I agree with what everyone has said so far. The things I'd like to second are these:
1) Branching conversations/interactions
2) Make dialogue/events dependant on player traits (I'm dying to get a liberated borg captain caught up in some anti-Borg riots while doing a routine mission--judging from the sentiments of civilians way back in the tutorial, some people have to hate the Borg and may not be all that friendly to former members of the collective...).
3) Failable missions
4) Different outcomes/pathways depending on player choices
5) Possibility of having NPC's surrender or of being able to ask for their surrender (all the killing is getting to me--when I walk down the street these days, all I can think about is where is the best place to put a phaser turret?)
I'd also like to add one more. I'd really like to be able to take control of Boff's, as in get one kidnapped or have one go AWOL or do something stupid that has to be cleaned up. Maybe a Boff's accidentally ingests some hallucinogenic food on a first contact mission and goes nuts. Something like that. I don't expect such control will actually be possible, but would be fun.
Actually I would like to see more non-combat story based missions.
One thing that I realy like about Star Trek is that is not focused on combat/war, but rather humanity, morality relationships, life etc etc. One of my most memorable Star Trek gaming experiences was playing a Final Unity - fantastic story and gameplay (in the good 'ol days).
I understand and appreciate why STO has been modeled around the war between the Klingons & the Federation. But it would be nice to see some very well written non-combat missions, that required some puzzle & problem solving. Apart from the Deferi ruins puzzle, there is 0% problem solving in STO.
I realy want to avoid "Go here and shoot 5 of these" scenarios.
Quest timers, so e.g. i need to dash to "x" system and save the ambassador before "y" time expires and then escort him through various trials before "z" counter expires.
Stardate 87364.4 Our ship has just entered orbit around....ect
I think one could do that with a dialogue, if there is a way to show no officer/NPC in the screen.
If there is multiple choice style of dialogue and mission-branching is possible, you could even assemble your "own" log entry as player, possible influencing the flow of the mission.
Say.
Stardate 87364.4. Our ship has just entered orbit around the Penal Colony of Korit Minor. The colony is holding prisoners of war, mostly Klingons and Naucassian at this time. We are to deliver supplies and to take two Naucassian prisoners aboard. The prisoners have promised to deliver crucial war information about a new Klingon-Naucassian weapon project.
Also accompanying us will be Lt.Cmdr Juliana Sandoval, Starfleet Intelligence. I remember her from my time at Starfleet Acadamy.
1.On a personal note, I don't know if I can trust her. She was a very ambitious woman at her time, and I always attributed a high degree of ruthlessness to her. We had quite a few heated discussions. She didnd't seem to care for the Federation ideals. Her working for Starfleet Intelligence just seems to prove this. 2. On a personal note, I am looking forward meeting her again. She was a very ambitious woman at her time, and very talented. Her enthusiasm to protect the Federation and its citizen was admirable. Her work for Starfleet Intelligence seems highly appropriate.
The choice would affect how she reacts to the player character, and she might choose to conceal certain information that will influence the further development of the story for the first.
For example, if you pick the second option, she might ask you to help you perform an illegal interrogation technique on one of the Naucassians. If you refuse, she accepts it. If you pick the first, she does it without asking you, and your science officer might warn you when the procedure is already underway. Later, one of the Naucassians might help you because he trusts you if you picked the first option, but refuse cooperation if you picked the second - simply because he has observed your interaction with her...
I too would like to make missions that ignite the war with the FED and Klingons. But I've been wondering if I could do missions that center around my BOff's.
I too would like to make missions that ignite the war with the FED and Klingons. But I've been wondering if I could do missions that center around my BOff's.
Your BOffs or the BOffs of the player playing the mission?
Your BOff you might be able to fake by having an NPC with his looks and name. Other players officers is an interesting question.
It seems the existing mission "know" the differcene between the classes of the BO and whether one is in the away team or in space. But can it ensure you always get the same BO (and the right BO?).
I really want to do Diplomatic/Investigation missions. A lot of ST episodes took place entirely on board a ship, and I'd like to do those kinds of missions too.
It's really crucial that the Author can use Foundry tools to identify player-character characteristics, like gender, and be able to react to those in some way. Probably not in any sophisticated way at launch, but definitely in sooner rather than later.
I'd also like the ability to give the player an object that they can carry in their inventory during the mission. Such as delivering supplies to a planet. The cargo-type supplies would be excellent for this. Something similar to the Ore delivery mission in Deferi space.
It would be useful to be able to use dialog boxes to interact with objects as if they were NPC's. That way you could get around the need to use a BO or other person to provide the player with information and such.
Speaking of BO's, it would be awesome if we had the ability to assign the player a temporary BO during the mission, especially if they could automatically occupy an appropriate bridge station. But even if it was just for an away team it would be outstanding.
I want underground caverns for clandestine meetings. the tech they use for the explore missions would be great hopefully soon. Ship interiors too. But everyone wants that.
I would very much like massive customizable content for space. A great example is flying extreemly close to a sirius type star. (A1V) In addition I would like nebula capability so thick like that 'scan 5 objects' mission. Why? 'interface' No, not a replay of the episode but I need the capabilities to create the upper layers of a gas giant. (You guys are going to love that mission idea)
I want the flickering lights. In fact, I want no light and you have to carry those flashlights. (Can we have that anyway, cus that would be cool.) And the red alert running lights, placeable force fields, and hull breaches. Big big hull breaches like you had in the training mission.
And near the realm of impossible a suggestion box for cryptic to review for a consumable reward upon completion of our missions. Admit it guys, you all have an idea for one.
1) Branching game play. I want to be able to go on a mission and based on the choices I make, and the areas I go, have the mission change as I play it. Imagine being able to have multiple outcomes that have different consequences. Like your ship is attacked, and how you move through the ship, and the decisions you make effect what happens next. This would most likely use triggers and if/then scripting.
2) Social zones where you're interactions have an effect on the map. Like your ship, you can issue red alert from the bridge and the lights change to a pulsing red. The NPC behaviors change.
3) Mini games. Like puzzles, but also non puzzle oriented things like a key pad for doors, where you have to type in the right code. Any form of customizable interfaces that can be used to lock out, and or challenge the player.
4) Environmental Objects you can move. I always felt that STO could do with some "Tomb Raider" styled puzzles where you move boxes and other crates to gain access to areas. The idea of forcing the player to think about his surroundings is also high on my mission ideas, and it can encourage multiple options that could work, or fail to the players benefit/detriment.
5) NPC that you can hold conversations with, and they "remember" you interaction. I want to be able to have a conversation with a character, and maybe **** them off, so when I come back they may be less likely to help me, or They may be more open if I flirt with them.
6) A reward system where we can chose a custom reward built from a "budget" system. This system could be "smart" enough to recognize predetermined measures for missions and gives you the option to craft a reward based on how well that mission challenges players. And having multiple rewards for different out comes. (at the very lest, i would like to place "treasure chest" near the end that I can chose a loot type, but the level is dependent on player rank, that way I can have different rewards.)
7) The ability to enter and exit a usable small vehicle, like a shuttle craft to move about a map, with out changes instances. I would like to try some upper atmosphere missions where such things would be needed. I would also like to be able to chose/ purchase your own type of shuttle/ small craft and use it, but also pick up ones from missions.
8) The ability to script smart NPC behavior based on a if/then triggering system. Mainly so that they flee, take cover and retreat to heal as needed. Also, it would be cool if Civilians run from fighting, and enemies head towards conflict. Also, I would like to set up some defend and assault styled maps, where enemies are required to move towards you, and patrol.
9) Mostly, just triggers. As above, they are very useful for so much. I could trigger a storm based on something a player does, or destroy a building becasue the player overloads a reactor.
10) Being able to script the player away team, so that they can be split apart and under their "own" accord go out and accomplish task with out the player being there. Like having a player trapped behind a force field while one of his BOFF's goes and hits the release mechanism.
That about covers it. I hope Cryptic does implement many of these features as they round out the Foundries capabilities. These tools can be very handy, and immersive, and could lead to a lot of fun and enjoyable content.
I especially want #7, as it would give quite a few new map types and options to the game. I frankly want a shuttle, that I can keep, and use, even if it has to be used in their own special instance, and they should be able to enter and exit them with out changing instances. It may not be able to load them in the instance your ship is in, nor your ground crew, but that's alright, just as long as I can fly with them.
I would like the ability to restrict or lock out a player's access to their powers and abilities. For instance, you create a scenerio where a player has been captured and locked away. You lock access to weapons and kit abilities to show that those items have been confiscated. After escaping, a player may have to find a locker or some other storage device and interact with it to unlock the restictions on their abilities to show that they have reaquired their weapons and kits. Of course, this would work best if you can choose specific abilities and powers to lock so that we can simulate any number of situations.
I would like the ability to restrict or lock out a player's access to their powers and abilities. For instance, you create a scenerio where a player has been captured and locked away. You lock access to weapons and kit abilities to show that those items have been confiscated. After escaping, a player may have to find a locker or some other storage device and interact with it to unlock the restictions on their abilities to show that they have reaquired their weapons and kits. Of course, this would work best if you can choose specific abilities and powers to lock so that we can simulate any number of situations.
The devs have said this isn't going to be available. I've been thinking that a good work around would be to just make all the enemy npc's unattackable during the time that the player captured.
The Dialog tree thread appears to put the kibosh on doing anything particularly interesting. It sounds like we're just getting Map->Enemy/Object Placement->Text of Mission.
A mission that I have in mind to create involves my ship being disabled by a Borg ship in space combat then moving to the interior to fight intruders. I would like to see a way to set when my ship is down to X% hull the fighting stops and I can continue to the interior portion instead of just being blown up.
as for what I'd like to do, I'm thinking about a scenario with a bit more of a puzzle/problem solving bent
Possible starters:
Find something odd/unusual and take it to Mem Alpha for analysis.
Try to work in getting opinions/options from various NPC's on MA (I seem to recall we could use an existing NPC as part of out plot, e.g Admiral Quinn giving you your initial orders to go to planet x and do something)
Commander Romaine hails you and asks you to pick up some advanced sensor probes/packages ad the nearest starbase, and proceed to exploration cluster x, or border world y and perform a detailed analysis of odd/unusual readings returned by a less sophisticated probe.
I've been holding off even commenting on the foundry, but I had been hoping to be able to make an epic saga with the tools, possibly in several chapters, I got some loose ideas, but once again, I've been holding off a fair bit to see exactly what potential there is in what cryptic supplies.
I am hoping to work with my fleet on the project (if such is required) - mostly I will be building these adventures for additional fleet events.
Edit: One thing I would like to see is some form of variable that is local to characters, perhaps like a hidden acolade system, you would only need a few per author, and you could make much better chain-style missions. Potentially, even just storing a single string on the character may suffice, depending on how that is implemented (such as range of characters, and length). Edit#2: This way every author could store information per character, of course you would need to limit it, but anything in this regard would be great. Edit#3: Just to clarify - I'm talking about a global system here - one that would transpose between one mission and the next, if you stored them on a table cross referenced by author/character, it could really have so much potential. Even just 16 bytes of info, or the more the better, would open up a lot of doors. Edit#4: Though not really needed, you could expand the table to include a 3rd dimension, Author/Character/Saga, this would also potentially open your servers for memory hogging, but if you limit the size of the data to something relatively small (just 16 bytes or something), you would allow for 128 Boolean flags per saga, surprising how many conditions can be stored in that.
I am hoping we are able to do something like having to go against fed ships (ie Fed vs A.I. Fed Space/Ground Combat) and so on cause if so that may work toward the idea that I have for when the foundry comes out.
I'm hoping for access to some killer special effects. Like one of the missions I'm planning works around an artificial blackhole as a source of power inside a spherical room.
Gravity planes, namely a player could potentially walk on walls or the ceiling.
Custom Buffs and Degens.
Mission specific weapons that only exist within the mission itself.
Access to prims and the ability to warp them. If we can't import models, then lets make them ingame.
The ability to scale up/down npcs, objects and the like.
The Ability to use it to make custom ship interiors. This idea is one reason why they are making it, for players to customize their own ship interiors. I want functionality too, like to call different alerts, go into the holodeck (with a custom-made setting inside), eject the warp core, sit in my freaking chair, and explore.
for UGC missions that take place in the holodeck, these would be nice:
- a room that looks like an inactive holodeck
- an arch that can appear and disappear
- NPCs that can appear and disappear like holograms
- suddenly switching maps
and (although I know these would be prohibitively expensive to create) ...
- period holodeck set pieces from various episodes, like Vic Fontaine's lounge or Dashiell Hammett style costumes and decor, or Sherlock Holmes etc
- ability to change the costume of the player and boffs he brings along
Comments
1) Branching conversations/interactions
2) Make dialogue/events dependant on player traits (I'm dying to get a liberated borg captain caught up in some anti-Borg riots while doing a routine mission--judging from the sentiments of civilians way back in the tutorial, some people have to hate the Borg and may not be all that friendly to former members of the collective...).
3) Failable missions
4) Different outcomes/pathways depending on player choices
5) Possibility of having NPC's surrender or of being able to ask for their surrender (all the killing is getting to me--when I walk down the street these days, all I can think about is where is the best place to put a phaser turret?)
I'd also like to add one more. I'd really like to be able to take control of Boff's, as in get one kidnapped or have one go AWOL or do something stupid that has to be cleaned up. Maybe a Boff's accidentally ingests some hallucinogenic food on a first contact mission and goes nuts. Something like that. I don't expect such control will actually be possible, but would be fun.
One thing that I realy like about Star Trek is that is not focused on combat/war, but rather humanity, morality relationships, life etc etc. One of my most memorable Star Trek gaming experiences was playing a Final Unity - fantastic story and gameplay (in the good 'ol days).
I understand and appreciate why STO has been modeled around the war between the Klingons & the Federation. But it would be nice to see some very well written non-combat missions, that required some puzzle & problem solving. Apart from the Deferi ruins puzzle, there is 0% problem solving in STO.
I realy want to avoid "Go here and shoot 5 of these" scenarios.
Stardate 87364.4 Our ship has just entered orbit around....ect
If there is multiple choice style of dialogue and mission-branching is possible, you could even assemble your "own" log entry as player, possible influencing the flow of the mission.
Say.
Stardate 87364.4. Our ship has just entered orbit around the Penal Colony of Korit Minor. The colony is holding prisoners of war, mostly Klingons and Naucassian at this time. We are to deliver supplies and to take two Naucassian prisoners aboard. The prisoners have promised to deliver crucial war information about a new Klingon-Naucassian weapon project.
Also accompanying us will be Lt.Cmdr Juliana Sandoval, Starfleet Intelligence. I remember her from my time at Starfleet Acadamy.
1.On a personal note, I don't know if I can trust her. She was a very ambitious woman at her time, and I always attributed a high degree of ruthlessness to her. We had quite a few heated discussions. She didnd't seem to care for the Federation ideals. Her working for Starfleet Intelligence just seems to prove this.
2. On a personal note, I am looking forward meeting her again. She was a very ambitious woman at her time, and very talented. Her enthusiasm to protect the Federation and its citizen was admirable. Her work for Starfleet Intelligence seems highly appropriate.
The choice would affect how she reacts to the player character, and she might choose to conceal certain information that will influence the further development of the story for the first.
For example, if you pick the second option, she might ask you to help you perform an illegal interrogation technique on one of the Naucassians. If you refuse, she accepts it. If you pick the first, she does it without asking you, and your science officer might warn you when the procedure is already underway. Later, one of the Naucassians might help you because he trusts you if you picked the first option, but refuse cooperation if you picked the second - simply because he has observed your interaction with her...
Your BOff you might be able to fake by having an NPC with his looks and name. Other players officers is an interesting question.
It seems the existing mission "know" the differcene between the classes of the BO and whether one is in the away team or in space. But can it ensure you always get the same BO (and the right BO?).
It's really crucial that the Author can use Foundry tools to identify player-character characteristics, like gender, and be able to react to those in some way. Probably not in any sophisticated way at launch, but definitely in sooner rather than later.
I'd also like the ability to give the player an object that they can carry in their inventory during the mission. Such as delivering supplies to a planet. The cargo-type supplies would be excellent for this. Something similar to the Ore delivery mission in Deferi space.
It would be useful to be able to use dialog boxes to interact with objects as if they were NPC's. That way you could get around the need to use a BO or other person to provide the player with information and such.
Speaking of BO's, it would be awesome if we had the ability to assign the player a temporary BO during the mission, especially if they could automatically occupy an appropriate bridge station. But even if it was just for an away team it would be outstanding.
I would very much like massive customizable content for space. A great example is flying extreemly close to a sirius type star. (A1V) In addition I would like nebula capability so thick like that 'scan 5 objects' mission. Why? 'interface' No, not a replay of the episode but I need the capabilities to create the upper layers of a gas giant. (You guys are going to love that mission idea)
I want the flickering lights. In fact, I want no light and you have to carry those flashlights. (Can we have that anyway, cus that would be cool.) And the red alert running lights, placeable force fields, and hull breaches. Big big hull breaches like you had in the training mission.
And near the realm of impossible a suggestion box for cryptic to review for a consumable reward upon completion of our missions. Admit it guys, you all have an idea for one.
1) Branching game play. I want to be able to go on a mission and based on the choices I make, and the areas I go, have the mission change as I play it. Imagine being able to have multiple outcomes that have different consequences. Like your ship is attacked, and how you move through the ship, and the decisions you make effect what happens next. This would most likely use triggers and if/then scripting.
2) Social zones where you're interactions have an effect on the map. Like your ship, you can issue red alert from the bridge and the lights change to a pulsing red. The NPC behaviors change.
3) Mini games. Like puzzles, but also non puzzle oriented things like a key pad for doors, where you have to type in the right code. Any form of customizable interfaces that can be used to lock out, and or challenge the player.
4) Environmental Objects you can move. I always felt that STO could do with some "Tomb Raider" styled puzzles where you move boxes and other crates to gain access to areas. The idea of forcing the player to think about his surroundings is also high on my mission ideas, and it can encourage multiple options that could work, or fail to the players benefit/detriment.
5) NPC that you can hold conversations with, and they "remember" you interaction. I want to be able to have a conversation with a character, and maybe **** them off, so when I come back they may be less likely to help me, or They may be more open if I flirt with them.
6) A reward system where we can chose a custom reward built from a "budget" system. This system could be "smart" enough to recognize predetermined measures for missions and gives you the option to craft a reward based on how well that mission challenges players. And having multiple rewards for different out comes. (at the very lest, i would like to place "treasure chest" near the end that I can chose a loot type, but the level is dependent on player rank, that way I can have different rewards.)
7) The ability to enter and exit a usable small vehicle, like a shuttle craft to move about a map, with out changes instances. I would like to try some upper atmosphere missions where such things would be needed. I would also like to be able to chose/ purchase your own type of shuttle/ small craft and use it, but also pick up ones from missions.
8) The ability to script smart NPC behavior based on a if/then triggering system. Mainly so that they flee, take cover and retreat to heal as needed. Also, it would be cool if Civilians run from fighting, and enemies head towards conflict. Also, I would like to set up some defend and assault styled maps, where enemies are required to move towards you, and patrol.
9) Mostly, just triggers. As above, they are very useful for so much. I could trigger a storm based on something a player does, or destroy a building becasue the player overloads a reactor.
10) Being able to script the player away team, so that they can be split apart and under their "own" accord go out and accomplish task with out the player being there. Like having a player trapped behind a force field while one of his BOFF's goes and hits the release mechanism.
That about covers it. I hope Cryptic does implement many of these features as they round out the Foundries capabilities. These tools can be very handy, and immersive, and could lead to a lot of fun and enjoyable content.
I especially want #7, as it would give quite a few new map types and options to the game. I frankly want a shuttle, that I can keep, and use, even if it has to be used in their own special instance, and they should be able to enter and exit them with out changing instances. It may not be able to load them in the instance your ship is in, nor your ground crew, but that's alright, just as long as I can fly with them.
The devs have said this isn't going to be available. I've been thinking that a good work around would be to just make all the enemy npc's unattackable during the time that the player captured.
as for what I'd like to do, I'm thinking about a scenario with a bit more of a puzzle/problem solving bent
Possible starters:
Find something odd/unusual and take it to Mem Alpha for analysis.
Try to work in getting opinions/options from various NPC's on MA (I seem to recall we could use an existing NPC as part of out plot, e.g Admiral Quinn giving you your initial orders to go to planet x and do something)
Commander Romaine hails you and asks you to pick up some advanced sensor probes/packages ad the nearest starbase, and proceed to exploration cluster x, or border world y and perform a detailed analysis of odd/unusual readings returned by a less sophisticated probe.
I made a storylin the day I join STO :P
so im filled with them xD
I am hoping to work with my fleet on the project (if such is required) - mostly I will be building these adventures for additional fleet events.
Edit: One thing I would like to see is some form of variable that is local to characters, perhaps like a hidden acolade system, you would only need a few per author, and you could make much better chain-style missions. Potentially, even just storing a single string on the character may suffice, depending on how that is implemented (such as range of characters, and length). Edit#2: This way every author could store information per character, of course you would need to limit it, but anything in this regard would be great. Edit#3: Just to clarify - I'm talking about a global system here - one that would transpose between one mission and the next, if you stored them on a table cross referenced by author/character, it could really have so much potential. Even just 16 bytes of info, or the more the better, would open up a lot of doors. Edit#4: Though not really needed, you could expand the table to include a 3rd dimension, Author/Character/Saga, this would also potentially open your servers for memory hogging, but if you limit the size of the data to something relatively small (just 16 bytes or something), you would allow for 128 Boolean flags per saga, surprising how many conditions can be stored in that.
It will be based on discovering what happen to a particular STO era character, one that
had been lost.
At the time (kirks early years) a few in the Federation knew...but that information was lost.
The players are going to stumble on it in a big way....and what the federation had thought
about the incident is way wrong.....deadly wrong.
The players will find themselves depending on the memories of the fallen hero for survival.
>> The Wilted Rose <<
Gravity planes, namely a player could potentially walk on walls or the ceiling.
Custom Buffs and Degens.
Mission specific weapons that only exist within the mission itself.
Access to prims and the ability to warp them. If we can't import models, then lets make them ingame.
The ability to scale up/down npcs, objects and the like.
Weather
- a room that looks like an inactive holodeck
- an arch that can appear and disappear
- NPCs that can appear and disappear like holograms
- suddenly switching maps
and (although I know these would be prohibitively expensive to create) ...
- period holodeck set pieces from various episodes, like Vic Fontaine's lounge or Dashiell Hammett style costumes and decor, or Sherlock Holmes etc
- ability to change the costume of the player and boffs he brings along