Well, why NOT revamp the Caitan models?

mhirtesc

In the recent "Design a Duty Officer" contest ( http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/9052013 ), this was one of the winners:

http://images-cdn.perfectworld.com/arc/b5/aa/b5aa20cb6cb1ec90f17bd5b42e9a3e921419883789.png

See? HAIR! Hair makes a big difference on Caitan, doesn't it?

I wish the Devs would look into a revamp of the Caitan models. I'm sure there were many disappointed players who were hoping to make their own M'Ress toon but were not allowed to pull it off due to lack of hair or better looking facial models.

hypl

One can only dream...

kitsunesnout

It was a worthy try, but for boffs or players, that would look so strange I think, I mean, that kind of hairstyle works on cartoon style caitians, but it really doesn't look like it would belong on a Caitian with STO's graphics without looking like a wig, the hair really needs to look like the rest of the body fur, we just need to keep the hair graphics as it is now, but add extra styles with it aside from texture.

crabbycabby

Maybe have a look at the Hani from C.J. Cherryh's Chanur novels?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chanur_novels

angrytarg

The Caitians in game look nothing like M'Ress (the only Caitian we do see for more than two seconds screentime). TAS should be the template for this species which means we should get hair options and digitigrade legs with paws and - most importantly - the option to go barefeet/paws. Yes, so much work to redo footwear - then don't. Let players choose either the plantigrade style we have now (nothing changes) or a new leg options for digitigrade which comes with two or three trouser and skirt options and no footwear.

mjarbar

All of this has been discussed at length here and goes on for over 101 pages

http://http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=831761

Caitians and Ferasens need a lot of work and additions which is on the Devs 'to do, somewhere, sometime' list so nobody hold their breath for this anytime soon!

If you have anything to add, even if it just an 'I agree with this post' then please join the thread posted above as we can then show the devs that this is something a sizeable proportion of the player base want so may get bumped up the priority list. If we have multiple threads all over the place it gets confusing and dilutes our responce to the subject.

erei1

Simply put : they haven't found a way to monetize it. Sure, they could sell them on the cstore, but they are not willing to add more stuff for entire faction (when was the last time a KDF only costume was released in the cstore ?), you can't expect them to work on a single species.
Your only hope is a dev that might be interested doing it, probably off work.

mjarbar

erei1 wrote: »

Simply put : they haven't found a way to monetize it. Sure, they could sell them on the cstore, but they are not willing to add more stuff for entire faction (when was the last time a KDF only costume was released in the cstore ?), you can't expect them to work on a single species.
Your only hope is a dev that might be interested doing it, probably off work.

The last time a dev responded to the thread, I mentioned, they said that the head shape used by the Caitian/Ferasen models - along with the Gorn model - is that they have a different head shape to the rest of the character base, and that to add existing hair styles or add new ones would require a complete rework, and as it would be for a select amount of players as opposed to the entire player base, has to take a lower priority than the rest of the game, regardless of if it was put in the Cstore or not. This is why Caitians and Gorn can't use the sunglasses from the summer event.

So indeed it would more than likely to only come about if the devs will do off work, and there is a whole lot of stuff that needs to be tweaked, polished and fixed but from what I have been reading in various threads - and from what devs have said in the past - it seems the focus is always on the next big launch, either season or expansion, and afterwards it is firefighting major bugs. Taking time out from this to add the stuff everyone would like isn't on the cards! The only way to change this would be a shift in focus from "more players, more money" to " maximise what we have".

orangeitis

I saw it as the devs saying "look! We WANT to give Caitians this stuff, but Geko has us stuck in the Delta quadrant!"

erei1

repetitiveepic wrote: »

I dont remember cats having hair like people.

maybe that's why

I don't remember cats walking on 2 legs, flying starship, and speaking. Perhaps because this is STO and not real life ? And those are not cats, but Caitian.

bioixi

repetitiveepic wrote: »

I dont remember cats having hair like people.

maybe that's why

This cat does: http://hellogiggles.hellogiggles.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/11/crazy_hair_cat1.jpg

Anyway, they are not cats, they are Caitians, and they are able to grow hair:

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/6/60/MRess.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20061205201828&path-prefix=en

chastity1337

crabbycabby wrote: »

Maybe have a look at the Hani from C.J. Cherryh's Chanur novels?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chanur_novels

Oh, I loved the Chanur series. Best depiction of multiple alien species in an SF novel, rivaled only by David Brin's first Uplift Series. CJ Cherryh is absolutely the grand old lady of science fiction, and her more recent Foreigner Sequence is damned good, as well.

Cherryh has thought through, in detail, more about the social consequences of a space-borne diaspora than any other SF author I have read.

All that said, (ahem!), back on topic. That pic isn't my favorite...

angrytarg

repetitiveepic wrote: »

I dont remember cats having hair like people.

maybe that's why

The species they claim to portray in this game, however, can, as seen in the show.

bioixi

valoreah wrote: »

^ Have to agree with this. There's little return on the investment here.

That doesn't mean it cannot be suggested, it's an improvement, might not be important but I don't see any problem about adding it, it seems like a simple modification.

Right now there are bigger problems, but this can be added in the future.

Besides, there is profit here, Updating the caitian model might make players buy the playable version and the boff version.

erei1

repetitiveepic wrote: »

Give me a list of 100 issues with sto, and I'll give you a list of 100 better things for the devs to concentrate on than giving human hair to cats.

valoreah wrote: »

^ Have to agree with this. There's little return on the investment here.

Personal opinion right there. While I doesn't care at all about caitian hair, I know some people that are huge fan of the species, and would like hair very much.
Priority list is different for everyone.

Mine would start with re-balancing the game, and fixing the DR grind. Then finishing + balancing the Romulan, followed by some KDF love.
Some would start with PvP, or better STF, more trek feels, exploration, diplomacy...

In the end, I think we all know we are not getting any of that. We are going to have more content, new bugs, a few old fixed, and more grind with cash grab.

bioixi

valoreah wrote: »

Or it might not make players buy anything. The same has been said for bridges and interiors, yet according to Cryptic, these don't sell well so they don't make them.

Bridges and interiors are almost useless, there is little to do inside a ship other than grabbing some doff assigments, meanwhile playable species sell well, there are lots of liberated borgs and caitians, and unlike interiors, everyone can see them, all the time.

Besides, adding some hairstyles takes way less time than making an entire interior+navmeshes.

velktra

crabbycabby wrote: »

Maybe have a look at the Hani from C.J. Cherryh's Chanur novels?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chanur_novels

The Charr hairstyles might also work well for Caitians.

mhirtesc

mjarbar wrote: »

All of this has been discussed at length here and goes on for over 101 pages

http://http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=831761

Caitians and Ferasens need a lot of work and additions which is on the Devs 'to do, somewhere, sometime' list so nobody hold their breath for this anytime soon!

If you have anything to add, even if it just an 'I agree with this post' then please join the thread posted above as we can then show the devs that this is something a sizeable proportion of the player base want so may get bumped up the priority list. If we have multiple threads all over the place it gets confusing and dilutes our responce to the subject.

I disagree. The more threads that are opened about this subject, the less likely that the Devs can ignore them.

mhirtesc

repetitiveepic wrote: »

Give me a list of 100 issues with sto, and I'll give you a list of 100 better things for the devs to concentrate on than giving human hair to cats.

If they can't even give hair to cats, then what hope is there for them to fix anything at all?

admiralkristov

Ugh... furries...

mhirtesc

Well, this is sure depressing. So many people using the excuse for Devs to slack off cuz HURR DURR CODING IZ TOO HARD. If they have the time to turn the entire platform in Winter Wonderland from wood to ice and toss in an old-school WarcraftIII tower defense map, then they certainly can spare a little time to allow Caitans to have some hair.

bioixi

mhirtesc wrote: »

Well, this is sure depressing. So many people using the excuse for Devs to slack off cuz HURR DURR CODING IZ TOO HARD. If they have the time to turn the entire platform in Winter Wonderland from wood to ice and toss in an old-school WarcraftIII tower defense map, then they certainly can spare a little time to allow Caitans to have some hair.

Exactly, it's just hair, we are not asking for much.

Now we just need some wigs for bolians and saurians: http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081222153346/memoryalpha/en/images/2/22/Bolian_with_toupee.jpg

gavinruneblade

mjarbar wrote: »

All of this has been discussed at length here and goes on for over 101 pages

http://http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=831761

Caitians and Ferasens need a lot of work and additions which is on the Devs 'to do, somewhere, sometime' list so nobody hold their breath for this anytime soon!

If you have anything to add, even if it just an 'I agree with this post' then please join the thread posted above as we can then show the devs that this is something a sizeable proportion of the player base want so may get bumped up the priority list. If we have multiple threads all over the place it gets confusing and dilutes our responce to the subject.

Link is broken, it has two http://

iwontsay

mhirtesc wrote: »

Well, this is sure depressing. So many people using the excuse for Devs to slack off cuz HURR DURR CODING IZ TOO HARD. If they have the time to turn the entire platform in Winter Wonderland from wood to ice and toss in an old-school WarcraftIII tower defense map, then they certainly can spare a little time to allow Caitans to have some hair.

And that's where you're completely wrong. Replacing a texture isn't that much. Maybe just a click in a single selection box. Adding new parts to a map isn't that much either.

Designing a hairstyle for

a) a singular species (since wouldn't actually work for Ferasans as well)
b) and doing so that there are no clipping issues, because players would just open a thread and demand to FIX THEM NOW!!!11!!!

is too much effort for too little gain.

Really, adding a hairstyle because people just saw it in a ST:TOS comic? Get real.

gavinruneblade

newplayerguy7 wrote: »

Then why have the race in the game at all? lol

Someone once told me, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right".

Why go this far and not have some character artist, who probably isn't too busy at the moment, spend an hour or two putting at least one M'Ress hair style in the game? Heck, I'd pay them directly to do that!!

So far as I know, the only character developer involved would be joejing. He's the one who posted in the linked thread saying the different head is what makes it too hard to be a quick fix.

Feel free to pm him your offer. He seems to be very open to ideas and feedback, based on the extra sliders he added to the tailor ui for delta rising and the related discussion on tribble.

sinn74

newplayerguy7 wrote: »

Then why have the race in the game at all? lol

Someone once told me, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right".

coughKDFcough

rattler2

Changing a map is different from changing a character model. Maps don't move around generally. So comparing this to an Environmental thing doesn't exactly work out very well.

Why do people keep blaming Taco for things that aren't part of his job?

hfmudd

Everyone has a list of ten (or more) things they'd like to see fixed or added to the game. I'd be willing to bet that for any two random players, no more than five - probably fewer - of the same items are on that list, and almost certainly not in the same order. And if you took out the easy obvious ones like "less grind", "cheaper dil", etc etc, you'll see even more variation.

What you think is very important means nothing to someone else, and vice versa. Arguing that one list is superior is pointless. (Especially since Cryptic has their own list, and Perfect World has theirs. Those two are always going to win, and when they differ, the latter.)

mjarbar

darthmeow504 wrote: »

I find this explanation difficult to believe in the extreme. The Caitian FACE shape is different, yes, but the overall head is not. When we have a character generator with sliders that can change the proportions of the skull from tall and skinny to short and wide to almost cylindrical and long in the back, there should be no issue. The existing hairstyles already adapt to all the different skull shapes the sliders can create, so there should not be a problem letting them use humanoid hairstyles.

I'm just restating what the dev said here

crypticjoejing wrote: »

So, I see that after more than 100 pages in we are most definitely in the "...and other suggestions" portion of the original subject line. Andorian and Ferengi cat discussion. Mmmhhmmm...

Anyway, I finally broke down to look at the Caitians/Ferasans. I don't know if it's been mentioned by a dev already (and I have no intention of reading through 100+ pages!), but unfortunately the feline heads are a dramatically different shape so it's not just a simple matter of unlocking them. The hair just doesn't fit.

As some of you may have seen in earlier posts I would like a good sized overhaul over all the hairdos to make them look a lot better. And we should include the felines in that revamp when it comes...one day.

And at the end of the day the dev is the one working with the system day in day out, I too don't think there should be much of a difference, and believe me I would like to see big additions for the Caitians and Ferasens including a New Romulus style home world adventure zone but it's so remote it will probably never happen (I would pop for a full price LTS if they did though!)

Also as I have said this thread is pretty redundant as this has all been discussed in the Caitian/Ferasen art thread elsewhere in the forum!

mhirtesc

mjarbar wrote: »

I'm just restating what the dev said here



And at the end of the day the dev is the one working with the system day in day out, I too don't think there should be much of a difference, and believe me I would like to see big additions for the Caitians and Ferasens including a New Romulus style home world adventure zone but it's so remote it will probably never happen (I would pop for a full price LTS if they did though!)

Also as I have said this thread is pretty redundant as this has all been discussed in the Caitian/Ferasen art thread elsewhere in the forum!

DR;TL version of your post: The Devs don't have to do their jobs.

oldravenman3025

In my opinion, there are more pressing issues, game-wise, than giving cat people more hair styles.


But that's just my humble view. Ultimately, it's the dev's call when it comes to their priorities list.