Greetings fellow Captains, mods, devs, and persons who defy description.
I had some thoughts based on my experiences with this game, and from my experiences with other games which have succeed and failed over the years. I have a vested interest in seeing this game do well both from my love for the franchise at large, and my desire to have a fun and entertaining space based MMO on the market, a niche which I hope STO can become a leader in, with some help.
I don't really want to get into a discussion of glitches, bugs, balance or anything like that, more just simple changes that are less about altering game play in any way, and more about improving what is already here.
To this end, I would really like to see a lot more transparency, both in the game and from the developers/CSMs. By transparency, I mean both communication and more direct information that is readily accessible for prospective players and dedicated ones alike.
This comes in two form, one in game, and one here on the forums.
In game play terms, Transparency would be in the form of some tweaks in both the UI and the information available via the UI itself. Some examples include, but are not limited to:
*Rather than powers listing "Effects skills such as..." Make it "effects these skills" listing all of the skills when you select the Info option as opposed to the simple mouse over. This would be a huge boon to players trying to figure out their skill paths and understanding what is going to actually help them play the way they want rather than a lot of guess work.
*Similarly, items need to be more obvious in which skills and powers they effect, both in a better label of which system parts effect, and in clarifying the names. Case in point, having the gathering nodes called Anomalies which we scan for, and also calling Rifts and gravity wells Anomalies makes a piece of equipment that offers +5 to anomalies rather confusing at first glance, especially for new players. More experienced players will know the difference, but that little bit of clarification would certainly be welcome.
*Sorting options in the Exchange would also be very welcome. For the exchange, at the very least a price sorting option would go a long way to improving it, or a price range which can help you find the best deals rather than page after page of 1million credit items. Again, not changing it, just streamlining it.
*For Bridge officers, I can suggest two clarifications: First, show us the gender of the officer in question in the mouse over/info section, as this is important to some players in getting the officers they want for various reasons. Secondly, labeling bridge officer powers that would be considered rare in the interface to make them stand out more. When searching through candidates, it is very difficult to tell what makes a Rare officer any different from a common one. Making it jump out more can help players more readily see what they are really getting.
*While we can see the limit to the number and stations for bridge officers, there is no corresponding feature to show limits to the number of ships we can have, the extra costumes or slots we can unlock, or other features which are opened up as we level. Showing us these sort of limits can help players plan better, and tells us when/where we can expect new and better things to come our way.
On the Forums side, or communication in general, having sticky threads is nice, and the dev tracker feature is nice as well, but a dedicated developer specific thread, where you can be more plain about what is being worked on would go a long way to soothing many a forum reader. Threads where only the devs can post are fine, as long as you get the information to the players can really help a lot. Tell us when things are working as intended, or when you are aware of issues, maybe in an ongoing thread so that we can see that work is happening. Not threads with replies such as "coming soon" or "when it's ready" more that there is communication that is more obvious and concise.
I hope some of these ideas strike a cord out there. As I said, I really want to see this game succeed!
TLDR crowd: More obvious information being available in and out of game would rock!
0
Comments
In regards to more information on the game's mechanics and general gameplay, that is a problem that plagued Champions. It's tutorial lacked some key info. And the forums and the wiki were the best place to get the info needed to make good, and informed gameplay choices.
I think that's definitely something Cryptic as a whole might want to work on in its future development. But everything I read from them in their posts indicates they are willing to do so and we just have to be a bit more patient and give them time to impellment things.
So keep the amazing feedback and awesome suggestions coming. I bet in 4 to 5 months we'll see some improvements that will just make this game better and better and better.