Why have none of the newest TFOs (Synth Wave, Forged In Fire, Operation Wolf, Mycelial Realm) included Advanced or Elite variants? Is it significantly more effort to make those versions? I find myself not playing those as much because they're so easy outside of events.
Since the appearance of time on Risa (other than when fire lights up, like the beach party firepit during the 'night cycle') is static, can we have another way to let us know current in-game time on Risa, such as an orbital space craft making it's way across the sky?
That way we'd have a better idea of when to go to the arch were the Klingons are practicing their exercises, or have a better idea when the fireworks are going off.
At the very least, is there any reason why Klingon and Romulan outfits are in such muddied colors? Did all fashion development stop on ch'Rihan the day they discovered pastels?
+1 on expanding color options. I'm ok with not mixing faction uniform parts, but if I want to wear a Disco top with a Sierra skirt, I want the color options to easily match
When will the focus go back to fixing bugs, We got loadout issues that have been around for years, we have so much system lag, broken textures, and floating things, lighting is busted on most maps and there are so many uniform issues and glitches its starting to feel like a really poorly maintained game.
When will this game get some TLC it so badly needs and deserves?
Thank you everyone for your questions and participation! We'll get these questions to our Community Manager to be addressed during an upcoming livestream. And check back here in this thread where I will post the answers to those questions. In the meantime, be on the lookout for next month's Q&A thread!
Badd Moon Rizin
Community Moderator
Star Trek Online Volunteer Community Moderator and Resident She-Wolf
Community Moderators are Unpaid Volunteers and NOT Employees of Gearbox/Cryptic
Views and Opinions May Not Reflect the Views and Opinions of Gearbox/Cryptic
Thanks for your participation! The original thought was that we'd get developers together to answer these questions on a live stream, but I think what I'm going to do instead is have them email me answers to post in a special forum thread. You should see that live sometime next week.
Quick note: A question of "when are we getting [X item I'd like]" or something that is a full on suggestion rather than a question is less likely to be answered, with the "when is [X item]" questions unlikely to be answered at all. Thanks!
What is the philosophy behind restricting characters to certain uniform options based on location or faction? In a Star Trek theme park style game, I would love to put my Captains and Bridge Officers in any outfit. Lead Character Artist, Ian Castaneda: Part of the issue is time. Not all costume parts will mix with other costume parts simply because of fitment, size, bulkyness, tiling textures, etc. It's not simply a case of moving a few edges and suddenly the costume piece works with every other costume piece. It would often require much more time, to allow it to fit with other costume pieces. That is why we generally try to make costume parts mixable to a limited degree - which is doable within our limited amount of time. But in some cases, the costume piece (and the rest of that piece's costume set) doesn't work well when being mixed. In those cases, we create a limited category where the costume is not customizable or is very limited. While we do strive to allow the player to customize their costume, there are time constraints that we have to deal with.
Another issue is Faction. Some costumes are valid only for the appropriate faction. For instance, we generally don't allow Faction A's uniforms to be mixable with Faction B (though there are some exceptions). This is because we strive to stay true to the IP's cohesive look whenever a given faction's uniform is being worn.
In reference to BOFFs that are not customizable or have limited customization: Certain BOFFs have special settings on them that are not compatible with the costume customization system. This is because we made them first as NPCs, and as such, they do not use the character customization system outright.
Is it possible to open up the color palletes for all uniforms and clothing? Space Barbie is the true end game, but some of the clothing choices (especially those for Klingons and Romulans) are stuck with very drab pallettes. We would love to be able to choose any color for any uniform.
Lead Character Artist: Ian Castaneda: Giving the ability to allow any color on any costume part: The costume customization system is currently in a state where this is not possible, and we would require some additional Software Engineering support to be viable.
What we can do: Increase the color palettes on a case-by-case basis. Example: Adding more colors to Faction A's color palette. We can't open the color choices to be anything (like a photoshop slider) - we are currently tied down to using swatches (specific color choices) But we can add more swatches of color to a given palette- however, there are no plans to do so at this time.
Is it possible to do a mission or two outside of the story arcs? Something like a one off like Survivor, that isn’t necessarily part of a big war against a looming threat, but just an episodic Star Trek story like Strange New Worlds has been doing?
Senior Content Designer, Jesse Heinig: We can do episodes in any format—episodic or serialized—depending upon our story needs and resources. Thus far we've gotten a lot of value out of doing story arcs and serialized missions because people keep coming back to see what's next and how everything ends. It's entirely possible to do one-off missions that have self-contained stories, it's just a matter of deciding what we're interested in doing and where we want to put our time and our resources.
Writer, Paul Reed: That’s a good question! We have had success in the past with episodic content such as “Survivor”, and we’ve also created content in the Iconian and Tzenkethi arcs that, while episodic, also contained clues and signs of things to come in later serialized story arcs. The success of Strange New Worlds is exciting for our future story planning, to be sure, although for right now we'll probably stick with serialized arcs.
When the previous Klingon War missions were removed from the game during Age of Discovery, players were told the missions would be remastered and returned to the game. Do we have any idea when this might occur? The missions are necessary for the Federation story, and the story is weaker because it has been truncated, not to mention the loss of a mission with Leonard Nimoy’s voice over.
Executive Producer, Andre Emerson: We love these past missions and we want to take the time to bring them back into the fold, with a modern gaming sensibility. However, the amount of time that would need to be spent on these missions is the same as the amount of time we'd need to spend on new missions. I guess that begs the question - would fans accept a season that was just remastering of old content? What do you all think?
Are there any plans to address the huge amount of VFX that happens in a space battle in game? After twelve years of adding awesome looking powers, we’ve reached the point where it’s very difficult to see what’s going on amongst all of the flashing lights, space tornadoes, etc. The ability to limit the amount of VFX we’re seeing would be greatly appreciated.
Associate Art Director, Thomas Marrone: This is a really complicated issue. At one point we discussed really streamlining the VFX from powers and using a unified language (shield buffs always look like this, damage buffs always look like this, etc) but the cost of retrofitting that on existing powers meant it was a wildly expansive project. (in this case, "cost" means sunk time - all of this would have to be done on each individual power out of the hundreds we have in in game.) - Kael Also, one of the neat parts of getting a new ship is getting a console that looks really cool when you activate it. There's been a lot of discussions on this one, and they'll probably keep ongoing until we find a solution that doesn't also remove the coolness of your own powers, and also lets you know what powers your teammates are using.
Comments
Why have none of the newest TFOs (Synth Wave, Forged In Fire, Operation Wolf, Mycelial Realm) included Advanced or Elite variants? Is it significantly more effort to make those versions? I find myself not playing those as much because they're so easy outside of events.
That way we'd have a better idea of when to go to the arch were the Klingons are practicing their exercises, or have a better idea when the fireworks are going off.
Also I would really like to see a bridge for the TWOK to STVI
When will this game get some TLC it so badly needs and deserves?
Badd Moon Rizin
Community Moderator
Views and Opinions May Not Reflect the Views and Opinions of Gearbox/Cryptic
Moderation Problems/Issues? Please contact the Community Manager
Terms of Service / Community Rules and Policies / FCT
Facebook / Twitter / Twitch
Thanks for your participation! The original thought was that we'd get developers together to answer these questions on a live stream, but I think what I'm going to do instead is have them email me answers to post in a special forum thread. You should see that live sometime next week.
Quick note: A question of "when are we getting [X item I'd like]" or something that is a full on suggestion rather than a question is less likely to be answered, with the "when is [X item]" questions unlikely to be answered at all. Thanks!
What is the philosophy behind restricting characters to certain uniform options based on location or faction? In a Star Trek theme park style game, I would love to put my Captains and Bridge Officers in any outfit.
Lead Character Artist, Ian Castaneda: Part of the issue is time. Not all costume parts will mix with other costume parts simply because of fitment, size, bulkyness, tiling textures, etc. It's not simply a case of moving a few edges and suddenly the costume piece works with every other costume piece. It would often require much more time, to allow it to fit with other costume pieces. That is why we generally try to make costume parts mixable to a limited degree - which is doable within our limited amount of time. But in some cases, the costume piece (and the rest of that piece's costume set) doesn't work well when being mixed. In those cases, we create a limited category where the costume is not customizable or is very limited. While we do strive to allow the player to customize their costume, there are time constraints that we have to deal with.
Another issue is Faction. Some costumes are valid only for the appropriate faction. For instance, we generally don't allow Faction A's uniforms to be mixable with Faction B (though there are some exceptions). This is because we strive to stay true to the IP's cohesive look whenever a given faction's uniform is being worn.
In reference to BOFFs that are not customizable or have limited customization: Certain BOFFs have special settings on them that are not compatible with the costume customization system. This is because we made them first as NPCs, and as such, they do not use the character customization system outright.
Is it possible to open up the color palletes for all uniforms and clothing? Space Barbie is the true end game, but some of the clothing choices (especially those for Klingons and Romulans) are stuck with very drab pallettes. We would love to be able to choose any color for any uniform.
Lead Character Artist: Ian Castaneda: Giving the ability to allow any color on any costume part: The costume customization system is currently in a state where this is not possible, and we would require some additional Software Engineering support to be viable.
What we can do: Increase the color palettes on a case-by-case basis. Example: Adding more colors to Faction A's color palette. We can't open the color choices to be anything (like a photoshop slider) - we are currently tied down to using swatches (specific color choices) But we can add more swatches of color to a given palette- however, there are no plans to do so at this time.
Is it possible to do a mission or two outside of the story arcs? Something like a one off like Survivor, that isn’t necessarily part of a big war against a looming threat, but just an episodic Star Trek story like Strange New Worlds has been doing?
Senior Content Designer, Jesse Heinig: We can do episodes in any format—episodic or serialized—depending upon our story needs and resources. Thus far we've gotten a lot of value out of doing story arcs and serialized missions because people keep coming back to see what's next and how everything ends. It's entirely possible to do one-off missions that have self-contained stories, it's just a matter of deciding what we're interested in doing and where we want to put our time and our resources.
Writer, Paul Reed: That’s a good question! We have had success in the past with episodic content such as “Survivor”, and we’ve also created content in the Iconian and Tzenkethi arcs that, while episodic, also contained clues and signs of things to come in later serialized story arcs. The success of Strange New Worlds is exciting for our future story planning, to be sure, although for right now we'll probably stick with serialized arcs.
When the previous Klingon War missions were removed from the game during Age of Discovery, players were told the missions would be remastered and returned to the game. Do we have any idea when this might occur? The missions are necessary for the Federation story, and the story is weaker because it has been truncated, not to mention the loss of a mission with Leonard Nimoy’s voice over.
Executive Producer, Andre Emerson: We love these past missions and we want to take the time to bring them back into the fold, with a modern gaming sensibility. However, the amount of time that would need to be spent on these missions is the same as the amount of time we'd need to spend on new missions. I guess that begs the question - would fans accept a season that was just remastering of old content? What do you all think?
Are there any plans to address the huge amount of VFX that happens in a space battle in game? After twelve years of adding awesome looking powers, we’ve reached the point where it’s very difficult to see what’s going on amongst all of the flashing lights, space tornadoes, etc. The ability to limit the amount of VFX we’re seeing would be greatly appreciated.
Associate Art Director, Thomas Marrone: This is a really complicated issue. At one point we discussed really streamlining the VFX from powers and using a unified language (shield buffs always look like this, damage buffs always look like this, etc) but the cost of retrofitting that on existing powers meant it was a wildly expansive project. (in this case, "cost" means sunk time - all of this would have to be done on each individual power out of the hundreds we have in in game.) - Kael Also, one of the neat parts of getting a new ship is getting a console that looks really cool when you activate it. There's been a lot of discussions on this one, and they'll probably keep ongoing until we find a solution that doesn't also remove the coolness of your own powers, and also lets you know what powers your teammates are using.