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PWE/Cryptic Needs New Management

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  • mustrumridcully0mustrumridcully0 Member Posts: 12,963 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    That would be MR. EP (executive producer) D'Angelo. Former EP D'Stahl used to be a more communicative with the playerbase. Just hope the new EP would at least say something about the biggest NERFDOOM these days or explain his case.

    And you're certain that dstahl was any better? It seemed to me he was just more of a sweet talker, who had lofty ideas, many of which would never bear fruit.
    Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
  • gulberatgulberat Member Posts: 5,505 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Hypothetical question since when I joined, Stahl was at the helm. How much power does D'Angelo have? Could he make his own decisions or was he the fall guy? I have the same question when it comes to Geko. I don't agree with what either of them has done but there is a lot of boardroom politics I can't see.

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  • lazarus51166lazarus51166 Member Posts: 646 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Correction: The vast majority of the whiny minority on the forums likes to make stupid signatures to show their distaste for a game, while the ones who are really displeased with the game just leave without any indication that they've done so.

    There is no minority here. That is a belittling accusation with no basis in reality. You know why there are so many people making those signatures? Because the DR was a disaster and then they tried to tell us everything was just fine. That is a major red flag and its also quite ignorant and belittling on the part of the company.

    and no, people do not 'just leave' and say nothing. You are using circular logic
    Change is not easy for some people to deal with. Some players need the familiar to feel comfortable. In time the players will conquer thier fears and the new shape of things will feel normal. Give them time.

    LOL in other words ignore reality and blame the players
    I believe the Dev's should stay the course. This expansion has been active for something like 2 months? Why does everyone expect to dominate already? If they revert to the way it was, the same people calling for the changes will be hollering for more content.

    Dominate? Who said anything about dominating anything? Take a good look around. People are getting more and more fed up with this kind of nonsense, let alone having staff shove absurd claims down their throat of everything being ok.
    I think STO needs a new player base because the current one is becoming ever more stale, boring and repetitive.
    Seriously, people need to stop whining like spoiled little girls.

    A new player base? Good, you can start by taking your own advice and leaving. Nobody wants nor deserves your ignorant belittling comments
    Nope, just ppl whining on the forums, I haven't seen anything negative about DR in my fleet's cross fleet chat for about 2 weeks, everyones setting up matches, chilling with each other, and having fun. Oh and yeah we have 28 fleets in the same channel, last I checked about 350 players were online in the channel

    Nobody is whining on the forums. That is an offensive statement. Basing anything on the actions of a single small fleet means nothing
    I leveled easily by following the Episodic Missions and using the Open Missions on Kobali Prime.

    No you didn't. DR was designed to prevent just that kind of thing from occuring
    You force yourself to patrol one System, because it's the easiest/fastest way to level, then you complain that they force you to grind. Who did that? You did that.

    No, the devs did that. He did not design nor program any part of the game. Period
    The Grind is self enforced. You can do all of the things you used to do, but Steam Roll. I guess that is what made the game for those with your opnion.

    The grind is not self enforced, its a fundamental design decision thats been pushed into the game for the last several years. If you can't see that you are either delusional or lying. Take your belittling bs elsewhere
  • shpoksshpoks Member Posts: 6,967 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    And you're certain that dstahl was any better? It seemed to me he was just more of a sweet talker, who had lofty ideas, many of which would never bear fruit.

    Stahl was far from perfect and Kahless knows I disagreed with him a lot of time. But compared to D'Angelo, he's a Santa Claus. Almost every decision since he (D'Angelo) became EP of STO has been abysimal in my book and the few small good ones are nowhere near enough to cover for all the bad ones.
    HQroeLu.jpg
  • hausofmartokhausofmartok Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    I definitely think a new DIRECTION for STO is needed, if not new personnel making design decisions.

    Bring Fun(tm) back to the top of the game design priorities...let players choose their own adventure instead of engineering methods to get us to play the way metrics targets dictate
    [*]Reduce the suffocating focus on systems, numerics, and engineered playtime and mechanics
    [*]Design according to the users - most people run multiple characters and multiple ships
    [*]Default to expand horizontally (missions, sectors, NPCs, events), not vertically (xp changes, PC levels)
    [*]Remove Elite difficulty for most PvE events - it's confusing, spreads the queues too thin, and was applied too broadly and should only apply to a few events like Battle of Korfez offered in a single difficulty setting for big rewards
    [*]Upgrade system costs are just too high - again most people have multiple toons and multiple ships but people will only pay when they know they won't go bankrupt trying
    [*]Be much more respectful toward the player community (Al, I'm talking to you. On behalf of the playerbase, we're officially sick of your ****.)
    [*]Bidirectional feedback is critical. Looking at the numbers is a valid way to see what's going on but when you withdraw from the community and don't join in any discussions, constructive or otherwise, you seem out of touch and further alienate us.
    [/LIST]

    Bring Fun(tm) back to the top of the game design priorities...let players choose their own adventure instead of engineering methods to get us to play the way metrics targets dictate
    Fun is subjective.
    Reduce the suffocating focus on systems, numerics, and engineered playtime and mechanics
    What seems suffocating for some is new and interesting for others
    Design according to the users - most people run multiple characters and multiple ships
    They've done that. That's why we have rep tokens and easy unlocks for event ships on alts, account bound lobi, account bound dil mining claims. What else could you guys want FFS. Account bound everything? How stupid can you be? Honestly.
    Default to expand horizontally (missions, sectors, NPCs, events), not vertically (xp changes, PC levels)
    People want vertical progression. This game needs it after not having it forever.
    Remove Elite difficulty for most PvE events - it's confusing, spreads the queues too thin, and was applied too broadly and should only apply to a few events like Battle of Korfez offered in a single difficulty setting for big rewards
    Someone who used to steamroll Elites in five minutes for quick dil is now butt hurt so we should remove all challenge from the game so they can have their easy rewards while thinking they are still leet players lol
    Upgrade system costs are just too high - again most people have multiple toons and multiple ships but people will only pay when they know they won't go bankrupt trying
    Did you read the last patch? My fleet mate made me 38 Superior upgrades for next to nothing. Costs are too low now if anything.
    Be much more respectful toward the player community (Al, I'm talking to you. On behalf of the playerbase, we're officially sick of your ****.)
    Al is not a likeable guy, there's nothing that will change that other than replacing him which is the only thing I agree with in this thread. He needs to resign or be re-assigned
    Bidirectional feedback is critical. Looking at the numbers is a valid way to see what's going on but when you withdraw from the community and don't join in any discussions, constructive or otherwise, you seem out of touch and further alienate us.
    IMO this game would be better off if the Dev had a better idea of what they wanted to do with the game and completely or almost completely ignored the players on the forums. The forums are full of a bunch of nit picky nerd ragers. They ran a poll and players said they wanted to go Voyager with the game and here we are. Voyager sucks.
  • anazondaanazonda Member Posts: 8,399 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    These threads never end well.
    Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
    Let me put the rumors to rest: it's definitely still the C-Store (Cryptic Store) It just takes ZEN.
    Like Duty Officers? Support effords to gather ideas
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  • atlantraatlantra Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    questerius wrote: »
    I think STO needs a new player base because the current one is becoming ever more stale, boring and repetitive.
    Seriously, people need to stop whining like spoiled little girls.

    ^^^^ AKA "Don't complain. Just bend over and take it."

    No! It's the size of a tank cannon! I'll let them use it on you :P. Personally I hate getting screwed over like that. Some players would just accept any BS a company throws at them and stay silent. That's not helping the situation in anyway. Most people who complain just wants a better/funner game. STO continues to get worse over time. According to my data the current status is CRITICAL to the players who really care.


    Simple changes can make STO 90% better. Cryptic just choose not to improve in critical areas.
    The dress is gold and white. Over 70% people says so. When viewed from a certain screen angle it appears blue and black. The dress displayed on amazon is a blue and black dress, but it's not the same dress in the picture. If you're seeing blue & black you're slightly colored blind. A normal upright screen = white and gold.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • curedmencuredmen Member Posts: 215 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    What PWE/Cryptic need is to let go of ST ip. Let someone else do it with a better game engine that might atleast have a chance to actually be what Star Trek is all about.

    Sure, STO carries the heavy curtained name Star Trek, but the truth is. Star Trek Online has absolutely NOTHING to do with STAR TREK except the name and some of the ships in game that kinda look like Star Trek ships. But thats IT.

    Now, if you actually would like to have something that might come a bit closer to ip. Check Elite Dangerous. Its where all the sto devs will be and season 10 -> will be cancelled.

    What? Did you actually think devs would play STO?!

    - BWAHAHAHAHAHA, No they do not.


    And for those who keep saying they wait for Star Citizen. Get both, Star Citizen and Elite Dangerous!
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  • stardestroyer001stardestroyer001 Member Posts: 2,615 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Alaric, please stick to the topic of PWE/Cryptic management. The last thing we need is another thread shut down because people can't stay on target.
    stardestroyer001, Admiral, Explorers Fury PvE/PvP Fleet | Retired PvP Player
    Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
    My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
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  • leviathan99#2867 leviathan99 Member Posts: 7,747 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    valoreah wrote: »
    Pressure from PWE would be my educated guess.

    I really think PWE pressure comes largely in the form of targets.

    Targeted playtime (the shareholders are big on this).

    Targeted sales, obviously.

    Threat of partial divestment, which PWE has been doing with its development houses.

    I don't necessarily have an issue with high targets. The marketing, promotion, labor, and voiceover for this game isn't free, obviously.

    However, I am convinced that the approach used to hit these targets is internally settled on. Among other things because I doubt Robert Xiao knows the intricacies of STO's game balance or game economy all that well.

    They certainly wouldn't be paying for Jack, Steven, and Al as management if Robert Xiao, Ming Chen, and Win Kee Lau could manage the individual game economies, much less be hiring monetization designers for individual games if individual games didn't require their own monetization design. The goals set are by Cryptic.
  • stardestroyer001stardestroyer001 Member Posts: 2,615 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    alaric63 wrote: »
    Just what target did I miss?
    aleric63 wrote:
    Your anger doesn't make you right. Hundreds of Signatures don't make you right. They just make you sound petulant.

    The thread is about pushing for new management, not name-calling other forum users.

    Stick to the topic, please.
    stardestroyer001, Admiral, Explorers Fury PvE/PvP Fleet | Retired PvP Player
    Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
    My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
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  • iconiansiconians Member Posts: 6,987 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    curedmen wrote: »
    What PWE/Cryptic need is to let go of ST ip. Let someone else do it with a better game engine that might atleast have a chance to actually be what Star Trek is all about.

    The chance of that happening is extremely slim to nill. You are saying let STO die for the chance or possibility of another Star Trek MMO that is somehow better over all.

    This is quite likely the only Star Trek MMO we will ever see, if trends regarding the gaming industry and the tech bubble we are still experiencing are any indication.

    The gamble you are wanting to make is one where the odds are not in your favor or any of our favors.
    Sure, STO carries the heavy curtained name Star Trek, but the truth is. Star Trek Online has absolutely NOTHING to do with STAR TREK except the name and some of the ships in game that kinda look like Star Trek ships. But thats IT.

    The company who owns the intellectual property to Star Trek says the exact opposite.
    Now, if you actually would like to have something that might come a bit closer to ip. Check Elite Dangerous. Its where all the sto devs will be and season 10 -> will be cancelled.

    I'm still waiting for TOR to kill Star Trek Online just as the bandwagon said it would.
    What? Did you actually think devs would play STO?!

    They do. I have played with a few. Most of them do. However, most of them are not very good at the game (watch one of Smirk's livestreams if you want to have a brain aneurysm, for example - even though he is not a dev). Many of their design decisions come from people who are too embarassed to admit they actually aren't very good at this game. Not because they don't play it at all.
    And for those who keep saying they wait for Star Citizen. Get both, Star Citizen and Elite Dangerous!

    There's something to be said about counting your chickens before they hatch. There is also something to be said about trying to fix what you have now instead of killing something and hoping for something better to come along.
    ExtxpTp.jpg
  • stardestroyer001stardestroyer001 Member Posts: 2,615 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    valoreah wrote: »
    Just my 2 quatloos, but asking for more content does not necessarily equate to a need to dominate. Personally, I felt DR was extremely light on content while very heavy on new systems.

    IMO the game doesn't need any new systems for a while. I'd love to see Cryptic spend the next 2 or 3 updates/seasons focusing solely on episodic and repeatable (ala exploration-esque) content and zero new systems. The story content is the strength of this game and it is something that I believe they do very well.

    This is just my personal opinion here, DR felt like it was rushed out with a lot of new timegated systems to inflate some metric about play time. I'd like to see the focus back on story content, something which I believe this game is lacking in atm.

    I agree. Give people time to catch their breath, adapt to the working mechanics, and fix the problematic ones, and in a couple months the gripes will fade.

    Regardless, this won't happen if the Devs in charge continue to be blind to player suggestions. We need Devs who listen to the customers they are serving.
    stardestroyer001, Admiral, Explorers Fury PvE/PvP Fleet | Retired PvP Player
    Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
    My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
  • atlantraatlantra Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    alaric63 wrote: »
    Cough up the Data then. Show something more than teary eyed opinion and someone might just listen.

    Don't have to. No one with any importance will listen anyway... Players already proved that a trillion times. Cryptic/PWE already see the number of players leaving and their stock sliding...

    They just pretend everything is okay... If you want the data, look it up like me.
    The dress is gold and white. Over 70% people says so. When viewed from a certain screen angle it appears blue and black. The dress displayed on amazon is a blue and black dress, but it's not the same dress in the picture. If you're seeing blue & black you're slightly colored blind. A normal upright screen = white and gold.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • the1tiggletthe1tigglet Member Posts: 1,421 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Simply put. The Devs who are making decisions for the game aren't doing their job right.

    I suggest whoever's up top (PWE? Cryptic?) to apply pressure to the Devs to repair the damage caused by DR, or to change the command structure.

    Because let's face it PWE, this strategy isn't working. If you want us to stay, give us motivation to stay, and in addition, hold your workers accountable for their actions.

    EDIT: More specifically, CaptainGeko (Al Rivera), but certainly not limited to him.

    Absolutely agree however it's definitely not only Geko
    D'Angelo absolutely has issues managing this game properly. There's alot of things that he's done to cause problems for the players. We need new leadership, and no these apologists who keep saying "nothing to see here move along" won't make these essential central problems disappear from the game. Literally the only reason why I've logged in right now is only to get the winter stuff. After that there's nothing for me to do except get max in crafting on the fields I am working on. So it's login post a R&D logoff until theyfix these issues. No buying zen, no buying ships, no paying for my name change, nothing until they fix these issues.

    You're not getting my money cryptic until you fix these dilithium and specialization XP issues. Until then I will put my main on what you've put this game one, automatic.

    Oh and I'd also like to point out, that the system you're using for upgrades is the same system used for gear progression in NWO, I stopped playing NWO 4 months after launch for the same reasons.
  • iconiansiconians Member Posts: 6,987 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    atlantra wrote: »
    Don't have to. No one with any importance will listen anyway... Players already proved that a trillion times. Cryptic/PWE already see the number of players leaving and their stock sliding...

    They just pretend everything is okay... If you want the data, look it up like me.

    So you're saying... study it out?
    ExtxpTp.jpg
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  • anazondaanazonda Member Posts: 8,399 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    nabreeki wrote: »
    ~Snip

    I tend to agree with almost everything you said.

    Problem is, your nature is to have the opposite opinion of what ever a OP is posting, making it hard to determine if you actually disagree, or simply want to create a heated discussion.

    What you call a minority, may very well be representative of the players as a whole... We simply don't know, because as it is so often mentioned, Forum users are only a percentage... A minority as some would say.

    But who is to say, that that minority dosen't reflect the playerbase as a whole accurately?
    Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
    Let me put the rumors to rest: it's definitely still the C-Store (Cryptic Store) It just takes ZEN.
    Like Duty Officers? Support effords to gather ideas
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  • woodwhitywoodwhity Member Posts: 2,636 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    I like how they warp the car against the wall. Such bravado must be applauded to.
  • mustrumridcully0mustrumridcully0 Member Posts: 12,963 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    atlantra wrote: »
    Don't have to. No one with any importance will listen anyway... Players already proved that a trillion times. Cryptic/PWE already see the number of players leaving and their stock sliding...

    They just pretend everything is okay... If you want the data, look it up like me.

    How do you now they pretend that everything is okay? When was the last time you spoke with Geko?
    Why do you think they would pretend and ignore everything? What do they have to gain? It's not like the forums suddenly become quit and relaxed for it, or that players that leave reconsider because Cryptic pretends everything is fine?


    We also all know that there a patch or maintenance comes usually once a week.

    We also know that big changes usually take time. Anyone remember that tacofangs said in response to a Winter Event thread that the event was basically already done and the only thing that you could still give useful ideas to would be something like the Summer Event, which is still several months off.
    In the Priority One interview with Jesse Heinig, he mentioned ideas for how to make the upgrade system more user friendly, but he warned to expect the changes before next year.

    That is the kind of time frames you have to think in. Anything between 1 week to 6 months. That's a wide span, but it should remind you that just because they listen to feedback and decide to enact changes doesn't mean they will automatically come a week later.

    You think a new leadership would do it any faster?
    Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
  • atlantraatlantra Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    alaric63 wrote: »
    Everyone knows you have zero Data. It's ok, your opinion carries just as much clout here on the Forums anyway. All of the whiners believe you. What else could you need?

    It's not an opinion. PWE's stock did fall 22% and they lost 100,000+ players. Just a fact. Stop being lazy and look it up. I'm not doing it for you.
    The dress is gold and white. Over 70% people says so. When viewed from a certain screen angle it appears blue and black. The dress displayed on amazon is a blue and black dress, but it's not the same dress in the picture. If you're seeing blue & black you're slightly colored blind. A normal upright screen = white and gold.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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This discussion has been closed.