OK, I'm pretty much a Crafting Noob. I haven't really been playing STO much, mostly just came back for the Anniversary stuff. Ran my first Delta Rising missions just a couple days ago. Entertaining, that.
Anyway, I played my Q mission yesterday and got a few red and yellow things, traces I guess. So we're supposed to run a Science mission to make those into what which we use to do what? Who do we talk to to get this mission?
It seemed I was able to get a few extra traces even after the three from Q's mission. Is this normal/expected? I mean, are people flying around farming these things?
Any one got a link to a "crafting manual", site, thread, etc that goes over this stuff?
you don't have to do anything to get the trace. just click play and let the timer count down.
really, people are playing this?
Really? LOL, that's funny.
I kind of enjoy the mini-game, though, myself. For some reason it makes me think of PacMan eating popcorn. I'm amused. So, really, the score doesn't matter?
You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
So this unique currency will still be good for the next Anniversary?
They are called "Anniversary" Q-mendations after all. Will I be able to use these in combination with whatever new currency Q dreams up?
Q-mendations were introduced last year already for that Anniversary. Also including a 400-piece mission. But they don't work with Q Autographs, for example.
Winter: Q Autographs
Anniversary: Q-Mendations
Summer: Lonat Pearls or whatever they are called.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
Wow - very well done. You sir are the guitar hero.
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."
But they don't work with Q Autographs, for example.
Yup, that is the core of my question. So is this a new permanent Q-mendation currency that only works on Anniversaries? To go along with the other unique Q currency.
All these new unique currencies just keep piling up. Wouldn't be so bad if they were account bound - that would make it easier for me to craft "role play" ship builds.
I can't remember a single time where STO's devs has intentionally removed some item. Convert items into a new item, but not remove them. So we will still have our traces and components after the event or there will be some way to convert them to something useful. Also, the Omega event will be here next year so even if the Omega projects disappear at the end of the event, they will reappear next year.
I got about 6 Alien Artifacts that have no use what so ever. Of course they didn't "remove" it, but they are about as useful as those Computer Core Fragments we use to get from the Defense Contract mission in the Alhena System. Remove ...NO, but make uselss yes
To answer an earlier question in this thread: Anything you earn during this event is yours forever. They will not vanish when the event is over.
Hey borticuscryptic, i have a question that you may be able to answer. Will the new "Omega" R&D projects remain in the game after the anniversary event has ended? Thanks in advance and keep up the great work!
-Winters
Twitter: @P1Winters83 YouTube: WintersGaming
=/\= ========================================== =/\=
Fleet Admiral Winters - Priority One Armada
U.S.S. Wolverine - NCC 831216
=/\= ========================================== =/\=
Armada Leader // Executive Producer // Host // Priority One Podcast
Does anyone know how these omega upgrades work? It says it has a 4x quality upgrade chance. If I toss it on a mk2 weapon it gives me the same chance for upgrade @ 10% as the experimental. I also tried it on a mk14 impulse engine that is currently sitting at a 10% quality upgrade chance and it doesn't budge that number at all. So far, the only good thing about these omega upgrades is it doesn't use dilitium. If that is it, I'm starting to think it isn't worth the grind.
Does anyone know how these omega upgrades work? It says it has a 4x quality upgrade chance. If I toss it on a mk2 weapon it gives me the same chance for upgrade @ 10% as the experimental. I also tried it on a mk14 impulse engine that is currently sitting at a 10% quality upgrade chance and it doesn't budge that number at all. So far, the only good thing about these omega upgrades is it doesn't use dilitium. If that is it, I'm starting to think it isn't worth the grind.
I did the math, it takes about 81 of each particle trace to get the Omega upgrade. With how the crafting is time gated, you will save much more time by going to the Voth BZ and grinding Dil, even with the broken "fix" they put down there.
Unless you speed up the crafting using Dil, it will still take almost 2-3 days of crafting (depending on how many open crafting slots you have) just to get one of the Omega upgrades.
From doing the BZ, and a few quick foundry runs to grind for EC to buy superior upgrades, and the tech boost, you can have upgrade much faster than trying to chase down these particles.
And now that they have given us back the chance to run more than just one 20 hour project per school, you can save your open crafting slots for being able to level your crafting school faster, or for running any of the time gated/Dil sink Boff skills you might need.
The only reason I can see scanning and crafting any of these particles is to sell them to others for EC. I wouldn't go past the shard, or fragment level. Otherwise it is an other 20 hour time gate.
Leader of Elite Guardian Academy.Would you like to learn how to run a fleet? Would you like to know how to do ship builds (true budget as well as high end)?The join the Academy today!
I can't remember a single time where STO's devs has intentionally removed some item. Convert items into a new item, but not remove them. So we will still have our traces and components after the event or there will be some way to convert them to something useful. Also, the Omega event will be here next year so even if the Omega projects disappear at the end of the event, they will reappear next year.
Considering those skills still exist on officers that already know them, I'd say they haven't been removed.
Apart from the powers that have been removed. I spent 10's of millions on some rare powers. Lost them all. Cannot retrain, cannot craft, as far as I can see no way to get the powers back. For example how would I get Aux power to Stru 3 on my boff, or Beam Overload 3?
Apart from the powers that have been removed. I spent 10's of millions on some rare powers. Lost them all. Cannot retrain, cannot craft, as far as I can see no way to get the powers back. For example how would I get Aux power to Stru 3 on my boff, or Beam Overload 3?
Again, those powers have NOT been removed. I still have a bridge officer who knows Aux2SIF 3, he's currently one of my active bridge officers on my ship. Just because they were removed from your bridge officer (and I'd double check if I were you, none of my officers lost any powers they possessed when the new system went up, they just weren't the currently selected powers if they were "retrained") doesn't mean they were removed from the game.
The universe has a wonderful sense of humor. The trick is learning how to take a joke.
Its 27 of each particle trace, not 81. Its 81 traces in total split between the three colours to produce an Omega upgrade.
Still want to find out if the R&D projects will still be available after the event ends on the 26th of Feb.
Your right, sorry about that. I meant each Omega upgrade. I was in a hurry when I wrote that, and had to get offline shortly after.
Still, it is a lot of scanning, and time gate for it. It is quicker to get the Dil and EC to upgrade faster. But, when I can get back in the game, and make it to the exchange, I will have some stuff to sell now. Lol.
Leader of Elite Guardian Academy.Would you like to learn how to run a fleet? Would you like to know how to do ship builds (true budget as well as high end)?The join the Academy today!
Collecting the particles is fun, putting them together is a tad tedious. I actually prefer this mechanism to the one currently being used for Dilithium mining (which can be twitchy and seems maybe moreso during the Dilithium Weekend Event).
The highest score I have obtained is 640, my normal highs in the 500s. I use the mouse. It seems, at least during my play that there are two times when the normal movement flow is put into some warp and the particles jump right to their freedom from being munched.
The mini-game sometimes ends prematurely, some right at the start, some after I've only collected a couple of particles. Sometimes there seems to be a sort of time dilation effect as it was proceeding along normally and then it is over and you say to yourself 'there is no way that was 50 seconds'. Regardless though you always get a trace.
Given that you always get a trace and that I am never going to get above say 700 at best, bugging out right after it starts is preferable as you can get around to getting another particle that much quicker.
Is there any significance to the number that is tallied for particles destroyed?
'But to be logical is not to be right', and 'nothing' on God's earth could ever 'make it' right!'
Judge Dan Haywood
'As l speak now, the words are forming in my head.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
Again, those powers have NOT been removed. I still have a bridge officer who knows Aux2SIF 3, he's currently one of my active bridge officers on my ship. Just because they were removed from your bridge officer (and I'd double check if I were you, none of my officers lost any powers they possessed when the new system went up, they just weren't the currently selected powers if they were "retrained") doesn't mean they were removed from the game.
The power have been removed from all my bridge officers and all ways to train those powers have been removed. So again yes they have effectively been removed as its impossible for me to use that power.
Yes I did double and triple check and yes I do know how to train new powers. Have a look and see if you can train any new officers with that power.
Collecting the particles is fun, putting them together is a tad tedious. I actually prefer this mechanism to the one currently being used for Dilithium mining (which can be twitchy and seems maybe moreso during the Dilithium Weekend Event).
The highest score I have obtained is 640, my normal highs in the 500s. I use the mouse. It seems, at least during my play that there are two times when the normal movement flow is put into some warp and the particles jump right to their freedom from being munched.
The mini-game sometimes ends prematurely, some right at the start, some after I've only collected a couple of particles. Sometimes there seems to be a sort of time dilation effect as it was proceeding along normally and then it is over and you say to yourself 'there is no way that was 50 seconds'. Regardless though you always get a trace.
Given that you always get a trace and that I am never going to get above say 700 at best, bugging out right after it starts is preferable as you can get around to getting another particle that much quicker.
Is there any significance to the number that is tallied for particles destroyed?
The particles "warping" forward and the mini-game ending prematurely are both due to you being in a very crowded zone. When you enter say the Sol system it almost always puts you in the most croweded zone. The first thing you need to do is double-click on the maps name above the mini- map and change instance. Chose the zone with the least amount of players in it. You will find out that the movement of particles is much smoother there.
The higher the number of particles collected the higher the CHANCE for getting better particles (Slivers, Shards, Fragments, etc).
The power have been removed from all my bridge officers and all ways to train those powers have been removed. So again yes they have effectively been removed as its impossible for me to use that power.
Yes I did double and triple check and yes I do know how to train new powers. Have a look and see if you can train any new officers with that power.
Are we talking about powers unlocked through the skill tree system (training 3-6-9 bars in a given skill unlocks power X)? If you still have the skill unlocked, mouse over the skill, it'll tell you that it unlocks the training manual recipe. You'd need to go the the R&D system to the Officer Training section & craft the manual for that power. Such as Chroniton Mine Barrier 3, etc. Of which I just crafted one the other day... So, yes, you should still have the ability to "train" BOFFs in powers you've unlocked through the skill tree system, assuming the skill is currently unlocked / unlockable. It'll cost a few dil. & energy credits now, whereas it used to be "free," but it's not exorbitantly expensive. Like 200 dil 2500 EC, I think?
Assuming that's what we're talking bout? Took me a while to figure it out too...
But, in theory, if a power was already trained on an officer, it should still be in the pool of unlocked powers for that officer, though it may not be the one selected by default after the switch over (I had to "flip the bit" on a few BOFFs to re-select the correct powers for a couple of command levels, but as far as I can tell, the powers were still "there").
The power have been removed from all my bridge officers and all ways to train those powers have been removed. So again yes they have effectively been removed as its impossible for me to use that power.
Yes I did double and triple check and yes I do know how to train new powers. Have a look and see if you can train any new officers with that power.
They've been removed from your bridge officers, but they haven't been removed from the game, and that is the core argument you are trying to make. The original statement:
I can't remember a single time where STO's devs has intentionally removed some item. Convert items into a new item, but not remove them.
Those powers do still exist, even if there is currently no means to acquire them, and as such Cryptic has not intentionally removed them from the game, just limited their accessibility (possibly unintentionally). And before you say that's as good as removing them from the game entirely, there are still people, myself included, who do still have those powers available to them from previously trained bridge officers. Bad luck for you, but not the point. Additionally, there's this dev post:
Upon logging onto Holodeck today, after the 5th Anniversary patch, many players have noted that the abilities their Boffs currently own were changed. I'm here to tell you why that may have happened to you, and how to quickly deal with it.
Any Bridge Officer that possessed a "rare" ability had it restored to them via a fix-up script we ran on the Boff's data. This script had the side effect of slotting these restored powers into active Stations.
However, any Boff Ability that you previously chose to train these Boffs with should still be available. All you need to do to restore the ability, is select from the appropriate UI on the Stations Tab.
After re-assigning their previous powers, you may need to update/refresh your current Load Out as well.
We apologize if this causes players any inconvenience, but it was the only method we had available to ensure that these rare abilities were still available on the officers that were intended to have them, without forcing players to re-acquire them.
According to this, you shouldn't have lost your trained powers. If you did, then you are the victim of a bug and therefore an unintentional removal of abilities from your officers. Submit a bug ticket.
I've also heard from another player that skill books for those particular skills can be acquired as random drops, although I have not yet verified that claim. Maybe check the exchange and see if they are available?
The universe has a wonderful sense of humor. The trick is learning how to take a joke.
0) THIS IS MY OPINION ON SOME THINGS. you have the right to your opinion. I have the right to do things my way. The two items are not, may not, and in some cases will not coincide. I don't care if they do or don't. so with that out of the way...'ere we go!
1) use the mouse, it's faster to move - a twitch versus 2-4 keypresses that may or may not register thanks to lag. Seriously. this is the main way to higher scores. Does not mean you can't use a keyboard, but like others I couldn't crack a 1000 score thanks to keypress recognition lag.
2) I do not have a hard breakdown but unscientifically if you miss 2-4 particles you can still get up to 2500 as a score
3) Rhythm is important, but try to look ahead only to the next particle. only one will cross the line at a time and using a mouse I have caught the 'tail' of the particle more than once for a bucket o' win (or at least that specific particle)
4) Rewards are random. I have gotten a fragment sub 1000, and a particle trace for a perfect. per a dev post higher scores get a better reward table roll. but all reward tables have all rewards..so yes, you can get a trace even with a perfect, and you can get a shard or fragment with a cruddy score. RNG...'nuff said
5) (OPINION) I am ok with the premature endings..means I can get another run at the traces. Press button, get particle. not a heckuva lot different from early foundry missions where you entered the mish, clicked on a dialog and won. less effort here.
6) Is really Number One. You can tell him this, but he will never believe you.
7) Have an alt do the refining work as well. My main gets the stuff and does light refinement (3 slots), my crafting alt (5 slots) does the final project work. I am not critically low on supplies...yet, but I am processing slightly faster than getting. I'm not a heavy player, but ~1 week into the event I am at 10 upgrades (doubled up one night), and have another 10 baking in some form or another. do light processing (particles -> slivers) while you play. roll shards & fragments when you wake up, roll upgrades when you go to bed. why? because the upgrade will be done when you get home from work/school the next day. slivers can be processed quickly. shards and fragments take a bit of time...so why not use the time you can't actually play productively?
8) (OPINION) The best general reward are slivers. Yes shards and fragments are better. but getting those is...unreliable. get 3 slivers in a row you got a shard right there. a small bit of luck and you'll have a fragment cooking in less than a couple of hours. (this suggestion is for folks that disagree with #7)
9) you can bounce off the walls to shoot the baddies...oh wait this isn't the 80's Omega Race...carry on!
hopefully this info can be of use, and please remember that this is a mix of suggestions and info I have found amongst the dev tracker.
Once we spend our month collecting the Omega particle traces will these components and tech upgrades be available in game until used up, or will they magically all disappear on the 26th of Feb?
Just curious.
They never have great instructions and 1 week worth of tribble time and they wonder why nobody does omega marks in my fleet at all , hardly anyone cares about them go figure there logic its plain pathetic like how to redo doffs and train ??
Games go figure it out yourself is a high % in game .... no thank you's for quality control instructions
I just read that when you get high scores on the mini game you get better drops well that's not right unless it's bugged. I get over 700 points on most games and yet I have only ever got 1 trace either, Blue, Red, or Yellow. And is one of the posters saying if you go in to a crowded instance it bugs out and that you should go in to one with less players to get the better drops you deserve for high scores?
Edit
Just did what one poster said and went into an instance with just 7 players in there and the first game I played finished within a second and gave me just one yellow trace. I also ran 5 games in a row with scores over 700 in each game and yet still only got 1 yellow trace? Looks like the mini game is broken just like a lot of things in STO. I can't be bothered to list them all and moan just to get fan boys attack me but another joke from STO team where you have to grind yet again for something that not everyone really needs. Plus to get the amount of traces needed for 1 Upgrade is just plain and simple stupidity as not everyone who plays the game have every minute of the day to graft what is needed for the upgrades or vouchers for the free ship. I mean I play the game every chance I get and yet I still missed out on the last free ship in the winter offer and I play sto more than most so I feel for the players who work and haven't got the free time to spend all day playing sto. The team really needs to think about how they go on certain things as there way simply doesn't work.
Allow me to explain. This year was is first year I tried the omega particles event. During the last event i was inactive player.
In order to get 2 traces instead of 1 you need 860 points. (Pretty sure about that one, you have no clue how many times i reached 840 points during my first day )
For 3 points I think the minimum was around 1350 or something like that.
1700 points will grant you 1 Omega silver + 1 trace
2000 gave you 1 Omega silver + 2 traces
2400 i think was 1 Omega Silver + 3 traces.
There is a small chance to get random bonus reward in the form of Shard or Fragment but only if you have a bit higher score.
The best way it works for me is just use the mouse. Don't waste time to click on the rows, just hover the mouse coursor over the row and the catcher will follow.
It takes a bit of practice to find the right rythm. But I am at the point where I almost do not need the visual clue anymore and just move the mouse in 1-4 rythm. I only use the visuals to determine where the next particle will be not when.
That actually works better because it seems to compensate for lag a bit.
Only sometimes is the lag so bad that it throws everything out of sync.
Comments
They are called "Anniversary" Q-mendations after all.
Anyway, I played my Q mission yesterday and got a few red and yellow things, traces I guess. So we're supposed to run a Science mission to make those into what which we use to do what? Who do we talk to to get this mission?
It seemed I was able to get a few extra traces even after the three from Q's mission. Is this normal/expected? I mean, are people flying around farming these things?
Any one got a link to a "crafting manual", site, thread, etc that goes over this stuff?
Really? LOL, that's funny.
I kind of enjoy the mini-game, though, myself. For some reason it makes me think of PacMan eating popcorn. I'm amused. So, really, the score doesn't matter?
You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
Simple. Get to 2600, perfect run.
http://tinypic.com/m/iglv15/3
Q-mendations were introduced last year already for that Anniversary. Also including a 400-piece mission. But they don't work with Q Autographs, for example.
Winter: Q Autographs
Anniversary: Q-Mendations
Summer: Lonat Pearls or whatever they are called.
Wow - very well done. You sir are the guitar hero.
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
All these new unique currencies just keep piling up. Wouldn't be so bad if they were account bound - that would make it easier for me to craft "role play" ship builds.
Would hate to spend all month collecting traces and not be able to convert them.
Sweet . . . so it helps if the Omega particles actually show up . . . hmmm, go figure.
True story.
I got about 6 Alien Artifacts that have no use what so ever. Of course they didn't "remove" it, but they are about as useful as those Computer Core Fragments we use to get from the Defense Contract mission in the Alhena System. Remove ...NO, but make uselss yes
Hey borticuscryptic, i have a question that you may be able to answer. Will the new "Omega" R&D projects remain in the game after the anniversary event has ended? Thanks in advance and keep up the great work!
-Winters
=/\= ========================================== =/\=
Fleet Admiral Winters - Priority One Armada
U.S.S. Wolverine - NCC 831216
=/\= ========================================== =/\=
Armada Leader // Executive Producer // Host // Priority One Podcast
I did the math, it takes about 81 of each particle trace to get the Omega upgrade. With how the crafting is time gated, you will save much more time by going to the Voth BZ and grinding Dil, even with the broken "fix" they put down there.
Unless you speed up the crafting using Dil, it will still take almost 2-3 days of crafting (depending on how many open crafting slots you have) just to get one of the Omega upgrades.
From doing the BZ, and a few quick foundry runs to grind for EC to buy superior upgrades, and the tech boost, you can have upgrade much faster than trying to chase down these particles.
And now that they have given us back the chance to run more than just one 20 hour project per school, you can save your open crafting slots for being able to level your crafting school faster, or for running any of the time gated/Dil sink Boff skills you might need.
The only reason I can see scanning and crafting any of these particles is to sell them to others for EC. I wouldn't go past the shard, or fragment level. Otherwise it is an other 20 hour time gate.
Still want to find out if the R&D projects will still be available after the event ends on the 26th of Feb.
Do rare boff skills count?
Considering those skills still exist on officers that already know them, I'd say they haven't been removed.
The universe has a wonderful sense of humor. The trick is learning how to take a joke.
Again, those powers have NOT been removed. I still have a bridge officer who knows Aux2SIF 3, he's currently one of my active bridge officers on my ship. Just because they were removed from your bridge officer (and I'd double check if I were you, none of my officers lost any powers they possessed when the new system went up, they just weren't the currently selected powers if they were "retrained") doesn't mean they were removed from the game.
The universe has a wonderful sense of humor. The trick is learning how to take a joke.
Your right, sorry about that. I meant each Omega upgrade. I was in a hurry when I wrote that, and had to get offline shortly after.
Still, it is a lot of scanning, and time gate for it. It is quicker to get the Dil and EC to upgrade faster. But, when I can get back in the game, and make it to the exchange, I will have some stuff to sell now. Lol.
The highest score I have obtained is 640, my normal highs in the 500s. I use the mouse. It seems, at least during my play that there are two times when the normal movement flow is put into some warp and the particles jump right to their freedom from being munched.
The mini-game sometimes ends prematurely, some right at the start, some after I've only collected a couple of particles. Sometimes there seems to be a sort of time dilation effect as it was proceeding along normally and then it is over and you say to yourself 'there is no way that was 50 seconds'. Regardless though you always get a trace.
Given that you always get a trace and that I am never going to get above say 700 at best, bugging out right after it starts is preferable as you can get around to getting another particle that much quicker.
Is there any significance to the number that is tallied for particles destroyed?
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
Yes I did double and triple check and yes I do know how to train new powers. Have a look and see if you can train any new officers with that power.
The particles "warping" forward and the mini-game ending prematurely are both due to you being in a very crowded zone. When you enter say the Sol system it almost always puts you in the most croweded zone. The first thing you need to do is double-click on the maps name above the mini- map and change instance. Chose the zone with the least amount of players in it. You will find out that the movement of particles is much smoother there.
The higher the number of particles collected the higher the CHANCE for getting better particles (Slivers, Shards, Fragments, etc).
Are we talking about powers unlocked through the skill tree system (training 3-6-9 bars in a given skill unlocks power X)? If you still have the skill unlocked, mouse over the skill, it'll tell you that it unlocks the training manual recipe. You'd need to go the the R&D system to the Officer Training section & craft the manual for that power. Such as Chroniton Mine Barrier 3, etc. Of which I just crafted one the other day... So, yes, you should still have the ability to "train" BOFFs in powers you've unlocked through the skill tree system, assuming the skill is currently unlocked / unlockable. It'll cost a few dil. & energy credits now, whereas it used to be "free," but it's not exorbitantly expensive. Like 200 dil 2500 EC, I think?
Assuming that's what we're talking bout? Took me a while to figure it out too...
But, in theory, if a power was already trained on an officer, it should still be in the pool of unlocked powers for that officer, though it may not be the one selected by default after the switch over (I had to "flip the bit" on a few BOFFs to re-select the correct powers for a couple of command levels, but as far as I can tell, the powers were still "there").
use the mouse, just have the arrow over the end.
And i frequently get 2500's
Even managed 2600 (perfect) once, see here
Got nothing though, no accolade or anything, which is a shame.
They've been removed from your bridge officers, but they haven't been removed from the game, and that is the core argument you are trying to make. The original statement:
Those powers do still exist, even if there is currently no means to acquire them, and as such Cryptic has not intentionally removed them from the game, just limited their accessibility (possibly unintentionally). And before you say that's as good as removing them from the game entirely, there are still people, myself included, who do still have those powers available to them from previously trained bridge officers. Bad luck for you, but not the point. Additionally, there's this dev post:
According to this, you shouldn't have lost your trained powers. If you did, then you are the victim of a bug and therefore an unintentional removal of abilities from your officers. Submit a bug ticket.
I've also heard from another player that skill books for those particular skills can be acquired as random drops, although I have not yet verified that claim. Maybe check the exchange and see if they are available?
The universe has a wonderful sense of humor. The trick is learning how to take a joke.
0) THIS IS MY OPINION ON SOME THINGS. you have the right to your opinion. I have the right to do things my way. The two items are not, may not, and in some cases will not coincide. I don't care if they do or don't. so with that out of the way...'ere we go!
1) use the mouse, it's faster to move - a twitch versus 2-4 keypresses that may or may not register thanks to lag. Seriously. this is the main way to higher scores. Does not mean you can't use a keyboard, but like others I couldn't crack a 1000 score thanks to keypress recognition lag.
2) I do not have a hard breakdown but unscientifically if you miss 2-4 particles you can still get up to 2500 as a score
3) Rhythm is important, but try to look ahead only to the next particle. only one will cross the line at a time and using a mouse I have caught the 'tail' of the particle more than once for a bucket o' win (or at least that specific particle)
4) Rewards are random. I have gotten a fragment sub 1000, and a particle trace for a perfect. per a dev post higher scores get a better reward table roll. but all reward tables have all rewards..so yes, you can get a trace even with a perfect, and you can get a shard or fragment with a cruddy score. RNG...'nuff said
5) (OPINION) I am ok with the premature endings..means I can get another run at the traces. Press button, get particle. not a heckuva lot different from early foundry missions where you entered the mish, clicked on a dialog and won. less effort here.
6) Is really Number One. You can tell him this, but he will never believe you.
7) Have an alt do the refining work as well. My main gets the stuff and does light refinement (3 slots), my crafting alt (5 slots) does the final project work. I am not critically low on supplies...yet, but I am processing slightly faster than getting. I'm not a heavy player, but ~1 week into the event I am at 10 upgrades (doubled up one night), and have another 10 baking in some form or another. do light processing (particles -> slivers) while you play. roll shards & fragments when you wake up, roll upgrades when you go to bed. why? because the upgrade will be done when you get home from work/school the next day. slivers can be processed quickly. shards and fragments take a bit of time...so why not use the time you can't actually play productively?
8) (OPINION) The best general reward are slivers. Yes shards and fragments are better. but getting those is...unreliable. get 3 slivers in a row you got a shard right there. a small bit of luck and you'll have a fragment cooking in less than a couple of hours. (this suggestion is for folks that disagree with #7)
9) you can bounce off the walls to shoot the baddies...oh wait this isn't the 80's Omega Race...carry on!
hopefully this info can be of use, and please remember that this is a mix of suggestions and info I have found amongst the dev tracker.
They never have great instructions and 1 week worth of tribble time and they wonder why nobody does omega marks in my fleet at all , hardly anyone cares about them go figure there logic its plain pathetic like how to redo doffs and train ??
Games go figure it out yourself is a high % in game .... no thank you's for quality control instructions
Edit
Just did what one poster said and went into an instance with just 7 players in there and the first game I played finished within a second and gave me just one yellow trace. I also ran 5 games in a row with scores over 700 in each game and yet still only got 1 yellow trace? Looks like the mini game is broken just like a lot of things in STO. I can't be bothered to list them all and moan just to get fan boys attack me but another joke from STO team where you have to grind yet again for something that not everyone really needs. Plus to get the amount of traces needed for 1 Upgrade is just plain and simple stupidity as not everyone who plays the game have every minute of the day to graft what is needed for the upgrades or vouchers for the free ship. I mean I play the game every chance I get and yet I still missed out on the last free ship in the winter offer and I play sto more than most so I feel for the players who work and haven't got the free time to spend all day playing sto. The team really needs to think about how they go on certain things as there way simply doesn't work.
In order to get 2 traces instead of 1 you need 860 points. (Pretty sure about that one, you have no clue how many times i reached 840 points during my first day
For 3 points I think the minimum was around 1350 or something like that.
1700 points will grant you 1 Omega silver + 1 trace
2000 gave you 1 Omega silver + 2 traces
2400 i think was 1 Omega Silver + 3 traces.
There is a small chance to get random bonus reward in the form of Shard or Fragment but only if you have a bit higher score.
The best way it works for me is just use the mouse. Don't waste time to click on the rows, just hover the mouse coursor over the row and the catcher will follow.
It takes a bit of practice to find the right rythm. But I am at the point where I almost do not need the visual clue anymore and just move the mouse in 1-4 rythm. I only use the visuals to determine where the next particle will be not when.
That actually works better because it seems to compensate for lag a bit.
Only sometimes is the lag so bad that it throws everything out of sync.