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First Officers - An Idea for Implementing Them In-Game
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Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
Given the iconic nature of the 'First Officer' to the Star Trek lore (e.g. Spock, Riker, etc.), I feel that their absence somewhat detracts from the overall immersion into the universe of STO. That being said, I am an avid fan of a majority of the game's features, I simply would like to use this space to propose an idea that I believe could greatly enrich the experience of STO.
A source for inspiration for ideas in this thread is the excellent thread started by Leviathan99, found here: http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=153230&highlight=First+Officers
My proposal:
1.) Rather than the choice of your first BO upon completion of the intro/tutorial, you are given the option to select a First Officer (hereafter referred to as an 'XO', for Executive Officer) of a race, gender, and specialty of your choice.
2.) The XO's specialty (career) would determine access to a new class of kits, specific to XO's (call them XO Career kits, or somesuch). A further choice of a basic XO Career kit would be made upon selection of the XO at the end of the intro/tutorial.
3.) The XO Career kits would consist of a passive buff (specialty-related) to one or more of the ships skills, representing the XO's expertise in that area and his/her/its ability to inspire an increased level of competence in said area. These kits could be swapped out for different ones within the same career path (i.e. Tactical, Science, or Engineering), but should be costly (either in terms of EC or Merits), to represent the time and energy necessary for an officer to train in his new discipline (or to gain a new level of expertise).
- A.) Tactical XO Career Ideas: (Note: All numbers are for example only. Possible effects are ideas for application of the XO idea.)
- Starship Weapons Expert (+1-5% (e.g. +1% per tier-level of XO Career kit) Starship Accuracy, +10-50 Starship Crit Severity, +.5-2.5% Starship Crit Chance, etc.) - Could be broken down by weapon specialty or apply globally.
- Starship Targeting Expert (+2-10% Chance of triggering weapon Procs, +5-25% Weapon Bleedthrough, etc.)
- Tactical Training Expert (-5-25% Duration of Cooldown on Tactical Powers, -10-50% Cost to Train Tactical Powers to BO's, +1-5% Effect of Tactical Powers)
- More to follow when I get some time to theorize, including ideas for an Away Team-specialized XO Career.
- B.) Science XO Career Ideas:
- Research Specialist (-5-25% Cost to Train All? BO powers, +50-250% number of anomalies recovered, -10-50% Cost to Train Science Powers to BO's)
- Ops Specialist (+25-125% Detection Rating/Range, +5-25% Effectiveness of Subsystem Targeting Powers, -5-25% Duration of Cooldown on Science Powers)
- Chief Medical Specialist ( +10-50% Alive/Able Crewmen resistance, +5-25% Crew Recovery Rate, +5-25% Effect of Away Team Medical powers, etc.)
- C.) Engineering XO Career Ideas:
- Construction Expert (+5-25% Hull Repair Rate, +3-15% Hull HP, +5-25% Amount of HP restored by Engineering Powers)
- Systems Expert (+5-25% Effect of Power Transfer BO powers (EPtS, AusSIF, EPS Trans, etc.), -5-25% Cooldown of Engineering Powers, -10-50% Duration when target of Subsystem Disabling Powers)
- Efficiency Expert (+2-10 Subsystem Power Levels, +5-25% Effect of Efficiency Skills, -5-25% Cooldown of Ship's Weapons, -5-25% Time between Shield Regen ticks, etc.)
(Again, these are all just ideas, I welcome ideas from the community, as well!)
4.) The XO would not be a Bridge Officer in the traditional sense, not occupying one of a ships consoles (also a reason to have passive buffs, rather than a suite of powers).
5.) In light of #4, to make the XO viable in Away Missions, they would have a full paperdoll like each Captain currently has.
- A.) Able to equip ground kits, exactly the same as the Captain (using the same pool of current, player-specific kits); this would give them a suite of powers for Away Missions that is comparable to what players currently possess, without needing to add an entire range of XO-specific powers. Kits would be restricted to the XO's current rank and career specialty.
- B.) Able to lead Away Missions, in the stead of their Captain (thereby increasing the 'immersion factor' that having an XO would bring to STO). (This might not be permitted in the case of team missions, though I don't see what it would hurt.)
6.) As XO's hold such an important place in the canon of Star Trek, replacing one should not be a decision made lightly; should be restricted to SB1; should be very costly in terms of Merits (as good XO's are hard to find, and building a rapport with one is a time-consuming process).
More to follow as I think of them...
Please feel free to offer suggestions, and I look forward to getting your feedback!
-Big Red
A source for inspiration for ideas in this thread is the excellent thread started by Leviathan99, found here: http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=153230&highlight=First+Officers
My proposal:
1.) Rather than the choice of your first BO upon completion of the intro/tutorial, you are given the option to select a First Officer (hereafter referred to as an 'XO', for Executive Officer) of a race, gender, and specialty of your choice.
2.) The XO's specialty (career) would determine access to a new class of kits, specific to XO's (call them XO Career kits, or somesuch). A further choice of a basic XO Career kit would be made upon selection of the XO at the end of the intro/tutorial.
3.) The XO Career kits would consist of a passive buff (specialty-related) to one or more of the ships skills, representing the XO's expertise in that area and his/her/its ability to inspire an increased level of competence in said area. These kits could be swapped out for different ones within the same career path (i.e. Tactical, Science, or Engineering), but should be costly (either in terms of EC or Merits), to represent the time and energy necessary for an officer to train in his new discipline (or to gain a new level of expertise).
- A.) Tactical XO Career Ideas: (Note: All numbers are for example only. Possible effects are ideas for application of the XO idea.)
- Starship Weapons Expert (+1-5% (e.g. +1% per tier-level of XO Career kit) Starship Accuracy, +10-50 Starship Crit Severity, +.5-2.5% Starship Crit Chance, etc.) - Could be broken down by weapon specialty or apply globally.
- Starship Targeting Expert (+2-10% Chance of triggering weapon Procs, +5-25% Weapon Bleedthrough, etc.)
- Tactical Training Expert (-5-25% Duration of Cooldown on Tactical Powers, -10-50% Cost to Train Tactical Powers to BO's, +1-5% Effect of Tactical Powers)
- More to follow when I get some time to theorize, including ideas for an Away Team-specialized XO Career.
- B.) Science XO Career Ideas:
- Research Specialist (-5-25% Cost to Train All? BO powers, +50-250% number of anomalies recovered, -10-50% Cost to Train Science Powers to BO's)
- Ops Specialist (+25-125% Detection Rating/Range, +5-25% Effectiveness of Subsystem Targeting Powers, -5-25% Duration of Cooldown on Science Powers)
- Chief Medical Specialist ( +10-50% Alive/Able Crewmen resistance, +5-25% Crew Recovery Rate, +5-25% Effect of Away Team Medical powers, etc.)
- C.) Engineering XO Career Ideas:
- Construction Expert (+5-25% Hull Repair Rate, +3-15% Hull HP, +5-25% Amount of HP restored by Engineering Powers)
- Systems Expert (+5-25% Effect of Power Transfer BO powers (EPtS, AusSIF, EPS Trans, etc.), -5-25% Cooldown of Engineering Powers, -10-50% Duration when target of Subsystem Disabling Powers)
- Efficiency Expert (+2-10 Subsystem Power Levels, +5-25% Effect of Efficiency Skills, -5-25% Cooldown of Ship's Weapons, -5-25% Time between Shield Regen ticks, etc.)
(Again, these are all just ideas, I welcome ideas from the community, as well!)
4.) The XO would not be a Bridge Officer in the traditional sense, not occupying one of a ships consoles (also a reason to have passive buffs, rather than a suite of powers).
5.) In light of #4, to make the XO viable in Away Missions, they would have a full paperdoll like each Captain currently has.
- A.) Able to equip ground kits, exactly the same as the Captain (using the same pool of current, player-specific kits); this would give them a suite of powers for Away Missions that is comparable to what players currently possess, without needing to add an entire range of XO-specific powers. Kits would be restricted to the XO's current rank and career specialty.
- B.) Able to lead Away Missions, in the stead of their Captain (thereby increasing the 'immersion factor' that having an XO would bring to STO). (This might not be permitted in the case of team missions, though I don't see what it would hurt.)
6.) As XO's hold such an important place in the canon of Star Trek, replacing one should not be a decision made lightly; should be restricted to SB1; should be very costly in terms of Merits (as good XO's are hard to find, and building a rapport with one is a time-consuming process).
More to follow as I think of them...
Please feel free to offer suggestions, and I look forward to getting your feedback!
-Big Red
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
-Big Red
I was actually thinking that the First Officer might also be able to be switched to by the player if they wanted to.....
Nothing against always playing a captain.....but like Riker and Chakoteh had said on many occasions...the captain shouldnt always leave the ship.
Glad to hear that you like the ideas, feel free to add more! The more we have and the better thought out they become, the more likely that we can catch the attention of the Devs!
-Big Red
P.S. If any of you Awesome Devs are reading this (okay, shameless, I know...
I agree, which is where I came up with the idea for allowing them to use the same kits that player's currently use, to determine their powers available on Away Missions. This would permit you to 'send them in your stead' as the ship's captain, without breaking the immersion of the game and without hampering the capabilities of your Away Teams.
Which is also part of the reason that I like the idea of giving them a passive effect rather than a suite of powers in space. While it's true that Spock was TOS Enterprise's first officer AND science officer, more recent shows (TNG and VOY in particular) have emphasized the role of First Officer to a more passive, supporting one. Not to say that the XO's aren't active and involved in the ships operation, but, rather, that they are responsible for a much wider range of responsibilities, across the whole spectrum of a ship's operation (hence the 'passive' buffs), instead of sitting at a console and performing a more active-type of duty.
Thanks for the responses, keep them coming!
-Big Red
i think an over all stat upgrade of 0.2 to 2.0% and a crit chance/severity upgrade of 0.2 to 3.0% (accuracy) or 12% to 20% (crit severity) should be applied since the XO is at this time in ones career well versed in all aspects of starship ops as similar to the captain.
i also think these numnbers should be hidden from view with the exception of initial promotion to XO. once promoted - any stat upgrades will no longer be viewable for yourself or other players. this allows an initial, take it or leave it option, and allows a sense of unknown to others as to how well your XO is prepaired and/or trained.
hope this makes sense...let me know.
Oh, I absolutely agree that the numbers are probably excessive, I just went wiith BIG numbers to illustrate their possible implementation. (Let the Devs and those brave souls on the Tribble server figure out the best 'numbers' to use.
While I like the idea of 'hiding' the stat bonus from the XO from an 'immersion' standpoint (only experience can tell how valuable a fellow officer is), we do have to remember that this is still a game, and hdiing the numbers can be very frustrating to a wide range of player-types. (Plus, we already have more than a few numbers that need to be displayed more clearly, without adding an additional class of 'hidden' ones.
-Big Red
There are a few advantages to this.
1) This is how new ship captains were 'minted' in the various series as well as real life.
2) Based on how his original captain/teacher was spec'd he could carry over a few specially abilities/skills when he promotes. Do you think a BO 'rasied' by Picard would be a lackluster captain? Such a BO would likely have bonus to all facets of command skills. Think of a first officer to Worf. He would probably end up a very good tactical officer, or at least his science or engineering skills would reflect top-notch contributions to combat, plus the First Officer would most likely have a a bonus to Bat'letch or some such.
3) A social factor could be involved too. Make it so I could send one of my BO/BO Candidates to another Captain. This could also be a shot in the arm to the socail system in STO as well as the economy.
4) Make the training of the BO/First Officer take several weeks, if not a few months. Once the training is finished, he goes back to his original Captain.
5) At this point, if the player wanted to promote him to his own command, he could open up a new character slot that could ONLY be used for promoted first officers. If the character is deleted, then the slot disappears.
Anyway, I will stop this list here, as I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, there are some very interesting permutations of characters that could be generated by the 'special abilities' learned by First Officer during his training. A 'Sciency' Tactical Officer, a "tactical engineer" etc.
This all might be more complicated than is possible (or likely), but would be a great dynamic to the game.
I like the ideas for training the First Officers, in particular, the social aspect of 'sending them for training' to fellow captains. I was thinking that this might be a fleet-specific implementation, encouraging players to get into fleets and be actively involved in them.
In addition, I really am fond of the idea of getting a 'Promoted First Officer' character slot. An extra alt that we've leveled up with and really gotten attached to, that we can then branch off and explore their own career.
Great ideas, keep them coming!
-Big Red
P.S. Would still love to see a Dev offer some input... Like/dislike, what we might want to think about to encourage inclusion in the game, etc.
The first officer you pick in the tutorial gets placed in your First Officer seat on your bridge every time. He's your First Officer. If you discharge him, the next one on the list takes over.
I was thinking thats the way it would work. I've always thought of my 1st BO as my 1st officer.
Exactly what I was thinking... The end of the tutorial 'selection' process would be the ideal place to form that first 'immersion bond' with the STO universe. Plus, it would be the first of many customization choices during the course of the game and would serve as a great 'hook' to getting personally invested in your ship and crew.
-Big Red
Rather than the set of four station powers, they get to select four among brand new powers, specifically for the XO position. This would give the boffs three tracks, rather than two.
The XO position track would be the passive buffs you mention.
This idea could be expanded, as well, if we decide to add a ship's counselor, Engineering deck chief, Marine Master Sergeant, etc etc sorts of officers who do not sit at bridge stations.
-Big Red
Then if you then wanted to change the profession of your XO you would have to dismiss him/her from your crew instead of just swapping him/her for another BO in your crew to represent them moving on to their own command.
I like this train of thought! It has always seemed that the First Officers are there to both complement and contrast with their commanding officers. Spock was the voice of reason to Kirk's impetuous nature; Riker was the motivational presence to Picard's careful and strictly measured approach; etc...
I really like the idea of having that 'complementary character' to help flesh out my Captain, not only from an immersion standpoint, but also to provide a broader form of gameplay (even, perhaps, a more balanced one
Great ideas, All! Keep them coming!
- Big Red
I would love to hear a Dev weigh in with what they think...In the meantime, I wanted to give people (particularly those of us that don't always...go past the first page...when scrolling the forums <wink,wink>) a chance to check out the ideas that people have submitted, and, hopefully, add a few of their own!
- Big Red
This would be good, especially if you didn't want to create a whole new 'pool' of First Officers, and work within the existing system.
- Big Red
Having the XO lead away teams would be interesting... especially if the Captain (you) becomes the one sending you instructions from orbit.
I think Crypic would find a universal BOff slot as the First officer would be far simpler than adding another set of kits, though.
I like the OP's idea, though, too.
Right.
Thats why I "Reconstructet" the BO I consider my 1st officer in my aditional Uniform slot. That way i can play as my XO in RP and on ground missions^^