I really didn't give a krap what They called it, as long as t had a whole bunch of TOS stuff attached to it.
And it does...
So Mr. Gecko can call it the "Queen Mary" for all I care.
we have a winner.. you are clearly the target audience for whom this "expansion" was designed. players happy to spend money on some looks, another fine example of how star barbie this star trek game has become. which is why pwe can cash in on the 50th anniversary so easily, adding no playable content of comparable quality to LoR or Delta, and quite clearly using the pc fan base as a way to fund the console port. i guess the lack of effort they put into this "expansion" is directly proportional to the minimum quality of content, accepted by the paying community.
You don't have to spend a dime to play the new stuff and nobody is forcing you to even log in, so get down off your soapbox and quit trying to rile up the natives.
Also, stop insinuating that folks who don't agree with your stance are wrong, perhaps they aren't as easily embittered or acerbic toward Cryptic as you seem to be.
(and stop making it sound like those folks are somehow being duped)
So what if people like the "Star Barbie" aspect of the game, it's been a part of MMO's since their advent and if I or anybody else are willing to spend money on that kind of stuff, it's really none of your business.
(nor is the quantity as well)
We get it, you feel like Cryptic is the "Big Bad Wolf" for apparently not giving you what you expected or wanted, but that's no reason for you too have to resort to backhanded insults, to those of us who ARE having fun and enjoying what They did add to the game.
STO Member since February 2009. I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born! Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
I really didn't give a krap what They called it, as long as t had a whole bunch of TOS stuff attached to it.
And it does...
So Mr. Gecko can call it the "Queen Mary" for all I care.
we have a winner.. you are clearly the target audience for whom this "expansion" was designed.
To be fair, Dave was only one of the TWO people this expansion was specifically designed for. I gave a very long and detailed post about how we're the two left on the forums from a small but expert unit of forum posters who years ago devised a plan to see this expansion happen due to all of us sharing a huge interest in TOS related materials.
We got together. We came up with a plan of action, each of us focusing on one aspect or another of what it is we wanted out of a TOS focused experience from STO. And then we initiated our plan of action using every amazing tool at our disposal, from leveraging contacts and utilizing the power of hashtags and the media to straight up manipulating the "T6 Connie" debate. Every single member of our small but dedicated band of crusaders was willing to pay the ultimate price (be it $130 for an expansion pack or a permanent forum ban) to see the dream achieved.
And here it is. Mission accomplished.
See, you go on in your post to negatively chide us for wanting to spend money on TOS doodads and gimmicks and fluff. But that's fine. Snidely chide away. It doesn't matter. After years of seeing people spend their money on Galaxy this, Defiant that, we finally got our chance to purchase the Star Trek game we have wanted.
So your insult bounces harmlessly off of the $130 aegis that Geko-Zeus has given our Athenian premise. Go to war however you want Titan, because no amount of baby eating can stop us from transcending the Chronos-like tyranny that your stuck in TNG era fandom represents (and using a CHRONOS class vessel to do the transcendence)!
Did I spend a ton of money on pixels related to a long off the air 1960s Sci Fi show?
Yes.
So what?
How many people here hold up the Romulan expansion as the gold standard of this game's expansions? And how many people here have spent just as much (or way more if they just bought the ships and stuff solo and not in the pack) for their beloved warbirds and RSE Tal'Shiar Uniform and Reman Boff fueled Space Barbie?
If LoR is your gold standard and LoR was allllllll about the exact same premise (getting people to spend real life dollars for shiny green tinted new in-game items) ... then have fun on your rickety platform of condescension.
I'm a-OK with that. Because at the end of the day, the well thought out, expertly executed plan of manipulation that a small group of zealous TOS fans pulled off in this game has finally paid dividends. T6 Connie (of the JJ Abrams variety) is a real thing in this game. As is the uniform and phasers and weapons. T6 Daedalus is an actual thing.
So I had to spend money to get it? I always planned to!
It's my hope you learn the lesson from our success. Figure out what it is you desire most to be added to this game. And work out your own plan of action to make it a reality. Because I can't even begin to describe the warm fuzziness of this euphoria, knowing your goals and dreams are achievable. Like Kevin Garnett once said, "Anything is possible!" (Even if someone wants to post that CBS once said no, it wasn't, it still was!)
The next step for you is to tell us what it is you want added to the game. Find a group of like minded posters and form your own team. Make it happen! Me and Dave are here for you if you need advice.
Also, stop insinuating that folks who don't agree with your stance are wrong, perhaps they aren't as easily embittered or acerbic toward Cryptic as you seem to be.
(and stop making it sound like those folks are somehow being duped)
Wise words.
So what if people like the "Star Barbie" aspect of the game, it's been a part of MMO's since their advent and if I or anybody else are willing to spend money on that kind of stuff, it's really none of your business.
The 'Space Barbie' comments were probably aimed at me, and various others, in this thread, who had the audacity to express they liked the retro visuals, sounds, costumes, etc. Didn't bother me in the least, btw: I'm just having fun, and no bitter forumite, or anyone else, is going to take that away from me (see my sig).
We get it, you feel like Cryptic is the "Big Bad Wolf" for apparently not giving you what you expected or wanted, but that's no reason for you too have to resort to backhanded insults, to those of us who ARE having fun and enjoying what They did add to the game.
Way I see it, 2 weeks ago we had nothing extra, and now we got a plethora of shiny new stuff added, including your very own endgame Connie. I bet Geko genuinely thought people would be pleased. Don't give ppl what they want, and they are upset; *do* give ppl want they want, and they're upset because, apparently, it wasn't enough. To paraphrase the title of another thread, "What would it actually take for some people to stop bashing Cryptic?!"
ok so basically what you are saying is, you two set the standard, and are responsible for the level of content in AOY? lol
That is all well and good.. however, the question wasn't what did you achieve, but... was this faction at least equal to LoR? and the answer is no (at least I hope that was this thread?) aside from that, I'm not disappointed with what has been done, just at the amount that hasn't..
awesome reply though dude, the titan comment made me laugh.. my eldest daughter forced me into watching that.. it's great, but has never lost its ability to suddenly creep me out on an 'all to regular' basis.. that seemingly thoughtless, empty grin on the normal titans.. and there it is lol.
I bought the pack and enjoyed the new stuff...it was VERY short but still "new". In a perspective, to score it so far... this is in a way IS between LoR and DR. Not too bad in terms of new stuff but "headache free" unlike it was the exploit fiasco of DR.
IMHO, it should have just been a called a "recruiting event" rather than a new faction. However, indeed it is still an expansion to the game.
IMO this "expansion" was a complete waste of funds after playing to level 10 whats the point? would'nt an "expansion" warrent at least one klingon exclusive ship? just plain stupid, but we all know cyptic needs to inflate their created characters numbers for PWE!
Here's the problem though: the devs were very, very clear on this being a unique faction that was "at least as large as the Romulans".
Bull ****. Cryptic has NEVER said that. Not one press realease, not one blog. One Dev chatting in a pod cast said it and the words are hardly even out of his mouth before commenting that many others there at Cryptic didn't even want to call it a faction AT ALL.
Let's look at the exact quote in question, then.
"It is a new faction - we were coy about calling it a new faction in the press release - there was some marketing concerns about the connotations of it, but it's at least as much of a new faction as Romulans."
Now certainly, you can argue that they weren't sure if they should call it a new faction, which (according to that quote) is true. It is clear that some members of the dev team did not want it considered a faction of its own. But if there were "concerns about the connotations of it", then maybe nobody on the dev team should be saying things like "it's at least as much of a new faction as Romulans", so that there would be absolutely no confusion on the subject. I can't speak for other developers, but when I worked in that field, we were often restricted in what we were allowed to say about it, primarily to prevent this exact problem. If Geko didn't want the TOS stuff to be held to the standard of a faction, then it should never have been said at all.
Plus, I love this "one dev said it" bit. One developer said it, so we're not supposed to take that developer at their word? So what, I shouldn't trust the developers to know what they're talking about from now on, even though they're the ones that make all of the content in the first place? So that implies that the absolute best case scenario here is that Geko made an honest mistake in calling it a "new faction", but nobody on the Cryptic staff bothered to correct that mistake, despite the release being months away at the time it was said.
Plus, the only indication of any disagreement on whether or not TOS is a "faction"....was from Geko's own mouth. Geko's the one who said "there was some marketing concerns about the connotations of it".
So we should trust Geko's word, but only individual parts of it, and only after the release actually comes out? Because that's what you're doing here: you're picking and choosing which parts of Geko's statements we are "allowed" to consider true, and which are "just chit chat". Exactly how are ordinary, casual players of this game meant to discern which parts of what a dev says are "true" and which are "false" without any sort of indication from any other devs?
The fact of the matter is, from that "one podcast" by "one dev", virtually the entire gaming media and most of the player base drew their presumptions about what the new expansion would contain. Worse, there were multiple threads in this very forum that used Geko's words as an early defense of the lack of content shown on Tribble. You can't act like this podcast was somehow "limited" in scope, that nobody knew about Geko's statements and that nobody actually trusted them, because it's very obvious that everyone did.
Again, I doubt anyone on Cryptic's team was intentionally trying to be malicious here, but you can't possibly pretend that it's somehow the playerbase's fault that we thought the developers knew what they were talking about. Developers were absolutely held responsible for what they say, regardless of where they say it. It doesn't matter if its on the forums, in a podcast, in an interview, whatever. When a developer makes a statement like this, they should be held to it, and taken to task if the end results do not meet the expectations they set.
I really enjoyed the first 10 mission's. They felt very nostalgic, but there really should have been more. It was over way too quickly. It felt almost like a TOS tutorial and then you're stuffed back into the normal game. My concern now is does this faction ever get anymore classic ship's or are they just expected to use whatever fed ships get released in the future. I can't speak for everyone, but I'm trying to keep my temporal agent "classic" so I feel like this is a dead end "faction". Which is kind of sad.
"It is a new faction - we were coy about calling it a new faction in the press release - there was some marketing concerns about the connotations of it, but it's at least as much of a new faction as Romulans."
They were coy to call it a new faction, because there were marketing conerns about the connotations of it. What were these connotations they migh thave talked about? I guess it's pretty much exactly what people read into it. That it would have as many faction-specific missions as the Romulan or the Klingon faction.
But he calls it as least as much as a faction as Romulans - why? Because in his mind, the faction episodes are not part of what makes a faction a faction. He has the developer view on things, and a faction mission is like every other mission.
But unique bridge officer powers? A tutorial? A selection in the new character selection screen? New SFX for beaming, warp trails, sensor scans, tricorder scans, faction-specific costume options, new sound effects? That's what will define the feel of a faction a lot more than anything else.
You run your x faction missions, and you move on to faction-agnostic stuff, queues or heck, maybe even PvP? Those missions are forgotten and don'T define your faction experience. Those SFX? The fact that every time you beam somewhere, you see a TOS beam animation? Every time the communication sounds, you hear the TOS communicator? Every time you click the game UI to open the open your inventory? Then is where you notice. "Oh, yeah, this is my TOS character." And it must all be build for the faction, and only a faction could possibly require that kind of features.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
In all honesty, it's more like a dressed-up Delta-recruit event, really. But this one comes with lotsa cool retro-ships, retro-gear, and an endgame Connie. And an ever-so-cool, 'Scott-me-up, Beamie' TOS transporter visual and matching sound. And I'm loving it! And it's a perfect tribute to the era.
Not only that, it's a solid foundation to build on. We now have every excuse to go back to TOS era at any time, or any other era for that matter, and get new ships and visuals and gear and costumes from those eras. I have no doubt we will see the TOS era again, and I'm hoping our next stop is TMP era. Isn't next year the 25th anniversary of TWoK? I bet we'll see a season based on a trip back to that time period and some new goodies from the movie era. There are a ton of great visual designs to tap, and a huge amount of interest in that film even to this day --99 out of a hundred people asked will tell you it's the best Star Trek movie of all time, hands down, with nothing else even close to equaling it. We will get TWoK content, I have absolutely no doubt.
Also, there's the Foundry to consider. Once all these assets get added to the Foundry we can all make 23rd century missions to our heart's content. If I was Cryptic, I'd be working on a Foundry revamp to really tap into the community's ability to make story missions to fill in the gaps between major featured episodes. These developers are pretty smart people, so I bet sooner or later when they have time they will give us exactly that.
Yeah, it will be great. Just like when we got back to New Romulus with our Romulans and rebuild the Rpublic, or the time when we really got involved with KDF politics and had all those warrior type adventures....
oh, wait, that never happened, good luck to you...
Personally i could live with the lack of AoY misisons past level 10.
But aside from some playable ships, there's nothing that makes you feel playing a TOS character. At ther very least there needs to be a exclusive Social Hub in order to get a feel of being part of a unique faction.
"...'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied--chains us all irrevocably.' ... The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today--"
- (TNG) Picard, quoting Judge Aaron Satie
'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.'
hardly any content at all... none of the powers outside of a few T1 skills... none of the gear assectics like the shoulder tricorders... weapons stuck at T9 common... BOs you get from leveling are all from the new timeline. no content in the 23rd cent sector space... nothing to do but burn thru the 1st arc/tutorial.
Role Playing Chats in that exclusive Social Hub would enforce only the use of authentic 23rd Century idioms.
Oh wait, those 23rd Century idioms and actions are not politically correct now anyway.
'You say you are speaking in authentic 23rd Century idioms, but if everything you say is politically incorrect, then you are speaking in authentic 23rd Century idioms, but you cannot because everything you say would be politically incorrect. You are politically incorrect. You speak in authentic 23rd Century idioms. But you cannot for. Illogical! Illogical! Please explain.'
(Your head explodes.)
I guess that wouldn't work.
'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.'
Personally i could live with the lack of AoY misisons past level 10.
But aside from some playable ships, there's nothing that makes you feel playing a TOS character. At ther very least there needs to be a exclusive Social Hub in order to get a feel of being part of a unique faction.
So much THIS! I want to be able to visit 23c ESD, and sector space, they're AWESOME!
TOS is not a faction. After they reach 2410, they are just Fed like the rest of the Feds. This 'expansion' was homage for the 50th Anniversary and a chance to sell a whole new bunch of ships. If it was a true expansion, they'd have waited for all the other events going on to end instead of having 3-4 things going on at once.
Comments
You don't have to spend a dime to play the new stuff and nobody is forcing you to even log in, so get down off your soapbox and quit trying to rile up the natives.
Also, stop insinuating that folks who don't agree with your stance are wrong, perhaps they aren't as easily embittered or acerbic toward Cryptic as you seem to be.
(and stop making it sound like those folks are somehow being duped)
So what if people like the "Star Barbie" aspect of the game, it's been a part of MMO's since their advent and if I or anybody else are willing to spend money on that kind of stuff, it's really none of your business.
(nor is the quantity as well)
We get it, you feel like Cryptic is the "Big Bad Wolf" for apparently not giving you what you expected or wanted, but that's no reason for you too have to resort to backhanded insults, to those of us who ARE having fun and enjoying what They did add to the game.
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
To be fair, Dave was only one of the TWO people this expansion was specifically designed for. I gave a very long and detailed post about how we're the two left on the forums from a small but expert unit of forum posters who years ago devised a plan to see this expansion happen due to all of us sharing a huge interest in TOS related materials.
We got together. We came up with a plan of action, each of us focusing on one aspect or another of what it is we wanted out of a TOS focused experience from STO. And then we initiated our plan of action using every amazing tool at our disposal, from leveraging contacts and utilizing the power of hashtags and the media to straight up manipulating the "T6 Connie" debate. Every single member of our small but dedicated band of crusaders was willing to pay the ultimate price (be it $130 for an expansion pack or a permanent forum ban) to see the dream achieved.
And here it is. Mission accomplished.
See, you go on in your post to negatively chide us for wanting to spend money on TOS doodads and gimmicks and fluff. But that's fine. Snidely chide away. It doesn't matter. After years of seeing people spend their money on Galaxy this, Defiant that, we finally got our chance to purchase the Star Trek game we have wanted.
So your insult bounces harmlessly off of the $130 aegis that Geko-Zeus has given our Athenian premise. Go to war however you want Titan, because no amount of baby eating can stop us from transcending the Chronos-like tyranny that your stuck in TNG era fandom represents (and using a CHRONOS class vessel to do the transcendence)!
Did I spend a ton of money on pixels related to a long off the air 1960s Sci Fi show?
Yes.
So what?
How many people here hold up the Romulan expansion as the gold standard of this game's expansions? And how many people here have spent just as much (or way more if they just bought the ships and stuff solo and not in the pack) for their beloved warbirds and RSE Tal'Shiar Uniform and Reman Boff fueled Space Barbie?
If LoR is your gold standard and LoR was allllllll about the exact same premise (getting people to spend real life dollars for shiny green tinted new in-game items) ... then have fun on your rickety platform of condescension.
I'm a-OK with that. Because at the end of the day, the well thought out, expertly executed plan of manipulation that a small group of zealous TOS fans pulled off in this game has finally paid dividends. T6 Connie (of the JJ Abrams variety) is a real thing in this game. As is the uniform and phasers and weapons. T6 Daedalus is an actual thing.
So I had to spend money to get it? I always planned to!
It's my hope you learn the lesson from our success. Figure out what it is you desire most to be added to this game. And work out your own plan of action to make it a reality. Because I can't even begin to describe the warm fuzziness of this euphoria, knowing your goals and dreams are achievable. Like Kevin Garnett once said, "Anything is possible!" (Even if someone wants to post that CBS once said no, it wasn't, it still was!)
The next step for you is to tell us what it is you want added to the game. Find a group of like minded posters and form your own team. Make it happen! Me and Dave are here for you if you need advice.
please check the poll o say "NO"...not "KNOW...
does this remind you of what they said about DR:
"DR is the best expansion and players LOVE it"
Oh boy....
Wise words.
The 'Space Barbie' comments were probably aimed at me, and various others, in this thread, who had the audacity to express they liked the retro visuals, sounds, costumes, etc. Didn't bother me in the least, btw: I'm just having fun, and no bitter forumite, or anyone else, is going to take that away from me (see my sig).
Way I see it, 2 weeks ago we had nothing extra, and now we got a plethora of shiny new stuff added, including your very own endgame Connie. I bet Geko genuinely thought people would be pleased. Don't give ppl what they want, and they are upset; *do* give ppl want they want, and they're upset because, apparently, it wasn't enough. To paraphrase the title of another thread, "What would it actually take for some people to stop bashing Cryptic?!"
That is all well and good.. however, the question wasn't what did you achieve, but... was this faction at least equal to LoR? and the answer is no (at least I hope that was this thread?) aside from that, I'm not disappointed with what has been done, just at the amount that hasn't..
awesome reply though dude, the titan comment made me laugh.. my eldest daughter forced me into watching that.. it's great, but has never lost its ability to suddenly creep me out on an 'all to regular' basis.. that seemingly thoughtless, empty grin on the normal titans.. and there it is lol.
At the end of the day, even the forums are about having fun.
true that
I bought the pack and enjoyed the new stuff...it was VERY short but still "new". In a perspective, to score it so far... this is in a way IS between LoR and DR. Not too bad in terms of new stuff but "headache free" unlike it was the exploit fiasco of DR.
IMHO, it should have just been a called a "recruiting event" rather than a new faction. However, indeed it is still an expansion to the game.
Cheers!
My character Tsin'xing
awesome post!
But he calls it as least as much as a faction as Romulans - why? Because in his mind, the faction episodes are not part of what makes a faction a faction. He has the developer view on things, and a faction mission is like every other mission.
But unique bridge officer powers? A tutorial? A selection in the new character selection screen? New SFX for beaming, warp trails, sensor scans, tricorder scans, faction-specific costume options, new sound effects? That's what will define the feel of a faction a lot more than anything else.
You run your x faction missions, and you move on to faction-agnostic stuff, queues or heck, maybe even PvP? Those missions are forgotten and don'T define your faction experience. Those SFX? The fact that every time you beam somewhere, you see a TOS beam animation? Every time the communication sounds, you hear the TOS communicator? Every time you click the game UI to open the open your inventory? Then is where you notice. "Oh, yeah, this is my TOS character." And it must all be build for the faction, and only a faction could possibly require that kind of features.
Indeed, it was quite the worthwhile achievement. Good riddance to bad gameplay.
Yeah, it will be great. Just like when we got back to New Romulus with our Romulans and rebuild the Rpublic, or the time when we really got involved with KDF politics and had all those warrior type adventures....
oh, wait, that never happened, good luck to you...
But aside from some playable ships, there's nothing that makes you feel playing a TOS character. At ther very least there needs to be a exclusive Social Hub in order to get a feel of being part of a unique faction.
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.'
Role Playing Chats in that exclusive Social Hub would enforce only the use of authentic 23rd Century idioms.
Oh wait, those 23rd Century idioms and actions are not politically correct now anyway.
'You say you are speaking in authentic 23rd Century idioms, but if everything you say is politically incorrect, then you are speaking in authentic 23rd Century idioms, but you cannot because everything you say would be politically incorrect. You are politically incorrect. You speak in authentic 23rd Century idioms. But you cannot for. Illogical! Illogical! Please explain.'
(Your head explodes.)
I guess that wouldn't work.
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.'
My character Tsin'xing
The oral hygienist is wise.
Know = No
IDC = I don't care
Is that right?
Yesh. :P