wou nice. F...ing Cryptic hungry cows need more money. Take high price to dilithium/zen for all news stupid ideas. This TRIBBLE managment killing this good game. Old 8 season i playing 6-8 hours every day. Now my playing time on Delta Rising is only 1 hour. People open eyes and stop donate this hungry cryptic cows.
Well during the expansion testing on tribble they did have an NPC that was giving it out like candy.
"Most Training Manuals can be purchased off of any current Bridge Officer Training Officer and will include any power which is currently available on these trainers."
They've also stated that this how they're planning the holodeck release (see. that first blog.) Crafting is applicable to those special abilities you could once only get through captain training (ie. you).
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
wou nice. F...ing Cryptic hungry cows need more money. Take high price to dilithium/zen for all news stupid ideas. This TRIBBLE managment killing this good game. Old 8 season i playing 6-8 hours every day. Now my playing time on Delta Rising is only 1 hour. People open eyes and stop donate this hungry cryptic cows.
So then don't hit finish now. It's not like you will loose your current abilities if you don't.
NERF CANNONS - THEY NEED A 50% NERF
CRUISERS NEED A 206% HULL BUFF
"Most Training Manuals can be purchased off of any current Bridge Officer Training Officer and will include any power which is currently available on these trainers."
They've also stated that this how they're planning the holodeck release (see. that first blog.) Crafting is applicable to those special abilities you could once only get through captain training (ie. you).
You can change the quantity (up to 5), and then the times stack. (This is how it always works, I The ability to set the quantity is more a convenience feature than anything else).
In short, use one slot to craft 5, it takes 20 hours. Use 5 slots to craft 1 each, it takes 4 hours. Similarly, if you want to flood the market, use 5 slots to craft 5 each and tomorrow you have your exchange dump. It's flexible.
Real problems like being unable to train Untradable and Unique boffs in Captain powers of a different type?
How many Engineering Captains have a Intel/Science Boff with GW3? Zero.
It's a bit late to tell you that now, but you can ask someone else to train your BOFF, unless it's a bound boff.
So yeah, I have GW3 on my engi captain. Alongside AP:B 3 and BFAW 3.
Anyway, I think this is a step in the good direction, and it's something I've been hoping and waiting since I first played STO.
Sure it takes a bit of time and some resources (not much). But once my BOFF will have all the skill I want, I will forget the whole thing. To me, it's a one time fee.
It's so much better than having to deal with my limited BOFF roster everytime I want to change a build or I have a new ship, and I spend hours to find a way to make my build work without having to delete a BOFF/change his skill while he is used on another build.
It's a bit late to tell you that now, but you can ask someone else to train your BOFF, unless it's a bound boff.
So yeah, I have GW3 on my engi captain.
Please reread what I have wrote. I said Intel/Science, and ALL intel boffs are Bound. So no you dont have an Intel/Science with GW3 if you are an Engineer.
Please reread what I have wrote. I said Intel/Science, and ALL intel boffs are Bound. So no you dont have an Intel/Science with GW3 if you are an Engineer.
Can't you trade the white intel boff ? I haven't done that. So I'm not sure.
Can't you trade the white intel boff ? I haven't done that. So I'm not sure.
intel boffs are all currently bound to character meaning if you need an intel power, you need to train it yourself. The new system will fix that.
For the others saying it's just some EC to train a boff now...yeah it is but that's for each time. The new system will mean training a boff once and never having to do it again for that power. It also means switching powers in a map. I could swap epts3 for eptw3 in a STF if I feel I don't need the extra shield resistance and want extra DPS without changing boffs, for example. That's something I'm looking forward to. One advanced STF gives more than enough Dil to train one boff a power that you get to keep forever. That's pretty neat in my opinion.
It's a bit late to tell you that now, but you can ask someone else to train your BOFF, unless it's a bound boff.
So yeah, I have GW3 on my engi captain. Alongside AP:B 3 and BFAW 3.
ding ding ding! Though the present system must admittedly suck for those without friends, or at least a fleet.
they're introducing a grind for training boff skills? might be the straw
No, they aren't. Though captain-trainable boff manuals (any that were offered by the old skill trainer will still be offered as completed manuals by the same skill trainer) are being handled through the R+D system, there will be no additional grind involved in getting them beyond merely aquiring the right skills (for tac/sci/eng), necessary specialization points (for intel/command), and green crafting materials (if somehow you don't have an over-abundance of those anyway).
Everything unlocks via the same requirements (roughly, high level intel powers are being brought down from 22 to 20 spec points), its just being handled with much more flexible mechanics (which incidentally makes it an tradable commodity in a free marketplace, which is where the additional costs and time-gating come in. There has to be something to the production that prevents craftable GW3 manuals from reaching the same economic low as replicatable food items, small ground devices, and commodities. Ie. resources [time, dil, and mats] beyond EC.)
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
There has to be something to the production that prevents craftable GW3 manuals from reaching the same economic low as replicatable food items, small ground devices, and commodities. Ie. resources [time, dil, and mats] beyond EC.)
Why? Why does there need to be something?
This new system helps with training bound bridge officers, which is great. This new system also makes it inevitable that training manuals for really powerful bridge officer powers will appear in future lockboxes. So what if captain-trainable skills end up really cheap on the exchange? Right now, you just need someone to train your bridge officers for 300 energy credits.
20 hour timegates, no thanks let's just keep it instant
... and free
And with the exchange what does that result in? EPtW3 selling for about as much as root beer. If you're going to explose a system in a video game to an economic system you want that interaction to do something to the process of earning content with effort vaguely proportional to its value to gameplay. Some of these abilities can be quite useful (compared to their cheap NPC boff-trainer alternatives). The kicker NOW is that only some captains have access to them [except through an unintentional exploit of the trading system]. Remove that and what do you have? An unjustifiable situation, they might as well put all abilities in the vendor's inventory instead.
And while that might be a perfectly functional way of revamping skill training its taking away a unique aspect of player professions and for no better reason than to maintain a very simplistic expectation as set by the old system (minus the context that made it work.) On the other hand they could add a time/dil cost in order to create a definite amount of intrinsic value in the captain-trainable manuals so that being able to make your own copy of EPtW3 is a recognizable facet to being an ENG (with the right skill set.)
More to consider, more to work with, more depth. That's a better design for a video game (big, over-arching concern), however much it may drain your character's virtual piggy bank (small, personal concern. It may be the more noticable, but that's not the same as saying its the most important.)
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
This new system helps with training bound bridge officers, which is great. This new system also makes it inevitable that training manuals for really powerful bridge officer powers will appear in future lockboxes. So what if captain-trainable skills end up really cheap on the exchange? Right now, you just need someone to train your bridge officers for 300 energy credits.
If you don't have a cost beyond EC for an item that you can produce at will, the cost of that item on the exchange will be near enough that original cost that you might as well not bother putting it anywhere but the most accessible vendors.
Resources (time, materials, dilithium) build in value to a crafted item. Players can use that added value to earn money via reliably translating their playtime into money through surprisingly normal economic processes (you take raw materials and translate them through effort into more desirable goods that you can sell at a reliable profit to other individuals, because they don't have the willingness, time, and/or capability to do what you did for that item).
It should be said though that training manuals do not need to be incorportated into this industrial approach to STO loot in order to work or in order for that approach to continue. However if they were, craftable training manual could provide players with another potential direction from which to approach a rich free-market. Its could be an expansion of the principle, allowing more specialized "professions" to exist within the STO economy (gear, upgrades, and then skill manuals), making it much more interesting to interact with which would in a word make the game better. But it would come at the cost of having the items cost something (and something that not all players would be willing to pay in all circumstances, hence the use of the exchange.)
The question is simply that of "adding a game system" (and letting it benefit the game in a rather simple and direct way) or "adding a game system with some tweaks" (to try to set it so that it can interact constructively with other facets to this MMO in order to create compound benefits.) Either way Cryptic has their boff skill revamp, but STO could get more for the investment by making a meaningful commodity out of training manuals.
Compared to "it used to be free" that may be hard to personally accept, but just consider where else the game uses costs to create additional mechanics and gameplay. The hurdle is just in ignoring the first reaction built into us as consumers.
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
And with the exchange what does that result in? EPtW3 selling for about as much as root beer. If you're going to explose a system in a video game to an economic system you want that interaction to do something to the process of earning content with effort vaguely proportional to its value to gameplay. Some of these abilities can be quite useful (compared to their cheap NPC boff-trainer alternatives). The kicker NOW is that only some captains have access to them [except through an unintentional exploit of the trading system]. Remove that and what do you have? An unjustifiable situation, they might as well put all abilities in the vendor's inventory instead.
And while that might be a perfectly functional way of revamping skill training its taking away a unique aspect of player professions and for no better reason than to maintain a very simplistic expectation as set by the old system (minus the context that made it work.) On the other hand they could add a time/dil cost in order to create a definite amount of intrinsic value in the captain-trainable manuals so that being able to make your own copy of EPtW3 is a recognizable facet to being an ENG (with the right skill set.)
Are you seriously calling trading bridge officers with other players in order to train them an "exploit?"
There is no ADDED value in adding a cost where it doesn't need one. Say, I decide to train one of my bridge officers. Either I need to use refined dilithium, some materials, some energy credits, and a bunch of time waiting for the item to "finish" crafting or I purchase a training manual off the exchange for some energy credits. I train my bridge officer and the item is consumed. Where's the added value? The cost is totally artificial. I am not getting any added value from having additional cost to the item.
More to consider, more to work with, more depth. That's a better design for a video game, however much it may drain your character's virtual piggy bank.
What do you mean by "more to consider, more to work with, more depth"? What am I supposed to consider? What am I working with? What depth? The bridge officer powers themselves haven't been changed. It is just an added cost that adds nothing.
The WHOLE point of this system is to get players to either use up their refined dilithium or buy Zen to exchange for refined dilthium to get past the ARTIFICIAL timegate. It doesn't matter if the system inconveniences 99 players and they decide not to pay to get pass the timegate, the system was implemented to get that ONE player who will.
EDIT: Added on, you responded to my previous post while I was typing this out.
Resources (time, materials, dilithium) build in value to a crafted item. Players can use that added value to earn money via reliably translating their playtime into money through surprisingly normal economic processes (you take raw materials and translate them through effort into more desirable goods that you can sell at a reliable profit to other individuals, because they don't have the willingness, time, and/or capability to do what you did for that item).
Compared to "it used to be free" that may be hard to personally accept, but just consider where else the game uses costs to create additional mechanics and gameplay. The hurdle is just in ignoring the first reaction built into us as consumers.
How will players make energy credits through crafting these training manuals? I imagine that there's enough players of all three different careers that there won't be a shortage of any specific training manual. The cost of the training manual on the exchange, after the initial couple of days, should normalize so that the cost equals to roughly the cost of the materials needed to craft the item.
Why should we ignore the reaction of "it used to be free"? I feel that it's a perfectly rational, logical reaction to what is happening. We experience that reaction for a reason.
Are you seriously calling trading bridge officers with other players in order to train them an "exploit?"
Yes, not with the negative connoations you apparently assume (because I suspect you just want to be a contrarian) but just as a description of its use of a loophole in the player trading mechanic that I'm sure no dev intentionally put there.
Is there any moral judgement in using it? No but its not a part of the game's design.
There is no ADDED value in adding a cost where it doesn't need one.
This might be better handled if you took an intro course to economic systems (or just read something on it, though hopefully at above the level of a wiki). Basically my response is "insert statement of basic economic theory here." Value is added by additional cost. Not in the sense of what a consumer sees (ex. a feature list) but in how the economy treats it.
What do you mean by "more to consider, more to work with, more depth"? What am I supposed to consider? What am I working with? What depth?.
Again, economics. If you can't see this its not my or even the game's problem, but a fault with your perspective. These interactions exist in game. People "mine" resources to "fabricate" items to sell at a marked up price according to the value added by the effort. This mirrors (in a very rudimentary fashion) how civilization works (because its what enabled specialized professions to arise in human society) and I invite you to try to learn about that process (because, among other things, as it is applicable to STO it would help you considerably to participate with this discussion).
If you make craftable manuals cost more [of a resource that isn't just EC] than they did before under a crafting system you allow [let's just call for the sake of simplicity] the mechanic of civilization to act on the boff skill training system. Its not necessary but having it there does add depth to the game as a whole (by creating a larger set of meaningful interactions and approaches beyond the simplest possible implementation of the gameplay mechanics.)
The benefit of this to us I shouldn't need to argue (and I wouldn't if the rally cry "Gimme Free!" wasn't so easily at hand) for an MMO (where a rudimentary RPG/action game is made into a much, much, much larger game just on the basis on the additional social interactions, most especially those that are economic in nature.)
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
Yes, not with the negative connoations you apparently assume (because I suspect you just want to be a contrarian) but just as a description of its use of a loophole in the player trading mechanic that I'm sure no dev intentionally put there.
I'm a contrarian? I don't see many people wanting additional costs and you're the one who supports adding costs for the sole purpose of adding costs. What do you mean by "I'm sure no dev intentionally put there"? Could you tell us how Cryptic originally intended for players to train bridge officers in powers only trainable by other captain careers.
This might be better handled if you took an intro course to economic systems (or just read something on it, though hopefully at above the level of a wiki). Basically my response is "insert statement of basic economic theory here." Value is added by additional cost. Not in the sense of what a consumer sees (ex. a feature list) but in how the economy treats it.
Value is not added by additional costs, but through additional benefits. Bridge officer training remains the same, the added cost did not add any additional value. I either train my bridge officer in Emergency Power to Weapons III or ask another player to do it today. When this new system comes out, I need to either craft a EPtW III manual or purchase the manual for it off the exchange. The bridge officer power remains the same despite the additional costs, no value was added. Additional costs should mean additional benefits, there is no additional benefit. Your definition of value sounds more like inflation, the price (or cost) went up, but the item remains the same.
Again, economics. If you can't see this its not my or even the game's problem, but a fault with your perspective. These interactions exist in game. People "mine" resources to "fabricate" items to sell at a marked up price according to the value added by the effort. This mirrors (in a very rudimentary fashion) how civilization works (because its what enabled specialized professions to arise in human society) and I invite you to try to learn about that process (because, among other things, as it is applicable to STO it would help you considerably to participate with this discussion).
There is no value added with the increased cost of bridge officer training. You can purchase an item off the exchange, improve the item through upgrading, and sell the improved item on the exchange for a higher price. The higher price represents the time, effort, and resources that went into the item, that is adding value. That is different from what is happening with bridge officer training. Bridge officer training will be pretty much the same after the new system comes out. Instead of training bridge officers yourself or asking someone else to do it, you use training manuals. The only real change will the increased cost.
If you make craftable manuals cost more [of a resource that isn't just EC] than they did before under a crafting system you allow [let's just call for the sake of simplicity] the mechanic of civilization to act on the boff skill training system. Its not necessary but having it there does add depth to the game as a whole (by creating a larger set of meaningful interactions and approaches beyond the simplest possible implementation of the gameplay mechanics.)
The benefit of this to us I shouldn't need to argue (and I wouldn't if the rally cry "Gimme Free!" wasn't so easily at hand) for an MMO (where a rudimentary RPG/action game is made into a much, much, much larger game just on the basis on the additional social interactions, most especially those that are economic in nature.)
It's the same interactions that exist right now. Engineering and science players need tactical players to train their bridge officers. There is no depth added with additional costs. If you want depth, maybe add a small bit of variation to bridge officer powers. Training slightly different bridge officer powers requires different materials. That is adding depth to the game. Merely increasing costs is not depth.
Seriously, what's wrong with "Gimme Free!"? I wouldn't have phrased it like that, but lower costs benefit you too.
Comments
"Most Training Manuals can be purchased off of any current Bridge Officer Training Officer and will include any power which is currently available on these trainers."
They've also stated that this how they're planning the holodeck release (see. that first blog.) Crafting is applicable to those special abilities you could once only get through captain training (ie. you).
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
So then don't hit finish now. It's not like you will loose your current abilities if you don't.
CRUISERS NEED A 206% HULL BUFF
Your comment bears no relation to his comment.
Free Tibet!
In short, use one slot to craft 5, it takes 20 hours. Use 5 slots to craft 1 each, it takes 4 hours. Similarly, if you want to flood the market, use 5 slots to craft 5 each and tomorrow you have your exchange dump. It's flexible.
The current 150 ec
I'd rather keep the retraining method with those 2 options.
Versus the current system which already is instant and only costs 150-300 ec.
Yeah, no. I think I'd rather see company resources invested into fixing actual problems. This whole affair is a faux solution in search of one.
Real problems like being unable to train Untradable and Unique boffs in Captain powers of a different type?
How many Engineering Captains have a Intel/Science Boff with GW3? Zero.
So yeah, I have GW3 on my engi captain. Alongside AP:B 3 and BFAW 3.
Anyway, I think this is a step in the good direction, and it's something I've been hoping and waiting since I first played STO.
Sure it takes a bit of time and some resources (not much). But once my BOFF will have all the skill I want, I will forget the whole thing. To me, it's a one time fee.
It's so much better than having to deal with my limited BOFF roster everytime I want to change a build or I have a new ship, and I spend hours to find a way to make my build work without having to delete a BOFF/change his skill while he is used on another build.
Please reread what I have wrote. I said Intel/Science, and ALL intel boffs are Bound. So no you dont have an Intel/Science with GW3 if you are an Engineer.
intel boffs are all currently bound to character meaning if you need an intel power, you need to train it yourself. The new system will fix that.
For the others saying it's just some EC to train a boff now...yeah it is but that's for each time. The new system will mean training a boff once and never having to do it again for that power. It also means switching powers in a map. I could swap epts3 for eptw3 in a STF if I feel I don't need the extra shield resistance and want extra DPS without changing boffs, for example. That's something I'm looking forward to. One advanced STF gives more than enough Dil to train one boff a power that you get to keep forever. That's pretty neat in my opinion.
I traded mine off to have gw3 done up, then again its probably just a reporting error.
Yes! You Are Correct, Bierstein, Sir!
I do enjoy your guile here in this thread.
And...wait for it...
Klingons do not show mercy, and, they do not take prisoners!
They do tend to blow up their own Moon though.
ding ding ding! Though the present system must admittedly suck for those without friends, or at least a fleet.
No, they aren't. Though captain-trainable boff manuals (any that were offered by the old skill trainer will still be offered as completed manuals by the same skill trainer) are being handled through the R+D system, there will be no additional grind involved in getting them beyond merely aquiring the right skills (for tac/sci/eng), necessary specialization points (for intel/command), and green crafting materials (if somehow you don't have an over-abundance of those anyway).
Everything unlocks via the same requirements (roughly, high level intel powers are being brought down from 22 to 20 spec points), its just being handled with much more flexible mechanics (which incidentally makes it an tradable commodity in a free marketplace, which is where the additional costs and time-gating come in. There has to be something to the production that prevents craftable GW3 manuals from reaching the same economic low as replicatable food items, small ground devices, and commodities. Ie. resources [time, dil, and mats] beyond EC.)
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
yeah works great for all the bound boffs I have like my liberated borg...oh wait...
No idea what that means, but if that mean's I can call you a troll now I will take that opportunity.
... and free
Why? Why does there need to be something?
This new system helps with training bound bridge officers, which is great. This new system also makes it inevitable that training manuals for really powerful bridge officer powers will appear in future lockboxes. So what if captain-trainable skills end up really cheap on the exchange? Right now, you just need someone to train your bridge officers for 300 energy credits.
And with the exchange what does that result in? EPtW3 selling for about as much as root beer. If you're going to explose a system in a video game to an economic system you want that interaction to do something to the process of earning content with effort vaguely proportional to its value to gameplay. Some of these abilities can be quite useful (compared to their cheap NPC boff-trainer alternatives). The kicker NOW is that only some captains have access to them [except through an unintentional exploit of the trading system]. Remove that and what do you have? An unjustifiable situation, they might as well put all abilities in the vendor's inventory instead.
And while that might be a perfectly functional way of revamping skill training its taking away a unique aspect of player professions and for no better reason than to maintain a very simplistic expectation as set by the old system (minus the context that made it work.) On the other hand they could add a time/dil cost in order to create a definite amount of intrinsic value in the captain-trainable manuals so that being able to make your own copy of EPtW3 is a recognizable facet to being an ENG (with the right skill set.)
More to consider, more to work with, more depth. That's a better design for a video game (big, over-arching concern), however much it may drain your character's virtual piggy bank (small, personal concern. It may be the more noticable, but that's not the same as saying its the most important.)
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
If you don't have a cost beyond EC for an item that you can produce at will, the cost of that item on the exchange will be near enough that original cost that you might as well not bother putting it anywhere but the most accessible vendors.
Resources (time, materials, dilithium) build in value to a crafted item. Players can use that added value to earn money via reliably translating their playtime into money through surprisingly normal economic processes (you take raw materials and translate them through effort into more desirable goods that you can sell at a reliable profit to other individuals, because they don't have the willingness, time, and/or capability to do what you did for that item).
It should be said though that training manuals do not need to be incorportated into this industrial approach to STO loot in order to work or in order for that approach to continue. However if they were, craftable training manual could provide players with another potential direction from which to approach a rich free-market. Its could be an expansion of the principle, allowing more specialized "professions" to exist within the STO economy (gear, upgrades, and then skill manuals), making it much more interesting to interact with which would in a word make the game better. But it would come at the cost of having the items cost something (and something that not all players would be willing to pay in all circumstances, hence the use of the exchange.)
The question is simply that of "adding a game system" (and letting it benefit the game in a rather simple and direct way) or "adding a game system with some tweaks" (to try to set it so that it can interact constructively with other facets to this MMO in order to create compound benefits.) Either way Cryptic has their boff skill revamp, but STO could get more for the investment by making a meaningful commodity out of training manuals.
Compared to "it used to be free" that may be hard to personally accept, but just consider where else the game uses costs to create additional mechanics and gameplay. The hurdle is just in ignoring the first reaction built into us as consumers.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
Are you seriously calling trading bridge officers with other players in order to train them an "exploit?"
There is no ADDED value in adding a cost where it doesn't need one. Say, I decide to train one of my bridge officers. Either I need to use refined dilithium, some materials, some energy credits, and a bunch of time waiting for the item to "finish" crafting or I purchase a training manual off the exchange for some energy credits. I train my bridge officer and the item is consumed. Where's the added value? The cost is totally artificial. I am not getting any added value from having additional cost to the item.
What do you mean by "more to consider, more to work with, more depth"? What am I supposed to consider? What am I working with? What depth? The bridge officer powers themselves haven't been changed. It is just an added cost that adds nothing.
The WHOLE point of this system is to get players to either use up their refined dilithium or buy Zen to exchange for refined dilthium to get past the ARTIFICIAL timegate. It doesn't matter if the system inconveniences 99 players and they decide not to pay to get pass the timegate, the system was implemented to get that ONE player who will.
EDIT: Added on, you responded to my previous post while I was typing this out.
How will players make energy credits through crafting these training manuals? I imagine that there's enough players of all three different careers that there won't be a shortage of any specific training manual. The cost of the training manual on the exchange, after the initial couple of days, should normalize so that the cost equals to roughly the cost of the materials needed to craft the item.
Why should we ignore the reaction of "it used to be free"? I feel that it's a perfectly rational, logical reaction to what is happening. We experience that reaction for a reason.
Yes, not with the negative connoations you apparently assume (because I suspect you just want to be a contrarian) but just as a description of its use of a loophole in the player trading mechanic that I'm sure no dev intentionally put there.
Is there any moral judgement in using it? No but its not a part of the game's design.
This might be better handled if you took an intro course to economic systems (or just read something on it, though hopefully at above the level of a wiki). Basically my response is "insert statement of basic economic theory here." Value is added by additional cost. Not in the sense of what a consumer sees (ex. a feature list) but in how the economy treats it.
Again, economics. If you can't see this its not my or even the game's problem, but a fault with your perspective. These interactions exist in game. People "mine" resources to "fabricate" items to sell at a marked up price according to the value added by the effort. This mirrors (in a very rudimentary fashion) how civilization works (because its what enabled specialized professions to arise in human society) and I invite you to try to learn about that process (because, among other things, as it is applicable to STO it would help you considerably to participate with this discussion).
If you make craftable manuals cost more [of a resource that isn't just EC] than they did before under a crafting system you allow [let's just call for the sake of simplicity] the mechanic of civilization to act on the boff skill training system. Its not necessary but having it there does add depth to the game as a whole (by creating a larger set of meaningful interactions and approaches beyond the simplest possible implementation of the gameplay mechanics.)
The benefit of this to us I shouldn't need to argue (and I wouldn't if the rally cry "Gimme Free!" wasn't so easily at hand) for an MMO (where a rudimentary RPG/action game is made into a much, much, much larger game just on the basis on the additional social interactions, most especially those that are economic in nature.)
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
I'm a contrarian? I don't see many people wanting additional costs and you're the one who supports adding costs for the sole purpose of adding costs. What do you mean by "I'm sure no dev intentionally put there"? Could you tell us how Cryptic originally intended for players to train bridge officers in powers only trainable by other captain careers.
Value is not added by additional costs, but through additional benefits. Bridge officer training remains the same, the added cost did not add any additional value. I either train my bridge officer in Emergency Power to Weapons III or ask another player to do it today. When this new system comes out, I need to either craft a EPtW III manual or purchase the manual for it off the exchange. The bridge officer power remains the same despite the additional costs, no value was added. Additional costs should mean additional benefits, there is no additional benefit. Your definition of value sounds more like inflation, the price (or cost) went up, but the item remains the same.
There is no value added with the increased cost of bridge officer training. You can purchase an item off the exchange, improve the item through upgrading, and sell the improved item on the exchange for a higher price. The higher price represents the time, effort, and resources that went into the item, that is adding value. That is different from what is happening with bridge officer training. Bridge officer training will be pretty much the same after the new system comes out. Instead of training bridge officers yourself or asking someone else to do it, you use training manuals. The only real change will the increased cost.
It's the same interactions that exist right now. Engineering and science players need tactical players to train their bridge officers. There is no depth added with additional costs. If you want depth, maybe add a small bit of variation to bridge officer powers. Training slightly different bridge officer powers requires different materials. That is adding depth to the game. Merely increasing costs is not depth.
Seriously, what's wrong with "Gimme Free!"? I wouldn't have phrased it like that, but lower costs benefit you too.
Vestereng, I honestly don't think I've said this to anyone before, but you need to take my sig to heart.
Really.