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Making of the Pilot Ships

pwlaughingtrendypwlaughingtrendy Member Posts: 2,966 Arc User
Pilot ships let Captains out-fly and out-maneuver their foes with grace and agility. These new beautiful ships embody speed.

Learn how we designed them to feel and fight like the nimble ships that they are!

~LaughingTrendy
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  • mustrumridcully0mustrumridcully0 Member Posts: 12,963 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Interesting, the Romulan ships were based on concept art for the Scimitar?
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  • psych2lpsych2l Member Posts: 79 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    "i.e.: Klingons have Cloak, Romulans have Singularity abilities, etc"

    and feds have...exactly lol
  • revanindustriesrevanindustries Member Posts: 508 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    psych2l wrote: »
    "i.e.: Klingons have Cloak, Romulans have Singularity abilities, etc"

    and feds have...exactly lol

    Feds have all the best Starship Traits available to them, as well as all the OP gear and stuff.
  • sekritagentsekritagent Member Posts: 510 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    ALL THESE WONDERFUL ABILITIES FOR THE LOW, LOW PRICE OF $120

    You've got to be kidding me, Cryptic. :rolleyes: The pricing on these is just insane. And yes, I know "you don't have to pay anything in this game" and yes I know "Cryptic is a business" and yes I know "the devs gotta eat" and yes I know "you don't need Tier 6 ships".

    I even have the disposable income but I am talking specifically about the principle here... $120 for a few variants on the same 3 virtual goods is crazy overpriced. $50 stretches the limits of credibility but isn't as laughable as $120.
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  • johnnymo1johnnymo1 Member Posts: 697 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    waiting for a t6 defiant still. I love the pilot ships, but want one that I really want to fly.
  • gl2814egl2814e Member Posts: 328 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Interesting, the Romulan ships were based on concept art for the Scimitar?

    It explains why I thought they looked like Reman Starships.


    Nice blog, hope yall carey forward customization to all future ships.
  • ak255ak255 Member Posts: 317 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Just get to the point and say: "We took the Defiant and made it look like what NASCAR would look like in space!"
  • lan451lan451 Member Posts: 3,386 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Good stuff.

    The KDF Raptors definitely came out on top IMO. Can't wait to get my hands on 'em.

    I can kind of see the point about the BoP being it's own beast. I hope that means we can get a proper T6 BoP beast soon. ;)
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  • ageroth1ageroth1 Member Posts: 129 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Now I'm curious to see what kind of incredibly, and possibly overpowered sci ships will be rolled out.
  • iconiansiconians Member Posts: 6,987 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    I still think they should have been called corvettes. Pilot Ship just seems uninspired and redundant.
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  • breadandcircusesbreadandcircuses Member Posts: 2,355 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    psych2l wrote: »
    "i.e.: Klingons have Cloak, Romulans have Singularity abilities, etc"

    and feds have...exactly lol
    We gave Starfleet Pilot ships an average hull strength, but stronger shields and no cloak. Klingon Pilot Raptors have a higher than average hull strength, but average shields and a cloaking device. Romulan Pilot Warbirds have average hull and shield, but have a Romulan battle cloaking device.

    The Dev Blog also failed to point out that, because of the wonky Crew mechanic, Federation ships also have the fastest repair rates thanks to having the lowest Crew (45). Romulan Pilot ships have 200% (90) of the Crew of the Federation Pilot ships, so they will take longer to recover from a fight, while the Klingon Pilot ships are at 266% (120) Crew when compared to Federation Pilot ships. Yes, it's backwards... but that's the Crew mechanic in STO.

    This also applies to ship classes in general, with larger ships like Cruisers having slower repair rates that smaller ones like Escorts, despite theoretically having more people available to conduct those repairs... because they don't, in practice. Crew Recovery tends to favor smaller Crew numbers, which in turn buffs repair rates that are modified by the % of Crew available (not the actual number available).
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  • jake477jake477 Member Posts: 526 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    The Romulans to me remind of Starfox Command from N64. At least the Engineering Variant does. The Science one looks like a Bird or the Batman Beyond speeder from the cartoon series. The Tactical one looks like a Catamaran or a Star Wars like fighter like the TIE Interceptor

    The Klingons scream SR-71 Blackbird or Russian Su-47 Sukoi with the swept wings with dash of the X-Men Blackbird. Plus seriously one of brand new fighters to roll out of Lockhead Martin is called the Raptor LOL.

    The Federation vessels kind of look like A-Wing Rebel fighter from Star Wars 6 or the Javelin 7 from the Justice League Animated Series from the Early 2000's.
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  • hyefatherhyefather Member Posts: 1,286 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    ALL THESE WONDERFUL ABILITIES FOR THE LOW, LOW PRICE OF $120

    You've got to be kidding me, Cryptic. :rolleyes: The pricing on these is just insane. And yes, I know "you don't have to pay anything in this game" and yes I know "Cryptic is a business" and yes I know "the devs gotta eat" and yes I know "you don't need Tier 6 ships".

    I even have the disposable income but I am talking specifically about the principle here... $120 for a few variants on the same 3 virtual goods is crazy overpriced. $50 stretches the limits of credibility but isn't as laughable as $120.


    I just want a model thats worth playing when I don't have to shell out a arm and a leg.
  • kelshandokelshando Member Posts: 887 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    The Dev Blog also failed to point out that, because of the wonky Crew mechanic, Federation ships also have the fastest repair rates thanks to having the lowest Crew (45). Romulan Pilot ships have 200% (90) of the Crew of the Federation Pilot ships, so they will take longer to recover from a fight, while the Klingon Pilot ships are at 266% (120) Crew when compared to Federation Pilot ships. Yes, it's backwards... but that's the Crew mechanic in STO.

    This also applies to ship classes in general, with larger ships like Cruisers having slower repair rates that smaller ones like Escorts, despite theoretically having more people available to conduct those repairs... because they don't, in practice. Crew Recovery tends to favor smaller Crew numbers, which in turn buffs repair rates that are modified by the % of Crew available (not the actual number available).

    Depends how you look at it...

    Federation ships with all there back ups, of back of ups, of back ups and more in line with protecting its crew may have more advanced ship repair and function. There for need less crew to repair the and man the ship.

    Also if you think about it.. a bigger ships has a lot more things that can go wrong with it. It has more system and sub systems spread over a much larger area. So though it can with stand attacks longer it takes longer to recover.

    Though I do agree that crew stat of ships is one of those stats hardly anyone cares about. It's a after thought to most players.
  • antonine3258antonine3258 Member Posts: 2,391 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Oh, I see the Scimitar in the pilot warbird now.

    I do like these making of blogs! They're always very interesting.
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  • corelogikcorelogik Member Posts: 1,039 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    I'm loving my pilot ships. My only criticisms:

    Romulan:
    1. The Romulan ships are a bit too 'Insecty', They seem more like something an Insectoid Xindi would build/fly than the graceful lines normally and historically associate with the Romulans.
    2. The Tac Romulan, Okhala,... the wings needed to be less down swept. About half the angle they have now would have been perfect. Flying my Okhala makes me think I'm on a space catamaran.

    Klingon:
    1. The 'fins' that are the warp nacelles, needed to be less "50's fin style' with the top and bottom outward sweep. More straight or rounded 'warp nacelle-ish" would have looked much better.

    Federation:
    1. Would a version, or at least option, to NOT have a set of "1950's scifi wings" been too much to ask?
    2. If no to #1, then make the 'wings' about half as long as they are. Wings are NOT needed in space for 'flight' so lets not make them look like that's what they're for. Shorten them up and call them weapons pods,... or RCS clusters or something,...

    Basically, all of my criticisms are cosmetic. Performance wise, I am very happy. Love flying my pilot ships.

    Maybe the dev's could do some work on the side and give each variant of the ships a couple of alternative pieces? Like the shorter or no wing thing. Some of us would greatly appreciate it. After all charging full ship price for a few costume pieces from another variant,... was not the wisest move I've ever.

    My $0.02. YMMV.
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  • reximuzreximuz Member Posts: 1,166 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    ALL THESE WONDERFUL ABILITIES FOR THE LOW, LOW PRICE OF $120

    You've got to be kidding me, Cryptic. :rolleyes: The pricing on these is just insane. And yes, I know "you don't have to pay anything in this game" and yes I know "Cryptic is a business" and yes I know "the devs gotta eat" and yes I know "you don't need Tier 6 ships".

    I even have the disposable income but I am talking specifically about the principle here... $120 for a few variants on the same 3 virtual goods is crazy overpriced. $50 stretches the limits of credibility but isn't as laughable as $120.

    It takes about 2 weeks to make 1 ship model, so these 9 ships represent 18 weeks worth of work. The average salary for a 3D artist in the San Francisco Bay Area is $69k, so just to pay the employees to make these ships costs about $24,000, and that isn't counting the time it took to concept the ships, or any overhead like offices, computers, healthcare, etc.

    It would take 200 sales of the 9 ship pack to just start getting close to breaking even, and since Ships are a major way of them funding the continued running of the game, they would need to sell thousands to make any significant impact. The more they lower the price, the more units they would need to sell to maintain the game.

    So, when you look at actual economics, instead of just wishing other people would give you their labor for free, the price of the ships isn't unreasonable at all.
  • bazilyatbazilyat Member Posts: 12 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Will there be more pilot ships? This seems like too cool a mechanic just to be a one-shot
  • robeasomrobeasom Member Posts: 1,911 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Got no interest until your release a Tier 6 B'rel and T'varo
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  • laro1984laro1984 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    I really miss the point where you tell us the thought process about featherlike wings and such for example, why is there a feather what purpose could it have or this spike houses a antenna because of that it is formed like a spike for aerodynamics ... you know say us why it is there besides from it looks cool.
  • optyk1optyk1 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Bought the FED 3 pack and I'm loving every-single-minute in the new ship. It's a whole new approach to gameplay and a breath of fresh air.

    Not to mention the views you get to see from the fast dog fighting style of play is awesome. Speed in and dump out damage, then speed out with Clean Getaway/Subspace Boom and now you're orbiting the whole battle from above right before you do another nose dive back into the madness.

    Out running enemy torpedoes and having a row of them behind you -right before you pop Deploy Countermeasures is a great feeling. All we need now on this ship is a rear view mirror -seriously.

    Not saying it's better than the style and grace of Trek Cruiser battles, but it's on par.

    You did a great job making these ships feel unique Cryptic. Keep it up.


    My only feedback is that the Bridge Officer Pilot Abilities need some re-arranging if you want us to truly use them in lieu of their Tactical/Engineering/Science counterparts. Because of where Tier 2/3 Pilot abilities can be slotted, it's actually more efficient to use the non-Pilot counterparts -which defeats the whole purpose of the ship. And really, some of the other Tier 1 abilities need to be avail to Ensign and Lt.
  • mustrumridcully0mustrumridcully0 Member Posts: 12,963 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    iconians wrote: »
    I still think they should have been called corvettes. Pilot Ship just seems uninspired and redundant.

    I agree that "Pilot Escort" sounds bad, but "Corvette" is already used for one of the Risan Summer Event ship. That doesn't mean it couldn't be used, but it would be insuffiicient for the name of the class.

    And "Pilot Corvette" is not really better than "Pilot Escort".
    What's a good word to use for particularly "maneuverable"?
    • Light Corvette?
    • Battle Corvette?
    • Combat Corvette?
    • Fast Corvette?
    • Assault Corvette?
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  • iconiansiconians Member Posts: 6,987 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    I agree that "Pilot Escort" sounds bad, but "Corvette" is already used for one of the Risan Summer Event ship. That doesn't mean it couldn't be used, but it would be insuffiicient for the name of the class.

    And "Pilot Corvette" is not really better than "Pilot Escort".
    What's a good word to use for particularly "maneuverable"?
    • Light Corvette?
    • Battle Corvette?
    • Combat Corvette?
    • Fast Corvette?
    • Assault Corvette?

    You could just go with Cryptic naming MadLibs. Just throw in the words "Advanced", "Elite", or "Tactical" in the blanks.

    Ajax-class _____ Corvette

    Klavek-class _____ Corvette

    Jaehih-class _____ Corvette Warbird

    I think the Risian Corvette is plenty reason to have given these T6 vessels the designation of Corvette. The Risian Corvette was very clearly a prototype of the kind of ship Cryptic wanted to create, and you can make out similarities between the Fed Pilot ships and the Risian Corvette's aesthetics, particularly the Mercury-class (something I'm surprised was not mentioned in the blog).

    Whenever the Risian Summer Event rolls around, I'm banking on a T6 Risian pilot ship to be the event ship. Which, if my predictions are correct, only makes more sense to classify these ships as Corvettes.

    They're small, nimble, pack a punch, and built for speed. I think Cryptic missed a great opportunity to represent corvettes in a naval capacity, which the Pilot Ships most easily fulfilled in terms of performance and role.
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  • amezukiamezuki Member Posts: 364 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    Fighter
    Escort
    Cruiser
    Battlecruiser
    Dreadnought
    Carrier
    Pilot Ship

    ...yeah, the naming is a bit uninspired and doesn't really fit the naval theme Trek has going. At least that much is an easy fix if they ever decide to revisit the naming.

    But the ships look fun. Wish I enjoyed flying 'scorts. XD
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  • stohenrikstohenrik Member Posts: 50 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    ALL THESE WONDERFUL ABILITIES FOR THE LOW, LOW PRICE OF $120

    You've got to be kidding me, Cryptic. :rolleyes: The pricing on these is just insane. And yes, I know "you don't have to pay anything in this game" and yes I know "Cryptic is a business" and yes I know "the devs gotta eat" and yes I know "you don't need Tier 6 ships".
    Which just funny, given the last ships sale - where T5 ships were not only 20 % off, but included a free upgrade token as well.
    That just makes T6 ships seem even more expensive (ignoring that the pilot ships were excluded).

    There must be more people buying the new shinies, and ignoring the nice ones.... Too bad I didn't have any Zen saved :(
  • tinead51tinead51 Member Posts: 449 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    ALL THESE WONDERFUL ABILITIES FOR THE LOW, LOW PRICE OF $120

    You've got to be kidding me, Cryptic. :rolleyes: The pricing on these is just insane. And yes, I know "you don't have to pay anything in this game" and yes I know "Cryptic is a business" and yes I know "the devs gotta eat" and yes I know "you don't need Tier 6 ships".

    I even have the disposable income but I am talking specifically about the principle here... $120 for a few variants on the same 3 virtual goods is crazy overpriced. $50 stretches the limits of credibility but isn't as laughable as $120.

    Money for old rope springs to mind, still, if the whales keep the game afloat...
  • iconiansiconians Member Posts: 6,987 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    tinead51 wrote: »
    Money for old rope springs to mind, still, if the whales keep the game afloat...

    Judging from all the Pilot Ships I've seen in STO despite the crippling lag, I'd say it's a rousing success.
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  • bluegeekbluegeek Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2015
    My feeling is that $120 is too much to be spending all at once on ships that are essentially just variants.

    $60 for a three ship bundle isn't quite as bad, but they're still variants. Buy 2 get 1 free sounds like a great deal, but I can't fly 3 ships at once. The only reason to do it is to get the full customization options and to complete the set.

    I haven't bought a 3 variant bundle since the Vesta. I did buy the Pathfinder bundle, but it's not quite the same thing.

    I would have jumped at a buy 1 get 1 free deal on Pilot ships, too. The Pilot Maneuvers mechanic sounds like a lot of fun. But I don't like all of the designs on all of the ships and the only console I'm really interested in is the tactical variant. If I could have bought a 3-Faction bundle of the tactical variant, I might've done that even though I really wanted the science variants (looks and configuration).

    I guess I'm saying I'd like to see more buying options than paying $120 to get more than I really wanted. Too bad the store doesn't have a "Build Your Own Bundle" option :D
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