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Age of Discovery Feedback
andromeda981
Member Posts: 32 Arc User
I'm leaving this here, largely because I'm not sure where in the Feedback forums this fits. But this is my general "conclusion" in regards to AoD after playing it for a few hours.
Tutorial Mission:
...yeah I couldn't really decide where to start on this. It is just a recycled Federation tutorial. I had hoped when this expansion was announced that it would get the same treatment as AoY in regards to length and a unique introduction. Unfortunately we don't. All you did was take Starfleet Academy, swap some models and textures. Give the NPC's new uniforms, add a new skybox and then re-record all the lines with a few changed words here and there. It dosn't just play out with a lazy tone, it feels it. And that is quite sad because the expansion feels like it deserved more than that when you finish at arrive at Corvan II.
Corvan II:
A Good mission. And a good introduction to the colony from the show. Even if it did feel a little unfeasible that Tilly, a cadet, came up with turning a force field emitter, designed to span a few meters, into a shield emitter that would cover dozens of meters?
It played out nicely. Even if again it fell pray to recycled gameplay from Vega Colony for the Federation 25th century tutorial.
The "2" Missions:
You keep referring to AoD as having 3 Missions. Which makes it sound like it has more content than it really does. When it doesn't. It just has a recycled tutorial and 2 missions an a TFO Mission of the 2nd mission. But at least those two missions are actually pretty good, reasonably good at least.
SPOILER ALERT - I don't know how to add a Spoiler tag. I'm sorry for any spoilers you may find.
The ending of the final mission opens you up to more missions. But during gameplay it feels rushed. And almost like the team went "Just hurry up and get them to 2410 so we can wrap this up". It felt out of place, like it was meant to have a few more missions between itself and the one prior to it.
Going out in a blaze of glory felt like a recycled ending to AoY. Down to the very Welcome to 2410 you get when Daniels is done blurting out how you'll need to keep watch for J'ula. And then thats it. End of Expansion.
As great as AoD is, it feels like a Part 1 that ended on a cliffhanger. I'd of rather waited till October 20th if it meant 4 Missions instead of 2.
Final Notes:-
New Warp Animations are simply amazing.
I love the tie in with DSC's Computer Voice. But I would of liked to see more of it rather than the awkward Vulcan voice used by Stock STO that appears at random places and sort of draws you out of the mood.
DSC Uniform shades are slightly off to the Show. In STO they appear almost stone washed/bleached in that they're a tad pale compared to a deeper Prussian blue in DSC, referred in universe as Federation blue. I'd also like to see the Short sleaved Jumpsuit variant at some point, mostly cause it looked kinda neat and added variety. https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/8/83/Federation_blue.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180907082411&path-prefix=en
Due to how AoD plays out I noticed that I'd have to grind a fair bit if I wanted to leave 2256 with level appropriate gear. Rather than being at a disadvantage when I arrive at 2410. This is because there aren't many missions to play in this time period compared to AoY.
Bridge Interiors... Only the bridge? We see other rooms in this expansion but we personally only get to use the bridge on our ships. No ready room, no crew deck, no engineering deck. This locks out a lot of uses of those spaces. (which isn't terrible as you can just use game menus for them but it would of been nice to explore the ship yourself)
Thats all I have to say so far. I'm still playing AoD. Replaying missions, made a new character to check out more the AoD maps.
Tutorial Mission:
...yeah I couldn't really decide where to start on this. It is just a recycled Federation tutorial. I had hoped when this expansion was announced that it would get the same treatment as AoY in regards to length and a unique introduction. Unfortunately we don't. All you did was take Starfleet Academy, swap some models and textures. Give the NPC's new uniforms, add a new skybox and then re-record all the lines with a few changed words here and there. It dosn't just play out with a lazy tone, it feels it. And that is quite sad because the expansion feels like it deserved more than that when you finish at arrive at Corvan II.
Corvan II:
A Good mission. And a good introduction to the colony from the show. Even if it did feel a little unfeasible that Tilly, a cadet, came up with turning a force field emitter, designed to span a few meters, into a shield emitter that would cover dozens of meters?
It played out nicely. Even if again it fell pray to recycled gameplay from Vega Colony for the Federation 25th century tutorial.
The "2" Missions:
You keep referring to AoD as having 3 Missions. Which makes it sound like it has more content than it really does. When it doesn't. It just has a recycled tutorial and 2 missions an a TFO Mission of the 2nd mission. But at least those two missions are actually pretty good, reasonably good at least.
SPOILER ALERT - I don't know how to add a Spoiler tag. I'm sorry for any spoilers you may find.
The ending of the final mission opens you up to more missions. But during gameplay it feels rushed. And almost like the team went "Just hurry up and get them to 2410 so we can wrap this up". It felt out of place, like it was meant to have a few more missions between itself and the one prior to it.
Going out in a blaze of glory felt like a recycled ending to AoY. Down to the very Welcome to 2410 you get when Daniels is done blurting out how you'll need to keep watch for J'ula. And then thats it. End of Expansion.
As great as AoD is, it feels like a Part 1 that ended on a cliffhanger. I'd of rather waited till October 20th if it meant 4 Missions instead of 2.
Final Notes:-
New Warp Animations are simply amazing.
I love the tie in with DSC's Computer Voice. But I would of liked to see more of it rather than the awkward Vulcan voice used by Stock STO that appears at random places and sort of draws you out of the mood.
DSC Uniform shades are slightly off to the Show. In STO they appear almost stone washed/bleached in that they're a tad pale compared to a deeper Prussian blue in DSC, referred in universe as Federation blue. I'd also like to see the Short sleaved Jumpsuit variant at some point, mostly cause it looked kinda neat and added variety. https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/8/83/Federation_blue.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180907082411&path-prefix=en
Due to how AoD plays out I noticed that I'd have to grind a fair bit if I wanted to leave 2256 with level appropriate gear. Rather than being at a disadvantage when I arrive at 2410. This is because there aren't many missions to play in this time period compared to AoY.
Bridge Interiors... Only the bridge? We see other rooms in this expansion but we personally only get to use the bridge on our ships. No ready room, no crew deck, no engineering deck. This locks out a lot of uses of those spaces. (which isn't terrible as you can just use game menus for them but it would of been nice to explore the ship yourself)
Thats all I have to say so far. I'm still playing AoD. Replaying missions, made a new character to check out more the AoD maps.
0
Comments
For you perhaps. They replaced the sound effects for KDF too, but didn't change the visuals. I suspect this was only meant for AoD characters in the first place.
The warp animation is a racial one like TOS Characters, Fed, Dom, KDF and Romulans having their own style/colour etc.
The former, the "Historical Simulation" as they've made it for pre-existing characters seems like they just didn't bother or think to word it appropriately for each type of character.
e.g.
"Sub-Commander, we're pleased to say we've been granted access by Starfleet to a couple of historical simulations from the Klingon-Federation War of 2256."
"Warrior, to maintain battle readiness I am authorising the use of historical simulations from our war with the Federation in the mid-23rd century."
etc etc.
Though for a KDF player to me it would of made more sense for these missions to be done from the point of view of the Klingons? And I assumed that's how it was going to be. I never play KDF, I have a character but I'll admit I got bored with how underdeveloped the faction felt to me.
I would of even assumed for KDF players they did a simulation of the Battle of Binary Stars as a TFO for KDF players to give the KDF more content.
Then I finished the AoD missions and.... yeah... once again, we are pushed into the 25th Century permanently.
Now my character has all the wrong audio and visuals which don't fit the 25th Century. I'm a stickler for immersion - what's the point in all that DISCO content when now I have to 'blend in' with the era anyway. This is one of the main reasons that I just cannot stick to a AoY toon, and I can see me just deleting my AoD character depending on what kind of updates we get in the future.
Every time I met J'ula I was Kicking TRIBBLE firmly Prodding Buttock until a cutscene took my victory away from me. Finaly I got into ship to ship combat with her. I was winning, her ship was down to less than %40 hull capacity, then the cut scene hit me. I lost control of my character, was trapped by a tractor beam and we lost the battle as she activated her Super Weapon!
Besides being very bad story telling. You shouldn't do anything that takes Agency away from the Player! I play games to progress the story with my actions, I DON'T want to be a bystander in my own story. That's what this is supposed to be by the way, MY story.
In the Age of Yesterday final mission at the big battle we have something similar, we're again Prodding Buttock when the cutscene kicks in, we get caught in a tractor beam, but then we get to disable the tractor beam on the Klingon ship and then proceed to fight a rearguard action for the other Federation Ships, The cutscene progresses the story but the player still has Agency, is still in control of their actions. Age Of Discovery seems intent to rob players of their Agency. Please don't do that!
I'm here to play a game not watch a movie, I want to interact with objects, I want to see things blow up because I've shot at them and most importantly of all, I want to feel like my actions have an impact on the story!
It sounds as if working on both Victory is Life and Age of Discovery simultaneously may have taxed the creative resources of Cryptic much more than usual when considering how closely each of these otherwise major content additions sort of fell over one another on their way into Star Trek Online?
Out of everything said here, and given that AoD is planned as an extended rollout, it is unfortunate that our Discovery toons had to be shoehorned so swiftly into 2410, when they should probably have just been left in their own starting timeline for a bit longer?
Cryptic does have access to the Guardian of Forever, maybe that could eventually been proven a doorway into the future for an AoD captain?
As I've noted on game and elsewhere, the 'stepping down' of an executive producer on the same day this bull**** was announced was a glaring statement to what happened in the inner workings. Someone resisted, CBS said "you will do it or lose license", and the one resisting was booted out on his rear end.
Oh, and if its so 'classified' that my 25th century fleet admiral can't know, well, time to scuttle it all, because no one with proper clearance is coming. Ever.
To me at least, that makes it utterly fail as a simulation.
Once you see it, you can't un-see it. Sadly, you're absolutely right. CBS has definitely plunged at the brain of Star Trek Online (the exec producer), replaced it with CBS nano-probes and has forcibly assimilated the team. So to speak.
The heart of Star Trek Online lies with us fans, and that, let's face it, won't be assimilated by crappy expansions like this.
"When diplomacy fails, there's only one alternative - violence. Force must be applied without apology. It's the Starfleet way." - Captain Janeway
#Support Mirror Universe I.S.S. Prefixes
It is literally a Discovery-flavored reboot of AOY with less content. And fewer ships. Literally TWO player ships. The iconic Crossfield is a lottery ship in an out-of-production lockbox. Why are we still getting Swarm lockboxes in a new season? Should we be getting something Discovery-themed some way some how?
Two episodes, one of which ran on rails and AOY'd me into the 25th century doesn't count as an expansion OR a season. Slight dialog changes and rewrites of existing 25th century episodes do no not count count as a season. Changing up episode progression and inserting mandatory STFs every few missions is not what I came here for.
We literally have Age Of Discovery without the Discovery and it is not aging very well at all. Too short, ZERO reason to actually roll a toon or play through.
What was the point of this? Where is the content?
"When diplomacy fails, there's only one alternative - violence. Force must be applied without apology. It's the Starfleet way." - Captain Janeway
#Support Mirror Universe I.S.S. Prefixes
If there were at least two... in the support forum a dev said that the Walker only claimable in the 25th century is working as intended. I don't understand the logic behind that, but that's how it is. Luckily I was able to claim mine before they "fixed" that.
"When diplomacy fails, there's only one alternative - violence. Force must be applied without apology. It's the Starfleet way." - Captain Janeway
#Support Mirror Universe I.S.S. Prefixes
>
> Once you see it, you can't un-see it. Sadly, you're absolutely right. CBS has definitely plunged at the brain of Star Trek Online (the exec producer), replaced it with CBS nano-probes and has forcibly assimilated the team. So to speak.
>
> The heart of Star Trek Online lies with us fans, and that, let's face it, won't be assimilated by crappy expansions like this.
Well thank goodness I haven’t played it and don’t intend to. One less thing I can’t unsee.
And get rid of those Task Forces Missions from the episode lists!!!! They don't need to be there!!!! "More streamlined" my foot!!!!!!!!!
:
Terrible expansion from a terrible series, and an even more broken PvP/PvE system than before. THIS....... better be rock bottom.
Bring out a TOS expansion plz. you know.......REAL Star Trek!!!
PS: That Andorian captain looks like he got stung by a hundred bees. change it back.......
The rehashed tutorial was decent, the DSC ship bridge interior looked clean, even the cutscenes were visually good in comparison to some older ones. Even a mild chuckle with the Tardigrade in the corridor leading to the shuttle / cargo bay.
Random TFO actually makes it interesting as you never know what you are going to get, and you get a little something extra for doing it.
Now, I agree, it felt rushed. 2 episodes, Daniels transports you to the 25th century, Defense of Starbase 1 TFO, then grind again from the beginning. And the bugs, oh, the bugs:
1. Equipment and ability issues
2. Sound issues
3. TFO enemies not spawning issues
4. Storyline mission issues
5. Network / lag issues (continued)
In closing, this has been the most anti-climatic season thus far coming from this player's point of view.
AND GET RID OF THOSE @#$% TASK FORCE OPERATIONS!!!!!!
I can never get never get past those missions, because everyone is doing the random PVE's (Thank you so much for that by the way) instead of the specific PvE's I need to complete to get to the next mission.
Stop messing with PVE's and PVP's already, and change it back to what we had three months ago. And give us back the "Specters" & "Lost 2800" arc, those stories were just fine without your "improvments".
Did you people do ANY feedback testing before you rolled this out?, or did you just think, "It's a Discovery update, they'll accept any changes we make to missions and PvE/PvP's wiether they like it or not".
Nope. Time and again they ignore all feedback from Tribble server and post bugs to Holodeck. The PS4 and Xbox players should thank PC players for being their guinea pigs. (Wow, misspelled 'guinea' so bad, autocorrect didnt even know what word I was trying to use! Had to use Google
I would like to assume they are given a release date they cannot postpone by CBS or PWE and are forced to fix bugs on the live server. But probably just incompetence or not caring about looking professional.