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Explore strange, new, worlds...

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
So I'm just wondering and this has probably been beaten like a dead horse. But, when are we going to get to explore more than 2 sq km of land? Champions had HUGE, vast, areas to run around in. There certainly is a lot of space to be had. But the ground is sadly, lacking. I honestly, came into this game with the idea that I was going to get to see planets. And not just go talk to a few miners because they're mad that the holodeck isn't working. And get to explore the planets. As i said, not just a few sq km of ground scanning a moth pod.

I love the space. It's my cup of tea for this kind of battling. But please, give us more ground. I know it's out there, let me explore it.
Post edited by Unknown User on

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  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    There are a couple of important questions here.

    1. What would you do with that much land? Would walking through endless amounts of jungle do anything for you? Or do you mean that you want full planets AND quests associated with exploring those planets?

    2. How would you go about moving around a large planet? Do you beam from part to part? Do you walk? Do you use some sort of non-canonical ground transportation?

    I agree that more immersive environments would be a boon to exploration missions -- however, I don't think that adding huge, vast areas is the way to go. Adding interesting, dynamic, unique smaller areas, and adding a lot of them -- I think that would accomplish the game theoretical goals, without having to deal with the questions I posed.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    1. Uh, just for clarification, I never said that the ground had to be anywhere near the size of Champions. I merely used it as a reference to the scope that "could" be used. You don't have to have a reason to look around. No reason other than exploration is needed. I'm not talking about making huge, bland, lifeless planets, that only have jungles, as you say, to run around in. Make it new civilizations to find and co-mingle with. But, yes you can make episodes to go along with that. Make, gasp, exploration episodes. Or, here's a novel idea, make player made episodes happen, along with your regular run of the mill scan fifty bazillion plants ad nauseum. Champions did a very good job, as did CoX, for exploration. In fact they made them part of the game by rewarding you for exploring. Gasp maybe make ground like space!?!?! Is this madness I'm speaking??? Not at all. Just don't let the ground suffer and be overshadowed by the space.

    2. Just because it's not in the almighty canon does it mean it wasn't there. If you look around at say a game that had shuttle ports in it, ala Star Wars Galaxies, you didn't have to move out of the realm of canon. How do you think they got around on a lot of planets? It wasn't always by beaming down. There were times they used shuttle craft to land on a planet. No reason you couldn't have some sort of transport network as such in STO. Who is to say that a new civilization doesn't have an already existing transport system? I'm pretty sure that not all civilizations were in the stone age so to speak. Make episodes that unlock more episodes to outposts that have transporters in them. Make a small shuttle port at said outposts to mix it up a bit. You could make it so that when you are done with an episode you can transport back to the outpost, nothing in canon said that transports only worked up and down. Or do the old fashion thing and, yes, walk.

    There's about a bazillion ways you could answer your questions and come up with ways to make larger planets. There is absolutely no reason to have small areas to work in.

    "Space... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before."
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    reedii69 wrote: »
    There's about a bazillion ways you could answer your questions and come up with ways to make larger planets. There is absolutely no reason to have small areas to work in.

    I can think of three, beaming, air transportation, ground transportation, what would the other 999999997 ways be?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Medwynd wrote: »
    I can think of three, beaming, air transportation, ground transportation, what would the other 999999997 ways be?
    I was obviously being a smart TRIBBLE thanks very much...Oh I did forget donkey on a tightrope. But that's kind of air and ground transport.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Exploration is obviously one of the big disappointment for many players. Zinc said that during the coming year, they plan to improve it. Let's hope he's talking about improving it dramatically.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    ...To seek out new bugs and glitches...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Bigger areas can be awesome. One of the most enjoyable experiences in gaming I've ever had was running around exploring planets in SWG and exploring in general in Asherons Call. These were both much more expansive games which producers no longer seem to want to make but they were very fun. Random encounters and such have value. Being able to feel like your in a huge world has value. Playing a space game that feels like your cramped into a solar system is not quite the feel of Startrek I would have expected.

    I've gone to several planets hoping to be able to run around exploring. So far there has been no areas I've seen large enough to take any time at all or interesting enough to be fun. I did find a planet with a beach full of Sun Bathers. That was interesting but I still don't know what it's there for, no that it has to be there for any reason but to fill up the universe. Klingons don't have sun bathers Na na na naaa na :eek: oooh wait now I'm a Klingon :(

    Whatever mean or disgruntaled thing anyone can say about Cryptic, these talented people can make darn good Sunbathers and I for one appreciate their attention to detail and devotion to using a complete palete.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Little did they know, every planet was full of tightly clustered groups of enemies who all want to kill you and nothing more :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    The patch that introduces "New never before seen worlds! True exploration! What races will you find? Literally a million possibilities!"

    Will actually mean a new cube to fly in with twists added to existing mission templates. The mix 'n' match mission generator has a couple new variables.

    Lol.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    DieScream wrote: »
    The patch that introduces "New never before seen worlds! True exploration! What races will you find? Literally a million possibilities!"

    Will actually mean a new cube to fly in with twists added to existing mission templates. The mix 'n' match mission generator has a couple new variables.

    Lol.

    Rofl, I have a feeling you may of hit the nail on the head with the details of the exploration expansion, unfortunately.

    "Go here and scan these anomalies with new icons!!"
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Enscar wrote: »
    Rofl, I have a feeling you may of hit the nail on the head with the details of the exploration expansion, unfortunately.

    "Go here and scan these anomalies with new icons!!"

    Long as I gets me some phat L00ts ....from scanning that flower that is obviously a metallic structure.:rolleyes:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Didn't SWG release with about 7 or 8 planets total and no space game whatsoever?

    Doesn't anyone see the utter impracticality of designing an infinite stream of massive, empty worlds for our avatars to run around, carry out a mission, then never see again?

    Even in games like SWG and Champions, didn't the sum total of interaction with the environment consist of target this mob, click here to defuse this bomb/put down this factory/harvest this bone? People act as if MMOs have a long history of Shakespearean plot and Dickensian characterization when really we have been working with the same tried and true kill/click/collect model since Abe Vigoda was a wee babe.

    The genesis system is actually one of the areas with the most potential for STO. Sure, right now it doesn't have enough mission variables to make it interesting but provided Cryptic continues work on the system it could deliver more of Trek's iconic moments. Even with just what we have now the planets themselves have a great more variability than we'd get if designers had to sit down and build each from scratch.

    Lastly, most of the planets visited in Star Trek were one-offs, where the crew solved a particular issue or interacted with a culture for about 45 minutes then never saw them again. The story, the sets, the strangeness and the newness of these worlds was only ever shallowly observed. I think that's what Cryptic's aiming for and I think that's a smarter use of their time.
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