I have not given any mission in this series less than 5 stars. Individually, they are all worthy of being featured Foundry missions.
The amount of detail is amazing and I can tell that the authors are highly skilled at using the Foundry editor. All in all, the maps are well-constructed and the authors do their best to guide the players through the best way to play through them.
Armed with the knowledge that not every Foundry author necessarily speaks English as a first language, the occasional typo is not worrisome to me and I can get past it.
Taken as a whole, however, I think the episodes could have fit together better and had a tighter meta-plot than they did. There are nagging inconsistencies that never rose to the level of ruining the overall story, but they are there.
SPOILERS FOLLOW, so stop reading if you don't want to know...
One example was the character of Shrall. When we first encounter him, he's siccing a pack of homocidal Obani on us and in general acting like someone who's completely corrupt. By the time we play "Of Leadership" he's practically our right-hand man and his noble sacrifice almost makes us forget that he tried to kill us. That's an awfully drastic character shift and there's not much motivation given for Shrall to do a 180 degree turn in attitudes. If I had ever had the choice, I would never have trusted him any further than I could shove him out an airlock -- if that had been in character for my character, that is.
Captain Pallor's character shift is no less drastic, but given his stated motivations it's more or less believable. What's a little harder to swallow is that he (a starship captain) somehow managed to replace Federation President Okeg with someone able to pass as Saurian... despite the incredible security surrounding him... and that an alien is willing to go along with a plot where the Paxtonites take over the Federation. Given that we don't have all of the information yet, I have to accept this as a reasonable development but it does leave me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
Having to deal with two fanatical organizations who seem to be connected in the larger conspiracy but also seem to have opposing agendas also seems like a bit of a stretch. I really like the Drakka T'Vor as antagonists and I hope to see more of them in future Foundry episodes, but that whole subplot really seems that it could have been cut out of the series and it would have worked quite well and resulted in a tighter overall plot.
I want to stress that I am still very impressed with the series overall and what seem to be minor plot holes do not subtract from this amazing achievement. I know from experience that collaborating on a story with multiple writers is extremely challenging, and on top of that you had to build a lot of scenery from scratch and work within the limitations of the Foundry. I am definitely looking forward to the conclusion (though I might not get to it soon with the current in-game events going on).
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
If anything it's probably my fault Shrall wasn't put in a more favourable light. I tried to make it look like he was still trying to do his best for the Federation and was manipulated by Fautor and I guess it didn't work out
Interesting thoughts about Okeg's disposition... but at the risk of overselling it, there's a nugget of information in Purity: Of the Day in the last freighter group that might clue you in as to what's going on...
Interesting thoughts about Okeg's disposition... but at the risk of overselling it, there's a nugget of information in Purity: Of the Day in the last freighter group that might clue you in as to what's going on...
Also known as 'Rogue wants someone to play his dailies'
Interesting thoughts about Okeg's disposition... but at the risk of overselling it, there's a nugget of information in Purity: Of the Day in the last freighter group that might clue you in as to what's going on...
Also known as 'Rogue wants someone to play his dailies'
If the 'dailies' contain important information that's not present in the main series, then I wish it had been made clear when the series was promoted that they are not just "optional" content. Which is what I thought they were.
I don't mean to be too critical here, but when you have limits on your play time like I do you have to prioritize what you do in-game and I didn't think the Purity dailies were a priority. I thought they were just add-ons for extra flavor with a side dish of side-plot. With "Sphere of Influence" released and Season 8 just around the corner, I may never get around to playing the dailies.
I'm only trying to point out that I do not understand the motives of key characters very well, thus some of their actions don't quite make sense, and that I hope the conclusion will clear some of that up.
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
If the 'dailies' contain important information that's not present in the main series, then I wish it had been made clear when the series was promoted that they are not just "optional" content. Which is what I thought they were.
The dailies are just additional information.
I feel that most of the issues you have will be cleared up in episode 6, but I thought that some of them were actually explained in episode 5 and previous, especially concerning the President
I'm glad you're enjoying the series though, and thanks for the feedback!
Foundry Enthusiast
Machinima Person
Did some things back in the day
I just finished Purity VI, and i only had a few issues. Namely, as Sharky said, there was some issue here and there with the clipping that would cause that weird flashy effect, long load times and minipatches (cryptic's fault, not yours), there was a point where my team beamed in and some one was stuck in a crate. For the most part, this mission, as well as the whole series, was just kind of 'meh' by me. Another, as i've said from the get go, was that this really shouldn't have been called a 'Featured Episode Series' as it gives the sense of some kind of special or unique rewards. This should have been labelled a "Foundry Spotlight Series" just to avoid any and all confusion on the matter. That is all on cryptic though since they're the ones naming and posting, or just as easily they could have added some unique rewards to the series.
A side note though, i didn't know there was more than one daily. I did the one with the freighters and it wasn't that great by me, so i just didn't replay it or search "Purity Daily" when looking for the newest mission. while the last episode did wrap it all up, i as well, would have liked to see a little more notice that there was supplemental story a little more often, maybe just a heads up for the next 'Foundry Spotlight Series'?
Over all, consistently through out the series, the writing has always been the weakest point. From little things like typos, not capitalizing, or just things missed, to just over all issues with the story at hand. The story often struck me as predictable, some times long winded, to other times not being as coherent as is could be (at least for me).
However, on the opposite side of the spectrum, was the actual construction of the levels themselves. From the get go, it was very clear that a lot of time had been put into designing the levels and the transitions, as well as pulling in a lot of previous experience. I am truly envious of how well some of these missions were crafted and how some of the assets were used. This for me was the highlight of this series, and i would love to see that kind of level building with an overall better written story to drive it forward. The only way some of the transitions could have been better would be if they didn't get bogged down from the changes, and happened more instantaneously (my pc's fault).
SPOILERS(there were a few odds and ends overall which really stuck out to me, one of which was in the tower at the end. Pallor says "here's my ride" then disappears, putting me into a dialog. after the dialog, the wall explodes, the one shuttle is two, and Pallor is some how behind me and dying, seemingly out of nowhere. That might need to get a slight review, or at least a little more explanation.
While i understood what happened when the station exploded killing the away team, it seemed a little cold of a response. Not quite "F&%# it, we have bigger problems!", but as i was reading it, i did get a little bit of that vibe at how fast a starfleet captain would just dismiss that.
While the original story line was the predictable bit i mentioned earlier, it seemed very random to suddenly switch the theme all together in the middle like you did. Honestly, that's where the predictability stops, but it just seemed very out of place, both in regards to the story telling, as well as the story being told. For the most part though, while i liked the terra prime story in Enterprise, it's not really a story that works well with the current age of Star Trek. Pallor would have been much better suited to a different motivation (preferrably one that fit better in the original story arc) or possibly, if the arc had a much different villain claiming their species was better off without the aliens. It would have made more sense having one of the aliens on the planet trying to start their own Terra Prime style movement after what Starfleet did to them, making them a very Sympathetic villain. Or possibly by having some one replace the Admiral years ago (using starfleet to conquer their own homeworld AS the admiral) making them more of a mastermind.
Just suddenly taking the story line into a completely different direction like that just didn't seem as smooth as it could have been. While a plot twist can be a great thing, it has to fit the overall theme set up, otherwise it just feels like a forced story change to cover up earlier decisions.)END SPOILERS
All in all though, as kind of a TL;DR, the writing was by far the weakest point, but the level designs and actual construction and mechanics of the missions were insanely well done.
I haven't played all of them yet but the ones I have done are really fun. I think the Foundry is a great tool and thankful for the content that's being put in by players. Thanks for the fun missions:)
I haven't played all of them yet but the ones I have done are really fun. I think the Foundry is a great tool and thankful for the content that's being put in by players. Thanks for the fun missions:)
You are welcome, and please, let us know your thoughts on things, what works for you, what doesnt, what seems to need more exposition, the location of all the chalaskie's. Its scary to think how long this has been in production and now its coming to an end, so let us know what can be done to improve it assuming we get a chance to in the future #FixAllTheThings
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them." -Thomas Marrone
This episode felt a little rushed but thank you for the story and your efforts. I must say that it is so easy to criticize and critique but so hard to create. Thank you for creating.
Cryptic a DOFF as a reward would have been lovely.
In the earlier menus I noticed a lowercase "w" starting a sentence and two "to's" next to each other.
I have to give the writer credit for tying up a lot of loose ends.
I think aid from the enslaved race, or/and the dismissed Ferengi officer, in restoring the rightful Federation would have made a nice end-cap, and added continuity.
I would have liked to have had an option to try to convince Pallor's supporters to stand down after the counter announcement instead of shooting first before some space encounters. Space craft blew up, you could role-play stun in ground combat.
Given the command structure I'm surprised at how my Tactical officer freely volunteered their opinion so often, badgered, antagonized and even threatened to torture a prisoner. They acted aggressively, and I would have liked an option asking them to remain calm or quiet them.
While I surmised some of what happened on the roof, some additional explanation text could have cleared up what exactly occurred. Did the shuttles cause the light-show or did the struggle?
I would like to have seen a stronger argument from Pallor when he justified his actions. His deep seated beliefs would have led to him seeing and phrased his actions positively, even when he acted against his principles because he is organizing a righteous/extremist revolution. I argue that he would have convinced not "conned" others.
I would have liked a stronger tie in to the earlier promotional video. As it stands, it is satirical and contradictory to my expectations given freedoms that Federation civilians have. It works on a certain level, but which Federation produced it? Not Pallor?s faction (IMO); it would have been great if they did and introduced the Obani as valued allies in the war as well as a hint to how the Paxonist's would run the Federation. It would have been difficult to explain storywise so I understand. But if the Federation did produce it, then it could hint that there are troubles not mentioned by the series.
Excellent job with the assets and games, thank you. My ship was never as large as it was in this series. I think it was a bold move to kill off the "villain" in episode three. Episode two was a bold story move also, additional text would have helped. Very nice to have Pallor pick up the villain mantle. I think I only saw dead human bodies from his ship in episode three-if true then kudos.
The sudden shift of focus to an off-world revolution and a Paxonite uprising mid-to-late series with few continuing characters made it hard to make emotional connections.
There were a lot of themes and subjects introduced, and I would have liked to have seen them developed more. These missions take more time and effort than I could imagine. Thank you again for them.
Remember what I said last week about finishing Part V and then going about my business at Earth Spacedock unmolested by Security? Well, this week I accepted Part VI and viewed Admiral Kardena's broadcast also while aboard ESD - and again, not a single would-be arresting officer in sight. Maybe the Klingons are right; Starfleet really is getting soft. :P
I remarked earlier about the apparent lack of connection between the arcs from Parts I-III and Parts IV-V. Playing through the first three maps I'm starting to see hints of them finally being tied back together. The maps themselves are very well-built too.
One odd thing I noticed about the Pyrella space map: The mini-map (and expanded area map view) shows a planet, but even as I pass right by its supposed location, I see no planet in space, not even way above or below my position.
So this is the sprawling complex we saw in one of the promo graphics for the series. Even from a distance it looks impressive. I also notice it's on the same ground map that I use for the Nivayan shantytown and Romulan base in "Valley of the Shadow I" (and will revisit in Part III).
"Come with me if you want to live" - drogyn's getting in touch with his inner Terminator, I see. Then again, so was I - having blown away several Obani mobs before getting to this point. :cool:
When I try to arrest Wilson in Paris, the dialog ends without him actually being arrested. Why not at least have him transported to your ship's brig?
Just finished Part VI. 5 stars. Brilliant writing, top-notch map-making.
* * *
As for the big picture: Again, I was glad to see the two main arcs finally tied more closely together, though again, this could and should have been done earlier in the series. Until this mission, the series felt to me more like two separate trilogies than a single overarching saga. As others have already said, "Purity II" is the weak link in this chain - not because it's a bad mission in its own right, but because it fails to advance the overall plot - and perhaps worse yet, its very presence as one entire mission out of the six severely misled me as to where this series was going. If this had been a five-parter with "Purity II" left out, and/or if the authors had introduced more elements of the Drakka T'Vor/Paxtonite plot during the Megara portion of the series, I might not have found the sudden transition in Part IV from one plot to the other to be quite so jarring.
As it is, the authors did do a great job of keeping us guessing throughout the series, and leaving no major loose ends, other than to leave the door open for more Paxtonite mischief in the future. For the Foundry community's first known attempt at a collaborative mission series, this can't quite be called a smashing success, but a success all the same. 4/5 stars.
This mission is well made. The story was good, and ties in nice with the rest (part II being the odd one out, as it has no real bearing on the overall story).
The mission flow was good, and the action likewise.
Good custom made maps, with some nice tricks that for once did not end up getting my BO's stuck, so well done there.
The space battle above Earth was a complete push over (as in easy), but that might be because I used the Obelisk carrier with adv.swarmers, so will have to try with another non carrier ship to see how that works.
The mission ties everything together nicely.
The mission did feel open ended though. You killed the second bad guy, but what about those Drakka guys, or the planet wich now has technology it should not have?? Would like to see a conclusion to those questions, so I hope the we get some follow up mission(s) to get a final closeure.
***Review ends here.***
Over all a good story arc, although it felt a bit jarring to have the Drakka guys introduced so suddenly. Also, and do not take this the wrong way, Episode II felt like a filler mission/episode, and whilst not a bad mission, it felt out of place so to speak...
Final score for the Purity series : 3,85 out of 5. A good story chain, with very good elements, but some parts felt a bit strange, like the sudden introduction of the Drakka, and Episode II comming of like a "filler" episode, or maybe a stand alone episode, since it did feel very odd in the overall picture...
So, good story arc, but not great. Some spit and polish, and it would have been even better...
Okay, here's my Feedback for Episode 6: Overall, it was good. Though not great.
The Warp Animation at the beginning, seemed off since I wasn't properly aligned.
I liked the Prison Camp, but disappointed there wasn't more life to it. And you could hop over the barricades, instead of fighting through the entrances.
The Transporter Room after rescue, was like a rush job. Guess you was thinking nobody would notice with people rushing through.
Loved the Council Chamber, really felt like what Cryptic might design it as with the 2409 motif. Though wasn't too sure about that crashed shuttle, since I saw no hole. :P
Also you mentioned the Fake escaping through another entrance, but there is only one door in the council chamber.
The Eiffel Tower, not sure why in the age of Star Trek, that someone would run to the Eiffel Tower, and not beam out. But it was somewhat convincing, though I would add something with a sound effect to give the shuttle a sound effect.
I really enjoyed the hard work and elements that were used throughout the entire episode, which we dont necessary see being used in the game overall which is unfortunate but iam glad to see many different elements used by the foundry community.
It is unfortunate that so many are being rather critical, i used to be a modder in the old SFC3 days and while the foundry is limited in that scope it is the closest thing that we can compare it to. The group that created the story, the different arcs i applaud you for the hard work as that does take allot to pan out and layout to create what you did, while being restricted due to limited resources the Foundry. For those that would be critical, if it is constructive great, but if it is nit picking and out of your control, that doesn't help nor the team to do it better next time but take the criticism with a grain a salt.
I can dismiss the problems in the game as a result of the limitations that the Foundry has in relationship to that of Cryptic. However, good or bad i think the team did what they did to make what they could work with what they had available. Granted, i think the last episode was a little rough and someone mentioned it seemed rushed, but overall i think that is was well laid out, storyline which i loved and the twist that were provided.
Id like to see this team do more, id like to see Cryptic allow the Foundry community to bring forth such great stories like this to fill i that gap.
Note: I had a problem with some triggers on the first episode, which someone from the team contacted me promptly and i appreciate that greatly and i want to thank that team member.
First of all, it's missions like Part VI that really make me wish Cryptic would give us the ability to detect the species of the PC. Otherwise, a fantastically designed conclusion to the story.
A few nitpicks, which I wrote down this time so I could tell you what they were instead of saying "lol mission has typos" like I did last time:
Map "Pyrella System":
-- There's a patch between the spawn point and the Ferengi and Yridian freighters where the nebula weather effect is missing.
-- DaiMon is spelled with a capital 'M' (you guys used lowercase). Also, in TNG the tattoo is green and goes on the right side of the forehead (you guys had it red and on the left). However I'd be willing to chalk the tattoo up to evolution of uniforms.
Map "Skaladon":
-- At the spawn point one of my boffs landed inside a crate and got stuck. (Trying to remember if it was the far left or near left boff but I can't; shoulda written it down.)
-- At the transporter room, where your away team tac says "Any idea what's at these coordinates." That should be a question mark at the end, not a period.
Map "Megara":
-- When the team interrogates the surviving Obani, the player says, "Is the camp heavily guarded." Question mark, not period again.
-- When the team is talking to the real President Okeg, your away team engi says, "Pallor has him convinced that he's acting IN the legitimate best interests of the Federation." (Missing word, my fix red.)
Map "Eiffel Tower":
-- When your away team tac says, "Ha! What do you believe in other than yourself." (question mark, not period)
-- The part where Pallor says, "HUMANS need to be strong." For nonhuman PCs, I would add a dialog option to the effect of, "I'M NOT ****ING HUMAN!" (For clarity's sake, that's what Eleya was saying in my head. I don't recommend actually writing it. )
-- Though, credit where it's due, you made up for that lack in the next dialog chain with, "What about those of us who are not human." But you're missing a question mark again.
Nitpicks aside, the interiors especially were extremely well done. I don't have the patience to construct my own buildings out of parts like that and I'm always impressed with the result when it's done well.
Also, RIP Mark Valentine. Loved that.
"Great War! / And I cannot take more! / Great tour! / I keep on marching on / I play the great score / There will be no encore / Great War! / The War to End All Wars"
— Sabaton, "Great War"
I can assure you it was not rushed. I started working on it in the early summer. A lot of things people have remarked on are the sort of things we can't change due to Foundry limitations, some of it is personal preference on the part of the reviewer, and of course some it is just plain errors (none of us are professional game devs, after all). As my colleagues have said, you can be sure that we're taking note of any mistakes and such that we didn't catch in testing so that we can fix them if/when we get access to the missions again (I think we may get the chance after the S8 downtime).
Anyway. Glad you guys liked the maps. As this was a collaborative process I can't take credit for a couple of them. The Federation Council Chambers was made by Kirkfat a long time before the series was started. When we were hashing out the story I got the idea of the final confrontation or at least part of it happening there and asked Kirkfat (who had shown us screenshots of his creation) if he would put the assets and coordinates into a spreadsheet for me. The Eiffel Tower summit map was made by Cerberusfilms, he also built the one you see outside the President's office in Part V. The rest is all me though
I can tell you it's actually a bit of a challenge working with other people's maps. There isn't quite as much flexibility unless you want to remake the whole thing. Sometimes you don't know exactly where assets are in the list if you want to go back and make triggers for them.
I'm overwhelmed by the positive response to the series. Purity VI is currently the highest rated mission there is. I calculated it out yesterday that 97 percent of the star ratings were four or five stars. The most important thing I take away from that is that there is a market for these kinds of projects. I encourage other groups to get together, make a plan, and pitch it to BranFlakes. I challenge you to do even better than we did!
Stay tuned to the Foundry Roundtable, Foundry Files and other podcasts in the next couple weeks. We'll be doing a lot of after-action analysis. What worked, what didn't. What lessons can we learn from this and pass on to the next group, etc.
The most important thing I take away from that is that there is a market for these kinds of projects.
...
Big yes!!!
I'd been of the opinion that the Foundry is only played by a tiny portion of the STO population but literally thousands of people have been playing Purity and almost everyone has really enjoyed it.
As Drogyn says I hope Cryptic takes notice, and other people start making their own Foundry series as well.
I'd been of the opinion that the Foundry is only played by a tiny portion of the STO population but literally thousands of people have been playing Purity and almost everyone has really enjoyed it.
As Drogyn says I hope Cryptic takes notice, and other people start making their own Foundry series as well.
Oh, i agree IF cryptic takes note and that is a big IF, the foundry would be far more available or dynamic if they placed more of an attraction to it. Id like to see something popup when certain Foundry missions are available in a sector you might be in, instead of having to look them up which i think makes it that much more difficult and would make people more aware.
As well, Cryptic could as i have suggested in the past use the Foundry to put up with certain criteria to fill in some blanks and giving more content that is officially created.
Finally finished the series the other day. You all did an amazing job pulling this off. In some cases you really pushing the boundaries of what we can do in the foundry and it worked amazingly well. The maps, stories, dialogue, characters were put together so well. It is an amazing tribute to the foundry and advert to all the players out there who might not have entered into it otherwise. It's great to show that where foundry authors might lack in the ability to do things devs can, we can make up for it in ingenuity and creativity. It beats the socks off many Cryptic missions in terms of that and will hopefully prompt them to give us all more resources. The question is, how does anyone follow it? Lets find out I suppose. Would love to see more of these projects!
Id like to see something popup when certain Foundry missions are available in a sector you might be in, instead of having to look them up which i think makes it that much more difficult and would make people more aware
...
This is something that I am hoping for in the near future.
I think i speak for all all the authors on the project when I say we simply couldn't have done this without CaptPFDennis, who wrote the story for the entire series, was on hand almost everyday to answer plot questions and wrote thousands of words for the Character and Mission descriptions, as well as stepping in and creating episode 3 in 2-3 weeks when someone had to take a step back due to RL commitments.
Thank you
And personally, i want to thank everyone else in the series for pulling together and helping bring this project to actuality.
I can't wait til work on the next series is started *wink wink*
Foundry Enthusiast
Machinima Person
Did some things back in the day
Thank you, Cerb. In reponse I'd like to thank Cerberusfilms for all of his talent and creativity in constructing the major map challenge, the eiffel tower, and for the great trailers and videos he made for the series. He's a master at Public Relations. He coordinated with Cryptic, submitting the videos and blogs, making sure that the word got out about this project. It has been an honor and privilege to have been involved with so many talented authors in this series.
I would also like to thank all who played these missions and gave us your time and attention. We are so thrilled that it was as successful as it was, as they were all labors of love. The response was more than we could have imagined. We wanted to do it because it hadn't been done before. We encourage everyone to do it.
Most importantly, it was fun.
Also Kirkfat , who began Episode 3, and has nothing whatsoever to be ashamed of, built the barracks and prison camp maps seen in Episode 3. Let the love fest continue. lol.
That's a good piece of advice to pass on to future groups, make sure that if someone has to step out for real life reasons or whatever else, you got enough people that someone can step in.
That's quite the paradox, how could you nerf nerf when the nerf is nerfed. But how would the nerf be nerfed when the nerf is nerfed? This allows the nerf not to be nerfed since the nerf is nerfed? But if the nerf isn't nerfed, it could still nerf nerfs. But as soon as the nerf is nerfed, the nerf power is lost. So paradoxally it the nerf nerf lost its nerf, while it's still nerfed, which cannot be because the nerf was unable to nerf.
Comments
The amount of detail is amazing and I can tell that the authors are highly skilled at using the Foundry editor. All in all, the maps are well-constructed and the authors do their best to guide the players through the best way to play through them.
Armed with the knowledge that not every Foundry author necessarily speaks English as a first language, the occasional typo is not worrisome to me and I can get past it.
Taken as a whole, however, I think the episodes could have fit together better and had a tighter meta-plot than they did. There are nagging inconsistencies that never rose to the level of ruining the overall story, but they are there.
SPOILERS FOLLOW, so stop reading if you don't want to know...
One example was the character of Shrall. When we first encounter him, he's siccing a pack of homocidal Obani on us and in general acting like someone who's completely corrupt. By the time we play "Of Leadership" he's practically our right-hand man and his noble sacrifice almost makes us forget that he tried to kill us. That's an awfully drastic character shift and there's not much motivation given for Shrall to do a 180 degree turn in attitudes. If I had ever had the choice, I would never have trusted him any further than I could shove him out an airlock -- if that had been in character for my character, that is.
Captain Pallor's character shift is no less drastic, but given his stated motivations it's more or less believable. What's a little harder to swallow is that he (a starship captain) somehow managed to replace Federation President Okeg with someone able to pass as Saurian... despite the incredible security surrounding him... and that an alien is willing to go along with a plot where the Paxtonites take over the Federation. Given that we don't have all of the information yet, I have to accept this as a reasonable development but it does leave me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
Having to deal with two fanatical organizations who seem to be connected in the larger conspiracy but also seem to have opposing agendas also seems like a bit of a stretch. I really like the Drakka T'Vor as antagonists and I hope to see more of them in future Foundry episodes, but that whole subplot really seems that it could have been cut out of the series and it would have worked quite well and resulted in a tighter overall plot.
I want to stress that I am still very impressed with the series overall and what seem to be minor plot holes do not subtract from this amazing achievement. I know from experience that collaborating on a story with multiple writers is extremely challenging, and on top of that you had to build a lot of scenery from scratch and work within the limitations of the Foundry. I am definitely looking forward to the conclusion (though I might not get to it soon with the current in-game events going on).
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
WARNING: SPOILERS ABOUND
If anything it's probably my fault Shrall wasn't put in a more favourable light. I tried to make it look like he was still trying to do his best for the Federation and was manipulated by Fautor and I guess it didn't work out
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
Interesting thoughts about Okeg's disposition... but at the risk of overselling it, there's a nugget of information in Purity: Of the Day in the last freighter group that might clue you in as to what's going on...
Also known as 'Rogue wants someone to play his dailies'
If the 'dailies' contain important information that's not present in the main series, then I wish it had been made clear when the series was promoted that they are not just "optional" content. Which is what I thought they were.
I don't mean to be too critical here, but when you have limits on your play time like I do you have to prioritize what you do in-game and I didn't think the Purity dailies were a priority. I thought they were just add-ons for extra flavor with a side dish of side-plot. With "Sphere of Influence" released and Season 8 just around the corner, I may never get around to playing the dailies.
I'm only trying to point out that I do not understand the motives of key characters very well, thus some of their actions don't quite make sense, and that I hope the conclusion will clear some of that up.
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The dailies are just additional information.
I feel that most of the issues you have will be cleared up in episode 6, but I thought that some of them were actually explained in episode 5 and previous, especially concerning the President
I'm glad you're enjoying the series though, and thanks for the feedback!
Machinima Person
Did some things back in the day
Now a Games Developer and Researcher
A side note though, i didn't know there was more than one daily. I did the one with the freighters and it wasn't that great by me, so i just didn't replay it or search "Purity Daily" when looking for the newest mission. while the last episode did wrap it all up, i as well, would have liked to see a little more notice that there was supplemental story a little more often, maybe just a heads up for the next 'Foundry Spotlight Series'?
Over all, consistently through out the series, the writing has always been the weakest point. From little things like typos, not capitalizing, or just things missed, to just over all issues with the story at hand. The story often struck me as predictable, some times long winded, to other times not being as coherent as is could be (at least for me).
However, on the opposite side of the spectrum, was the actual construction of the levels themselves. From the get go, it was very clear that a lot of time had been put into designing the levels and the transitions, as well as pulling in a lot of previous experience. I am truly envious of how well some of these missions were crafted and how some of the assets were used. This for me was the highlight of this series, and i would love to see that kind of level building with an overall better written story to drive it forward. The only way some of the transitions could have been better would be if they didn't get bogged down from the changes, and happened more instantaneously (my pc's fault).
SPOILERS(there were a few odds and ends overall which really stuck out to me, one of which was in the tower at the end. Pallor says "here's my ride" then disappears, putting me into a dialog. after the dialog, the wall explodes, the one shuttle is two, and Pallor is some how behind me and dying, seemingly out of nowhere. That might need to get a slight review, or at least a little more explanation.
While i understood what happened when the station exploded killing the away team, it seemed a little cold of a response. Not quite "F&%# it, we have bigger problems!", but as i was reading it, i did get a little bit of that vibe at how fast a starfleet captain would just dismiss that.
While the original story line was the predictable bit i mentioned earlier, it seemed very random to suddenly switch the theme all together in the middle like you did. Honestly, that's where the predictability stops, but it just seemed very out of place, both in regards to the story telling, as well as the story being told. For the most part though, while i liked the terra prime story in Enterprise, it's not really a story that works well with the current age of Star Trek. Pallor would have been much better suited to a different motivation (preferrably one that fit better in the original story arc) or possibly, if the arc had a much different villain claiming their species was better off without the aliens. It would have made more sense having one of the aliens on the planet trying to start their own Terra Prime style movement after what Starfleet did to them, making them a very Sympathetic villain. Or possibly by having some one replace the Admiral years ago (using starfleet to conquer their own homeworld AS the admiral) making them more of a mastermind.
Just suddenly taking the story line into a completely different direction like that just didn't seem as smooth as it could have been. While a plot twist can be a great thing, it has to fit the overall theme set up, otherwise it just feels like a forced story change to cover up earlier decisions.)END SPOILERS
All in all though, as kind of a TL;DR, the writing was by far the weakest point, but the level designs and actual construction and mechanics of the missions were insanely well done.
You are welcome, and please, let us know your thoughts on things, what works for you, what doesnt, what seems to need more exposition, the location of all the chalaskie's. Its scary to think how long this has been in production and now its coming to an end, so let us know what can be done to improve it assuming we get a chance to in the future #FixAllTheThings
The dialogue was much more realistic than in previous missions, the map design was amazing ... overall, a very satisfying ending the the series.
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
-Thomas Marrone
Cryptic a DOFF as a reward would have been lovely.
In the earlier menus I noticed a lowercase "w" starting a sentence and two "to's" next to each other.
I have to give the writer credit for tying up a lot of loose ends.
I think aid from the enslaved race, or/and the dismissed Ferengi officer, in restoring the rightful Federation would have made a nice end-cap, and added continuity.
I would have liked to have had an option to try to convince Pallor's supporters to stand down after the counter announcement instead of shooting first before some space encounters. Space craft blew up, you could role-play stun in ground combat.
Given the command structure I'm surprised at how my Tactical officer freely volunteered their opinion so often, badgered, antagonized and even threatened to torture a prisoner. They acted aggressively, and I would have liked an option asking them to remain calm or quiet them.
While I surmised some of what happened on the roof, some additional explanation text could have cleared up what exactly occurred. Did the shuttles cause the light-show or did the struggle?
I would like to have seen a stronger argument from Pallor when he justified his actions. His deep seated beliefs would have led to him seeing and phrased his actions positively, even when he acted against his principles because he is organizing a righteous/extremist revolution. I argue that he would have convinced not "conned" others.
I would have liked a stronger tie in to the earlier promotional video. As it stands, it is satirical and contradictory to my expectations given freedoms that Federation civilians have. It works on a certain level, but which Federation produced it? Not Pallor?s faction (IMO); it would have been great if they did and introduced the Obani as valued allies in the war as well as a hint to how the Paxonist's would run the Federation. It would have been difficult to explain storywise so I understand. But if the Federation did produce it, then it could hint that there are troubles not mentioned by the series.
Excellent job with the assets and games, thank you. My ship was never as large as it was in this series. I think it was a bold move to kill off the "villain" in episode three. Episode two was a bold story move also, additional text would have helped. Very nice to have Pallor pick up the villain mantle. I think I only saw dead human bodies from his ship in episode three-if true then kudos.
The sudden shift of focus to an off-world revolution and a Paxonite uprising mid-to-late series with few continuing characters made it hard to make emotional connections.
There were a lot of themes and subjects introduced, and I would have liked to have seen them developed more. These missions take more time and effort than I could imagine. Thank you again for them.
Remember what I said last week about finishing Part V and then going about my business at Earth Spacedock unmolested by Security? Well, this week I accepted Part VI and viewed Admiral Kardena's broadcast also while aboard ESD - and again, not a single would-be arresting officer in sight. Maybe the Klingons are right; Starfleet really is getting soft. :P
I remarked earlier about the apparent lack of connection between the arcs from Parts I-III and Parts IV-V. Playing through the first three maps I'm starting to see hints of them finally being tied back together. The maps themselves are very well-built too.
One odd thing I noticed about the Pyrella space map: The mini-map (and expanded area map view) shows a planet, but even as I pass right by its supposed location, I see no planet in space, not even way above or below my position.
So this is the sprawling complex we saw in one of the promo graphics for the series. Even from a distance it looks impressive. I also notice it's on the same ground map that I use for the Nivayan shantytown and Romulan base in "Valley of the Shadow I" (and will revisit in Part III).
"Come with me if you want to live" - drogyn's getting in touch with his inner Terminator, I see. Then again, so was I - having blown away several Obani mobs before getting to this point. :cool:
When I try to arrest Wilson in Paris, the dialog ends without him actually being arrested. Why not at least have him transported to your ship's brig?
Just finished Part VI. 5 stars. Brilliant writing, top-notch map-making.
As for the big picture: Again, I was glad to see the two main arcs finally tied more closely together, though again, this could and should have been done earlier in the series. Until this mission, the series felt to me more like two separate trilogies than a single overarching saga. As others have already said, "Purity II" is the weak link in this chain - not because it's a bad mission in its own right, but because it fails to advance the overall plot - and perhaps worse yet, its very presence as one entire mission out of the six severely misled me as to where this series was going. If this had been a five-parter with "Purity II" left out, and/or if the authors had introduced more elements of the Drakka T'Vor/Paxtonite plot during the Megara portion of the series, I might not have found the sudden transition in Part IV from one plot to the other to be quite so jarring.
As it is, the authors did do a great job of keeping us guessing throughout the series, and leaving no major loose ends, other than to leave the door open for more Paxtonite mischief in the future. For the Foundry community's first known attempt at a collaborative mission series, this can't quite be called a smashing success, but a success all the same. 4/5 stars.
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This mission is well made. The story was good, and ties in nice with the rest (part II being the odd one out, as it has no real bearing on the overall story).
The mission flow was good, and the action likewise.
Good custom made maps, with some nice tricks that for once did not end up getting my BO's stuck, so well done there.
The space battle above Earth was a complete push over (as in easy), but that might be because I used the Obelisk carrier with adv.swarmers, so will have to try with another non carrier ship to see how that works.
The mission ties everything together nicely.
The mission did feel open ended though. You killed the second bad guy, but what about those Drakka guys, or the planet wich now has technology it should not have?? Would like to see a conclusion to those questions, so I hope the we get some follow up mission(s) to get a final closeure.
***Review ends here.***
Over all a good story arc, although it felt a bit jarring to have the Drakka guys introduced so suddenly. Also, and do not take this the wrong way, Episode II felt like a filler mission/episode, and whilst not a bad mission, it felt out of place so to speak...
Final score for the Purity series : 3,85 out of 5. A good story chain, with very good elements, but some parts felt a bit strange, like the sudden introduction of the Drakka, and Episode II comming of like a "filler" episode, or maybe a stand alone episode, since it did feel very odd in the overall picture...
So, good story arc, but not great. Some spit and polish, and it would have been even better...
The Warp Animation at the beginning, seemed off since I wasn't properly aligned.
I liked the Prison Camp, but disappointed there wasn't more life to it. And you could hop over the barricades, instead of fighting through the entrances.
The Transporter Room after rescue, was like a rush job. Guess you was thinking nobody would notice with people rushing through.
Loved the Council Chamber, really felt like what Cryptic might design it as with the 2409 motif. Though wasn't too sure about that crashed shuttle, since I saw no hole. :P
Also you mentioned the Fake escaping through another entrance, but there is only one door in the council chamber.
The Eiffel Tower, not sure why in the age of Star Trek, that someone would run to the Eiffel Tower, and not beam out. But it was somewhat convincing, though I would add something with a sound effect to give the shuttle a sound effect.
It is unfortunate that so many are being rather critical, i used to be a modder in the old SFC3 days and while the foundry is limited in that scope it is the closest thing that we can compare it to. The group that created the story, the different arcs i applaud you for the hard work as that does take allot to pan out and layout to create what you did, while being restricted due to limited resources the Foundry. For those that would be critical, if it is constructive great, but if it is nit picking and out of your control, that doesn't help nor the team to do it better next time but take the criticism with a grain a salt.
I can dismiss the problems in the game as a result of the limitations that the Foundry has in relationship to that of Cryptic. However, good or bad i think the team did what they did to make what they could work with what they had available. Granted, i think the last episode was a little rough and someone mentioned it seemed rushed, but overall i think that is was well laid out, storyline which i loved and the twist that were provided.
Id like to see this team do more, id like to see Cryptic allow the Foundry community to bring forth such great stories like this to fill i that gap.
Note: I had a problem with some triggers on the first episode, which someone from the team contacted me promptly and i appreciate that greatly and i want to thank that team member.
Fyasko
A few nitpicks, which I wrote down this time so I could tell you what they were instead of saying "lol mission has typos" like I did last time:
Map "Pyrella System":
-- There's a patch between the spawn point and the Ferengi and Yridian freighters where the nebula weather effect is missing.
-- DaiMon is spelled with a capital 'M' (you guys used lowercase). Also, in TNG the tattoo is green and goes on the right side of the forehead (you guys had it red and on the left). However I'd be willing to chalk the tattoo up to evolution of uniforms.
Map "Skaladon":
-- At the spawn point one of my boffs landed inside a crate and got stuck. (Trying to remember if it was the far left or near left boff but I can't; shoulda written it down.)
-- At the transporter room, where your away team tac says "Any idea what's at these coordinates." That should be a question mark at the end, not a period.
Map "Megara":
-- When the team interrogates the surviving Obani, the player says, "Is the camp heavily guarded." Question mark, not period again.
-- When the team is talking to the real President Okeg, your away team engi says, "Pallor has him convinced that he's acting IN the legitimate best interests of the Federation." (Missing word, my fix red.)
Map "Eiffel Tower":
-- When your away team tac says, "Ha! What do you believe in other than yourself." (question mark, not period)
-- The part where Pallor says, "HUMANS need to be strong." For nonhuman PCs, I would add a dialog option to the effect of, "I'M NOT ****ING HUMAN!" (For clarity's sake, that's what Eleya was saying in my head. I don't recommend actually writing it.
-- Though, credit where it's due, you made up for that lack in the next dialog chain with, "What about those of us who are not human." But you're missing a question mark again.
Nitpicks aside, the interiors especially were extremely well done. I don't have the patience to construct my own buildings out of parts like that and I'm always impressed with the result when it's done well.
Also, RIP Mark Valentine. Loved that.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
Anyway. Glad you guys liked the maps. As this was a collaborative process I can't take credit for a couple of them. The Federation Council Chambers was made by Kirkfat a long time before the series was started. When we were hashing out the story I got the idea of the final confrontation or at least part of it happening there and asked Kirkfat (who had shown us screenshots of his creation) if he would put the assets and coordinates into a spreadsheet for me. The Eiffel Tower summit map was made by Cerberusfilms, he also built the one you see outside the President's office in Part V. The rest is all me though
I can tell you it's actually a bit of a challenge working with other people's maps. There isn't quite as much flexibility unless you want to remake the whole thing. Sometimes you don't know exactly where assets are in the list if you want to go back and make triggers for them.
I'm overwhelmed by the positive response to the series. Purity VI is currently the highest rated mission there is. I calculated it out yesterday that 97 percent of the star ratings were four or five stars. The most important thing I take away from that is that there is a market for these kinds of projects. I encourage other groups to get together, make a plan, and pitch it to BranFlakes. I challenge you to do even better than we did!
Stay tuned to the Foundry Roundtable, Foundry Files and other podcasts in the next couple weeks. We'll be doing a lot of after-action analysis. What worked, what didn't. What lessons can we learn from this and pass on to the next group, etc.
Big yes!!!
I'd been of the opinion that the Foundry is only played by a tiny portion of the STO population but literally thousands of people have been playing Purity and almost everyone has really enjoyed it.
As Drogyn says I hope Cryptic takes notice, and other people start making their own Foundry series as well.
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
Oh, i agree IF cryptic takes note and that is a big IF, the foundry would be far more available or dynamic if they placed more of an attraction to it. Id like to see something popup when certain Foundry missions are available in a sector you might be in, instead of having to look them up which i think makes it that much more difficult and would make people more aware.
As well, Cryptic could as i have suggested in the past use the Foundry to put up with certain criteria to fill in some blanks and giving more content that is officially created.
This is something that I am hoping for in the near future.
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
Thank you
And personally, i want to thank everyone else in the series for pulling together and helping bring this project to actuality.
I can't wait til work on the next series is started *wink wink*
Machinima Person
Did some things back in the day
Now a Games Developer and Researcher
*hangs head in shame.
Yeah, a big thanks to CaptPFD.
I would also like to thank all who played these missions and gave us your time and attention. We are so thrilled that it was as successful as it was, as they were all labors of love. The response was more than we could have imagined. We wanted to do it because it hadn't been done before. We encourage everyone to do it.
Most importantly, it was fun.
Also Kirkfat , who began Episode 3, and has nothing whatsoever to be ashamed of, built the barracks and prison camp maps seen in Episode 3. Let the love fest continue. lol.
I call it, the Stoutes paradox.
I love those playthroughs. lol. They're really nice people, too.