If you want more of a challenge try doing stfs in a Suliban ship ;p or pull the old mirandi out of mothballs and fly that old t1 light cruiser in stfs.
I have been saying that for a fair while, the amount of content, as per the amount of profit just doesn't really add up for me. If you go into Earth Spacedock and count how many Scimitars and other lockbox ships or Fleet vessels are flying around then you get the indication that money from this game is not getting invested back into the game for newer content.
You guys have absolutely no idea how a corporate structure works - and you've clearly never been paying attention.
Cryptic does not make any money. When you buy Zen that money goes to PW, not to Cryptic. When you buy LoR bundle packs that money goes to PW, not to Cryptic. Cryptic has zero income. PW makes all the income from all 14 of its games. Cryptic is all expense.
PW gives each game line a budget for the year. They might give STO $4 million, and NWN $3 million and CO $2 million, and give Cryptic $2 million for its office and executive expenses as well as floating teams - like the Foundry team. Each line developer is then told what their budget is for the year. And the above is the same for their other 11 games too: PWI gets X amount of budget, and Forsaken World gets X amount of budget for the year, and so on.
So Dan gets told he has a $4 million budget for the year. From there Dan decides how many additional people he can afford to hire for the year and what financial resources get put into various projects.
Each division's budget has nothing to do with the other divisions. STO profit doesn't go into NWN or Forsaken World. All profit from all games goes to PW and they decide how much money each of their 14 games gets for development each year.
STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
All of STO is fan-faction. None of it is canon. There are literally thousands of missions in the Foundry - and many of the are far superior to those done by Cryptic. Get over your "non-official" prejudice and give them a try. You might just find that many of them are more Trek then the STO missions. IE, not filled with the senseless pew-pew of kill x group then go kill y group then go kill z group and you're done, but rather filled with moral and prime prime directive issues and exploration that feels far more like an actual episode of Trek.
That's not to say I don't want to see more missions. I've been harping about that for years. I'm simply saying dismissing the Foundry as nothing more then fan-fiction is short-sighted and prejudicial.
Mate, i dont want to play foundry! I didnt invest my time into this game to play a load of Mickey Mouse missions of whatever whim took people's fancy, or whatever arrogant ideals people like you think should make up half of this game. Dont get me wrong, i am a trek fan, but i am not a weirdo with it like some people. Let it go, TOS is OLD, DATED and totally out of touch. Yes we got the trek we know today from it, but its an ever changing thing.
SO sick of hearing nerds banging on about 'trek morals' and 'trek ideals'. This is all a legacy of TOS, where they were all tree hugging 60's pot smokers and that sort of thing was cool. Im sorry but i dont want to play an MMO where i wander around solving moral conflicts through a completely lame system like a speech box and a character that doesnt talk. It might float your boat, but i am afraid only 'hardcore' trek fans want or need that kind of thing in their life. This isnt one of the shows, its a video game. Remember that.
Everyone sat around a conference table for 20 minutes selecting various speech options, that ultimately have no relevance. Yeah great, thats why i have this awesome starship full of laserdeath, so i can sit in my ready room drinking Earl Grey pondering life, while my No 1 shoots Gorn in the face with beam overload having all the fun.
NO
STO is a pew pew game, hence why people love flying their ships. Its great fun customising and testing various things with the mechanics of the space combat. Yes it could have some more MMO style features, like open areas and exploration missions, but it shouldnt have to rely on the foundry to make up for the developers shortfall in content over zen store products (although i fully support the zen store, give us new things against which we can use the myriad of ships we can buy)
The game has been out over 3 years and there has been one set of challenging content in all that time. Its getting tired, people are bored. Lets have some new endgame missions. With pew pew, not mindmelds please.
" Experience is a hard mistress, she gives the tests first, and the lessons after... "
Ok maybe i went slightly over the top on that post , but you get my drift. No offence, but they have much bigger things to sort out on the game before we need to worry about prime directives. Foundry is not an excuse for a content deficiency.
The main thing that defines content people want to play = rewards. Foundry has no good rewards.
" Experience is a hard mistress, she gives the tests first, and the lessons after... "
Mate, i dont want to play foundry! I didnt invest my time into this game to play a load of Mickey Mouse missions of whatever whim took people's fancy, or whatever arrogant ideals people like you think should make up half of this game. Dont get me wrong, i am a trek fan, but i am not a weirdo with it like some people. Let it go, TOS is OLD, DATED and totally out of touch. Yes we got the trek we know today from it, but its an ever changing thing.
SO sick of hearing nerds banging on about 'trek morals' and 'trek ideals'. This is all a legacy of TOS, where they were all tree hugging 60's pot smokers and that sort of thing was cool. Im sorry but i dont want to play an MMO where i wander around solving moral conflicts through a completely lame system like a speech box and a character that doesnt talk. It might float your boat, but i am afraid only 'hardcore' trek fans want or need that kind of thing in their life. This isnt one of the shows, its a video game. Remember that.
Everyone sat around a conference table for 20 minutes selecting various speech options, that ultimately have no relevance. Yeah great, thats why i have this awesome starship full of laserdeath, so i can sit in my ready room drinking Earl Grey pondering life, while my No 1 shoots Gorn in the face with beam overload having all the fun.
NO
STO is a pew pew game, hence why people love flying their ships. Its great fun customising and testing various things with the mechanics of the space combat. Yes it could have some more MMO style features, like open areas and exploration missions, but it shouldnt have to rely on the foundry to make up for the developers shortfall in content over zen store products (although i fully support the zen store, give us new things against which we can use the myriad of ships we can buy)
The game has been out over 3 years and there has been one set of challenging content in all that time. Its getting tired, people are bored. Lets have some new endgame missions. With pew pew, not mindmelds please.
I'm not sure what you were watching. TOS was high-action. Kirk was kicking someone's butt almost every episode. TNG era was about sitting around tables and talking through the problem. Half the time the Galaxy went into combat it was disabled just so the problem could be solved via talking. Shaka when the walls fell.
And as a Trek fan, yes, I don't want every mission I'm in to be about killing Jem'hadar eggs and everything else in my path. The Foundry can often be a nice change of pace from that.
STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
there's no real argument against the possible introduction of larger scale PvE content (or larger scale mixed PvP/PvE content ala "(old) Alterac Valley in spaaaaaace" which is what i think STO PvP should move towards) but framing them as "raids" and seeing them from that external starting point (sourced from a completely different type of game...which is slowly dying...) is a very bad idea.
F2P games are about getting people through the door and giving the majority fun stuff to do and a *drip, drip, drip* of "progression" while they are there to keep them there (where hopefully they will spend some money. kerching!).
they are inherently "casual" in nature (and a games "health" is very much about appealing to mass numbers) and anything that begins to drift towards pandering to those who want to be part of a self styled "hardcore" minority clique will hurt the game.
elite STFs (content that is open to all and can be accessed on a lesser difficulty by all) are about as "elitist" as this game should get (although i would have no objection to an elite setting for any larger scale PvE that was implemented as long as it was similarly open to all) BUT raid "tiers" (where content ends up being made just for a progressively smaller and smaller minority) is a REALLY bad idea for STO especially with the devs clearly limited capacity for content development.
so ye you can have your larger scale PvE, i'll back you on that (as long as the engine can handle it and its near enough open to all) but if you're hoping to become a "hardcore raider" inside STO....nope.
if you want to be "hardcore" be "hardcore" by being really good at what you do in the company of friends who appreciate it and make that enough for you internally but don't try to claim a public pedestal via demanding near private access to something the rest of the playerbase largely cannot access and will ultimately end up resenting.
and if that's not enough for you...well there are plenty other games...although tbh those that set out to pander to "the hardcore" generally find it pretty difficult to survive...
on the other hand there is no "hardcore raiding" (or "hardcore PvP") in something like Maplestory and Maplestory (which is F2P ofc) is a FAR bigger (and "healthier") game than even WoW...
"you ain't in Kansas...sry Durotar/Elwynn...any more".
Slow up there hass. Noone said anything about 'hardcore'. Sounds like someone got their e-feelings hurt by the elitist crowd in some other game.
Seems to me (and I know it's what I am requesting) that OP wants more challenging and more involved endgame content. And with the severe lack thereof, I totally and wholeheartedly agree. Those of us who have been here a while and have done the grind have a geared out ship with no new or reasonably difficult endgame content to challenge in our mean spaceships. I didn't want the best gear to check off a list or PvP. I got it to take on the most difficult challenges. There are a lack of endgame challenges.
Lots of conjecture in your post stated as fact or like you are some sort of expert. "Just because you state something as a fact, does not make it the undisputed truth."-Abraham Lincoln
And being that you are just coming back and haven't been around the game for a long time, I find it a bit presumptuous that you speak with an air of authority about what the STO audience is and wants, to say nothing of your 'if you don't like it just leave'-type statements.
More intelligent and more challenging (and just plain more) endgame content is needed.
actually i was the elitist crowd "in some other game"
but i'm too old for that **** now...or at least that's how i feel about it...
and who's to say i'm not "some kind of expert"...you ?
isn't that potentially an equal level of inferred presumption on your part ? (rhetorical)
anyway in my defence i did say i backed the idea...with a few caveats...and i even made a suggestion about which way PVP should go in STO (ie less "Arena" and more "(old) Alterac Valley in spaaaaaace" because that kind of "casual" PvP produces less calls for 1 on 1 balance that constrict the PvE game) ...
my main concern was basically against tiering stuff (again) and thus locking the content off to most people.
i know why many people want to "raid" and for some people its very much about being seen to be part of an "elite"...but imo STO can't afford that...not least because as i said the devs clearly have a very limited capacity for making content and so making content that's only accessed by an "elite" clique would be a very stupid use of limited resources.
like i said i'm not against the idea of larger scale PvE content or even it have an "elite" mode...or even a "super elite" mode...5 manning a 10 man instance or something (for better rewards and an achievement/title) for example...
but the basic "thing" should be accessible to all and nothing should be locked off behind a tier.
so there you go...i've pulled together a basic suggestion:
10 man instances
10 man instances with elite mode
5 manning the 10 man instances for super kudos
5 manning the 10 man instances in elite mode for super uber "OMG he's an STO GAWD!!!" kudos
each gives better rewards and an achievement and maybe a title for the last two
maybe throw in another rep faction with no other means to get marks outside the instances and suitable mark returns per difficulty so "tackle" gear isn't entirely dependant on the RNG...but leave some sweet kudos items instance only...
but the content is used by all (best use of limited production resources) and nothing is locked off behind a tier.
Yes it could have some more MMO style features, like open areas and exploration missions, but it shouldnt have to rely on the foundry to make up for the developers shortfall in content over zen store products (although i fully support the zen store, give us new things against which we can use the myriad of ships we can buy)
The game has been out over 3 years and there has been one set of challenging content in all that time. Its getting tired, people are bored. Lets have some new endgame missions.
So very much agree with this. Give us more space to use our shinies in and we will buy more shinies. Promise.
Foundry=/=endgame content. It is user generated additions that can be fun. Loads of horrible to wade through to find those diamonds though. Don't excuse Cryptic for taking an easy way out. Such an attitude has lead to lack of content and lax bug fixes.
the foundry and the star trek community that make content may well have, at least partly, saved the game.
they were basically running out a shed at one point y'know...
the company has been through a lot.
they've changed hands like 3 times and atari (the original owners) didn't give a toss about supporting the game only securing the licence for its resale value which is why the game hit the streets in a state it should never have been released in.
Something of relevance to this topic, i tweeted Branflakes asking him about when new endgame content was planned, and he said the next season is all about endgame content! Woop! Woop!
" Experience is a hard mistress, she gives the tests first, and the lessons after... "
the foundry and the star trek community that make content may well have, at least partly, saved the game.
they were basically running out a shed at one point y'know...
the company has been through a lot.
they've changed hands like 3 times and atari (the original owners) didn't give a toss about supporting the game only securing the licence for its resale value which is why the game hit the streets in a state it should never have been released in.
its a near miracle STO is still alive tbth...
Maybe I am being hard on Cryptic, but they signed up for it. I will not excuse a lazy attitude towards endgame content or bug fixes. They took this job on knowing full well what it would entail. And they have been tooting their horns about how the team has grown and now that NWO is finished they will be returning the full STO team to us. Time to pony up boys.
Foundry is a great addition. But is just that: an addition. Not a substitute or excuse. I can not or will not except "You have Foundry so we don't need to revamp exploration missions." Foundry is nice but that does not mean Exploration missions don't need reworked by virtue of it's mere existence. "You have Foundry so you can develop your own endgame content." It's not the same thing and it is not the playerbases job to make such content. That is what the actual developers are for.
So in short, no sympathy, sorry. It's their job and they should do it.
Something of relevance to this topic, i tweeted Branflakes asking him about when new endgame content was planned, and he said the next season is all about endgame content! Woop! Woop!
That is encouraging to my optimistic side.
My pessimistic side hopes his definition of 'new endgame content' isn't more reputation grinds or 'adventure zone' instance a la New Romulus.
More STF's/raids, exploration revamp and new episodes. That would be yummy.
Maybe I am being hard on Cryptic, but they signed up for it. I will not excuse a lazy attitude towards endgame content or bug fixes. They took this job on knowing full well what it would entail. And they have been tooting their horns about how the team has grown and now that NWO is finished they will be returning the full STO team to us. Time to pony up boys.
Foundry is a great addition. But is just that: an addition. Not a substitute or excuse. I can not or will not except "You have Foundry so we don't need to revamp exploration missions." Foundry is nice but that does not mean Exploration missions don't need reworked by virtue of it's mere existence. "You have Foundry so you can develop your own endgame content." It's not the same thing and it is not the playerbases job to make such content. That is what the actual developers are for.
So in short, no sympathy, sorry. It's their job and they should do it.
i agree with you on many points (especially bug fixing and the fact the Foundry should never be an excuse for them not making something else) but imho they simply didn't have the resources to produce content at the rate/level i think you are expecting of them which is why they ended up make a huge song and dance about the addition of single solitary missions being introduced as they created them one at a time (ie "the featured episodes").
when i said they were "basically running out a shed" i really wasn't kidding (from a manpower pov).
at one point you could have put a name to each dev and what they were responsible for almost without needing more than one set of hands to count them..
hopefully, as you suggest, now they supposedly have a bigger team and more resources things might pick up although personally i'd prefer a serious "ok lets fix the bugs that have piled up over the years" pass before they launch into new content development.
i have to say though i have this horrible sinking feeling in my gut that what were more likely to see is a new lockbox or c-store offering every month at the behest of the PW masters and not much else...
i can't help thinking the content creation involved in LOS was sold to the PW bosses as way to get existing players to buy more ships...and ofc to potentially to draw in new and returning ones...
the fact we can't use faction ships we have already bought at 50...well i just feel there is something deeply wrong, mercenary & mercantile about that and i don't think that situation exists because of the devs if you catch my drift...i think there's a fair possibly it was the only way to get the go ahead to actually add new content...
What good are raids? In every mmo that has been developed in this time, people down the raids in what a week? Then in about one month they are board? Swtor went pve, pvp, raids the end. One of the most bland games I have ever played. Atleast wow had some options, and a big enough world where it was not bland. This is not a simple request you are asking for, you are asking the devs to change their entire focus, from star trek, to lets roll out raids every month. Me as a Player I perter star trek and immersion over raids that just get boring.
As for the foundry I do not mess with it because the missions in it are complex and time consuming. Meaning if your that board go do some of the Foundry missions, I am sure they will chew up your time.
On another note the devs have already answered this, when they chose to come out with reputation, despite many people saying not a good idea, they chose to forgo the normal route of a mmo. Meaning gear grind. Sense gear grind is a key factor to raiding, what exactly is the point of time consumption on developing raids?
This game does not need raids. What it could use is a massive overhaul in regards to pvp, that does not involve putting in a stupid stat for pvp. Other then that I think just about anything would better right now. A few more space stfs wouldn't be a bad idea. Not to mention they really need to have the event where the Iconians come in destroying everything. They have been building on that story for a long time.
What good are raids? In every mmo that has been developed in this time, people down the raids in what a week? Then in about one month they are board? Swtor went pve, pvp, raids the end. One of the most bland games I have ever played. Atleast wow had some options, and a big enough world where it was not bland. This is not a simple request you are asking for, you are asking the devs to change their entire focus, from star trek, to lets roll out raids every month. Me as a Player I perter star trek and immersion over raids that just get boring.
As for the foundry I do not mess with it because the missions in it are complex and time consuming. Meaning if your that board go do some of the Foundry missions, I am sure they will chew up your time.
On another note the devs have already answered this, when they chose to come out with reputation, despite many people saying not a good idea, they chose to forgo the normal route of a mmo. Meaning gear grind. Sense gear grind is a key factor to raiding, what exactly is the point of time consumption on developing raids?
This game does not need raids. What it could use is a massive overhaul in regards to pvp, that does not involve putting in a stupid stat for pvp. Other then that I think just about anything would better right now. A few more space stfs wouldn't be a bad idea. Not to mention they really need to have the event where the Iconians come in destroying everything. They have been building on that story for a long time.
So what would you suggest because the massive imbalances and non-reward factor in PvP really make it not worth playing.
What good are raids? In every mmo that has been developed in this time, people down the raids in what a week? Then in about one month they are board? Swtor went pve, pvp, raids the end. One of the most bland games I have ever played. Atleast wow had some options, and a big enough world where it was not bland. This is not a simple request you are asking for, you are asking the devs to change their entire focus, from star trek, to lets roll out raids every month. Me as a Player I perter star trek and immersion over raids that just get boring.
As for the foundry I do not mess with it because the missions in it are complex and time consuming. Meaning if your that board go do some of the Foundry missions, I am sure they will chew up your time.
On another note the devs have already answered this, when they chose to come out with reputation, despite many people saying not a good idea, they chose to forgo the normal route of a mmo. Meaning gear grind. Sense gear grind is a key factor to raiding, what exactly is the point of time consumption on developing raids?
This game does not need raids. What it could use is a massive overhaul in regards to pvp, that does not involve putting in a stupid stat for pvp. Other then that I think just about anything would better right now. A few more space stfs wouldn't be a bad idea. Not to mention they really need to have the event where the Iconians come in destroying everything. They have been building on that story for a long time.
Raids are good for being challenging endgame content that requires teamwork and an understanding of how the game works. I grinded/hunted all the best gear possible for my ship and crew, now I want some endgame PvE to challenge it against. I didn't get that stuff just to get it and I have little interest in PvP. Lots of players with no desire to PvP that feel the same way, I am not alone in this. Any new content made will be blown through in about a week, there is always gonna be those type players, so that argument holds no water. The closest thing we have to raids atm is the Terradome, and frankly I like it. Want more. Not boring.
I guess you also didn't read any of my previous posts. I play Foundry. I enjoy (some of) it. But for the 100th time: Foundry is not a substitute or excuse for lack of endgame content. That is just lazy. Making new endgame content is a reasonable expectation of any MMO dev. Whether it be every month or every few months. And just to remind you, we have the very same endgame now that we had three years ago. Yeah, I would like to see a bit better than that.
That next statement about devs already answering this does not read like an answer to this at all to me. For some folks I suppose the key factor of such is to get better gear. But here's something else I apparently need to state again: I got the best gear possible right now, I am not looking for better gear. I am looking for better, more involved content to use said gear on. That is the exact point of a raid to me, get a group together and challenge the most difficult content available.
This game does need raids. It needs very much a heaping helping of endgame content. Not everyone PvPs, but everyone does PvE. (You have to to rep grind that gear) We need STFs and yes a continuation of the Iconian storyline. Exploration missions need an overhaul and reworked. I PvP about three times a month, so I can't speak to that point passionately or with great knowledge, but I am not opposed. But your opinion being different than mine does not make me wrong. Just because you would not enjoy such content does not mean no one will. Your opinion is not 'correct' while mine is 'wrong', it is just different and seems that we just have different preferences as to how Cryptic should spend their resources. I hope in the next 6 months we both have our desires fulfilled.
As for what does pvp need. I understand that certain starbases have missions and certain npcs. What I would do is create some sort of conquest system that involves the contested sector blocks. I believe such a system would do the game good, but obviously It could not be perfect, as moving all those story based starbases from the KDF/FED would chew up allot of development time. If it was instituted around those bases but not concern them I do believe it would be good.
The devs have thought about it but they have said it is a complex idea they want to do, I understand that. I think the game could use something like that right about now.
As for the other poster that quoted me, my apologies if you had to repeat some of your previous statements. Once a topic gets past 2 pages I jump to the last page and post on what the op has said. I see your point to an extent but I suppose I also find the whole idea troubling. They released the scimitar with one of the worse interiors I have ever seen in this game. Right now sto holds something unique that allot of mmos no longer have, or failed to have immersion. IF they did what you asked, I fear that immersion in sto would go to the way side. To me that would be a bad mark on sto. This game has struggled and at times angers me to no end. A blind man can see it has things that other mmos do not have, and that these newer mmos miss every time they launch.
As for the other poster that quoted me, my apologies if you had to repeat some of your previous statements. Once a topic gets past 2 pages I jump to the last page and post on what the op has said. I see your point to an extent but I suppose I also find the whole idea troubling. They released the scimitar with one of the worse interiors I have ever seen in this game. Right now sto holds something unique that allot of mmos no longer have, or failed to have immersion. IF they did what you asked, I fear that immersion in sto would go to the way side. To me that would be a bad mark on sto. This game has struggled and at times angers me to no end. A blind man can see it has things that other mmos do not have, and that these newer mmos miss every time they launch.
It's alright, I would just ask you hear (in this case read) my ideas before dismissing them!
As for your stated fears: Firstly I agree with you that this game is a unique and wonderful MMO for it's wide range of customization options and not least of all sense of immersion. I truly can feel like I am playing out a Star Trek adventure of my very own. Man, that is just a fantastic feeling and an accomplishment that Cryptic should be proud of. Some will nit-pick that we shoot a lot of things and that is 'not true to the vision of Gene'. But that IS nit-picky. It's a game. 'My Trek series' is just a bit more action oriented! The immersion is great.
Moving to potential raids breaking that vibe, I would ask you why must that be so? Immersion and endgame 'raids' have to be mutually exclusive? Nay, I say. Perhaps you are thinking of a traditional type raid with a big dungeon with multiple rooms to progress through. I rather think that such content would be a 'raid' yes, but follow with the theme of Trek immersion and story STO has already laid down.
Imagine: a 'raid' that gave you a 'Wrah of Khan' movie to play through. Combing both space and ground elements to progress. Half the team fighting an armada around a planet while the other half are an away team working to complete some sort of objective, like lowering a planetary shield and so forth. Space and ground at the same time!? I find the possibilities numerous and exciting.
So I would say: don't fear it, embrace it. Contribute more ideas to the cause. (you gave some feedback on how you would structure them, good on ya) I would expect the Cryptic standard of doing a good job with making us feel like we are playing a Trek adventure of our own going, not abandon it to make a cookie-cutter raid.
Your ship and crew having a 'movie'-style adventure!!? C'mon, tell me you wouldn't love the **** outta that?
They never made any other games that sold well because as we know, no countries exist outside of 'Murica.
You clearly don't know how popular Microprose was in the mid 90s. Thing is Blizzard could have just as easily failed miserably as they did succeed with WoW, and the juggernaut that they are today is relatively new for them.
Getting us back on topic: STO needs moar endgame. I support the idea of raids. Needs to be handled properly.
if ppl asking for any thing like wows raids then their need to be proper heals and not have a chance to in up in group of all escorts something like wows group system 1 tank 1 heals 3 dps
but if we asking for just more stfs then keep it like is but just add more missions
if ppl asking for any thing like wows raids then their need to be proper heals and not have a chance to in up in group of all escorts something like wows group system 1 tank 1 heals 3 dps
but if we asking for just more stfs then keep it like is but just add more missions
Yeah you're exactly right. Having trying to make my guy a healing dude was pointless. There's no way to maintain a healing rotation, nor is it needed. Not only would you need proper healing you would need a proper tank. Right now a tank type ship is one that does have some damage reduction, but is more built around self healing.
The whole game engine is wrong for WoW type raiding.
My personal opinion is that they introduced far too much conflict in this game via episodes to keep up with the PvE queues. I mean really what empire hasn't there been conflict with yet? Lets see the Federation has fought in order of what I can remember from the episodes the borg, 8472, orions, klingons, nausicaans, letheans, gorn, ferengi, civilians, federation, cardassians, jem'hadar/dominion, romulans/remans, tholians, mirror universe, and the breen. We've fought every major faction from the shows they've had to create completely new species for us to fight in the episodes.
It's alright, I would just ask you hear (in this case read) my ideas before dismissing them!
As for your stated fears: Firstly I agree with you that this game is a unique and wonderful MMO for it's wide range of customization options and not least of all sense of immersion. I truly can feel like I am playing out a Star Trek adventure of my very own. Man, that is just a fantastic feeling and an accomplishment that Cryptic should be proud of. Some will nit-pick that we shoot a lot of things and that is 'not true to the vision of Gene'. But that IS nit-picky. It's a game. 'My Trek series' is just a bit more action oriented! The immersion is great.
Moving to potential raids breaking that vibe, I would ask you why must that be so? Immersion and endgame 'raids' have to be mutually exclusive? Nay, I say. Perhaps you are thinking of a traditional type raid with a big dungeon with multiple rooms to progress through. I rather think that such content would be a 'raid' yes, but follow with the theme of Trek immersion and story STO has already laid down.
Imagine: a 'raid' that gave you a 'Wrah of Khan' movie to play through. Combing both space and ground elements to progress. Half the team fighting an armada around a planet while the other half are an away team working to complete some sort of objective, like lowering a planetary shield and so forth. Space and ground at the same time!? I find the possibilities numerous and exciting.
So I would say: don't fear it, embrace it. Contribute more ideas to the cause. (you gave some feedback on how you would structure them, good on ya) I would expect the Cryptic standard of doing a good job with making us feel like we are playing a Trek adventure of our own going, not abandon it to make a cookie-cutter raid.
Your ship and crew having a 'movie'-style adventure!!? C'mon, tell me you wouldn't love the **** outta that?
I am not sure I am saying I would not enjoy them, but with everything going on now and days do they really have the development time to put in raids? At the same time keep up with the immersion? I would love to have it all but I just do not think that is realistically possible. Atleast right now the end game pve has something, pvp has not been right for a long time now. I suppose we will find out in time.
I am not sure I am saying I would not enjoy them, but with everything going on now and days do they really have the development time to put in raids? At the same time keep up with the immersion? I would love to have it all but I just do not think that is realistically possible. Atleast right now the end game pve has something, pvp has not been right for a long time now. I suppose we will find out in time.
Back to the 'has to be immersive content OR a raid, can't be both' way of thinking? It need not be one or the other.
It's clear you want Cryptic to focus on revamping PvP, you should just say that instead. Your arguments above are cross purpose. (PvP is NOT immersive content. Short text blurb about participating in war games, them go do it. Yeah, that doesn't make me 'get into it')
And previous posters on this page: read a bit please, I specifically railed against making a STO raid exactly like something from WoW or any other typical 'dungeon-type' quest. It would not be difficult to create a raid in this game in keeping with the Star Trek flavor.
I'd like to see more 10-player fleet actions. Even in a large, active fleet, getting 20 people to do the same thing at the same time is a chore. Yet there's usually more than five who want to do something. CCE is a good start, just need more.
I'd like to see more 10-player fleet actions. Even in a large, active fleet, getting 20 people to do the same thing at the same time is a chore. Yet there's usually more than five who want to do something. CCE is a good start, just need more.
It's a chore because there's no rewards that make people want to do the content. Even Blizzard realized that they couldn't give the rewards for 10 man content the same as 25 man content because people just gravitated toward the easier to organize content. Even if the 10 man was "harder" it didn't matter because the organizational aspect is probably the hardest part of any content.
You see it now where the only eSTFs that are regularly done are the easiest. Why? Its because people are like electricity and flow to the path of least resistance. In order to have harder content done it has to offer unique rewards. Among the unique rewards it needs to be better than what is normally obtainable. If this isn't fulfilled then it won't be done more than once by organized groups.
It's a chore because there's no rewards that make people want to do the content. Even Blizzard realized that they couldn't give the rewards for 10 man content the same as 25 man content because people just gravitated toward the easier to organize content. Even if the 10 man was "harder" it didn't matter because the organizational aspect is probably the hardest part of any content.
You see it now where the only eSTFs that are regularly done are the easiest. Why? Its because people are like electricity and flow to the path of least resistance. In order to have harder content done it has to offer unique rewards. Among the unique rewards it needs to be better than what is normally obtainable. If this isn't fulfilled then it won't be done more than once by organized groups.
Normal difficulty raid: random blue gear drops, small dil reward, small marks reward
Hard difficulty raid: random purple gear drops, large dil reward, large marks reward
Comments
Cryptic does not make any money. When you buy Zen that money goes to PW, not to Cryptic. When you buy LoR bundle packs that money goes to PW, not to Cryptic. Cryptic has zero income. PW makes all the income from all 14 of its games. Cryptic is all expense.
PW gives each game line a budget for the year. They might give STO $4 million, and NWN $3 million and CO $2 million, and give Cryptic $2 million for its office and executive expenses as well as floating teams - like the Foundry team. Each line developer is then told what their budget is for the year. And the above is the same for their other 11 games too: PWI gets X amount of budget, and Forsaken World gets X amount of budget for the year, and so on.
So Dan gets told he has a $4 million budget for the year. From there Dan decides how many additional people he can afford to hire for the year and what financial resources get put into various projects.
Each division's budget has nothing to do with the other divisions. STO profit doesn't go into NWN or Forsaken World. All profit from all games goes to PW and they decide how much money each of their 14 games gets for development each year.
Mate, i dont want to play foundry! I didnt invest my time into this game to play a load of Mickey Mouse missions of whatever whim took people's fancy, or whatever arrogant ideals people like you think should make up half of this game. Dont get me wrong, i am a trek fan, but i am not a weirdo with it like some people. Let it go, TOS is OLD, DATED and totally out of touch. Yes we got the trek we know today from it, but its an ever changing thing.
SO sick of hearing nerds banging on about 'trek morals' and 'trek ideals'. This is all a legacy of TOS, where they were all tree hugging 60's pot smokers and that sort of thing was cool. Im sorry but i dont want to play an MMO where i wander around solving moral conflicts through a completely lame system like a speech box and a character that doesnt talk. It might float your boat, but i am afraid only 'hardcore' trek fans want or need that kind of thing in their life. This isnt one of the shows, its a video game. Remember that.
Everyone sat around a conference table for 20 minutes selecting various speech options, that ultimately have no relevance. Yeah great, thats why i have this awesome starship full of laserdeath, so i can sit in my ready room drinking Earl Grey pondering life, while my No 1 shoots Gorn in the face with beam overload having all the fun.
NO
STO is a pew pew game, hence why people love flying their ships. Its great fun customising and testing various things with the mechanics of the space combat. Yes it could have some more MMO style features, like open areas and exploration missions, but it shouldnt have to rely on the foundry to make up for the developers shortfall in content over zen store products (although i fully support the zen store, give us new things against which we can use the myriad of ships we can buy)
The game has been out over 3 years and there has been one set of challenging content in all that time. Its getting tired, people are bored. Lets have some new endgame missions. With pew pew, not mindmelds please.
The main thing that defines content people want to play = rewards. Foundry has no good rewards.
And as a Trek fan, yes, I don't want every mission I'm in to be about killing Jem'hadar eggs and everything else in my path.
Slow up there hass. Noone said anything about 'hardcore'. Sounds like someone got their e-feelings hurt by the elitist crowd in some other game.
Seems to me (and I know it's what I am requesting) that OP wants more challenging and more involved endgame content. And with the severe lack thereof, I totally and wholeheartedly agree. Those of us who have been here a while and have done the grind have a geared out ship with no new or reasonably difficult endgame content to challenge in our mean spaceships. I didn't want the best gear to check off a list or PvP. I got it to take on the most difficult challenges. There are a lack of endgame challenges.
Lots of conjecture in your post stated as fact or like you are some sort of expert. "Just because you state something as a fact, does not make it the undisputed truth."-Abraham Lincoln
And being that you are just coming back and haven't been around the game for a long time, I find it a bit presumptuous that you speak with an air of authority about what the STO audience is and wants, to say nothing of your 'if you don't like it just leave'-type statements.
More intelligent and more challenging (and just plain more) endgame content is needed.
but i'm too old for that **** now...or at least that's how i feel about it...
and who's to say i'm not "some kind of expert"...you ?
isn't that potentially an equal level of inferred presumption on your part ? (rhetorical)
anyway in my defence i did say i backed the idea...with a few caveats...and i even made a suggestion about which way PVP should go in STO (ie less "Arena" and more "(old) Alterac Valley in spaaaaaace" because that kind of "casual" PvP produces less calls for 1 on 1 balance that constrict the PvE game) ...
my main concern was basically against tiering stuff (again) and thus locking the content off to most people.
i know why many people want to "raid" and for some people its very much about being seen to be part of an "elite"...but imo STO can't afford that...not least because as i said the devs clearly have a very limited capacity for making content and so making content that's only accessed by an "elite" clique would be a very stupid use of limited resources.
like i said i'm not against the idea of larger scale PvE content or even it have an "elite" mode...or even a "super elite" mode...5 manning a 10 man instance or something (for better rewards and an achievement/title) for example...
but the basic "thing" should be accessible to all and nothing should be locked off behind a tier.
so there you go...i've pulled together a basic suggestion:
10 man instances
10 man instances with elite mode
5 manning the 10 man instances for super kudos
5 manning the 10 man instances in elite mode for super uber "OMG he's an STO GAWD!!!" kudos
each gives better rewards and an achievement and maybe a title for the last two
maybe throw in another rep faction with no other means to get marks outside the instances and suitable mark returns per difficulty so "tackle" gear isn't entirely dependant on the RNG...but leave some sweet kudos items instance only...
but the content is used by all (best use of limited production resources) and nothing is locked off behind a tier.
you likey ?
So very much agree with this. Give us more space to use our shinies in and we will buy more shinies. Promise.
Foundry=/=endgame content. It is user generated additions that can be fun. Loads of horrible to wade through to find those diamonds though. Don't excuse Cryptic for taking an easy way out. Such an attitude has lead to lack of content and lax bug fixes.
the foundry and the star trek community that make content may well have, at least partly, saved the game.
they were basically running out a shed at one point y'know...
the company has been through a lot.
they've changed hands like 3 times and atari (the original owners) didn't give a toss about supporting the game only securing the licence for its resale value which is why the game hit the streets in a state it should never have been released in.
its a near miracle STO is still alive tbth...
Maybe I am being hard on Cryptic, but they signed up for it. I will not excuse a lazy attitude towards endgame content or bug fixes. They took this job on knowing full well what it would entail. And they have been tooting their horns about how the team has grown and now that NWO is finished they will be returning the full STO team to us. Time to pony up boys.
Foundry is a great addition. But is just that: an addition. Not a substitute or excuse. I can not or will not except "You have Foundry so we don't need to revamp exploration missions." Foundry is nice but that does not mean Exploration missions don't need reworked by virtue of it's mere existence. "You have Foundry so you can develop your own endgame content." It's not the same thing and it is not the playerbases job to make such content. That is what the actual developers are for.
So in short, no sympathy, sorry. It's their job and they should do it.
That is encouraging to my optimistic side.
My pessimistic side hopes his definition of 'new endgame content' isn't more reputation grinds or 'adventure zone' instance a la New Romulus.
More STF's/raids, exploration revamp and new episodes. That would be yummy.
when i said they were "basically running out a shed" i really wasn't kidding (from a manpower pov).
at one point you could have put a name to each dev and what they were responsible for almost without needing more than one set of hands to count them..
hopefully, as you suggest, now they supposedly have a bigger team and more resources things might pick up although personally i'd prefer a serious "ok lets fix the bugs that have piled up over the years" pass before they launch into new content development.
i have to say though i have this horrible sinking feeling in my gut that what were more likely to see is a new lockbox or c-store offering every month at the behest of the PW masters and not much else...
i can't help thinking the content creation involved in LOS was sold to the PW bosses as way to get existing players to buy more ships...and ofc to potentially to draw in new and returning ones...
the fact we can't use faction ships we have already bought at 50...well i just feel there is something deeply wrong, mercenary & mercantile about that and i don't think that situation exists because of the devs if you catch my drift...i think there's a fair possibly it was the only way to get the go ahead to actually add new content...
sry i seem to have drifted ot
new bigger instances ! \o/
As for the foundry I do not mess with it because the missions in it are complex and time consuming. Meaning if your that board go do some of the Foundry missions, I am sure they will chew up your time.
On another note the devs have already answered this, when they chose to come out with reputation, despite many people saying not a good idea, they chose to forgo the normal route of a mmo. Meaning gear grind. Sense gear grind is a key factor to raiding, what exactly is the point of time consumption on developing raids?
This game does not need raids. What it could use is a massive overhaul in regards to pvp, that does not involve putting in a stupid stat for pvp. Other then that I think just about anything would better right now. A few more space stfs wouldn't be a bad idea. Not to mention they really need to have the event where the Iconians come in destroying everything. They have been building on that story for a long time.
So what would you suggest because the massive imbalances and non-reward factor in PvP really make it not worth playing.
Raids are good for being challenging endgame content that requires teamwork and an understanding of how the game works. I grinded/hunted all the best gear possible for my ship and crew, now I want some endgame PvE to challenge it against. I didn't get that stuff just to get it and I have little interest in PvP. Lots of players with no desire to PvP that feel the same way, I am not alone in this. Any new content made will be blown through in about a week, there is always gonna be those type players, so that argument holds no water. The closest thing we have to raids atm is the Terradome, and frankly I like it. Want more. Not boring.
I guess you also didn't read any of my previous posts. I play Foundry. I enjoy (some of) it. But for the 100th time: Foundry is not a substitute or excuse for lack of endgame content. That is just lazy. Making new endgame content is a reasonable expectation of any MMO dev. Whether it be every month or every few months. And just to remind you, we have the very same endgame now that we had three years ago. Yeah, I would like to see a bit better than that.
That next statement about devs already answering this does not read like an answer to this at all to me. For some folks I suppose the key factor of such is to get better gear. But here's something else I apparently need to state again: I got the best gear possible right now, I am not looking for better gear. I am looking for better, more involved content to use said gear on. That is the exact point of a raid to me, get a group together and challenge the most difficult content available.
This game does need raids. It needs very much a heaping helping of endgame content. Not everyone PvPs, but everyone does PvE. (You have to to rep grind that gear) We need STFs and yes a continuation of the Iconian storyline. Exploration missions need an overhaul and reworked. I PvP about three times a month, so I can't speak to that point passionately or with great knowledge, but I am not opposed. But your opinion being different than mine does not make me wrong. Just because you would not enjoy such content does not mean no one will. Your opinion is not 'correct' while mine is 'wrong', it is just different and seems that we just have different preferences as to how Cryptic should spend their resources. I hope in the next 6 months we both have our desires fulfilled.
365 I am doing the exact same thing...
I have come to look at ships, builds, weapons, consoles and items as content.
It's for this reason I mainly fly carriers afk watchin tv while the fighters do the work
I've seen way worse grinding though where you were only allowed to play 1 raid map per week - not my idea of a good time.
/edit.
ps. overall I am happy since they release new ships and consoles faster than I can grind them, heh
The devs have thought about it but they have said it is a complex idea they want to do, I understand that. I think the game could use something like that right about now.
As for the other poster that quoted me, my apologies if you had to repeat some of your previous statements. Once a topic gets past 2 pages I jump to the last page and post on what the op has said. I see your point to an extent but I suppose I also find the whole idea troubling. They released the scimitar with one of the worse interiors I have ever seen in this game. Right now sto holds something unique that allot of mmos no longer have, or failed to have immersion. IF they did what you asked, I fear that immersion in sto would go to the way side. To me that would be a bad mark on sto. This game has struggled and at times angers me to no end. A blind man can see it has things that other mmos do not have, and that these newer mmos miss every time they launch.
It's alright, I would just ask you hear (in this case read) my ideas before dismissing them!
As for your stated fears: Firstly I agree with you that this game is a unique and wonderful MMO for it's wide range of customization options and not least of all sense of immersion. I truly can feel like I am playing out a Star Trek adventure of my very own. Man, that is just a fantastic feeling and an accomplishment that Cryptic should be proud of. Some will nit-pick that we shoot a lot of things and that is 'not true to the vision of Gene'. But that IS nit-picky. It's a game. 'My Trek series' is just a bit more action oriented! The immersion is great.
Moving to potential raids breaking that vibe, I would ask you why must that be so? Immersion and endgame 'raids' have to be mutually exclusive? Nay, I say. Perhaps you are thinking of a traditional type raid with a big dungeon with multiple rooms to progress through. I rather think that such content would be a 'raid' yes, but follow with the theme of Trek immersion and story STO has already laid down.
Imagine: a 'raid' that gave you a 'Wrah of Khan' movie to play through. Combing both space and ground elements to progress. Half the team fighting an armada around a planet while the other half are an away team working to complete some sort of objective, like lowering a planetary shield and so forth. Space and ground at the same time!? I find the possibilities numerous and exciting.
So I would say: don't fear it, embrace it. Contribute more ideas to the cause. (you gave some feedback on how you would structure them, good on ya) I would expect the Cryptic standard of doing a good job with making us feel like we are playing a Trek adventure of our own going, not abandon it to make a cookie-cutter raid.
Your ship and crew having a 'movie'-style adventure!!? C'mon, tell me you wouldn't love the **** outta that?
You clearly don't know how popular Microprose was in the mid 90s. Thing is Blizzard could have just as easily failed miserably as they did succeed with WoW, and the juggernaut that they are today is relatively new for them.
1) Go after the little ships in Wave 1.
2) Go to the same spot in Wave 3 that you went to in Wave 1.
3) Kill the big ships in Wave 3.
Bonus points if you can rally some healers to keep the starbase in one piece long enough for the escorts to slag the enemy dreadnoughts.
if ppl asking for any thing like wows raids then their need to be proper heals and not have a chance to in up in group of all escorts something like wows group system 1 tank 1 heals 3 dps
but if we asking for just more stfs then keep it like is but just add more missions
system Lord Baal is dead
Yeah you're exactly right. Having trying to make my guy a healing dude was pointless. There's no way to maintain a healing rotation, nor is it needed. Not only would you need proper healing you would need a proper tank. Right now a tank type ship is one that does have some damage reduction, but is more built around self healing.
The whole game engine is wrong for WoW type raiding.
My personal opinion is that they introduced far too much conflict in this game via episodes to keep up with the PvE queues. I mean really what empire hasn't there been conflict with yet? Lets see the Federation has fought in order of what I can remember from the episodes the borg, 8472, orions, klingons, nausicaans, letheans, gorn, ferengi, civilians, federation, cardassians, jem'hadar/dominion, romulans/remans, tholians, mirror universe, and the breen. We've fought every major faction from the shows they've had to create completely new species for us to fight in the episodes.
I am not sure I am saying I would not enjoy them, but with everything going on now and days do they really have the development time to put in raids? At the same time keep up with the immersion? I would love to have it all but I just do not think that is realistically possible. Atleast right now the end game pve has something, pvp has not been right for a long time now. I suppose we will find out in time.
Back to the 'has to be immersive content OR a raid, can't be both' way of thinking? It need not be one or the other.
It's clear you want Cryptic to focus on revamping PvP, you should just say that instead. Your arguments above are cross purpose. (PvP is NOT immersive content. Short text blurb about participating in war games, them go do it. Yeah, that doesn't make me 'get into it')
And previous posters on this page: read a bit please, I specifically railed against making a STO raid exactly like something from WoW or any other typical 'dungeon-type' quest. It would not be difficult to create a raid in this game in keeping with the Star Trek flavor.
It's a chore because there's no rewards that make people want to do the content. Even Blizzard realized that they couldn't give the rewards for 10 man content the same as 25 man content because people just gravitated toward the easier to organize content. Even if the 10 man was "harder" it didn't matter because the organizational aspect is probably the hardest part of any content.
You see it now where the only eSTFs that are regularly done are the easiest. Why? Its because people are like electricity and flow to the path of least resistance. In order to have harder content done it has to offer unique rewards. Among the unique rewards it needs to be better than what is normally obtainable. If this isn't fulfilled then it won't be done more than once by organized groups.
Normal difficulty raid: random blue gear drops, small dil reward, small marks reward
Hard difficulty raid: random purple gear drops, large dil reward, large marks reward
Done.