Ideas for improving the Genesis missions

System

Having done now 4 different clusters multiple times I feel like mission are not nearly variable enough. I see alot of people like myself that they would like to see this improved so I am making this thread to submit some ideas. Feel free to add yours if you like. Here we go:

General fixes

1) Alternate spawn points for interactible objects, lootable containers and enemy groups. This will help with the predictability of missions and make you actually look around rather then run to the right point each time.

2) Groups should not have the exact same composition and number of individuals each time. Make a random generation system that creates more interesting fights and also give a chance for the group to be interactible (like orion for example) that can be bribed (with energy credits maybe?) and would not fight you at all. This should expand to include space fights too.

3) Have NPC spawn at some of the bases after for example you save them from a failed experiment or a raid. The system used on the SS Azura where you escort or cure the crew. Make perhaps some of them also thank you by offering a reward or perhaps even credits.

4) Use the environment to create the appropriate atmosphere. If i board a base that had its crew going into crazi fits (according to the retrieved logs) I would like to see evidence of that. Maybe phaser marks on walls and bodies or smashed consoles and litter. This along with a nice change in musical theme could really engage the player.

5) Do not recysle so many placeables. I find some planets have far too much which exhausts the variety of environments very quickly. Use less with betetr placement and perhaps add some dynamic elements to make it less plastic (like the jelly fish like things on the rescue mission I did yesterday).


New mission ideas

1) You discover an ion trail that points to a crashed starship on a planet. The ship is of an unknown design. You are asked to investigate via an away team and once you get there 3 things could happen. First have a hostile encounter, secondly find an alien NPC that could need help (like aid the planet?) or perhaps discover some technology (could be samples or an item of uncommon and over quality.)

2) You encounter a strange organism (either space or ground). This can be a roaming thing (like the crystaline entity) or an indigenous species (on a planet or broken into a base). The organism could be interactible to either talk and need help or be entirely hostile. You could have it as a mini boos fight that could happen after investigating through clues or have it attack you while you try to look around.

3) You are not worth your salt as a captain if you dont at least crash one shuttle. Have some planets prohibit you from beaming. Instead you supposedly take a shuttle (same loading screen but you start on the surface witout beaming) that crashes (the textures are already in game for this). You have to find the source of the interruption and destroy/disable it to escape.

4) Make first contact. You meet a species that will either want to talk to you or kill you. Perhaps it only needs help or gives you another mission ( add any type of the existing) to consider negotiations with you. Perhaps its a wandering merchant that sells stuff you dont get very easily or at all (incentive to make more missions if this has a very small chance of happening).

5) You witness a space battle that has two sides which you have to choose according to the dialog that both sides would produce. Perhaps you choose to remain neutral or kill both. The rewards should be different for each choice.

6) You discover an anomaly ( other than the collect samples) that has a random effect on your ship (maybe from the existing BOFF ability menu or new). It prompts you to collect data to understand and disable the effect because it prevents you from gaining access to something or leaving the system altogether. Example could be a gravity well that disables your warp drive. You could be asked to destroy the anomaly (becomes targetable and destructible) or find a way ( mini game?) to escape its effect by reconfiguring your deflector or something techie.



Thank you for your patience on the long post. I hope you liked my ideas and want to discuss, expand or add your own. I also hope the Devs pick on this and pass on our ideas

Archived Post

Those are great ideas and indeed, exploration need some work. Here are mine :

- Be free to select a 2, 3 or 4 men away team (and still be able to bring reinforcements if needed) : there's no need for a full group to scan blinkings

- Use skippable minigames to simulate scanning for really rare stuff, cure creation, doors unlocking, computers hacking

- Add a skill 'diplomacy' to try to negociate with the mobs who are not at war with the Federation

- Add perks in exploration. It would not allow you to buy stuff, it would just be symbolic, like the "Diplomat" perk for establishing 10 successful first contacts for instance

- Add animals and NPCs on the planets

- Make the exploration bigger

Archived Post

I'll drop in some links here and then make a more detailed response to the OP when I get the chance.

My main two suggestions have been integrating screened player created content into Exploration and adding some more astronomical/scientific content (or at least framing) in there. I'd set both as optional so people who don't want to access either don't have to.

http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=109032

http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?p=1901494

Archived Post

The problem with a few of these suggestions is that they almost defeat the purpose, from Cryptic's point of view, of creating endlessly repeatable missions from relatively limited assets. For example, we're simply not going to see, at least for a long while, a highly sophisticated program that can randomly generate different alien creatures (as they're doing with worlds). Any more limited number of creations will start seeming as repetitive as the static quest objects and an order of magnitude more difficult to design and stick into the game.

Most of the variation we're going to see in Exploration will come as copy for the mission text bubbles or a more varied mix of mission objectives and types.

However, when they need to create some specific asset for an Episode mission or raid there's no reason that thing and variations of that thing can't show up in Exploration (if only rarely).

I see Exploration as, potentially, this amazing gumbo of variety. Much of it can come from player missions. Why write suggestions onto a forum if you can just get in there and do much of it yourself? How about content from outside sources? NASA enhancing scanning missions with more meaningful visuals and text commentary. The Smithsonian doing the same for "ancient artifact" missions but comparing what's found or its function to historical cultures or archeological mysteries (much like Science characters on the shows do, right?).

This is low impact from Cryptic's point of view. They just need to work out the process and then the process will take care of itself, filling up Exploration with a huge amount of stuff.

Other suggestions, like the SS Azura crewmen angle, could add variation. That kind of option and functionality I'd very much like to see in the player mission creation tools.

Archived Post

- Add perks in exploration. It would not allow you to buy stuff, it would just be symbolic, like the "Diplomat" perk for establishing 10 successful first contacts for instance

I really like this idea Delazure. Its only fitting that the federation acknowledges such milestones.

Most of the variation we're going to see in Exploration will come as copy for the mission text bubbles or a more varied mix of mission objectives and types.

We need different objectives but not just text based. Very few people will be satisfied with that, since they dont even read mission descriptions.

I see Exploration as, potentially, this amazing gumbo of variety. Much of it can come from player missions. Why write suggestions onto a forum if you can just get in there and do much of it yourself? How about content from outside sources? NASA enhancing scanning missions with more meaningful visuals and text commentary. The Smithsonian doing the same for "ancient artifact" missions but comparing what's found or its function to historical cultures or archeological mysteries (much like Science characters on the shows do, right?).

I do not really think player generated content will be the answer to this at all. Personally if the mission format is left entirely to me (aka design and play on holodeck) I will walk. I would like to be surprised and explore the unknown. If I know what I will find then what is the fun in that? The sytem needs player ideas but the designer's implementation. Many people out there have wonderful contributions, that if summed up, Cryptic will hardly run out of scenarios or ways to improve variablility. It will be a long road, but one that will create a solid and dynamic community.