Featured TFO's will Replace Featured Episode 's ( Rewards... )!!

garaks31 · October 2018

plz don't do that! they should have both special prices, for the introduction period. but one, replacing another is not good. i remember playing some episodes over 50 times. but don't like stf/pve/tfo's that much. let players choose, where they want to take the featured prices!!

24/10/18 Ten Forward Weekly: 2018/2019 Roadmap ,in stream around ,30min ,37min ...

spiritborn · October 2018

garaks31 wrote: »

plz don't do that! they should have both special prices, for the introduction period. but one, replacing another is not good. i remember playing some episodes over 50 times. but don't like stf/pve/tfo's that much. let players choose, where they want to take the featured prices!!

Where are you getting that TFOs are replacing episodes?! That's rather major argument to make without any evidence.

peterconnorfirst · October 2018

No idea if this is true but I would find it great if they did.

peterconnorfirst · October 2018

reyan01 wrote: »

spiritborn wrote: »

garaks31 wrote: »

plz don't do that! they should have both special prices, for the introduction period. but one, replacing another is not good. i remember playing some episodes over 50 times. but don't like stf/pve/tfo's that much. let players choose, where they want to take the featured prices!!

Where are you getting that TFOs are replacing episodes?! That's rather major argument to make without any evidence.

It was referenced in yesterday's livestream.

Not so much 'replacing' as becoming a larger focus in favour of new episodes though.

Would make sense.

In this forums alone so many have requested to get special rewards from PvE to make them play it that is some really

FANTASTIC NEWS FOR EVERYBODY HERE.

aedelric10 · October 2018

Andre Emerson (Executive Producer) definitely did say they are "going to replace Featured Episodes" "For the foreseeable future"

00:38:26

I have to say I am very disappointed, I never had any interest in STF's and was all about the single player story driven content. If Episodes are no longer a focus then I guess my play time is going to drop significantly.

seaofsorrows · October 2018

As someone who enjoys running Queues, I also oppose this idea.

I like TFO's and I also like running Episodes. I see no reason to remove one for the other, especially considering how many players don't enjoy running queues for whatever reason.

I have, and always will oppose the idea of promoting content by removal of options. Removal of choice does not create parity it simply creates restrictions of a different kind. Ultimately, I will get what I need either way, I am lucky enough to have people I can run with reliably if I need something, but I also see no need to exclude people who choose to engage in a more 'single player' perspective.

TFO's seem to be doing better then ever, there is simply no need to try and force players into them. They're already using them of their own choice and that should always be the primary goal.

aedelric10 · October 2018

I think one of the most annoying things about this is how casually it was said, almost like it means nothing.

This is a major change to content delivery, for years Episodes and STF's have been the meat and potatoes of the game and now we find they are taking meat off the menu.

I have nothing against STF's or those that like that content, but why drop Features Episodes in favour of them? They never really elaborated on or fully explained why this is happening.

peterconnorfirst · October 2018

aedelric10 wrote: »

I think one of the most annoying things about this is how casually it was said, almost like it means nothing.

This is a major change to content delivery, for years Episodes and STF's have been the meat and potatoes of the game and now we find they are taking meat off the menu.

I have nothing against STF's or those that like that content, but why drop Features Episodes in favour of them? They never really elaborated on or fully explained why this is happening.

I would not worry that cryptic will stop doing story missions. Think it is just about rewards attached to them. We do get some very potent gear out of some. They probably rather have us play a certain PvE for once a week than rerun the same new episode 4 times to get the respective sets.

aedelric10 · October 2018

Did you watch the video? They literally said they are not doing any more Featured Episodes, STF's only. The only story content will be in Featured STF's which certainly is not the same thing.

Edit - We need them to tell us more on this situation, we should not be having to guess their intentions.

seaofsorrows · October 2018

peterconnorfirst wrote: »

aedelric10 wrote: »

I think one of the most annoying things about this is how casually it was said, almost like it means nothing.

This is a major change to content delivery, for years Episodes and STF's have been the meat and potatoes of the game and now we find they are taking meat off the menu.

I have nothing against STF's or those that like that content, but why drop Features Episodes in favour of them? They never really elaborated on or fully explained why this is happening.

I would not worry that cryptic will stop doing story missions. Think it is just about rewards attached to them. We do get some very potent gear out of some. They probably rather have us play a certain PvE for once a week than rerun the same new episode 4 times to get the respective sets.

Good point, I am going to wait until more detail is offered before I really react too strongly either way.

I doubt they will just stop doing story missions, more then likely they will just attach new rewards to a queue for a short period of time and then they will become story rewards after that time period expires. I just don't know enough about what they have in mind to really react strongly either way.

I will however, always favor options for all types of players. I always encourage more options as opposed to less and trying to force players into content is never a good idea. Even if that is content that I personally enjoy.

raahziel · October 2018

I just want to say that as someone who has played this game on and off over the past number of years, the more recent TFO`s and the ability to actually get into, find players for and randomly queue up for all of this content that has previously never really been available for me is amazing. I love the fact that I can now play content that is basically "new" to me because I have never done it before.
More of that has to be a good thing, incentivise playing more - not taking away more.

Now if only there was a TFO style system for episodes (that would work well for multiplayer) so that I could group up with others to do some crazy episodes. Perhaps have random variables like "borg invasion" , "enemies are battle hardened", "Chance wormhole / spacial hazzard" "Ferangi are here to pillage and profit" etc.. [ Think of the Admirality system and transfer that sort of thing in game!] I could think of loads of ways to spice up the current content we have.

Edit - That being said not having to do the exact same mission 3 or 4 times is a nice addition. Could make it so that you must do the mission series in order to achieve the 3 or 4 mission requirement.

garaks31 · October 2018

as i understand it, its about the featured rewards.

however, making this change would give the opportunity, to say in the future " nobody plays episodes " like the common excuse for not making kdf&rom content anymore.

so we will end up with lesser and lesser episodes. cause i imagine tfo maps are easier to create then episode maps !!

rimmarie · October 2018

so no exploration and now no story?
Spacebar Trek Online then?

I hope some of these 'Featured TFOS' will at least be Ground combat or else we might as well be playing Galaga

The story content is actually what I look forward to.

captainwells · October 2018

reyan01 wrote: »

aedelric10 wrote: »

Hm - probably missed that comment.

No wonder that, given how meandering their conversation was. I tried to stick it out, but after twenty-five minutes of preamble they ran out of gas with me. I could not keep my eyes open or retain a focus on their "chat" at all. I bolted and just waited for the forum comments to fill me in on the details.

where2r1 · October 2018

Maybe Cryptic noticed more players stick around when the "new content" was a STF???
Where as, players wander off once they get done with FEs and Stories.

All that story stuff will still be there. Patrols will still be there. Doffing and Admiralty will still be there.
Summer/Winter/Anni will still be there. Crafting, Upgrades, etc... will still be there. Exchange and all the fun with the economy will still be there. Foundry will still be there. There will still be a variety of things to do and accomplish in this game by yourself.

But with everything having shored up single player game for a while now, there is nothing wrong with changing the focus to bring the team side of the game back to snuff. It has been kinda lacking attention and a mess for a while.

Both Team Sports...PvE and PvP....need to be looked at.

Normal/Advanced/Elite classification is not working for the most part. Reward wise or play wise. Players of all sorts of "gear scores" and skill level are being thrown together to the detriment of the pick up group. Players are sequestering themselves off to private or leaving when they see who makes up their teams. This antiquated chat and e-mail system has to go...and if fixing it to improve team communications is the excuse they need...fine by me.

How many players are skipping team sport side of things because of these problems?

peterconnorfirst · October 2018

seaofsorrows wrote: »

peterconnorfirst wrote: »

aedelric10 wrote: »

I think one of the most annoying things about this is how casually it was said, almost like it means nothing.

This is a major change to content delivery, for years Episodes and STF's have been the meat and potatoes of the game and now we find they are taking meat off the menu.

I have nothing against STF's or those that like that content, but why drop Features Episodes in favour of them? They never really elaborated on or fully explained why this is happening.

I would not worry that cryptic will stop doing story missions. Think it is just about rewards attached to them. We do get some very potent gear out of some. They probably rather have us play a certain PvE for once a week than rerun the same new episode 4 times to get the respective sets.

Good point, I am going to wait until more detail is offered before I really react too strongly either way.

I doubt they will just stop doing story missions, more then likely they will just attach new rewards to a queue for a short period of time and then they will become story rewards after that time period expires. I just don't know enough about what they have in mind to really react strongly either way.

I will however, always favor options for all types of players. I always encourage more options as opposed to less and trying to force players into content is never a good idea. Even if that is content that I personally enjoy.

I understand Sea and respect that.

Was just trying to point out that readers of this thread have not so much to worry about as the title might suggests. Story Content will remain the premium content of this game especially under consideration how eager they are to give us the voice actors from the shows. No way they will stop doing that.

Think it’s more just a matter of distributing stuff better. As things are now stories are great for entertainment (probably best), great for XP and also great for gear. The only thing that might be in danger here a bit is the gear part or even only some of it. The queues which don’t have XP or gear and only entertainment as far as its players provide are now supposed to get a tiny bit better share of the cake.

duncanidaho11 · October 2018

aedelric10 wrote: »

Did you watch the video? They literally said they are not doing any more Featured Episodes, STF's only. The only story content will be in Featured STF's which certainly is not the same thing.

Edit - We need them to tell us more on this situation, we should not be having to guess their intentions.

They explicitly stated on the stream that more episodes are coming (next up: ISS Discovery in 2410 and an as yet unrevealed second episode for AoD part 2.) They simply won't be made to headline 3-4 week grinds with expanding mission rewards and weekly bonuses. They'll just add the missions to the game (like we saw with AoD). FE event bonuses [ie. spec poitns, tech upgrades] will be folded into Featured TFO's which will serve as an introduction to a new queue (in addition to their customary event rewards.) This was done in light of the fact that episodic content doesn't support that kind of grind as well as TFO's, which are made to be highly replayable. Episodes are being spared of something that never worked that well for them.

Full breakdown:

No more FE events (not to be confused with no more episodes or (incidentally) original FE replay events. The devs confirmed a few weeks back that's something they intend holding onto as an event they can run. [So, no worries about your ophidian cane, breen boff, or shard of possibilities. Eventually, those'll cycle back ground.] )
Episodes will simply be added to the game with their full rewards and no special multi-week grind
TFO events (like CCA, Mirror Invasion, Breach) will become featured TFO events.
These will introduce a new queue to the game; Battle at Binary, Pavho and Limited Engagement (per the roadmap)
Rewards will include exclusive unlocks for completing the project grind as well as weekly bonuses (formerly found in the FE event)
After the event, new TFO's may be updated based on player feedback, performance, and simply improving the TFO to better function as a permanent queue.
TFO events may or may not be repeated, based on demand.
TFO's may tie into story content or do something entirely tangential, depending on the situation. Binary for example is a one-off holodeck simulation while Limited Engagement will have some kind of connection to the following month's episodic content drop of AoD part 3, introduce Landry, and may touch on elements of Lorca's backstory (which Landry was involved with.)

Seriously folks, if you haven't watched the stream yourself go do it when you have a moment. Andre gave us the most clear picture we've had to date about what AoD entails (and it's glorious, apart from the Foundry not coming up in discussion yet.

)

seaofsorrows · October 2018

rimmarie wrote: »

so no exploration and now no story?
Spacebar Trek Online then?

That is a very 'knee jerk' reaction based on almost no available information. I would encourage patience in waiting for more information before assuming the worst.

peterconnorfirst wrote: »

Was just trying to point out that readers of this thread have not so much to worry about as the title might suggests. Story Content will remain the premium content of this game especially under consideration how eager they are to give us the voice actors from the shows. No way they will stop doing that.

See, this makes sense and I am inclined to agree. There is absolutely nothing to even remotely imply that new episodes will be phased out.

peterconnorfirst wrote: »

Think it’s more just a matter of distributing stuff better. As things are now stories are great for entertainment (probably best), great for XP and also great for gear. The only thing that might be in danger here a bit is the gear part or even only some of it. The queues which don’t have XP or gear and only entertainment as far as its players provide are now supposed to get a tiny bit better share of the cake.

Again, I agree. This sounds more like a revamp of reward distribution then it does about actual game content.

gaevsman · October 2018

We will not be doing more "play 3 weeks this feature episode" for rewards.. probably we well play the TFO 3 times in 3 weeks for different sets.. and that is kinda more fun actually, hate to play the story so many times... on so many chars!, that's what was said on the stream.

kiralyn · October 2018

Hmm. Well, if it's the bonus spec point/upgrade, then no big deal. Don't care about those anyway. If it's the gear that's rewarded from the episodes, that could be problematic. Either way, won't get me playing STFs outside CCA & Starbase 1, though.

rattler2 · October 2018

If that means not having to play one mission multiple times for a full set... sounds good to me.
While knocking the cooldown timer off certainly made it less of a drag, having to replay certain missions multiple times can be a drag. Especially some of the longer ones like Step Between Stars.

ltminns · October 2018

Well this also means that they won't have to giveaway a Spec Point a Week while they are running a Featured Episode.

What they should have done with Episodes that were Featured and released a new piece of a set per week, is after it stopped being Featured, just award all items not Unique per normal play.

Also since Featured Episode Replays award no Lobi per day anymore they should just add those Unique Items back into the appropriate Episode (Reman Boff, Breen Boff, Shard of Possibilities, and Ophidian Cane) for normal play.

rimmarie · October 2018

seaofsorrows wrote: »

rimmarie wrote: »

so no exploration and now no story?
Spacebar Trek Online then?

That is a very 'knee jerk' reaction based on almost no available information. I would encourage patience in waiting for more information before assuming the worst.

Good point.
I suppose its too soon to know anything concrete and the whole voice actor thing does make it unlikely they would stop adding story content.

ok. the end of the world is called off then..or at least postponed.

davefenestrator · October 2018

rattler2 wrote: »

If that means not having to play one mission multiple times for a full set... sounds good to me.
While knocking the cooldown timer off certainly made it less of a drag, having to replay certain missions multiple times can be a drag. Especially some of the longer ones like Step Between Stars.

Yep. I've also never liked having to play story episodes out of sequence.

vegeta50024 · October 2018

Honestly, I feel like the move from doing Featured Episode events is a good thing. Having to go and run a mission that might be a long playthrough can be rough on people's playtime, especially if they want some of those items on their multiple characters. Since TFOs tend to be shorter than even the longest episode in the game, it means that now people will not have to worry about the slog that results in episodic grinding.

The downside here though is that because it's going to be featured TFOs that unique gear is being rewarded through, people whom typically don't want to have much to do with group content will now need to do the Featured TFOs if they want the gear. It's a trade off though for sure, and will also help the devs figure out what they are doing right when it comes to TFOs.

crypticarmsman · October 2018

aedelric10 wrote: »

Did you watch the video? They literally said they are not doing any more Featured Episodes, STF's only. The only story content will be in Featured STF's which certainly is not the same thing.

Edit - We need them to tell us more on this situation, we should not be having to guess their intentions.

The "Featured episode" was always ONE episode you replayed over and over (for the rewards). I personally don't think it means they'll stop doing episodes, they'll stop picking one that you need to replay once a week for a month.<--- That change I'm 100% behind because lets be honest, after the second time; are you actually paying any attention to the episode - or are you speed running to get to the end for the 'carrot'?

The fact is, they're right in that their TFs are designed for replayability so it makes sense to shift that type of reward structure to them.

And lets be honest, they only time they made A LOT of story episodes in a relatively quick time was during the finish of their Iconian War storyline. We an Expansion - (Delta Rising) and 10 Iconian episodes in one year. Since then episode production overall has decreased, but the episodes have run longer in general. We get about 4 - 6 episodes a year since then - along witn the other content (IE new features and TFs, etc.)

So, yeah, I don't see this change affecting the pace of story episodes much; but, time will tell.

rattler2 · October 2018

Episode QUALITY has also gone up from when we had Feature SERIES, IE The 2800 series. I mean... Of Bajor was basically just as bunch of fetch quests to show off the new social zone, which suffers from the problem of being right next door to DS9, another social zone that actually has a few more services players may want.

If we compare Second Wave to say... Dust to Dust... the story quality went through the roof. Also... the story length went up as well.

Reason I picked Dust to Dust is because it was a FE and an Anniversary episode. Also I had played it yesterday on my Discovery character to get the full Kobali set. Story played once, powered through the other two times to just get it done.

oldravenman3025 · October 2018

I'll wait for more information before making a judgement. This might actually be an improvement in some ways.

n19ht5had0w12 · October 2018

if they dont redo the featured episodes, they should make the rewards somewhere else claimable. i want those breen and reman boffs

vetteguy904 · October 2018

peterconnorfirst wrote: »

No idea if this is true but I would find it great if they did.

do you want the game to fold? I don't think you have any idea how many casual players are not playing other than to level an alt doff or admiralty. no one on my friends list will do a random TFO, and only one will queue for CC.

bernatk · October 2018

reyan01 wrote: »

aedelric10 wrote: »

Andre Emerson (Executive Producer) definitely did say they are "going to replace Featured Episodes" "For the foreseeable future"

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/326977632

00:38:26

I have to say I am very disappointed, I never had any interest in STF's and was all about the single player story driven content. If Episodes are no longer a focus then I guess my play time is going to drop significantly.

Mixed feelings about it myself, although lean toward it being a good thing personally.

I mean, ViL - most of my friends had eaten the entire series of new episodes, on more than one character, within hours.

It's always been a problem (not unique to STO either) that episodes can't be produced with frequency that satisfies the speed in which the consumer plays them.

Should have played it not eaten it. Also play the game, don't consume it. Don't be a glutton.

Anyways, Andre really underestimates the power of featured episodes.

Featured TFO's will Replace Featured Episode 's ( Rewards... )!!

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