My thoughts on the Guardian

ccarmichael07 · September 2014

So after much hammering on the T6 Intel ships, I'll start by saying nice job on the visuals for the Guardian!

Now to the meat and potatoes:

1. Size: With a crew of 1100 and Turn Rate of 6.5, this ship by stats alone is going to be the size of a Galaxy Class, or larger. I had hoped on first glance in the preview pic from last week that with it's distinctly Ambassador styling, the Guardian would be similar in size to an Ambassador, with a turn rate to compliment.

In this particular case, I am disappointed. I would prefer to see an emphasis on creating "mid-size" cruiser options, so a person doesn't have to choose between a massive WWII battleship or a dinky WWII frigate. There are so few "mid-size" ships in game, and they are either in the Escort line (Prometheus) or the Science line (Intrepid).

2. Turn Rate: the nice thing about ships like the Avenger, Ambassador and Regent is the turn rate. They function nicely as cruisers, while being manueverable enough to hang in a fight with Escorts. After 4 years of complaints from Galaxy fans on the turn rate issue, I would have hoped that Cryptic wouldn't repeat the mistakes of the Galaxy. Apparently, they have. While having a Lt. Cmdr. Tactical Officer and 3 Tactical Consoles gives the Guardian some bite, the sluggish turn really limits what the ship can do offensively.

3. Style nit-pick: This is just a personal nitpick, but the pictures of the Guardian suggest it has a very thick saucer and a long neck. Maybe when I see it on game it won't be so bad, but right now it feels like if a person were to kitbash a Constellation saucer onto a Constitution neck, with an Excelsior stardrive section to round it out. Basically a tall, long giraffe. Again, I haven't seen it in game, so maybe it's not as bad as the pictures make it out to be.

4. Special Powers Fanfare: This is really a pet peeve in general, but why do our ship abilities have to appear like they were design by The Joker and Harley Quinn? Imagine how long TOS, TNG, DS9 or VOY would have lasted if everytime they did something special to save the ship, it was accompanied by the visual effects used in STO to indicate something happening.

What I am getting at is how distracting that can be. When I'm fighting a space battle, I want to focus on the battle, and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Trek-battle in front of me, not suddenly have my screen light up with giant bubbles of Harley Quinn style flamboyant fanfare, which takes my eyes away from what is going on in the battle.

Ok, so that's it, that's all I've got for my feedback on the Guardian. Even with everything I have said, I think it's a good looking ship, and I am considering buying one. Just need to see it up close and personal first.

davideight · September 2014

i think the turnrate issues are quite neglectable these days, since eptE1 and the new r&d eng console give pretty much turn + additional turn when struck. (my oddy moves like an excelsior already) so i think, for a galaxy descendant its okay. since we also have access to omega1 its doable!

designwise i think its really okay. id liked a broader saucer more than the egg-shape forwarded ones, but at least they keep a design line in those mat6 ships.

indeed the saucer looks a bit "thick" its 3-4 decks (galaxy hat 2 decks edge hight.) though we only see one row of windows. BUT the newer ships are more resilient in design at the beginning so its fitting the theme i think.

(i always thought the galaxy to be tooo sleek and thin, though its a beauty)

but i think it will work out in combination with the more edgy nacelle design and the pretty solid neck part.
overall i think its a well done mixture of ambassador and galaxy, where galaxy was sleek design and the ambassador was a more rough and resilient battle-cruiser like thing.
its a worthy design id put in the line with the oddy and the venture and the tempest.
its plausible, treklike and its a ship that could easily carry the name enterprise - if we didnt already have one ,-))) its a ship thats quite imaginable as a new workhorse cruiser.

smokeybacon90 · September 2014

Why are people still crying about turn rates?

For beamboats it is completely negligible. Forget RCS, stick on 3 hull Neuts, and laugh as you FAW everything attempting to hurt you.

For cannon builds, you are using the wrong type of ship anyway.

elglass · September 2014

Is it just me: looking at it, (in appearance and stats), the Guardian looks like the Sovereign and Galaxy had too much to drink one night and 9 months later the Galaxy (because we all know it would be the mother), popped out a Guardian Cruiser.

grayfoxjames · September 2014

Well the hull looks like the hull of the Odyssey and so do the nacelles just turned to the side. I bought the pack myself but I still really, really like the look of the Odyssey and chances are I might still end up flying my Oddy.

My thoughts on the Guardian

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