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Forums > Home› Star Trek Online General Discussion

Future Direction: One Shard Universe

zulranhanszulranhans Member Posts: 1 Arc User
edited August 2013 in Star Trek Online General Discussion
Hi everyone,

I love STO and the franchise in general.
But at times I fantasize how one day the game will have more depth than it currently has.

One of the things that will definitely enhance player experience is having universe-wide consequences to players' decisions.

An important way to achieve that is to centralize the game into one shard universe. Instead of having players interact with just a few others in separate servers, imagine all the captains in STO interact in one single server.

Then, allow several star systems to become "contested territories" to be occupied and fight for by player fleets.

For example, allow systems at the borders of the Federation and the Empire to be able to constantly change sovereignty.

They have to be fought for and won by alliance of player fleets.

Occupying these systems allow the occupying fleet access to rich dilithium resources by building a Starbase, which has to be defended.

The gameplay then will become more player-driven and more dynamic. Each captain knows that they will gain something truly significant every time they march into battle.

There we will have the possibility to witness hundreds, perhaps thousands of ships clash in in an epic battle to win those territories.

I hope Cryptic will consider something like it in the future.

I would imagine it will require major investments. But in the long term, it will be rewarding both for the players and Cryptic, as players become invested in defending their territory, or driven by ambition to occupy one.

It has been done by other space sci-fi MMO out there. With the rich backstories that STO inherits from the Star Trek franchise, having a one shard universe will definitely make STO a more fulfilling game.

Thanks :)
Post edited by zulranhans on

Comments

  • virusdancervirusdancer Member Posts: 18,687 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    It's a themepark. Everybody has access to the same rides. What Player A does will not prevent Player B from experiencing what Player A had the opportunity to do...later, Player C will have that same opportunity.

    With all the repeatable and replayable content...even the name of the server (Holodeck) - it should be apparent what kind of game this is.
  • azurianstarazurianstar Member Posts: 6,985 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    zulranhans wrote: »
    An important way to achieve that is to centralize the game into one shard universe. Instead of having players interact with just a few others in separate servers, imagine all the captains in STO interact in one single server.

    Um, STO is on a single server.
    Then, allow several star systems to become "contested territories" to be occupied and fight for by player fleets.

    Territory Control has already been announced for Season 8.
    One of the things that will definitely enhance player experience is having universe-wide consequences to players' decisions.

    Too complex for an MMO.
  • shpoksshpoks Member Posts: 6,967 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    azurianstar wrote: »
    Too complex for an MMO.

    Actually, it's not unheard of.
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  • lucianazetalucianazeta Member Posts: 740 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    azurianstar wrote: »
    Too complex for an MMO.

    SWTOR has it.

    But then, Bioware is known for such things in their games, so yeah.
    STO%20Sig.png~original
  • captainhologramcaptainhologram Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    I agree with the opening poster. These are great ideas that are not too complex for an MMO. Check out Planetside 2. STO is a good game, but to be great it needs to add its universe/map and add depth. Imagine something like EVE Online set in a Trek universe where star systems were truly contested, just as fleets contest them there. I believe that STO as is can only live as long as it keeps introducing cool content. Cool content so far has been new ships, new playable races, and new zones. But sooner or later the game will need to really do something different to grow and prosper, and I like what the OP had to say.

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  • reginamala78reginamala78 Member Posts: 4,593 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    God forbid. Last thing I want is my game dependent upon what someone else did or didn't do.
  • oldschooldorkoldschooldork Member Posts: 426 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    I understand the idea of having some areas up for grabs and having fleets vie for control and all that, great. I support the idea. As long as it's optional. I do not believe pvp should be forced on the player base. If you want to have the choice to pvp, fine, have fun in sto. If you want open pvp, go play eve. Just my opinion.
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  • azurianstarazurianstar Member Posts: 6,985 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    shpoks wrote: »
    Actually, it's not unheard of.

    Not entirely, that is true. I know Star Citizen will have this, where 1 person can make a difference. Like with the various new discoveries and you getting to name things.

    But in general, in MMOs any changes are part of an event and a script.

    lucianazeta wrote: »
    SWTOR has it.

    But then, Bioware is known for such things in their games, so yeah.

    I played the TOR MMO, I don't recall one instance of a single player changing the entire outlook of the server or throughout the game. Any changes were part of your storyline, like you changing ranks in STO, where the dialogue is based on what you did. Just like with KoToR and Mass Effect.


    But in STO, that's not going to happen due to the amount of programming that Cryptic has to do and the events to set it up, where one person or a group of lucky players get chosen to be the ones who dictate the change of events.
  • lucianazetalucianazeta Member Posts: 740 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    azurianstar wrote: »
    Not entirely, that is true. I know Star Citizen will have this, where 1 person can make a difference. Like with the various new discoveries and you getting to name things.

    But in general, in MMOs any changes are part of an event and a script.




    I played the TOR MMO, I don't recall one instance of a single player changing the entire outlook of the server or throughout the game. Any changes were part of your storyline, like you changing ranks in STO, where the dialogue is based on what you did. Just like with KoToR and Mass Effect.


    But in STO, that's not going to happen due to the amount of programming that Cryptic has to do and the events to set it up, where one person or a group of lucky players get chosen to be the ones who dictate the change of events.

    I do mean on a story aspect. >.>

    Story is all I care about.
    STO%20Sig.png~original
  • k022#6452 k022
    k022#6452
         Member Posts: 300 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    azurianstar wrote: »
    =Too complex for an MMO.

    EVE does it.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • azurianstarazurianstar Member Posts: 6,985 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    poopbang wrote: »
    EVE does it.

    EVE isn't an MMO, it's Excel Spreadsheet Online. Not your normal MMO. :P
  • crypticarmsmancrypticarmsman Member Posts: 4,115 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    poopbang wrote: »
    EVE does it.

    Not really. EVE Online has no really involved PvE content to speak of. 99.99999% of everything in EVE Online is PvP. CCP has run a few scripted battle events, and some players were even called CCP out on the results of their scripted events. (link)

    Hell, look at what happened during the whole real money store 'Monocle' debacle. Hundreds of players logged in and traveled to JITA and fired salvo after salvo at the main trading starbase - but did it succumb to firte and explode? No. Why? No matter what players do, it's tagged as a permanent fixture and can't be destroyed.
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  • talientalien Member Posts: 712 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    azurianstar wrote: »
    Too complex for an MMO.

    Darkspace does it.
  • azurianstarazurianstar Member Posts: 6,985 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    talien wrote: »
    Darkspace does it.

    Darkspace is like EVE, not a traditional MMO like STO.
  • virusdancervirusdancer Member Posts: 18,687 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    Both Themeparks and Sandboxes are MMOs. They're just different kinds of MMOs.
  • azurianstarazurianstar Member Posts: 6,985 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    virusdancer wrote: »
    Both Themeparks and Sandboxes are MMOs. They're just different kinds of MMOs.

    My argument isn't what is an MMO, my point is that not all MMOs are set up for what the OP Described.

    Everquest never did it, SWG never did it, TOR never did it, and STO will not. Because the Devs want everyone to write their own stories, not having someone else beat you to the punch.
  • macroniusmacronius Member Posts: 2,526
    edited August 2013
    Everquest Next is going to cater to the OPs tastes. Honestly, when they talk about destructible environments, allowing players to build/render structures, player consequences, emergent AI ... avoiding NPC scripting ... and it will be F2P.

    Check out the reviews @ polygon.com

    I am not a fantasy MMO player ... but I would seriously make an exception for the next Everquest. I think player driven content and sandbox is the way to go with MMOs in the future. Throw in some decent PvP and a few dev created stories to tie everything together and you have the recipe for innovation. We shall see if it pans out ...
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