After playing around on tribble, the 4 active, 4 passive, 4 usable is TRIBBLE, the power changes are TRIBBLE. The way you get rep is fine but everything else is TRIBBLE.
Leveling reps was as much about passives as it was gear (and some reps it was just about the passives). Why should we suffer for leveling reps by having to pick a handful of the time-consuming-earned passives we have.
Why should we even both leveling reps at all with this change? What is Cryptic thinking? They need to leave the rep passives as is, the more time you spend working reps the more passives you should have, PERIOD. Something about more time spent in game = more powerful (Like it is now). The change is like this "wah, i'm a new 50 and want to be just as good as people who have been 50 for a long time, they have all those powers i want, wah"
New rep ability slotting = telling veterans "All that work you did, TOO BAD!!!"
As it is now = "Thank you for continuing playing this game, your reward is you are more powerful since you have spent more time."
I could go on but it would just get redundant.
Okay. Let me describe a situation I just encountered:
Mirror Incursion Event. Decided to bring my "neglected" Fed Engie in his Gal-X through this. His neglect was major - he only had one rep line done - Dyson via a sponsorship token and the dailies in his cloaked Galaxy-X. Gearwise, he's okay for "old school" - full slate of [borg] modifier phasers, Borg quantum torp fore, Transphasic aft. 3 parts of the Dyson rep set (Core, Engine, Shields) and the Assimilated Mk XI deflector.
Goal was to run up Nukara rep with the mirror rewards, and to run up Omega rep with the 500 marks still sitting on his account from the ancient conversion box - both sponsored to make this quick and painless.
First days of the event, he couldn't even pop a frigate in the time it took a new spawn to build. Before I knew it, he was getting overwhelmed with 10 frigates and a pair of Typhoons because I was left alone to try to close 2 rifts. Ship would pop under that level (15 beams worth) of withering fire...
Twoard the end of the event, I had T4 in both Omega and Nukara. Offensive space passives across the board. He could actually pop frigate waves with a couple of BFaWs, and close a rift if the RNG gods were somewhat useful. Because I could take out a whole wave, if things were going downhill I could at least BFaW spam to keep space clear of frigate-spam leaving me to tank 2-3 typhoons, a feat the Galaxy-X is remarkably capable of.
Now, if a neglected and semi-geared character that has the European Launch accolade on him has a "problem" with "current normal event content", imagine how bad it would be for a fresh mint L50 still running a rainbow Mk X set with a dual cannon to add skittle flavor to it - remember, taste the rainbow, blast the rainbow... :P
Meanwhile, my Fed Sci Main in his Vesta was rolling over the same content, popping typhoons in about 2 sets of CSV/Torp spread, and doing his usual science-officer "frigate pack? What frigate pack?"...
Now, to tie this into your "vets in old system = reward for time played" line, how many of these "well equipped" vets were complaining that Incursion was so easy that they had 3 to 5 minutes of wait in their mission? Or are you planning on requesting the Devs close off all teaming events from "new" players till they do the month(s) of grind that are (or will eventually be) required to match the vets?
And, before you even attempt to go there, Elite vs Normal should be 25% gear, 75% skill. Not the place where "long time vets" go for their challenge while the "newbies" are grinding out normals for less payout...
Detecting big-time "anti-old-school" bias here. NX? Lobi. TOS/TMP Connie? Super-promotion-box. (aka the two hardest ways to get ships) Excelsior & all 3 TNG "big hero" ships? C-Store. Please Equalize...
To rob a line: [quote: Mariemaia Kushrenada] Forum Posting is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever. However, opinions will change upon the reading of my post.[/quote]
What? When did they say that, and what did they actually say?
They said they weren't going to build a new engine. They are not going to drastically change how the game works. They said that they have to maintain a certain degree of backward compatibility, and by inference their core code has to be compatible across all of the Cryptic games.
But I've never heard them say that the code is static and can't be changed.
Not sure what you mean by that.
I can agree with this, but the only thing that this has to do with game evolution is adjusting Borg and Undine for balance and power creep.
The other points you made are subjective... they are certainly not required to evolve the game, they're just examples of changes you'd like to see.
Consider that the same core game engine is running three different games, not to mention anything they might have in development. Gameplay is similar, but not identical.
Comparing that to something like EVE, which has an engine that only needs to support one game, is comparing apples to oranges. I imagine if you tried to port that code (EVE) over to a different game, it would be a trainwreck worse than Cryptic's worst nightmare (Season 4).
Cryptic's code is certainly not without its' issues, but it is versatile and they're constantly improving it across three different games. I'm not going to get into a debate about whether that qualifies as 'evolution'.
At the minimum they should make the factions as powerful as they should be and just maybe they don't have to limit the reputation system to a measly 4 traits / 4 active.
Maybe once this revamp is a smashing success according to the One Metric to Rule Them All, regardless of irrelevant player feedback, they can take the war on power creep to the next logical level following the same tried-and-true pattern:
Change all Commander BOff stations to Lt. Commander, and buff some of the Lt. Commander BOff powers. Allow respeccing BOff powers free anytime one isn't in combat. Just like the Rep powers, it wouldn't be taking anything away because, y'know, buffed some... :rolleyes:
Maybe once this revamp is a smashing success according to the One Metric to Rule Them All, regardless of irrelevant player feedback, they can take the war on power creep to the next logical level following the same tried-and-true pattern:
Change all Commander BOff stations to Lt. Commander, and buff some of the Lt. Commander BOff powers. Allow respeccing BOff powers free anytime one isn't in combat. Just like the Rep powers, it wouldn't be taking anything away because, y'know, buffed some... :rolleyes:
are you asking for it go go back to the way it was the first year? I like having the advantage over the npcs. The hero of the show shouldnt be under powered. (I.E the players who like to RP Trek themes) ...and that dustbuster phaser pistol was murder to use!
and just maybe they don't have to limit the reputation system to a measly 4 traits / 4 active.
You know, I wasn't entirely happy with the 4/4/4 change either.
But I've come to expect certain things from the Dev team and I recognize the wisdom of creating a limit and starting out with a lower limit.
4/4/4 can later be changed to 8/8/4 if they see a reason to, and that won't upset too many people.
8/8/4 can not later be backed down to 4/4/4 without starting a second riot, much like the one they're enduring right now.
They know they have to take the hit sooner or later, so they'd just as soon get it over with now so anything they might do to relax the limits later on will be perceived as a win.
To be honest, I'll be surprised if there's still a hard limit of 4/4/4 by the end of 2015. I think they're going to ultimately decide that is too limiting and provide some kind of increase.
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
You know, wasn't entirely happy with the 4/4/4 change either.
But I've come to expect certain things from the Dev team and I recognize the wisdom of creating a limit and starting out with a lower limit.
4/4/4 can later be changed to 8/8/4 if they see a reason to, and that won't upset too many people.
8/8/4 can not later be backed down to 4/4/4 without starting a second riot, much like the one they're enduring right now.
They know they have to take the hit sooner or later, so they'd just as soon get it over with now so anything they might do to relax the limits later on will be perceived as a win.
To be honest, I'll be surprised if there's still a hard limit of 4/4/4 by the end of 2015. I think they're going to ultimately decide that is too limiting and provide some kind of increase.
That's sound logical but not. On tribble I see players steam rolling new content with the reputation being limited. Heck. I steamrolled content with no bridge officers.
Due to the problem of the new content especially trashing video cards. Due to zone gimmicks with all the graphics, Cryptic might have to decrease content so people will go to the zone. Since there is no reputation to go there. Now if they make. the Undone harder the Borg has to be harder.
Then the cap also sucks. Overall a bad move. Now some PvP players will choose offense. steam rolling fresh lvl 50 players with the increase buffs. As I find a way to increase. offense and defense surpassing the old rep system on tribble.
Then the cap also sucks. Overall a bad move. Now some PvP players will choose offense. steam rolling fresh lvl 50 players with the increase buffs. As I find a way to increase. offense and defense surpassing the old rep system on tribble.
... which is why it will be nerfed by the end , so the "we're taking away your powers but we're buffing the ones you'll have" is complete BS .
(just like the new "pug" PVP queue that is not a pug at all)
But hey , as long as we can look forward to the Iconians never invading , things will be grand ... .
None of this cryptic BS matters anymore. thousands of us vets have already or are in the process of getting their star citizen packages. what you the devs have done to this game is a complete joke. thrown the vets under the bus. have tested on tribble a you [devs] are liars and u know it you changed nothing or tweaked nothing on tribble. its all lies. you the devs have killed this game for the vets and you are gonna pay in your wallets ' as thousands of us have already shut our wallets for good.I really hope jeff[hawk]with all of your 10hrs in your starship you are satisfied. to most of us you are nothing but a liar and have destroyed this game for all of us. we need to get these devs out and get new 1s because the trust issues with these devs cannot ever be fixed. call for their heads together and lets get them gone. although it is really to late to fix any of this mess they have created And by the way jeff how does it feel to be the one who put one of the last nails in this game sooooo sad should have listened to your players instead of TRIBBLE them. I loved this game sad to leave it but ill be fighting most of you in SC see you there mates. 1 more thing jeff pvp here is a joke another great job.for you to hang yor hat on lol what a joke lol instead of season 9 being something all of us looked forward to now no one cares and you lose thousands of players over it hope its worth it to ya jeff. and again great job hawk {NOT}..........
This company is a JOKE. They don't care about their customers/players. Only what's in their wallets.
I am glad Brendan Flakes jumped shipped. Everyone who is defending this game is constantly drinking their kool-aid.
I played this game since closed beta, it's an insult to their fans and loyal customers. I hope they lose a lot of money and lose the rights to the Star Trek license. So Paramount can see what TRIBBLE they have done to the game.
Horrible.
I never liked Brendan flakes he was a jerk, no on really knew him on the inside of things. But good on him for jumping ship.
But everyone else: Keep drinking your kool-Aid.
Ill be having fun flying my Hornet in Star Citizen, which will DESTROY this game. I HOPE this game dies a horrible death. They don't listen to fans, they just keep cash grabbing you, this game has become one thing a MONEY SINK. If anyone can't see that, well like I said, enjoy your fruity punch which is Kool-Aid.
None of this cryptic BS matters anymore. thousands of us vets have already or are in the process of getting their star citizen packages. what you the devs have done to this game is a complete joke. thrown the vets under the bus. have tested on tribble a you [devs] are liars and u know it you changed nothing or tweaked nothing on tribble. its all lies. you the devs have killed this game for the vets and you are gonna pay in your wallets ' as thousands of us have already shut our wallets for good.I really hope jeff[hawk]with all of your 10hrs in your starship you are satisfied. to most of us you are nothing but a liar and have destroyed this game for all of us. we need to get these devs out and get new 1s because the trust issues with these devs cannot ever be fixed. call for their heads together and lets get them gone. although it is really to late to fix any of this mess they have created And by the way jeff how does it feel to be the one who put one of the last nails in this game sooooo sad should have listened to your players instead of TRIBBLE them. I loved this game sad to leave it but ill be fighting most of you in SC see you there mates. 1 more thing jeff pvp here is a joke another great job.for you to hang yor hat on lol what a joke lol instead of season 9 being something all of us looked forward to now no one cares and you lose thousands of players over it hope its worth it to ya jeff. and again great job hawk {NOT}..........
Hey, I wouldn't go around saying these "thousands of us have..." lines, since you don't know that it's thousands. It's more likely to be only 10s, rather than thousands.
This company is a JOKE. They don't care about their customers/players. Only what's in their wallets.
I am glad Brendan Flakes jumped shipped. Everyone who is defending this game is constantly drinking their kool-aid.
I played this game since closed beta, it's an insult to their fans and loyal customers. I hope they lose a lot of money and lose the rights to the Star Trek license. So Paramount can see what TRIBBLE they have done to the game.
Horrible.
I never liked Brendan flakes he was a jerk, no on really knew him on the inside of things. But good on him for jumping ship.
But everyone else: Keep drinking your kool-Aid.
Ill be having fun flying my Hornet in Star Citizen, which will DESTROY this game. I HOPE this game dies a horrible death. They don't listen to fans, they just keep cash grabbing you, this game has become one thing a MONEY SINK. If anyone can't see that, well like I said, enjoy your fruity punch which is Kool-Aid.
So, basically, you're claiming that the reason why Brandon (that's how you spell the guy's name, by the way) is leaving Cryptic, eh? Sorry, but you don't know the real reason why he's leaving, and I doubt he'd tell anyone really why he's leaving, so your assumptions are incorrect. Oh, and your "faith" in Star Citizen might be misplaced.
We dont work in the office, so it maybe a difference in how things where going or it maybe like he explained it in his goodbye thread, idk. The only time I ever heard from him was when I asked permission to make him and Kiki. (In game Avatars)
Brandon has orders to follow just like the guys who make the game. Its the companys head men that seem to be mucking things up, but hold out just a little bit longer. STO is a game that is worth fighting for, maybe they will see reason. But as a whole in the player base, we cant let ourselves be allowed to divide our ranks so easy. We need to stick together through these hard times if we are to get through to em and hope to save the game.
We dont work in the office, so it maybe a difference in how things where going or it maybe like he explained it in his goodbye thread, idk. The only time I ever heard from him was when I asked permission to make him and Kiki. (In game Avatars)
Brandon has orders to follow just like the guys who make the game. Its the companys head men that seem to be mucking things up, but hold out just a little bit longer. STO is a game that is worth fighting for, maybe they will see reason. But as a whole in the player base, we cant let ourselves be allowed to divide our ranks so easy. We need to stick together through these hard times if we are to get through to em and hope to save the game.
If STO Evolved
1. The Borg and Undine should be difficult to beat even on elite. The Tactical Cube and Unimatrix should almost be unstoppable. The same as Undine. There should be appearances of a super faction Iconians.
I'm going to fly right off the rails here. But the Borg really do annoy the ever loving @#TRIBBLE out of me in this game.
No, they shouldn't be difficult to beat. They were presented in this game at launch time as a STARTER mission and part of the tutorial. And their role as end-game content was always dubious. This game set the Undine (the other villain you mention) up as the ultimate big bad guy of this game.
The players pushed and pushed and pushed for the Borg.
But this game really didn't start out with the borg being the intended ultimate villain, like the were in TNG.
Part of it was this game was set in the future. Part of it was the Borg were dealt with in the novels and this game started off tied into the novels since one of the folks that was involved in the story arc that got rid of the borg threat also wrote the novel. And part of it was this game, at least initially, wanted to put its own stamp on the game. With its own take on things. Be it the Star Cruiser, the Vito'D and Starlians, or the war with the Undine.
Instead the players clamored for the Borg.
Then the Borg weren't scary enough.
So they got revamped. And revamped again.
Now here we are years later, and apparently they're still not tough enough.
But this is why the borg SUCK as MMO villains.
They're not orcs. They're not Dragons. They can't function well as zombies like a D&D zombie. Because even though that's essentially what they end up being in combat, they're supposed to adapt. But adaptation doesn't translate well to MMOs.
The Borg don't translate well to MMOs.
What made them scary in the shows was their ability to start off like cyborg zombies kind of milling about, and then to ramp up the threat exponentially.
But they couldn't be defeated by brute force. Which in this game is all we have.
The borg don't work as ultimate big bad boss fights in an MMO. And nobody likes them as cannon fodder mooks or "trash mobs." Which is all that's left in MMO terms if they're not boss mobs.
I'm going to fly right off the rails here. But the Borg really do annoy the ever loving @#TRIBBLE out of me in this game.
No, they shouldn't be difficult to beat. They were presented in this game at launch time as a STARTER mission and part of the tutorial. And their role as end-game content was always dubious. This game set the Undine (the other villain you mention) up as the ultimate big bad guy of this game.
The players pushed and pushed and pushed for the Borg.
But this game really didn't start out with the borg being the intended ultimate villain, like the were in TNG.
Part of it was this game was set in the future. Part of it was the Borg were dealt with in the novels and this game started off tied into the novels since one of the folks that was involved in the story arc that got rid of the borg threat also wrote the novel. And part of it was this game, at least initially, wanted to put its own stamp on the game. With its own take on things. Be it the Star Cruiser, the Vito'D and Starlians, or the war with the Undine.
Instead the players clamored for the Borg.
Then the Borg weren't scary enough.
So they got revamped. And revamped again.
Now here we are years later, and apparently they're still not tough enough.
But this is why the borg SUCK as MMO villains.
They're not orcs. They're not Dragons. They can't function well as zombies like a D&D zombie. Because even though that's essentially what they end up being in combat, they're supposed to adapt. But adaptation doesn't translate well to MMOs.
The Borg don't translate well to MMOs.
What made them scary in the shows was their ability to start off like cyborg zombies kind of milling about, and then to ramp up the threat exponentially.
But they couldn't be defeated by brute force. Which in this game is all we have.
The borg don't work as ultimate big bad boss fights in an MMO. And nobody likes them as cannon fodder mooks or "trash mobs." Which is all that's left in MMO terms if they're not boss mobs.
It's long since time to leave them behind.
The Undine, that's a different story.
Yes. Also yes. Maybe some more yes.
Probably a little yes on the side.
If you feel Keel'el's effect is well designed, please, for your own safety, be very careful around shallow pools of water.
Hey, I wouldn't go around saying these "thousands of us have..." lines, since you don't know that it's thousands. It's more likely to be only 10s, rather than thousands.
So, basically, you're claiming that the reason why Brandon (that's how you spell the guy's name, by the way) is leaving Cryptic, eh? Sorry, but you don't know the real reason why he's leaving, and I doubt he'd tell anyone really why he's leaving, so your assumptions are incorrect. Oh, and your "faith" in Star Citizen might be misplaced.
Yeah, I had to try, i have so much too loose. But I im outta steam...no pun intended. I think ive been pushed to the point of not caring anymore. This is the last time ill stick my neck out for anyone!! You guys wont miss me, and will probably continue to have a good laugh at my expense for a while...
You know, I wasn't entirely happy with the 4/4/4 change either.
But I've come to expect certain things from the Dev team and I recognize the wisdom of creating a limit and starting out with a lower limit.
4/4/4 can later be changed to 8/8/4 if they see a reason to, and that won't upset too many people.
8/8/4 can not later be backed down to 4/4/4 without starting a second riot, much like the one they're enduring right now.
They know they have to take the hit sooner or later, so they'd just as soon get it over with now so anything they might do to relax the limits later on will be perceived as a win.
To be honest, I'll be surprised if there's still a hard limit of 4/4/4 by the end of 2015. I think they're going to ultimately decide that is too limiting and provide some kind of increase.
I'm going to fly right off the rails here. But the Borg really do annoy the ever loving @#TRIBBLE out of me in this game.
No, they shouldn't be difficult to beat. They were presented in this game at launch time as a STARTER mission and part of the tutorial. And their role as end-game content was always dubious. This game set the Undine (the other villain you mention) up as the ultimate big bad guy of this game.
The players pushed and pushed and pushed for the Borg.
But this game really didn't start out with the borg being the intended ultimate villain, like the were in TNG.
Part of it was this game was set in the future. Part of it was the Borg were dealt with in the novels and this game started off tied into the novels since one of the folks that was involved in the story arc that got rid of the borg threat also wrote the novel. And part of it was this game, at least initially, wanted to put its own stamp on the game. With its own take on things. Be it the Star Cruiser, the Vito'D and Starlians, or the war with the Undine.
Instead the players clamored for the Borg.
Then the Borg weren't scary enough.
So they got revamped. And revamped again.
Now here we are years later, and apparently they're still not tough enough.
But this is why the borg SUCK as MMO villains.
They're not orcs. They're not Dragons. They can't function well as zombies like a D&D zombie. Because even though that's essentially what they end up being in combat, they're supposed to adapt. But adaptation doesn't translate well to MMOs.
The Borg don't translate well to MMOs.
What made them scary in the shows was their ability to start off like cyborg zombies kind of milling about, and then to ramp up the threat exponentially.
But they couldn't be defeated by brute force. Which in this game is all we have.
The borg don't work as ultimate big bad boss fights in an MMO. And nobody likes them as cannon fodder mooks or "trash mobs." Which is all that's left in MMO terms if they're not boss mobs.
It's long since time to leave them behind.
The Undine, that's a different story.
Undine stfs are good, but what I would like are the "Dragons" of this dungeon....the Iconians.
Iconian STFS that justify the power creep and make new challenging super elite content.
Preferable with a very Antiproton centric Iconian reputation. (Joke) Come on, Can I has cheeseburger...... I mean, AP quad cannons?
Let us wear Swimsuits on Foundry maps or bridges please! I would pay zen for that.
I'm going to fly right off the rails here. But the Borg really do annoy the ever loving @#TRIBBLE out of me in this game.
No, they shouldn't be difficult to beat. They were presented in this game at launch time as a STARTER mission and part of the tutorial. And their role as end-game content was always dubious. This game set the Undine (the other villain you mention) up as the ultimate big bad guy of this game.
The players pushed and pushed and pushed for the Borg.
But this game really didn't start out with the borg being the intended ultimate villain, like the were in TNG.
Part of it was this game was set in the future. Part of it was the Borg were dealt with in the novels and this game started off tied into the novels since one of the folks that was involved in the story arc that got rid of the borg threat also wrote the novel. And part of it was this game, at least initially, wanted to put its own stamp on the game. With its own take on things. Be it the Star Cruiser, the Vito'D and Starlians, or the war with the Undine.
Instead the players clamored for the Borg.
Then the Borg weren't scary enough.
So they got revamped. And revamped again.
Now here we are years later, and apparently they're still not tough enough.
But this is why the borg SUCK as MMO villains.
They're not orcs. They're not Dragons. They can't function well as zombies like a D&D zombie. Because even though that's essentially what they end up being in combat, they're supposed to adapt. But adaptation doesn't translate well to MMOs.
The Borg don't translate well to MMOs.
What made them scary in the shows was their ability to start off like cyborg zombies kind of milling about, and then to ramp up the threat exponentially.
Villians
But they couldn't be defeated by brute force. Which in this game is all we have.
The borg don't work as ultimate big bad boss fights in an MMO. And nobody likes them as cannon fodder mooks or "trash mobs." Which is all that's left in MMO terms if they're not boss mobs.
It's long since time to leave them behind.
The Undine, that's a different story.
What the hell. The borg should be more powerful period. Just as much as the Undine. Although you don't want them powerful. They should be powerful which would be cannon.
The only reason they aren't powerful is because of lazy programming. That is because of Cryptic TRIBBLE up on a grand scale.
Villians
Borg - Adapt ship scan - you don't stop them scanningg your ship. They adapted to your tech.\
Undire - Equally hard..
Spheres should be as poweful as Cubes.
Cubes should be as powerful as Tactical Cubes
Tactical Cubes should be as powerful as a Unimatrix
Unimatrix as stoppable as a V'ger ship.
Super Villian
Only a few appearances, and they blow up anything on sight.
Iconians
To deal with anything of them you would need then a 4/4/4 cap and you have to play with a team because attacks have to be coordinated.
I have read through that thread, but the poster I was replying to "suggested" that Brandon was leaving due to the changes to Star Trek Onliine and that Brandon is leaving to avoid being caught up in the downfall of the game, which is clearly not the case. That's why I said what I said.
To be honest, I'll be surprised if there's still a hard limit of 4/4/4 by the end of 2015.
Lol... I hope this was sarcasm...
Anyway... too many things have been taken out of the game recently for my taste... I don't think this should be devs modus operandi... I didn't like changes in Season 8.5 with bonus marks\calendar nerf and I don't like what is being announced for Season 9 (4/4/4)... People (including me) have voiced their opinions and now I'm waiting to see what is going to happen... and I made my peace finally... although it took me some time because I love the game... and if I'm stuck with changes I don't like I'll just stop being a paying customer. What else?
More like rose-colored-glasses eternal optimism. The bean counters and accountants have spoken, and they're the only ones who really count. Everyone else gets the lip service of "we're closely monitoring your feedback" followed by whatever the bean counters and accountants dictate.
If we're not discussing the blog, or one of the other threads that mention the changes, or what's actually out there on Tribble right now, we're off-topic.
Please keep on topic.
Thanks!
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
But then again, they never originally intended that we would be able to run more than 20 DOFF assignments concurrently. Or slot more than 5 DOFF's in an active roster.
Those limitations changed, as have others. Some have gotten more strict and some have loosened up.
I can't see them getting much stricter than 4/4/4 and still have a Reputation system worth playing. So if they're going to do anything, they're much more likely to increase the limits than to decrease them.
I'm not saying I am 100% certain that they will increase it. I am definitely not saying they're going to increase the limits to 8/8/4.
I am saying that in my own personal opinion, I think they will recognize that the limit is too strict, that players will not stop griping about the limit, and I believe they will provide some way to increase it by a small amount... especially if we end up with two or three more new Reputations by the end of 2015.
Might end up being 4+1/4+1/4+1 for all I know -- +1 being whatever hoops you have to jump through to get the extra slot.
There, is that cynical enough?
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
Might end up being 4+1/4+1/4+1 for all I know -- +1 being whatever hoops you have to jump through to get the extra slot.
There, is that cynical enough?
Nope... unfortunately it's sad...
All this looks like there is no clear vision about STO future and that the team lacks ideas... This game is not evolving, it's running in loops; we give, than take away most, then give back some... True for bonus marks and looks like it will be the same pattern for reputation powers... I agree with many others who said that 8/8/4 would've been the right direction.
Honestly I'm slowly losing interest for serious gameplay in STO and also losing faith in people behind the game... Taking away all those hours from gamers that they invested in reputations is nothing but disrespect, and dissatisfied customers (like me) won't come back and spend more money...
Comments
Okay. Let me describe a situation I just encountered:
Mirror Incursion Event. Decided to bring my "neglected" Fed Engie in his Gal-X through this. His neglect was major - he only had one rep line done - Dyson via a sponsorship token and the dailies in his cloaked Galaxy-X. Gearwise, he's okay for "old school" - full slate of [borg] modifier phasers, Borg quantum torp fore, Transphasic aft. 3 parts of the Dyson rep set (Core, Engine, Shields) and the Assimilated Mk XI deflector.
Goal was to run up Nukara rep with the mirror rewards, and to run up Omega rep with the 500 marks still sitting on his account from the ancient conversion box - both sponsored to make this quick and painless.
First days of the event, he couldn't even pop a frigate in the time it took a new spawn to build. Before I knew it, he was getting overwhelmed with 10 frigates and a pair of Typhoons because I was left alone to try to close 2 rifts. Ship would pop under that level (15 beams worth) of withering fire...
Twoard the end of the event, I had T4 in both Omega and Nukara. Offensive space passives across the board. He could actually pop frigate waves with a couple of BFaWs, and close a rift if the RNG gods were somewhat useful. Because I could take out a whole wave, if things were going downhill I could at least BFaW spam to keep space clear of frigate-spam leaving me to tank 2-3 typhoons, a feat the Galaxy-X is remarkably capable of.
Now, if a neglected and semi-geared character that has the European Launch accolade on him has a "problem" with "current normal event content", imagine how bad it would be for a fresh mint L50 still running a rainbow Mk X set with a dual cannon to add skittle flavor to it - remember, taste the rainbow, blast the rainbow... :P
Meanwhile, my Fed Sci Main in his Vesta was rolling over the same content, popping typhoons in about 2 sets of CSV/Torp spread, and doing his usual science-officer "frigate pack? What frigate pack?"...
Now, to tie this into your "vets in old system = reward for time played" line, how many of these "well equipped" vets were complaining that Incursion was so easy that they had 3 to 5 minutes of wait in their mission? Or are you planning on requesting the Devs close off all teaming events from "new" players till they do the month(s) of grind that are (or will eventually be) required to match the vets?
And, before you even attempt to go there, Elite vs Normal should be 25% gear, 75% skill. Not the place where "long time vets" go for their challenge while the "newbies" are grinding out normals for less payout...
To rob a line: [quote: Mariemaia Kushrenada] Forum Posting is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever. However, opinions will change upon the reading of my post.[/quote]
At the minimum they should make the factions as powerful as they should be and just maybe they don't have to limit the reputation system to a measly 4 traits / 4 active.
Change all Commander BOff stations to Lt. Commander, and buff some of the Lt. Commander BOff powers. Allow respeccing BOff powers free anytime one isn't in combat. Just like the Rep powers, it wouldn't be taking anything away because, y'know, buffed some... :rolleyes:
are you asking for it go go back to the way it was the first year? I like having the advantage over the npcs. The hero of the show shouldnt be under powered. (I.E the players who like to RP Trek themes) ...and that dustbuster phaser pistol was murder to use!
Yes, yes you are! You're disgusting :P
You know, I wasn't entirely happy with the 4/4/4 change either.
But I've come to expect certain things from the Dev team and I recognize the wisdom of creating a limit and starting out with a lower limit.
4/4/4 can later be changed to 8/8/4 if they see a reason to, and that won't upset too many people.
8/8/4 can not later be backed down to 4/4/4 without starting a second riot, much like the one they're enduring right now.
They know they have to take the hit sooner or later, so they'd just as soon get it over with now so anything they might do to relax the limits later on will be perceived as a win.
To be honest, I'll be surprised if there's still a hard limit of 4/4/4 by the end of 2015. I think they're going to ultimately decide that is too limiting and provide some kind of increase.
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That's sound logical but not. On tribble I see players steam rolling new content with the reputation being limited. Heck. I steamrolled content with no bridge officers.
Due to the problem of the new content especially trashing video cards. Due to zone gimmicks with all the graphics, Cryptic might have to decrease content so people will go to the zone. Since there is no reputation to go there. Now if they make. the Undone harder the Borg has to be harder.
Then the cap also sucks. Overall a bad move. Now some PvP players will choose offense. steam rolling fresh lvl 50 players with the increase buffs. As I find a way to increase. offense and defense surpassing the old rep system on tribble.
... which is why it will be nerfed by the end , so the "we're taking away your powers but we're buffing the ones you'll have" is complete BS .
(just like the new "pug" PVP queue that is not a pug at all)
But hey , as long as we can look forward to the Iconians never invading , things will be grand ... .
I am glad Brendan Flakes jumped shipped. Everyone who is defending this game is constantly drinking their kool-aid.
I played this game since closed beta, it's an insult to their fans and loyal customers. I hope they lose a lot of money and lose the rights to the Star Trek license. So Paramount can see what TRIBBLE they have done to the game.
Horrible.
I never liked Brendan flakes he was a jerk, no on really knew him on the inside of things. But good on him for jumping ship.
But everyone else: Keep drinking your kool-Aid.
Ill be having fun flying my Hornet in Star Citizen, which will DESTROY this game. I HOPE this game dies a horrible death. They don't listen to fans, they just keep cash grabbing you, this game has become one thing a MONEY SINK. If anyone can't see that, well like I said, enjoy your fruity punch which is Kool-Aid.
So, basically, you're claiming that the reason why Brandon (that's how you spell the guy's name, by the way) is leaving Cryptic, eh? Sorry, but you don't know the real reason why he's leaving, and I doubt he'd tell anyone really why he's leaving, so your assumptions are incorrect. Oh, and your "faith" in Star Citizen might be misplaced.
Brandon has orders to follow just like the guys who make the game. Its the companys head men that seem to be mucking things up, but hold out just a little bit longer. STO is a game that is worth fighting for, maybe they will see reason. But as a whole in the player base, we cant let ourselves be allowed to divide our ranks so easy. We need to stick together through these hard times if we are to get through to em and hope to save the game.
I see how well that has been going. :rolleyes:
I'm going to fly right off the rails here. But the Borg really do annoy the ever loving @#TRIBBLE out of me in this game.
No, they shouldn't be difficult to beat. They were presented in this game at launch time as a STARTER mission and part of the tutorial. And their role as end-game content was always dubious. This game set the Undine (the other villain you mention) up as the ultimate big bad guy of this game.
The players pushed and pushed and pushed for the Borg.
But this game really didn't start out with the borg being the intended ultimate villain, like the were in TNG.
Part of it was this game was set in the future. Part of it was the Borg were dealt with in the novels and this game started off tied into the novels since one of the folks that was involved in the story arc that got rid of the borg threat also wrote the novel. And part of it was this game, at least initially, wanted to put its own stamp on the game. With its own take on things. Be it the Star Cruiser, the Vito'D and Starlians, or the war with the Undine.
Instead the players clamored for the Borg.
Then the Borg weren't scary enough.
So they got revamped. And revamped again.
Now here we are years later, and apparently they're still not tough enough.
But this is why the borg SUCK as MMO villains.
They're not orcs. They're not Dragons. They can't function well as zombies like a D&D zombie. Because even though that's essentially what they end up being in combat, they're supposed to adapt. But adaptation doesn't translate well to MMOs.
The Borg don't translate well to MMOs.
What made them scary in the shows was their ability to start off like cyborg zombies kind of milling about, and then to ramp up the threat exponentially.
But they couldn't be defeated by brute force. Which in this game is all we have.
The borg don't work as ultimate big bad boss fights in an MMO. And nobody likes them as cannon fodder mooks or "trash mobs." Which is all that's left in MMO terms if they're not boss mobs.
It's long since time to leave them behind.
The Undine, that's a different story.
Yes. Also yes. Maybe some more yes.
Probably a little yes on the side.
Actually there was a thread in Ten Forward from Brandon. He is leaving due to family stuff needing more attention. http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=1075661
Yeah, I had to try, i have so much too loose. But I im outta steam...no pun intended. I think ive been pushed to the point of not caring anymore. This is the last time ill stick my neck out for anyone!! You guys wont miss me, and will probably continue to have a good laugh at my expense for a while...
One last dance
I sure hope they'll listen to you.
Undine stfs are good, but what I would like are the "Dragons" of this dungeon....the Iconians.
Iconian STFS that justify the power creep and make new challenging super elite content.
Preferable with a very Antiproton centric Iconian reputation. (Joke) Come on, Can I has cheeseburger...... I mean, AP quad cannons?
EDIT: Scrap that... Fleet Aux AP DHC's [Acc x2] [Dmg x2]
(If I'm going to dream, may as well as dream big)
And fleet elite non phasers too.
I want fleet elite Aps!
What the hell. The borg should be more powerful period. Just as much as the Undine. Although you don't want them powerful. They should be powerful which would be cannon.
The only reason they aren't powerful is because of lazy programming. That is because of Cryptic TRIBBLE up on a grand scale.
Villians
Borg - Adapt ship scan - you don't stop them scanningg your ship. They adapted to your tech.\
Undire - Equally hard..
Spheres should be as poweful as Cubes.
Cubes should be as powerful as Tactical Cubes
Tactical Cubes should be as powerful as a Unimatrix
Unimatrix as stoppable as a V'ger ship.
Super Villian
Only a few appearances, and they blow up anything on sight.
Iconians
To deal with anything of them you would need then a 4/4/4 cap and you have to play with a team because attacks have to be coordinated.
Lol... I hope this was sarcasm...
Anyway... too many things have been taken out of the game recently for my taste... I don't think this should be devs modus operandi... I didn't like changes in Season 8.5 with bonus marks\calendar nerf and I don't like what is being announced for Season 9 (4/4/4)... People (including me) have voiced their opinions and now I'm waiting to see what is going to happen... and I made my peace finally... although it took me some time because I love the game... and if I'm stuck with changes I don't like I'll just stop being a paying customer. What else?
More like rose-colored-glasses eternal optimism. The bean counters and accountants have spoken, and they're the only ones who really count. Everyone else gets the lip service of "we're closely monitoring your feedback" followed by whatever the bean counters and accountants dictate.
We're starting to drift way off-course here.
The topic is "Changes to Reputation Powers".
Not "Why the Borg Aren't Scary".
Not "Why Brandon is leaving PWE".
If we're not discussing the blog, or one of the other threads that mention the changes, or what's actually out there on Tribble right now, we're off-topic.
Please keep on topic.
Thanks!
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
Quite possibly.
But then again, they never originally intended that we would be able to run more than 20 DOFF assignments concurrently. Or slot more than 5 DOFF's in an active roster.
Those limitations changed, as have others. Some have gotten more strict and some have loosened up.
I can't see them getting much stricter than 4/4/4 and still have a Reputation system worth playing. So if they're going to do anything, they're much more likely to increase the limits than to decrease them.
I'm not saying I am 100% certain that they will increase it. I am definitely not saying they're going to increase the limits to 8/8/4.
I am saying that in my own personal opinion, I think they will recognize that the limit is too strict, that players will not stop griping about the limit, and I believe they will provide some way to increase it by a small amount... especially if we end up with two or three more new Reputations by the end of 2015.
Might end up being 4+1/4+1/4+1 for all I know -- +1 being whatever hoops you have to jump through to get the extra slot.
There, is that cynical enough?
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
Nope... unfortunately it's sad...
All this looks like there is no clear vision about STO future and that the team lacks ideas... This game is not evolving, it's running in loops; we give, than take away most, then give back some... True for bonus marks and looks like it will be the same pattern for reputation powers... I agree with many others who said that 8/8/4 would've been the right direction.
Honestly I'm slowly losing interest for serious gameplay in STO and also losing faith in people behind the game... Taking away all those hours from gamers that they invested in reputations is nothing but disrespect, and dissatisfied customers (like me) won't come back and spend more money...
Those hoops will involve money.