Imagine Admiral Janeway with 7 of 9 warping in with the Rhode Island and someone cracks a joke about Harry Kim eventually getting to captain the ship when he makes rank...
I think Harry already commands the Rhode Island by STO's timeline.
On another note, do you reckon the Devidian story arc should be expanded, or improved upon? Perhaps they are a servitor race? Or do you think they're independent?
Nah, they're independent. And they don't need to be brought back.
I do not like the war ending this way. The multiplayer part of the game still has a war on, and you just ended it in the single-player story line. Captain Calhoun and LtCmdr Icheb from K-7 are handing out assignments to go kill Klingons, and the Klingon High Council is still authorizing an assault on SB24... In-game universe has lost all cohesion now.
Every mission is a snapshot in time. You can't play "Cutting the Cord" and then complain about Hakeev appearing in "Installation 18", because the former episode takes place before the latter. The Starbase K-7 you visit in the game is still set during the war; changing it would make as little sense to new players as the current setting does to us.
The cats arguing at the start of the mission was a very nice little touch though. I would have loved to have gone up to them and told them to "stop beating around the bush and get a room already!"
I loved that little touch.
I laughed so hard when the injured Caitian on ESD says "Me ... ow!"
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them." -Thomas Marrone
Now I know why tacofangs was finally able to redesign the ESD interior. They destroyed the old station.
[Mission] Accolade complete: Bit of a Fixer Upper
LMAO That's an understatement Cryptic. After you go through the old stateroom there is a hall to the left that leads to the middle of the station, but if you go straight ahead to the corner just past the hall there are forcefields blocking the outside. You'll see an interact button to look at the extent of the damage which gives a short cutscene of it and Tuvok makes a comment about it and you get the accolade afterwards.
I am literally, and I mean it, at a loss for words.
Everywhere I look, people are screaming about how bad Cryptic is.
What's my position?
That people should know what they're screaming about!
(paraphrased from "The Newsroom)
Good Stuff:
(Part 1: Diplomatic talks)
- Having your own ship in the cutscenes. It really makes you feel involved in what's going on, so plz: MORE!
- New (old) Federation ship with a cameo in the first cutscene; at first I figured it might be a different type of Avenger, but since my second run I think it is indeed Perpetual's Excalibur.
- Ferengi and Xindi diplomats showing there's more than 3 powers in the AQ. Even if they are somewhat blind to what's going on...
- Shon admitting the Feds messed up.
(Part 2: ESD)
- A reason for the revamp.
- Epic large space battle.
- Using existing ESD NPCs to drive the story.
- Scrambled Egg.
- Tuvok besting Cooper.
(Part 3: Qo'nos)
- Epic large space battle (2).
- Gauntlet run with Aquarius.
- Shon risking everything for the Klingons.
- Design of the Iconian.
- Ending the war.
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them." -Thomas Marrone
IThe cats arguing at the start of the mission was a very nice little touch though. I would have loved to have gone up to them and told them to "stop beating around the bush and get a room already!"
I loved that little touch.
After reading your comment I went to run through as my Romulan. (Hurray! It differentiates between three factions!) And I have to admit I kept hanging around the caitian and ferasan to keep laughing. Get a room indeed.
Originally Posted by pwlaughingtrendy
Network engineers are not ship designers.
Nor should they be. Their ships would look weird.
Conference part is "true" multi-faction. Well, in so much as the "basic" objectives and speech patterns are a touch different for all three, even though it all boils down to "hit X many points in the ring"...
Seeing the Iconian.
Cease Fire is upon us.
Comedy, cutscenes, seriousness galore. Almost feels like an actual episode of the TV show...
Dislikes:
Length. Conference (encounter #1), 8 wave space battle at ESD (2), Run around inside the old ESD (3), 6-8 wave Q'onos battle (4). Most missions usually span 2-3 encounters, and, with all the cutscenes, makes this feel "movie" length vs. episode length.
Undine. "you're weak. We're gonna cleanse you". Really? That's the "motivation" behind season 9? Whatever happened to "look, you shown us that the Iconians were bothering us before. However, that stupid gate you blasted back in S5 is open again. We thank you for that period of peace and respite, however, since that stupid gate is open again, we're back to take out this entire dimension before you 'infest' our space again. And yes, this means that we don't want you sneaking in with some hyper telepath and trying to blast the gate again..."
Lack of exposition / growth. Not everyone gets the magazines that have the (back/side) story. Heck, not many of us knew that there was a bunch of back/side story in there. Yeah, Shon "apologizes" on behalf of the Federation. Koren "begrudgingly" accepts the honor of non-KDF player character. Otherwise, all three of them are nothing but their "cookie-cutter stereotype" throughout the mission - Rommie girl (so bland I can't even remember her name) sits on the fence and is "there" in battles, Koren blathers on and on about how everyone that's non-KDF has no honor and the KDF is the only "honorable" group, Shon shows up late and "saves the day" with his typical aggression, S'tass the Ambassador grumbles about how long conferences take (and the Federation's fascination with them), etc.
Throwaway lines - right after a cutscene in the Q'onos fight, there's a "mini-bubble" of the PC going "I'm taking command of the task force. Follow my lead". At which point the group does nothing but advance from point to point acting like a typical PuG, blasting at whatever they want to blast at. Heck, one battle I got server-lagged out, and when I re-logged in I still was at 6 of 8 Q'onos waves blasted, however, the task force went AFK and stayed back while I attempted to engage the massive wave of enemies, alone. In a Vesta. Yep, all the "bad E-STF flashbacks" kicked in there on my third respawn... :P Wonder if the AI got the AFK penalty and caused the Wednesday maintenance...
Overall thoughts -
Epic, good overweighs bad (even though the text here doesn't seem so :P), does an awful lot, feels like a movie more than an episode...
However, a little extra writing, bit of extra work, etc., and this could have been "upgraded" from the now-typical "one off FE" into a full-bore 5 episode time-released FE, the type that many of us want to have but aren't getting because of "cost concerns". As I see it:
Typical "episode" has 3 "acts". Therefore:
Episode 1. The Conference - Act 1, expository prep at home base. Reiterate story of Flagship captain for those who don't have the books, get us attached to them somewhat. Act 2, getting to conference while protecting diplomat(s) (aka obligatory combat act). Show growth of an opposite-faction commander (for example, Fed PC shows Koren that not every Fed is "completely dishonorable", however, it's not enough to sway her (yet). Act 3, conference itself, cliffhanging on the red alert...
Episode 2. The rush to ESD. Act 1, Undine deposit (already had?) a delaying force at the conference, which PC has to "save" the attendees from. Act 2, Fight off the first delaying wave in Jenolan. Act 3, punch through Solanae Undine force.
Episode 3. ESD. Act 1, Expository break. Sets up the motivations of the Flagship captains some more - say, through a tension-filled argument about what's gonna happen at Earth, why Koren's even going, foreshadow the Lislet's eventual bail back to Mol'Rihan, etc. Act 2 is current approach to ESD, Act 3 is current "on ESD".
Episode 4. The rush to Q'onos. Act 1 - Q'onos space. Act 2 - Make the battle of the planet killer a touch more epic (perhaps integrate the new "STF" mission into the act, with capable AI handling tracks 2 and 3). Act 3, Iconian reveal and treaty signing scene.
Episode 5. Pull page from Dyson and "show" us some of the other area(s) of the season, say, battlezone and set up the whole Hathon STF...
Drop most of the "gameplay" changes with Episode 1, new ESD with episode 3. STFs and new areas with Episode 5. Break up the rewards, too. Traits with Ep. 1, Kit parts with Ep. 2, Kits themselves with Ep. 3, Console with Ep. 4, Marks with Ep. 5 (and the opening of the actual reputation tracks).
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]
Organians...Cryptic could add the Organians and the other godlike beings in Trek history and lore into this game as a story element to for the godlike beings like the Organians to see what's going on with the Iconians and stuff and to congratulate the Feds and Klings and Roms for coming together "again.":D And also I hope they add the Dominion into the mix as an ally of the Feds/Klings/Roms as well. The Iconians would be extremely stupid to mess with the Doms. LOL Doms I just had to. There's a new term for ya peeps. Doms.
...talking to players is like being a mall Santa. Everyone immediately wants to tell you all of the things they want, and you are absolutely powerless to deliver 99% of them.
1) The boss fight in the middle has bugs. He gets stuck in the wall and becomes untargetable (but can still shoot me, of course)
2) Can't do it in a team. Seriously, it's a co-op MMO. I get that it takes a little more work to ensure that a mission scales to a group of players, but they put a lot of work into it already.
Other than that, it's a fantastic mission. A bit linear but very... cinematic.
2) Can't do it in a team. Seriously, it's a co-op MMO. I get that it takes a little more work to ensure that a mission scales to a group of players, but they put a lot of work into it already.
I always thought the single-player only episodes were less about scaling difficulty, and more about challenges with event triggers and the like, requiring all players to be at the same place at the same time for scripted events to happen.
...talking to players is like being a mall Santa. Everyone immediately wants to tell you all of the things they want, and you are absolutely powerless to deliver 99% of them.
You know, this episode really makes the known galaxy seem like a tiny place. One moment we're at Earth, the next moment we hear that Qo'noS is being attacked and...we're there? We got there this quickly, somehow? What's the time gap between the two? Does time and distance no longer have meaning?
You know, this episode really makes the known galaxy seem like a tiny place. One moment we're at Earth, the next moment we hear that Qo'noS is being attacked and...we're there? We got there this quickly, somehow? What's the time gap between the two? Does time and distance no longer have meaning?
We do have transwarp drives... slipstream drives... it really doesn't take us long to get places anymore.. I find it amuseing you bring up getting from Earth to Qo'noS but ignore going from the frickin Dyson Sphere in the DELTA quad to EARTH just as fast at the start of that battle as well.
You know, this episode really makes the known galaxy seem like a tiny place. One moment we're at Earth, the next moment we hear that Qo'noS is being attacked and...we're there? We got there this quickly, somehow? What's the time gap between the two? Does time and distance no longer have meaning?
...talking to players is like being a mall Santa. Everyone immediately wants to tell you all of the things they want, and you are absolutely powerless to deliver 99% of them.
That episode has been retconned out of existence. It was all a dream...
"Lame cop out".
Yeah, they "pulled" the mission from the current rotation. Ever evolving story and all that. However, retconning an over two year old mission "just because" is the source of the "lame cop out" bit...
To me, and since there's not a timeline demonstrating things, this is how I see it:
Jan 2409: Tutorial arc. Feb: KDF arc. March: Rommie arc, early April: Hakeev FE. Late April and May: Cardassian / Dominion / Mirror arcs. June: Breen & start Borg. July: Borg & Undine. August - September: Omega Rep. October & November: Mol'Rihan and Nukara rep(s). December: Solanae season. Jan 2010: Peace Treaty.
Therefore, it's entirely possible for the old "rescue" to occur during July and the reactivation of the network to occur late November / early December.
And even though it's being "retconned out" of the "new player's history", those of us who did the mission could still be the one(s) who shut it down for a few months, and the "newer" players can have the shutdown performed by the flagship captain...
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]
Yeah, they "pulled" the mission from the current rotation. Ever evolving story and all that. However, retconning an over two year old mission "just because" is the source of the "lame cop out" bit...
To me, and since there's not a timeline demonstrating things, this is how I see it:
Jan 2409: Tutorial arc. Feb: KDF arc. March: Rommie arc, early April: Hakeev FE. Late April and May: Cardassian / Dominion / Mirror arcs. June: Breen & start Borg. July: Borg & Undine. August - September: Omega Rep. October & November: Mol'Rihan and Nukara rep(s). December: Solanae season. Jan 2010: Peace Treaty.
Therefore, it's entirely possible for the old "rescue" to occur during July and the reactivation of the network to occur late November / early December.
And even though it's being "retconned out" of the "new player's history", those of us who did the mission could still be the one(s) who shut it down for a few months, and the "newer" players can have the shutdown performed by the flagship captain...
Your interpretation could be correct...but I don't think it is.
I'm fairly certain that removal from the game is the same as removal from the STO canon. The main revelation from that mission - that the Iconians have been manipulating the Undine - has been moved to the newer mission.
It seems to me that the older mission pointed the storyline in a direction that's no longer consistent with where the devs are taking it, so they retconned it.
As always, your personal head-canon is whatever you want it to be.
...talking to players is like being a mall Santa. Everyone immediately wants to tell you all of the things they want, and you are absolutely powerless to deliver 99% of them.
First, due to some glitch in the misson having to do with an asteroid field near Qo'NoS I have yet to actually complete the episode.
Second, I think this episode ran too long. Too much time running around as Tuvok's errand boy preparing for the conference, lots of cutscenes, hordes of Undine to fight at ESD, threading through the maze of wreckage to get to Quinn, a boss fight where I died over and over again, another cutscene with Tuvok and Cooper playing mind games, then fighting hordes of Undine all over again at Qo'NoS...
I didn't time it, but it felt overly long. I'm thinking they probably could have turned this into two separate FE's with the Cooper cutscene as the break between the two. I wouldn't have minded doing all of that if it had been broken up with a dramatic cliffhanger. I'm sure they felt they had to blow up ESD so they could explain the new ESD, and that's part of why it's so long.
Oh, and that boss fight at ESD... Yeah, I get that the Undine are the new big bad. What do I get to fight the boss with? Tuvok and a bunch of redshirts. Can't bring my BOFFs or a team, I have to practically solo a boss who can wax me in a few seconds of contact and fight his minions too. I respawned five or six times during that one fight. That is not fun.
I played this on one of my alts, which might explain why he had so much trouble. And I'm sure that once I've gotten used to the new Undine bosses, I'll be able to fight smarter. My son played through as an Engineer and had an easier time of it than my Tac had.
I am not suggesting that they remove the challenge of that encounter. I am suggesting that something in the way of additional support or a hint of how to fight him would have made it feel like I had a chance to beat the boss without 'cheating' with a respawn. On the other hand, I suppose it increases the replay value if you have to figure it out for yourself.
But that's an awfully long mission to want to sit through more than once or twice!
All of that said, the plot makes sense (so far) and the mission truly feels "epic" so take my criticisms with a grain of salt. Fix that mission bug and I'll be happier.
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
I liked the FE with two exceptions everything else was very well done and it had an excellent and for once Star Trek feel. Always got to go along with everyone else that complained about the opening cut scene way too long.
For me a very well done mission with details in every part had been ruined by seeing Tuvok on the crappy Cryptic Bridge with the AKIRA MSD that we get for science vessels. Also don't know if anyone else noticed but they used a faded picture as the background for Tuvok's messages from Voyager that overall is what I call sloppy work and it lowers the quality of a very well put together mission.
Oh, and that boss fight at ESD... Yeah, I get that the Undine are the new big bad. What do I get to fight the boss with? Tuvok and a bunch of redshirts. Can't bring my BOFFs or a team, I have to practically solo a boss who can wax me in a few seconds of contact and fight his minions too. I respawned five or six times during that one fight. That is not fun.
I think part of the issue is that the boss uses a variant of the new Lobi store weapon, and that weapon creates a flaming patch on the ground. It's possible that you might not be able to see the flaming patch.
I didn't have to respawn that often. I think only once, but I'm not sure.
I think part of the issue is that the boss uses a variant of the new Lobi store weapon, and that weapon creates a flaming patch on the ground. It's possible that you might not be able to see the flaming patch.
Hmm.
When I played the mission, I stood on top of the barricade of crates to fight the boss. Apparently I made things a lot easier on myself. :P
...talking to players is like being a mall Santa. Everyone immediately wants to tell you all of the things they want, and you are absolutely powerless to deliver 99% of them.
Comments
I think Harry already commands the Rhode Island by STO's timeline.
Nah, they're independent. And they don't need to be brought back.
Every mission is a snapshot in time. You can't play "Cutting the Cord" and then complain about Hakeev appearing in "Installation 18", because the former episode takes place before the latter. The Starbase K-7 you visit in the game is still set during the war; changing it would make as little sense to new players as the current setting does to us.
I laughed so hard when the injured Caitian on ESD says "Me ... ow!"
A definite improvement, if you ask me.
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
-Thomas Marrone
[Mission] Accolade complete: Bit of a Fixer Upper
LMAO That's an understatement Cryptic. After you go through the old stateroom there is a hall to the left that leads to the middle of the station, but if you go straight ahead to the corner just past the hall there are forcefields blocking the outside. You'll see an interact button to look at the extent of the damage which gives a short cutscene of it and Tuvok makes a comment about it and you get the accolade afterwards.
That poor Andorian.
What's my position?
That people should know what they're screaming about!
(paraphrased from "The Newsroom)
Is anyone else seeing the obvious Frozen reference there? Seems the Devs are steadfast fans of the movie as well.
Now I know why E'gaan is missing from the new ESD interior.
To quote Admiral Quinn: "Damn. I didn't see that coming.". lol
Question: Did anyone else keep having their weapon jam on ESD? I switched to melee because my rifles often just would not fire.
Gripe: The Undine really need a new catch phrase. 'The weak shall perish' is fine, we beat them down so much they need to know They are the weak ones.
Originally Posted by pwlaughingtrendy
Network engineers are not ship designers.
Nor should they be. Their ships would look weird.
(Part 1: Diplomatic talks)
- Having your own ship in the cutscenes. It really makes you feel involved in what's going on, so plz: MORE!
- New (old) Federation ship with a cameo in the first cutscene; at first I figured it might be a different type of Avenger, but since my second run I think it is indeed Perpetual's Excalibur.
- Ferengi and Xindi diplomats showing there's more than 3 powers in the AQ. Even if they are somewhat blind to what's going on...
- Shon admitting the Feds messed up.
(Part 2: ESD)
- A reason for the revamp.
- Epic large space battle.
- Using existing ESD NPCs to drive the story.
- Scrambled Egg.
- Tuvok besting Cooper.
(Part 3: Qo'nos)
- Epic large space battle (2).
- Gauntlet run with Aquarius.
- Shon risking everything for the Klingons.
- Design of the Iconian.
- Ending the war.
Vice Admiral Mathrias | U.S.S. Utrecht (Blockade Runner Retrofit)
Vide Admiral Kyurin | U.S.S. Cairhien (Fleet Dreadnought Cruiser)
Vice Admiral Kiarl Leftrin | U.S.S. Aegir (Fleet Recon Science Vessel)
--= Starfleet Strategic Command =--
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showpost.php?p=16499331&postcount=739
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
-Thomas Marrone
After reading your comment I went to run through as my Romulan. (Hurray! It differentiates between three factions!) And I have to admit I kept hanging around the caitian and ferasan to keep laughing. Get a room indeed.
Originally Posted by pwlaughingtrendy
Network engineers are not ship designers.
Nor should they be. Their ships would look weird.
Conference part is "true" multi-faction. Well, in so much as the "basic" objectives and speech patterns are a touch different for all three, even though it all boils down to "hit X many points in the ring"...
Seeing the Iconian.
Cease Fire is upon us.
Comedy, cutscenes, seriousness galore. Almost feels like an actual episode of the TV show...
Dislikes:
Length. Conference (encounter #1), 8 wave space battle at ESD (2), Run around inside the old ESD (3), 6-8 wave Q'onos battle (4). Most missions usually span 2-3 encounters, and, with all the cutscenes, makes this feel "movie" length vs. episode length.
Undine. "you're weak. We're gonna cleanse you". Really? That's the "motivation" behind season 9? Whatever happened to "look, you shown us that the Iconians were bothering us before. However, that stupid gate you blasted back in S5 is open again. We thank you for that period of peace and respite, however, since that stupid gate is open again, we're back to take out this entire dimension before you 'infest' our space again. And yes, this means that we don't want you sneaking in with some hyper telepath and trying to blast the gate again..."
Lack of exposition / growth. Not everyone gets the magazines that have the (back/side) story. Heck, not many of us knew that there was a bunch of back/side story in there. Yeah, Shon "apologizes" on behalf of the Federation. Koren "begrudgingly" accepts the honor of non-KDF player character. Otherwise, all three of them are nothing but their "cookie-cutter stereotype" throughout the mission - Rommie girl (so bland I can't even remember her name) sits on the fence and is "there" in battles, Koren blathers on and on about how everyone that's non-KDF has no honor and the KDF is the only "honorable" group, Shon shows up late and "saves the day" with his typical aggression, S'tass the Ambassador grumbles about how long conferences take (and the Federation's fascination with them), etc.
Throwaway lines - right after a cutscene in the Q'onos fight, there's a "mini-bubble" of the PC going "I'm taking command of the task force. Follow my lead". At which point the group does nothing but advance from point to point acting like a typical PuG, blasting at whatever they want to blast at. Heck, one battle I got server-lagged out, and when I re-logged in I still was at 6 of 8 Q'onos waves blasted, however, the task force went AFK and stayed back while I attempted to engage the massive wave of enemies, alone. In a Vesta. Yep, all the "bad E-STF flashbacks" kicked in there on my third respawn... :P Wonder if the AI got the AFK penalty and caused the Wednesday maintenance...
Overall thoughts -
Epic, good overweighs bad (even though the text here doesn't seem so :P), does an awful lot, feels like a movie more than an episode...
However, a little extra writing, bit of extra work, etc., and this could have been "upgraded" from the now-typical "one off FE" into a full-bore 5 episode time-released FE, the type that many of us want to have but aren't getting because of "cost concerns". As I see it:
Typical "episode" has 3 "acts". Therefore:
Episode 1. The Conference - Act 1, expository prep at home base. Reiterate story of Flagship captain for those who don't have the books, get us attached to them somewhat. Act 2, getting to conference while protecting diplomat(s) (aka obligatory combat act). Show growth of an opposite-faction commander (for example, Fed PC shows Koren that not every Fed is "completely dishonorable", however, it's not enough to sway her (yet). Act 3, conference itself, cliffhanging on the red alert...
Episode 2. The rush to ESD. Act 1, Undine deposit (already had?) a delaying force at the conference, which PC has to "save" the attendees from. Act 2, Fight off the first delaying wave in Jenolan. Act 3, punch through Solanae Undine force.
Episode 3. ESD. Act 1, Expository break. Sets up the motivations of the Flagship captains some more - say, through a tension-filled argument about what's gonna happen at Earth, why Koren's even going, foreshadow the Lislet's eventual bail back to Mol'Rihan, etc. Act 2 is current approach to ESD, Act 3 is current "on ESD".
Episode 4. The rush to Q'onos. Act 1 - Q'onos space. Act 2 - Make the battle of the planet killer a touch more epic (perhaps integrate the new "STF" mission into the act, with capable AI handling tracks 2 and 3). Act 3, Iconian reveal and treaty signing scene.
Episode 5. Pull page from Dyson and "show" us some of the other area(s) of the season, say, battlezone and set up the whole Hathon STF...
Drop most of the "gameplay" changes with Episode 1, new ESD with episode 3. STFs and new areas with Episode 5. Break up the rewards, too. Traits with Ep. 1, Kit parts with Ep. 2, Kits themselves with Ep. 3, Console with Ep. 4, Marks with Ep. 5 (and the opening of the actual reputation tracks).
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]
That episode has been retconned out of existence. It was all a dream...
My character Tsin'xing
1) The boss fight in the middle has bugs. He gets stuck in the wall and becomes untargetable (but can still shoot me, of course)
2) Can't do it in a team. Seriously, it's a co-op MMO. I get that it takes a little more work to ensure that a mission scales to a group of players, but they put a lot of work into it already.
Other than that, it's a fantastic mission. A bit linear but very... cinematic.
I always thought the single-player only episodes were less about scaling difficulty, and more about challenges with event triggers and the like, requiring all players to be at the same place at the same time for scripted events to happen.
We do have transwarp drives... slipstream drives... it really doesn't take us long to get places anymore.. I find it amuseing you bring up getting from Earth to Qo'noS but ignore going from the frickin Dyson Sphere in the DELTA quad to EARTH just as fast at the start of that battle as well.
That's classic Star Trek, right there.
Ships have always travelled at the speed of plot.
"Lame cop out".
Yeah, they "pulled" the mission from the current rotation. Ever evolving story and all that. However, retconning an over two year old mission "just because" is the source of the "lame cop out" bit...
To me, and since there's not a timeline demonstrating things, this is how I see it:
Jan 2409: Tutorial arc. Feb: KDF arc. March: Rommie arc, early April: Hakeev FE. Late April and May: Cardassian / Dominion / Mirror arcs. June: Breen & start Borg. July: Borg & Undine. August - September: Omega Rep. October & November: Mol'Rihan and Nukara rep(s). December: Solanae season. Jan 2010: Peace Treaty.
Therefore, it's entirely possible for the old "rescue" to occur during July and the reactivation of the network to occur late November / early December.
And even though it's being "retconned out" of the "new player's history", those of us who did the mission could still be the one(s) who shut it down for a few months, and the "newer" players can have the shutdown performed by the flagship captain...
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]
Your interpretation could be correct...but I don't think it is.
I'm fairly certain that removal from the game is the same as removal from the STO canon. The main revelation from that mission - that the Iconians have been manipulating the Undine - has been moved to the newer mission.
It seems to me that the older mission pointed the storyline in a direction that's no longer consistent with where the devs are taking it, so they retconned it.
As always, your personal head-canon is whatever you want it to be.
My character Tsin'xing
First, due to some glitch in the misson having to do with an asteroid field near Qo'NoS I have yet to actually complete the episode.
Second, I think this episode ran too long. Too much time running around as Tuvok's errand boy preparing for the conference, lots of cutscenes, hordes of Undine to fight at ESD, threading through the maze of wreckage to get to Quinn, a boss fight where I died over and over again, another cutscene with Tuvok and Cooper playing mind games, then fighting hordes of Undine all over again at Qo'NoS...
I didn't time it, but it felt overly long. I'm thinking they probably could have turned this into two separate FE's with the Cooper cutscene as the break between the two. I wouldn't have minded doing all of that if it had been broken up with a dramatic cliffhanger. I'm sure they felt they had to blow up ESD so they could explain the new ESD, and that's part of why it's so long.
Oh, and that boss fight at ESD... Yeah, I get that the Undine are the new big bad. What do I get to fight the boss with? Tuvok and a bunch of redshirts. Can't bring my BOFFs or a team, I have to practically solo a boss who can wax me in a few seconds of contact and fight his minions too. I respawned five or six times during that one fight. That is not fun.
I played this on one of my alts, which might explain why he had so much trouble. And I'm sure that once I've gotten used to the new Undine bosses, I'll be able to fight smarter. My son played through as an Engineer and had an easier time of it than my Tac had.
I am not suggesting that they remove the challenge of that encounter. I am suggesting that something in the way of additional support or a hint of how to fight him would have made it feel like I had a chance to beat the boss without 'cheating' with a respawn. On the other hand, I suppose it increases the replay value if you have to figure it out for yourself.
But that's an awfully long mission to want to sit through more than once or twice!
All of that said, the plot makes sense (so far) and the mission truly feels "epic" so take my criticisms with a grain of salt. Fix that mission bug and I'll be happier.
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For me a very well done mission with details in every part had been ruined by seeing Tuvok on the crappy Cryptic Bridge with the AKIRA MSD that we get for science vessels. Also don't know if anyone else noticed but they used a faded picture as the background for Tuvok's messages from Voyager that overall is what I call sloppy work and it lowers the quality of a very well put together mission.
I didn't have to respawn that often. I think only once, but I'm not sure.
My character Tsin'xing
Hmm.
When I played the mission, I stood on top of the barricade of crates to fight the boss. Apparently I made things a lot easier on myself. :P