"The moment we can re-create the current STO tutorial with the Foundry without cutscenes and voice overs, naturally, including every gameplay mechanic originally demonstrated by the existing tutorial we'll know we have an awesome tool-set to start developing with."
Why would you think I'm joking? In my opinion, the tutorial demonstrates the quintessential feature-set I'd like to see in the Foundry's Open Beta, so no, I'm not joking. :cool:
Except the tutorial only has the most basic features of STO. It isn't even relevant anymore. All it does is show you how to target, move, fire, and equip items.
I'd think you'd want to take the elements of the RA UH Borg missions, particularly the one where you have to diplo the Romulans into fighting for you. Of all missions in STO right now, to include the fourth devidian mission, I see it as containing the "quintessential feature-set" many, including you, would want to see in future STO content.
Except the tutorial only has the most basic features of STO. It isn't even relevant anymore. All it does is show you how to target, move, fire, and equip items.
Perhaps I should explain the feature I'm thinking of, in more detail.
Lets break down what the tutorial has in ways of mission objectives:
Reach a location
Interact with object(s)
Interact with one object out of a group of objects!
Interact with an NPC and have multiple dialog entries.
Interact with objects to affect the environment (i.e. lowering the force-field, or beaming Borg drones into space).
Creating a group of NPC's some of which are hostile, others friendly, all responding to the encounter in differing ways.
Disabling a part of the player UI so that abilities and powers cannot be used while the mission's author doesn't want them to be active.
Placing items in containers (kit and rifle) and requiring the player to obtain the items and use them.
Two different dialog boxes that allow 'leading' the player around the story, normal dialogs and the help dialogs (the ones voiced by Mr. Quinto).
I'd think you'd want to take the elements of the RA UH Borg missions, particularly the one where you have to diplo the Romulans into fighting for you. Of all missions in STO right now, to include the fourth devidian mission, I see it as containing the "quintessential feature-set" many, including you, would want to see in future STO content.
The mission you speak of is the exception and not the rule, therefore I wasn't looking at it as a template to emulate. I'd of course be thrilled if multiple-paths and branching storylines (as well as proper dialog-trees) were implemented, but I feel that would be hoping for too much, at least for now.
Heck, I can already see that some of the things I've put in the above-list can already be considered too much, but I'd still love to see them in a quintessential feature-set.
Also, I did say that's the feature-set I'd like to see in the start of the Foundry Open Beta, which would be a mere sub-set (I hope) of what the Foundry should be at it's actual release...
With due respect, we can talk about what we think needs to be in the Foundry, but until we actually get our hands on it we really don't know what is in the Foundry. I have lots of ideas for stories I'd like to tell but I have no idea if I will be able to do so with the tools I have. Maybe the constraints applied to me by the limited tool set will give me ideas for other stories.
In any case, we'll know where we are when the foundry open beta starts. After that, we can speak with more authority about what we would like to see added.
I hope that all made sense. It was so clear when I started writing it.
They drop hints in many interviews that they holding back on something because of the UCG. So how knows. It is clear form them custom built ships will be part of it because they plain for people to use it for the build a Enterprise contest.
The mission you speak of is the exception and not the rule, therefore I wasn't looking at it as a template to emulate. I'd of course be thrilled if multiple-paths and branching storylines (as well as proper dialog-trees) were implemented, but I feel that would be hoping for too much, at least for now.
Heck, I can already see that some of the things I've put in the above-list can already be considered too much, but I'd still love to see them in a quintessential feature-set.
I would also consider the tutorial to be an exception versus a rule within STO, but that's besides the point. I agree that there are elements to the tutorial that would be great to have as UGC developmental tools, and I hope that such things come packaged with Foundry. That said, I doubt toolbar deactivation will be packaged with foundry.
I would really like to see a lot of things on your list in a foundry update!
They drop hints in many interviews that they holding back on something because of the UCG. So how knows. It is clear form them custom built ships will be part of it because they plain for people to use it for the build a Enterprise contest.
I do think that the Enterprise-F tool will be something completely different from Foundry. I'm not even sure it'll be a building tool. I think we should just wait and see what Cryptic has in a few weeks
Though I don't have the link, I remember reading a few days ago that the Enterprise F contest will be simply submitting artwork. The tool they referenced is a tool to upload an image.
Though I don't have the link, I remember reading a few days ago that the Enterprise F contest will be simply submitting artwork. The tool they referenced is a tool to upload an image.
"The moment we can re-create the current STO tutorial with the Foundry without cutscenes and voice overs, naturally, including every gameplay mechanic originally demonstrated by the existing tutorial we'll know we have an awesome tool-set to start developing with."
I completely disagree. Some of those tricks are hard coded and can be reasonably approximated by the player character actions of killing, clicking or moving, all of which have been confirmed by TauNeutrino. Exactly how all this works is a little up in the air until Foundry hits Tribble, but I am confident I can make an awesome story without cheap tricks.
I completely disagree. Some of those tricks are hard coded and can be reasonably approximated by the player character actions of killing, clicking or moving, all of which have been confirmed by TauNeutrino. Exactly how all this works is a little up in the air until Foundry hits Tribble, but I am confident I can make an awesome story without cheap tricks.
one could also make an awesome story by taking power away from the player, vis a vis imprisonment or Q
I completely disagree. Some of those tricks are hard coded and can be reasonably approximated by the player character actions of killing, clicking or moving, all of which have been confirmed by TauNeutrino. Exactly how all this works is a little up in the air until Foundry hits Tribble, but I am confident I can make an awesome story without cheap tricks.
I doubt any of the things on my listcannot be exposed to the Foundry tool-set. I do know however that some of the items on my listcan never be approximated by simple kill/move/interact gameplay.
one could also make an awesome story by taking power away from the player, vis a vis imprisonment or Q
hardly a cheap trick
I did that borg mission once and had to beam out... it was kind of silly that it worked. I went back to ESD and bought more Hypos, then started almost where I left off.
I doubt any of the things on my listcannot be exposed to the Foundry tool-set. I do know however that some of the items on my listcan never be approximated by simple kill/move/interact gameplay.
They COULD be added, but they aren't all necessary for a good story. Optional objectives and branching dialog are high on my list of things I would like implemented for a good story, but until they are implemented I will happily play Foundry missions and write them. They will be a MASSIVE improvement over boring exploration missions.
I agree with this post. I think he is saying that the basic features should be in to allow this that is all and that it then can open the door to more interesting things.
I hope that is the case and from some of the faqs it looks like it might be (yet sadly there is no post about creating custom interiors for missions in the faq) but we will see!
I do not want it to be like the city of heros creation system as it seemed very confusing and was restictive as you had only a set of premade maps you could work from and limited options that is why i think it did not really take off as well as it could have.
To be successful we need a toolset that is more akin to the spirit of biowares first Neverwinter Nights game (the second had a toolest that was a bit more complicated to use and i think never saw the sucess as the first one really did)
maybe not entirely that robust as it had a entire scripting system too.but in the sence of creating areas easily
I agree with this post. I think he is saying that the basic features should be in to allow this that is all and that it then can open the door to more interesting things.
I hope that is the case and from some of the faqs it looks like it might be (yet sadly there is no post about creating custom interiors for missions in the faq) but we will see!
I do not want it to be like the city of heros creation system as it seemed very confusing and was restictive as you had only a set of premade maps you could work from and limited options that is why i think it did not really take off as well as it could have.
To be successful we need a toolset that is more akin to the spirit of biowares first Neverwinter Nights game (the second had a toolest that was a bit more complicated to use and i think never saw the sucess as the first one really did)
maybe not entirely that robust as it had a entire scripting system too.but in the sence of creating areas easily
...I do not want it to be like the city of heros creation system as it seemed very confusing and was restrictive as you had only a set of premade maps you could work from and limited options...
I think each tool-set will have its own limits and restrictions. The CoH tool-set focuses on concepts and aspects that the Foundry may not even consider important and vice versa.
I do not think, however, that the Foundry needs to be as complex as the Never Winter Night tool-set was although it wouldn't hurt if Cryptic took ideas from BioWare in many aspects of how STO should behave and play.
That is the process of growth, yes. Hopefully Cryptic will see authors being able to re-create content as complex as the tutorial (or similar concepts) a worthy goal.
Comments
I'd think you'd want to take the elements of the RA UH Borg missions, particularly the one where you have to diplo the Romulans into fighting for you. Of all missions in STO right now, to include the fourth devidian mission, I see it as containing the "quintessential feature-set" many, including you, would want to see in future STO content.
Lets break down what the tutorial has in ways of mission objectives:
- Reach a location
- Interact with object(s)
- Interact with one object out of a group of objects!
- Interact with an NPC and have multiple dialog entries.
- Interact with objects to affect the environment (i.e. lowering the force-field, or beaming Borg drones into space).
- Creating a group of NPC's some of which are hostile, others friendly, all responding to the encounter in differing ways.
- Disabling a part of the player UI so that abilities and powers cannot be used while the mission's author doesn't want them to be active.
- Placing items in containers (kit and rifle) and requiring the player to obtain the items and use them.
- Two different dialog boxes that allow 'leading' the player around the story, normal dialogs and the help dialogs (the ones voiced by Mr. Quinto).
The mission you speak of is the exception and not the rule, therefore I wasn't looking at it as a template to emulate. I'd of course be thrilled if multiple-paths and branching storylines (as well as proper dialog-trees) were implemented, but I feel that would be hoping for too much, at least for now.Heck, I can already see that some of the things I've put in the above-list can already be considered too much, but I'd still love to see them in a quintessential feature-set.
Also, I did say that's the feature-set I'd like to see in the start of the Foundry Open Beta, which would be a mere sub-set (I hope) of what the Foundry should be at it's actual release...
In any case, we'll know where we are when the foundry open beta starts. After that, we can speak with more authority about what we would like to see added.
I hope that all made sense. It was so clear when I started writing it.
EB
I would also consider the tutorial to be an exception versus a rule within STO, but that's besides the point. I agree that there are elements to the tutorial that would be great to have as UGC developmental tools, and I hope that such things come packaged with Foundry. That said, I doubt toolbar deactivation will be packaged with foundry.
I would really like to see a lot of things on your list in a foundry update!
I do think that the Enterprise-F tool will be something completely different from Foundry. I'm not even sure it'll be a building tool. I think we should just wait and see what Cryptic has in a few weeks
Yeah I'm pretty sure of this too.
I completely disagree. Some of those tricks are hard coded and can be reasonably approximated by the player character actions of killing, clicking or moving, all of which have been confirmed by TauNeutrino. Exactly how all this works is a little up in the air until Foundry hits Tribble, but I am confident I can make an awesome story without cheap tricks.
one could also make an awesome story by taking power away from the player, vis a vis imprisonment or Q
hardly a cheap trick
I did that borg mission once and had to beam out... it was kind of silly that it worked. I went back to ESD and bought more Hypos, then started almost where I left off.
They COULD be added, but they aren't all necessary for a good story. Optional objectives and branching dialog are high on my list of things I would like implemented for a good story, but until they are implemented I will happily play Foundry missions and write them. They will be a MASSIVE improvement over boring exploration missions.
I hope that is the case and from some of the faqs it looks like it might be (yet sadly there is no post about creating custom interiors for missions in the faq) but we will see!
I do not want it to be like the city of heros creation system as it seemed very confusing and was restictive as you had only a set of premade maps you could work from and limited options that is why i think it did not really take off as well as it could have.
To be successful we need a toolset that is more akin to the spirit of biowares first Neverwinter Nights game (the second had a toolest that was a bit more complicated to use and i think never saw the sucess as the first one really did)
maybe not entirely that robust as it had a entire scripting system too.but in the sence of creating areas easily
we will see!
I hope that is the case and from some of the faqs it looks like it might be (yet sadly there is no post about creating custom interiors for missions in the faq) but we will see!
I do not want it to be like the city of heros creation system as it seemed very confusing and was restictive as you had only a set of premade maps you could work from and limited options that is why i think it did not really take off as well as it could have.
To be successful we need a toolset that is more akin to the spirit of biowares first Neverwinter Nights game (the second had a toolest that was a bit more complicated to use and i think never saw the sucess as the first one really did)
maybe not entirely that robust as it had a entire scripting system too.but in the sence of creating areas easily
we will see!
I think each tool-set will have its own limits and restrictions. The CoH tool-set focuses on concepts and aspects that the Foundry may not even consider important and vice versa.
I do not think, however, that the Foundry needs to be as complex as the Never Winter Night tool-set was although it wouldn't hurt if Cryptic took ideas from BioWare in many aspects of how STO should behave and play.
launch very basic tool
...get that to work
add some stuff
...get that to work
ect..