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So exploration - what's going to replace it?
gurugeorge
Member Posts: 421 Arc User
I'm aware of adjudicatorhawk's post where he gave the reasons for removing exploration from the game, and they're good enough reasons. He also mooted that the devs are looking at ways of keeping the exploration "feel" in the game, because it's an important iconic part of Star Trek.
I'm one of those who adjudicatorhawk mentioned, who kind of liked the system and used it from time to time as a change of pace, just to get that Star Trek feel. It was one of the few parts of the game (aside from some of the better dev-created missions and Foundry missions) where that Star Trek feel was genuinely possible.
I'd really, really, really like something with a similar "feel" to replace it - so can we have a discussion around it?
Personally, I'd like to see Cryptic have a stab at procedurally-generated content with more mission parameters. That's what the originally-proposed "Genesis" system seems to have been. Are Cryptic going to introduce a "New Genesis" (har har) system? I certainly hope so!
I dunno, but something to give us that exploration "feel" has to be in the game.
I'm one of those who adjudicatorhawk mentioned, who kind of liked the system and used it from time to time as a change of pace, just to get that Star Trek feel. It was one of the few parts of the game (aside from some of the better dev-created missions and Foundry missions) where that Star Trek feel was genuinely possible.
I'd really, really, really like something with a similar "feel" to replace it - so can we have a discussion around it?
Personally, I'd like to see Cryptic have a stab at procedurally-generated content with more mission parameters. That's what the originally-proposed "Genesis" system seems to have been. Are Cryptic going to introduce a "New Genesis" (har har) system? I certainly hope so!
I dunno, but something to give us that exploration "feel" has to be in the game.
Post edited by gurugeorge on
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If you would like to sample the Foundry alternative to exploration, please check out my two missions "Explore Delta Volanis, Mission 1" and "Explore Delta Volanis, Mission 2."
You may or may not enjoy the Foundry as an alternative. But, it is the only alternative you have and will have in the future, most likely.
I'm of the opinion that Cryptic is at its best when it creates original stories. More, please.
EB
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That guy is really starting to become annoying...
If you reach a newer tier, you can choose an additional starcluster to explore. And so on.
P.S.: After writing this I read the joke for foundry rep. Isnt it nice how PWEs thoughprocesses are predictable?
You haven't played many missions from the foundry, have you?
We will NEVER see cryptic working in exploration missions (you should know this by now). Their schedule will never "let" em to work on something that is not $benefit based. Thats the whole point and the reason the foundry is the only solution to this "problem". We will never see mixed studio-created and foundry-player missions, just foundry-player missions.
Commanding Officer: Captain Pyotr Ramonovich Amosov
Dedication Plaque: "Nil Intentatum Reliquit"
Choosing as mission to do from a selection before you go, isn't exploration..
Easy. With a system that avoids the same mission again and again. Really simple. You travel to a cluster anomaly, you scan it, and the same way than before, with the exception that you will find a foundry mission "inside" instead of the old crappy ones. And the system will save that system so the next time you visit another anomaly, the same mission will not popup again.
Of course, it will be needed a cooldown bigger enough, and the missions should be long missions, not missions of 5-10 minutes. And as stated in other posts, we should have a reputation system or something like that, something that tell us that we are making great progress in our exploration 5 years mission lol.
In the beginning this system will be really crappy, since it will be only a few foundry missions available, but with time, and people participating in the foundry to make exploration missions, this could be the perfect solution.
I mean, honestly it can be done in a lot of ways, the only obstacle is cryptic itself.
Of course, just going to the missions tab, foundry and select an exploration missions.. that is out of question. That will be never exploration and it will make no sense at all. It will be just another foundry mission.
What they need to do is find a byte on the database where certain missions can be flagged as Exploration, and when you go to designated systems, it randomly selects one of those exploration foundry missions. That would be enough for me.
We would just have to depend on the creators of these foundry missions to be truthful in designating their creation as exploration. I would hate to do an exploration and end up in a farming mission.
Should the Foundry replace Exploration? No! Instead the Foundry should work hand-in-hand with exploration.
The way I'm picturing them implementing a Foundryesque Exploration system is basically no different than what Exploration Clusters were before - random content. What Exploration is, is encountering the unknown, like how we first experienced content in STO after we logged in for the first time - we don't know what's about to happen. And that's how STO should be. We enter a system, we don't know what's in that system. We don't know what kind of planets are in that system, what's in orbit in those worlds, we don't know what's on that planet. We don't have any idea what dangers we could be facing.
While the Foundry could handle the more complex storylines and create those strange new worlds and those new civlizations, Cryptic's end needs to generate those worlds. Is that planet a dead rock? Could that dead rock be a source of new material? Is that planet contain ancient ruins that might have a significant archaeological find that very well could reveal the secret of the Iconians in upcoming content?
I honestly think that STO can have true exploration, I just don't think the Dev Team is up to the challenge to really bring about that Trek experience. And if they really do want the Foundry to take over the role of exploration content, then they need to up the ante and provide better tools for the Foundry authors. I'm talking about full on control of the environment and creating our own worlds (including the terrain / geography). And tons more options to create alien life (complete with alien clothing, not them wearing Federation Uniforms).
So what's it going to be Geko?
Just wanted to share. You should probably listen to the full section of the stoked interview to really understand that statement.
But that is his definition of exploring in Star Trek Online. Find out where to get stuff. At least in this interview. Other interviews stressed the Foundry as fitting exploration.
This is pretty much my ongoing opinion of Geko.
As has been stated, "nothing" will probably replace Exploration. Simply because it was clearly too much effort to revamp something which was going to be impossible to monetize.
Yay. Foundry is going to save us all, just like RP. Yay. [/sarcasm]
No. Nothing will replace the exploration system. It's a case of "you will have nothing and LIKE IT".
Long term, the only thing that's going to replace exploration in STO is exploration in some other game that wants your business more.
They did need more things to draw upon. Most if the time it was go here, shoot that. Sometimes you got to scan anomalies. But it was mostly go here, shoot that.
The above is basically the mantra of the Star Trek franchise. It doesn't say 'to shoot people and blow stuff up'. Exploration in some form should be the core of a Star Trek MMO. Yes the old way was flawed, but it helped make this feel a little more like a Star Trek Universe i wanted to hang out in.
They trivialize it by saying the only exploration is in gathering TRIBBLE.