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Season 6 Dev Blog #14

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  • jonathanlonehawkjonathanlonehawk Member Posts: 674 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    I know many of you are asking me via Twitter about the ISS prefix -- I just spoke to Starfleet Command and they let me know that when the Federation needed to make their "minimal modifications" to the mirror ships, they changed the prefix to USS so it could be re-registered. I'm being told that the KDF needed to do the same and updated the registry to IKS.

    Cheers,

    Brandon =/\=

    Thanks for asking, finding out and telling us... But I have to say this: BOO! Bad form, let us have the ISS prefix, even if you have to make it a special drop/c-store thing like NX. Or better yet something we can unlock via accolade (killing Mirror foes for example)... C'mon, be a pal. :cool:
    Formerly Known as Protector from June 2008 to June 20, 2012
    STOSIG.png
    Please enable us to buy a token with Zen to faction change a 25th Century FED to a TOS FED.
  • centersolacecentersolace Member Posts: 11,178 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    http://sto.perfectworld.com/news/?p=614731

    Welp... there go the Pvp rage threads...
  • jcswwjcsww Member Posts: 6,789 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    I know many of you are asking me via Twitter about the ISS prefix -- I just spoke to Starfleet Command and they let me know that when the Federation needed to make their "minimal modifications" to the mirror ships, they changed the prefix to USS so it could be re-registered. I'm being told that the KDF needed to do the same and updated the registry to IKS.

    Cheers,

    Brandon =/\=

    That is truly disappointing! The pictures of the MU ships don't show the purple nacelles and trails. Do they not have this? You guys really are dropping the ball on something that could have been awesome! No purple nacelles and no ISS prefix means I am not interested! :(
  • sierrafortunesierrafortune Member Posts: 129 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    Will the Yellow Hull Markings still show up if you use a set that modifies a ships appearance?
  • leviathan99#2867 leviathan99 Member Posts: 7,747 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    I wanted to help clarify some confusion over the Fed Mirror Ships:

    Mirror ships have a similar name to their prime universe counterpart. That is, an Assault Cruiser is and Assault cruiser ? They are tactical-ish. However, they have the opposite costume. So?


    Mirror Assault Cruiser:
    • Prime Universe Star Cruiser Costumes (with mirror texture).
    • Prime Universe Assault Cruiser Stats (boff, console, etc).
    • Prime Universe Star Cruiser Crew Size (matches larger costume)

    Mirror Star Cruiser:
    • Prime Universe Assault Cruiser Costumes (with mirror texture).
    • Prime Universe Star Cruiser Stats (boff, console, etc).
    • Prime Universe Assault Cruiser Crew Size (matches smaller costume)

    Note, these ships are equivalent in power to in-game rear-admiral Dilithium ships. They effectively give Federation players 3 new costume options (and one texture option) for those ships. Klingons get a whole new ?Star Cruiser-like? configuration in their Mirror Vorcha, but it is still equivalent to a Dilithium ship. As such, they have a better chance to drop than high-end Lock Box ships, like the Tholian Orb Weaver.


    Mirror ships are confusing. There are a few errors on the Blog we are straightening out now. Sorry for the confusion.

    -geko

    Would I be correct in assuming that a Mirror Univers Defiant would probably be a science-y Bird of Prey type ship whereas a Mirror Intrepid would be an escort, closer to the Warship Voyager?

    That actually interests me more. Cruisers are kind of in the middle. It's interesting that cruisers' skew is reversed...

    But I'd be even more fascinated if all the Science Vessels were sturdy escorts and all the escorts were squishy super-science vessels.

    I think focusing on two cruisers made this more confusing than it would have been with an escort Intrepid and Science Defiant or Prometheus.

    Heck, it'd be really wild if the Intrepid had a cloak and the Defiant had ablative armor.

    I think it would register better for people if the idea was that Voyager and DS9 were reversed in the Mirror Universe.

    There are some seeds I could see of that in the Mirror DS9 episodes, in that the chief commander was female and it was a story about a "lost" people overcoming differences to "get home."

    It'd be wild if somehow Mirror Voyager was about a male commander on a spiritual journey through war. There's some reasoning why ignoring novels selectively, this could be possible. In particular, when the Empire fell, the comics and some novels suggest that remnants of the Empire, led by Picard, abandoned the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. So Mirror Voyager could have been built in the Delta Quadrant and been a Battlestar Galactica type ship, where the Marquis under Chakotay are in charge, intent on reconquering the Alpha Quadrant. And the more peaceful/scientific crew under Janeway work under the Marquis.

    The whole thing kinda explains how the Terran Empire rebuilt in just 30 years if there were refugees who regrouped in the Delta Quadrant, built a large fleet, and then hooked up with Smiley O'Brien and the rebels on their way back.

    And Voyager's arc becomes about a brutal campaign of conquest led by Voyager on its way back to the Alpha Quadrant.

    I know this is story stuff but I like the idea of the Mirror Defiant being a science ship and Mirror Voyager leading fleets to war... And ultimately the themes being reversed with Mirror DS9 being about a female commander and a lost people going home whereas Mirror Voyager is about a male commander balancing his spiritual journey with the costs of war.
  • tuskin67tuskin67 Member Posts: 1,097 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    jcsww wrote: »
    The pictures of the MU ships don't show the purple nacelles and trails. Do they not have this?

    They got rid of the Purple Nacelles even on the NPC Mirror ships.
  • matteo716maikaimatteo716maikai Member Posts: 823
    edited July 2012
    you have the pictures backwards for the star cruiser and assault cruiser.


    -sarcasim doesnt transfer well on the internets my bad-


    also, does the klingon ship get both +5 to all systems and +10 to weapons and engines?
  • trek21trek21 Member Posts: 2,246 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    you have the pictures backwards for the star cruiser and assault cruiser.
    They're not backwards, that's intentional. An Assault Cruiser that looks like a Star Cruiser, and vice-versa.

    These are Mirror Universe ships after all.
    Was named Trek17.

    Been playing STO since Open Beta, and have never regarded anything as worse than 'meh', if only due to personal standards.
  • leviathan99#2867 leviathan99 Member Posts: 7,747 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    you have the pictures backwards for the star cruiser and assault cruiser.

    Not backwards.

    In the mirror universe, tac ships are sci based and sci ships are tac based.

    The Sovereign is the Star Cruiser and the Emissary is the Assault Cruiser.
  • tuskin67tuskin67 Member Posts: 1,097 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    That is just confusing.
  • leviathan99#2867 leviathan99 Member Posts: 7,747 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    I really wish, to minimize confusion and maximize the gimmick, they had released a sci Defiant and escort Intrepid.

    I think that would make the swap more obvious than swapping the leanings of two cruisers.
  • jkstocbrjkstocbr Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    jkstocbr wrote: »
    Meh, not really interested in any of them. They're a bit ugly, and in the end there is nothing new for me to do with these toys. STO is feeling less like Star Trek each update.
    Yeah, whats so trek about a Tholian Web anyway. :rolleyes:

    Actually nothing when you put a Starfleet officer in a Tholian Ship :rolleyes:

    Who remembers watching all those Star Trek episodes where Starfleet waged war on every species they encountered, and the prime directive was 'shoot everything on site', and Starfleet was flying Tholian ships? What ever happened to 'More Trek'? When do I get a space pony?
  • reginamala78reginamala78 Member Posts: 4,593 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    Eh they needed something new anyways, all the anger about a 5-console Defiant and Danube spam was getting repetitive. That universal LtCmdr means you can either make up for the lack of tac and have a fairly even boff distribution, or go all-in on the sci or eng and make a heck of a support ship out of it. Maybe I just don't have a devious enough mind, but this doesn't seem like its gonna be a whole lot different than a Nebula.
  • tuskin67tuskin67 Member Posts: 1,097 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    I really wish, to minimize confusion and maximize the gimmick, they had released a sci Defiant and escort Intrepid.

    I think that would make the swap more obvious than swapping the leanings of two cruisers.

    Eh but that would not make sense, the Mirror Defiant in DS9 was a warship like its counter part. Plus the mirror NPC versions of those ships in game are the same as the regular counter parts.
  • trek21trek21 Member Posts: 2,246 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    jkstocbr wrote: »
    Actually nothing when you put a Starfleet officer in a Tholian Ship :rolleyes:

    Who remembers watching all those Star Trek episodes where Starfleet waged war on every species they encountered, and the prime directive was 'shoot everything on site', and Starfleet was flying Tholian ships? What ever happened to 'More Trek'?
    The problem being 'Trek' is defined differently between people. And Cryptic can't satisfy everyone in the first place...

    But STO is soft canon at best, so anything you don't like never happened in the first place.

    And since it's soft canon, I see it as a continuation of Star Trek, while also exploring possibilites we've all wondered about, and flying ships we all wanted to fly, even if it wouldn't make sense on the big screen. It's a game, so I enjoy it, and don't worry about suspension of disbelief.

    Which is just my opinion.
    Was named Trek17.

    Been playing STO since Open Beta, and have never regarded anything as worse than 'meh', if only due to personal standards.
  • leviathan99#2867 leviathan99 Member Posts: 7,747 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    Also: note that the Tholian ship has 10 consoles and the Mirror Ships have 9. That suggests that the Tholian one will be similarly expensive/rare to the old lockbox ships whereas they seem to anticipate a lot more mirror ships going out, since they didn't make the Mirror ships fleet tier.
  • leviathan99#2867 leviathan99 Member Posts: 7,747 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    tuskin67 wrote: »
    Eh but that would not make sense, the Mirror Defiant in DS9 was a warship like its counter part. Plus the mirror NPC versions of those ships in game are the same as the regular counter parts.

    The original was because it was a copy. Who says the rest of the ships in the series are like the original?

    Also, I think this "reverse function" was a new idea and that we may see the NPC ships change to be inverted.
  • trek21trek21 Member Posts: 2,246 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    The original was because it was a copy. Who says the rest of the ships in the series are like the original?

    Also, I think this "reverse function" was a new idea and that we may see the NPC ships change to be inverted.
    Yeah, I think a change is coming :)

    When Cryptic first made them (along with the rest of the at-the-time rushed game), they were virtual copies of our ships, just with the purple hull option. Now they're getting a yellow hull upgrade, and suddenly their ships are almost literally opposite versions of ours (Tac being Sci-based, and vice-versa, for example)

    I think it's great, to improve the variety :)

    And on a side-note, I liked your story ideas. When I think about it, it kinda explains how the MU went from struggling to their invasion during in-game missions: They recovered from the changes and went back to conquest.
    Was named Trek17.

    Been playing STO since Open Beta, and have never regarded anything as worse than 'meh', if only due to personal standards.
  • tuskin67tuskin67 Member Posts: 1,097 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    If you want to try your luck now, apparently they're enabled on tribble, just transfer a character with Keys :P
  • jkstocbrjkstocbr Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    trek21 wrote: »
    The problem being 'Trek' is defined differently between people. And Cryptic can't satisfy everyone in the first place...

    But STO is soft canon at best, so anything you don't like never happened in the first place.

    And since it's soft canon, I see it as a continuation of Star Trek, while also exploring possibilites we've all wondered about, and flying ships we all wanted to fly, even if it wouldn't make sense on the big screen. It's a game, so I enjoy it, and don't worry about suspension of disbelief.

    Which is just my opinion.

    Yeah sure, but Geko is saying that a Tholian Web being in the TV show, is reason for Star Fleet to fly a Tholian ship. That's a fair stretch in anyone's books. Can we also please have a Space Pony? We saw a horse on several occasions?
  • nxnovacatnxnovacat Member Posts: 83 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    No I.S.S. prefix on the Terran Empire ships? At least let us buy it off the Lobi store per character for some obscene amount of Lobi Crystals.
  • sito1jastsito1jast Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    I.s.s prefix please
  • eradicator84eradicator84 Member Posts: 1,116 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    @Cryptic devs - seeing as the previous lock box ships recently got fleet equivalent buffs (extra hull, shields, and console slot) will the mirror universe ships also get fleet competitive stats as well?

    I'm a fan of the Fed Star Cruiser and am interested in the mirror Assault Cruiser, but if it's stats aren't buffed to Fleet Star Cruiser specs then then I won't want to get it over the fleet variant.
    AFMJGUR.jpg
  • propagandistpropagandist Member Posts: 2 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    @Cryptic devs - seeing as the previous lock box ships recently got fleet equivalent buffs (extra hull, shields, and console) will the mirror universe ships also get fleet competitive stats as well?

    I'm a fan of the Fed Star Cruiser and am interested in the mirror Assault Cruiser, but if it's stats aren't buffed to Fleet Star Cruiser specs then then I won't want to get it over the fleet variant.

    This person is right. Without a 4th tactical console, Lt.Com/Com tactical Boff slot, or a cloaking device or any different stats than the current Assault Cruiser, there is absolutely no reason to fly one of these ships.

    I applaud the effort and thought of involving mirror universe ships in this pack. I was looking forward to flying one. However, it's just not worth buying when there are better things already available.

    I'm still not convinced a mistake was made. In the blog post, branflakes stated "These unique Star Cruiser (Fed), Assault Cruiser (Fed) and Vor'cha Battle Cruiser (KDF) variants will offer different bridge officer slotting and console slotting than their 'Prime Universe' counterparts, as well as offering unique visuals not otherwise available for player ships."

    Although the Mirror Assault Cruiser does have a different skin and a different hull, the bridge officer and console slotting are exactly the same.
  • trek21trek21 Member Posts: 2,246 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    jkstocbr wrote: »
    Yeah sure, but Geko is saying that a Tholian Web being in the TV show, is reason for Star Fleet to fly a Tholian ship. That's a fair stretch in anyone's books. Can we also please have a Space Pony? We saw a horse on several occasions?
    Not in my book :D

    I enjoy Star Trek, and I enjoy STO as a game, knowing what goes on in-game does not affect the show. So anything that would normally stretch disbelief in the show, but is in-game, is a simple 'sweet' from me.

    That's my short answer.
    This person is right. Without a 4th tactical console, Lt.Com/Com tactical Boff slot, or a cloaking device or any different stats than the current Assault Cruiser, there is absolutely no reason to fly one of these ships.

    I applaud the effort and thought of involving mirror universe ships in this pack. I was looking forward to flying one. However, it's just not worth buying when there are better things already available.

    I'm still not convinced a mistake was made. In the blog post, branflakes stated "These unique Star Cruiser (Fed), Assault Cruiser (Fed) and Vor'cha Battle Cruiser (KDF) variants will offer different bridge officer slotting and console slotting than their 'Prime Universe' counterparts, as well as offering unique visuals not otherwise available for player ships."

    Although the Mirror Assault Cruiser does have a different skin and a different hull, the bridge officer and console slotting are exactly the same.
    No reason because there are better things available? Please...

    Not everyone min-maxes, or wants the best ship stats possible. Some of us like to fly our favorite ships, or try out new ones, see what works and what doesn't, etc etc...

    People have plenty of reasons for ships already in-game. These ones will be no different, for those who can get them.
    Was named Trek17.

    Been playing STO since Open Beta, and have never regarded anything as worse than 'meh', if only due to personal standards.
  • lilchibiclarililchibiclari Member Posts: 1,193 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    mandrake45 wrote: »
    Geko, I don't suppose you feel like swapping the Lt Com Eng and Ensign Tac on the Orb Weaver around while you're at it? :)

    IMO, this is the main "balancing" aspect of the Orb Weaver and the carrier--they have only an Ensign Tactical station, with no built-in Lieutenant or Lt Cmdr Tactical station. This means that you are forced either to use your Universal station on a Tactical officer, or else adjust your play style to accommodate the lack of Tactical bridge officer powers powers. Having at least one significant drawback like this helps to keep it from being the "one ship to rule them all" (till the next one)--and it needs it, given how both the Orb Weaver and the carrier have higher shield modifiers than the comparable Fed/KDF ships. Also, the fact that the Orb Weaver has a slightly slower turn rate than most RA/VA Science ships (9 vs 10-11) also helps to keep it from going quite so far out of balance.
  • leviathan99#2867 leviathan99 Member Posts: 7,747 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    This person is right. Without a 4th tactical console, Lt.Com/Com tactical Boff slot, or a cloaking device or any different stats than the current Assault Cruiser, there is absolutely no reason to fly one of these ships.

    I applaud the effort and thought of involving mirror universe ships in this pack. I was looking forward to flying one. However, it's just not worth buying when there are better things already available.

    I'm still not convinced a mistake was made. In the blog post, branflakes stated "These unique Star Cruiser (Fed), Assault Cruiser (Fed) and Vor'cha Battle Cruiser (KDF) variants will offer different bridge officer slotting and console slotting than their 'Prime Universe' counterparts, as well as offering unique visuals not otherwise available for player ships."

    Although the Mirror Assault Cruiser does have a different skin and a different hull, the bridge officer and console slotting are exactly the same.

    The costume for the ships does unlock, however.

    So get the Mirror Universe Star Cruiser (the Sovereign) and then pick up the C-Store Sovvie in a month or two and you'll be able to dress up the C-Store version as a Mirror Universe ship.
  • podsixpodsix Member Posts: 207 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    well that sux I like the ISS prefix.

    Hopefully coming one day in a "Mirror Universe" pack, including the Yellow-Painted ship skin, Male and Female Mirror Universe versions of the Jupiter uniforms, and a modern Terran Empire Combadge
    7n4nvF5.png
  • propagandistpropagandist Member Posts: 2 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    The costume for the ships does unlock, however.

    So get the Mirror Universe Star Cruiser (the Sovereign) and then pick up the C-Store Sovvie in a month or two and you'll be able to dress up the C-Store version as a Mirror Universe ship.

    You make a good point, thanks for pointing that out. Can you elaborate what you know about the C-store sovereign? Can you provide a link?
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