so we can go there and do what?
stare at some colored walls... and?
the old bar was useless already... so... other than 30 seconds satisfaction over the look... what does it have to offer?
Extra environment.
Not all of the content in an MMO has to be gameplay mechanics. The Club is simply part of the world. It's one of the things that make you 'feel' a little more immersed in the in-game world.
But for those of you who don't feel that the art efforts are worth it, maybe Taco can post a few photos of what ESD, the Club, etc look like just in the white-boxing stage, or even furbished but without some of the added ambiance pieces? Sure, functionality can be added to those placeholders, but that wouldn't be an MMO I'd feel like logging into.
Does the water in ESD serve a purpose? Does the MSD on the Voyager bridge serve a purpose? Heck, does the entire Voyager interior serve a purpose? No, not really. But it all looks and feels awesome to play in! Without fantastic efforts by the art team, an MMO is a very dull place. It's the little things (often resulting from big efforts behind the scenes) that make an MMO whole.
Looks great on ESD. It's no KDF bar and grill with the Orion dancing girls and huge stone fireplace but it looks nice.
One thing you might want to think about the next time your making a social area is one where all three factions (Fed, Rom, KDF) have influence over the design. Also if you can let it have a large player limit for parties and things that'd be great. (Think new Drozana or something where most all levels can go.)
Finally for that kind of place maybe you can set it up so you see some of the players bridge crew as NPC's at the bar? That way as players beam in and out the NPC's can mix up with different crews checking in and out.
A Trill, a Gorn, a Jem'Hadar, Bejoran and a Voth walk into a bar, and the Bartender asks "What is this a Joke?"
"Nope, just my away team" the trill replies before ordering a round for the bar.
Not all of the content in an MMO has to be gameplay mechanics. The Club is simply part of the world. It's one of the things that make you 'feel' a little more immersed in the in-game world.
But for those of you who don't feel that the art efforts are worth it, maybe Taco can post a few photos of what ESD, the Club, etc look like just in the white-boxing stage, or even furbished but without some of the added ambiance pieces? Sure, functionality can be added to those placeholders, but that wouldn't be an MMO I'd feel like logging into.
Does the water in ESD serve a purpose? Does the MSD on the Voyager bridge serve a purpose? Heck, does the entire Voyager interior serve a purpose? No, not really. But it all looks and feels awesome to play in! Without fantastic efforts by the art team, an MMO is a very dull place. It's the little things (often resulting from big efforts behind the scenes) that make an MMO whole.
Again, many thanks to Taco for the work!
really?
extra environment?
such as andoria? captains table? or all the other places that nobody visits because they have no use?
instead of working on the club the devs could have designed a few romulan and klingon t6 ships instead
that would have made more sense
I would hazzard a guess that they work best when not stepping on each others metaphorical toes.
If you are suggesting that more work should be done on ship interiors than Social zones, then fair point, but new ships takes a lot more work from many other developers to get done.
The club was mostly just Taco
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More ships (and note it's plural, so the release of Voyager isn't the end of that) are confirmed to be on the way. Work is continuing on all fronts, because there are different staff who do different things. Taco's work has not effected any delays in bug fixes or ship design.
And for Andoria, Captains' Table, etc, potentially part of the reason that players don't frequent there is because there are several maps throughout the game that could use an update. New environment content encourages the player to revisit old locations and explore the world. Eventually, the novelty of a new Club 47 will wear off, and players will flock to explore the next map that Taco redesigns. It's a cycle, to keep delivering new content in all forms.
I would hazzard a guess that they work best when not stepping on each others metaphorical toes.
If you are suggesting that more work should be done on ship interiors than Social zones, then fair point, but new ships takes a lot more work from many other developers to get done.
The club was mostly just Taco
Well, as being involved in game development for 10 years meanwhile I can tell for sure that environment artist and ship artist are based on exactly the same working procedures. It does not matter if you create a plant for new map or a new ship... the same modeling tools are involved... both have to be textured and for both hardpoints have to be created.
The only difference is that ships require some stats, but that hardly can be a problem.
It does not matter if you create a plant for new map or a new ship... the same modeling tools are involved... both have to be textured and for both hardpoints have to be created.
Potted plants have weapon slots?
This is definitely news to me.
Laws of thermodynamics as applied to life: 0 - You must play the game. 1 - You can't win. 2 - You can't break even. 3 - You can't quit.
Well, I'm sorry so many of you feel that this is wasted work.
Trust me, as much as you may want a programming or systems design bug fixed, you do not want me to be the one to "fix" it. It is far better for everyone (including you) that I stick to making maps.
I hope that once open, some of you can see past your distaste. amd will take advantage of the revised Club 47.
Speaking only for myself, I did say kudos on the look.
Unfortunately, Taco, if you're not pulled off things like Club 47 to fix bugs, then the least they should do is have everyone not doing that tracking them down so we the customers aren't still playing what amounts to a Beta five years out from, well, Beta.
And it's not distaste for you or Club 47. It's customer dissatisfaction (HUGE difference between that and "distaste") and frustration with Cryptic that we're getting new fluff (with all due respect, the club is fluff) while the game overall is horribly, horribly broken.
Every single person at Cryptic should be working on finding and fixing bugs, not adding unnecessary - if pretty - non-essential filler.
So yes, the club looks great, but all of STO's resources should be aimed at fixing the botched mess Cryptic created 5 years ago and continues to destroy - even when "resources" means those team members who would not normally be tasked with bugs and game-breaking issues.
Being apparently unable to understand this is one of the tons of reasons why so many customers are so dissatisfied with Cryptic's overall performance with STO.
Every single person at Cryptic should be working on finding and fixing bugs, not adding unnecessary - if pretty - non-essential filler.
So yes, the club looks great, but all of STO's resources should be aimed at fixing the botched mess Cryptic created 5 years ago and continues to destroy - even when "resources" means those team members who would not normally be tasked with bugs and game-breaking issues.
So if I understand you correctly, someone who specializes and is experienced in environmental models and art should also know how to fix gameplay bugs in code?
Laws of thermodynamics as applied to life: 0 - You must play the game. 1 - You can't win. 2 - You can't break even. 3 - You can't quit.
So if I understand you correctly, someone who specializes and is experienced in environmental models and art should also know how to fix gameplay bugs in code?
I *think* he was suggesting taco actually PLAY the game and FIND bugs, point them out to the people that do code. The kind of bugs we players hit every time we load the game almost anymore
So if I understand you correctly, someone who specializes and is experienced in environmental models and art should also know how to fix gameplay bugs in code?
I *think* he was suggesting taco actually PLAY the game and FIND bugs, point them out to the people that do code. The kind of bugs we players hit every time we load the game almost anymore
Shouldn't it be players that submit the bug reports themselves?
Taco's a environmental artist, not a meatbag that can be assigned to any random department on players' whims.
Laws of thermodynamics as applied to life: 0 - You must play the game. 1 - You can't win. 2 - You can't break even. 3 - You can't quit.
I really wish people wouldn't drag threads with dev interaction down to the depths of " I don;t care what your actual job is fix bugs"
Taco may be one of the most vocal devs, It doesn't make him single handedly responsible for every thing in the game.
It concerns me that if people keep dragging the mood down when the environment dev does his job well, comes into the thread to show it off, to be deservedly proud to showcase their efforts, Then even Taco, who is one of the few motivated to post often, will become decreasingly willing to do so.
Frequently people complain that the developers are not doing their jobs properly, Well here is one who consistently delivers good results and all people can do is tell them to go do the other developers jobs instead of his
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I really wish people wouldn't drag threads with dev interaction down to the depths of " I don;t care what your actual job is fix bugs"
Taco may be one of the most vocal devs, It doesn't make him single handedly responsible for every thing in the game.
It concerns me that if people keep dragging the mood down when the environment dev does his job well, comes into the thread to show it off, to be deservedly proud to showcase their efforts, Then even Taco, who is one of the few motivated to post often, will become decreasingly willing to do so.
Frequently people complain that the developers are not doing their jobs properly, Well here is one who consistently delivers good results and all people can do is tell them to go do the other developers jobs instead of his
Well said.
Inane statements such as those you've highlighted infuriate me greatly.
Laws of thermodynamics as applied to life: 0 - You must play the game. 1 - You can't win. 2 - You can't break even. 3 - You can't quit.
Shouldn't it be players that submit the bug reports themselves?
Taco's a environmental artist, not a meatbag that can be assigned to any random department on players' whims.
You have absolutely missed the point. 100%.
As a customer, I do not go into a store to sort through every sweater to find the one with the hole in it.
I do not go into a restaurant and try steak after steak until I find the one with the most gristle.
I do not wander into the supermarket and search through the melons to find the one that's bruised and rotting at the bottom of the pile.
I am a customer, and as such, I expect the company to do that.
As one of Cryptic's customers, I expect them to understand the importance of fixing STO, because this game is almost 5 years out of Beta and they are not devoting all of their available resources to fixing the botched job they did back then, which has simply compounded to the cluster-f of code they call "Star Trek Online" today.
Five years ago, I was a beta tester. Today I am a customer. I do not expect to be doing Cryptic's QA. I shouldn't expect to - unless they're paying me to do it.
So no, Taco and his team are not "meatbags.' But they ARE employees at Cryptic, and given the state of this game, I think it's more important that they actually play the game and hunt down bugs so that the people who DO know how to fix things can get them fixed.
The artwork Taco and his team have done on this game has been consistently great, but the game their work goes into is deplorable.
It may not be in the art team's job description, but fixing the existing game is vastly more important than adding new artwork (which, while it looks amazing, will leave Taco's hands and then go to other departments to be implemented - where they'll likely break the game even more).
And it's not "players' whims." It's a desperate need for bug-finding. Because apparently the people who are SUPPOSED to do it are entirely inadequate to the job in hand.
I really wish people wouldn't drag threads with dev interaction down to the depths of " I don;t care what your actual job is fix bugs"
Taco may be one of the most vocal devs, It doesn't make him single handedly responsible for every thing in the game.
It concerns me that if people keep dragging the mood down when the environment dev does his job well, comes into the thread to show it off, to be deservedly proud to showcase their efforts, Then even Taco, who is one of the few motivated to post often, will become decreasingly willing to do so.
Frequently people complain that the developers are not doing their jobs properly, Well here is one who consistently delivers good results and all people can do is tell them to go do the other developers jobs instead of his
Given the state of this game, it's impossible to bring the mood any further down.
Nobody said Taco was single-handedly responsible for everything in the game.
I suggested that instead of giving a green light to non-essential fluff, Cryptic take Every.Single.Employee off what they're doing to go hunt bugs and then give that information to the people who can fix them.
This game needs fixes, quality assurance and competence. While Taco and his team appear to be the only competent component of STO's development, fixing the game is simply more important.
You know, so people keep playing the game, and thus it lives on.
As a customer, I do not go into a store to sort through every sweater to find the one with the hole in it.
I do not go into a restaurant and try steak after steak until I find the one with the most gristle.
I do not wander into the supermarket and search through the melons to find the one that's bruised and rotting at the bottom of the pile.
I am a customer, and as such, I expect the company to do that.
As one of Cryptic's customers, I expect them to understand the importance of fixing STO, because this game is almost 5 years out of Beta and they are not devoting all of their available resources to fixing the botched job they did back then, which has simply compounded to the cluster-f of code they call "Star Trek Online" today.
Five years ago, I was a beta tester. Today I am a customer. I do not expect to be doing Cryptic's QA. I shouldn't expect to - unless they're paying me to do it.
So no, Taco and his team are not "meatbags.' But they ARE employees at Cryptic, and given the state of this game, I think it's more important that they actually play the game and hunt down bugs so that the people who DO know how to fix things can get them fixed.
The artwork Taco and his team have done on this game has been consistently great, but the game their work goes into is deplorable.
It may not be in the art team's job description, but fixing the existing game is vastly more important than adding new artwork (which, while it looks amazing, will leave Taco's hands and then go to other departments to be implemented - where they'll likely break the game even more).
And it's not "players' whims." It's a desperate need for bug-finding. Because apparently the people who are SUPPOSED to do it are entirely inadequate to the job in hand.
^this, plus, perhaps if a DEV, regardless of department, notices and reports these bugs to other devs, who knows maybe they'll actually get fixed. Maybe if the devs actually spent a little time playing the bugged content they'd appreciate why many players would love nothing but a whole season of bug fixes, from little things like outfit clipping issues to major ones causing people to not be able to play.
Graet a club.. instead of fixing the glitched in the game or providing real customer service ..yea i see hoe this important,,,,
1.. fix glitches
2.. fix quables so people that are under geared can't mess things up for the rest of us that are geared
3..provide real customer service..and stop treating people that spend money on the game like 2 year olds
Those 3 things would make me happy not a stupid club
You do realize that different people work on different areas of the game. Just because they have some artists working on this doesn't mean they aren't working on other projects and it doesn't mean other staff members aren't addressing bugs. Club 47 seems to have been a back burner project for some time. I dont understand your rant at all, it is as if you think that a company can only work on one thing at a time.... well a team of people are constantly working on all sorts of things on this game. I for one am really happy to see the return of this club. It was one of the main draws to the old ESD, and will likely be heavily used in the upcoming winter events, as ESD is the portal to Qs wonder land.
I have to agree. The new artwork is amazing but I also wish that the other parts of the game creators can squash the bugs that are in the system.
I have lately found myself playing a bit less and less as time goes by not because of boredom but because I am getting frustrated at all of the issues that seem to be random in nature.
No there is nothing wrong with my computers configuration or internet connection.
A few random things that drive me nuts:
1. Tray loadout issues for ships
2. Tray loadout issues on ground (I keep seeing a message about cannot equip certain items)
3. The Aegis set now has lost its ability even with a 3 piece set when equipped
4. Server Disconnects (not all the time but about once a day at least)
5. The overall Cryptic graphics engine needs either a complete overhaul or be replaced to compete with modern day graphics to enable Mantle support for lower end hardware or better support for Intel HD 4000 or 4600 IGP (I don't use either but have tried and its not good)
6. These perpetual war zones are beautifull and expansive but the rewards were not enough to keep players around. (Go take a peek at the Ground Voth battlezone.. hardly anyone is there)
7. The penalty for away from keyboard players needs to return... Ever notice how a few people in the mirror invasion -regular mode- just seem to sit there and let the station go offline? Not cool.
8. Fix the issue of the penalty for Advanced and Elite where a false trigger for abandoning when the server has that nasty random disconnect not at the players fault.
Guessing 7 and 8 could actually both be caused from the server disconnect.. Not sure but its still not fun.
Whoever the new graphics artwork people are, Amazing work! Not please get the rest of the game creators to get the game back to a fully operational state like right before Season 8.5 started.
I have to admit that I have kept my wallet tightly clamped shut because of some of these issues.
I was happy to open my wallet when the game actually ran faster and had ZERO connection issues last year. It was super fun! Heck I was even able to run around with /renderscale 2 turned on all the time for totally awesome graphics. Not so much anymore
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Greywolf Taskforce - Officer of the Fleet
I am saddened by all the negative comments. I have been waiting for club 47 to reemerge for months. This was always a happening spot on the old ESD, especially during Q events. It's a great place to role play and meet new people. Not everything in a game has to be gameplay, and not every staff member can fix bugs. I for one really appreciate that Cryptic employs Toco amoung others to consistantly revamp old maps and add bells and whistles.
Are there serious bugs that need to be addressed? yes
Is it Tacos job? no
Should taco be waisting his/her time and cryptic waisting the money spent on his/her paycheck having Taco playing the game to find bugs? no
Should players report bugs? yes. It isn't hard, it takes a few seconds. I do it myself.
I wish Cryptic doubled their efforts to fix bugs too. Maybe have a season where all they do is fix bugs, revamp dated episodes, and maybe even rework sad maps. But did the time Taco spent finishing ESD and bringing back a beloved part of it (loved by a good amount of the hard core role play players, which many spend a lot of money on the game) prevent any of this from happening? Absolutely not.
As a trek fan it saddens me to see people fail to understand Gene Roddenberry's vision of humanity. The vile nastiness here, and failure to understand that the mmo's development team all do different thins is so beneath us. This is GOOD NEWS.
Taco. Thank you so much. I am really excited to get in there and dance with my new cat, and my fancy clothes. An mmo to me is a world I can spend time doing a lot more things than missions and blowing things up. Social zones to me are the best part. Your work is super appreciated!
It may not be in the art team's job description, but fixing the existing game is vastly more important than adding new artwork (which, while it looks amazing, will leave Taco's hands and then go to other departments to be implemented - where they'll likely break the game even more).
.
WRONG
Taco has already explianed in this thread the implementation process has been done by himself, no additional developers are needed to add a map unless it has new functionalities that need to be hooked up to it
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devoting all of their available resources to fixing the botched job they did back then
They are not willing to devote ALL of their resources to this and many players would leave the game if they did.
If you want some resources devoted to fixes, you're in luck, because some are.
If you want more resources devoted to fixes, I think that's reasonable. There are ways I think the resources they have devoted to this could be improved. I would certainly like a major consistency pass regarding how things are earned, that reward offers are consistent for the time/effort value, and special attention paid as to why content is worth doing.
If you want ALL resources devoted into bug fixing? No. No. Heck, I think you could probably even get a hard "no" to that from a developer and they aren't communicating all that much.
If I go out to eat and they mess up the order, I think it's fair to send it back. I think it's fair to expect assurances they're doing something to make things better and if problems keep persisting that special effort is being paid and that systems and practices are changing to do a better job fixing things.
What's not reasonable is if you go out to eat, they mess up your order, and you insist that every waiter in the restaurant and everyone in the kitchen gather around your table.
Do I want new and better bugfixes and a priority on polish? Heck, yes.
Would putting everyone on that task accomplish that? No.
It's the procedures that need fixing more than the manpower on the task.
2 more devs on each team doing bugfixes and polish might accomplish a lot. But 100% of dev efforts going into that would probably just exponentially increase the number of bugs because they'd be magnifying the problems that caused the initial bugs to slip through in the first place. Because the same approaches that caused the bugs would be applied to all the fixes.
Comments
stare at some colored walls... and?
the old bar was useless already... so... other than 30 seconds satisfaction over the look... what does it have to offer?
(please let the answer be: "bar fight")
Extra environment.
Not all of the content in an MMO has to be gameplay mechanics. The Club is simply part of the world. It's one of the things that make you 'feel' a little more immersed in the in-game world.
But for those of you who don't feel that the art efforts are worth it, maybe Taco can post a few photos of what ESD, the Club, etc look like just in the white-boxing stage, or even furbished but without some of the added ambiance pieces? Sure, functionality can be added to those placeholders, but that wouldn't be an MMO I'd feel like logging into.
Does the water in ESD serve a purpose? Does the MSD on the Voyager bridge serve a purpose? Heck, does the entire Voyager interior serve a purpose? No, not really. But it all looks and feels awesome to play in! Without fantastic efforts by the art team, an MMO is a very dull place. It's the little things (often resulting from big efforts behind the scenes) that make an MMO whole.
Again, many thanks to Taco for the work!
One thing you might want to think about the next time your making a social area is one where all three factions (Fed, Rom, KDF) have influence over the design. Also if you can let it have a large player limit for parties and things that'd be great. (Think new Drozana or something where most all levels can go.)
Finally for that kind of place maybe you can set it up so you see some of the players bridge crew as NPC's at the bar? That way as players beam in and out the NPC's can mix up with different crews checking in and out.
Taco Fangs, you need to come party with us when we do!
"Nope, just my away team" the trill replies before ordering a round for the bar.
It would just be so perfect to tie the game back to it's spiritual predecessor in that way.
Well, I can dream... :cool:
there are some certain choreographies I want to try on stage to "I'm to sexy" and "Don't talk just kiss"
really?
extra environment?
such as andoria? captains table? or all the other places that nobody visits because they have no use?
instead of working on the club the devs could have designed a few romulan and klingon t6 ships instead
that would have made more sense
Environment Artist =/= Ship artist, Taco makes maps, this guy http://thomasthecat.tumblr.com/post/102919753440/this-is-the-pathfinder-class-starship-i-designed is one of the staff that makes the ships
I would hazzard a guess that they work best when not stepping on each others metaphorical toes.
If you are suggesting that more work should be done on ship interiors than Social zones, then fair point, but new ships takes a lot more work from many other developers to get done.
The club was mostly just Taco
Agreed. Totally agreed.
swatop:
https://twitter.com/trekonlinegame/status/533099897067548672
More ships (and note it's plural, so the release of Voyager isn't the end of that) are confirmed to be on the way. Work is continuing on all fronts, because there are different staff who do different things. Taco's work has not effected any delays in bug fixes or ship design.
And for Andoria, Captains' Table, etc, potentially part of the reason that players don't frequent there is because there are several maps throughout the game that could use an update. New environment content encourages the player to revisit old locations and explore the world. Eventually, the novelty of a new Club 47 will wear off, and players will flock to explore the next map that Taco redesigns. It's a cycle, to keep delivering new content in all forms.
Well, as being involved in game development for 10 years meanwhile I can tell for sure that environment artist and ship artist are based on exactly the same working procedures. It does not matter if you create a plant for new map or a new ship... the same modeling tools are involved... both have to be textured and for both hardpoints have to be created.
The only difference is that ships require some stats, but that hardly can be a problem.
Potted plants have weapon slots?
This is definitely news to me.
Speaking only for myself, I did say kudos on the look.
Unfortunately, Taco, if you're not pulled off things like Club 47 to fix bugs, then the least they should do is have everyone not doing that tracking them down so we the customers aren't still playing what amounts to a Beta five years out from, well, Beta.
And it's not distaste for you or Club 47. It's customer dissatisfaction (HUGE difference between that and "distaste") and frustration with Cryptic that we're getting new fluff (with all due respect, the club is fluff) while the game overall is horribly, horribly broken.
Every single person at Cryptic should be working on finding and fixing bugs, not adding unnecessary - if pretty - non-essential filler.
So yes, the club looks great, but all of STO's resources should be aimed at fixing the botched mess Cryptic created 5 years ago and continues to destroy - even when "resources" means those team members who would not normally be tasked with bugs and game-breaking issues.
Being apparently unable to understand this is one of the tons of reasons why so many customers are so dissatisfied with Cryptic's overall performance with STO.
So if I understand you correctly, someone who specializes and is experienced in environmental models and art should also know how to fix gameplay bugs in code?
I *think* he was suggesting taco actually PLAY the game and FIND bugs, point them out to the people that do code. The kind of bugs we players hit every time we load the game almost anymore
Shouldn't it be players that submit the bug reports themselves?
Taco's a environmental artist, not a meatbag that can be assigned to any random department on players' whims.
Taco may be one of the most vocal devs, It doesn't make him single handedly responsible for every thing in the game.
It concerns me that if people keep dragging the mood down when the environment dev does his job well, comes into the thread to show it off, to be deservedly proud to showcase their efforts, Then even Taco, who is one of the few motivated to post often, will become decreasingly willing to do so.
Frequently people complain that the developers are not doing their jobs properly, Well here is one who consistently delivers good results and all people can do is tell them to go do the other developers jobs instead of his
Well said.
Inane statements such as those you've highlighted infuriate me greatly.
but seeing this little pic just makes me wanna make my alien have more "fluorescent" markings\makeup :P
http://images-cdn.perfectworld.com/arc/22/b5/22b507ebe0e3244a80eb837eb4d9ab841415993505.gif
You have absolutely missed the point. 100%.
As a customer, I do not go into a store to sort through every sweater to find the one with the hole in it.
I do not go into a restaurant and try steak after steak until I find the one with the most gristle.
I do not wander into the supermarket and search through the melons to find the one that's bruised and rotting at the bottom of the pile.
I am a customer, and as such, I expect the company to do that.
As one of Cryptic's customers, I expect them to understand the importance of fixing STO, because this game is almost 5 years out of Beta and they are not devoting all of their available resources to fixing the botched job they did back then, which has simply compounded to the cluster-f of code they call "Star Trek Online" today.
Five years ago, I was a beta tester. Today I am a customer. I do not expect to be doing Cryptic's QA. I shouldn't expect to - unless they're paying me to do it.
So no, Taco and his team are not "meatbags.' But they ARE employees at Cryptic, and given the state of this game, I think it's more important that they actually play the game and hunt down bugs so that the people who DO know how to fix things can get them fixed.
The artwork Taco and his team have done on this game has been consistently great, but the game their work goes into is deplorable.
It may not be in the art team's job description, but fixing the existing game is vastly more important than adding new artwork (which, while it looks amazing, will leave Taco's hands and then go to other departments to be implemented - where they'll likely break the game even more).
And it's not "players' whims." It's a desperate need for bug-finding. Because apparently the people who are SUPPOSED to do it are entirely inadequate to the job in hand.
Given the state of this game, it's impossible to bring the mood any further down.
Nobody said Taco was single-handedly responsible for everything in the game.
I suggested that instead of giving a green light to non-essential fluff, Cryptic take Every.Single.Employee off what they're doing to go hunt bugs and then give that information to the people who can fix them.
This game needs fixes, quality assurance and competence. While Taco and his team appear to be the only competent component of STO's development, fixing the game is simply more important.
You know, so people keep playing the game, and thus it lives on.
Why is that so hard for people to comprehend?
I want to make it clear that I'm not taking a swipe at you or your team, nor am I attempting to belittle your work.
The work you've done for the game is frankly the game's brightest (and I believe only) thing Cryptic should be proud of when it comes to STO.
I just think that adding more great artwork to STO is like putting tinsel and lights (your work) on a dog's leavings (STO).
Sure, it makes it look better, but the underlying problem is still there and seriously needs to be dealt with - only in this case it's a BIG dog.
So please don't take my comments the wrong way (even though I'm somewhat heavy-handed - it comes from almost 50 years of saying exactly what I think).
The work you and your team give us is great.
The rest of STO, not so much.
You do realize that different people work on different areas of the game. Just because they have some artists working on this doesn't mean they aren't working on other projects and it doesn't mean other staff members aren't addressing bugs. Club 47 seems to have been a back burner project for some time. I dont understand your rant at all, it is as if you think that a company can only work on one thing at a time.... well a team of people are constantly working on all sorts of things on this game. I for one am really happy to see the return of this club. It was one of the main draws to the old ESD, and will likely be heavily used in the upcoming winter events, as ESD is the portal to Qs wonder land.
I have lately found myself playing a bit less and less as time goes by not because of boredom but because I am getting frustrated at all of the issues that seem to be random in nature.
No there is nothing wrong with my computers configuration or internet connection.
A few random things that drive me nuts:
1. Tray loadout issues for ships
2. Tray loadout issues on ground (I keep seeing a message about cannot equip certain items)
3. The Aegis set now has lost its ability even with a 3 piece set when equipped
4. Server Disconnects (not all the time but about once a day at least)
5. The overall Cryptic graphics engine needs either a complete overhaul or be replaced to compete with modern day graphics to enable Mantle support for lower end hardware or better support for Intel HD 4000 or 4600 IGP (I don't use either but have tried and its not good)
6. These perpetual war zones are beautifull and expansive but the rewards were not enough to keep players around. (Go take a peek at the Ground Voth battlezone.. hardly anyone is there)
7. The penalty for away from keyboard players needs to return... Ever notice how a few people in the mirror invasion -regular mode- just seem to sit there and let the station go offline? Not cool.
8. Fix the issue of the penalty for Advanced and Elite where a false trigger for abandoning when the server has that nasty random disconnect not at the players fault.
Guessing 7 and 8 could actually both be caused from the server disconnect.. Not sure but its still not fun.
Whoever the new graphics artwork people are, Amazing work! Not please get the rest of the game creators to get the game back to a fully operational state like right before Season 8.5 started.
I have to admit that I have kept my wallet tightly clamped shut because of some of these issues.
I was happy to open my wallet when the game actually ran faster and had ZERO connection issues last year. It was super fun! Heck I was even able to run around with /renderscale 2 turned on all the time for totally awesome graphics. Not so much anymore
Greywolf Taskforce - Officer of the Fleet
Are there serious bugs that need to be addressed? yes
Is it Tacos job? no
Should taco be waisting his/her time and cryptic waisting the money spent on his/her paycheck having Taco playing the game to find bugs? no
Should players report bugs? yes. It isn't hard, it takes a few seconds. I do it myself.
I wish Cryptic doubled their efforts to fix bugs too. Maybe have a season where all they do is fix bugs, revamp dated episodes, and maybe even rework sad maps. But did the time Taco spent finishing ESD and bringing back a beloved part of it (loved by a good amount of the hard core role play players, which many spend a lot of money on the game) prevent any of this from happening? Absolutely not.
As a trek fan it saddens me to see people fail to understand Gene Roddenberry's vision of humanity. The vile nastiness here, and failure to understand that the mmo's development team all do different thins is so beneath us. This is GOOD NEWS.
Taco. Thank you so much. I am really excited to get in there and dance with my new cat, and my fancy clothes. An mmo to me is a world I can spend time doing a lot more things than missions and blowing things up. Social zones to me are the best part. Your work is super appreciated!
WRONG
Taco has already explianed in this thread the implementation process has been done by himself, no additional developers are needed to add a map unless it has new functionalities that need to be hooked up to it
They are not willing to devote ALL of their resources to this and many players would leave the game if they did.
If you want some resources devoted to fixes, you're in luck, because some are.
If you want more resources devoted to fixes, I think that's reasonable. There are ways I think the resources they have devoted to this could be improved. I would certainly like a major consistency pass regarding how things are earned, that reward offers are consistent for the time/effort value, and special attention paid as to why content is worth doing.
If you want ALL resources devoted into bug fixing? No. No. Heck, I think you could probably even get a hard "no" to that from a developer and they aren't communicating all that much.
If I go out to eat and they mess up the order, I think it's fair to send it back. I think it's fair to expect assurances they're doing something to make things better and if problems keep persisting that special effort is being paid and that systems and practices are changing to do a better job fixing things.
What's not reasonable is if you go out to eat, they mess up your order, and you insist that every waiter in the restaurant and everyone in the kitchen gather around your table.
Do I want new and better bugfixes and a priority on polish? Heck, yes.
Would putting everyone on that task accomplish that? No.
It's the procedures that need fixing more than the manpower on the task.
2 more devs on each team doing bugfixes and polish might accomplish a lot. But 100% of dev efforts going into that would probably just exponentially increase the number of bugs because they'd be magnifying the problems that caused the initial bugs to slip through in the first place. Because the same approaches that caused the bugs would be applied to all the fixes.