Thoughts on the New Bridge Officer System

eldest13

I think it will be a good change. I want to here what the rest of the community thinks/ Go a head

bobtheskull99

I think there is already like 10 threads on this subject

bergins

Yep. I think we can all get behind the idea that there are too many threads about the same subject.

If you really want to know what people think, read half the threads on the 1st page. Well, half might be an exaggeration...

stumpfgobs

Most of the other threads start with a rather negative outlook and pretty much just degrade into the usual doom and dev-bashing. They are mostly worthless reads.

I look forward to the changes. I like the look of the interface. The overhaul is needed too.

I for one remember new players standing somewhere in esd, begging in chat for someone to train their boffs. And while that can be relatively easy be solved, the more niche the character is, the worse it gets. Looking for a skill trainer as a rom-kdf (a minority within a minority) must just be bad if you don't know some people.

I don't mind the dilithium cost.

inthefluxx

Trying to find a specific Boff skill for a specific slot on the exchange was painful and time consuming. I look forward to this.

rsoblivion

It's a good change, EXCEPT FOR THE DIL SINK.

I had to yell that because with all the other Dil sinks they added recently and the lack of Dil available it's making the game into an even more tedious grind...

lordkasu

Yet another dil sink is honestly pissing me off. It sounded ok up until the point that it was going to cost dil.

rattler2

We don't know for sure what the cost will be.

Lets look at the positives here for once.

• Easier to train bound BOffs
• No leveling of the associated R&D school
• Cleaner BOff UI (If the WIP screenshots are anything to go by)
• Revamp of the BOff ability icons (Might not be necessary, but with new Specialization trees, some old icons might fit new powers better)
• Hybrid BOffs cross trainable in other specializations (Meaning we do NOT have to get new BOffs for every new hybrid slot that is made)

In short, things are gonna be more streamlined than we first thought when the Hybrid Intel BOffs were first released, with promises of other types of Hybrid BOffs in the future.

starkaos

I guess this means the end of bridge officers that cost millions of EC on the exchange due to them having a rare Commander skill. It also means the end of those threads asking where to get decent Intelligence Bridge Officers.

rattler2

And the beginning of Training Manuals costing millions on the exchange and threads asking where to get decent Intell Manuals.

Although BOff prices might still stay up a bit for desirable traits and not the skills.

drlirio

I'll just copy paste from another thread to save time:

I just want to point out a few things to all those Cryptic White Knights Defenders. You know who you are... i don't want to point to anyone.

Was it too difficult to add the new stuff to the old system? You know, without dilithium costs, materials, time gates (craft?)... that the new system brings? Let's say... i go to the boff trainer and buy the skill, not a manual... why the added process? Just to add dilithium costs and timegates (again, crafting)?

The old system wasn't perfect, of course. But if the main problem most people had was finding the right officer with the right skill on Exchange... wouldn't it be better to just improve the Exchange search function?

When Cryptic starts putting OP boff skills into lockboxes... are you going to play the lottery or will you buy the skills at 100M+ EC from Exchange?

As of now i have 10 toons and i can train most of the top tier skills for free just switching toons... and i do it for others for free. In case i can't... well, i can ask in one of the public services channels and usually someone will do it for me pretty fast... and for free. The only "problem" with this system is finding the desired skill on Exchange if it's one of the non-trainable skills and that is easily corrected with an improved search on Exchange, no need to go through all this revamp.

Why can't Cryptic just add the new skills & specializations to the old system and improve the Exchange Search???

With the actual state of the game, with so many people quiting the game and all the rage we see since DR launch, with deserted fleets and dead queues, with all the bugs and lag and server stability issues, do you think it is reasonable to add another dilithium, r&d resources and time sink and expect the people to take it with a smile?

Unfortunately, some of us have a long time experience with STO & Cryptic, probably more than the White Knights. And Cryptic's past record give us all the reasons needed and then some more to complain about this revamp even if it has not been implemented yet.

GREED, that's what all this is about. Cryptic wants more money, there is no reason and no way to justify adding dilithium cost to boff training. The only reason is greed... and the opportunity for cryptic to add OP skills to lockboxes. If you don't want to see it... well, i can't help you and i don't want to, i believe it is clear enough.

If they add all the new skills & specializations to the old system and improve the Exchange Search (it's about time i'd say), i'd be really happy and this thread would be completely different. But they are not doing that exactly, are they?

So what's so great about the new system over my proposal of adding to the old one and improving the Exchange Search???

At this rate I would not be surprised at all if in a few months we'll have to pay dilithium everytime we hit ENTER on chat, and i can already see Cryptic's reasoning behind it: "To reduce server traffic and improve game stability".

But, of course, Delta Rising is the best expansion ever and the players love it. Right, that must be "what i'm missing".

In a few words: This new system is insulting. Or better said... at least the way they pretend to implement the changes is.

haplo013

I think the new system is going to be very good. The only issue i see that may pop up is that new characters/captains have few options for getting Dilithium and this could restrict them from getting enough skills on there Boff's. With the new Ship traits, this means i can add skills to my current Boff's then fly a new ship to unlock the new trait and then go back to my original skills for my primary ship.

rsoblivion

Waiting for the complaints as people lose BoFF skills on map transfer...

captaind3

I approve. With the exception of the dilithium costs, which based on the way they worded it will be negligible to me, overall this will be a huge improvement.

That said the cost between players is an unpredictable variable.

By and large BOFF training is completely free between players. If someone doesn't have BFAW3 or EPTW3 on their Boffs I'll happily train them for free. Now that there is a dilithium cost to a component that could be problematic. That said, with rational people that cost could be eliminated if you just bring your own PADD for the trade meaning it would cost nothing for the person doing the training. Depending on the dilithium and EC cost PADDs could be a non-issue.

The old system had issues that have been ongoing for years foremost of which were special bound officers that couldn't be traded and thus trained. Even amongst allies I couldn't train a Romulan Fed with a Fed Captain. This does resolve that.

I also appreciate, love, that they've expanded specializations to BOFFs in the same way they are connected to Captains.

markhawkman

rattler2 wrote: »

And the beginning of Training Manuals costing millions on the exchange and threads asking where to get decent Intell Manuals.

Although BOff prices might still stay up a bit for desirable traits and not the skills.

Maybe certians kills will be millions, but it seems likely that most won't.

garaks31

we could not train our unique bound officers in the old system it will be a good addition :rolleyes:

duncanidaho11

captaind3 wrote: »

By and large BOFF training is completely free between players. If someone doesn't have BFAW3 or EPTW3 on their Boffs I'll happily train them for free. Now that there is a dilithium cost to a component that could be problematic.

However it is also inconvenient. It may be an inconvenience suffered to be a helpful person but in order to train desirable abilities you do have to ask another player to take time out of their playtime and do it for you. That's not a very good game system, however it may encourage people to do good, because while there are people out there who'll happily do it there's plenty of others who wouldn't bother, and if it happens that you only have access to the latter then your access to game systems suffers.

It puts too much of the game to "willingness" and as such I don't see it as a drawback to loose. Yes, you won't have those moment of cooperative good but neither will you have the background of apathy in all other situations.

And there's only a dil cost associated with crafting new manuals yourself. In that there's a dil cost if you decide to make a manual and drop it in a fleet bank or pass it along to someone else, but you could just as easily decide to hop onto the exchange and buy a new manual. In whatever case its more expensive, but we're getting a lot for that (on-demand access to special training via the exchange, permanent ability training [which means fewer redundant boffs with only minor skill variations], access to new specializations on old officers.)

captaind3

duncanidaho11 wrote: »

However it is also inconvenient. It may be an inconvenience suffered to be a helpful person but in order to train desirable abilities you do have to ask another player to take time out of their playtime and do it for you. That's not a very good game system, however it may encourage people to do good, because while there are people out there who'll happily do it there's plenty of others who wouldn't bother, and if it happens that you only have access to the latter then your access to game systems suffers.

It puts too much of the game to "willingness" and as such I don't see it as a drawback to loose. Yes, you won't have those moment of cooperative good but neither will you have the background of apathy in all other situations.

And there's only a dil cost associated with crafting new manuals yourself. In that there's a dil cost if you decide to make a manual and drop it in a fleet bank or pass it along to someone else, but you could just as easily decide to hop onto the exchange and buy a new manual. In whatever case its more expensive, but we're getting a lot for that (on-demand access to special training via the exchange, permanent ability training [which means fewer redundant boffs with only minor skill variations], access to new specializations on old officers.)

I agree. I said could be problematic. Personally I foresee no problems in the system. If the dilithium cost is low enough I really don't have an issue crafting the PADD for someone, especially a rookie, who hasn't started building up dilithium and heard about an ability they need to improve their build.

It's no real skin off my back.

mustrumridcully0

I think it looks interesting.

At the end, it would mean you need to maintain fewer Bridge Officers, since you can "reconfigure" them to the slots you want. Find the BO with the right traits, teach him all the skills, and use him forever.

If you want a rare skill, instead of hunting down a particular player that still has a BO slot open, you just head to the exchange or check the fleet inventory.



But I wonder how it will interact with loadouts? Will the BO reslot? Will it be loadout nightmare part II?


What will happen with my old BOs waiting to join my crew? Can they still be used to train? Can I turn them in for a Training Manual? Are they just even more dead weight then before?

How will I get abilities like Aux2SIF3, which were only available from BOs?

What is a small dilithium cost?

How much more expensive will training each new skill be?

captaind3

mustrumridcully0 wrote: »

I think it looks interesting.

At the end, it would mean you need to maintain fewer Bridge Officers, since you can "reconfigure" them to the slots you want. Find the BO with the right traits, teach him all the skills, and use him forever.

If you want a rare skill, instead of hunting down a particular player that still has a BO slot open, you just head to the exchange or check the fleet inventory.



But I wonder how it will interact with loadouts? Will the BO reslot? Will it be loadout nightmare part II?


What will happen with my old BOs waiting to join my crew? Can they still be used to train? Can I turn them in for a Training Manual? Are they just even more dead weight then before?

How will I get abilities like Aux2SIF3, which were only available from BOs?

What is a small dilithium cost?

How much more expensive will training each new skill be?

Excellent excellent questions.

Honestly, I'm also curious as to if they're going to overhaul how are Boffs interact with the missions as well.

For instance, my BOFFS have an interesting way of interacting with the story. The way they chime in to give reports. Usually the highest rank tactical officer will give a certain report in a certain situation. The weird thing is that it's the same officer whether I'm getting a mission briefing or a course correction. Shouldn't it be more tied to actual bridge stations? For instance I have a Tactical officer, a Helm that's also a tactical officer, and my First officer is a Tactical Officer. Each of them should give different reports. The Conn should give me the reports regarding where the ship is going, the Tactical officer should report on any ships that are nearby, and the first Officer should be giving briefings and recommendations that don't blend with the other two. I want my Chief Science Officer to be in charge of reporting anything that's science related, and the same with my Chief Engineer.

On Specializations, are Borg BOFFs going to get a unique specialization track?

duncanidaho11

captaind3 wrote: »

On Specializations, are Borg BOFFs going to get a unique specialization track?

Unique? Not unless they add borg-augmented as a unque specialization.....

...Dammit there's another case of "shut up and take my money!" (TRIBBLE a borg faction, make it a mechanic.)

ravin

I can finally use my Alts to train BOffs on other Captains on my accout. The way it should be. No more handing over my BOffs to another player, hoping he doesn't run off with him.

captaind3

duncanidaho11 wrote: »

Unique? Not unless they add borg-augmented as a unque specialization.....

...Dammit there's another case of "shut up and take my money!" (TRIBBLE a borg faction, make it a mechanic.)

You smell what the Rock is cooking.

Imagine this though, automatic secondary personal shield. Every Borg Boff should technically have a built in personal shield anyway. Or how about this. Borg Shield LAN. If you have a Borg Boff with this ability, then your Away Team's personal shields will adapt to nullify enemy weapons. Broken? Maybe, but logical...also enemies should be able to remodulate against you too.

ravin wrote: »

I can finally use my Alts to train BOffs on other Captains on my accout. The way it should be. No more handing over my BOffs to another player, hoping he doesn't run off with him.

True, very true.

davefenestrator

I worry about the "small dil cost" given how crafting makes me waste piles of resources for a [PVP Res] weapon.

I like the idea of being able to train boffs without trade / train / trade handoffs. I really like the idea of boffs remembering all the skills they've ever learned, so a boff can know Tyken's 3 AND grav well 3, and I can toggle between them as I see fit.

I'd actually like to have Traits be trainable too. Right now most Federation races are "useless" because they have no space trait. Why can't a Vulcan science officer be Efficient? Why can't an Andorian tac boff have Leadership or Subterfuge? Why are all Romulan men "Superior" to their women? Because reasons?

End the space racism! Make the Rom-Scimitar min-maxers scream in agony as other races and ships rise to rival their DPS!

captaind3

davefenestrator wrote: »

I worry about the "small dil cost" given how crafting makes me waste piles of resources for a [PVP Res] weapon.

I'm sorry you've had to endure that.

I like the idea of being able to train boffs without trade / train / trade handoffs. I really like the idea of boffs remembering all the skills they've ever learned, so a boff can know Tyken's 3 AND grav well 3, and I can toggle between them as I see fit.

That is awesome.

I'd actually like to have Traits be trainable too. Right now most Federation races are "useless" because they have no space trait. Why can't a Vulcan science officer be Efficient? Why can't an Andorian tac boff have Leadership or Subterfuge? Why are all Romulan men "Superior" to their women? Because reasons?

End the space racism! Make the Rom-Scimitar min-maxers scream in agony as other races and ships rise to rival their DPS!

*Slow Clap*

o7

markhawkman

captaind3 wrote: »

You smell what the Rock is cooking.

Imagine this though, automatic secondary personal shield. Every Borg Boff should technically have a built in personal shield anyway. Or how about this. Borg Shield LAN. If you have a Borg Boff with this ability, then your Away Team's personal shields will adapt to nullify enemy weapons. Broken? Maybe, but logical...also enemies should be able to remodulate against you too.

I'm pretty sure he was a Pendari and not a Borg. :P

The Borg racial already gives you passive shield/HP regen. I'm not quite sure how fast it is though. But no Adaptation....

captaind3

markhawkman wrote: »

I'm pretty sure he was a Pendari and not a Borg. :P

The Borg racial already gives you passive shield/HP regen. I'm not quite sure how fast it is though. But no Adaptation....

Well played Marhawkman, well played. :cool:

I'm talking about figuring a way to reactivate it and make a local collective so it can benefit the whole away team. Maybe a reward from the Borg Cooperative.

markhawkman

captaind3 wrote: »

Well played Marhawkman, well played. :cool:

I'm talking about figuring a way to reactivate it and make a local collective so it can benefit the whole away team. Maybe a reward from the Borg Cooperative.

That does sound like a cool idea.

timetalker

If someone could help I'd really appreciate it.

I'm trying to get a new officer on my ship I acquired at level ten. I'm lost at to what I'm doing wrong. I have the slot for the new member, but when I commission him he says, "Sorry, Captain... There's no room on your bridge." Or something along those lines.

Here is an image to show you what I mean. Is it because the writing is green under the dude, which means he's not an ensign or something? Maybe I'm just really pitiful, missing something obvious.

vestereng

I figure seating on your ship won't change?

And unless they plan to add a higher level station, like a 5th tier, that is only available through their new il sink, I plan to ignore the entire system completely.

I am not in the habit of paying dil for what was free.

But by all means let's copy-paste that concept on to everything. Let's have opening your inventory cost dil locked behind a time gate.

No stress, the more they ruin the less I play. And actually since they nearly ruined the queues I don't have any reason to change abilities around anyway.


HOWEVER, if they finally added a new animation to some of their content paying dil for that would be fair.

/edit.

ps. Like if it's torpedo high yield IV with no new animation for 200,000 dil they can shove it

timetalker

skollulfr wrote: »

the two red guys are tac class, while your ship needs 1 tac(red icon) one eng(orange icon) and 2 sci(blue icon).

if you keep the new boff(B-off bridge officer) for a while you will unlock more roster space as you level.
or if you want the new boff now, dismiss kolez, since eliza is higher quality(purple over blue)
then you can 'commission' the new boff now.

and dont worry about asking, this game isnt great at explaining mechanics.

Thanks so much. I should probably dismiss that guy. I see what you mean. My friend and I just started playing this game. It was a bit of an arm twist getting her to try it out, but I think she's starting to like it. I read that some voice acting happens in later eps. Does the game get better in later 'seasons'?