I just logged out because the game's getting irritating.
I luv STO its a great game, when you WANT to play it the way IT wants you to and laregly speaking the first time you play the game thats precisely what you want to do. Great!
Now I've finished all the content and I'm at end game and leveling up new characters.
Now the game becomes confining, restrictive, repetitive and irritating.
Heres my list of STO annoyances and hates:
1) No choices in battle quests. You HAVE to fight OR you have NO FIGHTS!
I want choice damn it! I know they partly addressed this in the Deferi quests and the Breen Patrol quests is brilliant and exactly the right way to have quests run! Take note please.
However, playing the mission in the Lacky system. I didn't want to fight every damn ship in the system to complete the quest (this time) I just wanted to get things done. The problem is the damn ships just don't leave you the hell alone. Its not like they have a "REASON" particularly to want me dead. They are just stupidly beligerant.
I want to be able to choose to fight or not. Yes, sure occasionally there may be a pivotal battle which has to be fought and I'l all for that. I just don't want stupid dumb battles trying to scan TRIBBLE (or at leaat I want to be able to avoid them in some way or have other choices).
In the end of the day thats what my biggest problem with STO is. Lack of choice (execpting the most basic go left or go right type choices). Give us multiple different ways to complete the mission. Have "hidden" or "secret ways" have some missions change if your carrying certain comoditiys for example? or using particular weapon types.. give us vaiety and choice. It doesn't take extra work to provide choice, it just takes thought.
OK, lets say you do get a choice. What happens now if you're on a team with another person and he wants to fight and you don't? How should the game handle that? Lets say you do have the choice to not fight, what other challenging and engaging gameplay could quests offer if you choose to not fight? All these questions need answers, and most MMO's I've heard of don't offer multiple ways to solve quests, probably because of these exact questions.
OK, lets say you do get a choice. What happens now if you're on a team with another person and he wants to fight and you don't? How should the game handle that? Lets say you do have the choice to not fight, what other challenging and engaging gameplay could quests offer if you choose to not fight? All these questions need answers, and most MMO's I've heard of don't offer multiple ways to solve quests, probably because of these exact questions.
I actually think TOR is going to work that way. And to answer your question about how it will work, each member of the group gets a turn at the dialogue throughout the mission. Not at the same time or NPC, but throughout the mission each player gets to make some sort of decision about what happens. But of course, those missions are being designed that way from the ground up, which STO's missions arent. Because of that, it would be very hard to change existing missions to work that way.
I heard somewhere, possible Stahl said it, that they would like to look at original missions (the ones that were first available when the game was released) and try to fix them. I think they understand that there those missions really need to be worked on and brought up to par with the weekly episodes. If this was said (I can't remember exactly) then don't expect anything until Season 4 or later.
I heard somewhere, possible Stahl said it, that they would like to look at original missions (the ones that were first available when the game was released) and try to fix them. I think they understand that there those missions really need to be worked on and brought up to par with the weekly episodes. If this was said (I can't remember exactly) then don't expect anything until Season 4 or later.
I kind of hope they dont. I noticed you use the word "fix", but the fact of the matter is the existing missions arent "broken". Granted, they could be better. However, the time spent "fixing" them could be spent making new content, and I'd prefer they make new content with better dialogue options than going back and spending time working on missions that I've already played.
I kind of hope they dont. I noticed you use the word "fix", but the fact of the matter is the existing missions arent "broken". Granted, they could be better. However, the time spent "fixing" them could be spent making new content, and I'd prefer they make new content with better dialogue options than going back and spending time working on missions that I've already played.
Perhaps "fix" is not the correct word. In any case, I have to disagree with your point of view, at least partially.
From a consumer perspective I agree that new/more/better content should be the primary focus after Season 3. From a business perspective it makes sense to revisit the earlier missions in order to retain customers that quit because of the repetitiveness.
They are currently working on Season 3 and releasing these weekly episodes. If they said that Season 4 would be primarily a rework of the earlier missions but they still released weekly episodes I see nothing wrong with it, but that's just me.
I kinda want to feel like an Admiral, instead of having my Lt Bridge officer tell me exactly what I have to do. Where's the choices of being a Commanding officer? Do I stay and save a pre-warp planet that's being destroyed by natural disasters or do I follow the Prime Directive to the letter?
Even in pre-existing missions I felt more like the Executive Officer obeying the commands of my Captain than actually having a say.
Can I take a diplomatic route instead of fighting every single random ship along my path, that may take as long to do (and help grind up the almost pointless Diplomatic XP).
I believe there was one mission that actually gave you a choice and provided different quest rewards depending on your choice. This is exactly what I want.
I'm starting small ("experimenting," if you will), but if it works well I hope to implement more such cases in the future.
Just watched the STOKed interview, awesome stuff and I really loved the FALLOUT and other RPG-related parts.
I just wanted to say that I hope that "starting small" also means we don't have to have hundreds of Diplomacy points to enjoy your efforts, especially not if the missions aren't dailies or repeatable.
OK, lets say you do get a choice. What happens now if you're on a team with another person and he wants to fight and you don't? How should the game handle that? Lets say you do have the choice to not fight, what other challenging and engaging gameplay could quests offer if you choose to not fight? All these questions need answers, and most MMO's I've heard of don't offer multiple ways to solve quests, probably because of these exact questions.
Like I say, look to Deferi. Breen Patrol.
Choices galore. Mutliple different ways to end it, and it works on a team too. Sure someone fires and forces the fight mid choices but hey, your on a team.
Choices can be made BY the team. Its doesn't need to be a democracy, whoevers first to get to the choice point can take the whole team in whatever direction (at the simplest).
They have begun to do this REALLY well. The new missions with the drink mixing is a great idea.
Granted, it can be hard when your on a team for everyone to read or process the dialogs at the same pace and I don't know there is a solution for this (more than its already been solved). Then, thats down to the players to coordinate and play nice isn't it.
I'd love a version of Divide et Impera where we can choose to shoot the Admiral. It's blindingly obvious how the mission will end, yet we have no choice but to act like idiots.
Comments
I actually think TOR is going to work that way. And to answer your question about how it will work, each member of the group gets a turn at the dialogue throughout the mission. Not at the same time or NPC, but throughout the mission each player gets to make some sort of decision about what happens. But of course, those missions are being designed that way from the ground up, which STO's missions arent. Because of that, it would be very hard to change existing missions to work that way.
We're getting them - it just takes time.
I kind of hope they dont. I noticed you use the word "fix", but the fact of the matter is the existing missions arent "broken". Granted, they could be better. However, the time spent "fixing" them could be spent making new content, and I'd prefer they make new content with better dialogue options than going back and spending time working on missions that I've already played.
Perhaps "fix" is not the correct word. In any case, I have to disagree with your point of view, at least partially.
From a consumer perspective I agree that new/more/better content should be the primary focus after Season 3. From a business perspective it makes sense to revisit the earlier missions in order to retain customers that quit because of the repetitiveness.
They are currently working on Season 3 and releasing these weekly episodes. If they said that Season 4 would be primarily a rework of the earlier missions but they still released weekly episodes I see nothing wrong with it, but that's just me.
Even in pre-existing missions I felt more like the Executive Officer obeying the commands of my Captain than actually having a say.
Can I take a diplomatic route instead of fighting every single random ship along my path, that may take as long to do (and help grind up the almost pointless Diplomatic XP).
I believe there was one mission that actually gave you a choice and provided different quest rewards depending on your choice. This is exactly what I want.
The first rule of Tautology Club is...the first rule of Tautology Club!
I'm starting small ("experimenting," if you will), but if it works well I hope to implement more such cases in the future.
That would be awesome, thanks for letting us know
I just wanted to say that I hope that "starting small" also means we don't have to have hundreds of Diplomacy points to enjoy your efforts, especially not if the missions aren't dailies or repeatable.
Like I say, look to Deferi. Breen Patrol.
Choices galore. Mutliple different ways to end it, and it works on a team too. Sure someone fires and forces the fight mid choices but hey, your on a team.
Choices can be made BY the team. Its doesn't need to be a democracy, whoevers first to get to the choice point can take the whole team in whatever direction (at the simplest).
They have begun to do this REALLY well. The new missions with the drink mixing is a great idea.
Granted, it can be hard when your on a team for everyone to read or process the dialogs at the same pace and I don't know there is a solution for this (more than its already been solved). Then, thats down to the players to coordinate and play nice isn't it.