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The original and official KDF trailer for STO and the state of the KDF faction
snowlili
Member Posts: 34 Arc User
I just found this: Star Trek Online - Official Renko Trailer
From what I've read you couldn't start on KDF even then, during the official release? Is this true? How could you determine the popularity then - 18%, 20% or 16% figures that I've seen mentioned here?
Why not let the new players create a KDF character right away? A warning could accompany it that you are skipping a 'valuable' (read: boring to Klingon fans) Starfleet gameplay and a 'proceed' or 'cancel' confirmation box.
From what I've read you couldn't start on KDF even then, during the official release? Is this true? How could you determine the popularity then - 18%, 20% or 16% figures that I've seen mentioned here?
Why not let the new players create a KDF character right away? A warning could accompany it that you are skipping a 'valuable' (read: boring to Klingon fans) Starfleet gameplay and a 'proceed' or 'cancel' confirmation box.
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That's the estimated popularity of Klingons in Star Trek fandom as a whole.
I agree about starting a Klingon right away.
My personal preference would be to give them a tutorial and either start them at 20 (as we do now) or to start them at level 1 and give them quadruple XP while leveling. If you bill KDF as the "fast track" faction, you might get interest from the non-Trek fans who play.
I've been listening to STOked 119 and one of the developers has listed a priority for the ship design - Starfleet, "ships for you to blow up", and the last on the list was the KDF. The hosts keep saying how they "briefly mentioned" a particular Starfleet ship and would like to "get back on Starfleet topic" but they have mostly been talking about Starfleet ships. I can't listen to that show seriously.
Nice Space Orc voiceover in that fluffy completely irrelevant cinematic trailer.
YOu'd think from seeing that trailer that playing a Klingon in this game would be awesome.
You'd think that , wouldn't you.
The metric data Cryptic has on the KDF is misleading because it is based on a "Catch 22" principle. (People don't play the KDF becuase there isn't enough content. No content will be made for the KDF because not enough people play it. :rolleyes:)
In my opinion it was a huge gamble to try and have 'separate but equal' content for two factions when the game launched. The development staff was already strained even to produce enough content for one faction and and yet were trying to put out enough for essentially TWO separate games.
The best choice then (and now) is to port all existing Federation content for Klingon use simply by changing the dialog boxes just as the Featured Episodes do. Any encounters with Klingon forces could simply be a "House disagreement/conflict". Doing this would allow many more factions to be added, using EXISTING content and allow the KDF and any future factions to start at level 1 (though a quick tutorial at Klingon Academy, or Romulan Academy, etc.) would be needed - although everyone fights the Borg so even the Fed tutorial could be tweaked for other factions use).
arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline/#/discussion/1203368/pve-content-a-list-of-gamewide-polishing-pass-suggestions
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Doesn't mean you shouldn't do that in STO.... :P
The problem with this oft-repeated claim is that Cryptic's data meshes with that obtained by Neilsen Media Research on behalf of Perpetual Entertainment, the previous license holder.
If it was a Catch 22, you'd expect a wide difference in that data, but it's actually pretty close.
28 seasons of TV shows about the Federation, and 11 movies. 0 seasons and 0 movies where the Klingons are the protagonists. They're a tiny subset of Trek fandom. A very vocal one, to be sure, and one that does some fantastic charity work which I wholeheartedly support, but a tiny one nevertheless.
Were you equally annoyed at how unrepresentative the last few trailers that you guys actually made that showed or suggested bridge combat were? If not why the double standard?
The trailer is not that bad really. Yes it misrepresents being able to bombard a planet from orbit, but other than that, I simply see it as a marketing campaign to promote the unfortunate fact the KDF were going to be a faction focused on wiping out Feds as opposed to having more to do in-game.
The bad voice-over work is cheesy, but I get what this trailer was meant to accomplish. In other words, promote KDF monster-play.
Thank the Sword that dedicated Devs have been doing what they can, pretty much since launch, to improve our KDF play. Had things been left the way they were we would likely as not have no KDF faction at all right now.
I am not saying more cannot be achieved of course, but the point is, we are better off now then we were then--a lot better actually.
So seeing that trailer for what it is, an out of date promotion for KDF monster-play really does not bother me. I actually found it mildly entertaining.
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Lol - anything connected with Perpetual(ly lying) Entertainment should be widely disregarded, even if it is claimed to have come from a reliable polling entity like Nielsen.
That said, I do completely agree with you that the Klingon faction, or ANY additional faction, will always be a subset in STO. This is why it is so importatnt to make all existing and any future content available so that anyone can play it, regardless of which faction they choose to play at the time. Again, the Featured Episodes are terrific examples of what can be accomplished in this area.
arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline/#/discussion/1203368/pve-content-a-list-of-gamewide-polishing-pass-suggestions
I remember this video... I kinda wished that the KDF would have been represented more like that.. Well a little.
Think about this:
American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku
That makes me feel a bit better that it wasn't something the STO team agreed with LOL. Although it would be nice if we had missions where you had back drop of planets with targets that looked like they were on surface of a planet to attack like the raid they did with the bops in that one DS9 episode where they found out Kor was senile LOL.
If the Federation and Starfleet are so wildly popular,
And Klingons garner only a minute portion of the Star Trek fanbase,
Then why did this game flounder, incapable of standing on the merits of Starfleet alone?
Hmmm? Could it be regardless of popularity, a decidedly one-sided MMO in this era of gaming is a model destined to fail as a result of its forced presentation and lack of player choice?
But what about C-Store sales and all the lockbox ships being claimed? This is a Red Herring meant to distract us from the original and ongoing issue while people foolishly continue to swallow the bait: This game shipped too early, unfinished and unpolished regardless of how many factions did come or should have came in the box.
Al Rivera hates Klingons
Star Trek Online: Agents of Jack Emmert
All cloaks should be canon.
I mean, look at the original WoW trailers. They were pretty and sucked people in, and then they realised the actual game was terrible past level...10ish? When did The Barrens start?
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Really, that was Atari? Ashame, it always was my favorite one since it used CGI. Though explains why a ship similar to the JJprise was used and never made it in-game. :P
And I wouldn't say it was unrepresensative, remember Engineers had orbital bombardment, even at launch. Then there is the Undine bombardment on the Hotep system. Later with the Reman series, you added orbital bombardment with the cutscenes.
The only thing lacking is players being able to do it from their ships, which really shouldn't be impossible. Only thing I could see being difficult would be the explosion splash from points on the planetary model that reflects a successful attack. Then having changes like smoke after the explosion.
H20rat I know you are probably pretty busy with the end of season 6 development in sight but I think a "J'impok wants you!" short trailer would go a long way to create more interest in the faction as a whole.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Having one or more factions have very little to do with sustainability, especially in MMORPGs that must thrive in today's market.
The game wouldn't have fared any differently even with a 1-50 KDF faction with the same content as the Federation had at launch. Other games have had the same content for their opposing factions and haven't fared any differently, the proof is in the history.
There is no basis for the KDF faction being any more or less popular given that event, nor would PvP have been. The "problems" are inherent in the available gameplay, the presentation of such and the overall "world" and how players are meant to progress in and experience it.
It also doesn't help that the "evil" faction is a bunch of grunting space ogres, which doesn't have a wide appeal to a wider audience. Had they chosen the Romulan Star Empire they would at the very least have had some Dark Elvenesque faction with a broader appeal. But it wouldn't have made much of a difference in the end.
You are right I have played many online games over 20+ years online that have different sides or factions and it doesn't have much to do with the fact there is one somewhat complete side and then one thats only like 10% of the other.
The problem has to do mainly with that they keep pushing out more and more ships and doffs that modify your skills and how they work. The issue is most players would get tired of keeping on buying more and more of the TRIBBLE when there is nothing new that enriches their gameplay. As in all you have to do once you hit 50 is doing stf's but the biggest problem is that with whats being shown for season 6 there is a lot more to do but its more of what we already have already kill 10/10.
The other factor here is if you are a new player and don't own a lot of c-store ships this fleet starbase thing will be worthwhile to get into for these brand new players. As an older veteran player none of those ships give me any type of motivation or gain to excel further or really want to get into starbases TBH. I have enough player skill to not need to bother grinding 7+ months just to get a ship with 1k-2k more hull with no other advantages.
In essence what happens where blame gets put according to devs who a lot of times play the blame game when it comes to why something isn't going well need to look at themselves and look at the game where they pretty much have a copy and paste of any other mmorpg out there with a Star Trek sticker slapped on it and nothing they can say that is unique to their game other than the franchise IP name slapped on it.
I already have alot of criticism with alot of these lazy quest ports. These ported missions are totally designed from a Federation POV and what you're doing makes absolutely no sense as a member of the Klingon Empire, who is at war with the Federation. For example the Dominion arc of missions make absolutely no sense in how you will actively participate in aiding the enemy in recapturing one of the most strategically vital places of real estate in the quadrant, Deep Space 9. YOU as a member of the Klingon military (again, at war with the Federation), endanger yourself to aid the enemy in capturing DS9 and handing it over. To the enemy.
It's an awful, cringeworthy questline. There's more like it because again, these quests were designed for Federation gameplay with little alteration to port it over for KDF use.
It's lazy and it shows.
And yet, when there have been Star Trek games with multi-faction gameplay, offering an equal experience regardless of what side you play.
Starfleet Command series (1, 2, 3) have offered multi-factioned play, and not just limited to the big 3, Federation, Klingons, and Romulans. Past developers had gone out their way to fully flesh out each fleets and making them play differently. They offered campaigns playable from each faction's view of the conflict.
No. Just because the shows and movies have traditionally from the Federation's view, it never stopped developers from trying to provide a more complete experience to play in the Star Trek universe. What Cryptic did was just making alot of copout excuses in being lazy in development.
Period.
It would be easier for Cryptic if they dropped the anti-KDF bias and then make the money it could be bringing them but I guess being someone who sees most of the player base doesn't play the KDF because of this mentality of unfinished and way more unpolished than the federation side is too hard for them to see.
As for the aspects of cut and paste and federation POV they are just hurting themselves and need more knowledge of what Star Trek is all about instead of short sighted content as in the cardassians would never have worked with the dominion after the war and the most heavily guarded installation DS9 would of never been taken by the 2800.
"If X is so good, then why did XY fail?" is, again, an inherent fallacy.
R.I.P
While I'll agree it's 'lazy'....any additonal playable content is better than NOTHING.
Cryptic will NEVER, EVER have a staff of devs as large as say WoW, so they are forced by necessity with only 20 people in the building to maximize what content they do produce. And if this means porting 'Fed' content then so be it.
There are some absolutely terrific KDF missions available for play on the Foundry which capture a real feel of fighting for the Empire. But of course they aren't 'official' and therefore have no 'rewards' (other than amazing atmosphere and story) - so people poo poo them.
Lazy or not, all existing content should be ported for multi-factional use, it is the ONLY way we will ever see 'official' content for non-Federation factions. People can play the 'lazy' content for leveling and play the Foundry missions for flavor. Two (or more) separate sets of content in STO with Cryptic's tiny staff is completely unrealistic.
arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline/#/discussion/1203368/pve-content-a-list-of-gamewide-polishing-pass-suggestions
Actually the proper inclusion of KDF into the game would read X+Y as the other faction would be additive not multiplicative. Instead under the current format it reads X+(Y/X) as that was decided based upon Cryptic's development laziness. The fallacy, therefore, is yours.
Al Rivera hates Klingons
Star Trek Online: Agents of Jack Emmert
All cloaks should be canon.
List those games both with multiple and single factions and the experience of their developers as well as the inherent strength of their IP in contrast to the strength of the Star Trek IP and that of the War Craft IP. You loudly exclaim that Federation is THE IP when it suits your purpose but shy away from that when the situation appears less than promising. Like it or not WoW is the benchmark against all other MMOs are presently gauged and STO fell painfully short.
If you're looking for Drow or Ogres you've missed an exit somewhere but if you're seeking sunshine cuddle bears you've apparently stopped at the right place.
Al Rivera hates Klingons
Star Trek Online: Agents of Jack Emmert
All cloaks should be canon.
I completely agree. The whole "us versus them" model doesn't fit the genre and feels very forced. I've seen it mentioned a few times and I completely agree; There have always been times in the series or movies when two factions have settled a dispute by phaser and photon torpedo, but they've always come together in the end.
STO does not need a split faction system. It doesn't contribute much to the game as more often than not, the episodes are identical. Klingon, Starfleet, or even if there were a Romulan faction, we would be playing the same map with the same goal. The only difference is an ever so slight change in perspective laid out by the dialog.
You can still claim that PVP are combat exercises, sort of a red flag scenario with leaderboards etc.
Something else would be to take some of the foundry missions, turn them into official missions with rewards etc.