But does STO have to be? Shouldn't we demand more quality from our beloved Star Trek themed MMO? I know I want it, why follow everyone else, be unique!
These are questions that you ask while whiteboarding what your game is going to be. So like back in 2008.
In 2014, that ship has left port. The game is what it is. They're not going back to the drawing board with it.
The grind in STO is very mild. There are titles out there that will slowly bleed your life in your quest to get to level cap, and after that, more life suck to refine your character and gear.
The reputation grind gets old, yes. But compared to other stuff, it's damn mild.
If you could describe playing the game in a way that was more in line with the Star Trek that we all know, a way that eliminated or at least minimized constant grinding and fighting from hunger for the best ships, equipment, and reputation the whole time, what would it consist of? What would one do on the game to make it feel more adventurous and less repetitive? What kinds of missions and tasks would one take up? How frequently, or infrequently would one play the game in order to keep it fresh?
How does one play it like its Star Trek, and not a mere space grinder?
The simplest of answers is The Foundry.
In my world, the foundry would be remarkably easy to use for the the creation of content. Authors would be compensated with ingame goods, based on the number of plays. The top 22 missions each year would be bundled as 'Maxi-Series', streamlined if necessary to provide a cohesive experience.
Authors could create their own series, interlinking episodes for a better experience.
The Foundry would be searchable, have bookmarks and a dedicated 'whats hot' section.
The Foundry would have features like:
* Track Damage, calculate dps
* Interlink to other Foundry missions
* Boff Poker
* Ship Creator - a way to import models created from parts already in the system, or entirely new creations. (the user agreement still applies, so no 'star Wars ships etc.)
* 5-Year Mission planners: Allow for missions along a pre-determined path or area.
Yes. Star Trek Online is a grindfest. There is absolutely no real incentive to do anything except grind once you reach level 50.
It will never be anything but a grindfest because PWE owns it now.
Neither Cryptic, Atari, the mind-numbed Cryptic fanbois who think STO is a great game, nor PWE have ever had any clue about what Star Trek actually was meant to be, has been, and should be.
Star Trek is actually a story-driven way to comment on contemporary society, life and the human condition. It has always been about attempting to solve problems thoughtfully and peacefully, where pulling a weapon is ALWAYS the last resort.
Star Trek Online is actually not story-driven at all, never has been, never will be. It is always about firing first and never even bothering to ask questions; and has always been about how to make a fast buck.
Unless they do a complete turn-around and hire actual (not hack) writers, it's all we're ever going to get, too.
The Foundry was the answer that helped me the most, thank you for confirming this for me....
but I do have my own thoughts on the rest here...
I don't believe an MMO has to be a grindfest, based on the definition of grinding as overworking repetitive monotonous tasks for material rewards. Afterall, so far, the Foundry hasn't been a grind (there's your proof). I feel that a good game can avoid being a grind machine if the content and mechanics are creative enough and not based majorily on the intent of realworld (for the developers) and in-game (among the players) economic rewards. This is not to say that the developers don't need to make money off their work, but rather, when more of the love is in the process of coming up with new levels of creativity (not just in the story content but in the mechanics more importantly), then it opens up the game to pay for itself with less "grinding" for the content creators, and less needing to grind for the players as well, since, in the light of true creativity, mechanics would be made (a better more dynamic game engine that is more flexible), to allow for more personalized experiences. Guys, its 2014, and there are things that are coming out these days that go far beyond this games engine... The sad truth is, the game engine is old and the limitations on it reflect that. So I don't believe MMO's are always or have to be grindfests, but STO, unless its completely rebuilt from a much newer engine, etc, will be.
Other than the foundry... STO is an MMO, but it is NOT Star Trek. Star Trek wasn't defined by the ships and races and planets and anomolies.... it was defined by Gene's vision which included what stelakkh talks about... STO went into a direction that took it away from that vision, into a war where captains are out for theirselves and their own competitive power, where their concern is on promotion promotion promotion, and the most powerful destructive (DPS) weapons for the war... In Star Trek, there was little to no economy... people weren't concerned with making money.... but on STO, there are.... HOw many forms of money? .... do you see what I'm saying?
So no, STO is not Star Trek... its a space MMO that happens to have Star Trek elements, but that's about it.
The Foundry was the answer that helped me the most, thank you for confirming this for me....
but I do have my own thoughts on the rest here...
I don't believe an MMO has to be a grindfest, based on the definition of grinding as overworking repetitive monotonous tasks for material rewards. Afterall, so far, the Foundry hasn't been a grind (there's your proof). I feel that a good game can avoid being a grind machine if the content and mechanics are creative enough and not based majorily on the intent of realworld (for the developers) and in-game (among the players) economic rewards. This is not to say that the developers don't need to make money off their work, but rather, when more of the love is in the process of coming up with new levels of creativity (not just in the story content but in the mechanics more importantly), then it opens up the game to pay for itself with less "grinding" for the content creators, and less needing to grind for the players as well, since, in the light of true creativity, mechanics would be made (a better more dynamic game engine that is more flexible), to allow for more personalized experiences. Guys, its 2014, and there are things that are coming out these days that go far beyond this games engine... The sad truth is, the game engine is old and the limitations on it reflect that. So I don't believe MMO's are always or have to be grindfests, but STO, unless its completely rebuilt from a much newer engine, etc, will be.
Other than the foundry... STO is an MMO, but it is NOT Star Trek. Star Trek wasn't defined by the ships and races and planets and anomolies.... it was defined by Gene's vision which included what stelakkh talks about... STO went into a direction that took it away from that vision, into a war where captains are out for theirselves and their own competitive power, where their concern is on promotion promotion promotion, and the most powerful destructive (DPS) weapons for the war... In Star Trek, there was little to no economy... people weren't concerned with making money.... but on STO, there are.... HOw many forms of money? .... do you see what I'm saying?
So no, STO is not Star Trek... its a space MMO that happens to have Star Trek elements, but that's about it.
I call shennigans. STO is just as much as Star Trek as any other Trek media, to think otherwise, just shows your naivete state. Gene's vision went out the window in the first seasons of TOS and TNG. Star Trek was story driven because audiences were not going to watch the Enterprise crew run sensor scans for an hour or watch Data process data.
I do agree that STO's story failed from neglect and poor execution. If you look at SWTOR's version of adventure zones, you know why went to that Czerka facility or why you landed on Oricon. If you actually looked at the STO's adventure zones, not many players can tell you why the Tholians are on Nukara or what is actually going on New Romulus.
Yes. Star Trek Online is a grindfest. There is absolutely no real incentive to do anything except grind once you reach level 50.
It will never be anything but a grindfest because PWE owns it now.
Neither Cryptic, Atari, the mind-numbed Cryptic fanbois who think STO is a great game, nor PWE have ever had any clue about what Star Trek actually was meant to be, has been, and should be.
Star Trek is actually a story-driven way to comment on contemporary society, life and the human condition. It has always been about attempting to solve problems thoughtfully and peacefully, where pulling a weapon is ALWAYS the last resort.
Star Trek Online is actually not story-driven at all, never has been, never will be. It is always about firing first and never even bothering to ask questions; and has always been about how to make a fast buck.
Unless they do a complete turn-around and hire actual (not hack) writers, it's all we're ever going to get, too.
And that's the plain truth.
Like so many others, you tend to view Star Trek through rose-colored goggles.
Roddenberry didn't create the IP to make some grand statement. He did it to make a buck.
It was the writers of the episodes that were telling the stories, and making underlying political/philosophical statements through their writing.
But even with that, the Original Series still had oodles of fist fights, shooting, space battles, political saber rattling, and sexual innuendo.
Anyway, as far as the game goes? That's the key word here: game. Which means, Star Trek or not, you rarely find quality storytelling in games anymore. That died a quiet death, on both consoles and PC, when online multiplayer became the rage. And then was pumped up during a game's development cycle at the expense of single player campaigns.
Short version? STO is no different than any other game, MMO or otherwise, that's been marketed in the last ten years or so. So, don't expect anything "deep" storywise.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: There are twenty-four decks. Almost seven hundred meters long.
Lily Sloane: It took me six months to scrounge up enough titanium just to build a four-meter cockpit. ...How much did this thing cost?
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The economics of the future are somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century.
Lily Sloane: No money? You mean, you don't get paid?
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force of our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity. Actually, we're all like yourself and Dr. Cochrane.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: There are twenty-four decks. Almost seven hundred meters long.
Lily Sloane: It took me six months to scrounge up enough titanium just to build a four-meter cockpit. ...How much did this thing cost?
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The economics of the future are somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century.
Lily Sloane: No money? You mean, you don't get paid?
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force of our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity. Actually, we're all like yourself and Dr. Cochrane.
- Star Trek: First Contact
First of all, that quote doesn't invalidate the other poster's on-screen references to Starfleet officers being paid in credits. While Picard could be dumbing down the 24th Century society to her as well, since he was doing it up to that quote and afterwards.
If we try to reconcile Picard's statement and the numerous references of Starfleet members paying for stuff... Well, you will have some explaining to do.
Maybe the only important part is that they are not striving to be rich - everyone has most "normal" stuff - food, clothing, public transportation (regular shuttle lines and the like) - provided for, but if you want somethnig out of the ordinary, like using a transporter instead of public transportation, or acquire somethnig from a non-Federation member, you need money, and you have some allotment of money given to you - which is limited and there isn't a way to acquire extra credits by working extra hard or whatever.
But even this probably leaves holes and doesn't answer all the questions. (Why work in a restaurant, or on a vineyard?)
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
First of all, that quote doesn't invalidate the other poster's on-screen references to Starfleet officers being paid in credits. While Picard could be dumbing down the 24th Century society to her as well, since he was doing it up to that quote and afterwards.
Well second of all, the credit system they were using in this future is actually akin to the resource based economy that's being proposed by the Zeitgeist movement. One doesn't have to use credits for anything for survival because survival necessities are provided by everyone working together, and yes that pretty much invalidates the comments on here about how just because real life is a grind in our current paradigm that this somehow makes it okay for game developers to turn their titles into second jobs with artificially delayed progression for the purposes of having people login and buy things.
The OP has a point. So much of the PVE content in this game is destroy so n so so many times to collect resources that should be replicatable (IE how voyager made their entire Delta Flyer without being anywhere near the typical federation centers of manufacturing but replicated all of the materials such as the hull and bulkheads for the entire ship they built) yet in this title, you have to have not only particular chefs equipped in order to get certain foods replicated there are no such things as replications of materials as we'd see in the films or books, just some commodities which require going out getting drops and selling them on the exchange because the basic missions themselves provide very little in the way of EC.
His point stands that this game in no way immitates the actual content of the rest of the IP unless you want to mistakenly include "Star Trek : Into the Lens Flares" which pretty much threw out almost all of the lore and just made it all about battles and blowing things up.
All games measure their financial success on their replayability, ie grinding.
That means convincing players that they are enjoying doing repetitive tasks.
STO is no different than any other game, and Cryptic/PWE are no different than any other gaming company.
Let's assume that you're correct. I would then argue that Cryptic does an extremely poor job of convincing me thta their grind is more fun than what other games are offering.
Let's assume that you're correct. I would then argue that Cryptic does an extremely poor job of convincing me thta their grind is more fun than what other games are offering.
I'm looking for that Star Trek Episode where Jean Luc Picard is going through his 20th repeated run of a war mission with his crew in an on-going battle to save... his reputation points and get that cool new fore weapon laser for the Enterprise and hit TIER 4 FINALLY, after destroying dozens and dozens of raiders who all happen to not want to respond to hails, inevitably forcing the enterprise to attack and destroy them over and over again, so they can get drops of hirogen lock boxes and MK X shields to sell on a federation market, before going back out to a system, beaming down to a planet and shooting everyone on sight who does not comply with their demands.
Alas, I can't seem to find it. Hmm....
So, onto my question....
If you could describe playing the game in a way that was more in line with the Star Trek that we all know, a way that eliminated or at least minimized constant grinding and fighting from hunger for the best ships, equipment, and reputation the whole time, what would it consist of? What would one do on the game to make it feel more adventurous and less repetitive? What kinds of missions and tasks would one take up? How frequently, or infrequently would one play the game in order to keep it fresh?
How does one play it like its Star Trek, and not a mere space grinder?
Welcome to Free To Play sir !!! Would you buy gamecards if there was no other way to join STO ???
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised. It's got me through the worst of the last three years. I beat the Borg with it."
It takes a grinder to know the grind. And the only escape is a different state of mind. But then it is too late you'll find.
---
experience on the subject has showed me that you can only escape it for a short time, maybe a week at most before it sniffs you out and latches on then your back where you started, bored and wanting a change.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
In all seriousness, I lurk this game, waiting for something major to happen. My visits to STO are few and infrequent, generally occurring around big announcements. When I do play, I find that the only thing I can do is grind the same content over and over so that I can get gear to grind the same content over and over just a little faster.
That's the problem with gear treadmills: they don't make a lot of sense.
experience on the subject has showed me that you can only escape it for a short time, maybe a week at most before it sniffs you out and latches on then your back where you started, bored and wanting a change.
Some can stay on their game seemingly forever. The rest of us will have to deal with distractions. I find them sweeter when trying to ignore them. :P
When I do play, I find that the only thing I can do is grind the same content over and over so that I can get gear to grind the same content over and over just a little faster.
That's the problem with gear treadmills: they don't make a lot of sense.
Look there are several issues here :
- Cryptic has turned what they theme as "endgame" into a grind .
- Cryptic continues to make "sideshow" missions that show up and go away (like the current Mirror event) in the hopes that "one day" they will have a library big enough to have an "event" for every ... month or something .
Making "sideshow" missions also takes away from time that could be used to make "real endgame" missions such as STF's and PVP/PVE content .
On that front they rely on 3-4 year old content to "do the job" ... quite possibly because many of us are stupid enough to continue to play this content because there is nothing else to play .
( ... and it you'll start with "ahh but the Foundry ..." -- I'll tell you to shut up ! :P)
- Cryptic also recognised that their previous "2 times per year" content release was not very good , so they are trying to do better (the latest example being the .5 season (Season 8.5) .
Problem with that is that they have still not streamlined the process ... , and there is still too much bulk planned for the "Seasons & Expansions" (which their marketing department can exploit to drive ppl into the game) -- and there is still too much frill in-between (like the current Mirror event) .
But perfection is in the eye of the beholder .
Some folks love what STO has become .
Others (like myself) "cry" for the good old days .
In all seriousness, I lurk this game, waiting for something major to happen. My visits to STO are few and infrequent, generally occurring around big announcements. When I do play, I find that the only thing I can do is grind the same content over and over so that I can get gear to grind the same content over and over just a little faster.
That's the problem with gear treadmills: they don't make a lot of sense.
Hey, that's my problem exactly! It's why I've never bought anything in the game. :P
I have four lvl 50 characters that I have not played in a couple months.
I went to the Dyson Sphere a few times, then just gave up because it has nothing to do with Star Trek in any way. I won't touch any more content in this shabbily written story arc.
And now they think that somehow the Undine will pull this train wreck back from the edge of the abyss?
This franchise needs a complete reset, and needs to focus on all the loose ends that they cannot seem to continue properly, like say the war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Phoney war really.
There are years of content in the Fed vs. Klingon story, yet it is now just a faded plot line that cannot be seen for the glint of all the bogus new ships and trinkets out there.
Go back to the roots of this IP and you will find success.
Carry on down the current path and it will only lead to the death of this title.
( ... and it you'll start with "ahh but the Foundry ..." -- I'll tell you to shut up ! :P)
Then you opt to live in ignorance. Here's a perfectly valid option and you'll refuse to admit it exists. Heck, become a foundry author and create a strange new world and then the game really feels like Trek.
But perfection is in the eye of the beholder .
Some folks love what STO has become .
Others (like myself) "cry" for the good old days .
I remember what STO was. Do you remember being pulled into Deep Space Encounters when you just wanted to get to a bank? Do you remember the old old story missions that dragged on forever? Heck, the recently removed "War is Good for Business" is the poster boy for old STO. Spend 30 minutes trying to scan three things in a nebula because your full impulse is disabled.
Compare the Federation storyline at release to the Romulan storyline with Legacy of Romulus.
The Adventure zones were supposed to be the first step towards building exploration (explore Nukara and find out what the Tholians have there, help the New Romulans build a new home on Mo'Rihan and explore that planet) when the previous version failed.
The honest answer is they try, and all anyone says is "Its not how I want it."
You say your crying for the good old days? Remember the great content drought? How many characters from that era are memorable. I sure as heck remember Captain Shon, D'Tan and K'mtar more than I do Ambassador Surah, or whatever Captain Sulu did. The only exception I'd make to this list is Hakeev, and he didn't come into his full villiany until Legacy either.
You say there's nothing to do but grind? Well, we just had a foundry weekend. Go play a mission in there, you would have gotten your marks for grinding without grinding. Go roleplay with your fleet. Go hang out in a channel and socialize.
I'm looking for that Star Trek Episode where Jean Luc Picard is going through his 20th repeated run of a war mission with his crew in an on-going battle to save... his reputation points and get that cool new fore weapon laser for the Enterprise and hit TIER 4 FINALLY, after destroying dozens and dozens of raiders who all happen to not want to respond to hails, inevitably forcing the enterprise to attack and destroy them over and over again, so they can get drops of hirogen lock boxes and MK X shields to sell on a federation market, before going back out to a system, beaming down to a planet and shooting everyone on sight who does not comply with their demands.
Just replace all that awesome battle with filling out paperwork and all those nifty drops with a new TV/Computer/Car etc, and you've got real life.
Or, heck, just make it 'doing the same thing over and over again' and you've got your real-world daily life in the military.
And beyond that, the show skips the boring parts to continue the story. In TNG when the Enterprise was stuck in a Tykon's Rift, one scene had them trying to figure out what happened. The next scene Picard said "It's been 10 days since the Enterprise became trapped."
They were probably doing a whole lot of nothing in that time.
So for Picard it was probably 10 days of just assigning Doffs to do their job and staring at the screen waiting for the next report.
So many grinding events lately... Seems like as soon as one is done they start another... Winter event, Anniversary event, Mirror event, I imagine that there will be another with Season 9 in a month or so....
Comments
These are questions that you ask while whiteboarding what your game is going to be. So like back in 2008.
In 2014, that ship has left port. The game is what it is. They're not going back to the drawing board with it.
The reputation grind gets old, yes. But compared to other stuff, it's damn mild.
The simplest of answers is The Foundry.
In my world, the foundry would be remarkably easy to use for the the creation of content. Authors would be compensated with ingame goods, based on the number of plays. The top 22 missions each year would be bundled as 'Maxi-Series', streamlined if necessary to provide a cohesive experience.
Authors could create their own series, interlinking episodes for a better experience.
The Foundry would be searchable, have bookmarks and a dedicated 'whats hot' section.
The Foundry would have features like:
* Track Damage, calculate dps
* Interlink to other Foundry missions
* Boff Poker
* Ship Creator - a way to import models created from parts already in the system, or entirely new creations. (the user agreement still applies, so no 'star Wars ships etc.)
* 5-Year Mission planners: Allow for missions along a pre-determined path or area.
My Two Bits
Admiral Thrax
PLay DCUO.
The grind in STO is a lovely distraction compared the the job that is DCUO.
I've played console RPGs that were far worse with some form of grind.
Yes. Star Trek Online is a grindfest. There is absolutely no real incentive to do anything except grind once you reach level 50.
It will never be anything but a grindfest because PWE owns it now.
Neither Cryptic, Atari, the mind-numbed Cryptic fanbois who think STO is a great game, nor PWE have ever had any clue about what Star Trek actually was meant to be, has been, and should be.
Star Trek is actually a story-driven way to comment on contemporary society, life and the human condition. It has always been about attempting to solve problems thoughtfully and peacefully, where pulling a weapon is ALWAYS the last resort.
Star Trek Online is actually not story-driven at all, never has been, never will be. It is always about firing first and never even bothering to ask questions; and has always been about how to make a fast buck.
Unless they do a complete turn-around and hire actual (not hack) writers, it's all we're ever going to get, too.
And that's the plain truth.
but I do have my own thoughts on the rest here...
I don't believe an MMO has to be a grindfest, based on the definition of grinding as overworking repetitive monotonous tasks for material rewards. Afterall, so far, the Foundry hasn't been a grind (there's your proof). I feel that a good game can avoid being a grind machine if the content and mechanics are creative enough and not based majorily on the intent of realworld (for the developers) and in-game (among the players) economic rewards. This is not to say that the developers don't need to make money off their work, but rather, when more of the love is in the process of coming up with new levels of creativity (not just in the story content but in the mechanics more importantly), then it opens up the game to pay for itself with less "grinding" for the content creators, and less needing to grind for the players as well, since, in the light of true creativity, mechanics would be made (a better more dynamic game engine that is more flexible), to allow for more personalized experiences. Guys, its 2014, and there are things that are coming out these days that go far beyond this games engine... The sad truth is, the game engine is old and the limitations on it reflect that. So I don't believe MMO's are always or have to be grindfests, but STO, unless its completely rebuilt from a much newer engine, etc, will be.
Other than the foundry... STO is an MMO, but it is NOT Star Trek. Star Trek wasn't defined by the ships and races and planets and anomolies.... it was defined by Gene's vision which included what stelakkh talks about... STO went into a direction that took it away from that vision, into a war where captains are out for theirselves and their own competitive power, where their concern is on promotion promotion promotion, and the most powerful destructive (DPS) weapons for the war... In Star Trek, there was little to no economy... people weren't concerned with making money.... but on STO, there are.... HOw many forms of money? .... do you see what I'm saying?
So no, STO is not Star Trek... its a space MMO that happens to have Star Trek elements, but that's about it.
I call shennigans. STO is just as much as Star Trek as any other Trek media, to think otherwise, just shows your naivete state. Gene's vision went out the window in the first seasons of TOS and TNG. Star Trek was story driven because audiences were not going to watch the Enterprise crew run sensor scans for an hour or watch Data process data.
I do agree that STO's story failed from neglect and poor execution. If you look at SWTOR's version of adventure zones, you know why went to that Czerka facility or why you landed on Oricon. If you actually looked at the STO's adventure zones, not many players can tell you why the Tholians are on Nukara or what is actually going on New Romulus.
Like so many others, you tend to view Star Trek through rose-colored goggles.
Roddenberry didn't create the IP to make some grand statement. He did it to make a buck.
It was the writers of the episodes that were telling the stories, and making underlying political/philosophical statements through their writing.
But even with that, the Original Series still had oodles of fist fights, shooting, space battles, political saber rattling, and sexual innuendo.
Anyway, as far as the game goes? That's the key word here: game. Which means, Star Trek or not, you rarely find quality storytelling in games anymore. That died a quiet death, on both consoles and PC, when online multiplayer became the rage. And then was pumped up during a game's development cycle at the expense of single player campaigns.
Short version? STO is no different than any other game, MMO or otherwise, that's been marketed in the last ten years or so. So, don't expect anything "deep" storywise.
Ain't Nobody Got Time for That
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Ain't that the truth?
I guess I must have filled up my workforce Rep Projects too quick. I was able to retire early. :P
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: There are twenty-four decks. Almost seven hundred meters long.
Lily Sloane: It took me six months to scrounge up enough titanium just to build a four-meter cockpit. ...How much did this thing cost?
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The economics of the future are somewhat different. You see, money doesn't exist in the 24th century.
Lily Sloane: No money? You mean, you don't get paid?
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force of our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity. Actually, we're all like yourself and Dr. Cochrane.
- Star Trek: First Contact
First of all, that quote doesn't invalidate the other poster's on-screen references to Starfleet officers being paid in credits. While Picard could be dumbing down the 24th Century society to her as well, since he was doing it up to that quote and afterwards.
Maybe the only important part is that they are not striving to be rich - everyone has most "normal" stuff - food, clothing, public transportation (regular shuttle lines and the like) - provided for, but if you want somethnig out of the ordinary, like using a transporter instead of public transportation, or acquire somethnig from a non-Federation member, you need money, and you have some allotment of money given to you - which is limited and there isn't a way to acquire extra credits by working extra hard or whatever.
But even this probably leaves holes and doesn't answer all the questions. (Why work in a restaurant, or on a vineyard?)
Well second of all, the credit system they were using in this future is actually akin to the resource based economy that's being proposed by the Zeitgeist movement. One doesn't have to use credits for anything for survival because survival necessities are provided by everyone working together, and yes that pretty much invalidates the comments on here about how just because real life is a grind in our current paradigm that this somehow makes it okay for game developers to turn their titles into second jobs with artificially delayed progression for the purposes of having people login and buy things.
The OP has a point. So much of the PVE content in this game is destroy so n so so many times to collect resources that should be replicatable (IE how voyager made their entire Delta Flyer without being anywhere near the typical federation centers of manufacturing but replicated all of the materials such as the hull and bulkheads for the entire ship they built) yet in this title, you have to have not only particular chefs equipped in order to get certain foods replicated there are no such things as replications of materials as we'd see in the films or books, just some commodities which require going out getting drops and selling them on the exchange because the basic missions themselves provide very little in the way of EC.
His point stands that this game in no way immitates the actual content of the rest of the IP unless you want to mistakenly include "Star Trek : Into the Lens Flares" which pretty much threw out almost all of the lore and just made it all about battles and blowing things up.
Let's assume that you're correct. I would then argue that Cryptic does an extremely poor job of convincing me thta their grind is more fun than what other games are offering.
---
Are you still playing?
Welcome to Free To Play sir !!! Would you buy gamecards if there was no other way to join STO ???
"Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised. It's got me through the worst of the last three years. I beat the Borg with it."
experience on the subject has showed me that you can only escape it for a short time, maybe a week at most before it sniffs you out and latches on then your back where you started, bored and wanting a change.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
No, I'm still grinding.
In all seriousness, I lurk this game, waiting for something major to happen. My visits to STO are few and infrequent, generally occurring around big announcements. When I do play, I find that the only thing I can do is grind the same content over and over so that I can get gear to grind the same content over and over just a little faster.
That's the problem with gear treadmills: they don't make a lot of sense.
Some can stay on their game seemingly forever. The rest of us will have to deal with distractions. I find them sweeter when trying to ignore them. :P
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Good for you !
Look there are several issues here :
- Cryptic has turned what they theme as "endgame" into a grind .
- Cryptic continues to make "sideshow" missions that show up and go away (like the current Mirror event) in the hopes that "one day" they will have a library big enough to have an "event" for every ... month or something .
Making "sideshow" missions also takes away from time that could be used to make "real endgame" missions such as STF's and PVP/PVE content .
On that front they rely on 3-4 year old content to "do the job" ... quite possibly because many of us are stupid enough to continue to play this content because there is nothing else to play .
( ... and it you'll start with "ahh but the Foundry ..." -- I'll tell you to shut up ! :P)
- Cryptic also recognised that their previous "2 times per year" content release was not very good , so they are trying to do better (the latest example being the .5 season (Season 8.5) .
Problem with that is that they have still not streamlined the process ... , and there is still too much bulk planned for the "Seasons & Expansions" (which their marketing department can exploit to drive ppl into the game) -- and there is still too much frill in-between (like the current Mirror event) .
But perfection is in the eye of the beholder .
Some folks love what STO has become .
Others (like myself) "cry" for the good old days .
Hey, that's my problem exactly! It's why I've never bought anything in the game. :P
I went to the Dyson Sphere a few times, then just gave up because it has nothing to do with Star Trek in any way. I won't touch any more content in this shabbily written story arc.
And now they think that somehow the Undine will pull this train wreck back from the edge of the abyss?
This franchise needs a complete reset, and needs to focus on all the loose ends that they cannot seem to continue properly, like say the war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Phoney war really.
There are years of content in the Fed vs. Klingon story, yet it is now just a faded plot line that cannot be seen for the glint of all the bogus new ships and trinkets out there.
Go back to the roots of this IP and you will find success.
Carry on down the current path and it will only lead to the death of this title.
And sooner than you think.
Then you opt to live in ignorance. Here's a perfectly valid option and you'll refuse to admit it exists. Heck, become a foundry author and create a strange new world and then the game really feels like Trek.
I remember what STO was. Do you remember being pulled into Deep Space Encounters when you just wanted to get to a bank? Do you remember the old old story missions that dragged on forever? Heck, the recently removed "War is Good for Business" is the poster boy for old STO. Spend 30 minutes trying to scan three things in a nebula because your full impulse is disabled.
Compare the Federation storyline at release to the Romulan storyline with Legacy of Romulus.
The Adventure zones were supposed to be the first step towards building exploration (explore Nukara and find out what the Tholians have there, help the New Romulans build a new home on Mo'Rihan and explore that planet) when the previous version failed.
The honest answer is they try, and all anyone says is "Its not how I want it."
You say your crying for the good old days? Remember the great content drought? How many characters from that era are memorable. I sure as heck remember Captain Shon, D'Tan and K'mtar more than I do Ambassador Surah, or whatever Captain Sulu did. The only exception I'd make to this list is Hakeev, and he didn't come into his full villiany until Legacy either.
You say there's nothing to do but grind? Well, we just had a foundry weekend. Go play a mission in there, you would have gotten your marks for grinding without grinding. Go roleplay with your fleet. Go hang out in a channel and socialize.
If you grind, its your CHOICE to make it a grind.
TRIBBLE Hydra! Hail Janeway!
Just replace all that awesome battle with filling out paperwork and all those nifty drops with a new TV/Computer/Car etc, and you've got real life.
Or, heck, just make it 'doing the same thing over and over again' and you've got your real-world daily life in the military.
And beyond that, the show skips the boring parts to continue the story. In TNG when the Enterprise was stuck in a Tykon's Rift, one scene had them trying to figure out what happened. The next scene Picard said "It's been 10 days since the Enterprise became trapped."
They were probably doing a whole lot of nothing in that time.
So for Picard it was probably 10 days of just assigning Doffs to do their job and staring at the screen waiting for the next report.