At the beginning of the year we had a poll about what type of content people wanted, and exploration was the big winner. How is the system coming? Will it be released this year as a christmas present or for the anniversary next year?
The-Grand-Nagus
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What does this tell you about using the mob to design something? You'll get two contradictory answers depending on how you phrase the question. In the end people don't know what they want, they just know how to answer polls (see. Trump's candidacy).
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There was no exploration in Delta Rising. Every mission was about some known faction or species, not discovering anything new. In other words, what you just said has nothing to do with the topic of exploration.
Please leave your political commentary out of this thread. Thanks!
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
who was it that posted that poll, and what happened to them soon after?
http://perfectworld.vanillaforums.com/discussion/1180107/sto-player-poll-february-12th-2015
poll results didnt survive the forum migration, but you can still see them on wayback
http://web.archive.org/web/20150327140110/http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=1375241
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And every old exploration mission still dealt with a known species (it was just one cryptic invented). And gameplay was even less variable. So how does that get the label and patrols not? Its the same type of content, same function in the game (except for those improvements made for the second iteration) just different branding.
Besides, first contact scenarios are not, and have never been, the sole defining element of what "exploration is." See most of star trek, and human history for that matter. Its just an arbitrary condition that allows you to split hairs between two varieties of patrols with randomized elements (more of which will not improve the game any more than revamped sector encounters and patrols have. And to be fair to those guys, that isn't to say that they haven't had a constructive impact on the game. Its just that a third go at "exploration" wouldn't do any better [because what you need is something a hell of a lot more like the foundry-system-in-the-sector block, not more random number generation/"exploration".])
And the point: you can't trust polls (much like you cant trust coincidences, -Garak). Its not going to tell you what you to, only what people feel should be done. The difference is that you can see for yourself, in coming to an individual opinion, what works and what doesn't and justify what to do next according to logic/reason. The poll is, by its very definition, just a popularity contest. Other factors besides reason will also influence what wins (so, don't take them at face value and assume what they tell you should make it into the next major update).
Sorry for using real-world examples (which strictly speaking is commentary on political science, ie. how it works) to illustrate a point for better effect. I'll keep to introvertive forum logic in future. :P
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The memory is fading... really miss those 'exploration' missions, dispite being just a pre-determined group of randomly cycled missions, it felt a lot more like Star Trek than what we have now.
I'd like to know as well, when can we go exploring the galaxy/universe?
It's pretty simple: Cryptic called the star cluster missions exploration(even though they weren't). They never called the DR patrols exploration(and they aren't either). And there you have it: the answer to how one got the label, and the other did not.
You are responding as if someone actually said that, but they didn't. What I *did* say was that the missions where we were dealing with all of these species that were already know to us were not exploration. I didn't say anything about "first contact", although that is admittedly part of exploration. But I never said it was the "sole defining element", which your statement implies.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
That's obvious. The question now is what does cryptic do next. Do they bring back "exploration"? Well, no they shouldn't. What they should do is fill out the sector block with more narratively focused content. That gets us closer to a workable star trek universe (comparable to what we saw in the TV shows, only edited for the video game format) which is a relatively near objective for the game to shoot for (a lot of it is already in place, it just needs more development).
"Exploration" requires a lot more from STO's point of view. Take a game like No Man's Sky. That's "exploration" according to the old STO definition, only its done a lot more with it and come to a workable gameplay concept. Ditto something like Spore (at the galactic civilization stage.) Given those games, and a lot else like it, there's a recognizable standard for how an "exploration" game should work. To work that into STO one would basically need to build an entirely new game. Not "new expansion", new game. New mechanics, new systems, new AI, new gameplay models, and a considerably larger scale.
That might be something to think about if someone tries to develop another ST MMO/RPG, but this one? Its episodic, locally focused, and handles narratives rather well. It should play to those strengths and build out a better setting for it, not throw resources away to make something else entirely to appeal to an erratic interest group (see. polling comments) who are being almost specifically catered to with high profile games in the near future (see. the space sim genre).
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That is a completely valid opinion, and is no more right or wrong than anyone else's opinion.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
I don't see why "exploration" should be added to the game. However I've done a little bit more to justify that opinion than other commentators because the crux of my opinion isn't "what I'd like" but what it seems will work for the game in its present state. Now of course my comments are not to be taken as pure statements of truth, not by any stretch of the imagination...
...but its not exactly an equitable comment to say that its as right or as wrong as anyone else's opinion. Opinions are variously justified, some by the most tenuous connection to reality. This is a justifiable opinion from a certain point of view. It connects and presents evidence that other people are able to consider from their own frame of reference. That subjective point of view is as valid as analogous points of view, ie. those that have also taken a loot at things and tried to figure out what's going (because there is no objective test to sort out these various points of view).
However its more likely to be correct (ie. to reflect what will happen if certain changes are made to STO) than other opinions which haven't looked at the evidence as closely (ie. have just stated a personal preference for this type of content or that).
Anyway, my point here is just to stress that I'm speaking from a functional point of view (as best as I can). I'm not saying what anyone should or shouldn't prefer, only what Cryptic can probably get away with in future content updates.
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That too, is a completely valid opinion, and is just as right as anyone else's opinion.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Should I just make this my sig? It would save a lot of bother.
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There was a poll about what show we wanted content from sometime before that, and the winning vote was Voyager. Thus... Delta Rising and the Voyager crew.
BTW... you're kinda switching content for means to fund the game. They're gonna make stuff to sell alongside actual content.
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No bother here. Every reply is a bump to the top
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Well, not exactly thus. Cryptic said they used that poll to feel out the potential reception of an update that was already being planned (if not actually developed.)
Basically its just artistic feedback. If the poll swung in a different direction what probably would have happened is that the Delta Quadrant would have had a stronger connection with TOS/TNG/DS9/ENT species/factions/characters. Maybe instead of the Vaadwuar we could have had a Solonae invasion preluding the Herald. Alternatively, the dominion could have taken an interest in the expeditionary force and Captain Nog may have had his debut a season early. Ditto Xindi, and Captain Shon may have become quite a lot more Shran like than we've so far seen. But with VOY leading the way Cryptic had some assurances that they could commit to a VOY heavy cast and focus without too much conceptual backlash.
This BTW is pure speculation and is just as likely to be wrong as right.
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Don't you know...
Cryptic has decided that giving us the Second Best Stuff is the way to go.
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
That's devious.
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My character Tsin'xing
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"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
So what was the feature of Season 10.5 you ask?
A new fleet holding and fleet Armada system.
Why even have the poll?
My character Tsin'xing