True, I have been harsh, and will continue to be so if I feel it is warranted. (I still feel some wake-up slaps are needed.)
That said, I do appreciate and respect that you folks are up to the task of reading through these forums and paying attention. It would be so much easier to close that tab and just ignore things until it 'blows over', but for better or worse, this is part of the job and you're rising to the occasion.
The current.. situation.. is still not resolved, but thank you for the thankless work.
it is just amazing how people can thank them from TRIBBLE them. They didn't listen or it would have never made it to a live server, they only dropped it to 0 dil so they could raise it to the crappy limits in the updated and slide all the other changes by without as much complaining.
.......
However, our concern that there would be too much Dilithium in the economy if we left Dilithium in both STFs and Fleet Actions .......
Well to be completely honest I have absolutely no idea how that was ever a concern because nobody can refine more than 8000 daily (9000 for vets of a certain mark). The amount of dilithium in the economy is directly limited to that and not how much unrefined dilithium any person can obtain in a day. This "fix" is a thinly disguised effort to reduce the amount of dilithium earned in STFs compared to season 6 and have people accept it and even be happy about it because many will now say "at least its better than nothing". In the end dilithium earned through STFs has been nerfed and dilithium expenditures increased all with a goal of having people buy more zen to convert to dilithium.
Thanks for taking feedback into consideration so quickly. It an unusual thing for an MMO to do.
This is my second post in 4 months of playing and both have been related to these changes. These are simply my extended thoughts after checking out the new content and balancing my opinion of that against the dilithium changes.
I really hope you're considering other feedback on the one-click style of dil income. At least up dil rewards for doff missions on crit successes, accolades, and/or some other on-the-fly, but do it every day kind of thing.
I can understand a push may be needed time to time to help generate real-world income in a partially f2p game, but taking what has already been given to players is often followed by discontinued accounts. Might be small numbers at first, but you folks have been in games as players and devs long enough to know how that trickle-effect works. Once their friends start telling them how great this new game is, they'll eventually follow, and the new replaces the old.
I like STO a great deal. I don't play STF's much and DOff's are a good deal of the game to me due to the complexity of doing it well. I'm staying on as f2p, but I am letting my subscription lapse next month. I've experienced a moderte amount of new content and thus far, with the removal of the one-clicks and the loss of 15,000 Dil per day in 15 minutes, I no longer feel that I'm getting the same value for my dollar. The amount of time and zen(including real-world currency spent to buy some of that zen) I spent to buy the additional character slots for the purpose of long-term infrastructural investment, are wasted. That hurts.
The only way to satisfy game players is by increased reward, not less. Each new game offers new rewards the first time you play it, after you've had them all, or at least the ones you want, it's time for new rewards from somewhere else...unless, the game you are playing constantly provides that. You folks have kind of done the opposite to an extent. While offering new rewards, the time required to obtain dil is largely increased overall and the rewards you are offering require that very dil. Not only is the time requirement increased but a highly popular and fully-permitted-at-the-time method of quick acquisition (the one worthwhile gimme on dil), has been taken away. (I may eat my words depending how you resolve the foundry requirements, but most of this feedback is based on that change...so i hope you consider it along with others)
The new STF's are fun, and feel more properly aligned as far as balancing among players in the events. New Romulus looks great, but it feels no different than several WoW expansions over the years. It's 3rd grade stuff. No challenge, but to help my fleet, I'll do whats needed there. Great job of the gfx and sounds, but the content related to the camp and reputation is poorly done and not any kind of new in it's style or basic design. Happy to have the new doff missions as well.
I'll likely stay f2p until I feel like I've gotten that moneys worth back, will will largely be based on how long it takes to acquire the ships and equipment i was working the Dil to purchase. Granted, the stipend for gold membership would help along the way, but It would be in conflict with making a statement I'm willing to stand behind.
I am more than reasonably certain if you guys followed the suggestion I put up about fleet action and STF rewards, you'd have a very happy bunch of players. That goes in addition to keeping the drop loot from the fleet actions. My only regret is not posting that sooner. I respectfully ask that you seriously consider my solution, especially as it was offered without comments to fuel the "nerd-rage" that exploded earlier on the forums.
That suggestion again is this, in a nutshell: Fleet Actions = 1,440 dilithium.
Cooldown = 30 minutes
Normal STFs = 720 dilithium.
Bonus objective = 10% bonus to dilthium and Omega Marks
Base Omega Marks stay the same.
Cooldown = 30 minutes
Elite STFs = 1,440 dilithium
Bonus objective = 25% bonus to dilithium and Omega Marks
Base Omega Marks stay the same
Borg Neural Processors stay the same.
Cooldown = 30 minutes
Since those of us who haven't gotten the high-end STF gear will be going gung-ho in the Omega rep system to get that, and quite possibly the most popular way to do that would be getting friends together to do STF runs, this proposal makes alot of sense.
Granted, the Fleet Actions can likewise be run fairly quickly and also be very player-profitable, which equals to a happy player. This, in turn, will help said player progress further in game content and be able to help support the rep system and his/her fleet with the starbase and/or embassy projects. More dilithium available, as my proposal indicated, means happier players and help for especially small fleets who want to level up their starbase/embassy without it taking a ridiculously long time.
This would also make it more likely that players will trade in any excess dilithium they may have after the above-mentioned projects in order to get Zen for purchases in the C-Store.
I ask you. (not to sound Vulcan) Isn't that a logical solution?
On another topic, I do appreciate having another adventure zone, and being able to experience a new level of story content. Personally, I love a good story, and being able to see it come about here makes me happy. It also helps to answer questions I had since the cataclysm referred to in Star Trek (2009) about whether any of the Romulan dissidents (underground / reunificationists) had survived to continue on their peaceful course.
And BTW as far as Dilithium infusion into the economy - you were the one who put in the 8000 refinement cap to keep the Dilithium economy from spiraling out of hand.
I will say again, the fact you stated in the blog that Level 50 players on average were way below that cap on a daily basis and you wanted to increase the average seems to be contradicted by the concern you had in this latest post. Either you need a better proofreader, or you were not being honest about your dilithium goals for S7 you stated in Blog #17 as part of your justification for your original Dilithium changes that you are now (thankfully) reverting to a fair degree.
Still thanks for bowing to all the Feedback in game and on these Forums.
After many hours of deliberation and review of the post Season 7 player data, I've made the call to reverse the decision to remove Dilithium as a reward for running STFs. In addition, we've also decided to keep Dilithium as a reward in Fleet Actions.
There have been numerous posts explaining the rationale that went into the reward changes and I can clearly state that our goal of getting more Dilithium into the average player has been very successful. As the data suggested, there is a huge contingent of players that simply do not play STFs but are eager to earn Dilithium in other content. These players are benefiting from the addition of Dilithium in the Fleet Actions, so that worked well.
Well, I am glad they listened to the players, and I am thankful they changed course.
I just wished they didn't add the spin.
I would rather just hear the truth, which is that season seven's premiere was not successful. You can tell by how easy it was to access the server on day one. When season six made its premiere, the servers were virtually impossible to enter.
It stinks to say this, but I think they lost players.
I don't know how many KDF characters exist, but the population in the fleet action and stf queues is nonexistent. KDF is a virtual ghost town. As a result of starting my first KDF character, I have been too busy with the faction to notice the Fed side.
I wonder if the long grinds to build fleetbases have caused people to walk away.
it is just amazing how people can thank them from TRIBBLE them.
That's because Cryptic gave them cookies and milk afterwards to not tell mommy and daddy on them.;)
They didn't listen or it would have never made it to a live server, they only dropped it to 0 dil so they could raise it to the crappy limits in the updated and slide all the other changes by without as much complaining.
Exactly. Their intention was to have the Dilithium reduced in STFs. Hard core STFers are like homeless guys on crack. They need their fix. At the last minute they decided that due to all the complaints they're gonna take away the crack, I mean Dilithium, and see how they like doing without. Then the players start begging for it back and don't care if it is the reduced amount compared to what it was in season 6. Now they will have their fix and stop complaining about it.
It makes me wonder what extreme lengths Cryptic/PWE will go to in order to manipulate the players into doing what they want.
Take it all away and they get mad about it then give them less. Later take more away and they are mad but not so much then give them even less than before. Then later take even more away and nobody says anything. Then they can take what they want and how much they want with no opposition until we have next to nothing and they have everything.
And it's not hard to believe all the teenagers with high limit credit card parents are so gullible and saying "OH THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU! I'll buy the Astroglide next time to make the, uh, transition smoother."
Well to be completely honest I have absolutely no idea how that was ever a concern because nobody can refine more than 8000 daily (9000 for vets of a certain mark). The amount of dilithium in the economy is directly limited to that and not how much unrefined dilithium any person can obtain in a day.
Well, that's not exactly correct. The 8000 limit is per character...not per player. So if it is very easy and quick to get 8000, you can do it of 2 or 3 or even a dozen characters. That means that the dilithium farmers will have massive amounts compared to the basic player.
With 8 characters, I'm limited to 64000 dilithium per day. Not that I ever get anywhere near that much.
It makes me wonder what extreme lengths Cryptic/PWE will go to in order to manipulate the players into doing what they want.
After going through the long grind of season six, I have barely touched anything from season seven. I don't know. Cryptic has nerfed and tweaked this game to such of an extent, and all that messing around has caused me to pause. I don't know if I want to invest into a game in which keeps getting nerfed. If I am investing money into the system, I want some type of no nerf guarantee. Why play a game in which the goal post keeps getting moved? I am still waiting for those overly powerful advanced and fleet weapons.
Season six's fleetbases have burnt me out, and Season Seven's changes have cause me to slowly put on the breaks. Truthfully, I think I am in the process of a complete stop.
I feel like the majority have left "Star Trek: Online", and I am the only sap that is staying around.
I keep praying that they lower the starbase requirements, for everyone has joined the tier four and five fleets. Small and casual fleets don't have a chance at recruiting enough people.
I don't think Cryptic is done nerfing rewards, ground equipment, ship equipment, and ships.
I no longer trust Cryptic to make the right decisions.
I lost Foundry Clickers, Chart the B'tran, Doff recruitment packs.
Edit: I lost Mirror event dil also.
2nd Edit: I lost Kerrat dil earlier this year.
I was given FA rewards of 1440 dil in return.
Now that is nerfed to 480?
I never did STF's and don't intend to, so some magical shell game with dil
between FA's and STF's doesn't do anything for me in the slightest.
I am simply out another 900+ dil per 20 minutes.
Stop giving and taking away. Return the FA's to 1440 or return the b'tran bonus.
I lost Foundry Clickers, Chart the B'tran, Doff recruitment packs.
I was given FA rewards of 1440 dil in return.
Now that is nerfed to 480?
I never did STF's and don't intend to, so some magical shell game with dil
between FA's and STF's doesn't do anything for me in the slightest.
I am simply out another 900+ dil per 20 minutes.
Stop giving and taking away. Return the FA's to 1440 or return the b'tran bonus.
just do as many FA's as you can befoer they patch it ...thats what im doing right now lol...i hit 8k cap in about 3 hours or so and will have enough for at least 3 more full days of refining......then again i probably shouldn't be saying this lol...i ENJOY the FA's now that we can actually GET IN ONE...before S7 it was nearly impossible to get into a FA like SB 24 or the minefields
Reversing some of the changes shows you're not afraid to undo a mistake (whether you publicly spin it that way or not), which makes me more confident you will listen to community feedback again in the future.
No thanks.
I'm not gonna go rush and do as many FA's as I can before It's patched.
That's like saying, finish crocheting that afghan before we shoot you.
That way when you're dead, we can cover you in a nice afghan.
This is where I use my middle finger.
What amazes me is how much players are thanking them, for giving just a tiny amount back that they already took. 1k Dilithium is nothing by comparison of what they took from us initially.
I wonder if the real reason things were re-altered was because of a very large drop-off of players in the game...
I was in New Romulas Tuesday evening around 9pm (EST) and there were only 2 instances, and the one I was in was very deserted...
Compared to the start of Season 6, when at the same hour, there were still people posting about having to wait in queues in order to log into the game...
Also, something very noticeable this time around, is the surprising lack of threads complaining about having to wait, to log in...
My guess is that Their Numbers, from the first 24 hours were a startling revelation of just how badly They miscalculated what the player base would put up with.
I have no proof, it's only a gut feeling...
But the game certainly did not seem anywhere near as crowded Tuesday evening, as it did the day Season 6 hit.
Don't congratulate Cryptic for this. It's a PR stunt, and doesn't address the real problems. It seems to be successful as a number of folks are buying into it and forgiving Cryptic for all the other problems we now face.
I agree. On one aspect I am happy that they put dilithium back. But that's not good enough in my book. Elite STF dilithium has gone from 1400, 1100, to now 960 (after going to zero).
Dan, Please explain the mega price hike amount for DOFF's exchange. Sure I might agree they were 'under valued' but to go from 100 dilithium to 5000-6000 is again absurd considering you just said we average 3,100 in dilithium. Also Dan, I went to exchange because I (and many others) thought the C-store duty packs were over priced and never gave anything good.
Dan, please explain why you took STF loot away but yet you increased it in fleet actions.
Dan, please explain why items requiring dilithium are expensive.
Dan, please explain why Fleet actions were nerfed to a laughable 460-640 now. What happened to wanting to lure us back into fleets actions??
Dan, please explain why borg gear is purchased using dilithium instead of just plain omega marks--like before S7 you used Salvage, EDC's, and Proto tech to trade in.
Dan, please explain why crafting used to be fun until you added dilithium.
Dan, please explain why there still is a dilithium vacuum cleaner in the Omega, Romulan, Embassy, & everyone's favorite Starbase projects when we're averaging 3,100??
We reduced the amount of Dilithium required for Fleet Holding progression.
Dilithium requirements were reduced by 10% for Tier 4 Advancement Projects and 20% for Tier 5 Advancement Projects.
Cutting tier 4 (by 10%) & Tier 5 (by 20%) is a slap in the face. How about cutting all dilithium projects (including limited time ones) by 50%?? After all, you just said the 'average' dilithium is 3100 (less than half of the max 8,000) so why not adjust the Starbase dilithium requirements for the 'low income' peeps??
Dan, please explain how exactly you came up with the player average of refining dilithium is only 3100. What parameters he exactly used. Did he use just feds only? All players? Paid players only?
Did you use a player (like myself) who has 5 toons with only 4 of them averaging about 1880 dilithium a day and the main one does 8,000 max?? If we take 1880*4 + 8000 and average it--it comes out to 3100 vs account wide--I average 15000 a day with all 5 toons.
I'm a numbers guy "Dan".. Just show us the formula, criteria, and the results.. I don't think that is too hard to do..Is it??
Refined Dilithium differs from energy credits because there is a maximum cap that can be obtained by any character per day of 8000 Refined Dilithium (9000 for 800 day subscription veterans or lifetime subscribers)
FYI 'Dan' --It's 9,000 every 3 days. Not to seem like it's 9,000 daily like your post suggests.
And technically 'Dan' it should be 9,000 everyday automatically without having to run it through a stupid DOFF assignment..
Awwww isnt this nice, finally a thread the feels like a warm fuzzy hug.
If only the community would pick up the pick forks and torches and go on a rampage about the lack KDF content/ships... then again good things come to those who wait and S8 might be the KDFs golden season :P
I've been waiting 3 years for that and to fight in the war the was proclaimed on the original site. Still no war and talks of a 3rd faction when the 2nd faction isn't even ironed out. Did i mention i'm still waiting to fight in this war? A physical zone. Only pathetic attempts thru a que system have been made. I could of cared less about the romulus zone and rep system. An actual PVP zone and equalization of the 2 factions would bring in the money they are looking for. But hey once again lets put things that we don't need and take away the resources we need to get it instead of working on the things that have plaqued this game since launch.
There is equally concerning issue surrounding the latest season affect on the graphics in the game and though numerous problems have been reported there does not been to be any action taken.
My machine as crashed with numerous blue screens repeated, to the point where S7 is currently unplayable for me.
When I click on any interaction my screen goes black for a sec before something happens.
I have been playing on this machine for the last 2 years with no issue.
Any idea if this is being looking at?
Sorry to post about it here - I am hoping that dstahl will see this and pass it along.
I agree. On one aspect I am happy that they put dilithium back. But that's not good enough in my book. Elite STF dilithium has gone from 1400, 1100, to now 960 (after going to zero).
Dan, Please explain the mega price hike amount for DOFF's exchange. Sure I might agree they were 'under valued' but to go from 100 dilithium to 5000-6000 is again absurd considering you just said we average 3,100 in dilithium. Also Dan, I went to exchange because I (and many others) thought the C-store duty packs were over priced and never gave anything good.
Dan, please explain why you took STF loot away but yet you increased it in fleet actions.
Dan, please explain why items requiring dilithium are expensive.
Dan, please explain why Fleet actions were nerfed to a laughable 460-640 now. What happened to wanting to lure us back into fleets actions??
Dan, please explain why borg gear is purchased using dilithium instead of just plain omega marks--like before S7 you used Salvage, EDC's, and Proto tech to trade in.
Dan, please explain why crafting used to be fun until you added dilithium.
Dan, please explain why there still is a dilithium vacuum cleaner in the Omega, Romulan, Embassy, & everyone's favorite Starbase projects when we're averaging 3,100??
Cutting tier 4 (by 10%) & Tier 5 (by 20%) is a slap in the face. How about cutting all dilithium projects (including limited time ones) by 50%?? After all, you just said the 'average' dilithium is 3100 (less than half of the max 8,000) so why not adjust the Starbase dilithium requirements for the 'low income' peeps??
Dan, please explain how exactly you came up with the player average of refining dilithium is only 3100. What parameters he exactly used. Did he use just feds only? All players? Paid players only?
Did you use a player (like myself) who has 5 toons with only 4 of them averaging about 1880 dilithium a day and the main one does 8,000 max?? If we take 1880*4 + 8000 and average it--it comes out to 3100 vs account wide--I average 15000 a day with all 5 toons.
I'm a numbers guy "Dan".. Just show us the formula, criteria, and the results.. I don't think that is too hard to do..Is it??
FYI 'Dan' --It's 9,000 every 3 days. Not to seem like it's 9,000 daily like your post suggests.
And technically 'Dan' it should be 9,000 everyday automatically without having to run it through a stupid DOFF assignment..
Here here. But we've made at least a BIT of headway. That outcry does mean SOMETHING changed even if it's not a full restoration. I personally just didnt want my efforts being for nothing. Being an STF specialist that basically is what it boiled down to for me. Do like anything that's happened? Hell no. I still see NO apology by the devs, and i see nothing suggesting they'll listen in the future.
The 3.5 hour declaration is insane. And even if true (i guarntee you for me it usually isnt and i've got a fleet defiant) doesnt mean a player wants to spend ALL of that time Grinding out dilithium. Grind =/= fun.
The playerbase was lied to, there has been no apology, and he hopes to sweep this under the rug like Barrack Obama is trying to sweep Benghazi under the rug. (Incase you're not following 3 navy seals and 1 US ambassador died via terrorist attack on 9/11/2012. It is unknown if the president knew but he sure has hell made every attempt to obfuscate the issue. Very simular to the tactics the dev team employed here.)
The playerbase MUST continue to hold the dev's feet to the fire if we're to get solutions to a number of problems that still remain. I for one Intend to.
But Stahl, I personally wish you restore the Dilithium amount entirely, because there is no longer any EDC or Salvage to convert to Dilithium like before. Instead we got 5 BNPs conversion for 1000 Dilithium, which most are going to save for a while. So there isn't going to be mass savings.
At least add that difference in the options, to encourage people to do them. As well making Ground STFs have a little more Dilitihium (since they are longer and require more teamwork).
As for the STF DL vs the FA DL, make them the same so players have an option to do either content. Because players having the freedome to choose how they earn Dilithium is better for them than those players who are force into content.
It's pure ignorance and the general myth that borg STF is the only worthwhile endgame content. I like STF, hell I have that medal of honor accolade for god sake. So I do understand the need to get some sort of good reward from STF (and frankly we had that with Omega Marks). But it doesn't change the fact the new commodity is dilithium and there should be reasonable methods to produce it. FA was a good way to do just that after S7 launch, and that has been taken away. And nothing has really been changed, they just distributed the dilithium across events but the original nerf is still in place but with even less production potential.
This feels like they took 90% of dil leaving you only 10%, then they reversed their decision pretending they're listening to customers and give you back access to only 30% of your original dil production. But in reality you got only 20%.
STF's being the only endgame content? No. Are fleet actions buggy? yes. Are fleet actions raw dps races with nothing but rewards for Tactical Captains with the most twinked builds? For the moment they are.
As someone who has flown a TON of STF's same as you. I like them over the fleet actions due to the bugs and a number of other issues. Do i like the situation not by any means. But at least there's the potential of a starting point here.
I think we have to accept the possbility that we wont be able to get the normal dilithium production back in full. For whatever reason (money) Cryptic seems dead set on that. The question will be the long term effects and if people will stick around to see them or not.
Reducing FA's by 960 dil is nothing to thank them about.
The STF community has been played. They found a way to make you grateful
for dil reductions! Do not thank people engaging in Cardassian psychological warfare.
I will not thank you, it should NOT of happened in the first place. I mean seriously to add a system that requires the same resource as another system? One system WILL suffer over the other one. And then to reduce and/or remove the resource to do it? Why couldn't i have spent EC's to improve my reputation instead of dilithium? You already have one system that sucks it up. Why have 2 when you have a cap on dilithium? I was expecting a whole new system for the rep not one that was already in place using most of the same resources(fleet). Doesn't even feel nor sound like a reputation system if you ask me. Kinda feels like my character has been turned in a cyborg that can only process so much information in a certain amount of time lol. Why would i want to level my character the same way i level my fleet? Too monotonous.
I will thank you when you pull your heads out of your asses and actually fix the things that need to be fixed and equalize the factions so that a 3rd faction can be put in. I mean with adding new romulus the only logical conclusion is to add them as a playable faction. All this new stuff is fine and dandy, but when you don't address the issues that have plaqued this game since launch, you don't accomplish anything. You only compound the problem until it becomes unfixable.
First...
Equalize Klingon faction with fed.
Second...
PvP zone. Done right this alone could make the money you are looking for plus some.
Third...
Romulons as a playable faction equalized with fed and klingon BEFORE release. Or you could roll with the story line...in this instance an underdeveloped faction would be appropriate. After all they are rebuilding...
If those aren't in your top priorites, then i am officially done with your game. For 3 years you have limped along, lieing, deceiving and insulting your players. Launching with an underdeveloped game with premium pricing. Now we are f2p and still no closer to achieving anything but constant reworks of stuff that is already in the game. Make STO what it was ment to be, not what your team thinks it should be or how we should play it.
Comments
That said, I do appreciate and respect that you folks are up to the task of reading through these forums and paying attention. It would be so much easier to close that tab and just ignore things until it 'blows over', but for better or worse, this is part of the job and you're rising to the occasion.
The current.. situation.. is still not resolved, but thank you for the thankless work.
Well to be completely honest I have absolutely no idea how that was ever a concern because nobody can refine more than 8000 daily (9000 for vets of a certain mark). The amount of dilithium in the economy is directly limited to that and not how much unrefined dilithium any person can obtain in a day. This "fix" is a thinly disguised effort to reduce the amount of dilithium earned in STFs compared to season 6 and have people accept it and even be happy about it because many will now say "at least its better than nothing". In the end dilithium earned through STFs has been nerfed and dilithium expenditures increased all with a goal of having people buy more zen to convert to dilithium.
This is my second post in 4 months of playing and both have been related to these changes. These are simply my extended thoughts after checking out the new content and balancing my opinion of that against the dilithium changes.
I really hope you're considering other feedback on the one-click style of dil income. At least up dil rewards for doff missions on crit successes, accolades, and/or some other on-the-fly, but do it every day kind of thing.
I can understand a push may be needed time to time to help generate real-world income in a partially f2p game, but taking what has already been given to players is often followed by discontinued accounts. Might be small numbers at first, but you folks have been in games as players and devs long enough to know how that trickle-effect works. Once their friends start telling them how great this new game is, they'll eventually follow, and the new replaces the old.
I like STO a great deal. I don't play STF's much and DOff's are a good deal of the game to me due to the complexity of doing it well. I'm staying on as f2p, but I am letting my subscription lapse next month. I've experienced a moderte amount of new content and thus far, with the removal of the one-clicks and the loss of 15,000 Dil per day in 15 minutes, I no longer feel that I'm getting the same value for my dollar. The amount of time and zen(including real-world currency spent to buy some of that zen) I spent to buy the additional character slots for the purpose of long-term infrastructural investment, are wasted. That hurts.
The only way to satisfy game players is by increased reward, not less. Each new game offers new rewards the first time you play it, after you've had them all, or at least the ones you want, it's time for new rewards from somewhere else...unless, the game you are playing constantly provides that. You folks have kind of done the opposite to an extent. While offering new rewards, the time required to obtain dil is largely increased overall and the rewards you are offering require that very dil. Not only is the time requirement increased but a highly popular and fully-permitted-at-the-time method of quick acquisition (the one worthwhile gimme on dil), has been taken away. (I may eat my words depending how you resolve the foundry requirements, but most of this feedback is based on that change...so i hope you consider it along with others)
The new STF's are fun, and feel more properly aligned as far as balancing among players in the events. New Romulus looks great, but it feels no different than several WoW expansions over the years. It's 3rd grade stuff. No challenge, but to help my fleet, I'll do whats needed there. Great job of the gfx and sounds, but the content related to the camp and reputation is poorly done and not any kind of new in it's style or basic design. Happy to have the new doff missions as well.
I'll likely stay f2p until I feel like I've gotten that moneys worth back, will will largely be based on how long it takes to acquire the ships and equipment i was working the Dil to purchase. Granted, the stipend for gold membership would help along the way, but It would be in conflict with making a statement I'm willing to stand behind.
I am more than reasonably certain if you guys followed the suggestion I put up about fleet action and STF rewards, you'd have a very happy bunch of players. That goes in addition to keeping the drop loot from the fleet actions. My only regret is not posting that sooner. I respectfully ask that you seriously consider my solution, especially as it was offered without comments to fuel the "nerd-rage" that exploded earlier on the forums.
That suggestion again is this, in a nutshell:
Fleet Actions = 1,440 dilithium.
Cooldown = 30 minutes
Normal STFs = 720 dilithium.
Bonus objective = 10% bonus to dilthium and Omega Marks
Base Omega Marks stay the same.
Cooldown = 30 minutes
Elite STFs = 1,440 dilithium
Bonus objective = 25% bonus to dilithium and Omega Marks
Base Omega Marks stay the same
Borg Neural Processors stay the same.
Cooldown = 30 minutes
Since those of us who haven't gotten the high-end STF gear will be going gung-ho in the Omega rep system to get that, and quite possibly the most popular way to do that would be getting friends together to do STF runs, this proposal makes alot of sense.
Granted, the Fleet Actions can likewise be run fairly quickly and also be very player-profitable, which equals to a happy player. This, in turn, will help said player progress further in game content and be able to help support the rep system and his/her fleet with the starbase and/or embassy projects. More dilithium available, as my proposal indicated, means happier players and help for especially small fleets who want to level up their starbase/embassy without it taking a ridiculously long time.
This would also make it more likely that players will trade in any excess dilithium they may have after the above-mentioned projects in order to get Zen for purchases in the C-Store.
I ask you. (not to sound Vulcan) Isn't that a logical solution?
On another topic, I do appreciate having another adventure zone, and being able to experience a new level of story content. Personally, I love a good story, and being able to see it come about here makes me happy. It also helps to answer questions I had since the cataclysm referred to in Star Trek (2009) about whether any of the Romulan dissidents (underground / reunificationists) had survived to continue on their peaceful course.
I just wished they didn't add the spin.
I would rather just hear the truth, which is that season seven's premiere was not successful. You can tell by how easy it was to access the server on day one. When season six made its premiere, the servers were virtually impossible to enter.
It stinks to say this, but I think they lost players.
I don't know how many KDF characters exist, but the population in the fleet action and stf queues is nonexistent. KDF is a virtual ghost town. As a result of starting my first KDF character, I have been too busy with the faction to notice the Fed side.
I wonder if the long grinds to build fleetbases have caused people to walk away.
Thank you Cryptic for changing your mind.
Exactly. Their intention was to have the Dilithium reduced in STFs. Hard core STFers are like homeless guys on crack. They need their fix. At the last minute they decided that due to all the complaints they're gonna take away the crack, I mean Dilithium, and see how they like doing without. Then the players start begging for it back and don't care if it is the reduced amount compared to what it was in season 6. Now they will have their fix and stop complaining about it.
It makes me wonder what extreme lengths Cryptic/PWE will go to in order to manipulate the players into doing what they want.
Take it all away and they get mad about it then give them less. Later take more away and they are mad but not so much then give them even less than before. Then later take even more away and nobody says anything. Then they can take what they want and how much they want with no opposition until we have next to nothing and they have everything.
And it's not hard to believe all the teenagers with high limit credit card parents are so gullible and saying "OH THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU! I'll buy the Astroglide next time to make the, uh, transition smoother."
Well, that's not exactly correct. The 8000 limit is per character...not per player. So if it is very easy and quick to get 8000, you can do it of 2 or 3 or even a dozen characters. That means that the dilithium farmers will have massive amounts compared to the basic player.
With 8 characters, I'm limited to 64000 dilithium per day. Not that I ever get anywhere near that much.
Season six's fleetbases have burnt me out, and Season Seven's changes have cause me to slowly put on the breaks. Truthfully, I think I am in the process of a complete stop.
I feel like the majority have left "Star Trek: Online", and I am the only sap that is staying around.
I keep praying that they lower the starbase requirements, for everyone has joined the tier four and five fleets. Small and casual fleets don't have a chance at recruiting enough people.
I don't think Cryptic is done nerfing rewards, ground equipment, ship equipment, and ships.
I no longer trust Cryptic to make the right decisions.
I just want to have fun.
Edit: I lost Mirror event dil also.
2nd Edit: I lost Kerrat dil earlier this year.
I was given FA rewards of 1440 dil in return.
Now that is nerfed to 480?
I never did STF's and don't intend to, so some magical shell game with dil
between FA's and STF's doesn't do anything for me in the slightest.
I am simply out another 900+ dil per 20 minutes.
Stop giving and taking away. Return the FA's to 1440 or return the b'tran bonus.
just do as many FA's as you can befoer they patch it
Reversing some of the changes shows you're not afraid to undo a mistake (whether you publicly spin it that way or not), which makes me more confident you will listen to community feedback again in the future.
I'm not gonna go rush and do as many FA's as I can before It's patched.
That's like saying, finish crocheting that afghan before we shoot you.
That way when you're dead, we can cover you in a nice afghan.
This is where I use my middle finger.
| Join Date: January 2009 | Computer | Fleet: Broken Wings |
I was in New Romulas Tuesday evening around 9pm (EST) and there were only 2 instances, and the one I was in was very deserted...
Compared to the start of Season 6, when at the same hour, there were still people posting about having to wait in queues in order to log into the game...
Also, something very noticeable this time around, is the surprising lack of threads complaining about having to wait, to log in...
My guess is that Their Numbers, from the first 24 hours were a startling revelation of just how badly They miscalculated what the player base would put up with.
I have no proof, it's only a gut feeling...
But the game certainly did not seem anywhere near as crowded Tuesday evening, as it did the day Season 6 hit.
I agree. On one aspect I am happy that they put dilithium back. But that's not good enough in my book. Elite STF dilithium has gone from 1400, 1100, to now 960 (after going to zero).
Dan, Please explain the mega price hike amount for DOFF's exchange. Sure I might agree they were 'under valued' but to go from 100 dilithium to 5000-6000 is again absurd considering you just said we average 3,100 in dilithium. Also Dan, I went to exchange because I (and many others) thought the C-store duty packs were over priced and never gave anything good.
Dan, please explain why you took STF loot away but yet you increased it in fleet actions.
Dan, please explain why items requiring dilithium are expensive.
Dan, please explain why Fleet actions were nerfed to a laughable 460-640 now. What happened to wanting to lure us back into fleets actions??
Dan, please explain why borg gear is purchased using dilithium instead of just plain omega marks--like before S7 you used Salvage, EDC's, and Proto tech to trade in.
Dan, please explain why crafting used to be fun until you added dilithium.
Dan, please explain why there still is a dilithium vacuum cleaner in the Omega, Romulan, Embassy, & everyone's favorite Starbase projects when we're averaging 3,100??
Cutting tier 4 (by 10%) & Tier 5 (by 20%) is a slap in the face. How about cutting all dilithium projects (including limited time ones) by 50%?? After all, you just said the 'average' dilithium is 3100 (less than half of the max 8,000) so why not adjust the Starbase dilithium requirements for the 'low income' peeps??
Dan, please explain how exactly you came up with the player average of refining dilithium is only 3100. What parameters he exactly used. Did he use just feds only? All players? Paid players only?
Did you use a player (like myself) who has 5 toons with only 4 of them averaging about 1880 dilithium a day and the main one does 8,000 max?? If we take 1880*4 + 8000 and average it--it comes out to 3100 vs account wide--I average 15000 a day with all 5 toons.
I'm a numbers guy "Dan".. Just show us the formula, criteria, and the results.. I don't think that is too hard to do..Is it??
FYI 'Dan' --It's 9,000 every 3 days. Not to seem like it's 9,000 daily like your post suggests.
And technically 'Dan' it should be 9,000 everyday automatically without having to run it through a stupid DOFF assignment..
I've been waiting 3 years for that and to fight in the war the was proclaimed on the original site. Still no war and talks of a 3rd faction when the 2nd faction isn't even ironed out. Did i mention i'm still waiting to fight in this war? A physical zone. Only pathetic attempts thru a que system have been made. I could of cared less about the romulus zone and rep system. An actual PVP zone and equalization of the 2 factions would bring in the money they are looking for. But hey once again lets put things that we don't need and take away the resources we need to get it instead of working on the things that have plaqued this game since launch.
Dorlin: Level 65 GF/2nd Account: Calias/62
Elkysium: Level 65 CW/2nd Account: Krystalyn/62
Artemis: Level 65 TR/2nd Account: Fayne/62
Zantoth: Level 65 DC/2nd Account: Nemea/62
Kryndar: Level 65 HR/2nd Account: Lilith/62
Goreb: Level 65 GWF/2nd Account: Tysha/62
Bamidor: Level 65 OP/2nd Account: Valindra/62
There is equally concerning issue surrounding the latest season affect on the graphics in the game and though numerous problems have been reported there does not been to be any action taken.
My machine as crashed with numerous blue screens repeated, to the point where S7 is currently unplayable for me.
When I click on any interaction my screen goes black for a sec before something happens.
I have been playing on this machine for the last 2 years with no issue.
Any idea if this is being looking at?
Sorry to post about it here - I am hoping that dstahl will see this and pass it along.
Kindest Regards
@drkfrontiers.
Here here. But we've made at least a BIT of headway. That outcry does mean SOMETHING changed even if it's not a full restoration. I personally just didnt want my efforts being for nothing. Being an STF specialist that basically is what it boiled down to for me. Do like anything that's happened? Hell no. I still see NO apology by the devs, and i see nothing suggesting they'll listen in the future.
The 3.5 hour declaration is insane. And even if true (i guarntee you for me it usually isnt and i've got a fleet defiant) doesnt mean a player wants to spend ALL of that time Grinding out dilithium. Grind =/= fun.
The playerbase was lied to, there has been no apology, and he hopes to sweep this under the rug like Barrack Obama is trying to sweep Benghazi under the rug. (Incase you're not following 3 navy seals and 1 US ambassador died via terrorist attack on 9/11/2012. It is unknown if the president knew but he sure has hell made every attempt to obfuscate the issue. Very simular to the tactics the dev team employed here.)
The playerbase MUST continue to hold the dev's feet to the fire if we're to get solutions to a number of problems that still remain. I for one Intend to.
But Stahl, I personally wish you restore the Dilithium amount entirely, because there is no longer any EDC or Salvage to convert to Dilithium like before. Instead we got 5 BNPs conversion for 1000 Dilithium, which most are going to save for a while. So there isn't going to be mass savings.
At least add that difference in the options, to encourage people to do them. As well making Ground STFs have a little more Dilitihium (since they are longer and require more teamwork).
As for the STF DL vs the FA DL, make them the same so players have an option to do either content. Because players having the freedome to choose how they earn Dilithium is better for them than those players who are force into content.
STF's being the only endgame content? No. Are fleet actions buggy? yes. Are fleet actions raw dps races with nothing but rewards for Tactical Captains with the most twinked builds? For the moment they are.
As someone who has flown a TON of STF's same as you. I like them over the fleet actions due to the bugs and a number of other issues. Do i like the situation not by any means. But at least there's the potential of a starting point here.
I think we have to accept the possbility that we wont be able to get the normal dilithium production back in full. For whatever reason (money) Cryptic seems dead set on that. The question will be the long term effects and if people will stick around to see them or not.
The STF community has been played. They found a way to make you grateful
for dil reductions! Do not thank people engaging in Cardassian psychological warfare.
"There are FOUR LIGHTS!"
its happend to me in FA's and normal stfs...and ground battles lol
I will thank you when you pull your heads out of your asses and actually fix the things that need to be fixed and equalize the factions so that a 3rd faction can be put in. I mean with adding new romulus the only logical conclusion is to add them as a playable faction. All this new stuff is fine and dandy, but when you don't address the issues that have plaqued this game since launch, you don't accomplish anything. You only compound the problem until it becomes unfixable.
First...
Equalize Klingon faction with fed.
Second...
PvP zone. Done right this alone could make the money you are looking for plus some.
Third...
Romulons as a playable faction equalized with fed and klingon BEFORE release. Or you could roll with the story line...in this instance an underdeveloped faction would be appropriate. After all they are rebuilding...
If those aren't in your top priorites, then i am officially done with your game. For 3 years you have limped along, lieing, deceiving and insulting your players. Launching with an underdeveloped game with premium pricing. Now we are f2p and still no closer to achieving anything but constant reworks of stuff that is already in the game. Make STO what it was ment to be, not what your team thinks it should be or how we should play it.
Dorlin: Level 65 GF/2nd Account: Calias/62
Elkysium: Level 65 CW/2nd Account: Krystalyn/62
Artemis: Level 65 TR/2nd Account: Fayne/62
Zantoth: Level 65 DC/2nd Account: Nemea/62
Kryndar: Level 65 HR/2nd Account: Lilith/62
Goreb: Level 65 GWF/2nd Account: Tysha/62
Bamidor: Level 65 OP/2nd Account: Valindra/62