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What is your overall impression of the Iconian War?

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  • azurianstarazurianstar Member Posts: 6,985 Arc User
    (**)2 star
    2 Star

    For years we waited for the conflict with the Iconians and really it just fell flat. It really lacked the epicness in fighting a supposed "superior" enemy, and the storyline really was rushed and focused mainly "this plan will stop them". And the ending, "here's your ball back. Remember me"?

    So Anti-climatic.
  • guljarolguljarol Member Posts: 979 Arc User
    (****)4 star
    4. I enjoyed playing the eps. There were some issues, but it was generally fun. And that's what I expect from my entertainment :)​​
  • vetteguy904vetteguy904 Member Posts: 3,844 Arc User
    edited September 2015
    A war that almost never gives me the impression to be a war in game (no battlezone, no red alerts, and so on) and a plot far too inspired by another sci-fi tv series.

    I agree the Klingon war arc was far more entertaining, longer and it is from season I expect much more

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  • starswordcstarswordc Member Posts: 10,963 Arc User
    (**)2 star
    Decent beginning with "Blood of the Ancients" and "Delta Flight", but everything after that was full of logical fail (I swear to God, the Klingons could not pull off a covert mission if all they did was stamp a Klingon logo on a Mossad operation, and what the hell were we doing mounting a frontal assault on the Dyson Sphere?) and the content outside the episodes was nonexistent.

    Complete and utter anti-climax to five years of buildup. GG Cryptic.
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  • ggsimmonds84ggsimmonds84 Member Posts: 63 Arc User
    (***)3 star
    The overall story was great I think. Excellent job on tying the different events into the Iconian War. They have been building the War for 5 years. That is fairly impressive for an MMO. Also did a good job of incorporating the voice actors.

    But the bad aspects were very bad. I did not really feel like I was involved in an epic war. The episodes felt disconnected from the rest of the game from a gameplay standpoint. Definitely need battlezones and red alerts. Along with feature episodes I think they should have added different queues to run alongside the FE. Do something.

    I also think it needed more episodes. Not large scale ones, maybe just smaller ones that dealt with the effects of the war. Things like helping with evacuations, searching for survivors on bombarded planets, etc. Things that allow the player to see the destruction. Maybe instead of episodes make patrols. Once a player reaches the level threshold the old patrols get swapped for Iconian War specific patrols. That would have been pretty sweet actually
  • orondisorondis Member Posts: 1,447 Arc User
    (**)2 star
    The Iconian War sadly showed up all of STO's problems.

    1) The disconnect between the narrative and gameplay:-
    The Iconians are sold as this uber advanced race, with powers beyond our comprehension. Then one Federation/Klingon/Romulan ship comes along and takes out a fleet single handedly.

    2) Impossible escalation:-
    We've just had an invasion by the Borg, a war with the Klingons, numerous skirmishes with assorted race and two major invasions of the Solar system by uber advanced races.

    Just one of those would make Wolf 359 look like a picnic.

    Next we'll be getting the Terran Empire, equipped with Iconian weapons and captaining timeships (freaking timeships).

    After that we'll probably be taking on the Q-continuum.

    3) Monster of the Week feel:-
    Lets be honest, each season brings along a new antagonist, who is forgotten about in the next one. The only long running one is the Borg.

    It had it's positives of course. Gorgeous maps, cool looking Iconian ships (looking suitable advanced), cool looking Iconians, some really nice characterisation for Jarok, the Krenim. While I feel the resolution itself was rushed, the actual way it was resolved felt perfectly Star Trek.
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  • chestertrekchestertrek Member Posts: 59 Arc User
    (****)4 star
    I think before that last episode I would have voted a 2*. Genuinely think it was the most Trek episode I've seen in this game.

    Although I agree that content outside the episodes was non existent and shouldn't have been, we know the reason why... an EP wanting to get it out of the way. It now becomes just another story arc along with The Breen, Devidian, and 2800 ones.

    Star Trek Online starts properly from season 11. As it should have been. (Hopefully).
  • eldarion79eldarion79 Member Posts: 1,679 Arc User
    (**)2 star
    These were Cryptic's best episodes in terms of visuals and map design. I never once started to roll eyes and ask myself when will the episode ends. However, in terms of creating the atmosphere, a flat negative. I never once felt like my back was against the wall. Even when we assaulted the Herald sphere, infiltrated the dreadnought, and killed the Iconian only to come to oh, we lost. What did we get, a busted up ESD again and an attack on Sol again. While, I enjoyed the ending as it was a very anti-STO arc ending but the entire arc felt rushed.
  • velquavelqua Member Posts: 1,220 Arc User
    (****)4 star
    I gave it a 4 mainly because of the cool artwork done for Iconia and the option for the player to end the war in a Star Trek manner. It was sad to see how many characters in the story became so desperate that they were willing to do anything to stop the war, even to the point of going against their own principles and initiate genocide on the Iconians. It was nice to have a single voice of reason--Shon. It's too bad we didn't to hear from Seven of Nine.
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  • mhall85mhall85 Member Posts: 2,852 Arc User1
    (***)3 star
    Glad you were the one to start this, Nagus... I had the same thought. :smile:

    PROS:
    • The finale episode... a very strong finish to the arc.
    • Overall, the story was good.
    • Adding Aron Eisenberg was a surprising high-point for me (Nog can grate on me at times).
    • Klingon-focused content was nice.

    CONS:
    • The lack of a "game-wide" presence of the Iconians was noticeable. BIG missed opportunity.
    • Kagran was a moron.
    • Robert McNeil was the weakest VO talent. I still think he felt shoehorned into the game.
    • "Delta Flight" was the weakest mission. Absolutely no emotional connection to the group or mission.
    • I still think the ending of "Butterfly" is bulls**t.

    This time travel stuff worries me... Cryptic better bring their A-game to make this work. I don't think they did a good job of communicating that the past 5 years was really "The Iconian War," and this arc was the final battles, not the opening salvo. So, it wasn't bad... but it could have been MUCH cooler.
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  • x10110100x10110100 Member Posts: 44 Arc User
    edited September 2015
    (****)4 star
    I enjoyed the storytelling and the general pacing of an episode a month or so. I also generally liked the rewards and the way they were given out. Though I do feel things like the traits were fairly weak, they were basically all poor defensive traits. I think better (more aggressive) traits to help bring up newer players would have been better matches for success in the game.

    I was generally looking forward to the next part which is a big step for me considering before the Iconian war the story was basically like pulling teeth. Some parts would have been better if there was more exposition and others were generally plot holes but in general there was a cohesive story. I'm sure i'm in the minority but I would have prefered more episodes to flesh out the story and give more depth to some of the characters and to build more of an emotional tie.

    But all in all I'd say it was a huge leap forward in the storytelling.
  • hippiejonhippiejon Member Posts: 1,581 Arc User
    (***)3 star
    3 Stars. While there were some awesome moments and even one awesome Episode (the finale) , overall the episodes in the war arc were lackluster, and not having any indication of the "war" outside of Tale of the War blogs left me feeling not immersed in the storytelling at all.

    One great episode(Midnight) , One TERRIBLE Episode (Butterfly Effect), and a handful of average episodes probably only actually deserves 2 stars as a story arc goes, but I am riding the high of a great finale at the moment, so i am probably being generous.

    3 Stars feels right.
  • koraheaglecrykoraheaglecry Member Posts: 250 Arc User
    (**)2 star
    risian4 wrote: »
    Didn't vote, just want to comment.

    The last episode in the arc really had an impact on how I would rate the entire arc. The battle in the Sol system was truly epic, the voice acting, especially at the beginning of the episode, together with the many interruptions from characters of all factions and regions within the game really gave off the impression that the situation was dire. And Kagran's attitude was a very welcome change, it's always nice to see a Klingon who does more than just try to kill everything in sight.

    The end was a welcome change too. The dialogue options (and the amount of dialogue and exploring the Iconians in general) were much more enjoyable than just shooting your way through an episode. The choices that were available were really good ones, you have the entire war and all its victims, including an entire species on the one hand, and the Iconians who were more or less victims themselves as well.

    All in all, a very enjoyable episode and by far the best episode in the entire arc.

    Isnt that terrible though? They give us a rather underwhelming experience for 6 months only for them to save the arc at the last moment?

    We were lead to believe this whole experience would be epic. But was anything but.
  • sirmaydaysirmayday Member Posts: 535 Arc User
    (***)3 star
    For the most part the episodes were good, but a few hiccups in the writing kept them from being great. What really hurt the score I gave it is, as others have noted, we didn't feel the war. Even if it would've been more of a technical challenge than I suspect it would be, adding Herald Red Alerts, and maybe including Heralds in existing Red Alerts, probably would've been worth the effort. Also, seeing the Iconians interact more with non-Alliance species would've made the war feel more real; I noticed a few such ships in "Midnight," and that was neat, but realistically those species would've been compelled to act sooner (or, I suppose, capitulate and not show up at all).
  • sunfranckssunfrancks Member Posts: 3,925 Arc User
    (*)1 star = worst
    I gave it a 1 star just because the war never happened in game other than through the FE's and blog's.
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  • zellkarrathzellkarrath Member Posts: 182 Arc User
    (***)3 star
    3 stars. What holds it back was the lack of content that made it feel like a war (no Red alerts, no battle zones, etc.). The missions were mostly good, and enjoyable. The war could have stood to be longer as well. I feel like we only saw a small piece of what was supposed to be a much larger conflict.
  • koraheaglecrykoraheaglecry Member Posts: 250 Arc User
    (**)2 star
    While I was impressed with the better quality that Midnight was. Being the last mission and rather good doesnt mean it saves the rest of the arc. It annoys me very much when writers and content developers provide sub par quality content/stories and then expect to save it with a single quest/chapter. This whole arc has been building for five years and it feels like the 50th Anniversary being around the corner has put Cryptic in a rush to finish it off.

    Overall the story arc could of been much better. Id have given it a better score but I cant imagine giving them too much of a pat on the back for one or two missions when the rest of the arc was terrible.

  • abaddon653abaddon653 Member Posts: 1,144 Arc User
    (***)3 star
    Well that was anti-climactic...seriously Cryptic, five years and THAT'S how you end it? Shame. For the most part I loved the mission, though I figured out that the player was "The Other" when it was mentioned that we would go back in time. But really!? I pop into the academy to and only a few people and a couple of general conversations are what I get for five years!? WORST ENDING EVER! Give me an entire missions worth of just talking to everyone we dealt with these past five years, ratifying the treaty with the Iconians and a HUGE party, but nope, none of that. LAZY!
  • furlong359furlong359 Member Posts: 144 Arc User
    (**)2 star
    I voted 2 stars .

    Midnight felt epic . Sol system was all sorts of blown up ( yet again ), starships were getting nailed left and right . ( Kirkland here ). I dunno. We should have really had an option to kill the big bad world murdering friend killing baddies of the week . I hope season 11 is better then the last . Immersion was terrible. Better luck next time
  • duncanidaho11duncanidaho11 Member Posts: 7,867 Arc User
    edited September 2015
    (****)4 star
    It was a well told story with good gameplay, great visuals, and a point. Where's the TRIBBLE problem? (well, apart from the fact that we didn't get an Iconian as a BOFF...yet.)
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  • ggsimmonds84ggsimmonds84 Member Posts: 63 Arc User
    (***)3 star
    It was a well told story with good gameplay, great visuals, and a point. Where's the TRIBBLE problem? (well, apart from the fact that we didn't get an Iconian as a BOFF...yet.)

    There is a disconnect between the story they are trying to tell and the rest of the game.
    There was very little immersion.
  • duncanidaho11duncanidaho11 Member Posts: 7,867 Arc User
    edited September 2015
    (****)4 star
    It was a well told story with good gameplay, great visuals, and a point. Where's the TRIBBLE problem? (well, apart from the fact that we didn't get an Iconian as a BOFF...yet.)

    There is a disconnect between the story they are trying to tell and the rest of the game.
    There was very little immersion.

    TRIBBLE. Every story has both overarching and independent elements. The Iconian war arc is no different. It's as immersive as the rest of the game..and that I think is where the problem for some lies. It's not the culmination of a non-existent 5 year narrative [see. the difference between a theme and plot structure] as some were apparently expecting, it's another STO mission series. And according to any reasonable criteria it's a good one, particularly the last mission (which provides the necessary end-point to assess just what the hell this was all about. All the galaxy is just noise around a smaller personal narrative between us, Sela, and the Iconians.)
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  • ggsimmonds84ggsimmonds84 Member Posts: 63 Arc User
    (***)3 star
    It was a well told story with good gameplay, great visuals, and a point. Where's the TRIBBLE problem? (well, apart from the fact that we didn't get an Iconian as a BOFF...yet.)

    There is a disconnect between the story they are trying to tell and the rest of the game.
    There was very little immersion.

    TRIBBLE. Every story has both overarching and independent elements. The Iconian war arc is no different. It's as immersive as the rest of the game..and that I think is where the problem for some lies. It's not the culmination of a non-existent 5 year narrative [see. the difference between a theme and plot structure] as some were apparently expecting, it's another STO mission series. And according to any reasonable criteria it's a good one, particularly the last mission (which provides the necessary end-point to assess just what the hell this was all about.)

    THe devs themselves have said it is the culmination of a 5 year narrative. The Iconian War Arc is certainly not an independent episode arc. Just about every episode prior was building towards the Iconians.

    It was not supposed to be "just another mission series," but it plays like it is. That is the problem.
  • duncanidaho11duncanidaho11 Member Posts: 7,867 Arc User
    edited September 2015
    (****)4 star
    THe devs themselves have said it is the culmination of a 5 year narrative. The Iconian War Arc is certainly not an independent episode arc. Just about every episode prior was building towards the Iconians.

    First of all:
    "both overarching and independent elements"

    Secondly:
    Building towards requires a reinforcing structure as you proceed through the narrative. What we in fact have is a lot of references which foreshadow the mere existence of this plot which, as the final mission points out, has a lot more to do with Sela than it does a particular war (meaning that what those reference are in fact servicing is HER character's development). It's only the Vaadwuar arc which directly builds up to Iconians (rather than merely establishing them as part of the backstory) and as the culmination of that the Iconian Series is still entirely satisfactory. DR works to setup narrative space via a defeated Vaadwuar and successful alliance. That space is then used DIRECTLY for the setting, plot, and tone of the Iconian War. The war carries the characterization DIRECTLY established by the linked Vaadwuar/bluegill through its arc and uses it in the final mission to make a strong, narrative point about them, us, Sela, and retroactively to ALL other characters involved with the arc (including the Vaadwuar, remember THEY were given free access to sophisticated Iconian technology). There's nothing missing here! (besides some mention of the Krenim scientist's retroactively-killed wife.)

    We've had the planetary assaults (Takedown, Cutting the Cord), we've had the defensive operations (Surface Tension, undine assault PVE). Unless cryptic had a particular fixation to turn Star Trek into your typical Modern Warfare series than just doing more of that with more emphasis wouldn't have done a damn thing to the game. We wouldn't have had a cap-stone on Sela's own self-inflicted struggle. We wouldn't have had that serve as a great foil for the player's own arc. We would have just had another big battle to be supplanted by the next big battle when cryptic needs to increase the action dosage next season just to maintain some kind of par. Ultimately meaningless and ultimately forgettable. A 5 year wait for your typical action game.

    As it is we had that (compare the scale of the last space battle with all that came before, it ranks very highly at the very least), but also a prominent, point inducing, character story (a series of them in fact over the course of the season). For a STAR TREK game that's a much better outcome.

    Thirdly:
    What the dev's say in PR doesn't mean as much as how the game they made actually works. Generally people point this out to deflate hype but it's just as valid to explain why a particular game might also work better than intended.
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  • zobovorzobovor Member Posts: 198 Arc User
    edited September 2015
    (*)1 star = worst
    When you have a "thank the gods this is over" feeling , instead of a "please sir, can I have some more ?" feeling, then your brain is trying to tell you something .

    Also , since I did not like all the retconning and deletion of content , I can't say that I accept Cryptic's assertions that this was a 5 year arc .
    A 2 year arc maybe .

    Anyhow , good riddance to bad rubbish .
    Post edited by zobovor on
  • ggsimmonds84ggsimmonds84 Member Posts: 63 Arc User
    (***)3 star
    THe devs themselves have said it is the culmination of a 5 year narrative. The Iconian War Arc is certainly not an independent episode arc. Just about every episode prior was building towards the Iconians.

    First of all:
    "both overarching and independent elements"

    Secondly:
    Building towards requires a reinforcing structure as you proceed through the narrative. What we in fact have is a lot of references which foreshadow the mere existence of this plot which, as the final mission points out, has a lot more to do with Sela than it does a particular war (meaning that what those reference are in fact servicing is HER character's development). It's only the Vaadwuar arc which directly builds up to Iconians (rather than merely establishing them as part of the backstory) and as the culmination of that the Iconian Series is still entirely satisfactory. DR works to setup narrative space via a defeated Vaadwuar and successful alliance. That space is then used DIRECTLY for the setting, plot, and tone of the Iconian War. The war carries the direct characterization setup by the linked Vaadwuar/bluegill (while resolving one last detail about the elachii) through its arc and uses it in the final mission to make a strong, narrative point about them, us, Sela, and retroactively to ALL other characters involved with the arc. There's nothing missing here! (besides some mention of the Krenim scientist's retroactively-killed wife.)

    We've had the planetary assaults (Takedown, Cutting the Cord), we've had the defensive operations (Surface Tension, undine assault PVE). Unless cryptic had a particular fixation to turn Star Trek into your typical Modern Warfare series than just doing more of that with more emphasis wouldn't have done a damn thing to the game. We wouldn't have had a cap-stone on Sela's own self-inflicted struggle. We wouldn't have had that serve as a great foil for the player's own arc. We would have just had another big battle to be supplanted by the next big battle when cryptic needs to increase the action dosage next season just to maintain some kind of par. Ultimately meaningless and ultimately forgettable. A 5 year wait for your typical action game.

    As it is we had that (compare the scale of the last space battle with all that came before, it ranks very highly at the very least), but also a prominent, point inducing, character story (a series of them in fact over the course of the season). For a STAR TREK game that's a much better outcome.

    Thirdly:
    What the dev's say in PR doesn't mean as much as how the game they made actually works. Generally people point this out to deflate hype but it's just as valid to explain why a particular game might also work better than intended.

    A game is more than merely telling a story. We are supposed to believe that we are a part of the story; that is what roleplaying games and immersion is about.

    Did Cryptic tell a good story? Yes, and I said as much in my initial post in this thread.

    Did they do a good job of making me feel as if I was involved in this story? Not really. The story involved a war that threatened the galaxy. Never did I get that feeling playing the game.

    That is not entirely their fault, there is only so much you can do with such a game. Not helping matters was the gradual roll out of the episodes (for example in the middle of this war we had the Risa summer event).

    Still, you asked what the problem was. This is the problem. You may feel as though it is not a problem for you, and that is fine. But that is not the popular opinion.

    Finally, to clear up what may be a misunderstanding. I did not want more meaningless space battles for the sake of having more space battles. What I wanted was something that portrays the drama and tension of the war and the characters facing annihilation. Certainly they could involve battles, but they would only be a means to an end, not the end in itself.
  • nikephorusnikephorus Member Posts: 2,744 Arc User
    (****)4 star
    Overall I thought the arc was pretty good. There were some inconsistencies with the story and some plot holes, but it was decent enough. The end was satisfying and very star trek. We kept our morals and managed to negotiate a peace to end the conflict. The voice overs were good, mission rewards were also nice. So yeah... I enjoyed it.
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  • gulberatgulberat Member Posts: 5,505 Arc User
    edited September 2015
    (**)2 star
    Really I would like a 2.5 option--but because of the fact that the sense of war was never properly conveyed in game, I've rounded down for the purposes of the poll.

    Episode by episode...things were going all right until we hit Delta Flight. Tom Paris got on my nerves, but that could've been recovered from. Then we hit House Pegh. Absolutely pitiful writing there--Kahless got to die being a complete moron, the writing was poor, even a certain set of characters were horribly written enough that even I think I could've done a better job. Time in a Bottle was pretty decent and actually enjoyable to play. Broken Circle...again, idiot ball, big time. Stupid decisions from Paris, Kagran, M'Tara, and everybody. Butterfly...it wasn't bad to play through, but writing-wise, it wasn't good. I have theories that could've fixed some of the holes, which helps me a bit on playthrough, but I shouldn't have to. As for Midnight...FINALLY I got the chance to do the right thing, and it was a truly enjoyable episode, perhaps even on the Surface Tension level (which I consider the best single episode in game).

    Uneasy allies: 4 stars
    Blood of the Ancients: 5 stars
    Delta Flight: 3 stars
    House Pegh: 1 star--utter garbage, please delete.
    Time in a Bottle: 4 stars
    Broken Circle: 2 stars
    Butterfly: 3 stars
    Midnight: 5 stars

    The episodes come out to 3.4 according to my ratings--but I do have to subtract a star for the lack of immersion (Herald alerts, dev blog war, etc). That leaves me basically at the 2.5 I "award" to the whole arc. As such, it falls about equal to if not slightly behind Delta Rising WITH the patrols counted (which I consider to severely drag down an otherwise promising arc).

    Delta Rising WITHOUT patrols is superior without question. The urgency of the whole thing is felt, the Kobali battlezone drives the point home wonderfully, and overall it actually feels like a war all around.

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  • nikephorusnikephorus Member Posts: 2,744 Arc User
    (****)4 star
    I definitely agree with you on one point. It never felt like we were involved in an incredibly destructive war outside of the episodes.
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  • ggsimmonds84ggsimmonds84 Member Posts: 63 Arc User
    (***)3 star
    nikephorus wrote: »
    I definitely agree with you on one point. It never felt like we were involved in an incredibly destructive war outside of the episodes.

    That is what keeps it from getting a 4 from me.
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