test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Ship weapons don't "look Star Trek".
projectfrontier
Member Posts: 0 Arc User
Go into an STF. Park in your ship. Unload your weapons. Ask yourself "Why didn't the Enterprise ever look like this?" Realize immediately "it's because the Enterprise didn't work like this." Ask yourself "Can Cryptic make ships animate more like Star Trek?" Realize immediately "Yes, if they can program the shader used to color the ghetto deflectors and windows on a Dyson Science Destroyer, they can create proper animations for the ships and their weapon systems".
Then asking yourself "would this require retooling the weapon system at all?" Realize immediately "only if you want it done right."
Begin crying.
haiku.
Who would like more "Star Trek" in their "Star Trek Combat"?
Then asking yourself "would this require retooling the weapon system at all?" Realize immediately "only if you want it done right."
Begin crying.
haiku.
Who would like more "Star Trek" in their "Star Trek Combat"?
Proposals for using in-game features to improve: (1) the "Phaser Lance" (and other underrepresented/missing "big guns"); && (2) separation systems on all ships that have them; && (3) training boffs in captain only powers by using boffs as pack-mules; OR to add functionality like: (4) "Away Teams Of Space Ships";
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Post edited by projectfrontier on
0
Comments
Haiku. /signed.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
There used to be a picture here, but they changed signatures and I can't be bothered to replace it.
That's what I'm talking about, only for everything.
As an aside - did you notice how the omni-AP under BO looks like all the VOTH NPC AP weapons when firing?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
yes and no, the big issue is how the things animate. In the show it's more clinical than in the game where you have swathes of beams pouring out of every TRIBBLE.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Funny, I don't recall it in TOS.
(Like it or no, it's one of "the shows.")
There used to be a picture here, but they changed signatures and I can't be bothered to replace it.
Problem is, in Giant maps where all the ships are doing it, such small but detailed animations can cause even more lag.
While it would look cool, it might cause it to lag a lot more than t already does.
I could maybe see a "light up phaser strip" weapon but it would be some kind of C-Store refit special item only used by a specific class.
What this request is asking is that time be taken to add animation to almost every federation model(/variant/parts) and add in more work for future federation ships, which takes resources away from other things the team could be working on and provides no benefit to Klingon or (most) Romulan characters.
Again, I fully understand the appeal and personally think it would be neat, but I just cannot justify it.
Do they now http://youtu.be/g6Kod0F-MD0?t=3m33s
Joined January 2009
Will these little details look good? Sure. Will they improve gameplay in any way? In no way whatsoever.
Even if these little animations were happening there is far too much happening on screen that you would find time to even notice it. In the middle of combat with everything going on, is whether or not your phaser strips are animated correctly what you should be paying attention to?
I cannot really comment on Cryptics alleged claim other than to say the math needed for the shader used to render the color-changing ghetto deflectors and windows on the Dysons ships is more complicated than the math that would be necessary to perform the tasks you're referring too - especially given how animations are handled client side.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
To be fair, that's an Excelsior, which didn't mount phaser-arrays, only banks and emitters.
That one I will definitely give you. The Enterprise firing phasers out of its torpedo launcher...who the frack screwed that one up?
I didn't specify "arrays" of anything however if I had in TNG+ Star Trek "array" was synonymous for "bank" and Federation ships weren't the only ones to have either or both. Furthermore, nearly everyone in Star Trek TNG+ uses beam weapons (thanks to the FX department).
And given that the only real difference between Federation beams and other group's beams is some "flourish" along the hull where the thing "powers up", which Cryptic does not even try to animate currently, they'd really only need to rid of the "energy beam light show" that is currently happening.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Which time? The time they did it on purpose or the time the FX department did it on accident purposefully?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
To be honest though, when they'd built the champions engine, it was already outdated, so building the STO and NW games off of it was a terrible idea. This game would benefit from an engine that allows actual physics and high def models. Then again, Star Trek also deserves a team of devs that don't rush things to live half finished, then say they're more than they're really worth.
I understand what you are going for, but it bears the question: Why make a Star Trek game in the first place when they can not or don't want to make it look right?
STO is full of that stuff. It has the Star Trek license, although the dev's take on many "small" and "unnecessary" things is a JJ one: Actually they would rather make a Star Wars / Generic Sci Opera game, but hey now they got the license...
EDIT:
For clarification:
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Phaser_cannon
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Phaser_emitter
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Phaser_bank
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Phaser_array
All those are different types of weapon, mainly due to technical evolution. Those weapons SHOULD be in-game and look and be utilized differently. A phaser array is actually supposed to be the most advanced type of weapon, not the default pea shooter. It's technology only advanced and large Starfleet ships utilize. Cannons are unguided, easy to miss weapons - again, the game doesn't know a difference except the firing arc. Phaser/Disruptor emitters and banks are common throughout the universe, arrays are Starfleet exclusive, cannons on Starfleet ships are the exception (only 1 ship used those in canon) and should be more advanced for klingons and especially romulans (Warbird "muzzle" cannons) while torpedoes are known commonly, though Klingons probably would excel using those.
But meh. The basic game design is set in stone.
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
There is nothing to give up, that is an actual location (most often referred to as one of the dorsal arrays) for a phaser array on many newer era ships.
Many 24th century vessels have multiple for/aft weapons, and also dorsal/ventural weapons as well.
Praetor of the -RTS- Romulan Tal Shiar fleet!
What visually bugs me is the weapon hardpoint of my cruiser's aft arrays: the nacelles.
- Scotty, to La Forge
If you were around from before season 4 the weapons actually looked more decent then they do now. They decided to change them for,no apparent reason at all. I still grave back for the days where polarons looked so much more beautiful and simple.
In all honesty i think i know why they changed them, like the old AP effects look a whole lot like what Voth weaponary looks now. I think at that moment they already knew they had to 'nerf' the old wep effects for all the future lockbox weapons they woukd be releasing.
Stabilized tets look a whole lot on the old polarons too, yet they cant even reach the levels of beauti from the past. Its like changing these forums, they make unwanted change and they will keep doing so for the endof days in sto im afraid.