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Season 8 Dev Blog #34
pwecaptainsmirk
Member Posts: 1,167 Arc User
Lead Content Designer Charles Gray shares details about the fifth Spire Featured Project in this entry of the Season 8 News Dev Blog series.
Link to the blog.
Link to the blog.
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Image 1 - Before
Image 1 - After
Image 2 - Before
Image 2 - After
*Note: Visuals from some of the past unlocks may be present in these screens, but they would be present in both the 'before' and 'after' photos.
~Captain Smirk
could this be a new Era of w00t?
Your instructions are showing :P
Interactive starbase upgrades are the best kind. Especially the bloodwine.
Unless its decorating with a phaser its no longer taught.
My PvE/PvP hybrid skill tree
Vice Admiral Volmack ISS Thundermole
Brigadier General Jokag IKS Gorkan
Centurion Kares RRW Tomalak
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
What a wast of dev time imo.
/10underwhelmed.
@Aquitaine985
Lag Industries STO PvP Fleet - Executive
A Sad Panda of Industrial calibre.
2010: This is Cryptic PvP. Please hold the line, your call is very important to us...
Well at least the art isn't lost with the Klingons.
"shows ships that can be unlocked" . . . so we're paying 200k to be advertised at? It just gets better and better! :rolleyes:
Seriously, I hope you guys are forced to do this stuff. I'd hate to think you honestly think it's adding value to the game.
It's totally useless!
You can take yer funny project and.......OOOOH SHINY! Me want!:D
How so? Can you please elaborate?
I'll take responsibility for the visuals of all of these Spire unlocks, since I built the place. I've heard people complain about projects in the past, and specifically went into this trying to figure out what I could do to make things more worthwhile. I'm only the artist, so I can't add "functionality." But I can add interactivity. So, many of the Spire projects (like this one) are interactive.
I have no control over the cost, however, the word useless gets tossed around a lot. These are all cosmetic upgrades. They are intended to be cosmetic upgrades only. The reason for that is because they are 100% optional then. You can spend the Dil if you want it, but there's nothing important there that requires you to spend the dough. If we put in something important, people would feel compelled to complete the project (and imo) we would get even more complaints.
Advertising? Not quite. I made the holo ship viewer based off of what I did for Utopia Planitia ages ago. That viewer got some positive responses, and I thought it would be cool to create one that was more accessible than once a year. Once I'd put in a few random ships, we thought it would be cool if it showed the ships you could unlock. Not because we were advertising, but because it fit thematically.
Interactivity and functionality are always better than static.
When I saw the aesthetic on Utopia Planitia, I thought it was a really neat concept.
Its a conundrum.
If the environments are only cosmetic, why do they cost more than ships? Cosmetic changes do not have a functionality, nor can they be used for anything specific. Players are paying for artwork.
$20-$60 can buy me an entirely new game with hundreds of new environments, weapons, ships, and clothing.
$20 (Zen to Dilithium) on 'Star Trek: Online' will buy me a tiny contribution to one environment.
I see a conundrum.
How do you guys determine the cost of 'static' artwork vrs. the cost of 'functional' elements?
Fleet projects are designed with the assumption that their cost is distributed while the cost of a ship is assumed to be borne by a single person.
I still see it as a conundrum.
Even though you pour a 20 oz bottle of water into a bowl, the liquid does not suddenly increase in volume/mass. Its still 20 oz of water.
20 oz of water to a guy driving a water truck does not have the same value as 20 oz of water to the guy stranded in a desert.
There are various costume sets and pieces that cost 500 Zen-ish.
They're going to have different value to different folks. If the cost is too much for the value to some, they'll skip. If it's a case of wanting it, but thinking it costs too much...that's another matter.
It would be nice if you guys could some day actually redirect some of that cosmetic attention towards player ship interiors.
(Note: I didn't originate the original comment, just adding my two cents...)
First off, some overdue love for tacofangs. If you look at the progression of the art (and the artistic improvements brought into STO), then you recognize -- and appreciate -- his talents.
Since the lighting comment came up, I do want to chime in:
I'd love to see less "blanket lighting" and some variation. For example, the holo-emitter area is entirely blue. What about some minimal lighting in the floor (guide lights), or from the console's edges/sides?
We're talking about a fantasy game; I'm not seeking to debate interior design aesthetics.
(Crazy TOS mix-match lighting schemas? Bring it on! lol)
Agreed.
I have a questions about the level of interaction you can add to an object. Can you spawn an enemy npc for target practice. The fleet starbase has a holodeck that is not used.
Can you trigger a dialog box? It might be interesting do get information on these items. What is the story as to how the fleet atrox is tied to the spire unlock and can that lore be added as an interaction when you are looking at it. When you go to a museum there is usually a plaque with the exhibit to read information. Again looking at the starbase you have the uniform display and the ship display. it might be nice to be able to select a pop-up box to read up on it.
Maybe when the extra security was added to the starbase make it so that one can call a red alert on the base at ones whim.
I understand that you cannot make a must have item or an unlock but I think there is other functionality that could make it seem more value added when one buys them that may have a lesser visual impact.