The only concern I have, and many other players have touched on this as well, is that your post does specify that the reason for initial action was in fact metrics-based. That is, you had wanted players playing specific content at specific times.
Well the "do bad things for the sake of the metrics" has already backfired, hasn't it.
Last week, the plan for my Risian summer was...
27 daily runs on alt-1
27 daily runs on alt-2
27 daily runs on alt-3
3 daily runs on alt-4
Thus all 4 alts get all 3 Risian ships, and the 3 set console bonus.
In addition to this the 4 alts would each hav e spent time doing the Lolwut-Favour stuff, spending 27 days on risa? get a swimsuit and fit in, train a parrot, etc etc.
Good metrics, lots of player time in the event zone.
Now...
1 Alt *MIGHT* do 25 daily runs, *IF* this years ship is something that suits my playstyle, and alt-class, and is good enough to overlook the "you can never complete the set bonus" thing.
She'll do the runs in as little time as possible, and in her standard uniform.. No swimsuits/parrots.
Summary :
Pre "fixed for Metrics" - 4 alts living on Risa for a month
Post "fixed for Metrics" - 1 alt *MIGHT visit for 5 mins a day for 25 days, or *MIGHT* not
Lower Risa Event Attendance Metrics
"We wanted more people to spend more time at the event, so we gave everyone less reason to go there"
<center><font size="+5"><b>Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day... Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life...</b></size></center>
"We wanted more people to spend more time at the event, so we gave everyone less reason to go there"
This was definitely my concern at first. If you don't like a given year's ship, there's no reason to go there.
Case in point, I doubt I'll show up if the ship is a pure escort. And given that it's likely to be a pilot ship... I'm unsure. It'll be an account-wide unlock now though, so I may get it just in case I make a toon that flies escorts at some point.
There has been a lot of discussion, speculation, and general debate with the decision to adjust the way Summer Event ship currency is earned......
Thanks a bunch for replying. The communication and mitigating steps are appreciated! That being said, I'm still of the opinion new players should be able to receive the old ships. If they want to put in extra time into your game to acquire them there is no reason to bar them from this.
With all the rewards a delta recruit gets they are at a disadvantage because they can't get a couple free novelty ships that are outclassed by anything offerred at lvl 40? Thats a rich one,i'm in disbelief that you think a delta recruit is at a disadvantage, at the very min. a dr wil recieve 5mil ec and so much dil by the time they reach 50 plus the huge dump of marks they can get a fleet ship easily that will outgun those novelty ships. As for the console set, very subpar if you ask me, they don't even justify being in the lobi store. I understand your point, but i just don't agree with you. I agree with the changes being made, i just don't understand why so many feel this way over a couple of novelty ships that are being retired.
The event T5-Us are better than the level 40 ships, there's no argument about that.
And fleet ships require modules, which the last time I checked were 3m a piece.
And how many do you need for a T6 fleet again?
More than the 5m can provide you with, that's for sure.
I feel this way because I did grind for these ships, with what time I had.
Now, 2 years of work has been pissed down the drain because cryptic made an arbitrary decision to stop allowing us to "pre-grind".
And I can only assume it's going to happen at the winter event as well, and prevent me from getting the carrier I desperately want.
You know there is such a thing as Professional Pride as well. Maybe cryptic, who happen to be the owners of this game, and as such have the right to do whatever they please with it, don't like it when players don't participate in content they went to the trouble to create?
But the content is being played, just a year in advance.
Last year I spend a lot of time on Risa with many of my Alts. This year I won't.
I'll check this year's summer offerings and if I don't like it, I'm not doing Risa for that one.
If you carry over the "Risa attitude" to the other events, I may quit attending them as well. At least I will reduce my participation significantly.
Remember: you make your offers, but I will decide if I take it or not!
I did like the old system. I tried to attend during the events, but I knew if reallife would stop me from completing it, I would be able to complete it next year. That was convenient and it was my longterm commitment to your game.
This year you pissed me off. I won't get reimbursed for the pearls, because I cannot claim the level 60 benefits on most of my alts and I don't need the other offers.
If you TRIBBLE me off, I decide to do something else.
If more people will act like me, your metrics will be pissed off! Do you see it: bad calculations on your side!
So event ships will be unlocked for all alts forever after you get it one time. It´s a good outcome for this situation. I just hope i will have a chance to get the carrier of the winter event.
[..] We will be making every event ship youve ever earned and every event ship moving forward total account unlocks. As soon as one character on your account owns a ship, every single other character on your account that exists now or you will ever create will have immediate access to any event ship youve earned. [..]
Thank you for the explanation and change. Can one thing be clarified (quoted below)?
Just for clarification sake, does this mean once we earn the ship, we can dismiss it and reclaim it later like Veteran ships?
In my view, if this change was simply announced at the end of Risa 2014 as to give us the option to queue the risa ships, OR still allow queuing the risa ships now until the end of the event, that'd be fine.
This trade-off however is in my opinion well worth the loss of the 2014 risa corvette and the cruiser.
Devs: Provide the option to Turn OFF full screen flashes from enemy ship explosions
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If they really wanted more time spent on Risa, especially by new players, leaving the old ships in would do that. Someone coming in could run three characters (needing a slot to be purchased) to unlock the three ships for everyone and then do the new ship each year.
Now they'll just be doing it once.
I'm fine with keeping the initial unlock of the Risian ships "exclusive" to the summer event.
I'm not ok with locking them away in the name of "exclusivity". If you're going to offer T6 Corvettes and Luxury Cruisers, just say so. Being coy about it isn't getting you any points.
This is my Risian Corvette. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
As someone who finds "Flying High" relaxing, will we be able to spend our excess event currency on spec points/R&D stuff/emotes? That would be really, really nice.
If you're going to offer T6 Corvettes and Luxury Cruisers, just say so. Being coy about it isn't getting you any points.
It's been a long, long time since Cryptic has talked about upcoming ships too far in advance of when they're being released. We're at least a month away from the Summer Event.
Which is not to say that they're going to release new versions of the old Risian ships; I just don't know one way or the other. The point is, they'll talk about the event rewards when they're ready. Based on the track record, there will probably be a mix of old and new rewards for the minor events. Maybe a new minigame to play.
I'm just thankful that they made the announcement about the Pearls sooner rather than later. If it had been too much later, it would have been that much less likely that the Devs could make any changes in their plans.
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
Mind-boggling in its tone-deafness. I'm on the fence for this game to begin with. Space combat is fun, but first-person is amateurish. I was totally surprised by the shoot-first attitude of the game, expected a lot more "talking it out" before defending myself from a belligerent alien. Easy to forget the Star-Trek tie-in, except for the intellectual property and voice acting. Despite all that, I've stuck with it for a little over 6 months.
The killer for this game turns out to be the devs and customer service. They have been remarkably poor and just downright unhelpful and mean. I've had better experiences talking to the IRS.
This is not the first punishing policy I've seen heaped on customers, seemingly intended to provoke our rage. Instead of improving the game to be so good as to be addictive, they come up with marketing concepts that hope to make the game addictive. I think this results in getting more of a gambling demographic, rather than a gamer one. Gotta give em credit, though - they have the balls to charge money for infinitesimally small CHANCES to get something. If I'm spending money on your game, I better be getting what I paid for. It's no cost to them to hand over those 0's and 1's, yet they're stingy to drive demand.
There is no path for casual players; if you want the goodies, you'd better be able to log in daily. Either the requirements are too high, or the time allowed to perform them too short, for the events I've seen. If you get busy and can't log on for a few days, or have to travel, etc., you may as well not have started the stupid, repetitive grind, especially now that it won't carry over.
TL:DR: Your game isn't good enough to make it punishing as well.
I think they received the 75% solution on this...to reach the 95% solution would be to keep the existing ships one more event as an act of good faith AND THEN retire it after this years event is over and do the same for all of the events.
Cryptic gets their exclusivity and players don't feel BOHICA or Bent Over Here It Comes Again.
Mind-boggling in its tone-deafness. I'm on the fence for this game to begin with. Space combat is fun, but first-person is amateurish. I was totally surprised by the shoot-first attitude of the game, expected a lot more "talking it out" before defending myself from a belligerent alien. Easy to forget the Star-Trek tie-in, except for the intellectual property and voice acting. Despite all that, I've stuck with it for a little over 6 months.
The killer for this game turns out to be the devs and customer service. They have been remarkably poor and just downright unhelpful and mean. I've had better experiences talking to the IRS.
This is not the first punishing policy I've seen heaped on customers, seemingly intended to provoke our rage. Instead of improving the game to be so good as to be addictive, they come up with marketing concepts that hope to make the game addictive. I think this results in getting more of a gambling demographic, rather than a gamer one. Gotta give em credit, though - they have the balls to charge money for infinitesimally small CHANCES to get something. If I'm spending money on your game, I better be getting what I paid for. It's no cost to them to hand over those 0's and 1's, yet they're stingy to drive demand.
There is no path for casual players; if you want the goodies, you'd better be able to log in daily. Either the requirements are too high, or the time allowed to perform them too short, for the events I've seen. If you get busy and can't log on for a few days, or have to travel, etc., you may as well not have started the stupid, repetitive grind, especially now that it won't carry over.
TL:DR: Your game isn't good enough to make it punishing as well.
Welcome to Modern, Asian-influenced, F2P MMO development. Lock yourself to your PC and keep your Payment info available at all times.
/sarcasm
Thank you for the time...
STO CBT Player - 400 day+ Vet, Currently Silver
Cryptic, would you actulaly like me to spend actual Money? It's Simple:
Full, Story-driven, select from start 1-50 Klingon Side
Scrap current Lock Box & Lobi system for something more reasonable
Expand Dil and Rep/Fleet Marks to regular story content
We will be making every event ship you’ve ever earned and every event ship moving forward total account unlocks. As soon as one character on your account owns a ship, every single other character on your account that exists now or you will ever create will have immediate access to any event ship you’ve earned. There will be no need for your alts to play the event mission, no hoops to fly through other than picking up the ship from a store. Hopefully taking this extra step will address any lingering concerns you have with the overall change.
Thank you for taking the time to reply, and for the change to make these unlocks account-wide. IMO this is how it always should have been, if Cryptic really does want the game to be alt-friendly: fewer character-bound items, not more.
As others have already pointed out, however, not one word was spent on addressing what seems to be one of the biggest complaints that people have: the fact that retiring the old ships now, on this short notice, permanently locks out new players from ever getting them--including every single Delta recruit.
Yes, I get that you want "exclusivity" for these ships. Guess what though? Your customers don't. We--and after a thousand posts of players saying much the same thing, I think it's pretty safe to use inclusive language for this--we do not view it as a desirable thing for new characters to be permanently locked out of content. We do not want those who come after us to be locked out just so that we can feel better than them because we have something they can never have.
Not only does this TRIBBLE new players and every Delta recruit that you just spent the last month encouraging us to create and play, it is extremely unfriendly to casual players--people who don't necessarily have the time to complete a project in a single season, and who have long viewed the ability to carry over progress from season to season as the only thing that lets them have a chance at it. Now you're proposing to take that away.
I'm sorry, but while I'm grateful for the account-unlock change, it feels like a bright shiny that you tossed out to distract us from the fact that the single biggest and most complaint people had is something you didn't even devote one word to addressing. And while I am usually very sympathetic to the dev team and the fact that you can't make everyone happy, I am bothered by what feels like a pretty transparent bit of misdirection--which would not have come across that way if you'd even once mentioned the issue that players seem to be the most upset about.
I cannot and will not defend this.
Edit: phrasing. Are we still doing phrasing?
Fleet Admiral L'Yern - Screenshot and doffing addict
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
We will be making every event ship youve ever earned and every event ship moving forward total account unlocks. As soon as one character on your account owns a ship, every single other character on your account that exists now or you will ever create will have immediate access to any event ship youve earned. There will be no need for your alts to play the event mission, no hoops to fly through other than picking up the ship from a store. Hopefully taking this extra step will address any lingering concerns you have with the overall change. Thanks for reading this far, and I look forward to seeing you on Risa soon!
So that means that my Delta Recruits will get the Samsar and the Breen ships too?
Really? Wow. Thats absolutely amazing . And with that the chance that my Recruits will buy the command cruiser pack are high again.
But now i hope the new Summer Ship does not come with a Console thats part of a 3-piece set
And what will happen to Event ships that were put in the Lobi store like the better version of the Obelisk or the Dyson Destroyer for the 4-piece set so that new players can get access to the Sets too??
Keeping some special ships (lobi ships) out of the c-store is logical and fine
But timegating sets and preventing everyone who joined the Game after events or who could't participate in Events is not okay. I would't mind not having the Samsar (okay, i WOULD mind if i didn't have the Samsar, its Amazing) or the Dyson ship if i could have the Consoles after paying 2500-7500 ZEn for one ship, all ships seperately or the Bundle. Or to release a better version of a ship we got and then put it in the Lobi store like you did with the Obelisk.
Players could earn currency on all of their alts in one year, and then spend the currency from a single character every year to get the ship immediately. While some few players would then re-run the event on the character that spent their currency, the vast majority wouldnt. Again, this meant participation was down while rewards were still earned at the same rate.
This is understandable and I appreciate this information being shared. While I think you might have overstated how "powerful" those previous event ships, I understand that doesn't really change the situation.
One other suggestion... would it be possible to continue to provide some variations in rewards used for that event currency? As I previously stated, I never cared for either of the Risan ships, they just didn't fit my play style. Would it be possible to maintain the current pearl trade in rewards to provide an incentive to run the event? Honestly if the only thing I can do with those new pearls is get whatever new ship is being released I will have to pass... Nothing is going to pry me out of my T-5U Assault Cruiser except a T6 Assault Cruiser so having another use for those pearls would be great. Not everyone has ship envy
Again, thank you for the clear, honest communication about why this was an issue...
Thank you for taking the time to reply, and for the change to make these unlocks account-wide. IMO this is how it always should have been, if Cryptic really does want the game to be alt-friendly: fewer character-bound items, not more.
As others have already pointed out, however, not one word was spent on addressing what seems to be one of the biggest complaints that people have: the fact that retiring the old ships now, on this short notice, permanently locks out new players from ever getting them--including every single Delta recruit.
Yes, I get that you want "exclusivity" for these ships. Guess what though? Your customers don't. We--and after a thousand pages of players saying much the same thing, I think it's pretty safe to use inclusive language for this--we do not view it as a desirable thing for new characters to be permanently locked out of content. We do not want those who come after us to be locked out just so that we can feel better than them because we have something they can never have.
Not only does this TRIBBLE new players and every Delta recruit that you just spent the last month encouraging us to create and play, it is extremely unfriendly to casual players--people who don't necessarily have the time to complete a project in a single season, and who have long viewed the ability to carry over progress from season to season as the only thing that lets them have a chance at it. Now you're proposing to take that away.
I'm sorry, but while I'm grateful for the account-unlock change, it feels like a bright shiny that you tossed out to distract us from the fact that the single biggest and most complaint people had is something you didn't even devote one word to addressing. And while I am usually very sympathetic to the dev team and the fact that you can't make everyone happy, I am bothered by what feels like a pretty transparent bit of misdirection--which would not have come across that way if you'd even once mentioned the issue that players seem to be the most upset about.
I cannot and will not defend this.
Thank you, you've put this a lot better than I could have.
I'm worried.
If this is the way they're doing things, I can't support them.
I was about to finally take the plunge into buying a T6, because the pilot ships were interesting, but this ship retirement decision changed my mind really quick.
It's been a long, long time since Cryptic has talked about upcoming ships too far in advance of when they're being released. We're at least a month away from the Summer Event.
Announcing that you're taking something away without saying anything about what you're going to get in exchange just leads to unmitigated firestorms.
Announcing it at the same time as when you're also taking away people's already-been-done effort (with the valuable compensation locked behind level 60) is just asking for a disaster.
This is my Risian Corvette. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
If what's being planned for the summer event ship currency is gonna apply for the Winter & Grinderversary events, what about the item currency for the Winter Event (the holiday items)? Are those gonna be scrapped as well?
Thank you for the time...
STO CBT Player - 400 day+ Vet, Currently Silver
Cryptic, would you actulaly like me to spend actual Money? It's Simple:
Full, Story-driven, select from start 1-50 Klingon Side
Scrap current Lock Box & Lobi system for something more reasonable
Expand Dil and Rep/Fleet Marks to regular story content
If what's being planned for the summer event ship currency is gonna apply for the Winter & Grinderversary events, what about the item currency for the Winter Event (the holiday items)? Are those gonna be scrapped as well?
Thank you for the time...
It's the same as this the photos of Q. This is not the ornaments you use to buy clothes and stuff. The ornaments = the lolunut favors.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: "We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it's all ancient history. Then - before you can blink an eye - suddenly it threatens to start all over again."
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
Thank you, you've put this a lot better than I could have.
I'm worried.
If this is the way they're doing things, I can't support them.
I was about to finally take the plunge into buying a T6, because the pilot ships were interesting, but this ship retirement decision changed my mind really quick.
I regret buying zen at all this last week
If you have the ship already, it will be an account unlock... SalamiInferno posted a clarification earlier in this thread that contained this info
We will be making every event ship youve ever earned and every event ship moving forward total account unlocks. As soon as one character on your account owns a ship, every single other character on your account that exists now or you will ever create will have immediate access to any event ship youve earned. There will be no need for your alts to play the event mission, no hoops to fly through other than picking up the ship from a store. Hopefully taking this extra step will address any lingering concerns you have with the overall change. Thanks for reading this far, and I look forward to seeing you on Risa soon!
They really need to update their press release with this new information as it should resolve some concerns...
It's been a long, long time since Cryptic has talked about upcoming ships too far in advance of when they're being released. We're at least a month away from the Summer Event.
I have a question: what if you don't have Pearls at the moment? How do you even get the Buyback's items? Will they be available when summer event starts?
I need to get to him. I can't just leave him out there alone. - Sometimes you've got to makes sacrifices, Lara. You can't save everyone. - I know about sacrifices. - No, you know about loss. Sacrifice is a choice you make. Loss is a choice made for you. - I can't choose to let him die, Roth.
I have a question: what if you don't have Pearls at the moment? How do you even get the Buyback's items? Will they be available when summer event starts?
The emotes will be available for GPL later.
Everything else is acquirable through other means.
They want you to play, hence the move. They don't want a huge part of the player base getting the new shiny on day 1 and not coming back to play!
Redicoulous, even if i do get shinny on day one, in order to get shiny on day 1 next year i come back daily/almost daily depending on real life requirements to grind enough for next year, and besides if you can still short cut with Lobi then that entire argument goes the way of the Buffalo.
We will be making every event ship you’ve ever earned and every event ship moving forward total account unlocks. As soon as one character on your account owns a ship, every single other character on your account that exists now or you will ever create will have immediate access to any event ship you’ve earned. There will be no need for your alts to play the event mission, no hoops to fly through other than picking up the ship from a store. Hopefully taking this extra step will address any lingering concerns you have with the overall change. Thanks for reading this far, and I look forward to seeing you on Risa soon!
Yay! Especially Super Duper Yay! if this is really -every- event ship -ever-.
But even just winter/summer ship still yay
Thanks for turning back to the "angel" that sits on STO-Cryptic sholder, make sure to look at him every time the "devil" that comes up with ideas whispers into your ear. (Seriously, it's like 2 separate guys make decisions in this game some times)
Next, it'd be super-duper cool if the angel would allow any 100% new players to get the old ships. But, kind of a puzzle how to maintian turn in rates and not have an epic grind for multiple ships.
Comments
Well the "do bad things for the sake of the metrics" has already backfired, hasn't it.
Last week, the plan for my Risian summer was...
27 daily runs on alt-1
27 daily runs on alt-2
27 daily runs on alt-3
3 daily runs on alt-4
Thus all 4 alts get all 3 Risian ships, and the 3 set console bonus.
In addition to this the 4 alts would each hav e spent time doing the Lolwut-Favour stuff, spending 27 days on risa? get a swimsuit and fit in, train a parrot, etc etc.
Good metrics, lots of player time in the event zone.
Now...
1 Alt *MIGHT* do 25 daily runs, *IF* this years ship is something that suits my playstyle, and alt-class, and is good enough to overlook the "you can never complete the set bonus" thing.
She'll do the runs in as little time as possible, and in her standard uniform.. No swimsuits/parrots.
Summary :
Pre "fixed for Metrics" - 4 alts living on Risa for a month
Post "fixed for Metrics" - 1 alt *MIGHT visit for 5 mins a day for 25 days, or *MIGHT* not
Lower Risa Event Attendance Metrics
"We wanted more people to spend more time at the event, so we gave everyone less reason to go there"
Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life...</b></size></center>
Why should they care about getting 3 ships when they could get 1 instead. :rolleyes:
This was definitely my concern at first. If you don't like a given year's ship, there's no reason to go there.
Case in point, I doubt I'll show up if the ship is a pure escort. And given that it's likely to be a pilot ship... I'm unsure. It'll be an account-wide unlock now though, so I may get it just in case I make a toon that flies escorts at some point.
Thanks a bunch for replying. The communication and mitigating steps are appreciated! That being said, I'm still of the opinion new players should be able to receive the old ships. If they want to put in extra time into your game to acquire them there is no reason to bar them from this.
The event T5-Us are better than the level 40 ships, there's no argument about that.
And fleet ships require modules, which the last time I checked were 3m a piece.
And how many do you need for a T6 fleet again?
More than the 5m can provide you with, that's for sure.
I feel this way because I did grind for these ships, with what time I had.
Now, 2 years of work has been pissed down the drain because cryptic made an arbitrary decision to stop allowing us to "pre-grind".
And I can only assume it's going to happen at the winter event as well, and prevent me from getting the carrier I desperately want.
But the content is being played, just a year in advance.
Last year I spend a lot of time on Risa with many of my Alts. This year I won't.
I'll check this year's summer offerings and if I don't like it, I'm not doing Risa for that one.
If you carry over the "Risa attitude" to the other events, I may quit attending them as well. At least I will reduce my participation significantly.
Remember: you make your offers, but I will decide if I take it or not!
I did like the old system. I tried to attend during the events, but I knew if reallife would stop me from completing it, I would be able to complete it next year. That was convenient and it was my longterm commitment to your game.
This year you pissed me off. I won't get reimbursed for the pearls, because I cannot claim the level 60 benefits on most of my alts and I don't need the other offers.
If you TRIBBLE me off, I decide to do something else.
If more people will act like me, your metrics will be pissed off! Do you see it: bad calculations on your side!
*Edit: It could be bad interpreted.
Thank you for the explanation and change. Can one thing be clarified (quoted below)?
In my view, if this change was simply announced at the end of Risa 2014 as to give us the option to queue the risa ships, OR still allow queuing the risa ships now until the end of the event, that'd be fine.
This trade-off however is in my opinion well worth the loss of the 2014 risa corvette and the cruiser.
Now they'll just be doing it once.
I'm fine with keeping the initial unlock of the Risian ships "exclusive" to the summer event.
I'm not ok with locking them away in the name of "exclusivity". If you're going to offer T6 Corvettes and Luxury Cruisers, just say so. Being coy about it isn't getting you any points.
As someone who finds "Flying High" relaxing, will we be able to spend our excess event currency on spec points/R&D stuff/emotes? That would be really, really nice.
It's been a long, long time since Cryptic has talked about upcoming ships too far in advance of when they're being released. We're at least a month away from the Summer Event.
Which is not to say that they're going to release new versions of the old Risian ships; I just don't know one way or the other. The point is, they'll talk about the event rewards when they're ready. Based on the track record, there will probably be a mix of old and new rewards for the minor events. Maybe a new minigame to play.
I'm just thankful that they made the announcement about the Pearls sooner rather than later. If it had been too much later, it would have been that much less likely that the Devs could make any changes in their plans.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
The killer for this game turns out to be the devs and customer service. They have been remarkably poor and just downright unhelpful and mean. I've had better experiences talking to the IRS.
This is not the first punishing policy I've seen heaped on customers, seemingly intended to provoke our rage. Instead of improving the game to be so good as to be addictive, they come up with marketing concepts that hope to make the game addictive. I think this results in getting more of a gambling demographic, rather than a gamer one. Gotta give em credit, though - they have the balls to charge money for infinitesimally small CHANCES to get something. If I'm spending money on your game, I better be getting what I paid for. It's no cost to them to hand over those 0's and 1's, yet they're stingy to drive demand.
There is no path for casual players; if you want the goodies, you'd better be able to log in daily. Either the requirements are too high, or the time allowed to perform them too short, for the events I've seen. If you get busy and can't log on for a few days, or have to travel, etc., you may as well not have started the stupid, repetitive grind, especially now that it won't carry over.
TL:DR: Your game isn't good enough to make it punishing as well.
Cryptic gets their exclusivity and players don't feel BOHICA or Bent Over Here It Comes Again.
Welcome to Modern, Asian-influenced, F2P MMO development. Lock yourself to your PC and keep your Payment info available at all times.
/sarcasm
Thank you for the time...
Cryptic, would you actulaly like me to spend actual Money? It's Simple:
As others have already pointed out, however, not one word was spent on addressing what seems to be one of the biggest complaints that people have: the fact that retiring the old ships now, on this short notice, permanently locks out new players from ever getting them--including every single Delta recruit.
Yes, I get that you want "exclusivity" for these ships. Guess what though? Your customers don't. We--and after a thousand posts of players saying much the same thing, I think it's pretty safe to use inclusive language for this--we do not view it as a desirable thing for new characters to be permanently locked out of content. We do not want those who come after us to be locked out just so that we can feel better than them because we have something they can never have.
Not only does this TRIBBLE new players and every Delta recruit that you just spent the last month encouraging us to create and play, it is extremely unfriendly to casual players--people who don't necessarily have the time to complete a project in a single season, and who have long viewed the ability to carry over progress from season to season as the only thing that lets them have a chance at it. Now you're proposing to take that away.
I'm sorry, but while I'm grateful for the account-unlock change, it feels like a bright shiny that you tossed out to distract us from the fact that the single biggest and most complaint people had is something you didn't even devote one word to addressing. And while I am usually very sympathetic to the dev team and the fact that you can't make everyone happy, I am bothered by what feels like a pretty transparent bit of misdirection--which would not have come across that way if you'd even once mentioned the issue that players seem to be the most upset about.
I cannot and will not defend this.
Edit: phrasing. Are we still doing phrasing?
Eclipse Class Intel Cruiser U.S.S. Dioscuria NX-91121-A - Interactive Crew Roster
So that means that my Delta Recruits will get the Samsar and the Breen ships too?
Really? Wow. Thats absolutely amazing . And with that the chance that my Recruits will buy the command cruiser pack are high again.
But now i hope the new Summer Ship does not come with a Console thats part of a 3-piece set
And what will happen to Event ships that were put in the Lobi store like the better version of the Obelisk or the Dyson Destroyer for the 4-piece set so that new players can get access to the Sets too??
Keeping some special ships (lobi ships) out of the c-store is logical and fine
But timegating sets and preventing everyone who joined the Game after events or who could't participate in Events is not okay. I would't mind not having the Samsar (okay, i WOULD mind if i didn't have the Samsar, its Amazing) or the Dyson ship if i could have the Consoles after paying 2500-7500 ZEn for one ship, all ships seperately or the Bundle. Or to release a better version of a ship we got and then put it in the Lobi store like you did with the Obelisk.
This is understandable and I appreciate this information being shared. While I think you might have overstated how "powerful" those previous event ships, I understand that doesn't really change the situation.
One other suggestion... would it be possible to continue to provide some variations in rewards used for that event currency? As I previously stated, I never cared for either of the Risan ships, they just didn't fit my play style. Would it be possible to maintain the current pearl trade in rewards to provide an incentive to run the event? Honestly if the only thing I can do with those new pearls is get whatever new ship is being released I will have to pass... Nothing is going to pry me out of my T-5U Assault Cruiser except a T6 Assault Cruiser so having another use for those pearls would be great. Not everyone has ship envy
Again, thank you for the clear, honest communication about why this was an issue...
Captain Ariel Trueheart Department of Temporal Investigations
U.S.S. Valkyrie - NCC 991701
=/\= ================================= =/\=
Thank you, you've put this a lot better than I could have.
I'm worried.
If this is the way they're doing things, I can't support them.
I was about to finally take the plunge into buying a T6, because the pilot ships were interesting, but this ship retirement decision changed my mind really quick.
I regret buying zen at all this last week
Announcing that you're taking something away without saying anything about what you're going to get in exchange just leads to unmitigated firestorms.
Announcing it at the same time as when you're also taking away people's already-been-done effort (with the valuable compensation locked behind level 60) is just asking for a disaster.
Thank you for the time...
Cryptic, would you actulaly like me to spend actual Money? It's Simple:
It's the same as this the photos of Q. This is not the ornaments you use to buy clothes and stuff. The ornaments = the lolunut favors.
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
If you have the ship already, it will be an account unlock... SalamiInferno posted a clarification earlier in this thread that contained this info
They really need to update their press release with this new information as it should resolve some concerns...
Captain Ariel Trueheart Department of Temporal Investigations
U.S.S. Valkyrie - NCC 991701
=/\= ================================= =/\=
No, I never got the Risan ships, never even slotted the projects.
I have 800 pearls on 3 chars, I was gonna get all 3 this year.
I was going to get the carrier as well, when winter rolls around
Nah ... last years Event started on June 5th ...
http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/5006133
So maybe within the next 2-3 weeks ...
The emotes will be available for GPL later.
Everything else is acquirable through other means.
Redicoulous, even if i do get shinny on day one, in order to get shiny on day 1 next year i come back daily/almost daily depending on real life requirements to grind enough for next year, and besides if you can still short cut with Lobi then that entire argument goes the way of the Buffalo.
galacticguards.enjin.com/
Formerly Jewkesman Member from Nov 2009!
But thats for whales with pots of lobi - they are exempt from the argument us mere serfs are embroiled in
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Yay! Especially Super Duper Yay! if this is really -every- event ship -ever-.
But even just winter/summer ship still yay
Thanks for turning back to the "angel" that sits on STO-Cryptic sholder, make sure to look at him every time the "devil" that comes up with ideas whispers into your ear. (Seriously, it's like 2 separate guys make decisions in this game some times)
Next, it'd be super-duper cool if the angel would allow any 100% new players to get the old ships. But, kind of a puzzle how to maintian turn in rates and not have an epic grind for multiple ships.