PrimetimeUGC - Episode 29 - Feat. Al Rivera (AKA CaptainGeko)

cerberusfilms · January 2014

Hello there Everyone! It?s been a while!

Welcome to Episode 29 of PrimetimeUGC.

The show made for the Foundry in the Foundry.

In today?s episode, we have an exclusive interview with Lead Designer on Star Trek Online, Al Rivera (aka CaptainGeko), along with our normal assortment of News and Editorials.

Plus, the long awaited announcement of the winners of our contest from last year, is finally here.

-- Show Notes and Links --
Intro, News, Kirkfat's Phat Assets, Dev Interview with Al Rivera (AKA CaptainGeko) and Closing Skit

Show Link

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ashkrik23 · January 2014

Does primetime review foundry missions sometimes and if so, where does one submit requests for possible reviews?

kirksplat · January 2014

I thought it was a great interview, although it's difficult not to feel a little depressed that nobody is really in charge of the foundry and that we are a terribly low priority. There is no direction with the thing at all. That seems absolutely clear, and it conforms with my observations.

Still, I really appreciate the honestly as opposed to "what we'd like to do" that has been floating around for 2 years.

I like Geko's honesty because it confirms my suspicions. Those suspicions are still a downer. But at least I know where we stand.

For the record, I care far more about the small quality of life changes, like a "next" button to help players browse missions as if they are browsing Google. Geko's comments about choice overwhelm left me asking some basic questions, like "OK, yeah, but why deny the players who want to browse?" I still think Captain Hunter's suggestions are the way to go, and it's not a huge request.

But, it does seem like the best tactic going forward is to bribe a dev like Taco with free pizza for coming into work for a Sat half-day. That's about the only way we'll see assets.

So that is where we stand. Who do we have to bribe with free food? Otherwise, we're waiting on the EP to do things that an EP does not do.

Nobody is in charge of the Foundry. I wish that would change, even if it was a poorly paid intern who just begs people for donuts.

It would be nice to have someone, anyone, in charge of the Foundry. We don't have that at all. And it shows.

lincolninspace · January 2014

The positives I take from the Capt. Geko interview are that the STO team are more efficient and can actually get ahead of schedule. I hope this translates into more time for the foundry.

cerberusfilms · January 2014

ashkrik23 wrote: »

Does primetime review foundry missions sometimes and if so, where does one submit requests for possible reviews?

Hey Ashrik, just send a message with the missions details to mailbag@primetimeugc.com

We do usually have a mini-mission review, but we were pushed for time with the Geko interview

[Deleted User] · January 2014

I'm happy that he clarified and went more into detail than what was said on Priority One. So to me seems like we will get some things but not a whole lot. And hopefully things can work out with the assets. There still some ships missing from the library and hopefully we can see some new assets trickle down after a new season. Like those Solinae consoles would be pretty nice to see.

Ships! I love ships. Look forward to that mystery "hardly seen" canonical ship. And I wouldn't mind if it was the Yeager either. I feel the Yeager and the K'Vort both get some really tough love from everyone, they are canonical ships and should be put into STO. I bet you guys could make modernized skins couldn't be made for these ships to make them more acceptable for those who don't like them.

But seldom seen, perhaps its the Constellation or the Soyuz, I recall they were mentioned not too long ago.

Now the ending with the STO population, call me a pessimist, but I don't feel that the population is increasing when the PvE queues are getting harder to get in events. And forget earning Fleet Marks on a Klingon, there is no activity at all with the PvE queues. Which is a shame.

ashkrik23 · January 2014

cerberusfilms wrote: »

Hey Ashrik, just send a message with the missions details to mailbag@primetimeugc.com

We do usually have a mini-mission review, but we were pushed for time with the Geko interview

Will do, thanks.

drogyn1701 · January 2014

Really doesn't change my outlook on anything. I still don't know when anything new is coming, so the choice before is this: build with what I have or don't build with what I have. That's always been the choice.

Sure there are things I'd like to see added and fixed and I'll continue to advocate for that. But you can either wait around for something that may or may not happen, or you can do what you can with what you have right in front of you. I know what my choice is. Which will you choose?

designationxr377 · January 2014

Yeah, my emotions range around "Well dag..." but at least we know where things stand officially.

kirksplat · January 2014

Alright, so an attempt to make a short list of things that sound easy to me:

1. (most important) - the addition of a "next" button to allow players the choice to browse more than 50 missions. This preserves the existing design not to overwhelm a player with choice and gives more advanced players a way to browse more of what is out there. So, hitting next would show top 51-100, clicking it again would show only 101-150.
2. One Saturday per month, we bribe TacoFangs to spend 4 hours texturing additional building blocks and platforms so we can have more walls, floors, and ceilings. We don't need new maps really. But, some choice props from the list that we gave him.
3. Bug fixes and polish

I care far more about these 3 things than I do about a 3d nudger.

lincolninspace · January 2014

I never did believe that the"foundry team" was coming over to STO. So far though the direction the foundry has went has been worse than my expectations. Besides having a few new npcs its really like the foundry has been shelved.

markhawkman · January 2014

lincolninspace wrote: »

I never did believe that the"foundry team" was coming over to STO. So far though the direction the foundry has went has been worse than my expectations. Besides having a few new npcs its really like the foundry has been shelved.

As someone who has been doing Foundry since Season 3.... that's normal.

starswordc · January 2014

tyraidd wrote: »

Ships! I love ships. Look forward to that mystery "hardly seen" canonical ship. And I wouldn't mind if it was the Yeager either. I feel the Yeager and the K'Vort both get some really tough love from everyone, they are canonical ships and should be put into STO. I bet you guys could make modernized skins couldn't be made for these ships to make them more acceptable for those who don't like them.

But seldom seen, perhaps its the Constellation or the Soyuz, I recall they were mentioned not too long ago.

K'Vort, Constellation, and Soyuz could be useful (although I'd bet the average player won't be able to tell the difference between a Soyuz and a Miranda), but why would you want that ridiculous-looking kitbash of an Intrepid hull with Lord-knows-what pylons and nacelles?

[Deleted User] · January 2014

starswordc wrote: »

K'Vort, Constellation, and Soyuz could be useful (although I'd bet the average player won't be able to tell the difference between a Soyuz and a Miranda), but why would you want that ridiculous-looking kitbash of an Intrepid hull with Lord-knows-what pylons and nacelles?

Because I like it?

This is a Star Trek game and every canonical ships should be in this game, like it or not. Cryptic shouldn't alienate Star Trek fans because they have a personal dislike.

drogyn1701 · January 2014

Actually this is one place where I have to very much disagree with Mr. Rivera. The more choices players have the better. Bring on all those silly kitbashes they made to save money in the days before CGI. So what if not everyone will fly them, someone will.

Personally I'd fly a Yeager class just so I could make Pacific Rim references

borrowedtune · January 2014

Good episode. Thanks, guys.

I will say that Geko might have set some sort of world record for the longest answer to a question whose answer is "no one."

markhawkman · January 2014

drogyn1701 wrote: »

Actually this is one place where I have to very much disagree with Mr. Rivera. The more choices players have the better. Bring on all those silly kitbashes they made to save money in the days before CGI. So what if not everyone will fly them, someone will.

Personally I'd fly a Yeager class just so I could make Pacific Rim references

Okay that was a good laugh.

But I can understand why they wouldn't bother with Yeager. It's not something I would expect to make money as a Z-store release, and making the skin to be used on a different class is problematic because of the weird hull shape.

I still want the original Nebula with the tiny auxiliary engines though. :P

kirksplat · January 2014

borrowedtune wrote: »

Good episode. Thanks, guys.

I will say that Geko might have set some sort of world record for the longest answer to a question whose answer is "no one."

Yeah, this is probably the most enlightening part of the interview. I hope the EP knows that he's the only person in charge of the Foundry.

lincolninspace · January 2014

It is discouraging that the dev's do not seem to understand what a grind it is being an author. You must put many man hours into creating a mission, with no in game rewards. Then promoting your mission requires hours and hours of spamming here on the forums or even in game if you choose. So far my mission released last June has under 50 plays despite being featured on 2 podcasts and having several positive reviews. If I leave STO it will be because the foundry is a grind and the main game is a grind. Where is the fun?

lincolninspace · January 2014

double post.

markhawkman · January 2014

lincolninspace wrote: »

It is discouraging that the dev's do not seem to understand what a grind it is being an author. You must put many man hours into creating a mission, with no in game rewards. Then promoting your mission requires hours and hours of spamming here on the forums or even in game if you choose. So far my mission released last June has under 50 plays despite being featured on 2 podcasts and having several positive reviews. If I leave STO it will be because the foundry is a grind and the main game is a grind. Where is the fun?

Yeah I have to agree that as an author you really don't get much of anything for writing missions.

lincolninspace · January 2014

markhawkman wrote: »

Yeah I have to agree that as an author you really don't get much of anything for writing missions.

It doesn't help that I am an overachiever so I cant just do a ho hum mission lol. I listened to an episode of Podcast UGC where Havraha was talking about how it is expected that he create an elaborate mission yet a new author can slap together a simpler mission and still get their 4 stars.

drogyn1701 · January 2014

But you kind of have to judge new authors differently don't you? I've said it on the Roundtable that there are things I look for when I know this is an author's first mission like: does everything work, are custom NPCs named, does it look like they put effort into customizing the maps. That sort of thing. I judge them on whether it seems like they have the potential to make really good, intricate missions once they have some experience under their belt. Not everyone is going to be a Greendragoon and make a massive, intricately triggered, carefully plotted, well written mission their first time out.

This is one area where the simple star system sadly is a bit inadequate.

lincolninspace · January 2014

Yes, There are some very good missions that are not as tech heavy or full of elaborate sets don't get me wrong. I am just compelled to create a mission with as high of production value as I can manage.

amosov78 · January 2014

tyraidd wrote: »

Ships! I love ships. Look forward to that mystery "hardly seen" canonical ship. And I wouldn't mind if it was the Yeager either. I feel the Yeager and the K'Vort both get some really tough love from everyone, they are canonical ships and should be put into STO. I bet you guys could make modernized skins couldn't be made for these ships to make them more acceptable for those who don't like them.

But seldom seen, perhaps its the Constellation or the Soyuz, I recall they were mentioned not too long ago.

I'd guess it's the Constellation, since Geko has mentioned it before, however another "hardly seen" ship would be the Norway-class. The ship only appeared in the film First Contact, as the CGI model became corrupted and was never replaced for any of the TV series or future films.

markhawkman · January 2014

IMO Norway would look better with a rollbar between the nacelle pylons. :P

kirksplat · January 2014

Look what NW got two weeks ago:

The Foundry catalog now has the option to hide previously completed and in progress quests and now does so by default.
The Foundry catalog now notes if a quest has been previously completed or in progress.
The Foundry catalog now paginates entries instead of a long scrolling list.

So, maybe there is hope that eventually we'll get a needed UI improvement.

paxfederatica · January 2014

I just got around to listening today. As others have noted, that the STO Foundry is not a high priority for Cryptic or PWE is hardly a galaxy-rending revelation.

My ears did perk up when Geko mentioned campaign support being in the works for STO - that's something I've wanted for a long time. Unfortunately he said nothing about allowing missions designated for Romulans, or about getting more Legacy of Romulus assets into the Foundry. Cryptic really missed the boat there. Other than NPC mobs and a very limited set of costume options, there's still not much in the Foundry for someone looking to build missions for Romulan Republic players, or even Republic-centric missions for Starfleet or the KDF.

lincolninspace · January 2014

For the most part I feel our catalog of ships is already very good. I wish cryptic would focus their energy on assets that have a weaker library in the foundry such as ground npc's, npc costumes, maps and entry doors. Barring a new faction (playable or not) I am pretty content with the current ship library.

klintobean81 · January 2014

I love your show guys! Keep up the good work.

starswordc · January 2014

lincolninspace wrote: »

For the most part I feel our catalog of ships is already very good. I wish cryptic would focus their energy on assets that have a weaker library in the foundry such as ground npc's, npc costumes, maps and entry doors. Barring a new faction (playable or not) I am pretty content with the current ship library.

We especially need a better selection of civilian NPCs from all the social zones and whatnot. A sizable portion of the costume slots in "Bait and Switch" went towards nameless Bajoran civvies. It'd also be nice to get more stock Starfleet costumes without all the armor and kits and whatnot.

Or just increase the per-mission costume cap...

PrimetimeUGC - Episode 29 - Feat. Al Rivera (AKA CaptainGeko)

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