There should have been a free T6 ship, that way you could play it and decide for yourself if you wanted a fancier $30 ship.
There should also have been an in-game way to upgrade a ship, say a side mission chain. There's no way I'll ever feel good about paying twice for an endgame ship, or anything really.
The rest can be fixed over time but I doubt they'll change this stuff.
Free tier 6 ship is coming with the winter event starting Thursday.
Pretty much another reason i deleted all but two toons and took my leave of this game
still on the forums as before i quit i spent more time here then ingame anywho
Since when has a developer ever felt the need to use a sock puppet account...
I mean, aside from the Q account.
BioWare. When the game "Dragon Age II" was hit with negative feedback, the developers at BioWare tried to use fake forums accounts.
As a result of deleting a 'paying customer's account', due to having a difference of opinion, several of the online game magazines wrote a scathing article.
I don't remember all of the details. While investigating the original story, one of the online gaming magazines stumbled upon the fake accounts. It turns out that many developers and publishers use similar tactics.
Most of the people at Cryptic have 'personal accounts', which they use to privately play PWE games. Since the private accounts are not publicly known, many players cannot trust positive reviews and posts.
BioWare. When the game "Dragon Age II" was hit with negative feedback, the developers at BioWare tried to use fake forums accounts.
As a result of deleting a 'paying customer's account', due to having a difference of opinion, several of the online game magazines wrote a scathing article.
I don't remember all of the details. While investigating the original story, one of the online gaming magazines stumbled upon the fake accounts. It turns out that many developers and publishers use similar tactics.
Most of the people at Cryptic have 'personal accounts', which they use to privately play PWE games.
It reminds me of another marketing tactic when a new store opens (in this case, a new very popular donut franchise not saying who but they are neither crispy nor creamy) theyd hire a group of people to form a queue in the early hours before the first opening as a means to embellish their popularity and encourage other would be consumers who are likely to see a line and stand in it to see what the fuss is about.
It is a pretty successful technique. As it many companies hiring incognito spies to work alongside the common group and report back to the director.
That's one of the funniest articles I've read...I definitely got a good laugh out of it.
I mean, honestly, the author both states that the game was balanced and not balanced prior to Delta Rising...so which was it? Well, each was brought up, regardless of how he contradicted himself, as needed as a basis to support something else he was saying. So as long as you didn't read the entire article, only snippets - he fully supported what he was saying - otherwise he disproved what he was suggesting.
Comparing the glacial pace of something that's not been out two months to the four years getting - just contradictory nonsense out the wahzoo.
Complaining about the gain of a T6 boat to a T5-U boat...a 10 console T5-U boat will cost somewhere between 2500-3200 Zen compared to the 3000 Zen for a T6 boat. 2500 to 3000 Zen if you buy a 4 pack of upgrades or 2700 to 3200 if you buy a single upgrade.
If the article hadn't been such a major laughgasm, I'd probably be complaining that I wish I had the time back from reading it...
...it's the kind of incoherent garbage one would expect from General Discussion.
I would have loved to have read a good article ripping into Cryptic for some of the TRIBBLE with Delta Rising...but hey, this article was entertaining in its own right.
And you are complaining about complaining. Internet win!!! We've given the devs plenty of coherent feedback, but they don't give a flying tribble about it. Why don't you make some suggestions for how to improve the game and see how far that gets you?
I thought the author was pretty restrained tbh, could have been a whole lot worse for Cryptic, nonetheless I am sure they won't like reading this and perhaps it will be the kick up the jacksey they need to sort stuff out.
I thought they were pretty mild too. Still, indeed, whilst Cryptic may not listen to what we're saying (or just chalk it off as whining), I really hope they're taking this magazine a bit more seriously. According to the latest podcast, they said they heard us, and will take steps to remedy the situation. I hope they do so soon.
My tl;dr advice has always been simple: stop with the obsessive nerfing of every bit of in-game rewward.
@Cryptic: I've been playing (and paying) ever since you went F2P. Trust me enough that I will stay. And if I go thru the Spec tree 17x faster than elsewhere, just... let me! Don't try and frustrate me at every turn. Don't suck the fun out of it for me. Because, ironically, THAT is precisely the way to drive people off (even though you meant the nerfs as a way for people to stay).
I thought they were pretty mild too. Still, indeed, whilst Cryptic may not listen to what we're saying (or just chalk it off as whining), I really hope they're taking this magazine a bit more seriously. According to the latest podcast, they said they heard us, and will take steps to remedy the situation. I hope they do so soon.
My tl;dr advice has always been simple: stop with the obsessive nerfing of every bit of in-game rewward.
@Cryptic: I've been playing (and paying) ever since you went F2P. Trust me enough that I will stay. And if I go thru the Spec tree 17x faster than elsewhere, just... let me! Don't try and frustrate me at every turn. Don't suck the fun out of it for me. Because, ironically, THAT is precisely the way to drive people off (even though you meant the nerfs as a way for people to stay).
@Cryptic: I've been playing (and paying) ever since you went F2P. Trust me enough that I will stay. And if I go thru the Spec tree 17x faster than elsewhere, just... let me! Don't try and frustrate me at every turn. Don't suck the fun out of it for me. Because, ironically, THAT is precisely the way to drive people off (even though you meant the nerfs as a way for people to stay).
Absolutely agreed. They seem obsessed with preventing us from advancing too quickly... because... reasons. Because they seem to think we'll leave?
I never left when I ran out of things to do before. You know what I did when I ran out of advancement? I made a new character, and when that character hit 50 I bought it a ship.
From what I read on the forums in the past, massively is garbage and should just be ignored....why the change?
Terry Lynn used to write the reviews of STO for Massively and her outlook on this game was heavily full of it to say the least. Whoever this new writer is, my hat goes off to them for actually writing something that comes from an unbiased opinion of this game and isn't blinded by, "this is Trek and I will stupidly throw money at it just because it has Star Trek on it".
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Looking for a new fleet? Drop by the in-game chat channel, "tenforwardforum", and say hi to the members of A Fleet Called Ten Forward (Fed) and The Orion Pirates (KDF). If you already have a fleet you are happy with, please feel free to drop by our chat channel if you are looking for a friendly bunch of helpful people to socialize with.
I don't remember all of the details. While investigating the original story, one of the online gaming magazines stumbled upon the fake accounts. It turns out that many developers and publishers use similar tactics.
FTC just fined the TRIBBLE out of a company for doing this on behalf of Sony. With any luck this type of unethical behavior in the industry will either become a thing of the past, or the worst offenders will get fined to oblivion.
Virusdancer makes an excellent point about the article (which I agree with), but misses the impact entirely.
Meh, I guess that's the point that I was trying to make that didn't come across. It was such a poorly written article, the potential impact it could have had was lost, imho. Thus the bit about I would have loved to have read something doing a decent job of ripping into what's going on - so that it did get a bit more publicity out there.
Captain's Log: Why Star Trek Online is kind of a mess right now
by Eliot Lefebvre on Nov 30th 2014 4:00PM
I haven't had nearly as much time to play Star Trek Online lately as I would have liked; I've had other projects to work on, other games to play, and a lot of holiday stuff going on. So my main captain, who's been trekkin' around since launch, is still woefully underleveled. I accept entirely that this is my own fault, but I haven't been stressing out over it; I have no need to rush up to the cap.
That attitude is helped substantially by the fact that the people who are rushing up to the cap or already did rush up are awash with complaints. The speed of leveling. The speed of upgrade mechanics. How the Tier 5 and Tier 6 ships interact. The price of items. The amount of mission content. Gaining new specialization points at the cap. Sure, some of it is pretty normal complaining, but there's a general sense of discontent with the game at the moment. And I'm honestly not surprised because this problem was always going to crop up, and it could have been managed so much better.
Let's start by putting something in perspective: Star Trek Online increased its level cap five months after launch. The level cap subsequently remained the same for more than four years. And if we're going to be honest with ourselves, that cap was starting to get pretty messy.
In some ways it was a very good thing, of course. The cap was fleshed out. There was a lot to do. People largely enjoyed what existed at the level cap. But at the same time, there were signs of how bloated the level cap was becoming. The sheer number of Tier 5 ships hinted at that alone; it was messy to introduce new ships, new reputations, new missions, anything. There was a substantial power gap between freshly capped characters and characters who had been 50 since shortly after the game launched.
Delta Rising was faced with that challenge. It was designed to change the level cap without destroying what already existed at the level cap, which is the usual go-to solution in games that raise the cap. When you look at the changes that the expansion made, you can sort of see how every piece of the puzzle -- queue changes, upgrading ships, upgrading items -- all ties into that central goal of keeping the previous cap content relevant.
This leads to one of the two major problems the game is suffering from right now: Balance is a complete mess. Relative power levels are wildly inconsistent. The queues seem to have schizophrenic difficulty curve, not helped one bit by the fact that optional objectives aren't functioning properly. Upgrades come along at a glacial pace. Earning more specialization points is unnecessarily difficult. Nothing has been tuned to the level that it was by the four-year mark.
But then, that's kind of the reason, isn't it? After four years, the developers had plenty of time to get all of those balance issues hammered out. The Star Trek Online we all got used to playing was the product of a long period of refinement, and the extra 10 levels of the game have not yet gone through the amount of balance that they need. It's partly the fault of the developers, but it's also partly just the nature of changing the cap. Mechanics that were once carefully balanced start showing their cracks; the numerous solutions meant to hammer the old endgame into a working state aren't performing that function now that we have a new level cap. It's unpleasant, admittedly, but it's kind of predictable.
The other problem, though, is best pointed out by the T5u and T6 split: As many players have pointed out, the T6 ships are crazy expensive for what is at this point minimal benefit when you consider the price of just upgrading a Tier 5 ship.
Honestly, this would have been my personal reason not to expand the level cap in the first case. Tier 5 ships have always been expensive, and players have had four years to acquire them. Players have grown accustomed to what's there. The designers obviously didn't want to make all of those purchases worthless, but they also wanted to give you good reason to get new ships. So what we got was a compromise system that benefits, well, no one.
This is a regular theme of the stuff added in Delta Rising. You can upgrade items, but it's slow and tedious to do so, an attempt to account for all of those Mark XII items rewarded while also slowing down the pace of actually upgrading to unwelcome levels. Queues are all scaled up, which means that you're doing the same queues you've always done. By trying to make all of the old stuff relevant while making the new stuff attractive, the devs have created content that's in an odd half-measured space. You want a new ship but you don't want to pay the price for it; you want new gear but it takes so long to upgrade. And so on.
While there's no way to make four years of polish come around in one patch, there were better solutions available here. I appreciate, for example, trying to keep old reputations relevant at the new cap, but this in-between state doesn't help anyone.
Ultimately, a better solution might have been to introduce specializations without actively scaling up the level cap, giving us new ships but not giving us another whole tier on top of it. The effort to marry new vertical progression to old horizontal options feels unsteady and not all that satisfying. Obviously, it wouldn't have been even remotely acceptable to have all of those purchased T5 ships become irrelevant, but what we currently have is an effort to have our cake and eat it too.
So here's hoping that gets toned down over the next four years. Sooner would be better.
So let's take a look at what's being said here, eh?
Eliot starts off by telling us that although he's been playing since launch, that he hasn't been playing much lately - just doesn't have the time. So, just how much time has he been playing? What first hand experience should we expect him to have on the matter of Delta Rising?
It's a weak opening, and he's already losing the audience.
Which isn't helped by his next paragraph by in the least, as he goes on to say that he's heard/read complaints. So this isn't first hand knowledge nor experience, he's commenting based on what he's heard/read.
So his foundation is secondhand at best and we're supposed to continue reading?
He also tells us that the issue was inevitable, and it could have been better handled; but we are left to guess if he is going to cover that.
Okay the, he moves us into some history about STO - just how long we've been sitting there at level 50. He states that it was getting messy - but he's talking about pre-DR STO here - not DR STO.
But there's a few problems here - he's talking for other folks without siting any folks that he's spoken to about any of this. What people largely enjoyed what existed at the level cap? The folks complaining about it? With all the problems he lays out starting with the next sentence?
Non Sequitur Alert! Non Sequitur Alert! It's just poorly laid out. These people that he's speaking for are kind of coming off as a wee bit off. They largely enjoyed these problems? Are these the same people that he heard/read complaining earlier?
He writes of a substantial gap that existed between fresh 50s and veteran 50s - when prior to S9.5, Cryptic had actually been doing everything they could to reduce that gap. It's one of the reasons that S9.5 and later hit like a truckload of bricks. He makes it out to be that there was a four year gap when the gap was around a month if that.
Which could lead one to question what experience he has with the game at all, and thus it further reduces the potential connect with the audience.
He tells us that DR was faced with that challenge. What challenge? Oh, he tells us what "that" challenge was next. It's very poor writing.
He tells us that the challenge of keeping the previous relevant is the go-to solution in games that raise the level cap; but personally, I can't think of a single game that does that. The usual for me has been whatever you had or did is pretty much worthless - come get the new shinies, no? Am I totally off base with that?
Which in turn could further leave one to wonder not only about the foundation he has for writing an article on DR, but if he should be writing anything about MMOs at all.
Then he goes on to tell us that we can see how the pieces of the puzzle fit together based on Cryptic trying to keep the previous content in play; but he does so, without really giving us any supporting evidence. He just tells us, and we're supposed to take his word for it - when up to this point, all he has done is convinced us to look up if he were to say there wasn't a cloud in the sky on what we were already sure was a cloudless day.
Now he suggests that this has led to two major problems. Of course, he goes on to list seven problems. At this point, how does one not facepalm as they back away from the computer?
This is not helped by how many of the issues he raises which have been persistent issues with the game. They are nothing new that has been introduced by DR. Yet he concludes that paragraph talking about four years of fine tuning? Has he ever installed STO? Has he even seen a video of the game?
What on Earth is going on here?
Because he moves again into the four years of the game having been tuned, while already having mentioned the issues that arose from the level cap being what it was as long as it was. Don't forget, mind you, he also stated that players largely enjoyed all those problems.
Now he tells us that the previous list, that grew, of issues were all simply part of the first major problem. So we move into his pointed, pointed, and point statement. Once again, he is not providing any of his experience - just what other players have pointed out. This is where he gets into the "crazy" expensive pricing of the T6 ships for the "minimal" benefit that you get compared to upgrading a T5 ship.
T5 9 console 2000-2500 Zen
T5 10 console 2500 Zen
FT5 10 console 2500-3000 Zen
T5U 10 console 2500-3200 Zen
FT5 11 console 3000-3700 Zen
T6 10 console 3000 Zen
Comparing 10 console ships, the T5U might be 300 to 500 Zen cheaper, the same price, or 200 Zen more expensive when compared to T6.
For that, the T6 currently get access to at least one Specialist BOFF Hybrid seat, a 13th BOFF ability, and the ability to unlock a Starship Trait. That's before getting into the additional features of the Intel ships.
The "minimal" benefit is curious given the outcry over the obsolete feeling some have for even their FT5U ships in comparison to the standard T6 ships. The "crazy" expensive cost - well, I'm at a loss for what he is saying.
It's as if he had a deadline, grabbed a few random threads from the forums, and decided to write a half-assed article based off of what he found.
Because his next paragraph, much like the majority of his article, contradicts what he has said. He starts off here on the hot topic of how people have grown accustomed to what they fly, but did he not just say there was "minimal" benefit for the "crazy" expensive cost of the T6 ships? So why would anybody put behind their current ships?
He simply makes no sense.
The compromise system that he mentions is the same system that has been in play since the beginning with ships - introducing new ships at relatively the same level that are better. It is nothing new, but he is treating it as if it is something new?
He simply makes no sense.
What he states as the half-measured theme of DR is more a case of stating the half-assed nature of the article.
We've got the new problems are the old problems and the solution to the new problems is the old problems. Breaking it down like this has taken me from the somewhat entertaining view I had of it previously to the I want the time wasted reading it back.
It's almost tinfoil hat time; wondering perhaps, if this wasn't some shill Cryptic article meant to be easily destroyed on counter as an example of the complaints received. Thus weakening the foundation for any other complaints made. It actually pisses me off.
Cause, it would have been a case of starting with the premise and selecting some points that supported that premise. Going through each, starting with a good one - working in the rest - and ending strong.
Could talk about how STO has had balance issues - then talk about how DR made it worse.
Could talk about the steps Cryptic took to reduce the gap and even make the game more alt friendly - then talk about the complete about face they took starting with S9.5.
Could talk about how the prices of ships have always been up there - then talk about how much more they were asking from folks for ships they were comfortable with/enjoyed and how they didn't mesh up with what one could get for slightly more or even less.
Could talk about the path of least resistance that players have followed - then talk about the vast differences with the new queues.
There are so many things one could start off with as a point...and...then show how DR made it that much worse. Wouldn't want to cover everything, because you'd lose people - but there are enough strong points to have it covered.
Then work in various other changes that were made, the vendortrash EC nerf, the 5s+ Finishing, etc, etc, etc. Bring up that one of the devs had started to discuss meta changes and bringing balance to the game...and that he announced via Twitter that he's no longer with Cryptic.
Course, as mentioned in the thread - it's easy to bring up the problems. And you know what, you work that into the article with some humble trickery. You bring up that there have been countless posts by people on the forums where they have suggested potential methods to address the concerns...and then you drop the bomb:
If Cryptic were to listen to the players... (bam, obviously they don't)
If Cryptic were to work with the players... (bam, obviously they don't)
If Cryptic were dedicated to the product... (wham, bam, damn!)
And you just drop the bomb, drop the hammer - you just end with that zinger.
What article do you have then? One where you've outlined how the game had problems, that any efforts to address problems were brief and subject to an about face, how they have only made the game worse, how they've ignored potential solutions, how they're just TRIBBLE things up left, right, and center.
And yeah, that would have been the article I would have liked to have read on Massively. That's the "Why Star Trek Online is kind of a mess right now" article that might have grabbed some attention and potentially affected some change...
...not the miserable pile of TRIBBLE that was served up in a cracked dog food bowl.
Terry Lynn used to write the reviews of STO for Massively and her outlook on this game was heavily full of it to say the least. Whoever this new writer is, has chosen to remain unnamed for the time being. My hat goes off to them for actually writing something that comes from an unbiased opinion of this game and isn't blinded by, "this is Trek and I will stupidly throw money at it just because it has Star Trek on it".
I think it's unfair to attack Terilynn like that. I disagreed with her at times (and disagreed with Havraha at times) but as a fleetmate of hers, I really believe her commentary was as honest as could be and written from a very unique perspective: that of a well-to-do Trekkie who is not a traditional gamer and who has expensive hobbies while having very little of the traditional gamer perspective. And that speaks for many of the types of players the game has attracted over its life.
And much like Chris at STOked, she seems like the kind of person who generally only comments when she has something fairly constructive to say. And she has lower expectations for STO, I think, than Chris or most of us here do, in terms of amount of bang for buck. Last I saw, she was thrilled with DR but had only hit level 55 and she's very casual. Me, I DO expect at least a WoW level experience for WoW levels of money as a consumer although I am perfectly willing to brainstorm how to get there too, if I feel my feedback is being collected.
Incidentally, this article has a byline and is credited to Eliot Lefebvre, who alongside Justin Olivetti, are Massively's columnists who cover STO. Not anonymous.
LOL
Articles are written with an audience in mind and verbiage to communicate a point.
For those who don't read Shakesphere daily or work on mathatical forumals of say how to weigh space dust.
The average G.I. Joe will walk away with intended meaning of the review.
Now I feel like a broken record people, while you may live a life above others in spirit or mind.
The word average still applies to the majority of all people in the world.
Life does not exist on another plain of thought, and thus is the challenge.
While one may pick apart another's work don't do it where the average go, "I don't get it".
Well, you won the thread. We can all go home now. :eek:
Lol what has he won? He just posted a wall of text that most people won't even read. But Massively on the other hand is a major gaming publisher with a large following that will read that article.
@VD, I took the phrase "woefully underleveled" to mean that the guy didn't even have a VA character at all. Which tells me that his article is primarily hearsay, and as you pointed out, not his personal experience. My guess is that he's some guy who doesn't care about the game any more than his job as a reporter demands of him. He posts stuff pretty much daily about all sorts of games. I don't think he does more than dabble with them. Eventually he got around to saying something about STO.
This is poor written communication. If someone needs to reread something at all, its not well written. Good examples of "poor" writing, that in fact is great. Would be a S. King as an example where he will purposely write something in an "improper" manner. The reader often will read the correct wording (which is partly why its so great imo) I can only imagine doing that type of stuff is humorous to him being an English Lit Prof. (I think though it subconsciously pulls people into his work... anyway sorry no more Waxing on the English)
What Virus seems to be getting at is more a research issue. Really though all these online game sites/mags are the same. Things are often written by people playing 20 different games and not any one games Hardcore know it inside out game types.
I found the article did a good job of getting at the general frustration that seems to be a STO player global at the moment. I'm sure many of the games masses aren't sure exactly what it is that isn't right but they know something isn't working.
I'm sure Cryptic will pay as much attention to this article as they do to any of us on here in the end. Only way anything on there end changes is if EVERYONE simply not only refuses to spend $ but refuses to log in. There system can survive with a very small handful of "whale" accounts cause the rest of us are willing to sell them our dilithium... what the game needs at this point is a mass mined D boycott. I know never happen... really though if you log in to play don't even mine and refine. Just stop and let the whales mine it themselves instead of allowing them to purchase it from you thus paying Cryptic.
Comments
Free tier 6 ship is coming with the winter event starting Thursday.
Since when has a developer ever felt the need to use a sock puppet account to call us idiots?
I mean, aside from the Q account.
they dont but they have mastered the art of ignoring us unto oblivions fiery hell
And call us idiots in podcasts.
Pretty much another reason i deleted all but two toons and took my leave of this game
still on the forums as before i quit i spent more time here then ingame anywho
As a result of deleting a 'paying customer's account', due to having a difference of opinion, several of the online game magazines wrote a scathing article.
I don't remember all of the details. While investigating the original story, one of the online gaming magazines stumbled upon the fake accounts. It turns out that many developers and publishers use similar tactics.
Most of the people at Cryptic have 'personal accounts', which they use to privately play PWE games. Since the private accounts are not publicly known, many players cannot trust positive reviews and posts.
Did someone get the impression Virus Dancer was a Dev in disguise ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIgfiSzCy1o
No wait.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIgfiSzCy1o
Okay. Back now. What were we talking about again?
Ok please ignore th cardassian saying bad things on the forum
i think this is the cardassian that attempted to touch cryptic...in that place
It reminds me of another marketing tactic when a new store opens (in this case, a new very popular donut franchise not saying who but they are neither crispy nor creamy) theyd hire a group of people to form a queue in the early hours before the first opening as a means to embellish their popularity and encourage other would be consumers who are likely to see a line and stand in it to see what the fuss is about.
It is a pretty successful technique. As it many companies hiring incognito spies to work alongside the common group and report back to the director.
And you are complaining about complaining. Internet win!!! We've given the devs plenty of coherent feedback, but they don't give a flying tribble about it. Why don't you make some suggestions for how to improve the game and see how far that gets you?
Ty sir your sig was my insperation
I thought they were pretty mild too.
My tl;dr advice has always been simple: stop with the obsessive nerfing of every bit of in-game rewward.
@Cryptic: I've been playing (and paying) ever since you went F2P. Trust me enough that I will stay. And if I go thru the Spec tree 17x faster than elsewhere, just... let me! Don't try and frustrate me at every turn. Don't suck the fun out of it for me. Because, ironically, THAT is precisely the way to drive people off (even though you meant the nerfs as a way for people to stay).
for real, ^^ this ++ lol
Absolutely agreed. They seem obsessed with preventing us from advancing too quickly... because... reasons. Because they seem to think we'll leave?
I never left when I ran out of things to do before. You know what I did when I ran out of advancement? I made a new character, and when that character hit 50 I bought it a ship.
I don't think I'm that unusual.
Hehe. Thx.
Btw, love your new sig! (As always)
*blushes* i wub yu! lol
let's just hope the Tribble stuff IS real though, i think all the 50+ pre-DR Vet toons could use it about now.
Terry Lynn used to write the reviews of STO for Massively and her outlook on this game was heavily full of it to say the least. Whoever this new writer is, my hat goes off to them for actually writing something that comes from an unbiased opinion of this game and isn't blinded by, "this is Trek and I will stupidly throw money at it just because it has Star Trek on it".
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FTC just fined the TRIBBLE out of a company for doing this on behalf of Sony. With any luck this type of unethical behavior in the industry will either become a thing of the past, or the worst offenders will get fined to oblivion.
Meh, I guess that's the point that I was trying to make that didn't come across. It was such a poorly written article, the potential impact it could have had was lost, imho. Thus the bit about I would have loved to have read something doing a decent job of ripping into what's going on - so that it did get a bit more publicity out there.
So let's take a look at what's being said here, eh?
Eliot starts off by telling us that although he's been playing since launch, that he hasn't been playing much lately - just doesn't have the time. So, just how much time has he been playing? What first hand experience should we expect him to have on the matter of Delta Rising?
It's a weak opening, and he's already losing the audience.
Which isn't helped by his next paragraph by in the least, as he goes on to say that he's heard/read complaints. So this isn't first hand knowledge nor experience, he's commenting based on what he's heard/read.
So his foundation is secondhand at best and we're supposed to continue reading?
He also tells us that the issue was inevitable, and it could have been better handled; but we are left to guess if he is going to cover that.
Okay the, he moves us into some history about STO - just how long we've been sitting there at level 50. He states that it was getting messy - but he's talking about pre-DR STO here - not DR STO.
But there's a few problems here - he's talking for other folks without siting any folks that he's spoken to about any of this. What people largely enjoyed what existed at the level cap? The folks complaining about it? With all the problems he lays out starting with the next sentence?
Non Sequitur Alert! Non Sequitur Alert! It's just poorly laid out. These people that he's speaking for are kind of coming off as a wee bit off. They largely enjoyed these problems? Are these the same people that he heard/read complaining earlier?
He writes of a substantial gap that existed between fresh 50s and veteran 50s - when prior to S9.5, Cryptic had actually been doing everything they could to reduce that gap. It's one of the reasons that S9.5 and later hit like a truckload of bricks. He makes it out to be that there was a four year gap when the gap was around a month if that.
Which could lead one to question what experience he has with the game at all, and thus it further reduces the potential connect with the audience.
He tells us that DR was faced with that challenge. What challenge? Oh, he tells us what "that" challenge was next. It's very poor writing.
He tells us that the challenge of keeping the previous relevant is the go-to solution in games that raise the level cap; but personally, I can't think of a single game that does that. The usual for me has been whatever you had or did is pretty much worthless - come get the new shinies, no? Am I totally off base with that?
Which in turn could further leave one to wonder not only about the foundation he has for writing an article on DR, but if he should be writing anything about MMOs at all.
Then he goes on to tell us that we can see how the pieces of the puzzle fit together based on Cryptic trying to keep the previous content in play; but he does so, without really giving us any supporting evidence. He just tells us, and we're supposed to take his word for it - when up to this point, all he has done is convinced us to look up if he were to say there wasn't a cloud in the sky on what we were already sure was a cloudless day.
Now he suggests that this has led to two major problems. Of course, he goes on to list seven problems. At this point, how does one not facepalm as they back away from the computer?
This is not helped by how many of the issues he raises which have been persistent issues with the game. They are nothing new that has been introduced by DR. Yet he concludes that paragraph talking about four years of fine tuning? Has he ever installed STO? Has he even seen a video of the game?
What on Earth is going on here?
Because he moves again into the four years of the game having been tuned, while already having mentioned the issues that arose from the level cap being what it was as long as it was. Don't forget, mind you, he also stated that players largely enjoyed all those problems.
Now he tells us that the previous list, that grew, of issues were all simply part of the first major problem. So we move into his pointed, pointed, and point statement. Once again, he is not providing any of his experience - just what other players have pointed out. This is where he gets into the "crazy" expensive pricing of the T6 ships for the "minimal" benefit that you get compared to upgrading a T5 ship.
T5 9 console 2000-2500 Zen
T5 10 console 2500 Zen
FT5 10 console 2500-3000 Zen
T5U 10 console 2500-3200 Zen
FT5 11 console 3000-3700 Zen
T6 10 console 3000 Zen
Comparing 10 console ships, the T5U might be 300 to 500 Zen cheaper, the same price, or 200 Zen more expensive when compared to T6.
For that, the T6 currently get access to at least one Specialist BOFF Hybrid seat, a 13th BOFF ability, and the ability to unlock a Starship Trait. That's before getting into the additional features of the Intel ships.
The "minimal" benefit is curious given the outcry over the obsolete feeling some have for even their FT5U ships in comparison to the standard T6 ships. The "crazy" expensive cost - well, I'm at a loss for what he is saying.
It's as if he had a deadline, grabbed a few random threads from the forums, and decided to write a half-assed article based off of what he found.
Because his next paragraph, much like the majority of his article, contradicts what he has said. He starts off here on the hot topic of how people have grown accustomed to what they fly, but did he not just say there was "minimal" benefit for the "crazy" expensive cost of the T6 ships? So why would anybody put behind their current ships?
He simply makes no sense.
The compromise system that he mentions is the same system that has been in play since the beginning with ships - introducing new ships at relatively the same level that are better. It is nothing new, but he is treating it as if it is something new?
He simply makes no sense.
What he states as the half-measured theme of DR is more a case of stating the half-assed nature of the article.
We've got the new problems are the old problems and the solution to the new problems is the old problems. Breaking it down like this has taken me from the somewhat entertaining view I had of it previously to the I want the time wasted reading it back.
It's almost tinfoil hat time; wondering perhaps, if this wasn't some shill Cryptic article meant to be easily destroyed on counter as an example of the complaints received. Thus weakening the foundation for any other complaints made. It actually pisses me off.
Cause, it would have been a case of starting with the premise and selecting some points that supported that premise. Going through each, starting with a good one - working in the rest - and ending strong.
Could talk about how STO has had balance issues - then talk about how DR made it worse.
Could talk about the steps Cryptic took to reduce the gap and even make the game more alt friendly - then talk about the complete about face they took starting with S9.5.
Could talk about how the prices of ships have always been up there - then talk about how much more they were asking from folks for ships they were comfortable with/enjoyed and how they didn't mesh up with what one could get for slightly more or even less.
Could talk about the path of least resistance that players have followed - then talk about the vast differences with the new queues.
There are so many things one could start off with as a point...and...then show how DR made it that much worse. Wouldn't want to cover everything, because you'd lose people - but there are enough strong points to have it covered.
Then work in various other changes that were made, the vendortrash EC nerf, the 5s+ Finishing, etc, etc, etc. Bring up that one of the devs had started to discuss meta changes and bringing balance to the game...and that he announced via Twitter that he's no longer with Cryptic.
Course, as mentioned in the thread - it's easy to bring up the problems. And you know what, you work that into the article with some humble trickery. You bring up that there have been countless posts by people on the forums where they have suggested potential methods to address the concerns...and then you drop the bomb:
If Cryptic were to listen to the players... (bam, obviously they don't)
If Cryptic were to work with the players... (bam, obviously they don't)
If Cryptic were dedicated to the product... (wham, bam, damn!)
And you just drop the bomb, drop the hammer - you just end with that zinger.
What article do you have then? One where you've outlined how the game had problems, that any efforts to address problems were brief and subject to an about face, how they have only made the game worse, how they've ignored potential solutions, how they're just TRIBBLE things up left, right, and center.
And yeah, that would have been the article I would have liked to have read on Massively. That's the "Why Star Trek Online is kind of a mess right now" article that might have grabbed some attention and potentially affected some change...
...not the miserable pile of TRIBBLE that was served up in a cracked dog food bowl.
Well, you won the thread. We can all go home now. :eek:
Yeah.
I think I feel good that this Virus Dancer guy at least complemented my form, even if he didn't agree with all the content of the review.
I think it's unfair to attack Terilynn like that. I disagreed with her at times (and disagreed with Havraha at times) but as a fleetmate of hers, I really believe her commentary was as honest as could be and written from a very unique perspective: that of a well-to-do Trekkie who is not a traditional gamer and who has expensive hobbies while having very little of the traditional gamer perspective. And that speaks for many of the types of players the game has attracted over its life.
And much like Chris at STOked, she seems like the kind of person who generally only comments when she has something fairly constructive to say. And she has lower expectations for STO, I think, than Chris or most of us here do, in terms of amount of bang for buck. Last I saw, she was thrilled with DR but had only hit level 55 and she's very casual. Me, I DO expect at least a WoW level experience for WoW levels of money as a consumer although I am perfectly willing to brainstorm how to get there too, if I feel my feedback is being collected.
Incidentally, this article has a byline and is credited to Eliot Lefebvre, who alongside Justin Olivetti, are Massively's columnists who cover STO. Not anonymous.
Articles are written with an audience in mind and verbiage to communicate a point.
For those who don't read Shakesphere daily or work on mathatical forumals of say how to weigh space dust.
The average G.I. Joe will walk away with intended meaning of the review.
Now I feel like a broken record people, while you may live a life above others in spirit or mind.
The word average still applies to the majority of all people in the world.
Life does not exist on another plain of thought, and thus is the challenge.
While one may pick apart another's work don't do it where the average go, "I don't get it".
Lol what has he won? He just posted a wall of text that most people won't even read. But Massively on the other hand is a major gaming publisher with a large following that will read that article.
My character Tsin'xing
Pretty much.
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=1302021
This is poor written communication. If someone needs to reread something at all, its not well written. Good examples of "poor" writing, that in fact is great. Would be a S. King as an example where he will purposely write something in an "improper" manner. The reader often will read the correct wording (which is partly why its so great imo) I can only imagine doing that type of stuff is humorous to him being an English Lit Prof. (I think though it subconsciously pulls people into his work... anyway sorry no more Waxing on the English)
What Virus seems to be getting at is more a research issue. Really though all these online game sites/mags are the same. Things are often written by people playing 20 different games and not any one games Hardcore know it inside out game types.
I found the article did a good job of getting at the general frustration that seems to be a STO player global at the moment. I'm sure many of the games masses aren't sure exactly what it is that isn't right but they know something isn't working.
I'm sure Cryptic will pay as much attention to this article as they do to any of us on here in the end. Only way anything on there end changes is if EVERYONE simply not only refuses to spend $ but refuses to log in. There system can survive with a very small handful of "whale" accounts cause the rest of us are willing to sell them our dilithium... what the game needs at this point is a mass mined D boycott. I know never happen... really though if you log in to play don't even mine and refine. Just stop and let the whales mine it themselves instead of allowing them to purchase it from you thus paying Cryptic.