Gaul kinda reminded me of Hakeev, only much less campy, and with more of an actual personality. I think he was one of the better villains STO has had so far, and his own personal arc wrapped up nicely and conclusively.
I was disappointed with a lot of the linearity and grind missions though, it got rather repetitive, made even moreso by the fact that every other mission seemed to have the same, seemingly randomly generated rewards (with only one really good choice to pick from) The fact that so many missions can't be rerun at all, and the replay rewards are even more homogenized....doesn't lend itself to much in the way of replays. I can imagine a lot of things they could have put as level rewards to break up identical mission rewards. Some more Vaaudwaur or Kobali ground/space equipment would be nice, or perhaps even something for one of the other factions.
Gaul kinda reminded me of Hakeev, only much less campy, and with more of an actual personality. I think he was one of the better villains STO has had so far, and his own personal arc wrapped up nicely and conclusively.
I was disappointed with a lot of the linearity and grind missions though, it got rather repetitive, made even moreso by the fact that every other mission seemed to have the same, seemingly randomly generated rewards (with only one really good choice to pick from) The fact that so many missions can't be rerun at all, and the replay rewards are even more homogenized....doesn't lend itself to much in the way of replays. I can imagine a lot of things they could have put as level rewards to break up identical mission rewards. Some more Vaaudwaur or Kobali ground/space equipment would be nice, or perhaps even something for one of the other factions.
Is there any way to get back to that last Kobali mission or its sure-to-be-infamous cutscene?
Is there any way to get back to that last Kobali mission or its sure-to-be-infamous cutscene?
Not that I know of. I wish we could redo the Kobali ground mission chain, because I don't feel much draw to go back there otherwise....rewards are so low compared to Voth ground.
Which is a shame, because I enjoy Kobali ground much more.
Well, I just hit a hard block tonight... and when I was coaxed over it, with an assurance that it wasn't that bad, I found out that (IMO) it was.
The mission in question is "Operation Cooperation Conspiracy", part of the "Better With Friends" patrol set, the one that takes place in the Xiokel system. Right off the bat, Ms. Romulan Spy lays out the deal-breaker (details omitted for spoilers, and arguably irrelevant): she wants you to help her lie to your "allies."
Hell no. I'm Starfleet. We don't do that. ("In the Pale Moonlight" being an obvious exception, but that was such a powerful and memorable episode because it went so completely against everything Starfleet and the Federation stands for, acknowledged that, and made that the central conflict. Here, it's simply brushed aside - see below.)
At exactly one point that follows, you get to say, "I won't lie." A few other times, you get the option of saying you don't like this. But whatever you choose, unless you actively quit and skip that entire patrol bundle, your objections are ultimately ignored and the mission proceeds as if you were a willing participant in this deception. At no point are you allowed to come clean with your allies and tell them the whole truth, or shut the whole thing down.
It's Divide et Impera all over again. The only difference this time is that you have a choice of useless protests as you slide down the rails.
I consider it important to quote this bit here. It is not good writing if you give the player the illusion of choice and then continue the way it's "supposed" to be just because.
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
Okay. The last mission is on the console. It awards 1 skillpoint on replay and is on a 30 minute cooldown. (It claims to offer rewards but doesn't. Is it possible that upfront stated replay rewards are not the actual completion rewards for other missions?)
Well, I just hit a hard block tonight... and when I was coaxed over it, with an assurance that it wasn't that bad, I found out that (IMO) it was.
The mission in question is "Operation Cooperation Conspiracy", part of the "Better With Friends" patrol set, the one that takes place in the Xiokel system. Right off the bat, Ms. Romulan Spy lays out the deal-breaker (details omitted for spoilers, and arguably irrelevant): she wants you to help her lie to your "allies."
Hell no. I'm Starfleet. We don't do that. ("In the Pale Moonlight" being an obvious exception, but that was such a powerful and memorable episode because it went so completely against everything Starfleet and the Federation stands for, acknowledged that, and made that the central conflict. Here, it's simply brushed aside - see below.)
At exactly one point that follows, you get to say, "I won't lie." A few other times, you get the option of saying you don't like this. But whatever you choose, unless you actively quit and skip that entire patrol bundle, your objections are ultimately ignored and the mission proceeds as if you were a willing participant in this deception. At no point are you allowed to come clean with your allies and tell them the whole truth, or shut the whole thing down.
It's Divide et Impera all over again. The only difference this time is that you have a choice of useless protests as you slide down the rails.
This mission was also ridiculous from a Romulan point of view. As a Romulan, I was happy to divide and conquer. But I was forced to say I was against this plot.
Romulan are sneaky, and treacherous. Even when they are "good" like the Republic, they are still sneaky and treacherous, they are just helping you and working for the better good. Just like the Klingons are aggressive, and the feds are supposed to be diplomats.
So yeah, it was an awesome Romulan plan, yet I had no other choices than complaining.
Not that I know of. I wish we could redo the Kobali ground mission chain, because I don't feel much draw to go back there otherwise....rewards are so low compared to Voth ground.
Which is a shame, because I enjoy Kobali ground much more.
You can redo the kobali ground chain.
Console by the general in the city has replay consoles.
Not that I know of. I wish we could redo the Kobali ground mission chain, because I don't feel much draw to go back there otherwise....rewards are so low compared to Voth ground.
Well when I saw the bugs in the DR advert video I *was* hoping for a Battle Zone similar to Geko's fetish zone ... with similar awards , and a Starship Troopers feeling .
Gaul kinda reminded me of Hakeev, only much less campy, and with more of an actual personality. I think he was one of the better villains STO has had so far, and his own personal arc wrapped up nicely and conclusively.
My take on Gaul vs. Hakeev was that Gaul is an actual leader (or at least the bug in his belly is, maybe he's as incompetent a mook as Hakeev), while Hakeev is a willing puppet - ruthless and efficient, but intentionally not chosen for his cunning or intelligence so that he never realizes just how far down the ladder he actually is, and never questions what happens to the Romulans when all is said and done.
My take on Gaul vs. Hakeev was that Gaul is an actual leader (or at least the bug in his belly is, maybe he's as incompetent a mook as Hakeev), while Hakeev is a willing puppet - ruthless and efficient, but intentionally not chosen for his cunning or intelligence so that he never realizes just how far down the ladder he actually is, and never questions what happens to the Romulans when all is said and done.
Uh. See, they made the reveal too easy to miss in that last mission. But Gaul had no bug in his belly.
Now... as for Hakeev, I kinda want to go back and do an autopsy now. I bet the Tal Shiar was compromised.
I consider it important to quote this bit here. It is not good writing if you give the player the illusion of choice and then continue the way it's "supposed" to be just because.
Very true. What is frustrating is that it's not hard to use a small tweak to make another option viable.
Take the exact patrol mission in question or anything similar, make the first opportunity to protest/agree trigger one of two NPC speakers for the rest of the mission. One asks you to perpetrate the deception, the other to undo it and find proof. A- go to satellite and attach this listening device. NPC B- go to satellite and check for listening devices.
The work involved would not be that great, but it prevents the railrod nonsense. And we know the tech is in game.
Uh. See, they made the reveal too easy to miss in that last mission. But Gaul had no bug in his belly.
Now... as for Hakeev, I kinda want to go back and do an autopsy now. I bet the Tal Shiar was compromised.
Remember his private lab? I bet hakeev was being driven like a Borg drone is driven by the collective by some iconian servitor who used some of his Borg implants to do it.
Plot: Solid. Kazon should not have been so effective and Talaxians make me cringe, though.
Characters: I loved everyone except Neelix and the Talaxians. I wanted to assist Gaul in his extermination of the Talaxian species. Harry Kim in particular is fantastic.
Acting: Excellent. Jeri Ryan is a little flat, but that's mostly TRIBBLE of Borg rather than Jeri, and Neelix is such a titanic waste of Ethan Phillips that he makes me want to reach into the computer and delete him from the game. Robert Picardo is brilliant, Tuvok is solid, Gaul is menacing and psychopathic, and Garret Wang's Harry Kim is my new best friend.
Combat: Refreshingly challenging, in my Scimitard and my DSD.
Art: Incredibly amazing. Truly, this expansion is Tacofangs's most perfect work yet.
If you are reading this, Tacofangs, you may have me however you like whenever and wherever you like. I have been just sitting in sector space to enjoy the view. System and planet maps are even better.
Kobali Prime is incredibly superawesome.
In short, good expansion. Shame the advanced STFs are basically unplayable until level 60 and effectively unpuggable ever.
Downside: the narrative was interrupted regularly by being told 'you need to go do something else for an hour before you can do the next thing'. Particularly obnoxious on Kobali Prime where I could go walk to the next thing, but no one would talk to me.
Also the tricobalt devices exploded me from behind a lot, very aggravating.
Upside: I really appreciate the professional actors. Tuvok was closest to slipping into the Exposition Fountain, but vulcans kinda do that. Seven, Neelix, Harry Kim, the Doctor: all well done. (I appreciated the villain less because I have been offered to Join Him And Rule The Galaxy so many times in tabletop RPGs. Not a convincing offer.)
Space TRIBBLE vs. Space Zombies: Lesser of two evils! And the Federation does the Federation thing and fix things. The closing cutscene had best be followed up on less than six months from now, though.
The solution the Kobali should have taken if they really want to be ethical space zombies...strike a deal with the Ferengi. We already know the Ferengi believe in monetizing their corpses, so why not set up a Reanimation Futures Market wherein they auction to the highest Kobali bidders. They get investment money in this life, a Kobali family gets a guaranteed offspring many years later. Before anyone objects and suggests Ferengi would get killed early, remember that their corpses are already monetized and we have already seen this sort of thing in "Body Parts" so it is not like this is a new social challenge for the Ferengi.
Question is, will the Kobali mind a massive downgrade in height on the new model?
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-) Proudly F2P.Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
It was more rational and clearer than the Voth storyline for the most part (except what is now happening with the Undine and Voth).
That said, having Cooper be a leader and driver of the Undine conflict with the Alpha Quadrant was less believable. I tend to think that their is some distance between leaders and a conflict they are managing. Undine Agent Copper harassing Tuvok? Yes. Undine Agent Cooper leading the fight in the Alpha Quadrant? Hmm, seems like he is too close to the whole matter and losses perspective.
I was not a huge fan of Voyager but there were some touching moments with the Doctor and Neelix (who historically irritates me). I felt dirty helping the Kobali, especially after the reveal. The trench warfare was a bit creepy, as it reminded me of WWI. I expected gas attacks and automated polaron guns.
On a technical note, Cyptic you got the player mechanics for the battle-zone right on this one. Unlike the Voth and Undine battle-zones the Kobali runs smooth on my computer with no lag or FPS issues. Thank you.
While the patrol mission graphics (complex highly lit backgrounds) really tried my patience, my schedule (time), my computer, and came across as very laggy; I enjoyed the story and diplomatic elements of them.
I'd actually like to see/hear exactly what the connect to Gaul and the bugs were. I'm guessing that it was a collaboration based on his reaction the their reveal. With all this talk about an Alliance the Klingons and the Republic allies were window dressing mostly, especially during a planning session.
P.S. Nice to see different acting Romulans. But I did not want to get involved. Perhaps you could have given Feds a opt out. Or a Section 31 opt in; more role play and rationale that way.
P.S. Nice to see Romulans acting like Romulans. But I did not want to get involved. Perhaps you could have given Feds a opt out. Or a Section 31 opt in; more role play and rationale that way.
No, the NPC act like a Romulan. A Romulan player have the same dialogue than a fed or KDF here. And you can't play your Romulan... as a Romulan, you are just another fed whiner that will still do it in the end.
In fact, no matter your faction, you are treated the same way, and railroaded exactly the same. You are even treated as fed sometimes, for example Gaul say he should thank you because you are part of starfleet, the ones being responsible for awakening him. Even if you are a rom or a KDF.
In fact, I think this is the worst story so far when it comes to multi-faction dialogue. Even in older missions like the cardassians story arc, you have specific dialogues.
I guess it's barely average if you are fed, but if you are not fed, it's bad.
No, the NPC act like a Romulan. A Romulan player have the same dialogue than a fed or KDF here. And you can't play your Romulan... as a Romulan, you are just another fed whiner that will still do it in the end.
In fact, no matter your faction, you are treated the same way, and railroaded exactly the same. You are even treated as fed sometimes, for example Gaul say he should thank you because you are part of starfleet, the ones being responsible for awakening him. Even if you are a rom or a KDF.
In fact, I think this is the worst story so far when it comes to multi-faction dialogue. Even in older missions like the cardassians story arc, you have specific dialogues.
I guess it's barely average if you are fed, but if you are not fed, it's bad.
Not to mention re-playability is non-existent.
Neelix got excited about meeting a Romulan and was rambling on about how he wanted to learn more about them.
On a side note, please replace the word "Romulan" in your first paragraph with "ruthless secret agent" or something, because like Humans, Romulans (and Klingons for that matter) are not stereotypes or clones. There are good ones and bad ones, and everything in-between.
Comments
I was disappointed with a lot of the linearity and grind missions though, it got rather repetitive, made even moreso by the fact that every other mission seemed to have the same, seemingly randomly generated rewards (with only one really good choice to pick from) The fact that so many missions can't be rerun at all, and the replay rewards are even more homogenized....doesn't lend itself to much in the way of replays. I can imagine a lot of things they could have put as level rewards to break up identical mission rewards. Some more Vaaudwaur or Kobali ground/space equipment would be nice, or perhaps even something for one of the other factions.
Is there any way to get back to that last Kobali mission or its sure-to-be-infamous cutscene?
Which is a shame, because I enjoy Kobali ground much more.
Yeah. You can replay the main ones through a sector space dialogue or a console on Kobali Prime.
That LAST mission is basically a one time reward though, it seems like. I can try replaying the last mission to see.
I consider it important to quote this bit here. It is not good writing if you give the player the illusion of choice and then continue the way it's "supposed" to be just because.
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But, man, what a great ending.
Romulan are sneaky, and treacherous. Even when they are "good" like the Republic, they are still sneaky and treacherous, they are just helping you and working for the better good. Just like the Klingons are aggressive, and the feds are supposed to be diplomats.
So yeah, it was an awesome Romulan plan, yet I had no other choices than complaining.
You can redo the kobali ground chain.
Console by the general in the city has replay consoles.
Well when I saw the bugs in the DR advert video I *was* hoping for a Battle Zone similar to Geko's fetish zone ... with similar awards , and a Starship Troopers feeling .
My take on Gaul vs. Hakeev was that Gaul is an actual leader (or at least the bug in his belly is, maybe he's as incompetent a mook as Hakeev), while Hakeev is a willing puppet - ruthless and efficient, but intentionally not chosen for his cunning or intelligence so that he never realizes just how far down the ladder he actually is, and never questions what happens to the Romulans when all is said and done.
Uh. See, they made the reveal too easy to miss in that last mission. But Gaul had no bug in his belly.
Now... as for Hakeev, I kinda want to go back and do an autopsy now. I bet the Tal Shiar was compromised.
Very true. What is frustrating is that it's not hard to use a small tweak to make another option viable.
Take the exact patrol mission in question or anything similar, make the first opportunity to protest/agree trigger one of two NPC speakers for the rest of the mission. One asks you to perpetrate the deception, the other to undo it and find proof. A- go to satellite and attach this listening device. NPC B- go to satellite and check for listening devices.
The work involved would not be that great, but it prevents the railrod nonsense. And we know the tech is in game.
Remember his private lab? I bet hakeev was being driven like a Borg drone is driven by the collective by some iconian servitor who used some of his Borg implants to do it.
Characters: I loved everyone except Neelix and the Talaxians. I wanted to assist Gaul in his extermination of the Talaxian species. Harry Kim in particular is fantastic.
Acting: Excellent. Jeri Ryan is a little flat, but that's mostly TRIBBLE of Borg rather than Jeri, and Neelix is such a titanic waste of Ethan Phillips that he makes me want to reach into the computer and delete him from the game. Robert Picardo is brilliant, Tuvok is solid, Gaul is menacing and psychopathic, and Garret Wang's Harry Kim is my new best friend.
Combat: Refreshingly challenging, in my Scimitard and my DSD.
Art: Incredibly amazing. Truly, this expansion is Tacofangs's most perfect work yet.
If you are reading this, Tacofangs, you may have me however you like whenever and wherever you like. I have been just sitting in sector space to enjoy the view. System and planet maps are even better.
Kobali Prime is incredibly superawesome.
In short, good expansion. Shame the advanced STFs are basically unplayable until level 60 and effectively unpuggable ever.
Also the tricobalt devices exploded me from behind a lot, very aggravating.
Upside: I really appreciate the professional actors. Tuvok was closest to slipping into the Exposition Fountain, but vulcans kinda do that. Seven, Neelix, Harry Kim, the Doctor: all well done. (I appreciated the villain less because I have been offered to Join Him And Rule The Galaxy so many times in tabletop RPGs. Not a convincing offer.)
Space TRIBBLE vs. Space Zombies: Lesser of two evils! And the Federation does the Federation thing and fix things. The closing cutscene had best be followed up on less than six months from now, though.
Question is, will the Kobali mind a massive downgrade in height on the new model?
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
Proudly F2P. Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD:
It was more rational and clearer than the Voth storyline for the most part (except what is now happening with the Undine and Voth).
That said, having Cooper be a leader and driver of the Undine conflict with the Alpha Quadrant was less believable. I tend to think that their is some distance between leaders and a conflict they are managing. Undine Agent Copper harassing Tuvok? Yes. Undine Agent Cooper leading the fight in the Alpha Quadrant? Hmm, seems like he is too close to the whole matter and losses perspective.
I was not a huge fan of Voyager but there were some touching moments with the Doctor and Neelix (who historically irritates me). I felt dirty helping the Kobali, especially after the reveal. The trench warfare was a bit creepy, as it reminded me of WWI. I expected gas attacks and automated polaron guns.
On a technical note, Cyptic you got the player mechanics for the battle-zone right on this one. Unlike the Voth and Undine battle-zones the Kobali runs smooth on my computer with no lag or FPS issues. Thank you.
While the patrol mission graphics (complex highly lit backgrounds) really tried my patience, my schedule (time), my computer, and came across as very laggy; I enjoyed the story and diplomatic elements of them.
I'd actually like to see/hear exactly what the connect to Gaul and the bugs were. I'm guessing that it was a collaboration based on his reaction the their reveal. With all this talk about an Alliance the Klingons and the Republic allies were window dressing mostly, especially during a planning session.
P.S. Nice to see different acting Romulans. But I did not want to get involved. Perhaps you could have given Feds a opt out. Or a Section 31 opt in; more role play and rationale that way.
In fact, no matter your faction, you are treated the same way, and railroaded exactly the same. You are even treated as fed sometimes, for example Gaul say he should thank you because you are part of starfleet, the ones being responsible for awakening him. Even if you are a rom or a KDF.
In fact, I think this is the worst story so far when it comes to multi-faction dialogue. Even in older missions like the cardassians story arc, you have specific dialogues.
I guess it's barely average if you are fed, but if you are not fed, it's bad.
Not to mention re-playability is non-existent.
Neelix got excited about meeting a Romulan and was rambling on about how he wanted to learn more about them.
On a side note, please replace the word "Romulan" in your first paragraph with "ruthless secret agent" or something, because like Humans, Romulans (and Klingons for that matter) are not stereotypes or clones. There are good ones and bad ones, and everything in-between.
Same in here...those ships are AWESOME
DISCLAIMER:
Honest opinion from a lifer..yes there are a few of us that actually LIKE the new content and CRYPTIC is not paying my salary :cool: