well i dont mind flores although i always adjust the shoulders and her face the first chance open to me. and k'gan as ever is anonymous. if there was to be an officer, they would have to impressive enough to keep around, but not to the point of annoyance.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Perhaps some of us like agonizing over names, races, and looks. All of my toons (4 fed, 2 Klingon, 2 Romulan) each have completely different crews (with unique looks, names, and uniforms).
The devs just got done gutting the game with 9.5, and now you want more options removed?
on my fed main every boff and my captain are based on both looks and names on OLD table top RPG characters we had back when DS9 was still on the air. so is my mains fed's ship a Galaxy-class the USS Victoria (even though now it's a venture/galaxy-x hybrid)
if i was forced to keep what ever boffs i got with limited customization it would of been impossible for me to do that and kill some of the fun. i actually wish there was a bit more races as well like a true photonic race that is customization
Awful suggestion. A game like STO thrives on detail and immersion. I know loads of people love the thrill of making their own crew, right down to bios. If you don't, just accept whatever random BOFF is assigned to you and you'll be fine.
I'd be happy with a compromise - something exactly like Flores or K'Gan but give them a voice and a bit of back story interweaved with the tutorial and first few missions. Don't base all the script around them, just give them enough spotlight to gain an identity.
Perhaps some of us like agonizing over names, races, and looks. All of my toons (4 fed, 2 Klingon, 2 Romulan) each have completely different crews (with unique looks, names, and uniforms).
The devs just got done gutting the game with 9.5, and now you want more options removed?
Gutting? How so? Please elaborate.
____GREAT LEADERS LET THEIR ACTIONS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I feel that Boffs remain an untapped resource within this game. From a money making perspective, they could start selling traits which could only be applied to Boffs or allowing for upgrades like a secondary weapon slot.
I think Tovan was an attempt to use a Boff to facilitate content but the execution was poorly done. The guy simply talked too much and at times gave the impression that the story was more about him. They should have handled it more like TOR where you go to your companion when you want some off the beaten path story content. They could write out missions based on the Boffs race i.e. Anodrian, Vulcan, Tellarite which has been mentioned before. We were also supposedly going to be able to play as our First Officer at some point.
Lastly, when are they going to tie in the Doff department heads into actual positions on the bridge? Would be nice to actually see my chief engineer in engineering, instead of sitting at some random out of the way console.
I think a lot would be fixed with better pre-sets and more subdued options along with replacing BOff abilities with the ability for BOffs to equip kit modules that we aren't using.
It isn't really about too much customization. It's that the game just doesn't have the ability to use BOFFs in really interesting ways.
Maybe if I was making Startrek Online II with 10 times the budget of Startrek Online I, I would give BOFFs certain "personality" traits that could be used in certain missions to have them take on specific roles and say personality-appropriate stuff. Maybe I could give them some voice choices, too. Maybe I would have a mission system where a bridge officer can actually act independent of the character, so you could send your science officer to make a "science skill check" or whatever on an interactable, rather than doing it myself and having my BOFFs watching me while they stand in a half-circle around me.
What I never ever though was that STO's rich customization was bad for the game and should be lowered. If I thought that, I'd play other MMOs.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
I was thinking: Why can't everyone just have a few assigned boffs that match their level and expertise (since you'll be playing with them from the beginning)? We don't have to worry about choosing a name, agonizing over race, spending hours customizing the appearance, and so forth. We can start the game with a few well-developed, right out of the package boffs that communicate with us as we play?
We do. We start with a bunch of preset BOFFs. Let me guess... you want to take the choice away?
Look, I know. You want that extra story element that Tovan gives. And that's fine. But making any more BOFFs mandatory is a bad idea. Not that there can't be a compromise though.
Really? You're actually asking them to remove one of the game's standout features?
It's amazing what people ask for. :rolleyes:
If anything I want more customization. Every character I have has a personality, backstory, etc that I created. ME. They are MY crew. Cryptic has zero say in who they are and what they do as far as I am concerned.
I would respectfully disagree with our OP, while appreciating his position.
I came into this game knowing exactly what I wanted my crew to look like and what I wanted each one to do. I had a preconceived MY crew in my head. I just upgraded my Vulcan First Officer from a green quality to a purple quality one and it pissed me off, since she was an early addition to my crew, I'm mad since she no longer stands directly beside me on the character select screen. My crew is of the same importance to the head canon of my character as Kirk's crew is to anyone who watches Star Trek. I don't need Cryptic to create them for me, all I need is for them to give me the tools to realize them for myself.
That would require multiple voice sample tracks for every line of dialogue, different personalities for each voice. It's something that would require a Blu ray's worth of memory, and five years worth of development. And it still wouldn't be perfect.
I don't hate Tovan Khev, I found him to be an upstanding young Romulan, and I was with him on his search for his sister. But, he did interfere with that head canon that I spoke of. I ended up feeling like my Romulan character for a time was a co-star instead of the star. Injecting her own story into it felt off. I appreciate the effort, but, I much prefer the customization we have now though.
I think a lot would be fixed with better pre-sets and more subdued options along with replacing BOff abilities with the ability for BOffs to equip kit modules that we aren't using.
That's the truth. Also Boff training could use a revamp. Things that are personality traits should actually be trainable skills. Boffs should continuously accrue expertise, according to what they do, for instance the more you use them for ground missions the more squad experience they acquire, when they reach a certain level you can send them back to the academy to upgrade their traits. You could also select specialties. Specialties are actually coming for our Captains or rather Admirals with the Expansion, so it's not far fetched. If I send a Boff back to the academy for Assault Squad leadership school I expect him to come back a better shot, with better flanking and AI. If my Doff goes to tactical school I want an accuracy bonus and an innate attack pattern bonus. My engineers should go for a cruise with the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and come back with a bonus for the Structural integrity field. That kind of thing.
I would like to see our Boffs be more than support fire in missions as well. My Tactical officer should not be hacking computers in missions, instead she should send her engineer character to do the hacking while she focuses on keeping him from being shot at. My medical BOFFs should be the one healing hurt npcs during missions not my engineer. That said, the reverse should also be true. If my character is an engineer then I should be the one stabilizing the warp core while my boffs cover me.
It isn't really about too much customization. It's that the game just doesn't have the ability to use BOFFs in really interesting ways.
Maybe if I was making Startrek Online II with 10 times the budget of Startrek Online I, I would give BOFFs certain "personality" traits that could be used in certain missions to have them take on specific roles and say personality-appropriate stuff. Maybe I could give them some voice choices, too. Maybe I would have a mission system where a bridge officer can actually act independent of the character, so you could send your science officer to make a "science skill check" or whatever on an interactable, rather than doing it myself and having my BOFFs watching me while they stand in a half-circle around me.
What I never ever though was that STO's rich customization was bad for the game and should be lowered. If I thought that, I'd play other MMOs.
I agree, for instance each piece of mission dialogue should have a matrix that determines how each boff would interpret it.
Personal example, the Doomsday Machine Mission. The Boff T'Sae, my main's Vulcan First Officer Wife. The conversation in the main game is like that of a first officer with a mild crush surprised at the Captain looking like a Klingon. For T'Sae however it would be subdued surprise at best, the report of readiness, and then a plain but pointed statement for her preference for her mate's normal form.
In order for that to come out I would need to be able to set up several overlapping profiles for the characters. Relationship, to establish the marriage, species culture, to establish the lack of exaggerated facial expressions (more Sarek than Data), and personality (T'Sae is a true Vulcan smart TRIBBLE but she's also very professional). For contrast, if it were my Klingon Doctor she's loud and a little obnoxious, so her remark would be a hearty laugh and telling him to keep it, it looks good.
"Rise like Lions after slumber, In unvanquishable number, Shake your chains to earth like dew, Which in sleep had fallen on you-Ye are many they are few"
If anything I want more customization. Every character I have has a personality, backstory, etc that I created. ME. They are MY crew. Cryptic has zero say in who they are and what they do as far as I am concerned.
heck i want boffs to have costume slots simular to the captains. so i can switch back on forth depending on the missions i run
i am strange an like to have me and my boffs in TOS uniforms when do the time traveling devidian missions and it;s a pain to run to a tailor to set them up then go back tot he trailer after words
One thing, though, and I realize I might be in the minority here: I really like Tovan Khev. I think, in the missions, his insights, advice, and voice acting make me feel like I'm on a team, not just followed around by a few bumbling, otherwise easily forgettable NPCs. I like the way he is implemented in the game, and I think Cryptic can do one better.
Firstly, Tovan is a traitor to the Star Empire and lives in my brig, as we are strangely unable to airlock him.
Secondly, It would work IF we are given the option to set their personalities, much like stances. Think of a system like Baldur's Gate where you can pick the voice/persona. Maybe even do one better and add some audio modulation so you can have a deep voiced female, warbly alien, etc. But having Cryptic give us more Tovans? No. Most of the characters they'd make would never be allowed on my bridge.
As are you. Didn't you listen to the Empress at the conference? By working with the Republic, you are in rebellion against your sovereign!
Deep cover agent working diligently to destroy D'Tan and his Unificationist government. The abomination of pretending we are "Federation-lite" will end.
i setup a toon last week, completely Russian inspired, this young man, his sisters, brother, father and the characters girlfriend are currently the main features of the crew, completely got rid of flores and the rest. i put another crewman on the staff, an android servant droid but also a tough bodyguard to the family and their family holdings. if i could i would add a few other characters important to the tight group including a completely male black african and the type thats more interested in his guns and machete on the team and a chinese female who is more like a spy in both cases, friends and working with the family of course im just thinking about it then chasing it up.. a fixed boff wouldnt be able to achieve that.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
I don't see why you would get to set their personalities, as you are assigned officers with their own lives, backstories, and so on. Their personalities will be a result of their experiences, not your whims. I think that less customization in some ways can mean better, more immersive gameplay.
I understand that many people disagree with that, but what I feel lacking most in many of the missions is a real sense of story and character (much less so in LoR). I don't really care about any of the character on a base emotional level, including myself, the protagonist. I think there needs to be a point where neat shinies, bells, and whistles go out the door in exchange for some good old fashioned storytelling.
Not necessarily - in Universe, a Captain doesn't pick a ship, maybe a choice of commands at best - they are given a ship to command. (which just happens to be the one we want them to have out of Universe)
Same with Officers - they are assigned, but again, they happen to be the ones we want, whether we wanted Cryptic's intended Boffs in your case, or a Star Trek feeling group in mine, or all VR SRO + Subterfuge + Infiltrator min/max set up as some want to use.
Right now, everyone wins - Story Boffs are there for those who want them, and minus one Rom Tac Officer, not there for those who don't want those Boffs. (for whatever reason)
And while the Story and character progression is reduced to account for the variety in player choices, there is always super-imposing your own story ideas on top of the essence STO gives to accomplish your own desires - there is nothing to stop you treating in mission conversation options as TES I-IV style are of conversation topics, left open for you to envision your characters own response and phrasing.
Nope, in fact there are 2 things glaring that need to be added IMHO, BoFF Trait selection (limited to existing species offering) with 1 space trait slot available to all. I mean..Who the hell wants a crew of Saurians or Romulans...one smells and the other steals anything that isn't tied down:D
Not necessarily - in Universe, a Captain doesn't pick a ship, maybe a choice of commands at best - they are given a ship to command. (which just happens to be the one we want them to have out of Universe)
Same with Officers - they are assigned, but again, they happen to be the ones we want, whether we wanted Cryptic's intended Boffs in your case, or a Star Trek feeling group in mine, or all VR SRO + Subterfuge + Infiltrator min/max set up as some want to use.
Right now, everyone wins - Story Boffs are there for those who want them, and minus one Rom Tac Officer, not there for those who don't want those Boffs. (for whatever reason)
And while the Story and character progression is reduced to account for the variety in player choices, there is always super-imposing your own story ideas on top of the essence STO gives to accomplish your own desires - there is nothing to stop you treating in mission conversation options as TES I-IV style are of conversation topics, left open for you to envision your characters own response and phrasing.
A bit more work perhaps, but no real hardship.
Actually Captain in Starfleet have pretty much to say in decision about his/her senior staff. A specially if Captain is well known person, and players characters become fast such person.
Nope, in fact there are 2 things glaring that need to be added IMHO, BoFF Trait selection (limited to existing species offering) with 1 space trait slot available to all. I mean..Who the hell wants a crew of Saurians or Romulans...one smells and the other steals anything that isn't tied down:D
Maybe not strict option to chose trait for BOff, but every species should have chance for every trait, some bigger other lower but still a chance. 1 racial trait as we have with our characters and 3 other random traits.
That's an easy fix; don't slot him to a station. He will eventually be forgotten as you progress.
Again, thats not the problem.
The problem is, that something that should be possible to do (discard tovan) cant be done, for a really lazy cheap attitude from cryptic. Thats the main issue that is getting the nerves of the players. I really dont care having Tovan there, i even like him.. :eek:, but i agree that not having the option to dismiss him is just, stupid, and shows a really poor method of doing things from cryptic's part. Besides, he is already using 1 slot, if you dont want him and you want to replace him for someone else, because you dont want to buy more slots, YOU CANT.
Tovan and other future non-dismissible BOFFs confirmed for undine infiltrators. It's too bad we can't send them over to the Tal Shiar in exchange for the borg techonology we redistributed to other Romulans in that one mission.
Comments
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
on my fed main every boff and my captain are based on both looks and names on OLD table top RPG characters we had back when DS9 was still on the air. so is my mains fed's ship a Galaxy-class the USS Victoria (even though now it's a venture/galaxy-x hybrid)
if i was forced to keep what ever boffs i got with limited customization it would of been impossible for me to do that and kill some of the fun. i actually wish there was a bit more races as well like a true photonic race that is customization
Gutting? How so? Please elaborate.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I think Tovan was an attempt to use a Boff to facilitate content but the execution was poorly done. The guy simply talked too much and at times gave the impression that the story was more about him. They should have handled it more like TOR where you go to your companion when you want some off the beaten path story content. They could write out missions based on the Boffs race i.e. Anodrian, Vulcan, Tellarite which has been mentioned before. We were also supposedly going to be able to play as our First Officer at some point.
Lastly, when are they going to tie in the Doff department heads into actual positions on the bridge? Would be nice to actually see my chief engineer in engineering, instead of sitting at some random out of the way console.
God knows, I've never touched Romulan content so I've no idea how good/bad he is. :P
What I meant by my comment was a compromise. The same idea as Mr Khev but scaled back.
So Elisa and K'Gan then.
Maybe if I was making Startrek Online II with 10 times the budget of Startrek Online I, I would give BOFFs certain "personality" traits that could be used in certain missions to have them take on specific roles and say personality-appropriate stuff. Maybe I could give them some voice choices, too. Maybe I would have a mission system where a bridge officer can actually act independent of the character, so you could send your science officer to make a "science skill check" or whatever on an interactable, rather than doing it myself and having my BOFFs watching me while they stand in a half-circle around me.
What I never ever though was that STO's rich customization was bad for the game and should be lowered. If I thought that, I'd play other MMOs.
Look, I know. You want that extra story element that Tovan gives. And that's fine. But making any more BOFFs mandatory is a bad idea. Not that there can't be a compromise though.
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Really? You're actually asking them to remove one of the game's standout features?
It's amazing what people ask for. :rolleyes:
If anything I want more customization. Every character I have has a personality, backstory, etc that I created. ME. They are MY crew. Cryptic has zero say in who they are and what they do as far as I am concerned.
I came into this game knowing exactly what I wanted my crew to look like and what I wanted each one to do. I had a preconceived MY crew in my head. I just upgraded my Vulcan First Officer from a green quality to a purple quality one and it pissed me off, since she was an early addition to my crew, I'm mad since she no longer stands directly beside me on the character select screen. My crew is of the same importance to the head canon of my character as Kirk's crew is to anyone who watches Star Trek. I don't need Cryptic to create them for me, all I need is for them to give me the tools to realize them for myself.
That would require multiple voice sample tracks for every line of dialogue, different personalities for each voice. It's something that would require a Blu ray's worth of memory, and five years worth of development. And it still wouldn't be perfect.
I don't hate Tovan Khev, I found him to be an upstanding young Romulan, and I was with him on his search for his sister. But, he did interfere with that head canon that I spoke of. I ended up feeling like my Romulan character for a time was a co-star instead of the star. Injecting her own story into it felt off. I appreciate the effort, but, I much prefer the customization we have now though.
That's the truth. Also Boff training could use a revamp. Things that are personality traits should actually be trainable skills. Boffs should continuously accrue expertise, according to what they do, for instance the more you use them for ground missions the more squad experience they acquire, when they reach a certain level you can send them back to the academy to upgrade their traits. You could also select specialties. Specialties are actually coming for our Captains or rather Admirals with the Expansion, so it's not far fetched. If I send a Boff back to the academy for Assault Squad leadership school I expect him to come back a better shot, with better flanking and AI. If my Doff goes to tactical school I want an accuracy bonus and an innate attack pattern bonus. My engineers should go for a cruise with the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and come back with a bonus for the Structural integrity field. That kind of thing.
I would like to see our Boffs be more than support fire in missions as well. My Tactical officer should not be hacking computers in missions, instead she should send her engineer character to do the hacking while she focuses on keeping him from being shot at. My medical BOFFs should be the one healing hurt npcs during missions not my engineer. That said, the reverse should also be true. If my character is an engineer then I should be the one stabilizing the warp core while my boffs cover me.
I agree, for instance each piece of mission dialogue should have a matrix that determines how each boff would interpret it.
Personal example, the Doomsday Machine Mission. The Boff T'Sae, my main's Vulcan First Officer Wife. The conversation in the main game is like that of a first officer with a mild crush surprised at the Captain looking like a Klingon. For T'Sae however it would be subdued surprise at best, the report of readiness, and then a plain but pointed statement for her preference for her mate's normal form.
In order for that to come out I would need to be able to set up several overlapping profiles for the characters. Relationship, to establish the marriage, species culture, to establish the lack of exaggerated facial expressions (more Sarek than Data), and personality (T'Sae is a true Vulcan smart TRIBBLE but she's also very professional). For contrast, if it were my Klingon Doctor she's loud and a little obnoxious, so her remark would be a hearty laugh and telling him to keep it, it looks good.
heck i want boffs to have costume slots simular to the captains. so i can switch back on forth depending on the missions i run
i am strange an like to have me and my boffs in TOS uniforms when do the time traveling devidian missions and it;s a pain to run to a tailor to set them up then go back tot he trailer after words
Firstly, Tovan is a traitor to the Star Empire and lives in my brig, as we are strangely unable to airlock him.
Secondly, It would work IF we are given the option to set their personalities, much like stances. Think of a system like Baldur's Gate where you can pick the voice/persona. Maybe even do one better and add some audio modulation so you can have a deep voiced female, warbly alien, etc. But having Cryptic give us more Tovans? No. Most of the characters they'd make would never be allowed on my bridge.
Deep cover agent working diligently to destroy D'Tan and his Unificationist government. The abomination of pretending we are "Federation-lite" will end.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Not necessarily - in Universe, a Captain doesn't pick a ship, maybe a choice of commands at best - they are given a ship to command. (which just happens to be the one we want them to have out of Universe)
Same with Officers - they are assigned, but again, they happen to be the ones we want, whether we wanted Cryptic's intended Boffs in your case, or a Star Trek feeling group in mine, or all VR SRO + Subterfuge + Infiltrator min/max set up as some want to use.
Right now, everyone wins - Story Boffs are there for those who want them, and minus one Rom Tac Officer, not there for those who don't want those Boffs. (for whatever reason)
And while the Story and character progression is reduced to account for the variety in player choices, there is always super-imposing your own story ideas on top of the essence STO gives to accomplish your own desires - there is nothing to stop you treating in mission conversation options as TES I-IV style are of conversation topics, left open for you to envision your characters own response and phrasing.
A bit more work perhaps, but no real hardship.
Actually Captain in Starfleet have pretty much to say in decision about his/her senior staff. A specially if Captain is well known person, and players characters become fast such person.
Maybe not strict option to chose trait for BOff, but every species should have chance for every trait, some bigger other lower but still a chance. 1 racial trait as we have with our characters and 3 other random traits.
Again, thats not the problem.
The problem is, that something that should be possible to do (discard tovan) cant be done, for a really lazy cheap attitude from cryptic. Thats the main issue that is getting the nerves of the players. I really dont care having Tovan there, i even like him.. :eek:, but i agree that not having the option to dismiss him is just, stupid, and shows a really poor method of doing things from cryptic's part. Besides, he is already using 1 slot, if you dont want him and you want to replace him for someone else, because you dont want to buy more slots, YOU CANT.