Much to like in that interview; it seems the "design ethics" associated with Cryptic are still alive and well, and I'm very pleased.
I was also pleased to read that the starship combat may be "scalable", in that, if you want to micro-manage every aspect of starship combat, you can -- but if you want to let the game handle some of it for you, you can choose that also.
Sometimes I'm in the mood to go all-out, but other times I play MMOs to relax and unwind when I'm tired, or when the insomnia is beating the guano out of me.
It would be much appreciated if I could still play STO passably well when I was too tired to take "hands-on" command of every single aspect of running a starship. I wouldn't expect to do as well with the computer covering for me as I would when I was handling the entire show myself -- but to still be able to have fun with STO when I wasn't at 100% would have me playing all the more often.
I'm also reminded of my few times playing Star Wars Galaxies, where I kept running into people who never, I repeat never, flew a starship in-game -- not even to travel from planet A to planet B.
Yes, I confess, I found this frogging _weird_. I still do. It's Star Wars, for Yoda's sake. Flying around in starships -- even just to travel or to sightsee -- is part of the deal.
And yet, I repeatedly encountered players who had access to starships in-game, and yet proudly announced that they never used them, and travelled everywhere in-game by zoning (transport shuttle) only.
Now, Star Trek Online is not Star Wars Galaxies (thank Yahweh!), and players will have to fly a starship if they want to progress in-game. A scalable level of difficulty when operating a starship in combat might go a long way towards keeping the kind of "ultra passive" players I encountered in SWG still playing happily, I suppose.
But again, playing a Star Wars game and never flying a starship, even though you have access to one? That's like going into a Chinese restaurant and complaining because they don't serve hamburgers ...
He sounds like a TRUE Trekkie, and not just a game designer/star wars fan/average scifi guy. I think my worries of Star Trek being mishandled have been put to rest. Anyone who says A)DS9 is his favorite and B)Can give such a detailed description of his favorite episodes is okay in my book. P.S. I too own a bat'leth
I really hope they do end up using a system that is true to the series like his interview suggests. It would turn away some people but it would bring in a lot more, people who really want a deep and tactical mmo (and it would appease all us trekkies )
However am I the only one who read that he used to work on "The Sims Online" then had their brains kick into repeating "Please do a better job than that, please do a better job than that, ..." over and over?
However am I the only one who read that he used to work on "The Sims Online" then had their brains kick into repeating "Please do a better job than that, please do a better job than that, ..." over and over?
No, you were not the only one to think that very same thing. :cool:
I'd like to have a Captain's Log options to be voice and writing available. We would do a log while in game that would be stored/saved in our cryptic on-line web account temporary to be exported on the web to put in a report for our respective fleet to read/learn about our in game activity while we are playing.
First and foremost, I want people to know that this is not an attempt to flame or bash Captain Al.
However, is anyone else concerned that the lead designer on this game, a Star Trek game, a game from an IP that is about exploration, science and the unknown, is a combat designer?
Was anyone else as concerned for the safety of the ingame exploration and diplomatic solutions components of this game after reading this as I was?
Seriously, can a person say "combat" more times in an interview?
led the combat team for Champions Online for a while,
A: Space combat.
I am a combat system designer at heart,
and I am very excited about the system we have worked out for space combat.
Space combat is nothing like typical MMO combat,
Another thing that disturbs me is how it seems everyone at Cryptic is addicted to DS9 and the Dominion War. Why is there so much emphasis at Cryptic on combat? Isn't Trek about exploration? But yet all I hear is DS9, DS9, Dominion War, Sacrafice of Angels, DS9.
Q: What are your favorite episodes?
A: There are so many. If you had asked what my favorite series was, I would say Star Trek: Deep Space 9.
If I had to pick one, I guess I would have to say my favorite is "Sacrifice of Angels" (DS9), where Sisko retakes DS9;
Does Cryptic really think that combat, war and DS9 is going to sell this game? DS9, by Cryptic's own poll, was far from the most favorite series in the franchise. But yet, we keep hearing from Cryptic just how great it was, how great the combat is, how great the Dominion War was.
Perhaps I am the only person who feels this way. Then so be it. But it really feels to me like this game is going to be geared for console style pew pew shoot'em up and not for exploration and the things that truly made Trek great. There have already been a ton of Trek games made. The all seemed to focus on combat. Why can't STO be the first to focus on Starfleet's primary mission?
RandomRedshirt, I'm sure that exploration will be a major factor in the space part of STO. I can't see how it won't. But space combat should also be a huge factor. Don't forget that not all people will be weak Federation explorers. There are enemies all around you wanting nothing more to blow you to little pieces. In fact I look forward to doing some of that myself...
However, I do believe it will be a big part of the game so don't worry too much...yet.
First and foremost, I want people to know that this is not an attempt to flame or bash Captain Al.
However, is anyone else concerned that the lead designer on this game, a Star Trek game, a game from an IP that is about exploration, science and the unknown, is a combat designer?
Was anyone else as concerned for the safety of the ingame exploration and diplomatic solutions components of this game after reading this as I was?
Seriously, can a person say "combat" more times in an interview?
Another thing that disturbs me is how it seems everyone at Cryptic is addicted to DS9 and the Dominion War. Why is there so much emphasis at Cryptic on combat? Isn't Trek about exploration? But yet all I hear is DS9, DS9, Dominion War, Sacrafice of Angels, DS9.
Does Cryptic really think that combat, war and DS9 is going to sell this game? DS9, by Cryptic's own poll, was far from the most favorite series in the franchise. But yet, we keep hearing from Cryptic just how great it was, how great the combat is, how great the Dominion War was.
Perhaps I am the only person who feels this way. Then so be it. But it really feels to me like this game is going to be geared for console style pew pew shoot'em up and not for exploration and the things that truly made Trek great. There have already been a ton of Trek games made. The all seemed to focus on combat. Why can't STO be the first to focus on Starfleet's primary mission?
/end rant
I don't think there's cause for alarm just yet RandomRedshirt. Just because he is a combat systems designer doesn't mean that he's got a one-track mind. Virtually all MMOs, heck virtually all games are about advancement through conflict. How much experience do you get for completing a mission where no one fired a shot? Or for a mission where you went and scanned a nebula? That sort of thing is pretty arbitrary. But just like in our favorite Star Trek shows, when the time comes to fight, we fight, and so I for one hope that the exercise of fighting is a well thought out and implemented system that's fun to do and properly rewarding to me as I build my character.
And, given what's already been told to us about the model for STO, I think it has a good chance right now of bringing scads of that deeper core of Star Trek to the surface for us to enjoy.
I'm just having a hard time believing Cryptic's commitment to the non-combat aspects of Trek. Everything I see, everything I hear is combat combat combat, war, conflict, combat, DS9, Dominion War, combat.
And this has been the general trend of anyone having anything to do with the franchise since Gene passed on. Can anyone out there name a Trek game in the last 10 years that had a primary focus on something other than combat?
An MMO is an ideal environment to explore the richness what is the Trek IP. Exploration, discovery, these things can actually be done in this type of environment. But yet, something tells me it's not going to get nearly the focus that Cryptic keeps saying it will, or that it deserves.
"To seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."
not
"To seek out new life, blow it up, blow it up again, destroy your enemy, kill kill kill and do it again."
Are we sure that we aren't looking at a Mirror STO instead of a real, true to the franchise, Star Trek MMO?
I'm just having a hard time believing Cryptic's commitment to the non-combat aspects of Trek. Everything I see, everything I hear is combat combat combat, war, conflict, combat, DS9, Dominion War, combat.
And this has been the general trend of anyone having anything to do with the franchise since Gene passed on. Can anyone out there name a Trek game in the last 10 years that had a primary focus on something other than combat?
An MMO is an ideal environment to explore the richness what is the Trek IP. Exploration, discovery, these things can actually be done in this type of environment. But yet, something tells me it's not going to get nearly the focus that Cryptic keeps saying it will, or that it deserves.
"To seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."
not
"To seek out new life, blow it up, blow it up again, destroy your enemy, kill kill kill and do it again."
Are we sure that we aren't looking at a Mirror STO instead of a real, true to the franchise, Star Trek MMO?
If it is going to be full of war why dont they just call it Shattered Universe 2: The MMO. Star Trek has always been about exploring the final frontier and not about combat. A good example of where combat could have come into play and didnt was "The Cobomite Maneuver" The enterprise was proceeding into unknown space and encountered the First Federation and tried every attempt to be diplomatic but still didnt fight and in the end Balok befriended them. They explored unknown space and it got tense but it didnt require the Enterprise to fire a single blast at the First Federation ship. Now the point is combat isnt always needed to make exploration interesting.
Force is always a last resort in Starfleet.
"To seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."
NOT NOT NOT a good idea. "To seek out new life, blow it up, blow it up again, destroy all, kill kill kill and do it again.":mad:
Yes I think this is just going to be a combat simm. They are going to lose money fast. Because it will not have any staying power and it will go away fast .
In this game I would make it where you kill someone below your level it would penalize the player who destroy someone below them.
Honestly the best way to get into the gaming industry is to live near a studio in your area and get hired on in their QA department. Most engines used by gaming studios is proprietary. So in a way there is no way to prepare for any studio other than learning the programs you have already learned you mentioned that will interface with the engine that the studio you work for uses. So if you have all that school experience like you said they won't care you have a degree or not. Just get your foot in the door work your butt off and if you get along with the producers there you will get moved into the area you are strongest at. At the studio I work for they don't have "writers" but, designers. They will do a little bit of all of that to help shape the game as it evolves. You wear a lot of hats in the gaming studio pretty much no matter what department you are in. Good luck!
Are we sure that we aren't looking at a Mirror STO instead of a real, true to the franchise, Star Trek MMO?
Hey, don't forget I'm the guy who suggested that STO should be designed as BOTH the "regular" Star Trek universe and the Mirror Universe! I'm still loving the idea that everybody who prefers to blow stuff up could create characters in the Mirror Universe who would actually be rewarded for being as bloodthirsty and Machiavellian as possible, and that they'd be able to have this play experience without destroying the more cooperative behavior that's defined as hard canon for the Starfleet of the main Star Trek universe.
Offering both worlds in one game would be harder to do than your typical MMORPG, it's true. But what a refreshing change this would be from the typical MMORPG! Wouldn't it be interesting to see a major online RPG where those players who prefer cooperation over destruction (you know... like the Federation characters in Star Trek) could play a game where they were rewarded for that, while still being a game that is welcoming -- and completely within the spirit of Star Trek lore -- to those players who enjoy the thrill of battle and who like to compete to see who can collect the most stuff?
am I the only one who read that he used to work on "The Sims Online" then had their brains kick into repeating "Please do a better job than that, please do a better job than that, ..." over and over?
For what it's worth, Keo, I've talked with one of the creative guys who worked on TSO. He made it very clear that there were a lot of things they wanted to do for that game that they just weren't allowed to do.
I wouldn't hold that one against "Captain Geko."
(Actually, it's sort of interesting to speculate on whether The Sims Online, had it been developed under today's EA rather than the one they've admitted was waaaaaaay too controlling and disruptive to the creativity of game devlopers, might have been closer to the amazing online game we all expected....)
I was relieved to read the lead Developers statement. I was worried that this would turn into a hack job. Sounds like they are planning to try and get not only the technology and races right, but the Original Feel as established by Gene Roddenberry, may he rest in peace. I really hope that they are able to pull this off. If so, this MMORPG will, in my opinion, beat WOW hands down!
Having been around for the original series I have to say that it added a touch of newness not experienced on a weekly level before. It made for interesting cultish behavior in high school.
Over the years, having remained a fan of each new branch of the story, I find my overall favorite storyline to be the Voyager series. I like the separation aspect and having to be very inventive to survive.
Now, in the very near future, I will be able to actually enter that world. I am very excited that after 10+ years of playing mmo's the storyline will finally be one that is actually ingrained along most of my life.
Kudo's for bringing this mmo back to life!
I anxiously await the details and would be honored to help test and debug this game if the beta opportunity should arise.
Khuliwa
I'm just having a hard time believing Cryptic's commitment to the non-combat aspects of Trek. Everything I see, everything I hear is combat combat combat, war, conflict, combat, DS9, Dominion War, combat.
Not sure why that would be your impression i mean....
*looks up at the forum banner graphic*
Nevermind.
Heh, well combat seem to appeal to many because it's flashy and raises adrenaline but they did say there will be indirect competition for resources (maybe territory) i think with non-combat missions as well via their competitive PvE bit in the FAQ.
Whenever I watch the Star Trek shows there is almost always some form of fight going on be it ship combat or phaser combat. I think most casual fans of the Trek series are going to want to play for that aspect, but it doesn't necessarily mean its going to be an all combat game. Will there be a focus on it? That's what I'm not sure about. I'm reserving judgment until more information is released.
I do like that they are putting time into combat systems because that's one of the main problems I had with EvE Online. It's shallow combat system left much to be desired, requiring no skill or just buttloads of time to achieve anything combat worthy.
I don't know how people can say combat was never a focus in Star Trek when the entire series has several episodes tied to someone shooting something.
Comments
I was also pleased to read that the starship combat may be "scalable", in that, if you want to micro-manage every aspect of starship combat, you can -- but if you want to let the game handle some of it for you, you can choose that also.
Sometimes I'm in the mood to go all-out, but other times I play MMOs to relax and unwind when I'm tired, or when the insomnia is beating the guano out of me.
It would be much appreciated if I could still play STO passably well when I was too tired to take "hands-on" command of every single aspect of running a starship. I wouldn't expect to do as well with the computer covering for me as I would when I was handling the entire show myself -- but to still be able to have fun with STO when I wasn't at 100% would have me playing all the more often.
I'm also reminded of my few times playing Star Wars Galaxies, where I kept running into people who never, I repeat never, flew a starship in-game -- not even to travel from planet A to planet B.
Yes, I confess, I found this frogging _weird_. I still do. It's Star Wars, for Yoda's sake. Flying around in starships -- even just to travel or to sightsee -- is part of the deal.
And yet, I repeatedly encountered players who had access to starships in-game, and yet proudly announced that they never used them, and travelled everywhere in-game by zoning (transport shuttle) only.
Now, Star Trek Online is not Star Wars Galaxies (thank Yahweh!), and players will have to fly a starship if they want to progress in-game. A scalable level of difficulty when operating a starship in combat might go a long way towards keeping the kind of "ultra passive" players I encountered in SWG still playing happily, I suppose.
But again, playing a Star Wars game and never flying a starship, even though you have access to one? That's like going into a Chinese restaurant and complaining because they don't serve hamburgers ...
KOS
I've been hurt before, Al...
Be kind.
However am I the only one who read that he used to work on "The Sims Online" then had their brains kick into repeating "Please do a better job than that, please do a better job than that, ..." over and over?
No, you were not the only one to think that very same thing. :cool:
Rumor Control is leading the game. Turns out accuracy may need to be nerfed.
:rolleyes:
Glad to see you and Cryptic are on top of things and want to make as good a game as we want to play!!
Thank you.
However, is anyone else concerned that the lead designer on this game, a Star Trek game, a game from an IP that is about exploration, science and the unknown, is a combat designer?
Was anyone else as concerned for the safety of the ingame exploration and diplomatic solutions components of this game after reading this as I was?
Seriously, can a person say "combat" more times in an interview?
Another thing that disturbs me is how it seems everyone at Cryptic is addicted to DS9 and the Dominion War. Why is there so much emphasis at Cryptic on combat? Isn't Trek about exploration? But yet all I hear is DS9, DS9, Dominion War, Sacrafice of Angels, DS9.
Does Cryptic really think that combat, war and DS9 is going to sell this game? DS9, by Cryptic's own poll, was far from the most favorite series in the franchise. But yet, we keep hearing from Cryptic just how great it was, how great the combat is, how great the Dominion War was.
Perhaps I am the only person who feels this way. Then so be it. But it really feels to me like this game is going to be geared for console style pew pew shoot'em up and not for exploration and the things that truly made Trek great. There have already been a ton of Trek games made. The all seemed to focus on combat. Why can't STO be the first to focus on Starfleet's primary mission?
/end rant
Looks like space combat will turn out to be well thought out, which is great.
However, I do believe it will be a big part of the game so don't worry too much...yet.
I don't think there's cause for alarm just yet RandomRedshirt. Just because he is a combat systems designer doesn't mean that he's got a one-track mind. Virtually all MMOs, heck virtually all games are about advancement through conflict. How much experience do you get for completing a mission where no one fired a shot? Or for a mission where you went and scanned a nebula? That sort of thing is pretty arbitrary. But just like in our favorite Star Trek shows, when the time comes to fight, we fight, and so I for one hope that the exercise of fighting is a well thought out and implemented system that's fun to do and properly rewarding to me as I build my character.
And, given what's already been told to us about the model for STO, I think it has a good chance right now of bringing scads of that deeper core of Star Trek to the surface for us to enjoy.
And this has been the general trend of anyone having anything to do with the franchise since Gene passed on. Can anyone out there name a Trek game in the last 10 years that had a primary focus on something other than combat?
An MMO is an ideal environment to explore the richness what is the Trek IP. Exploration, discovery, these things can actually be done in this type of environment. But yet, something tells me it's not going to get nearly the focus that Cryptic keeps saying it will, or that it deserves.
"To seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."
not
"To seek out new life, blow it up, blow it up again, destroy your enemy, kill kill kill and do it again."
Are we sure that we aren't looking at a Mirror STO instead of a real, true to the franchise, Star Trek MMO?
If it is going to be full of war why dont they just call it Shattered Universe 2: The MMO. Star Trek has always been about exploring the final frontier and not about combat. A good example of where combat could have come into play and didnt was "The Cobomite Maneuver" The enterprise was proceeding into unknown space and encountered the First Federation and tried every attempt to be diplomatic but still didnt fight and in the end Balok befriended them. They explored unknown space and it got tense but it didnt require the Enterprise to fire a single blast at the First Federation ship. Now the point is combat isnt always needed to make exploration interesting.
"To seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."
NOT NOT NOT a good idea. "To seek out new life, blow it up, blow it up again, destroy all, kill kill kill and do it again.":mad:
Yes I think this is just going to be a combat simm.
In this game I would make it where you kill someone below your level it would penalize the player who destroy someone below them.
Frequent quote mining on boards. Check.
The look on people's faces when Al Rivera mentioned combat. Priceless.
do you guys call your self the "A Team"
Don't forget "...and then take its stuff."
Hey, don't forget I'm the guy who suggested that STO should be designed as BOTH the "regular" Star Trek universe and the Mirror Universe! I'm still loving the idea that everybody who prefers to blow stuff up could create characters in the Mirror Universe who would actually be rewarded for being as bloodthirsty and Machiavellian as possible, and that they'd be able to have this play experience without destroying the more cooperative behavior that's defined as hard canon for the Starfleet of the main Star Trek universe.
Offering both worlds in one game would be harder to do than your typical MMORPG, it's true. But what a refreshing change this would be from the typical MMORPG! Wouldn't it be interesting to see a major online RPG where those players who prefer cooperation over destruction (you know... like the Federation characters in Star Trek) could play a game where they were rewarded for that, while still being a game that is welcoming -- and completely within the spirit of Star Trek lore -- to those players who enjoy the thrill of battle and who like to compete to see who can collect the most stuff?
For what it's worth, Keo, I've talked with one of the creative guys who worked on TSO. He made it very clear that there were a lot of things they wanted to do for that game that they just weren't allowed to do.
I wouldn't hold that one against "Captain Geko."
(Actually, it's sort of interesting to speculate on whether The Sims Online, had it been developed under today's EA rather than the one they've admitted was waaaaaaay too controlling and disruptive to the creativity of game devlopers, might have been closer to the amazing online game we all expected....)
--Flatfingers
Over the years, having remained a fan of each new branch of the story, I find my overall favorite storyline to be the Voyager series. I like the separation aspect and having to be very inventive to survive.
Now, in the very near future, I will be able to actually enter that world. I am very excited that after 10+ years of playing mmo's the storyline will finally be one that is actually ingrained along most of my life.
Kudo's for bringing this mmo back to life!
I anxiously await the details and would be honored to help test and debug this game if the beta opportunity should arise.
Khuliwa
Not sure why that would be your impression i mean....
*looks up at the forum banner graphic*
Nevermind.
Heh, well combat seem to appeal to many because it's flashy and raises adrenaline but they did say there will be indirect competition for resources (maybe territory) i think with non-combat missions as well via their competitive PvE bit in the FAQ.
I do like that they are putting time into combat systems because that's one of the main problems I had with EvE Online. It's shallow combat system left much to be desired, requiring no skill or just buttloads of time to achieve anything combat worthy.
I don't know how people can say combat was never a focus in Star Trek when the entire series has several episodes tied to someone shooting something.