* * * June 2022 "Ask the Devs" Q&A Thread! * * *

baddmoonrizin

Jolan tru, Captains!

We’re going to try something new here. I’ve proposed a monthly thread to collect questions from the forum community to be presented to and answered by our Community Manager and guest developers during livestreams.

So, without further adieu, welcome to the first “Ask the Devs” Q&A Thread!

We realize that our forum community is diverse and spread across the globe, and that not everyone has an opportunity to take part in directly communicating with the developers via livestream. In an effort to extend communications between the forum community and the STO development team, we present the “Ask the Devs” Q&A thread!

Over the next 2 weeks, questions will be collected in this thread and then presented to our Community Manager. Questions will then be selected and answered during a future livestream.

Have a question concerning Star Trek Online?

Maybe you’d like some tips and tricks with certain gameplay elements? Or questions related to how the game is developed? Perhaps, you have some concerns with the current state of the game? Suggestions for consideration in future game development?

Let us know here!

Qapla' and good hunting, Captains!

Badd Moon Rizin
Community Moderator

pottsey5g

Carriers seem more popular then ever at least subjectively from what I see players fly in TFO events. Full Carriers focused on pets are in a poor state compared to other builds. Are we likely to see a balance pass on Carriers or more development for Carriers like new traits or consoles? The recent new carrier/pet consoles and traits have been much appreciated but our options are still far behind other play styles. Personally I like the idea of a 3rd hangar bay for a none DPS support only hanger pet. Or a Coms Array Secondary Deflector style slot that does pet buffs or hybrid Sci/Pet as seen in other space games. Are we likely to see more Carrier related features or items?

I expect this is not practical to do but have the devs considered or looked into options to do graphic upgrades like adding Ray Tracing to the current engine? Or DLSS?


"We’re going to try something new here. I’ve proposed a monthly thread to collect questions from the forum community to be presented to and answered by our Community Manager and guest developers during livestreams."
This is a great idea. Partly for those of us who live in time zones where the livestreams are not suitable to join and partly as I assume this will give the devs more time to think about a better responce rather then thinking on the spot which is never easy.

nuketf

could deep space encounters return to chasing players? Even if they only do it to level 65 players would be fine.

scottie270182

Hi Kael,

I’ve found a number of visual issues with ships that I’ve purchased over the past few years, and I was wondering if you could confirm whether the following are on the to-do list, and if not, if you could please forward them to the ship team?

- Discovery Constitution-Class - Original Hull Lighting (left) vs. Brightened Hull Lighting (right) -


During the content update in May 2021, the hull lighting on the Constitution-class models from Star Trek Discovery were brightened significantly. This created an overwhelming glow that obscures the hull and causes the light sources to have blotchy and pixelated edges.

- Galaxy-class Saucer Section - With Square Lights (left) vs. Blank Hull (right) -


Next on the list is the revamped Galaxy-class model. In the first image, you can see four square lights denoting the saucer section deflector dish. Since December 2021 however, these lights have been missing.

- Galaxy-class Saucer Section - In-Game With Seam (left) vs. 6ft Filming Model (right) -


Whilst my focus is on the Galaxy-class line of ships, there is a seam around the rim of the saucer section that isn't present on any of the models used in TNG, DS9 or Voyager. This extends to all Galaxy, Nebula and New Orleans-class models. Whilst this isn’t a bug per se, it is very noticeable to someone like myself, who focuses on such minutiae.

- New Orleans-class Nacelle Pylons - Misaligned Phaser Markings -


Sticking to model revamps, the red semi-circular phaser markings on the New Orleans-class nacelle pylons have been misaligned since it was introduced. This has resulted in them floating ahead of the pylons.

- Type 7 Shuttlecraft - Deformed Hull -


Whilst travelling at full impulse, the hull on the Type 7 shuttlecraft appears to fold in on itself, causing the deformation illustrated above.

- Verity-class Chevron Section - Detached Hull Markings -


Moving on to a somewhat newer ship, these images show a pair of red markings that appear to be part of the engineering hull of the Verity-class. However, when separating the saucer, these markings detach with it.

Constellation-class - Central Impulse Engine Trail -


Another issue I’ve noticed is with the T3 Constellation-class Heavy Cruiser Refit, which has an extra impulse trail emanating from between the two engine banks.

- Reliant, Clarke and Legendary Miranda-class - Incorrect Malachowski Warp Trails -


When using the Malachowski-class model on any of the T6 variants of the Miranda-class family, the ship’s warp trails are blue, rather than the yellow used on the T1 Age of Discovery starter ship.

- Legendary T'Liss-class - Incorrect TOS Warp Trails -


When using the TOS model for the Legendary T'Liss Light Intel warbird, the warp trails remain green, rather than the white used on the Temporal variant.

- Legendary T'Liss-class - Tailfin Decal -


Finally, staying with the Legendary T’Liss-class, when using the advanced options in the ship customizer, there is no option to remove the decal from the fin of the ship.

Hopefully this list can help the team knock off some of the longer-term visuals issues that have persisted, in some cases, for over a year.

Many thanks for your time.

Scottie270182

szerontzur

1a.) Is the team aware that there are (still) ZERO Jem Hadar ships with a secondary deflector?
1b.) Anything in the works to allow Dominion/Jem Hadar characters a thematic ship they can do a dedicated science build with?

2.) The EV suit slots really messed with the Nukara ground sets - any chance we can get an "armor" version of the suits for the set bonuses?

3.) Has there been any internal brainstorming for revamping any of the core(tac/eng/sci) Boff powers? (I'm particularly interested in the currently underwhelming state of Drain powers and grossly unwieldy powers like Extend Shields, Mask Energy Signature, and Stasis Field.)

vetteguy904

1. Please take a look at step between the stars. for a first time player running it they are going to feel heartburn in swapping the solanae ev suit out. I took me a couple minutes to figure out why I could not get it to equip.

2. Will the older rep sets get warp cores/ singularities to bring them back toward meta? Omega and Aegis especially deserve a makeover. a MACO warp core can enhance the torpedo leaning bonuses and give us another option for torpedo builds.

annemarie30

pet tabs? can we have an auto salvage, auto sell button based on rarity? when can we expect the return of the B'vat episodes that were removed?

dvonluck

Any chance of the patrol missions found at various planets can become replayable? some are actually quite fun but atm theyre just one and done which is a shame

blackthorne

Is there any progress being made at all on the Klingon War arc remaster? As a new* player to the game, the story feels very disjointed up until you get to the Delta Quadrant, because massive chunks of it are missing. The Borg Advance arc also suffers from this. You barely feel the Borg Invasion before the clash between the Borg and the Undine starts, and then you barely know who the Undine are because their presence in the (extremely brief) Klingon War arc has been trimmed down to a single mission.

I've heard that bringing this arc back has been in the works for ages, and I'd just like to know if it's actually being worked on or not.

*"new" - I bought a lifetime sub to this game when it first came out, then barely touched it. I played the old version of the Klingon War arc years and years ago, but I have only the vaguest memories of it. Over the years I've bounced off the game quite a few times before finally getting hooked this time, and a better early game story might have helped me stick around a lot sooner.

torrynwoodsrunner

I've been watching Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and Discovery with regularity. During each of these shows, I see no less than two 30-second advertisements for Star Trek: Fleet Command per episode. Realizing I'm comparing apples and hand grenades, I consider Fleet Command to be a far inferior game, But that's not my concern.

My concern is the use of advertising to draw in new players. Fleet Command is obviously committing budget to this, including paying some big names to appear in their ads. And, it would appear to be working. While their advertising is incredibly misleading (non-gameplay footage, unrealistic player advancement timeline), their advertising is at least -there-.

So, my question(s): What is Embracer Group/Gearbox/Cryptic doing in regards to advertising presence? What are they doing to attract new players to the game? What are they doing to increase player retention? Search as I might, I can find practically -no- advertising presence for Star Trek Online. Why?

fleetcaptain5

My question:

Will we be able to claim the other contents of the Legendary Captain bundle (the special weapons, EV suit and Holo Boffs) on other toons in the future?

As much as I enjoy the new Vesta, having the rest of the pack be limited to a single toon is a bit disappointing. Especially since one toon doesn't even need like ten ground weapons.

jonsills

torrynwoodsrunner wrote: »

I've been watching Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and Discovery with regularity. During each of these shows, I see no less than two 30-second advertisements for Star Trek: Fleet Command per episode. Realizing I'm comparing apples and hand grenades, I consider Fleet Command to be a far inferior game, But that's not my concern.

My concern is the use of advertising to draw in new players. Fleet Command is obviously committing budget to this, including paying some big names to appear in their ads. And, it would appear to be working. While their advertising is incredibly misleading (non-gameplay footage, unrealistic player advancement timeline), their advertising is at least -there-.

So, my question(s): What is Embracer Group/Gearbox/Cryptic doing in regards to advertising presence? What are they doing to attract new players to the game? What are they doing to increase player retention? Search as I might, I can find practically -no- advertising presence for Star Trek Online. Why?

I mean, I'm not sure an Ask the Devs thread is really a great place to get this question answered, but it definitely is a valid question.

rattler2

jonsills wrote: »

torrynwoodsrunner wrote: »

I've been watching Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and Discovery with regularity. During each of these shows, I see no less than two 30-second advertisements for Star Trek: Fleet Command per episode. Realizing I'm comparing apples and hand grenades, I consider Fleet Command to be a far inferior game, But that's not my concern.

My concern is the use of advertising to draw in new players. Fleet Command is obviously committing budget to this, including paying some big names to appear in their ads. And, it would appear to be working. While their advertising is incredibly misleading (non-gameplay footage, unrealistic player advancement timeline), their advertising is at least -there-.

So, my question(s): What is Embracer Group/Gearbox/Cryptic doing in regards to advertising presence? What are they doing to attract new players to the game? What are they doing to increase player retention? Search as I might, I can find practically -no- advertising presence for Star Trek Online. Why?

I mean, I'm not sure an Ask the Devs thread is really a great place to get this question answered, but it definitely is a valid question.

I have to agree with Jonsills here. Not sure. Also... how many MMOs do you see have advertising? I don't see any comercials for FF14 or WoW out in the wild.

annemarie30

to be fair, the show is STAR TREK, it makes sense that a STAR TREK game be advertised

baddmoonrizin

Folks, this is not a discussion thread to discuss whether someone's question is valid or not. Please allow people to post their questions to the devs without judgment. Thank you.

rifter1969

I posted this is another forum thread, but thought I just bring it here...

With all the Mirror Universe content being released, is it possible for us to get Terran styled EV suits like the one that is shown at the begging of Firewall?

That would be so cool for players who have gone all "Mirror" on a captain, and it would put a nice finishing touch to it.

Thanks.

nixie50

Why do episodes even have to be in an arc? let's have some one-offs. go check up on the gangster planet, or the people of vaal.

heck, why not an episode "vacation" where the ship goes to Risa, and you have to do some fun stuff, like learn to bar-tend, or do some rock climbing / rappelling, help find some rare feather monkey or bird. figure out some mystery.. SOMETHING that doesn't go pew pew pew.

Maybe be a guest speaker at the Academy, and investigate something that happens.

It would be really fun to see the inner workings of the KDF academy.

there is a patrol I forget which one, where you check out a starbase, everything points to one guy but you figure out it's another. Cool patrol, not repeatable. no violence.

nixie50

oh, I forgot.. TAILOR STUFF. Berets, maybe some of those cat ear headbands, headbands in general, like one with a big bow either more civilian options (And the unlock so BOFFS can wear civvies) or allow civilian elements to be combined with uniform

kurtron

Will you please return the Klingon War missions you removed for revamps that are not likely to happen any time soon, if at all?
Even if they are placed in the Available tab, as they are quite visually dated.

drnicket

What is the technical process of transitioning from one map to another on console?

I'm asking because I'm curious if allowing more aggressive local asset caching may make the long load times more efficient.

ataru

I'd be curious if the stacking on the Scientific Bulwark starship trait (Merian) is working as intended. According to a couple of sources, the trait does not appear to refresh its stack duration when a new stack trigger is applied; apparently each stack is flagged as a separate buff that times out without refreshing, making it far less useful since you can't stack it without way more triggers than you'd need.

In other words, if I apply Hazard Emitters, it applies 1 stack of the trait that lasts 15 seconds. If I then activate Auxiliary to Structural, it applies another stack of the trait but does NOT refresh the duration of the first stack. This is different than how most other stacking traits work (easy examples: Beam Barrage, Promise of Ferocity).

throst

A few ideas.
A Rise of the Fek'Ihris would throw the game:
Reputations system for more flames!!!
Or lobby store items may include Fek'Ihri antiproton space and ground weapons have a 2.5% chance of shielding negligent burn damage.
Ravager, lost souls of a duty officer, bridge officer or pet to get....etc.
The S'Kul fighters and their frigate's weapons could be reworked because now they are useless hangar pets just like in the heralds.

fleetcaptain5

ataru#9476 wrote: »

I'd be curious if the stacking on the Scientific Bulwark starship trait (Merian) is working as intended. According to a couple of sources, the trait does not appear to refresh its stack duration when a new stack trigger is applied; apparently each stack is flagged as a separate buff that times out without refreshing, making it far less useful since you can't stack it without way more triggers than you'd need.

In other words, if I apply Hazard Emitters, it applies 1 stack of the trait that lasts 15 seconds. If I then activate Auxiliary to Structural, it applies another stack of the trait but does NOT refresh the duration of the first stack. This is different than how most other stacking traits work (easy examples: Beam Barrage, Promise of Ferocity).

It's probably working as intended.

In the release post it doesn't mention that the trait should refresh upon activating powers that trigger it.
https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11513573-the-merian-class-joins-the-infinity-lock-box!

Also, the other examples you mention are noticably weaker. Promise of ferocity applies a bonus 20% damage, with the maximum number of stacks. and will break when combat ends (20% may seem a lot, but there are many consoles that on their own have the same or even bigger effects - so this trait's maximum potency equals that of a single console). Beam barrage only applies 6% bonus damage, max.

For the Merian's trait, on the other hand, each stack is as potent as a single sci console. If each new stack would refresh the existing stacks, it would quickly have both 100% uptime of the maximum number of stacks, meaning you'd basically be flying with an additional 5 sci consoles (instead of the equivalent of 1 if you're using Promise of ferocity and never leave combat).


So, a long story short: my guess is that it's working as intended and stacks don't refresh because each stack is just that more potent compared to other traits.

That being said, we'll see what Cryptic has to say about it.

ataru

Also, the other examples you mention are noticably weaker. Promise of ferocity applies a bonus 20% damage, with the maximum number of stacks. and will break when combat ends (20% may seem a lot, but there are many consoles that on their own have the same or even bigger effects - so this trait's maximum potency equals that of a single console). Beam barrage only applies 6% bonus damage, max.

...

So, a long story short: my guess is that it's working as intended and stacks don't refresh because each stack is just that more potent compared to other traits.

That being said, we'll see what Cryptic has to say about it.

I don't disagree with any of the merits of your argument, but for what it's worth 20% *bonus* damage is very much not the same as 20% "damage;" they're in separate multipliers mathematically and only a few expensive consoles give anything close to that. That doesn't take away from the fact that the Merian's trait would see substantial power swing if was supposed to refresh stack duration on new application like pretty much every other stacking trait or effect in the game. If it's working as intended, then it's a lot weaker and I'm not going to pursue one.

baddmoonrizin

This is not a discussion thread, folks. If you would like to discuss issues/questions brought up here, please start another thread for that discussion. Thank you.