I don't play it as much anymore. The guild I was in became mean, and now Meowstar no longer plays and playing alone is no fun at all! I used to enjoy Roleplaying Luna, and earning EC.
New Lunar Republic
"Where monsters rampage, I'm there to take them down! Where treasure glitters, I'm there to claim it! Where an enemy rises to face me, victory will be mine!" -Lina Inverse
1. Uhm you've been here long enough to know that Cryptic doesn't have a license to use anything from JJtrek in the game.
(The RMC falls under the IP owned by CBS)
2. They jumped the shark on bastardizing the game a long time ago. Lockbox ships and dinos with lasers for two examples.
I have been here long enough to know that they build their own missions, and could have chosen to reflect the JJ verse a lot more then they have. But they didn't Which I appreciate from Captain Gecko's perspective. They could have but didn't.
Lockbox ships are annoying, BUT if people want to buy them, LET them, if it keeps the game running and the Startrek banner high, all the better. We do not live in the Gene Roddenberry Utopia where things are free. Sure they are immersion breaking, but it is a necessary price to deal with real world scenarios. Cryptic put much risk into this IP even after the volatile PE incident, even while Atari was holding the sword of Damocles above their heads they managed to launch.
As far as dinosaurs, sure its silly, but its one zone that is silly and non-canon. I also can let it go because this is a game. It's not a real Startrek episode. We wont see Picard and Data in clown suits or anything like that in this game. I think the devs just wanted to create a cool, as well as silly battle area that didn't have such a hardcore canonical slant on it. I see it very much like the Diablo 2's Cow level.
I am as loyal to STO as Cryptic is loyal to the fans. That is exactly 0!
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
1. Completely and utterly loyal won't hear a bad word uttered about the game or cryptic if you do i'll feed you to the Borg
2. Semi-Loyal;
3. Not loyal at all; its a free to play game some nice stuff but as soon as something shiney comes along I'm gone.
I'm 2 Semi-Loyal but I have by own definition:
"I paid for some stuff and the gameplay was fun...when I started.
But that fun factor has devolved to where STO is becoming all about the grind and time gating all the while fearing the ninja-esque nerfs.
I can see the time when Cryptic finally nerfs the fun out of playing STO...and that's when I'll log off until new developers take over the game."
NO to ARC RIP KDF and PvP 2014-07-17 Season 9.5 - Death by Dev
I reserve things like loyalty for people, not pixels.
The above pretty much sums it up for me as well. There is such a thing as real life and EVERYONE lives in it, whether they choose to realize it or not. I prefer to treat STO not as a substitute for life or a game, but as a sport; where one can cheer for the team.
That said, I consider STO the best MMO currently available, with Conan Unchained following as very close second; one for sci-fi and the other for mytho-historical fantasy. All those topics interest me greatly and I find STO to be the best representation of the Trek universe in game form made so far. I hope it continues to develop and expands with greater gameplay content while leaving the basic framework of free playstyle, guild operation, teaming and soloing intact, for which it is an exemplary model of on all parts.
I root for STO and will be an active participant for as long STO exists.
I'm as big a Trek fan as you will find anywhere. When they announced this game, I was elated beyond belief.
Star Trek is one of the most significant IPs EVER CREATED. It has a huge, insanely loyal fanbase (which is the ONLY reason this game has survived).
This sums it up nicely. This is the last venue I can get my prime universe fix.
Truth be told, I have no special disdain for Cryptic, or PWE, even if I disagree, which I seem to do more often than not lately. But It's not love either.
But having said this, my loyalty and my support, is never a guarantee.
When it comes to my entertainment, I adhere only to my whim, (I seem to have forgotten this at late) But if things reach critical mass in the wrong direction, pop goes my support.
Judging by some replies of disdain here, you would think they expected to get beamed up to the Enterprise personally, and given a grand tour by Shatner himself. If you are not happy, you can always go somewhere else, no one is forcing you to stay here and lament at the thing that never was. Your expectations were clearly too high, why not enjoy yourself in a game that meets your expectations rather then dragging your dirty laundry on here. Being bitter is not going to help you in the long run, only make you feel miserable.
Judging by some replies of disdain here, you would think they expected to get beamed up to the Enterprise personally, and given a grand tour by Shatner himself. If you are not happy, you can always go somewhere else, no one is forcing you to stay here and lament at the thing that never was. Your expectations were clearly too high, why not enjoy yourself in a game that meets your expectations rather then dragging your dirty laundry on here. Being bitter is not going to help you in the long run, only make you feel miserable.
Y'know, a LOT of people have asked that burning question - if you don't like it, why not go ahead and go? - and the answer's have always been the same - that they hope that Cryptic can do good, or that they're staying until Star Citizen or No Man's Sky or whatever starts up so they can get their TRUE and HONEST Star Trek fix.
Not really lol. I think all STO players learned how to live with POOR expectations about this game. The reasonable expectations they had years ago turned into no expectations at all. I honestly expected more of this game after so many years, but cryptic is putting the line too low season after season and month after month lol.
Not really lol. I think all STO players learned how to live with POOR expectations about this game. The reasonable expectations they had years ago turned into no expectations at all. I honestly expected more of this game after so many years, but cryptic is putting the line too low season after season and month after month lol.
If one "learns" to live with poor expectations, does it not mean that they had too high of expectations originally?
Being subject to nerfs driven by the whining of the pvp underclass is not optional.
Check out the Diablo 3 forums sometime and tell me what you see. There is virtually zero pvp in that game, and the devs have built the same items 3x over, and they are a billion dollar company who can't even managed to get the numbers on their items correct for pvm. Nerfs are not done purely because of Pvp, it is the overall exploitation by cheating players or the jealousy of players who believe they are owed better gear earlier. Pvp has nothing to do with it. If Pvp were removed, you would still hear people arguing that their build is not strong enough, soon enough, cheap enough, good enough, fair enough, or even expensive enough.
Y'know, a LOT of people have asked that burning question - if you don't like it, why not go ahead and go? - and the answer's have always been the same - that they hope that Cryptic can do good, or that they're staying until Star Citizen or No Man's Sky or whatever starts up so they can get their TRUE and HONEST Star Trek fix.
Well it has been 4 years now, you would think some would get the hint. You either enjoy what Cryptic has to offer or you don't. I don't always like to play STO, and sometimes it becomes boring, but I like it here, because I know what I can expect every time I login, and play, Startrek jokes on global chat, maybe some scifi tech chat, I can earn my way to a new ship, if its trash, no big deal, if its cool like the recent Risian ships, great, all the better, I spent a long time customizing my ships till they look amazing, and messed with loadouts etc. But sometimes I fall asleep playing, that's when I get smart and do something else, if I don't feel like logging in for a day or two or a month I wont. I don't have to be dragged out on my heels through the door like some crazy at Mcdonalds because the image of what was on the screen wasn't identical to what I received.
If anyone takes the time to do research on this game, they will find that anything that is currently going on isn't a surprise since the devs have been logging in patch notes and plans for changes for quite some time.
Everything about STO is here from 2010 until now and if I'm not mistaken, they're future plans. With that said as much as I would like for some of my own ideas to be paid attention to, the current game play is better than it was when Atari had it.
I am loyal to the game and the Borg or Undine can't harm me cause they're afraid I might violate them. Even the Iconians are like "Roujin? OH HELL NO!!!"
If anyone takes the time to do research on this game, they will find that anything that is currently going on isn't a surprise since the devs have been logging in patch notes and plans for changes for quite some time.
Everything about STO is here from 2010 until now and if I'm not mistaken, they're future plans. With that said as much as I would like for some of my own ideas to be paid attention to, the current game play is better than it was when Atari had it.
I am loyal to the game and the Borg or Undine can't harm me cause they're afraid I might violate them. Even the Iconians are like "Roujin? OH HELL NO!!!"
Ummm, (whispers), There is no text on the page you linked.
For the OP, as a Star Trek fan, I'm with this game until they shut it down, break it so horribly that I can't stand to play, or until someone makes a better Trek game.
There are things I'd like changed, things I'd like added, and many little things I think ought to be fixed. But, being with the game from launch, things have gotten much better. I'm sure it's not perfectly the way anyone would like it to be, but there's some hope as long as there's still some money being made.
"After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true. Except for a T5 Connie. That would be f*%#ing awesome." - Mr. Spock
To the OP: My "loyalty" to STO changes with each new update to the game. If they add something I like, and can play it without it being buggy then I'll play it and pay money. THat is when my loyalty is strongest. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened for a long time...
Here's hoping expansion 2 is epic enough to bring back my loyalty to this game.
Going off topic:
You know theres a rumour that STO is PWE and Cryptic's most profitable game. That wouldn't surprise me as it's Star trek themed (somewhat horribly) but still, if it is why don't they get more support? Occasionally they release some really good work, but most of their work looks like it is done by a small team with a limited budget...
If both of these possible issues were fixed, just imagine what STO could become.
Beta Antares Shipyards advanced Starship development project.
CLASSIFIED
Check out the Diablo 3 forums sometime and tell me what you see. There is virtually zero pvp in that game, and the devs have built the same items 3x over, and they are a billion dollar company who can't even managed to get the numbers on their items correct for pvm. Nerfs are not done purely because of Pvp, it is the overall exploitation by cheating players or the jealousy of players who believe they are owed better gear earlier. Pvp has nothing to do with it. If Pvp were removed, you would still hear people arguing that their build is not strong enough, soon enough, cheap enough, good enough, fair enough, or even expensive enough.
D3 really isn't a good example.
1) D3's community is one of the most toxic you will find on the internet. A large amount of that is people who are still whining because the real money auction hose is gone and everything useful is bind on account. That way they can't sell on third party sites. Of course they make up lots of excuses, but most are lies because saying "I want to make real money" wouldn't carry much weight.
2) Diablo 3 is being made by MMO designers who really don't know a lot about ARPGs. That's why they're doing lots of annoying things to artificially extend gameplay...because that's how you keep people subscribed and playing. It doesn't matter that there is no subscription, that's how they were trained.
3) Blizzard also think they can turn the game into some sort of e-sport, that's why they are working so hard on ladders and Seasons.
1) D3's community is one of the most toxic you will find on the internet. A large amount of that is people who are still whining because the real money auction hose is gone and everything useful is bind on account. That way they can't sell on third party sites. Of course they make up lots of excuses, but most are lies because saying "I want to make real money" wouldn't carry much weight.
2) Diablo 3 is being made by MMO designers who really don't know a lot about ARPGs. That's why they're doing lots of annoying things to artificially extend gameplay...because that's how you keep people subscribed and playing. It doesn't matter that there is no subscription, that's how they were trained.
3) Blizzard also think they can turn the game into some sort of e-sport, that's why they are working so hard on ladders and Seasons.
I couldn't disagree more about 1), as the community is toxic because of the way Diablo 3 was designed which is 2), I am one of those people whom so called made it toxic because I argued with Blizzard Devs directly, and indirectly to not stray too far from the the Diablo 1 / Diablo 2 formula, they did not listen, and they did not care. As you said, they have never really known much about ARPG's directly, but indirectly they still host, and had the ability to pull from previous data that made the game(s) great. They refused. So if a billion dollar company can fail at itemization and balance at Diablo 3, even with 2 of the most historically famous ARPG hack'n slash games that it owns the source code to, how can you not expect glitches with a company with a fraction of a fraction of the employees?
Off topic : Also, Ladders do not make the game an e-sport, Blizzard clearly, and plainly stated Diablo 3 was not built for e-sports several times, and as a ladder runner, and a person who made it to the #1 over all position of previous Diablo 2 ladders, it is quite impossible to put a correct gauge on positions, as if they are people or bots, as I know the best of the best on the west realm. It is only a matter of time before people hook up bots. So no, running for Xp will become quite impossible to legitimately score as a ladder position, and only shows the folly of the current devs. I had a team formed with friends of friends whom held top 7 positions on the ladder, and 2 weeks later for the heck of it, I went and rushed myself and followed the 7 botter / mule accounts and got bumped to 11th over all the next day. So no, it will never become an E-sport. Blizzards "Warden" is too weak, and people have been breaking their security for years, which is something I warned them about.
I couldn't disagree more about 1), as the community is toxic because of the way Diablo 3 was designed which is 2), I am one of those people whom so called made it toxic because I argued with Blizzard Devs directly, and indirectly to not stray too far from the the Diablo 1 / Diablo 2 formula, they did not listen, and they did not care. As you said, they have never really known much about ARPG's directly, but indirectly they still host, and had the ability to pull from previous data that made the game(s) great. They refused. So if a billion dollar company can fail at itemization and balance at Diablo 3, even with 2 of the most historically famous ARPG hack'n slash games that it owns the source code to, how can you not expect glitches with a company with a fraction of a fraction of the employees?
Off topic : Also, Ladders do not make the game an e-sport, Blizzard clearly, and plainly stated Diablo 3 was not built for e-sports several times, and as a ladder runner, and a person who made it to the #1 over all position of previous Diablo 2 ladders, it is quite impossible to put a correct gauge on positions, as if they are people or bots, as I know the best of the best on the west realm. It is only a matter of time before people hook up bots. So no, running for Xp will become quite impossible to legitimately score as a ladder position, and only shows the folly of the current devs. I had a team formed with friends of friends whom held top 7 positions on the ladder, and 2 weeks later for the heck of it, I went and rushed myself and followed the 7 botter / mule accounts and got bumped to 11th over all the next day. So no, it will never become an E-sport. Blizzards "Warden" is too weak, and people have been breaking their security for years, which is something I warned them about.
Well I'm one of those who thinks the root of all evil is the RMAH.
I think they had a good game coming along as noted by the early footage. Then someone like Darth Kotick directed them to add the RMAH and force people to use it.
If you step back and look at D3...everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING was designed to push you towards the RMAH.
Well I'm one of those who thinks the root of all evil is the RMAH.
I think they had a good game coming along as noted by the early footage. Then someone like Darth Kotick directed them to add the RMAH and force people to use it.
If you step back and look at D3...everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING was designed to push you towards the RMAH.
I am of the opinion it is several reasons, RMAH also happens to be one of them, now the problem is BOUND gear. Blizzard Irvine is taking both extremes instead of just allowing people to have their gear in any way they like without having to turn a profit on it. Gone are the days where there are mules attached to accounts or screen sized website spams, and if they really wanted to tighten security they should lock out demo accounts of global chat, and prevent them from sending messages.
As far as RMAH's design, it had nothing to do with the ARPG aspect, it was flawed from the beginning, they did have a tiered rune skill system, scrapped, they had talisman and charms, scrapped, they had pvp arenas, scrapped, and on and on and on. It was a long term gigantic failure, and the only reason they turned a profit was playing the Tristram theme during Blizzcons (which doesn't exist in D3), using the name Diablo, and marketing towards WOW players, in addition to Free D3 with a year sub to WOW. If it was good, they would have not made it free.
But as I said, the problems above are the reasons why I am satisfied with Cryptic. I have not heard the staggering constant pyramid sized amount of lies from Cryptic as I have heard from Blizzard. I have written pages that subject. When people target small companies like Cryptic, and slander them vs the amount of suckering companies like Blizzard does, it's unconscionable. People whom actually, willfully pay hundreds of dollars so they can get a pet like you could get in STO for free, and a band that no one cares about anymore that plays 2 or 3 songs, and then the rest is a scripted commercial. It's all really sad. Compare a Q&A with Blizzard Vs Cryptic. Compare how often actual devs visit the forum, or meet online, or on podcast, or in person with people in real life. Cryptic takes the cake every time. Up until recently did the Executive Producer speak on the forums pretty often, which was far more then any Exec on the Blizzard team.
I am of the opinion it is several reasons, RMAH also happens to be one of them, now the problem is BOUND gear. Blizzard Irvine is taking both extremes instead of just allowing people to have their gear in any way they like without having to turn a profit on it. Gone are the days where there are mules attached to accounts or screen sized website spams, and if they really wanted to tighten security they should lock out demo accounts of global chat, and prevent them from sending messages.
As far as RMAH's design, it had nothing to do with the ARPG aspect, it was flawed from the beginning, they did have a tiered rune skill system, scrapped, they had talisman and charms, scrapped, they had pvp arenas, scrapped, and on and on and on. It was a long term gigantic failure, and the only reason they turned a profit was playing the Tristram theme during Blizzcons (which doesn't exist in D3), using the name Diablo, and marketing towards WOW players, in addition to Free D3 with a year sub to WOW. If it was good, they would have not made it free.
Well if you drop BOA, you may as well bring back the RMAH, because people will just use third party sites to sell items, I like that you have to find your own stuff. They just need to fix the stuff so that it's not mostly trash.
Unfortunately after many years of gaming I've become quite the cynic / misanthrope, I believe players can generally be counted on to be greedy, exploiting, cheating, self serving scumbags and couldn't tell the truth if their lives depended on it. It's why I don't believe all the faux outrage over the removal of the star clusters, I think these people are using them in a way not intended and that's going away and they don't like it.
Well if you drop BOA, you may as well bring back the RMAH, because people will just use third party sites to sell items, I like that you have to find your own stuff. They just need to fix the stuff so that it's not mostly trash.
Unfortunately after many years of gaming I've become quite the cynic / misanthrope, I believe players can generally be counted on to be greedy, exploiting, cheating, self serving scumbags and couldn't tell the truth if their lives depended on it. It's why I don't believe all the faux outrage over the removal of the star clusters, I think these people are using them in a way not intended and that's going away and they don't like it.
The RMAH promoted black marketeering, and bad behavior, trading in itself does not. I played D2 for years, and years, I never needed to hit the black market to find what I needed, and I am one of the richest players on D2. People would always ask me who am I on JSP, and I said I don't use it. I do have an account from 04, but I have never received forum gold in it.
My opinion is if you want to stop a behavior, you change it, you don't take away peoples freedoms as punishments for something they have not done.
In my opinion, Diablo 3 is a shockingly bad game, given the level of quality that Blizzard had been able to produce in the past.
there, fixed that for you!
Removing star clusters is one thing, it would be another if they explained why they did it.
obviously somebody didn't get the memo. You should know, that they don't base their decisions on intuition, but on massive amount of data about player habbits.
If you agree with this or not is another business, but atleast except the fact that they don't do anything based on contempt for the player base. If you read this between the lines, you may have a certain preposition to assume people are tricking you. Think about that before you go around acusing people of things that happen in your fantasy.
on topic: STO isn't a very involving game...takes little to get anything you could ever desire in the game. Combined with f2p, it is a solid recepy for me to always return to the game, but never really engage into more than just casual gaming or keeping up with the newest implementations. It does a solid job in attrackting the average trekker, which i think is a casual gamer anyway.
You tell me that they 'base their decisions on a massive amount of data about player habits."
Even if this were true, how is it an objection to anything in my post?
i did highlight the sentence of your comment i responded to, let me do it again.
Removing star clusters is one thing, it would be another if they explained why they did it.
and now from the dev blog:
recent efforts to explore more distant parts of the galaxy, Exploration Clusters have become something were reluctant to steer new players towards because they are not up to our current standards. But one of the main reasons theyve stayed in the game as long as they have, is that Exploration Clusters remain a major source of crafting materials.
first part means, they put actual sector blocks where some of the clusters are right now
second part means, they don't want new people to see that ****tyold content
third reason is, that crafting mats where mainly obtained in the clusters...with them gone, the culsters cease to fulfill that purpose. Which was the only purpose they ever actually had.
another statement from that blog:
...nothing close to what we originally planned
that alone should be reason enough...after all a game developement is to some extend a piece of art, and if the artist doesn't like his work, he throws it away or reshapes it. No reasons or explanations needed.
Appart from that, data is collected, they even give a glimpse into it from time to time, when they release how many accounts there are, how many STFs have been completed, and many other stuff. So they can extrapolate very precise data on what is played and what is ignored.
It is hard to imagine that you actually believe that cryptic has some malevolent scheme up their sleves...if anything they do not care if you agree or not with their decissions, it is rather a show of good will from them to give any statement at all. When you interprete it as "insulting" that is your soup entirely. Everybody has a right to be offended, but that doesn't mean you are right.
Star Trek is really important to me (think of what Fry said in Where No Fan Has Gone Before and that's pretty much me), so I'm somewhere between a ONE and a TWO on this. I'm less free with spending money on the game, but I in no way endorse or support the staggering levels of negativity I see daily in-game and on the forums. Yes, people have legitimate complaints and they should be heard, but when I see dozens of "CRAPTIC SUX!!1!1! comments, I can't help thinking: "Why not find something else to do with your time if this is making you so unhappy?"
I'll be here until the game dies, or you have to spend 5,000 dilithium to start a mission.
Comments
"Where monsters rampage, I'm there to take them down! Where treasure glitters, I'm there to claim it! Where an enemy rises to face me, victory will be mine!" -Lina Inverse
I have been here long enough to know that they build their own missions, and could have chosen to reflect the JJ verse a lot more then they have. But they didn't Which I appreciate from Captain Gecko's perspective. They could have but didn't.
Lockbox ships are annoying, BUT if people want to buy them, LET them, if it keeps the game running and the Startrek banner high, all the better. We do not live in the Gene Roddenberry Utopia where things are free. Sure they are immersion breaking, but it is a necessary price to deal with real world scenarios. Cryptic put much risk into this IP even after the volatile PE incident, even while Atari was holding the sword of Damocles above their heads they managed to launch.
As far as dinosaurs, sure its silly, but its one zone that is silly and non-canon. I also can let it go because this is a game. It's not a real Startrek episode. We wont see Picard and Data in clown suits or anything like that in this game. I think the devs just wanted to create a cool, as well as silly battle area that didn't have such a hardcore canonical slant on it. I see it very much like the Diablo 2's Cow level.
- Judge Aaron Satie
Pvp is optional.
Why so worried about pvp? Its been ignored since launch even with the KDF starting as a pvp faction.
I'm 2 Semi-Loyal but I have by own definition:
"I paid for some stuff and the gameplay was fun...when I started.
But that fun factor has devolved to where STO is becoming all about the grind and time gating all the while fearing the ninja-esque nerfs.
I can see the time when Cryptic finally nerfs the fun out of playing STO...and that's when I'll log off until new developers take over the game."
RIP KDF and PvP 2014-07-17 Season 9.5 - Death by Dev
The above pretty much sums it up for me as well. There is such a thing as real life and EVERYONE lives in it, whether they choose to realize it or not. I prefer to treat STO not as a substitute for life or a game, but as a sport; where one can cheer for the team.
That said, I consider STO the best MMO currently available, with Conan Unchained following as very close second; one for sci-fi and the other for mytho-historical fantasy. All those topics interest me greatly and I find STO to be the best representation of the Trek universe in game form made so far. I hope it continues to develop and expands with greater gameplay content while leaving the basic framework of free playstyle, guild operation, teaming and soloing intact, for which it is an exemplary model of on all parts.
I root for STO and will be an active participant for as long STO exists.
This sums it up nicely. This is the last venue I can get my prime universe fix.
Truth be told, I have no special disdain for Cryptic, or PWE, even if I disagree, which I seem to do more often than not lately. But It's not love either.
But having said this, my loyalty and my support, is never a guarantee.
When it comes to my entertainment, I adhere only to my whim, (I seem to have forgotten this at late) But if things reach critical mass in the wrong direction, pop goes my support.
Y'know, a LOT of people have asked that burning question - if you don't like it, why not go ahead and go? - and the answer's have always been the same - that they hope that Cryptic can do good, or that they're staying until Star Citizen or No Man's Sky or whatever starts up so they can get their TRUE and HONEST Star Trek fix.
Not really lol. I think all STO players learned how to live with POOR expectations about this game. The reasonable expectations they had years ago turned into no expectations at all. I honestly expected more of this game after so many years, but cryptic is putting the line too low season after season and month after month lol.
If one "learns" to live with poor expectations, does it not mean that they had too high of expectations originally?
Check out the Diablo 3 forums sometime and tell me what you see. There is virtually zero pvp in that game, and the devs have built the same items 3x over, and they are a billion dollar company who can't even managed to get the numbers on their items correct for pvm. Nerfs are not done purely because of Pvp, it is the overall exploitation by cheating players or the jealousy of players who believe they are owed better gear earlier. Pvp has nothing to do with it. If Pvp were removed, you would still hear people arguing that their build is not strong enough, soon enough, cheap enough, good enough, fair enough, or even expensive enough.
Well it has been 4 years now, you would think some would get the hint. You either enjoy what Cryptic has to offer or you don't. I don't always like to play STO, and sometimes it becomes boring, but I like it here, because I know what I can expect every time I login, and play, Startrek jokes on global chat, maybe some scifi tech chat, I can earn my way to a new ship, if its trash, no big deal, if its cool like the recent Risian ships, great, all the better, I spent a long time customizing my ships till they look amazing, and messed with loadouts etc. But sometimes I fall asleep playing, that's when I get smart and do something else, if I don't feel like logging in for a day or two or a month I wont. I don't have to be dragged out on my heels through the door like some crazy at Mcdonalds because the image of what was on the screen wasn't identical to what I received.
http://sto.gamepedia.com/Release_notes/20100120http://
Everything about STO is here from 2010 until now and if I'm not mistaken, they're future plans. With that said as much as I would like for some of my own ideas to be paid attention to, the current game play is better than it was when Atari had it.
I am loyal to the game and the Borg or Undine can't harm me cause they're afraid I might violate them. Even the Iconians are like "Roujin? OH HELL NO!!!"
Ummm, (whispers), There is no text on the page you linked.
There are things I'd like changed, things I'd like added, and many little things I think ought to be fixed. But, being with the game from launch, things have gotten much better. I'm sure it's not perfectly the way anyone would like it to be, but there's some hope as long as there's still some money being made.
Here's hoping expansion 2 is epic enough to bring back my loyalty to this game.
Going off topic:
You know theres a rumour that STO is PWE and Cryptic's most profitable game. That wouldn't surprise me as it's Star trek themed (somewhat horribly) but still, if it is why don't they get more support? Occasionally they release some really good work, but most of their work looks like it is done by a small team with a limited budget...
If both of these possible issues were fixed, just imagine what STO could become.
CLASSIFIED
[/SIGPIC]
D3 really isn't a good example.
1) D3's community is one of the most toxic you will find on the internet. A large amount of that is people who are still whining because the real money auction hose is gone and everything useful is bind on account. That way they can't sell on third party sites. Of course they make up lots of excuses, but most are lies because saying "I want to make real money" wouldn't carry much weight.
2) Diablo 3 is being made by MMO designers who really don't know a lot about ARPGs. That's why they're doing lots of annoying things to artificially extend gameplay...because that's how you keep people subscribed and playing. It doesn't matter that there is no subscription, that's how they were trained.
3) Blizzard also think they can turn the game into some sort of e-sport, that's why they are working so hard on ladders and Seasons.
I couldn't disagree more about 1), as the community is toxic because of the way Diablo 3 was designed which is 2), I am one of those people whom so called made it toxic because I argued with Blizzard Devs directly, and indirectly to not stray too far from the the Diablo 1 / Diablo 2 formula, they did not listen, and they did not care. As you said, they have never really known much about ARPG's directly, but indirectly they still host, and had the ability to pull from previous data that made the game(s) great. They refused. So if a billion dollar company can fail at itemization and balance at Diablo 3, even with 2 of the most historically famous ARPG hack'n slash games that it owns the source code to, how can you not expect glitches with a company with a fraction of a fraction of the employees?
Off topic : Also, Ladders do not make the game an e-sport, Blizzard clearly, and plainly stated Diablo 3 was not built for e-sports several times, and as a ladder runner, and a person who made it to the #1 over all position of previous Diablo 2 ladders, it is quite impossible to put a correct gauge on positions, as if they are people or bots, as I know the best of the best on the west realm. It is only a matter of time before people hook up bots. So no, running for Xp will become quite impossible to legitimately score as a ladder position, and only shows the folly of the current devs. I had a team formed with friends of friends whom held top 7 positions on the ladder, and 2 weeks later for the heck of it, I went and rushed myself and followed the 7 botter / mule accounts and got bumped to 11th over all the next day. So no, it will never become an E-sport. Blizzards "Warden" is too weak, and people have been breaking their security for years, which is something I warned them about.
Well I'm one of those who thinks the root of all evil is the RMAH.
I think they had a good game coming along as noted by the early footage. Then someone like Darth Kotick directed them to add the RMAH and force people to use it.
If you step back and look at D3...everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING was designed to push you towards the RMAH.
I am of the opinion it is several reasons, RMAH also happens to be one of them, now the problem is BOUND gear. Blizzard Irvine is taking both extremes instead of just allowing people to have their gear in any way they like without having to turn a profit on it. Gone are the days where there are mules attached to accounts or screen sized website spams, and if they really wanted to tighten security they should lock out demo accounts of global chat, and prevent them from sending messages.
As far as RMAH's design, it had nothing to do with the ARPG aspect, it was flawed from the beginning, they did have a tiered rune skill system, scrapped, they had talisman and charms, scrapped, they had pvp arenas, scrapped, and on and on and on. It was a long term gigantic failure, and the only reason they turned a profit was playing the Tristram theme during Blizzcons (which doesn't exist in D3), using the name Diablo, and marketing towards WOW players, in addition to Free D3 with a year sub to WOW. If it was good, they would have not made it free.
But as I said, the problems above are the reasons why I am satisfied with Cryptic. I have not heard the staggering constant pyramid sized amount of lies from Cryptic as I have heard from Blizzard. I have written pages that subject. When people target small companies like Cryptic, and slander them vs the amount of suckering companies like Blizzard does, it's unconscionable. People whom actually, willfully pay hundreds of dollars so they can get a pet like you could get in STO for free, and a band that no one cares about anymore that plays 2 or 3 songs, and then the rest is a scripted commercial. It's all really sad. Compare a Q&A with Blizzard Vs Cryptic. Compare how often actual devs visit the forum, or meet online, or on podcast, or in person with people in real life. Cryptic takes the cake every time. Up until recently did the Executive Producer speak on the forums pretty often, which was far more then any Exec on the Blizzard team.
Well if you drop BOA, you may as well bring back the RMAH, because people will just use third party sites to sell items, I like that you have to find your own stuff. They just need to fix the stuff so that it's not mostly trash.
Unfortunately after many years of gaming I've become quite the cynic / misanthrope, I believe players can generally be counted on to be greedy, exploiting, cheating, self serving scumbags and couldn't tell the truth if their lives depended on it. It's why I don't believe all the faux outrage over the removal of the star clusters, I think these people are using them in a way not intended and that's going away and they don't like it.
The RMAH promoted black marketeering, and bad behavior, trading in itself does not. I played D2 for years, and years, I never needed to hit the black market to find what I needed, and I am one of the richest players on D2. People would always ask me who am I on JSP, and I said I don't use it. I do have an account from 04, but I have never received forum gold in it.
My opinion is if you want to stop a behavior, you change it, you don't take away peoples freedoms as punishments for something they have not done.
there, fixed that for you!
obviously somebody didn't get the memo. You should know, that they don't base their decisions on intuition, but on massive amount of data about player habbits.
If you agree with this or not is another business, but atleast except the fact that they don't do anything based on contempt for the player base. If you read this between the lines, you may have a certain preposition to assume people are tricking you. Think about that before you go around acusing people of things that happen in your fantasy.
on topic: STO isn't a very involving game...takes little to get anything you could ever desire in the game. Combined with f2p, it is a solid recepy for me to always return to the game, but never really engage into more than just casual gaming or keeping up with the newest implementations. It does a solid job in attrackting the average trekker, which i think is a casual gamer anyway.
i did highlight the sentence of your comment i responded to, let me do it again.
and now from the dev blog:
first part means, they put actual sector blocks where some of the clusters are right now
second part means, they don't want new people to see that ****tyold content
third reason is, that crafting mats where mainly obtained in the clusters...with them gone, the culsters cease to fulfill that purpose. Which was the only purpose they ever actually had.
another statement from that blog: that alone should be reason enough...after all a game developement is to some extend a piece of art, and if the artist doesn't like his work, he throws it away or reshapes it. No reasons or explanations needed.
Appart from that, data is collected, they even give a glimpse into it from time to time, when they release how many accounts there are, how many STFs have been completed, and many other stuff. So they can extrapolate very precise data on what is played and what is ignored.
It is hard to imagine that you actually believe that cryptic has some malevolent scheme up their sleves...if anything they do not care if you agree or not with their decissions, it is rather a show of good will from them to give any statement at all. When you interprete it as "insulting" that is your soup entirely. Everybody has a right to be offended, but that doesn't mean you are right.
I'll be here until the game dies, or you have to spend 5,000 dilithium to start a mission.