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[PC] Updates to the Crystalline Catastrophe!

ambassadorkael#6946 ambassadorkael Member, Administrator Posts: 2,673 Community Manager
We're bringing the changes from Crystalline Cataclysm to the regular TFO version!

https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11055723
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  • captaincelestialcaptaincelestial Member Posts: 1,925 Arc User
    edited January 2019
    Welcome Back, Kotter! :)
  • pottsey5gpottsey5g Member Posts: 4,164 Arc User
    edited January 2019
    We're bringing the changes from Crystalline Cataclysm to the regular TFO version!

    https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11055723
    Please remove that horrible eye watering static that looks like it’s from a game from the 1990’s and servers no purpose other than to hurt player’s eyes. It’s as bad as the grain that ruins the TOS content. Why can we not get rid of that TOS grain as well? Its not authentic, I never had any grain when I watched TOS on TV.

    It might also be worth fixing the once the entity has been destroyed part as the salvage rarely worked. I ran every day of the event and never had any salvage.

    “We hope you enjoy this refreshed Crystalline Catastrophe!”
    To be honest I didn’t really notice much of a difference, it certainly didn’t feel refreshed as the changes had no real impact on how I play the mission. The only real change is once the blast hits I get pushed back and have to move forward back into point blank position, stop and shoot.

    You also introduced a negative element where the players now spawn to close and can get stuck on each other ships unable to move even after the timer has hit zero. Not every time but since the revamp I found myself getting stuck at the swarm point unable to move every so often because large ships are blocking my ship in. Though to be fair this was rare, worked more often then not. Would it be possible to make the spawn point on map load wider for players?

  • hugin1205hugin1205 Member Posts: 489 Arc User
    There was a time when killing the Crystal Entity was impossible without a science captain.
    Now gravity wells aren't working, subnukleonic beam has changed and my science builds that were excellent against the Monster have become a liability to the Team as the only Thing that Counts now is DPS.
    18 characters
    KDF: 2 tacs, 2 engs, 3 scis
    KDF Roms: 3 tacs, 1 eng, 1 scis
    FED: 2 tacs, 1 eng, 2 scis
    TOS: 1 tac
    all on T5 rep (up to temporal)
    all have mastered Intel tree (and some more specs Points)
    highest DPS: 60.982
  • nommo#5819 nommo Member Posts: 1,105 Arc User
    There is now a 30 second mission briefing time before the queue begins. This allows players time to join the queue and read the briefing if necessary, before taking on the Entity.
    The Entity shards that it deploys are now immune to control effects, this allows the feature more room to breathe as the queue progresses.
    Small Shards will no longer buff the Entity’s damage for the entire queue. Instead, they will give the entity buff stacks towards a more powerful Energy Release after its Absorption Phase.
    This change results in a potentially stronger Energy Release attack. In response to that, we’ve added a growing AoE indicator to show the area of the Energy Release and how long it will be before it goes off.
    The Entity Beam attacks no longer apply a Flight Speed debuff to players.
    Instead, Large Shards on Advanced Difficulties will apply a Flight Speed debuff if they are able to explode on a player.
    The Entity is now entirely Immune to damage while in its Absorption Phase. We wanted this phase to be about avoiding the Energy Release and preventing the shards from buffing the attack.
    The Entity Absorption Phase is now 15 seconds long rather than 30 seconds. This was the case on Advanced versions of the queue but is now in parity with Normal.
    Once the Entity has been destroyed it will explode into many Small Salvageable Crystal Fragments, these fragments can be destroyed to gain 1-5 Salvage from each of them!



    Sounds like decent changes that might have little to noticeable effects. I just usually no longer do queues since Cryptic decided to re-title the queues to TFOs, randomize as an option & not differentiate between Space & Ground in that option.
  • risian6#1997 risian6 Member Posts: 128 Arc User
    hugin1205 wrote: »
    There was a time when killing the Crystal Entity was impossible without a science captain.
    Now gravity wells aren't working, subnukleonic beam has changed and my science builds that were excellent against the Monster have become a liability to the Team as the only Thing that Counts now is DPS.

    Well unless they also changed that the Entity is most vulnerable to kinetic damage, Science/exotic builds can still be very effective.

    Their debuffs (like those from DRB - which doesn't only deal damage) will still be useful.


    In general:

    Overall these seem like good changes, though I don't get why the energy build-up phase needed to be prolonged (btw, wasn't the normal version always the one with the longest build-up period?). 30 seconds seems quite long if all you can do is fly around (or simply away since you can't hurt the Entity anyway) and wait for the thing to be vulnerable again.
    Formerly known as Risian4. Risian6 is my new PS4-account. Fleetcaptain5 is my main PC account. I hope to actively play again on PC in a few months.

    Now that that's made clear... on to the next issue: when are playable Voth coming, and where's are my T7 Vesta and C-store purchasable real life shuttle? :)
  • risian6#1997 risian6 Member Posts: 128 Arc User
    And of course I'm curious now whether there will be an event soon.
    Formerly known as Risian4. Risian6 is my new PS4-account. Fleetcaptain5 is my main PC account. I hope to actively play again on PC in a few months.

    Now that that's made clear... on to the next issue: when are playable Voth coming, and where's are my T7 Vesta and C-store purchasable real life shuttle? :)
  • tobywitczaktobywitczak Member Posts: 208 Arc User
    edited January 2019
    Instead of having a flat 30 seconds missions briefing, if all players close out or end the briefing, then the counter should drop to 3-5 seconds and go. This is the way it should be for all TFO, not just Crystalline Catastrophe. You give the benefit to new players to the TFO and still respect the people who continually play it with a "just go" option.

    Adding in mandatory time-gated briefings, is more of an annoyance then any real help. The first time I played Crystalline Catastrophe, even while everyone else launched off into the missions I took the time to read what to do. So the next time I did not have to read the briefing and jump right in.

    Looking at how frequently I played just Crystalline Catastrophe and other TFOs with mandatory time-gated briefings I am wasting several tens of houses sitting at a hold screen.

    Or how about this for an idea. Add in the mission briefing to the TFO selection screen? This would probably be the best option as now players can see if then really want to play that TFO in the first place. Before going into the TFO.

    BTW Welcome back
  • rattler2rattler2 Member Posts: 57,969 Community Moderator
    You say "timegate", I say "Buff Time". Also gives carriers a chance to launch fighters.
    db80k0m-89201ed8-eadb-45d3-830f-bb2f0d4c0fe7.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2ExOGQ4ZWM2LTUyZjQtNDdiMS05YTI1LTVlYmZkYmJkOGM3N1wvZGI4MGswbS04OTIwMWVkOC1lYWRiLTQ1ZDMtODMwZi1iYjJmMGQ0YzBmZTcucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.8G-Pg35Qi8qxiKLjAofaKRH6fmNH3qAAEI628gW0eXc
    I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something CRAZY happens again?!
    The nut who actually ground out many packs. The resident forum voice of reason (I HAZ FORUM REP! YAY!)
  • djf021djf021 Member Posts: 1,378 Arc User
    Does this mean CC is coming this weekend?
    C4117709-1498929112732780large.jpg

    Don't let them promote you. Don't let them transfer you. Don't let them do anything that takes you off the bridge of that ship, because while you're there... you can make a difference.
    -Captain James T. Kirk
  • rattler2rattler2 Member Posts: 57,969 Community Moderator
    No... I think it means they're just updating normal CE to have some of the improvements of the Event version. The only thing the Event version has over normal will be the random addons.
    db80k0m-89201ed8-eadb-45d3-830f-bb2f0d4c0fe7.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2ExOGQ4ZWM2LTUyZjQtNDdiMS05YTI1LTVlYmZkYmJkOGM3N1wvZGI4MGswbS04OTIwMWVkOC1lYWRiLTQ1ZDMtODMwZi1iYjJmMGQ0YzBmZTcucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.8G-Pg35Qi8qxiKLjAofaKRH6fmNH3qAAEI628gW0eXc
    I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something CRAZY happens again?!
    The nut who actually ground out many packs. The resident forum voice of reason (I HAZ FORUM REP! YAY!)
  • sheldonlcoopersheldonlcooper Member Posts: 4,042 Arc User
    no complaints here. both versions are nice.

    anniversary is coming too soon to fit an event. and we won't see crystal until late summer most likely.
    Captain Jean-Luc Picard: "We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it's all ancient history. Then - before you can blink an eye - suddenly it threatens to start all over again."

    "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."

  • borgdp010#9382 borgdp010 Member Posts: 21 Arc User
    WE DO NOT NEED ANY MISSING BRIEFINGS!
    Please remove it before you even bring in on the holodeck!

    Seriously, no one cares about briefings!
    Serious players know the mission long enough or inform themselves prior to a TFO about the objectives/goal with wiki (https://sto.gamepedia.com/Mission:_Crystalline_Catastrophe), youtube videos or whatever other means.

    The average players just want to go in guns blazing and be happy how their shiny ship performs (or they get blown up and go buy new ships!). They do not care about the mission or even the optional objectives.

    Game designers should spend some time in the game before defining such useless changes or ask us community about how to improve the game.

    Another suggestion would be to lower the number of players needed to 5 instead of 10. The queue times for this TFO are getting more and more longer and there is definitely no need for 10 players as even 1-2 good sci can easily bust up the entity.
  • tobywitczaktobywitczak Member Posts: 208 Arc User
    rattler2 wrote: »
    You say "timegate", I say "Buff Time". Also gives carriers a chance to launch fighters.
    There are better, more original, ways for allowing buffs without requiring a cooldown. Just allow for player to buff with zero cool down as long as they have not moved or fired a weapon/engaged in combat. This could be done across the board.

    As for Carriers specifically deploying fighters at the start, that is a bit sketchy IMO. Usually you want to deploy as close to the entity as possible, otherwise the fighters are more as a fodder for the enemy, and there is a good probably of losing them before you get to the entity, granted I have not exhausted all Carriers options for the TFO.

  • darkbladejkdarkbladejk Member Posts: 3,698 Community Moderator
    As annoying as mission briefings can be when they are mandatory, in this mission it was definitely needed. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard of people slow load into a crystalline for whatever reason, only to get zoned in right as it blows up and eat an AFK penalty through no fault of their own. The 30 seconds gives everyone enough time to load in and at least get their foot in the door before someone rolls in guns blazing. 30 seconds isn't going to make or break anyone. Obviously we don't want missions to last forever, but at the same time I'm glad that now we at least have time to blink before the mission is over.
    hugin1205 wrote: »
    There was a time when killing the Crystal Entity was impossible without a science captain.
    Now gravity wells aren't working, subnukleonic beam has changed and my science builds that were excellent against the Monster have become a liability to the Team as the only Thing that Counts now is DPS.

    Your gravity wells still work and will still deal their damage, only now the pull portion of the gravity well will not effect the shards. Science builds and science captains will still be a very valid choice for the queue, only now you actually have to avoid the shards and can't just suck them up into one space.
    "Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again." - Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek Generations

    Star Trek Online volunteer Community Moderator
  • smokebaileysmokebailey Member Posts: 4,659 Arc User
    If it makes the battle longer, I'll be happy. :)
    dvZq2Aj.jpg
  • where2r1where2r1 Member Posts: 6,054 Arc User
    edited January 2019
    If it makes the battle longer, I'll be happy. :)

    Well, having done the event version, I do not think there was much difference in what I was already doing. Nor in the amount of time spent.
    "Spend your life doing strange things with weird people." -- UNK

    “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” -- Benjamin Franklin
  • questeriusquesterius Member Posts: 8,301 Arc User
    If it makes the battle longer, I'll be happy. :)

    2 minutes instead of less than 30 seconds.. same difference.

    As for the changes, when will these go live?
    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.
  • ltminnsltminns Member Posts: 12,569 Arc User
    At least we won't have to click on Admiral Yanishev twice. ;)
    '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
  • protoneousprotoneous Member Posts: 2,950 Arc User
    As annoying as mission briefings can be when they are mandatory, in this mission it was definitely needed. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard of people slow load into a crystalline for whatever reason, only to get zoned in right as it blows up and eat an AFK penalty through no fault of their own. [...] 30 seconds isn't going to make or break anyone.
    Your gravity wells still work and will still deal their damage, only now the pull portion of the gravity well will not effect the shards. Science builds and science captains will still be a very valid choice for the queue, only now you actually have to avoid the shards and can't just suck them up into one space.
    Thanks for the emphasis on these two points as they were (for me at least) the top two that came to mind as knee jerk reactions.

    People do load maps at different speeds for a variety of reasons so this one did have a high potential to give a player an AFK penalty given how quickly it could be over.

    Gravity wells do cause damage (potentially quite a bit) so science captains or builds are certainly still valid.
  • risian6#1997 risian6 Member Posts: 128 Arc User
    ltminns wrote: »
    At least we won't have to click on Admiral Yanishev twice. ;)

    Lol I don't even remember how often I have wanted to yell in chat 'go away Grigori! No one likes you!'
    Formerly known as Risian4. Risian6 is my new PS4-account. Fleetcaptain5 is my main PC account. I hope to actively play again on PC in a few months.

    Now that that's made clear... on to the next issue: when are playable Voth coming, and where's are my T7 Vesta and C-store purchasable real life shuttle? :)
  • risian6#1997 risian6 Member Posts: 128 Arc User
    Instead of having a flat 30 seconds missions briefing, if all players close out or end the briefing, then the counter should drop to 3-5 seconds and go. This is the way it should be for all TFO, not just Crystalline Catastrophe. You give the benefit to new players to the TFO and still respect the people who continually play it with a "just go" option.

    Adding in mandatory time-gated briefings, is more of an annoyance then any real help. The first time I played Crystalline Catastrophe, even while everyone else launched off into the missions I took the time to read what to do. So the next time I did not have to read the briefing and jump right in.

    Looking at how frequently I played just Crystalline Catastrophe and other TFOs with mandatory time-gated briefings I am wasting several tens of houses sitting at a hold screen.

    Or how about this for an idea. Add in the mission briefing to the TFO selection screen? This would probably be the best option as now players can see if then really want to play that TFO in the first place. Before going into the TFO.

    BTW Welcome back

    Good suggestion. If no one wants to read the thing, why force it upon players? Keep it as an option, but one that can be skipped.

    Borg Disconnected already seems to have something like this btw. It happens quite often that the mission begins before the counter for the briefing has finished. I guess that is because everyone cancels Seven's introductory talk.


    As for the need to have the mission take a specific amount of time to avoid AFK penalties: this is a legitimate concern indeed, given all the threads there have been in the past on this topic. But with all the changes described here, some of which ensuring the mission takes a certain amount of time, one may wonder whether a 30 second briefing period at the beginning will play that big a role in avoiding such issues.
    The other changes will probably sufficiently reduce the chances of getting a penalty.
    Formerly known as Risian4. Risian6 is my new PS4-account. Fleetcaptain5 is my main PC account. I hope to actively play again on PC in a few months.

    Now that that's made clear... on to the next issue: when are playable Voth coming, and where's are my T7 Vesta and C-store purchasable real life shuttle? :)
  • ussvaliant#6064 ussvaliant Member Posts: 1,006 Arc User
    5h9bA9P.jpg

    It had a good run but these changes and the rewards you get from RTFO's makes this TFO no longer attractive to run outside of the CCA Event.




    maR4zDV.jpg

    Hello rubber banding my old friend, time to bounce around the battlezone again, where are all my bug reports going?, out of love with this game I am falling, As Cryptic fail to acknowledge a problem exists, Shakes an angry fist, And from Support all I'm hearing are the sounds of silence.
  • tobywitczaktobywitczak Member Posts: 208 Arc User
    edited January 2019
    Sorry, soapboxing here.

    The more I think about it; being able to view the mission briefings while querying the TFO makes most sense.
    1. Players can look at the TFO mission’s briefings to see if they want to add it to their query play it in the first place. This is way better than the three or four-line description.
    2. Usually waiting for a TFO already takes a minute or two unless the TFO is popular so it a better use of the player’s time. Note; this does not exclude the briefing also being in the mission it just a way to have more information upfront.
    When it comes to the TFO, the briefing will also play (again) however the briefing will be skip-able. Assuming the rules below.
    1. Everyone has to agree to skip the briefing, in which case the TFO would start a 3, 2, 1, go! Countdown.
    2. If a player is late because of load times, it is still OK, as they are required to hit the same skip the briefing even
    3. If players need to Buff, then they still have time as long as they don’t skip the briefing.
    4. There will still be a hard limit of 30 seconds to one minute for the complex briefings or for AFKer.
    This sounds like a more elegant way to handle this all as it seems to cover all cases.
    1. This give new player the ability to review what they need to do
    2. It allows for late to join before the missions starts
    3. It allows for player buffs before the missions starts.
    4. It allow everyone to skip to the game.
    5. It could be a catch/warning to AFKer if the players are required to hit go.

    Did I miss anything?
  • dracounguisdracounguis Member Posts: 5,358 Arc User
    edited January 2019
    I did like the improved CE during the event. While not a total 'fix' to massive DPS, its better than everyone just soaking all the aoe damage and just pew pewing w/o any regard to the mechanics.
    Instead of having a flat 30 seconds missions briefing, if all players close out or end the briefing, then the counter should drop to 3-5 seconds and go. This is the way it should be for all TFO, not just Crystalline Catastrophe. You give the benefit to new players to the TFO and still respect the people who continually play it with a "just go" option.

    its not so much people need to read it, there have been many times that by the time I actually get moving/zoned in, half the team is already at the CE blasting away.
  • herrgis#1415 herrgis Member Posts: 76 Arc User
    edited January 2019
    pottsey5g wrote: »

    Please remove that horrible eye watering static that looks like it’s from a game from the 1990’s and servers no purpose other than to hurt player’s eyes. It’s as bad as the grain that ruins the TOS content. Why can we not get rid of that TOS grain as well? Its not authentic, I never had any grain when I watched TOS on TV.

    I'm not sure why the Crystal's visual static is an issue. Screen static is used repeatedly to represent interference in visual communications in Star Trek.

    e.g.,
    ST: Wrath of Kahn, Video call from Dr. Marcus on Regulas One to Kirk (being jammed) re: Reliant coming to take Genesis.

    ST: Wrath of Kahn, Mutara Nebula Battle. My favorite scene is Sulu taking a blind shot at Khan's ship through the static. "Phaser lock inoperative" says Sulu. "Best guess Mr. Sulu" reponds Kirk. <pew, pew, pew>

    ST:TNG, S2E11, Ep:Contagion, Visual static interferes with Picard's communications with Cpt Varley of the Yamato. "Mr. Data, Can you clear that up?" says Picard.

    I could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea that the static represented ... is 'canon' ... from fairly early in the franchise, say 1982. ;)
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  • pottsey5gpottsey5g Member Posts: 4,164 Arc User
    edited January 2019
    I did like the improved CE during the event. While not a total 'fix' to massive DPS, its better than everyone just soaking all the aoe damage and just pew pewing w/o any regard to the mechanics.
    Nothing has really changed the only difference is when you get knocked back you have to spend a few seconds flying back into position. We still just soak up the AOE, ignore all the mechanics and just pew pew. Well I guess the other change is you have the now boring short AFK period half way though where you cannot do anything but watch a short timer go by. Hardly an improvement.


    “I'm not sure why the Crystal's visual static is an issue. Screen static is used repeatedly to represent interference in visual communications in Star Trek.”
    It’s an issue because it’s badly done and so looks horrible while hurting some player’s eyes. Plus it’s done randomly without the ship being hit so it makes no sense. Why is there static at the start when my ship is at 100% then as I start getting hit and take damage the static clears up?

    I am not against static, I just believe the quality of the graphic effect is below acceptable standards for a modern game. Same for the grain in the TOS missions which is worse as it ruins the content.
  • casualstocasualsto Member Posts: 672 Arc User
    Well, damned be ControlX builds.

    Now it's all EPG and torps.

    The 100% damage reduction during absorb phase is so bad because it overly extends the duration, it increases the chance of being punished for being performance-oriented and bursting damage over the target.

    The shard immunity to control powers is simply a silly fix.
  • alcmaeonidaealcmaeonidae Member Posts: 61 Arc User


    "Your gravity wells still work and will still deal their damage, only now the pull portion of the gravity well will not effect the shards. Science builds and science captains will still be a very valid choice for the queue, only now you actually have to avoid the shards and can't just suck them up into one space."


    Compared to a tac captain in an escort, science trades away dps to gain other powers. One of those other powers is crowd control. Science captains can protect themselves and other teammates by trapping the shards. This change is taking that away, and making the mission pure dps.
  • postagepaidpostagepaid Member Posts: 2,899 Arc User
    The shards not being grabbed by a grav well are a small section of the whole and nothing of any real consequence. If they'd allowed tholians the same immunity that'd be more of an issue since a well placed grav well will happily see the tholian fleet nuked by the CE's pulse. Make those core breaches work for you.

    Agree with what was said above in that the god awful static effect needs removed or at the very least looked at so it only lasts a specific time and not the random amount where sometimes it'd be there for the majority of a run while others gone before you're in firing range.

    The briefing needs to stay however it could get treated like a ready check. If the group is all loaded in and have shown their active by telling whoever the green option then timer could vanish.
  • lucho80lucho80 Member Posts: 6,600 Bug Hunter
    The 30 second mandatory "timeouts" are the most annoying thing of modern PvE queues. Why ruin an old one with this junk?
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