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Season 8 Dev Blog #47

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  • jaturnleyjaturnley Member Posts: 1,218 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    orion0029 wrote: »
    When the science destroyers transform is there a visual change to the ship or is the 'transformation' purely 'under the hood'?

    There definitely a physical transformation, at least on the Fed one. The "crack" at the front of the ship (where the secondary deflector is nestled) closes up to expose the DHCs. I can only assume that since it transforms, the other two do as well.
  • jaturnleyjaturnley Member Posts: 1,218 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    worffan101 wrote: »
    Because it takes about a month to grind 5000 ZEN at current prices.

    And because some of us can't afford massive ZEN buys.

    That's no different from any other three ship bundle - you hear about most of those a week or less from launch. It's not like they are going away, you can take your time to grind for them.
  • hrisvalarhrisvalar Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Not that I'm sure I'll get one, but... It will be possible to switch out the bridge, right?

    I mean, seriously... Why go to the trouble of making this ship look like a meld of Federation/Romulan/Klingon and Solanae tech, if inside it's going to be clear that the only Federation/Romulan/Klingon technology on board is your commbadge? :rolleyes:
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Reave
  • blassreiterusblassreiterus Member Posts: 1,294 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    pyrogxmk3 wrote: »
    Doubt it.
    At the very least the core and singularity show they're neither Rep nor Fleet level so you're looking at something like the obelisk's, nice for levelling, vastly overshadowed once you've got T5 dyson or fleet gear.
    Except for the fact that at Level 50, the set is at Mk XII, so they'll pretty much be comparable to the Dyson Set, maybe better, maybe worse. You can't say that the set will be worse without actually using it.
    Star Trek Online LTS player.
  • jaturnleyjaturnley Member Posts: 1,218 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    rinkster wrote: »
    Wrong. nine ships. Three ships per faction.

    Each bundle of three costing $50, for a total of $150.

    To get all the whistles and bells you'll have to play the FE four times (call that an hour @15 minutes a run) plus five times fifteen minutes chasing miniQ's (the five minute estimate is based on Bran running the game on an empty server, YMMV), per toon.

    In addition to spending $50 per faction.

    Happy anniversary.

    I'm confused, how is this different than any of the other bundles? They all are 2500 each or three for 5000. It's not even the first time that they have launched more than one at the same time. As I said in the post you replied to, they did two at once after the second anniversary. They are doing three now because there are now three factions instead of two, but it's the same deal.

    The FE run is unrelated. Almost every FE has been set up so you have to run it two or three times to get all the rewards. And the FE and its rewards are not time gated like the ship, so there is no rush to get them.

    And of course, nobody is MAKING you pay for all of those ships. After getting shafted on three out of 5 of the first bundles, there's a decent argument why you shouldn't buy them, or at least should give it a good amount of thought.

    I am still not seeing what is different about all of this. The only thing that's different is the grind, and the two extra items per ship they are giving out. If you want to complain about the multiple toon grinding, I won't argue, but the bundles and FE are nothing we have not seen before.
  • gorngonzollagorngonzolla Member Posts: 172 Cryptic Developer
    edited January 2014
    What ship materials are available? Solanae only or are the regular ship faction materials compatible with these ships? Also while the bridge is nice, can we use standard faction bridges with these?

    These starships use the base materials seen here and will use the alternate materials from the C-Store ships coming out next month. These ships cannot use faction specific bridges at Season 8.5 launch, but we'll add these to the ships in an upcoming patch.
    Fed one trades cloak and hull for the ability to mount DHCs. This is the only non-pay sci ship that can do so.

    All three ships can use Dual Cannons. I've seen some questions regarding the balance of these ships. The logic used is this:

    If you look at the ships' stats you'll notice a slight difference.

    Starfleet Dyson Science Destroyer

    Hull HP: 28,500
    Shield Mod: 1.3
    Cloak: None

    KDF Dyson Science Destroyer

    Hull HP: 30,000
    Shield Mod: 1.25
    Cloak: Cloaking Device

    Romulan Dyson Science Destroyer

    Hull HP: 28,500
    Shield Mod: 1.25
    Cloak: Romulan Battle Cloaking Device

    What you'll notice is that the starfleet variant has the highest shield mod, the klingon variant has the highest hull HP, a reduced shield mod and gains cloaking. The Romulan version has the same baseline hull HP as the Starfleet ship and the reduced shields of the KDF ship, but gains Battle Cloak to compensate.

    The design logic here is this: We wanted all 3 variants to have a slightly different thematic twist to them while keeping them balanced. We don't consider basic Cloak to be a tremendous boon in combat. Battle Cloak on the other hand certainly can be. Shield HP is generally valued higher than Hull HP, so we slightly reduced the KDF variant's shield HP and gave them an equal amount of hull HP (as a percentage). This way we could give them Cloak without necessarily taking away stats.

    The Romulan variant is a different story. We knew we were going to give it Romulan Battle Cloak. Its stats had to be adjusted slightly to compensate. That is why its shield modifier was reduced a bit.

    can it activate Tactical Mode during combat?

    Indeed you can. You can also keep Tactical Mode on for as little as a second or as much as... well as long as you're on a map. But, disabling Tactical Mode incurs a 60 second cooldown on the ability to return to Tactical Mode.
    Solanae Secondary Deflector (Rare), Why not very rare?

    Good question. Actually, there's a reason for this. This is part of a set that normally has all blue (rare) components. (i.e.: Scimitar consoles are all rare, lobi sets are all rare, etc.) So, this item is also (rare). Ultimately though, rarity doesn't matter much here. Rarity only impacts the number of deflector mods on the item. Uncommon would get 1, Rare gets 2, Very Rare gets 3. You'll notice that this Secondary Deflector has 3 deflector mods on it. This is because it was originally very rare, but I changed it after realizing the set it would belong to would be rare. I decided not to penalize the item and make one of its special features a +1 deflector mod.
    Stupid questions : is the Solanae Hybrid Technologies Item Set universal ? Does it have visual effects ?

    If you mean Universal to be "Can be put on any starship?" then yes! However, this set does not have visual FX.
    Could we get some details on "These experimental weapons are already balanced to do comparable damage to more conventional energy types" about the cannons? Does this mean they have DPS equal to, say, DHCs with two blue Mk12s or the like?

    Good question. The bonus baked into this weapon is slightly greater than a Mk XII purple damage type console.
    Rather low for escorts, very low for warbirds isn't it?

    This starship shouldn't be considered an escort. It is a science vessel that can become more escort-like by transforming.
    do these secondary deflector's cause a giant power gap to cause them to be disabled?

    No, I'd say the loss of power is fairly minor. The stat bonuses on Secondary Deflectors are quite small, and the science bridge officer proc will only be felt if you actively use powers that are enhanced by that type of Secondary Deflector.
    what if they give base power stats is that completely disabled?

    I'm not entirely certain I understand the question. But, if you're asking "What if the Secondary Deflector gives +base power, is that bonus power lost?" If so, then yes and no. Yes, any stats on a Secondary Deflector are lost when going into Tactical Mode, but "No" because we won't be putting +subsystem power on Secondary Deflectors.
    or is it the extra bonus effect of boosting certain Science Abilities?

    The science bridge officer ability boosting effect is disabled as are any skill bonuses provided by the secondary deflector.
    or is the secondary deflector only for that extra effect on Science Abilities?

    It's certainly not the only thing Secondary Deflectors do, but it is the most significant bonus they provide.
    How long does it take for the ship to enter/exit Tactical Mode?

    About 3 seconds.
    Do Cmdr. boff abilities activated while on Science Mode transfer to Tactical Mode?

    Yes.
    Are there ANY plans to make proton weapons and the consloes to boost them?

    Not at this time. Proton weapons are intended to be special one-off weapons.
    Do these ships have the option of NOT using the Obelisk's bridge?

    Not at Season 8.5 launch, but they will shortly after.
    *DROOL* Please tell me you're going to be doing more of these combo ships. Like Engineering-Science or Tactical-Engineering. *DROOL*

    Glad you like the idea. We had a ton of fun making the Dyson Science Destroyers. I'd love to make more ships like this, but they require a lot of extra work.
    Are these sets from the new mission better than the reputation ones?

    Well, "better" is subjective. But, they were intended to be more in line with item sets earned from episode rewards.
    Also, will the secondary deflector count for the set bonus in tac mode?

    Yes. Set bonuses check if you have the item equipped, so that will not go away.

    I hope to get a chance to come back and answer more questions a little later. Keep the questions flowing. We're listening.

    Regards,
    Phil "Gorngonzolla" Zeleski
  • bryliggbryligg Member Posts: 70 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    johngazman wrote: »
    Count the number of top tier Fed science ships. Now count the number of Romulan and Klingon equivalents. The Rom and KDF ones should be better because they don't have any other decent ships.

    *looks back a few pages*

    It's like people are reading my post to determine which logical fallacies to use next!
  • rinksterrinkster Member Posts: 3,549 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    jaturnley wrote: »
    ...... but the bundles and FE are nothing we have not seen before.

    Yanno, fair point.

    Previous anniversaries its been an FE, then later a bundle for zen.

    Then, in other events, we've had grind for ships you cant get with zen.

    I guess whats different for me is the way those two things have been combined for this anniversary event, turning whats should have been an appreciation into this grind and pay model.

    Thus, in the context of the grind, the bundle price seems wrong. however, in a clearer light, the price is not unusual.

    Although, the fact that in order to get all the whistles and bells you have to both pay and grind seems wrong.

    If people pay good cash for those bundles, they're missing out if they didnt run the event.
  • johngazmanjohngazman Member Posts: 2,826 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    These starships use the base materials seen here and will use the alternate materials from the C-Store ships coming out next month. These ships cannot use faction specific bridges at Season 8.5 launch, but we'll add these to the ships in an upcoming patch.

    So the C-Store ships have unique materials, but the Anniversary versions will get them as well?

    Also yay for bridges. Can't say i'm a fan of the Obelisk-type bridge, sorry. Doesn't make sense in-universe (in my mind) for Starfleet, KDF and the Romulans to make the interior of these ships any different from their normal ships.
    You're just a machine. And machines can be broken.
    StarTrekFirstContactBorgBattleonetumblr_lln3v6QoT31qzrtqe.gif
  • gralerongraleron Member Posts: 221 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    materwindu wrote: »
    Why the drastic difference in hull, shield and crew members for the 3 different ships? Also, why nothing on the fed version that can match the advantages offered by the cloaking devices?

    Fed science ships and cruisers have a template that's deliberately sub-par compared to their Romulan and Klingon counterparts.
    Vice Admiral Elaron, USS Hard Light
  • blassreiterusblassreiterus Member Posts: 1,294 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    These starships use the base materials seen here and will use the alternate materials from the C-Store ships coming out next month. These ships cannot use faction specific bridges at Season 8.5 launch, but we'll add these to the ships in an upcoming patch.



    All three ships can use Dual Cannons. I've seen some questions regarding the balance of these ships. The logic used is this:

    If you look at the ships' stats you'll notice a slight difference.

    Starfleet Dyson Science Destroyer

    Hull HP: 28,500
    Shield Mod: 1.3
    Cloak: None

    KDF Dyson Science Destroyer

    Hull HP: 30,000
    Shield Mod: 1.25
    Cloak: Cloaking Device

    Romulan Dyson Science Destroyer

    Hull HP: 28,500
    Shield Mod: 1.25
    Cloak: Romulan Battle Cloaking Device

    What you'll notice is that the starfleet variant has the highest shield mod, the klingon variant has the highest hull HP, a reduced shield mod and gains cloaking. The Romulan version has the same baseline hull HP as the Starfleet ship and the reduced shields of the KDF ship, but gains Battle Cloak to compensate.

    The design logic here is this: We wanted all 3 variants to have a slightly different thematic twist to them while keeping them balanced. We don't consider basic Cloak to be a tremendous boon in combat. Battle Cloak on the other hand certainly can be. Shield HP is generally valued higher than Hull HP, so we slightly reduced the KDF variant's shield HP and gave them an equal amount of hull HP (as a percentage). This way we could give them Cloak without necessarily taking away stats.

    The Romulan variant is a different story. We knew we were going to give it Romulan Battle Cloak. Its stats had to be adjusted slightly to compensate. That is why its shield modifier was reduced a bit.




    Indeed you can. You can also keep Tactical Mode on for as little as a second or as much as... well as long as you're on a map. But, disabling Tactical Mode incurs a 60 second cooldown on the ability to return to Tactical Mode.



    Good question. Actually, there's a reason for this. This is part of a set that normally has all blue (rare) components. (i.e.: Scimitar consoles are all rare, lobi sets are all rare, etc.) So, this item is also (rare). Ultimately though, rarity doesn't matter much here. Rarity only impacts the number of deflector mods on the item. Uncommon would get 1, Rare gets 2, Very Rare gets 3. You'll notice that this Secondary Deflector has 3 deflector mods on it. This is because it was originally very rare, but I changed it after realizing the set it would belong to would be rare. I decided not to penalize the item and make one of its special features a +1 deflector mod.



    If you mean Universal to be "Can be put on any starship?" then yes! However, this set does not have visual FX.



    Good question. The bonus baked into this weapon is slightly greater than a Mk XII purple damage type console.



    This starship shouldn't be considered an escort. It is a science vessel that can become more escort-like by transforming.



    No, I'd say the loss of power is fairly minor. The stat bonuses on Secondary Deflectors are quite small, and the science bridge officer proc will only be felt if you actively use powers that are enhanced by that type of Secondary Deflector.



    I'm not entirely certain I understand the question. But, if you're asking "What if the Secondary Deflector gives +base power, is that bonus power lost?" If so, then yes and no. Yes, any stats on a Secondary Deflector are lost when going into Tactical Mode, but "No" because we won't be putting +subsystem power on Secondary Deflectors.



    The science bridge officer ability boosting effect is disabled as are any skill bonuses provided by the secondary deflector.



    It's certainly not the only thing Secondary Deflectors do, but it is the most significant bonus they provide.



    About 3 seconds.



    Yes.



    Not at this time. Proton weapons are intended to be special one-off weapons.



    Not at Season 8.5 launch, but they will shortly after.



    Glad you like the idea. We had a ton of fun making the Dyson Science Destroyers. I'd love to make more ships like this, but they require a lot of extra work.



    Well, "better" is subjective. But, they were intended to be more in line with item sets earned from episode rewards.



    Yes. Set bonuses check if you have the item equipped, so that will not go away.

    I hope to get a chance to come back and answer more questions a little later. Keep the questions flowing. We're listening.

    Regards,
    Phil "Gorngonzolla" Zeleski
    Thanks for clearing stuff up for some people. I am really looking forward to the ships.
    Star Trek Online LTS player.
  • jaturnleyjaturnley Member Posts: 1,218 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Wow, thanks for that, GGZ. Lots of goodness in there.

    Any chance of at least getting the awesome blue/purple glow effect for engines and engine trails as visuals for the sets eventually? It would be a nice change and not require as much art.
  • damiendarkcastdamiendarkcast Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Can you change the skins?
  • kyuzos7kyuzos7 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    so the secondary deflector dish is completely disabled with all the bonuses it will or may provide.

    what i want to know is do Secondary Deflector Dishes provide similar things as main deflector dishes example: hull healing, shield healing, hull health, shield health etc.

    is what i meant by 1. does it disable those features. 2. does the secondary deflector only provide special bonuses to Science Abilities and not what's listed above.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • vivenneanthonyvivenneanthony Member Posts: 1,278 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    After seeing the bridge of the Federation ship. Nope. Don't want it.
  • jaturnleyjaturnley Member Posts: 1,218 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Can you change the skins?

    Just answered:

    "These starships use the base materials seen here and will use the alternate materials from the C-Store ships coming out next month. These ships cannot use faction specific bridges at Season 8.5 launch, but we'll add these to the ships in an upcoming patch."
  • shpoksshpoks Member Posts: 6,967 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    The design logic here is this: We wanted all 3 variants to have a slightly different thematic twist to them while keeping them balanced. We don't consider basic Cloak to be a tremendous boon in combat. Battle Cloak on the other hand certainly can be. Shield HP is generally valued higher than Hull HP, so we slightly reduced the KDF variant's shield HP and gave them an equal amount of hull HP (as a percentage). This way we could give them Cloak without necessarily taking away stats.

    Thanks for the long reply and answers to all of our questions, Phil.
    I'm very glad that the C-Store variants will have other hull materials availible and that probably pushed me into deciding of getting the KDF bundle when they come to the C-Store. I wasn't sure about this hull material, but since I'll be able to make my ship look really Klingon I guess my KDF Joined Trill deserved a top-notch sci.ship after all this time. :)

    I quoted this part of your post because I wanted to commend you guys on the decision to keep those different thematic twists to the ships. Each faction gets a special flavor when flying their ship and that's a very good thing! To many of us, that means a lot and makes things a bit more spicy and interesting as oposed to carbon-copies.
    So really, thank you for this decision! :)
    HQroeLu.jpg
  • direphoenixdirephoenix Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Good question. Actually, there's a reason for this. This is part of a set that normally has all blue (rare) components. (i.e.: Scimitar consoles are all rare, lobi sets are all rare, etc.) So, this item is also (rare). Ultimately though, rarity doesn't matter much here. Rarity only impacts the number of deflector mods on the item. Uncommon would get 1, Rare gets 2, Very Rare gets 3. You'll notice that this Secondary Deflector has 3 deflector mods on it. This is because it was originally very rare, but I changed it after realizing the set it would belong to would be rare. I decided not to penalize the item and make one of its special features a +1 deflector mod.

    IIRC, the Jem'hadar ground set combines Very Rare (purple) armor and shields with a Rare (blue) weapon
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Raptr profile
  • rodentmasterrodentmaster Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    For those thinking they'll just skip the grind and get the c-store pack ($50 standard -- PER faction -- a bit highly priced), you may think again. You'll have to get the anniversary ship to get the secondary deflector which comes with it. You can't complete the full set without the anniversary ship, if I'm reading this properly. So you'll have to grind your hearts out and THEN pay out the nose on top.
  • jaturnleyjaturnley Member Posts: 1,218 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    shpoks wrote: »
    I'm very glad that the C-Store variants will have other hull materials availible and that probably pushed me into deciding of getting the KDF bundle when they come to the C-Store

    What he didn't tell you is that the alternate materials are a choice of Hot Pink, Lime Green and Safety Orange. ;)
  • blassreiterusblassreiterus Member Posts: 1,294 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    After seeing the bridge of the Federation ship. Nope. Don't want it.
    Did you not see GGZ's post on the matter, he said that at launch, you'll have to use the bridge, but in time, they will make the other bridges available. Perhaps you shouldn't jump the gun without getting all the information.

    This part was what I was referring to actually:
    Q: Do these ships have the option of NOT using the Obelisk's bridge?
    A: Not at Season 8.5 launch, but they will shortly after.
    Star Trek Online LTS player.
  • jumpingjsjumpingjs Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Cryptic ... I am going to grind this amazing thing ... THEN $50 IS SOOOOO COMING YOUR WAY!

    :D
    Hopefully I'll come back from my break; this break is fun; I play intellectual games.

    I hope STO get's better ...
  • rinksterrinkster Member Posts: 3,549 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    For those thinking they'll just skip the grind and get the c-store pack ($50 standard -- PER faction -- a bit highly priced), you may think again. You'll have to get the anniversary ship to get the secondary deflector which comes with it. You can't complete the full set without the anniversary ship, if I'm reading this properly. So you'll have to grind your hearts out and THEN pay out the nose on top.

    Happy Anniversary!
  • crash490rcrash490r Member Posts: 88 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Yea... Uh...

    I think my main will be sticking with his Mobius. Might pick up the Aves for my Rommie though.
    LTS Since 2012
    do1ao9.jpg
  • qjuniorqjunior Member Posts: 2,023 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    rinkster wrote: »
    Happy Anniversary!

    Should we also tell him that the special warp core also only comes on the event ship and not the store version ? :D
  • sunfranckssunfrancks Member Posts: 3,925 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    For those thinking they'll just skip the grind and get the c-store pack ($50 standard -- PER faction -- a bit highly priced), you may think again. You'll have to get the anniversary ship to get the secondary deflector which comes with it. You can't complete the full set without the anniversary ship, if I'm reading this properly. So you'll have to grind your hearts out and THEN pay out the nose on top.

    Maybe, but when you already have gear that out classes the set on the ship, it renders the set null and void.
    As for the second deflector, just use one that drops from mobs instead..
    Fed: Eng Lib Borg (Five) Tac Andorian (Shen) Sci Alien/Klingon (Maelrock) KDF:Tac Romulan KDF (Sasha) Tac Klingon (K'dopis)
    Founder, member and former leader to Pride Of The Federation Fleet.
    What I feel after I hear about every decision made since Andre "Mobile Games Generalisimo" Emerson arrived...
    3oz8xC9gn8Fh4DK9Q4.gif





  • rinksterrinkster Member Posts: 3,549 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    qjunior wrote: »
    Should we also tell him that the special warp core also only comes on the event ship and not the store version ? :D

    Happy Anniversary!


    I, for one, welcome our new grind and pay overlords


    (Please, Bran, let my family live)
  • jaturnleyjaturnley Member Posts: 1,218 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    qjunior wrote: »
    Should we also tell him that the special warp core also only comes on the event ship and not the store version ? :D

    Shhhh, don't discourage him, he's obviously working very hard on his reading comprehnsion skills. Let him find it on his own, so he can learn. :D
  • sunfranckssunfrancks Member Posts: 3,925 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    rinkster wrote: »
    Happy Anniversary!


    I, for one, welcome our new grind and pay overlords


    (Please, Bran, let my family live)

    No, you will work in the STO sweat shop until death!

    Back to work I say!! ;)
    Fed: Eng Lib Borg (Five) Tac Andorian (Shen) Sci Alien/Klingon (Maelrock) KDF:Tac Romulan KDF (Sasha) Tac Klingon (K'dopis)
    Founder, member and former leader to Pride Of The Federation Fleet.
    What I feel after I hear about every decision made since Andre "Mobile Games Generalisimo" Emerson arrived...
    3oz8xC9gn8Fh4DK9Q4.gif





  • projectfrontierprojectfrontier Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Am I the only one who wonders why the anniversary ship wasn't a "joint task force" design shared between all three groups and why the store-versions weren't the three in dev #47?
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