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The Discovery Operations Pack!

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  • aelwulf1aelwulf1 Member Posts: 9 Arc User
    In addition to the previously announced 30% off sale, the Discovery Operations Pack has gotten even better! For purchasers of the Discovery Starter Pack, you'll be able to buy the Operations Pack for 10500 ZEN. In addition, the two bridge officers are now account wide unlocks!

    It's a start. Still high, and TBH the combat tardigrade would be a larger draw to me than the BOFFs. Don't see why they didn't change all three when all three were contention points. It apparently wasn't that hard for the BOFFs.

    I'll concede that at least apparently someone's listening (although hard not to with the megaphone across platforms in their face) with the starter pack purchaser discount and BOFF change.

    But at still $105 (although down to $70ish at launch)for essentially two ships per character and still no account-wide combat pet is a bit of a bill. The other items are nice to me but are rarely considered when I look at packages. Usually just tie-breakers if I can't decide which to get.
  • aelwulf1aelwulf1 Member Posts: 9 Arc User
    nommo#5819 wrote: »
    Now with everyone patting each other on their collective backs & reconsidering buying this pack because of the starter pack discount & the BOFFs being account wide ... which should've been that way in the first place, Cryptic won't even have to dare add anything more to the pack. It is a step in the right direction because as many have stated it should've been that way in the first place. Starve a person then offer them food & become a hero to that same person.

    Pretty much. Taking lessons from politics.

  • kdb81kdb81 Member Posts: 16 Arc User
    I am not sure but the increased price compared to older bundles could be related to Discovery still being an active show and CBS wanting a higher cut of the profits for the content based on it.

    Though I do not think it necessarily the players responsibility to cover the extra cost I can see it being an excuse used by Perfect World and Cryptic.

    What do yo all think?
  • mirrorchaosmirrorchaos Member Posts: 9,844 Arc User
    edited February 2019
    nommo#5819 wrote: »
    Now with everyone patting each other on their collective backs & reconsidering buying this pack because of the starter pack discount & the BOFFs being account wide ... which should've been that way in the first place, Cryptic won't even have to dare add anything more to the pack. It is a step in the right direction because as many have stated it should've been that way in the first place. Starve a person then offer them food & become a hero to that same person.

    so long as one person buys this pack in its current state, any credibility towards such a stand will go unnoticed. So you can say what you like, but there will always be those people who will see a shiny for what it is and buy it anyway. Cryptic won't change because no one is forcing them to change and this type of discussion is likely to be frowned on pretty heavily, so I'll stop short of actually saying anything else that would be considered a protestation/demanding/whining or entitled.
    T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW.
    Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
  • sunfranckssunfrancks Member Posts: 3,925 Arc User
    Probably will still opt for skipping the pack and just getting the Gagarin Battlecruiser.

    Everything in the pack, other than the boosts and keys should be account unlocked. This is what the cstore is, was and always should be, and I don't like that Cryptic/PWE are trying to change this..

    Stop trying to bait and switch people, like you did with the elite starter pack!
    Fed: Eng Lib Borg (Five) Tac Andorian (Shen) Sci Alien/Klingon (Maelrock) KDF:Tac Romulan KDF (Sasha) Tac Klingon (K'dopis)
    Founder, member and former leader to Pride Of The Federation Fleet.
    What I feel after I hear about every decision made since Andre "Mobile Games Generalisimo" Emerson arrived...
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  • ltminnsltminns Member Posts: 12,569 Arc User
    > @reyan01 said:
    > Agreed. As has been said before, they could release a flying toaster and someone would buy it so long as it had an attractive trait and console.

    Only if it was 'A Brave Little Toaster'. :)
    '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.'
    Lt. Philip J. Minns
  • kdb81kdb81 Member Posts: 16 Arc User
    reyan01 wrote: »
    nommo#5819 wrote: »
    Now with everyone patting each other on their collective backs & reconsidering buying this pack because of the starter pack discount & the BOFFs being account wide ... which should've been that way in the first place, Cryptic won't even have to dare add anything more to the pack. It is a step in the right direction because as many have stated it should've been that way in the first place. Starve a person then offer them food & become a hero to that same person.

    so long as one person buys this pack in its current state, any credibility towards such a stand will go unnoticed. So you can say what you like, but there will always be those people who will see a shiny for what it is and buy it anyway. Cryptic won't change because no one is forcing them to change and this type of discussion is likely to be frowned on pretty heavily, so I'll stop short of actually saying anything else that would be considered a protestation/demanding/whining or entitled.

    Agreed. As has been said before, they could release a flying toaster and someone would buy it so long as it had an attractive trait and console.

    That needs to be tested on April 1st sell a flying toaster (first T6 shuttle) with the trait fire weapons make your target smell like burnt toast!

    Equip it with nothing except 1 experimental weapon slot equipped with "heating element" which is only usable on toaster's and has a fire DPS of 1 with a rang of 0.1km, and an "burnt bread" console which grants -90 to all power levels (bound to toaster can not be unequipped) unchangeable level 1 4 piece gear set (warp core etc) no Boff seating or special ship abilities at all.

    Price it for 150K zen only available for one day with the promise for a new toaster each year but the price will be 50k higher each year as well.

    I am willing to guess that would sell no less then a hundred and maybe well over a thousand do to collectors.

    what do all you think?
  • gaevsmangaevsman Member Posts: 3,190 Arc User
    > @ltminns said:
    > > @reyan01 said:
    > > Agreed. As has been said before, they could release a flying toaster and someone would buy it so long as it had an attractive trait and console.
    >
    > Only if it was 'A Brave Little Toaster'. :)

    That would be the best trait ever!
    The forces of darkness are upon us!
  • tousseautousseau Member Posts: 1,484 Arc User
    Some Fleet Modules would be nice in this pack...
  • captaincelestialcaptaincelestial Member Posts: 1,925 Arc User
    nommo#5819 wrote: »
    Now with everyone patting each other on their collective backs & reconsidering buying this pack because of the starter pack discount & the BOFFs being account wide ... which should've been that way in the first place, Cryptic won't even have to dare add anything more to the pack. It is a step in the right direction because as many have stated it should've been that way in the first place. Starve a person then offer them food & become a hero to that same person.

    Starter Pack had Account-wide Non-Combat Tardigrade. People said they wanted a Combat Tardigrade.

    Cryptic swaps out Non-Combat Tardigrade for a Combat Tardigrade for the Operations Pack. Considering that it switched from a non-combat/quality-of-life pet to one that can influence the outcome of ground battles, I can see why they wanted to limit it.

    That said, they should have kept the Non-Combat Tardigrade account-wide and offered a 'boxed' Combat Tardigrade that is tradeable among the characters of your account (esp. if there was to be a 'Discovery Recruitment' event/drive with a better selection of playable species in the final leg of the Disco content for this year).

    Had the second season Discovery been made available in October, like it was originally scheduled, both the Starter and Operations Pack would have been released at the same time. If it did, we would have just had non-combat Tardigrade pets, with the combat version eventually added to the Lobi store, or added later, sold separately, in the C-Store.

    But this delay gave us a chance to give feedback on the Tardigrade pet from the Starter Pack, with calls for a combat version.

    Yes, they should have had the BOffs start off as account-wide, to match with previous Packs, but as for the discount, that's icing on the cake. Considering, it was listed right off the bat as a Starter Pack, after all.
  • where2r1where2r1 Member Posts: 6,054 Arc User
    coldnapalm wrote: »
    where2r1 wrote: »
    coldnapalm wrote: »

    Since the free ships are perfectly good enough to use while leveling up, there is 2 reasons to buy low tier ships. You either get it for the visual unlocks or the console it comes with...something scaling ships don't add. So yeah no, it's not really adding value.

    You are getting every tier of low level, Zen ship for the cost of one T-6. You no longer have to deal with playing with "good enough" as you level up.

    Those lower tier zen ships are also just good enough. The amount of extra omph you get from free to zen ship isn't worth any real world money. Now the cosmetic unlocks and a couple of the consoles (valdore console I'm looking at you) are worth the real world money...or grinding out the zen. But really, tossing in a small boost for a new toon at the low levels without getting more useful consoles or skin option is pretty much meh value honestly.

    Well, maybe "Meh!" for you. But for me, it will probably be a noticeable difference.

    If they ever fix this mission journal and quit all these XP weekends (and I quit getting distracted by events)....I can take my Level 12 Delta Recruit through the hoops with the low level Zen ships I unlocked over the years for my Prime character's Admiralty.

    Anyhoo, I think the thought here is more like: recoop the moola/ship is worthy of the T-6 price.....for not being able to sell/not having to buy T-1 through T-5 level ship.

    So, I don't think players will see what they really want to see: to be able to play their favorite ships from lower levels at T-6. Until this boondoggle with Scaling Ships blows over.
    "Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK

    “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
  • themadprofessor#9835 themadprofessor Member Posts: 1,203 Arc User
    kdb81 wrote: »
    reyan01 wrote: »
    nommo#5819 wrote: »
    Now with everyone patting each other on their collective backs & reconsidering buying this pack because of the starter pack discount & the BOFFs being account wide ... which should've been that way in the first place, Cryptic won't even have to dare add anything more to the pack. It is a step in the right direction because as many have stated it should've been that way in the first place. Starve a person then offer them food & become a hero to that same person.

    so long as one person buys this pack in its current state, any credibility towards such a stand will go unnoticed. So you can say what you like, but there will always be those people who will see a shiny for what it is and buy it anyway. Cryptic won't change because no one is forcing them to change and this type of discussion is likely to be frowned on pretty heavily, so I'll stop short of actually saying anything else that would be considered a protestation/demanding/whining or entitled.

    Agreed. As has been said before, they could release a flying toaster and someone would buy it so long as it had an attractive trait and console.

    That needs to be tested on April 1st sell a flying toaster (first T6 shuttle) with the trait fire weapons make your target smell like burnt toast!

    Equip it with nothing except 1 experimental weapon slot equipped with "heating element" which is only usable on toaster's and has a fire DPS of 1 with a rang of 0.1km, and an "burnt bread" console which grants -90 to all power levels (bound to toaster can not be unequipped) unchangeable level 1 4 piece gear set (warp core etc) no Boff seating or special ship abilities at all.

    Price it for 150K zen only available for one day with the promise for a new toaster each year but the price will be 50k higher each year as well.

    I am willing to guess that would sell no less then a hundred and maybe well over a thousand do to collectors.

    what do all you think?

    Oh no, man. This is Star Trek. You have to use Treknobabble.

    It's not a "heating element." It's a Chronometric Flux Toaster.

    It's not "Burnt Bread." It's Console - Universal - Overcharged Victuals

    Space Barbie Extraordinaire. Got a question about Space Barbie? Just ask.

    Things I want in STO:

    1) More character customization options such as more clothing options, letting the toon complexion affect the entire body, not just the head. Also a true RGB color picker applied to all costume and appearance options, which would allow for true appearance customization and homogenous colors instead of "this same exact color looks vastly different on two different pieces."
    2) Bridge customization, not bridge packs. Let us pick a general layout and adjust the color palette, console appearance, and chair types, as well as more ready room layout options.
    3) Customizable ground weapons, i.e. The aesthetic look of phaser dual pistols but they shoot antiproton bolts. For obvious reasons this would only apply to standard ground weapons.
    4) For the love of Q please revamp Plasma Ground Weapons. They look like demented Supersoakers right now.
    5) True Vanity Impulse and Deflector effects similar to Vanity Shields.
    6) A greater payout for hitting T6 Reputations. Currently it takes more time and resources to get from T5 to T6 than it does to get from nothing to T5. Make that grind really pay out at the end.
    7) Mirrorverse Refugee event similar to AoY/Delta/Gamma, complete with new Mirrorverse recruits for all factions.
    8) Independent Faction, because yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me!
  • kahlest1kahlest1 Member Posts: 27 Arc User
    ok, i have read some of the comments and it got me to thinking. I went back and read the announcemets, so here goes. https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11084823 stated "The Discovery: Operations Pack will be available very soon for 12,000 Zen. However, for a limited time after launch, the bundle will be available for 30% off! That's a discounted price of 8400 Zen!" So , we pay 8400 zen for the pack. On Twitter, https://twitter.com/trekonlinegame, it was stated "In addition to the previously announced 30% off sale, the Discovery Operations Pack has gotten even better! For purchasers of the Discovery Starter Pack, you'll be able to buy the Operations Pack for 10500 ZEN. In addition, the two bridge officers are now account wide unlocks!" So is the price 8400 zen or 10,500 zen. I sure would like some clarification on this.
  • kahlest1kahlest1 Member Posts: 27 Arc User
    edited February 2019
    sorry double post
  • themadprofessor#9835 themadprofessor Member Posts: 1,203 Arc User
    kahlest1 wrote: »
    ok, i have read some of the comments and it got me to thinking. I went back and read the announcemets, so here goes. https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11084823 stated "The Discovery: Operations Pack will be available very soon for 12,000 Zen. However, for a limited time after launch, the bundle will be available for 30% off! That's a discounted price of 8400 Zen!" So , we pay 8400 zen for the pack. On Twitter, https://twitter.com/trekonlinegame, it was stated "In addition to the previously announced 30% off sale, the Discovery Operations Pack has gotten even better! For purchasers of the Discovery Starter Pack, you'll be able to buy the Operations Pack for 10500 ZEN. In addition, the two bridge officers are now account wide unlocks!" So is the price 8400 zen or 10,500 zen. I sure would like some clarification on this.

    As I have stated before:

    Normal Price: 12,000 Zen
    Normal Price if you already own the Discovery Starter Pack: 10,500 Zen
    30% off Price: 8,400 Zen
    30% off Price if you already own the Discovery Starter Pack: 7,350 Zen

    That'assuming the 30% off applies to the Discounted Pack Price (which it should).
    Space Barbie Extraordinaire. Got a question about Space Barbie? Just ask.

    Things I want in STO:

    1) More character customization options such as more clothing options, letting the toon complexion affect the entire body, not just the head. Also a true RGB color picker applied to all costume and appearance options, which would allow for true appearance customization and homogenous colors instead of "this same exact color looks vastly different on two different pieces."
    2) Bridge customization, not bridge packs. Let us pick a general layout and adjust the color palette, console appearance, and chair types, as well as more ready room layout options.
    3) Customizable ground weapons, i.e. The aesthetic look of phaser dual pistols but they shoot antiproton bolts. For obvious reasons this would only apply to standard ground weapons.
    4) For the love of Q please revamp Plasma Ground Weapons. They look like demented Supersoakers right now.
    5) True Vanity Impulse and Deflector effects similar to Vanity Shields.
    6) A greater payout for hitting T6 Reputations. Currently it takes more time and resources to get from T5 to T6 than it does to get from nothing to T5. Make that grind really pay out at the end.
    7) Mirrorverse Refugee event similar to AoY/Delta/Gamma, complete with new Mirrorverse recruits for all factions.
    8) Independent Faction, because yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me!
  • draco1835#7779 draco1835 Member Posts: 1 New User
    Now can get everything in yje Zen Store that is Tier 4 and below at a reduce 50% off - basically they really no longer serve a purpose. So the price cut is long overdue

    :smiley:
  • mustrumridcully0mustrumridcully0 Member Posts: 12,963 Arc User
    reyan01 wrote: »

    Agreed. As has been said before, they could release a flying toaster and someone would buy it so long as it had an attractive trait and console.

    I don't think Cryptic has the rights to Battlestar Galactica.
    Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
  • misterperseusmisterperseus Member Posts: 71 Arc User
    No thank you. This has the worst value I've seen and I will not be buying it.
  • villainvilevillainvile Member Posts: 64 Arc User
    That Combat Tardigrade should be a once-per-character unlock as well, not a once-per-account.

    Account-wide unlock!!!
    No thank you. This has the worst value I've seen and I will not be buying it.

    Dunno.
  • nommo#5819 nommo Member Posts: 1,105 Arc User
    I did view yesterday a Priority One live stream on Twitch that Al 'Gecko' made an appearance that when P1 asked about this Disc pack whirlwind that Al did state, "more to come," as he definitely seemed confined in what he could say & pleaded ignorance to the marketing towards it. To me that offered a glimmer of hope, maybe not enough for me to purchase it as it is, but still maybe something more & better.

    Again, Cryptic should emphasize a Ten Forward Weekly to help discuss this pack for all the possible pros & cons & answer players' questions about it before the selling of it.

    I see that community moderator, BMR, stating that the raiders do get flanking on another thread but just saying it & not linking a confirmation so at least it seems the raiders do get a grade of flanking as they should receive.
  • nommo#5819 nommo Member Posts: 1,105 Arc User
    So the raiders have the regular flanking but not the improved flanking.

    All the skins that were presented during the Ten Forward Weekly live stream looked really good. It just sucks to be you if you don't own the Lobi Walker T6 ship so the special skin cannot be used at top levels.

    Cryptic plans to make the combat pet account wide so buy now & cross your fingers?

    The fleet versions of the ships scale as well? I was surprised by that & am impressed if true.

    The ships' consoles are Universal but there are no ship consoles' set bonuses.

    During the stream the ships didn't have Disc cloak but they will.

    & there's probably a Zen buy bonus tomorrow as well to coincide with buying the pack on sale.
  • seaofsorrowsseaofsorrows Member Posts: 10,918 Arc User
    edited February 2019
    nommo#5819 wrote: »
    .

    Cryptic plans to make the combat pet account wide so buy now & cross your fingers?

    Was this on the live stream, I watched most of it but never heard this statement and the pack still states it's once per account?
    https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11084823-the-discovery-operations-pack!


    Yeah, Kael said on the live stream that they will eventually make the combat pet an account unlock.

    Still, I wouldn't go buying anything until it's actually done. A verbal intent on a live stream isn't enough when you're talking the type of outrageous price this pack costs. Buy at your own risk, but if you want the combat pet for your account you should wait until it's actually implemented. If that takes until the sale is over, then fine.. skip it.

    Just remember the Starter Pack Bait and Switch scam.. you're not working with a company that's afraid to skirt the line when it comes to their customers. Keep that in mind before you type in a credit card number.
    Insert witty signature line here.
  • rsciwrsciw Member Posts: 54 Arc User
    nommo#5819 wrote: »
    .

    Cryptic plans to make the combat pet account wide so buy now & cross your fingers?

    Was this on the live stream, I watched most of it but never heard this statement and the pack still states it's once per account?
    https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11084823-the-discovery-operations-pack!


    Yeah, Kael said on the live stream that they will eventually make the combat pet an account unlock.

    Still, I wouldn't go buying anything until it's actually done. A verbal intent on a live stream isn't enough when you're talking the type of outrageous price this pack costs. Buy at your own risk, but if you want the combat pet for your account you should wait until it's actually implemented. If that takes until the sale is over, then fine.. skip it.

    Just remember the Starter Pack Bait and Switch scam.. you're not working with a company that's afraid to skirt the line when it comes to their customers. Keep that in mind before you type in a credit card number.

    Oh absolutely agree, I wouldn't buy it until this is not only confirmed in writing but until others who have bought it have also confirmed it, trust is not a word I would link strongly with this company, now that may be due to miscommunication, inept marketing, or downright intentionally trying to get as much as possible for as little as possible then sweeten it until they (us) start paying.

    The weird thing is, when you think about it, all their time and investment is already done, if nobody buys anything they don't have a physical product to sell, no asset as such, and as it's just digital files the game automatically makes as many as it needs for zero cost, so lowering a price is nothing to do with what they are selling, it is all to do with a perception of value.

    New items (and copy of items, e.g. any sold to players) of any kind add additional bandwidth, storage, database use, and that isn't really zero cost.
  • rsciwrsciw Member Posts: 54 Arc User
    rsciw wrote: »
    nommo#5819 wrote: »
    .

    Cryptic plans to make the combat pet account wide so buy now & cross your fingers?

    Was this on the live stream, I watched most of it but never heard this statement and the pack still states it's once per account?
    https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11084823-the-discovery-operations-pack!


    Yeah, Kael said on the live stream that they will eventually make the combat pet an account unlock.

    Still, I wouldn't go buying anything until it's actually done. A verbal intent on a live stream isn't enough when you're talking the type of outrageous price this pack costs. Buy at your own risk, but if you want the combat pet for your account you should wait until it's actually implemented. If that takes until the sale is over, then fine.. skip it.

    Just remember the Starter Pack Bait and Switch scam.. you're not working with a company that's afraid to skirt the line when it comes to their customers. Keep that in mind before you type in a credit card number.

    Oh absolutely agree, I wouldn't buy it until this is not only confirmed in writing but until others who have bought it have also confirmed it, trust is not a word I would link strongly with this company, now that may be due to miscommunication, inept marketing, or downright intentionally trying to get as much as possible for as little as possible then sweeten it until they (us) start paying.

    The weird thing is, when you think about it, all their time and investment is already done, if nobody buys anything they don't have a physical product to sell, no asset as such, and as it's just digital files the game automatically makes as many as it needs for zero cost, so lowering a price is nothing to do with what they are selling, it is all to do with a perception of value.

    New items (and copy of items, e.g. any sold to players) of any kind add additional bandwidth, storage, database use, and that isn't really zero cost.

    Seriously? Do you know how much space the flicking of a digital switch takes in a program? Zero space. Do you know the bandwidth required to send the coordinate data points for a client side generated object? It's a few bytes. The cost is either nothing or as close to nothing as makes no odds.

    The predominant cost is the design and development of the artwork and any systems that are employed in making the onscreen item perform as required, this is a great deal of cost, and the way they get it back is by selling the packs. The point I made, which you failed to grasp, is that making the tardigrade, for example, account bound rather than character bound is only a cost if the studio could reasonably expect players to buy the tardigrade for all of their Player Characters, in which case they would lose money. On the other hand, how many players would not buy it at all if it is not account bound, and from the feedback in this thread that seems to be most.

    Yes, seriously. I am not talking about the client side program sending a few coordinate bytes. Items you hold in one way or another are kept on their DBs in a DC, not your local client side. DB queries of course incur bandwidth, storage for it, backup systems, with the bandwidth on top from DB to slaves to separate backups, hopefully a DR, etc.
    All items may be small, and I doubt they will have large costs every time something small gets added (nowhere did I say the price of the pack is fair or not, that is not my point, I am not defending the pack price), yet each and every item adds to it, equally each copy adds an entry in one form or another. (IIRC that is also why the drydock was introduced, to cut down on DB costs of having too many fully equipped & customized ships in your shipyard, yet still have those available without having to dismiss those).

    The predominant cost is indeed the design and development (and I'm not arguing against that either), however after that falls the ongoing cost, and that is not zero, it may be small, maybe not, but it's not zero.
  • ltminnsltminns Member Posts: 12,569 Arc User
    edited February 2019
    Yep, they could use that extra space in the database for new Party Favors and other important stuff like that instead. ;)
    '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.'
    Lt. Philip J. Minns
This discussion has been closed.