Tuvok/Cooper update-bad graphics bad story?

stonewbie · July 2014

Hey everybody,

Stopped playing probably about 2 weeks into the Dyson Sphere release and i just started playing again about 2 days ago. My question was about pc/graphics performance and also about how the latest story was written. Just so people dont think i'm playing with a potato below are my PC specs.

-built 2 weeks before GW2 was released
-MSI N680GTX Twin Frozr 4GB
-ASUS P8Z77-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z77
-i7-3770 Ivy Bridge Quad-Core 3.4GHz
-Team Vulcan 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
-Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
-Antec HCG M Series HCG-620M 620W ATX12V
-SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-240G-G25 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

So first about the performance. When i stopped playing a few months ago i uninstalled STO and i reinstalled it again just a few days ago, so possibly that had something to do with it? When i did the space portion of the Tuvok quest on the surface of the sun everything was blurry except for the area around enemy ships. Only other thing i've done in game are the old borg STFs and i didnt notice anything unusual. I'm guessing they were trying to do something unique since it was a battle on the surface of the sun. Next was when i was doing the ground portion with Dr Cooper and Tuvok. I dont know if it's cause my settings are different from before, or if they are trying to crank up NPC detail but it seemed to run just a tiny bit slower/choppier then before.

Next is the story...i thought it was cool that they brought Tuvok back. I thought that the Worf episode was kinda cool too. Only thing i hated was how it was just me and Worf and Me and Tuvok. I guess it's just personal preference that i also want my away team there but maybe they were excluded due to performance issues i dont know. But one thing i didnt like about the Tuvok episode was the Eric Cooper guy. Was i the only one that wanted to throw him out the airlock the first time he spoke? Also his dialogue and some of the dialogue in general was kinda poorly written it seemed. Captain we've lost the power couplings! i guess didnt sound technical enough for me. Maybe they should have thrown in a few 'tachyons' in there to tech it up a bit. And Eric Cooper, a doctor, with his replies that make it sound like he is guessing. What is he a doctor of exactly? It just seemed like anytime he said anything i would /squinty eyes and say what are you trying to say? why are you saying it like that? what are you talking about?! whats the matter with you? jar jar binks is that you in there? I guess that whoever wrote his dialogue and whoever said he should behave the way he was thought they were making a memorable character? but personally i just found him annoying, so much that i didnt enjoy the new episode. Same thing happened to me with Tovan "shut up please" Khev. I would be getting into the story and out of nowhere here is Khev to take the spotlight.

So anyways 1) graphics issue, am i the only one experiencing that? 2) story issue, was i the only one that got the impression that the new storyline was poorly written?

duncanidaho11 · July 2014

stonewbie wrote: »

So anyways 1) graphics issue, am i the only one experiencing that? 2) story issue, was i the only one that got the impression that the new storyline was poorly written?

1. That's the depth of field effect being applied with a little more gusto in the new missions. It's not an issue, just a questionable artistic decision. :P

As a side note they did recently increase the maximum on a few of the graphics settings so it would be possible for you to experience lower performance with the sliders all in the same places (depending on your system, can't quite comment on how likely this would be for you.) Also with the new space battlezone being as big and as horde heavy as it is at the end you might also experience some graphical slow-downs there when/if you get around to playing it. In that case I've found dropping weapon visuals down to "medium" removes the issue but you'll find out if you need that tweak when you come to the planet killer stage.

Anyway...

2. Pretty much. Of course on the grand scale STO's quality of writing isn't good but I think the new missions were generally well recieved. The point of cooper is that he is actually just a tripedal in a nerd suit. Think "monster in a hollowed out Wesley" and his role becomes a lot less annoying (in the bad sense.)

stonewbie · July 2014

Yah i've always gotten that feeling with all the story content in STO. But this update just seemed pretty bad for me cause of that Cooper guy. Him and Tovan just ruin the story for me...like there was the one mission where you were capturing an Elachi commander and right as you are about to question him Tovan butts in with his interrogation. Same thing with the Tuvok episode...its like ohhh ahhh Voth this and Voth that and Tuvok is here how awesome is this! and then BAM they hit you with some cheesy lines from Cooper. If you are going to do something badass like bring in Tim Russ, Michael Dorn or Denise Crosby for an episode (imo) you dont muck it up by having characters like Cooper to spoil the mood. I want to say 'lighten the mood' but i dont even know what Coopers purpose was for that story.

For the graphics thing i did notice a lot more options then before. I think i tried playing on ultra at first, but then i moved the sliders down a notch but i was still getting some bad performance. The only thing i'm really worried about is the space battle right on the surface of the sun. Like everything on my screen was blurred out. Maybe i'll run the mission again on another toon and take a screenshot.

vizhonia · July 2014

Like the first reply said, Cooper is not Cooper. He's supposed to sound awkward and cheesy and like he doesn't really know what he's talking about, most of the time, because he's an imposter and not the real cooper. He probably hasn't been the real cooper in a single one of the missions he's in and he goes all the way back to the borg episodes with the rewrites they made to the Borg missions.

I'd strongly recommend going back and playing the whole borg series of episodes too, where he is introduced and it might make a little more sense. Also, the final mission in the Undine content pretty much explains why he's been the way he's been the whole time.

rattler2 · July 2014

Actually... I think we did meet the real Cooper, because he didn't come across as a coward until after you rescue him in Fluidic Space. I mean... he willingly stayed behind with the player on a planet crawling with Borg to help the player. Then after you rescue him in Fluidic Space, he's a total coward, and saying "They're strong! We're weak!"

So I believe Cooper got replaced during that mission into Fluidic Space.

And the Undine who replaced him took pleasure in taunting Tuvok.

duncanidaho11 · July 2014

stonewbie wrote: »

If you are going to do something badass like bring in Tim Russ, Michael Dorn or Denise Crosby for an episode (imo) you dont muck it up by having characters like Cooper to spoil the mood. I want to say 'lighten the mood' but i dont even know what Coopers purpose was for that story.

That's definitely the impression I had at first but it's paid off by the turn around of what I'll call from now on "Evil Hollowed-out Wesley." It would have been much better setup though if we had the borg revamp FIRST, where the necessary backstory comes in with EHOW, and then the second Dyson FE but I guess the release schedule didn't permit that.

For the graphics thing i did notice a lot more options then before. I think i tried playing on ultra at first, but then i moved the sliders down a notch but i was still getting some bad performance. The only thing i'm really worried about is the space battle right on the surface of the sun. Like everything on my screen was blurred out. Maybe i'll run the mission again on another toon and take a screenshot.

They moved a lot of the sliders around and made a few which were under the special "troubleshooting" tab more accessible. Technically nothing has been added but its a better interface. The blurring though is just a visual effect BUT you can turn it off with the depth of field toggle (however it does look good when you're in fluidic space for the last of the revamped borg missions.)

stonewbie · July 2014

I dont remember Cooper from any of the other episodes or the leveling episodes. I probably did the quest saw him and just forgot about him. You'd think that knowing this i would say 'ohhhhhhhh now i get it'. But it doesnt really change the fact that i already did the story and i was annoyed by him the whole time hehe. So i guess the whole cowardly/annoying bit only works if you remember him from before.

duncanidaho11 · July 2014

stonewbie wrote: »

I dont remember Cooper from any of the other episodes or the leveling episodes. I probably did the quest saw him and just forgot about him. You'd think that knowing this i would say 'ohhhhhhhh now i get it'. But it doesnt really change the fact that i already did the story and i was annoyed by him the whole time hehe. So i guess the whole cowardly/annoying bit only works if you remember him from before.

They completely revamped the borg missions last season. New maps, new objectives, new rewards, there's a lot to be said for going back to them now (particularly Assimilation, good ground map and you get purple mk xi kit gear. You'll notice a lot of people hanging around that system.)

One thing they added too is Cooper but as was very astutely pointed out he is far less of a Wesley in his first mission (but tellingly more so in his second). However that doesn't help you now or those of us who played through his "first" appearance during what was the 4th anniversary event which predated the borg content revamp. Just take some solace in knowing you're not alone out there in playing it in this order.

(this is how I and a lot of other people experienced it too)

tmassx · July 2014

"Cooper" is the coolest villain in STO , but probably you like cartoon badasses like Hakeev. It is on the everyone's personal taste.

duncanidaho11 · July 2014

tmassx wrote: »

"Cooper" is the coolest villain in STO , but probably you like cartoon badasses like Hakeev. It is on the everyone's personal taste.

Yes it is but he's just on the other end of the bond villian scale, the evil nerd. STO could still do with someone closer to the middle ground.

shadowwraith77 · July 2014

I can tell you the major issue with the blur, while being in mission around the sun, is related to the underwater effects option being on, turn this off, and it will clear up that problem.

Also remember, computer games such as these when updated, are not always optimized for every possible computer built, and can take time for them to work on those kinks.

Tuvok/Cooper update-bad graphics bad story?

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