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Season 9 Dev Blog #6: Undine Battlezone

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  • x3of9x3of9 Member Posts: 157 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    The Voth Zone [aka the area controlled by the Voth (similar to the area controled by allied forces and the contested zone) aka the area marked on the Dyson Sphere's map on the far East as "Voth Zone" aka "the Zone that was not released"], has been infiltrated by the Undine, thus becoming the Undine Battlezone.

    This is the "Voth Zone," but the Voth have lost control of it to the Undine.

    Cheers,

    Brandon =/\=

    So you're saying that those four "invading" city ships in the Contested Zone are actually full of refugees from the Undine annihilation of the Voth Zone?

    We've been massacring people as they retreated!

    We are the monsters! :eek:
    U.S.S. Marathon - NX-92781
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  • worffan101worffan101 Member Posts: 9,518 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    The Voth Zone [aka the area controlled by the Voth (similar to the area controled by allied forces and the contested zone) aka the area marked on the Dyson Sphere's map on the far East as "Voth Zone" aka "the Zone that was not released"], has been infiltrated by the Undine, thus becoming the Undine Battlezone.

    This is the "Voth Zone," but the Voth have lost control of it to the Undine.

    Cheers,

    Brandon =/\=

    Lord BranFlakes, who is most holy, hallowed be Thy name:

    I, Your adoring, loyal serf, do beg leave of You to ask this question of You:

    Please, may we lowly peons have official word on whether or not there will be changes to the Voth ground battlezone as part of or concurrent with season 9?

    Hail to Thee, BranFlakes! Praise Your glory, praise Your might! Praise Your wrath, praise Your mercy!

    Your loyal thrall,
    worffan101

    EDIT to add: Winky smiley on the humor, but the question is serious. BZ is the single fastest, most enjoyable way to farm dil in the game. Nerfing it would be REALLY important to give prior notice on, rather than trying to stealth it on people.
  • captz1ppcaptz1pp Member Posts: 931 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    You didn't play Step Between Stars after going through the gate to the other Dyson sphere? That part of the mission explains it pretty well...plus, there is still the next part of the mission. So, you'll get your explanation then.

    I did play that mission, that energy beam was fired by an off-screen ship, which could have been a planet killer.
  • xiaoping88xiaoping88 Member Posts: 1,493 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    x3of9 wrote: »
    So you're saying that those four "invading" city ships in the Contested Zone are actually full of refugees from the Undine annihilation of the Voth Zone?

    We've been massacring people as they retreated!

    We are the monsters! :eek:

    It still feels a bit... rushed how the Voth went down.
    I am just not content with their representation ingame.
    First we are able to fight them head-on, then the Undine are just doing a Blitzkrieg on them.

    The Voth really didn't impress...
    Reality is an illusion.
    The universe is a hologram.
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  • worffan101worffan101 Member Posts: 9,518 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    xiaoping88 wrote: »
    It still feels a bit... rushed how the Voth went down.
    I am just not content with their representation ingame.
    First we are able to fight them head-on, then the Undine are just doing a Blitzkrieg on them.

    The Voth really didn't impress...

    The Undine tear the sh*t out of the Borg. Repeatedly.

    The Voth are tough enough to survive the Borg in relative safety and comfort. This still leaves them as easy prey for the Undine, and (given that we are regularly ripping up tac cubes in-game now) makes them a tough but doable fight for Alpha Quadrant species.

    I'm actually excited for season 9, despite my issues with the reputation power berf/nuff. The Undine get a really unique flavor, we get grueling Undine content...tons of fun.

    If they add a "Nightmare mode" to STFs that makes IGE look like a picnic, then I will really enjoy doing that with my fleetmates. And that will make the season for me.
  • wjeremy16wjeremy16 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    I cannot believe I am saying this. Get Stahl back in the chair please.

    Game took a heavy turn shortly before he left. one I haven't liked and I now realized why.
  • xiaoping88xiaoping88 Member Posts: 1,493 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    worffan101 wrote: »
    The Undine tear the sh*t out of the Borg. Repeatedly.

    The Voth are tough enough to survive the Borg in relative safety and comfort.

    Do you think? I think it's the Borg which made the Voth trying to weaponize the Solanae Dyson Sphere in the first place.
    Those beams in the reputation cutscenes fired against the Voth do certainly look like Borg plasma weapons.

    So yeah. The Voth and the Borg might be on one level.
    Reality is an illusion.
    The universe is a hologram.
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  • worffan101worffan101 Member Posts: 9,518 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    xiaoping88 wrote: »
    Do you think? I think it's the Borg which made the Voth trying to weaponize the Solanae Dyson Sphere in the first place.
    Those beams in the reputation cutscenes fired against the Voth do certainly look like Borg plasma weapons.

    So yeah. The Voth and the Borg might be on one level.

    OK. So Voth and Borg are comparable.

    Which makes sense, given the Battlezone and the Voth space zones.

    Voth are still easy prey for the Undine. And the Alpha Quadrant species are just snacks.
  • xiaoping88xiaoping88 Member Posts: 1,493 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    worffan101 wrote: »
    And the Alpha Quadrant species are just snacks.

    And that's my problem.
    WE are roflstomping EVERYONE and everything.
    Reality is an illusion.
    The universe is a hologram.
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  • worffan101worffan101 Member Posts: 9,518 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    xiaoping88 wrote: »
    And that's my problem.
    WE are roflstomping EVERYONE and everything.

    But we are many. They are few. The population of the Alpha Quadrant species, combined, is easily greater than that of the Voth, possibly the Borg, and likely the Undine as well.

    Plus, we have Klingons. And Klingons are badasses.

    And, dude, it's a game, based on a TV show, and we're the protagonists. If we're NOT doing at least a little ROTFLMFAOstomping, there's something wrong.

    Not that I don't like challenges and STFs that crush you with multiple wipes every run, but sometimes it's nice to have some easy, mildly stimulating grinding.
  • virusdancervirusdancer Member Posts: 18,687 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    This is the "Voth Zone," but the Voth have lost control of it to the Undine.

    They only lose control when we enter the zone. When we return to the contested zone, they've regained control of their zone otherwise they wouldn't be able to engage in the activities they do in the contested and allied zones. It's a personal experience. Tom can be in the Voth Zone where they've lost control and it's actually the Undine Battlezone at the same time that Jerry's in the Contested Zone and the Voth have full control of the Voth Zone!

    Kind of like NPC X can be dead to Bob, but Tom hasn't played that far so NPC X is still alive, and Sue keeps going back and forth between when NPC X is alive and after NPC X has died.

    There's Cryptic's STO's Story's Overall Time.
    There's Player's Character's Personal Time Within Cryptic's STO's Story's Overall Time.

    ...and if you spend too much time thinking about it, you can seriously lose some real time.
  • xiaoping88xiaoping88 Member Posts: 1,493 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    worffan101 wrote: »
    And, dude, it's a game, based on a TV show, and we're the protagonists. If we're NOT doing at least a little ROTFLMFAOstomping, there's something wrong.

    It's mission design.
    I think a Voth city ship or a Borg Cube should equal the Crystalline Entity. That way we could really play out our superiority in numbers, without killing those super ships solo... which is very much possible these days.
    Reality is an illusion.
    The universe is a hologram.
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  • schloopdooschloopdoo Member Posts: 373 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    I'm not sure what i was expecting, but recycling that damn sphere map wasn't it. Are there at least going to be some new instances to provide a change of scenery?
  • virusdancervirusdancer Member Posts: 18,687 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    schloopdoo wrote: »
    I'm not sure what i was expecting, but recycling that damn sphere map wasn't it. Are there at least going to be some new instances to provide a change of scenery?

    How can they recycle a map where players haven't been before?
  • worffan101worffan101 Member Posts: 9,518 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    xiaoping88 wrote: »
    It's mission design.
    I think a Voth city ship or a Borg Cube should equal the Crystalline Entity. That way we could really play out our superiority in numbers, without killing those super ships solo... which is very much possible these days.

    I support this. Bearing in mind that the Voth Fortress Ship is so huge that you need a fleet to distract it while a 5-man team flies inside it to blow up its core from the inside.

    But yeah, tac cubes need to be a LOT harder, and used VERY sparingly.
  • nyx219nyx219 Member Posts: 207 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    < heavy sigh > Well, I guess I'll have to wait & see what they roll out later this year. The Dyson battlezone, while very much total eye candy, simply blows in terms of play. I don't expect this Undine battlezone to be any different, more of the same monotony.

    I'm disappointed, but there's always next season. Here's to hoping they get the idea that the battlezone idea is a miss.
  • sennahcheribsennahcherib Member Posts: 2,823 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    i'm really disappointed; a new sphere battlezone, so boring + the undine lock boxes, with undine ships available for players; well at least if this new season is not interesting, it will be ridiculous.

    oh! please I want a V-undine with lazers on its head, thx:D
  • breadandcircusesbreadandcircuses Member Posts: 2,355 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    Will tagging still be an issue here with the Planet Killers as it is with the T-Rexs?

    As far as the space battlezone, if it's set up to function like the Ground battlezone where participation requires one shot on the big guy and the rewards actually provide an incentive to tag, move on, tag, move on, then backtrack through the mop-up in reverse order... doesn't that provide an incentive to pretty much just use whatever has the highest Impulse Mod? Similarly, the same structure actually penalizes you for flying larger (read slower) ships such as cruisers and carriers. I really hope they reward participation across the entire battlezone cycle rather than just a few territories and some tagging, so slow movers can still plod their way across the map and gain some useful rewards.

    Oh, and that assumes the taggers stick around and help with the mop-up rather than shooting the Planet Killers (for some reason my mind keeps going to Planet Jackers rather than the Undine...) and going afk; I'm sure there'll be folks that do the less helpful version of tagging too. :(
    iconians wrote: »
    I do enjoy my bread and circuses, Cryptic.

    :cool: Thank you, I will now quote this for my signature... see?
    Ym9x9Ji.png
    meimeitoo wrote: »
    I do not like Geko ether.
    iconians wrote: »
    With each passing day I wonder if I stepped into an alternate reality. The Cubs win the world series. Donald Trump is President. Britain leaves the EU. STO gets a dedicated PvP season. Engineers are "out of control" in STO.​​
  • blassreiterusblassreiterus Member Posts: 1,294 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    nyx219 wrote: »
    < heavy sigh > Well, I guess I'll have to wait & see what they roll out later this year. The Dyson battlezone, while very much total eye candy, simply blows in terms of play. I don't expect this Undine battlezone to be any different, more of the same monotony.

    I'm disappointed, but there's always next season. Here's to hoping they get the idea that the battlezone idea is a miss.
    Later this year? It's going to be released in about a month. Also, just because you think a battlezone-style of area is a "wash," doesn't mean it truly is. That's just your opinion, and you're welcome to it.

    I like the Dyson Sphere battlezone and I have done a little testing on Tribble for the Undine Space BZ and it's not at all that bad.
    Star Trek Online LTS player.
  • vegeta50024vegeta50024 Member Posts: 2,336 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    Later this year? It's going to be released in about a month. Also, just because you think a battlezone-style of area is a "wash," doesn't mean it truly is. That's just your opinion, and you're welcome to it.

    I like the Dyson Sphere battlezone and I have done a little testing on Tribble for the Undine Space BZ and it's not at all that bad.

    I think they were referring to seeing what the Expansion contains, which is later this year. [

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  • szimszim Member Posts: 2,503 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    Well if I was asked to vote for the new season's "villain" the Undine would have hardly made it into my top 10. The current Undine missions are probably my least favorite. I didn't like how the story evolved and how the ceasefire was broken because of an Iconian gate in fluidic space. Appearently the Undine had enough spies in the Alpha and Beta quadrant to know that we are not resposible for its construction. Instead the Undine would have been a very interesting ally and we could have helped them to keep the Borg out of their space -> STFs

    So far it seems the new season will stick to the same old pattern: Kill everything that moves! Diplomacy? Don't be ridicoulus! "Disable/stun" instead of killing? What are you even talking about? I hoped that the new season would give us a revamp of the exploration system. Something that deserves the name and doesn't include killing and destroying alliens nobody has killed and destroyed before.
  • eazzieeazzie Member Posts: 4,222 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    jumpingjs wrote: »
    To be honest, not 100 % happy about this (not sad, though) ... but ...

    As for the Voth:


    DING DONG, THE VOTH ARE GONE, DING DONG THE WICKED VOTH ARE GONE!

    Sadly your joy in the seeing the Voth gone is short lived. The ground Battlezone is still battling the Voth, and the PvE missons "The Breach" and "Storming the Spire" will remain. It is only the new space BZ where you will be fighting the Undine not on the ground
  • neueraccountneueraccount Member Posts: 16 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    What is about the Accolade, for that we must fly under the 3 Spire? I can't complte it, like the Accolades for the Sectorenemys. :(
  • tucker84tucker84 Member Posts: 113 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    Ditto! What about that accolade with the 3 spires... ?

    And also, let me get this straight. The undine defeated the voth fast - one of the most advanced species we know - but we will stand our ground to the undine, right (stop/ defeat/ humiliate them... use their young ones as pets or something...)? It is a little bit unbelievable, but sure it won't be the first thing.
  • reximuzreximuz Member Posts: 1,172 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    nyx219 wrote: »
    < heavy sigh > Well, I guess I'll have to wait & see what they roll out later this year. The Dyson battlezone, while very much total eye candy, simply blows in terms of play. I don't expect this Undine battlezone to be any different, more of the same monotony.

    I'm disappointed, but there's always next season. Here's to hoping they get the idea that the battlezone idea is a miss.

    They have said that the BZ has been one of their most popular and used features. Just because you don't enjoy it doesn't mean that everyone doesn't.
  • drug2drug2 Member Posts: 24 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    So this means we may get an Undine Rep system? I rather like that idea if we could get an undine nicor cruiser for getting tier 5 or for beta testing on tribble :D I love these new ideas but please keep the commendations going like you currently have with dyson rep :D
  • projectfrontierprojectfrontier Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    Content Designer Sean "Commander Ander" McCann is briefing everyone on the recent Undine incursion in the Voth Zone of the Dyson Sphere! Check out details about the newest Battlezone in this entry of the Season 9 News Dev Blog series.


    Link to the blog.

    So what you're saying is, the Shadow threat can only be eliminated by taking out the Vorlon first?
    drug2 wrote: »
    So this means we may get an Undine Rep system? I rather like that idea if we could get an undine nicor cruiser for getting tier 5 or for beta testing on tribble :D I love these new ideas but please keep the commendations going like you currently have with dyson rep :D

    You mean the "REBOOT" of the "mark system" in spite of the whole "we don't like the idea of marks" stunt they pulled for the F2P2W conversion?

    Yes, clearly that is a legitimate reason to make the "[CBS says only a few people (in Starfleet) can have alien ships!]" argument stand on its head even more so.
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  • exa12exa12 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited March 2014
    did it really have to take place in the Solane sphere, instead of Jenolan, where the Undine HAVE actually entered, there is a different aesthetic, and has a natural control objective sat right in front of the gate (you know, the ruddy great hole in the shell)


    for spoiler text use #1b1c1f
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