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What do you think? Melting Pot

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    mirrorchaosmirrorchaos Member Posts: 9,844 Arc User
    The story on this mission seemed.. convienient. Scientists just happen to have some crystals with them despite the risks and the risks just happen to come all at that point in time. Coincidentally the Tzenkethi decide to start talking with those they have been killing because of these creatures. Some mighty odds there. :tongue:

    I liked the slowly unravelling mystery of what the Tzenkethi were doing.
    T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW.
    Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
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    shinku#4469 shinku Member Posts: 164 Arc User
    why is the ground map so bright and saturated?
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    questeriusquesterius Member Posts: 8,320 Arc User
    I got lost on the first run, but that might just be due to going through the first part while being groggy from sleep.
    Layout of the mission is decent although the lag in the space map makes scanning the asteroid puzzle tedious.

    Cannot help but wonder if these new scorpions are the Tholians evil, even more xenophobic, cousins.
    This program, though reasonably normal at times, seems to have a strong affinity to classes belonging to the Cat 2.0 program. Questerius 2.7 will break down on occasion, resulting in garbage and nonsense messages whenever it occurs. Usually a hard reboot or pulling the plug solves the problem when that happens.
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    warpangelwarpangel Member Posts: 9,427 Arc User
    warpangel wrote: »
    So is the major motivation for the tzenkethi war and development of planet-killer weapons...arachnophobia?

    Seriously, those bugs were no more a threat than the scorpions on Nimbus.

    Are we sure they are not the same creatures?

    One possible solution that might have been over looked.
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    :#
    When I get the tzenkethi ships, totally gonna have to name one them Raid.
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    trennantrennan Member Posts: 2,839 Arc User
    On this, can we just go ahead and change the name of Dranuur to Maneur.

    I mean this whole Tzenkethi war, can be fixed just by calling the Orkin Man or Terminex.
    Mm5NeXy.gif
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    taylor1701dtaylor1701d Member Posts: 3,099 Arc User
    edited October 2017
    The mission as a standalone was pretty darn good I must admit.
    But lumped in with the other missions since meeting the Lukari... it seemed a little unbelievable that we could ally ourselves with our new Tzengethi friend so quickly...

    I wondered, why all of a sudden are we encountering a Tzengethi that's willing to talk to us - And even willing to kill her higher up in command to stop the slaughter of our colony ?
    Seemed like it was way too convenient as @mirrorchaos pointed out in his post..

    I got a Starship Troopers vibe from this mission for sure. (Not a bad thing necessarily), but makes me wonder how these bugs spread throughout a system and deep space.
    Are they hitching rides on meteors ? Are they using some form of organic transportation not yet seen by the Federation ?
    Is another species planting them on different planets ? Hitching a ride on ships ?
    Maybe we could get some more explanation on that next mission (unless I missed something and its already been explained).

    But I guess its a good sign that this mission has stirred up some questions. Shows that the storyline is interesting and has potential...

    Nitpick; I think it would've made more sense if we had saved the Tzengethi ground party from certain death (perhaps they were left to die by their ship - and we came to their aid ?), and then our sympathetic tzengethi friend was impressed enough to help us. (as she did at the end of the mission, killing her commanding officer and taking his place and halting the attack on the colony).
    I think that would've been more believable then meeting them as they beamed down, then agreeing to help them.

    Despite it being hard to believe that we've "suddenly" found a sympathetic ear on the Tzengethi side.. It was a pretty neat twist that we found ourselves fighting side by side with this species as allies.
    I enjoyed that.
    It was not what I was expecting.. but enjoyed having 2 Tzengethi boffs :smile: (HINT HINT - Maybe we can get a Tzengethi Boff as a reward in future missions ?)

    Burton's excellent voice acting brought Geordi back to life once again. I really enjoyed his work in this one and hope we get to see more of him in future missions.

    Colony map is really pretty. But I do have one minor complaint about it... (And I feel like Slamek for saying this) but "it's too bright in here".
    It's so bright, I found it hard on my eyes. That said, the lighting conditions really did bring out and enhance the games color palette....
    But I'd prefer if they'd tone it down a bit.


    Overall it was a pretty good mission. But the writing could've been a bit tighter in terms of explaining why our "new friend" was so eager and willing to help us. (after we killed a bunch of Tzengethi in missions past). But I'm willing to let that slide if we learn a little more about the reasoning in a future mission.

    Fighting in a ground party with the Tzengethi as allies was really cool, and was a highlight for me.

    8.5/10

    And after watching Star Trek Discovery Episode 3 last night... I can safely say STO is the only Trek we the fans have left.
    I enjoyed this mission far more then then that awful ep3 of TRIBBLE they're trying to pass off as Trek.

    Cryptic may not have a huge team and budget, but I salute you guys for bringing us the best "Trek Experience" the fans can get in our current time.
    I really do appreciate this game and the Dev's efforts...

    Oh and thank you for the Kilt. :smile:

    EDIT: Oh and any "eco messaging" we got in this mission was way, way, wayyyyy more subtle and well placed then all the SJW stuff we see in the first 3 ep's of TRIBBLE.
    I'm glad you dont beat us over the head with it. I appreciated the subtlety on the messaging.

    Maybe TRIBBLE can take a lesson from STO and ease off their heavy handed SJW agenda messaging.
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    tyler002tyler002 Member Posts: 1,586 Arc User
    edited October 2017
    xyquarze wrote: »
    The bugs were a little underwhelming, but I can see why the Tzenkethi are afraid of them. If Dranuur's moon was composed 55% of those crystals, the bugs must be incredibly common in the quadrant. A swarm of trillions of them would be alarming, to say the least.

    The main question that needs to be answered is: how are they a threat while living on their own moon. They need to have some kind of influence on the outer world.
    Given that they apparently existed on multiple worlds, they seem to have a way of getting around.

    Living bioweapons created by an enemy of the Tzenkethi, maybe?
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    warpangelwarpangel Member Posts: 9,427 Arc User
    I wondered, why all of a sudden are we encountering a Tzengethi that's willing to talk to us - And even willing to kill her higher up in command to stop the slaughter of our colony ?
    I got the impression the big bad was killed by me mercilessly shooting his ship and the good tzenkethi took over after that, to stop my slaughter of their fleet.
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    taylor1701dtaylor1701d Member Posts: 3,099 Arc User
    warpangel wrote: »
    I wondered, why all of a sudden are we encountering a Tzengethi that's willing to talk to us - And even willing to kill her higher up in command to stop the slaughter of our colony ?
    I got the impression the big bad was killed by me mercilessly shooting his ship and the good tzenkethi took over after that, to stop my slaughter of their fleet.

    Ahh I thought she had pulled a "Klingon" and challenged her Commanding officer, killed him, and took his place.

    Could be as you said though, I didn't have much time to play last night so I kind of rushed my way through the mission. So might've missed that detail.
    [img][/img]OD5urLn.jpg
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    blitzy4blitzy4 Member Posts: 839 Arc User
    I at least perceived that the bugs had some sort of high end resistance to several of my normal weapons, so I ended up switching to something else, but I can't be sure. I've had that 'feeling' on several ground missions lately.
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    "..and like children playing after sunset, we were surrounded by darkness." -Ruri Hoshino



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    mirrorchaosmirrorchaos Member Posts: 9,844 Arc User
    blitzy4 wrote: »
    I at least perceived that the bugs had some sort of high end resistance to several of my normal weapons, so I ended up switching to something else, but I can't be sure. I've had that 'feeling' on several ground missions lately.

    i've noticed it as well, the bugs are highly resistant to ap and phasers, but after Kuumarkee does her AoE thing, suddenly those bugs are alot weaker and much easier to kill.
    tyler002 wrote: »
    xyquarze wrote: »
    The bugs were a little underwhelming, but I can see why the Tzenkethi are afraid of them. If Dranuur's moon was composed 55% of those crystals, the bugs must be incredibly common in the quadrant. A swarm of trillions of them would be alarming, to say the least.

    The main question that needs to be answered is: how are they a threat while living on their own moon. They need to have some kind of influence on the outer world.
    Given that they apparently existed on multiple worlds, they seem to have a way of getting around.

    Living bioweapons created by an enemy of the Tzenkethi, maybe?

    I'm thinking Blue Gills and ships built from different materials that implicate an innocent party. Could these bugs be a cast off or a second generation bio weapon created but not deployed by the Iconians?

    If T'ket got her hands on this and took her own army of servitors, they could of seeded these creatures in a way no one would notice except the Tzenkethi, so they would play a chaotic role in destabilising the AQ with Protomatter weapons. If the Iconians could smuggle these crystals to Qo'Nos, Romulus or Earth, it would almost certainly provoke the Tzenkethi to attack at all costs. The Tzenkethi could be another race being manipulated like the Undine.
    T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW.
    Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
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    ltminnsltminns Member Posts: 12,569 Arc User
    Cold Fusion Flash takes good care of them.
    '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.'
    Lt. Philip J. Minns
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    saurializardsaurializard Member Posts: 4,394 Arc User
    Could be an interesting "twist" if T'Ket was behind this (and would bring back the Iconians, as opposed to have the game act like it never happened and we should forget about them).

    Next mission would have Quinn informing L'Miren asked for the Other to see her ASAP, arriving on Iconia in the process of being rebuilt where she tells us that she discovered T'Ket stole some supposedly discarded prototype bio-weapons centuries and even millenia ago and had been planting them on several planets, but since the end of the war, L'Miren has been noticing an increasse gateway jumps from T'Ket all across the galaxy despite being deprived of most of the Herald forces, and with the theft discovered, she suspects her of having planted the eggs in many places and increasing the seeding recently to plunge the galaxy into chaos again.
    #TASforSTO
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    aedonixaedonix Member Posts: 9 Arc User
    All i have to say is...

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    xyquarzexyquarze Member Posts: 2,114 Arc User
    No. Please not T'ket. Not so soon. We had 10 seasons of Iconians already, 3 would be too short a break.
    My mother was an epohh and my father smelled of tulaberries
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    psycoticvulcanpsycoticvulcan Member Posts: 4,160 Arc User
    I have two theories about the bugs.

    1) The bugs have a collective consciousness and their hive mind grows more intelligent with every bug. If enough of them exist they get smart enough to build ships and wage a genuine war with the rest of the galaxy. Hence the Tzenkethi desperation to destroy them before they get too strong.

    2) Could they be Hur'q related? The writers of DS9 said they envisioned the Hur'q as insectoids, and STO has been hinting at the Hur'q for a while now.
    NJ9oXSO.png
    "Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
    -Thomas Marrone
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    symbobsymbob Member Posts: 9 Arc User
    How many of those planets the Tzenkethi attacked actually had those bugs on them?
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    saber1973asaber1973a Member Posts: 1,224 Arc User
    edited October 2017
    I found a little problem with rewards for the mission:
    I did 2 runs on my Generic Alien Romulan, allied wih KDF, flying Suliban Flight-Deck Cruiser.
    on first run i choose Standard Warp Core (for my new ship)
    on second run i did NOT have Singularity Core in reward choices... why?
    ...
    Edit:
    Ok.. i just replicated it on my Reman in T6 Scimitar, i'm opening it in Bug report sub-forum.
    Post edited by saber1973a on
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    trennantrennan Member Posts: 2,839 Arc User
    edited October 2017
    I have two theories about the bugs.

    1) The bugs have a collective consciousness and their hive mind grows more intelligent with every bug. If enough of them exist they get smart enough to build ships and wage a genuine war with the rest of the galaxy. Hence the Tzenkethi desperation to destroy them before they get too strong.

    2) Could they be Hur'q related? The writers of DS9 said they envisioned the Hur'q as insectoids, and STO has been hinting at the Hur'q for a while now.

    The Hur'q, or to use the exact translation of it, outsider, is in Klingon Lore. While they are said to be instectoid, they are also highly intelligent and were space faring over a 1000 years ago. By the Klingon lore, the stories and legends of the Hur'q are about the creation of the Fek'lhr and the Klingons. This creation, is actually more of a genetic manipulation, to produce a species of warriors. The Fek'lhr are the first attempts, that didn't pan out well, as they were more powerful and not as controllable. Klingons are the second part, the species of Warriors, not as powerful and somewhat more controllable. The Hur'q and the Fek'lhr are also the two species that the klingons rebelled against, thus gaining their freedom and first starships. Which this event, when Kahless the Unforgettable built the Empire was a little over 1000 years ago.

    While, by the same lore, the Federation does have DNA samples of the Hur'q. Likely from the the planet where the Sword of Kahless was found. These bugs are not them. These bugs are just bugs. I'd put them in the same genre as the Bluegill. Though not parasitic in nature. Their space travel is likely that of a hitchhiker or stowaway. You know, attach themselves to ships and cargo and get toted around from planet to planet that way. Or in this case, brought to the planet via idiots going, "We brought them here to research them."

    Which begs the question, since it's in a science lab... why didn't the sensors alert the scientists to the fact that there are life signs in said crystals? I mean even a tricorder can tell you there are lifeforms around.

    Edit:
    I forgot to note this. But the Klingon calendar is longer than the Human one. This roughly puts the start of the the rebellion against the Hur'q and Fek'lhr, and the start of the Klingon Empire somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 Earth Standard Years in the past.
    Mm5NeXy.gif
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    postagepaidpostagepaid Member Posts: 2,899 Arc User
    The crystals were the eggs folk have been predicting since they first appeared although the bugs seem to be a little bit basic and squishy to warrant a campaign of exterminatus by the tzenkethi.

    The "enemy" away team sent to purge the insects (and heretics?) swapped sides incredibly quickly.

    If they'd just nuked a moon why did they send down two people to deal with a much bigger planet rather than stay in orbit and drop another bomb.

    The bugs didnt seem to be much of a threat at all, hopefully they'll become more apparent such as the starship trooper bugs or the scarabs from that SG-1 episode where they breed and reproduce based on how much they can eat.

    How they spawned was a bit meh, they could have erupted out the ground instead of magically appearing, although having a dozen swarm you actually made combat mildly interesting for a few seconds til the first aoe went off.

    On the mission setting my big question is why would you set up a colony inside and anomaly field without making sure it was safe. And why does geordi assume that my starfleet vessel has better sensors than his? Or indeed better than kuumarke's which being a science vessel should have a complete suite of sensory tools and gizmos.
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    saber1973asaber1973a Member Posts: 1,224 Arc User
    Only if it recognises the life signs - who knows what readings you will get from strange alien lifeforms?
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    sofascumsofascum Member Posts: 12 Arc User
    I really enjoyed the mission but I feel it was a little short.
    What you do not eat tonight, will eat you tomorrow
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    tyler002tyler002 Member Posts: 1,586 Arc User
    The rewards do not seem to be free to upgrade until Mk-12, the way the other sets were.
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    trennantrennan Member Posts: 2,839 Arc User

    The "enemy" away team sent to purge the insects (and heretics?) swapped sides incredibly quickly.

    Yeah. This right here still confuses me. As it doesn't make any sense at all.

    Mm5NeXy.gif
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    anodynesanodynes Member Posts: 1,999 Arc User
    warpangel wrote: »
    I wondered, why all of a sudden are we encountering a Tzengethi that's willing to talk to us - And even willing to kill her higher up in command to stop the slaughter of our colony ?
    I got the impression the big bad was killed by me mercilessly shooting his ship and the good tzenkethi took over after that, to stop my slaughter of their fleet.

    Ahh I thought she had pulled a "Klingon" and challenged her Commanding officer, killed him, and took his place.

    Could be as you said though, I didn't have much time to play last night so I kind of rushed my way through the mission. So might've missed that detail.

    It's ambiguous. She says he was incapacitated, which could mean either thing was correct.
    blitzy4 wrote: »
    I at least perceived that the bugs had some sort of high end resistance to several of my normal weapons, so I ended up switching to something else, but I can't be sure. I've had that 'feeling' on several ground missions lately.

    Some of them had pretty decent combat regeneration, at least for a bit. They were able to knock a BOff out a couple of times, though admittedly a green quality one. That's much better than the scorpions on Nimbus ever did, but these nasty beetles had greater numbers than you usually get on you on Nimbus, too.
    This is an MMO, not a Star Trek episode simulator. That would make for a terrible game.
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    shadowfirefly00shadowfirefly00 Member Posts: 1,026 Arc User
    How they spawned was a bit meh, they could have erupted out the ground instead of magically appearing, although having a dozen swarm you actually made combat mildly interesting for a few seconds til the first aoe went off.
    Agreed; I could've sworn I saw a couple beam in during Timberwolf's playthrough. That spawning gaffe aside, if you look carefully at some of the crates littering the area post-cutscene, you'll note they've been broken open - meaning that they too contained crystals; none of the ones in the lab made their own exit via any of the walls.
    On the mission setting my big question is why would you set up a colony inside and anomaly field without making sure it was safe. And why does geordi assume that my starfleet vessel has better sensors than his? Or indeed better than kuumarke's which being a science vessel should have a complete suite of sensory tools and gizmos.
    Also a good question. I too find it surprising that the writers didn't take advantage of the opportunity to give us a bit more information on this new species - why didn't the dialogue with Capt. Parr provide an option for those of who would like to know more? As for folks being surprised by her decision to show restraint in this matter, it's not without precedent: consider some of the fiction referenced here.
    We caught them immediately after hatching and killed them within minutes. It's very likely they can be much more dangerous if given an opportunity to grow...
    Exactly - this is the kind of thing that could've been hinted at. One cannot help but wonder, then, if the idea is for a future episode to have us beat the Tzenkethi to such a situation...
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    xyquarzexyquarze Member Posts: 2,114 Arc User
    saber1973a wrote: »
    I found a little problem with rewards for the mission:
    I did 2 runs on my Generic Alien Romulan, allied wih KDF, flying Suliban Flight-Deck Cruiser.
    on first run i choose Standard Warp Core (for my new ship)
    on second run i did NOT have Singularity Core in reward choices... why?
    ...
    Edit:
    Ok.. i just replicated it on my Reman in T6 Scimitar, i'm opening it in Bug report sub-forum.

    Had the same issue on my second Romulan - actually a Reman. First one took the Singularity first and everything was smooth.
    trennan wrote: »

    The "enemy" away team sent to purge the insects (and heretics?) swapped sides incredibly quickly.

    Yeah. This right here still confuses me. As it doesn't make any sense at all.

    Wouldn't say "no sense at all", but it needs explanation. Apparently the Tzenkethis' mission was to purge the Italian food, so some humanoids were there but didn't feature in the equation. However, given the previous encounters I can't be the only one to try to focus on them to kill here. But no, they didn't "swap sides", they were only after the bugs in the first place, never cared about the PC.
    My mother was an epohh and my father smelled of tulaberries
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    trennantrennan Member Posts: 2,839 Arc User
    xyquarze wrote: »
    saber1973a wrote: »
    I found a little problem with rewards for the mission:
    I did 2 runs on my Generic Alien Romulan, allied wih KDF, flying Suliban Flight-Deck Cruiser.
    on first run i choose Standard Warp Core (for my new ship)
    on second run i did NOT have Singularity Core in reward choices... why?
    ...
    Edit:
    Ok.. i just replicated it on my Reman in T6 Scimitar, i'm opening it in Bug report sub-forum.

    Had the same issue on my second Romulan - actually a Reman. First one took the Singularity first and everything was smooth.
    trennan wrote: »

    The "enemy" away team sent to purge the insects (and heretics?) swapped sides incredibly quickly.

    Yeah. This right here still confuses me. As it doesn't make any sense at all.

    Wouldn't say "no sense at all", but it needs explanation. Apparently the Tzenkethis' mission was to purge the Italian food, so some humanoids were there but didn't feature in the equation. However, given the previous encounters I can't be the only one to try to focus on them to kill here. But no, they didn't "swap sides", they were only after the bugs in the first place, never cared about the PC.
    xyquarze wrote: »
    saber1973a wrote: »
    I found a little problem with rewards for the mission:
    I did 2 runs on my Generic Alien Romulan, allied wih KDF, flying Suliban Flight-Deck Cruiser.
    on first run i choose Standard Warp Core (for my new ship)
    on second run i did NOT have Singularity Core in reward choices... why?
    ...
    Edit:
    Ok.. i just replicated it on my Reman in T6 Scimitar, i'm opening it in Bug report sub-forum.

    Had the same issue on my second Romulan - actually a Reman. First one took the Singularity first and everything was smooth.
    trennan wrote: »

    The "enemy" away team sent to purge the insects (and heretics?) swapped sides incredibly quickly.

    Yeah. This right here still confuses me. As it doesn't make any sense at all.

    Wouldn't say "no sense at all", but it needs explanation. Apparently the Tzenkethis' mission was to purge the Italian food, so some humanoids were there but didn't feature in the equation. However, given the previous encounters I can't be the only one to try to focus on them to kill here. But no, they didn't "swap sides", they were only after the bugs in the first place, never cared about the PC.

    I played this through on Rom-KDF alien today. I was rolling on the floor as the Tzenkethi starting betting credits.

    "I've got 50 credits that says _____(forget the name of the Tzenkethi here) looses his scales again."

    Wait... ummm... so the Tzenkethi use credits? Sine when? *headscratch* Did I miss something here?
    Mm5NeXy.gif
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