1. You are apparently overextended from your success
2. All other big MMOGs have vital moddings communities too
In detail
1. seems so you "accidently" made a great MMOG, number 2 after WoW. And that's your problem. Your unexpected great success does simply overextend you. For e.g. the fact you still didn't change market sorting from date to price sorting although players desperatly begged for this shows clearly how overextended you are.
Same with all the other UI- and control-requests, you ignore them because too much other things to do and this will stay for months.
Simple solution: Let the community do the job, move the UI files from the server to the client and we will solve all problems and fulfil all wishes with our power.
2. WoW, EQ2, Vanguard, AoC and all the other big MMOGs have great modding communities too, it's simply state of the art for a big MMOG like STO to have UI-modding. You can be sure that this demand will come over and over and over again so please don't block it. STO will be your Gold-TRIBBLE if you do it right and doing it right means allow UI-modding.
easier to expose certain elements through an API than to try to satisfy everyone's personal preferences with your own code... not possible --- edit- not easy
Allowing UI mods helps to develop the community, as individuals feel a greater attachment and ownership of the game, especially after having invested time to get their UI just right.
Allowing UI mods helps to develop the community, as individuals feel a greater attachment and ownership of the game, especially after having invested time to get their UI just right.
Agreed, it goes from me playing your game to playing our game.
The great/big/giant Star Trek + MMO fan/user base is sitting in your lap, teetering in your hands, whatever you want to call it.
It's all right here, man, and you've got it. If it feels like you're pinching off any part of that or those two universes together and the possibilities they contain, then you will pinch off your success -- as simple as that.
We, the Star Trek community, are giving you something -- and we're looking carefully to see if you're big enough to bear the weight. [Pardon to members of the community if I'm putting words in your mouth].
I imagine that you already know all this, but it is the number one thing -- that faith -- and it bears repeating.
So, yeah, open up the U.I.
You want to be the PC (and leverage all that fan power) or you want to be the Mac (and try to dictate to us what should be the Star Trek experience)?
Who has the bigger market share?
By the way, love you, total fanboi (just awed to be here) kiss-kiss.
i would like to see ui modding as im not keen on the current ui its a bit to bulkey for my taste and i would love to make a new UI one thing ive noticed in every interview cryptic has said they will listen to the comunitey and if the majoritey want something and its doabul and fun still they will get it done
I would estimate at least 80% of the comunitey want this by looking through other threads so please practice what your preeching and if its on the way let us know so we dont have to keep begging for it
If every MMO HAD to copy one thing from WoW then the addon customization should be it.
It adds another layer to the existing game that you have to pay relativly little for
You have your customers work for you... for free
You get the collective creativity and imagination of all the trekkies... seriously, if you could harness this we'd have achieved lightspeed by now.
You take the strain off your UI design team - Let the players make their own UIs and maybe institue some of the better ones as options in the official UI
You increase the community, personalization, and attachement that people feel for the game.
You still have 100% control over what goes in or comes out of the game. Don't like a mod? Ban the function.
People really want options, it's even one of your business designs. Give them the ability to create their own options.
I mean even a limited UI modding sceen would make a lot of people very happy. The first 3 mods I see everyone making are:
Taking out all the random TRIBBLE from Sector Space
Removing the shield indicators around the ships
Combining the mission screen and the map screen for easier travel
I really hope for more 'modding' ability as well. Granted, for the most part I like the current UI. There are a few 'glitches' that need to be fixed but overall it is pretty good.
However, I do like to be able to change things that we cant currently change. I'm not interested in changing the UI graphics but I'm sure some folks are.
What I want:
Ability to resize ANY UI window/object.
Expand and disconnect toolbars from eachother
Horizontal and/or Vertical Hotbars
Chat 'Tabs' that can be pulled out into a separate chat window.
Area and Galaxy Map waypoints/notes
More keybind options
/signed - mostly because I dislike the very limited amount of native customization to the UI.
Dear Cryptic (and MODers),
Usually when one thinks of a gamer, they envision a very nimble-fingered, sharp-eyed person. Do I fit that bill? Nope! Im a half-blind, monkey-pawed person who is finding that the very limited customization of STOs UI severely hampering to the fun factor, especially as I advance in levels and have more things to manage. MODs could help with this... OR, alternatively, the STO basic UI could have greater customization... either would really increase my enjoyment of the game.
Things that Id like to see from either a MOD or STO:
Scalable/Hide options for the Ships Weapons
Scalable Team Status (smaller or larger)
Scalable Personal Status (smaller or larger)
Vertical/Horizontal options of Ships Throttle
Scalable Ship Throttle (smaller or larger)
Vertical/Horizontal options of Personal Tray
Detached Personal Tray bars (3 trays = 3 bars at different locations around the HUD)
Scalable Ship Hull, Shield and Crew Status (smaller)
Scalable/Hide options Ship Power Level
Ability to have 3 Personal Trays, Ship Weapons, and Bridge Crew up all at the same time
Scalable Bridge Crew
I'll go ahead and say that this wont happen, because in the years CoH has been out they haven't done it. This tells me it's more than likely not possible with the current engine. We must also consider how fundamentally broken many key aspects of the game are. Adding new major features is not something I want to see when the game has major flaws even now.
I'll go ahead and say that this wont happen, because in the years CoH has been out they haven't done it. This tells me it's more than likely not possible with the current engine. We must also consider how fundamentally broken many key aspects of the game are. Adding new major features is not something I want to see when the game has major flaws even now.
The key is, with an UI sandbox, addon authors can FIX many of the problems in their addons...and then Cryptic can incorporate the fixes into the vanilla UI...thats the way Blizzard does it with WOW...the best addon features eventually get incorporated into the game.
And if it was implemented as addons/plugins, each user could pick and choose which setups he wants to try, until he finds the one that matches his playstyle.
Personally, if its possible then I think it should be implemented. Its next to impossible to make a UI that will cater to every single player and it also removes some of the pressure on Dev Resources to try and accommodate many of the requests.
I'll go ahead and say that this wont happen, because in the years CoH has been out they haven't done it. This tells me it's more than likely not possible with the current engine. We must also consider how fundamentally broken many key aspects of the game are. Adding new major features is not something I want to see when the game has major flaws even now.
If they put a UI into the game, then it's possible to mod it.
Personally, I'd love to see some UI customization added. The game sorely needs it, but if there's one reason why it can't be done, I'd have to attribute it to IP. Sure it was one of WoW's best features, but blizzard owns the warcraft IP. it's theirs. For Cryptic, there may be some issue with their CBS overlords. The execs may not want us to make hello kitty themed UI's. Or how about the first person that mods his power distribution bars to look like lightsabers or something? We want it, cryptic may even want to give it to us, it may not be wholly up to them though.
Don't really see how modding could threaten the Star Trek brand... simply don't expose the parts of the API that might be brand-sensitive (such as the appearance of ships, Star Trek logos, ect).
What a sensibly controlled but reasonably powerful modding API can do is turn a passionate fan base into a massive engine for innovation at very little cost to the company.
I wholly agree. Checking out new UI mods is one of the things that keeps WoW fresh. It is an activity that keeps people enthused about the game even when they aren't actually playing it. A player that has something new to look at after a year (and has control of it, no less!) is less likely to get bored -- and less likely to unsubscribe as a result.
The customer is entertained, somebody else did the work, and Cryptic gets the money.
About 15 years ago I started running a hobby game store -- now I run a chain of them. It is absolute truth that what keeps a product line selling for years after its introduction is not the smiling faces of your employees -- it's the volunteer enthusiast that donates his time to keep it alive. If I lost all my employees, I'd be sad but I could replace them. If I lost all of my volunteers, then for each one, a line of products would stop selling.
If you give the creative enthusiast an opportunity, he will spread his enthusiasm to others. If you tell him to shut up and stop bugging you about running a game, he'll go elsewhere and someone else will reap the benefits of his motivation.
If you give the creative enthusiast an opportunity, he will spread his enthusiasm to others. If you tell him to shut up and stop bugging you about running a game, he'll go elsewhere and someone else will reap the benefits of his motivation.
I think this is something that someday everybody will figure out -- world first (for the creatives); elements in that world second.
/signed.
So much about the default ui in this game bugs me. WoW spoiled me with what it let's you do with your ui (even though i mostly ran the default). So many what i consider to be fundamentals for a ui, detachable and movable chat panes, 5+ action bars scalable and configurable in the horizontal or vertical plus a bunch of other stuff that's already been mentioned.
Please, please let the talented players that enjoy doing this type of thing make the game better for all of us.
The biggest reason they should add at least HUD customization is:
The controls in Star Trek (the actual panels used by TNG onward) are user-customizable! We know this because there was one episode where someone else was temporarily in command and complained that a given workstation wasn't using a "standard configuration"
Comments
easier to expose certain elements through an API than to try to satisfy everyone's personal preferences with your own code... not possible --- edit- not easy
Allowing UI mods helps to develop the community, as individuals feel a greater attachment and ownership of the game, especially after having invested time to get their UI just right.
Agreed, it goes from me playing your game to playing our game.
The great/big/giant Star Trek + MMO fan/user base is sitting in your lap, teetering in your hands, whatever you want to call it.
It's all right here, man, and you've got it. If it feels like you're pinching off any part of that or those two universes together and the possibilities they contain, then you will pinch off your success -- as simple as that.
We, the Star Trek community, are giving you something -- and we're looking carefully to see if you're big enough to bear the weight. [Pardon to members of the community if I'm putting words in your mouth].
I imagine that you already know all this, but it is the number one thing -- that faith -- and it bears repeating.
So, yeah, open up the U.I.
You want to be the PC (and leverage all that fan power) or you want to be the Mac (and try to dictate to us what should be the Star Trek experience)?
Who has the bigger market share?
By the way, love you, total fanboi (just awed to be here) kiss-kiss.
i would like to see ui modding as im not keen on the current ui its a bit to bulkey for my taste and i would love to make a new UI one thing ive noticed in every interview cryptic has said they will listen to the comunitey and if the majoritey want something and its doabul and fun still they will get it done
I would estimate at least 80% of the comunitey want this by looking through other threads so please practice what your preeching and if its on the way let us know so we dont have to keep begging for it
As an addon author for WOW, I also concur. Release a limited "UI sandbox" like WOW did, and release the hounds!
I mean even a limited UI modding sceen would make a lot of people very happy. The first 3 mods I see everyone making are:
Do those really sound too bad?
However, I do like to be able to change things that we cant currently change. I'm not interested in changing the UI graphics but I'm sure some folks are.
What I want:
Ability to resize ANY UI window/object.
Expand and disconnect toolbars from eachother
Horizontal and/or Vertical Hotbars
Chat 'Tabs' that can be pulled out into a separate chat window.
Area and Galaxy Map waypoints/notes
More keybind options
10Char
Dear Cryptic (and MODers),
Usually when one thinks of a gamer, they envision a very nimble-fingered, sharp-eyed person. Do I fit that bill? Nope! Im a half-blind, monkey-pawed person who is finding that the very limited customization of STOs UI severely hampering to the fun factor, especially as I advance in levels and have more things to manage. MODs could help with this... OR, alternatively, the STO basic UI could have greater customization... either would really increase my enjoyment of the game.
Things that Id like to see from either a MOD or STO:
Scalable/Hide options for the Ships Weapons
Scalable Team Status (smaller or larger)
Scalable Personal Status (smaller or larger)
Vertical/Horizontal options of Ships Throttle
Scalable Ship Throttle (smaller or larger)
Vertical/Horizontal options of Personal Tray
Detached Personal Tray bars (3 trays = 3 bars at different locations around the HUD)
Scalable Ship Hull, Shield and Crew Status (smaller)
Scalable/Hide options Ship Power Level
Ability to have 3 Personal Trays, Ship Weapons, and Bridge Crew up all at the same time
Scalable Bridge Crew
"Cry havoc and let slip the mods of Trek!"
The key is, with an UI sandbox, addon authors can FIX many of the problems in their addons...and then Cryptic can incorporate the fixes into the vanilla UI...thats the way Blizzard does it with WOW...the best addon features eventually get incorporated into the game.
And if it was implemented as addons/plugins, each user could pick and choose which setups he wants to try, until he finds the one that matches his playstyle.
Side note, I miss WIM (WoW Instant Messenger)....
If they put a UI into the game, then it's possible to mod it.
Personally, I'd love to see some UI customization added. The game sorely needs it, but if there's one reason why it can't be done, I'd have to attribute it to IP. Sure it was one of WoW's best features, but blizzard owns the warcraft IP. it's theirs. For Cryptic, there may be some issue with their CBS overlords. The execs may not want us to make hello kitty themed UI's. Or how about the first person that mods his power distribution bars to look like lightsabers or something? We want it, cryptic may even want to give it to us, it may not be wholly up to them though.
What a sensibly controlled but reasonably powerful modding API can do is turn a passionate fan base into a massive engine for innovation at very little cost to the company.
The customer is entertained, somebody else did the work, and Cryptic gets the money.
About 15 years ago I started running a hobby game store -- now I run a chain of them. It is absolute truth that what keeps a product line selling for years after its introduction is not the smiling faces of your employees -- it's the volunteer enthusiast that donates his time to keep it alive. If I lost all my employees, I'd be sad but I could replace them. If I lost all of my volunteers, then for each one, a line of products would stop selling.
If you give the creative enthusiast an opportunity, he will spread his enthusiasm to others. If you tell him to shut up and stop bugging you about running a game, he'll go elsewhere and someone else will reap the benefits of his motivation.
I think this is something that someday everybody will figure out -- world first (for the creatives); elements in that world second.
So much about the default ui in this game bugs me. WoW spoiled me with what it let's you do with your ui (even though i mostly ran the default). So many what i consider to be fundamentals for a ui, detachable and movable chat panes, 5+ action bars scalable and configurable in the horizontal or vertical plus a bunch of other stuff that's already been mentioned.
Please, please let the talented players that enjoy doing this type of thing make the game better for all of us.
i 100% agree on that we need a moddable UI.
It wimake this game so much better already. it really helped people out in games like WoW etc etc
The controls in Star Trek (the actual panels used by TNG onward) are user-customizable! We know this because there was one episode where someone else was temporarily in command and complained that a given workstation wasn't using a "standard configuration"
I know Cryptic devs have a million things on their plates. Why not let a talented and willing developer base help make this game really fly?
I would rather see Cryptic work on CONTENT. Especially end game.
Just my two cents.