Designs: Love the alien tripod walkers, just love them. Everything about the new aliens (inc their organic like drones) feels creepy, which I really like about them. Hopefully they'll be some sort of big-bad up there with the Borg, Iconians and Tholians.
Ground environments: The initial colony is beautiful and wouldn't feel out of place in a fantasy game. From me that would normally be a criticism, but here it's a compliment. The dismantled warbird was a awesome site.
Tutorial story: Probably the best STO has done. Actually no probably about it, the Romulan story arc is the best STO has. There's not much I can say really that doesn't sound like gushing... That alone should be high praise, since I'm not exactly a huge fan of some of the things Cryptics done.
If SWTOR Jedi tutorial missions were as good as the Romulan tutorial, I might have still been playing it. Instead the SWTOR tutorial bored me to death, while this one kept me interested throughout.
The story is very well written for STO, as well as being directed. The characters actually feel fleshed out and real, which is rather surprising for STO. I wonder if the writer found the Romulan faction to be a fresh pasture, enabling them to have more creative freedom.
Great work anyway.
Which brings me to...
Acquisition and involvement of BOffs: This for me was one of the many shining elements of the Romulan faction missions. I was made (made I say!) to care for these guys. They stopped being just slottable powers and became actual characters you could give a damn about and would be involved in the story. The story was already good, but this makes it even more enjoyable and involving.
It helps that some of the characters feel rather developed, especially for STO.
Oh if only Feds had this (and KDF for that matter) during their opening missions, instead of the very flat ones they got. Something like a "little training cruise" that became something increasingly more epic (like Wrath of Khan, but with a cadet in command), picking up you initial BOff as friend at the academy (like Kirk did in the new movie) and gradually picking more up as the story grows.
Of course I doubt that'll happen, Cryptic is probably far to busy to revamp the lower levels of a well established faction.
Bug: I've noticed twice so far that my boffs have become un-selected, I go into a mission and find out that I have no one in my boff slots. This is annoying. I don't remember exactly when it happened the first time, but the second time was during the Gasko, I noticed when the combat started I had no boffs equipped.
Feedback: "The Search for New Romulus" Ok, this has really got to be the dumbest mission ever. Searching for new romulus, I open up my map, there's a spot marked "new romulus" and yet I have to go search other places first. Seriously, that's beyond TRIBBLE.
Running around on the planet scanning animals and scooping up samples? Also not fun. You realize we have transporters, right? We can beam up samples of whatever we want of study instead of running about like a moron picking up bits and pieces in annoying, pointless, busy make-work.
The fight with the tholians was the only fun part of the entire mission. The nausicaans were far too easy to be challenging. The tholians weren't enough to make up for the stupidity and annoyance of the rest of the mission.
Ok, so I've noticed playing through again with a new rommie, that the Nausicaan Syphon Frigates Syphon drones will find you even if you are cloaked. While this does not decloak you, or alert the frigates in anyway, they still find you under cloak, and go about thier syphoning business like everything is normal.
You realize we have transporters, right? We can beam up samples of whatever we want of study instead of running about like a moron picking up bits and pieces in annoying, pointless, busy make-work.
You do realize that if that were the case, the shows would never have needed away teams on survey missions, right?
But putting canon aside, I think making fewer scans of the area would be better. Perhaps increasing the completion % of each scan.
_____________________
Come join the 44th Fleet.
startrek.44thfleet.com[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
You do realize that if that were the case, the shows would never have needed away teams on survey missions, right?
But putting canon aside, I think making fewer scans of the area would be better. Perhaps increasing the completion % of each scan.
Yeah, but in the shows the captain sat in the chair while one or two cast members and a disposable redshirt beamed down. You want to make the crappy little gather and scan jobs into doff assignments I'm all for it. But having the captain chasing around epohhs, picking up rocks, and doing other menial jobs isn't the norm for the shows.
First whenever I beam down the crew selection screen shows all abilities ground and space
Second a minor nitpick Admiral T'nae mentions the Prime Directive about the squabble between the Tal Shiar and the Romulan Republic I think that should be changed to Federation Council Directives (dictates?) because the Prime Directive is for non-interference in prewarp civilizations only, or so I thought
This post is just some thoughts about the game and is sort of out of place, Moderators should move this if its too out of place.
I have done some thinking about the first few mission Cutscenes. Since its important to read the text and look at the beautifully done scenery, you should really open up the First mission as replayable?, Why?, because like in the Federation the story arcs, the over all story will take users quite a long time to complete the entire Romulan Story allowing for key peices of information to be forgotten as the player advances into the game, this would be especially true for the casual players who play week to week?.
You must provide a method for the end user to "Refresh" Whats happened in the story so far, and by the first few story's, theres a lot of information to be understood that seems Critical to the over all overview of the romulan Story. I have seen some game developers try to overcome this problem by Pacing the overall story and condensing key parts, do not do that!, its whats usually required for Film makers when they turn books into Film?.
But where talking video game here and realistically you want people to play as much as possible and keep them engaged all the time, but if the condensing of missions occur in sto will really do the opposite of what to me is the right way.
Take the Film industry and book and invert it, Take a look at Book Writers tips and you'll see what im getting at?. As a novice Fiction Book Writer, i have talked to many Successful Writers wanting to know their Secrets on how to be successful and one Writer said to me Quote " Make your book Fat Then make it Thin" This meant to Write as Much as possible about the story but not to throw it out but be a Tool for Revisement to really have choice in the story Tree. In the Video game world why not make the story "Fat" and keep it that way because we can replay the Missions, go back, Relive the story!. In Sto theres room for so much more Story arcs based on What Story's we love, for Example STF's We love Borg and undine Story's, Small Hints to where to branch a new Story Arc.
You are doing most of this now in Legacy of Romulus, But the link between factions is not clear, so whilst you make Legacy of Romulus, Why not Expand and link the Federation, Klingon to create a new plot towards a Tkan Empire or Iconian playable Faction, make it a long time away, but engauge us into mystery and provide Small hints of whats to come, like you did in the FE "Assimilation", we really liked that but Will these Loved story Aspects live on into the Sto Future, will it all come together?.
I haven't seen the full Romulan story yet so im making a lot of blind Guesses about the Story you have written for us, But can you see the important point Goal im Suggesting about the Whole Game?. If Expansion is to occur, then Expand the whole Game at once, go back into the other factions and Script them all towards one end Goal Story Element far into the Future, Its a Game and has no limits to creativity and you are Very Creative, Team!.
I wrote this to offer a perspective trend that i have noticed being part of a Fleet and What STF's are being played most observing and others , Talking to them and learning from other STO Fans like myself. Also What about the Foundry?, There are many user created missions that in themselves Give hints on a Direction of Story from the minds of those you wish to entertain, For example "Tholians" are very common in foundry Missions.
In any case your the storytellers and we are the ones that play the Story's, Just remember Expand Broadly and re- invest in what you have already Created because all the tools are in game and there are keen people like those who make Foundry Missions from which to draw from, the Fat part of the book i was talking about Earlier, its all here:D.
The Romulan colony world is spectacular. Part of me didn't want to leave. But ya know... I'm hopeful for a good reason to revisit it in a Level 20+ mission. As well as a possible social zone.
The trip to the waiting starship in orbit made me positively giddy. It seemed a classy way to acknowledge the class of starship.
Turning Point:
This title is very appropriate. And should be better defined within context of the mission. I'm at level 9 when sent to Khitomer. Which causes me to recall some plot points already a part of STO.
Chronologically speaking, the Klingon Empire still claims that previous to 2409, they cleansed the Undine from the Empire. And are still adamant that the Federation is compromised. Federation player's will have already witnessed the events of Diplomatic Orders (Level 3). The KDF is still exposing Undine for the Federation and doesn't trust the Federation.
At level 7, during Kuvah'Magh, the Federation tries to save the Regulus IV Peace Talks.
At this point in the war - and continually stalled peace talks - why would any member of the Klingon High Council be so willing to meet D'Tan - let alone any Federation representatives at Khitomer? How do the Klingons know that the newer Vulcan amabassador, Admiral T'Nae or Ambassador Sugihara are not Undine Infiltrators? Would they not have KDF Security sticking to all three like glue?
Since Councilor Woldan is the only member of the High Council present, perhaps it's only his House who has agreed to meet everyone? So he doesn't necessarily represent Chancellor J'mpok does he?
On that line of thought, might D'Tan not be aware of the Undine infiltration of the Federation as well? Why would he overlook that here?
Regarding the Federation diplomatic party, if a Vulcan Ambassador is present, why would D'Tan send us to talk to Sugihara? Would D'Tan - a Unificationist - not seek a two-for-one agreement through the Vulcan? Admiral T'Nae should certainly be guarded, yes. But she comes across like a pre-logic Vulcan on Enterprise. Couple this with how talkative Sugihara comes across. Yes. Diplomats are more talk than most. Sugihara starts out alright. Then, IMO, his blathering about Unification goes downhill fast. He seems too desperate. I'm under the impression we are being guided away from make a choice to ally with the Federation.
I suggest D'Tan sends us to the Vulcan Ambassador first. Who should be dressed in robes - not a Starfleet ambassador uniform - and who bridges the Unification topic to gauge D'Tan? Then we would be sent to Sugihara who would be looking for any path toward more security for the Federation. Those Fed T1 - T4 starships should be mentioned in trade for Cloaking Devices. Finally get around the Treaty of Algernon question by explaining that the the numerous Defiant and Galaxy-X coming later to player's are the result of a Federation-Republic alliance. It really should be spelled out in this diplomatic exchange. Perhaps allying with the Federation is really only attractive for the Republic if Unification seem more within reach?
Later, when Hakeev manages to beam explosives into the building, we actually have to draw weapons and fire upon Tal Shiar agents? Again, back to the Klingon's being the Security. Would they not intercede and disarm ALL the Romulans? Or, even suspect our characters of actually arming the explosives as we are disarming them?
(/\) Exploring Star Trek Online Since July 2008 (/\)
Firstly I would like to say the same as a lot of peeps here, nice job on the story on opening mission. Everything I feel has been covered so far though so I won't repeat them.
However here are a few things I have noticed. I understand that the bridge officers you get at first are story line and important. But for some reason you can change their names but not their uniforms in any way. Is this on purpose for the beta? I feel that customisation on an MMO is critical. No on wants to play the same characters as everyone else. It seems odd that fixed, established characters can have their names changed, but their civilian clothes cannot be substituted for uniforms that suite the crew you wish to design.
Also I noticed that once you get federation uniforms the armbands and boots do not layer properly. Uniform jackets merge through the armbands and trousers merge through some of the boots. Saying that though I really like things like the republican belts as they show pouches and tricorders on them which the other factions do not seem to take into account. I especially like the armband that has a computer on it as you have chosen to use the Klingon animation for beam out. Maybe you could add a similar armband for the Klingon faction as well?
Also got to agree with some of the others, the Nausicans where to weak as where some of the other warbirds. You took the time to say that your start ship is in fact an antique and barely functioning and yet I was able to decimate state of the art ships ten time my size. You would have thought these sips better equipped with newer techs as well. It kind of detracted from the feel you implied for the Romulan faction:The downtrodden underdog.
Having said that I loved the story especially seeing the Suliban. I hope you make them a playable race as they would flesh out the Romulan faction quite nicely.
Major Bug: When clicking to assign BOFFS to Ground Away Team slots game client crashes to desktop EVERY time..
Also mission Neutral No More: Unable to engage Nausicaan Pirates. They won't change from ally to enemy stance to engage. Unable to drop mission to retake it, box is greyed out and waiting a few mins outside system doesn't fix problem..
Devs: We REALLY NEED the ability to drop a mission and retake it put into testing. We have shown many times in the past this can sort out a lot of bugs both in testing and on holodeck...
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] ***Disenchanted***
Real Join Date: Monday, 17 May 2010
I just had an idea for Turning Point. Replace Admiral T'Nae with Admiral Zelle. As she is referred to as an expert in Romulans it makes more sense that she would be present. This mission occurs before events resulting in Divide et Impera (Fed level 19), it might work better for the mission. Zelle could be overheard mentioning T'Nae's doubts to Sugihara.
(/\) Exploring Star Trek Online Since July 2008 (/\)
I really enjoyed this arc for the most part. The tutorial is amazing. This is the kind of tutorial this game has needed from the beginning. All the objectives are clear, every step teaches the player something, it introduces the player to the story of the faction immediately, and it's just full of flavor. The starter world is really beautiful.
The conference at Khitomer was really well done. This is the other mission that really stood out in this arc. I appreciated how Sugihara seems overbearing and obnoxious, while insulting the Klingon ambassador makes him like you more. The space combat in this one was great, and I enjoyed the interactions with Ja'rod.
All the other missions in this are really good. I don't have anything specific to say about them, but they're all consistently excellent. This is seriously some of the best content made for this game.
I'm not sold on the alliance mechanic yet. I realize it's not going to change, and it makes sense from a story perspective, but the way it divides Romulan players seems counterproductive to what the Romulans are trying to accomplish, and being able to fly the ally's ships just doesn't make any sense. I'll give more feedback on this as I continue to play this character.
I just had an idea for Turning Point. Replace Admiral T'Nae with Admiral Zelle. As she is referred to as an expert in Romulans it makes more sense that she would be present. This mission occurs before events resulting in Divide et Impera (Fed level 19), it might work better for the mission. Zelle could be overheard mentioning T'Nae's doubts to Sugihara.
This is a fantastic idea. When I first saw T'Nae speak so poorly of the Romulans, I was surprised. I'm sure T'Nae is capable of telling the difference between Tal'Shiar subterfuge and the genuine wish for Romulan civilians to live a more peaceful, honest life. Putting Zelle in this mission instead to express doubt and mistrust would be far more appropriate.
An issue I have found is every now and then my Boffs
Unslot from the ship stations. Which was a little frustrating when the two romulan fleets go head to head.
Loved the mission where you get brain washed and you have selia in your head when your doing the wrong thing. I really hope the voice over for that mission is really cold and erie.
As you have been hearing in spades....This ROCKS!!! Love so many of the new adjustments you all have worked so hard on it is hard to choose a favorite. BRAVO!
Now for the Beta testing task, i am probably repeating a few things or many, read through 12 pages of this thread so bare with me. also i tend to jump around in thought so...
In edit your appearance neck bulk adjustment makes collar Pixelate or more so crawl along edges of flesh.
no voice only dialog (read explanation so understand with launch)
when in space the firing arcs of your ship and the other you are in there face nailing lock. which is cool for me, i am latched on and can plummet them too death.
When comparing a drop engine with what was issued, both of there 'flight turn rate' constantly cycle.
'auto travel' has a habit of disengaging and sending ship past the target. (Intermittent but more then a third)
exchange was not active on flotta but must be a ? level thing? for when i came back after reaching 10 it appeared.
On away teams Only the crew skills show more then they have leveled/activated
Can function tasks underwater. should they not be in distress or pretending to be drowning
On Dewa III you can walk threw many plant life
after C X stance when captain holsters weapon and threats are gone crew will still have weapons out hot.
When weapons are out in C X and comm screen pops up and is closed all are back in passive mode. have to reengage weapons and stance.
Chat window in/out between screens
ship weapons seem to pull to left even when what you are firing on is still.
Bridge officers drop from stations after beam back up from away team and sometimes mission completions.
My captain can not go into the 'Distress Signal' action (Bigger Picture, Hromi sector) . I hit continue to help the SS Daendle and the communication disappears. so way to do it. Went in and out of system to try and jar it, warped back to floatta then traveled back, also unable to DROP mission and reestablish.
Neutral no More- seems to be glitched. even though i already have the level 10 ship it still says i have to get a ship. It even states in the shipyard the ship was purchased. SO will not let me do anymore of the missions until i acquire my free ship, which i have. Plus it still shows a 'hail' option. So i am stuck atm, unable to go to Allies story line ectra...
But LoR still rocks!
PS: LOVE LOVE LOVE the way I acquired my Bridge officers, so awesome!
This is a fantastic idea. When I first saw T'Nae speak so poorly of the Romulans, I was surprised. I'm sure T'Nae is capable of telling the difference between Tal'Shiar subterfuge and the genuine wish for Romulan civilians to live a more peaceful, honest life. Putting Zelle in this mission instead to express doubt and mistrust would be far more appropriate.
My only concern is that I'm aware that T'Nae has a following amongst the STO player base. And she has good voice-over talent attached to her these days. I don't think Zelle was ever voiced. But I don't think that should prevent better storytelling for Turning Point.
(/\) Exploring Star Trek Online Since July 2008 (/\)
Got to level 21 this weekend. First of all: What you made with this expansion is really exciting! I really got that 'Star Trek Feeling' by playing it! IMHO the missions are great!
But ...
Bugs: I played with Linux/Wine (low resolution/ details) and Win7 (highest possible resolution/ details): No crashes (the Wine workaround works great on Linux/Wine!). There are only some graphic issues which were mentioned already, except maybe:
-The tailor/ character creator zoom is centred on the belly - not the face.
-Animation: After using C + X on ground maps, the BOFF's don't walk any more. They are 'sliding' over the ground somehow.
-Missions: There still are several typos in the dialogues (f.e. Smash and Grab: dialogue with Charva: "Maybe Rinna has already been been ...".
-Who's Riley? (Wouldn't it be better to use Romulan Crew NPC contacts?)
-Mission 'Smash and Grab': After accessing the computer on the bridge first a video starts, than you get the results of your hacking. Wouldn't it be more logical the other way round: First results than video?
My legacy of Romulus experience hit yet another high today so id like to Share my thoughts.
SEARCH FOR NEW ROMULUS MISSION:
What a compelling Story in all aspects!. I entered this mission with my mind set on Consistency and story Strength and what i find is quite Surprising seeing that could you keep up with the story and build upon that level of Dedication, you did this!.
When i beamed down to new Romulus, the Ambient sound of alien animals filled my Headphones creating a very Immersive and ery environment and that environment really suited the scenery, it just worked. The level was almost cannon with james cameron's AVATAR and transported me into the alien world filled with the most Spectacular scenery i have ever seen so far in sto:eek: If you keep this Amazing theme going and plus what's been done then you will have all our jaws dropping in shear Amazement and immersive environments with a story that respects the art of the map, Well done Indeed:cool:
Possible Bug:
Some Areas with water on new Romulus have water thats supposed to be Flat oddly going up and down where waterfalls should be. Also noted are areas in some streams cause screen to show underwater View.
I thought that we didn't have to make the choice of alliance until Level 40???
Be nice if first-time Romulan players got to know what they are in for when choosing a side. The Explainations was outright abyssmal!
Most articles and dev comments concerning this have said up front that the decision is made at 10, but Romulan specific content continues until 40.
In fact, the first article posted by dastahl mentioned the level 10 ally requirement without mentioning the 40 levels of content and he had to address that shortly thereafter because people were thinking there were only 10 levels of Romulan content.
First off, thank you Cryptic for giving my the opportunity to play in the Closed Beta portion of PvE Romulans.
I was completely blown away by the storyline through this arc. It shows excellent writing and makes it feel like you have a personal stake in whatever happens to you also happens to the Republic.
The only major qualms I've had with the gameplay was the extreme lagginess of the space portion of the tutorial. It was like my ship rocked whenever the helmsman tried to steer the ship, instead of a smooth turn. Also, I wondered through this arc, as you are building up your ship and crew, why the power levels of my shields, engines, and auxiliary systems never was 50/50. Do they normalize to Federation and Klingon ship power levels later on?
I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't see any of the duty officers and the unique Romulan missions being added in there, but I'm hoping that will be soon.
I created a new Sci Rom and got through lvl 11. Now I can't get past that. I have retried playing some of the step scenarios and the only thing I really got out of it was a second Fed BOff. I can't find anything to increase my lvl to do. I even went to the foundry but those all have Fed missions and I am not a high enough lvl to escape Tau Dewa.
Second a minor nitpick Admiral T'nae mentions the Prime Directive about the squabble between the Tal Shiar and the Romulan Republic I think that should be changed to Federation Council Directives (dictates?) because the Prime Directive is for non-interference in prewarp civilizations only, or so I thought
The prime directive also refers to interference with any internal development of an alien civilization. I think a Romulan civil war would fall under that category (like Kazon sects). So the Prime Directive applies.
That is a good point though, if Starfleet helps the rebels, it gives them an advantage over the Tal Shiar. Seems like a violation there. Of course Starfleet gets something out of it, so I guess it's ok...
hey guys been playing tts since thursday on new romulan faction i have experinced all the same problems that have alread been posted so i created a second romulan this time a engi character and choose klingon side this time and i have to say i am very inpreesed with the outfits you have given us for this i could repet all the problems that have already been put on so iam going to say this thank you cryptic for bringing this to us i myself and grateful for this as i think it will bring more to sto and my love for the star trek will cont thank you guys
Was very impressed with the inital story arc. I found it very easy to follow and seeing some familiar faces really tied it back to the Fed episodes very nicely. Maps were well constructed and objective clear to follow.
Only real disappointment is not being able to go outside and see New Romulus BEFORE the base camp is setup.
Can't seem finish off the subcommander promotion even though I have completed all the tasks.
Effecting me to miss out on the final mission.
:-(
Which mission? I completed every mission through Temporal Ambassador, and I couldn't complete the Subcommander promotion either (locked on purpose). Did you get the next ship? I got a Mogai.
First of all, thank you for allowing me to Beta test. I had a wonderful "Romulan" experience overall, but a few things stuck out in my head that could be tweaked. Here's just a short, quick list of things I felt, after I played the whole Beta....
1) When I first spawned in the village, I thought it was an incredibly well done map. I was worried that I was going to spend a significant amount of time there, but was relieved that I was able to get into space and join the action quickly. It strikes me as somewhat odd, that the player is automatically trusted by the Republic, and welcomed without any sort of background check, or missions that make you prove yourself to D'tan, or make sure that you're not actually a Tal'Shiar operative or spy.
2) I love that the Suliban finally make an appearance in the game. However if the Suliban at the helix tells you they can't be seen talking to you for fear of the Tal'Shiar, why make it a Cell ship that comes in and acts as the Romulan SS Azura II? Why not make the Suliban overall sympathetic to the Republic.
3) If we keep picking up refugees/survivors to be Bridge Officers, why not give us the ability to change their outfits into uniforms, or find out any more back story on them? The Reman girl that becomes the chief engineer, do we find out what happens to her father after the Elachi take him? Just seems hastily thrown together in the first few missions.
4) You end up discovering Dewa III, becoming the savior to the Republic, but there's no mention on how the colony came to be. No missions showing the construction, or D'tan being there... All of a sudden the player goes from surveying the planet, and back there to be promoted to sub-commander at this HUGE (and awesome) command center, with no mention of time-frame, or how that building came to be. Seemingly disjointed.
5) The choice as to which faction you'll be joining comes FAR TOO early, IMO. The storyline seems to almost happen back to back, but so much happens in that short period of time. Why not spread this out, and allow the player a chance to get a feel for the Romulans before you just jump in and pick a side.
I think the story flows MUCH better after you make your choice. The missions themselves seem to be very well written, and I keep replaying the mission with Sela and Hakeev aboard his ship. That too seems odd now that I think of it... Why does Sela give you a TOP TOP secret clearance, just to be "discovered as a R.R. officer" the next mission?
*I also forgot, but agree, that Admiral T'nae wouldn't be as cold and harsh as she was towards the player. a Vulcan would never be that emotional or cold to a visiting diplomat. I think if she plainly addressed her concerns, it would be more realistic. She almost exhibited a hatred for the Romulans.
Hopefully the rest of the story will be as amazing as what I have played so far... Thank you for the chance to Beta, and keep the great stories coming!
Is the tailor disabled for BOffs? I can't edit them and I also cannot access the allegiance costume received from Turning Point. Did not get my first DOff group upon hitting 11, either.
Those things aside, I'm loving what I'm seeing so far. The biggest thing I was worried about is the story. While the first couple missions seem to drag at certain points I love the direction this is going so far!
Comments
Ground environments: The initial colony is beautiful and wouldn't feel out of place in a fantasy game. From me that would normally be a criticism, but here it's a compliment. The dismantled warbird was a awesome site.
Tutorial story: Probably the best STO has done. Actually no probably about it, the Romulan story arc is the best STO has. There's not much I can say really that doesn't sound like gushing... That alone should be high praise, since I'm not exactly a huge fan of some of the things Cryptics done.
If SWTOR Jedi tutorial missions were as good as the Romulan tutorial, I might have still been playing it. Instead the SWTOR tutorial bored me to death, while this one kept me interested throughout.
The story is very well written for STO, as well as being directed. The characters actually feel fleshed out and real, which is rather surprising for STO. I wonder if the writer found the Romulan faction to be a fresh pasture, enabling them to have more creative freedom.
Great work anyway.
Which brings me to...
Acquisition and involvement of BOffs: This for me was one of the many shining elements of the Romulan faction missions. I was made (made I say!) to care for these guys. They stopped being just slottable powers and became actual characters you could give a damn about and would be involved in the story. The story was already good, but this makes it even more enjoyable and involving.
It helps that some of the characters feel rather developed, especially for STO.
Oh if only Feds had this (and KDF for that matter) during their opening missions, instead of the very flat ones they got. Something like a "little training cruise" that became something increasingly more epic (like Wrath of Khan, but with a cadet in command), picking up you initial BOff as friend at the academy (like Kirk did in the new movie) and gradually picking more up as the story grows.
Of course I doubt that'll happen, Cryptic is probably far to busy to revamp the lower levels of a well established faction.
Daizen - Lvl 60 Tactical - Eclipse
Selia - Lvl 60 Tactical - Eclipse
Bug: I've noticed twice so far that my boffs have become un-selected, I go into a mission and find out that I have no one in my boff slots. This is annoying. I don't remember exactly when it happened the first time, but the second time was during the Gasko, I noticed when the combat started I had no boffs equipped.
Feedback: "The Search for New Romulus" Ok, this has really got to be the dumbest mission ever. Searching for new romulus, I open up my map, there's a spot marked "new romulus" and yet I have to go search other places first. Seriously, that's beyond TRIBBLE.
Running around on the planet scanning animals and scooping up samples? Also not fun. You realize we have transporters, right? We can beam up samples of whatever we want of study instead of running about like a moron picking up bits and pieces in annoying, pointless, busy make-work.
The fight with the tholians was the only fun part of the entire mission. The nausicaans were far too easy to be challenging. The tholians weren't enough to make up for the stupidity and annoyance of the rest of the mission.
You do realize that if that were the case, the shows would never have needed away teams on survey missions, right?
But putting canon aside, I think making fewer scans of the area would be better. Perhaps increasing the completion % of each scan.
Come join the 44th Fleet.
startrek.44thfleet.com[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Yeah, but in the shows the captain sat in the chair while one or two cast members and a disposable redshirt beamed down. You want to make the crappy little gather and scan jobs into doff assignments I'm all for it. But having the captain chasing around epohhs, picking up rocks, and doing other menial jobs isn't the norm for the shows.
First whenever I beam down the crew selection screen shows all abilities ground and space
Second a minor nitpick Admiral T'nae mentions the Prime Directive about the squabble between the Tal Shiar and the Romulan Republic I think that should be changed to Federation Council Directives (dictates?) because the Prime Directive is for non-interference in prewarp civilizations only, or so I thought
I have done some thinking about the first few mission Cutscenes. Since its important to read the text and look at the beautifully done scenery, you should really open up the First mission as replayable?, Why?, because like in the Federation the story arcs, the over all story will take users quite a long time to complete the entire Romulan Story allowing for key peices of information to be forgotten as the player advances into the game, this would be especially true for the casual players who play week to week?.
You must provide a method for the end user to "Refresh" Whats happened in the story so far, and by the first few story's, theres a lot of information to be understood that seems Critical to the over all overview of the romulan Story. I have seen some game developers try to overcome this problem by Pacing the overall story and condensing key parts, do not do that!, its whats usually required for Film makers when they turn books into Film?.
But where talking video game here and realistically you want people to play as much as possible and keep them engaged all the time, but if the condensing of missions occur in sto will really do the opposite of what to me is the right way.
Take the Film industry and book and invert it, Take a look at Book Writers tips and you'll see what im getting at?. As a novice Fiction Book Writer, i have talked to many Successful Writers wanting to know their Secrets on how to be successful and one Writer said to me Quote " Make your book Fat Then make it Thin" This meant to Write as Much as possible about the story but not to throw it out but be a Tool for Revisement to really have choice in the story Tree. In the Video game world why not make the story "Fat" and keep it that way because we can replay the Missions, go back, Relive the story!. In Sto theres room for so much more Story arcs based on What Story's we love, for Example STF's We love Borg and undine Story's, Small Hints to where to branch a new Story Arc.
You are doing most of this now in Legacy of Romulus, But the link between factions is not clear, so whilst you make Legacy of Romulus, Why not Expand and link the Federation, Klingon to create a new plot towards a Tkan Empire or Iconian playable Faction, make it a long time away, but engauge us into mystery and provide Small hints of whats to come, like you did in the FE "Assimilation", we really liked that but Will these Loved story Aspects live on into the Sto Future, will it all come together?.
I haven't seen the full Romulan story yet so im making a lot of blind Guesses about the Story you have written for us, But can you see the important point Goal im Suggesting about the Whole Game?. If Expansion is to occur, then Expand the whole Game at once, go back into the other factions and Script them all towards one end Goal Story Element far into the Future, Its a Game and has no limits to creativity and you are Very Creative, Team!.
I wrote this to offer a perspective trend that i have noticed being part of a Fleet and What STF's are being played most observing and others , Talking to them and learning from other STO Fans like myself. Also What about the Foundry?, There are many user created missions that in themselves Give hints on a Direction of Story from the minds of those you wish to entertain, For example "Tholians" are very common in foundry Missions.
In any case your the storytellers and we are the ones that play the Story's, Just remember Expand Broadly and re- invest in what you have already Created because all the tools are in game and there are keen people like those who make Foundry Missions from which to draw from, the Fat part of the book i was talking about Earlier, its all here:D.
Cheer's
The trip to the waiting starship in orbit made me positively giddy. It seemed a classy way to acknowledge the class of starship.
Turning Point:
This title is very appropriate. And should be better defined within context of the mission. I'm at level 9 when sent to Khitomer. Which causes me to recall some plot points already a part of STO.
Chronologically speaking, the Klingon Empire still claims that previous to 2409, they cleansed the Undine from the Empire. And are still adamant that the Federation is compromised. Federation player's will have already witnessed the events of Diplomatic Orders (Level 3). The KDF is still exposing Undine for the Federation and doesn't trust the Federation.
At level 7, during Kuvah'Magh, the Federation tries to save the Regulus IV Peace Talks.
At this point in the war - and continually stalled peace talks - why would any member of the Klingon High Council be so willing to meet D'Tan - let alone any Federation representatives at Khitomer? How do the Klingons know that the newer Vulcan amabassador, Admiral T'Nae or Ambassador Sugihara are not Undine Infiltrators? Would they not have KDF Security sticking to all three like glue?
Since Councilor Woldan is the only member of the High Council present, perhaps it's only his House who has agreed to meet everyone? So he doesn't necessarily represent Chancellor J'mpok does he?
On that line of thought, might D'Tan not be aware of the Undine infiltration of the Federation as well? Why would he overlook that here?
Regarding the Federation diplomatic party, if a Vulcan Ambassador is present, why would D'Tan send us to talk to Sugihara? Would D'Tan - a Unificationist - not seek a two-for-one agreement through the Vulcan? Admiral T'Nae should certainly be guarded, yes. But she comes across like a pre-logic Vulcan on Enterprise. Couple this with how talkative Sugihara comes across. Yes. Diplomats are more talk than most. Sugihara starts out alright. Then, IMO, his blathering about Unification goes downhill fast. He seems too desperate. I'm under the impression we are being guided away from make a choice to ally with the Federation.
I suggest D'Tan sends us to the Vulcan Ambassador first. Who should be dressed in robes - not a Starfleet ambassador uniform - and who bridges the Unification topic to gauge D'Tan? Then we would be sent to Sugihara who would be looking for any path toward more security for the Federation. Those Fed T1 - T4 starships should be mentioned in trade for Cloaking Devices. Finally get around the Treaty of Algernon question by explaining that the the numerous Defiant and Galaxy-X coming later to player's are the result of a Federation-Republic alliance. It really should be spelled out in this diplomatic exchange. Perhaps allying with the Federation is really only attractive for the Republic if Unification seem more within reach?
Later, when Hakeev manages to beam explosives into the building, we actually have to draw weapons and fire upon Tal Shiar agents? Again, back to the Klingon's being the Security. Would they not intercede and disarm ALL the Romulans? Or, even suspect our characters of actually arming the explosives as we are disarming them?
Firstly I would like to say the same as a lot of peeps here, nice job on the story on opening mission. Everything I feel has been covered so far though so I won't repeat them.
However here are a few things I have noticed. I understand that the bridge officers you get at first are story line and important. But for some reason you can change their names but not their uniforms in any way. Is this on purpose for the beta? I feel that customisation on an MMO is critical. No on wants to play the same characters as everyone else. It seems odd that fixed, established characters can have their names changed, but their civilian clothes cannot be substituted for uniforms that suite the crew you wish to design.
Also I noticed that once you get federation uniforms the armbands and boots do not layer properly. Uniform jackets merge through the armbands and trousers merge through some of the boots. Saying that though I really like things like the republican belts as they show pouches and tricorders on them which the other factions do not seem to take into account. I especially like the armband that has a computer on it as you have chosen to use the Klingon animation for beam out. Maybe you could add a similar armband for the Klingon faction as well?
Also got to agree with some of the others, the Nausicans where to weak as where some of the other warbirds. You took the time to say that your start ship is in fact an antique and barely functioning and yet I was able to decimate state of the art ships ten time my size. You would have thought these sips better equipped with newer techs as well. It kind of detracted from the feel you implied for the Romulan faction:The downtrodden underdog.
Having said that I loved the story especially seeing the Suliban. I hope you make them a playable race as they would flesh out the Romulan faction quite nicely.
Also mission Neutral No More: Unable to engage Nausicaan Pirates. They won't change from ally to enemy stance to engage. Unable to drop mission to retake it, box is greyed out and waiting a few mins outside system doesn't fix problem..
Devs: We REALLY NEED the ability to drop a mission and retake it put into testing. We have shown many times in the past this can sort out a lot of bugs both in testing and on holodeck...
***Disenchanted***
Real Join Date: Monday, 17 May 2010
The conference at Khitomer was really well done. This is the other mission that really stood out in this arc. I appreciated how Sugihara seems overbearing and obnoxious, while insulting the Klingon ambassador makes him like you more. The space combat in this one was great, and I enjoyed the interactions with Ja'rod.
All the other missions in this are really good. I don't have anything specific to say about them, but they're all consistently excellent. This is seriously some of the best content made for this game.
I'm not sold on the alliance mechanic yet. I realize it's not going to change, and it makes sense from a story perspective, but the way it divides Romulan players seems counterproductive to what the Romulans are trying to accomplish, and being able to fly the ally's ships just doesn't make any sense. I'll give more feedback on this as I continue to play this character.
This is a fantastic idea. When I first saw T'Nae speak so poorly of the Romulans, I was surprised. I'm sure T'Nae is capable of telling the difference between Tal'Shiar subterfuge and the genuine wish for Romulan civilians to live a more peaceful, honest life. Putting Zelle in this mission instead to express doubt and mistrust would be far more appropriate.
Unslot from the ship stations. Which was a little frustrating when the two romulan fleets go head to head.
Loved the mission where you get brain washed and you have selia in your head when your doing the wrong thing. I really hope the voice over for that mission is really cold and erie.
Now for the Beta testing task, i am probably repeating a few things or many, read through 12 pages of this thread so bare with me. also i tend to jump around in thought so...
In edit your appearance neck bulk adjustment makes collar Pixelate or more so crawl along edges of flesh.
no voice only dialog (read explanation so understand with launch)
when in space the firing arcs of your ship and the other you are in there face nailing lock. which is cool for me, i am latched on and can plummet them too death.
When comparing a drop engine with what was issued, both of there 'flight turn rate' constantly cycle.
'auto travel' has a habit of disengaging and sending ship past the target. (Intermittent but more then a third)
exchange was not active on flotta but must be a ? level thing? for when i came back after reaching 10 it appeared.
On away teams Only the crew skills show more then they have leveled/activated
Can function tasks underwater. should they not be in distress or pretending to be drowning
On Dewa III you can walk threw many plant life
after C X stance when captain holsters weapon and threats are gone crew will still have weapons out hot.
When weapons are out in C X and comm screen pops up and is closed all are back in passive mode. have to reengage weapons and stance.
Chat window in/out between screens
ship weapons seem to pull to left even when what you are firing on is still.
Bridge officers drop from stations after beam back up from away team and sometimes mission completions.
My captain can not go into the 'Distress Signal' action (Bigger Picture, Hromi sector) . I hit continue to help the SS Daendle and the communication disappears. so way to do it. Went in and out of system to try and jar it, warped back to floatta then traveled back, also unable to DROP mission and reestablish.
Neutral no More- seems to be glitched. even though i already have the level 10 ship it still says i have to get a ship. It even states in the shipyard the ship was purchased. SO will not let me do anymore of the missions until i acquire my free ship, which i have.
But LoR still rocks!
PS: LOVE LOVE LOVE the way I acquired my Bridge officers, so awesome!
My only concern is that I'm aware that T'Nae has a following amongst the STO player base. And she has good voice-over talent attached to her these days. I don't think Zelle was ever voiced. But I don't think that should prevent better storytelling for Turning Point.
But ...
Bugs: I played with Linux/Wine (low resolution/ details) and Win7 (highest possible resolution/ details): No crashes (the Wine workaround works great on Linux/Wine!). There are only some graphic issues which were mentioned already, except maybe:
-The tailor/ character creator zoom is centred on the belly - not the face.
-Animation: After using C + X on ground maps, the BOFF's don't walk any more. They are 'sliding' over the ground somehow.
-Missions: There still are several typos in the dialogues (f.e. Smash and Grab: dialogue with Charva: "Maybe Rinna has already been been ...".
-Who's Riley?
-Mission 'Smash and Grab': After accessing the computer on the bridge first a video starts, than you get the results of your hacking. Wouldn't it be more logical the other way round: First results than video?
My legacy of Romulus experience hit yet another high today so id like to Share my thoughts.
SEARCH FOR NEW ROMULUS MISSION:
What a compelling Story in all aspects!. I entered this mission with my mind set on Consistency and story Strength and what i find is quite Surprising seeing that could you keep up with the story and build upon that level of Dedication, you did this!.
When i beamed down to new Romulus, the Ambient sound of alien animals filled my Headphones creating a very Immersive and ery environment and that environment really suited the scenery, it just worked. The level was almost cannon with james cameron's AVATAR and transported me into the alien world filled with the most Spectacular scenery i have ever seen so far in sto:eek: If you keep this Amazing theme going and plus what's been done then you will have all our jaws dropping in shear Amazement and immersive environments with a story that respects the art of the map, Well done Indeed:cool:
Possible Bug:
Some Areas with water on new Romulus have water thats supposed to be Flat oddly going up and down where waterfalls should be. Also noted are areas in some streams cause screen to show underwater View.
More Feedback to come!.
Cheers Azurerail1
Most articles and dev comments concerning this have said up front that the decision is made at 10, but Romulan specific content continues until 40.
In fact, the first article posted by dastahl mentioned the level 10 ally requirement without mentioning the 40 levels of content and he had to address that shortly thereafter because people were thinking there were only 10 levels of Romulan content.
I was completely blown away by the storyline through this arc. It shows excellent writing and makes it feel like you have a personal stake in whatever happens to you also happens to the Republic.
The only major qualms I've had with the gameplay was the extreme lagginess of the space portion of the tutorial. It was like my ship rocked whenever the helmsman tried to steer the ship, instead of a smooth turn. Also, I wondered through this arc, as you are building up your ship and crew, why the power levels of my shields, engines, and auxiliary systems never was 50/50. Do they normalize to Federation and Klingon ship power levels later on?
I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't see any of the duty officers and the unique Romulan missions being added in there, but I'm hoping that will be soon.
Keep up the awesome work guys!
The prime directive also refers to interference with any internal development of an alien civilization. I think a Romulan civil war would fall under that category (like Kazon sects). So the Prime Directive applies.
That is a good point though, if Starfleet helps the rebels, it gives them an advantage over the Tal Shiar. Seems like a violation there. Of course Starfleet gets something out of it, so I guess it's ok...
Effecting me to miss out on the final mission.
:-(
Only real disappointment is not being able to go outside and see New Romulus BEFORE the base camp is setup.
Looking forward to going through Allies
If you have gotten to subcommander then that is as far as you can go at this time.
1) When I first spawned in the village, I thought it was an incredibly well done map. I was worried that I was going to spend a significant amount of time there, but was relieved that I was able to get into space and join the action quickly. It strikes me as somewhat odd, that the player is automatically trusted by the Republic, and welcomed without any sort of background check, or missions that make you prove yourself to D'tan, or make sure that you're not actually a Tal'Shiar operative or spy.
2) I love that the Suliban finally make an appearance in the game. However if the Suliban at the helix tells you they can't be seen talking to you for fear of the Tal'Shiar, why make it a Cell ship that comes in and acts as the Romulan SS Azura II? Why not make the Suliban overall sympathetic to the Republic.
3) If we keep picking up refugees/survivors to be Bridge Officers, why not give us the ability to change their outfits into uniforms, or find out any more back story on them? The Reman girl that becomes the chief engineer, do we find out what happens to her father after the Elachi take him? Just seems hastily thrown together in the first few missions.
4) You end up discovering Dewa III, becoming the savior to the Republic, but there's no mention on how the colony came to be. No missions showing the construction, or D'tan being there... All of a sudden the player goes from surveying the planet, and back there to be promoted to sub-commander at this HUGE (and awesome) command center, with no mention of time-frame, or how that building came to be. Seemingly disjointed.
5) The choice as to which faction you'll be joining comes FAR TOO early, IMO. The storyline seems to almost happen back to back, but so much happens in that short period of time. Why not spread this out, and allow the player a chance to get a feel for the Romulans before you just jump in and pick a side.
I think the story flows MUCH better after you make your choice. The missions themselves seem to be very well written, and I keep replaying the mission with Sela and Hakeev aboard his ship. That too seems odd now that I think of it... Why does Sela give you a TOP TOP secret clearance, just to be "discovered as a R.R. officer" the next mission?
*I also forgot, but agree, that Admiral T'nae wouldn't be as cold and harsh as she was towards the player. a Vulcan would never be that emotional or cold to a visiting diplomat. I think if she plainly addressed her concerns, it would be more realistic. She almost exhibited a hatred for the Romulans.
Hopefully the rest of the story will be as amazing as what I have played so far... Thank you for the chance to Beta, and keep the great stories coming!
One thing I noticed in the mission "Search for New Romulus" is that the indicated site for "Observe Bridge" on the map seems to be off (green circle).
Those things aside, I'm loving what I'm seeing so far. The biggest thing I was worried about is the story. While the first couple missions seem to drag at certain points I love the direction this is going so far!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]