordinates you enter the map at.
EDIT: Okay, going to try this again!
Hooray, he appeared this time! Now to continue with the rest of the mission.
-I really like the touch of the crew dying along with Zinsky, and being unable to save them although you have multiple options. Or... seemingly, anyway! Nice, I like that little twist!
-Did not see the part with Jocelyn coming. Looking forward to a continuation of her story.
Map 13: Xectar System - Staging
-There's a nice sense of urgency in the dialogue here.
Map 14: Runabout
-this is an extremely large runabout.
-nice twist with the choices at the end! I hope this isn't the end of Kris?
Closing Thoughts:
Thoroughly enjoyed the mission, particularly the characters within, and I would love to see them return! Nice job, worth playing for anyone looking for a good story of medium length or so. And it's even more awesome considering it's a Klingon mission!
my first and currently only Foundry mission is up on the Fed side, intended for a Romulan audience.
Thanks for doing this... it really helps, I think. I hope it doesn't become difficult to manage.
I did note that "The Raven and the Marionette" is showing zero on the first page summary. I'm pretty sure that you reviewed it recently, so it should indicate one review.
Tonight I plan on doing a summary review of "Star Trek: Saturn: Episode I" and a detailed review of "Star Trek: Saturn: Episode II" since Episode II has not been reviewed yet.
Also, as mentioned elsewhere, I plan on doing a detailed review of "Infinite Shift" later this week.
BTW noticed you mentioning your mission still only has one review. It's next on my list so you'll have two more soon (mine + catstar).
Foundry Mission Database
Check out my Foundry missions:
Standalone - The Great Escape - The Galaxy's Fair - Purity I: Of Denial - Return to Oblivion
Untitled Series - Duritanium Man - The Improbable Bulk - Commander Rihan
Ah... well that's certainly up to you on how you manage the list. Not including your reviews would encourage the lower numbers (hopefully) to get some more love. But, yes, I did include your reviews in my counts. If you did an independent count then ignore my comments in this regard.
Oh cool! I knew that CatStar would be looking at it tonight -- I didn't know it was queued up next for you as well. Sweet! It will be nice to get it out of Red Text Hell. It's hard to tell people that there's a good TWO HOUR mission they can do when there are no rewards -- they can go do Admiral Bobo four times instead. :P
By the way, by "review" I just mean that one person gave it a star rating in game. No one on the forums (that I know of) has done a formal review yet.
EDIT: By the way: I am starting work on a short story-based mission that should clock in at around a half hour. It's the first of a series of unrelated short story missions that have the common theme of exploratory vessels that have gone missing.