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Ten Forward Weekly 3/21/2023
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Member Posts: 3,169 Arc User
From: https://reddit.com/r/sto/comments/11y9kzv/ten_forward_weekly_3212023/
Credit to: https://reddit.com/user/TheSajuukKhar/
Credit to: https://reddit.com/user/TheSajuukKhar/
- Next event, after Voth event ends, is First Contact Day
- Ship from SNW soon(tm), though probably not one we were expecting
- Zen store ships coming up. Kael believes one of the Zen store ships is technically a Lower Decks ship
- Kael hasn't heard anything regarding a bundle for DSC ending
- Unlikely Cryptic will make new starting experiences
- Kael believes theres some new item set coming soon
- When STO was launched on consoles there were 15 countries that it didn't get launched on the Playstation store for, for w/e reason, and Cryptic is working on getting that fixed
- "End of game" for STO isn't happening any time soon
- The tech is there to make costume items for vanity pets, Kael isn't sure it will happen any time soon
- Kael will pass on beards for Romulans
- When asked about making older, non full spec, Zen store/lockbox ships upgraded to full spec to make them more relevant/on par with current ships Kael said that the T6x upgrades were made to help with that, and that theres more stuff coming in that area
- To get the Voth battlezone to work with the event Jesse had to do some "under the hood" magic because the game editor couldn't do it directly. The data was able to be handled by the engine, just not in a way that was directly available to them. Had to get a new icon made for the battlezone from the UI artist Jo. "Most difficult" part was opening up the battlezone and editing all the events to capture areas to give credit for completion of the event which involved.... one whole line of data!
- Jesse says it was about time they added the Battlezones to events. STO has been running events using TFOs/mini-games like Omega molecules for awhile now, why not integrate the battlezones? They have obvious break points in capturing sections that can be used for event credit. This new option seems to resonate with players, so they might do it again.
- When asked about small craft content Kael/Jesse talk about the "Mario Kart" gameplay they tested for small craft in the past. They spent weeks and weeks making it, and even got to actual testing of it, but found that the amount of work needed to make it feel good in the game was more than the payoff they would get out of it(there was a semi-long conversation about camera, movement, weight of objects, etc, between games that makes each game work/feel as it needs to be, and how STO's ship system just wasn't built for cart racing so it doesn't feel good)
- Issue with bringing the DPS test map on Tribble over to live involves both fixing rewards, and that it was made by a developer who no longer works for Cryptic so someone like Jesse would have to find the map in the code, see it how works, bring it over to live, find ways to it could be exploited and fix them, etc.(Cryptic has also previously mentioned the map isn't very optimized and bringing it over to live server would lag the game)
- Issue with the old Maco/Omega/Honor Guard unlocks is that they were awarded in ways that they don't structure the data anymore. So a designer like Jesse has to go find where in the data did they award this thing. Then it has to be passed to a programmer who has to figure out how this is actually unlocking the costume. Then it has to be sent to a costume artist who has to decide if this is something they want to give out, or does it need to be fixed up for clipping/species lists. Its not as easy as just "flip switch costume unlocked". Kael says he will ask Jarod about see if it can be added as rewards for like a Borg event or something
- Spock's volcano suit was brought up as a possible reward for this years First contact Day, but a more fun reward was thought up/decided instead. Cryptic is still aware people want it, but right now its just a costume with no stats and someone in systems would have to build the actual EV suit
- Ground vehicles, like the Argo, would require a larger overhaul to get working. The Voth mech suit works because its basically just "big group person". While Champions has vehicles theres some hard limits on what they can do. Compares it to the shuttle issues. What does it feel like to drive a car in STO? What maps can you use it on? Is it actually going to fit in all the places we want it to on a map? What happens when you crash? When you run into another car? When you drive over a critter? How is throttle handled? Do you have to shift gears? Is it automatic? Can other people ride in the car and/or possibly shoot a gun while in the car?
- Kael will ask Jarod about making older party poppers available
- Turning hoverboards on in maps like New Romulus is possible, but would require some fiddling since hoverboards work by defining a "volume" on the map where hoverboards are allowed. You have to be careful about things like ground clearance. If you notice you can just too high and accidentally have the hoverboard power turn off because the volume for allowing hoverboards only really covers the area directly above the water
- Cryptic is having ongoing discussions about how to make the V-Rex less campable
- V-Rex not counting for daily event progress it intended because of the camping issue
- Porting things between STO/Champions/Neverwitner is really difficult. Champion is locked to its own code branch meaning its more stable, but doesn't have many of the features STO/Neverwinter do. STO and Neverwinter are easier to port between because they're developed in tandem, but differences in how the game's play mean you can just port enemies between games without having to do things like rebuilding the animation rig.
- Champions isn't on console because it just didn't work out that way. It was originally going to be on Xbox 360, but that didn't work out for w/e reason.
- Reason why special BOFFs, like those based on actors, aren't editable is due to costume clipping/performance reasons. Some costume pieces don't look good on X species, other don't match well with other costume part, some things like capes/loose cloth is very performance heavy, etc. Geordi and EMH BOFFs were editable because of being very generic human shape without too many issues.
- The reason why Defense of Starbase One was bottable was because it was originally designed to require you to clean up each wave of Klingons before it would move onto the next wave. However, around the time they made it, there was a big engine bug where all instances of that "clean up the remaining enemy" would never complete. This was due to a fake entity being on the map/being used for code purposes that the game would count as an enemy even though it wasn't. In order to get around the bug the TFO was changed to just have automatic wave progression, which made it AFKable. That issue was solved, so they changed it back/adjusted what the game looks for in regards to people AFKing to make it not AFKable.
- Oddest bug Christian ever worked on was a bug that caused two people PVPing to revert to level 0 after the PVP match was over
- John said he would think about changing the Terran Valkyrie pets to use agony phasers, and that it was an interesting idea, but no confirmation of if/when it will happen.
- Updating the old uniforms is unlikely since the character artists are working on new things hinted at the end of recent missions(likely talking about the Borg arc tease)
To revamp something like DSEs would require:
1. The environment team looking at the map and deciding if it looks good enough, or if its janky/needs some fixes. Spend several weeks doing that.
2. Content would have to track down all associated bugs like critters warping in, fading out, then warping back in again. That's a big question mark since Cryptic doesn't know what causes it, and thus, how long it will take to fix.
3. In regards to refreshing the content itself would require things like. Bringing in a voiced character/actor to be a liaison for the DSEs. Have the writer write up different text for each type of DSE. Couple days for writing, a couple days for recording, a couple days for the audio team to set audio levels and hook it all up. Character reaction has to sculpt their likeness, even if its a mini contact box and not a full dialogue screen. That's weeks of work. If its an STO original character thats still days of work. Content would then have to do things like make higher level DSEs. This would involve copying the DSEs and changing the encounter levels on them, set it all up, and make a new version of the map for all of this stuff. That's a couple days of work due to the number of DSEs. Adding new gameplay features like closing portals, rescuing ships etc, would take a few days to a week. Then it needs to be copied to all the other DSEs and edited for each kind of enemy to make sure it works. Then it goes to QA who has to test all of them, all variations, how it works with teams of people, if things like fighting one type of enemy breaks the new gameplay feature. This is a few weeks for QA to go through everything/send back to programmers to fix issues. Would also include adding DSEs to quadrants without them, critter groups not currently covered by DSEs, new accolades, trying them into the endeavor system, etc. Jesse says he would schedule around 1.5-2 months worth of time to bring DSEs up to 2023 levels of gameplay.- Don't assume devs know about a bug just because its old, and if you've posted about it on the forums before, but it hasn't been fixed, don't be afraid to bump the thread up to get more visibility on it.
- fleet logo being available on ships/not is up to Thomas wanting it to be there or not
- Christian is always scanning the forums/Reddit for new bugs. But do include details/steps for recreating said bug. Just saying "x is broken" isn't helpful for the devs.
- Jesse would like to redo Khitomer in Stasis but it would require a lot of work.
Bug reports/resolutions- Texas class not having the NA registry is a bug and is getting fixed either this week, or soon
- Bug regarding ISA right transformer not spawning with a shield has been reproduced by QA, and put on content, so it should be fixed soon
- Bug about Texas class console/experimental weapon misfiring was noted
- Female french twist hairstyle making your character invisible was reported, confirmed by QA, and has been sent to the team to fix
- Kael asked Christian to note the Beverly hair not being available for females
- Cryptic is looking into the block? on PS4
- Christian fixed the bug on the Valkyrie hanger pet visuals, and the Jem'Hadar Zen store ships having wrong descriptions.
- The teams disbanding at the end of a TFO bug is a bug that Cryptic has dealt with for years, and it keeps coming back every time they think they've squashed it.
- Jesse fixed the bug in "Stranded in Space" regarding the science career optional
- Screen flicker in Khitomer in Stasis TFO, and other older maps, was reported
- Starfleet 32C non admiral pants clipping through the jacket also noted
- Trauma response being buggy is a known issue
- Christian wrote down feedback about the synth ship getting a skin without the Federation logo on it.
- Lobi outfits not being able to be worn by BOFFs on at least the Xbox version was noted
Post edited by baddmoonrizin on
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Comments
What a Shame, I know it's pointless to ask for more, but New starting experiences are fun and are usually worth making new characters with, it also brings in new players, but whatever I guess it just doesn't make enough money.
Romulans with Beards would be great, it's a recent addition from Picard, also currently in STO you can only give them stubble with face 1 and face 1 alternate.
"Mario Kart" would be fun and cool, can you imagine Romulans giving other STO captains the Luigi death stare? Also what Star Trek item would work similarly to the Blue Shell?, in Mario Kart I really like purposely slowing down enough to get the Blue Shell and then saving it until I'm either in 2nd or 3rd place with either Luigi or Bowser (it's really funny driving around as Bowser in Toad's kart, since it's biggest and heaviest character in the smallest kart possible).
I'm cool with a Borg arc however according to some Reddit users, it's not everyone's cup of tea, which is perfectly fine, I just hope Lib-Borg captains get unique dialogue when dealing with the Borg in this arc.
It's not just about creating new characters that can fly new ships - it's also a good reason to revamp some older maps like Andoria and add others (Cait, Ferenginar, Mars to name a few that might be very popular).
We really could use some more world building.
I'll pass on beards in general. To quote miss Troi: Yuk!
Not sure how to interpret this. Does this mean that you could put a pet like a Caracal into a vanity slot and that it would then automatically activate whenever entering a ground map? If so, that would be nice to have.
Personally I don't really care about specs as I hardly use any spec abilities. I'm curious as to what he's referring to though.
Good to know they haven't forgotten about these.
I wonder if this is the same entity that sometimes causes warp core breaches in the Dyson ground battlezone in a specific place in the park - or the mysterious 'torment of the underworld' damage that I've suffered in the past on a map that I can't remember right now.
Sounds like an interesting mission concept though, having an entity within the game messing up that same game. Could be used in an episode reflecting 'The Thaw' from Voyager.
Good to know that it is actually a bug. Post-battle resuscitation and even a simple 'gg' will be easier to do/post again once it's been fixed.
Also good to know those other bugs have been fixed / are on the Devs' radar.
Zen store ships coming up. Kael believes one of the Zen store ships is technically a Lower Decks ship
PLEASE let it be a Saladin. If it's lockbox, I shall be SAD.
All I can think of is either Sonja Gomez's ship or some klingon brel variant, can't think of anything else.
That.
The main problem with the DSEs at the moment is the annoyance caused by all the phantom spawns acting like a Wild Weasel that draws off torpedoes and mines and whatnot then just disappears, if the devs can figure out how to fix that DSEs would be fine without adding (often annoying) mechanics that detract from the tactical aspects. They are a great way for players to take their mid-level and higher characters to relax and concentrate on getting into the tactical groove for a while without having to pay attention to silly game-show style rituals like a lot of the TFOs and almost all battlegrounds have.
To be fair, I don't really care about these. I usually transwarp to wherever I need to go so I'm hardly ever present in sector space, let alone near an encounter.
Some fixes that I think would be useful:
- Make them more challenging (larger groups, higher level enemies)
- Let players go to them instantaneously. Especially for lower level players, it can take a long time to get to them and by the time you arrive, they're gone.
This could be a good idea.
If they don't turn them into time-gated patrols where you just have to sit out and kill wave after wave of annoying enemies (without counters to their powers, because you've used up the only one available in the first round, ten seconds earlier) until the clock runs out.
New patrols should, imo, be like the older sector space patrols. Where you go to group 1, kill them, go to the next group etc. A set number of encounters spread out across the map. That was actually enjoyable because you got to fly your ship in rarely seen environments. Maybe they could even make them appear at random locations or throw in random events like a Borg cube appearing between Klingon rebels, nebula disturbances or similar hazards.
Maybe they can group these patrols by enemy species or location. If by location it could go,
Alpha Quadrant enemies: Cardassian, Breen, Tzenkethi ect.
Beta Quadrant: Klingon Rebels, Mo'Kai Klingons, Gorn, Orion, Romulan Empire, Terrans,
Delta Quadrant: Borg, Hazari, Heriarchy, Vaadwar, Species 8472
Gamma Quadrant: Hur'q, Dominion
This division would be more convieniant for 'defeat x species ships in space' endevours as well as 'energy damage' 'kenetic damage', 'exotic damage' endeavours. There should also be companion ground-based patrols for each enemy type.
I feel like either buffing enemies or nerfing player weapons and abilities would be vaiable solutions to the powercreep problem, but I feel like certain players would react to it the same way they reacted to playing the Inquisitor, If the Inquisitor had the same OP loadouts then there would be less complaints, it seems like most players enjoy one shotting enemies.
One way to combat power creep is an overall stat squish across the board. Another option is a variation of what was tried with Delta Rising, and adjusting NPCs. And I remember the fires of Delta Rising.
Either way its going to be a bit of a lose/lose as someone is not going to be happy with the solution to power creep. But this is an MMO, and all MMOs have to address power creep eventually, either because the calculations are getting insane for the hardware to keep up (like with WoW if I recall correctly), or sheer overwhelming force of players steamrolling content.
Personally once I figured out the Inquisitor's abilities it was no problem for me. And in universe I doubt that we're the unstoppable uberweapons that we are in game because literally every crisis event in game could be solved in one mission by just sending us. Iconian War? No problem! Send the I Win Button. Done in one episode.
From a storytelling standpoint our sheer power... means nothing. We are no different than any other Captain in the fleet. That's why the Iconian War was shown as so desperate. That's why the Hur'q were devastating. And that is in a way why the Inquisitor does not have our exact abilities. Because if that was the case... how the hell can we defeat ourselves if they had exactly what we have in all ways, but as an NPC? We have players who can already vaporize Tac Cubes by looking at them. People would NOT enjoy having that turned against them by an NPC when we fight the Inquisitor.
Anyways... looking forward to seeing what we get with First Contact Day.
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This is also something to consider as well. Its not so simple as flipping a switch.
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Before Delta Rising was released, the best gear was Mk XII Very Rare with T5 ships. And players were actually doing T1 runs of Infected! FOR FUN! Because Infected was pretty much easy at the time. Then Delta Rising hit, the changes to difficulty levels, and the increase in NPC HP in response to player DPS at the time bogged things down and made what was once the best gear in the game feel like only half of what it once was. My first playthrough of Takedown lasted about an HOUR, mostly from the space battle above Vaadwaur Prime. And at the time I believe I was rocking mk XIII phaser arrays I got from those patrol wrappers. It was rough back then, both leveling as well as damage output. And I did have a T6 Guardian Cruiser at the time.
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Only a single advanced TFO is sub 30 seconds and even then only for a small of number of exceptional players. The Delta quadrant seems to remain a challenge for newer players given some of the posts made here over the years.
It's gotta be tough for the devs to set the bar for such a wide variance in player damage. Most of the pug ISA parses I see are between 5k dps and 350k dps.
It's entirely possible that with a team of exceptional players that all 3 Advanced Borg Space TFO's could be completed very quickly. However, the only one that I've seen completed in less than 30 seconds is Infected Space Advanced.
The Defera Invasion Zone is very old and was made before two (?) level cap increases. Probably not a good example to use. Nimbus and Voth BZ's both aren't advanced difficulty TFO's, which is what you made specific reference to in your previous post. You're changing the menu
My own experience is that most folks are either newer or more casual and they certainly aren't blowing through advanced level content with ease.
After seeing parses range from 5K to 350K in ISA (pug), what are the devs to do?
One answer may be to offer event content in all three difficulty levels. The rest of the content (advanced and very occasionally some elite TFO's) seems about right, to me.