I commented on another thread about this but while I admire the effort to clean up old missions (and applaud courting new players), I think you'd get an even bigger return on this if mission replay (even just spotlighting recently updated content) was more developed. I've also been a fan of reps tied to mission arc replay or an approach that I refer to as a story crafting system. I've outlined it a few times on the forums but the core idea is a system that handles subplots through loot drops and mission replay, helping to enrich the game universe by having plot twists that award buffs and gear accessed through item combos.
I think I've referred to it as Star Trek Clue.
Anyway, welcome, again. Good to see you dropping by here.
Many thanks to the many posters wishing me welcome to the job. As noted in the blog, I'm a huge Star Trek geek, and I absolutely love working with the team. It's a fabulous place to be!
Let me see if I can answer a few of the big questions posed on this thread...
First, Star Trek Online is no on its way into "maintenance mode". In fact, the team is larger than ever and STO is healthier than ever before. Cryptic is dedicated to not only supporting the game but growing it.
Second, this position isn't a temporary one for me. I'm not sure how long my tenure will be, but I expect to be here for at least three or four updates.
Third, there are lots of requests for more communication. I'll do me best to communicate regularly both directly and through the team. I can say that I'm not a forum person, and that I will probably communicate more via Dev Blogs than in the forums, but I'll post every now and then.
Fourth, there are lots of requests for what's coming next. I'm going to purposefully avoid talking too much about futures. Why? Because so much changes in the dev team on a regular basis that anything posted that discusses something more than two months out is subject to change. I will share as much as I can along the way, but you may get more hints than concrete information the further something is into the future.
Fifth, there are questions about strategy. My overall strategy comes in several parts:
1) Continue to fix things in the existing game. I believe in working to fix old bugs, clean up existing content, and otherwise look for ways to make existing play better. The revamped episodes coming in Season 8.5, along with the new starship switching features are examples of this kind of investment.
2) Continue to develop the story and new content. Most of the dev resources go into this effort. We know that you all show up for your fix of new Star Trek content, and that is the center of everything we do.
3) To work to stretch the game in new ways. I'll be working with the team to do new things and to change up the game to keep it fresh. A static and unchanging game gets stale. Change is part of growth, and I want to see STO grow. Change is scary for some people, however, and I'll work to keep you informed about scary changes well before they get live. I highly value the input of the community and want to make sure that we do what is best for the game as a whole.
At the moment, we're 100% focused on delivering an excellent 8.5 update and 4th anniversary celebration two weeks from today, and I'm off to work.
Stephen D'Angelo
Executive Producer
Star Trek Online
Great post Stephen.
I love the idea you want to start fixing the old bugs of the game, as this something that's beneficial for the game. People "Id think" want to get all those old bugs fixed and have a more pleasuring game experience. I also and hopefully love the idea you want to stretch STO in new ways. Get away from "boring" content and find new ways to stimulate the players. This is something I think the game needs drastically. I think for the most part players come on here and there to keep with the game, but I think its a better investment to keep your players "hooked" into the game daily. So hopefully you can find something for those wanting to be more committed to the game then just a weekly log in or month for that matter.
Key factors id suggest and which you have mentioned is to not say things ahead of time, which usually leads to.. "Hey you said you were doing this, now its not happening" type comments. Id suggest unless its 100% going to happen then don't say nothing haha. Be honest with the players. For me, I've been here since it all started, beta to head start then have continued to play now for coming up to 4 years. I respect someone that's honest rather someone that's full of hot air. So far I'm really liking the way your handling things. So cutos for that.
Overall, wish you the best of luck as our new EP, and I look forward to a more enjoyable experience compared to how the game has been handled thus far.
1) Continue to fix things in the existing game. I believe in working to fix old bugs, clean up existing content, and otherwise look for ways to make existing play better.
Please think of the Foundry as part of the "existing game."
If you guys don't seriously devote some time to fixing the Foundry, the borked missions, and the UI, you won't have much of Foundry community left. Lots of folks have pretty much given up.
It's not worth my free time to make content for your game, when you guys don't maintain the toolset or give players a reliable way to find our missions. If you don't care, then neither do I.
Fifth, there are questions about strategy. My overall strategy comes in several parts:
1) Continue to fix things in the existing game. I believe in working to fix old bugs, clean up existing content, and otherwise look for ways to make existing play better. The revamped episodes coming in Season 8.5, along with the new starship switching features are examples of this kind of investment.
2) Continue to develop the story and new content. Most of the dev resources go into this effort. We know that you all show up for your fix of new Star Trek content, and that is the center of everything we do.
3) To work to stretch the game in new ways. I'll be working with the team to do new things and to change up the game to keep it fresh. A static and unchanging game gets stale. Change is part of growth, and I want to see STO grow. Change is scary for some people, however, and I'll work to keep you informed about scary changes well before they get live. I highly value the input of the community and want to make sure that we do what is best for the game as a whole.
Best strategy list I've seen a dev post in awhile. Keep it up!
Another change at the head of the game... how many have we had? I believe it's something like Zinc, Dstahl, D'angelo, Dstahl, D'angelo,... average is less than a year for each Executive Producer. Not very reassuring, no surprise the game is a mess of not fully completed ideas...
Correct me if i'm wrong but, if i'm not mistaken, D'Angelo was the man at the helm of the game when STO turned F2P and then... LOCKBOXES, rep systems and general grind started being intriduced as "great new content" instead of real playable fun content. I'm afraid this change means we're not going to see new content other tan lockboxes, "adventure grinding zones" and zen store items for the next months. Sad.
Best strategy list I've seen a dev post in awhile. Keep it up!
I know, right? This guy's gonna be awesome. Man, this is going to be the best year for me since that year when Iron Man and Dark Knight both came out. Now THAT was a good year.
I'm going to hold judgement for a few months, out of kindness. Given my experience with the last time, I'm not investing anything money wise into the game at all, my trust of the leadership of STO, is non existent.
Don't tell me what you're "going to do"
Tel me what you've "done."
Greetings All!
Third, there are lots of requests for more communication. I'll do me best to communicate regularly both directly and through the team. I can say that I'm not a forum person, and that I will probably communicate more via Dev Blogs than in the forums, but I'll post every now and then.
Mr. D'Angelo, welcome back to the helm. From your last tenure one form of communication I thought was the perfect balance between the old engineering reports and the scatter shot we get now was you "Short-term Roadmap" blogs. I feel they did give enough information as to what was actually going to land. I understand you want to have surprises but I am sure you could fill it with plenty of other things such as new costumes, re-mastered episodes, bug bashes, etc...
Also, as you take the helm I would like you to think about dev-player interaction. This especially for new systems that we will be using. It is one thing to make them the way you guys envision and another for us as players to use them. Many of the issues regarding the current grindiness in game could have been averted if there was community interaction at the ground level. Just take a look at the DOFF system and how that was handled. It is a rich system that was welcomed by the players because they felt they had investment in it through the development process. Sadly, the system has remained stagnant and DOFFs have merely become buff items and the system as a whole has suffered many nerfs leaving it a bit of a mess.
Regardless, if you guys are to upgrade more basic systems in game such as crafting, exploration, and PvP, please start with some community action. Realize that what you guys may think is fun to play may not be something we want to play everyday for the life of the game. Please go functionality-->Trekness--->Cool factor when developing. We can live with something that is highly functional but not as much Trek, what we can't live with is something that is not as functional, barely Trek, but cool.
ill give credit where credit do. at least steaphen d'angelo came and commented on several asspects of what we are conserned about.
maybe this tenture will be much better and prove to be outstanding and put d. stahl to shame. only time will tell.
Will the new guy delete the stupid loading screen about romulans?
Will the new guy delete scimitars ?
Will the new guy give a single shet about pvp?
if no ...no one cares.
I like the LoR loading screen.
What's wrong with Scimitars, anyway? Are you seriously asking for (and do you seriously expect) the Romulan Dreadnought 3-Pack which I bought to be taken away from me?
Most players don't seem to be terribly interested in PvP.
that's because they suck at one on one combat. Or don't work on their characters enough. Or both. Their snobbish lack of interest stems from their impotence with their characters.
Or from their lack of interest in being forced to interact with elitist jerks.
But that argument has already been hashed out elsewhere - let's just leave it at the fact that there's nothing the Executive Producer can do to make PvP any more popular than it is.
Many thanks to the many posters wishing me welcome to the job. As noted in the blog, I'm a huge Star Trek geek, and I absolutely love working with the team. It's a fabulous place to be!
Let me see if I can answer a few of the big questions posed on this thread...
First, Star Trek Online is no on its way into "maintenance mode". In fact, the team is larger than ever and STO is healthier than ever before. Cryptic is dedicated to not only supporting the game but growing it.
Second, this position isn't a temporary one for me. I'm not sure how long my tenure will be, but I expect to be here for at least three or four updates.
Third, there are lots of requests for more communication. I'll do me best to communicate regularly both directly and through the team. I can say that I'm not a forum person, and that I will probably communicate more via Dev Blogs than in the forums, but I'll post every now and then.
Fourth, there are lots of requests for what's coming next. I'm going to purposefully avoid talking too much about futures. Why? Because so much changes in the dev team on a regular basis that anything posted that discusses something more than two months out is subject to change. I will share as much as I can along the way, but you may get more hints than concrete information the further something is into the future.
Fifth, there are questions about strategy. My overall strategy comes in several parts:
1) Continue to fix things in the existing game. I believe in working to fix old bugs, clean up existing content, and otherwise look for ways to make existing play better. The revamped episodes coming in Season 8.5, along with the new starship switching features are examples of this kind of investment.
2) Continue to develop the story and new content. Most of the dev resources go into this effort. We know that you all show up for your fix of new Star Trek content, and that is the center of everything we do.
3) To work to stretch the game in new ways. I'll be working with the team to do new things and to change up the game to keep it fresh. A static and unchanging game gets stale. Change is part of growth, and I want to see STO grow. Change is scary for some people, however, and I'll work to keep you informed about scary changes well before they get live. I highly value the input of the community and want to make sure that we do what is best for the game as a whole.
At the moment, we're 100% focused on delivering an excellent 8.5 update and 4th anniversary celebration two weeks from today, and I'm off to work.
Stephen D'Angelo
Executive Producer
Star Trek Online
I read your dev blog, and I must say, those ships intrigue me. :P
Please think of the Foundry as part of the "existing game."
If you guys don't seriously devote some time to fixing the Foundry, the borked missions, and the UI, you won't have much of Foundry community left. Lots of folks have pretty much given up.
It's not worth my free time to make content for your game, when you guys don't maintain the toolset or give players a reliable way to find our missions. If you don't care, then neither do I.
The foundry is an important aspect of STO. Freely created new content that gives longevity to the game, why they're not fully behind this is a mystery to me. Without the dev's support it's just meaningless to even create the missions.
...ok, he's answered a lot of questions, and gave some good answers. But theres still one last thing i wanna know about Mr D'angelo....does he play a Caitian? =^.^=
Many thanks to the many posters wishing me welcome to the job. As noted in the blog, I'm a huge Star Trek geek, and I absolutely love working with the team. It's a fabulous place to be!
Let me see if I can answer a few of the big questions posed on this thread...
First, Star Trek Online is no on its way into "maintenance mode". In fact, the team is larger than ever and STO is healthier than ever before. Cryptic is dedicated to not only supporting the game but growing it.
Second, this position isn't a temporary one for me. I'm not sure how long my tenure will be, but I expect to be here for at least three or four updates.
Third, there are lots of requests for more communication. I'll do me best to communicate regularly both directly and through the team. I can say that I'm not a forum person, and that I will probably communicate more via Dev Blogs than in the forums, but I'll post every now and then.
Fourth, there are lots of requests for what's coming next. I'm going to purposefully avoid talking too much about futures. Why? Because so much changes in the dev team on a regular basis that anything posted that discusses something more than two months out is subject to change. I will share as much as I can along the way, but you may get more hints than concrete information the further something is into the future.
Fifth, there are questions about strategy. My overall strategy comes in several parts:
1) Continue to fix things in the existing game. I believe in working to fix old bugs, clean up existing content, and otherwise look for ways to make existing play better. The revamped episodes coming in Season 8.5, along with the new starship switching features are examples of this kind of investment.
2) Continue to develop the story and new content. Most of the dev resources go into this effort. We know that you all show up for your fix of new Star Trek content, and that is the center of everything we do.
3) To work to stretch the game in new ways. I'll be working with the team to do new things and to change up the game to keep it fresh. A static and unchanging game gets stale. Change is part of growth, and I want to see STO grow. Change is scary for some people, however, and I'll work to keep you informed about scary changes well before they get live. I highly value the input of the community and want to make sure that we do what is best for the game as a whole.
At the moment, we're 100% focused on delivering an excellent 8.5 update and 4th anniversary celebration two weeks from today, and I'm off to work.
Stephen D'Angelo
Executive Producer
Star Trek Online
Well this goes a great deal towards relieving some if not most of my fears. I'm glad STO isn't going into maintenance mode. With all you guys have on your plate, and with what's happened in the past, it's easy to worry that you guys have bitten off more than you can chew.
I'm really glad you like to squash bugs. But I wish there were a way to catch SOME of them first.
I don't envy you, you have a lot of house keeping to do and some of the problems with this game are starting to bust out at the seams.
I'm really happy that you are a Trekkie, because we're still missing a lot of the feel of
classic Trek.
What am I referring to?
The Grind, over story. We've had the grind factor increased, while the whole story seems to have floundered somewhat in my opinion.
Per example, what's going on with THE WAR ! Are things warming up, are we in a cold
war ?
One minute we're working together, the next minute who knows.
And by the way, where's the damned Klingon/Federation neutral zone? Talk about a great opportunity to add something new to PVP (a neutral zone screams open pvp) and it's also classic Trek.
I know you guys are working on tightening these things up, but please for Heaven's sake, remember to keep us entertained, not just busy. There has to be a better balance than what we have now.
so trying to be better at a game is elitist? yeah ok whatever. You just proved my point in spades. If you don't like MMORPGs, go play Commander Keen, or any other SINGLE PLAYER game alone. You won't have anybody with which to interact and you'll be alone, since that is what you and they want. So leave us the hell alone, and go spew your anti-social drivel elsewhere. :mad:
So many flaws in logic here. You personally trying to be better at a single facet of a game is not elitist. Your assumption that the disinterest in others for PvP stems automatically from them "sucking" or "not working on their character enough" is. The PURPOSE of MMORPGs is not PvP. It is a part of the game, but not the total of the game. If you prefer to PvP then by all means, have fun.
The idea that if a person does not want to PvP then they are anti-social is ridiculous. As far as social interaction goes in MMORPGs, in this game alone people can team up in STFs or to run episodes, they can team up to RP, they can chat in private messaging, in fleet chat, hang out playing Dabo on Drozana... and interact in so many other ways that are not dependent on PvP. Since you seem to be able to interact with other players only when trying to kill players in PvP... I would argue that the anti-social individual here... is you.
If you find few opportunities to interact socially outside of PvP... well... based upon this post of yours... I am not really surprised.
so trying to be better at a game is elitist? yeah ok whatever. You just proved my point in spades. If you don't like MMORPGs, go play Commander Keen, or any other SINGLE PLAYER game alone. You won't have anybody with which to interact and you'll be alone, since that is what you and they want. So leave us the hell alone, and go spew your anti-social drivel elsewhere. :mad:
Many ways of being social in-game exist beyond PvP. We speak Rihan in my fleet, do STFs together, do assorted other missions together, chat OOC and IC, ...
Did you ever consider the possibility that some people just don't like PvP? In most MMOs, PvP is hardly the draw that PvPers wish it were, even when it's done well in terms of game mechanics. Even in games which are billed specifically as PvP games, with unrestricted open-world PvP, there are other things to do, or those games wither and die.
Comments
I commented on another thread about this but while I admire the effort to clean up old missions (and applaud courting new players), I think you'd get an even bigger return on this if mission replay (even just spotlighting recently updated content) was more developed. I've also been a fan of reps tied to mission arc replay or an approach that I refer to as a story crafting system. I've outlined it a few times on the forums but the core idea is a system that handles subplots through loot drops and mission replay, helping to enrich the game universe by having plot twists that award buffs and gear accessed through item combos.
I think I've referred to it as Star Trek Clue.
Anyway, welcome, again. Good to see you dropping by here.
Great post Stephen.
I love the idea you want to start fixing the old bugs of the game, as this something that's beneficial for the game. People "Id think" want to get all those old bugs fixed and have a more pleasuring game experience. I also and hopefully love the idea you want to stretch STO in new ways. Get away from "boring" content and find new ways to stimulate the players. This is something I think the game needs drastically. I think for the most part players come on here and there to keep with the game, but I think its a better investment to keep your players "hooked" into the game daily. So hopefully you can find something for those wanting to be more committed to the game then just a weekly log in or month for that matter.
Key factors id suggest and which you have mentioned is to not say things ahead of time, which usually leads to.. "Hey you said you were doing this, now its not happening" type comments. Id suggest unless its 100% going to happen then don't say nothing haha. Be honest with the players. For me, I've been here since it all started, beta to head start then have continued to play now for coming up to 4 years. I respect someone that's honest rather someone that's full of hot air. So far I'm really liking the way your handling things. So cutos for that.
Overall, wish you the best of luck as our new EP, and I look forward to a more enjoyable experience compared to how the game has been handled thus far.
Cheers
Loc
Please think of the Foundry as part of the "existing game."
If you guys don't seriously devote some time to fixing the Foundry, the borked missions, and the UI, you won't have much of Foundry community left. Lots of folks have pretty much given up.
It's not worth my free time to make content for your game, when you guys don't maintain the toolset or give players a reliable way to find our missions. If you don't care, then neither do I.
In case you don't know, this is the state of the Foundry.
Here is a solution to our issues with the UI.
Best strategy list I've seen a dev post in awhile. Keep it up!
Correct me if i'm wrong but, if i'm not mistaken, D'Angelo was the man at the helm of the game when STO turned F2P and then... LOCKBOXES, rep systems and general grind started being intriduced as "great new content" instead of real playable fun content. I'm afraid this change means we're not going to see new content other tan lockboxes, "adventure grinding zones" and zen store items for the next months. Sad.
I really hope i'm wrong.
I know, right? This guy's gonna be awesome. Man, this is going to be the best year for me since that year when Iron Man and Dark Knight both came out. Now THAT was a good year.
Don't tell me what you're "going to do"
Tel me what you've "done."
Mr. D'Angelo, welcome back to the helm. From your last tenure one form of communication I thought was the perfect balance between the old engineering reports and the scatter shot we get now was you "Short-term Roadmap" blogs. I feel they did give enough information as to what was actually going to land. I understand you want to have surprises but I am sure you could fill it with plenty of other things such as new costumes, re-mastered episodes, bug bashes, etc...
Also, as you take the helm I would like you to think about dev-player interaction. This especially for new systems that we will be using. It is one thing to make them the way you guys envision and another for us as players to use them. Many of the issues regarding the current grindiness in game could have been averted if there was community interaction at the ground level. Just take a look at the DOFF system and how that was handled. It is a rich system that was welcomed by the players because they felt they had investment in it through the development process. Sadly, the system has remained stagnant and DOFFs have merely become buff items and the system as a whole has suffered many nerfs leaving it a bit of a mess.
Regardless, if you guys are to upgrade more basic systems in game such as crafting, exploration, and PvP, please start with some community action. Realize that what you guys may think is fun to play may not be something we want to play everyday for the life of the game. Please go functionality-->Trekness--->Cool factor when developing. We can live with something that is highly functional but not as much Trek, what we can't live with is something that is not as functional, barely Trek, but cool.
maybe this tenture will be much better and prove to be outstanding and put d. stahl to shame. only time will tell.
good luck d angelo
---
I like the LoR loading screen.
What's wrong with Scimitars, anyway? Are you seriously asking for (and do you seriously expect) the Romulan Dreadnought 3-Pack which I bought to be taken away from me?
Most players don't seem to be terribly interested in PvP.
But that argument has already been hashed out elsewhere - let's just leave it at the fact that there's nothing the Executive Producer can do to make PvP any more popular than it is.
I read your dev blog, and I must say, those ships intrigue me. :P
I'd also like to echo Kirks comment.
The foundry is an important aspect of STO. Freely created new content that gives longevity to the game, why they're not fully behind this is a mystery to me. Without the dev's support it's just meaningless to even create the missions.
Well this goes a great deal towards relieving some if not most of my fears. I'm glad STO isn't going into maintenance mode. With all you guys have on your plate, and with what's happened in the past, it's easy to worry that you guys have bitten off more than you can chew.
I'm really glad you like to squash bugs. But I wish there were a way to catch SOME of them first.
I don't envy you, you have a lot of house keeping to do and some of the problems with this game are starting to bust out at the seams.
Per example, the "Material files reloaded" anomaly and NOW, the problems some of us are having with serious missing graphic issues.
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=913941
I'm really happy that you are a Trekkie, because we're still missing a lot of the feel of
classic Trek.
What am I referring to?
The Grind, over story. We've had the grind factor increased, while the whole story seems to have floundered somewhat in my opinion.
Per example, what's going on with THE WAR ! Are things warming up, are we in a cold
war ?
One minute we're working together, the next minute who knows.
And by the way, where's the damned Klingon/Federation neutral zone? Talk about a great opportunity to add something new to PVP (a neutral zone screams open pvp) and it's also classic Trek.
I know you guys are working on tightening these things up, but please for Heaven's sake, remember to keep us entertained, not just busy. There has to be a better balance than what we have now.
Welcome to the forums. I like your goal set. Good luck!
https://youtube.com/channel/UCJZ5FBJ9bFaZ6yAFiNpZiRQ/featured?view_as=subscriber
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CaptainCidStorm
So many flaws in logic here. You personally trying to be better at a single facet of a game is not elitist. Your assumption that the disinterest in others for PvP stems automatically from them "sucking" or "not working on their character enough" is. The PURPOSE of MMORPGs is not PvP. It is a part of the game, but not the total of the game. If you prefer to PvP then by all means, have fun.
The idea that if a person does not want to PvP then they are anti-social is ridiculous. As far as social interaction goes in MMORPGs, in this game alone people can team up in STFs or to run episodes, they can team up to RP, they can chat in private messaging, in fleet chat, hang out playing Dabo on Drozana... and interact in so many other ways that are not dependent on PvP. Since you seem to be able to interact with other players only when trying to kill players in PvP... I would argue that the anti-social individual here... is you.
If you find few opportunities to interact socially outside of PvP... well... based upon this post of yours... I am not really surprised.
Many ways of being social in-game exist beyond PvP. We speak Rihan in my fleet, do STFs together, do assorted other missions together, chat OOC and IC, ...
Did you ever consider the possibility that some people just don't like PvP? In most MMOs, PvP is hardly the draw that PvPers wish it were, even when it's done well in terms of game mechanics. Even in games which are billed specifically as PvP games, with unrestricted open-world PvP, there are other things to do, or those games wither and die.