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THE STARFLEET FLASHBACK BUNDLE
baddmoonrizin
Member Posts: 11,019 Community Moderator
The Starfleet Flashback Bundle combines a number of nostalgic items, including three Tier 6 Updates to ship classes that launched with Star Trek Online!
https://www.playstartrekonline.com/en/news/article/11549563
https://www.playstartrekonline.com/en/news/article/11549563
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Overall I'm stoked for T6 Patrol escort (trait going beyond the ship is a very nice touch) but only getting that at launch. Other two ships, maybe if interests holds over time. Making everything an aggressive uber bundle is wearing (definitely turned this into a "no" for me even though I was *planning* on getting an inevitable patrol escort bundle. Interest dive-bombed on the details.)
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The DSV is an especially good interpretation, love seeing the Edison deflector back. Will be interesting to see how the underside of the patrol escort looks.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
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Now, a T6 Pioneer, with 2150's Intrepid skin option would really please me. It doesn't even have to be chopped up and customisable - just let us switch the entire ship appearance similar to the other TOS-era ships we have.
While we're at it, a T6 Vandal and a T6 Scourge would also be nice.
12,500 zen seems a bit pricey though, given the three ships separately would be 9,000. Isn't the idea of a bundle supposed to be to provide a way to pick them up at a slightly cheaper price?
Sure, there's extra goodies - unique ones too - but this really isn't enough to tempt me...
Some odd numbery things going on here, but:
They're trying to hit anniversary bundle prices with regular c-store content, angling for more cash via inflation rather trying to boost engagement rates. It's not tempting but this is the call they're making and natural consequences are all that's left to play out. We've given feedback on these dynamics before and the degree of hard sale is only increasing (possibly as a response to flagging engagement. Trying to squeeze more out of who's left spending money, rather than tackling core issues in approach which have alienating effects, would be one explanation for observed responses). Simply not finding a limit yet on how hard they can push would be another (though after the 13th anniversary bundle had to be adjusted I don't think that's likely. They've found actionable limits but keep pushing regardless.)
There's really not much to do besides not spend money (to the degree they want), which would seem likely to only increase the intensity of their sales pitch (reinforcing alienation) rather than giving pause for introspection (though the community has certainly been asked to apply that kind of consideration for the needs of others on big issues.)
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However, I'm concerned by how the Augur and Justiciar have "hangar bays: 0" listed in their info (it's normally omitted if there's no bays), so I don't know if it's a typo and they're supposed to have bays, or somehow the stat got listed for ships that don't have it. I'd love it if both of those ships DID have hangar bays.
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I wouldn't have any problem with hangar bays just being listed as zero now when applicable, you get a definitive answer when seeing that vs. reading over a couple times to see if you just missed it (easier confirming a negative answer with a data point than the lack there of). So if this is an oversight from not clipping a line from a design document it could be worth taking as standard practice from here.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
As someone who's used these ships many a time over the years in the original configurations when the game launched, I'm honestly confused to how the seating for these ships were determined. Looking at the seating, these feel swapped from what these original ships were, least to me they do anyway. The only thing flashback I'm seeing with these are an updated design.
If you were to show me the layouts only and then tell me these are an update of three of the ships the game launched with without any photos or other descriptors, I'd've told you these were the Assault Cruiser, Advanced Escort, and Reconnaissance Science Vessel. Not the Star Cruiser, Patrol Escort, and Deep Space Science Vessel
The patrol escort was always a more engineering focused ship, not science. Science was the Advanced Escort. The Star Cruiser was a more science focused cruiser. Tactical was the Assault Cruiser. The Deep Space Science Vessel was engineering focused, I believe. Tactical was the Reconnaissance Science Vessel. I get it, there's the argument of the universal slot on these to fill that void, but that's not my point. It feels like to me somebody missed the mark when planning the BOff layouts for these ships when updating them. And honestly, it's really disappointing to see.
This is also another missed opportunity to update some of the legacy KDF ships in the game that were the counterparts to these. This game isn't just Feddy Bears online. Throw the old war dogs a bone here.........
Now for the rest of the "fluff" in this bundle..... Why? Is it really that hard to just have a straight ship bundle without all the fluff that a lot of people don't want? The added bull is a mega deterrent for me in wanting to even look at this. I know I'm not alone in that train of thought. I'm not interested in more uniforms I'd never use, ground weapons I'd never touch, and tokens I'll never have a use for. Is it seriously that hard to offer a version of these bundles that just has the ships and nothing else?
I love the old Dervish/Gryphon/Hermes/Maelstrom/Tempest line and have wanted to see a T6 version for a while, but I take one look at the Cyclone and can't justify it enough to want to get. Same with the other two.
The only thing I'm glad to see is that the Cyclone doesn't have a fused tail gun that the T5.5 Patrol Escort had.
I like the Science Ship and Cruiser Redo; but the Patrol Escort I've been waiting on for years isn't good in my opinion, Escorts can be more than Intel ships... The T6 Patrol would've made a Wicked Command or Miracle Worker Type Ship. They really should release a poll on Upcoming ships for Specialization Seating/Types, instead of just making every escort Intel.
You're getting an extra T6 ship in there too (which you actually listed in your list below this quote, so I'm not sure why you're not factoring it into your costing)
That means you're paying 500 zen for the extra stuff, which isn't bad at all if you would get all the ships anyway.
For me, I'm only interested in the Patrol Escort right now. The ships all look great though.
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That'd work too, as long as it's clearly established.
Probably the intel lean, which follows flanking, which follows the inversion of the tail gun dynamic (making it ironically very good at shooting things from behind).
Ie. they got the memo but the ship's core design feature evidently pushed it in a more conventionally useful direction (there's more SCI synergy to intel than ENG), which is better for players who want to be using this thing effectively. As a patrol escort fan since 2012 (the kitbashes are my favorite 2409 design, sorry Oddy) I'm happy with the package. And they can always make another variant (eng-heavy, miracle worker spec) later. They're very nearly out of old FED ships to release (all but Constellation/Cheyenne and Pioneer being obscure wolf 359 kitbashes or the Yeager) and absolutely nothing from the newer shows is coming to regular c-store these days. So another patrol escort is a pretty easy thing to slot into the wish list. It's a great kitbashing platform, more parts always welcome.
Also, TMP era patrol escort needs to be a thing (riffing on the griffon class, dervish would be too easy)
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The package price is set at an insanely high whales-only level, and since it is impossible to afford the fact that individual ships in one of those packages is marginally lower than standard T6 c-store price is totally irrelevant. If the ships are not available separately after a reasonably short time it will be extremely disappointing.
And yes, they totally dropped the ball with the Patrol Escort. If the lore is really that it is the upgrade of the original Patrol Escort then it should be Miracle Worker instead of Intel. There is no reason why an escort could not be MW, they don't all have to be clumsy huge hippo ships, and engineering tricks are just as much of a Trek staple as science tricks.
The boff seatings, however, look weird to me. Each one is somewhat off, and still offers nothing new or special.
I was hoping for something more unusual, like 2 commanders maybe, to mark these ships' important position in the history of STO.
There should be alternatives as mission rewards or lobi for them.
Give it time. They'll be in Mudd's Market soon enough.
As for me, I'd like to add those flashlights to my "old weapons collection," but not while they're bundled with everything else.
That's interesting about the Augur to Nautilus similarities & the Justiciar to Concorde/Presidio similarities.
I really like the design of the Justiciar but I always appreciated the Star Cruiser design too.
The Cyclone's console & trait really interest me.
I'm not a big fan of the Augur's "has a chance to trigger" versus the certainty of the other 2 ships.
It's also a shame no livestream to showcase the bundle.
Yeah. I'm still really excited for the ships, though! I just hope if they goofed again like with the Hydra, they fix it.
There's also how I pointed out the Augur and Justiciar both have a listed stat of "hangar bays: 0", when a lack of bays normally means the stat is omitted. I hope it means they're supposed to have a hangar, but I doubt that.
Alternatively the team is settling on a given set of stats/layouts as being good enough (even if copied) and relying on the art and accessories to sell the ships. If push came to shove I'd say I wouldn't mind (since I'd be hard pressed to give the precise difference in shield modifiers or turn rate on any two ships of the same class), and if you hadn't posted this I wouldn't have likely noticed for these (if they are the final stats). Ideally, I'd like variation (since it shows care/consideration/effort) but chances of me protesting down the line if this continues is very low. A solid bar's being met just by putting compelling ship designs in the regular c-store.
Mudds market includes loot box and event content, IIRC they've never carved off a bundled exclusive to release on their own. See. every legendary starter bundle's goodies (even though those are single character unlocks and could reasonably justify account unlocking as a selling point). The stuff already exists for whale consumption at high c-store price tags, no need to double up in Mudd's and (to the presumptions that underlie having exclusives in the first place) anger the imaginary person who's investing major emotional energy into having these items as exclusives in bundles that already justify themselves on discounted value.
To quote a classic Halo meme: "I can has Recon" circa 2008 but for cash somehow manifesting as a major point of self identity (from an innocuous and frequently repeated bundle format that no one places any status in having) is the idea that says these items can't come outside said bundle (later, at the very least, at mudd's prices). And that, no matter how many times an update's made rare content more accessible (ex. reputation gear for marks, account unlocking event ships, event campaigns, phoenix store) to zero tribbles given by existing content holders. Take unlocking accolade Omega reputation armor for the latest example for how much exclusivity matters (and that's something players could have invested career-defining pride in).
The only community trouble they've ever gotten in is making the Genesis device for sale in the new Genesis Bundle, which was very much a Recon style memento with major emotional investment and player-defining symbology. Though Cryptic pushed forward regardless of the very direct negative feedback there, demonstrating that they believe this psychological dynamic (underpinning their entire approach to exclusive bundle content) has no actual power or value in maintaining in the strongest possible example STO could come up with. Exclusivity was explicitly made a subordinate concern to increased player accessibility, even with intense push back on very human pains (and zero economic stakes in about-facing, New Genesis is the best value bundle in the game as is. You can't be any more honest in what you believe in but in these moments.)
So take the "industry wisdom" being applied as you will here. It's a bad idea for bundles that they demonstrably don't put any actual faith in, but it means we'll never see this stuff more accessibly distributed. Because it fits expected practice for F2P "enticement" models and innovating on monetization seems to be done with.
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
Yeah. I didn't notice either, until someone pointed out one of them, too. I might be worried about if there's been an error, but I do love the setups. I'm still really excited to use the ships when they're out.
Each also seems to be a very *classic* representative of their specialization, so that might be why old layouts were fair game. The Nautilus is the newest, being from 2016, so it's not as if most modern players will have much familiarity (it's part of the back catalog of c-store ships now on a theme the IP hasn't touched on at all in its revival. Player attrition over time is going to make it an increasingly small part of the community experience).
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
Yeah, that makes sense. Not worried about that so much anymore (the ships feel awesome to fly), but I AM highly concerned about the bug with the Cyclone's trait, and how it has an unfinished model, and the Augur looks that way too if you look close.
(The Cyclone has no rear phaser strips, has no visible turret hardpoints, and has missing geometry on the grill on the underside of the hull, and has no shuttlebays. The Augur is missing aft RCS thrusters but otherwise looks done.)