So
@coldnapalm and I had a discussion about ship releases on a yearly basis, of all types, but especially when it comes to lockbox ships.
Having nothing better to do for a few hours I went through every ship on the wiki, and placed out what year it released, and what type of release it was. That being said, there are about 72 ships/shuttles that I couldn't place, all of which are the super old launch era. 2010-2011 ships, and theres like no documentation left on if they were at launch itself, or in those first two years, but everything from like 2012 onward was easy to find
2010
Zen store = 7
2011
Zen store = 3
Mission based = 2
2012
Zen store = 17
Fleet = 2
Event = 3
Lockbox = 13
Lobi = 7
DOFF Pack = 1
Vet = 2
Fleet Starbase = 35
2013
Zen store = 21
Fleet = 13
Event = 6
Lockbox = 9
Lobi = 7
Mission Reward = 1
DOFF Pack = 1
Vet = 3
Shuttle = 2
Leveling = 12
Hero of the North = 1
2014
Zen store = 20
Event = 5
Fleet = 2
Lockbox = 14
R&D = 1
Lobi = 4
DOFF Pack = 1
2015
Zen store = 33
Fleet = 28
Event = 3
Lockbox = 8
R&D = 4
Lobi = 5
Vet = 6
Pop Culture Hero = 2
2016
Zen store = 26
Fleet = 10
Event = 3
Lockbox = 11
R&D = 3
Lobi = 5
Wizkids = 1
AoY Tut = 2
2017
Zen store = 27
Fleet = 9
Event = 3
Lockbox = 10
R&D = 6
Lobi = 7
Email = 1
Colony World = 1
TNG 30th Event = 1
2018
Zen store = 22
Fleet = 5
Event = 3
Lockbox = 8
R&D = 2
Lobi = 6
Dom Tut = 2
DSC Tut = 2
2019
Zen store = 14
Fleet = 14
Event = 5
Lockbox = 7
R&D = 5
Lobi = 2
Vet = 2
2020
Zen store = 20
Fleet = 7
Event = 5
Lockbox = 6
R&D = 3
Lobi = 1
2021
Zen store = 4
Event = 2
Lockbox = 1
As to the specific discussion between myself and
@coldnapalm the years with the most lockbox ships were.
- 2014 - 14
- 2012 - 13
- 2016 - 11
- 2017 - 10
- 2013 - 9
- 2015 - 8
- 2018 - 8
- 2019 - 7
- 2020 - 6
- 2021 - 1
Including R&D promo ships the list is
- 2017 - 16
- 2014 - 15
- 2016 - 14
- 2012 - 13
- 2015 - 12
- 2019 - 12
- 2018 - 10
- 2013 - 9
- 2020 - 9
- 2021 - 1
2018, 2019, and 2020, have been some lowest in regards to lockbox or R&D pack ship releases.
Comments
I was wrong
Therefore you should be listing them separately to the normal C-Store releases. I would also be inclined to divide the Legendary ships between C-Store plus and lockbox/lobi/promo minus, because it makes a substantial difference in the desirability and obtainability of the ship.
So, the data for 2020/2021 now reads as:
2020
Zen store (normal) = 7
Zen store (Legendary) = 13 (of which 7 - Galaxy, Defiant, Intrepid, Sovereign, Odyssey and Galaxy-X - were C-Store Plus)
Fleet = 7
Event = 5
Lockbox = 6
R&D = 3
Lobi = 1
2021
Zen store (Legendary) = 4 (of which all 4 are C-Store Plus)
Event = 2
Lockbox = 1
Sorry. I was wrong again. Som, you were right!
As a player whose main objective is performance-oriented character progression I only care about the origins of the most desirable attributes as in naked ship stats, traits, consoles and special items like experimental weapons. As if there ever has been a misunderstanding as to where the best toys originate from in STO.
Yep, we have the Mudd store now. How awesome! Account wide releases at the expense of a miniscule slection, fear of missing out sale model and insane prices.
Also yep, legendary ships! Same rip off for you me and the dude who waits moths to finaly get his poo poo craft and 9 more ships he does not want.
But hey… its all in the zen store now and not at all about lock boxes anymore. Thank you Cryptic!
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But the legendary 10-pack is in no way a regular c-store ship, right?
I have a feeling though if you added just C-store, event, and non c-store (lobi, promo, r&d packs, etc) you may get more consistent numbers...
Or, at least, that the way this is divided may obscure the issue. But I was very casual through the game’s history—so I don’t even know what some of these catagories are. I should probably butt out of this thread.
All of those are valid subcategories by which ships can be subdivided, and should be, because it all contributes to being able to do more rigorous analysis; far from being useless, it enables far better understanding of the data. Certainly Pre-Delta Rising C-Store releases should be divided between T1-4 and T5, and post DR should be divided into T1-5 and T6 C-Store releases, and while it doesn't matter now, they all should be divided on the basis of faction too as it is historically significant data.
Or am I misremembering where those cheap boxed ships came from... /hmm
The ten ship bundle was released in very early 2020, which means it was planned well before the virus even existed. The Romulan boost bundle was also likely planned before the virus started going around, the only legendaries that MIGHT have been decided after the pandemic started are the Galaxy-X and the walker. Trying to shame them for things that were decided well in advance is ridiculous, and pandemic or not they still need to make money to keep the servers running.
Then one can go-through the nuances of if a ship is sold separately or part of a bundle requirement.
An excellent discussion to be had by @coldnapalm & somtaawkhar & also appreciate the effort by somtaawkhar in compiling this work data.
Hopefully it will help some of us navigate deciding what to purchase or not, or gamble for.
Interesting that the overall numbers have stayed fairly consistent, despite the general availability going down. I imagine we'll see a slight drop this year though(as I presume most of the 2020 legendary bundle work was done before the pandemic).
I'm also curious what the reason for the drastic drop in lobi ships was/is. Is the only lobi ship we get this year going to be the T6 Hirogen Apex? (It might be nice to see them do a T6 Obelisk to finish off the T5 ships - ideally with Swarmer Squadrons.)
22nd Century Raptor
D5 Battlecruiser
The Klingon augment raider from Enterprise
Discovery Etlh class
Discovery Daspu class
I'd love a proper D5.
Neither of those is T6 though.
Idk how accurate it is but according to this the Qa'Tel can't use the Somraw skin:
https://sto.gamepedia.com/Qa'Tel_Flight_Deck_Raptor
Not quite. We were hearing the initial reports of the pandemic's start in China as early as the previous December. The 10th anniversary legendary pack was released in February. The pandemic exploded here in the States not long after.
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Do you realize how far in advance these things are planned? The 10th anniversary bundle was likely completely finished by December 2019, the Legendary T'liss was probably being worked on, and the Galaxy X was at least in the planning phase.
Which is an issue I think should be fixed, preferably though Ships of the Line bundles. For many people the look of a ship is the most important aspect and a T6 Raptor that can't use the Somraw parts is not a T6 Somraw. The Birds of Prey have the same problem, I've always found it very disappointing that the beautiful, X-Wing-esque Ning'tao parts can't be used on the Kor.
I love the Ning'Tao.. waiting for ages for a T6 version...
Then the D5 isn't ingame now is it?
A freighter based n the D5 is ingame but not a D5 Battlecruiser.
I love the "bug" Bird of Prey ships in the mid tiers but none of those parts can be used on the Kor or fleet B'rel.