So what is the next story arc going to be?

somtaawkhar · January 2021

https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11483233-the-year-of-klingon:-part-3

While the story of the Klingon Civil War won't reach it's conclusion until the spring

Based on the above line from the YoK P3 blog, the whole Klingon Civil War arc seems to be ending sometime this spring.

What do you think/want the next story arc to be about? I know Cryptic has previously mentioned the original post ViL story arc idea they had involved Mirror Leeta's return, but the Synth Wave TFO, and the Zhat Vash lockbox, could indicate Picard content is up next.

Though, I would like to see the Sheliak, or the Kelvans, show up myself.

thegrandnagus1 · January 2021

I would like to see some exploration of the Liberated Borg or current Cardassian situation.

szerontzur · January 2021

I'd love to see something like a return of the Dividians.
I suppose the Sheliak pushing 'south' into the Ferengi space on the Alpha quadrant map could be a thing too.
I wouldn't mind seeing the Delta Quadrant map expanded with new stuff either; maybe see what the Vaadwar have been up after the war/the conflict between voth and borg.

I expect we'll wind up getting picard melodrama though.

strathkin · January 2021

One #### - 2411, 2412?

2409 is the history just prior, 2410 has seen lots occur in that time...

thegrandnagus1 wrote: »

I would like to see some exploration of the Liberated Borg or current Cardassian situation.

But yes, I also like the Exploration idea. I had previously spoken of it along with a few others years earlier, prior to the introduction of the Future Proof Episode ARC, which I was happy to see announced.

So I too would welcome exploration's return, not only explored thru episodes of New Systems or Planets; but also perhaps revisiting Planets such as Iconia. Be nice to see how they've terra-formed, and rebuild since reclaiming the World Heart.

Still like you I think Cardassia, or even Ferengi Systems, also be great additions.

It also be great to see a new aspect of the game introduced that deals with Exploration, Diplomacy, and Tactic's across the Alliance as well -- as a challenge for the DEVs to find a workable, yet new aspect to game play -- not previously explored.

foppotee · January 2021

Odds favorites would be something tied-in to the Picard or Discovery series & hopefully they wouldn't forget about Lower Decks for contention.

I'd enjoy most of the ideas already mentioned by posters, but wouldn't mind something original by Cryptic driving a storyline direction, but that might drain more resources than just adapting/adopting something previously mentioned from a current ST series.

vegeta50024 · January 2021

somtaawkhar wrote: »

thegrandnagus1 wrote: »

I would like to see some exploration of the Liberated Borg or current Cardassian situation.

Well, the Borg Cooperative is one of the few things Cryptic has said would make for a viable faction. Last we saw of them they were part of the Delta Alliance, helping keep the peace in the DQ. And we see the Cooperative on New Khitomer, as part of the Galactic Union, in the Temporal Cold War missions. Would also make sense given how heavily liberated Borg featured in Picard, and that they apparently joined up with the synth colony at the end of season 1. So they could tie for Liberated Borg stuff into a Picard/synth story arc.

I would like to see them do the Cooperative, but I feel like the Dominion faction, the Cooperative would not be done from level 1, though not as late into the game as the Dominion was. I was thinking it could be something along the the lines of them starting with an introductory mission that takes place around the time that the Delta Quadrant opens up for the game. The Octanti could be a recurring enemy until it gets resolved in the Delta Quadrant storyline and when that's resolved, then the Vaadwaur and other enemies become the focus.

Not sure what you mean by the current Cardassian situation though. Following the defeat of the True Way, the only major threat they were facing has been taken care of. And as of the end of ViL, the Cardassians are part of the Alliance. Though their military forces remain limited as part of the Treaty of Bajor, where they agreed to only employ a planetary defense force, and not raise an army capable of attack/invasion of others. Which is probably why Cardassian officers are enrolling into Starfleet, and the Klingon Defense Force.

szerontzur wrote: »

I wouldn't mind seeing the Delta Quadrant map expanded with new stuff either; maybe see what the Vaadwar have been up after the war/the conflict between voth and borg.

The DQ in general remains the biggest source of untapped lore IMO. We have already covered the major powers of the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, Quads fairly extensively. Yet theres many DQ races of some note that we haven't seen. Especially on the other side of the Nekrit Expanse.

I think it would be nice to return to the Delta Quadrant as well, but I think it would be after the a Mirror arc with either Mirror Leeta, Mirror Tilly or them both.

trillbuffet · January 2021

I think they should make a character named Dar'uhk and make him do things that involve cowardice and saying KDF are not real star trek fans.

rattler2 · January 2021

I believe that the Devs have said they want to finish up Mirror Leeta's story, so we're probably going to face the Mirror Universe again. And we also have Mirror Tilly running around as well, which might roll into that.

truewarper · January 2021

Exploration is a nice thought...but, there hasn't been plan of any kind for that in a long time.

I am tired of the TRIBBLE and Picard, both are retro time pieces of the past, and there isn't enough material to present a progressive time on going forward. There are some novels that are out showing things moving forward after Voyager's return and TNG with Riker and wife *out currently*, but anyone else?

But every show *film/tv* after 2009, has been past related, nothing forward, and no, I don't count S-T-D as a progression point. Cause it jumped ahead and left a near thousand years in the past of stories not told.

The true direction of Trek, not on the gaming side, but in the media is quite... muddle. And honestly, don't know when that ever will be cleared up.

captainbrian11 · January 2021

Not sure I agree with there being "No reason for the Alpha Quadrant powers to not remain allied" the Ferengi are a mercentile power. unless their survival is DIRECTLY threatened they'll likely be neutral. as a major power, one way or another Cardassia is, at least for a generation, finished. not even worth discussing. so really the balance of pwoer is proably even more focused on the "three powers" that said, the need for a "major threat" I don't think is nesscary. also with the destruction of romulus I could see a break down in the klingon/federation alliance. especially if Martok (whose no politican) is eventually removed by a anti-federation alliance. Duras could bring a looot of people onside simply by being the "anti-federation option" and Martok was INSTALLED by a federation officer

fallenkezef · January 2021

There are really two options.

1) The mirror arc they had planned before Discovery dropped

2) A Picard tie in

captaincelestial · January 2021

I know they want to bring in as much of the current Trek into the game first (Picard, and the uniform that he used to wear, Lower Decks and Disco, such as the Saurians).

But I hope they can bring in the Enterprise guys for a Story Arc. They aren't getting any younger.

It'd be ironic if our characters and crew decided to run a holographic simulation of the NX-01 Enterprise, only to end up being brought back into time to actually interact with them. Would be a great way of bringing in Q into the mix. He got to interact with everyone from Picard to Janeway, why not Archer*?

*Yeah, I know that we aren't going to be able to have Scott Bakula voice acting in STO, so why not Jolene Blalock/T'Pol and/or Conner Trinneer/Tripp?

truewarper · January 2021

somtaawkhar wrote: »

truewarper wrote: »

But every show *film/tv* after 2009, has been past related, nothing forward, and no, I don't count TRIBBLE as a progression point. Cause it jumped ahead and left a near thousand years in the past of stories not told.

Honestly, I can understand why its been that way.

DS9 kinda ruined the setting, in a good way. Before, and even during, most of DS9 local space, an area of about 20% of the galaxy, was dominated by three major powers. Those being the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Star Empire, with smaller powers like the Ferengi, and Cardassians, being noteable as well. During this time frame most of these powers hated each other. Even the Federation and Klingons, who had a treaty, bordered on war throughout.

However, during TNG for the Klingons, and DS9 for the Cardassians, Ferengi, and Klingons some more, each of these other powers had to come face to face with the fact their societies were fundamentally broken, and were forced into taking steps to correct them. The Cardassians came face to face with the reality that their military state was no longer serving the people, and so overthrew it for a Democratic government. The Ferengi were forced to accept their underhanded tactics, and mistreatment of women, was hurting their society more then helping. And the Klingons had to come to grips with the fact that, despite talking about honor, their society was fundamentally dishonorable from the highest offices, down to the lowest civilian, and cut out a lot of this corruption, and put an actually honorable Klingon in charge.

Not only that, but all of them, along with the Romulans, had to ally with the Federation in order to combat the invading Dominion. An endeavor they were successful at. Following DS9, the major powers of a good 20% of the galaxy are allied, and there is no real reason for that to go away, ending any sort of large scale political tension in the Alpha/Beta Quadrants. DS9 had this alliance defeat the Dominion, the powerful empire that effectively ruled over the entire Gamma Quadrant, and Voyager ended with the Federation giving the Borg, the most powerful species in the Galaxy, the biggest middle finger ever.

The only real threat left was the Romulans, but the Romulans got their just desserts in Nemesis, where their paranoia state came to bite them in the TRIBBLE as one of their old projects came back to haunt them by killing the entire upper echelon of the Romulan government. Then the supernova destroyed Romulus, ending the RSE as a singular entity, and fracturing it into a bunch of warring states.

Also, between TNG, DS9, and VOY, the various crews had run into so many aliens of the week, ancient alien artifacts, and crazy space anomalies, that even Trek writers admitted they were out of ideas by TNG's 7th season, and many DS9 and VOY episodes were criticized for just being TOS/TNG episodes repeated, but they painted the aliens a different color. They had technobabbled their way through so many situations its hard to imagine a situation that would just boil down to a 5 minute skit of them going "ohh no we encountered X! Captain! the computer says the ENT-D encountered this same thing X years ago, and defeated it by doing Y!" and then they do it and its over in 5 mintues.

The Star Trek setting had progressed to a point where they had already dealt with the major powers of like 2/3rds of the galaxy, and found solutions to almost any situation imaginable. The past focused nature of everything after Voyager was likely a way to tone everything down, and go back into an era where things being challenging made more sense. Discovery S3 going so far into the future, and introducing the Burn that caused the Federation to collapse, was a similar situation. It shouldn't be a surprise that both post-ENT show ideas, Star Trek: Final Frontier, and Star Trek: Federation, had similar narratives for the post Voyager setting.

Outside of a collapse, anything post Voyager would have to get into some really esoteric sciences, like the Time War, and paradox bombs, and constant interacting multiple timeslines, and other weird stuff, to even being to make sense as a real threat to the Federation. And that kind of thing is generally not popular among normal audiences.

The Star Trek novelverse only got around this by doing a bunch of things that make no sense, and STO only got around it by effectively hitting the big old reset button, and having the Iconians manipulate everything back into chaos in a story that would really only work in a video game.

I do feel...there are more stories to tell, but it will take someone(s) of true worth, to give it. But as long CBS holds the IP and not Paramount, that will not happen. As an example, Michael Dorn aka Worf, has put out there, there's a script done, and a show that can be made.

But it is just there...sitting. I care not for Picard, or Discovery, Lower Decks is iffy to me and they are throwing a possible Section 31 *seriously not wanted*, and I am intrigue at Strange New Worlds with Pike, but they had his appearance in Disc seriously watered down, and the question begs will they do it again?

And I did hear about them maxing out on Trek, back then, but like all things... you take a break now and then and come back at a fresh angle later.

Until things are seen in a different light...with the IP, it is just a thing on a piece of paper to those who just want to make money, in anyway they can and careless about the history to how it got beloved in the first place.

garaks31 · January 2021

Disco 31st recruitment would be nice with a exp. Pack like tos...

phoeniz1994 · January 2021

sirsitsalot wrote: »

captainbrian11 wrote: »

Not sure I agree with there being "No reason for the Alpha Quadrant powers to not remain allied" the Ferengi are a mercentile power. unless their survival is DIRECTLY threatened they'll likely be neutral. as a major power, one way or another Cardassia is, at least for a generation, finished. not even worth discussing. so really the balance of pwoer is proably even more focused on the "three powers" that said, the need for a "major threat" I don't think is nesscary. also with the destruction of romulus I could see a break down in the klingon/federation alliance. especially if Martok (whose no politican) is eventually removed by a anti-federation alliance. Duras could bring a looot of people onside simply by being the "anti-federation option" and Martok was INSTALLED by a federation officer

They tried the anti-federation option at launch. Maybe had there been tru parity between the factions in terms of content and ships and mechanics, there might have been a chance. But the game was launched Federatioin-heavy and remained such all the way through. Star Trek has always been Federation-centric. The only reason we had a KDF faction and a UFP faction was to facilitate PVP, which Cryptic NEVER supported properly, and as of now has no interest in doing ANYTHING with.

When DS9 ended, Relations between the Klingon empire and the Federation were solid. After the events of Nemesis, relations with the Romulan Empire became less strained, if not amicable.

My question is, why can't Cryptic give it a rest with big bad enemies that are only going to last for about a year before being defeated and never touched again? If you ask me, the Iconian threat should have spanned the entire game. It should have remained a faceless threat, even after we learned that they were the ones pulling all the strings. They should have remained the demons of air and darkness. With an ever present threat from beyond the galaxy, coupled with threats from other dimensions and timelines, there is a substantial reason for the primary civilizations to remain allies in more than name. Not only to stand united against the threats, but also to actively work together to seek out the means of leveling the playing field.

In the past I have advocated an exploration system that feeds into a topmost-tier metagame, and that this metagame should be all about the alliance expanding and protecting its interests with attacks from "The Threat" coming where vulnerability reaches a certain threshold, with a potentially prolonged campaign to reverse it without weakening other areas that could face the same sort of attack. Everything would be a numbers-driven element, but there would be no way, short of Cryptic telling us, what the value of the control variables would be.

Intelligence gathering assignments via the Admiralty system could be made to have real meaning beyond just the individual's personal admiralty experiences, Send a covert intelligence team into suspected threat zones. If successful, intelligence on that area increases by 1. If it reaches a certain positive threshold, then the threat will see that front as being too closely observed, causing "hot" zone to switch after an x-day delay

There could be many different types of "hot" zones. They could be scattered all over the place. nothing on the map would indicate their presence, unless identified by players through actual gameplay and reported to Alliance Command. Not discovering a machination, or else taking no action to counter it will result in its escalation, which may prove to be impossible to ignore.

All algorithm-driven events would be scenarios, not full-blown story arcs. There would be objectives to achieve until a certain threshold is reached. Ideally these scenarios would be added to constantly. They would not replace the story arc content but would augment gameplay between arcs. In fact, every algorithm-driven scenario should be first introduced in story arc content

What you says makes sense but, from what i gathered, the issues stem from one fact: STO at its release was modeled as a sort of WoW-Clone ( like most MMOs at the time aside the few exceptions), later we got to play LOTRO, ESO, SWTOR ( which still has the WoW General architecture with the KOTOR flavour ) and the likes of Guild Wars.

That being said, the entire game from that point on has a fixed set of railway that is quite hard to get away from ( if i well remember, i never saw in WoW a cross-faction parties even when the in-game war was died down).

Beside that, the game at launch was janky as can be and is quite a miracle it lasted all these years (with quite a devoted dev team that make their best to make their own thing) with, consequently, it's original shortcomings.

Given all that, add the fact that the current team is Not the same that created the original game system ( so no one knowing how it was originally made, or at lest all those in posts that are needed the most).

The easier thing would be scrap the entire game and make a STO 2 ( not for fan raging or anything, but simply to make something more stramlineable for anyone coming and going, as it works in the gamedev world with contracts that come and go ) with the current rulesets on making an MMO game and not to be influenced by WoW like thigns used to be years ago but making its own style that can be tailored to changing needs AND permits the developers even more creative possibilities ( maybe even a "Foundry 2" that they design and make workable even for new developers coming rather than a Holy Grail of sorts only the creators knew where to put their hands on.

That being said, i am happy with the game we have and with all that it brings, it does its job as entertainment and that is all that matters.

sierra078 · January 2021

What would have been perfect for 2020 is the return of the Macrovirus. You battle an outbreak and have to develop a new cure since the virus adapted to the old one or some species modified it to be cure-resistant...

snowwolf · January 2021

Probably more dragged out horrible Discovery and Picard focused content... Ugh.

spiritborn · January 2021

somtaawkhar wrote: »

captainbrian11 wrote: »

Duras could bring a looot of people onside simply by being the "anti-federation option" and Martok was INSTALLED by a federation officer

Well Duras, and his sisters, are dead so...

I also don't think they would go through all the trouble to have Duras try claim the Chancellorship, only to fail, and get pretty much his whole family killed in the ensuing series of events, and revenge plots, and then have Martok be put in the position, only to remove him, and have everything they worked for in TNG and DS9 erased. That's just not good writing.

Didn't we kill kill the last member of the House of Duras at Khitomer anyway so as far as STO is concerned the House of Duras is no more. Ja'rod was the leader in 2411 and he was killed at Khitomer by the player character and as far as I know he had no heirs.

spacehermit · January 2021

Whatever it is, I hope it doesn't look like it has been scribbled on the back of paying cards with an eyebrow pencil. That "Book of the dishonoured" is illegible to me.

woerligen · January 2021

Induction of Barzan into the Federation!

fallenkezef · January 2021

If you'd asked me 6 months ago I'd say we'd be finishing the mirror plotline and I would LOVE to see more away missions on mirror versions of the planets.

However it's more likely some Picard themed content. Disco being set in the future now makes it a bit silly to run for and we have had way too much time travel content lately.

foppotee · January 2021

I'm liking some of these ideas & would gladly play-through missions about them. Too bad we no longer have The Foundry ... too soon? lol

fleetcaptain5 · January 2021

thegrandnagus1 wrote: »

I would like to see some exploration of the Liberated Borg or current Cardassian situation.

I support this.

I'd also add species like the Voth and the Tzenkethi, which were never, as a whole, evil like the Borg or the Terran empire.

paradox · January 2021

garaks31 wrote: »

Disco 31st recruitment would be nice with a exp. Pack like tos...

Why do people keep mistaking the 32nd century for the 31st century? the Federation was in it's golden age during the 31st century, Daniels is from the 31st century, Disco season 3 takes place in the 32nd century which is set 100 years after the 31st century, sorry for this rant.

So what is the next story arc going to be?

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