What are your STO fantasies?

captainperkins

Recently I read a post that claimed Star Trek Online feels dead and uninspired.
Although I disagree with that assessment as our Dev team has worked very hard on original content that rivals actual story lines from the show,
but they shell out to hire Trek Actors to really give us a personal feeling that we're in our favorite sci-fi universe. Thank you Devs!

This is a pure speculation/fantasy thread. If you could make any changes to STO what would they be?

For me: The current content is great, love the ships, tech and story. I think the only change I'd make would frankly mean creating a new game engine so I don't expect it but since this is fantasy here goes~

I would love the galaxy to be procedurally generated/real space/distance. I would like the graphics to look a little more realistic. I would like space flight to happen from the bridge, similar to Bridge Commander and/or the new Bridge Crew. This would make ship Interiors have a whole new meaning. You have to warp/take short cuts using Transwarp conduits through a real time expansive Galaxy. When you get in to a system you must use impulse for interplanetary travel but thrusters once you are in orbit of a planet. When you take a shuttle to the planet or beam down, rather than the instance changing let the planet be a real object that you land on/take off from. This kind of "true space/planets" feel would create an open world. Rather than having Romulans and Klingons join the Federation, let each faction remain independent so other players could concievable attack you for no reason if you're on the same world. This creates a true sense of danger. Let the community organize scheduled fleet battles between factions. Each neutral world can be "colonized" by Admirals and so the territories can be contested and fought for, awarding those who inhabit the colony to benefit from certain resources on said world (each world has different bonus resources. Some dilithium, others weapons material, others economic Energy Credit generating etc.) The longer you colonize a planet and the more members of your faction to plant flag there, you can construct a Space Station which adds extra security with NPC ships and weapons platforms making the planet more secure.

rattler2

I believe anything involving talk of STO 2 is listed under the FCT.

Also things like commanding from the Bridge and having multiple players controlling a ship is not supported by the game engine or the way the game is built period.

captainperkins

rattler2 wrote: »

I believe anything involving talk of STO 2 is listed under the FCT.

Also things like commanding from the Bridge and having multiple players controlling a ship is not supported by the game engine or the way the game is built period.

Yes I know, I specifically stated that. This is a fantasy thread. All of my ideas listed here would keep the current story in tact but the added element of Planetary exploration/colonization would add an aspect to the game which would generate more spontaneous organic stories between players to form in between new mission content.

storules

captainperkins wrote: »

rattler2 wrote: »

I believe anything involving talk of STO 2 is listed under the FCT.

Also things like commanding from the Bridge and having multiple players controlling a ship is not supported by the game engine or the way the game is built period.

Yes I know, I specifically stated that. This is a fantasy thread. All of my ideas listed here would keep the current story in tact but the added element of Planetary exploration/colonization would add an aspect to the game which would generate more spontaneous organic stories between players to form in between new mission content.

Fantasy or not this migth still violate FCT and this might be closed down soon. @BADDMOONRIZIN does not tolerate deviations. Just FYI.​​

baddmoonrizin

@captainperkins

If you want to discuss changes or additions to the current game, that's fine. I'd suggest changing the thread title and removing references to STO 2.0, otherwise, it would fall under FCT and need to be closed. I'll give you time to make the necessary changes.

jbmonroe

OP, please go back to the original comment and make it nicely left-justified so it's readable. Centered text is good for maybe two lines in a title--not so much for entire paragraphs.

thay8472

meh, I'd rather they just improve this game.

brian334

A lot of what we think of as improvement may be impossible to implement, (such as world-surface scale maps with ground, air, aerospace, and shuttle craft enabled.)

I might want something which directly conflicts with another player's dreams, (such as broad based balancing within an ever-evolving meta which might render today's min-maxed build obsolete after players have spent so much time and effort perfecting DPS builds.)

And worst of all, what I want might not pay the bills generated by it's creation, (such as expansions to all of the homeworlds of the major species of the Trekverse.)

If I could make one change it would be a hard choice between a T6 Science Hegh'ta and a T6 Escort Luna. Otherwise the devs can keep churning out missions untill they get another Bonniekins.

kodachikuno

any changes Id want made would require a new engine I think so wouldn't be possible for the current game.

davefenestrator

WHAT ARE YOUR STO FANTASIES?

Naughty holodeck fun with my bridge bunnies.


(Someone had to be honest about it.)

jonsills

As long as we're fantasizing, I'd like a breakthrough in AI that would enable the game to be run by a true Turing-compliant artificial intelligence, capable of adapting to whatever the player chooses to do in a given scenario with the same panache as a good tabletop GM. Oh, and it also has to be programmed with Asimov safeguards, and to truly enjoy its job - don't want "maltreatment of a game system" as one of the charges against humanity during the Great Robot Uprising.

brian334

jonsills wrote: »

As long as we're fantasizing, I'd like a breakthrough in AI that would enable the game to be run by a true Turing-compliant artificial intelligence, capable of adapting to whatever the player chooses to do in a given scenario with the same panache as a good tabletop GM. Oh, and it also has to be programmed with Asimov safeguards, and to truly enjoy its job - don't want "maltreatment of a game system" as one of the charges against humanity during the Great Robot Uprising.

I don't need Turing level AI's, but one that knows how to use debuffs and can time an alpha strike would be a start in the right direction.

silverlobes

davefenestrator wrote: »

WHAT ARE YOUR STO FANTASIES?

Naughty holodeck fun with my bridge bunnies.


(Someone had to be honest about it.)

^^^ This...

silverlobes

My own 'if I could change(s)' would be more of an open-world feel to the background environment. I love GTA V, and can easily spend as much time just wandering around Los Santos, or the desert, or shooting up the cultist's camp, as I do playing theough the mission content. I'd also like to see a few extra ships added, like the New Orleans, and much more Klingon ships. I'd also like there to be some 'intelligence missions' where the player has to go undercover in civilian clothing (I know, we can do this anyway, but I think it wiuld be fun if we had a few missions which actually necessitated it as 'off the books actions', which TNG and DS 9 both showed)

indyshark

I was going to post something about Jadzia Dax...

vetteguy904

a return to exploration. return of the Diplomacy rep

baddmoonrizin

Biggest change I would make, or would have implemented at inception, 3 full and independent Factions: Federation, KDF, and Romulans.

I would also use the alliance mechanic that the Romulans currently use, but I'd have used it for Sub-Factions like: Ferengi, Cardassians, Nausicaans, Orions, etc.

ihatepwe735

STO Fantasy items:

The biggest 4th wall break issue for me is the load times when switching maps. This makes a whole lot of content annoying to get to, so my first two fantasy items are:

* "Streaming" updates so we don't have to wait 30 minutes every thursday.
* "Streaming" loading so Zone transitions become seamless.

The next most pressing 4th wall break is how small sector space, solar space and ground maps *all* feel:

* Sector Space maps to be enlarged to have no effective edge
* The alpha and beta quadrant maps to be merged. How silly is it that the earth, the "center" of federation space, is directly adjacent to a map edge?
* Solar systems should contain multiple interior maps, allowing different planets to be visited, not just the single point of interest.
* The actual map UI should prevent maps being scaled or zoomed such that black edges come into play and/or the maps need to have stuff rendered for the out-of-bounds areas so it feels like we are viewing a small part of a much larger planet surface.

My interactions with my bridge crew is annoyingly inconsistent - especially as regards teleporting / warping.
* If I am being teleported, I want to speak to my chief engineer. If I am warping somewhere, then the first officer. I don't want a button on the minimap, OR a secondary interaction, OR a primary interaction. STO has to be about immersion in the star trek captain fantasy and that *should* involve interactions with my bridge crew, not abstract menu items stuck to the minimap for lack of anywhere else to place them.
* In fact, primary interactions must go away - The big "in the middle of the screen" dialog must NEVER appear until summoned from the secondary interaction panel. Far too often it pops up while I am busy trying to gather loot at the end of a fight, or scan some resource and I end up dismissing it having made a random selection.


I am not really convinced about this, but I feel that other, "big" MMOs have succeeded because they have a large open world with essentially single player content which allows casual socialization, but end game content is strictly group based, usually instanced, and group composition (and skills) are important:
* A content / combat rebalance that favors traditional MMO roles in (PvE) instances: tank, healer, 3xdps

salazarraze

STO Fantasy? Make the entire game- I mean EVERY space map accessible by either faction and make every space map PVP.

themadrigogs

ihatepwe735 wrote: »

STO Fantasy items:

The biggest 4th wall break issue for me is the load times when switching maps. This makes a whole lot of content annoying to get to, so my first two fantasy items are:

* "Streaming" updates so we don't have to wait 30 minutes every thursday.
* "Streaming" loading so Zone transitions become seamless.

The next most pressing 4th wall break is how small sector space, solar space and ground maps *all* feel:

* Sector Space maps to be enlarged to have no effective edge
* The alpha and beta quadrant maps to be merged. How silly is it that the earth, the "center" of federation space, is directly adjacent to a map edge?
* Solar systems should contain multiple interior maps, allowing different planets to be visited, not just the single point of interest.
* The actual map UI should prevent maps being scaled or zoomed such that black edges come into play and/or the maps need to have stuff rendered for the out-of-bounds areas so it feels like we are viewing a small part of a much larger planet surface.

My interactions with my bridge crew is annoyingly inconsistent - especially as regards teleporting / warping.
* If I am being teleported, I want to speak to my chief engineer. If I am warping somewhere, then the first officer. I don't want a button on the minimap, OR a secondary interaction, OR a primary interaction. STO has to be about immersion in the star trek captain fantasy and that *should* involve interactions with my bridge crew, not abstract menu items stuck to the minimap for lack of anywhere else to place them.
* In fact, primary interactions must go away - The big "in the middle of the screen" dialog must NEVER appear until summoned from the secondary interaction panel. Far too often it pops up while I am busy trying to gather loot at the end of a fight, or scan some resource and I end up dismissing it having made a random selection.


I am not really convinced about this, but I feel that other, "big" MMOs have succeeded because they have a large open world with essentially single player content which allows casual socialization, but end game content is strictly group based, usually instanced, and group composition (and skills) are important:
* A content / combat rebalance that favors traditional MMO roles in (PvE) instances: tank, healer, 3xdps

Yes, the multiple, repetitive interactions need to go. Welcome to DS9 > do you want to land? > Wait a moment while I tell you off for being Klingon, Romulan >...> Leaving DS9 > are you sure you don't want to land again? > also let me tell you off for being Klingon, again. I'm not a fan of any of the intermediate maps, frankly (I prefer the Flotilla-style), but the "Welcome to Drozana/Risa", etc when you just left make them even worse. I like the bridge crew interaction idea.

nikephorus

I fantasize about all the fun I used to have with my turret build pre-nerf. Post-nerf I think about flying my ship into an asteroid and watching it sink like the Titanic.

thunderfoot

Get rid of all the TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT nonsense! If it ain't TOS or TAS, it is not REAL Star Trek and IT DOES NOT COUNT!

How'd I do on the, 'outdo Crashdragon on being closeminded and dogmatic' stuff? Good. Moving on.

- I'd like very much for the NPC ships to have better weapon and Console equippage. I'd also like for the AI to use the NPC ships in a far more intelligent manner. There is the one storyline mission where a D'deridex gets used this way. You know the one people are always in here complaining about? I enjoyed that one a lot.

- I'd like the exact same thing for Ground NPCs.

- More Agent of Yesteryear stuff and missions. Really enjoyed this part of the game a lot. Made my inner six year old very very happy. Thank you Devs for what you did there.

- Some love for the PvP part of this game. I don't do anything other dabble occasionally in PvP. However, there is a part of the playerbase who really do enjoy it and would rather play this than anything else in the game.

- Hats. Player accessible hats. Please note I'd pay Zen for these. So get cracking and then take my money.

- You revamped and reformatted the PvE Queues. Could you do the same for the Foundry?

risian4

I would like to see more focus directed to new playable species with some unique abilities. Something that would allow characters of each species to really distinguish themselves. And maybe a new career to further promote character diversity.

Story-wise I hope to see more in terms of colony development and on working on the relations between the Alliance / Galactic Union and several other species. Revisiting Iconia to see if they're working on their population issues and rebuilding their world, maybe opening up an embassy on the Voth homeworld / homeship, things like that.

And related to that: more development of the worlds within the Alliance. The Romulans only have one planet and we have never seen much further development of it: building of shipyards, or even the main city. The settlement of other worlds within Tau Dewa. The creation of their counterparts of things like the Daystrom institute or even an academy.
For Klingons it would also be nice to have more social zones.
Within the Federation I would like to see more cultural-educational as well as infrastructural development. Why do we have, for instance, only one academy (and why is it so small when it has to supply the entirety of Starfleet with officers?). Where's the Vulcan Science Academy? The Trill Science Ministry?
Where are all the shipyards and design institutes that keep overhauling each type of ship every few months? I'd like to have permanent access to Utopia Planitia and Jupiter station, maybe add some shipyards to the Andoria and Vulcan maps as well, and create Xindi space with their own shipyards and infrastructure.

Right now it is kind of strange that the Federation is so well supplied (in terms of resources, ships and personnel) when all planets are so empty.

centaurianalpha

Wish list? How about:

Full Romulan faction, return of exploration (even if it is only in the currently-unused planetary systems), return of Memory Alpha (at least in a limited form), move the Federation shipyard to Mars from ESD (Utopia Planitia!), some mechanism for converting unused specialization points (not necessarily a new specialization), and a mechanism for fleets to run the Competitive Rep queues against each other. This latter might breathe new life into our smaller, less active fleets by giving them a cooperative focus beyond the fleet holding projects, and create actual competition between fleets. While we're at it, how about a bartender competition, to see who can come up with the most imaginative cocktails ( a la Guinan & Data in ST:TNG)?

angrytarg

My STO fantasies are quite dirty and revolve around Targs. I'd love to finally be able to get a Targ-handler class/specializaion/whatever since it was part of DStahl's visions for the KDF faction. Another one would statisfy my kink for certain non-humanoid appendices - I'd love to see Tellarites get the full TOS/pre-TOS treatment and get hooved claws and a cloven hoof feet option. Speaking of 'rites, a Tellarite starship would be nice complementing the "founders of the federation" ship trinity. Further I'd like to see a Deferi revamp/upgrade and an inclusion into the current Storyline. But those wishes are rather tame - if we go crazy, though...

thunderfoot006 wrote: »

Get rid of all the TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT nonsense! If it ain't TOS or TAS, it is not REAL Star Trek and IT DOES NOT COUNT!

(...)

... that would be a great idea, seriously. I do not like the "timelines" approach of just putting everything into one game. I'd love to see a TOS only version of STO. Basically a Trek MMO in which all the timelines are their own separate expansion but provide a in itself coherent experience of gameplay entirely fit in a certain era. Visiting TOS for half a hour during the tutorial and never going back aside from a fleet project which features a long lost TOS base which is salvaged by our fleet and all our personnel plays historic dress-up for giggles? That is quite clumsy and a huge wasted opportunity in my opinion.​​

smokebailey

davefenestrator wrote: »

WHAT ARE YOUR STO FANTASIES?

Naughty holodeck fun with my bridge bunnies.


(Someone had to be honest about it.)

Beat me to it. XD

wideningxgyre

I'd love the ability to BYOS - build your own ships.

You decide the appearance, class, seating configuration, weapons configuration and consoles with some choices eliminating others. A system which forces tradeoffs in functionality while letting you customize appearance.

For example, if you want a science ship, you get 11 consoles, but X of them must be science. If you pick a larger ship, turn rate goes down, but max hull and shields go up. Class determines Mastery.

I'd even be satisfied if they restricted us from building ships that looked like the ones they sold in the c-store or canon ships, as long as the customization options actually created interesting looking ships.