Contact Squared Part 2

eldil1 · October 2013

"Contact Squared Part 2" is finally up.

It's a bit more action-packed than Part 1, but it is still story driven.

If you haven't tried Part 1, here's a link to it's thread (which includes evil70th's mission report).

If you haven't played it, be warned. The Mission description contains spoilers...

Mission Name: Contact Squared Part 2
Author: eldil
Minimum Level: 41+
Allegiance: Federation
Project ID: ST-HJID8YSBG
Estimated Mission Length: 1hour 30 minutes

In Game Description:

**Spoiler Alert**

Check out "Contact Squared Part 1" before reading on.

Your ship is gone, and the first Malcorian warp flight has met with disaster. Only your away team and a Malcorian science officer have survived the expedition.

Can history be set right?

Why are the Borg concerned with the Malcorians?

How far will you go to save the future?

Learn the answers to these questions as you fight for survival alongside the crew of the U.S.S. Bozeman.

The Mission will begin just outside the Sierra/Starbase39 System.

This is a story-driven mission with significant ground combat, and a few space battles.

Thanks in advance for checking it out.

All feedback is Welcome...

eldil1 · October 2013

Catstar's Review is up!

Check it out here

evil70th · December 2013

eldil1 wrote: »

Hey there Evil,

I'll start off by thanking you for all the time you spend on these mission reports. They are a big help.

With that said, I'd like to add another mission to your queue. I've finally finished "Contact Squared Part 2" and I would really appreciate your feedback.

I've made a few adjustments in Part 1 (and Part 2) based on your suggestions, so I'm eager to see what you think.

Thanks in advance...

Link to my thread

Mission Name: Contact Squared Part 2
Author: eldil
Minimum Level: 41+
Allegiance: Federation
Project ID: ST-HJID8YSBG
Estimated Mission Length: 1hour 30 minutes

In Game Description:

Federation Mission - Contact Squared Part 2
Author: eldil
Allegiance: Federation
Project ID: ST-HJID8YSBG

Report Start

Summary: This is a great story and an excellent follow up to the previous mission. The map designs are great, the battles challenging but fun, and the story dialogue is excellent. You executed the stories and linked both missions very well. The mission is long but I was so deep into the story I hardly noticed the time. I have played several Borg oriented missions but this one was simply riveting. I would highly recommend this mission and the previous one to all players, although not on Elite level. I think you will find the normal level enough of a challenge.

On the "Bozeman Shuttle Bay" map I mention the use of triggered optional dialogue vice NPC interaction dialogue. I usually recommend this for most stories where the optional dialogue is meant to flesh out more of the story but is not required to accomplish the mission. In the case of this map I highly recommend you switch to the triggered dialogue as all the NPC's are gathered in close proximity. The benefit of triggered dialogue for the optional story dialogue is that you can make the prompt disappear after the player interacts with it. You also have the option of leaving triggered dialogue until a specific task is accomplished. This allows the dialogue to stay available for as long as needed and then go away once the player no longer needs it. I think that pretty much covers the use of triggered vice NPC interact dialogue.

One last thing is the use of the response button "Continue" in dialogue. I will not go into great detail for this as I have covered it so many times in several of my reviews. Everyone knows why it is a pet peeve of mine and why recommend the use of "..." vice "Continue" for the response button. The reason I mention it is because you used it on pretty much every map but you also used "..." on a couple of the maps, which means you edited those response buttons but not the ones with the default "Continue" button. Of course this is just a recommendation for you to change it.

Below are a few things I noted while playing the mission that I wanted to let you know about. Everything in this write up should be seen as suggestions on ways I felt you could improve certain elements of the mission. They are yours to do with as you see fit.

Mission Description: This is a good description. I noted no spelling or grammatical errors with this description.

Grant Mission Dialogue: The grant dialogue is good but consider changing it to be more like an introduction to the next episode in a series. Something like; "Previously on Contact Squared" and then give the player the option to skip it. Also consider adding the "Skip Intro" throughout the review. I noted no spelling or grammatical errors with the grant or follow on dialogue.

Mission Task: This is a good initial task but consider adding the sector block to the location.

Mission Entry Prompt: This is a good use of the prompt. I noted no spelling or grammatical errors with this dialogue.

MAPS:
Bozeman Bridge: This is a good map design with challenging but fun battles and excellent story dialogue. I noted no spelling or grammatical errors with this dialogue or any issues with the map. I noted one item to consider changing:
-The use of the response button "Continue" in dialogue throughout this map. From this point forward I will note the map and cover it in the summary.

Bozeman Shuttle Bay: This is a good map design with challenging but fun battles and excellent story dialogue. I noted no spelling or grammatical errors with this dialogue or any issues with the map. I noted a couple of items to consider changing:
-The use of the response button "Continue".
-Consider changing the optional dialogue from NPC interaction to triggered dialogue. I will cover it in the summary.

Bozeman Engineering: This is a good map design with challenging but fun battles and excellent story dialogue. I liked that the puzzle had an easy button. I noted no spelling or grammatical errors with this dialogue or any issues with the map. I noted one item to consider changing:
-The use of the response button "Continue".

Bozeman Engineering: This is a good map design with fun battles and excellent story dialogue. I liked the story element and the way you dealt with the fact you cannot re-skin the player. I noted no spelling or grammatical errors with this dialogue or any issues with the map. I noted one item to consider changing:
-The use of the response button "Continue".

Garth System: This is a good map design with challenging but fun battles and excellent story dialogue. I noted no spelling or grammatical errors with this dialogue or any issues with the map.

Warp Ship Durken: This is a good map design with challenging but fun battles and excellent story dialogue. I noted no spelling or grammatical errors with this dialogue or any issues with the map. I noted a couple of items to consider changing:
-The use of the response button "Continue".

Garth System: This is a good map design with excellent story dialogue. I noted no spelling or grammatical errors with this dialogue or any issues with the map.

End Report

Thanks again for authoring and for giving me the chance to review your work. You did a great job with this mission and the series. I look forward to playing/reviewing more of your work in the future.
Brian

This critique report also filed 12/30/2013 on forum posting for: In depth mission reports upon request.

eldil1 · December 2013

Thank you very much for the review. I'm glad you enjoyed the mission and I appreciate all your feedback.

I do plan on overhauling the dialogue for both episodes. I've been out of the game during the holidays. Hopefully I can get back in soon to do that... and work on the next installment...

Thanks again!

Contact Squared Part 2

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