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i just wanted to thank you all
whistlerdavid
Member Posts: 420 Arc User
my set is almost done and have most of my gear epic.last night i wondered why i am even bothering finishing my gear i have already played everything many times so whats the point. then i decided to do a foundry mission and much to my surprise a lot of it is really good.so i want to say thank you to everyone that makes these story's up
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Foundry Authors get routinely ignored around here. This should not be so. If pwe/cryptic were smart, they'd mainstream some of the more well done Foundry series into the game. This would solve the 'burn through' problem for more PvE content in the storyline rather neatly. Best part? A lot of the Foundry Authors are not just players, they're also big fans of Star Trek. Which is why so many of their missions actually play as well as or better than the 'offical content'.
I imagine one day, probably the day before they shut the servers down, someone on the Dev Team will get around to improving the functionality of the filters on the Foundry. But if they haven't done it by now, they're not going to I think. My expectations of what the Dev Team will accomplish have lowered significantly over the years. My observation of their motivation is they care primarily about a paycheck and doing just enough to avoid getting fired today. Salami_inferno is just as invisible and apparently at least as ineffective as all the rest of the Executive Producers as well.
On behalf of everyone making this stuff: thank you both very much and you're most welcome.
On behalf of just me: well the tricky bit is deciding just what should be given special recognition. If it's a frequent continuous process of updating mainstreamed Foundry content then yay. But even with reliable inclusion of "worthy" Foundry missions there's still the problem for everyone else of finding recognition when you're not making the most notable missions out there (see. what happened with the Spotlight system). Improving search functions would be indeed be super helpful there but it's also worth giving cryptic some kudos for the sector block top 3 system (which combines some aspects of a recognition system with a way of finding foundry missions which aren't at the very top of a list or in spotlight.)
It's still a challenge to find the good stuff but if you play frequently and spread the word around when something good comes around then it's a bit easier, perhaps even slightly manageable. Wandering aimlessly and exploring whatever strange new worlds takes your fancy also a definite way of ensuring that you never run out of stuff to play. :P
And speaking of spreading the word around, in case either of you are looking for more stuff at the moment here's a small thread where a few of us chimed in on a 2015 list of favorites. Starbase UGC has also released an awesome new six part series: Photonomy. And let's not forget about the Iconian War Anthology. If you ever (somehow) run short of foundry missions just give the community here a shout.
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!
That being said, Foundry certainly isn't dead. Many of the authors who started when the game came online are still around, and new authors are trying it every day. It is difficult to get a mission noticed and played, but that has always been true. As an early member of StarbaseUGC, I can promise there are still people around to assist authors with any problem or question they may have, simply by visiting our chat at www.starbaseugc.com. Authors are around 24/7 and all are welcome. Missions can be reviewed by request on The Foundry Roundtable by contacting them directly. Trailers and advertising can be posted, both in the STO forums and at StarbaseUGC, once one has registered. As long as STO exists, there will be players who will both play and create user generated content. I think this is unique to the franchise. Star Trek is the reason most story authors do what they do. We love to tell the story. Creating these missions is definitely a labor of love. I don't know any authors who spend their precious hours in the editor just for plays and dilithium tips.
Personally, I appreciate the Thank you, and respond with "You are very welcome". I will make missions as long as they allow me the opportunity. I hope people like them. That is a bonus. I also hope that new authors join in. The more Foundry content there is, the more Star Trek we get to experience.
My Foundry missions | My STO Wiki page | My Twitter home page
Cryptic, though they're good, tend to just let the obvious structure of the game mechanics suggest the course of the mission - so whatever the flavour text says it's about, I expect it to be a series of 2 or 3 space fights to reach a planet, followed by beaming down and fighting my way across a ground map, followed by beaming up and another 2 or 3 fights to get away; maybe a scan interact or two or a chance to pick one of two things to tell an NPC, but that's getting a bit daring and unconventional. (There are honourable exceptions, but all too many are like that.) And I'm tired of those by now.
Whereas, in a Foundry mission, I never know what I'll be doing. Foundry authors tend to have their own idea of what shape the story should be and whether you're going to be negotiating with aliens, fighting, solving mysteries, searching or what, and then they make the engine jolly well have it. It's great.
Thunder's 25
Here is a list I made. Twenty five KDF Foundry Missions in no particular order. These were selected for their story and "Klingon-ness". Since some of the best Star Trek episodes have a large amount of humor in them, the list is slightly skewed towards those Foundry missions which also feature humor. I was surprised how many are or have been Spotlight Missions when I began looking back for missions to put in the list.
The best Foundry Missions are those created by Star Trek fans for other Star Trek fans. I probably spend more time playing Foundry Missions in between Featured Events than I do anything else. Decent loot. Dilithium. Specialization Points. And no repeating the same mission over and over again. What more could a true warrior ask for? I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.
Without further preamble or hype, here is the list.
"Crouching Ty'Gkor Hidden Demon"
"Devil's Devout"
"Federation Desperation"
"Future Shock"
"Grapok In The General's Lung"
"HA01 - Stolen Property"
"Hero of the Empire"
"Honor of Ferasa"
"Honor of the Empire"
"Honor of Orions"
"Infiltration Point"
"Into the Nightmare"
"Krios Falling"
"Raktajino In A Jar"
"Stray Dogs"
"Tempus Fugit"
"Terrors of the Past"
"The Chimes At Midnight"
"The Computer's Son"
"The Fire In Which We Burn"
"The Honor Of Profit"
"The Hunter Killer"
"The Prisoner"
"Time The Enemy"
"Time Will Tell"
Some, but not all of these Missions will appear in the Mission Select List after the Browse All button is highlighted. Within the Browse All Window, one can select to Search by one of four categories. If the one you are looking for does not appear, pick the Custom Search Option and type the name into the Title Box. This should bring the Mission up and from there, it is just like playing one of the Featured Episodes. Please make sure you read ALL of the Author's text in the window on the right. Very useful information there which should improve the quality of play for you.
I probably have another hundred or so on a list somewhere else. As I've said many times, I play the hell outta Foundry Missions. Probably because I am an old Armada II modder and I like modding games in general. Always fun to see players and modders make a game do things which the 'professionals' did not think it could. Admittedly, other people's taste may not be the same as mine. But my Fleet mates who played these really did enjoy them. Especially the people new to the game and to the KDF as well.
My character Tsin'xing
My addition: "Talking to Old Soldiers", if it's still available (it's a while since I played it).
Well, alrighty then! Don't just add in one or two which I may have overlooked. Write down the KDF Foundry Missions you've played and enjoyed and post your list here, please.
My character Tsin'xing
I would've but that's the only one that's not already on your list!
The problem I have with most KDF Foundry missions is one of the same ones I have with Cryptic's: that they AREN'T usually KDF missions, they're KLINGON missions. My KDF toons are Lethean and Ferasan mercenaries, not glory-hound Klingons, and I ALWAYS dock a star for not including RP options suited to the Empire's current considerable foreign levies, mercenaries, and janissaries. "House Pegh" is a perfect canon example: I seriously doubt a Lethean or Nausicaan would consider going on a one-man Crusade against something that vaporizes people with a wave of its hand to be anything other than a stupid way of getting yourself killed. (Of course, neither would a Romulan or a Fed...)
In contrast writing Fed is easy: unless the mission touches on a species' history (e.g. for something to do with the Occupation of Bajor, you ought to include recognizably Bajoran options) you pretty much just have to write "Vulcan" and "everyone else" (kirkfat's stuff is a good example).
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
My character Tsin'xing