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life expectancy of STO

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
Dear Dev/Cryptic employee,

it is time to start making tough choices ur within two months time, u will have lost the vast majority of ur playerbase.

Stop making STO more fluff
Stop making STO more balanced. Every attempt at balancing thus far has also created new inbalances. Just complete the Big 3 modifications and stop there for the time being.

Start creating new content(Pve) with the emphasis on space
Start creating new space PvP maps like Capture&Hold
Start creating zones that are capturable for both sides. To few players? Compensate by adding a minimum of 20 or 30 ships per side, belance them with NPC's, level 45, that only protect, not conquer for both sides. This way, it does not matter how many or few players are online, since NPC's will guard already captured territory.

Most importantly, release it within two months time otherwise it will be the gravy after the meal, and ur lunchticket will have been clipped.
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  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    FurianNL wrote: »
    Dear Dev/Cryptic employee,

    it is time to start making tough choices ur within two months time, u will have lost the vast majority of ur playerbase.

    I would love to see the statistics for this statement...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    You can see what the upcoming schedule hold through July via the Engineering Reports. Too many people on this forum seem to think that MMO content is created in a day. It takes many weeks to build things from scratch, and then it has to go through an entire approval process with CBS before it can be implemented in the game. New missions, new zones, and new PvP material is all coming. Just not tomorrow. If you can't deal with the wait, and if $15.00 a month is too much to pay to have a voice in future development, then unsubscribe for a few months and come back when the game is where you want it to be. We'll still be here. Really.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Cosmic_One wrote: »
    You can see what the upcoming schedule hold through July via the Engineering Reports. Too many people on this forum seem to think that MMO content is created in a day. It takes many weeks to build things from scratch, and then it has to go through an entire approval process with CBS before it can be implemented in the game. New missions, new zones, and new PvP material is all coming. Just not tomorrow. If you can't deal with the wait, and if $15.00 a month is too much to pay to have a voice in future development, then unsubscribe for a few months and come back when the game is where you want it to be. We'll still be here. Really.

    Great statement... you took the words right outta my mouth
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Jakyre wrote: »
    Great statement... you took the words right outta my mouth

    AMEN brother! A lot of these types of posts remind me of how my TWO YEAR OLD is constantly wanting things HIS WAY......NOW.... or he pitches a fit. OP needs a hug and a nap. :p
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    I'll still be here
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    FurianNL wrote: »
    Start creating new content(Pve) with the emphasis on space
    Start creating new space PvP maps like Capture&Hold
    Start creating zones that are capturable for both sides. To few players? Compensate by adding a minimum of 20 or 30 ships per side, belance them with NPC's, level 45, that only protect, not conquer for both sides. This way, it does not matter how many or few players are online, since NPC's will guard already captured territory.

    Most importantly, release it within two months time otherwise it will be the gravy after the meal, and ur lunchticket will have been clipped.

    How was it determined these are the three most pressing issues in the game?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    have you not read what cryptic have said/what is coming?

    June:

    season 2

    ship interiors like every one has asked for

    that seems like a cool update to me.

    il find the link with the entire list of what the devs said when i find it.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    well, then I truly hope ur the majority player base that states "I will be still here"

    @Samson
    comparing me to ur 2 year old is kinda lame and childish urself. My "two months" feeling is a feeling, but I play STO every day and only a blind man would not see the absolute drop in the total number of players not returning.

    Great, u have an opinion, lets just wait and see whom time will proove right, this was just my "appeal" to Cryptic voicing my own concerns.

    If love blinds men to logic, a love for this franchise might keep u paying(or lifetime sub), ur choice what u do out of love.

    For me personally, I like to mix my love with balanced thinking. I invest in something, I want something out of it. Call me selfcentered if u must, but love urself before u can love anyone else.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    FurianNL wrote: »
    For me personally, I like to mix my love with balanced thinking. I invest in something, I want something out of it. Call me selfcentered if u must, but love urself before u can love anyone else.

    I totally get this, I spent most of my teen years loving myself. But seriously, everyone has an opinion on what they want, if you comb the forums you get dozens of posts that are similar to yours and basically say "do X right now, or I quit". I don't envy the devs having to figure out what everyone, including the quiet people who never come to the forums to post thier list, wants.

    I also appreciate though that they are not making changes to please one person, but rather trying to please the most players first with changes most people seem to say they want.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    FurianNL wrote: »
    it is time to start making tough choices ur within two months time, u will have lost the vast majority of ur playerbase.
    You're psychic? That's so cool!

    Please tell me what next week's lottery numbers will be sir! :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    i mean if swg can continue for as long as it has then STO even if it stayed in current state has years left!


    Heres to many more years in space!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Qaxlor wrote: »
    How was it determined these are the three most pressing issues in the game?

    Easy. Thoughts are more important when phrased like an ultimatum. He's found STO's on/off switch in a back room in the Chrysler Building, and he's willing to use it (I hit it a few times when I found an auxiliary at the AT&T building in Nashville. Sorry about that!)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    I'm sorry you can't have everything you want right away when you want it. But MMOs don't work that way and neither does life.


    There's new stuff coming in July. If you had been willing to do a little research you would know that by know. But it's SO much easier to QQ instead.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    FurianNL wrote: »
    well, then I truly hope ur the majority player base that states "I will be still here"

    @Samson
    comparing me to ur 2 year old is kinda lame and childish urself. My "two months" feeling is a feeling, but I play STO every day and only a blind man would not see the absolute drop in the total number of players not returning.

    Great, u have an opinion, lets just wait and see whom time will proove right, this was just my "appeal" to Cryptic voicing my own concerns.

    If love blinds men to logic, a love for this franchise might keep u paying(or lifetime sub), ur choice what u do out of love.

    For me personally, I like to mix my love with balanced thinking. I invest in something, I want something out of it. Call me selfcentered if u must, but love urself before u can love anyone else.

    Me comparing you to my TWO YEAR OLD was a mistake. Given time, my TWO YEAR OLD stops whining and moves onto something else that catches his interest. YOU, on the other hand, continue to whine. :p

    I understand you're not happy. I think everyone reading this thread got the point. Seeing as how you play EVERYDAY, I can see how you may have blown through 100% fo the game content and are now bored, wondering "What's next?" I feel it a bit unreasonable to think that the game devs can keep up with your expectations.

    Seeing the effort they've put into giving us frequent content updates AT NO CHARGE, I'm thinking the devs and CRYPTIC as a whole have us STAR TREK fans in their minds and their hearts in delivering things with as much speed and quality as possible. If it's not happening fast enough for you, then maybe you should take a previous poster's idea and take a "Leave of Absence" for a few months until the devs have added enough to the game to make it enjoyable for you again?

    Honestly, just be patient. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Samson wrote: »
    Me comparing you to my TWO YEAR OLD was a mistake. Given time, my TWO YEAR OLD stops whining and moves onto something else that catches his interest. YOU, on the other hand, continue to whine. :p

    I understand you're not happy. I think everyone reading this thread got the point. Seeing as how you play EVERYDAY, I can see how you may have blown through 100% fo the game content and are now bored, wondering "What's next?" I feel it a bit unreasonable to think that the game devs can keep up with your expectations.

    Seeing the effort they've put into giving us frequent content updates AT NO CHARGE, I'm thinking the devs and CRYPTIC as a whole have us STAR TREK fans in their minds and their hearts in delivering things with as much speed and quality as possible. If it's not happening fast enough for you, then maybe you should take a previous poster's idea and take a "Leave of Absence" for a few months until the devs have added enough to the game to make it enjoyable for you again?

    Honestly, just be patient. :)

    so ur not paying 15 bucks a month for this game? Cool.

    I understand ur ideas, and yes, a small pause would let me enjoy a thousand and one new things then, but, am I really that demanding?
    If this was a free game, I should totally shut up and indeed savor every bit of content and attention thrown our way, BUT, since I am paying, I demand stuff My demand is no more special then that of any of the others , but u gotta admit, u've seen governments role out laws faster then some changes on STO.

    If a Dev were to say; this is it, we won't/can't go faster, yes indeed, I would stop playing as intensely as now, but I would also then have big questionmarks about why they can't/won't go faster.

    U all talk like u work at MMO gaming companies and all now how slow and difficult things go. Business is simple; keep up with demand ur get left behind when a new cool MMO shines brighter. I love Star Trek so yes, I would see millions and millions people playing this. It's tough love, but sometimes that work best.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    FurianNL wrote: »
    If a Dev were to say; this is it, we won't/can't go faster, yes indeed, I would stop playing as intensely as now, but I would also then have big questionmarks about why they can't/won't go faster.
    Ah, so I was right in my original post: someone who just has no real idea how long it takes to implement things into an MMO. Thanks for the corroboration.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Cosmic_One wrote: »
    Ah, so I was right in my original post: someone who just has no real idea how long it takes to implement things into an MMO. Thanks for the corroboration.

    Anyone who has ever worked with a QA department would know this...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    FurianNL wrote: »
    so ur not paying 15 bucks a month for this game? Cool.

    I understand ur ideas, and yes, a small pause would let me enjoy a thousand and one new things then, but, am I really that demanding?
    If this was a free game, I should totally shut up and indeed savor every bit of content and attention thrown our way, BUT, since I am paying, I demand stuff My demand is no more special then that of any of the others , but u gotta admit, u've seen governments role out laws faster then some changes on STO.

    If a Dev were to say; this is it, we won't/can't go faster, yes indeed, I would stop playing as intensely as now, but I would also then have big questionmarks about why they can't/won't go faster.

    U all talk like u work at MMO gaming companies and all now how slow and difficult things go. Business is simple; keep up with demand ur get left behind when a new cool MMO shines brighter. I love Star Trek so yes, I would see millions and millions people playing this. It's tough love, but sometimes that work best.

    A lot of people have researched how long it takes. Some have talked to the devs themselves and even the devs have made posts concerning how long and complicated the processes can be. Demanding stuff from a MMO usually leads to disappointment. Making suggestions, providing feedback is a better way to get them to look at your requests. This type of post of you OP usually just leads to flames.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    First, I am not taking sides in this debate just stating my own views.

    First the dev's need to program any new content, afterwards they have to internally testing for that content, then they openly test the same content, finally going to live servers. This stuff takes time, and they have given timelines for the content they are/will be working on.

    Why do you think it takes 2 years to make a skeleton mmo and 4 or 5 years for a fully functional one? Impatience will not be your friend if you expect immediate results. Please consult the calander for STO's upcoming patches/content.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Jakyre wrote: »
    Great statement... you took the words right outta my mouth

    Same here....
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    I'm done with this game.

    Considering that I can't find a fleet action with enough players to complete it, I'm guessing that I'm one of the last of the monthlies to abandon the game.

    Cancel button hit, although I guess I have until the 11th to annoy the blues on the forums.

    As far as life expectancy goes. I imagine the lifers will be here in 3 months, using the forums to organize "meet-ups" to complete STFs.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    FurianNL wrote: »
    so ur not paying 15 bucks a month for this game? Cool.

    I understand ur ideas, and yes, a small pause would let me enjoy a thousand and one new things then, but, am I really that demanding?
    If this was a free game, I should totally shut up and indeed savor every bit of content and attention thrown our way, BUT, since I am paying, I demand stuff My demand is no more special then that of any of the others , but u gotta admit, u've seen governments role out laws faster then some changes on STO.

    If a Dev were to say; this is it, we won't/can't go faster, yes indeed, I would stop playing as intensely as now, but I would also then have big questionmarks about why they can't/won't go faster.

    U all talk like u work at MMO gaming companies and all now how slow and difficult things go. Business is simple; keep up with demand ur get left behind when a new cool MMO shines brighter. I love Star Trek so yes, I would see millions and millions people playing this. It's tough love, but sometimes that work best.


    Not sure why you think I play this game for free. Which leads me to think you DON'T understand my ideas. That's okay. You have your mind set on complaining, whining or trolling about the fact you lack the ability to reject THIS reality and substitute it with one where an entire COMPANY will cater to your every whim. Really, given that you have the alternative to just cancel your subscription and renew it once the game is updated to your liking, you continue to sound off. Rather then wait a few months, you feel compelled to complain. I guess if you no longer play STO, you need to fill your time doing something. Maybe you can spend it doing something productive?!? :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Creating more missions actually depends on how good thier game tools are.
    It should follow this kind of set up.

    1. Propose Idea
    2. Get Idea approved
    3. Write Script
    4. Proof Read script
    5. Submit Script for approval
    6. Revise Script
    7 Submit Script for approval
    8. Plan level
    9. Design level
    10. Submit finished product for approval
    11. Revise the product
    12. Submit product for approval.


    The actual design time won't be that much probably 2 maybe 3 days depending on the tools and the writing skills of the people involved. The submit for approval and approval can take weeks to months.......

    Unless cryptic is completely TRIBBLE they will have design tools that work like those for Starcraft so all they have to do is pick the area slap in spawn points add in dialog and transitions and bam they are finished...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    FurianNL wrote: »
    well, then I truly hope ur the majority player base that states "I will be still here"

    @Samson
    comparing me to ur 2 year old is kinda lame and childish urself. My "two months" feeling is a feeling, but I play STO every day and only a blind man would not see the absolute drop in the total number of players not returning.

    Great, u have an opinion, lets just wait and see whom time will proove right, this was just my "appeal" to Cryptic voicing my own concerns.

    If love blinds men to logic, a love for this franchise might keep u paying(or lifetime sub), ur choice what u do out of love.

    For me personally, I like to mix my love with balanced thinking. I invest in something, I want something out of it. Call me selfcentered if u must, but love urself before u can love anyone else.

    You need to attend a remedial class in pronouns.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Decorus wrote: »
    Creating more missions actually depends on how good thier game tools are.
    It should follow this kind of set up.

    1. Propose Idea
    2. Get Idea approved
    3. Write Script
    4. Proof Read script
    5. Submit Script for approval
    6. Revise Script
    7 Submit Script for approval
    8. Plan level
    9. Design level
    10. Submit finished product for approval
    11. Revise the product
    12. Submit product for approval.


    The actual design time won't be that much probably 2 maybe 3 days depending on the tools and the writing skills of the people involved. The submit for approval and approval can take weeks to months.......

    Unless cryptic is completely TRIBBLE they will have design tools that work like those for Starcraft so all they have to do is pick the area slap in spawn points add in dialog and transitions and bam they are finished...

    Possibly, I am not going to guess about their tools, but my comment would be that these are trivial new missions. My idea of new missions involves changes to the mechanics of their quest system to provide meaningful choices and different results.

    This is why I find "simple" blanket statements like in the OP of "Start making more PvE content" to be meaningless, it's like saying the solution to a protracted war is to "start winning more engagements", we all have different ideas about how to do that and there's different resource committments and time frames to make different options happen.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Kirkfat wrote: »
    I'm done with this game.

    I guess folks should stop supporting your Chase Masterson campaign then. We thought it was about improving the game; guess it was just about stalking Chase.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Kirkfat wrote: »
    I'm done with this game.

    Considering that I can't find a fleet action with enough players to complete it, I'm guessing that I'm one of the last of the monthlies to abandon the game.

    Cancel button hit, although I guess I have until the 11th to annoy the blues on the forums.

    As far as life expectancy goes. I imagine the lifers will be here in 3 months, using the forums to organize "meet-ups" to complete STFs.

    They segregated Fleet Actions, which made them even smaller than they would be otherwise. They were cross rank before. Now, they're split up between ranks so you can't play with people of different ranks.

    There is a fix incoming in the next month.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Decorus wrote: »
    Creating more missions actually depends on how good thier game tools are.
    It should follow this kind of set up.

    1. Propose Idea
    2. Get Idea approved
    3. Write Script
    4. Proof Read script
    5. Submit Script for approval
    6. Revise Script
    7 Submit Script for approval
    8. Plan level
    9. Design level
    10. Submit finished product for approval
    11. Revise the product
    12. Submit product for approval.


    The actual design time won't be that much probably 2 maybe 3 days depending on the tools and the writing skills of the people involved. The submit for approval and approval can take weeks to months.......

    Unless cryptic is completely TRIBBLE they will have design tools that work like those for Starcraft so all they have to do is pick the area slap in spawn points add in dialog and transitions and bam they are finished...

    This goes back to why I favor the TV Showrunner system. What you're describing may well be how it works up to a point and its an example of everything wrong with gaming and publishing. It's unproductive, prone to procrastination, encourages "engineering think" or "author think" rather than "troupe think".

    Unless there is some special reason why you're marketing an individual author's voice, that method is entirely too linear and time consuming and prone to getting caught up in cycles of delay.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    What I'd propose as a counter is a pitch meeting.

    That mean sitting in a room with a dry erase board. Maybe the occasional field trip.

    Everybody's homework assignment is to come in with two ideas. One thing they've seen in Trek (or any sci-fi in a pinch) and one thing they think would be really freakin' cool that might go in a bin of things to run by Zinc and CBS.

    This stuff goes on the board. As it's being discussed, you have somebody breaking the story, deciding the 20 things that have to happen to tell that story. You discuss what assets you have. You start assigning parts out. You work on multiple things simultaneously with the art guy putting together the maps and textures etc. while the dialogue writers do dialogue, character artists "cast" the stories, etc.

    One person may be good at writing Klingons. He gets that job. Or maybe it goes to the guy who writes really awesome taunts. He doesn't necessarily do the whole thing. Maybe one person is good at ground missions and one is good at space. You divvy up the tasks and every so often shake things up if people start showing boredom.

    It all gets filtered through a vision guy who may ask for a quick rewrite or may synthesize everything together himself. This may be the guy in charge of creative or it may be a designated person for each episode. Nobody should sit down and do an entire episode in a vacuum.

    Keep each individual person involved and contributing. Make sure that no one has one overwhelming task to see from start to finish.

    There are exercises you can do along the way. The key thing is, you aren't writing a novel. You're creating time sensitive entertainment in a collaborative environment. I guarantee this generates more results and better results in a field where you start losing customers if you go a month without something new. It may be abrasive for people who are used to working in a vacuum but it will generate higher morale on the whole if you have a workshop environment where everyone is valued and chores are split up.

    Give me two lunch meetings a week and I could get you twenty episodes a week. It's not rocket science but it is a particular type of thinking.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    doooooooooom doooooooooooooooom the sky is falling omg. hellgate london the worse game i even had the displeasure of getting stuck with lasted (wayyyyy long time) :) what movie was that from .

    but anyway sto was second in sales in march behind the sims of all things. this game will be here long after the doom crowd gose to another game to yell ounce again that you got it the sky is falling.

    thier is not one mmo out that dose not have the same problums content level caps,balancing issues ect. if you think thier will ever be a game that will keep you rivited to edge of your seat for ever you are i hate to say it foolish. ive played them all since i started gamming in the 1990s tacyon the fringe was my first real space combate game and most of you never heard of it. i liked tribes for a time ect ect. game you never heard of but all good in thier own way. hell jumpgate is still going today a good pvp game if thier were more than 50 people on the whole server:)

    my point is sto will last for 5 years even if it dose not get much better>>> the game is just a baby form what i see if they stay true to thier update time line this game will do very well. but for the i want to get to max cap and not even see what you do to get thier you will not last here but you wont last much longer at any other game out thier either

    and damm it the enterprize dose have cannons look at this
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxo6hya3TX8

    the point is that its a game for me its here to get my frustrations out from my bizz that makes me crazy. i like the game and i see it geting better. wow, aoc, warhammer, eve, played them all and still i find myself here so like it or not this game is here to stay
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