I think that we should be able to control the ship from the bridge, seeing the other ship on the view screen. That would have a more Star Trek feel to some people who want to do it sometimes. Or perhaps just fly it around sometimes. Would that be extremely hard to do or could you add that feature in?
It's unknown if Cryptic could ever come up with a work around for the instancing issue as it currently exists right now.
Perhaps a blending of the existing bridge and character models into a form of interactive space combat UI? You might not be able to move your Avatar in combat mode, but it might be something they could lock the camera into?
I'm totally setting myself up for some flames, but I'm not really dead-set on flying the ship from the bridge in this game. In fact, I don't think its going to be as fun as people think it will be - or even possible. There's a lot of issues with it, which I'll point out now:
#1 - Implementation will be very, very difficult, especially with the instancing system in this game.
#2 - Interface-wise, how would you fight on the bridge? Combat in Star Trek was cool for TV but otherwise incredibly unlikely. Trying to fight a warship using a 160 degree view at any one time would be almost impossible. Instead, you'd probably be forced to use some sort of symbology system (think Jane's Fleet Command). That takes away the "cool" factor of flying your ship in space. It also takes away the main (unintended) communication system between ships in the middle of heated battle - follow the ship that looks like it knows what its doing.
#3 - Interaction with crew - I don't know what you'll expect to happen in the middle of combat, but I doubt that your bridge officers are going to be as awesome as you think they will be. "Incoming torpedoes!" "Firing phasers!" "Damage to decks 3-5!" Based on the fact that we're engaged in combat at a hilariously high rate (I'm pretty sure that my char's kills at Lieutenant Commander make even the venerable Captain James T. Kirk's pale in comparison), those little interactions are going to drive you insane.
#4 - Panels - I don't know if you've considered other options, but even imagining a totally different interface like one of the old Submarine Warfare games (where you are in charge of separate panels that you flip between to execute various crew actions) is pretty crazy. It wouldn't do well in Star Trek. Right now, there aren't enough options in combat to flesh out several different interface options, and I imagine that it would be sluggish at best.
There was a Star Trek MUSH that had bridge combat years ago which worked great, but it was all text. It worked because each crewman was a human player, and each was specialized. The tactical folks were actually good at understanding the 3D combat mechanics going on around them, the engineers understood how to use the systems to power the ship's shields and weaponry, and operations knew how they fit into the whole scheme. The CO was just that - the CO. Orders flowed down the chain of command and reports flowed up in a human way, and it worked well. Players who were poor at a panel got booted from the crew (or trained if there was time) - but there was a massive time commitment. It wasn't something that someone could just pick up and play. It was hard. STO wasn't designed that way from the beginning - the ship is flown and fought by one player, in the easiest method possible (point and click).
Meh, but what if you made it so you could have on the side, target the ship, and it would auto face the ship to the enemy, then you could order a command to fire phasers, or torpedoes. It could still have the same interface, and perhaps add a way to put in voices like, Yes Sir, or Yes Ma'am, for when they use the order. Also, it would be pretty cool to see the bridge get damaged like they did in the show. Like a large flash of light from something exploding, then the room is more damaged. Considering the amazing graphics they have already designed, I doubt miniaturizing it on the screen would do much harm. It might he more complex, but if they would, it would be extremely cool, to add a more of a Star Trek Feel, and a better use for the bridge. And if not adding the bridge fighting feature, it would be cool to add in an engineering room, and more places. Also, if not adding the other rooms, just, adding SOME use to the bridge, gets kinda boring just going up and sitting in the captains chair.
It was hard. STO wasn't designed that way from the beginning - the ship is flown and fought by one player, in the easiest method possible (point and click).
That's one thing that this would help with, making the easy way for some people, and the complex way for the real fans who want hard, who want a little more challenge, not just grinding until the Borg, even though it is fun.
Also, if not adding the other rooms, just, adding SOME use to the bridge, gets kinda boring just going up and sitting in the captains chair.
More ship sections and "bridge functionality" is forthcoming. This will all most likely take the form of episodes occurring on your own ship or the ship of a teammate (probably team leader).
No one should even remotely count on being able to do space stuff from the bride. Cryptic has said as much, for the time being.
I think that we should be able to control the ship from the bridge, seeing the other ship on the view screen. That would have a more Star Trek feel to some people who want to do it sometimes. Or perhaps just fly it around sometimes. Would that be extremely hard to do or could you add that feature in?
Honestly I think it would be awesome if we could do it from the bridge like real effing captains, spewing orders at our peons.
Unfortunately though that would be like creating a whole new game, or at least some sort of game shell that would have the real game running in the background steered by AI that you direct from the shell environment, which would require so much computing power that anyone using anything older than a year or two couldn't run it.
Either way, despite the fact that was what I had originally hoped for, at this point I wouldn't expect any change like that for 3 to 5 years minimum, if ever.
Comments
they have kick TRIBBLE artists
they could pull it off well if they are still around
have screen to screen in pvp or fleet stuff with your allies
It's unknown if Cryptic could ever come up with a work around for the instancing issue as it currently exists right now.
Perhaps a blending of the existing bridge and character models into a form of interactive space combat UI? You might not be able to move your Avatar in combat mode, but it might be something they could lock the camera into?
#1 - Implementation will be very, very difficult, especially with the instancing system in this game.
#2 - Interface-wise, how would you fight on the bridge? Combat in Star Trek was cool for TV but otherwise incredibly unlikely. Trying to fight a warship using a 160 degree view at any one time would be almost impossible. Instead, you'd probably be forced to use some sort of symbology system (think Jane's Fleet Command). That takes away the "cool" factor of flying your ship in space. It also takes away the main (unintended) communication system between ships in the middle of heated battle - follow the ship that looks like it knows what its doing.
#3 - Interaction with crew - I don't know what you'll expect to happen in the middle of combat, but I doubt that your bridge officers are going to be as awesome as you think they will be. "Incoming torpedoes!" "Firing phasers!" "Damage to decks 3-5!" Based on the fact that we're engaged in combat at a hilariously high rate (I'm pretty sure that my char's kills at Lieutenant Commander make even the venerable Captain James T. Kirk's pale in comparison), those little interactions are going to drive you insane.
#4 - Panels - I don't know if you've considered other options, but even imagining a totally different interface like one of the old Submarine Warfare games (where you are in charge of separate panels that you flip between to execute various crew actions) is pretty crazy. It wouldn't do well in Star Trek. Right now, there aren't enough options in combat to flesh out several different interface options, and I imagine that it would be sluggish at best.
There was a Star Trek MUSH that had bridge combat years ago which worked great, but it was all text. It worked because each crewman was a human player, and each was specialized. The tactical folks were actually good at understanding the 3D combat mechanics going on around them, the engineers understood how to use the systems to power the ship's shields and weaponry, and operations knew how they fit into the whole scheme. The CO was just that - the CO. Orders flowed down the chain of command and reports flowed up in a human way, and it worked well. Players who were poor at a panel got booted from the crew (or trained if there was time) - but there was a massive time commitment. It wasn't something that someone could just pick up and play. It was hard. STO wasn't designed that way from the beginning - the ship is flown and fought by one player, in the easiest method possible (point and click).
Anyway - at this point, I'd let bridge combat go.
More ship sections and "bridge functionality" is forthcoming. This will all most likely take the form of episodes occurring on your own ship or the ship of a teammate (probably team leader).
No one should even remotely count on being able to do space stuff from the bride. Cryptic has said as much, for the time being.
Honestly I think it would be awesome if we could do it from the bridge like real effing captains, spewing orders at our peons.
Unfortunately though that would be like creating a whole new game, or at least some sort of game shell that would have the real game running in the background steered by AI that you direct from the shell environment, which would require so much computing power that anyone using anything older than a year or two couldn't run it.
Either way, despite the fact that was what I had originally hoped for, at this point I wouldn't expect any change like that for 3 to 5 years minimum, if ever.
it would be simple
i am not a programmer but i am a master of venn diagrams
and my venn diagram analsysis using four circles shows this
instead of scrolling in on your ship and seeing its aft, you scroll in and you have a view screen
could even have silhoutte heads of your crew like in mystery science fiction theater 3000.
the evidence is clear