I wonder if your crystal ball is working as intended.
It is. Romulan fans are a smaller cross section of trek fans than Klingon fans. Percentages from other games people have collected show that people playing Romulans were smaller than people playing Klingons. Stats offered by DStahl all suggest the KDF is between 12 and 20%.
So just going off of the biggest number provided by Cryptic ... 20% ... that's what you're looking at. And what you then have to consider is ... how much have they given the KDF thus far in terms of development time and resources?
Oh I'm sure tons and tons of people will TRY a Romulan. Just like tons and tons of people have TRIED Klingons.
But the reality is, this game is fed-centric and has been for three years. The development team created this disparity and perpetuated it. That paradigm seems unlikely to shift. So look at the BEST the KDF has gotten in three years and then consider how it is this game can support a third faction?
It hasn't supported two factions very well for three years.
Literally no one (sane) has ever denied the faction is happening. It's just a matter of when. The debate is will it be in "Totally Not Season 8" or "Totally Not Season 9". Any other discussion is frankly wildly off-base.
"We are smart." - Grebnedlog
Member of Alliance Central Command/boq botlhra'ghom
It is not quite proof of a Romulan faction in May, since the graphic could simply be a placeholder for a future Romulan faction, but it does increase the probability that we will be seeing a Romulan faction soon.
It is. Romulan fans are a smaller cross section of trek fans than Klingon fans. Percentages from other games people have collected show that people playing Romulans were smaller than people playing Klingons. Stats offered by DStahl all suggest the KDF is between 12 and 20%.
So just going off of the biggest number provided by Cryptic ... 20% ... that's what you're looking at. And what you then have to consider is ... how much have they given the KDF thus far in terms of development time and resources?
Oh I'm sure tons and tons of people will TRY a Romulan. Just like tons and tons of people have TRIED Klingons.
But the reality is, this game is fed-centric and has been for three years. The development team created this disparity and perpetuated it. That paradigm seems unlikely to shift. So look at the BEST the KDF has gotten in three years and then consider how it is this game can support a third faction?
It hasn't supported two factions very well for three years.
The big things Romulans have going for them are:
- Romulan fans are a smaller cross section than Klingon fans, yes.
- However, Vulcan fans are equal to Klingon fans.
- And as Furry fans have bolstered Caitian/Ferasan sales, elf fans may bolster Romulan sales.
I think it's interesting. There are advantages that can be leveraged in a Romulan faction.
Has anyone discussed what Romulan science ships will be? My gut says we may see aggressive, DHC wielding versions of the D'Kyr, a kind of "battle science" class modeled on the Vesta.
And however counterintuitive it may seem, I think Romulans need bows and arrows as weapons. The animations exist in Neverwinter. TNG gave us Vulcanoid archers. They can be energy bows or whatever but Romulans will need the Legolas fanbase.
And on a similar note, I think animal handler kits will boost this. (And maybe can be reverse engineered for Klingon Targ kits.) One could point out Romulans' feral nature and empathic abilities.
Yes, I'm suggesting allowing for Elven Rangers/Hunters effectively. But that will spike interest in Romulans dramatically and can be done without breaking the IP totally.
My inkling would either be to establish this through universal kits or create a Tac/Science Hybrid class with slight faction differences. Call it Federation Biologist, Klingon Huntsmaster, and Romulan Forager. Basically just supplied a mix of Sci/Tac skills and animal handler kits, perhaps with custom variants available from observing wildlife in places like New Romulus.
Has anyone discussed what Romulan science ships will be? My gut says we may see aggressive, DHC wielding versions of the D'Kyr, a kind of "battle science" class modeled on the Vesta.
My gut tells me that Romulan players will flock to the stealth using, alpha striking Mogai or Bird of Prey ships, or fall in love/lust blindly with the D'Deridex since that's a ship people have wanted to fly for ages.
My cynicism is forcing me to type the next statement. Cryptic will make Romulan science ships as toothless as any other science ship in the game currently, because they can't keep up with weapon slots or tactical consoles and the science boff abilities simply don't make up the difference.
but Romulans will need the Legolas fanbase.
A little off the wall, but yes, that would indeed vault them way past the numbers that have been seen for Klingons and Romulans in past games and at conventions and the like.
I guess what I'm saying is, I think Klingon fandom are the Trekkies of the Trekkies.
Whereas Romulans have appeals that work to people casually interested in or even disinterested in Trek... But maybe are fans of Asimov, Alfred Bester, Orson Scott Card (ugh, don't like him but I see the appeal intellectually), or high fantasy. As well as Vulcan fans.
If you're looking WITHIN Trek fandom, Klingons are probably the largest enemy group fandom, discounting that Vulcan fans may find appeal in Romulans. But if you look to the fringes and outside conventional Trek fandom, Romulans may win out.
My concern is actually less that Romulans will be third place in popularity (I don't think they will) and more that they will attract enough casual fans and possibly sway people away from the Klingons enough that the KDF will lose what size and viability it has when the Romulan option crops up.
In the end, I could see a game that goes from 85% Fed/15% Klingon to a game that is 65%+ Federation, 25% Romulan, and 10% or less Klingon.
Heck, looking at the expanded universe lore, things like the Stone of Gol, and the game's own references to Romulan nature worship, you could probably lay groundwork for Romulan druids who use empathic powers to assume the form of animals. (Not physically but as a Salt Vampire-style illusion coupled with telekinetic abilities.) And there you have your druid/Jedi fanbase.
I don't think you could introduce that WITH a faction easily. But you could certainly lay the groundwork for it, especially if you establish a resurgence in ancient Romulan religion. Maybe coupled with augmentation.
And that does raise an interesting issue, that STO could pretty readily introduce augments in the non-Federation factions. Klingons themselves might be reluctant but Gorn, Orions, and Romulans all strike me as candidates for some really out there augmentation stuff. We already have the Romulans apparently grafting Borg tech onto their bodies. (Depending on what Hakeev's deal is. But in hindsight, I suspect he's not so much a Liberated Borg as he is a Romulan test subject for Borg reverse engineering.)
The screenshot proves nothing. It could be a button to pick a lore option, or half a dozen other uses. It could also be artwork that will be used years in the future or never used at all. You're making major assumptions based on nothing
If Cryptic can't add the Romulan faction in this year, then they have less resources then the average internet modder group.
What? Adding a faction is not as easy or as fast as you're implying, especially considering the amount of systems integrated into the current factions
Why are you people being so obtuse? The Gateway is a WIP piece of kit which means nothing legacy is there. That file is new and had to have been consciously chosen to upload.
The game has been datamined and other Romulan faction images have been found.
The countdown is 100% Romulan themed.
The UI and character creator are being remade for May...
Scepticism is one thing, willful blindness is another.
if thats your idea of logic you really need to think about what you just said. Ever heard of placeholder data? if you're assuming theres some mythical faction coming, despite the fact there are no resources or time to develop one, based on a single very poor quality picture, you're living in a fantasy land
The only downside, the romulan faction might end up like how the kdf is now..
there is no 'might' about it. that is exactly what would happen
although this pic is evidence enough to support that romulans are a 3rd faction in may
no, it isn't 'evidence enough' to support anything of the sort
Why would it be on the Gateway then, and with that filename?
Come on people, critical thinking skills here...
you should take your own advice. placeholder data, or just getting things out of the way for something planned a few years from now. companies do that all the time and so do developers
I sincerely doubt that.
thats because you have no understanding whatsoever of how game development actually works. to say nothing of cryptics track record for development
Who here *isn't* going to make a Romulan character?
me. no interest whatsoever in an even more badly supported version of the KDF
but there is a lot to be gained through low-hanging fruit by adding a Romulan faction to the game.
no there isn't. but there is alot to lose by doing so, especially when it comes to resources, time and good will of the customers by putting out a crappy shell of a faction that never gets any support after the first month or two
I'm assuming that S8 will be a Romulan faction launch.
DStahl mentioned long ago that one of the primary reasons he returned to STO was to bring new factions into the game. Now they're launching an ambitious new update that will reap the benefits of the revenues that lockboxes have brought in. I'm assuming that they've been working on the new Romulan content for some time in the background.
Now, there's a few ways it can go if the Romulan faction is for real: 1.) A fully fleshed out Romulan faction with updates to the Klingon faction to bring that one up to speed. 2.) A Romuland half-faction that is on par with the KDF half-faction.
I think the Romulan faction is coming. I could certainly be wrong, but looking at the facts we've seen, I think it's on its way. My question is how much of a faction will this be? And will the KDF be made whole if the RSE is whole?
In the end, I could see a game that goes from 85% Fed/15% Klingon to a game that is 65%+ Federation, 25% Romulan, and 10% or less Klingon.
I'm not convinced the fed percentage will dip under 80%.
The way this game is constructed at least.
So that leaves all other factions with numbers that Cryptic in the past has justified as reasons not to allocate resources to develop.
Going on Cryptic's own track record, a third faction has me worried. I'm a big fan of the Romulans. They are my favorite trek villain. I'm one of the people who would love to fly a D'Deridex. And have a Subcommander first officer to sneer at and mock on my bridge.
But Cryptic has left me with no confidence on their abilities to do that justice.
My take on the original portions of this thread is, nice links. But until I actually see Romulans in the character select screen, I just can't trust Cryptic to deliver. That's no fault of the posters. Great work digging for any and all teasers.
Doing it justice will be the key issue for everyone given the track record presented with the KDF.
Said same track record, also shows that Cryptic actually promised to finish the KDF before they introduced a third faction. Taking them at their word, this makes it unfeasible for a new faction to be launched so quickly, given that the KDF is not finished.
This compounds the problem because if they renege of this agreement and bring out a third faction, it would speak volumes about its quality and level of completion.
Been reading some post's and i can only add a desperate bid that this is the long awaited arrival of the Romulan faction, even if the Romulan is a as the KDF is i will be happy to take it.
I am Pro-Romulan and have been waiting for this sinse it was first whispered in the forums and discussions with Dstalh.... and i LIVE in hope that the Romulan's come back in true form as the sly cunning and damn right evasive back stabbers they are using espinoge and sabotoge and sneaky ambush tactics.:eek:
I'm not convinced the fed percentage will dip under 80%.
Well, I think the primary way you'd see it go below 80% is going to be through growth.
I wouldn't underestimate elves.
Burning Crusade tripled or better the size of WoW's playerbase (probably the most successful expansion in MMO history, especially given that it was more successful than the base game) and the bulk of the new players flocked to elves. Especially on new servers, blood elves came to outnumber the other races in the Horde. On an expansion server my old guild played on, Blood Elves (not counting other Horde races) outnumbered all other races, Alliance and Horde combined, 4 to 1.
These were not generally Blizzard IP fans (although some were).
Space elves are a growth market if you target the people who love them.
Well, I think the primary way you'd see it go below 80% is going to be through growth.
I wouldn't underestimate elves.
Burning Crusade tripled or better the size of WoW's playerbase (probably the most successful expansion in MMO history, especially given that it was more successful than the base game) and the bulk of the new players flocked to elves. Especially on new servers, blood elves came to outnumber the other races in the Horde. On an expansion server my old guild played on, Blood Elves (not counting other Horde races) outnumbered all other races, Alliance and Horde combined, 4 to 1.
These were not generally Blizzard IP fans (although some were).
Space elves are a growth market if you target the people who love them.
I'm not sure I like what that says about humanity.
Oh I don't. If they do like you suggest, and really go after the Legolas crowd, I think they very well could make a dent in the federation percentages and expand the playerbase.
It's just, I don't know, if they remain true to the Romulans in the shows and movies (Donatra, Tomalak, Romulans like that), there's not much Legolas in that.
But yeah, if they shift gears and turn Romulans into space elves, yeah, they can definitely change this game around in a big way.
But remember, I'm far too skeptical of them even doing a Romulan faction right now. All links to the contrary.
Oh I don't. If they do like you suggest, and really go after the Legolas crowd, I think they very well could make a dent in the federation percentages and expand the playerbase.
It's just, I don't know, if they remain true to the Romulans in the shows and movies (Donatra, Tomalak, Romulans like that), there's not much Legolas in that.
But yeah, if they shift gears and turn Romulans into space elves, yeah, they can definitely change this game around in a big way.
But remember, I'm far too skeptical of them even doing a Romulan faction right now. All links to the contrary.
Well, I don't know that the elven market is a far cry from the Romulan one. The big thing there is that the bulk of what we've seen before are Romulan career soldiers and politicians. The aristocracy is considerably less visible onscreen and every glimpse we get of Romulans from a different perspective (ie. Nero's blue collar, tattooed space miners) shows something radically new.
Maybe the civilian life is like some kind of hybrid of Orions, ancient Romans, and the tabloid version of British Royalty.
Also, the American Civil War was a war where you had decadent wealthy people parading around in impractical costume uniforms for the early part of it so I could see a decimated Romulan force being, cosmetically, a mix of old style career soldiers, gruff miners with tattoos, and half-naked debutantes with a half-dozen peacock feathers in their costumes who bought a commission our of boredom or desire for personal glory.
It's clearly not that there's no wealth in the Romulan Empire but the faction does seem mostly boiled down to starving people with scars and soot stains and fancy pants disconnected aristocracy, with the middle class being the ones who probably absorbed most of the hit when Romulus fell.
Space elves are a growth market if you target the people who love them.
Yes and the same could be said for the KDF. Its not the targeting thats the problem, its pulling off a product people will actually want. We all know how that turned out with the KDF
Yes and the same could be said for the KDF. Its not the targeting thats the problem, its pulling off a product people will actually want. We all know how that turned out with the KDF
No. It really couldn't be. Who do Klingons appeal to outside of Trek fans? The ships, maybe, because of the accessible jet fighter look. But among other things, I don't think Klingons have the same... to put it delicately... fetish community cache that cat people and elves have outside of Trek fandom. (And that's not necessarily a matter of overtly erotic fetish but even non-erotic fetishes overlap with the erotic kind and that probably accounts for a lot of the appeal with pirates, authoritarian police officers, private prep schools, and the like. I think Judge Dredd, Harry Potter, and Pirates of the Caribbean all play with the popular libido.)
I think Klingons have a very strong base within Trek fandom. (Now, I also think it's a base that holds grudges and tends to have a long memory and is older and tighter with money spent on virtual toys.) I don't think that necessarily translates as well outside people who watch Trek. Or that Cryptic should limit the game to people who have watched Trek. (I still think the tutorial needs to cover things like what century it is, what the Federation is, what a Klingon is, maybe what happened to the major earth nations, etc. -- targeting people who have never seen Star Trek more effectively.)
And pointy ears, conniving, and sexed up/coy probably has a bigger audience with people who've never seriously watched Trek. Whereas Klingons lean more on Trek associations.
Concepts and Systems
Adding Dilithium as a reward for all Cryptic-made story missions in game [1]
Improved UI of Exchange [2][3][4][5]
Better control of limits on provision usage by fleet rank [6]
Account shared currencies [7]
Ability to warp to a friend and/or improving travel between sectors[8]
Animated Andorian antennae [9][10][11]
[Edit] Foundry improvements
Ability to create a sorted string of several foundry missions [5][12]
Ability to subscribe to specific Foundry authors [12]
Remastering (cutscenes etc.) and incorporating the best Foundry missions into the hard code of the game as part of the official story line; possibly replacing some of the less popular Cryptic missions [13]
New assets (Many major changes will not be available until debut of Cryptic's game Neverwinter [2])
Interior editor [14]
Ability to prepopulate maps with prefab detail object layouts [14]
[Edit] Possible
Minor restructuring and general layout improvement of sector space [3]
Ability to reselect passives from Reputation System [15]
Lobi Crystals to be included in more upcoming events [16]
Remastering of STF: Terradome [17][11]
New small craft missions [18]
Starbase PvP Challenges [19]
Convert First Officer to playable Captain and vice versa [8]
This would allow for Romulan (Embassy Contact), Reman (FE Reward), Breen (FE Reward), Borg (STF Reward), and Jem'Hadar (FE Reward) playable captain species [20]
Converting veteran reward-Android bridge officer will not be possible (vetoed by CBS) [11]
Possibly: Tier 5 Merian class escort: 12[21]
Customize fleet starbase and ship exteriors/interiors in Foundry [10][8][22]
Increased ship interior functionality [8][23]
Holodeck (as well as in starbases and Quark's) [7][24]
Melee combat improvements[25]: Open melee-only PvP arenas on Vulcan, Andoria, Qo'noS, Rura Penthe [8][26]
Saucer separation for the Galaxy-X Dreadnought Cruiser (before Season 8) [27][28][29]
Separation mode
Animation kinks being worked out as of December 2012 [15]
Denise Crosby to work on more missions, starting in March [30]
[Edit] Season 8 (May)
Release planned by May[31], biggest update yet; repeatedly been called "May update", as the word "season" does not really "do it justice" [32]
Teaser page with clock counting down to March 21st; changing Romulan texts (Possible Feature Episode names):
"March Beneath the Raptor's Wings"
"Our Shadow Will Dim the Stars"
"Some Will Fall"
Big story focus [16][33]
At least one new Feature Episode series at launch and maybe even more than that [2]
New Romulus-like adventure zone in the Nimbus System [34]
Khitomer will be a featured location [34]
Invasion zones (similar to Defera and Nukara) for space [16]
Re-trait token [35]
Next fleet holding: possibly dilithium mine, colony, or outpost [27]
KDF tutorial revamp [36]
New UI, with major feature revolving around color schemes [15]
"More LCARSy", mostly appearance update, less functional changes, only subtle differences between FED and KDF versions [37]
Major revamp to character creator [30], existing options likely to remain free, possibly new options with costs [38]
"Streamlining character creation process and making it prettier" [37]
Improved hair and cloth tech (no firm plan yet) [27][7][39]
More cat hair styles (not currently on schedule) [7]
Some lesser seen species make their debut, including the Yridians [15]
Will address a lot of the issues with boff reassignment, boff skills, and power tray setups
Additional Cryptic-designed 25th century-ships [30], more KDF ships of Klingon design [37]
Additional benefits for gold members (but won't be additional veteran rewards) [30]
[Edit] Revamp of PvP system
(To happen after Season 8 [30][3][40]; having two fully fledged factions, i.e., finishing the Klingon faction, is important step in PvP revamp [37])
STO will be first game to implement a new PvP engine developed by Cryptic [3]
PvP-faction for the Reputation System [30][27][32], "PvP Marks" as rewards [37]
All PVP in the new system will be cross faction queues [41]
Matchmaking, e.g. matching people of comparable gear level [42]
Rewards based on participation more than completion [43]
PvP ratings/leaderboard tech is now available [33][7][42][44]
Either replacing current PvP maps or revamping the existing ones [45]
Space combat prototype map (arena style?) to be released on Tribble server in the coming months (2013?) for extensive public testing [3][17][7][37]
Transferring existing PvE maps (Facility 4028 amongst others) to ground PvP maps, possibly with capture-the-flag mod [12][13]
King of the Hill PvP map for space and/or ground [8][13]
Ground combat may have Battleground-style development in long-term [33]
[Edit] Possible
"First half of the year": More factions for the Reputation System (other than announced PvP- and crafting factions) [32]
(Anti-)Tholian faction [30]
Foundry faction
Klingon content for levels 1 to 20 [33][14][46] [7][31]
Eventually create a Klingon character at level 1 as first character including new KDF tutorial mission [2][8][13][34] ("So we are getting there slowly but surely."
Making KDF versions of episodes across the game (retelling some episodes from a Klingon perspective ? such as ?Saturday's Child? or ?The Kuvah'Magh?) [8]
Possibly developing Klingon content "backwards", i.e., successively lowering the level at which a KDF character can be created as new missions are released [17][11]
On to-do list as of February 2013 but no estimate to when these missions will be converted.[36]
Revamp of kits (being considered for Season 8 or shortly after) [16][7][29]
New/custom kits [30][10]
Only one power per kit, but one additional kit-slot per rank (5 as admiral) [29]
[Edit] Season 9 (Late 2013)
Possible: Rank increase to Admiral / General (level 60) [34][33]
Ability to command a task force of other starships captained by your bridge officers [3][7][34]
Crafting revamp (end of 2013 or early 2014) [30][2][7][18][47][48][34]
Will get its own Reputation System faction (possibly Season 9) [34][32]
Further revamping probably after Season 9 [34]
Incorporating new content, i.e., crafting missions [5]
Duty Officer assignments to allow your staff to upgrade items and systems on your ship [20][5]; crafting/kitbashing better versions of ships [42]
Savable ship-specific duty officer configuration (Season 8 or 9) [35]
Duty officer assignment cooldowns listed (possibly Season 9) [35]
"My Favorites" tab for Foundry missions (late 2013) [35]
[Edit] December
Return of Winter Event [35]
[Edit] Undetermined Release
Season 10 is 2014 [15]
Playable species: Romulans and Cardassians [15]
Return to Cardassian story would most likely be to launch a Cardassian faction with a story that players could experience for themselves [36]
Possibility of more factions on the horizon which would lead to new playable species [36]
Romulan Star Empire playable faction as possibility for 2013 [33][8][45]
D'Deridex will not appear in lockbox [7]
Only after Klingon Empire has been "fully developed" [11]
Implementation as 5-level mini-faction, after which the character chooses to either join Starfleet or the KDF, had been considered [11], recent plans envision a fully fleshed out faction, however [34]
Likely to only include Romulans and Remans (Hirogen and Borg are unlikely) [33]
Will set stage for how to introduce additional races such as Cardassians [8][45] and Borg [33]
New Orleans, Freedom, and Niagara classes [49]
Last remaining Fed ships to come over the next year (through February 2014), including new designs that may not have a unique console (later in 2013)[36]
The KDF will be getting more Klingon based ships before we'll see a Lethean ship.[36]
Iconians as new major enemy faction after the Borg and Tholians [50][11][45][51]
Delta Quadrant-based story content featuring the Voth [26][11]
Voth possibly connected to some content taking place on Gorn homeworld [34]
Delta Quadrant locations and races (such as Kazon, Malon, Vidiians, Talaxians, Krenim, the Devore, the Hierachy, and additional Borg) have slight chance of appearing in Season 8, but more likely to be Season 9 or later [16]
Talaxians[8], Ocampa (FED) and Kazon (KDF) as new playable races [11][45]
Exploration revamp (not on the schedule for Season 7 or 8)[16]
Plan is dependent on changes being introduced with the Fleet Advancement system and Fleet ownership of Starbases [14]
Rank increase to Fleet Admiral / Dahar Master (will be maximum skillpoint cap; currently in design as of February 2013, will happen over next 12 months or so) [30][18][52][7][17][50][29]
Tier 6 ships, intended to be flown by Fleet Admirals [16][53]
Typhoon class dreadnought is a possibility to appear once skill cap increased to full Admiral [15]
Department Heads, and Off-Duty revamps are on hold as of October 2012[16]
First Officer system is not on schedule as of December 2012, but may be revisited with increase to Full Admiral[15]
Bridge officers who are put in as First Officer, Chief Engineer, Chief Medical Officer, etc. gain some new abilities/perks [54][55][56][57][58][59]
Department Heads and First Officer will leverage Expertise and can be individually augmented by Duty Officers of their respective departments [60]
First Officers will grant additional lower-level Captain powers depending on their respective specialization [61][62]
First Officers will occupy a special, additional bridge station. This may be closer to increasing the skill cap to Admiral.[16]
New Fed tutorial mission probably involving Starfleet Academy and the Kobayashi Maru test (sometime in 2013) [3][55][8][26]
Duty officer commendation Tier V categories added (requirement is above the 150,000 CXP cap) [63][64]
Plans have been held off for near-term (as of June 4, 2012) [65]
Fleet starbases will play some role in future fleet vs fleet (KDF vs FED) territory control game ("controlling and or harvesting a vast variety of resources") [17][49] [8][11]
Ship interior functionality:
Shuttlebay (to switch to shuttle instead of current transporter room) [17][24][8]
Return of DS9 Under Siege fleet action after Season 8 [33]
TOS Communicators or transporter effects via C-Store or episode rewards [19]
"Children of Khan" feature episode series (not on schedule) [20][51]
Improved playability of some fleet actions:
Fluidic Space Fleet Action/Gekli Feeding Grounds [18][66][67]
Crystalline Entity/Crystalline Catastrophe [66][67]
Voyager ship pack is near top of "ship pack" list [7]
Voyager and TNG bundles are both planned but no ETA [4][19][17][5][14][7]
Voyager bundle hopefully in 2013 with new interior and either costume pack and/or item set [33]
Likely when get closer to adding Delta Quadrant [15]
Delta Quadrant likely to happen before Gamma Quadrant [30]
More daily missions:
In Hathon on Bajor [13]
Near neighborhood of Sol System and Qo'noS [8][45]
More aliens, like Tamarians, from TV shows and movies [7][55]
Ability to create a construction bee, which would allow for animated repairs on the outside of a starship [68]
Ability to gain Commendation XP via gameplay types other than the DOff-system. [29]
More shuttle combat in future seasons will have strong possibility of adding Admiral Janeway's SC-4 shuttle with ablative armor and cloaking device [33]
Update of Accolade system and UI after Season 7 [9], including more challenges and rewards [14][7]
More new sectors, particularly in Alpha Quadrant [17][55], probably as "Founders of the Federation" expansion [34]
Sector between the Sol System and Cardassia including Betazed and Trill/Trillius Prime along with other key Fed homeworlds, possibly in 2013 [33][17][69][34]
Xindi may show up in a future sector [7]
Merge all sectors into one map [10][12][17]
More end-game content involving your bridge officers, e.g., single player or co-op versions of ground STFs [3]
Possibly more uniform options for Breen and Reman bridge officers [11]
Gorn bridge officers on Federation side as reward for some diplomatic missions. [11]
More and improved character costumization options [5]
More parts for Alien Generator [8]
Revamp of all traits [11]
Adding day-night cycles (first seen on Bajor) to further ground locations [11]
Adjusting leveling speed [12]
Different species' combadges (not on schedule as of July 2012) [19][17][70]
Vulcan (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) combadge
Andorian combadge
Other races (Saurian, Ferengi, Liberated Borg, Pakled, Rigelian and Tellarite)
Humans (United Earth)
Some less popular episodes might be replaced by Cryptic-remastered Foundry missions [13]
Bridge Officer Requisition "Exchange" showing skills learned [7][24]
Ship crew uniforms for officers onboard your vessel [7][20]
Update of Memory Alpha: Work in progress shot
Mini-game: Poker (dependent on developer free-time; very unlikely in short term as of July 2012) [19][66][71]
[Edit]Older Ideas
People really need to stop referring to that Wiki page.
Cryptic abandons stuff constantly. Sometimes before they start. Sometimes halfway in.
Last I heard, for example, those species combadges were something that nobody was even sure what computer they were even stored on or if Cryptic still had a copy of them. It was something an artist played with probably based on abandoned F2P discussions for how species would be unlocked for F2P players.
Most of that page is not on the table, most likely, and a good chunk of it was probably ditched. Again, maybe at the whiteboard stage. Maybe later on. And they might not have even saved their work.
STO will be first game to implement a new PvP engine developed by Cryptic [3]
PvP-faction for the Reputation System [30][27][32], "PvP Marks" as rewards [37]
That's going backwards. PVP used to give out its own currency. Which could only be spent on PVP rewards. The MK X Covariant Capx3 Shield was the crown jewel of that system back then.
Sidenote: It's still one of the highest capacity shields in the game, to this day. The Mk X Covariant [Cap] x 3 Shield I ground out in a month of PvPing YEARS AGO is to this day still one of the toughest shields in the game. I'd still be using it if I wasn't equipping a set for the set bonuses.
You could do the same fantasy trope with them. Space Orcs? Space Samurai? Something like that.
There's the problem. It's more confusing because it doesn't cleanly fit anything. No matter what you do with them, somebody's going to say, "Why do they have that forehead?" Or, "I don't get it. Are they Asian or are they vikings?" And, ultimately, "They don't look very pretty."
There's the problem. It's more confusing because it doesn't cleanly fit anything. No matter what you do with them, somebody's going to say, "Why do they have that forehead?" Or, "I don't get it. Are they Asian or are they vikings?" And, ultimately, "They don't look very pretty."
I don't think Klingons having more samurai culture features is any more confusing than your Romulan "druid" idea.
And even then, Orcs don't rival elven popularity.
Dwarves then? Wait a sec ... Could maybe make them like, Werewolves. They're popular.
Which team are you on? Team D'Tan or Team Gorkon? STO: Twilight!
People really need to stop referring to that Wiki page.
Cryptic abandons stuff constantly. Sometimes before they start. Sometimes halfway in.
Last I heard, for example, those species combadges were something that nobody was even sure what computer they were even stored on or if Cryptic still had a copy of them. It was something an artist played with probably based on abandoned F2P discussions for how species would be unlocked for F2P players.
Most of that page is not on the table, most likely, and a good chunk of it was probably ditched. Again, maybe at the whiteboard stage. Maybe later on. And they might not have even saved their work.
Most importantly, people should stop referring to that Wiki page as evidence in-and-of-itself. It can be useful as a reference on where to find information on what Cryptic has planned, but one needs to check the source, and consider how easy it would be implement (for instance, something that doesn't actually require new assets, from a coding point of view should be fairly easy to implement, and that was mentioned as a 'this is something we are doing' less than a month of ago probably is fairly reliable. Something that would require a fair bit of new assets, and that was last mentioned in a 'not being worked on' context nearly a year ago... less reliable).
People really need to stop referring to that Wiki page.
Cryptic abandons stuff constantly. Sometimes before they start. Sometimes halfway in.
Last I heard, for example, those species combadges were something that nobody was even sure what computer they were even stored on or if Cryptic still had a copy of them. It was something an artist played with probably based on abandoned F2P discussions for how species would be unlocked for F2P players.
Most of that page is not on the table, most likely, and a good chunk of it was probably ditched. Again, maybe at the whiteboard stage. Maybe later on. And they might not have even saved their work.
Comments
How many people have Klingon characters?
It is. Romulan fans are a smaller cross section of trek fans than Klingon fans. Percentages from other games people have collected show that people playing Romulans were smaller than people playing Klingons. Stats offered by DStahl all suggest the KDF is between 12 and 20%.
So just going off of the biggest number provided by Cryptic ... 20% ... that's what you're looking at. And what you then have to consider is ... how much have they given the KDF thus far in terms of development time and resources?
Oh I'm sure tons and tons of people will TRY a Romulan. Just like tons and tons of people have TRIED Klingons.
But the reality is, this game is fed-centric and has been for three years. The development team created this disparity and perpetuated it. That paradigm seems unlikely to shift. So look at the BEST the KDF has gotten in three years and then consider how it is this game can support a third faction?
It hasn't supported two factions very well for three years.
"We are smart." - Grebnedlog
Member of Alliance Central Command/boq botlhra'ghom
The big things Romulans have going for them are:
- Romulan fans are a smaller cross section than Klingon fans, yes.
- However, Vulcan fans are equal to Klingon fans.
- And as Furry fans have bolstered Caitian/Ferasan sales, elf fans may bolster Romulan sales.
I think it's interesting. There are advantages that can be leveraged in a Romulan faction.
Has anyone discussed what Romulan science ships will be? My gut says we may see aggressive, DHC wielding versions of the D'Kyr, a kind of "battle science" class modeled on the Vesta.
And however counterintuitive it may seem, I think Romulans need bows and arrows as weapons. The animations exist in Neverwinter. TNG gave us Vulcanoid archers. They can be energy bows or whatever but Romulans will need the Legolas fanbase.
And on a similar note, I think animal handler kits will boost this. (And maybe can be reverse engineered for Klingon Targ kits.) One could point out Romulans' feral nature and empathic abilities.
Yes, I'm suggesting allowing for Elven Rangers/Hunters effectively. But that will spike interest in Romulans dramatically and can be done without breaking the IP totally.
My inkling would either be to establish this through universal kits or create a Tac/Science Hybrid class with slight faction differences. Call it Federation Biologist, Klingon Huntsmaster, and Romulan Forager. Basically just supplied a mix of Sci/Tac skills and animal handler kits, perhaps with custom variants available from observing wildlife in places like New Romulus.
My gut tells me that Romulan players will flock to the stealth using, alpha striking Mogai or Bird of Prey ships, or fall in love/lust blindly with the D'Deridex since that's a ship people have wanted to fly for ages.
My cynicism is forcing me to type the next statement. Cryptic will make Romulan science ships as toothless as any other science ship in the game currently, because they can't keep up with weapon slots or tactical consoles and the science boff abilities simply don't make up the difference.
A little off the wall, but yes, that would indeed vault them way past the numbers that have been seen for Klingons and Romulans in past games and at conventions and the like.
Whereas Romulans have appeals that work to people casually interested in or even disinterested in Trek... But maybe are fans of Asimov, Alfred Bester, Orson Scott Card (ugh, don't like him but I see the appeal intellectually), or high fantasy. As well as Vulcan fans.
If you're looking WITHIN Trek fandom, Klingons are probably the largest enemy group fandom, discounting that Vulcan fans may find appeal in Romulans. But if you look to the fringes and outside conventional Trek fandom, Romulans may win out.
My concern is actually less that Romulans will be third place in popularity (I don't think they will) and more that they will attract enough casual fans and possibly sway people away from the Klingons enough that the KDF will lose what size and viability it has when the Romulan option crops up.
In the end, I could see a game that goes from 85% Fed/15% Klingon to a game that is 65%+ Federation, 25% Romulan, and 10% or less Klingon.
I don't think you could introduce that WITH a faction easily. But you could certainly lay the groundwork for it, especially if you establish a resurgence in ancient Romulan religion. Maybe coupled with augmentation.
And that does raise an interesting issue, that STO could pretty readily introduce augments in the non-Federation factions. Klingons themselves might be reluctant but Gorn, Orions, and Romulans all strike me as candidates for some really out there augmentation stuff. We already have the Romulans apparently grafting Borg tech onto their bodies. (Depending on what Hakeev's deal is. But in hindsight, I suspect he's not so much a Liberated Borg as he is a Romulan test subject for Borg reverse engineering.)
What? Adding a faction is not as easy or as fast as you're implying, especially considering the amount of systems integrated into the current factions
if thats your idea of logic you really need to think about what you just said. Ever heard of placeholder data? if you're assuming theres some mythical faction coming, despite the fact there are no resources or time to develop one, based on a single very poor quality picture, you're living in a fantasy land
there is no 'might' about it. that is exactly what would happen
no, it isn't 'evidence enough' to support anything of the sort
you should take your own advice. placeholder data, or just getting things out of the way for something planned a few years from now. companies do that all the time and so do developers
thats because you have no understanding whatsoever of how game development actually works. to say nothing of cryptics track record for development
me. no interest whatsoever in an even more badly supported version of the KDF
no there isn't. but there is alot to lose by doing so, especially when it comes to resources, time and good will of the customers by putting out a crappy shell of a faction that never gets any support after the first month or two
DStahl mentioned long ago that one of the primary reasons he returned to STO was to bring new factions into the game. Now they're launching an ambitious new update that will reap the benefits of the revenues that lockboxes have brought in. I'm assuming that they've been working on the new Romulan content for some time in the background.
Now, there's a few ways it can go if the Romulan faction is for real: 1.) A fully fleshed out Romulan faction with updates to the Klingon faction to bring that one up to speed. 2.) A Romuland half-faction that is on par with the KDF half-faction.
I think the Romulan faction is coming. I could certainly be wrong, but looking at the facts we've seen, I think it's on its way. My question is how much of a faction will this be? And will the KDF be made whole if the RSE is whole?
I'm not convinced the fed percentage will dip under 80%.
The way this game is constructed at least.
So that leaves all other factions with numbers that Cryptic in the past has justified as reasons not to allocate resources to develop.
Going on Cryptic's own track record, a third faction has me worried. I'm a big fan of the Romulans. They are my favorite trek villain. I'm one of the people who would love to fly a D'Deridex. And have a Subcommander first officer to sneer at and mock on my bridge.
But Cryptic has left me with no confidence on their abilities to do that justice.
My take on the original portions of this thread is, nice links. But until I actually see Romulans in the character select screen, I just can't trust Cryptic to deliver. That's no fault of the posters. Great work digging for any and all teasers.
But Cryptic is Cryptic.
Said same track record, also shows that Cryptic actually promised to finish the KDF before they introduced a third faction. Taking them at their word, this makes it unfeasible for a new faction to be launched so quickly, given that the KDF is not finished.
This compounds the problem because if they renege of this agreement and bring out a third faction, it would speak volumes about its quality and level of completion.
I am Pro-Romulan and have been waiting for this sinse it was first whispered in the forums and discussions with Dstalh.... and i LIVE in hope that the Romulan's come back in true form as the sly cunning and damn right evasive back stabbers they are using espinoge and sabotoge and sneaky ambush tactics.:eek:
I live in hope..!!
Well, I think the primary way you'd see it go below 80% is going to be through growth.
I wouldn't underestimate elves.
Burning Crusade tripled or better the size of WoW's playerbase (probably the most successful expansion in MMO history, especially given that it was more successful than the base game) and the bulk of the new players flocked to elves. Especially on new servers, blood elves came to outnumber the other races in the Horde. On an expansion server my old guild played on, Blood Elves (not counting other Horde races) outnumbered all other races, Alliance and Horde combined, 4 to 1.
These were not generally Blizzard IP fans (although some were).
Space elves are a growth market if you target the people who love them.
I'm not sure I like what that says about humanity.
Oh I don't. If they do like you suggest, and really go after the Legolas crowd, I think they very well could make a dent in the federation percentages and expand the playerbase.
It's just, I don't know, if they remain true to the Romulans in the shows and movies (Donatra, Tomalak, Romulans like that), there's not much Legolas in that.
But yeah, if they shift gears and turn Romulans into space elves, yeah, they can definitely change this game around in a big way.
But remember, I'm far too skeptical of them even doing a Romulan faction right now. All links to the contrary.
What? Not exactly? How dare you, sir! I have first hand experience that endgame has months of grind!
Well, I don't know that the elven market is a far cry from the Romulan one. The big thing there is that the bulk of what we've seen before are Romulan career soldiers and politicians. The aristocracy is considerably less visible onscreen and every glimpse we get of Romulans from a different perspective (ie. Nero's blue collar, tattooed space miners) shows something radically new.
Maybe the civilian life is like some kind of hybrid of Orions, ancient Romans, and the tabloid version of British Royalty.
Also, the American Civil War was a war where you had decadent wealthy people parading around in impractical costume uniforms for the early part of it so I could see a decimated Romulan force being, cosmetically, a mix of old style career soldiers, gruff miners with tattoos, and half-naked debutantes with a half-dozen peacock feathers in their costumes who bought a commission our of boredom or desire for personal glory.
It's clearly not that there's no wealth in the Romulan Empire but the faction does seem mostly boiled down to starving people with scars and soot stains and fancy pants disconnected aristocracy, with the middle class being the ones who probably absorbed most of the hit when Romulus fell.
Yes and the same could be said for the KDF. Its not the targeting thats the problem, its pulling off a product people will actually want. We all know how that turned out with the KDF
No. It really couldn't be. Who do Klingons appeal to outside of Trek fans? The ships, maybe, because of the accessible jet fighter look. But among other things, I don't think Klingons have the same... to put it delicately... fetish community cache that cat people and elves have outside of Trek fandom. (And that's not necessarily a matter of overtly erotic fetish but even non-erotic fetishes overlap with the erotic kind and that probably accounts for a lot of the appeal with pirates, authoritarian police officers, private prep schools, and the like. I think Judge Dredd, Harry Potter, and Pirates of the Caribbean all play with the popular libido.)
I think Klingons have a very strong base within Trek fandom. (Now, I also think it's a base that holds grudges and tends to have a long memory and is older and tighter with money spent on virtual toys.) I don't think that necessarily translates as well outside people who watch Trek. Or that Cryptic should limit the game to people who have watched Trek. (I still think the tutorial needs to cover things like what century it is, what the Federation is, what a Klingon is, maybe what happened to the major earth nations, etc. -- targeting people who have never seen Star Trek more effectively.)
And pointy ears, conniving, and sexed up/coy probably has a bigger audience with people who've never seriously watched Trek. Whereas Klingons lean more on Trek associations.
Adding Dilithium as a reward for all Cryptic-made story missions in game [1]
Improved UI of Exchange [2][3][4][5]
Better control of limits on provision usage by fleet rank [6]
Account shared currencies [7]
Ability to warp to a friend and/or improving travel between sectors[8]
Animated Andorian antennae [9][10][11]
[Edit] Foundry improvements
Ability to create a sorted string of several foundry missions [5][12]
Ability to subscribe to specific Foundry authors [12]
Remastering (cutscenes etc.) and incorporating the best Foundry missions into the hard code of the game as part of the official story line; possibly replacing some of the less popular Cryptic missions [13]
New assets (Many major changes will not be available until debut of Cryptic's game Neverwinter [2])
Interior editor [14]
Ability to prepopulate maps with prefab detail object layouts [14]
[Edit] Possible
Minor restructuring and general layout improvement of sector space [3]
Ability to reselect passives from Reputation System [15]
Lobi Crystals to be included in more upcoming events [16]
Remastering of STF: Terradome [17][11]
New small craft missions [18]
Starbase PvP Challenges [19]
Convert First Officer to playable Captain and vice versa [8]
This would allow for Romulan (Embassy Contact), Reman (FE Reward), Breen (FE Reward), Borg (STF Reward), and Jem'Hadar (FE Reward) playable captain species [20]
Converting veteran reward-Android bridge officer will not be possible (vetoed by CBS) [11]
Possibly: Tier 5 Merian class escort: 12[21]
Customize fleet starbase and ship exteriors/interiors in Foundry [10][8][22]
Increased ship interior functionality [8][23]
Holodeck (as well as in starbases and Quark's) [7][24]
Melee combat improvements[25]: Open melee-only PvP arenas on Vulcan, Andoria, Qo'noS, Rura Penthe [8][26]
Saucer separation for the Galaxy-X Dreadnought Cruiser (before Season 8) [27][28][29]
Separation mode
Animation kinks being worked out as of December 2012 [15]
Denise Crosby to work on more missions, starting in March [30]
[Edit] Season 8 (May)
Release planned by May[31], biggest update yet; repeatedly been called "May update", as the word "season" does not really "do it justice" [32]
Teaser page with clock counting down to March 21st; changing Romulan texts (Possible Feature Episode names):
"March Beneath the Raptor's Wings"
"Our Shadow Will Dim the Stars"
"Some Will Fall"
Big story focus [16][33]
At least one new Feature Episode series at launch and maybe even more than that [2]
New Romulus-like adventure zone in the Nimbus System [34]
Khitomer will be a featured location [34]
Invasion zones (similar to Defera and Nukara) for space [16]
Re-trait token [35]
Next fleet holding: possibly dilithium mine, colony, or outpost [27]
KDF tutorial revamp [36]
New UI, with major feature revolving around color schemes [15]
"More LCARSy", mostly appearance update, less functional changes, only subtle differences between FED and KDF versions [37]
Major revamp to character creator [30], existing options likely to remain free, possibly new options with costs [38]
"Streamlining character creation process and making it prettier" [37]
Improved hair and cloth tech (no firm plan yet) [27][7][39]
More cat hair styles (not currently on schedule) [7]
Some lesser seen species make their debut, including the Yridians [15]
Will address a lot of the issues with boff reassignment, boff skills, and power tray setups
Additional Cryptic-designed 25th century-ships [30], more KDF ships of Klingon design [37]
Additional benefits for gold members (but won't be additional veteran rewards) [30]
[Edit] Revamp of PvP system
(To happen after Season 8 [30][3][40]; having two fully fledged factions, i.e., finishing the Klingon faction, is important step in PvP revamp [37])
STO will be first game to implement a new PvP engine developed by Cryptic [3]
PvP-faction for the Reputation System [30][27][32], "PvP Marks" as rewards [37]
All PVP in the new system will be cross faction queues [41]
Matchmaking, e.g. matching people of comparable gear level [42]
Rewards based on participation more than completion [43]
PvP ratings/leaderboard tech is now available [33][7][42][44]
Either replacing current PvP maps or revamping the existing ones [45]
Space combat prototype map (arena style?) to be released on Tribble server in the coming months (2013?) for extensive public testing [3][17][7][37]
Transferring existing PvE maps (Facility 4028 amongst others) to ground PvP maps, possibly with capture-the-flag mod [12][13]
King of the Hill PvP map for space and/or ground [8][13]
Ground combat may have Battleground-style development in long-term [33]
[Edit] Possible
"First half of the year": More factions for the Reputation System (other than announced PvP- and crafting factions) [32]
(Anti-)Tholian faction [30]
Foundry faction
Klingon content for levels 1 to 20 [33][14][46] [7][31]
Eventually create a Klingon character at level 1 as first character including new KDF tutorial mission [2][8][13][34] ("So we are getting there slowly but surely."
Making KDF versions of episodes across the game (retelling some episodes from a Klingon perspective ? such as ?Saturday's Child? or ?The Kuvah'Magh?) [8]
Possibly developing Klingon content "backwards", i.e., successively lowering the level at which a KDF character can be created as new missions are released [17][11]
On to-do list as of February 2013 but no estimate to when these missions will be converted.[36]
Revamp of kits (being considered for Season 8 or shortly after) [16][7][29]
New/custom kits [30][10]
Only one power per kit, but one additional kit-slot per rank (5 as admiral) [29]
[Edit] Season 9 (Late 2013)
Possible: Rank increase to Admiral / General (level 60) [34][33]
Ability to command a task force of other starships captained by your bridge officers [3][7][34]
Crafting revamp (end of 2013 or early 2014) [30][2][7][18][47][48][34]
Will get its own Reputation System faction (possibly Season 9) [34][32]
Further revamping probably after Season 9 [34]
Incorporating new content, i.e., crafting missions [5]
Duty Officer assignments to allow your staff to upgrade items and systems on your ship [20][5]; crafting/kitbashing better versions of ships [42]
Savable ship-specific duty officer configuration (Season 8 or 9) [35]
Duty officer assignment cooldowns listed (possibly Season 9) [35]
"My Favorites" tab for Foundry missions (late 2013) [35]
[Edit] December
Return of Winter Event [35]
[Edit] Undetermined Release
Season 10 is 2014 [15]
Playable species: Romulans and Cardassians [15]
Return to Cardassian story would most likely be to launch a Cardassian faction with a story that players could experience for themselves [36]
Possibility of more factions on the horizon which would lead to new playable species [36]
Romulan Star Empire playable faction as possibility for 2013 [33][8][45]
D'Deridex will not appear in lockbox [7]
Only after Klingon Empire has been "fully developed" [11]
Implementation as 5-level mini-faction, after which the character chooses to either join Starfleet or the KDF, had been considered [11], recent plans envision a fully fleshed out faction, however [34]
Likely to only include Romulans and Remans (Hirogen and Borg are unlikely) [33]
Will set stage for how to introduce additional races such as Cardassians [8][45] and Borg [33]
New Orleans, Freedom, and Niagara classes [49]
Last remaining Fed ships to come over the next year (through February 2014), including new designs that may not have a unique console (later in 2013)[36]
The KDF will be getting more Klingon based ships before we'll see a Lethean ship.[36]
Iconians as new major enemy faction after the Borg and Tholians [50][11][45][51]
Delta Quadrant-based story content featuring the Voth [26][11]
Voth possibly connected to some content taking place on Gorn homeworld [34]
Delta Quadrant locations and races (such as Kazon, Malon, Vidiians, Talaxians, Krenim, the Devore, the Hierachy, and additional Borg) have slight chance of appearing in Season 8, but more likely to be Season 9 or later [16]
Talaxians[8], Ocampa (FED) and Kazon (KDF) as new playable races [11][45]
Exploration revamp (not on the schedule for Season 7 or 8)[16]
Plan is dependent on changes being introduced with the Fleet Advancement system and Fleet ownership of Starbases [14]
Rank increase to Fleet Admiral / Dahar Master (will be maximum skillpoint cap; currently in design as of February 2013, will happen over next 12 months or so) [30][18][52][7][17][50][29]
Tier 6 ships, intended to be flown by Fleet Admirals [16][53]
Typhoon class dreadnought is a possibility to appear once skill cap increased to full Admiral [15]
Department Heads, and Off-Duty revamps are on hold as of October 2012[16]
First Officer system is not on schedule as of December 2012, but may be revisited with increase to Full Admiral[15]
Bridge officers who are put in as First Officer, Chief Engineer, Chief Medical Officer, etc. gain some new abilities/perks [54][55][56][57][58][59]
Department Heads and First Officer will leverage Expertise and can be individually augmented by Duty Officers of their respective departments [60]
First Officers will grant additional lower-level Captain powers depending on their respective specialization [61][62]
First Officers will occupy a special, additional bridge station. This may be closer to increasing the skill cap to Admiral.[16]
New Fed tutorial mission probably involving Starfleet Academy and the Kobayashi Maru test (sometime in 2013) [3][55][8][26]
Duty officer commendation Tier V categories added (requirement is above the 150,000 CXP cap) [63][64]
Plans have been held off for near-term (as of June 4, 2012) [65]
Fleet starbases will play some role in future fleet vs fleet (KDF vs FED) territory control game ("controlling and or harvesting a vast variety of resources") [17][49] [8][11]
Ship interior functionality:
Shuttlebay (to switch to shuttle instead of current transporter room) [17][24][8]
Return of DS9 Under Siege fleet action after Season 8 [33]
TOS Communicators or transporter effects via C-Store or episode rewards [19]
"Children of Khan" feature episode series (not on schedule) [20][51]
Improved playability of some fleet actions:
Fluidic Space Fleet Action/Gekli Feeding Grounds [18][66][67]
Crystalline Entity/Crystalline Catastrophe [66][67]
Voyager ship pack is near top of "ship pack" list [7]
Voyager and TNG bundles are both planned but no ETA [4][19][17][5][14][7]
Voyager bundle hopefully in 2013 with new interior and either costume pack and/or item set [33]
Likely when get closer to adding Delta Quadrant [15]
Delta Quadrant likely to happen before Gamma Quadrant [30]
More daily missions:
In Hathon on Bajor [13]
Near neighborhood of Sol System and Qo'noS [8][45]
More aliens, like Tamarians, from TV shows and movies [7][55]
Ability to create a construction bee, which would allow for animated repairs on the outside of a starship [68]
Ability to gain Commendation XP via gameplay types other than the DOff-system. [29]
More shuttle combat in future seasons will have strong possibility of adding Admiral Janeway's SC-4 shuttle with ablative armor and cloaking device [33]
Update of Accolade system and UI after Season 7 [9], including more challenges and rewards [14][7]
More new sectors, particularly in Alpha Quadrant [17][55], probably as "Founders of the Federation" expansion [34]
Sector between the Sol System and Cardassia including Betazed and Trill/Trillius Prime along with other key Fed homeworlds, possibly in 2013 [33][17][69][34]
Xindi may show up in a future sector [7]
Merge all sectors into one map [10][12][17]
More end-game content involving your bridge officers, e.g., single player or co-op versions of ground STFs [3]
Possibly more uniform options for Breen and Reman bridge officers [11]
Gorn bridge officers on Federation side as reward for some diplomatic missions. [11]
More and improved character costumization options [5]
More parts for Alien Generator [8]
Revamp of all traits [11]
Adding day-night cycles (first seen on Bajor) to further ground locations [11]
Adjusting leveling speed [12]
Different species' combadges (not on schedule as of July 2012) [19][17][70]
Vulcan (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) combadge
Andorian combadge
Other races (Saurian, Ferengi, Liberated Borg, Pakled, Rigelian and Tellarite)
Humans (United Earth)
Some less popular episodes might be replaced by Cryptic-remastered Foundry missions [13]
Bridge Officer Requisition "Exchange" showing skills learned [7][24]
Ship crew uniforms for officers onboard your vessel [7][20]
Update of Memory Alpha: Work in progress shot
Mini-game: Poker (dependent on developer free-time; very unlikely in short term as of July 2012) [19][66][71]
[Edit]Older Ideas
You could do the same fantasy trope with them. Space Orcs? Space Samurai? Something like that.
Cryptic abandons stuff constantly. Sometimes before they start. Sometimes halfway in.
Last I heard, for example, those species combadges were something that nobody was even sure what computer they were even stored on or if Cryptic still had a copy of them. It was something an artist played with probably based on abandoned F2P discussions for how species would be unlocked for F2P players.
Most of that page is not on the table, most likely, and a good chunk of it was probably ditched. Again, maybe at the whiteboard stage. Maybe later on. And they might not have even saved their work.
That's going backwards. PVP used to give out its own currency. Which could only be spent on PVP rewards. The MK X Covariant Capx3 Shield was the crown jewel of that system back then.
Sidenote: It's still one of the highest capacity shields in the game, to this day. The Mk X Covariant [Cap] x 3 Shield I ground out in a month of PvPing YEARS AGO is to this day still one of the toughest shields in the game. I'd still be using it if I wasn't equipping a set for the set bonuses.
There's the problem. It's more confusing because it doesn't cleanly fit anything. No matter what you do with them, somebody's going to say, "Why do they have that forehead?" Or, "I don't get it. Are they Asian or are they vikings?" And, ultimately, "They don't look very pretty."
And even then, Orcs don't rival elven popularity.
I don't think Klingons having more samurai culture features is any more confusing than your Romulan "druid" idea.
Dwarves then? Wait a sec ... Could maybe make them like, Werewolves. They're popular.
Which team are you on? Team D'Tan or Team Gorkon? STO: Twilight!
Every company does.