QUOTE tacofangs:
"You say that you want us to tackle current global issues in the frame of Star Trek, just like the shows did. I would argue that the Lukari storyline you are less interested in has been doing exactly that."
Personally, that is one of the things I like about the current story line. What I found amusing is the reactions of some of the players, with the protestations against bringing politics into the game.
I'm sorry you've lost interest in the game. But I can assure you that "most of the development team" is not dedicated to ships. There are 3 ship artists. We have FX artists, and Systems Designers, who also contribute to ships, but also do many other things. There are 4 Environment Artists and 4 Content Designers doing missions and maps, constantly. There are Animators and Character Artists and Programmers and UI Artists and QA and Production, all of whom are not working on ships.
Seasons don't consist of a single mission, we've just shifted to releasing the missions over the course of the whole season, rather than doing a Netflix style dump of the whole thing at once, with nothing then being released for months after.
Branching Storylines are great, but they take more time and more development, and only a fraction of your players will see any given branch, which makes it a harder sell. We could split the development up to make more branching story, but even if we just had an A and a B, unless we double the number of content developers, that would mean that from the player's perspective, each mission would be shorter, with less to do.
You say that you want us to tackle current global issues in the frame of Star Trek, just like the shows did. I would argue that the Lukari storyline you are less interested in has been doing exactly that.
Edit: FWIW, I've never understood people's fixation that a given MMO should be the only thing they ever play for the rest of their lives. For my part, I will play an MMO for a while, then lose interest or get distracted by some other new game, go play that, and then come back to that MMO again.
We're here, we're free to play, and we're not going anywhere. Try something else for a bit, and then come back and give us another shot.
Thank you Mr TacoFangs for your elegant response. I am honored that you choose to reply. As a long standing player and lifetime subscriber since launch. I have been playing this game on and off for a fairly long time. I have also not logged in several weeks due to having no reason to.
I am totally not discrediting you or any of the other developers. I run a Star Trek roleplay group on Second Life so I am always having to come up with new stories and develop new sets for the crews of both ships that I write for. I understand that the Lukari story arc is a commentary on ecological, environmental and political matters however I do feel that this storyline is "small potatoes" (I believe thats what American people say) compared to the social and political ramifications of the Alpha Quadrant. This storyline has also been done before in several TNG and VOY episodes, just with a different race filling in for the Lukari.
I would like to see more effort to create a unique experience for Federation/Klingon/Romulan respectively and enhance the experience and perspective from those races. I, personally am writing a story for my roleplay group that involves the introduction of the Fen Domar Theocracy, who are a legitimate Government that have almost been brought their knees by emergent religious extremist groups. These groups hold the legitimate government to ransom and conduct terrorist operations within the Federation, causing several planets to become insecure with if the Federation can really protect them in the wake of random terrorist attacks. When "home-grown" terrorists start to emerge on several Federation worlds, as a result of this extremist doctrine, it only causes more fear.
I feel that this story accurately talks about a massive social issue (as somebody who is British and lived near the Manchester Bombings) and uses the parody of the Fen Domar to discuss the current issue of islamic terror which is prevalent in the world today.
I personally believe the Star Trek: Online plays it a little safe in their stories. Don't get me wrong, some of them like the whole Admiral T'nea mission with Tasha Yar was REALLY REALLY well written but the current Arc, I find the current arc uninspired and lacks the scope which is causing some people to become bored with it.
I hope you can understand my point, I really do not mean to come across as "insulting" or a "elitist trekkie". I had too many years complaining that Cryptic was wrong for classing the Intrepid Class as a Science Vessel when it wasn't. Its not really that important.
All I'm saying is that this would be my dream job and I feel like the Devs have lost some of their passion for Star Trek. I have nothing but the utmost respect for what the development team already does within the game and the long hours that they must put in for this.
Original Author of the "What's the Beef with the Galaxy, Cryptic?" Forum Post
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
I personally believe the Star Trek: Online plays it a little safe in their stories. Don't get me wrong, some of them like the whole Admiral T'nea mission with Tasha Yar was REALLY REALLY well written but the current Arc, I find the current arc uninspired and lacks the scope which is causing some people to become bored with it.
^^^^
Of course they 'play it safe' in that regard. This is a game. They want to attract the largest audience possible. if they start doing stories in game that are really controversial; that will generate negative feelings in some, and cause those so affected to quit/not spend money on the game - so the bottom line is negatively affected. Hell, there was a HUGE player uproar when they had a TRIBBLE Klingon couple in one FE. It wasn't a major plot point at all - and if you didn't read (or pay close attention to the text; you would probably miss that fact (again just showing how small/minor an element it was) - but these forums, social media and some gaming news sites EXPLODED with 'Star Trek Online features TRIBBLE KLINGONS!'
So, yeah, given the nature of the MMO business and it's primary audience, is it really that surprising they don't go out of their way to make major/controversial political statements disguised in their game episodes? And yes, while I'm an OLD Star Trek fan, most of the audience for this game is a much younger crowd whose parents may not take kindly to if they start doing controversial political statements in their content.
Formerly known as Armsman from June 2008 to June 20, 2012 PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
I took a break for about a year...came back and nothing changed at all.
Like I've said before...if this game wasn't Star Trek...I would of never came back the first time I left.
"Nothing" changed? There were no new FEs, rep systems, queued events, QoL changes released in an entire year? I find that a little difficult to believe....
If the game does not appeal to you anymore, then find something else you enjoy playing.
Have to throw in with Valoreah on this one. I play STO, her sister game CO, Fallout 4 (heavily modded, of course), Halo (mostly Reach, ODST, 4, and 5), Rock Band 4, and a few other games - recently got absorbed into Fallout Shelter, which can be played on virtually any platform from PC to my cell phone and which my wife describes as "like the Sims, only fun".
If I start feeling burnout on one game, I'll move to another - I was away from STO for a fair while, actually, and restarted mostly to get the summer ship and grind through storylines with my AoY (thus acquiring Dil for all my other toons). Keeps me fresh and interested in most of the games. I recommend this for anyone feeling burnt out on any game they're currently playing; games are for fun, after all, not an obligation. If they start feeling like an obligation, you need a new game.
Even City of Heroes had BADGES you could get from exploring.
Thing is, City of Heroes had the same problem. Enter Mission. Kill skuls. Click Glowie. Survive 3 ambush waves. Exit and get next Newspaper Mission.
It's hard to have an MMO that doesn't rely on the standard set of mission objectives. We play games to do something, and a whole lot of Star Trek is about things that wouldn't really work well as a game. Sure, some time I RP in my head what's going on. I log in, set up some DOFFs, and log out. Congratulations, just had a Lower Deck Episode. What fun that is.
I personally believe the Star Trek: Online plays it a little safe in their stories. Don't get me wrong, some of them like the whole Admiral T'nea mission with Tasha Yar was REALLY REALLY well written but the current Arc, I find the current arc uninspired and lacks the scope which is causing some people to become bored with it.
^^^^
Of course they 'play it safe' in that regard. This is a game. They want to attract the largest audience possible. if they start doing stories in game that are really controversial; that will generate negative feelings in some, and cause those so affected to quit/not spend money on the game - so the bottom line is negatively affected. Hell, there was a HUGE player uproar when they had a **** Klingon couple in one FE. It wasn't a major plot point at all - and if you didn't read (or pay close attention to the text; you would probably miss that fact (again just showing how small/minor an element it was) - but these forums, social media and some gaming news sites EXPLODED with 'Star Trek Online features **** KLINGONS!'
I'm reminded of the fanbase for City of Heroes, well, City of Villains. People wanted to be villains! Not some Saturday Morning Cartoon villain, they wanted EVIL.
So the Devs created a high level contact and story arcs involving a guy named Westin Phipps. He ran a Soup Kitchen in the slums of the capital city, helping feed the destitute and care for the sick. But in reality he was a spy for the Evil Overlord who ran the island nation. And he was hiring the player to do some dirty work. The first mission he sends you off to? Burn a bunch of books that were donated by the USA to help educate the children. They're about to be shipped off from the main city they were gathering donations and are guarded by the city police. So bonus that you can kill...ahem, Defeat the cops!
And the next mission he sends you out to 'take care' of a new water supply that the slum residents are using because it's clean, fresh water. He even gives you a few vials to add to the water table to make sure that the people have to come to him. After the mission he mentions that the isotopes worked, and remarked upon how a mother and her 8 year old daughter, both regulars of his soup kitchen, no longer have their lovely long blond hair due to their treatments.
That's when players realized that we gave a child cancer.
And that wasn't the only two missions you got from him, oh no.
But from the players re-reaction to the kind of villainy, the Devs never made another Westin Phipps-type of contact again.
*looks at Test Biological Weapon DOFF assignments wistfully*
I personally believe the Star Trek: Online plays it a little safe in their stories. Don't get me wrong, some of them like the whole Admiral T'nea mission with Tasha Yar was REALLY REALLY well written but the current Arc, I find the current arc uninspired and lacks the scope which is causing some people to become bored with it.
^^^^
Of course they 'play it safe' in that regard. This is a game. They want to attract the largest audience possible. if they start doing stories in game that are really controversial; that will generate negative feelings in some, and cause those so affected to quit/not spend money on the game - so the bottom line is negatively affected. Hell, there was a HUGE player uproar when they had a **** Klingon couple in one FE. It wasn't a major plot point at all - and if you didn't read (or pay close attention to the text; you would probably miss that fact (again just showing how small/minor an element it was) - but these forums, social media and some gaming news sites EXPLODED with 'Star Trek Online features **** KLINGONS!'
So, yeah, given the nature of the MMO business and it's primary audience, is it really that surprising they don't go out of their way to make major/controversial political statements disguised in their game episodes? And yes, while I'm an OLD Star Trek fan, most of the audience for this game is a much younger crowd whose parents may not take kindly to if they start doing controversial political statements in their content.
However it is part of the nature of Star Trek to explore more controversial topics while cloaking them in analogy. Case and point "The High Ground" - The Next Generation. An episode of a "family" TV show that specifically comments on the actions of the IRA which were very dominant in British society during the 1990's.
This episode was banned in the UK but it was shown in family homes across the world and then was later shown in UK on such satellite services such as SKY.
It was still family rated even though some of the lines in the show are "In a world where children blow up children..."
Another example is a personal favorite of mine "Chain of Command" - The Next Generation. A very praised episode for showing the physical and mental anguish of torture and yet that episode was NEVER banned off any TV Network and was allowed to be shown at the usual "family", 6:00pm slot on BBC 2 here in the United Kingdom.
Tasteful displays of controversial subjects, done right, can be powerfully resonant as some of these episodes are considered simply the BEST of The Next Generation but were still shown to families with children around the world because of HOW the subject matter was approached.
I have never understood why we live in a "special snowflake" age where children are shielded from certain topics. I have never believed that is the correct way to treat the next generation of people.
Original Author of the "What's the Beef with the Galaxy, Cryptic?" Forum Post
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
Edit: FWIW, I've never understood people's fixation that a given MMO should be the only thing they ever play for the rest of their lives. For my part, I will play an MMO for a while, then lose interest or get distracted by some other new game, go play that, and then come back to that MMO again.
We're here, we're free to play, and we're not going anywhere. Try something else for a bit, and then come back and give us another shot.
I cant speak for the OP, but the problem with that is all the players like myself who dont WANT to be burned out on STO. I WANT a reason to dedicate time in this game. I love Star Trek and I love this game, so even when I'm feeling burned out I still want to play this game because it's one of the best Sci Fi games available. I'm willing to bet that most of the posts like this attacking devs dont contain any real ill-will, it's simply from players who feel frustrated they cant enjoy the game they love. I know it must seem like we're just a bunch of spoiled children, and you're probably right, but is it so hard to create a reason for players to keep grinding? Hopefully the Endeavor System will do that, but we'll see.
_____________________________________________________
Anyone want to give me a Temporal Heavy Dreadnought pack? I'll be your friend
Edit: FWIW, I've never understood people's fixation that a given MMO should be the only thing they ever play for the rest of their lives. For my part, I will play an MMO for a while, then lose interest or get distracted by some other new game, go play that, and then come back to that MMO again.
We're here, we're free to play, and we're not going anywhere. Try something else for a bit, and then come back and give us another shot.
I cant speak for the OP, but the problem with that is all the players like myself who dont WANT to be burned out on STO. I WANT a reason to dedicate time in this game. I love Star Trek and I love this game, so even when I'm feeling burned out I still want to play this game because it's one of the best Sci Fi games available. I'm willing to bet that most of the posts like this attacking devs dont contain any real ill-will, it's simply from players who feel frustrated they cant enjoy the game they love. I know it must seem like we're just a bunch of spoiled children, and you're probably right, but is it so hard to create a reason for players to keep grinding? Hopefully the Endeavor System will do that, but we'll see.
I very much agree with this comment. I WANT to be engaged with the game, I LOVE Star Trek, have done since I was a boy and I really REALLY want to love this game and invest time in being a constructive community member. However, the game in its present state, feels stale. It feels dated and it feels like its always cash grab first and then very little content.
What is the point of buying new ships if you cannot do anything with them and the content that is available is not very dynamic or fun and just boils down to "fire everything" in every situation.
Its a real shame because the starship models are some of the best I've EVER seen in a Star Trek game and the visual quality of the game is fantastic now that they are starting to redo all the starship models again.
Original Author of the "What's the Beef with the Galaxy, Cryptic?" Forum Post
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
I understand the frustrations of what has been said. that said, it brings up several things that can be done for QOL. 1. fix/adjust the game. the T-battlezone need fixing. defera invasion zone needs adjusting. either remove/lower the requirements for hards (preferably remove) or let KDF team with fed. also, reducing the cooldown would be nice, after all the rep gear is not first tier anymore. also, increase the rewards. I go to the sphere and capture a artillery site (about 3 minutes) and I get 10 marks. I do the easies they take 5-10 minutes and a measly 5...
OP, you can still do the game again, and just do it differently. don't buy ANYTHING. nothing from the exchange, nothing from the C Store... nothing nada. craft/recruit/build just with what you earn with your toon. no gifts of dil from the existing fleet captain..
you will find that to be quite the challenge
I'm sorry you've lost interest in the game. But I can assure you that "most of the development team" is not dedicated to ships. There are 3 ship artists. We have FX artists, and Systems Designers, who also contribute to ships, but also do many other things. There are 4 Environment Artists and 4 Content Designers doing missions and maps, constantly. There are Animators and Character Artists and Programmers and UI Artists and QA and Production, all of whom are not working on ships.
Seasons don't consist of a single mission, we've just shifted to releasing the missions over the course of the whole season, rather than doing a Netflix style dump of the whole thing at once, with nothing then being released for months after.
Branching Storylines are great, but they take more time and more development, and only a fraction of your players will see any given branch, which makes it a harder sell. We could split the development up to make more branching story, but even if we just had an A and a B, unless we double the number of content developers, that would mean that from the player's perspective, each mission would be shorter, with less to do.
You say that you want us to tackle current global issues in the frame of Star Trek, just like the shows did. I would argue that the Lukari storyline you are less interested in has been doing exactly that.
Edit: FWIW, I've never understood people's fixation that a given MMO should be the only thing they ever play for the rest of their lives. For my part, I will play an MMO for a while, then lose interest or get distracted by some other new game, go play that, and then come back to that MMO again.
We're here, we're free to play, and we're not going anywhere. Try something else for a bit, and then come back and give us another shot.
I for one am really appreciative of the effort your guys make and most of the time, I am a staunch defender of the effort put into this game. The game, being free, has way more content than 99.9% of AAA purchasable games, which seems to have been lost on the OP. There's over 100 hours of episodic content combined, on top of all the other things you can do. Sometimes I have to bang my head with a piano when some mentions 'the grind'. Let me put this in simple terms, no matter what game you play, you will grind, and people need to get over this fact. I have been playing around 6 years consistently, and am yet to suffer burn-out.
I will however point out that these past 2 seasons are below-par in episodic content, and it irks me. The latest 'temporal' episode was fantastic in design and environment, but the following one was, well to put it bluntly, a hollow 10 minute dash, with no build up of emotional attachment for the people we were trying to help. The city environment was fantastic, but horribly small!
I did enjoy the rebalancing, but it didn't go far enough. Players still out-DPS NPC's by a long way. I'm sorry, but there's no way anyone can stand there and look at me and explain with a straight face why it's fair that players can vape NPC's, but when a NPC gets a lucky shot (usually the Borg Torp) and the entire DPS league screams blue-murder! The 'space game' is just too easy.
Then there's the fact that Ships are soooooo out of balance with each other, that they are now nothing but glorified costumes! Please explain why a T6 Miranda/TOS T6 Connie/T6 NX has comparable firepower and HP to a Universe Class Starship despite being a tenth of it's size!! It's about time that this was addressed! The 'timeship' argument doesn't wash here as we're all using the same level of tech and it should take a small fleet of ships to takedown a UCS!
It has always bothered me the way Cryptic has done weapons hardpoints. Each should have it's own set Arc, and Torps shouldn't be with Energy Weapons. They are heavy weapons after all! Then there is the token damage systems. Come on guys, take a leaf out of SFC3!! It had live subsytems damage and live damage maps and weapons arcs that were practically canon. Despite it only being 2D flight, it had more realism, and less of the space magic clutter!
Other than that, again, I appreciate the job you guys do and think players should be more thankful!
Edit: Sorry, I should also mention that we are still awaiting an replacement 'Exploration' system. Should never have gotten rid of it in the first place. Exploration IS Star Trek!!
"You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
I have to admit I have played this game since release, after months of one mission every month. I have completely lost interest in Star Trek: Online. Every mission is the same.
Space/Ground/Space etc.
and its always nice window dressing but absolutely no substance. This just does not feel like an MMO for me. There is no open world feel and the community and PvE queues seem repetitive and hardly existent.
I think this game really does not have any substance. Devs always have time to create new ships but nobody on the dev team has any time to create anything other then the bear minimum of content and it really shows. The story has really suffered too, this story arc has been really boring and feels completely uninspired. With respect to the writers, I could do a better job in my sleep.
It just feels like the devs have lost any passion of Star Trek and are just going through the motions. Using their new shiney ships they sell and new voice talent just to convince people to come back and play but after a while, it just all blurs together.
I am NOT attacking the developers but I genuinely believe they are not putting in enough effort into the game and its suffering as a result. They seem more interested in pumping the game for money then advancing the game or the story.
1: Don't do the missions if you don't like them. There are other ways to advance than doing missions. I do agree the standard missions have become boring with the Space-Ground-Space format rut they are in. Just do enough missions to get to level 10 and go do something else.
2: If you think you can write better missions then write them! There is a Foundry for user created missions. If you are that good, your missions will get lots of play and give the player XP and dil for completing just like a standard mission.
3. If you are bored then you are concentrating on missions too much. Have you even bothered to do the winter and summer festivals, first contact day, and other events? Have you talked to people, made friends, and teamed with them doing things? Have you flown around and discovered patrol missions? Have you bothered to do any Foundry missions? Have you flown around and done doff assignments you discovered? Have you collected R&D materials and made your own weapons? Have you challenged friends and tried to beat them? Have you played characters other than the Federation? Have you completed every Adventure Zone at least once? Have you been to the new War Zones released 2 months ago? If all you are doing is missions you are only experiencing 1/10 of the game.
4: You are attacking the devs when you say they are not putting in enough effort and are just going through the motions. Do you even bother looking to see what is new with every season or just see the same stuff and decide there is nothing new here?
I've only been playing since just before DR and I've hit burnout a few times now. The first time, I solved easily, I started doing foundry mssions, some are so-so, some are extremely good, so good I think cryptic should hire the authors. Even with foundry missions burnout still happened. So, I logged in just long enough to collect and restart R&D and DoFFing, and some days I didn't even do that, and then I spent time playing a new character from ME1, to ME2, to ME3, then another, then another. Got a bit burned out on ME and came back and played STO again. Now I'm having fun in STO by actually raising a Sci toon to specialize in exotic damage instead of the same old pew, pew I've been doing since I started. Although I have also found attempting to run content in a cruiser equipped with DBBs and no turn rate mods to be quite ..... interesting also.
I start feeling burned out again, I'll just go play one of my other games for a few days, weeks, months and eventually I'll get the STO itch again. But I probably won't get burned out until I finally find out what the heck the deal is with those dang crystals.......and no, I don't want any spoilers or I would have googled it already.
I have to admit I have played this game since release, after months of one mission every month. I have completely lost interest in Star Trek: Online. Every mission is the same.
Space/Ground/Space etc.
and its always nice window dressing but absolutely no substance. This just does not feel like an MMO for me. There is no open world feel and the community and PvE queues seem repetitive and hardly existent.
I think this game really does not have any substance. Devs always have time to create new ships but nobody on the dev team has any time to create anything other then the bear minimum of content and it really shows. The story has really suffered too, this story arc has been really boring and feels completely uninspired. With respect to the writers, I could do a better job in my sleep.
It just feels like the devs have lost any passion of Star Trek and are just going through the motions. Using their new shiney ships they sell and new voice talent just to convince people to come back and play but after a while, it just all blurs together.
I am NOT attacking the developers but I genuinely believe they are not putting in enough effort into the game and its suffering as a result. They seem more interested in pumping the game for money then advancing the game or the story.
1: Don't do the missions if you don't like them. There are other ways to advance than doing missions. I do agree the standard missions have become boring with the Space-Ground-Space format rut they are in. Just do enough missions to get to level 10 and go do something else.
2: If you think you can write better missions then write them! There is a Foundry for user created missions. If you are that good, your missions will get lots of play and give the player XP and dil for completing just like a standard mission.
3. If you are bored then you are concentrating on missions too much. Have you even bothered to do the winter and summer festivals, first contact day, and other events? Have you talked to people, made friends, and teamed with them doing things? Have you flown around and discovered patrol missions? Have you bothered to do any Foundry missions? Have you flown around and done doff assignments you discovered? Have you collected R&D materials and made your own weapons? Have you challenged friends and tried to beat them? Have you played characters other than the Federation? Have you completed every Adventure Zone at least once? Have you been to the new War Zones released 2 months ago? If all you are doing is missions you are only experiencing 1/10 of the game.
4: You are attacking the devs when you say they are not putting in enough effort and are just going through the motions. Do you even bother looking to see what is new with every season or just see the same stuff and decide there is nothing new here?
I am going to address each one of your points...
1) No, I do not do seasonal events. World of Warcraft also does seasonal events, I believe pretty much every major MMO does and I do not see how you consider that anything more then "side content". Also there is no reason to do the Summer Event aside from getting the ship and alien ships have never interested me. (I am one of those weird people that like flying actual Federation vessels when I'm playing Federation).
2) Talking and making friends is a by-product of any MMO. Actually, most of my friends have left over the state of the game and it is only really me that plays this anymore without getting bored. I used to have a large fleet of 25-30 friends that played this game and they have all dropped away due to repetitive content.
3) Patrols, although I agree Patrols are fun, they suffer from the same cut and paste objectives as other missions and are more for helping people level then actually providing anything useful.
4) The War Zone content is bugged and has been a persistent problem for everyone, over the last few months.
5) Yes, I have completed Defera, Nukara, Nimbus, Dyson, etc. Accolades are not really a positive draw just to play them though. I'm not asking for a massive reward but a reason to play older queues and older content would be welcome.
My suggestion for point #5 would be to introduce a "Timewalking" feature, similar to what World of Warcraft does with its dungeons and add it to queues. This would be a small weekend event that would cycle and give endgame relevant loot for doing older queues. Such as one for Nukara, Dyson etc. (If you have already filled out the reps to Tier V and do not require any gear, then you have no need to go back and do them again and that is contributing to the dead PvE queues arguement).
Doing this could give you tokens to a special access of "Legacy Ship Skins", skins that are not obtainable in any other part of the game. They wouldn't alter any stats of your ship but visually change the ship. For example,
- the "Probert Refit" for the Ambassador,
- "Warship Voyager" for the Intrepid
- Soyuz "Bozeman" refit for the Miranda
- "First Contact" version for the Sovereign Class (With the darker hull colors)
- "Azati Prime" NX Class (With damage)
- Regent's Neghvar (From DS9's mirror universe)
- Mirror Universe Paintjobs for all modern Federation ships (I.E. Vesta etc)
and other little small varients of ships that were only seen in a couple of episodes.
If Cryptic really wanted to be generous, they could also offer custom bridges that people want...
- "All Good Things" Galaxy Bridge
- "Year of Hell" Intrepid Bridge
- Ambassador Class Bridge
- NX Class Bridge and NX-02 Columbia Refit
- Klingon "Star Trek 3" Bridge
- Excelsior Bridge
- Nebula DS9 Bridge
etc
This would give people a reason to play old content again and stem the problem of dead PvE Queues.
Original Author of the "What's the Beef with the Galaxy, Cryptic?" Forum Post
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
You know OP, I’d ultimately give you the same advice as @valoreha and @tacofangs did but frankly, and judging from the read of your post, I doubt it’s time for that just yet. You clearly state that you only consume minor aspects of what this title has to offer.
Have you made any alts and tired out different careers or factions? Have you blasted foes in PvP or dished out Diamond class DPS in PvE? Have you build fleet holdings and communities?
With the introduction of the admiralty system any serious grind has left the game. You can basically select what you like, enjoy it and progress your character(s) with it.
For me the game also feels a bit claustrophobic at times even after I did all the stuff above the past five years. Yet there is still enough substance in this beautiful title for a relaxing few hours each day. If the Devs allow it, there is even fun.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
I personally believe the Star Trek: Online plays it a little safe in their stories. Don't get me wrong, some of them like the whole Admiral T'nea mission with Tasha Yar was REALLY REALLY well written but the current Arc, I find the current arc uninspired and lacks the scope which is causing some people to become bored with it.
^^^^
Of course they 'play it safe' in that regard. This is a game. They want to attract the largest audience possible. if they start doing stories in game that are really controversial; that will generate negative feelings in some, and cause those so affected to quit/not spend money on the game - so the bottom line is negatively affected. Hell, there was a HUGE player uproar when they had a **** Klingon couple in one FE. It wasn't a major plot point at all - and if you didn't read (or pay close attention to the text; you would probably miss that fact (again just showing how small/minor an element it was) - but these forums, social media and some gaming news sites EXPLODED with 'Star Trek Online features **** KLINGONS!'
So, yeah, given the nature of the MMO business and it's primary audience, is it really that surprising they don't go out of their way to make major/controversial political statements disguised in their game episodes? And yes, while I'm an OLD Star Trek fan, most of the audience for this game is a much younger crowd whose parents may not take kindly to if they start doing controversial political statements in their content.
Heh, I loved the **** Klingons myself, and the reactions some folks had, getting their knickers in a bunch.
I thought those 2 Klingons were adorable in my opinion.
As a LTS who preordered the game this topic hits close to home. The game, as a whole, seems to have under-delivered on its potential.
First, the engine selected is just unsuitable: While it works fine for Champions Online - CO has a "small" number of large maps that encompass many quests, which neatly conceals the fact that the engine doesn't do zone transfers very well at all. In STO players are faced with loading wall after loading wall. Every transition from sector space to space or space to ground and back is just unnecessary in a 2017 MMO. And STO has a lot of these transitions.
Then there is the general inconsistency. For a task as simple as "beaming up", sometimes you have to use the button on the mini-map. Sometimes you need to use a "Beam Up" button on the secondary interaction panel. Sometimes you need to interact with the secondary interaction panel to start up a primary interaction that has "beam up" as an option. And sometimes you need to go to a specific place to get a primary interaction option. We can also mention all the bloody windows containing semi-related content. Or why it is necessary for the DOFF and Admiralty systems to treat the common idea of "In Progress" and "Completed" entirely differently.
Did the STO designers even try to incorporate the strong "computer UI" styling from the TV show into the many windows of STO? No.
So - skipping past many other issues with the user interface, all told, we have a "game" with a UI that is about as fun to work with - and as visually appealing - as working with Excel.
On the gameplay front - many people find the episodes tedious and grindy. I do not personally hold that belief. I think it is an inescapable nature of an MMO that muct of the "questing" content is going to be a lot of "Kill X number of Y" wrapped in a veneer of storyline - and I think the episodes have been HUGELY improved since launch - the near ubiquitous voice acting and the strong storyline arrangement of the missions makes them for me a huge plus.
However, the episode system efficiently dumps us at level 60, with almost nothing left to do. All the really nice ships are available at T6, but with the episodes done, the only use of a T6 ship is to do PvE queues, to get tokens, to upgrade the T6 ship / buy a different T6 ship. This, ironcially, is where Cryptic want/need players to spend money, but there is literally no need to: All the actual game content is finished, and the only thing left in an epeen waving contest of who has the most ships and most ridiculous dps.
"Finishing" STO however requires no investment of Zen at all: T6 ships are given away and T5 ships using only VR Mk XII gear available from episodes can hit ~20K dps, a benchmark that will more than handle all the endgame episode content, and get you far enough into PvE queues to realize the only reason you are doing PvE queues is to equip your ship to do PvE queues better.
You know OP, I’d ultimately give you the same advice as @valoreha and @tacofangs did but frankly, and judging from the read of your post, I doubt it’s time for that just yet. You clearly state that you only consume minor aspects of what this title has to offer.
Have you made any alts and tired out different careers or factions? Have you blasted foes in PvP or dished out Diamond class DPS in PvE? Have you build fleet holdings and communities?
With the introduction of the admiralty system any serious grind has left the game. You can basically select what you like, enjoy it and progress your character(s) with it.
For me the game also feels a bit claustrophobic at times even after I did all the stuff above the past five years. Yet there is still enough substance in this beautiful title for a relaxing few hours each day. If the Devs allow it, there is even fun.
I used to play PvP before all my friends left and I had nobody to play with. Fleet holdings and communities are essentially just another huge grind where you need resources to access time-gated queues. Its not very interactive. I have got all max level on the Admirality System, another queue Facebook game-like grind.
I actually do have max level Romulan and Klingon just to experience their stories but after a while, it all blurs together anyway, especially endgame so there really is not much to offer there either.
Original Author of the "What's the Beef with the Galaxy, Cryptic?" Forum Post
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
A lot is what you make of it. For example I decided that It’s time to put our KDF base out of its misery (get it from tier 4 to tier 5 the next 3 months). I’m not going to do this alone you know. I use the opportunity to team up with friends, fleet mates, peeps from STO league and TCS and direct the maps I select I tiny bit in the fleet-mark direction. Hehe, they either know that they are helping or don’t but in any case we have hours of fun in teamed PvE. I don’t consider it grinding even since I’d play the stuff for Dil, tech and mats anyway.
You really have no community to play in? It is the center of the game for me.
Post edited by peterconnorfirst on
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
The trouble with an episodic story in STO is that it takes so long to get each section out because they are each "featured" for four weeks, Then rather than getting the next part out and carrying on the momentum of the story there's downtime for either an event of somekind or other.
Anyone who's binged a box set will often hit a moment where something happens and they simply have to keep watching to find out what happens next. Game of thrones red wedding is one such trigger and while not really a trek style moment it was such a hook. Hooks like that in STO wouldn't work because the wait between episodes is simply too long, even longer if they decide to let an event like summer run its entire length without any story content.
We last had mirrors and smoke which should have really been two episodes and so much better. The city map was really underused where we could have been doing on planet "trek" stuff like helping the person in the street rather than scanning and leaving them in the gutter. Meeting the ministers and ending part one on the mothership bombing the moon cliffhangar style. Part two would have then be free to do more with rescuing the moon rather than pushing a button and ending with something other than the xenophobic minister trying to kill us. The leader could have been in cahoots with the tzenkethi or created the movement against outsiders to maintain her power by controlling the opposition. So much wasted potential. It was also not a fun episode to run on lowbies because that mothership fight takes so damn long (even if you know the fight) with zero reward as it doesn't die.
And now it seems that rather than continuing the lukari story we're going to start on martok one. Makes me worried that it'll be another squandered opportunity of a series getting squished into a handful of forgettable moments. Hopefully they won't turn him into another sela who keeps coming back like a bad smell, even though survivor did end with a decent speculative cutscene I kind of hope we've locked her up for good.
Event burnout has probably hit a lot of folk, myself I'm only logging in to keep R&D ticking over and maybe doing an patrol run on alts to slowly level ships and get some marks for dil. Can't be bothered even queueing for the red alerts at the moment partly due to the borg reward nerf.
I'll admit, my interest in the current arc died deader than a doornail when I saw we were gonna interact with the Dark Queen of "pass the players the idiot ball".
Honestly I'd rather eat a broken glass-filled burrito that EVER see Sela in STO again. That character is a walking war crime against sapience.
That Episode was totally out of context to the current Arc. I believe it was stated that the Episode was prepared much earlier but never released at the time.
'But to be logical is not to be right', and 'nothing' on God's earth could ever 'make it' right!'
Judge Dan Haywood
'As l speak now, the words are forming in my head.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch." "We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
Passion and Serenity are one.
I gain power by understanding both.
In the chaos of their battle, I bring order.
I am a shadow, darkness born from light.
The Force is united within me.
That Episode was totally out of context to the current Arc. I believe it was stated that the Episode was prepared much earlier but never released at the time.
Buried thanks to one brief shining moment of good taste?
I personally believe the Star Trek: Online plays it a little safe in their stories. Don't get me wrong, some of them like the whole Admiral T'nea mission with Tasha Yar was REALLY REALLY well written but the current Arc, I find the current arc uninspired and lacks the scope which is causing some people to become bored with it.
^^^^
Of course they 'play it safe' in that regard. This is a game. They want to attract the largest audience possible. if they start doing stories in game that are really controversial; that will generate negative feelings in some, and cause those so affected to quit/not spend money on the game - so the bottom line is negatively affected. Hell, there was a HUGE player uproar when they had a **** Klingon couple in one FE. It wasn't a major plot point at all - and if you didn't read (or pay close attention to the text; you would probably miss that fact (again just showing how small/minor an element it was) - but these forums, social media and some gaming news sites EXPLODED with 'Star Trek Online features **** KLINGONS!'
I'm reminded of the fanbase for City of Heroes, well, City of Villains. People wanted to be villains! Not some Saturday Morning Cartoon villain, they wanted EVIL.
So the Devs created a high level contact and story arcs involving a guy named Westin Phipps. He ran a Soup Kitchen in the slums of the capital city, helping feed the destitute and care for the sick. But in reality he was a spy for the Evil Overlord who ran the island nation. And he was hiring the player to do some dirty work. The first mission he sends you off to? Burn a bunch of books that were donated by the USA to help educate the children. They're about to be shipped off from the main city they were gathering donations and are guarded by the city police. So bonus that you can kill...ahem, Defeat the cops!
And the next mission he sends you out to 'take care' of a new water supply that the slum residents are using because it's clean, fresh water. He even gives you a few vials to add to the water table to make sure that the people have to come to him. After the mission he mentions that the isotopes worked, and remarked upon how a mother and her 8 year old daughter, both regulars of his soup kitchen, no longer have their lovely long blond hair due to their treatments.
That's when players realized that we gave a child cancer.
And that wasn't the only two missions you got from him, oh no.
But from the players re-reaction to the kind of villainy, the Devs never made another Westin Phipps-type of contact again.
*looks at Test Biological Weapon DOFF assignments wistfully*
But isn't burning children's books or poisoning some slum's water supply to make poor people buy bottled water precisely the kind of petty videogame evil that's become a cliche in games that let you play as a "villain?" I'd expect if players wanted EVIL they'd mean something at least worthy of a B-movie.
Never played City of Villains myself, but I'd definitely want to be the overlord running the island nation, not an errand boy hired by one of his henchmen to steal candy from babies for teh evulz.
Comments
I took a break for about a year...came back and nothing changed at all.
Like I've said before...if this game wasn't Star Trek...I would of never came back the first time I left.
I'll just leave this here...
Thank you for the time...
Cryptic, would you actulaly like me to spend actual Money? It's Simple:
Thank you Mr TacoFangs for your elegant response. I am honored that you choose to reply. As a long standing player and lifetime subscriber since launch. I have been playing this game on and off for a fairly long time. I have also not logged in several weeks due to having no reason to.
I am totally not discrediting you or any of the other developers. I run a Star Trek roleplay group on Second Life so I am always having to come up with new stories and develop new sets for the crews of both ships that I write for. I understand that the Lukari story arc is a commentary on ecological, environmental and political matters however I do feel that this storyline is "small potatoes" (I believe thats what American people say) compared to the social and political ramifications of the Alpha Quadrant. This storyline has also been done before in several TNG and VOY episodes, just with a different race filling in for the Lukari.
I would like to see more effort to create a unique experience for Federation/Klingon/Romulan respectively and enhance the experience and perspective from those races. I, personally am writing a story for my roleplay group that involves the introduction of the Fen Domar Theocracy, who are a legitimate Government that have almost been brought their knees by emergent religious extremist groups. These groups hold the legitimate government to ransom and conduct terrorist operations within the Federation, causing several planets to become insecure with if the Federation can really protect them in the wake of random terrorist attacks. When "home-grown" terrorists start to emerge on several Federation worlds, as a result of this extremist doctrine, it only causes more fear.
I feel that this story accurately talks about a massive social issue (as somebody who is British and lived near the Manchester Bombings) and uses the parody of the Fen Domar to discuss the current issue of islamic terror which is prevalent in the world today.
I personally believe the Star Trek: Online plays it a little safe in their stories. Don't get me wrong, some of them like the whole Admiral T'nea mission with Tasha Yar was REALLY REALLY well written but the current Arc, I find the current arc uninspired and lacks the scope which is causing some people to become bored with it.
I hope you can understand my point, I really do not mean to come across as "insulting" or a "elitist trekkie". I had too many years complaining that Cryptic was wrong for classing the Intrepid Class as a Science Vessel when it wasn't. Its not really that important.
All I'm saying is that this would be my dream job and I feel like the Devs have lost some of their passion for Star Trek. I have nothing but the utmost respect for what the development team already does within the game and the long hours that they must put in for this.
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
Of course they 'play it safe' in that regard. This is a game. They want to attract the largest audience possible. if they start doing stories in game that are really controversial; that will generate negative feelings in some, and cause those so affected to quit/not spend money on the game - so the bottom line is negatively affected. Hell, there was a HUGE player uproar when they had a TRIBBLE Klingon couple in one FE. It wasn't a major plot point at all - and if you didn't read (or pay close attention to the text; you would probably miss that fact (again just showing how small/minor an element it was) - but these forums, social media and some gaming news sites EXPLODED with 'Star Trek Online features TRIBBLE KLINGONS!'
So, yeah, given the nature of the MMO business and it's primary audience, is it really that surprising they don't go out of their way to make major/controversial political statements disguised in their game episodes? And yes, while I'm an OLD Star Trek fan, most of the audience for this game is a much younger crowd whose parents may not take kindly to if they start doing controversial political statements in their content.
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
If I start feeling burnout on one game, I'll move to another - I was away from STO for a fair while, actually, and restarted mostly to get the summer ship and grind through storylines with my AoY (thus acquiring Dil for all my other toons). Keeps me fresh and interested in most of the games. I recommend this for anyone feeling burnt out on any game they're currently playing; games are for fun, after all, not an obligation. If they start feeling like an obligation, you need a new game.
Thing is, City of Heroes had the same problem. Enter Mission. Kill skuls. Click Glowie. Survive 3 ambush waves. Exit and get next Newspaper Mission.
It's hard to have an MMO that doesn't rely on the standard set of mission objectives. We play games to do something, and a whole lot of Star Trek is about things that wouldn't really work well as a game. Sure, some time I RP in my head what's going on. I log in, set up some DOFFs, and log out. Congratulations, just had a Lower Deck Episode. What fun that is.
I'm reminded of the fanbase for City of Heroes, well, City of Villains. People wanted to be villains! Not some Saturday Morning Cartoon villain, they wanted EVIL.
So the Devs created a high level contact and story arcs involving a guy named Westin Phipps. He ran a Soup Kitchen in the slums of the capital city, helping feed the destitute and care for the sick. But in reality he was a spy for the Evil Overlord who ran the island nation. And he was hiring the player to do some dirty work. The first mission he sends you off to? Burn a bunch of books that were donated by the USA to help educate the children. They're about to be shipped off from the main city they were gathering donations and are guarded by the city police. So bonus that you can kill...ahem, Defeat the cops!
And the next mission he sends you out to 'take care' of a new water supply that the slum residents are using because it's clean, fresh water. He even gives you a few vials to add to the water table to make sure that the people have to come to him. After the mission he mentions that the isotopes worked, and remarked upon how a mother and her 8 year old daughter, both regulars of his soup kitchen, no longer have their lovely long blond hair due to their treatments.
That's when players realized that we gave a child cancer.
And that wasn't the only two missions you got from him, oh no.
But from the players re-reaction to the kind of villainy, the Devs never made another Westin Phipps-type of contact again.
*looks at Test Biological Weapon DOFF assignments wistfully*
However it is part of the nature of Star Trek to explore more controversial topics while cloaking them in analogy. Case and point "The High Ground" - The Next Generation. An episode of a "family" TV show that specifically comments on the actions of the IRA which were very dominant in British society during the 1990's.
This episode was banned in the UK but it was shown in family homes across the world and then was later shown in UK on such satellite services such as SKY.
It was still family rated even though some of the lines in the show are "In a world where children blow up children..."
Another example is a personal favorite of mine "Chain of Command" - The Next Generation. A very praised episode for showing the physical and mental anguish of torture and yet that episode was NEVER banned off any TV Network and was allowed to be shown at the usual "family", 6:00pm slot on BBC 2 here in the United Kingdom.
Tasteful displays of controversial subjects, done right, can be powerfully resonant as some of these episodes are considered simply the BEST of The Next Generation but were still shown to families with children around the world because of HOW the subject matter was approached.
I have never understood why we live in a "special snowflake" age where children are shielded from certain topics. I have never believed that is the correct way to treat the next generation of people.
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
I cant speak for the OP, but the problem with that is all the players like myself who dont WANT to be burned out on STO. I WANT a reason to dedicate time in this game. I love Star Trek and I love this game, so even when I'm feeling burned out I still want to play this game because it's one of the best Sci Fi games available. I'm willing to bet that most of the posts like this attacking devs dont contain any real ill-will, it's simply from players who feel frustrated they cant enjoy the game they love. I know it must seem like we're just a bunch of spoiled children, and you're probably right, but is it so hard to create a reason for players to keep grinding? Hopefully the Endeavor System will do that, but we'll see.
Anyone want to give me a Temporal Heavy Dreadnought pack? I'll be your friend
I very much agree with this comment. I WANT to be engaged with the game, I LOVE Star Trek, have done since I was a boy and I really REALLY want to love this game and invest time in being a constructive community member. However, the game in its present state, feels stale. It feels dated and it feels like its always cash grab first and then very little content.
What is the point of buying new ships if you cannot do anything with them and the content that is available is not very dynamic or fun and just boils down to "fire everything" in every situation.
Its a real shame because the starship models are some of the best I've EVER seen in a Star Trek game and the visual quality of the game is fantastic now that they are starting to redo all the starship models again.
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
you will find that to be quite the challenge
I for one am really appreciative of the effort your guys make and most of the time, I am a staunch defender of the effort put into this game. The game, being free, has way more content than 99.9% of AAA purchasable games, which seems to have been lost on the OP. There's over 100 hours of episodic content combined, on top of all the other things you can do. Sometimes I have to bang my head with a piano when some mentions 'the grind'. Let me put this in simple terms, no matter what game you play, you will grind, and people need to get over this fact. I have been playing around 6 years consistently, and am yet to suffer burn-out.
I will however point out that these past 2 seasons are below-par in episodic content, and it irks me. The latest 'temporal' episode was fantastic in design and environment, but the following one was, well to put it bluntly, a hollow 10 minute dash, with no build up of emotional attachment for the people we were trying to help. The city environment was fantastic, but horribly small!
I did enjoy the rebalancing, but it didn't go far enough. Players still out-DPS NPC's by a long way. I'm sorry, but there's no way anyone can stand there and look at me and explain with a straight face why it's fair that players can vape NPC's, but when a NPC gets a lucky shot (usually the Borg Torp) and the entire DPS league screams blue-murder! The 'space game' is just too easy.
Then there's the fact that Ships are soooooo out of balance with each other, that they are now nothing but glorified costumes! Please explain why a T6 Miranda/TOS T6 Connie/T6 NX has comparable firepower and HP to a Universe Class Starship despite being a tenth of it's size!! It's about time that this was addressed! The 'timeship' argument doesn't wash here as we're all using the same level of tech and it should take a small fleet of ships to takedown a UCS!
It has always bothered me the way Cryptic has done weapons hardpoints. Each should have it's own set Arc, and Torps shouldn't be with Energy Weapons. They are heavy weapons after all! Then there is the token damage systems. Come on guys, take a leaf out of SFC3!! It had live subsytems damage and live damage maps and weapons arcs that were practically canon. Despite it only being 2D flight, it had more realism, and less of the space magic clutter!
Other than that, again, I appreciate the job you guys do and think players should be more thankful!
Edit: Sorry, I should also mention that we are still awaiting an replacement 'Exploration' system. Should never have gotten rid of it in the first place. Exploration IS Star Trek!!
1: Don't do the missions if you don't like them. There are other ways to advance than doing missions. I do agree the standard missions have become boring with the Space-Ground-Space format rut they are in. Just do enough missions to get to level 10 and go do something else.
2: If you think you can write better missions then write them! There is a Foundry for user created missions. If you are that good, your missions will get lots of play and give the player XP and dil for completing just like a standard mission.
3. If you are bored then you are concentrating on missions too much. Have you even bothered to do the winter and summer festivals, first contact day, and other events? Have you talked to people, made friends, and teamed with them doing things? Have you flown around and discovered patrol missions? Have you bothered to do any Foundry missions? Have you flown around and done doff assignments you discovered? Have you collected R&D materials and made your own weapons? Have you challenged friends and tried to beat them? Have you played characters other than the Federation? Have you completed every Adventure Zone at least once? Have you been to the new War Zones released 2 months ago? If all you are doing is missions you are only experiencing 1/10 of the game.
4: You are attacking the devs when you say they are not putting in enough effort and are just going through the motions. Do you even bother looking to see what is new with every season or just see the same stuff and decide there is nothing new here?
I start feeling burned out again, I'll just go play one of my other games for a few days, weeks, months and eventually I'll get the STO itch again. But I probably won't get burned out until I finally find out what the heck the deal is with those dang crystals.......and no, I don't want any spoilers or I would have googled it already.
I am going to address each one of your points...
1) No, I do not do seasonal events. World of Warcraft also does seasonal events, I believe pretty much every major MMO does and I do not see how you consider that anything more then "side content". Also there is no reason to do the Summer Event aside from getting the ship and alien ships have never interested me. (I am one of those weird people that like flying actual Federation vessels when I'm playing Federation).
2) Talking and making friends is a by-product of any MMO. Actually, most of my friends have left over the state of the game and it is only really me that plays this anymore without getting bored. I used to have a large fleet of 25-30 friends that played this game and they have all dropped away due to repetitive content.
3) Patrols, although I agree Patrols are fun, they suffer from the same cut and paste objectives as other missions and are more for helping people level then actually providing anything useful.
4) The War Zone content is bugged and has been a persistent problem for everyone, over the last few months.
5) Yes, I have completed Defera, Nukara, Nimbus, Dyson, etc. Accolades are not really a positive draw just to play them though. I'm not asking for a massive reward but a reason to play older queues and older content would be welcome.
My suggestion for point #5 would be to introduce a "Timewalking" feature, similar to what World of Warcraft does with its dungeons and add it to queues. This would be a small weekend event that would cycle and give endgame relevant loot for doing older queues. Such as one for Nukara, Dyson etc. (If you have already filled out the reps to Tier V and do not require any gear, then you have no need to go back and do them again and that is contributing to the dead PvE queues arguement).
Doing this could give you tokens to a special access of "Legacy Ship Skins", skins that are not obtainable in any other part of the game. They wouldn't alter any stats of your ship but visually change the ship. For example,
- the "Probert Refit" for the Ambassador,
- "Warship Voyager" for the Intrepid
- Soyuz "Bozeman" refit for the Miranda
- "First Contact" version for the Sovereign Class (With the darker hull colors)
- "Azati Prime" NX Class (With damage)
- Regent's Neghvar (From DS9's mirror universe)
- Mirror Universe Paintjobs for all modern Federation ships (I.E. Vesta etc)
and other little small varients of ships that were only seen in a couple of episodes.
If Cryptic really wanted to be generous, they could also offer custom bridges that people want...
- "All Good Things" Galaxy Bridge
- "Year of Hell" Intrepid Bridge
- Ambassador Class Bridge
- NX Class Bridge and NX-02 Columbia Refit
- Klingon "Star Trek 3" Bridge
- Excelsior Bridge
- Nebula DS9 Bridge
etc
This would give people a reason to play old content again and stem the problem of dead PvE Queues.
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
Have you made any alts and tired out different careers or factions? Have you blasted foes in PvP or dished out Diamond class DPS in PvE? Have you build fleet holdings and communities?
With the introduction of the admiralty system any serious grind has left the game. You can basically select what you like, enjoy it and progress your character(s) with it.
For me the game also feels a bit claustrophobic at times even after I did all the stuff above the past five years. Yet there is still enough substance in this beautiful title for a relaxing few hours each day. If the Devs allow it, there is even fun.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
Heh, I loved the **** Klingons myself, and the reactions some folks had, getting their knickers in a bunch.
I thought those 2 Klingons were adorable in my opinion.
First, the engine selected is just unsuitable: While it works fine for Champions Online - CO has a "small" number of large maps that encompass many quests, which neatly conceals the fact that the engine doesn't do zone transfers very well at all. In STO players are faced with loading wall after loading wall. Every transition from sector space to space or space to ground and back is just unnecessary in a 2017 MMO. And STO has a lot of these transitions.
Then there is the general inconsistency. For a task as simple as "beaming up", sometimes you have to use the button on the mini-map. Sometimes you need to use a "Beam Up" button on the secondary interaction panel. Sometimes you need to interact with the secondary interaction panel to start up a primary interaction that has "beam up" as an option. And sometimes you need to go to a specific place to get a primary interaction option. We can also mention all the bloody windows containing semi-related content. Or why it is necessary for the DOFF and Admiralty systems to treat the common idea of "In Progress" and "Completed" entirely differently.
Did the STO designers even try to incorporate the strong "computer UI" styling from the TV show into the many windows of STO? No.
So - skipping past many other issues with the user interface, all told, we have a "game" with a UI that is about as fun to work with - and as visually appealing - as working with Excel.
On the gameplay front - many people find the episodes tedious and grindy. I do not personally hold that belief. I think it is an inescapable nature of an MMO that muct of the "questing" content is going to be a lot of "Kill X number of Y" wrapped in a veneer of storyline - and I think the episodes have been HUGELY improved since launch - the near ubiquitous voice acting and the strong storyline arrangement of the missions makes them for me a huge plus.
However, the episode system efficiently dumps us at level 60, with almost nothing left to do. All the really nice ships are available at T6, but with the episodes done, the only use of a T6 ship is to do PvE queues, to get tokens, to upgrade the T6 ship / buy a different T6 ship. This, ironcially, is where Cryptic want/need players to spend money, but there is literally no need to: All the actual game content is finished, and the only thing left in an epeen waving contest of who has the most ships and most ridiculous dps.
"Finishing" STO however requires no investment of Zen at all: T6 ships are given away and T5 ships using only VR Mk XII gear available from episodes can hit ~20K dps, a benchmark that will more than handle all the endgame episode content, and get you far enough into PvE queues to realize the only reason you are doing PvE queues is to equip your ship to do PvE queues better.
For a lot of players this gets old very quickly.
I used to play PvP before all my friends left and I had nobody to play with. Fleet holdings and communities are essentially just another huge grind where you need resources to access time-gated queues. Its not very interactive. I have got all max level on the Admirality System, another queue Facebook game-like grind.
I actually do have max level Romulan and Klingon just to experience their stories but after a while, it all blurs together anyway, especially endgame so there really is not much to offer there either.
Change can happen - Tier 6 Galaxy... Believe in yourself...
https://taskforcerepublic.tumblr.com/ - Task Force: Republic, Second Life Roleplay Community
You really have no community to play in? It is the center of the game for me.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
Anyone who's binged a box set will often hit a moment where something happens and they simply have to keep watching to find out what happens next. Game of thrones red wedding is one such trigger and while not really a trek style moment it was such a hook. Hooks like that in STO wouldn't work because the wait between episodes is simply too long, even longer if they decide to let an event like summer run its entire length without any story content.
We last had mirrors and smoke which should have really been two episodes and so much better. The city map was really underused where we could have been doing on planet "trek" stuff like helping the person in the street rather than scanning and leaving them in the gutter. Meeting the ministers and ending part one on the mothership bombing the moon cliffhangar style. Part two would have then be free to do more with rescuing the moon rather than pushing a button and ending with something other than the xenophobic minister trying to kill us. The leader could have been in cahoots with the tzenkethi or created the movement against outsiders to maintain her power by controlling the opposition. So much wasted potential. It was also not a fun episode to run on lowbies because that mothership fight takes so damn long (even if you know the fight) with zero reward as it doesn't die.
And now it seems that rather than continuing the lukari story we're going to start on martok one. Makes me worried that it'll be another squandered opportunity of a series getting squished into a handful of forgettable moments. Hopefully they won't turn him into another sela who keeps coming back like a bad smell, even though survivor did end with a decent speculative cutscene I kind of hope we've locked her up for good.
Event burnout has probably hit a lot of folk, myself I'm only logging in to keep R&D ticking over and maybe doing an patrol run on alts to slowly level ships and get some marks for dil. Can't be bothered even queueing for the red alerts at the moment partly due to the borg reward nerf.
Honestly I'd rather eat a broken glass-filled burrito that EVER see Sela in STO again. That character is a walking war crime against sapience.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
#LegalizeAwoo
A normie goes "Oh, what's this?"
An otaku goes "UwU, what's this?"
A furry goes "OwO, what's this?"
A werewolf goes "Awoo, what's this?"
"It's nothing personal, I just don't feel like I've gotten to know a person until I've sniffed their crotch."
"We said 'no' to Mr. Curiosity. We're not home. Curiosity is not welcome, it is not to be invited in. Curiosity...is bad. It gets you in trouble, it gets you killed, and more importantly...it makes you poor!"
Buried thanks to one brief shining moment of good taste?
Never played City of Villains myself, but I'd definitely want to be the overlord running the island nation, not an errand boy hired by one of his henchmen to steal candy from babies for teh evulz.