A Tovan suggestion/option

bendalek · April 2014

Just thought of an idea for Tovan haters and lovers, that may be an easy way for Cryptic to, at least partially, appease everyone ... See what you think.

Firstly I don't agree that he should be made dismissible, I would put money on the fact that within the space of 1 week, the Forums, and Support Tickets would be FULL of players whining about loosing/dismissing Tovan, and not being able to do "such and such" mission, to avoid that would require, I believe, to much of a change to the story arc, which I doubt Cryptic would do, so ...

Currently in one mission, your character goes through an ordeal, after which you can choose a dialogue option that will award you one or the other permanent passive buff (not going to post a spoiler) My idea is to do something similar with Tovan.

...

Available IF, and only IF, you do the tutorial mission, when you first meet Tovan, it will bring up a dialogue with three options, something like ...

1) I've seen you around the spaceport/shuttle pad = Tovan gets Space Traits like Superior Operative.

2) I've seen you around the firing range = Tovan gets Ground traits like Plasma Specialist/Soldier.

3) I've seen you around the village/town = Tovan gets the generic traits he has now.

If you choose to skip the Tutorial, Tovan will default to his current generic traits, or the same as option 3 above.

As well as making him customizable in appearance, this would go a long way to alleviating the 'Tovan hate".

starswordc · April 2014

Or, they could just get over themselves and give him Superior frakking Operative so he's worth something at endgame.

peetapipmac · April 2014

Or they could just do what they did with the other first officers and make him dismissable and reclaimable at the academies.

Job done.

remianen · April 2014

bendalek wrote: »

Firstly I don't agree that he should be made dismissible, I would put money on the fact that within the space of 1 week, the Forums, and Support Tickets would be FULL of players whining about loosing/dismissing Tovan, and not being able to do "such and such" mission, to avoid that would require, I believe, to much of a change to the story arc, which I doubt Cryptic would do, so ...

So you agree with the trend (that has been proliferating world society for the last decade and a half) of disallowing something because some people are flat out stupid? In games, PvP has to be segregated in its own "zone" (requiring a loading screen and entry immunity) because someone might stumble into a PvP area and whine when they get stomped (instead of paying attention where they're going). People with concepts (Reman captain with Reman bridge crew; female captain with an all-female bridge crew; people who want the best traits available in their bridge crew) be damned, we must protect the less than mindful! :rolleyes: I guess personal responsibility is a bad word. Instead of "I f'd up", it's "the developers let me do it!".

As peeta pointed out, give him the same treatment Elisa and K'Gan get. If his story role prevents that, then make him dismissable after the last mission of the Freedom arc (Darkness before the dawn) is completed. Hell, I'd be happy if they'd just get him off my bridge. Make me keep him but get his hobo lookin' TRIBBLE off my bridge. I don't hate him because I can't get rid of him (even though I despise having him forced on me. Even SWTOR doesn't do that (I can ignore the companions I dislike, like Jorgan as soon as Elara comes along) and you don't get a choice of which companion you want in that game). I hate him because he was sleeping with the enemy (literally!) so he can't be trusted. Why in the hell would I want someone like that in such an influential position on the ship? Let me confine him to quarters if I can't outright dismiss him.

orangeitis · April 2014

bendalek wrote: »

Firstly I don't agree that he should be made dismissible, I would put money on the fact that within the space of 1 week, the Forums, and Support Tickets would be FULL of players whining about loosing/dismissing Tovan, and not being able to do "such and such" mission, to avoid that would require, I believe, to much of a change to the story arc, which I doubt Cryptic would do, so ...

There's a console to reclaim K'Gan and Elisa Flores. No reason there can't be a Tovan one.

And even if the suggestion is implemented, it would do nothing to my hate, as I don't hate Tovan at all based on his functionality, aside from him forcing himself to be in my roster.

diotw · April 2014

peetapipmac wrote: »

Or they could just do what they did with the other first officers and make him dismissable and reclaimable at the academies.

Job done.

This. Honestly, there's no reason why they can't just make Tovan operate in the same way as K'Gan and Flores.

But also, Tovan Khev must die.

cbrjwrr · April 2014

Surely an even easier "solution" is all Rom characters being given an extra Boff slot. Put him in for missions he is necessary, take him off for ones for the rest. Doesn't solve it, but it would be a workaround.

Also solves the minor annoyance of wanting to use the 2 sci, 1 eng, 1 tac Storyline Boffs at Commander, where no Tier 4 Rom ship suits that...

timelords1701 · April 2014

still amazes me at all the hate tovan gets, yet he comes with some pretty damn good abilities that i have no problems with, and dont actually mind that one of our boffs actually has a voice to carry through the mission arcs, would you prefer he lost his tongue and just became another standardized boff like all the rest of em throughout this game..

bendalek · April 2014

timelords1701 wrote: »

still amazes me at all the hate tovan gets, yet he comes with some pretty damn good abilities that i have no problems with, and dont actually mind that one of our boffs actually has a voice to carry through the mission arcs, would you prefer he lost his tongue and just became another standardized boff like all the rest of em throughout this game..

His traits are OK, but by no means unique, and if one has a different build with different needs, then he is a pointless artifact, taking up a valuable BoFF slot ... That he is useful to others has never been under contention by me, as I understand that some find his traits pertinent to their build/playstyle, hence the "3 options" idea.

To answer the question in the second part of your reply ... YES!!!

shpoks · April 2014

Or people could just stop endlessly repeating this same thread and get over it.

janetza · April 2014

shpoks wrote: »

Or people could just stop endlessly repeating this same thread and get over it.

Neva! Tovan must die!

umiharayuu · April 2014

taut0u wrote: »

Neva! Tovan must die!

I agree unless they update him to have SRO. Otherwise you end up having to buy BOFF slots... oh wait... now i know why they won't let use remove him.

royalsovereign · April 2014

starswordc wrote: »

Or, they could just get over themselves and give him Superior frakking Operative so he's worth something at endgame.

Or they could make the various flavors of 'Operative' not stack *with each other* anymore. (i.e. you could have one each Basic, Standard, and Superior Rom Operative) [edited for clarity]

This would:

A) Make Tovan quite valuable as his standard Romulan Operative trait would go from 'yuck' to 'gotta have' instantly...

2) help curb the whole "Roms are OP, plz nerf" mentality without completely tanking them.

#) encourage diversity in BOffs (I mean c'mon, can we get some other traits that are worth something?)

d) probably get me hung and/or burned in effigy. Wait, that's not a good thing...

jacqueline3752 · April 2014

few things to fix this Tovan problem.

Nr.1 fix the proximity of Tovan from the player, he is too close.

Nr.2 give player options to have Tovan walk over your command (like is now) or you can give him order to be quiet or go do this while you do this OR ask him for his opinion.

Nr.3 in start of the new romulan toon give players choices of Tovan looking for his sister OR Rinna looking for her brother use the same vocalist that does the voice of Elisa Flores.

diotw · April 2014

I was doing my best to forget that Tovan was still on my ship, until I played the Republic Day mission, and the irritating little snot popped up unannounced at the end of the mission! Tovan, I have a perfectly good officer in charge of my transporters, you need to pick up your toothbrush, and get back to cleaning the latrines, where you belong!

Also, Tovan Khev must die.

reximuz · April 2014

remianen wrote: »

So you agree with the trend (that has been proliferating world society for the last decade and a half) of disallowing something because some people are flat out stupid? In games, PvP has to be segregated in its own "zone" (requiring a loading screen and entry immunity) because someone might stumble into a PvP area and whine when they get stomped (instead of paying attention where they're going). People with concepts (Reman captain with Reman bridge crew; female captain with an all-female bridge crew; people who want the best traits available in their bridge crew) be damned, we must protect the less than mindful! :rolleyes: I guess personal responsibility is a bad word. Instead of "I f'd up", it's "the developers let me do it!".

Are you volunteering to personally pay all the extra wages and lost customers? If not get over yourself.

dareau · April 2014

Being able to "pick" or "customize" Tovan to fit a theme:

Romulan or Reman.
Male or Female.

Would go a long, long way to quelling the "hate"...

starswordc · April 2014

umiharayuu wrote: »

I agree unless they update him to have SRO. Otherwise you end up having to buy BOFF slots... oh wait... now i know why they won't let use remove him.

Well, hell, I always end up buying a slot pack anyway, so it's not like I wouldn't have the room.

With Morgan what I plan to do is basically make Tovan my equivalent to K'Tek, one of the officers on Koren's bridge crew. His job is title is "troop leader" and he's basically the Klingon equivalent of a space marine. So once I get enough purple tacs to fill my bridge crew out, Tovan gets busted down to security officer and becomes the tac on my away team.

On a side note, does anybody know if the special boffs' costume pieces (e.g. Satra's jacket) are available on other boffs? (Was hoping to be able to trade up to purple and keep the costumes.)

maxvitor · April 2014

There was no real reason to make this mouthy clown a permanent member of the crew. They could have done like they've done with every other critical NPC in the game. He's not a Boff, he's not a Doff, he's just like Franklin Drake, Alexander Rhozenko, Worf or Tuvok, he pops in says his dialog, then goes away. But it is what it is, even if he wasn't a permanent Boff, we would still have to live with him for every mission replay and part of the Romulan arc where his role is supposedly critical and unless by some faint hope they rewrite that arc so that his irrelevant insubordinate background noise is eliminated, Tovan Kev is going nowhere. Myself, I have stuck him in a beatup looking space suit and pretend he's a defective droid that won't shut up.

bendalek · April 2014

How about, and this would only work if the voice actors were still available, as well as the customizability, we also have the option of choosing either Tovan or his Sister? In other words, simply reverse their roles! This would also give each new toon a little more "diversity" Where you can not only decide their specialization, but also their sex as well.

Just trying to think of ways Cryptic could implement changes to Tovan without to much work or Gameplay changes.

diotw · April 2014

bendalek wrote: »

Just trying to think of ways Cryptic could implement changes to Tovan without to much work or Gameplay changes.

Make him dismissable/reclaimable like K'Gan and Flores, and if they really don't want to edit the missions, add a message when you try to play them that Tovan is required to complete the mission. That's all they need to do.

He needs to die though. Tovan Khev must die.

bendalek · April 2014

diotw wrote: »

Make him dismissable/reclaimable like K'Gan and Flores, and if they really don't want to edit the missions, add a message when you try to play them that Tovan is required to complete the mission. That's all they need to do.

He needs to die though. Tovan Khev must die.

Weeelll ... I wouldn't wish that fate on any fellow Romulan, that's just not our way (I believe, and the Tal Shiar notwithstanding) ...

But I do find myself talking (read: screaming, raging, vociferating) at my monitor sometimes = "SHHHUUUUTTTT THE FFFFFUUUUU UP TOVAN"

So an option to silence the little twerp at least, would be nice, Oh, and GET HIM OFF MY BRIDGE!!!!

pweistheworst · May 2014

peetapipmac wrote: »

Or they could just do what they did with the other first officers and make him dismissable and reclaimable at the academies.

Job done.

THIS! Oh, for the love of Trek, THIS!

The beauty of STO is that you get to play in the Trek universe with a ship and crew of YOUR choosing. There's nothing wrong with the "option" of having Tovan, but players should be able to chose whether or not they want him in the crew. I'm tired of that jerk taking up space on my bridge. When I play my Romulan or Reman toons I don't even visit my bridges anymore because I don't want to see Tovan there.

pappy02u · May 2014

I'm with the get him off my ship side. If he is so important for Cryptic's plan in the future or as a mission giver then I can see why they force you to keep him. But then I thought why not just give you a choice mission, like the alignment mission, Tovan is asked to join the Republic's Command and he ask you if he should take the job or if you still need him. This way you get to choose to keep or get rid of him, then a quick replay and you can get him back or something. Also this way if Cryptic see fit for him to give you a mission it's a subspace transmission. Also all this what about his role in old missions well those are suppose to be holo simulations so why wouldn't the computer just place him like any other NPC. I replaced Tovan with C-store legacy Boffs as soon as I choose my allegiance and ran every mission after that with out him leaving the ship, so needing him with you on a mission is not needed.

starswordc · May 2014

royalsovereign wrote: »

Or they could make the various flavors of 'Operative' not stack *with each other* anymore. (i.e. you could have one each Basic, Standard, and Superior Rom Operative) [edited for clarity]

This would:

A) Make Tovan quite valuable as his standard Romulan Operative trait would go from 'yuck' to 'gotta have' instantly...

2) help curb the whole "Roms are OP, plz nerf" mentality without completely tanking them.

#) encourage diversity in BOffs (I mean c'mon, can we get some other traits that are worth something?)

d) probably get me hung and/or burned in effigy. Wait, that's not a good thing...

... This is actually not a terribad idea.

Incidentally my solution to Tovan has been to make use of his actually-pretty-good ground traits by reskilling him for melee and handing him the free sword you get on Nimbus III (will be replaced with first a purple bat'leth I picked up KDF-side as a replay reward for the mission where you attack Gre'thor, then with a Nukara ground set). I replaced him as first officer a long time ago, though.

stealthrider · May 2014

Or they could make him dismissable and reattainable like Elisa.

Or they could remove him and the rest of the Cryptic-designed boffs, get rid of the ****ty LoR story and replace it with something half-decent that actually lets players select their own crew.

But they need to at least make him dismissable. I want that crew slot damnit.

catoblepasbeta · May 2014

They could at least make Tovan and the other special boffs rename-able. On my Fed character my bridge crew goes by their last name, But Elisa refuses to be referred by anything besides her full name.

If he was renameable I could at least rename him something less irritating like "Hakeev (Mirror Universe)" I still weep for my inability to rename the Voth Boff "Barney"

royalsovereign · May 2014

starswordc wrote: »

... This is actually not a terribad idea.

Thanks. I figured I'd get roasted for it, but I seem to have a knack for getting ignored.

crash490r · May 2014

bendalek wrote: »

"SHHHUUUUTTTT THE FFFFFUUUUU UP TOVAN"

I just made a second Romulan and I found that this is 90% of what I said the whole run, I just got it to Subadmiral today after like 4 days of saying Shut up Tovan.

maxvitor · May 2014

shpoks wrote: »

Or people could just stop endlessly repeating this same thread and get over it.

NEVER!!! He's an Undine spy and he must be eliminated.
Tovan could still be part of the Romulan story line without being part of the Bridge crew, he shows up for his dialogue then he disappears, just like any other story critical NPC in the game.
But whether he's on the bridge or not we still have to put up with his annoying A.. so may as well deal with it, I stick him in a space suit and pretend he's a defective droid.

diotw · May 2014

catoblepasbeta wrote: »

They could at least make Tovan and the other special boffs rename-able. On my Fed character my bridge crew goes by their last name, But Elisa refuses to be referred by anything besides her full name.

If he was renameable I could at least rename him something less irritating like "Hakeev (Mirror Universe)" I still weep for my inability to rename the Voth Boff "Barney"

Same here! All my Fed BOFFs get renamed with their rank and surname, so my main character's away team consists of Lt. Cmdr. Saaltil (Chief of Security), Lt. Corcit (Operations Officer), Dr. Wor (Chief Medical Officer), and Lt. Cmdr. N'Karun (Chief Engineer). Sometimes I will bring my First Officer, Cmdr. Dye, or the Science Officer, Lt. Ranad.

I started a new Fed alt when the remastered tutorial and early missions were released, to play through the new content from scratch. Obviously Flores stands out from the rest of the BOFFs, so now I have enough to make a full away team, she tends to spend most of her time on the ship, where she can't spoil my naming system. :P

A Tovan suggestion/option

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