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Cryptic understated the new Klingon experience
krovan
Member Posts: 86 Arc User
I just did the first hour or so of new level 1 Klingon stuff, and it was everything you'd want from a Klingon type experience, survival of the fittest, a bit of humor, a first officer that speaks as if hes got a stomach full of broken glass and a hangover for the ages..it's all there.
It's also some nice story content, I hope more people decide to try it out, it feels like some polish and love went into it.
It's also some nice story content, I hope more people decide to try it out, it feels like some polish and love went into it.
Post edited by krovan on
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Before, my Commander had to run around First City, talking to a bunch of people he didn't care about, in order to impress some random flunky enough to get assigned a ship.
Now - well, I'm not going to spoil it for anyone who hasn't started a Klingon yet; I'm just going to note that this is how a Klingon junior officer gets his first command!
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In game: Commadore_Bob; Joined Jul 2009; That post count + 20,000
I really am curious who did the voice for the first officer, there is such a subtle undercurrent of humor in his delivery you can't help but grin whenever he makes a suggestion towards unsubtle violent solutions.
I enjoyed duties of command very much. Although, I was a little confused when I arrived at the Exchange and assumed it was the injured Klingon screaming like a little girl. It was a little disconcerting.
However, the revelation of the voices' owner and the subsequent interaction - instantly brilliant.
10-20 was a bit more rough around the edges from what I recall, but it did a good job of tying things together before Nimbus. Oh, and the intro gives the Temporal Ambassador mission where you're working with Drake a completely different tone.
This is rich. This is full. Not every mission is necessarily trying to be the kind of technical show off that Featured Episodes were but the writing is absolutely top shelf stuff and the novel mechanics and cutscenes are spread out enough that they aren't intrusive or gimmicky but leave you wondering what's going to happen around the next corner.
The Mind Games episode in particular has to be one of my favorite gaming experiences, period. It's in the vein of the old 25th anniversary stuff. I wouldn't want it every mission but it's a treasure placed exactly where it is. It could easily just be "Press F" (and it is, really) but the presentation is good.
In fact, one thing that strikes me about LoR in general is how many of the missions are "Press F" and "Kill 5" but I DON'T CARE because the writing is compelling and there are tricks that conceal the gameplay limits.
I was THRILLED by the Borg episode and the colony episode. And the colony was a straight up "Kill 25" mission. But the launching shuttles and the auto escaping prisoners and the pacing were flawless and the mission journal never says "Kill Enemy (1/25)." Instead, it's "Defend the Shuttles (1/4)" and that is a thousand times more compelling because the behaviors and pacing are authentic.
I'm sure the Klingon stuff is great too.
Well, I should really buy slots to make a new character then.
I dig the Romulan story so far. It's a lot of fun. And I'm really into the Romulan Republic, the idea of it, and I've got my crew/BOFFs rocking the RR uniform.
But the whole thing is really not that Romulan feeling. At least they don't feel like any of the Romulans from the shows. Maybe nicer versions of Nero and his crew? But nothing like Tomalak, or Romulan Commander from TOS. It's just too nice and sunny, none of that tense treachery except when the villains show up (like Sela).
So I don't know. I mean it's a fun fun FUN story. But I feel like I'm running around in my Romulan Republic Uniform and me and my mates are all kind of Romulan Browncoats sticking it to Sela and Hakeev. Shiny!
Or something.
It's fun though.
I totally understand where you are coming from, but you have to also understand that this is taking place after Hobus annihilated a few billion Romulans. They are all shocked to the core, their entire way of life has flipped a very hard and violent 180 on them. It has forced them to wake up to reality, that they are not what they thought they were, and are what they are now.
If you look at it from our point of view here in the real world, it would be like taking a rich family, and in less than an instant making them 100% poor and broke. You basically take everything from them, and throw them out into the world and expect them to survive and fight off a ruthless, relentless force that cares nothing for them; add in that they are the same race as them, cooperating with an unknown force.
Once you come to realize that the Republic is truly still Romulan, just with the evil taken out of it (Tal Shiar), you come to find that they are just people trying to defend their families and rebuild. They are actually trying to forge something new that is still distinctly Romulan. The Tal Shiar is really the only thing that gave the Romulan people a very bad name. I think that most of the scheming that is attached to the Romulans, were from the Tal Shiar because they played such a huge role in Romulan society. From the lowly farmer all the way to the Emperor/Empress's , you feared the Tal Shiar. They basically ruled the Romulan people without actually saying they rule them.
What we are seeing now are what the Romulan people really are, just thrown into a very harsh life at the moment. I think what Cryptic has really done, is really flesh out the Romulan's in a way that authors do with novels. I havn't read many, if there are any, books on the Romulans, but from watching ToS and TNG (anything with Romulans in it) I've noticed the same theme: Tal Shiar.
Wall of text just to make a point, I apologize for that. I hope I made some sort of sense.
Pro:
In one aspect, I really like the creativity of the Tutorial and how they tie in a certain character and tieing in TNG Episodes: All Good Things and Firstborn.
Con:
The design of these new Klingon missions seems like they really rushed it, like someone threw it together in the Foundry overnight. Designwise it was sloppy (except for the last part of Rura Penthe, even if it was a ripoff of STV and VI :rolleyes:).
And the team trying to tie these to the older KDF Storylines felt awkard at times, like they were purposely jamming a square peg in a round hole.
Massive CON:
But what I REALLY hate the most about the higher-tier KDF Missions, is that they weren't KDF Missions at all, they were just rehashed Federation missions, that just had the text edited according to faction.
Which that really felt massively lazy.
Look, I wouldn't mind them if they reused those zones and put a KDF spin on it, like if they let KDF have access to the Kuvah'magh mission and give us the KDF side of the story. That what I didn't mind. But instead, they literally copied and pasted.
That really felt like a major cop-out for KDF players who were promised they would get KDF storyline missions all the way to endgame prior to Romulans getting introduced.
And thats why I'm disappointed. They just didn't try, they just threw stuff together at the last minute in an attempt to look like they were honoring our requests.
There are just enough bits in the Romulan story line where Romulans are Romulans. I've enjoyed all of the Romulan touches for the old all-faction content. The climax to the Romulan Republic arc is very satisfying and very Romulan.
You absolutely do not need the Legacy Pack.
The Legacy pack is just a box full of discounted Romulan ships.
I tell ya, when my Romulan-Klingon hybrid [alien] does some Marauding, she hopes that D'Tan doesnt find out about it. And that's just ridiculous.
As is having Romulan Warbirds in orbit over Qo'Nos.
And everything else about it.
ill sure play through it with my kdf main. later, when the joy of playing my new Romulan, KDF aligned main will become old (in august).
NOW, guys, as you were stating there will be a large influx of KDF players once there is content - i look forward to it (queues)..
also looking forward to see the numbers. players playing FED, KDF or Romulans.