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My letter to CBS

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  • lordmalak1lordmalak1 Member Posts: 4,681 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Sorry OP, but in my limited knowledge of post TOS star trek the Galaxy class ship is obsoleted per Abrams movies. The Sovreign replaced the tired and dated Galaxy design. get over it.
    hevach wrote: »
    Remember when CBS said, "Canon is whatever the fans think it is"?

    Derp
    Canon is whatever junk they put on screen- some of us gave up this 'canon' argument eons ago.
    KBF Lord MalaK
    Awoken Dead
    giphy.gif

    Now shaddup about the queues, it's a BUG
  • duncanidaho11duncanidaho11 Member Posts: 7,980 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    I appreciate everyone's points, whether I agree with them or not, and you many may mock the fact that I wrote a letter but think of it this way; complaining about the game and doing nothing accomplishes nothing. Sure, my letter may be ignored. It may not even be read. But it's something. Let's face it, Cryptic doesn't listen to anyone so unless you do something different, why bother complaining on this forum?

    Its commendable that you want to change the world for what you see as the better. And I'll grant you that there are things about the format of STO which despite its consistency through time I'd rather see changed (content focus and grinding emphasis among them). But in order for those changes to be made I have to first appreciate the fact that we got here through the force of human history.

    Its not just about an evil developer arbitrarily taking personal greed over group well-being, its about a game being made during a particular time and under a very particular set of constraints that can easily be described as "its development" (budget, tools, technology, people, and so on). It had to try to find a way of surviving in the MMO market under those conditions, and therefore had to adopt certain mechanics and certain tendencies to make it the most successful game it could practically be. There's a theoretical Star Trek game in potential that satisfies the IP completely and creates a world of endless content that doesn't require even a single grind. But the conditions from which that game could develop are not the same as those that STO developed from.

    Its an evolutionary problem. You want birds (a magnificent ST MMO) but how do you get there from lung fish (STO)? Do you go headlong into aerodynamics or do you first approach the problem of walking, taking small but achievable steps that work within the immediate developmental context of THAT organism/video game?

    Forums generally approach social change from the perspective that "anything can happen beause I says so" and that often gets a vaccuous silence because impractical or mal-adaptive suggestions (from the Dev's point of view) won't result in spontaneous game updates. The best thing you can do from the perspective of "improving the game" is to focus on immediate adaptations (that respect the immediate pressures acting on STO) that while small in scope and far from the "perfect STO" format push the game along that developmental trajectory (to make further changes along the same line more likely).

    For example: less NPC health scaling with difficulty and level in Space. I contributed to that feedback quite a bit and Cryptic did eventually take action, and probably not because of the force of our mob voice (or the persuasiveness of our writing style) but because it was a reasonable suggestion made with an eye towards improving STO according to its present environmental function and at a scale that the devs could achieve. The devs could appreciate it, they could do something about it, and they may have even got there through their own independent reasoning (since objective changes should be universally appreciable.)


    What this basically amounts to then is a measure of pragmatism. Suggest changes, speak out against TRIBBLE, but approach the problem as a practical evolutionary exercise. Trying to ram Cryptic's head into the wall for "TRIBBLE everything up" isn't productive, but trying to change certain details can be. But if those remain the same despite your actions, remember that as an evolutionary exercise STO's development doesn't hinge exclusively on feedback. There's other constraints, pressures, and interest involved and those may often dominate..
    Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
    Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
    Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
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  • jaymclaughlinjaymclaughlin Member Posts: 630 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    This made me laugh.

    Yeah there was NEVER any gambling associated with Star Trek.

    No one ever bet quatloos on a fight

    No one ever played poker.

    No one played dabo.

    No one ever bet on a game of darts

    I forget was there betting on that shuttle race in the Delta Quadrant?

    Anything else I'm forgetting? :P

    Fizzbin?

    Also use of the corbomite device was a pretty big gamble! :D
    animated.gif
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  • christianmacchristianmac Member Posts: 359 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Just a few points to consider dude.


    A: There have been worse updates to the game(season 4 come to mind). They will continue to adjust and players will continue to play.

    B: CBS approves of the lock boxes and non-cannon ships. Plus its the future, are you saying they cant advance their ship designs? wow arnt you a little off.

    C: If this was exploration only the game would have failed 4 years ago. While I agree that there should be an exploration component combat is used to keep a game interesting.

    D: STOP ASSUMING THAT EVERYONE HATES THIS GAME AND WANTS IT TO FAIL!!!!!!!!! Write your fracking letters but WE don't need to hear about every tantrum you have!!!! YOU are not that interesting.



    Have a nice day.
    77TH FIGHTER SQUADRON
  • duncanidaho11duncanidaho11 Member Posts: 7,980 Arc User
    edited December 2014

    B: CBS approves of the lock boxes and non-cannon ships.

    The lock box design you can also bet owes a lot to CBS's take on non-canon ships. Not everyone should have access to a galor (CBS point), but there is something to be said for letting people fly interesting ships in the ST universe in an ST video game. So you gate access via very low controlled probabilities (costing some limiting resource), with other content supplementing in to give people something for their trouble if they don't luck-out.

    There, you have the first lock box.
    Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
    Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
    Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
  • jaymclaughlinjaymclaughlin Member Posts: 630 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    ashkrik23 wrote: »
    People kill me when they go on with, "This game doesn't fit Gene's ideals!"

    Gene died in 1991, so anyone that goes by 'if it ain't Roddenberry, it ain't Trek' has to dismiss anything from TNG season 5 onwards.

    If I'm entirely honest, my favourite episodes were always the Romulan ones, especially the early ones where we didn't know much about them (although still weird seeing Sarek as a Rom). Thing is, Romulan's didn't actually figure in the many episodes in the grand scheme of things.

    Also, how would diplomacy and exploration actually fit into an MMO really? You can't have an infinitely expanding galaxy based on what people have explored. It's just not practical. Also you can't have everyone creating their own treaties and pacts independently. We'd be both at war and peace with everyone at all times!

    As much as I'd like the game to be more 'Trek-like', there are concessions that have to be made, due to it being a game. If it were entirely accurate, it would be phenomenally dull! Imagine it... you could only do what you'd been ordered to do. A lot of it would be just wandering around your bridge for 9 hours while at warp. Then you'd get there, and find that all you're doing is transporting a bunch of colonists to a starbase, which would be another few hours of tedium.

    I like STO. It's got enough Trek for me within the remit of a playable game to make it enjoyable for me. Sure, there are things that could be improved, and things I wish were in the game, but it's catering to multiple players... not just me. 'The needs of the many...' etc
    animated.gif
  • johnstewardjohnsteward Member Posts: 1,073 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    That's not entirely true. There's stuff CBS has vetoed. Stuff that has been frequently requested for 5 years that could have been a cash cow for Cryptic if they had permission to add them to the game.

    I think t6 connie and all that is not in the game because cryptic doesnt want it there. All that about cbs veto is just a lazy excuse to avoid further discussion. (Although its not really working)

    Thing is, same with the galaxy, that if the real iconic ships from the shows would be any good ppl would just buy them once and never again anything else.

    I'm quit sure thats the reason not CBS.
  • jaymclaughlinjaymclaughlin Member Posts: 630 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    I think t6 connie and all that is not in the game because cryptic doesnt want it there. All that about cbs veto is just a lazy excuse to avoid further discussion. (Although its not really working)

    Thing is, same with the galaxy, that if the real iconic ships from the shows would be any good ppl would just buy them once and never again anything else.

    I'm quit sure thats the reason not CBS.

    Why would they make it up?
    animated.gif
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  • js26568js26568 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Your letter makes you seem borderline insane. Do you ever leave the house?

    Anyway, it's not CBS people should be writing to, it's Perfect World. Not Perfect World Entertainment, Perfect World.

    Go right over PWE's heads which. as their heads are currently buried in the sand, should be pretty easy.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Free Tibet!
  • futurepastnowfuturepastnow Member Posts: 3,660 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Quite honestly, the power tray bug has probably cost them more casual players in the last month than any ill-thought-out design decisions.
  • tekehdtekehd Member Posts: 2,032 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    This made me laugh.

    Yeah there was NEVER any gambling associated with Star Trek.

    No one ever bet quatloos on a fight

    No one ever played poker.

    No one played dabo.

    No one ever bet on a game of darts

    I forget was there betting on that shuttle race in the Delta Quadrant?

    Anything else I'm forgetting? :P


    And hence goes back to my point of how official canon differs from the opinion of what is canon of a some random dude nerdraging to CBS.
  • questeriusquesterius Member Posts: 8,489 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Dear OP,

    Thank you for your letter and display of affection for the Star Trek universe.
    After consulting with out legal and marketing department we have decided to take these actions:
    1. Snicker.
    2. Laugh.
    3. Laugh out loud.
    4. Roll over the floor laughing.
    5. Breathe and start over at 1.
    This program, though reasonably normal at times, seems to have a strong affinity to classes belonging to the Cat 2.0 program. Questerius 2.7 will break down on occasion, resulting in garbage and nonsense messages whenever it occurs. Usually a hard reboot or pulling the plug solves the problem when that happens.
  • kristaswiftkristaswift Member Posts: 306 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    IMHO this game has gone down paths it never should have and has turned in to something it never should have. I'm pretty sure that there will be enough players to keep it going for a while, however in that time you can be sure that PWE/Cryptic will continue to do to the game what the Borg do to their victims.

    In my humble opinion this game needs to end so that another may spring up in its place. The only way that will happen in the near future is if CBS steps in. Hence my letter to CBS this morning.

    I know many of you will disagree with my stance, however the beauty of a forum is that it's our place to express out thoughts and opinions. If you disagree with my opinion, fear not, I will understand and respect it. If you do feel the same way then I ask you too to write to CBS.

    Most likely CBS will ignore my letter but as far as I'm concerned it's better to have written it and have it ignored than to just tolerate this mockery without doing anything.




    To whom it may concern.

    I am writing to you today regarding the licencing of the Star Trek IP to Perfect World/Cryptic studios for the purposes of the Star Trek Online game.

    First let me preface this email by saying that I’m a huge fan of the Star Trek IP. As a young boy in Australia I must say that I discovered Star Trek at a very young age by accident. I discovered it whilst channel surfing on the sofa during a bout of illness. I found it to be awe inspiring and I became hooked by the first episode I saw, being “Wolf in the Fold”. From then on in I would set an alarm clock every Saturday to ensure that I didn’t miss an episode.

    When The Next Generation was released it felt like my birthday and Christmas, all rolled in to one. I had seen all of the Original Series episodes many times over and was now being given the opportunity to experience Gene Roddenberry’s vision of a better tomorrow again. Each subsequent series continued to fan my passion for this majestic IP.

    Upon moving to the United States 4 years ago I discovered Netflix. To me this was heaven as I now had every episode of Star Trek on demand. My watching multiple episodes per week was something that caused my wife a lot of frustration but she since learned to accept it and has since started to enjoy watching!

    I was immensely excited when I discovered Star Trek Online. Not only was I being given the opportunity to explore the Star Trek IP, I would be able to do it as the captain of my own ship. I started playing the game and spent quite a lot of time on it. Admittedly, more than a person really should!! I understood that a game could never really emulate the ideologies and concepts that the series did but in the absence of any new Star Trek TV series it did nicely.

    Unfortunately the game has since begun a slow progression away from the ideologies and principles of the IP. Over the past 4 years I have noticed the game degenerate to the point where you no longer explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, nor do you boldly go where no one has gone before.

    Exploration and diplomacy have fallen by the wayside in place of a system where fighting and combat is the end-all and be-all of the game. You no longer travel to far away destinations. You click a button and you’re there. When you get there you kill things. All of the space in between worlds has been rendered useless, taking away the exploratory feel that all of the series gave us.

    The game has now devolved to the point of being a money-grubbing exercise. Instead of evolving and developing the game in such a way that continually adds to a richer experience, PWE/Cryptic have created a monster where every new release makes everything before it completely irrelevant, including any content or material that you’ve paid for in the past. Iconic starships like the Galaxy class and Nebula class are pointless as new alien ships are created all for the purposes of sales. In fact, many times I notice the complete lack of any Federation ships as everybody flies fictional non-canon ships which essentially is like taking the Federation out of a Star Trek game!!

    Most disappointing of all is that there is even a system where a person buys “keys” using real life money. These keys are used to open “boxes”, boxes that contain random, mostly useless items with the exception of extremely rare (non-canon) ships. People spend incredible amounts of money to obtain these ships, essentially creating an online gambling system. Associating the Star Trek IP with online gambling is deplorable.

    As I mentioned earlier, I used to watch many episodes per week on Netflix. That has changed recently. This game has put such a sour taste in my mouth that I have watched less and less episodes on Netflix. Sure, I could just stop playing the game but as a diehard fan of the Star Trek IP it’s hard to just cease the only current and interactive source of the Star Trek IP I have.

    CBS, I have been a fan of Star Trek for 35 years now. I love the universe that Gene Roddenberry created. I find it to be inspiring, engaging and full of wonderment. That universe is being tarnished by this game. I implore you to not renew the contacts with PWE/Cryptic when the times comes around next. I implore you to allow this broken mockery of Star Trek to end, so that another company may try their hand at creating a universe rich and diverse, a universe like the one Gene Roddenberry created. It’s time to give someone else a turn.

    Regards,

    @Darramouss (I used my real name in the real letter. Don't want to appear to be weird or anything.)

    I can sympathize with the feeling but probably will be stronger if you start a petition:
    https://www.change.org/start-a-petition?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GST_USER_GEOT2_SCHT1_online_petition

    I'm sure you can find a bunch of players willing to sign up and back up claims above. The more voices the better. Just a suggestion.
  • khan5000khan5000 Member Posts: 3,008 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Meanwhile at CBS

    an intern brings a letter into the exec office. He looks at it weirdly.
    Intern:"This is weird. Someone wrote a letter???"
    Exec: "It's probably a Star Trek letter. Put it in the Star Trek pile."
    Intern: "I don't see a Star Trek pile."
    Exec points to waste basket.
    Your pain runs deep.
    Let us explore it... together. Each man hides a secret pain. It must be exposed and reckoned with. It must be dragged from the darkness and forced into the light. Share your pain. Share your pain with me... and gain strength from the sharing.
  • tekehdtekehd Member Posts: 2,032 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    khan5000 wrote: »
    Meanwhile at CBS

    an intern brings a letter into the exec office. He looks at it weirdly.
    Intern:"This is weird. Someone wrote a letter???"
    Exec: "It's probably a Star Trek letter. Put it in the Star Trek pile."
    Intern: "I don't see a Star Trek pile."
    Exec points to waste basket.

    Yes, they make special filing cabinets for letters like that... they are known as a circular file. They are nice and combat, very non obtrusive.... they can even fit under many desks for ease of storage.
  • curedmencuredmen Member Posts: 215 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    I do agree on the part that some other company should do the game. Cryptic/Pwe has to go...well i would settle for if PWE would go and the game would stay at Cryptic but only if they would be forced to give the game a new engine. LOL

    Buuuuut, thats not going to happen ever. Sadly...sniff!

    Just let it go. Atleast i did and im happy about it. Even if i have spended over xxxx amount of euros on to this game. Yup! Im a whale, atleast i was. Not anymore...

    I still read the forums...its the only "free" part on this game!
  • haskanaelevahaskanaeleva Member Posts: 70 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    I can sympathize with the feeling but probably will be stronger if you start a petition:
    https://www.change.org/start-a-petition?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GST_USER_GEOT2_SCHT1_online_petition

    I'm sure you can find a bunch of players willing to sign up and back up claims above. The more voices the better. Just a suggestion.

    thank you for giving him more ideas to get something shut down that I and other people still like.
  • curedmencuredmen Member Posts: 215 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Despite my grievances (see sig) with this current expansion, it wouldn't take much to put the majority of issues right, and indeed for those trying to level, gain spec points and craft, it seems this Thursday's patch is going to address those issues nicely.

    Your letter will achieve nothing I believe for many reasons, but here's a big one: as far as I am aware the licence for Star Trek is not exclusive to Cryptic/PWE, CBS can issue new licences to any company that wants to make any kind of Star Trek game, as can Paramount for the movies. Your idea that by ending this incarnation of STO will somehow magically open the doors to the next game studio that is chomping at the bit to make a better MMO is therefore invalid.

    I, like many others on here, are passionate about STO, it's why we bother to write about all aspects of the game and why we voice our opinions vociferously if we think that is what is required. We may only be 3% of the gaming community but we are still a reasonable cross section of the more dedicated players, we are complaining because we want it changed, we don't want it stopped.

    So whilst you heart is in the right place you are clearly misinformed and mistaken that the letter would either a) result in any kind of change, b) serve the wishes of this community.

    I was about to go for Titanic aswell, but then i went for this.....
  • gamer940gamer940 Member Posts: 168 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    anazonda wrote: »
    Don't pick on the OP....

    He helps provide valuable feedback to CBS, so they can hire people to put paper into the shredder.

    If he actually sent this off, I hope it ends up getting him the help that he so obviously is in need of.
  • qziqzaqziqza Member Posts: 1,044 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    tekehd wrote: »
    Yes, they make special filing cabinets for letters like that... they are known as a circular file. They are nice and combat, very non obtrusive.... they can even fit under many desks for ease of storage.

    Ahhh file 31N
    tYld1gu.gif?1
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  • solarwraithsolarwraith Member Posts: 191 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    gamer940 wrote: »
    If he actually sent this off, I hope it ends up getting him the help that he so obviously is in need of.

    Would that help involve him on a couch and someone sitting in a chair...pretending to take notes as they contemplate what they are going to eat for lunch? That is the scenario I imagined...
  • lored2deathlored2death Member Posts: 6 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    I applaud the OP's passion towards Trek. If more people held a higher standard and demanded more from such an iconic IP, perhaps STO wouldn't be the game it is.

    While I don't think this kind of thing has any impact, such things are never impossible and at least he is doing more than whining about something he apparently cares deeply about.

    You aren't weird or even wrong, OP. There's just a lot of mean jerks on the forums who would rather sit back and either fanboy or nerdrage. I was guilty of criticizing here myself before I realized no one at Cryptic cares one bit what their players want or think.
  • thecosmic1thecosmic1 Member Posts: 9,365 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    curedmen wrote: »
    I do agree on the part that some other company should do the game. Cryptic/Pwe has to go...well i would settle for if PWE would go and the game would stay at Cryptic but only if they would be forced to give the game a new engine. LOL

    Buuuuut, thats not going to happen ever. Sadly...sniff!

    Just let it go. Atleast i did and im happy about it. Even if i have spended over xxxx amount of euros on to this game. Yup! Im a whale, atleast i was. Not anymore...

    I still read the forums...its the only "free" part on this game!
    CBS has sold other companies a license to do a Star Trek MMO. They sold a license to GameForge, but they cancelled the project over a year in because they ran out of money. A few months back they sold a license to NGames for another MMO that is probably a year or more away.

    The existence of STO does not stop CBS from selling more licenses. CBS is not Lucas - who cancelled the SWG license for Bioware's SWTOR. CBS does not care if there are a dozen Star Trek MMOs out there in the market. They are all about making money from their IP.

    The saddest part of the OP's original post is near the end where he talks about STO making him watch less Star Trek on Netflix, but he cannot bring himself to stop playing STO. Think about it... the fake Trek is stopping him from watching the real Trek, but he would rather play the fake Trek then watch the real. The OP has a problem, IMO.
    STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
  • solarwraithsolarwraith Member Posts: 191 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    I applaud the OP's passion towards Trek. If more people held a higher standard and demanded more from such an iconic IP, perhaps STO wouldn't be the game it is.

    While I don't think this kind of thing has any impact, such things are never impossible and at least he is doing more than whining about something he apparently cares deeply about.

    You aren't weird or even wrong, OP. There's just a lot of mean jerks on the forums who would rather sit back and either fanboy or nerdrage. I was guilty of criticizing here myself before I realized no one at Cryptic cares one bit what their players want or think.

    I think we all need a little therapy really, since Delta Rising™ The best expansion ever, the one that players all love, has caused a bit of collective psychosis within the community.
  • talonxvtalonxv Member Posts: 4,257 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    All I can say to the OP is.

    THEY DO NOT CARE.
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    Star Trek Battles member. Want to roll with a good group of people regardless of fleets and not have to worry about DPS while doing STFs? Come join the channel and join in the fun!

    http://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1145998/star-trek-battles-channel-got-canon/p1
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