He played Decipher's Star Tre: TNG cardgame and Fleer's Star Trek TOS card game.
Some D'Angelo quotes:
On Star Trek TNG CCG:
The goal of the game is for a player to accomplish 100 points worth of missions. To do this, a player brings into play ships, personnel and equipment from the Federation, the Klingons, or the Romulans. Players choose their own missions, but they also can 'seed' the missions with obstacles called 'dilemmas'. The game plays out much like a Star Trek: The Next Generation TV episode with plot twists and lots of interaction.
The biggest problem with the game is that it is hard to field a playable deck. Starter decks are rarely playable by themselves. You will likely need 2 or 3 to even get enough Mission cards (and even then, you may not have personnel which can solve them). The other problem this game suffers from is that there are lots of abusive combinations that are almost certain game winners.
Dominion / Cardashian faction might be the secret purrject of Danny. Anyway, I wish we will get those tutorial corridors on the default bridge set, that would be the biggest thumbs up of the year.
"Everything about the Jham'Hadar is lethal!" - Eris
Original Join Date: January 30th, 2010
Dominion / Cardashian faction might be the secret purrject of Danny. Anyway, I wish we will get those tutorial corridors on the default bridge set, that would be the biggest thumbs up of the year.
He left the STO Team ... so NO !?
Patch Notes : Resolved an Issue, where people would accidently experience Fun.
I was one of the Dev leads that helped shape and create the game we launched with
This is nothing to be proud of. The game was a disaster at launch which would have killed any future for the game if wasn't for the fans. Most of the later devs spent years trying to fix the problems that were created from its original design. A lot of the game is still mired by it and can't reach its full potential because of it. Even the tech behind it all is so flawed that they can't fix all the long term bugs after all these years.
And the last time he was EP he seemed so out of touch with the players and made many bad choices and PR disasters.
What's also interesting is that he was a temporary EP while they were looking for someone else. Dan has obviously been preparing to leave for some time now and I doubt D'Angelo was their first choice, although he's probably the most qualified at this point. So they've had months to look for someone else. It's worrying they honestly couldn't find anyone else after all this time. Even last time they had trouble finding someone new and D'Angelo only got replaced because Stahl came back.
It's also sad that Stahl didn't write a farewell message but he's been silent for months anyway.
And come one, another game?! You've only just released Neverwinter, which tooks devs from both STO and CO to make. So this new game will probably take more from STO, take the last and remaining dev left on CO, and even some from Neverwinter. Quantity over quality. No wonder your original logo was a factory.
With the combination of the return of D'Angenlo's leadership, Geko being allowed to run rampant with his grind agenda and laserhead dinosaur ideas, and another game stealing more devs from STO, I've lost what little excitement I've had for the future of this game.
This is nothing to be proud of. The game was a disaster at launch which would have killed any future for the game if wasn't for the fans. Most of the later devs spent years trying to fix the problems that were created from its original design. A lot of the game is still mired by it and can't reach its full potential because of it. Even the tech behind it all is so flawed that they can't fix all the long term bugs after all these years.
And the last time he was EP he seemed so out of touch with the players and made many bad choices and PR disasters.
What's also interesting is that he was a temporary EP while they were looking for someone else. Dan has obviously been preparing to leave for some time now and I doubt D'Angelo was their first choice, although he's probably the most qualified at this point. So they've had months to look for someone else. It's worrying they honestly couldn't find anyone else after all this time. Even last time they had trouble finding someone new and D'Angelo only got replaced because Stahl came back.
It's also sad that Stahl didn't write a farewell message but he's been silent for months anyway.
And come one, another game?! You've only just released Neverwinter, which tooks devs from both STO and CO to make. So this new game will probably take more from STO, take the last and remaining dev left on CO, and even some from Neverwinter. Quantity over quality. No wonder your original logo was a factory.
With the combination of the return of D'Angenlo's leadership, Geko being allowed to run rampant with his grind agenda and laserhead dinosaur ideas, and another game stealing more devs from STO, I've lost what little excitement I've had for the future of this game.
You've hit the point.
I, like many people on the forums, also don't have many positive memories of the period during D'Angelo became EP.
Their way of doing things is just a PR-destructing copy&paste of EA's way to do things: Do a game, push out it in whatever state it is, MONEYZ!
CO is barely alive, STO has crossed the border after which a MMO is no more than a money machine, NW is taking away resources from both the former 2 games and still not doing anything more than what they're doing on STO.
Luckly i've got other games to play and other forums to read, because here things are not going to end too well.
So I do not know what to make of it. DStahl at least always had a small vision of where he wants like to see STO. The problem is that he only said what he would like and then came some **** like the Voth and Dinos with lasers have Flash installed head as in S8. What the all-want-what ought to have been almost done after 4 years and still is not in play.
At D'Angelo, I can only say that I have never seen the his 6 months. Has the time given to comment? Does he have a vision of the game? I think he is only ne puppet and therefore has the post.
It could have been worse but can also meet us. e.g. if CaptainGeko, which had the Dino idea would become. Then came safely next the Transformers into play, who want to conquer the home world of Alf and ET free from the hands of Darth Vader.
PS: Translated from german to english by google-translater, the official lokalisation-tool from Cryptic Studios and Perfect World for STO.
Uncertainty is certainly preferable to a predictable disaster. We stand ready for a journey of discovery, let us see if it goes beyond the point of recovery. Time will be the master, the future cannot arrive faster. Fortune favors the bold, unless it comes pre-sold. Let us do this thing before we're getting old. Welcome back to the fold?
With Stephen back, the 'economy revamps' talked about for S8.5 seem a lot more ominous now.
What do you mean? Just because we most likely will have to pay for taking missions now, All EC, Rep-marks and Dil savings we may have will be cut in half and "Updates" now means "Adding more things you have to pay for"...?
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
We don't want what the Feds have. We want the equivalent. We want fairer treatment. Concern, desire, greed to some extent, and passionate belief that the enough people would buy KDF items to make it worth Cryptic's while.
Just commit to any ideas and round them out fully. No more half baked bajors and Nukaras. If you're gonna take time and resources to make a release, make it timeless, not something that only has to last until next season.
Well said. this game has so many maps and areas that are usless. You go there one time for one mission and never return. Or you spend a few days there getting the Rep done and then never return. New Romulas, Bajor, DS9, Defera, Nukara Prime, Nimbus 3. All are useless after the missions are complete.
First I would like to thank Dan for his contribution, and most especially for his integrity. He resigned when ownership nerfed his promises the first time. The only reason I am still playing this game is because he delivered on some very challenging promises when he came back. I hope he left for positive reasons and would be quite happy to see him back with STO in any capacity. But the challenge now falls to everyones favourite ECH. I'm confident you will have a better time of it Stephen, than when you had to juggle two jobs.
The goal, as expressed by Dan, was to bring people back to the game. Lot's of people have toons, few play them, and fewer still spend money. My fleet is a good example. Most of my friends are gone. They check in from time to time, because they want this to be a great game, but then they leave. That's because the experience of Star Trek makes us feel inspired and heroic, but the experience of STO the game is one of futility. That's also why I never intend to put another real penny into this game. Since I rarely complain without offering solutions...
I believe Stephen that your plan needs to start here. If sensors detect futility, then lock phasers and fire... and use the kill setting because this is what it is for. :eek:
A feeling of futility creeps into this game in many ways, but I'm going to address four that I think you can fix within PWE's apparent business model. These are; PVP combat, foundary, rules instability, and factual inaccuracies.
(regarding PVP) ...The other is a major overhaul of a game element where the playerbase can't agree what the actual problem is.
Futility starts with PVP. I'm going to disagree with the above quote. I think people know that Premades stomping PUGs is the reason so many people hate PVP. It's a great game, full of tactical intricacy. Yet that that very strength means that players who can coordinate will trash players who can't. The Kirks feel frustrated and only come to grind dilithium. PUG PVP lovers know that any hope of victory is futile.
A long time ago, and under my preferred name, I believe I was the first to suggest separating PVP into two groups; PUGs and Premades would fight each other only. Since then my belief has become even more strict. If premade teams want to fight each other then they can form a private match. All public ques should be changed to break up current teams and assign missions and membership randomly.
This would mean that there would be only two ques (same vs same and FvK). If you ended the Fed/KDF war there could be only one. Missions (arena, cap and hold, something new) would be assigned randomly (since in training or war you dont get to choose your fights), and new teams would be assigned by the AI; either randomly or perhaps with disincentive for being on the same fleet. This will concentrate the player base and get the ques popping.
It will end PUG stomping. Sure, a premade might accidentally find itself together, but if the PVP community expands then who's going to take a ship that's been min / maxed for a team you probably won't be with... those toons you can play in private matches. After all, from a military standpoint it is rather silly to crew and equip real ships that can only fight with 4 specific other ships... since reality doesn't allow for "respawn".
:cool: To facilitate premade competition there should be a bonus hour for these private matches. Actually, there should be a bonus hour for PVP PUGS as well.
Ten@Mac1955: When I want to watch Trek I don't press F, I watch a rerun or a movie. What good is the foundary if I can't make decisions and write my own story?
Foundary currently equals futility or farming. I want new story content more than anything else, yet the thing I use the least is the foundary. The stories are good. I can even finish them, now that Captain Hunter let me in on the secret that the foundary is bugged if you arn't set to stop on dialogue . But foundary authors can't give us what we and they really want... an interactive experience. If we don't make our own decisions, with real consequences between options, then the STO foundary will never make you feel like the hero of the story.
The way STO is structured is like having a bad game master forced on you. If you play RPGs then you know a good gamemaster takes the game where the players direct and doesn't force you into his expectation. He plays the role of a sports referee... enforcing the rules but not determining the outcome. This means the players can enjoy success as their own, while their failures don't feel unfair. "Winning" a foundary mission is like getting one of those rewards for attendence... meaningless.
The episodic nature of STO missions is fine enough for featured episodes, because we all need to stay in the same larger universe. But if I'm not powerful enough to effect the outcome, then I'm not the hero of the story. Go there, press F, be told how wonderful I am. Futile.
We need real decision trees with conditional events and the ability to go where we chose within a campaign environment. Dan used to talk about making the foundary into each author's personal campaign. I would add that each mission should be structured like it was its own campaign.
Vogoth@jkname: It's always been difficult to stay ahead of the nerfbat.
I have 14 toons. They are only suitable for farming, though two are close to PVP worthy. They've all been hit with the nerfbat and set aside at some point. I actually keep the obsolete ones as a potential starting point for when rules change. That's because I know all my progress and accomplishment is futile.
I warned about this back when it was clear that paid respecs, restricted items, and rules changes would be linked as part of your business model. By expecting customers to pay for chaos in the rules, Cryptic has encouraged rules chaos and driven away customers. 'Bound to character' items/doffs/marks/dilithium and tracking reputation by toon rather than account has made it impossible for people to adapt to the changing environment. Like all evolution those who don't adapt die off, and those players who have had their time grinding made meaningless will leave the game as sure as dodos and dinosaurs are extinct.
Why should we invest our time in a game where we are made to feel powerless? That's what it is when you can't adapt. So people put their time into games where they can identify with their characters and not feel like they are going extinct.
:cool: I understand special items that are one per ship, but everything should be by account... even the reps. It's the only way that your time is valued equally if you have more than one character. Furthermore, there needs to be a vendor where we can exchange everything except EC back into the marks and dilithium it was purchased with.
As a case in point, last summer I did little with my free time that wasn't STO. I bought Zen because of promises kept about romulans and klingons, when I had thought I never would again. I invested this after a lot of thought about what they might or might not change. I stuck to fundimental things that hadn't altered in a while... and it was all for nothing; Because they changed threat control. Increased threat consoles originally added protection if you had threat control, but that was changed around when we got cruiser commands. The zen spent on new science ships and dilithium, the time grinding marks, all of it was a waste.
Until there is a vendor where I can get the value back that I have invested, Cryptic isn't worth my time. That's half your business model, since I won't be trading my time with people who have money and no time.
It's always been a risk to invest in one specific toon. So far 4 toons of mine are in ruin because of the new stuff cryptic has introduced over the past 6 months. 1 is still salvageable but I'm not sure how long.
Then there is the money issue. I don't believe PWE can be trusted with my investment. Whether that is deserved or not is beside the point. It's my perception and it governs my willingness to fund the company... and there goes the other half of the free to play business model.
I called this one 'factual inaccuracies' but I could have easily labelled it the 'clash of cultures'. You would have a better idea Mr. D'Angelo as to the moral strengths and failings of your business associates than we the public, but it takes only a brief skimming of the forums to see that there are a lot of people who believe Cryptic and PWE hide, dissemble, lie to them outright, and cheat their customers. As mentioned earlier, I think Dan did the honourable thing in difficult circumstances. I've only been online with Brandon a few times, but he's always struck me as a decent fellow just trying to do a crappy job. Personally I think it comes down to culture, and this may be the hardest to change and the most directly related to the feelings of futility in the player base.
The wild east has a different relationship to customers than there is in the west. We certainly don't expect charity from our businesses, but there is a basic shared value of the worth of the human being that cusomers here expect from the employees, and yes even the corporations they deal with. In today's China the customer is a disposeable entity. There are always more people; too many according to their government. If you exploit, cheat, or steal from them and you get a reputation then you can just bribe the right official and move on. So long as you 'save face' it's all good. This isn't a race thing... when I compare the service I get from Japanese, Korean, or Chinese from Taiwan with the service I get from a mainland Chinese company it is always like night and day.
:mad: This cultural divide is most pronounced with fans of Star Trek. The IP expouses ideals in direct opposition to the business culture of the wild east. So when 'factual inaccuracies' occur it demoralizes Trekkers. Personally I want to be able to give you lots of money to keep a great game going forever. But I feel futility when I see how the IP is treated, and I feel fultility when I'm treated as a disposable customer.
When the value in time or money is removed from one of our purchases, when rules are changed without release notes, when release notes are wrong, when promises are not kept, are we expected to not notice?... should we assume it's an error?... or is it just policy? Putting the information out there was the right way to engage trekkers. You took the occasional beating on the forums, but the silent majority of active players valued it. When you try and hide things now, we aren't fooled. The company doesn't save face... heck, I've scraped things off the bottom of my shoe that have more 'face' than PWE... we just go ahead with our lives and stop spending money here; Like most of my friends and fleet mates.
I'll salute the new Captain, but keep in mind it isn't the mutineers you need to worry about in STO. It's all the quiet resignations.
You lost me at "futility starts with PvP". Star Trek != PvP Star Trek was about exploring the "human condition", and painting a harsh picture of society's problems by exaggerating them through alien contact. It was never about fighting each other. :rolleyes:
If you cannot understand that, then you also cannot sit on your high horse and say this game is not Star Trek because you simply lack an understanding of what Star Trek really is.
since the announcement the bootlickers have come out and waiting to clean D'Angelo's shoes on general discussion. still a few of these threads have shown some reasonable ideas, so hopefully D'Angelo comes on introduces himself and any goals for the immediate future besides the anniversary.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
You lost me at "futility starts with PvP". Star Trek != PvP Star Trek was about exploring the "human condition", and painting a harsh picture of society's problems by exaggerating them through alien contact. It was never about fighting each other. :rolleyes:
If you cannot understand that, then you also cannot sit on your high horse and say this game is not Star Trek because you simply lack an understanding of what Star Trek really is.
Well, there's no surprise that some people don't read on when there is a wall of text, but just because I posted a long letter to the new EP doesn't mean I'm on a high horse. I actually agree with you... human condition... thematic study of today's issues through science fiction metaphors... but nothing I said above contradicts that.
I didn't claim star Trek was about fighting... I said the futility in the game begins there. Read on and I think you might agree.
since the announcement the bootlickers have come out and waiting to clean D'Angelo's shoes on general discussion. still a few of these threads have shown some reasonable ideas, so hopefully D'Angelo comes on introduces himself and any goals for the immediate future besides the anniversary.
Communication in this day and age? We can't have that, with all these tools made to make it easier for them to do it. :P
Please reconsider ARC. Please make it optional, at the least. PLEASE.
It seems the vast majority of your most active players (forum regulars) hate the idea... and while that's a small subset of the playerbase, I think it's an important constituency.
THE PLAYERS DO NOT WANT THIS.
I imagine Stephen, Brandon and Danson reading all this.
All three: look at those f.....g idiots
Dan: Stephen, you know what to do, you have your orders. Start with Phase 1
Stephen: yes Dan, every single item, ship and costume on character lock...
You lost me at "futility starts with PvP". Star Trek != PvP Star Trek was about exploring the "human condition", and painting a harsh picture of society's problems by exaggerating them through alien contact. It was never about fighting each other. :rolleyes:
If you cannot understand that, then you also cannot sit on your high horse and say this game is not Star Trek because you simply lack an understanding of what Star Trek really is.
Really? A game must be 'adapted' from the source material, it cannot be exactly like the source material. How can you explore the human condition in an online game? So your idea for sto is utter nonsense. Unless you make STO into HEAVY RAIN with a star trek skin and write episodic content every month and make the game a simulation where every action has a consequence and everything is possible.
Secondly, people want exploration and non combat missions? Those types of missions in STO are 'clickies' go here, click this thing, go here click this thing, if that is what sto should be then no wonder it has become so boring.
People don't play this game because it is fun, people play it because of a psychological addiction to get the carrot at the end of the stick. Why else would any grind through the same mission over and over and over every single day, what entertainment can be derived from that?
Luckily for me, every time I return to sto, my addiction lasts about two weeks and I'm off again for two years. Unfortunately for some people it never goes away.
Someone described it better in another thread, but STO is not making content to last, they are making content to tide over to the next season. Everything before it becomes useless, obsolete and unused. When season 9 comes, if there is no need to be in the voth zone, or your reputation is done you won't go back.
This is such a waste of resources and it stacks over the years. Rather than designing content which could be timeless, we have this.
People always use eve online as a comparison and rightly so. They design systems to last the life time of the game, not as short term content. One such system would be the worm hole system. Where thousands of players migrated to.
What does anyone in STO do when they log on? Dailies for marks and dilithium to get new gear, to get more powerful.
If people are willing to pay for it and it is profitable, then the company has met its goals, but why should they care about whether it is a good game or not.
I imagine Stephen, Brandon and Danson reading all this.
All three: look at those f.....g idiots
Dan: Stephen, you know what to do, you have your orders. Start with Phase 1
Stephen: yes Dan, every single item, ship and costume on character lock...
Naaaahh just kiddin
Actually, I think you are exactly right.
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
I am in total agreement with you on the pvp part. There needs to be a que for teams and one for people pugging.
I think one of the biggest problems with STO at the moment is the lack of any form of pve end game. It lacks content that requires teamwork and that is a challenge to players. I think it's time for the players to face real challenge that will push them to work with each other and will test their skills.
As far as nerfing of things go, it's the nature of a mmo to have that. The game not being static leads to change and sometimes it must occur for the overall health of the game. It's never fun to be nerfed but it's something you must just accept and adept to.
Star Trek Online has gotten vastly better over time and hopefully it will keep doing so. I would just hope that the developers start to see that their players both want a challenge and are ready for it as well.
Comments
He played Decipher's Star Tre: TNG cardgame and Fleer's Star Trek TOS card game.
Some D'Angelo quotes:
On Star Trek TNG CCG:
A fair summary, really.
Original Join Date: January 30th, 2010
He left the STO Team ... so NO !?
This is nothing to be proud of. The game was a disaster at launch which would have killed any future for the game if wasn't for the fans. Most of the later devs spent years trying to fix the problems that were created from its original design. A lot of the game is still mired by it and can't reach its full potential because of it. Even the tech behind it all is so flawed that they can't fix all the long term bugs after all these years.
And the last time he was EP he seemed so out of touch with the players and made many bad choices and PR disasters.
What's also interesting is that he was a temporary EP while they were looking for someone else. Dan has obviously been preparing to leave for some time now and I doubt D'Angelo was their first choice, although he's probably the most qualified at this point. So they've had months to look for someone else. It's worrying they honestly couldn't find anyone else after all this time. Even last time they had trouble finding someone new and D'Angelo only got replaced because Stahl came back.
It's also sad that Stahl didn't write a farewell message but he's been silent for months anyway.
And come one, another game?! You've only just released Neverwinter, which tooks devs from both STO and CO to make. So this new game will probably take more from STO, take the last and remaining dev left on CO, and even some from Neverwinter. Quantity over quality. No wonder your original logo was a factory.
With the combination of the return of D'Angenlo's leadership, Geko being allowed to run rampant with his grind agenda and laserhead dinosaur ideas, and another game stealing more devs from STO, I've lost what little excitement I've had for the future of this game.
You've hit the point.
I, like many people on the forums, also don't have many positive memories of the period during D'Angelo became EP.
Their way of doing things is just a PR-destructing copy&paste of EA's way to do things: Do a game, push out it in whatever state it is, MONEYZ!
CO is barely alive, STO has crossed the border after which a MMO is no more than a money machine, NW is taking away resources from both the former 2 games and still not doing anything more than what they're doing on STO.
Luckly i've got other games to play and other forums to read, because here things are not going to end too well.
At D'Angelo, I can only say that I have never seen the his 6 months. Has the time given to comment? Does he have a vision of the game? I think he is only ne puppet and therefore has the post.
It could have been worse but can also meet us. e.g. if CaptainGeko, which had the Dino idea would become. Then came safely next the Transformers into play, who want to conquer the home world of Alf and ET free from the hands of Darth Vader.
PS: Translated from german to english by google-translater, the official lokalisation-tool from Cryptic Studios and Perfect World for STO.
Stephan, "No computers. Just the wind and the sea and the stars to guide you" Picard from Generations.
---
To the New EP: What have you done with D'Stall's Post-it notes?
What do you mean? Just because we most likely will have to pay for taking missions now, All EC, Rep-marks and Dil savings we may have will be cut in half and "Updates" now means "Adding more things you have to pay for"...?
Cryptic is now working on 3 projects when it still can't even streamline STO yet.... >.>
There's something here.... some word that explains this situation...
Oh yes... Overextended.
I can't wait till Cryptic snaps from the bungie-cord being so tight for so long.
CUUCUUMBEER! "-With slight partigen with it."
Proud member or DPS-800 "-We kill dem mines with our scitter turrets."
Well said. this game has so many maps and areas that are usless. You go there one time for one mission and never return. Or you spend a few days there getting the Rep done and then never return. New Romulas, Bajor, DS9, Defera, Nukara Prime, Nimbus 3. All are useless after the missions are complete.
The goal, as expressed by Dan, was to bring people back to the game. Lot's of people have toons, few play them, and fewer still spend money. My fleet is a good example. Most of my friends are gone. They check in from time to time, because they want this to be a great game, but then they leave. That's because the experience of Star Trek makes us feel inspired and heroic, but the experience of STO the game is one of futility. That's also why I never intend to put another real penny into this game. Since I rarely complain without offering solutions...
I believe Stephen that your plan needs to start here. If sensors detect futility, then lock phasers and fire... and use the kill setting because this is what it is for. :eek:
A feeling of futility creeps into this game in many ways, but I'm going to address four that I think you can fix within PWE's apparent business model. These are; PVP combat, foundary, rules instability, and factual inaccuracies.
Futility starts with PVP. I'm going to disagree with the above quote. I think people know that Premades stomping PUGs is the reason so many people hate PVP. It's a great game, full of tactical intricacy. Yet that that very strength means that players who can coordinate will trash players who can't. The Kirks feel frustrated and only come to grind dilithium. PUG PVP lovers know that any hope of victory is futile.
A long time ago, and under my preferred name, I believe I was the first to suggest separating PVP into two groups; PUGs and Premades would fight each other only. Since then my belief has become even more strict. If premade teams want to fight each other then they can form a private match. All public ques should be changed to break up current teams and assign missions and membership randomly.
This would mean that there would be only two ques (same vs same and FvK). If you ended the Fed/KDF war there could be only one. Missions (arena, cap and hold, something new) would be assigned randomly (since in training or war you dont get to choose your fights), and new teams would be assigned by the AI; either randomly or perhaps with disincentive for being on the same fleet. This will concentrate the player base and get the ques popping.
It will end PUG stomping. Sure, a premade might accidentally find itself together, but if the PVP community expands then who's going to take a ship that's been min / maxed for a team you probably won't be with... those toons you can play in private matches. After all, from a military standpoint it is rather silly to crew and equip real ships that can only fight with 4 specific other ships... since reality doesn't allow for "respawn".
:cool: To facilitate premade competition there should be a bonus hour for these private matches. Actually, there should be a bonus hour for PVP PUGS as well.
Foundary currently equals futility or farming. I want new story content more than anything else, yet the thing I use the least is the foundary. The stories are good. I can even finish them, now that Captain Hunter let me in on the secret that the foundary is bugged if you arn't set to stop on dialogue . But foundary authors can't give us what we and they really want... an interactive experience. If we don't make our own decisions, with real consequences between options, then the STO foundary will never make you feel like the hero of the story.
The way STO is structured is like having a bad game master forced on you. If you play RPGs then you know a good gamemaster takes the game where the players direct and doesn't force you into his expectation. He plays the role of a sports referee... enforcing the rules but not determining the outcome. This means the players can enjoy success as their own, while their failures don't feel unfair. "Winning" a foundary mission is like getting one of those rewards for attendence... meaningless.
The episodic nature of STO missions is fine enough for featured episodes, because we all need to stay in the same larger universe. But if I'm not powerful enough to effect the outcome, then I'm not the hero of the story. Go there, press F, be told how wonderful I am. Futile.
We need real decision trees with conditional events and the ability to go where we chose within a campaign environment. Dan used to talk about making the foundary into each author's personal campaign. I would add that each mission should be structured like it was its own campaign.
I have 14 toons. They are only suitable for farming, though two are close to PVP worthy. They've all been hit with the nerfbat and set aside at some point. I actually keep the obsolete ones as a potential starting point for when rules change. That's because I know all my progress and accomplishment is futile.
I warned about this back when it was clear that paid respecs, restricted items, and rules changes would be linked as part of your business model. By expecting customers to pay for chaos in the rules, Cryptic has encouraged rules chaos and driven away customers. 'Bound to character' items/doffs/marks/dilithium and tracking reputation by toon rather than account has made it impossible for people to adapt to the changing environment. Like all evolution those who don't adapt die off, and those players who have had their time grinding made meaningless will leave the game as sure as dodos and dinosaurs are extinct.
Why should we invest our time in a game where we are made to feel powerless? That's what it is when you can't adapt. So people put their time into games where they can identify with their characters and not feel like they are going extinct.
:cool: I understand special items that are one per ship, but everything should be by account... even the reps. It's the only way that your time is valued equally if you have more than one character. Furthermore, there needs to be a vendor where we can exchange everything except EC back into the marks and dilithium it was purchased with.
As a case in point, last summer I did little with my free time that wasn't STO. I bought Zen because of promises kept about romulans and klingons, when I had thought I never would again. I invested this after a lot of thought about what they might or might not change. I stuck to fundimental things that hadn't altered in a while... and it was all for nothing; Because they changed threat control. Increased threat consoles originally added protection if you had threat control, but that was changed around when we got cruiser commands. The zen spent on new science ships and dilithium, the time grinding marks, all of it was a waste.
Until there is a vendor where I can get the value back that I have invested, Cryptic isn't worth my time. That's half your business model, since I won't be trading my time with people who have money and no time.
Then there is the money issue. I don't believe PWE can be trusted with my investment. Whether that is deserved or not is beside the point. It's my perception and it governs my willingness to fund the company... and there goes the other half of the free to play business model.
I called this one 'factual inaccuracies' but I could have easily labelled it the 'clash of cultures'. You would have a better idea Mr. D'Angelo as to the moral strengths and failings of your business associates than we the public, but it takes only a brief skimming of the forums to see that there are a lot of people who believe Cryptic and PWE hide, dissemble, lie to them outright, and cheat their customers. As mentioned earlier, I think Dan did the honourable thing in difficult circumstances. I've only been online with Brandon a few times, but he's always struck me as a decent fellow just trying to do a crappy job. Personally I think it comes down to culture, and this may be the hardest to change and the most directly related to the feelings of futility in the player base.
The wild east has a different relationship to customers than there is in the west. We certainly don't expect charity from our businesses, but there is a basic shared value of the worth of the human being that cusomers here expect from the employees, and yes even the corporations they deal with. In today's China the customer is a disposeable entity. There are always more people; too many according to their government. If you exploit, cheat, or steal from them and you get a reputation then you can just bribe the right official and move on. So long as you 'save face' it's all good. This isn't a race thing... when I compare the service I get from Japanese, Korean, or Chinese from Taiwan with the service I get from a mainland Chinese company it is always like night and day.
:mad: This cultural divide is most pronounced with fans of Star Trek. The IP expouses ideals in direct opposition to the business culture of the wild east. So when 'factual inaccuracies' occur it demoralizes Trekkers. Personally I want to be able to give you lots of money to keep a great game going forever. But I feel futility when I see how the IP is treated, and I feel fultility when I'm treated as a disposable customer.
When the value in time or money is removed from one of our purchases, when rules are changed without release notes, when release notes are wrong, when promises are not kept, are we expected to not notice?... should we assume it's an error?... or is it just policy? Putting the information out there was the right way to engage trekkers. You took the occasional beating on the forums, but the silent majority of active players valued it. When you try and hide things now, we aren't fooled. The company doesn't save face... heck, I've scraped things off the bottom of my shoe that have more 'face' than PWE... we just go ahead with our lives and stop spending money here; Like most of my friends and fleet mates.
I'll salute the new Captain, but keep in mind it isn't the mutineers you need to worry about in STO. It's all the quiet resignations.
Nerfing is Fraud...
If you cannot understand that, then you also cannot sit on your high horse and say this game is not Star Trek because you simply lack an understanding of what Star Trek really is.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Well, there's no surprise that some people don't read on when there is a wall of text, but just because I posted a long letter to the new EP doesn't mean I'm on a high horse. I actually agree with you... human condition... thematic study of today's issues through science fiction metaphors... but nothing I said above contradicts that.
I didn't claim star Trek was about fighting... I said the futility in the game begins there. Read on and I think you might agree.
Nerfing is Fraud...
Communication in this day and age? We can't have that, with all these tools made to make it easier for them to do it. :P
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It seems the vast majority of your most active players (forum regulars) hate the idea... and while that's a small subset of the playerbase, I think it's an important constituency.
THE PLAYERS DO NOT WANT THIS.
All three: look at those f.....g idiots
Dan: Stephen, you know what to do, you have your orders. Start with Phase 1
Stephen: yes Dan, every single item, ship and costume on character lock...
Naaaahh just kiddin
Really? A game must be 'adapted' from the source material, it cannot be exactly like the source material. How can you explore the human condition in an online game? So your idea for sto is utter nonsense. Unless you make STO into HEAVY RAIN with a star trek skin and write episodic content every month and make the game a simulation where every action has a consequence and everything is possible.
Secondly, people want exploration and non combat missions? Those types of missions in STO are 'clickies' go here, click this thing, go here click this thing, if that is what sto should be then no wonder it has become so boring.
People don't play this game because it is fun, people play it because of a psychological addiction to get the carrot at the end of the stick. Why else would any grind through the same mission over and over and over every single day, what entertainment can be derived from that?
Luckily for me, every time I return to sto, my addiction lasts about two weeks and I'm off again for two years. Unfortunately for some people it never goes away.
Someone described it better in another thread, but STO is not making content to last, they are making content to tide over to the next season. Everything before it becomes useless, obsolete and unused. When season 9 comes, if there is no need to be in the voth zone, or your reputation is done you won't go back.
This is such a waste of resources and it stacks over the years. Rather than designing content which could be timeless, we have this.
People always use eve online as a comparison and rightly so. They design systems to last the life time of the game, not as short term content. One such system would be the worm hole system. Where thousands of players migrated to.
What does anyone in STO do when they log on? Dailies for marks and dilithium to get new gear, to get more powerful.
If people are willing to pay for it and it is profitable, then the company has met its goals, but why should they care about whether it is a good game or not.
Actually, I think you are exactly right.
What economy revamp?
R.I.P
I think one of the biggest problems with STO at the moment is the lack of any form of pve end game. It lacks content that requires teamwork and that is a challenge to players. I think it's time for the players to face real challenge that will push them to work with each other and will test their skills.
As far as nerfing of things go, it's the nature of a mmo to have that. The game not being static leads to change and sometimes it must occur for the overall health of the game. It's never fun to be nerfed but it's something you must just accept and adept to.
Star Trek Online has gotten vastly better over time and hopefully it will keep doing so. I would just hope that the developers start to see that their players both want a challenge and are ready for it as well.