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Idea For Future Ships To Include Fans
amatsu287
Member Posts: 30 Arc User
I was just listening to the latest podcast linked on the site and heard something interesting. The Dev's are nearing the end of "their" wish list for ships. Now as cool as many of these ships have been there is one complaint that many players have had that I believe "we" can help with. There need to be more ships that fit with this era.
As fun as it is to fly a Galaxy or Excelsior class. These are ships that in this era are old and out dated. With the promise of a new level cap coming up I think the following is not only doable, but can prove to spark further life into the game for players. This idea being fan made ships.
This has proven to not only work for the Enterprise-F but also spawned a second ship based off an Enterprise would be. This contest would be a bit broader though. You could take entries for not just one ship but six in total. Three Federation and three Klingon. These entries would be for all three classes, Science, Tactical, and Engineering.
Really this makes sense seeing as how not only should the new cap get beter Tier 6 vessels, but these vessels should reflect the best that both factions can produce.
Now obviously this would have to go across CBS's desk for approval, but (in failing to understand the full workings of how "they" work) I dont see to much of a problem with getting that approval.
As fun as it is to fly a Galaxy or Excelsior class. These are ships that in this era are old and out dated. With the promise of a new level cap coming up I think the following is not only doable, but can prove to spark further life into the game for players. This idea being fan made ships.
This has proven to not only work for the Enterprise-F but also spawned a second ship based off an Enterprise would be. This contest would be a bit broader though. You could take entries for not just one ship but six in total. Three Federation and three Klingon. These entries would be for all three classes, Science, Tactical, and Engineering.
Really this makes sense seeing as how not only should the new cap get beter Tier 6 vessels, but these vessels should reflect the best that both factions can produce.
Now obviously this would have to go across CBS's desk for approval, but (in failing to understand the full workings of how "they" work) I dont see to much of a problem with getting that approval.
Post edited by amatsu287 on
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I wish it were possible, but it is very much impractical.
The behaviour shown by the community when it came it the Enterprise-F contest has made sure they'll never do another one.
For example:
it was not possible for non-Americans to participate.
However there were people out there who blatantly took stole ships from creative modelers who could not enter the contest due to ther nationality and just claimed them as their own.
Great isn't it?
It's one of the reasons the KDF side didn't get a chance to do a similar contest for the Klingon flagship.
While you commented on the approval process for CBS, there is also major legal involvement such as writing up contracts. And that takes up a good chunk of their budget.
Though I rule out the possibility of them being interested in someone's design and contacting them.
One thing about the alien ships having significantly different designs from the Fed ships: Aren't the nacelles on Fed ships far away from the crew quarters & other equipment for a reason? I had always believed it was more than just style. The point being is that more "experimental" variations of the classic Fed style may be appropriate in alien ships.
Oh, is that the reason that Cryptic just went ahead and ripped off the StarCraft II Terran Battlecruiser for the Bortas instead? I always wondered about that.
It would be a horrible ball of wax, just like it was last time.
I imagine you're better off doing one of two things:
a) Suggesting ships from canon [and which they already have a license for] that you'd like them to include, like the ones seen in some of the DS9 fleet battles which are crazy hybrids; or the ones from Wolf 359; or other alien/civilian ships.
b) Suggesting general ideas for specific hull shapes, features, and whatnot that the designers can play with in order to create ships that don't 'belong' to any fan. Something like "Wouldn't it be great if there was a manta-ray shaped ship with the warp nacelles trailing out behind it?" or "I like how the Cardassian Galor class was based on an egyptian Ankh and had lots of cool Egyptian styling/colors to its design. What about if we had an alien ship based on say a Viking longboat with stylized sails or a Japanese pagoda?" (being more than a little tongue in cheek here, but you get the idea).
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
If they want new ships all they have to do is look at Star Trek history, and canon credible designs. Like those at Drex Files and MadKoiFish.
Links:
http://madkoifish.wordpress.com/category/star-trek/
http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/
Well, it is almost space summer... lol.
That was an unfortunate situation with Mr. Ihle, but could you blame people for being upset? Madden's ship was no doubt the most popular ship in the entire contest, while the Odyssey wasn't even among the Top 20 fan favorites and ended up the winner. So the fans felt cheated.
Given:
- The rules of the contest stated Cryptic would make the final decision (Fan votes would be considered in that decision if Cryptic felt two ships were close)
- A lot of the fans comments went WAY beyond just being upset - and showed some really 'non Star Trek' attitudes (and I say that because as I recall, many of the fans who spouted the most bile stuff were the one's spouting how STO was destroying GR's and Star Trek legacy of exploration, peaceful exploration, and tolerance. There was so,me really shameful stuff posted by these so called 'Tolerant Star Trek fans'. In the end, after all - Star Trek is just entertainment and STO a video game. Many of the posts directed toward the designer went WAY beyond upset - and into borderline psychotic to be perfectly honest.
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
What do you mean "borderline"? I demand full credit.
Really though, everything about that contest was in poor taste. Perhaps if it had been planned better and done at a time after a lot of the initial rage about everything and everything died down, it might have come off better. Almost certainly it would have seen more submissions. The Odyssey we see in-game now might very well still have been the winner, but I do wonder.
As far as ships for the future of the game; I'm still hoping some kind of editor akin to Spore's might be possible in the future. Something that allows us to buy structural components for zen and then shape/size/angle them how we wish, within certain limitations of course. Probably not doable but would be cool.
The Starcraft thing is unrelated to that actually.
Logan back then said he'd never played Starcraft so he didn't know about the similarities and he also offered an interesting detail on the hammerhead design:
Look at the D7 from the top
http://starfleet.unblog.fr/files/2009/04/d7comparisons.jpg
and you'll see the hammehead he used as an inspiration.
Back then he said the Klingons did it before the Terrans from Starcraft did.;)
any forum link for those upset posts?
Ain't Nobody Got Time for That
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
You should ask Branflakes. Perhaps making a fan forum, where one area is fan art, another could be dedicated to the podcasts, so their latest works wouldn't get lost among daily threads.
In the recent interviews and Ask Cryptic, seems they are leaning towards such a thing in the future.
Yes, I remember that condition.
But you remember that the Odyssey didn't even have 50 votes, while Maddens had like 2000 and Fuzzy Modem had second with like 1700 votes in the end. And Cryptic pretty much hyped the contest that it was for the fans by the fans.
And that's what set everybody off. Not because they were sore losers, but because there was no point to the votes, since in the end they chose what they wanted.
Aren't you being hypocritical in doing the same in hating the haters? Even Alexander Courage apparently made up with Gene Roddenberry (see his video documentary on Youtube) and he worked on Star Trek again after that incident. So if they could let bygones be bygones, why not the community?
Anyhow, as much as I want one, I don't think there will be another contest. Seems the only way to get a design in STO is being in a Novel or built in-house by the team. Unless they are considering using the Ships of the Line Calander ships.
Are you talking about the Dedication-class? (pictured here: http://chrismaddenart.com/ent-f_final.jpg)
If it was, then I can understand why it wasn't chosen... it cribs a bunch of small details from the Enterprise from the new JJ Abrams movies. That's not to say it's not a great looking ship in that picture, but Cryptic probably wanted something that looked less like the reboot's Enterprise for legal reasons, at least.
The only reason that derivative thing was so well liked is because it tickles peoples' nostalgia bone. Which isn't to say the Odyssey in either it's pure Ihle incarnation nor its STO-ified form were wholly original either, but at least it has some clear defining features and a distinct but very Enterprise-y silhouette.
Thankfully for my faith in Trek fans, there was another intensely well-liked ship in that contest (that was also not the Oddy <_<). This thing, which, if I recall correctly, actually won the popular vote, some of us lovingly refer to as the Fuzzyprise. Original, distinctive, striking, and very Trek in appearance, factors I'd think even people who hate the ship could concede. Its only major strike against it is it really doesn't look like an Enterprise. I hold out hope it ends up in-game as a Science ship with some tactical bite, but the devs at the time were pretty clear that it was never seriously considered by anyone other than the forums...
I Support Disco | Disco is Love | Disco is Life
I'm almost positive that's the ship I voted for, too. The other picture that showed the ship's shuttle bay is one I absolutely fell in love with.
I Support Disco | Disco is Love | Disco is Life
Also, always such Odyssey hate, I still think that ship looks quite good myself, even though I'll always go for my lovely four nacelle Prometheus/Cerberus.
I don't hat anyone. I was just stating how a lot of the post I recall came across to me - and my opinion was it didn't speak well of the Star Trek fans who made the posts I was talking about. As to the GR/Alexander Courage comment, what's that got to do with anything in this discussuion?
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
Because it looks old. I mean yes it's a nice ship (although there are a bunch of flaws with it), but it looks like something that would have come out of the yards between the Enterprise-C and the Enterprise-D, not post Enterprise-E.
It ends up totally reversing the design ethos of the Enterprise series by creating something very clunky and vertical, as opposed to something increasingly horizontal.
I see no problem with more fan ships and contests if they arent expected to be THE Enterprise. The Ihle-Cryptic whale will NEVER be an Enterprise to me. NEVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Capt. Will Conquest of the U.S.S. Crusader