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mhirtesc
Member Posts: 581 Arc User
It seems odd that Cryptic is completely missing out on a golden opportunity to set itself apart for the usual MMO formula of "Bring me XX of TRIBBLE" quests/missions. Since the days of TOS on, part of Trek's appeal has been it's Progressive storylines. Instead of the usual pew pew pew, why not develop a mission that has some sort of contemporary storyline that hints at today's problems (god knows we have plenty to choose from)?
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Battle and war has always played a major role in star trek. Not every episode was picard yelling at Q or going over some dull moral dilemma
Let the stupid suffer
You do indeed have 2 good points here... Combat did indeed play a big part, not as much as STO, but a large part...
The second point, do you really think all the kids are gonna care about the moral dilemmas and metaphors Star Trek used to cover real-world topics? No, they'll complain that it's boring and they want more PEWPEWPEW!
and so has everything the OP brought up. no good reason not to have both.
as for the people who want to just press F past the so-called "boring" bits, more power to them. let them do so, and let the people who want to read and enjoy the story stop and read and make decisions as desired.
from a practical standpoint, that would likely mean cutting down the rewards for such missions, but they would still be a good part of the game. we've got plenty of great examples of such things done well in the foundry. There is precious little of it in the "official" content, but at least it's not completely devoid of it.
Maybe after all this Iconian stuff is sorted out, we might have an expansion focused especially on exploration, with both action and exploration in good proportions. I'd personally even suggest making exploration an alternative levelling path altogether, though that would be a lot more work.
Sleeping with many attractive aliens?
Giving stirring speeches?
Driving computers insane with logic puzzles?
Watching your bridge explode in a shower of sparks while the camera tilts back and forth?
No True Scotsman would disagree!
you forgot overacting melodrama..... and random crewman dieing for no good reason
The problem is what made TOS great would be absolutly boring for an MMO... and lets be honest it didn't always work for TOS either (I'm looking at you Space Hippies and God that Needs a Space Ship).
The other issue is... to be honest.. is that to disguss a lot of "today's problems" especially in the "progressive mindset"... you'd alienate a ton of people who aren't progressive. Even Roddenberry admited a lot of the reasons that Star Trek didn't have as large of an appeal as it should have when it was originally released is that it's very hippie progressive mindset turned off... and therefore away... a lot of it's viewership with it's very Progressive mindset.
Thank god Roddenberry didn't agree with you, or a lot of TOS Trek episodes would have never been made. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KGE7HYEie0
Roddenberry was the Honey Badger of producing. He didn't give a sh*t what the South would think. He knew that those types of people are not the path to the future.
It grows tiring watching people sugar coat TOS under 10 layers of rose-colored glass.
Yep... and Star Trek when it was released sucked in ratings and didn't make CBS that much money.
Not making money is a great way for shows to get cancelled in three seasons.. or MMOs to die even quicker then they do today.
I get it... you're a Progressive and you see Star Trek as a voice for your angst... I can appreciate that.
But a lot of America couldn't care less... and cramming politics down peoples throats is a great way to alienate people... especially in a hyper-competative environment, such as MMOs, where if you don't like it there are literally thousands of games that you can choose from.
It's also why TNG when it was made was in danger of being cancelled because of Rodenberry's "I don't give a damn" attitude and partly why TNG began to get so much better later in its showing in ratings... because it catered to the majority of viewers.
Don't get me wrong... I'm not belittling your beliefs... I'm just saying from a buisiness standpoint... which Cyrptic is... your idea doesn't fly.
Marketing, where the true money is.
It's almost as if the Federation is under attack from all fronts..
ETA: To address the OP, while that'd be neat, it's impratical in the extreme for an MMO.
That's honestly more typical for Foundry authors to do than Cryptic. We don't have access to a lot of their VFX tricks so we kinda have to be more reliant on writing a compelling story. I'm writing one right now that's inspired by the current Iraqi Civil War (circa last summer), with the True Way standing in for Da'ish.
You also do have to consider your target audience, as previously stated. "Dust to Dust" did this fairly well, making its main allegory (the shortsightedness of an authoritarian system) optional reading (the consoles in the Vaad catacombs).
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
Star Trek goes beyond american borders.
Personally, I found that to be what killed the later series.
It worked in TOS, but that was an entirely different era.
It didn't make CBS any money, because it was broadcast on NBC. CBS had Lost in Space. CBS didn't buy the property until much, much later. 21st century, even, IIRC.
You're right... I have CBS on the brain...
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.
Reminds me of the few episodes of DS9...the one Sisko nearly wiped out a planet to get the Marquis leader (going from memory) and the one he tricked the Romulans into joining the war.
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.
Agreed. Blocs of power are larger than single nations.
But I agree, that's near-impossible to pull off in an MMO environment, if only because there's supposed to be a shared experience of the same story for everyone across the game. Case in point, after I found out what the Kobali were up to... yeah, I really wanted to tell 'em right off. But, due to the shared experience factor, there isn't the option for me to abandon the Kobali, while another player helps them. I can understand and appreciate that limit, given that STO is an MMO game.
That all aside, I do appreciate the extra depth the stories have been taking recently. The dialogue and voice acting are enjoyable, even if I can't shape the galaxy the way I personally feel is best. I figure my toon is just following orders when I have to do something like assist the Kobali, despite my own reservations.
Especially given that Hollywood's favorite moral dilemmas at the moment are shallow.
But it largely has been raised.
Everyone is on the long, slow march towards joining the Federation, the most perfectest government ever.
And I know Picard on occasion skirted "Star Trek" when it came down to his feelings on the Borg and during the Klingon Civil War.
Yes fist fights and sex with anything that stands still long enough is very important... No clue what the rest of em are talking about though.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
What's my position?
That people should know what they're screaming about!
(paraphrased from "The Newsroom)
Ewoks have the same message for you!