That I agree with. It's easier to just tell us why, and then ignore all the whining because the change, then to just say X changed. Either way though, some people are going to feel like a promise has been broken as they can't accept that things need to change.
It really depends on the 'why' and whether they want a precedent of explaining themselves regardless. If the 'why' was 'STO is bleeding money at an insane rate', or just as bad 'STO isn't providing the desired return on investment,' explaining themselves could worsen matters.
Even if the reasons are ones that the player base would understand and rally behind this time, 'next time' they might not be.
It also might be as simple as them not having the budget for a meaningful PR department and, lacking one, figure silence is safer.
It really depends on the 'why' and whether they want a precedent of explaining themselves regardless. If the 'why' was 'STO is bleeding money at an insane rate', or just as bad 'STO isn't providing the desired return on investment,' explaining themselves could worsen matters.
Even if the reasons are ones that the player base would understand and rally behind this time, 'next time' they might not be.
It also might be as simple as them not having the budget for a meaningful PR department and, lacking one, figure silence is safer.
Silence is seldom ever better because people are creative and that leads to endless speculation and conspiracy theories. It's much easier to say "we don't have the budget to hire 10 new content team members to focus on KDF" then it is to say nothing, or say contradictory things every few months.
Its plain and simple and you know the answer why try and start trouble, PW is a company and companies are allways changing, depending on how the information and data they get goes, there has been several respnces in here like this which does answer your question, th problem is you just dont like the answer. and nothing they say whill satisfie you so why should they bother.
I'm a journalist that works for a daily paper owned by a large corporation ... same deal.
The only thing I want to hear is a clear answer to my question: What does PW want for the KDF? And possibly(depending on the 1st answer): Why did they change what they wanted?
What I personally may want for the KDF is totally irrelevant to the question(s) I'm asking.
I suggest you become stockholder then. PW will be paying out nearly 100 million dollars in dividends this month and you would surely be better placed to get a frank answer as well as a nice check.
That is why I left my sub lapse as of yesterday. It had really sadden me to yank my credit card, being here since day one of BETA and all.... But it seems KDF will never be what I was always hopping for it to be. Two years latter and the red side is still a truncated dangling side spin off of federation play (*plays Sith from Level 1...)
I can only hope to see near future change in KDF, I love Star Trek a lot more than the other "star" franchise and want to come back home (to STO)
I think that is obvious. However if it is simply a matter of different people having different opinions, they why did you tell us that PW(in a collective context) wanted the KDF to be on par with the Feds?
Why were we repeatedlytold that PW(in a collective context) wanted equal factions if it was simply a matter of "different individuals have different opinions"?
I think what happened is PWE expressed support for STO, including KDF expansion, but it's Cryptic that's changing the focus to this endgame and C-Store focus.
I don't get how people say PWE is hands-off on their US based games but then turn around and blame them for all the cash grabs in STO. That is not happening due to some random PWE manager stroking a white cat somewhere in Beijing - this is happening right here in the good old U.S. of A, right here at CRYPTIC STUDIOS.
No, it will not and even sadder is if other factions are added to the game they will be better that the KDF.
And I read the Interview and sorry but from what I seen Cryptic tried to make the Hoard but run out of time so we got the premise of a Hoard in terms of story that never materializes for the players in terms of content, the Klingon-Federation War was a mistake and one that at this point cannot be corrected.
Cryptic needs to come out and say the Romulans will be monster play too. They obviously don't have the resources to finish a 2nd faction much less add a 3rd.
If they can't take the financial hit to develop a product before they make a profit from it, then they need to just stop leading us on with PR feel-good statements about making the KDF what it should be. Just stop.
Silence is seldom ever better because people are creative and that leads to endless speculation and conspiracy theories. It's much easier to say "we don't have the budget to hire 10 new content team members to focus on KDF" then it is to say nothing, or say contradictory things every few months.
Conspiracy theories happen anyway. Saying the wrong thing fuels conspiracies more than saying nothing.
The ideal, of course, is to say the right things... but that is easier said than done.
Conspiracy theories happen anyway. Saying the wrong thing fuels conspiracies more than saying nothing.
The ideal, of course, is to say the right things... but that is easier said than done.
The point is someone is always going to be unhappy - it it's not about Klink Missions it'll be about Fed ear choices. You might as well give them the truth rather then spinning a line.
It was probably both. At the time of the sale (May, 2011) PW probably felt there was revenue to be made by making the KDF more viable. After 10-11 months of data they've come to the conclusion that the KDF will never have a major fan-base following and that putting too many resources into that direction is just a waste of money. So ultimately it's just easier to focus primarily on end-game for both groups - and also expanding on PvP and making the war actually viable seems like a reasonable choice as it kills several birds with one stone.
Cryptic killed the KDF faction by killing KDF design shortly before launch. Read Peregrine Falcon's log of the KDF development timeline. The reason KDF "will never have a major fan-base following" is for this simple fact: People get attached to their characters. These are MMOs and most times the character is a digital extension of the player. When people aren't presented with the choice at the character's inception but rather later, they won't choose to abandon their main character to start over because of the time already invested. This is the reason KDF never took off. Had the choice existed from the beginning such as to play Horde or Alliance, Jedi or Sith, etc, then a far different landscape would be painted and we would not be hold this discussion.
The point is someone is always going to be unhappy - it it's not about Klink Missions it'll be about Fed ear choices. You might as well give them the truth rather then spinning a line.
That is what I am saying about silence rather than any line at all.....
Cryptic killed the KDF faction by killing KDF design shortly before launch. Read Peregrine Falcon's log of the KDF development timeline. The reason KDF "will never have a major fan-base following" is for this simple fact: People get attached to their characters. These are MMOs and most times the character is a digital extension of the player. When people aren't presented with the choice at the character's inception but rather later, they won't choose to abandon their main character to start over because of the time already invested. This is the reason KDF never took off. Had the choice existed from the beginning such as to play Horde or Alliance, Jedi or Sith, etc, then a far different landscape would be painted and we would not be hold this discussion.
I was addressing Naga's comments about post-PWE statements. I don't care about what happened 2 years ago, nor do I care for the chicken/egg argument. I live in the moment, not the past.
I'm one of those STO players who would never make a KDF character if it were my choice. I have zero interest in that Faction - I'm all Fed as that's what I've spent my entire life watching. The only reason I did make a KDF was because some friends wanted to do one-on-one PvP so we all made a KDF to do that against each other and earn Marks. I liked the KDF Missions - I consider them to be some of the best in the game - but I had no enthusiasm nor Trek feelings while I did them.
That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see more KDF added for those who like it. I don't PvP in STO either, but I understand many do and that they want more options as well. But if the choice comes down to 5 new KDF Missions and only 1 new end-game Mission for the Feds and Klinks I'm certainly not going to vote for that. More end-game benefits everyone - and it's stupid to ignore your majority to humor the minority, IMO.
Blame all the confusion on me. A lot of what is being talked about in here is my anectodal reference to conversations that I've had with different people over the course of several months. There isn't a collective policy document that says "This is what we want" or "this is how to spend your money". So what would probably clear things up is if I were to go back to all my references and say "Joe at PW thinks this is what we should do with STO" vs the more recent "Jill thinks we should go this direction with STO." - instead of just saying I talked to PW and this is what they want. "PW" was always a 3rd party reference to my conversation with someone at PW. At the end of the day those were individual opinions from our new ownership, but Cryptic still remains independent and needs to decide how we continue to develop the game.
Ultimately, there needs to be a concensus about how we approach the KDF faction issue and I think I was pretty clear in the Gates of G podcast as to where that was at...
Do I personally want a KDF faction level 1 to 51? Yes. Will I get approval to spend manpower on doing that? Don't know, but I have to make the case for spending the money on it versus something else. At the end of the day everyone wants STO to continue to grow and succeed. Right now I'm focusing all efforts and manpower on the clear win - Level 51 content and Fleet Progression.
I think the issue is more a continuation of poor resource management by Cryptic it's self. An on-going issue long before Atari even thought of dropping them. And this has been hurting STO's product quality and stability very badly for a long time.
They're spread way too thin across all their "projects". The largest resource hog being D&DNW.
Frantically hammering away on another game to get it out the door and turning a profit, while trying to keep a fast pace up to push out content and patch fixes for STO. And consistently causing a huge mess with every patch release.
They're trying to bake a new cake with both hands while frosting one they already have with one foot as they balance on their other foot.
It's not working too well.
PWE wants a healthy game, but different individuals have different opinions. Some would argue that a healthy 2 faction pvp game should be the goal, while others may argue having a full level
1-51 experience for KDF would be another goal.
this is NOT mutally exclusive, oddly you will find more folks want to play 2 full factions with full leveling than not. Really. And as for PVP? PVP is a joke here, its gotten 1 map in 2 years. inspite of begging pleading and everything else Nothing has been done.
So, that said, where is the investment in PVP,?
At the end of the day, Cryptic has to decide how we spend our manpower and address the long term health of the game (which is what everyone at Cryptic/PW is ultimately watching over).
and we were told numerous times that both Cryptic and PW wanted to get more staff going to help the game along. What happened to this? Is the game that unhealthy that you can't spend money to get more staff?
So Cryptic has approached the healthy game target with different options and right now that option is focus on End Game because nearly everyone is Level 51 so any effort there benefits everyone and the long term health of the game the most. If we can do more, we will.
End game? What end game, we have the same end game we got when your first released it. Only now, its cut in half and features much more grind.
I think that is obvious. However if it is simply a matter of different people having different opinions, they why did you tell us that PW(in a collective context) wanted the KDF to be on par with the Feds?
Why were we repeatedlytold that PW(in a collective context) wanted equal factions if it was simply a matter of "different individuals have different opinions"?
this is my personal thought and only that. It was said in an attempt to give folks a sense of security, if nothing more than to delay the problem to F2p. Unfortunately I was one of the folks who bought in to that. Once again, I regret it.
The problem is, these kinds of blatant contradictions and PR spin leave people unclear of what is really going on. When plans change, they need to come out and say it and stop beating around the bush. If there isnt some kind of NDA they should also tell us why. Just be *honest* and people will take things much better than saying one thing one day and then saying something completely different the next with no kind of explanation as to why it changed.
At this point, I honestly don't think they care. I really don't. Given the recent incidents around the Ambassador and other things, I do not for one second believe they care.
Its plain and simple and you know the answer why try and start trouble, PW is a company and companies are allways changing,
He's not starting trouble he is trying to get an answer, an honest answer, but I doubt he will. The fact of the matter is this. At least to me, all those promises, all those reassurances....
While I appreciate the budget advice, I'd argue that it is an over-simplification of running a game studio and assumes a problem that doesn't really work the way you are arguing in this case. Each game at Cryptic has its own budget and is accounted for differently where headcount is tied to self-sufficiency.
How can you have a war with a faction that nobody wants to play because they feel it is empty? Who would want to be on the kdf side of this pvp/starbase/fleet revamp faced with thousands of Feds?
I do not see the insentive for anyone to play the kdf
Dan, I fully defer to Cryptic's ability to regulate itself budget wise (as its not my responsibility XD) but with PW having around 2 thousand Research and Dev people worldwide out of like four thousand employees... isn't it time to send a memo to the Cryptic Admiralty asking for just 20 more people for the STO team to work on filling out the features that are already in place? I mean you guys and girls have done an amazing job with the handful you have but with even a few more content folks you could really tackle the main 'padding out' issues which are constantly with us.
I say 'padding out' stuff because you certainly don't want to train new people up to be making new features and grow too quickly much like CCP did last year.
*Figures from March 15th PW earnings conference call reply to shareholder
....and we were told numerous times that both Cryptic and PW wanted to get more staff going to help the game along. What happened to this? Is the game that unhealthy that you can't spend money to get more staff?....End game? What end game, we have the same end game we got when your first released it. ... At this point, I honestly don't think they care. I really don't. Given the recent incidents around the Ambassador and other things, I do not for one second believe they care.
Have you seen our Hiring Page? We are absolutely staffing up and continue to grow. It takes time to train people on proprietary engine and toolset.
End game and Fleet Progression is the entire focus of the upcoming Season 6.
As far as not caring - nothing has been taken off the table. Schedules and priorities do change and I've been very forthcoming since I returned as EP that I would be far more cautious about talking about features that are still in design concept stage. You may still see everything that has ever appeared in an Engineering Report, but I'm only focusing on discussing what is in the immediate future - which in this case is April and May updates followed by Season 6.
If that comes across as not caring - then I apologize. The intent is not to be cagey but to be more accurate with what is going on. We are working on April/May content/event/store updates along with Season 6 which is Starbases/Level 51 content with some Foundry and PvP updates as well.
Dan, I fully defer to Cryptic's ability to regulate itself budget wise (as its not my responsibility XD) but with PW having around 2 thousand Research and Dev people worldwide out of like four thousand employees... isn't it time to send a memo to the Cryptic Admiralty asking for just 20 more people for the STO team to work on filling out the features that are already in place? I mean you guys and girls have done an amazing job with the handful you have but with even a few more content folks you could really tackle the main 'padding out' issues which are constantly with us. *Figures from March 15th PW earnings conference call reply to shareholder
If you think I haven't asked for an additional studio worth of personnel on STO - you'd be wrong. Those sorts of decisions take time and can be contingent on how STO is doing in the F2P model and whether or not it can break out into other markets. In the short term we continue to hire and add more people to the team and everyone is working on new content.
While I appreciate the budget advice, I'd argue that it is an over-simplification of running a game studio and assumes a problem that doesn't really work the way you are arguing in this case. Each game at Cryptic has its own budget and is accounted for differently where headcount is tied to self-sufficiency.
then once again I ask sir. Is the game that unhealthy that you can not, in spite of what we were told, hire more staff to help the game? Honest question because from my side of this monitor, thats what that sounds like, the game, is in monetary trouble. anecdotal evidence would suggest that something is amiss, the amount of "cash grab items" has gone up tremendously while the amount of new content, has been, relatively minor. the FE and a KDF mission, in how long now?
On the head count and self sufficiency, from what you're saying, STO may not be, self sufficient?
then once again I ask sir. Is the game that unhealthy that you can not, in spite of what we were told, hire more staff to help the game? Honest question because from my side of this monitor, thats what that sounds like, the game, is in monetary trouble. anecdotal evidence would suggest that something is amiss, the amount of "cash grab items" has gone up tremendously while the amount of new content, has been, relatively minor. the FE and a KDF mission, in how long now?
On the head count and self sufficiency, from what you're saying, STO may not be, self sufficient?
To add to Dan's comments above, it should also be pointed out that the STO team was at around 20 when PWE purchased Cryptic and they are now around 30. So clearly they are hiring and adding to the team - but between May and Jan the focus was on getting FTP launched.
This is NOT mutally exclusive, oddly you will find more folks want to play 2 full factions with full leveling than not. Really. And as for PVP? PVP is a joke here, its gotten 1 map in 2 years. inspite of begging pleading and everything else Nothing has been done.
So, that said, where is the investment in PVP,?
They told you ... coming in Season 6. Its a major point of what is wanted.
End game? What end game, we have the same end game we got when your first released it. Only now, its cut in half and features much more grind.
Actually, I've been seeing quite a few moves toward more end game content ... example is Deferi ground invasion ... added with the new changes which include what .... 20 new missions?
And then there is DOFF system and it keeps growing.
Toss on from that the Starbases that Tumorboy says he and another are already building the exterior models for (if I remember today's threads correctly.)
this is my personal thought and only that. It was said in an attempt to give folks a sense of security, if nothing more than to delay the problem to F2p. Unfortunately I was one of the folks who bought in to that. Once again, I regret it.
I don't know about you but I've seen the Cryptic team actually moving forward and delivering the past few months. .... REALISTICALLY moving forward.
At this point, I honestly don't think they care. I really don't. Given the recent incidents around the Ambassador and other things, I do not for one second believe they care.
They care as I've seen it ... in very human responses given by people who are pounded on time and time again by those removed from the situation and who are protected behind computer screens.
Just because we do not see them does not mean they are not people who care about this game.
And when I listened to DStahl talking about this game while being interviewed, I could hear in his voice that he cares and is doing all that can be done with what they have.
And I have seen progress these last few months.
My gaming experience is hands down better than it was six months ago ... a year ago ... and two years ago.
I actually enjoy this game ... and I say that as a Klingon player.
He's not starting trouble he is trying to get an answer, an honest answer, but I doubt he will. The fact of the matter is this. At least to me, all those promises, all those reassurances....
While I appreciate the budget advice, I'd argue that it is an over-simplification of running a game studio and assumes a problem that doesn't really work the way you are arguing in this case. Each game at Cryptic has its own budget and is accounted for differently where headcount is tied to self-sufficiency.
I quoted you mentioning allocation of manpower. I mentioned how it's been presented in how its been managed. I never said anything about a budget, thank you. Nor was I offering advice of any kind or looking for an argument. And am quite frankly upset you snapped to that to abruptly.
I was making an observation based upon interviews and things said in the past, it's been consistent that the majority of manpower isn't on STO. Even Al said in an interview that Cryptic Studios was only.. I think he said 32 people strong? With about 10 on STO at any given time?
What I was quoting myself saying can be thought of like the DOff system.
You can have a large budget in the asset of DOff's, but you only have 20 assignment slots you can spent those resources into at any single time.
Can't push forward on Engineering CXP at a decent pace if most of them are being put into 15 Science assignments all the time.
then once again I ask sir. Is the game that unhealthy that you can not, in spite of what we were told, hire more staff to help the game? Honest question because from my side of this monitor, thats what that sounds like, the game, is in monetary trouble. anecdotal evidence would suggest that something is amiss, the amount of "cash grab items" has gone up tremendously while the amount of new content, has been, relatively minor. the FE and a KDF mission, in how long now?
On the head count and self sufficiency, from what you're saying, STO may not be, self sufficient?
You may be forgetting the fact that the game is now F2P - meaning that anyone who previously was paying a subscription may switch to a Free player at any time and continue to the play the game without paying a dime. The entire principal of F2P is that some players (historically in the industry around 10%) will buy items in a F2P game and the rest will play for free. So do we need to put items in the c-store to support the growth of the team - yes! because the business model works on only a small percentage of the player base purchasing those items - but I'm sure you could go investigate F2P business models and get much better data than that...
Does that mean that STO has a 9 million dollar a month operating cost to break even like SWTOR does? Nope. Our budget is less but we are absolutely self-sufficient and continuing to grow.
Even Al said in an interview that Cryptic Studios was only.. I think he said 32 people strong? With about 10 on STO at any given time?
Your numbers are way off there. The STO team now has around 30 and Cryptic has always had about 100 people working for it on its various games and even non-game systems: such as Steve's job before he became the temp EP.
Comments
It really depends on the 'why' and whether they want a precedent of explaining themselves regardless. If the 'why' was 'STO is bleeding money at an insane rate', or just as bad 'STO isn't providing the desired return on investment,' explaining themselves could worsen matters.
Even if the reasons are ones that the player base would understand and rally behind this time, 'next time' they might not be.
It also might be as simple as them not having the budget for a meaningful PR department and, lacking one, figure silence is safer.
I'm a journalist that works for a daily paper owned by a large corporation ... same deal.
I suggest you become stockholder then. PW will be paying out nearly 100 million dollars in dividends this month and you would surely be better placed to get a frank answer as well as a nice check.
I can only hope to see near future change in KDF, I love Star Trek a lot more than the other "star" franchise and want to come back home (to STO)
I think what happened is PWE expressed support for STO, including KDF expansion, but it's Cryptic that's changing the focus to this endgame and C-Store focus.
I don't get how people say PWE is hands-off on their US based games but then turn around and blame them for all the cash grabs in STO. That is not happening due to some random PWE manager stroking a white cat somewhere in Beijing - this is happening right here in the good old U.S. of A, right here at CRYPTIC STUDIOS.
And I read the Interview and sorry but from what I seen Cryptic tried to make the Hoard but run out of time so we got the premise of a Hoard in terms of story that never materializes for the players in terms of content, the Klingon-Federation War was a mistake and one that at this point cannot be corrected.
If they can't take the financial hit to develop a product before they make a profit from it, then they need to just stop leading us on with PR feel-good statements about making the KDF what it should be. Just stop.
Conspiracy theories happen anyway. Saying the wrong thing fuels conspiracies more than saying nothing.
The ideal, of course, is to say the right things... but that is easier said than done.
But sometimes (often) the right thing to some is the wrong thing to others.
The point is someone is always going to be unhappy - it it's not about Klink Missions it'll be about Fed ear choices.
Cryptic killed the KDF faction by killing KDF design shortly before launch. Read Peregrine Falcon's log of the KDF development timeline. The reason KDF "will never have a major fan-base following" is for this simple fact: People get attached to their characters. These are MMOs and most times the character is a digital extension of the player. When people aren't presented with the choice at the character's inception but rather later, they won't choose to abandon their main character to start over because of the time already invested. This is the reason KDF never took off. Had the choice existed from the beginning such as to play Horde or Alliance, Jedi or Sith, etc, then a far different landscape would be painted and we would not be hold this discussion.
That is what I am saying about silence rather than any line at all.....
I'm one of those STO players who would never make a KDF character if it were my choice. I have zero interest in that Faction - I'm all Fed as that's what I've spent my entire life watching. The only reason I did make a KDF was because some friends wanted to do one-on-one PvP so we all made a KDF to do that against each other and earn Marks. I liked the KDF Missions - I consider them to be some of the best in the game - but I had no enthusiasm nor Trek feelings while I did them.
That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see more KDF added for those who like it. I don't PvP in STO either, but I understand many do and that they want more options as well. But if the choice comes down to 5 new KDF Missions and only 1 new end-game Mission for the Feds and Klinks I'm certainly not going to vote for that. More end-game benefits everyone - and it's stupid to ignore your majority to humor the minority, IMO.
Ultimately, there needs to be a concensus about how we approach the KDF faction issue and I think I was pretty clear in the Gates of G podcast as to where that was at...
Do I personally want a KDF faction level 1 to 51? Yes. Will I get approval to spend manpower on doing that? Don't know, but I have to make the case for spending the money on it versus something else. At the end of the day everyone wants STO to continue to grow and succeed. Right now I'm focusing all efforts and manpower on the clear win - Level 51 content and Fleet Progression.
*sips her coffee*
So, that said, where is the investment in PVP,?
and we were told numerous times that both Cryptic and PW wanted to get more staff going to help the game along. What happened to this? Is the game that unhealthy that you can't spend money to get more staff?
End game? What end game, we have the same end game we got when your first released it. Only now, its cut in half and features much more grind.
this is my personal thought and only that. It was said in an attempt to give folks a sense of security, if nothing more than to delay the problem to F2p. Unfortunately I was one of the folks who bought in to that. Once again, I regret it.
At this point, I honestly don't think they care. I really don't. Given the recent incidents around the Ambassador and other things, I do not for one second believe they care.
He's not starting trouble he is trying to get an answer, an honest answer, but I doubt he will. The fact of the matter is this. At least to me, all those promises, all those reassurances....
didn't mean a thing
While I appreciate the budget advice, I'd argue that it is an over-simplification of running a game studio and assumes a problem that doesn't really work the way you are arguing in this case. Each game at Cryptic has its own budget and is accounted for differently where headcount is tied to self-sufficiency.
I do not see the insentive for anyone to play the kdf
I say 'padding out' stuff because you certainly don't want to train new people up to be making new features and grow too quickly much like CCP did last year.
*Figures from March 15th PW earnings conference call reply to shareholder
Have you seen our Hiring Page? We are absolutely staffing up and continue to grow. It takes time to train people on proprietary engine and toolset.
End game and Fleet Progression is the entire focus of the upcoming Season 6.
As far as not caring - nothing has been taken off the table. Schedules and priorities do change and I've been very forthcoming since I returned as EP that I would be far more cautious about talking about features that are still in design concept stage. You may still see everything that has ever appeared in an Engineering Report, but I'm only focusing on discussing what is in the immediate future - which in this case is April and May updates followed by Season 6.
If that comes across as not caring - then I apologize. The intent is not to be cagey but to be more accurate with what is going on. We are working on April/May content/event/store updates along with Season 6 which is Starbases/Level 51 content with some Foundry and PvP updates as well.
If you think I haven't asked for an additional studio worth of personnel on STO - you'd be wrong. Those sorts of decisions take time and can be contingent on how STO is doing in the F2P model and whether or not it can break out into other markets. In the short term we continue to hire and add more people to the team and everyone is working on new content.
then once again I ask sir. Is the game that unhealthy that you can not, in spite of what we were told, hire more staff to help the game? Honest question because from my side of this monitor, thats what that sounds like, the game, is in monetary trouble. anecdotal evidence would suggest that something is amiss, the amount of "cash grab items" has gone up tremendously while the amount of new content, has been, relatively minor. the FE and a KDF mission, in how long now?
On the head count and self sufficiency, from what you're saying, STO may not be, self sufficient?
Btw... there's a few of us chasing those content positions if you fancy putting a word in with the higher ups :cool:
They told you ... coming in Season 6. Its a major point of what is wanted.
Actually, I've been seeing quite a few moves toward more end game content ... example is Deferi ground invasion ... added with the new changes which include what .... 20 new missions?
And then there is DOFF system and it keeps growing.
Toss on from that the Starbases that Tumorboy says he and another are already building the exterior models for (if I remember today's threads correctly.)
I don't know about you but I've seen the Cryptic team actually moving forward and delivering the past few months. .... REALISTICALLY moving forward.
They care as I've seen it ... in very human responses given by people who are pounded on time and time again by those removed from the situation and who are protected behind computer screens.
Just because we do not see them does not mean they are not people who care about this game.
And when I listened to DStahl talking about this game while being interviewed, I could hear in his voice that he cares and is doing all that can be done with what they have.
And I have seen progress these last few months.
My gaming experience is hands down better than it was six months ago ... a year ago ... and two years ago.
I actually enjoy this game ... and I say that as a Klingon player.
He's not starting trouble he is trying to get an answer, an honest answer, but I doubt he will. The fact of the matter is this. At least to me, all those promises, all those reassurances....
didn't mean a thing[/QUOTE]
well said. I need to update my resume again
I quoted you mentioning allocation of manpower. I mentioned how it's been presented in how its been managed. I never said anything about a budget, thank you. Nor was I offering advice of any kind or looking for an argument. And am quite frankly upset you snapped to that to abruptly.
I was making an observation based upon interviews and things said in the past, it's been consistent that the majority of manpower isn't on STO. Even Al said in an interview that Cryptic Studios was only.. I think he said 32 people strong? With about 10 on STO at any given time?
What I was quoting myself saying can be thought of like the DOff system.
You can have a large budget in the asset of DOff's, but you only have 20 assignment slots you can spent those resources into at any single time.
Can't push forward on Engineering CXP at a decent pace if most of them are being put into 15 Science assignments all the time.
You may be forgetting the fact that the game is now F2P - meaning that anyone who previously was paying a subscription may switch to a Free player at any time and continue to the play the game without paying a dime. The entire principal of F2P is that some players (historically in the industry around 10%) will buy items in a F2P game and the rest will play for free. So do we need to put items in the c-store to support the growth of the team - yes! because the business model works on only a small percentage of the player base purchasing those items - but I'm sure you could go investigate F2P business models and get much better data than that...
Does that mean that STO has a 9 million dollar a month operating cost to break even like SWTOR does? Nope. Our budget is less but we are absolutely self-sufficient and continuing to grow.