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Forums > Home› The Foundry for Star Trek Online› The Foundry for Star Trek Online - Discussion & Feedback

Using sector space in story?

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
edited January 2011 in The Foundry for Star Trek Online - Discussion & Feedback
I want to have a 'multi system' story. Now i know i can just have the player leave one map and then appear at the next but i want to have him/her travel though sector space. I played one UGC mission a few weeks ago where the author managed it, but i cannot figure out how to do this myself. STOwiki mentions it as possible but i'm not sure to make it work or if a trick is required.

can anyone explain how it can be done?

to make it clear what i'm asking, i'll write a quick diagram:

What i want to avoid
Map One
> Map Two

What i want
Map One ---> Travel though sector space to another system
> Map two
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    To the best of my knowledge, you can't get back to to sector space after using it as a door to the first part of your mission.

    I've attempted to do this already by clicking the "..." next to "Leave From" in the map transition panel, and although the first map transition panel will allow you to pick from several maps including sector blocks to pick a door, all preceeding maps won't give you the option. You HAVE to leave from that particular map. Which I find frustrating.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Thanks :) aren't you one of the people who make video tutorials? i've been watching a few and appreciate them!

    i can swear i moved systems in a UGC mission. I'm going to move another character to tribble and see if i can find it.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    If this isn't in the current release, will it be a feature on the roadmap? I'd find it really useful to be able to make people travel through sector space to reach the next part of their assignment - much more realistic, especially on courier/intelligence missions.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    there is a way to do it. I cant do it. But, I played a buddy's test mission and he had me go to 4 system via sector space. i dont know how he did it. i will track him down and see it the mission is still there and how he did it. (may have been there at the start of foundry and is now gone.)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Altexist wrote: »
    there is a way to do it. I cant do it. But, I played a buddy's test mission and he had me go to 4 system via sector space. i dont know how he did it. i will track him down and see it the mission is still there and how he did it. (may have been there at the start of foundry and is now gone.)

    I played NemesisChiken's mission and it had multiple space travels. The way I see of doing it is:

    You are allowed to have a transition to sector space as the first transition.
    So if you want more than one, then you might be able to set up multiple transitions by having them all as a "complete all" objective that branches off into your separate mission streams right from the start.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Galactrix wrote: »
    I played NemesisChiken's mission and it had multiple space travels. The way I see of doing it is:

    .

    that's the mission i am taking about. I don't know how he did it.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    I would just cheat and do a work-around making a map to simulate sector space. I did something similar using a simulated transwarp space section that was mostly used for an in-flight interruption for dialog and then a dream sequence to finish an episode and setup the next. I used the green tunnel space map, but I've seen others use the star effect as well...

    I would advise not shooting yourself in the foot by expecting Exactly what you want and I would focus on getting what you really need to tell your story... players don't really care about the mechanics as much as authors do...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    The parallel pathing works. If group together 2 interacts, where each one being on a different map, you can have multiple doors.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    I`ll have to try the parallel thing out.

    That would add lot to certain mission for sure.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Pendra37 wrote: »
    The parallel pathing works. If group together 2 interacts, where each one being on a different map, you can have multiple doors.

    wow that would make a storyline confusing, but it might actually work. I'll let you guys know soon.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    SBCouto wrote: »
    I`ll have to try the parallel thing out.

    That would add lot to certain mission for sure.

    Certain missions. But not all missions and not just thrown in for the sake of it. I actually ended up feeling bored with all the travelling in sector space (which you need to do about 5 or 6 times in that mission). There's a reason they cut out the travel scenes in the TV shows and have them arrive at new planets seconds after the last scene.

    Also having them grouped in parallel objectives had the strange effect of allowing you to re-enter the system you just completed. I never tried it but I wonder how that would mess with the game?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Galactrix wrote: »
    Certain missions. But not all missions and not just thrown in for the sake of it. I actually ended up feeling bored with all the travelling in sector space (which you need to do about 5 or 6 times in that mission). There's a reason they cut out the travel scenes in the TV shows and have them arrive at new planets seconds after the last scene.

    Also having them grouped in parallel objectives had the strange effect of allowing you to re-enter the system you just completed. I never tried it but I wonder how that would mess with the game?

    your right in regards to the 'feel' of the TV show and that makes me feel better about not being able to go to sector space for but i've been thinking about this idea while at work today and i realized that at least for what i presently want to travel systems for, this idea wouldn't work as i want one straight storyline, not several ones you complete to reach a goal. Now, i can see this parallel objectives idea as being good for some stories but i don't think its how i've seen moving systems before in the past has worked.

    any one else have an idea on how to get back to sector space mid mission?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Robert_Praetori wrote: »
    your right in regards to the 'feel' of the TV show and that makes me feel better about not being able to go to sector space for but i've been thinking about this idea while at work today and i realized that at least for what i presently want to travel systems for, this idea wouldn't work as i want one straight storyline, not several ones you complete to reach a goal. Now, i can see this parallel objectives idea as being good for some stories but i don't think its how i've seen moving systems before in the past has worked.

    any one else have an idea on how to get back to sector space mid mission?

    There's that faking it approach that was in a previous thread by FatherFungus I think.

    You set up a blank space map, put in stars as the background, then add the streaking stars warp effect and simulate warp speed travel, having the player move from one end of the map to the other with a reach marker and not in the "real" sector space.

    With that, you can stick in stuff like ships you meet on the way and can talk to.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    So... the idea of using the first transition from sector space KINDA works... My idea was simply to not tell the player where any other systems needed were besides the one i want them to do first, then at the end of the first part i tell them where to go for the second and so on. this has 2 flaws...

    1) it won't prompt you to warp out/beam up until you've completed ALL tasks so to a player who reads the dialogue to quickly, they'll be lost completely and have no idea where to go next.

    2)the foundry won't let you warp to sector mid mission regardless of if your done or not, so theres no way to play it though before publishing.

    I've made a super quick test mission thats publishing now called
    'Multi-sector space mission test' so you can get a feel for how it works.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    wrote:
    I played NemesisChiken's mission and it had multiple space travels. The way I see of doing it is:

    You are allowed to have a transition to sector space as the first transition.
    So if you want more than one, then you might be able to set up multiple transitions by having them all as a "complete all" objective that branches off into your separate mission streams right from the start.
    Yes, I think that is a possibility. At least I saw that I could create transitions within the Complete All. So you can't make a strictly linear sequence of Sector Space visits (like in a few missions), but you can do it if you set up parallel tasks. At least that might be possible, I haven't actually tried it.

    If you want to ensure that your player always knows where to fly to, make the name of the systems part of the objective description. Then it will show in the list of objectives.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    I suppose this kinda thing is do-able... but seems like the costs out-weigh the benefits... I guess I like to do things the quick & dirty, easy way and use a work around to get the story done...

    How much time are you going to waste and how many bad reviews are you willing to accept from players getting lost or confused?

    In the end the choice is yours...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Napoleon_BlownApart wrote:
    I suppose this kinda thing is do-able... but seems like the costs out-weigh the benefits... I guess I like to do things the quick & dirty, easy way and use a work around to get the story done...

    How much time are you going to waste and how many bad reviews are you willing to accept from players getting lost or confused?

    In the end the choice is yours...

    I'd settle for some bad reviews...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Fair enough.... informed choices are best made by the author...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Napoleon_BlownApart wrote:
    Fair enough.... informed choices are best made by the author...

    I was being a dork, because I'd enjoy having some kind of reviews rather near none :)

    I actually agree with you more or less...unless there is a compelling reason to jump from system to system...then it is often a mechanism that opens up a mission to more annoyance than anything else.
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