People must remember that despite this game being free, it has way, way more content than most games that you pay for outright!
People are quick to blame Cryptic at the moment, yet it is we players that carry the blame too. The very fact STF's are quiet is down to 2 things, which is Cryptic's unwanted need to keep adding power creep and the fact that players have migrated to the faster queues. Cryptic need to do 2 things here. 1. Rebalance the game completely, that means introducing proper canon weapon arcs (as per the SFC system) and 2. Change back to the hourly system, by which I mean, move all the non-fleet STF's to an hourly rotation. It also wouldn't hurt the game to introduce live damage and live repairs. The current damage system is poor, where you only get damaged if you die!
As for missions, well, they are fine, there are over a hundred episodes to play, not exactly a lack of content! On top of that there are numerous other things in game that people can seek out. Again, the perception that there isn't much to wrong is totally inaccurate.
Sure there's over 100 missions, but I have up to 3 toons per faction, I've done it all, and done it repeatedly. Gets boring doing the same thing AGAIN.
Star Trek Battles member. Want to roll with a good group of people regardless of fleets and not have to worry about DPS while doing STFs? Come join the channel and join in the fun!
I know this will sound kind of harsh but we need torealise that we have a certain influence over the grouth of this game, that's how MMOs work.
Back in the day There were many cool features that were removed because players (including us if there are other old times players here) didn't give a darn of giving feedback about them and those were considered useless as a consequence.
We had our chance of having and Keeping these interesting features ( Like the Kobayashi Maru Scenario, The Deep Space Encounteres or Enmy AI Ships Intercepting you in enemy areas of sector space and you had to either outrun them or fight) but we didnt andfrom now on just reflect about your own influence on a game MMO's grouth and give actual feedback when asked and make actual contribution to the developing as they ask you for opinions whenever they change something instead of whining all the time because of "baddie Cryptic".
True, but there are others like many people had a hissyfit when they removed the exploration areas. Many including myself liked them and it was a nice change of pace when ya needed it.
They removed it because they admitted it was underdeveloped for the game's developing standards if i remember correctly...in fact they said an overhauled and improved version is on its way (so far no promise like this has been ever really discarded, as it always found its way, so no reason to doubt now).
Plus for all the people compaining about the boxes...boxes arent vital to play and you can buy the stuff in it in the Exchange so i don't see the problem with that system.
I know this will sound kind of harsh but we need torealise that we have a certain influence over the grouth of this game, that's how MMOs work.
Back in the day There were many cool features that were removed because players (including us if there are other old times players here) didn't give a darn of giving feedback about them and those were considered useless as a consequence.
We had our chance of having and Keeping these interesting features ( Like the Kobayashi Maru Scenario, The Deep Space Encounteres or Enmy AI Ships Intercepting you in enemy areas of sector space and you had to either outrun them or fight) but we didnt andfrom now on just reflect about your own influence on a game MMO's grouth and give actual feedback when asked and make actual contribution to the developing as they ask you for opinions whenever they change something instead of whining all the time because of "baddie Cryptic".
True, but there are others like many people had a hissyfit when they removed the exploration areas. Many including myself liked them and it was a nice change of pace when ya needed it.
They removed it because they admitted it was underdeveloped for the game's developing standards if i remember correctly...in fact they said an overhauled and improved version is on its way (so far no promise like this has been ever really discarded, as it always found its way, so no reason to doubt now).
Plus for all the people compaining about the boxes...boxes arent vital to play and you can buy the stuff in it in the Exchange so i don't see the problem with that system.
Boxes don't bother me at all. It's outside of STFs, a few battlezones and episodes some Doff/admiralty and red alerts, there's NOTHING TO DO. I can only do the Borg red alert so many times ya know.
Battlezones, same thing ad nauseam, just gets old.
Star Trek Battles member. Want to roll with a good group of people regardless of fleets and not have to worry about DPS while doing STFs? Come join the channel and join in the fun!
I know this will sound kind of harsh but we need torealise that we have a certain influence over the grouth of this game, that's how MMOs work.
Back in the day There were many cool features that were removed because players (including us if there are other old times players here) didn't give a darn of giving feedback about them and those were considered useless as a consequence.
We had our chance of having and Keeping these interesting features ( Like the Kobayashi Maru Scenario, The Deep Space Encounteres or Enmy AI Ships Intercepting you in enemy areas of sector space and you had to either outrun them or fight) but we didnt andfrom now on just reflect about your own influence on a game MMO's grouth and give actual feedback when asked and make actual contribution to the developing as they ask you for opinions whenever they change something instead of whining all the time because of "baddie Cryptic".
Sorry but this really doesn't hold water, no win scenario was running all the time, right up until the servers came down for the patch that removed it, the first time players heard it was being removed? The patch notes. People complained for months afterwards, we still don't have it back.
PvP likewise, for years the community asked for things for pvp, maps, balance, leaderboards, matchmaking, none of it happened and then Delta rising happened which for pvp was the final straw, there were dozens of pvpers posting daily in the forums, there were half a dozen pvp channels that I know of, several pvp fleets, now we have perhaps five posting regularly in the forums entire pvp fleets are dead, channels as well.
And actually, complaining that Cryptic are horrible people for doing this, that and the other is feedback, it may not be ideal feedback but it is feedback.
No win scenario go complaints because deemed too hard and the Deep Space Encounters because the Chase and Forced Fight was annoying to players and devs don't just remove features randomly just for the ake of it, there must be a reason for that...
...maybe they are overhauling content part by part and eventually we see the old stuff returning...depends on how the exploration system works.
Anyway, i just said that it's often easier to blame devs when a MMO is only half made by devs (who made a game, a f2p game already tons larger n content than the biggest contenders) and the other half by a lively community....i remember whe n fleets uded to hsve meetings, organizing periodically STF or COOP story arcs, Just grouping and enjoying themselves...
THESE things can be still done, does your fleet do it still, for example?
I know this will sound kind of harsh but we need torealise that we have a certain influence over the grouth of this game, that's how MMOs work.
Back in the day There were many cool features that were removed because players (including us if there are other old times players here) didn't give a darn of giving feedback about them and those were considered useless as a consequence.
We had our chance of having and Keeping these interesting features ( Like the Kobayashi Maru Scenario, The Deep Space Encounteres or Enmy AI Ships Intercepting you in enemy areas of sector space and you had to either outrun them or fight) but we didnt andfrom now on just reflect about your own influence on a game MMO's grouth and give actual feedback when asked and make actual contribution to the developing as they ask you for opinions whenever they change something instead of whining all the time because of "baddie Cryptic".
Sorry but this really doesn't hold water, no win scenario was running all the time, right up until the servers came down for the patch that removed it, the first time players heard it was being removed? The patch notes. People complained for months afterwards, we still don't have it back.
PvP likewise, for years the community asked for things for pvp, maps, balance, leaderboards, matchmaking, none of it happened and then Delta rising happened which for pvp was the final straw, there were dozens of pvpers posting daily in the forums, there were half a dozen pvp channels that I know of, several pvp fleets, now we have perhaps five posting regularly in the forums entire pvp fleets are dead, channels as well.
And actually, complaining that Cryptic are horrible people for doing this, that and the other is feedback, it may not be ideal feedback but it is feedback.
The reason why NWS got removed, was simple, power creep developed by the devs meant it was no longer a challenge.
Power creep isn't bad, as you cannot have a f2p game without it, but the problem comes when you also need to balance stuff around it..
The divide between those that can dps and those that can't, is so big now, that they cannot balance it for a fair fight.
Unless players would be happy for it to be vanilla, with everything other thank basic Mk10 white items? That would also include no loxkbox, lobi or cstore ships and equipment!
The devs just don't have the ability to keep up with the power creep they create, while also keeping the players that bought the power, happy, so I very much doubt it will ever return.
No win scenario go complaints because deemed too hard and the Deep Space Encounters because the Chase and Forced Fight was annoying to players and devs don't just remove features randomly just for the ake of it, there must be a reason for that...
...maybe they are overhauling content part by part and eventually we see the old stuff returning...depends on how the exploration system works.
Anyway, i just said that it's often easier to blame devs when a MMO is only half made by devs (who made a game, a f2p game already tons larger n content than the biggest contenders) and the other half by a lively community....i remember whe n fleets uded to hsve meetings, organizing periodically STF or COOP story arcs, Just grouping and enjoying themselves...
THESE things can be still done, does your fleet do it still, for example?
This stuff can be done, but I want more than that. This universe is a prime setup for a living breathing universe much like Star Wars Galaxies was. Maybe not to the extreme Galaxies was, but this game could use a healthy dose of what that game had and find a nice easy middle ground where there's plenty to do, things to go see and always something popping up to go do.
The devs could do this if they wanted, but they won't. And a few devs? Umm NO. Game this size that development team is far larger than you think.
There's just a few devs that are face people. There's quite a lot more than you give credit for on the size of a development team.
Star Trek Battles member. Want to roll with a good group of people regardless of fleets and not have to worry about DPS while doing STFs? Come join the channel and join in the fun!
If I feel the game is getting stagnant I roll /work on an alt, trying a different approach to build on. I helps for me, maybe it can for you too.
I have most of my fun in game from flying with my friends, and the banter we have is equally as fun as flying our ships. For me it's not just about story arcs and missions.
I know this will sound kind of harsh but we need torealise that we have a certain influence over the grouth of this game, that's how MMOs work.
Back in the day There were many cool features that were removed because players (including us if there are other old times players here) didn't give a darn of giving feedback about them and those were considered useless as a consequence.
We had our chance of having and Keeping these interesting features ( Like the Kobayashi Maru Scenario, The Deep Space Encounteres or Enmy AI Ships Intercepting you in enemy areas of sector space and you had to either outrun them or fight) but we didnt andfrom now on just reflect about your own influence on a game MMO's grouth and give actual feedback when asked and make actual contribution to the developing as they ask you for opinions whenever they change something instead of whining all the time because of "baddie Cryptic".
Sorry but this really doesn't hold water, no win scenario was running all the time, right up until the servers came down for the patch that removed it, the first time players heard it was being removed? The patch notes. People complained for months afterwards, we still don't have it back.
PvP likewise, for years the community asked for things for pvp, maps, balance, leaderboards, matchmaking, none of it happened and then Delta rising happened which for pvp was the final straw, there were dozens of pvpers posting daily in the forums, there were half a dozen pvp channels that I know of, several pvp fleets, now we have perhaps five posting regularly in the forums entire pvp fleets are dead, channels as well.
And actually, complaining that Cryptic are horrible people for doing this, that and the other is feedback, it may not be ideal feedback but it is feedback.
The reason why NWS got removed, was simple, power creep developed by the devs meant it was no longer a challenge.
It wasn't a challenge for those at the top, most teams I flew with only got past wave 7, the best ones only got past wave 9, the issue I see is the current meta, which is easily fixed with a little FBP here and there. That said, it still doesn't change the fact we didn't know about it until it was done and that people complained for months after about it's removal, citing other things that have vanished and never returned.
Power creep isn't bad, as you cannot have a f2p game without it, but the problem comes when you also need to balance stuff around it..
The divide between those that can dps and those that can't, is so big now, that they cannot balance it for a fair fight.
I agree power creep shouldn't be a problem, in fact I would argue that power CREEP isn't a problem but Cryptic is running power sprint here, in a matter of months science went from seriously subpar to OP as all heck in the hands of those who know how to use it, FAW likewise came to prominence in a matter of weeks, there is no balance here.
I'd like to see NPCs given player standard ships, which would also conform to player ability rules, this would force the devs to balance though, they couldn't then double top end dps overnight because they'd destroy their casual playerbase.
Unless players would be happy for it to be vanilla, with everything other than basic Mk10 white items? That would also include no loxkbox, lobi or cstore ships and equipment!
The devs just don't have the ability to keep up with the power creep they create, while also keeping the players that bought the power, happy, so I very much doubt it will ever return.
As long as the NPCs are balanced for Mk 10 white gear on freebie (and potentially mirror, as you left that option open) ships the majority of people who enjoyed NWS would likely go along with it, I would.
I agee with most that has been said but i don't think it's just that they don't want to...it would be a suicidal mentality and as a game company that wouldn't be convenient for them.
As i am not a game developer ( and i doubt any of us is i tihk there is more into it that we know of or else they would have done it instantly.
Bottom line for me is: Lets see wht they have i store next, they spoke about the exploration part...maybe it will indeed turn things to the better side.
About the lack of things to do...well, i think we shall get back to what we used to back in the day that is acting and play as an actual community rather than each to their own, maybe make it bigger and open to others...ESD, Qo'nos and New Romulus are indeedd social areas as well as DS9 and everything else, WOW players used to do that all the time and still do, why can't we?
Maybe players will find more enthusiasm with a more united and active community...
For example there can be players organizing STF sessions and cycling them, or do story arcs in full CoOp, maybe making organized Battlezones sessions, basically making something like this for every feature.
I think this can help it...and may show that "feedback" part i badly explained or at least bring in some fresh air in terms of playerbase interaction.
Rotate a bunch of games. I play this, SWTOR, World of Warships, DCUO, so I'm never really bored. Having said that, it's LONG past time for some sandbox stuff to come to STO. All these planets and nothing to do with them except maybe a mission here and there.
I agree it is good to have a rotation of games to help alleviate boredom. Though not everyone wants to play other games, but merely stick to a single game, which is just as valid though too. I don't see any issue with people that enjoy, and even would like to keep enjoying a single game asking for more content to do in that game. Honestly a dev team that might see that may find it is a good idea to tap that fact, and generate more revenue from those players that are seeking to get more content to do in that game.
Well a game like this, IMHO BEGS for sandbox elements to be added. Like exploration, that was meh, but so much more could of been done with it that simply wasn't developed.
First contact with someone like the Lukari, you the player develop relations and do a whole chain of events and depending on how well you do, they get included into the Federation, remain neutral, or go hostile and you end up having to defend Federation interests.
KDF, more along the lines of expanding the Empire, finding new and exciting people to meet and defeat them in the name of Honor, romulans expanding out farther into the Beta quadrant.
That's just exploration. Also the pirate supression, just a whole heap of stuff that is sandbox in nature that we could go do that PWE just doesn't want to invest in.
Oh yeah I agree that having a good amount of sandbox elements is good, though there should be also that option of more themepark or story based content for those that prefer that kind of content to sandbox. I do not think that a game needs to be just one or the other, but has the ability to give the player that option to go down either path as a possibility.
I honestly would love to see things like mini-factions within the major factions, which could be used for interesting things. like inter-faction conflict without the actual factions going to war. I would not mind the idea of more exploration based content, though I think an issue is making such a set of content appealing to a large enough part of the playerbase to warrant the application of the resources to make it.
Hear the voices in my head,
I swear to God, it sounds like they're snoring -
Well, if you're bored then you're boring...
- Harvey Danger, "Flagpole Sitta"
It sounds, Wendy, like your basic issue is that you only ever play one toon. And there's no game that can keep up with that, not even WoW (and they've added things to such a ludicrous extreme that I think top level there is over 100 - when I played, it was just going up to 70).
So, if you're looking for advice, go play another game for a while. If, like another poster here, you're worried about making sure the money goes to Cryptic, try Champions Online or Neverwinter. (I've got 39 toons in CO right now, from an accidentally-awakened robot (Happifun Security System X-4) to a former hedge wizard from Phoenix, AZ (Encantador), who found an item that vastly increased his power levels.) Give this game a rest for a while. Then come back and play a new toon. Have you run the Klingon tutorial since we got one? Or played a 23c captain yet? Have you avenged the death of Virinat, and brought down the leadership of the Tal'Shiar? Have you found the difference in play style between Tac, Eng, and Sci, and decided which is your favorite? (I'm still torn between Eng and Tac for ground combat - grenades are nice, but so are turrets and drones.)
See, the thing is, when you take a break, your account still waits for you here. If you're Gold monthly, just put a halt on payments for that until you're ready to return. (If you're LTS, even less problem, because that means your Gold status will sit here until the game dies, and you'll accumulate 500z every month whether you play or not.) If you're Silver, everything will wait for you anyway, no problem. Just do other things until the urge to save the Federation arises in you again.
I'm also finally watching Star Trek TAS on Netflix, last night it was the sequel to The Trouble With Tribbles. The sequel was also written by David Gerrold. The animation is lousy, but the voice acting by the TOS cast is good. Uhuru even got to command the ship in one episode.
With the elimination of commodities requirements, it's now feasible. (Not to mention the doff trader on the station. )
I just wish the Dilithium Mine and Embassy were upgraded to eliminate the every mission Dilithium cost to be more in line with all the other Fleet holdings.
I know this will sound kind of harsh but we need torealise that we have a certain influence over the grouth of this game, that's how MMOs work.
Back in the day There were many cool features that were removed because players (including us if there are other old times players here) didn't give a darn of giving feedback about them and those were considered useless as a consequence.
We had our chance of having and Keeping these interesting features ( Like the Kobayashi Maru Scenario, The Deep Space Encounteres or Enmy AI Ships Intercepting you in enemy areas of sector space and you had to either outrun them or fight) but we didnt andfrom now on just reflect about your own influence on a game MMO's grouth and give actual feedback when asked and make actual contribution to the developing as they ask you for opinions whenever they change something instead of whining all the time because of "baddie Cryptic".
Sorry but this really doesn't hold water, no win scenario was running all the time, right up until the servers came down for the patch that removed it, the first time players heard it was being removed? The patch notes. People complained for months afterwards, we still don't have it back.
PvP likewise, for years the community asked for things for pvp, maps, balance, leaderboards, matchmaking, none of it happened and then Delta rising happened which for pvp was the final straw, there were dozens of pvpers posting daily in the forums, there were half a dozen pvp channels that I know of, several pvp fleets, now we have perhaps five posting regularly in the forums entire pvp fleets are dead, channels as well.
And actually, complaining that Cryptic are horrible people for doing this, that and the other is feedback, it may not be ideal feedback but it is feedback.
The reason why NWS got removed, was simple, power creep developed by the devs meant it was no longer a challenge.
Power creep isn't bad, as you cannot have a f2p game without it, but the problem comes when you also need to balance stuff around it..
The divide between those that can dps and those that can't, is so big now, that they cannot balance it for a fair fight.
Unless players would be happy for it to be vanilla, with everything other thank basic Mk10 white items? That would also include no loxkbox, lobi or cstore ships and equipment!
The devs just don't have the ability to keep up with the power creep they create, while also keeping the players that bought the power, happy, so I very much doubt it will ever return.
I understand the idea behind it but that would make the whole thing absurd:
"Hey Captain; there is THIS challenge you cannot win!"
"No way, let me at it!"
"Sure, now please remove your weapons, shields and platings and replace it with this TRIBBLE"
"...No! Why?"
"Because its a challenge you cannot win...? Hey, where you're warping?"
BTW I never won it; although I did not adamantly tried. Just went in a fistful of times.
wendysue53 well I think it happens to everybody at one point or another. To the guts of it right now there is multiple reps, yea mainly grind, but cool gear. Multiple battlezones, I like those, because its never the same thing. So my only suggestion try something maybe outside your comfort zone, that you have not spent much time on. There is always a quirk someone has not meddled with fully.
As for the player suggesting swtor. Stay away far away from that game. I once belonged to a community of players that started in swg, we got to know each other well, went into swtor. It lasted 7 plus years we were together. In the end they all left that game including me. These people were star wars nothing but star wars type of fans. Its got some content but it is bland as all get out. Even worse they have put the hero worship thing into full overdrive. They still have not fixed stability issues with lag that most players face. Nor have they tried to fix the unbalance in space pvp. You think its bad here? Try to image a ship class that can shoot and destroy you from extreme range with one shot. To be honest it is no longer star wars. It stopped being about the Darkside vrs Lightside struggle a long time ago. Too much single player not enough group. The list goes on and on. Like this game it becomes a simple grind, but this game offers you a great deal of choice when you go to customize. Just the amount of weapons I can load on a ship/parts. Not to mention the ground. Swtor is got nothing on this games ground battlezones.
Hope the info helps. In the end the choice is yours.
I'm playing SWTOR more than STO at the moment, since I was away from TOR for a couple of years and there's now a bunch of new story content.
I just left SWTOR for STO played it for more than 4 years so trust me, do NOT invest a lot of money there. 5.0 is coming, which means that unless you keep paying a sub, you won't be able to play end game (old) content = ops, or get any end game gear from the new command system (which is going to be rng based).
Most people I know are leaving.
Gaalom... not sure how long you've been away, but GSF is dead, and they never added new stuff after it was launched. They haven't added a new operation in 2 years, and we only got 1 new pvp map in ages (ground pvp). The game went solo player oriented, with god-mode companions that take you through every content. You can level up a toon from 1 to 65 without gear. It's sad.
These are some good points and suggestions, peeps. But basically yall are doing the same things I am - setting up personal goals to complete while in the game, instead of doing the standard stuff.
Now... how to run every mission in complete reverse...
(For reference on this, there was an episode of the animated series where people from 'a' mirror universe came through and did everything in reverse: Flying, talking, walking, aging, etc.)
Sure there's over 100 missions, but I have up to 3 toons per faction, I've done it all, and done it repeatedly. Gets boring doing the same thing AGAIN.
And yet, many players play much older, shorter and often times also more dull games over and over again. Be it a cult-classic, a "considered cool" game, a so-called "AAA"-title or just out of pure nostalgia. No matter the reasons, people do that gets boring too.
I've been away from the game for a while now. My gaming comp had issues.
When I came back, a few things had changed, but not as much as was expected from the new updates.
They added ONE mission?!
...
And now I've run it into the ground....
I'm so far into the game that when I login, I have to set myself goals for things to do. Seriously, I'm totally bored now. I want stuff TO DO! And starting all over for the 50th time with a new toon is not appealing.
Done the Foundry thing for a while at one point. But that only lasts a short while and who ever sees them anyway?
so... bored. And here I've been playing STO since testing. Different accounts maybe, but still...
*sigh*
There's just something missing and I can't put my finger on it.
How good are you at teamed PvE?
I’m just asking because improving the (ship) build and playstyle was once considered a rewarding long-term motivating activity by a lot of players in this game.
According to the combat logs I currently take in CCa this seems to have changed.
I’m just saying this because without teamed PvE I’d probably be bored as well rather fast and most players I encounter nowadays make me wonder if they ever played something else besides story missions.
For me and what I like to do in STO this feels like they missed 95% of the game.
Post edited by peterconnorfirst on
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
Well a game like this, IMHO BEGS for sandbox elements to be added. Like exploration, that was meh, but so much more could of been done with it that simply wasn't developed.
First contact with someone like the Lukari, you the player develop relations and do a whole chain of events and depending on how well you do, they get included into the Federation, remain neutral, or go hostile and you end up having to defend Federation interests.
KDF, more along the lines of expanding the Empire, finding new and exciting people to meet and defeat them in the name of Honor, romulans expanding out farther into the Beta quadrant.
That's just exploration. Also the pirate supression, just a whole heap of stuff that is sandbox in nature that we could go do that PWE just doesn't want to invest in.
I'm heavily in agreement here. The current Dialogue/Choice items in the story-lines are lackluster at best, not because of script errors, but because there's NO PLAYER INVOLVEMENT. Sad, but true. You can just click-click-click away and never read a thing.
Player Choice and having to deal with the consequences is a BIG player pull. It keeps you involved and invested in how your character does in a universe they live in.
GAME Examples (not MMOs since I can't think of any good ones for this argument) include: Fable (ultimate Good vrs Evil), Baulder's Gate series (one of the best - and largest - script/player interactions out there and that's just the original game), and Final Fantasy VII (do I have to explain this one?). I'm sure there are some others I'd love to play that have just as in-depth a storyline, but not only that, BUT WHAT I DO affects how my game turns out.
Now, granted, they tried (and failed miserably) to do something like with with the Romulan storylines. I'm...not even going to discuss the problems with that one. -.-
As for the sandbox features? Hell yeah! Let us see (and discover) the galaxy - not as cardboard cutouts on a game board, but as the truely variable entity that it is. I know that's impossible with current tech, but even a 'Nod' in that direction would be a start.
Shame it all boils down to the Director/Head of Development not wanting or being able to pursue such and investment of time/ imagination/ or concepts.
As for who would do the work? Well, high-end volunteers come to mind, if they had access to a 'work tool', not the Foundry.
THen there are the maps... sad, pitiful maps... so large in illusion - so small a cage...
They removed [Exploration] because they admitted it was underdeveloped for the game's developing standards if i remember correctly...in fact they said an overhauled and improved version is on its way (so far no promise like this has been ever really discarded, as it always found its way, so no reason to doubt now).
Plus for all the people compaining about the boxes...boxes arent vital to play and you can buy the stuff in it in the Exchange so i don't see the problem with that system.
As I understand it, the guy that was promising and going to work on this area after it was pulled was fired and the Head doesn't want to fool with it. Same guy was supposedly also in charge of the PVP content redevelopment. He was going to fuse the three PVP types into one thing and add to it. Not my personal choice, as I'm not a fan of PVP when I'm trying to do a mission and get blown up by some Maxer pinging inattentive ships, but that's just me.
Don't recall what other areas he was in-charge of, but understand most of them were never reassigned to anyone else.
And why would I want to spend my time on PVE events that end less than 5 seconds after I start them? Seems to be the trend, since that's where everyone goes, but the rare larger-scale events are never pursued, such as Breaking the Planet.
One of the ways other games deal with the issue of number of players vrs slots on PVE events, is to use NPC filler-personel, which lets people run those events and shows the company a truer stat on how much people may value an event. Not everyone can logon when others can. Simple reduction of total awards for player number is the easiest way to deal with this, but not the only one (again, see: the show-based game Defiance as an example of alternate methods of pve - after all, why wait on a 'queue' to play an event?).
They used to have Random Enemy Encounters on the spacemaps, but those too were removed when the Exploration Clusters were yanked. They looked and acted about like the RedAlearts once you entered them, however, for the most part. Only real difference? YOu never knew where they were until you SAW them while flying in space - they weren't waypoints on a map, but moved around it. There were also a large number of them spawning. When they pulled them from the game, STO space felt... empty...
I agee with most that has been said but i don't think it's just that they don't want to...it would be a suicidal mentality and as a game company that wouldn't be convenient for them.
As i am not a game developer ( and i doubt any of us is i tihk there is more into it that we know of or else they would have done it instantly.
Bottom line for me is: Lets see wht they have i store next, they spoke about the exploration part...maybe it will indeed turn things to the better side.
About the lack of things to do...well, i think we shall get back to what we used to back in the day that is acting and play as an actual community rather than each to their own, maybe make it bigger and open to others...ESD, Qo'nos and New Romulus are indeedd social areas as well as DS9 and everything else, WOW players used to do that all the time and still do, why can't we?
Maybe players will find more enthusiasm with a more united and active community...
For example there can be players organizing STF sessions and cycling them, or do story arcs in full CoOp, maybe making organized Battlezones sessions, basically making something like this for every feature.
I think this can help it...and may show that "feedback" part i badly explained or at least bring in some fresh air in terms of playerbase interaction.
You're neglecting 'Player Drift'.
Say 20 friends start the game together and have a 'good time'. In 2 months, 10 of them have stopped playing. In 6 months, another 5 have stopped playing. In 1 year, another 4 have stopped playing. In the end, you wind up with ONE dedicated player, who might continue to play.
Now think about how a community based on this concept will develop and interact. Sure you have associates you may hang out with. You might have a Fleet that you buddy-up in.
But they are associates, not friends.
And for the Fleet to remain active would require a HIGH player turn-over rate, which doesn't happen. They're isn't a system setup for Fleets where the critical personnel have 'gone missing'. And having to constantly set up fleet missions gets OLD fast. Most people who join fleets are: 1) low level and need it for various reasons; 2) Old School and looking to either helpout or do something different; or 3) Theives and looking to take whatever is in the Fleet Bank. I know I left some out, but that sums up the majority. There are the rare few, but they, too, fade in time.
Basically, your avearage player is a solo player, who in an MMO just happens to be 'soloing with other people'.
wendysue53 well I think it happens to everybody at one point or another. To the guts of it right now there is multiple reps, yea mainly grind, but cool gear. Multiple battlezones, I like those, because its never the same thing. So my only suggestion try something maybe outside your comfort zone, that you have not spent much time on. There is always a quirk someone has not meddled with fully.
As for the player suggesting swtor. Stay away far away from that game. I once belonged to a community of players that started in swg, we got to know each other well, went into swtor. It lasted 7 plus years we were together. In the end they all left that game including me. These people were star wars nothing but star wars type of fans. Its got some content but it is bland as all get out. Even worse they have put the hero worship thing into full overdrive. They still have not fixed stability issues with lag that most players face. Nor have they tried to fix the unbalance in space pvp. You think its bad here? Try to image a ship class that can shoot and destroy you from extreme range with one shot. To be honest it is no longer star wars. It stopped being about the Darkside vrs Lightside struggle a long time ago. Too much single player not enough group. The list goes on and on. Like this game it becomes a simple grind, but this game offers you a great deal of choice when you go to customize. Just the amount of weapons I can load on a ship/parts. Not to mention the ground. Swtor is got nothing on this games ground battlezones.
Hope the info helps. In the end the choice is yours.
(...)but this game offers you a great deal of choice when you go to customize. (...)
Not really. They offer the bare minimum, and saying that is pushing the boundries for the minimum allowed during customizations (of whatever). Truth is they barely met the standard for this area when the game was first released, when compared to other games of that time-period. The standards set by newer games for this, would make it too difficult for STO to rise up to meet them without having to scrap the whole game and 'Start-Over'.
(Music starts... Title comes up... Welcome to Star Trek Online: The Terran Empire!)
If you want an example, just pop in any MMO from the last few years.
Now to poke at the guy stating that STO has the largest game content of any MMO to date. Not true. What STO has is a lot of items that have no visible aspects on the game and several systems that could be simplified and shoved under the title "Ship's Store".
If you want to determine if an MMO has a lot of content, then you have to understand what game content actually is and what it is not. Game content is not, for example: Items, ship skins, customization (yes I'm putting this here to head of this discussion, since it can be either/or depending on the system), Pvp, pve, etc. Take EVERYTHING about the game and boil in down to the story. Game content, when you get right down to it, is the essential essence of the game, which included player ambiance where items and junk would fit. You can have an MMO (and there have been several), who fail to provide decent story aspect to the game (that which moves the game forward, and not just for collecting points [Pong]). There have been even more MMOs that have failed to add a true story to the game at all, just providing two groups of people with weapons and tossing them into an arena. With these last, if done right, they can be fun (Battle Tanks), but if done wrong - say with a world-wide environment, then it doesn't take a player long to realise there is no game to play, just junk to collect, and they leave.
MMO = story + player = game. No story? no game. no game content. Even classic games such as D&D (1970s version) held this point in high regard.
Add all the trash you want to a game, but forget or (in STO's case) under-develop the essence of the story (and all of Star Trek can be summed up to just that) and players will wonder why they're playing it. A great game keeps you involved. A poor game just kills time and may do it well (Angry Birds).
Comments
Sure there's over 100 missions, but I have up to 3 toons per faction, I've done it all, and done it repeatedly. Gets boring doing the same thing AGAIN.
Star Trek Battles member. Want to roll with a good group of people regardless of fleets and not have to worry about DPS while doing STFs? Come join the channel and join in the fun!
http://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1145998/star-trek-battles-channel-got-canon/p1
They removed it because they admitted it was underdeveloped for the game's developing standards if i remember correctly...in fact they said an overhauled and improved version is on its way (so far no promise like this has been ever really discarded, as it always found its way, so no reason to doubt now).
Plus for all the people compaining about the boxes...boxes arent vital to play and you can buy the stuff in it in the Exchange so i don't see the problem with that system.
Boxes don't bother me at all. It's outside of STFs, a few battlezones and episodes some Doff/admiralty and red alerts, there's NOTHING TO DO. I can only do the Borg red alert so many times ya know.
Battlezones, same thing ad nauseam, just gets old.
Star Trek Battles member. Want to roll with a good group of people regardless of fleets and not have to worry about DPS while doing STFs? Come join the channel and join in the fun!
http://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1145998/star-trek-battles-channel-got-canon/p1
Sorry but this really doesn't hold water, no win scenario was running all the time, right up until the servers came down for the patch that removed it, the first time players heard it was being removed? The patch notes. People complained for months afterwards, we still don't have it back.
PvP likewise, for years the community asked for things for pvp, maps, balance, leaderboards, matchmaking, none of it happened and then Delta rising happened which for pvp was the final straw, there were dozens of pvpers posting daily in the forums, there were half a dozen pvp channels that I know of, several pvp fleets, now we have perhaps five posting regularly in the forums entire pvp fleets are dead, channels as well.
And actually, complaining that Cryptic are horrible people for doing this, that and the other is feedback, it may not be ideal feedback but it is feedback.
...maybe they are overhauling content part by part and eventually we see the old stuff returning...depends on how the exploration system works.
Anyway, i just said that it's often easier to blame devs when a MMO is only half made by devs (who made a game, a f2p game already tons larger n content than the biggest contenders) and the other half by a lively community....i remember whe n fleets uded to hsve meetings, organizing periodically STF or COOP story arcs, Just grouping and enjoying themselves...
THESE things can be still done, does your fleet do it still, for example?
The reason why NWS got removed, was simple, power creep developed by the devs meant it was no longer a challenge.
Power creep isn't bad, as you cannot have a f2p game without it, but the problem comes when you also need to balance stuff around it..
The divide between those that can dps and those that can't, is so big now, that they cannot balance it for a fair fight.
Unless players would be happy for it to be vanilla, with everything other thank basic Mk10 white items? That would also include no loxkbox, lobi or cstore ships and equipment!
The devs just don't have the ability to keep up with the power creep they create, while also keeping the players that bought the power, happy, so I very much doubt it will ever return.
This stuff can be done, but I want more than that. This universe is a prime setup for a living breathing universe much like Star Wars Galaxies was. Maybe not to the extreme Galaxies was, but this game could use a healthy dose of what that game had and find a nice easy middle ground where there's plenty to do, things to go see and always something popping up to go do.
The devs could do this if they wanted, but they won't. And a few devs? Umm NO. Game this size that development team is far larger than you think.
There's just a few devs that are face people. There's quite a lot more than you give credit for on the size of a development team.
Star Trek Battles member. Want to roll with a good group of people regardless of fleets and not have to worry about DPS while doing STFs? Come join the channel and join in the fun!
http://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1145998/star-trek-battles-channel-got-canon/p1
I have most of my fun in game from flying with my friends, and the banter we have is equally as fun as flying our ships. For me it's not just about story arcs and missions.
It wasn't a challenge for those at the top, most teams I flew with only got past wave 7, the best ones only got past wave 9, the issue I see is the current meta, which is easily fixed with a little FBP here and there. That said, it still doesn't change the fact we didn't know about it until it was done and that people complained for months after about it's removal, citing other things that have vanished and never returned.
I agree power creep shouldn't be a problem, in fact I would argue that power CREEP isn't a problem but Cryptic is running power sprint here, in a matter of months science went from seriously subpar to OP as all heck in the hands of those who know how to use it, FAW likewise came to prominence in a matter of weeks, there is no balance here.
I'd like to see NPCs given player standard ships, which would also conform to player ability rules, this would force the devs to balance though, they couldn't then double top end dps overnight because they'd destroy their casual playerbase.
As long as the NPCs are balanced for Mk 10 white gear on freebie (and potentially mirror, as you left that option open) ships the majority of people who enjoyed NWS would likely go along with it, I would.
As i am not a game developer ( and i doubt any of us is i tihk there is more into it that we know of or else they would have done it instantly.
Bottom line for me is: Lets see wht they have i store next, they spoke about the exploration part...maybe it will indeed turn things to the better side.
About the lack of things to do...well, i think we shall get back to what we used to back in the day that is acting and play as an actual community rather than each to their own, maybe make it bigger and open to others...ESD, Qo'nos and New Romulus are indeedd social areas as well as DS9 and everything else, WOW players used to do that all the time and still do, why can't we?
Maybe players will find more enthusiasm with a more united and active community...
For example there can be players organizing STF sessions and cycling them, or do story arcs in full CoOp, maybe making organized Battlezones sessions, basically making something like this for every feature.
I think this can help it...and may show that "feedback" part i badly explained or at least bring in some fresh air in terms of playerbase interaction.
Oh yeah I agree that having a good amount of sandbox elements is good, though there should be also that option of more themepark or story based content for those that prefer that kind of content to sandbox. I do not think that a game needs to be just one or the other, but has the ability to give the player that option to go down either path as a possibility.
I honestly would love to see things like mini-factions within the major factions, which could be used for interesting things. like inter-faction conflict without the actual factions going to war. I would not mind the idea of more exploration based content, though I think an issue is making such a set of content appealing to a large enough part of the playerbase to warrant the application of the resources to make it.
I swear to God, it sounds like they're snoring -
Well, if you're bored then you're boring...
- Harvey Danger, "Flagpole Sitta"
It sounds, Wendy, like your basic issue is that you only ever play one toon. And there's no game that can keep up with that, not even WoW (and they've added things to such a ludicrous extreme that I think top level there is over 100 - when I played, it was just going up to 70).
So, if you're looking for advice, go play another game for a while. If, like another poster here, you're worried about making sure the money goes to Cryptic, try Champions Online or Neverwinter. (I've got 39 toons in CO right now, from an accidentally-awakened robot (Happifun Security System X-4) to a former hedge wizard from Phoenix, AZ (Encantador), who found an item that vastly increased his power levels.) Give this game a rest for a while. Then come back and play a new toon. Have you run the Klingon tutorial since we got one? Or played a 23c captain yet? Have you avenged the death of Virinat, and brought down the leadership of the Tal'Shiar? Have you found the difference in play style between Tac, Eng, and Sci, and decided which is your favorite? (I'm still torn between Eng and Tac for ground combat - grenades are nice, but so are turrets and drones.)
See, the thing is, when you take a break, your account still waits for you here. If you're Gold monthly, just put a halt on payments for that until you're ready to return. (If you're LTS, even less problem, because that means your Gold status will sit here until the game dies, and you'll accumulate 500z every month whether you play or not.) If you're Silver, everything will wait for you anyway, no problem. Just do other things until the urge to save the Federation arises in you again.
With the elimination of commodities requirements, it's now feasible. (Not to mention the doff trader on the station. )
I just wish the Dilithium Mine and Embassy were upgraded to eliminate the every mission Dilithium cost to be more in line with all the other Fleet holdings.
Same ship / build / playstyle makes you stop play.
If you want play less played queues, grab a few fleet/armadamates and pay them some EC to run with you.
I understand the idea behind it but that would make the whole thing absurd:
"Hey Captain; there is THIS challenge you cannot win!"
"No way, let me at it!"
"Sure, now please remove your weapons, shields and platings and replace it with this TRIBBLE"
"...No! Why?"
"Because its a challenge you cannot win...? Hey, where you're warping?"
BTW I never won it; although I did not adamantly tried. Just went in a fistful of times.
As for the player suggesting swtor. Stay away far away from that game. I once belonged to a community of players that started in swg, we got to know each other well, went into swtor. It lasted 7 plus years we were together. In the end they all left that game including me. These people were star wars nothing but star wars type of fans. Its got some content but it is bland as all get out. Even worse they have put the hero worship thing into full overdrive. They still have not fixed stability issues with lag that most players face. Nor have they tried to fix the unbalance in space pvp. You think its bad here? Try to image a ship class that can shoot and destroy you from extreme range with one shot. To be honest it is no longer star wars. It stopped being about the Darkside vrs Lightside struggle a long time ago. Too much single player not enough group. The list goes on and on. Like this game it becomes a simple grind, but this game offers you a great deal of choice when you go to customize. Just the amount of weapons I can load on a ship/parts. Not to mention the ground. Swtor is got nothing on this games ground battlezones.
Hope the info helps. In the end the choice is yours.
I just left SWTOR for STO
Most people I know are leaving.
Gaalom... not sure how long you've been away, but GSF is dead, and they never added new stuff after it was launched. They haven't added a new operation in 2 years, and we only got 1 new pvp map in ages (ground pvp). The game went solo player oriented, with god-mode companions that take you through every content. You can level up a toon from 1 to 65 without gear. It's sad.
NWS got removed because winning it gave a metric boatload of fleetmarks, and people were farming it too much.
Now... how to run every mission in complete reverse...
(For reference on this, there was an episode of the animated series where people from 'a' mirror universe came through and did everything in reverse: Flying, talking, walking, aging, etc.)
And yet, many players play much older, shorter and often times also more dull games over and over again. Be it a cult-classic, a "considered cool" game, a so-called "AAA"-title or just out of pure nostalgia. No matter the reasons, people do that
How good are you at teamed PvE?
I’m just asking because improving the (ship) build and playstyle was once considered a rewarding long-term motivating activity by a lot of players in this game.
According to the combat logs I currently take in CCa this seems to have changed.
I’m just saying this because without teamed PvE I’d probably be bored as well rather fast and most players I encounter nowadays make me wonder if they ever played something else besides story missions.
For me and what I like to do in STO this feels like they missed 95% of the game.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
I'm heavily in agreement here. The current Dialogue/Choice items in the story-lines are lackluster at best, not because of script errors, but because there's NO PLAYER INVOLVEMENT. Sad, but true. You can just click-click-click away and never read a thing.
Player Choice and having to deal with the consequences is a BIG player pull. It keeps you involved and invested in how your character does in a universe they live in.
GAME Examples (not MMOs since I can't think of any good ones for this argument) include: Fable (ultimate Good vrs Evil), Baulder's Gate series (one of the best - and largest - script/player interactions out there and that's just the original game), and Final Fantasy VII (do I have to explain this one?). I'm sure there are some others I'd love to play that have just as in-depth a storyline, but not only that, BUT WHAT I DO affects how my game turns out.
Now, granted, they tried (and failed miserably) to do something like with with the Romulan storylines. I'm...not even going to discuss the problems with that one. -.-
As for the sandbox features? Hell yeah! Let us see (and discover) the galaxy - not as cardboard cutouts on a game board, but as the truely variable entity that it is. I know that's impossible with current tech, but even a 'Nod' in that direction would be a start.
Shame it all boils down to the Director/Head of Development not wanting or being able to pursue such and investment of time/ imagination/ or concepts.
As for who would do the work? Well, high-end volunteers come to mind, if they had access to a 'work tool', not the Foundry.
THen there are the maps... sad, pitiful maps... so large in illusion - so small a cage...
As I understand it, the guy that was promising and going to work on this area after it was pulled was fired and the Head doesn't want to fool with it. Same guy was supposedly also in charge of the PVP content redevelopment. He was going to fuse the three PVP types into one thing and add to it. Not my personal choice, as I'm not a fan of PVP when I'm trying to do a mission and get blown up by some Maxer pinging inattentive ships, but that's just me.
Don't recall what other areas he was in-charge of, but understand most of them were never reassigned to anyone else.
And why would I want to spend my time on PVE events that end less than 5 seconds after I start them? Seems to be the trend, since that's where everyone goes, but the rare larger-scale events are never pursued, such as Breaking the Planet.
One of the ways other games deal with the issue of number of players vrs slots on PVE events, is to use NPC filler-personel, which lets people run those events and shows the company a truer stat on how much people may value an event. Not everyone can logon when others can. Simple reduction of total awards for player number is the easiest way to deal with this, but not the only one (again, see: the show-based game Defiance as an example of alternate methods of pve - after all, why wait on a 'queue' to play an event?).
They used to have Random Enemy Encounters on the spacemaps, but those too were removed when the Exploration Clusters were yanked. They looked and acted about like the RedAlearts once you entered them, however, for the most part. Only real difference? YOu never knew where they were until you SAW them while flying in space - they weren't waypoints on a map, but moved around it. There were also a large number of them spawning. When they pulled them from the game, STO space felt... empty...
still does.
- Henry Ford
You're neglecting 'Player Drift'.
Say 20 friends start the game together and have a 'good time'. In 2 months, 10 of them have stopped playing. In 6 months, another 5 have stopped playing. In 1 year, another 4 have stopped playing. In the end, you wind up with ONE dedicated player, who might continue to play.
Now think about how a community based on this concept will develop and interact. Sure you have associates you may hang out with. You might have a Fleet that you buddy-up in.
But they are associates, not friends.
And for the Fleet to remain active would require a HIGH player turn-over rate, which doesn't happen. They're isn't a system setup for Fleets where the critical personnel have 'gone missing'. And having to constantly set up fleet missions gets OLD fast. Most people who join fleets are: 1) low level and need it for various reasons; 2) Old School and looking to either helpout or do something different; or 3) Theives and looking to take whatever is in the Fleet Bank. I know I left some out, but that sums up the majority. There are the rare few, but they, too, fade in time.
Basically, your avearage player is a solo player, who in an MMO just happens to be 'soloing with other people'.
True to a point.
Yet...
Not really. They offer the bare minimum, and saying that is pushing the boundries for the minimum allowed during customizations (of whatever). Truth is they barely met the standard for this area when the game was first released, when compared to other games of that time-period. The standards set by newer games for this, would make it too difficult for STO to rise up to meet them without having to scrap the whole game and 'Start-Over'.
(Music starts... Title comes up... Welcome to Star Trek Online: The Terran Empire!)
If you want an example, just pop in any MMO from the last few years.
Now to poke at the guy stating that STO has the largest game content of any MMO to date. Not true. What STO has is a lot of items that have no visible aspects on the game and several systems that could be simplified and shoved under the title "Ship's Store".
If you want to determine if an MMO has a lot of content, then you have to understand what game content actually is and what it is not. Game content is not, for example: Items, ship skins, customization (yes I'm putting this here to head of this discussion, since it can be either/or depending on the system), Pvp, pve, etc. Take EVERYTHING about the game and boil in down to the story. Game content, when you get right down to it, is the essential essence of the game, which included player ambiance where items and junk would fit. You can have an MMO (and there have been several), who fail to provide decent story aspect to the game (that which moves the game forward, and not just for collecting points [Pong]). There have been even more MMOs that have failed to add a true story to the game at all, just providing two groups of people with weapons and tossing them into an arena. With these last, if done right, they can be fun (Battle Tanks), but if done wrong - say with a world-wide environment, then it doesn't take a player long to realise there is no game to play, just junk to collect, and they leave.
MMO = story + player = game. No story? no game. no game content. Even classic games such as D&D (1970s version) held this point in high regard.
Add all the trash you want to a game, but forget or (in STO's case) under-develop the essence of the story (and all of Star Trek can be summed up to just that) and players will wonder why they're playing it. A great game keeps you involved. A poor game just kills time and may do it well (Angry Birds).