There was a problem with one of the quotes in this article:
"We already know what you think about a death penalty, Craig but The Community really thinks it's a good idea and their opinion is more valid than yours because they probably don't own goats."
that should have been:
"We already know what you think about a death penalty, Craig but The Most Vocal Minority really thinks it's a good idea and their opinion is more valid than yours because they probably don't own goats."
Don't let them win, Craig. Most players don't want this. It seems to be pretty split on the forums and the forums != the majority of players.
There was a problem with one of the sentences in your post.
Don't let them win, Craig. Most players I have talked to which most likely isn't the majority don't want this. It seems to be pretty split on the forums and the forums != the majority of players.
Nop basically what it does is you stay out of any action until you are back to 100% becuse if you failed at 100% you defeintly are not going to make it with a penalty and for those that have limited playing time waiting around would be frustrating enough as well as the added time of respawn.
Not at all,if you died say against 3 ships solo,if you managed to kill 1 of the ships before you died then when you go back in with 90% you only have 2 ships left,the enemies do not respawn.
If you died and never killed any of the ships then maybe you need better tactics/higher level and items before you should even be there in the 1st place.
I like the sound of all it, except the Death Penalty, that I can do without. They're always tedious or annoying. I'm perfectly happy with the waiting until I can hit respawn.
I have NEVER gotten into an MMO before so when I saw this one I had ALOT of doubt about it. Doubt no more!!!! the game is AWSOME and the space combat is second to none! I hope you will continue to keep us informed. Good or bad people tend to get WAY more ****ed when there are no answers or no info givin when something happens. ALL of Cryptic should be givin a BIG round of appaluse for ALL the work the teams and individules have done!!!! Live long and keep STO prospering!!!!
Enjoyed the read and I hope you can deliver in a reasonable time frame. But please have a long hard look at whether you really need to introduce a DP into this game.
From my own experiences in other MMO's, they are either time or cash sinks which just frustrate people and can actually have an adverse effect on team play. They don't necessarily make people try harder, they can actually make players try less.
If a DP is small, it will be a minor annoyance and have little effect.
If it is to big it will end up discouraging people from trying.
Reward people for success, don't punish for trying and failing.
You need to design encounters and missions that you can not complete unless teams cooperate and use their skills. Only failure to reach an objective is needed not a penalty for death.
Everything here sounds great except for the idea of a death penalty. I started playing this game to have FUN. If there are a few folks who think that loosing their points (even if they get accidentally dragged into a "deep space encounter" and are overcome) then fine. Let those few "hard core" gamers have their DP. When you add the "difficulty slider" add a setting that allows these folks to choose the DP. More importantly, it lets those of us who don't want that to continue to participate and have an enjoyable experience.
Look at from my point of view. Why would I play this game if it adds stress to my life, Now it's a way for me to relax in the evenings. If you add this "feature" then I simply don't need it any more.
I LOVE Star Trek and I have since Gene started it. So far, the game has been a great way to insert myself into that world in a way that is VERY enjoyable. The DP would end that enjoyment factor.
If you want to call it "whining" then you are welcome to do that but I will formally ask for my money back if you do this without letting me OPT OUT of DP.
I have to say that i agree with the majority of posters here. I really like the direction the game is going and I thought the state of the game report was excellent. I too, however, share deep concerns about death penalties. The game is excellent without them and one of the reasons I truly like it. I like that you can go into a tough mission and keep at it with a tenacity adn resolve tog et it done no matter how many times you die. If death is punitive then one would not want to repeat missions in the same manner and might very well give up and drop the mission all together. The game is supposed to be fun and whle I agree it should be somewhat challenging, if you amass penalties where they are not necessary than you risk massive frustration in a player who will stop playing and go play something else. Take great care when considering messing with the playability and most of all fun of the game.
Hurray for DP. Less carebare you can make this game the better, Its just too darn easy Atm.
Would be nice if we got some decent animated loading screens too, Will add to the immersion instead of those god awful static loading screens.
Would really be nice if when getting hailed in the middle of a battle if you could put a animated image of the BO in a box say on the left hand side and make it out decision if we click it to pop up the larger view screen. Its so darn irritating when they pop up in the middle of the screen especially if you have the STOP option enabled. I kill a BS, Am right next to it being escort and my style is close combat, Screen pops up, Movement stops, No time to read, Either get whacked from the explosion or click off the screen without reading it.
This needs to be addressed in some way if possible.
Great post, I would honestly love to see these more often.
I'm personally a little leery of a death penalty, as I like things as-is, but like any good Borg, I'm sure I'll adapt to whatever you guys come up with.
Agrees. The ground game is a little lacking for me in some respect, but overall I enjoy STO. Am also a little concern on the DP's, as well. I mean, are we talking about energy credits losses or what? Like other day I landed on a planet, but my landing party crew got stuck on outside of the hot zone, which indicates a buggy mission. I still went on my own to complete the mission, but I had to be respawned a couple times. Does that mean am going to lose some grades or what on my character? Hate to have it so harsh it becomes more frustrating than fun, folks. lol
You know, I feel for the devs. I really do. Having done this and other beta's and having done some development of apps and whatnot I know that :
1) The user is right, even if the logic stinks. (Really, we know what we want, even if we can't explain it)
2) The User is hardly satisfied.
3) It's always the Developers fault. (Even if <Insert cause> is to blame.)
4) It was supposed to be released yesterday.
5) The budget is always cut in half 3/4 into the cycle.
6) I really, REALLY, want to be able to play on the Tribble server..
Please keep up the good work, We are rooting for you!! Even if some of us are impatient.
With that being said. there's my three cents..
Death-Penalty.
The death-penalty is a needed evil. If there is no repercussion for not watching your damage, and your energy to allow you do handle the big epic's out there, then the game is nothing but a hack n slash that any two year old can mash buttons on.. Enough monkeys with typewriters as the saying goes.. I don't want that kind of game.. I want one that is challenging, and one where I do not have the same stats as every single <insert rank here> l out there..
I feel better knowing that I escaped with my life sitting at 2% as I blasted the Romulans out of the vacuum! If I accomplish that, I should get a reward for that.. Something that offsets a DP..
Here's an example of a good DP/Reward system:
For every kill I make that I don't die, I get a moral boost that provides me with a stat's modifier.. It's tiny .002 to .005 mod adjust.. but because I'm going kill after kill, I'm getting an additional bonus..
If I die, my moral boost is reduced, if I die again, my moral boost is reduced more. Dying takes away more than winning. Max moral boost is +25%+ or -25% depending on the fact that I keep dying.. My crew loses moral over time so my boost is negated a percentage if I'm not exploring. I also lose negative moral over time as well. (The moral system tries to constantly adjust to 0% ) say over a 72-96 hr limit real-time.
DP needs a cool off timer.. If I die within 10-15 seconds after my re spawn, it shouldn't trigger, or at least be a reduced DP.
I will say this, if the dev's DP makes me collect my hull/corpse or inventory, I'm going to be upset. Been there, done that, and I don't really want to deal with someone camping my corpse. I also don't like it when I'm drawn into in instance where everything is +5 or higher and I get nuked. .
Respec or Skill Cap Limit..
This is an fetid can of worms..
IF you let me respec, how often can i do it? Do I have to respec every single time I decide to take the science ship out for a spin, because I'm board with my heavy cruiser..
How much is the respec going to cost me?? is this going to take merits, energy credits, or alien tech?
If you drop the skill cap, your are going to have players who are going to fill their tree, get bored and either leave the game or worse, become farmers and campers.
I'm in favor of the following system for the respec issue:
Respecs are for the ship, not the person. If I step onto my science class vessel, my points would be different for the cruiser I have. If I buy a new ship, then I will have a base amount of points to spend, based on the tier of the ship I have purchased.
As I play, and my rank increases, I can spend those points how I wish. Each ship has a Tier cap. Meaning that I can't fill my points up, I have to decide what features I REALLY want.. Is it worth it to find a higher tier ship? This makes me choose my points wisely, and makes it a game of skill, and not so much as having to fill my skill points.
IF I do choose wisely, then when I compete in a zone where a rare ship is given as a reward, that has a higher Tier cap, we all know it's because I earned it..
Bridge officers would be handled the same way.. Your tactical officer could have one skill on SHIP A and another on SHIP B.. but it's all from the same amount of points. This allows the player to make the ships "Theirs".
Now, when I earn points, they don't auto-magically go to the other ships! I get my base amount of points, and other than what I EARN by running my ship..
Here's a Twist! Perhaps that higher rare tier ship has cloak? but you can't use heavy cannons because of it.. This makes the player choose the class and type of ship on the situation, and allows richer game play.
If I think I've screwed up, and want to re-do my points, my respec is from a mission, and I can only do that mission so many times, or at least the mission costs me more to do, each time.. The currency is in either rare alien tech or merits. or perhaps even a percent loss of points.. This allows one to change something they can't stand, but keeps them from being neurotic!
There is one main concern I have about the DP that I really hope is taken in to consideration - it is something many of us have faced and it would not be fair to be penalized for - Deep Space Encounters!
Ever warp in to one right in the middle of a bee hive of enemy ships or a passing fleet commander ship with its escorts? BOOM! If you dont hit the "Warp to Sector Space" button immediately you are defeated. Usualy the more powerful ships MAY get away and stay there, but that depends on if they are able to go to max impulse before the first shots are fired to get enough distance and escape the firing range.
Basically - a DP in Deep Space Encounters due to the problem I described would make me NOT ever want to do those encounters. This means that unless some fix is done to correct it, and pending the additional content, I would be a really unhappy and aggravated player because about 1/3 of the time I have to do those encounters to continue on to get to the next rank and more episode content.
Please take a look at this problem if you have not already BEFORE your Death Penalty is instituted.
Otherwise, I dont care about DP - I dont like it, but I will adopt to it and continue to enjoy STO.
Death Penalty is a waste of work as fae as I'm concerned. it's juat easier to make the missions more difficult. That would solve the easiness of the game. AND make the questlines more interesting and varied. Immersion is more important to me than having to pay for a mistake by losing either XP or inventory things, (unless the DP is an invasion of tribbles on your food supply LOL) Seriously, also make the food and other thingd ingame useful, I mean come on, that stuff is pretty well wasted inventory spavce right now.
DP would be ridiculous unless you add level restrictions to Open Instances. I popped into an Open instance in the Cardassian sector that was occupied by a Lieutenant and a low commander...the difficulty level jumped for 3 people being in it. I was the only one to survive more than 3 seconds but got wasted about 5 times before I said the heck with trying it with the noobs in there.
You think sticking your hand in a toaster is worse than deleting your character?
I think DP's should be made OPTIONAL for players and not force on all, folks. Seriously. I don't want to see other players suffer because they're overwhelmed or made gamer mistakes. I mean, are we talking respawning fees in form of energy credits losses or what here?
if I didnt know any better I could have sworn that we where being referred to as some kind of God in his State of the Game address.
Its a little unnerving -- sometimes feels like we work with a giant multi-headed feedback monster that simultaneously loves and hates us. It whips even as it hugs! It rages even as it cries! And it fumes even when it's happy. It's unnerving, yes, but pretty freakin' rad, too.
little strange to think that they may have little shrines of us up around the office and that there maybe little STO deities standing around their cubes.
Ok so its a stretch I know....but damn it how else are we supposed to intimidate the In game "Q's"
Good State of the Game address though...looking forward to the next 6 - 12 months and most defiantely when the tribble comes online.
Comments
Bläergh.
naDev tlhInganpu' tu'lu'
Qapla'!
NO NO NO DP :mad:
Not at all,if you died say against 3 ships solo,if you managed to kill 1 of the ships before you died then when you go back in with 90% you only have 2 ships left,the enemies do not respawn.
If you died and never killed any of the ships then maybe you need better tactics/higher level and items before you should even be there in the 1st place.
From my own experiences in other MMO's, they are either time or cash sinks which just frustrate people and can actually have an adverse effect on team play. They don't necessarily make people try harder, they can actually make players try less.
If a DP is small, it will be a minor annoyance and have little effect.
If it is to big it will end up discouraging people from trying.
Reward people for success, don't punish for trying and failing.
You need to design encounters and missions that you can not complete unless teams cooperate and use their skills. Only failure to reach an objective is needed not a penalty for death.
Look at from my point of view. Why would I play this game if it adds stress to my life, Now it's a way for me to relax in the evenings. If you add this "feature" then I simply don't need it any more.
I LOVE Star Trek and I have since Gene started it. So far, the game has been a great way to insert myself into that world in a way that is VERY enjoyable. The DP would end that enjoyment factor.
If you want to call it "whining" then you are welcome to do that but I will formally ask for my money back if you do this without letting me OPT OUT of DP.
Thanks for all the good but no thanks to DP.
Just look at this thread...
like thumb up, thumb down..
one time for an account for a post
Would be nice if we got some decent animated loading screens too, Will add to the immersion instead of those god awful static loading screens.
Would really be nice if when getting hailed in the middle of a battle if you could put a animated image of the BO in a box say on the left hand side and make it out decision if we click it to pop up the larger view screen. Its so darn irritating when they pop up in the middle of the screen especially if you have the STOP option enabled. I kill a BS, Am right next to it being escort and my style is close combat, Screen pops up, Movement stops, No time to read, Either get whacked from the explosion or click off the screen without reading it.
This needs to be addressed in some way if possible.
STO being easy has absolutely nothing to do with a low DP. The game itself is too easy.
Of course we all know it wont, but one can hope.
Thanks for taking the time to really get on some of the issues.
1) The user is right, even if the logic stinks. (Really, we know what we want, even if we can't explain it)
2) The User is hardly satisfied.
3) It's always the Developers fault. (Even if <Insert cause> is to blame.)
4) It was supposed to be released yesterday.
5) The budget is always cut in half 3/4 into the cycle.
6) I really, REALLY, want to be able to play on the Tribble server..
Please keep up the good work, We are rooting for you!! Even if some of us are impatient.
With that being said. there's my three cents..
Death-Penalty.
The death-penalty is a needed evil. If there is no repercussion for not watching your damage, and your energy to allow you do handle the big epic's out there, then the game is nothing but a hack n slash that any two year old can mash buttons on.. Enough monkeys with typewriters as the saying goes.. I don't want that kind of game.. I want one that is challenging, and one where I do not have the same stats as every single <insert rank here> l out there..
I feel better knowing that I escaped with my life sitting at 2% as I blasted the Romulans out of the vacuum! If I accomplish that, I should get a reward for that.. Something that offsets a DP..
Here's an example of a good DP/Reward system:
For every kill I make that I don't die, I get a moral boost that provides me with a stat's modifier.. It's tiny .002 to .005 mod adjust.. but because I'm going kill after kill, I'm getting an additional bonus..
If I die, my moral boost is reduced, if I die again, my moral boost is reduced more. Dying takes away more than winning. Max moral boost is +25%+ or -25% depending on the fact that I keep dying.. My crew loses moral over time so my boost is negated a percentage if I'm not exploring. I also lose negative moral over time as well. (The moral system tries to constantly adjust to 0% ) say over a 72-96 hr limit real-time.
DP needs a cool off timer.. If I die within 10-15 seconds after my re spawn, it shouldn't trigger, or at least be a reduced DP.
I will say this, if the dev's DP makes me collect my hull/corpse or inventory, I'm going to be upset. Been there, done that, and I don't really want to deal with someone camping my corpse. I also don't like it when I'm drawn into in instance where everything is +5 or higher and I get nuked. .
Respec or Skill Cap Limit..
This is an fetid can of worms..
IF you let me respec, how often can i do it? Do I have to respec every single time I decide to take the science ship out for a spin, because I'm board with my heavy cruiser..
How much is the respec going to cost me?? is this going to take merits, energy credits, or alien tech?
If you drop the skill cap, your are going to have players who are going to fill their tree, get bored and either leave the game or worse, become farmers and campers.
I'm in favor of the following system for the respec issue:
Respecs are for the ship, not the person. If I step onto my science class vessel, my points would be different for the cruiser I have. If I buy a new ship, then I will have a base amount of points to spend, based on the tier of the ship I have purchased.
As I play, and my rank increases, I can spend those points how I wish. Each ship has a Tier cap. Meaning that I can't fill my points up, I have to decide what features I REALLY want.. Is it worth it to find a higher tier ship? This makes me choose my points wisely, and makes it a game of skill, and not so much as having to fill my skill points.
IF I do choose wisely, then when I compete in a zone where a rare ship is given as a reward, that has a higher Tier cap, we all know it's because I earned it..
Bridge officers would be handled the same way.. Your tactical officer could have one skill on SHIP A and another on SHIP B.. but it's all from the same amount of points. This allows the player to make the ships "Theirs".
Now, when I earn points, they don't auto-magically go to the other ships! I get my base amount of points, and other than what I EARN by running my ship..
Here's a Twist! Perhaps that higher rare tier ship has cloak? but you can't use heavy cannons because of it.. This makes the player choose the class and type of ship on the situation, and allows richer game play.
If I think I've screwed up, and want to re-do my points, my respec is from a mission, and I can only do that mission so many times, or at least the mission costs me more to do, each time.. The currency is in either rare alien tech or merits. or perhaps even a percent loss of points.. This allows one to change something they can't stand, but keeps them from being neurotic!
What do you think?
Ever warp in to one right in the middle of a bee hive of enemy ships or a passing fleet commander ship with its escorts? BOOM! If you dont hit the "Warp to Sector Space" button immediately you are defeated. Usualy the more powerful ships MAY get away and stay there, but that depends on if they are able to go to max impulse before the first shots are fired to get enough distance and escape the firing range.
Basically - a DP in Deep Space Encounters due to the problem I described would make me NOT ever want to do those encounters. This means that unless some fix is done to correct it, and pending the additional content, I would be a really unhappy and aggravated player because about 1/3 of the time I have to do those encounters to continue on to get to the next rank and more episode content.
Please take a look at this problem if you have not already BEFORE your Death Penalty is instituted.
Otherwise, I dont care about DP - I dont like it, but I will adopt to it and continue to enjoy STO.
And that would have to be the most stupid post I've read on this forum. To battle a pure fact with random TRIBBLE.
Well done.
like deja vu.... OMG.... Smedley is exercising his evil influence to make this game like SWG CU!
Got a mouse in your pocket?
Speak for yourself.
No to a DP, I hate corpse runs, a la EQ....
And HELL NO! to any kind of DP like Aion...
It's why I'd say optional.
little strange to think that they may have little shrines of us up around the office and that there maybe little STO deities standing around their cubes.
Ok so its a stretch I know....but damn it how else are we supposed to intimidate the In game "Q's"
Good State of the Game address though...looking forward to the next 6 - 12 months and most defiantely when the tribble comes online.