I hope they can add the mechanics form this mission to future ones. Stuff like the varying paths every playthrough. It really adds replay value to story missions that would otherwise be done once and ever touched again. If you want to make story content which holds onto players for a little, make different scenarios every time you play.
If you have not played the revamped FED Klingon War episodes yet, replay Ultimate Klingon, In the second part where you enter the lab you may like the change there too
The feds must first admit to themselves that the KDF were right about the Undine and then humble themselves when they come groveling for Klingon forgiveness.
It is fitting that once again the Undine play the Federation for fools a 2nd time.
Fool them once shame on you, Fool them twice shame on Them :P
I simply would have been happy with a " No s#!t" response from our famed Bortasqu captain who was there.
One of the best FEs Cryptic has done for STO to date. The spacewalk was really interesting on this one - I liked the fact I needed to figure out how to maneuver in the suit myself, and the graphics and general setup (with the flavor text of the player's ship having systems fail, etc while close to the sun) really added to the immersive quality of the episode.
I do think Tim Russ did the best VO of the recent slate of Star Trek actors Cryptic has managed to get to work in STO (Denise Crosby and Michael Dorn); but I will say, the fact that Tuvok is a Vulcan makes it easier on Tim Russ as emotional nuance isn't really needed for a logical/emotionless Vulcan character. Still, the story worked, and they gave Tuvok a lot of good dialogue.
I also loved that you gave us (the players) dialogue response options; and finally wrote something that didn't overtly feel as the guest star was leading us around. It helps with the feeling that our character is the 'hero' here, and a main character making a recognized name for him/herself in the STO universe.
^^^
I hope this trend continues in FEs of the future; and I'm somewhat looking forward to the continuation (well there was a 'to be continued' at the end) in STO Season 9.
Lastly, thanks for going back to the practise of FULLY voicing all the other main character's dialogue in "A Step Between The Stars" - and not continuing with just having them do the first sentence like you guys did in the Season 8 FE - "The Sphere". If you're going to have a character speak, he/she needs to speak the full dialogue.
Overall, a really nice job by all involved with this latest FE. Make more like this, please.:D;)
I fully agree with this. The VOs, the quality, the dialogue options...I mean, this was ****ing awesome.
Yes, Tim Russ was good--a little stilted at times, perhaps trying too hard to be Tuvok again--but good. Better than Denise Crosby, who sounded too...well, careful for a Romulan empress in a gratuitously OP dreadnought all set to kill you.
And as much as I like Michael Dorn, his VO work did come off as rather flat at times, especially when I compare it to his big-screen runs in First Contact and Insurrection. ("Assimilate THIS!" *pow* *KRACKOOM*)
The dialogue options were really nice, and the different options for the mission are going to make it so fun to replay. The sun shield room reminded me of series 1, episode 2 of the new Dr. Who (Ninth Doctor and Rose see the end of the world), in a very fun way.
So yeah. Awesome. The devs really outdid themselves.
Oh, and the visuals...I mean, holy **** those were awesome.
Now Cryptic needs to get Robert Picardo and Jeri Ryan to come in has the Doctor and Seven to help create a way to detect Undine infiltrators in the next FE.
The climax could be that once their detection method is finished that it's revealed that J'mpok or at the very least one of his top advisors was in fact an Undine infiltrator.
The above could help the Feds save a bit of face and show the Klingons that even they were not completely safe from the Undine.
The road for peace between the KDF and the Federation will begin to be paved.
I fully support this. Let's get a petition together off-site and send it to the devs once we have a few thousand signatures.
I enjoyed everything about the mission/story as well. I'm glad they let me keep that space suite.
One day Cryptic will be free from their Perfect World overlord. Until that day comes, they will continue to pamper the whales of this game, and ignore everyone that isn't a whale.
I hope they can add the mechanics form this mission to future ones. Stuff like the varying paths every playthrough. It really adds replay value to story missions that would otherwise be done once and ever touched again. If you want to make story content which holds onto players for a little, make different scenarios every time you play.
Glad you noticed. This is definitely something we're trying to do more. You'll definitely see more of this coming up.
Yeah, the current FE is by far the best mission I've seen in the game. The voice acting all worked, the maps were great, and finally all that learning to fly on Risa had a practical use.
Really enjoyed the mission. I also liked playing it multiple times to get different things to happen, that was awesome. Tuvok did a really good job as well, my fiancee' and I nerded out hard when he started to talk. Looking forward to more story missions.
Sardak (Science Officer): Captain of a 23k DPS R'Mor Temporal Science Vessel, R.R.W. Vathos Odan Brota (Science Officer): Captain of a 28k DPS Scryer Intel Science Vessel, U.S.S. Kepler Patiently waiting for a Romulan Science Vessel
I didn't saw klingons as bad guys there. Koren (I believe that is kdf captain name) is just representing interests of kdf. She was acting like real klingon, it would have been bad if they all agreed at the same moment. You have to have in mind that they are still at war with federation. We will see how will negotiations go (smoothly or there will be some undine problems) . Can't wait
I've only played it as a Fed captain, and, Koren had a point. The Republic captain is immediately like "yay, another Sphere for the Romulans" to which Koren's response is a perfectly reasonable "oh come the **** on". There's a point where a collaboration has gone from you helping someone for mutual benefit to them taking advantage of you, and this was definitely on the latter side of that line.
They should have made that into 3 missions, each giving enough q mendations to have the ship in the end of all 3.... And each 1 set piece. Then this anyversary might have been a success...
I've only played it as a Fed captain, and, Koren had a point. The Republic captain is immediately like "yay, another Sphere for the Romulans" to which Koren's response is a perfectly reasonable "oh come the **** on". There's a point where a collaboration has gone from you helping someone for mutual benefit to them taking advantage of you, and this was definitely on the latter side of that line.
When you play it as KDF or a K-Rom, you get Shon and the Enterprise-F coming to claim Federation interests... reminding everyone that until you messed things up by flinging the Jenolan Sphere to who-knows-where, it was in Federation territory, was discovered by Federation ships, and up to this time had been researched solely by Federation scientists.
And then you call him out on it, demanding how the Federation can claim something they didn't build (which, to be honest, neither of the other two parties can claim it on those grounds, either).
On another note, I liked seeing the bridge officers/command crew of each of the flagships being there at Joint Command. Even though you don't get to interact with them there, it's a nice little setup for the flagships coming in to assist you in your unfamiliar ship.
I'm so glad you all liked the mission! It was a blast creating it every step of the way.
You were in charge of it?
If so, you seriously deserve a hefty salary hike and a nice promotion. And two months in Tahiti with pretty topless waiters/waitresses (depending on your preference) with Mai Tais at your beck and call.
Less seriously, MARRY ME!!!!!
(That's starting to become my new catchphrase for when I really like something in this game. Huh.)
You really outdid yourselves on this. I only have a few complains, mostly minor (which have mostly been mentioned). So much wonderfulness contained in it that I am ecstatic about. Keep up the awesome work.
i have to agree with the OP , the FE was fun , i love some of the new assets in the mission , ev suit containers etc . VO work was great .
overall a great addition to the story arc .
I'll echo many of the sentiments as well. This was incredibly well-scripted and acted, and had a solid plot where the player's choice finally had an impact. The environment was well-done and you could feel the sense of danger by being so close to a sun. This episode seemed more like Star Trek than many others and is truly a step in the right direction to keep this game relevant for the future.
Glad you noticed. This is definitely something we're trying to do more. You'll definitely see more of this coming up.
I am all for different possible paths to take in a mission, but I'm not sure the randomness is a great idea. Surely you could have hooked up the different scenarios to our choosing of dialogue (and actions).
But sure, very nice mission.
TOIVA, Toi Vaxx, Toia Vix, Toveg, T'vritha, To Vrax: Bring in the Allegiance class. Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider. Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.
If so, you seriously deserve a hefty salary hike and a nice promotion. And two months in Tahiti with pretty topless waiters/waitresses (depending on your preference) with Mai Tais at your beck and call.
Less seriously, MARRY ME!!!!!
(That's starting to become my new catchphrase for when I really like something in this game. Huh.)
I did all the environment art for all maps, with a bit of help from another artist for the final map at the end of the mission. However I don't want to take all the credit. As for the content itself, that was all Mr.McCann. It was an awesome collaborative project with contributions from all departments on the STO team.
I did all the environment art for all maps, with a bit of help from another artist for the final map at the end of the mission. However I don't want to take all the credit. As for the content itself, that was all Mr.McCann. It was an awesome collaborative project with contributions from all departments on the STO team.
You have got to put that "low orbit of a star" space map in the Foundry. Please please please!!! It is incredible and I have tried all manner of ways to turn planet assets into stars and they of course don't look even half as good.
The use of tech was excellent and it was great to see both old and new tricks used to great effect. Visuals were as good as ever and the recreation of the Jenolean Dyson Sphere was spot on.
At the same time as you were wowing us with the visuals and effects, you were also crafting a rich story. There were twists and turns and I didn't see the ending coming. I especially liked how you got me to buy the character of the lead scientist while keeping it a surprise that he was an Undine. I also love the interaction between the three factions at the end showing of fragile this alliance truly is. Top form.
Combat was both engaging and well tied to the story. It felt like the battles I fought belonged as part of the story. The puzzles were great about breaking things up and keeping the mission from falling to much into dialog or too much combat. And then as icing on the cake, you mix things up with random elements for that extra replayability value.
I've said before (in relation to Foundry missions) that the key to making a truly great mission is getting the three elements of story, gameplay, and environment to all work togething in harmony and I think this episode achieved it.
Comments
If you have not played the revamped FED Klingon War episodes yet, replay Ultimate Klingon, In the second part where you enter the lab you may like the change there too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBNxGZP49ls
I simply would have been happy with a " No s#!t" response from our famed Bortasqu captain who was there.
R.I.P
I fully agree with this. The VOs, the quality, the dialogue options...I mean, this was ****ing awesome.
Yes, Tim Russ was good--a little stilted at times, perhaps trying too hard to be Tuvok again--but good. Better than Denise Crosby, who sounded too...well, careful for a Romulan empress in a gratuitously OP dreadnought all set to kill you.
And as much as I like Michael Dorn, his VO work did come off as rather flat at times, especially when I compare it to his big-screen runs in First Contact and Insurrection. ("Assimilate THIS!" *pow* *KRACKOOM*)
The dialogue options were really nice, and the different options for the mission are going to make it so fun to replay. The sun shield room reminded me of series 1, episode 2 of the new Dr. Who (Ninth Doctor and Rose see the end of the world), in a very fun way.
So yeah. Awesome. The devs really outdid themselves.
Oh, and the visuals...I mean, holy **** those were awesome.
I fully support this. Let's get a petition together off-site and send it to the devs once we have a few thousand signatures.
Glad you noticed. This is definitely something we're trying to do more. You'll definitely see more of this coming up.
Odan Brota (Science Officer): Captain of a 28k DPS Scryer Intel Science Vessel, U.S.S. Kepler
Patiently waiting for a Romulan Science Vessel
I've only played it as a Fed captain, and, Koren had a point. The Republic captain is immediately like "yay, another Sphere for the Romulans" to which Koren's response is a perfectly reasonable "oh come the **** on". There's a point where a collaboration has gone from you helping someone for mutual benefit to them taking advantage of you, and this was definitely on the latter side of that line.
Environment Artist on Neverwinter Online
Find me on Twitter
When you play it as KDF or a K-Rom, you get Shon and the Enterprise-F coming to claim Federation interests... reminding everyone that until you messed things up by flinging the Jenolan Sphere to who-knows-where, it was in Federation territory, was discovered by Federation ships, and up to this time had been researched solely by Federation scientists.
And then you call him out on it, demanding how the Federation can claim something they didn't build (which, to be honest, neither of the other two parties can claim it on those grounds, either).
On another note, I liked seeing the bridge officers/command crew of each of the flagships being there at Joint Command. Even though you don't get to interact with them there, it's a nice little setup for the flagships coming in to assist you in your unfamiliar ship.
You were in charge of it?
If so, you seriously deserve a hefty salary hike and a nice promotion. And two months in Tahiti with pretty topless waiters/waitresses (depending on your preference) with Mai Tais at your beck and call.
Less seriously, MARRY ME!!!!!
(That's starting to become my new catchphrase for when I really like something in this game. Huh.)
overall a great addition to the story arc .
Upvote.
Well you should all have beaming smiles of pride on your faces. It was a joy and pleasure to play and experience.
I am all for different possible paths to take in a mission, but I'm not sure the randomness is a great idea. Surely you could have hooked up the different scenarios to our choosing of dialogue (and actions).
But sure, very nice mission.
Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider.
Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.
Don't make ARC mandatory! Keep it optional only!
I did all the environment art for all maps, with a bit of help from another artist for the final map at the end of the mission. However I don't want to take all the credit. As for the content itself, that was all Mr.McCann. It was an awesome collaborative project with contributions from all departments on the STO team.
Environment Artist on Neverwinter Online
Find me on Twitter
You have got to put that "low orbit of a star" space map in the Foundry. Please please please!!! It is incredible and I have tried all manner of ways to turn planet assets into stars and they of course don't look even half as good.
You're cheating on me? :mad:
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
YOU'RE cheating on ME?! :mad:
The use of tech was excellent and it was great to see both old and new tricks used to great effect. Visuals were as good as ever and the recreation of the Jenolean Dyson Sphere was spot on.
At the same time as you were wowing us with the visuals and effects, you were also crafting a rich story. There were twists and turns and I didn't see the ending coming. I especially liked how you got me to buy the character of the lead scientist while keeping it a surprise that he was an Undine. I also love the interaction between the three factions at the end showing of fragile this alliance truly is. Top form.
Combat was both engaging and well tied to the story. It felt like the battles I fought belonged as part of the story. The puzzles were great about breaking things up and keeping the mission from falling to much into dialog or too much combat. And then as icing on the cake, you mix things up with random elements for that extra replayability value.
I've said before (in relation to Foundry missions) that the key to making a truly great mission is getting the three elements of story, gameplay, and environment to all work togething in harmony and I think this episode achieved it.
My only question is, how will you top this?
Taco, I told you that the frosted flakes was a better choice of cereal for you. :rolleyes:
If you count eating hamburgers lately instead of tacos, yes, and I'm proud of it. But don't worry. You'll always share a special place in my stomach.
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
Season 9 Feature Episode with Patrick Stewart, that's how.
-Leonard Nimoy, RIP
Tacos, tacos please... there are still plenty of BranFlakes to go around.
#SmirkZing