4: Don't entirely agree. Players with the superior board are likely to be those with favors carried over from last year's event OR either had or purchased sufficent quantities of Lobi to purchase the favors/marks outright.
I had 552 favors left over from last year's summer event and am therefore not too far away from being able to purchase a superior board. But the fact remains that once players have obtained sufficent marks/favors we'll be seeing a LOT more superior boards and the races will become more 'even'.
I used all my favours to pay for eggs to do the bird breeding stuff last year. And as you know, you can now breed birds AND monkeys. I want more marks rather than a cooler board.
Wow, I am legitimately surprised.... Am I really the only one in this thread who has noticed what the requirement is for the purple Doffs?
Oh yes, I'm trying to convince myself I don't need the conn officer!
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: "We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it's all ancient history. Then - before you can blink an eye - suddenly it threatens to start all over again."
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
I thoroughly enjoyed Risa last year, and this year so far is no different.
I like the change of pace.
One can always find a few things to quibble about, but they're not a huge deal in the greater scheme.
About the worst offender in that category is the lack of a posted timetable, they're pretty ubiquitous at actual resorts, but its a minor thing.
My only complaints of any substance are the lack of a unique bridge for the Risian ships, which IMO is a hugely missed opportunity, and a misread of the the desire of players for it.
Another issue is the lack of sandcastle spots. It is a little ludicrous that an instance that can hold 50 people will only let 10% of them max make sandcastles at any one time.
Finally, the P2W aspect of the powerboard race is unfortunate. That could have been dealt with a lot better.
None of which amounts to a broken event. These are relatively small complaints, however justified.
And the inclusion of the new alt discount for event ships makes up for a lot of it.
That decision was sensible, wise and generous.
A few more decisions like that will go a very long way to reopening my wallet.
So, overall, I'd give Risa a solid B+.
And, as I typed that it seemed a little low, but the niggles stop it getting A+ or even A.
P2W doesn't really describe the scenario with the powerboards. They're free, and once most people have enough favors saved up, there'll be more superior boards and the race's will be more evenly-balanced.
And in the meantime, there'll be an increasing gap (in terms of rewards) between the haves and have-nots, which the latter will never be able to decrease.
It doesn't kill the event, I'll happily keep coming 4th until I have enough wotsits or can buy a better board, but it will effect overall outcomes.
And it was a pretty obvious mechanic, so a little sloppy on the game design.
Basically the idea that players who had favours saved up from last year should get an automatic early bonus on the powerboard race rewards over those who didnt have them saved, wasnt that good an idea.
But, as said, one somewhat sloppy decision doesn't kill either the race or the event.
personally although the floater thing that allows me to almost fly to the moon and back. then unequipped, fall and not die. then there is the hover board that works according to some gravity mumbojumbo that can't work on land.
any way while they are kinda fun for 5 mins, I just find the whole event rather pointless and am struggling to tell myself this is STAR TREK ONLINE GAMING CONTENT. can't even believe how long this event.... sorry grind actually lasts. after the initial 5 mins of fun you quickly realise it's just repetitive nonsense.
seems that 2014 so far is the year of hell for sto. awful direction, story and 'content'. one can only hope this so called expansion can work a miracle and end the year of hell....... to be continued.
I having all kinds of fun at the event. So far I'm 100 favors from the lowest priced swimsuit. And I been to most of the island. I done a few dance contests, and finding the relics. Both are which fun, fast, and easy to do. So in a couple of hours I had about 200 favors. The rest came from what I had from last year. I hadn't done the sandcastle event yet, or the race. So I might try those out next time I log on. I even found a bird egg, now hatching it to see what pops out.
What I didn't like about the Risa visit. The outfits are priced unreal. I can understand the 500 for one. But 750 or 1000 for some and there isn't much difference in them? I won't be collecting enough for those 750-1000 ones. Since I can settle with the 500 one. Since it can only be used on Risa. I just hope I can visit the planet during non summer bash days. And still get to use them. I see a nice quiet RP area.
Other than that. I won't be getting the pearls since I don't have the time to do both. After I get the swimsuit. I will try for the floater or hover board.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
Oh yes, I'm trying to convince myself I don't need the conn officer!
You need an accolade. But it's not just any accolade, Master Relaxer is a mega-accolade that requires acquiring a dozen or so other accolades. One of which is Pavyl's quests. Most are things you can get by flying to a certain spot... most. Some require certain times of day, or are random events. Aside from Pavyl, the hardest are the Fireworks or Trill and Klingon.
I thoroughly enjoyed Risa last year, and this year so far is no different...
This pretty much covers what I liked (and have concerns about) with respect to the new festival. I would also suggest changing Flying High as follows: fork off a version that can be run more frequently for Favors - you'd still have X minutes to complete three courses of your choice, with each course netting a given number of Favors dependent on its difficulty (for example: a green course rewards 20; 30 per yellow; and 45 per red).
And on the subject of Risian ship interiors... an acquaintance and I had an idea for a variant of Colony Invasion. Specifically, two operatives have to fight their way through the interior of a cruise ship, freeing hostages as they go. Quick action is essential - patrols will call for backup, and hostage guards will move to execute their prisoners; the mechanics for this are already present ingame (look at 'Peer Pressure' in the DIZ). Eventually, the players find themselves in the large 'greenhouse' area (you can get an okay look at it in the first image shown here)... where they face the boss: a squad using military-grade floaters and armed with burst-fire pistols (think the wide-beam pistols extant now, but using the 'full auto rife' burst and spray VFX) and swords.
This hypothetical event would be available in two flavors: a two-man queued event (rewards fleet marks), and a solo (player and one bridge officer) challenge. And any older players thinking 'hey this sounds familiar' would be completely justified in doing so - it's a deliberate homage to a certain old Sega game...
i ran through the first day of the event, done it all except dancing and sand castle building and the latter is for obvious reasons and the former because i spent most of the time hunting location views for accolades. anyways, had one powerboarding race and finished 2nd on the first attempt with the wood board and only needed a few minutes to figure out and realize how to work the steering. the jet packing around was fairly simple from the off mostly because i used to play champions online and the jet pack was one of my preferred travel choices and it flies in exactly the same manner. apart from all that, my opinion so far has been good and bad, and for the bad where to begin?
the sandcastle building is practically a mess and really it should of been completed or left off the event. since its only half way there and a small area to sand castle build, its not practical within 15 minutes with people coming and going. the jetpack has this annoying pitched noise, i am considering leaving the earphones out of my ears or switching the volume down on the effects, theres really no need for that. finally the event schedule is off, specially the scavenger hunt event ends a minute early on the countdown timer.
frankly the event should go back into testing and have another round of bug stomping and testing.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
1. Grabbing the flag at the end of the competitive race doesn't make sense. Just have people pass the finish line to complete the race.
2. Need more spots to build sand castles. Like, ALL OVER THE ISLAND. More variety in structures would be welcome.
3. Where's the boat that's supposed to sail in and serve special food in the evening? Don't tell me it's that big cruise ship off in the distance...
4. Next year should be about mini-games, and LOTS of them. Add a game facility with Hoverball, Tennis, Racquetball, Volleyball, Water Polo, Rock Climbing, Pareces Squares, just to name a few. Give people more things to do that's fun.
5. Add swimming mechanics for diving mini-games and swimming races.
6. Extend the event to last all summer. At least from June to mid-August.
I'm really impressed with the surfboard race. Yes, crossing the finish line would be better, but it's still just darn cool.
I think the sandcastles are actually pretty nice, too. In a while it should be easy enough to get a spot.
Overall, I think the zone is beautiful and I feel like I am on a tropical vacation - without having to burst into flames from seeing the yellowface.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: "We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it's all ancient history. Then - before you can blink an eye - suddenly it threatens to start all over again."
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
This idea stunk on ice (literally) during the winter event, its even worse going twice as fast on a powerboard. How about we just have a finish line? I don't ever remember Mario Andretti having to reach out and grab the checkered flag at 200mph! I don't remember Richard Petty having to do that either...its stupid, people who should place don't, and vice versa...how about you just save people the frustration and just have a line...and when you cross that line that's what place you come in....I know its a novel idea but it just might work!!!
The skill of the race should be in THE RACE. Not how you finish it. Its just common sense. Not even Olympian runners have to grab a flag. Why should we?
I can just see the jockeys @ the Kentucky derby pulling up hard after they crossed the finish line & killing or crippling their horses in order to grab a flag. I can see the drivers @ the Indy 500 reaching out @ 250mph after they cross the finish line trying to determine who wins the race, regardless of who crossed the finish line first. Just more Cryptic nonsense. Get rid of the flags Cryptic, both @ the summer event & the winter event & put in a PROPER finish line. Also, fire the individual who came up with the ridiculous notion of the flags @ the end of the race.
while the new additions are nice the summer event is going to suffer from 1 major problem! Far too little favor currency for the amount there is to buy this year.
Last year the total to get everything was:
1800 favor for the 3 costume boxes - 600 each
100 for pet
5 for event tribble food
50 to 1000 for floater - most probaly spent 1050 one for a standard till they could buy a superior.
total of 3955 Favor for Summer 2013 per character.
This year the favor requirement is drastically higher.
7750 for all female swimwear - prices varing from 500 to 1000
2000 for all male swimsuit - Prices varing form 500 to 750
50 to 1500 for powerboard - most will probaly pay 50 for a stadard till they get enough to buy a superior and will most likely be the 1000 favor ones for a cost of 1050 in total powerboard costs.
*optional* 1000 if they want one of the new floter colors that weren't available last year.
3000 to 3600 for the Doffs - 3000 for all the purple and 600 for all the blue.
All of this for a grand total of 12400 - 13900* for females
For males the grand total is 6650 - 8150* for males
* - is the maximum spent for everything including a superior floater and most expensive powerboard.
Now if you got a new char you tack the 2955 to the maximum as the maximum values given include the superior floater already. and you end up with literally more then 3 to 4 times the expence expenditure from last year.
I can understand why this is daunting, especially if you have several characters.
To put it in perspective though: why would you get every swimsuit for every character when you will only be able to wear these outfits or use the Risa equipment on Risa? Currently, there is some sort of bug or exploit that allows characters to wear the swimwear off Risa, but I don't know if you can count on it being here past next patch day.
I sympathize with those players who want to just do the race once or twice and then start the feather monkey doff mission. i wished the hoverboard race gave 3 feather tokens for placing as "participant" and more favors and feathers for actually placing.
2. get rid of some of the more lame dance moves (runningman) and get some new ones. I would not mind seeing the Travolta moves from Sat Night Fever, and maybe the Electric Slide, some old school moves you see time to time. maybe even moves from the Time Warp
3. some non-timed exploration stuff. I know there are accolades out there already, but they are mostly from the floaters. Maybe an accolade / favor reward for climbing /exploring the volcano on foot?
4. any chance of scuba/swimming? I don't know if the engine can handle it.
5. allow either multiple eggs to be hatched at the same time or let us sell them. being bound sucks
6. I didn't see a bank/exchange/mail in the Promenade.
The current strategy i see is to jump off your board and grab the flag...which is a DQ during the race, is it not? Not a lot of thinking on the design.
Meh, they should just remove the time gated castle building altogether ... (5 instead of 2 Favors, and forcing everyone to fight over Buckets at the same time ... wow really ?) ... keep the 15min CD and always reward 5 Favors (or maybe more)
Right now it's just a ridiculous waste of time to do Sandcastles (especially with the competition over buckets) ... give us back the 2nd Horghan Hunt at XX:45 ...
PS : It's nice to take a 20min break without missing anything, though :P
Patch Notes : Resolved an Issue, where people would accidently experience Fun.
Comments
Star Trek Online Intro HD [3rd Fleet Anniversary]
Join Date: Jul 2009
I used all my favours to pay for eggs to do the bird breeding stuff last year. And as you know, you can now breed birds AND monkeys. I want more marks rather than a cooler board.
FED: Royal Federation Mounted Starfleet: SB3, TAC3, ENG3, SCI3, Win, Int, DOff(T/E/S/B)
KDF: Parliamentary Klingon Empire: SB2, TAC2, ENG2, SCI2, Win, DOff(T)
Interested in joining? Please send a PM to @Tahna_Los.
My character Tsin'xing
00: Dance Contest
15: Hoverboard Race
23: Horgahunt whateveritscalled
40: Hoverboard Race
45: Sand Castle 'bonus'
Not really that hard. Although yes, it should've been posted somewhere on the website.
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Oh yes, I'm trying to convince myself I don't need the conn officer!
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
I like the change of pace.
One can always find a few things to quibble about, but they're not a huge deal in the greater scheme.
About the worst offender in that category is the lack of a posted timetable, they're pretty ubiquitous at actual resorts, but its a minor thing.
My only complaints of any substance are the lack of a unique bridge for the Risian ships, which IMO is a hugely missed opportunity, and a misread of the the desire of players for it.
Another issue is the lack of sandcastle spots. It is a little ludicrous that an instance that can hold 50 people will only let 10% of them max make sandcastles at any one time.
Finally, the P2W aspect of the powerboard race is unfortunate. That could have been dealt with a lot better.
None of which amounts to a broken event. These are relatively small complaints, however justified.
And the inclusion of the new alt discount for event ships makes up for a lot of it.
That decision was sensible, wise and generous.
A few more decisions like that will go a very long way to reopening my wallet.
So, overall, I'd give Risa a solid B+.
And, as I typed that it seemed a little low, but the niggles stop it getting A+ or even A.
Perhaps A-.
A palpable hit.
And in the meantime, there'll be an increasing gap (in terms of rewards) between the haves and have-nots, which the latter will never be able to decrease.
It doesn't kill the event, I'll happily keep coming 4th until I have enough wotsits or can buy a better board, but it will effect overall outcomes.
And it was a pretty obvious mechanic, so a little sloppy on the game design.
Basically the idea that players who had favours saved up from last year should get an automatic early bonus on the powerboard race rewards over those who didnt have them saved, wasnt that good an idea.
But, as said, one somewhat sloppy decision doesn't kill either the race or the event.
I only got one yesterday, but I remember having days like that last year, and then days where they dropped like rain.
It's that randomness thing again.
any way while they are kinda fun for 5 mins, I just find the whole event rather pointless and am struggling to tell myself this is STAR TREK ONLINE GAMING CONTENT. can't even believe how long this event.... sorry grind actually lasts. after the initial 5 mins of fun you quickly realise it's just repetitive nonsense.
seems that 2014 so far is the year of hell for sto. awful direction, story and 'content'. one can only hope this so called expansion can work a miracle and end the year of hell....... to be continued.
What I didn't like about the Risa visit. The outfits are priced unreal. I can understand the 500 for one. But 750 or 1000 for some and there isn't much difference in them? I won't be collecting enough for those 750-1000 ones. Since I can settle with the 500 one. Since it can only be used on Risa. I just hope I can visit the planet during non summer bash days. And still get to use them. I see a nice quiet RP area.
Other than that. I won't be getting the pearls since I don't have the time to do both. After I get the swimsuit. I will try for the floater or hover board.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
I've gotten three eggs this season.... all on one char.
My character Tsin'xing
And on the subject of Risian ship interiors... an acquaintance and I had an idea for a variant of Colony Invasion. Specifically, two operatives have to fight their way through the interior of a cruise ship, freeing hostages as they go. Quick action is essential - patrols will call for backup, and hostage guards will move to execute their prisoners; the mechanics for this are already present ingame (look at 'Peer Pressure' in the DIZ). Eventually, the players find themselves in the large 'greenhouse' area (you can get an okay look at it in the first image shown here)... where they face the boss: a squad using military-grade floaters and armed with burst-fire pistols (think the wide-beam pistols extant now, but using the 'full auto rife' burst and spray VFX) and swords.
This hypothetical event would be available in two flavors: a two-man queued event (rewards fleet marks), and a solo (player and one bridge officer) challenge. And any older players thinking 'hey this sounds familiar' would be completely justified in doing so - it's a deliberate homage to a certain old Sega game...
the sandcastle building is practically a mess and really it should of been completed or left off the event. since its only half way there and a small area to sand castle build, its not practical within 15 minutes with people coming and going. the jetpack has this annoying pitched noise, i am considering leaving the earphones out of my ears or switching the volume down on the effects, theres really no need for that. finally the event schedule is off, specially the scavenger hunt event ends a minute early on the countdown timer.
frankly the event should go back into testing and have another round of bug stomping and testing.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
i was really excited for the summer event but so far disappointed.
2. Need more spots to build sand castles. Like, ALL OVER THE ISLAND. More variety in structures would be welcome.
3. Where's the boat that's supposed to sail in and serve special food in the evening? Don't tell me it's that big cruise ship off in the distance...
4. Next year should be about mini-games, and LOTS of them. Add a game facility with Hoverball, Tennis, Racquetball, Volleyball, Water Polo, Rock Climbing, Pareces Squares, just to name a few. Give people more things to do that's fun.
5. Add swimming mechanics for diving mini-games and swimming races.
6. Extend the event to last all summer. At least from June to mid-August.
Thanks for the info. 2 races per hour is nothing like the 6 in the winter event. They need to find a way to get more tags into the hands of the users.
Like I said, they should overlap some of these events.
FED: Royal Federation Mounted Starfleet: SB3, TAC3, ENG3, SCI3, Win, Int, DOff(T/E/S/B)
KDF: Parliamentary Klingon Empire: SB2, TAC2, ENG2, SCI2, Win, DOff(T)
Interested in joining? Please send a PM to @Tahna_Los.
I think the sandcastles are actually pretty nice, too. In a while it should be easy enough to get a spot.
Overall, I think the zone is beautiful and I feel like I am on a tropical vacation - without having to burst into flames from seeing the yellowface.
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
To put it in perspective though: why would you get every swimsuit for every character when you will only be able to wear these outfits or use the Risa equipment on Risa? Currently, there is some sort of bug or exploit that allows characters to wear the swimwear off Risa, but I don't know if you can count on it being here past next patch day.
I sympathize with those players who want to just do the race once or twice and then start the feather monkey doff mission. i wished the hoverboard race gave 3 feather tokens for placing as "participant" and more favors and feathers for actually placing.
2. get rid of some of the more lame dance moves (runningman) and get some new ones. I would not mind seeing the Travolta moves from Sat Night Fever, and maybe the Electric Slide, some old school moves you see time to time. maybe even moves from the Time Warp
3. some non-timed exploration stuff. I know there are accolades out there already, but they are mostly from the floaters. Maybe an accolade / favor reward for climbing /exploring the volcano on foot?
4. any chance of scuba/swimming? I don't know if the engine can handle it.
5. allow either multiple eggs to be hatched at the same time or let us sell them. being bound sucks
6. I didn't see a bank/exchange/mail in the Promenade.
Meh, they should just remove the time gated castle building altogether ... (5 instead of 2 Favors, and forcing everyone to fight over Buckets at the same time ... wow really ?) ... keep the 15min CD and always reward 5 Favors (or maybe more)
Right now it's just a ridiculous waste of time to do Sandcastles (especially with the competition over buckets) ... give us back the 2nd Horghan Hunt at XX:45 ...
PS : It's nice to take a 20min break without missing anything, though :P