no. not 'beating strawmen'. only said a miscommunication. since I work in a related field, anytime someone says immersive then that's what they mean. but if they are just talking about a side project, that's different.
You keep stating that this would be "easy to do", Soph. You state this as a matter of fact.
When did you get a look at the source code? Because that's the only way you could possibly have an informed opinion about how "simple" any given change is.
You keep stating that this would be "easy to do", Soph. You state this as a matter of fact.
Because it is. No, you don't need to look at the source code for that assessment. Don't be silly.
Until a dev confirms how difficult of a task this is, then we are merely speculating about how difficult it is. It might be easy or it might not be worth the effort in implementing this feature. The devs always have to consider how much of a priority and how long they estimate it taking for any potential content that they might add to the game. If a feature has an extremely low priority and takes a week to complete, then it might be trashed or put on the back burner indefinitely.
Another possibility is that the devs don't want to risk damaging the game by implementing this feature. We simply don't know what is affected by the Rank variable. We could lose the rank permission of Mk X to Mk XIV equipment by selecting the Captain rank or lose our skill points, reputation, admiralty, and access to our Tier 5 and Tier 6 ships. If our skill points, reputation, traits, admiralty, and access to our ships are based on rank instead of level, then the devs have to be extremely careful with doing a Search and Replace or else we will face one of the worst bugs in MMOs.
I don't know why some of you people are going around being irritated and frustrated over something I personally find irrelevant to my grand whole gaming experience. Surely it may be incorrect and surely it may break some of the immersion, but I think it is a quite insignificant matter to focus on. At least for me and my STO gaming.
Also, although I do like STO to remain as true to the Star Trek lore as possible, I am also open to the fact that Star Trek is entirely fictional and the idea that it may not adhere to any rules that you would apply to our real society. This goes for ranks as well.
I mean, who knows. Perhaps Star Fleet evolved to the point where an Admiral in their era would have very different tasks than what you would typically find among our contemporary admirals of different military divisions.
[...]Yeah really, the section of the playerbase that wants it changed has always been a small but vocal minority. [...]
That sure seems so. The vast majority of players does not care at all about the game in any way, much less about if it is immersive enough.
Hence my question: How much money would the devs want for that feature?
You'd have to hire a lot more Devs to make it highly immersive.
We are talking about one minor feature here that would help many people a lot. And I was asking the dev team (as in, their leadership).
Think there is a miscommunication here. "Highly Immersive" would mean story depth, and includes background interaction, story interactivity, general occurrences 'off-screen', visuals, animations, and a gawd-aweful lot of other FX and writing issues I can't even list here due to the shear AMOUNT! We're talking two completely separate industries that have to merge to produce a viable product.
By this definition, STO would be considered very shallow waters a toddler could wade through. It lacks any real depth. It's not very 'Immersive' as you only touch on what Star Trek is through the filter of STO.
I don't know any other way to explain this simply. Here's a visual aid: Immersive in the film world would be the difference between the original Lost in Space verses either the latest movie version or something like Avatar (blue guys, not the arrowhead).
It has to due with ground breaking writing (which is more than a dull script read), acting, the actors themselves, lighting, ambience, FX, animation, cinematic, sound, music, and more.
now if you're calling something immersive, and only mean one thing? I think you might have to redefine what you're talking about, as you're probably way off base. Highly Immersive is everything and that little something extra you can't put your finger one, but only comes about once everything is done by the right team. I think Lucas probably explained what makes something good in one of his SW interviews dealing with is early works. It's more than the sum total and there are things that are critical, that without them being done to the best they can be, the whole work will fail and fall short.
I'm not saying this about STO. I'm only saying STO is shallow when it comes to Immersion. Halo is more immersive as are many other games, for examples.
and if that didn't makes sense... then don't even try to understand it as I'd just be talking to the wall.
another way to put it might be to ask 'how personally involved is the player IN the game?'. It makes a big difference if you have your life on the line verses whether you're just pushing pieces around from afar.
until someone invents a truly trek like holodeck you will find it very hard to find a game that is "Highly Immersive", IMO sto is about as close as I have seen for a free to play space & ground exploration and combat game with puzzle elements and special events with decent rewards that you don't need to be an expert player to win.
you might need to use your imagination a bit to fill in wherever or whatever the game falls short on but that is a small price to pay if you truly enjoy playing the game for as long as I have.
and all that can be had for absolutely no cost to the player whatsoever if they choose to play for free on PC or console alike, I defy anyone to find a game that offers so much to so many for so little.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
I don't know why some of you people are going around being irritated and frustrated over something I personally find irrelevant to my grand whole gaming experience. Surely it may be incorrect and surely it may break some of the immersion, but I think it is a quite insignificant matter to focus on. At least for me and my STO gaming.
Also, although I do like STO to remain as true to the Star Trek lore as possible, I am also open to the fact that Star Trek is entirely fictional and the idea that it may not adhere to any rules that you would apply to our real society. This goes for ranks as well.
I mean, who knows. Perhaps Star Fleet evolved to the point where an Admiral in their era would have very different tasks than what you would typically find among our contemporary admirals of different military divisions.
Yep.
I only had an issue with what he was saying about immersion being a simple thing, when his definition was of something else entirely. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said a word to this.
[...]Yeah really, the section of the playerbase that wants it changed has always been a small but vocal minority. [...]
That sure seems so. The vast majority of players does not care at all about the game in any way, much less about if it is immersive enough.
Hence my question: How much money would the devs want for that feature?
You'd have to hire a lot more Devs to make it highly immersive.
We are talking about one minor feature here that would help many people a lot. And I was asking the dev team (as in, their leadership).
Think there is a miscommunication here. "Highly Immersive" would mean story depth, and includes background interaction, story interactivity, general occurrences 'off-screen', visuals, animations, and a gawd-aweful lot of other FX and writing issues I can't even list here due to the shear AMOUNT! We're talking two completely separate industries that have to merge to produce a viable product.
By this definition, STO would be considered very shallow waters a toddler could wade through. It lacks any real depth. It's not very 'Immersive' as you only touch on what Star Trek is through the filter of STO.
I don't know any other way to explain this simply. Here's a visual aid: Immersive in the film world would be the difference between the original Lost in Space verses either the latest movie version or something like Avatar (blue guys, not the arrowhead).
It has to due with ground breaking writing (which is more than a dull script read), acting, the actors themselves, lighting, ambience, FX, animation, cinematic, sound, music, and more.
now if you're calling something immersive, and only mean one thing? I think you might have to redefine what you're talking about, as you're probably way off base. Highly Immersive is everything and that little something extra you can't put your finger one, but only comes about once everything is done by the right team. I think Lucas probably explained what makes something good in one of his SW interviews dealing with is early works. It's more than the sum total and there are things that are critical, that without them being done to the best they can be, the whole work will fail and fall short.
I'm not saying this about STO. I'm only saying STO is shallow when it comes to Immersion. Halo is more immersive as are many other games, for examples.
and if that didn't makes sense... then don't even try to understand it as I'd just be talking to the wall.
another way to put it might be to ask 'how personally involved is the player IN the game?'. It makes a big difference if you have your life on the line verses whether you're just pushing pieces around from afar.
until someone invents a truly trek like holodeck you will find it very hard to find a game that is "Highly Immersive", IMO sto is about as close as I have seen for a free to play space & ground exploration and combat game with puzzle elements and special events with decent rewards that you don't need to be an expert player to win.
you might need to use your imagination a bit to fill in wherever or whatever the game falls short on but that is a small price to pay if you truly enjoy playing the game for as long as I have.
and all that can be had for absolutely no cost to the player whatsoever if they choose to play for free on PC or console alike, I defy anyone to find a game that offers so much to so many for so little.
again. Yep.
I could point out a few things they could easily improve that would changes stuff. but mostly?
Yep.
[...]I only had an issue with what he was saying about immersion being a simple thing, [...]
No one did that. What was said was that this particular proposal to help immersion is a simple thing.
Which has been demonstrated to be either completely wrong, or baseless speculation, possibly both. You however keep saying that as if repeating it over and over will make it true.
Some things may not be overly difficult to implement but they can still offer a level of challenge... and this is sometimes unneeded challenge that costs time and money. In some cases, certain fixes (that are better for more efficiency etc.) are simply ignored because they are considered to be unnecessarily challenging and too costly to take on.
Moreover, what is easy to forget is the level of freedom and autonomy a development team has, or rather lack thereof. Only a stupid development team would allow its team members to run amok with absolute autonomy where everyone is allowed to alter and add their own things/code. Also, in general properly set up development teams follow a very strict time plan. Any deviation to that time plan will slow down the rest of the team and can result in costly setbacks.
I am not questioning anyone's merits as a programmer. But I would like to hope that every programmer that has posted in this thread can hopefully come to a mutual agreement that there are probably far more important and time sensitive features and things for Cryptic to focus on. Even if it leaves a sour taste.
You keep stating that this would be "easy to do", Soph. You state this as a matter of fact.
Because it is. No, you don't need to look at the source code for that assessment. Don't be silly.
[...]
Until a dev confirms how difficult of a task this is, then we are merely speculating about how difficult it is. [...]
Why are you guys insisting on being silly?
I don't know, soph, why do you insist in being silly, even when confronted by experienced professional software engineers who assure you that what seems "simple" at first often is not?
[...]I only had an issue with what he was saying about immersion being a simple thing, [...]
No one did that. What was said was that this particular proposal to help immersion is a simple thing.
Which has been demonstrated to be either completely wrong, or baseless speculation, possibly both. You however keep saying that as if repeating it over and over will make it true.
I am going with baseless speculation since only a dev has a clue how easy this would be. All we can say is that it is most likely more trouble than it is worth.
[...]I only had an issue with what he was saying about immersion being a simple thing, [...]
No one did that. What was said was that this particular proposal to help immersion is a simple thing.
Which has been demonstrated to be either completely wrong, or baseless speculation, possibly both. You however keep saying that as if repeating it over and over will make it true.
I am going with baseless speculation since only a dev has a clue how easy this would be. All we can say is that it is most likely more trouble than it is worth.
Well said, especially for a feature 95% wouldn't even care about, even if it were to be implemented.
I admit a year ago: I would have like to seen them improve bridge interiors to buy or unlock new rooms, furniture, paintings, instruments, trophies, carpets, tile, or many other textures thru either CSTORE and as part of unique mission rewards; however, I even suggested those modular (more custom) ship layouts with floors for:
Bridge, Conference, Ready Room, Observation Lounge,
Tactical including Brig, Cargo Bay, Shuttle Bay, Armory, Transporter Rooms, Escape Pods,
Science for Astrometrics, Medical, Deflector Control & Communications, with Research Areas,
Engineering with Warp Core, Central Computer, Shields, Weapons & Torpedo rooms amount others,
Crew Deck with Crew Quarters for Bridge Crew, Ten Forward, Holodecks and more...
I even suggested if they did it then the Ship Tailor you could outfit faction starships more like an Outfit and could use saved ship tailor maps to publish to FOUNDRY for unique starship interiors let alone show off all the unlocks you've acquired via CSTORE or special mission rewards. It be an interesting way to offer new rewards that people might appreciate for their CSTORE faction starships, also to offer anniversary rewards, or for special events in addition to having more reason to want to acquire CSTORE or special unlocks.
Still while many liked the idea they didn't think we'd see them spend the time like they did for sector space cause most >60% never spend much time on their bridges even if this gave more opportunities for foundry.
^^ I'm probably the biggest proponent of STO player-housing. Give me a cute Borg sphere, some furniture, a few drapes, and I'll make the cosiest bridge ever!
But, having said that, 'modular' always sounds very modern, but it's very hard to come up with parts that A totally fit, and B don't horrifically clash. Usually, from my modest experience building stuff in Second Life, is that what happens is, that builders eventually just wind up making several different, complete sets (which kinda defeats the purpose of modular). Ergo, more work for Tacofangs. While the man is capable of making extremely beautiful bridges, I don't think Cryptic can afford to increase his workload tenfold. So, likely not going to happen, sadly.
[...]I only had an issue with what he was saying about immersion being a simple thing, [...]
No one did that. What was said was that this particular proposal to help immersion is a simple thing.
Which has been demonstrated to be either completely wrong, or baseless speculation, possibly both. You however keep saying that as if repeating it over and over will make it true.
I am going with baseless speculation since only a dev has a clue how easy this would be. All we can say is that it is most likely more trouble than it is worth.
Well said, especially for a feature 95% wouldn't even care about, even if it were to be implemented.
I admit a year ago: I would have like to seen them improve bridge interiors to buy or unlock new rooms, furniture, paintings, instruments, trophies, carpets, tile, or many other textures thru either CSTORE and as part of unique mission rewards; however, I even suggested those modular (more custom) ship layouts with floors for:
Bridge, Conference, Ready Room, Observation Lounge,
Tactical including Brig, Cargo Bay, Shuttle Bay, Armory, Transporter Rooms, Escape Pods,
Science for Astrometrics, Medical, Deflector Control & Communications, with Research Areas,
Engineering with Warp Core, Central Computer, Shields, Weapons & Torpedo rooms amount others,
Crew Deck with Crew Quarters for Bridge Crew, Ten Forward, Holodecks and more...
I even suggested if they did it then the Ship Tailor you could outfit faction starships more like an Outfit and could use saved ship tailor maps to publish to FOUNDRY for unique starship interiors let alone show off all the unlocks you've acquired via CSTORE or special mission rewards. It be an interesting way to offer new rewards that people might appreciate for their CSTORE faction starships, also to offer anniversary rewards, or for special events in addition to having more reason to want to acquire CSTORE or special unlocks.
Still while many liked the idea they didn't think we'd see them spend the time like they did for sector space cause most >60% never spend much time on their bridges even if this gave more opportunities for foundry.
This suggestion depends on how well Cryptic can monetize it which is something that the OP's request is missing. SWTOR has seemed to go all out with their Strongholds and numerous other MMOs have done the same. Unlocking various rooms either costs Credits or Cartel Coins (Zen). Some achievements are available through achievements, reputation, or a rare drop, but most seem to be through their Cartel Store (C-Store) or Cartel Packs (Lockboxes).
For STO, there was talk years ago about using Neverwinter's updated Foundry system for customizable ship interiors. Even still we can make a Foundry mission that serves the purpose of a Bridge Interior. From June 2012's Ask Cryptic:
Dstahl: These items had shown up in previous Engineering Reports as designs we were discussing and wanting to put in the game, but are not currently being worked on. At this time, we are focused on Starbase interiors. Neverwinter is working on a Foundry addition to build custom interior spaces (room by room). Once this feature is done and ready, we will have the opportunity to import something similar into STO. At that time, we would consider opening up the ability for players to fully customize their own ship interiors room by room and prop by prop. That is a ways off at this point, though.
Let the basic Starfleet/KDF/Romulan Republic decorations for free while the decorations for Vulcan, Andorian, Orion, Gorn, Reman, and the other standard races be in the C-Store and decorations for Borg, Undine, Hirogen, etc be available in the Lockbox. Not sure how successful it would be, but I know that I will spend some effort getting Borg decorations on my Liberated Borg Captain's ship and I am certain that is the case for others for whatever their favorite race is.
if cryptic chose not to implement the new ranking system they would have then had the problem of when the captain rank would be awarded, if it was awarded at the same level as it was before the level 60 change you then have a load of captains with no likelihood of progressing when they reach higher levels, if they change it so they awarded the captain rank at level 60 you effectively strip a load of captains of their rank and demote them for no good reason.
the way I imagine it for "immersion" is that although I hold the rank of admiral I was given the choice of an non active role in star fleet "desk job" or a more active role of commanding a star ship and acting as a ambassador for the federation as well as continuing my role as all around protector of the innocent, hero and good guy of the galaxy, a kind of admiral but with captain duty's and responsibility's as well.
needless to say I chose to take an active role.
this also fits in nicely with the admiralty system where I can assign duty's/missions to the ships in my fleet often from afar without feeling like I am missing out on all the fun.
needless to say my rom and KDF characters got a similar offer of roles to play within their respective organizations.
now I may choose a title I would prefer to be addressed as say "captain" but crew or other people I meet or interact with might be unaware of my preference and address me as admiral and for moral amongst my crew or for diplomacy sake and I choose not to upset or offend them by correcting them on this, and its not really that important to me as long as I get the respect I deserve.
Post edited by bobbydazlers on
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
[...]I only had an issue with what he was saying about immersion being a simple thing, [...]
No one did that. What was said was that this particular proposal to help immersion is a simple thing.
Which has been demonstrated to be either completely wrong, or baseless speculation, possibly both. You however keep saying that as if repeating it over and over will make it true.
I am going with baseless speculation since only a dev has a clue how easy this would be. All we can say is that it is most likely more trouble than it is worth.
Well said, especially for a feature 95% wouldn't even care about, even if it were to be implemented.
I admit a year ago: I would have like to seen them improve bridge interiors to buy or unlock new rooms, furniture, paintings, instruments, trophies, carpets, tile, or many other textures thru either CSTORE and as part of unique mission rewards; however, I even suggested those modular (more custom) ship layouts with floors for:
Bridge, Conference, Ready Room, Observation Lounge,
Tactical including Brig, Cargo Bay, Shuttle Bay, Armory, Transporter Rooms, Escape Pods,
Science for Astrometrics, Medical, Deflector Control & Communications, with Research Areas,
Engineering with Warp Core, Central Computer, Shields, Weapons & Torpedo rooms amount others,
Crew Deck with Crew Quarters for Bridge Crew, Ten Forward, Holodecks and more...
I even suggested if they did it then the Ship Tailor you could outfit faction starships more like an Outfit and could use saved ship tailor maps to publish to FOUNDRY for unique starship interiors let alone show off all the unlocks you've acquired via CSTORE or special mission rewards. It be an interesting way to offer new rewards that people might appreciate for their CSTORE faction starships, also to offer anniversary rewards, or for special events in addition to having more reason to want to acquire CSTORE or special unlocks.
Still while many liked the idea they didn't think we'd see them spend the time like they did for sector space cause most >60% never spend much time on their bridges even if this gave more opportunities for foundry.
This suggestion depends on how well Cryptic can monetize it which is something that the OP's request is missing. SWTOR has seemed to go all out with their Strongholds and numerous other MMOs have done the same. Unlocking various rooms either costs Credits or Cartel Coins (Zen). Some achievements are available through achievements, reputation, or a rare drop, but most seem to be through their Cartel Store (C-Store) or Cartel Packs (Lockboxes).
For STO, there was talk years ago about using Neverwinter's updated Foundry system for customizable ship interiors. Even still we can make a Foundry mission that serves the purpose of a Bridge Interior. From June 2012's Ask Cryptic:
Dstahl: These items had shown up in previous Engineering Reports as designs we were discussing and wanting to put in the game, but are not currently being worked on. At this time, we are focused on Starbase interiors. Neverwinter is working on a Foundry addition to build custom interior spaces (room by room). Once this feature is done and ready, we will have the opportunity to import something similar into STO. At that time, we would consider opening up the ability for players to fully customize their own ship interiors room by room and prop by prop. That is a ways off at this point, though.
Let the basic Starfleet/KDF/Romulan Republic decorations for free while the decorations for Vulcan, Andorian, Orion, Gorn, Reman, and the other standard races be in the C-Store and decorations for Borg, Undine, Hirogen, etc be available in the Lockbox. Not sure how successful it would be, but I know that I will spend some effort getting Borg decorations on my Liberated Borg Captain's ship and I am certain that is the case for others for whatever their favorite race is.
True but the difference I realize it not an easy task... but if done right it could open more opportunities for CSTORE interior sales and showcase more unique foundry missions...
Here at least in time they are willing to consider more modular design elements with Foundry and/or ship tailor as foundry options with Neverwinter are leveraged.
You have yet to demonstrate that it IS a "simple variable". You CLAIM it is but have no way to offer any proof. THIS is what people are disagreeing with you about.
One would think that, given a series of numerical sequences, it would be simplicity itself to code a COBOL program that would string them out in sequential groupings of up to five per line, with commas between each group, and making sure to end the string with either a return (if there are more numbers to come) or a period (if not).
In 1986, HQ SAC/XOXP was sending handwritten lists over to Admin for typing, then back for proofreading, then back for correction, for years before I got there. After having to do this list up once, it took me almost two months to get the program working properly. (Admittedly, I was only working on it for an hour or so per day - had a lot of other software to tend to - but the point is, just because you can state a problem simply does NOT mean you can solve it simply.)
and that's just with one basic issue.
with STO, nearly everything is based on what your rank is or will be. if you change that variable (call it Admiral) to a lower rank (call it Captain), then everything in the game that is connected to that variable has to be manually changed as well, since I doubt Cryptic has a program for mass changing something like this.
When it comes to that part of what he's saying, they yes! It is simple!
Simply impossible to do the way he's thinking it can be done.
you left out all the items and ships and junk that are affected by what your rank is and whether you qualify for one thing or another. it's not the missions so much. It's everything else.
you left out all the items and ships and junk that are affected by what your rank is and whether you qualify for one thing or another. it's not the missions so much. It's everything else.
Uhm. The $RANK variable isn't changed in the game (so you will still have the game rank of "Fleet Admiral" displayed in the upper right corner of your screen in this version), it is just replaced in the dialogue with the $TITLE variable.
So what would happen when all instances of the $RANK variable are replaced by the $TITLE variable? Using the Captain Title won't have too much of an effect compared to using the Moist, Master Chef, etc Title. You are assuming that it is as simple as opening a file related to a specific mission and replacing all instances of $RANK with $TITLE when we don't have a clue how the various programs in STO are set up. At an absolute minimum, we will get the wrong version of mission rewards or not get it depending on which Title is used since $RANK is used to give us level-appropriate mission rewards assuming it is based off of $RANK and not $LEVEL which we don't know.
Then there is the problem of missing various instances of the $RANK variable due to devs going $RANK=$RANK_MISSION or some other variable name and using the $RANK_MISSION variable instead of the $RANK variable or changing more than just the $RANK variable by including the $RANK_NPC, $RANK_SHIP, or any other variable that starts with $RANK and is in the mission files. The devs have to be extremely careful about replacing the variable name with another variable name or else things can go horribly wrong. It is not as simple as a Search and Replace. Therefore, dev confirmation is the only way to know if this feature is extremely easy or extremely difficult to do.
Comments
When did you get a look at the source code? Because that's the only way you could possibly have an informed opinion about how "simple" any given change is.
(Hey, if you're just that good - Cryptic's still hiring...)
Until a dev confirms how difficult of a task this is, then we are merely speculating about how difficult it is. It might be easy or it might not be worth the effort in implementing this feature. The devs always have to consider how much of a priority and how long they estimate it taking for any potential content that they might add to the game. If a feature has an extremely low priority and takes a week to complete, then it might be trashed or put on the back burner indefinitely.
Another possibility is that the devs don't want to risk damaging the game by implementing this feature. We simply don't know what is affected by the Rank variable. We could lose the rank permission of Mk X to Mk XIV equipment by selecting the Captain rank or lose our skill points, reputation, admiralty, and access to our Tier 5 and Tier 6 ships. If our skill points, reputation, traits, admiralty, and access to our ships are based on rank instead of level, then the devs have to be extremely careful with doing a Search and Replace or else we will face one of the worst bugs in MMOs.
I don't know why some of you people are going around being irritated and frustrated over something I personally find irrelevant to my grand whole gaming experience. Surely it may be incorrect and surely it may break some of the immersion, but I think it is a quite insignificant matter to focus on. At least for me and my STO gaming.
Also, although I do like STO to remain as true to the Star Trek lore as possible, I am also open to the fact that Star Trek is entirely fictional and the idea that it may not adhere to any rules that you would apply to our real society. This goes for ranks as well.
I mean, who knows. Perhaps Star Fleet evolved to the point where an Admiral in their era would have very different tasks than what you would typically find among our contemporary admirals of different military divisions.
until someone invents a truly trek like holodeck you will find it very hard to find a game that is "Highly Immersive", IMO sto is about as close as I have seen for a free to play space & ground exploration and combat game with puzzle elements and special events with decent rewards that you don't need to be an expert player to win.
you might need to use your imagination a bit to fill in wherever or whatever the game falls short on but that is a small price to pay if you truly enjoy playing the game for as long as I have.
and all that can be had for absolutely no cost to the player whatsoever if they choose to play for free on PC or console alike, I defy anyone to find a game that offers so much to so many for so little.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
Yep.
I only had an issue with what he was saying about immersion being a simple thing, when his definition was of something else entirely. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said a word to this.
but - Yep.
again. Yep.
I could point out a few things they could easily improve that would changes stuff. but mostly?
Yep.
My character Tsin'xing
Moreover, what is easy to forget is the level of freedom and autonomy a development team has, or rather lack thereof. Only a stupid development team would allow its team members to run amok with absolute autonomy where everyone is allowed to alter and add their own things/code. Also, in general properly set up development teams follow a very strict time plan. Any deviation to that time plan will slow down the rest of the team and can result in costly setbacks.
I am not questioning anyone's merits as a programmer. But I would like to hope that every programmer that has posted in this thread can hopefully come to a mutual agreement that there are probably far more important and time sensitive features and things for Cryptic to focus on. Even if it leaves a sour taste.
yep.
you said that nicely. thank you.
I tend to say too **** much.
I am going with baseless speculation since only a dev has a clue how easy this would be. All we can say is that it is most likely more trouble than it is worth.
Well said, especially for a feature 95% wouldn't even care about, even if it were to be implemented.
I admit a year ago: I would have like to seen them improve bridge interiors to buy or unlock new rooms, furniture, paintings, instruments, trophies, carpets, tile, or many other textures thru either CSTORE and as part of unique mission rewards; however, I even suggested those modular (more custom) ship layouts with floors for:
Bridge, Conference, Ready Room, Observation Lounge,
Tactical including Brig, Cargo Bay, Shuttle Bay, Armory, Transporter Rooms, Escape Pods,
Science for Astrometrics, Medical, Deflector Control & Communications, with Research Areas,
Engineering with Warp Core, Central Computer, Shields, Weapons & Torpedo rooms amount others,
Crew Deck with Crew Quarters for Bridge Crew, Ten Forward, Holodecks and more...
I even suggested if they did it then the Ship Tailor you could outfit faction starships more like an Outfit and could use saved ship tailor maps to publish to FOUNDRY for unique starship interiors let alone show off all the unlocks you've acquired via CSTORE or special mission rewards. It be an interesting way to offer new rewards that people might appreciate for their CSTORE faction starships, also to offer anniversary rewards, or for special events in addition to having more reason to want to acquire CSTORE or special unlocks.
Still while many liked the idea they didn't think we'd see them spend the time like they did for sector space cause most >60% never spend much time on their bridges even if this gave more opportunities for foundry.
But, having said that, 'modular' always sounds very modern, but it's very hard to come up with parts that A totally fit, and B don't horrifically clash. Usually, from my modest experience building stuff in Second Life, is that what happens is, that builders eventually just wind up making several different, complete sets (which kinda defeats the purpose of modular). Ergo, more work for Tacofangs.
This suggestion depends on how well Cryptic can monetize it which is something that the OP's request is missing. SWTOR has seemed to go all out with their Strongholds and numerous other MMOs have done the same. Unlocking various rooms either costs Credits or Cartel Coins (Zen). Some achievements are available through achievements, reputation, or a rare drop, but most seem to be through their Cartel Store (C-Store) or Cartel Packs (Lockboxes).
For STO, there was talk years ago about using Neverwinter's updated Foundry system for customizable ship interiors. Even still we can make a Foundry mission that serves the purpose of a Bridge Interior. From June 2012's Ask Cryptic:
Let the basic Starfleet/KDF/Romulan Republic decorations for free while the decorations for Vulcan, Andorian, Orion, Gorn, Reman, and the other standard races be in the C-Store and decorations for Borg, Undine, Hirogen, etc be available in the Lockbox. Not sure how successful it would be, but I know that I will spend some effort getting Borg decorations on my Liberated Borg Captain's ship and I am certain that is the case for others for whatever their favorite race is.
the way I imagine it for "immersion" is that although I hold the rank of admiral I was given the choice of an non active role in star fleet "desk job" or a more active role of commanding a star ship and acting as a ambassador for the federation as well as continuing my role as all around protector of the innocent, hero and good guy of the galaxy, a kind of admiral but with captain duty's and responsibility's as well.
needless to say I chose to take an active role.
this also fits in nicely with the admiralty system where I can assign duty's/missions to the ships in my fleet often from afar without feeling like I am missing out on all the fun.
needless to say my rom and KDF characters got a similar offer of roles to play within their respective organizations.
now I may choose a title I would prefer to be addressed as say "captain" but crew or other people I meet or interact with might be unaware of my preference and address me as admiral and for moral amongst my crew or for diplomacy sake and I choose not to upset or offend them by correcting them on this, and its not really that important to me as long as I get the respect I deserve.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
True but the difference I realize it not an easy task... but if done right it could open more opportunities for CSTORE interior sales and showcase more unique foundry missions...
Here at least in time they are willing to consider more modular design elements with Foundry and/or ship tailor as foundry options with Neverwinter are leveraged.
My character Tsin'xing
It might be, but we don't really know.
My character Tsin'xing
In 1986, HQ SAC/XOXP was sending handwritten lists over to Admin for typing, then back for proofreading, then back for correction, for years before I got there. After having to do this list up once, it took me almost two months to get the program working properly. (Admittedly, I was only working on it for an hour or so per day - had a lot of other software to tend to - but the point is, just because you can state a problem simply does NOT mean you can solve it simply.)
with STO, nearly everything is based on what your rank is or will be. if you change that variable (call it Admiral) to a lower rank (call it Captain), then everything in the game that is connected to that variable has to be manually changed as well, since I doubt Cryptic has a program for mass changing something like this.
When it comes to that part of what he's saying, they yes! It is simple!
Simply impossible to do the way he's thinking it can be done.
So what would happen when all instances of the $RANK variable are replaced by the $TITLE variable? Using the Captain Title won't have too much of an effect compared to using the Moist, Master Chef, etc Title. You are assuming that it is as simple as opening a file related to a specific mission and replacing all instances of $RANK with $TITLE when we don't have a clue how the various programs in STO are set up. At an absolute minimum, we will get the wrong version of mission rewards or not get it depending on which Title is used since $RANK is used to give us level-appropriate mission rewards assuming it is based off of $RANK and not $LEVEL which we don't know.
Then there is the problem of missing various instances of the $RANK variable due to devs going $RANK=$RANK_MISSION or some other variable name and using the $RANK_MISSION variable instead of the $RANK variable or changing more than just the $RANK variable by including the $RANK_NPC, $RANK_SHIP, or any other variable that starts with $RANK and is in the mission files. The devs have to be extremely careful about replacing the variable name with another variable name or else things can go horribly wrong. It is not as simple as a Search and Replace. Therefore, dev confirmation is the only way to know if this feature is extremely easy or extremely difficult to do.