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A Reason For The Current State Of The Game And Why They Don't Fix It
thlaylierah
Member Posts: 2,984 Arc User
Maybe because they can't.
Maybe to undo all the unwise difficulty adjustments is just beyond their technical capabilities.
Repeatedly telling them doesn't seem to be helping and the Ques are dead and they are losing money like crazy.
Maybe they want to fix it, but they can't, and are too embarrassed to come out and say it. :eek:
We need to help them instead of berating them.
Even they can see by now that it was a mistake.
So here's what you do Cryptic.
You leave all the NPCs the way they are and instead boost all the Player's ship stats.
Just point the people that broke the game at the Player level data and tell them to repeat their actions.
Maybe to undo all the unwise difficulty adjustments is just beyond their technical capabilities.
Repeatedly telling them doesn't seem to be helping and the Ques are dead and they are losing money like crazy.
Maybe they want to fix it, but they can't, and are too embarrassed to come out and say it. :eek:
We need to help them instead of berating them.
Even they can see by now that it was a mistake.
So here's what you do Cryptic.
You leave all the NPCs the way they are and instead boost all the Player's ship stats.
Just point the people that broke the game at the Player level data and tell them to repeat their actions.
Post edited by thlaylierah on
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Its a bit more of wish thinking but I have pretty much the same.
Those thoughts as well of my social network in STO are pretty much the only things which keep me stick with the game as far as time is concerned.
Cryptics decisions lately turned me from a paying customer into f2p anyway. They are the only ones who can turn me back.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
lots of maybes, cans and hypothetical but that isnt an accurate point of play on the game or its developers.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Right there with ya.
That's why I am completely F2P now and will not even contribute dil to Zen. I refuse to be part of a broken economy--either for myself or to subsidize anybody else's habit.
And now I have it loud and proud in my signature. If that makes me a freeloader, fine: to balance out what I spent in earlier years, unless things change I will simply do my thing, entirely free, so that I can take the resources I paid for before, without giving any more in return. That's how I will recover, even if only slightly, MY internal metrics.
I am Proudly F2P. If you think this matches your STO philosophy, and you want to put it in your signature too, please feel free.
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.
I agree with what you are saying and have added the F2P tag to my sig as well, however I think a louder message is sent by simply not logging into the game at all until significant changes are made. I could be wrong, but it seems to me any player online (paying or not) is contributing to Cryptic.
But I admit I'm a Min/Maxer!!
Would you recommend STO to a friend?
Agreed. Wholeheartedly.
It really doesn't contribute unless Cryptic has invested what we put in early on, on something generating constant returns over time. But if it's all spent, it basically might as well not exist and Cryptic has to be thinking about what they need to pay recurring bills (including dev salaries, server and bandwidth costs, etc.) and those for any unexpected costs. They also need to consider their debt levels...and of course I can't see their books to know what they really paid for five famous voice actors, but I do think it is fairly safe to say that those five actors can command a much higher rate than Cryptic's "normal" stable of actors (unless one of them is also doing work on the same level the five VOY actors are). Either they *have* incurred debt already, or have dipped significantly into their cash reserves at a heretofore unseen level and risk not being able to cover upcoming expenses if they do not get a sufficient return on investment from DR--and the amount of disaffection with the game plus the sample of players seen on Steam (player levels dropped back VERY quickly compared to LOR) does suggest the risk.
So to be taking resources without contributing towards those upcoming expenses--which Cryptic could be stretched thin to cover as it is--could put a strain on the system if enough people do it.
It IS reversible if Cryptic makes extensive changes--fixing their QA and producing the product the customers want instead of the one PWD wants. But if they do continue to stay their course, here is a very real risk of a shutdown. When--I can't say without seeing PWE's books. But it is a real risk.
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.
Short answer: PURE INCOMPETENCE
You bring up a valid point, however you cannot deny that having people in there new Delta Quadrant doesn't improve their "metrics". Thereby enabling them to also prove (to some degree) to their higher ups that this is expansion is "successful". Although the money may or may not be flowing in like expected, I'm sure they can twist the numbers so that it appears that the money will come.
But if they go from 1000's of people logging in to 100's that will not be so easily ignored or manipulated into "success".
And the other thing is that many people are "sheepish", sure they'll be upset today, tomorrow, they'll fuss about it in Zone Chat and then they'll accept it and go on until the next round of nerf's and the cycle will repeat itself.
Just look at the Dil rewards "boost" we've been given, now were up 720Dil for an Elite STF or maybe that includes Advance, and people seem to think we've won something when not to long ago those same STF's awarded 1440 Dil.
Please understand I'm not trying to argue with you, you seem to be an intelligent person and someone I would enjoy knowing.
I just don't think idea of simply not logging into the game should be dismissed as a valid way to get their attention.
Would you recommend STO to a friend?
Do you know why simply not logging into a game won't work? Simple, because there will always be another.
Star Trek Online is F2P. Times are a-changing. The people today who hate the extended grind and the monetization of stuff will run off in a huff and be replaced with people with more money and more patience. Such is the fate of a game that is Free-2-Play. The players in this game, and many others like it, will be like a hydra: cut off one head and two shall take its place.
To paraphrase janus1975
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showpost.php?p=20832571&postcount=722
I hope posting this link is not a violations of TOS or FCT, if it is I apologize in advance.
"As a franchise, Star Trek is a niche. It's big enough to sometimes look like it's mainstream, but it's not. It also has a fanbase that pays enough (and brings enough other people in on occasion) to make it appear to be bigger than it otherwise would. Financially, it has TV shows and movies which operate as the skeleton around which the merchandising, fan art, games, and everything else builds upon. And it's all that surrounding stuff that seems to be where the real money is. STO is part of that merchandising. But it is nonetheless catering to a stable but smallish fanbase that pays for it. "
Would you recommend STO to a friend?
There is only 3 possible explanations
a) incompetence
b) total disregard for their customers
c) combination of both
I love Star Trek and I love this game but I just don't get it.
As for skill points and level progression... It's pretty crappy what they did, but honestly the progression hasn't been too bad esp when compared to other mmo's. I have one toon at 60, one at 57, and 3 at 54. And I really haven't put much effort into leveling, what I have accomplished I've pretty much done through doffing. HOWEVER, as a lot of people seemed to miss, this recent skillpoint increase/level requirement increase was a nerf to doffing xp. It also had the added benefit of making people feel better by seeing bigger numbers roll across their screen. But it had nothing to do with balance, that was an lie evident by the round about back talk in their dev post about the change.
But the fact is... Regardless of how you feel... The queue's are empty. The bugs are abundant. Crafting is a $$$ ripoff. And, as the OP suggested, I don't think they CAN fix this game. I think they've screwed it up so bad it's FUBAR and they've just decided to milk what they can while they can before the entire STO universe implodes on itself. I've gone from playing 6+hrs a day to logging in long enough to doff and slot R&D, in the vague hope that maybe... Just maybe... They'll pull their heads of their rears and do something to put the fun back in this game.
I will never play another PWE/Cryptic game, and I will never recommend anyone play any PWE game. In fact I will go out of my way to warn people off. And the day PWE finally runs out of gullible fools to fund their TRIBBLE I'll pop open a bottle of Romulan Ale and toast their demise.
XO of Training
Tier 5 Starbase, Tier 3 Embassy, Tier 3 Dilithium Mine, Tier 3 Spire
Join us at www.dtfleet.com
A bit harsh isn't it?
Looking at the game, how the systems work, how they do things as a business. I can't help but feel like they are blagging it.
For those not savvy in UK jargon blagging it means basically 'make it up as you go along'. Lots of improvisation, lots of sticky tape to cover up the problems and hope no-one notices.
I can only speak from my own experience, but looming deadlines and a schedule to keep does lead to cutting corners and easy changes that have big implications down the road. I'm not proud of it, but at times I've done it myself just to get the work done and out the door.
That is my main annoyance; something doesn't work, so instead of fixing it, they release something else with it's own problems - thus inevitably creating more problems. We then need to ponder why they've released a bunch of things that don't work properly anyway.
Take Legacy of Romulus for example; that was an expansion released, what, 18 months back? It was released half cut (quite literally in some respects) but 18 months on, they've not gone back to tidy it up and finish it all off, no, instead they release a second expansion that (in my opinion) just doesn't live up to desires.
I kinda remember one of the Devs talking about it on a podcast. Something to do with having to go back to earlier branches and correct the damage there.
So if a problem extends back to say season two correcting it would be a major job.
I could be wrong tho.
This would be more effective if a single big spender didn't counteract the effect.
Assume the average F2P player with limiited resources and playtime expends $5 a month normally (be that in direct purchases or dil transactions). If a thousand such F2P stop, Cryptic loses $5000 a month.
Assuming your average whale drops $100 a month (a low figure, trust me), even fifty whales would counter act that. There are, I assure you, more than fifty whales in the game.
The problem doesn't stem from a broken economy so much as a broken understanding of what said economy is supposed to be doing. As much as I despise many parts of SWTOR, the cashshop they have is better: entirely cosmetic without a single, solitary item that grants anything making you any better.
In the past, before DR, STO was not really P2W. The lockbox ships gave some advantage, but there was enough EC and dil in the game to get everything by working at it. DR has made upgrading expensive while cutting dil and EC sources. That's what's broken.
Welcome to earth. One giant broken economy
Did you actually just say SWTOR has a better f2p plan? Because if that's what you meant you're wrong as you can possibly be.
You mean the devs should point on the devs?
Because if you want to imply players who learn about the game broke it, you should just l2p. If humanity had this mindset you seem to have here, we would still live in caves and hope for a bolt to incinerate a tree to get fire.
I'm sorry I can not follow the reasoning behind this post?
I'm implying that some devs that are behind the NPC boosting could be directed by whatever management may be present at Cryptic to repeat their shenanigans on the Player data so we might have boosted stats as well balancing the equation.
As for the caves: "Bang the rocks together guys."
Your concept worked 2 years ago .
It no longer works .
Players (and Devs) have wised up .
For a Dev , slogans such as "I was about to buy X , but then Y happened , so now I'm unhappy and I won't buy until all your base are belong to me !" , or the more recent "I've gone fully F2P !" does not mean much anymore ... if it ever did .
However if you're only half heartedly willing to protest (see above) , but in reality you keep logging on , then you are doing the equivalent of boycotting a brick & mortar store by hanging out at the store all day , pushing around a filled up cart but refusing to pay .
Do you know what you are actually doing in the scenario above ?
Making the store look busy and prosperous .
Do you know how not to do that ?
Stand outside a store with a protest sign .
See , this guy get's it .
There are no more mythical leprechauns .
STO has no "busy other servers" .
In STO you can see how relatively few are playing the public queues , and you can also see the private queues as they happen (in the "join active match" tab).
It's time to face facts :
Ppl are voting with their feet , and not just because voting with their wallets didn't work for them .
And after the long list of shenanigans , I don't blame them , even as we risk turning STO into STOP-ed .
... and if you still don't get it , perhaps one of the worlds biggest spies can explain it to you better in my sig ... , in a metaphor ...
You know I was never a whale just a little mino. What I mean by that is back in dec 2010 when I was put into early retirement due to health reasons my then wife bought me a copy of this game. When the game went f2p I kept my gold sub now I know I could of went lts along time ago but I wanted to support this game and I knew had I gone life I would not spend anymore on iit. When season 9.5 came out it sickend me to see that little p2w button in the r&d but I delt with it when delta rising went live and we had the exploit then not an exploit issue I said the heck with this so un october 28 2014 I dropped my gold sub.
Like you I am now a f2p member (I'll try and make a sig later) but I will support thier dil to zen exchange and show them what true f2p member can do
Its sad I love this game and want it to be around for ever but since thursday I have had eight emails from members in my fleet that I run letting me know to remove them from the fleet becouse they are done with this game. Its really sad when you think about it.
Not sure if you can't read: I said the cash shop is better. I did not mention their F2P 'plan',only the fact that you cannot pay to win.