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SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
I've given the game some time, went through majority of the missions, Didn't rush through just went casually as I would with any other game. And I've come to the conclusion this game is missing alot in some parts, I can't mention them all and others have already covered topics on those issues. But here are my own thoughts I had whilst reaching Read Admiral 5. Sorry for the wall of text in advanced, I'll be only going through some of the issues I encountered in hopes your eyes are not bleeding by the end of it.

As always with every thread based on suggestion discussion, I understand everyone has their own views on topics, Please keep your own suggestions/Criticism constructive.

Experience:
Unless it's meant to be the way it currently is, leveing is far too quick, once reaching captain it passed in no time, however extending the XP required to level would also require more missions to save the players from repetitive gameplay.

Emotes:
No interactable objects in terms of some emotes that should have interaction abilities, such as the sit function. You find yourself playing around with this emote a fair amount trying to proportion it correctly, if chairs and such were interactable, It'd solve this problem (Pre-loaded animation for sit functions on specific chairs, so your not sitting 3 feet above it because of clips)

Note: The emotes window itself needs some love, I can't put my finger on it, It just feels wrong and often emotes don't cancel each other out, which causes you to bash on new emotes until it functions.
Perhaps an extended window so that it does not require scrolling down to finally find the emote you're after.

Wildlife:
You hear them, But you never see them, unless you are required to kill it, Planets need these (Not to kill) to give the different planets its own special feel, it's as simple as having a non interact able bird flying a specific route, The little things make the game big.

The 'boxed' method:
Many missions I've gone too have clips in the way so you cannot travel any further on that particular planet.
Planets such as Risa, combat this issue nicely, Rather then placing a clip in the middle of an open field. Block it off with cliffs, water, tree's, structures etc. So it doesn't feel so obviously limited to the players.

Walking / Swimming:
Being unable to walk/swim is fine, it's not a major issue, but for many of the trek fans who role play or want to stride around with their awesome new gear don't have the option to actually just 'walk' the animation is in the game, I've seen npc's using it, would be nice to have the option.Swimming animation is non existent, for good reason, there's hardly any water you can actually step foot into on most planets (The primary resource for life) However for the planets that do have water, Walking in neck high depths of water is off-putting, the animations, sounds and interaction of the entire thing needs work.

PVP:
This issue has been addressed, readdressed then addressed again, Their simply needs to be a decent pvp system in this game, one that has meaning and value, here is my idea that does require a complete redesign of a specific sector.

The neutral zone, Rather then a sector block much like everywhere else, have it as an opened system with interactable planets for missions, space docks. (Are their planets in the neutral zone? My memory is rusty) none the less the basic idea is to have objects placed in this open system that attract players of perhaps a specific level to avoid noobie ganking, which will more then often result in open pvp conflict.

Missions for both federation and Klingon. A zone that is completely controlled by the players is missing in this game, The neutral zone should be the prime area for such a design.

This way the entire area will be one huge 'system' like feature that we see in the game, just with an extended box and more room for expansion and players to hide such as dust clouds, etc, A pvp system of this scale in this game, I personally would love to see, Neutral zone or not. Though I highly recommend that the Neutral zone be used for it. It's the perfect place and often players such as myself when I first started, will go straight to the neutral zone expecting a large system of unexpected randomised events.

Going in to the Neutral zone should have players on the edge ready for combat at any moment ground or space.

Exploration:
Another topic that has been completely exhausted with options thrown at the devs, Their needs to be more, alot more. The dev's know this, We know this, I don't think much more needs to be said, but I will continue to add my support for the expansion of exploration.


Marks/Badges:
A great part of the ongoing end-game content to STO, more attention needs to be looked at this specific area, rather then the one daily per day working towards an epic, perhaps multiple with different vendors/types.

Login screen:
This is one that just annoys me tbh, Enter key does not work to log you in, heaven forbid I should have to click 'play' when the character is selected.

Chat Panel UI:
Needs some much desired love, Colour coding for Klingon/Federation to avoid confusion.

Point by point suggestions for those with less time;

  • Interactable Objects for emotes such as sit.
  • Planetary Wildlife
  • Use objects to box planet zones in rather then clips
  • Walking/Swimming Animations implemented
  • Neutral zone open pvp System, not sector
  • More exploration
  • More marks/badge content
  • Ability to use "enter" to log in
  • Chat panel colour coded factions.



Remember Star trek always provided real education, This game has very little if at all any, Perhaps some realistic quests that require some brain work however optional to continue to keep the casual play style Cryptic prefers.

A 1993 study found that children in the U.S learned more about science from star trek then any other source.

I'll continue to add more down the road as the game develops and more content is being implemented, We all want this game to be the best it can be. Every little bit counts.

These were jotted down as I leveled to Rear Admiral, some may already be implemented without my knowledge. I apologise if that is so.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    You can turn off the auto-rolling actually :) go into controls and then turn off "double tap to roll". I have my rolling bound to shift+space.

    And for the experience.. some of us don't have that luck of fast leveling :( don't increase it please.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Lennan wrote: »
    You can turn off the auto-rolling actually :) go into controls and then turn off "double tap to roll". I have my rolling bound to shift+space.

    And for the experience.. some of us don't have that luck of fast leveling :(don't increase it please.

    Thanks :) I'll remove that suggestion, I doubt they'll add an increased XP requirement to level, as Cryptic prefer casual games. Only providing my own personal feelings on the game, if Admiral had more content, I'm sure it'd be fine the way it is at the moment, otherwise the journey's over until patches.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    "A 1993 study found that children in the U.S learned more about science from star trek then any other source."

    Thats worrying.

    But I do agree for the most part.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Gozew wrote:
    "A 1993 study found that children in the U.S learned more about science from star trek then any other source."

    Thats worrying.

    But I do agree for the most part.

    it is indeed, but also shows the huge responsibility the series had to keep up with.

    I do wish to continue to push the idea of open pvp in the neutral zone as a system rather then sector space, that will ensure always something new to have a zone dedicated to the events caused by players themselves during missions/quests. both on planets and off. Docking stations could provide a safe-zone area where pvp is disabled.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    You can walk by typing "/walk 1" in to chat :D and them some good points.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    You can walk by typing "/walk 1" in to chat :D and them some good points.

    Thanks for that :) I had no idea, Needs to be an option for a key bind though (Unless you can and I haven't discovered it yet)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    There is a key bind for it.. but you have to hold it down, which is quite bleh.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    wlking in useless though, but the pvp sugestion is really nice.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Gozew wrote:
    "A 1993 study found that children in the U.S learned more about science from star trek then any other source."

    Thats worrying.

    But I do agree for the most part.

    Actually it isn't that worrying at all, in-fact there have been hundreds of studies that have all pointed to the fact that learning (in-particular children) is increased when done in an enjoyable environment.
    Star Trek is a very good way of teaching children because they enjoy watching it, as such more of what is taught tends to be remembered bettered than stuff they sit down an labouriously study.

    Traditionally games that promote learning also end up being extremely dull, which to me completely misses the entire point. If on the other hand you include objectives in a way that they don't necssarily need to be done in order to complete the mission but will greatly help your success; let's say for example there are a bunch of guards outside of building you need to get in to, but they're all standing next to some crates wth potassium on them and there is a small stream nearby ... which bad guys tend to make TRIBBLE storage mean, hell most keep TNT with barrels made out of fuses lol

    Point is Cryptic could then have one of the away team make suggestions when you got close enough to such a side objective; like "I'm detecting those crates have potassium inside them, if we could somehow re-direct that river it might cause a distraction that will allow us to get inside easier" but leave the play to figure out how to achieve such an objective say actually using the physics system past simple debris so you could shoot a tree to damn up the river and cause it to overflow or puttiing rocks in it to redirect it; point is this would be a fantastic way of teaching practical solutions with real science they'd recognise from science class.

    It would be an entertaining way of teaching, as well as keeping some nice touches from Star Trek itself.
    Even if no one really learnt anything from such experiences, it would end up adding some much needed depth.

    As it stands the OP is right, experience especially once you hit Commander is just too easy to earn; this isn't to say simply reduce the experience given because this would compound on the other issue that you cannot do nothing but missions to level. As it stands Deep Space Encounters are just pure grind-fests, with the later ones being extremely difficult and buggy especially if you're on your own because of low server population. Exploration missions are already pretty good, but I think we all know they could stand to get some improvement to keep them interesting. As it stands the different types of mission available are quite predictable and don't really change from Rank to Rank except for tougher enemies.

    You have:
    Scan 5 Anomolies
    Scan 5 Derelict Ships for Weapons Fire
    Scan 5 Derelict Ships for Weapons Fire (with 1 Enemy Group per Ship)
    Defeat 5 Enemy Groups across System
    Defend a base from 4 Waves of Enemies Groups and a Battleship
    Scan 5 Items (Cacoons, Rocks, Flowers tend to be the usual suspects)
    Scan and Fix 5 Alien Artifacts
    Scan and Fix 5 Alien Artifacts (with 1 Enemy Group per Artifact)
    Provide 10 Commodities to a Planet
    Beam to a base to recieve data from 3 random computer terminals, with enemy groups appearing after you activate the first or just being there from the start.

    And that literally is about all of them, and if many of you who haven't done exploration think these mission objectives sound familiar they are also used but often become more interesting as you rank up on Patrol Missions; most Patrols include atleast 1 "Scan 5 of something" and 1 "Destroy 5 Enemy Groups" missions.

    I mean the most instant thing that springs to mind with missions would be the introduction of mini-games.
    Hacking, Power Re-Routing, Data Reconstruction, Molecular Analysis, etc... if these were added along with environment concerns and maybe different methods for dealing with the objective in-hand (for example the Scan & Fix objective... well maybe an alternative is just blow it up)

    This would make the missions more interesting on the whole, but there are more possibilities for mission scenarios that could be stacked in a modular way. For example Terrorists, Negotiations, Damaged Equippment in need of Repair, etc... Stuff that makes you feel like the universe even the generated parts is a bit more living and breathing.

    I know that in the end the WoW-Style players will probably win out on what content is added, with their limited attention spans really meaning anything past a Kill or Collect mission confusing them; but would be nice if at this early stage we could see those of us who don't mind using our brains to play a game get a chance to do so. Challenge in a game doesn't always need to come from something being higher level, but situation and location.

    Mass Effect 2 achieves this extremely well with it's side missions and exploration missions. Alright so there is a bit more of a deeper story there, which honestly I think the whole "gain loyalty from your crew" would translate seemlessly to STO and make you feel more attached to those under your command rather than them being merely ability pawns. Still the point remains that Mass 2 provided hours of entertainment without it getting boring, and that is with content that probably isn't going to change greatly in over the next year.

    It's simply things such as, rather than anomolies you scanned planets for resources. It was actually a pretty entertaining way of gathering resources as well, I spent a good 45minutes on one planet once without even realising it because I found a small amount of the rare Element Zero.

    Mass Effect 2 is designed as a quick'n'action packed RPG, where-as MMO players often are far more in for the long haul gameplay. There are many things that could be translated between the two.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Suggestion from another Admiral: GIVE US OUR MONEY BACK! :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Enscar wrote: »

    A 1993 study found that children in the U.S learned more about science from star trek then any other source.

    As a teacher this picked my curiosity. What exactly did children learn about science by hearing phrases like "Captain, the multiphasic pulse resonator is out of sync, I need to compensate by aligning the induction coil."

    Or looking at a spaceship sitting close to a black hole without being torn to miniscule pieces....

    I am a Trekkie, but saying that Star Trek has any educational value is too much.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts, hopefully it will inspire developers.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Enscar wrote: »
    I've given the game some time, went through majority of the missions, Didn't rush through just went casually as I would with any other game. And I've come to the conclusion this game is missing alot in some parts, I can't mention them all and others have already covered topics on those issues. But here are my own thoughts I had whilst reaching Read Admiral 5. Sorry for the wall of text in advanced, I'll be only going through some of the issues I encountered in hopes your eyes are not bleeding by the end of it.

    As always with every thread based on suggestion discussion, I understand everyone has their own views on topics, Please keep your own suggestions/Criticism constructive.

    Experience:
    Unless it's meant to be the way it currently is, leveing is far too quick, once reaching captain it passed in no time, however extending the XP required to level would also require more missions to save the players from repetitive gameplay.

    Emotes:
    No interactable objects in terms of some emotes that should have interaction abilities, such as the sit function. You find yourself playing around with this emote a fair amount trying to proportion it correctly, if chairs and such were interactable, It'd solve this problem (Pre-loaded animation for sit functions on specific chairs, so your not sitting 3 feet above it because of clips)

    Note: The emotes window itself needs some love, I can't put my finger on it, It just feels wrong and often emotes don't cancel each other out, which causes you to bash on new emotes until it functions.
    Perhaps an extended window so that it does not require scrolling down to finally find the emote you're after.

    Wildlife:
    You hear them, But you never see them, unless you are required to kill it, Planets need these (Not to kill) to give the different planets its own special feel, it's as simple as having a non interact able bird flying a specific route, The little things make the game big.

    The 'boxed' method:
    Many missions I've gone too have clips in the way so you cannot travel any further on that particular planet.
    Planets such as Risa, combat this issue nicely, Rather then placing a clip in the middle of an open field. Block it off with cliffs, water, tree's, structures etc. So it doesn't feel so obviously limited to the players.

    Walking / Swimming:
    Being unable to walk/swim is fine, it's not a major issue, but for many of the trek fans who role play or want to stride around with their awesome new gear don't have the option to actually just 'walk' the animation is in the game, I've seen npc's using it, would be nice to have the option.Swimming animation is non existent, for good reason, there's hardly any water you can actually step foot into on most planets (The primary resource for life) However for the planets that do have water, Walking in neck high depths of water is off-putting, the animations, sounds and interaction of the entire thing needs work.

    PVP:
    This issue has been addressed, readdressed then addressed again, Their simply needs to be a decent pvp system in this game, one that has meaning and value, here is my idea that does require a complete redesign of a specific sector.

    The neutral zone, Rather then a sector block much like everywhere else, have it as an opened system with interactable planets for missions, space docks. (Are their planets in the neutral zone? My memory is rusty) none the less the basic idea is to have objects placed in this open system that attract players of perhaps a specific level to avoid noobie ganking, which will more then often result in open pvp conflict.

    Missions for both federation and Klingon. A zone that is completely controlled by the players is missing in this game, The neutral zone should be the prime area for such a design.

    This way the entire area will be one huge 'system' like feature that we see in the game, just with an extended box and more room for expansion and players to hide such as dust clouds, etc, A pvp system of this scale in this game, I personally would love to see, Neutral zone or not. Though I highly recommend that the Neutral zone be used for it. It's the perfect place and often players such as myself when I first started, will go straight to the neutral zone expecting a large system of unexpected randomised events.

    Going in to the Neutral zone should have players on the edge ready for combat at any moment ground or space.

    Exploration:
    Another topic that has been completely exhausted with options thrown at the devs, Their needs to be more, alot more. The dev's know this, We know this, I don't think much more needs to be said, but I will continue to add my support for the expansion of exploration.


    Marks/Badges:
    A great part of the ongoing end-game content to STO, more attention needs to be looked at this specific area, rather then the one daily per day working towards an epic, perhaps multiple with different vendors/types.

    Login screen:
    This is one that just annoys me tbh, Enter key does not work to log you in, heaven forbid I should have to click 'play' when the character is selected.

    Chat Panel UI:
    Needs some much desired love, Colour coding for Klingon/Federation to avoid confusion.

    Point by point suggestions for those with less time;

    • Interactable Objects for emotes such as sit.
    • Planetary Wildlife
    • Use objects to box planet zones in rather then clips
    • Walking/Swimming Animations implemented
    • Neutral zone open pvp System, not sector
    • More exploration
    • More marks/badge content
    • Ability to use "enter" to log in
    • Chat panel colour coded factions.



    Remember Star trek always provided real education, This game has very little if at all any, Perhaps some realistic quests that require some brain work however optional to continue to keep the casual play style Cryptic prefers.

    A 1993 study found that children in the U.S learned more about science from star trek then any other source.

    I'll continue to add more down the road as the game develops and more content is being implemented, We all want this game to be the best it can be. Every little bit counts.

    These were jotted down as I leveled to Rear Admiral, some may already be implemented without my knowledge. I apologise if that is so.

    For once a constructive post. I think you hit the nail on the head with a lot of your points.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I use an xbox 360 controller to run around and interact. The great thing about the controller is that the game recognises gentle pushes on the direction thumb stick and will make the character walk if you only push it slightly. You only run when you push the stick the full way. Just FYI
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I agree with the op 100% except you can walk just type /walk 01-09 and you will walk although your gate is ugly the animation is poor. cant believe a game made in 09 did not use motion cap.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Enscar wrote: »
    Thanks :) I'll remove that suggestion, I doubt they'll add an increased XP requirement to level, as Cryptic prefer casual games. Only providing my own personal feelings on the game, if Admiral had more content, I'm sure it'd be fine the way it is at the moment, otherwise the journey's over until patches.

    They can't increse the XP to level without also automatically give people more skill points to play around with, since Skill Points = XP in a 1:1 ratio in this game. I'm pretty sure they will have a ton of problems on their hands when they decide to increase the level cap. :)
    For the same reason they can't remove the skill cap either (like a lot of people ask for). Because if they did that now, and then later increase the lvl cap... well, I think you can see the problem. :)

    Personally I would like to see a total redesign of the skill system, because honestly, it's not that exciting.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Thanks for the positive replies, I'm hoping Cryptic show attention to the pvp idea, I'd enjoy that style of pvp in STO.

    The walk feature I only just found out from a helpful poster after I made this thread, Sorry for my lack of information on that one. 360 controller sounds like a great idea, I've been looking at getting one for this game.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Enscar wrote: »
    Thanks for the positive replies, I'm hoping Cryptic show attention to the pvp idea, I'd enjoy that style of pvp in STO.

    The walk feature I only just found out from a helpful poster after I made this thread, Sorry for my lack of information on that one. 360 controller sounds like a great idea, I've been looking at getting one for this game.

    I do to- but if costs captain Noobkirk one credit or two minutes of playtime it won't happen. That's the way Cryptic rolls on the subject of PVP.

    I've said it before and I'll say it again- a game is doomed to failure unless it can get its PVP game straight. No PVP means no endgame, unless you have a massive long term raiding/grind system (like WOW)., and even then WOW was required to upgrade its PVP game to keep its population.

    Like any other business endeavor, 80% of your success comes from 20% of your customers.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Inviegle wrote: »
    I do to- but if costs captain Noobkirk one credit or two minutes of playtime it won't happen. That's the way Cryptic rolls on the subject of PVP.

    I've said it before and I'll say it again- a game is doomed to failure unless it can get its PVP game straight. No PVP means no endgame, unless you have a massive long term raiding/grind system (like WOW)., and even then WOW was required to upgrade its PVP game to keep its population.

    Like any other business endeavor, 80% of your success comes from 20% of your customers.

    I agree with you. But I'm in hopes that Cryptic alter their views for this particular game, as it requires one to think outside the box. Any company should of known that when taking on the challenge of STO
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    If we get enough positive responses towards a better PVP system, or any other suggestions. I'm sure Cryptic will look at implementing those ideas into the game, It's our job as the community to show our support on ideas to place in the game and we may very well see them a few months down the track with later expansions.
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