I have been playing STO for almost a year now and have noticed some flaws in game play. Now I know some of these issues are being addressed in upcoming content the Devs are working on but I felt the need to use the forum to offer some suggestions on improvements and content that needs added. The list will be fairly long and it will give the impression I dont like the game or I think it stinks. Nothing can be further from the truth, I enjoy playing the game and would continue to play it whether any of my suggestions are heeded or not. As anyone knows who has ever played an MMO before, a good MMO is always in a constant state of flux, ever evolving to meet the needs/wants of the players. This has to be so or else the MMO will lose its players and die so input from the forums is the most valuable tool the Devs have. So far the STO team has accomplished this goal and exceeded my expectations and I thank them for the improvements and content thus far. As I said above these are just suggestions so Trolls, those afraid of change, and crazies feel free to criticize all you want just dont expect me to waste time debating it with you. Those wishing to add to or have a better ideas to anything I have posted I encourage you to post a reply and your input is highly welcomed. Now on to my musings.
If you dont know whats broken you dont know what to fix. One of my Grandfathers favorite sayings.
Fantasy vs. Sci Fi = Apples vs. Oranges On the surface fantasy and sci fi seem similar and are usually lumped into the same genre but although they are both works of fiction they differ greatly on how the characters interact with their world. Example A very rare purple longsword of death fits very well within a fantasy setting but a very rare purple phaser beam doesnt fit the sci fi genre, in fact its kind of absurd. In the sci fi genre there is just equipment, no pluses to hit or dmg, just the weapon and what it does. Now in Sci Fi super weapons do exist but are usually a singular item and wielded by the antagonists. A.k.a. the DeathStar and I believe the Romulans had a disruptor beam in TOS that could destroy bases and ships with one shot but the ship was destroyed and the prototype weapon was never seen again. Instead of following the WOW concept and have all kinds of uncommon, rare, or very rare weapons/equipment just have weapons and equipment. You already have different types of energy weapons phaser, disruptor, plasma, etc. Phasers and disruptors are common energy weapons but plasma, anti-proton, and the others are rare in their own right and need not be colored and have bonuses added, the chance to do additional dmg, bypass shields, or take out a ships system is already there. This is true of all STO equipment. These different types of energy weapons/equipment could cost more and be harder to come by thereby taking the place of colored items. Not only would this fit a sci fi and Star Trek theme better it would also go a long way in balancing PVP.
PVP/PVE = Oil/Water Like oil and water PVP and PVE do not mix very well, what works for one may not work for the other. In the history of MMOs it has been the bane of Devs to try and balance these two separate styles of gameplay. Where PVP requires a leveled playing field to work best PVE works better if there are fewer limitations. In a fantasy setting where rare magical weapons, equipment, and armor exist balancing the two styles can be very difficult but STO is sci fi and should be treated differently than a WOW setting. In a sci fi setting the ultra rare plate armor +10 vs dragon fire doesnt exist so it would be best not to copy the herd and have uncommon, rare content. As I stated above use what you have and for the PVErs come up with prototype or alien equipment that is rare in its own right and doesnt have to be colored to designate it as so. The acquisition of such equipment should involve completing a very difficult task or be extremely hard to find. Also it would be best if this equipment was prohibited from PVP maps, players would have to switch to more mundane stuff before entering PVP.
It is better to be original than echo anothers work. Rick Linden, circa 2011
Cheater, Cheater, Cheater We all know they are out there and we all know how they are accomplishing it so I wont go into any detail describing the how to prevent those morally degenerate and integrally bankrupt from committing the same acts. Its a problem that affects both space and ground based PVP and needs to be addressed. So far STOs stand on this matter has been to keep it hush hush or outright ignore the situation. Not only is this the wrong way to handle this situation it wrongs US the fair players. And it is hitting STO in the wallet. These cheaters mainly cruise the lower lvls preying upon the new comers and I have seen lots of new players quit the game entirely because of this. What needs to be done is come up with a method of detection, actively monitor the PVP matches, and catch those who are cheating. A system of punishment vs number of offenses needs to be worked out and I would go as far as having a Wall of Shame on the STO website and post the names/handles of the offenders caught. If the GMs are too busy or theres not enough to do the job, find players who will do it for free, give them the software to detect and apprehend the offenders. The cheaters are one of the main reasons you can be queued for hours of gameplay and never get a match, this is a genuine problem and its time for STO to do the right thing.
Ground PVP I know there is an update already in the works to address this problem but I have a few suggestions. Also some of the problems with PVP I have already discussed in the above content so I wont go into those here. One of the main problems with ground PVP is the balance in the Tact, Eng, Sci, officer classes. STO has followed the same generic theme other MMOs use by having tanks, mages, and healers. Its time to think outside the box and try something different. Because heres the problem with that there are not equal amounts of the classes being Qd for the matches, a team can consist of all Tact officers vs a team of all Eng officers. What needs to be done is let the different classes keep their special abilities but rebalance them so each class can go toe to toe with the other. It would be much easier to rebalance the classes than regulate what classes are queued for PVP.
Space PVP Space PVP has the same problems as ground PVP, the ship classes are not balanced. I know in the real world an escort/frigate has little chance of defeating a cruiser but the gaming world and PVP demand a level playing field. Rebalance the ship classes and the classes of officers Captaining them so each can go toe to toe with the other.
Melee & Martial Arts I dont know how many times I have chased another player around with my Batleth or fists and been blowed away before I could as much as scratch them. This is realistic but isnt gameplay practical. For some reason the NPCs that use these same abilities have a root capability the PCs seem to lack, if the root for PCs exists then the chance to root needs to be upped. PCs need to have this root ability (Or chance for it upped) for melee/MA and need to do more dmg than they do to be effective or else they are nothing more than game fluff and may as well be a costume piece. I would also like to see more melee weapons made available (I know some have already been added) and racial specific martial arts = different animations for the different styles. Grappling maneuvers would be nice too.
Tiny Toon PVPers Many ground PVP players make these tiny little toons that are hard to target, hard to track, and difficult to see. Basically this is a game exploit and gives them an unfair advantage in PVP matches. To offset this advantage make it so the smaller the toon the easier it is to knock them off their feet. Yes I know alien races can be small but still be dense enough to weigh as much as a bigger person. But there is a ratio between how dense you are vs how well/fast you can move. For those who want to be small but not be knocked off their feet so easily then add a density slider to the character creation process but make it so the denser you are the slower you move. This is a definite game flaw and needs fixed.
Fauna & Flora While the visuals are stunning on the planets we visit they are lacking in sight and sounds of animals and plants. The calls of various animals, buzzing of insects, and the sight of beautiful/weird birds, bugs, and plants would add ambience to these planets we visit. This could also be an opportunity to setup dangerous encounters where when you beam down you not only have to fear the enemies youll be facing but also dangerous plants and animals that attack friend and foe alike. Dangerous hunts can be made available where you have to track and bag a dangerous plant/animal. Klingons would have these skinned, stuffed, and mounted as trophies where the politically correct Feds could stun, take DNA sample, and mount a hologram. Another good use of critters is have the salt vampire creature lure off your bridge officers one by one, kill them, assume their likeness till only you and it are left. Would be cool to make this a random encounter. Dont forget the giant aborigines in TOS that attacked Spock and crew while they tried to fix their broken shuttlecraft, Im sure devious uses could be concocted from violent and aggressive beings.
Racially Specific Ships & Starting Points for Klingon Faction It makes sense for the Federation players to have a mutual starting point and fly the same types of ships because they are united under the same government with a common goal. The Klingon Faction however consists of different governments united for a wartime purpose (Or in the Gorns case, pressed service) whose societies do not necessarily have the same goals. And it is unrealistic to think the Klingons are going to let other races fly their ships and get their cloaking technology. This is not really a flaw but for continuitys sake and be more in tune with the Star Trek universe it makes more sense for the Klingon Faction races to fly their own ships and start on their own worlds. This is something that doesnt have to been done all at once either; it can be accomplished slowly over time as content is added. And for those who play races other than Klingons who just have to have a cloak, older cloaking devices can be obtained to mount on their ships that are more on par with mask energy signature. Alien race characters can pick any starting point and ship thats not Klingon.
These cheaters mainly cruise the lower lvls preying upon the new comers and I have seen lots of new players quit the game entirely because of this. What needs to be done is come up with a method of detection, actively monitor the PVP matches, and catch those who are cheating. A system of punishment vs number of offenses needs to be worked out and I would go as far as having a Wall of Shame on the STO website and post the names/handles of the offenders caught.
The correct procedure for the player here is to report another player if they feel they are using any form of cheat, hack or exploit. Discussing it on the forums is not allowed - not because of 'hushing up'; but because you want to get rid of someone who cheats and not bait even more people into doing it.
If someone breaks the rules and the GMs have proof (and more on this in a moment), then we do take action. But this does not mean that the moment anyone opens a ticket, the GMs will decent upon them like a wrathful messenger of godly forces.
What may look odd to a player may look fully different to a Customer Support member who indeed has access to much, much more data about the other player than the one who reported them. They can (and will) check in on reported players and will take action - IF they have proof. Without that, we will not bother them. Because they pay us to enjoy their game. Just as the one who reported them did.
Previous experience as a GM showed me that often a reported player is simply very, very, VERY good at what they are doing - such as PvP. Other times a certain combination of items and powers gives them a fully ledgit advantage. And very often you'll find that if you just nicely contact such a player with words along the lines of "Oh WOW, you totally rolled me just now. How'd you do that, that was amazing!!"... you may find that they actually will explain what happened.
You, the other guy of the screen, your fellow posters - YOU ALL are a customer. Naming and Shaming will not happen here. It happens on some communities and Stormshade only recently stated that he is unsure of the actual value of such methods. I stand by him in that matter.
These cheaters mainly cruise the lower lvls preying upon the new comers.
I believe these are known as Smurfs...
It's not really cheating or exploiting, but more of a cowardly attempt to boost their own ego. I do not, however believe this is a big problem in STO. I think most of the assumed Smurfs are just players leveling a new alt.
Cheater, Cheater, Cheater We all know they are out there and we all know how they are accomplishing it so I wont go into any detail describing the how to prevent those morally degenerate and integrally bankrupt from committing the same acts. Its a problem that affects both space and ground based PVP and needs to be addressed. So far STOs stand on this matter has been to keep it hush hush or outright ignore the situation. Not only is this the wrong way to handle this situation it wrongs US the fair players. And it is hitting STO in the wallet. These cheaters mainly cruise the lower lvls preying upon the new comers and I have seen lots of new players quit the game entirely because of this. What needs to be done is come up with a method of detection, actively monitor the PVP matches, and catch those who are cheating. A system of punishment vs number of offenses needs to be worked out and I would go as far as having a Wall of Shame on the STO website and post the names/handles of the offenders caught. If the GMs are too busy or theres not enough to do the job, find players who will do it for free, give them the software to detect and apprehend the offenders. The cheaters are one of the main reasons you can be queued for hours of gameplay and never get a match, this is a genuine problem and its time for STO to do the right thing.
Euh... How can someone prey on low lvl player in pvp when we do not have open pvp? PVP match are based on the player level so are you telling us a player say with the rank of VA is able to enter a Captain on Commander pvp match?
Cheater, Cheater, Cheater We all know they are out there and we all know how they are accomplishing it so I wont go into any detail describing the how to prevent those morally degenerate and integrally bankrupt from committing the same acts. Its a problem that affects both space and ground based PVP and needs to be addressed. So far STOs stand on this matter has been to keep it hush hush or outright ignore the situation. Not only is this the wrong way to handle this situation it wrongs US the fair players. And it is hitting STO in the wallet. These cheaters mainly cruise the lower lvls preying upon the new comers and I have seen lots of new players quit the game entirely because of this. What needs to be done is come up with a method of detection, actively monitor the PVP matches, and catch those who are cheating. A system of punishment vs number of offenses needs to be worked out and I would go as far as having a Wall of Shame on the STO website and post the names/handles of the offenders caught. If the GMs are too busy or theres not enough to do the job, find players who will do it for free, give them the software to detect and apprehend the offenders. The cheaters are one of the main reasons you can be queued for hours of gameplay and never get a match, this is a genuine problem and its time for STO to do the right thing.
honestly i think there is not so much cheating going on in pvp. the only thing i've seen so far is exploiting some bad game mechanics like using fire at will with dual beam banks (which has been fixed). well, you could even discuss if faw+dual beam banks was an exploit or not. at least i've seen no i-win-buttons since season 1 (remeber viral matrix from hell and friggin' feedback pulse?). when i lose a game i can tell for sure why it was lost. in pugs it is mostly a lack of teamwork in general. premade fights are a bit more complicated, but long story short: when we lose a game, someone made a fault or we had a bad team setup (or we were drunk, sometimes all of this).
what i really don't wanna see are captain kirks full impulsing right into the enemy group with no backup, then calling me a cheater and blaming me on a friggin' website because i shot that moron. really, giving players the ability to punish others will lead to chaos. i can't count how many times i was called a cheater just because i was the better player or had a lucky shot. there are a lot of dudes out there who can't stand to lose a match and they will call you everything just to feel a bit better. if you give them the opportunity to punish you they will abuse it for sure.
i don't get the part why you don't get a game. i don't have to wait long to get a game (space of course). if you are referring to ground, well, i have to use the words of beagles: lol ground. but i hope, that the ground revamp will bring some fun into ground pvp. we'll see.
Space PVP Space PVP has the same problems as ground PVP, the ship classes are not balanced. I know in the real world an escort/frigate has little chance of defeating a cruiser but the gaming world and PVP demand a level playing field. Rebalance the ship classes and the classes of officers Captaining them so each can go toe to toe with the other.
it is a team game, there is no need to balance things around 1 vs. 1 scenarios. we (my fleet) don't have problems with any ship class. everyone have its uses (and we use/need them all).
...
Previous experience as a GM showed me that often a reported player is simply very, very, VERY good at what they are doing - such as PvP. Other times a certain combination of items and powers gives them a fully ledgit advantage. And very often you'll find that if you just nicely contact such a player with words along the lines of "Oh WOW, you totally rolled me just now. How'd you do that, that was amazing!!"... you may find that they actually will explain what happened.
Exactly! And what's more, sometimes the other person (or persons) isn't even very good. Sometimes they are just better than you (used in the general, not as you specifically) and the sooner we get over ourselves the sooner we can get down to the important part. As was said, just ask what's up! ^^
Exactly! And what's more, sometimes the other person (or persons) isn't even very good. Sometimes they are just better than you (used in the general, not as you specifically) and the sooner we get over ourselves the sooner we can get down to the important part. As was said, just ask what's up! ^^
Euh... How can someone prey on low lvl player in pvp when we do not have open pvp? PVP match are based on the player level so are you telling us a player say with the rank of VA is able to enter a Captain on Commander pvp match?
yes this is possible by a lower level person doing a challenge invite on a higher level player or vice versa. I know cuz an Ltc once invited me a VA to a 1 on 1 cap and hold..:p
yes this is possible by a lower level person doing a challenge invite on a higher level player or vice versa. I know cuz an Ltc once invited me a VA to a 1 on 1 cap and hold..:p
Lemme guess, He soon learnt the meaning of the word "Owned"... LOL
With regards to the whole cheating comment i will say this, it applies to space pvp because thats all i play so i can't comment on ground.
99.999% of the people playing this game have actually zero clue how to play properly and are just plain bad or average players, due to either lack of skill or lack of time to learn the game properly.
So when they meet that person that makes up the 0.001% of people that actually knows their stuff inside out, has played every class and almost every ship in both factions, has fought countless battles both solo and teamed both with and against the best players in the game and has well over 1000 hours of playtime in STO. Oh and then add to that that said person has pretty much dominated everyone in every other video game they every played in because they wanted to be the best.
Yes when they meet this 0.001% they get owned hard and cry cheat, when there is no cheat at all.
When you run into this player he is not playing for fun, he is playing to own you as hard as he can and make you cry. This player type exists in all games, do not confuse them for cheater and most certainly don't throw accusations around without proof.
To my knowledge the only supposed "cheats" in STO that affected space PVP, where abuse of known broken skills like DBB FAW and tac buffs & APD buffing SCI powers improperly. All of which has been fixed.
The ship classes are balanced fine atm, they each have their roles, pros and cons and work depending on any given situation or combination of allied or opposing ships. Sure some ships are much more effective than others and work still needs to be done, but every ship can't be perfectly balanced against each other. The game is balanced around a 5v5 team setup not 1v1.
Oh and word of advice, you want to win in PVP then build your ship around your team and work together. Even when i dont fly with my fleet in pvp's and just do pug matches. All my ships are designed for some purpose to benefit the team, whether it be healer, science debuffer or damage spiker. If you run with some selfish build designed for PVE solo play you will die fast.
99.999% of the people playing this game have actually zero clue how to play properly and are just plain bad or average players, due to either lack of skill or lack of time to learn the game properly.
I agree with everyhting you said as a person who did not enjoy pvp until I came to STO.
After hardwork and repeated deaths, my eyes have been opened to its joys and pitfalls.
I'm a 99.999% !!! I'm a 99.999%. Seriuosly I enjoy pvp but I am winging at times for fun more than anything else.
Thank you for your thoughful thread/post. I agree with a number of your observations and opinions.
As players, we definitely do not "see" the big picture. From my perspective, most of the questionable aspects of pvp in STO are designed features and items working synergistically for those players who have either learned through experience, or benefitted from another players knowledge.
Sadly, there are a number of pvp'rs who enjoy "pwning" less experienced players and then tossing out the perjorative mantra "Learn To Play" (that's L2P...for the really l337 playaz...:) While such poor conduct makes for a bad gaming experience, it doesn't constitute an unfair advantage, becuase, presumably, anyone would be able to acquire the same items and employ the same tactics.
Personally, I have chosen to abandon regular pvp in sto, as "keeping up with the joneses" requires a lot of play time and game currency . When I do engage in casual pvp, I find myself praying for a pug team that knows how to cooperate, as that can sometimes offset a pvp "ringer" on the opposing team.
As for your suggestions regarding the Klingon faction...I second that thought. Of course, I am in support of anything which improves the non-federation experience for the STO community...:)
I agree with everyhting you said as a person who did not enjoy pvp until I came to STO.
After hardwork and repeated deaths, my eyes have been opened to its joys and pitfalls.
I'm a 99.999% !!! I'm a 99.999%. Seriuosly I enjoy pvp but I am winging at times for fun more than anything else.
I have no ego to crush....that's why I can enjoy PvP,win or lose. That said.....I like to win,but I can enjoy my defeat when that defeat was hard earned by my enemy.
With regards to the whole cheating comment i will say this, it applies to space pvp because thats all i play so i can't comment on ground.
99.999% of the people playing this game have actually zero clue how to play properly and are just plain bad or average players, due to either lack of skill or lack of time to learn the game properly.
So when they meet that person that makes up the 0.001% of people that actually knows their stuff inside out, has played every class and almost every ship in both factions, has fought countless battles both solo and teamed both with and against the best players in the game and has well over 1000 hours of playtime in STO. Oh and then add to that that said person has pretty much dominated everyone in every other video game they every played in because they wanted to be the best.
Yes when they meet this 0.001% they get owned hard and cry cheat, when there is no cheat at all.
When you run into this player he is not playing for fun, he is playing to own you as hard as he can and make you cry. This player type exists in all games, do not confuse them for cheater and most certainly don't throw accusations around without proof.
To my knowledge the only supposed "cheats" in STO that affected space PVP, where abuse of known broken skills like DBB FAW and tac buffs & APD buffing SCI powers improperly. All of which has been fixed.
The ship classes are balanced fine atm, they each have their roles, pros and cons and work depending on any given situation or combination of allied or opposing ships. Sure some ships are much more effective than others and work still needs to be done, but every ship can't be perfectly balanced against each other. The game is balanced around a 5v5 team setup not 1v1.
Oh and word of advice, you want to win in PVP then build your ship around your team and work together. Even when i dont fly with my fleet in pvp's and just do pug matches. All my ships are designed for some purpose to benefit the team, whether it be healer, science debuffer or damage spiker. If you run with some selfish build designed for PVE solo play you will die fast.
lolz oh really that happens to me every time, usually it takes 3 of them to take me down and even then it takes a while every time that happens i get called a "cheater" why cus i know wen to use what skill to keep my ship battle-ready, some times even me come across a guy that swoops in and kills me in one pass, i don't cry "cheater" no i wonder what did i wrong and after time getting killed by that player i see his tactic and then he can't kill me in one pass, ok he did it in the next pass lol but that aside
anyways there allot of cry-baby's out there that mistake "SKILL" for "CHEAT". like many people said be fore L2P (learn to play).
i can't Imagen someone cheating in this game. i say even more every report of a "cheater" is made by someone that don't fully understand the situation he was in!
yes this is possible by a lower level person doing a challenge invite on a higher level player or vice versa. I know cuz an Ltc once invited me a VA to a 1 on 1 cap and hold..:p
Ok but that is not really open pvp because you have to accept the challenge first and technically you can see someone rank before doing so...
Thank you for your thoughful thread/post. I agree with a number of your observations and opinions.
As players, we definitely do not "see" the big picture. From my perspective, most of the questionable aspects of pvp in STO are designed features and items working synergistically for those players who have either learned through experience, or benefitted from another players knowledge.
Sadly, there are a number of pvp'rs who enjoy "pwning" less experienced players and then tossing out the perjorative mantra "Learn To Play" (that's L2P...for the really l337 playaz...:) While such poor conduct makes for a bad gaming experience, it doesn't constitute an unfair advantage, becuase, presumably, anyone would be able to acquire the same items and employ the same tactics.
Personally, I have chosen to abandon regular pvp in sto, as "keeping up with the joneses" requires a lot of play time and game currency . When I do engage in casual pvp, I find myself praying for a pug team that knows how to cooperate, as that can sometimes offset a pvp "ringer" on the opposing team.
As for your suggestions regarding the Klingon faction...I second that thought. Of course, I am in support of anything which improves the non-federation experience for the STO community...:)
There are people that just say L2P and are dicks and revel in their win over an enemy they considered inferior.
But there are also people that say L2P and mean: Hey, if y ou got questions, ask them. Come in the OPvP channel. Go to the forums. Send us a tell (not a hate tell, please, a question). Join one of our teams, even join our vent.
Unfortunately, there are some people that don't listen. Some can't, because they don't have the required time to do all that, and are just glad to squeeze off a few hours of PvP a week. But a lot don't seem to because they don't seem interested in learning and prefer changing the game instead.
IF you want to change the game, fine - but first learn how it works. If you don't, you cannot reason well about why your changes are neccesary. People will just assume that you didn't do your homework, that you got pawned and see only fault in others.
There is stuff in the game that is not perfectly balanced, stuff that could be revised. That doesn't mean the state is horrendous, though, and it doesn't mean you actually need to bring good arguments in a debate.
I agree with the cheater part, but what I do not know is why no steps are taken. Yes, I have read WishStone's answer - and I perfectly agree that if the guy pays for his account, he's entitled to fair review and all that. No problem.
However...
The flashpoint of the cheating is Kerrat. There are 3 players - which I will not name because of the forum rules, but every regular Kerrat visitor knows who I am talking about - that heavily abuse the instance. Yes, I know the instance generally has many ways how it can be abused and exploited, but that still doesn't make it cool to do that. I like Kerrat - I like open PvP in general - and I have been watching these same players do the same "tricks" for more than two months now. I reported them myself several times and I am sure other players reported them too.
The exploits they are using are blatant and obvious (again, I won't go into that here, but ye olde tag the hulk exploit is one of them), yet there was nothing done about that. How is that possible?
Euh... How can someone prey on low lvl player in pvp when we do not have open pvp? PVP match are based on the player level so are you telling us a player say with the rank of VA is able to enter a Captain on Commander pvp match?
They continually remake a toon and prowl the lower lvls.
With regards to the whole cheating comment i will say this, it applies to space pvp because thats all i play so i can't comment on ground.
99.999% of the people playing this game have actually zero clue how to play properly and are just plain bad or average players, due to either lack of skill or lack of time to learn the game properly.
So when they meet that person that makes up the 0.001% of people that actually knows their stuff inside out, has played every class and almost every ship in both factions, has fought countless battles both solo and teamed both with and against the best players in the game and has well over 1000 hours of playtime in STO. Oh and then add to that that said person has pretty much dominated everyone in every other video game they every played in because they wanted to be the best.
Yes when they meet this 0.001% they get owned hard and cry cheat, when there is no cheat at all.
When you run into this player he is not playing for fun, he is playing to own you as hard as he can and make you cry. This player type exists in all games, do not confuse them for cheater and most certainly don't throw accusations around without proof.
To my knowledge the only supposed "cheats" in STO that affected space PVP, where abuse of known broken skills like DBB FAW and tac buffs & APD buffing SCI powers improperly. All of which has been fixed.
The ship classes are balanced fine atm, they each have their roles, pros and cons and work depending on any given situation or combination of allied or opposing ships. Sure some ships are much more effective than others and work still needs to be done, but every ship can't be perfectly balanced against each other. The game is balanced around a 5v5 team setup not 1v1.
Oh and word of advice, you want to win in PVP then build your ship around your team and work together. Even when i dont fly with my fleet in pvp's and just do pug matches. All my ships are designed for some purpose to benefit the team, whether it be healer, science debuffer or damage spiker. If you run with some selfish build designed for PVE solo play you will die fast.
If it takes so much time to learn to play or learn special builds then there is a serious game inbalance.
The correct procedure for the player here is to report another player if they feel they are using any form of cheat, hack or exploit. Discussing it on the forums is not allowed - not because of 'hushing up'; but because you want to get rid of someone who cheats and not bait even more people into doing it.
If someone breaks the rules and the GMs have proof (and more on this in a moment), then we do take action. But this does not mean that the moment anyone opens a ticket, the GMs will decent upon them like a wrathful messenger of godly forces.
What may look odd to a player may look fully different to a Customer Support member who indeed has access to much, much more data about the other player than the one who reported them. They can (and will) check in on reported players and will take action - IF they have proof. Without that, we will not bother them. Because they pay us to enjoy their game. Just as the one who reported them did.
Previous experience as a GM showed me that often a reported player is simply very, very, VERY good at what they are doing - such as PvP. Other times a certain combination of items and powers gives them a fully ledgit advantage. And very often you'll find that if you just nicely contact such a player with words along the lines of "Oh WOW, you totally rolled me just now. How'd you do that, that was amazing!!"... you may find that they actually will explain what happened.
You, the other guy of the screen, your fellow posters - YOU ALL are a customer. Naming and Shaming will not happen here. It happens on some communities and Stormshade only recently stated that he is unsure of the actual value of such methods. I stand by him in that matter.
Inregards to "what may look odd" wiping out a whole team of experienced players singlehandedly and taking fire from all 4 without going down is alot more than "being an expert pvp'er". I have seen this quite often, and the reporting is less than useful. As to naming and shaming, if theyre caught something needs to be done, some punishment needs to happen. Also if a combination of weapons so inbalances pvp then maybe you need to standardize equipment in pvp.
If it takes so much time to learn to play or learn special builds then there is a serious game inbalance.
I disagree.
One does not have to pvp to enjoy STO. PvP is a side distraction for those looking for combat against a living opponent and such contests of skill always require a learning curve to compete on a competant level.
PvP always gravitates towards a FOTM set-up that is adopted and used by the majority due to its proven effectiveness in said combat. Fotm can not be "balanced" out of pvp as there are those whom will always do the legwork to discover what works best and there are those whom will always adopt said techniques into thier own builds once siad information goes public.
Casual PvP is a mythical beast, as nothing is every causal when playing against other living opponents.
honestly i think there is not so much cheating going on in pvp. the only thing i've seen so far is exploiting some bad game mechanics like using fire at will with dual beam banks (which has been fixed). well, you could even discuss if faw+dual beam banks was an exploit or not. at least i've seen no i-win-buttons since season 1 (remeber viral matrix from hell and friggin' feedback pulse?). when i lose a game i can tell for sure why it was lost. in pugs it is mostly a lack of teamwork in general. premade fights are a bit more complicated, but long story short: when we lose a game, someone made a fault or we had a bad team setup (or we were drunk, sometimes all of this).
what i really don't wanna see are captain kirks full impulsing right into the enemy group with no backup, then calling me a cheater and blaming me on a friggin' website because i shot that moron. really, giving players the ability to punish others will lead to chaos. i can't count how many times i was called a cheater just because i was the better player or had a lucky shot. there are a lot of dudes out there who can't stand to lose a match and they will call you everything just to feel a bit better. if you give them the opportunity to punish you they will abuse it for sure.
i don't get the part why you don't get a game. i don't have to wait long to get a game (space of course). if you are referring to ground, well, i have to use the words of beagles: lol ground. but i hope, that the ground revamp will bring some fun into ground pvp. we'll see.
it is a team game, there is no need to balance things around 1 vs. 1 scenarios. we (my fleet) don't have problems with any ship class. everyone have its uses (and we use/need them all).
As i have stated before, a balance of team/classes is not always Q'd for a match so the team will always be uneven. The only way to correct htis is to balance the classes.
Exactly! And what's more, sometimes the other person (or persons) isn't even very good. Sometimes they are just better than you (used in the general, not as you specifically) and the sooner we get over ourselves the sooner we can get down to the important part. As was said, just ask what's up! ^^
All of this is absolutely true. (o_o)b
This isnt a matter 'of getting over ourselves" its a mattter of game inbalance and cheating in pvp. I find the ones who fight thge changes the hardest are usually the ones cheating or exploiting game inbalance.
honestly i think there is not so much cheating going on in pvp. the only thing i've seen so far is exploiting some bad game mechanics like using fire at will with dual beam banks (which has been fixed). well, you could even discuss if faw+dual beam banks was an exploit or not. at least i've seen no i-win-buttons since season 1 (remeber viral matrix from hell and friggin' feedback pulse?). when i lose a game i can tell for sure why it was lost. in pugs it is mostly a lack of teamwork in general. premade fights are a bit more complicated, but long story short: when we lose a game, someone made a fault or we had a bad team setup (or we were drunk, sometimes all of this).
what i really don't wanna see are captain kirks full impulsing right into the enemy group with no backup, then calling me a cheater and blaming me on a friggin' website because i shot that moron. really, giving players the ability to punish others will lead to chaos. i can't count how many times i was called a cheater just because i was the better player or had a lucky shot. there are a lot of dudes out there who can't stand to lose a match and they will call you everything just to feel a bit better. if you give them the opportunity to punish you they will abuse it for sure.
i don't get the part why you don't get a game. i don't have to wait long to get a game (space of course). if you are referring to ground, well, i have to use the words of beagles: lol ground. but i hope, that the ground revamp will bring some fun into ground pvp. we'll see.
it is a team game, there is no need to balance things around 1 vs. 1 scenarios. we (my fleet) don't have problems with any ship class. everyone have its uses (and we use/need them all).
If palyer volunteers were used I'm sure strict guidlines would be established also as i have said they would have the software/means of detection so if you weren't guilty of anything you'd have nothing to worry about.
This isnt a matter 'of getting over ourselves" its a mattter of game inbalance and cheating in pvp. I find the ones who fight thge changes the hardest are usually the ones cheating or exploiting game inbalance.
I'd be interested in hearing your examples of cheating in PVP since there really doesn't seem to be any. Some people play only for PVP. They work hard to get the most out of their ships, builds and abilities. Anyone can play this game but there are always going to be those who work harder than anyone else and raise the bar.
I don't buy this bit about people camping the lower levels just to give people a hard time. There are at this point 6 different captain types between the two factions and each provides different game play options. Everyone can buy more character slots so it's more likely that you are just seeing people leveling their alternate characters. Personally, I enjoyed some of the lower levels.
It is a team game. One can not effectively balance a team game around 1 on 1 situations. The fact that the queues allow us to queue up individually may be misleading but ultimately the side that teams up and works together the best (or at all) is going to win. If you or anyone else is troubled by this perceived imbalance perhaps you should attempt to organize beforehand. It's actually quite fun when people work well to support one another.
The game itself is quit balanced. It is unlikely that there is cheating. If you provided specific examples I'm sure there are people who could explain why what you are seeing isn't cheating. The game doesn't play itself (in spite of what some people seem to want). You have to play it and there is always going to be someone else willing to play it harder. That's not an imbalance that the game itself can correct for. If you are getting stomped, learn what they are doing and work on countering it.
The correct procedure for the player here is to report another player if they feel they are using any form of cheat, hack or exploit. Discussing it on the forums is not allowed - not because of 'hushing up'; but because you want to get rid of someone who cheats and not bait even more people into doing it.
If someone breaks the rules and the GMs have proof (and more on this in a moment), then we do take action. But this does not mean that the moment anyone opens a ticket, the GMs will decent upon them like a wrathful messenger of godly forces.
What may look odd to a player may look fully different to a Customer Support member who indeed has access to much, much more data about the other player than the one who reported them. They can (and will) check in on reported players and will take action - IF they have proof. Without that, we will not bother them. Because they pay us to enjoy their game. Just as the one who reported them did.
Previous experience as a GM showed me that often a reported player is simply very, very, VERY good at what they are doing - such as PvP. Other times a certain combination of items and powers gives them a fully ledgit advantage. And very often you'll find that if you just nicely contact such a player with words along the lines of "Oh WOW, you totally rolled me just now. How'd you do that, that was amazing!!"... you may find that they actually will explain what happened.
You, the other guy of the screen, your fellow posters - YOU ALL are a customer. Naming and Shaming will not happen here. It happens on some communities and Stormshade only recently stated that he is unsure of the actual value of such methods. I stand by him in that matter.
I would also like to point out that while I realize not everyone is cheating there are issues with cheating on the game as well as severe game imbalance in pvp. So rather than sarcasm more affirmitive action is required.
Klingon Ship PVP & Cloaking In the movies and various series Klingons used the cloaking ability to ambush enemy ships and fire on them before they could raise their shields, a very nasty advantage. Unfortunately in STO everyone flies around 24/7 with their shields up so not only is the advantage of cloak taken away but it also takes a few seconds for all the systems to power up after decloaking so now they are the ones at a disadvantage. There are a couple ways I see to fix this oversight that would be fair to everyone.
Fix 1 Make it so shields have to be activated by clicking an icon in the action bar, once activated the shields will drain power from all systems at a set speed until clicked to deactivate. This will prevent anyone from flying around with shields always on and still enable the advantage of cloak. With these changes The Fed ships would have to wait till they were attacked to raise shields because leaving them on would put them at the same disadvantage or worse. To offset the cloak Fed ships need a better hull rating and the ability to detect the cloak; this could be a Fed specific sensor skill where the more adds the better the chance of detection. Once detected all Fed ships in the area could see the cloaked ship (Its assumed the info will be circulated) and be able to fire on the cloaked vessel whose shields are down. Cloaking could be handled the same way by making it a sensor skill where its cloak skill vs detection skill.
Fix 2 Eliminate the powering up of systems upon decloaking and give Klingon ships the ability to mount more weapons. Klingon ship warfare consists of ambush and then overwhelm your opponent with fire power. Klingons give more attention to offense than they do defense in space combat, mounting more weapons that take energy/power away from shielding. So Klingon ships have less powerful shields than their Fed counterparts, this should balance the factions out with some tweaking.
This is going to be a balancing act I dont envy anyone attempting. Not only do you have to balance the ships with each other in their factions but between the factions themselves. I didnt say it was going to be easy, it just needs to be done.
Flight Controls The flight controls are difficult for some people to use. You have to remember Star Trek has been around for a long time and you have fans from all ages. A friend of mine who is over 60 tried playing the game but had so much difficulty controlling his ship (His arthritis prevented him from pressing both mouse buttons while steering ship with the mouse) that he finally gave up trying to play. I imagine he isnt the only older player so it would make sense to alter the game controls so they are easier to use (And yes we tried altering the controls through the game but the feature is limited). This would open the game to a broader audience/subscribers not to mention an increase in revenue. My elder friend likes space games and still plays the older Microsoft game Freelancer. He is able to manipulate the controls for this game even with his arthritis. The Devs need to get their hands on this game and take a good look at it; it has other features that they might find useful. I have played Freelancer and find it to be one of the best space combat games made. If youre going to copy a feature copy one that works and is from the same genre.
Grenades Grenades would be better served if they could be bought and replenished as hypos and other consumables are.
Human Player Race The racial traits for humans are very tame for a race that dominates Federation Space. I recommend adding a 3rd trait that represents why humans dominate, Versatility. This a space/ground combo trait that gives humans a crit/dmg bonus chance to space combat and expose/crit/dmg bonus to ground combat.
Klingon Faction Costumes The Klingon Faction really needs more costume selection. Ive seen Klingons on episodes wearing robes so I know they wear clothing other than armor. For Klingon attire I would look at Mongol garb and design from there. Egyptian/Spartan attire would work nicely for Orions and shirtless/pantless Gorns that you see the NPCs wear/not wear could be an nice feature. As for the other races I have no suggestions other than get creative.
That sums up the things I wanted to suggest/complain about, for now at least. Its quite a bit to sort through but I know these are definite problems/flaws that need to be taken care of. As you may have noticed most of the flaws I pointed out are with PVP, thats because thats where most of the problems exist. Anyway I hope this information is useful and the Devs heed some of the suggestions. For those who dont like change and like to bleat with the flock probably will not like my suggestions. To them I say Too Bad, change needs to happen in order for an organism, idea, or anything else you can think of to grow. So bleat somewhere else and follow the ram over the cliff.
Hmmmm while i can sympathize.....understand we are at a state of war....when at impulse it is required of all starfleet officers to travel in systems at yellow alert (shields raised)...as a defensive posture.
This is primarily due to sneak attacks from klingons sitting in cloak while on routine patrols....the loss of ships due to this tactic has brought about the requirement of yellow alert.
Of course when in sector space....not required...as you are at warp......
Hows that?
You have some good ideas though.....wouldnt mind trying them out myself.....
As i have stated before, a balance of team/classes is not always Q'd for a match so the team will always be uneven. The only way to correct htis is to balance the classes.
I disagree.
1 vs 1 is not a realistic pvp balance concept in that not all vessels are realistically able to go toe to toe in combat. This is best represented by the fact that a single BoP can't easily take down a single cruiser, but several BoPs can do so with less difficulty.
In PvE this level of balance is suspended to give the playing persona the joy of being abkle to play thier favorite vessels. Since no one is hurt or has thier egoes bruised when they lose in PvE it seems fair and balanced to me.
As to PuGs, thats the downside to pugs. You do not have the luxury of having a good team everytime your que up and must make due with what you have to work with.
I would also like to point out that while I realize not everyone is cheating there are issues with cheating on the game as well as severe game imbalance in pvp. So rather than sarcasm more affirmitive action is required.
What imbalance?
What vessel is so heavily handicapped or under supported as to be imbalanced when stacked against the others?
What class is so over-the-top in capability that it is the obviuos advantageous class to play?
Is it the Cruiser, in that a cruiser can tank very well and survive hellish onslaughts of firepower?
Is it the Escort, in that a escort can deliver devastating damage when used by a competant player?
Is it the Science, whom can shutdown, stun or otherwise delay your vessel in an deluge of crowd control?
I hear complaining but see little evidence to what specifically is the issue that you have problems with.
Enlighten me and others in this thread.
Comments
The correct procedure for the player here is to report another player if they feel they are using any form of cheat, hack or exploit. Discussing it on the forums is not allowed - not because of 'hushing up'; but because you want to get rid of someone who cheats and not bait even more people into doing it.
If someone breaks the rules and the GMs have proof (and more on this in a moment), then we do take action. But this does not mean that the moment anyone opens a ticket, the GMs will decent upon them like a wrathful messenger of godly forces.
What may look odd to a player may look fully different to a Customer Support member who indeed has access to much, much more data about the other player than the one who reported them. They can (and will) check in on reported players and will take action - IF they have proof. Without that, we will not bother them. Because they pay us to enjoy their game. Just as the one who reported them did.
Previous experience as a GM showed me that often a reported player is simply very, very, VERY good at what they are doing - such as PvP. Other times a certain combination of items and powers gives them a fully ledgit advantage. And very often you'll find that if you just nicely contact such a player with words along the lines of "Oh WOW, you totally rolled me just now. How'd you do that, that was amazing!!"... you may find that they actually will explain what happened.
You, the other guy of the screen, your fellow posters - YOU ALL are a customer. Naming and Shaming will not happen here. It happens on some communities and Stormshade only recently stated that he is unsure of the actual value of such methods. I stand by him in that matter.
I believe these are known as Smurfs...
It's not really cheating or exploiting, but more of a cowardly attempt to boost their own ego. I do not, however believe this is a big problem in STO. I think most of the assumed Smurfs are just players leveling a new alt.
Euh... How can someone prey on low lvl player in pvp when we do not have open pvp? PVP match are based on the player level so are you telling us a player say with the rank of VA is able to enter a Captain on Commander pvp match?
honestly i think there is not so much cheating going on in pvp. the only thing i've seen so far is exploiting some bad game mechanics like using fire at will with dual beam banks (which has been fixed). well, you could even discuss if faw+dual beam banks was an exploit or not. at least i've seen no i-win-buttons since season 1 (remeber viral matrix from hell and friggin' feedback pulse?). when i lose a game i can tell for sure why it was lost. in pugs it is mostly a lack of teamwork in general. premade fights are a bit more complicated, but long story short: when we lose a game, someone made a fault or we had a bad team setup (or we were drunk, sometimes all of this).
what i really don't wanna see are captain kirks full impulsing right into the enemy group with no backup, then calling me a cheater and blaming me on a friggin' website because i shot that moron. really, giving players the ability to punish others will lead to chaos. i can't count how many times i was called a cheater just because i was the better player or had a lucky shot. there are a lot of dudes out there who can't stand to lose a match and they will call you everything just to feel a bit better. if you give them the opportunity to punish you they will abuse it for sure.
i don't get the part why you don't get a game. i don't have to wait long to get a game (space of course). if you are referring to ground, well, i have to use the words of beagles: lol ground. but i hope, that the ground revamp will bring some fun into ground pvp. we'll see.
it is a team game, there is no need to balance things around 1 vs. 1 scenarios. we (my fleet) don't have problems with any ship class. everyone have its uses (and we use/need them all).
Exactly! And what's more, sometimes the other person (or persons) isn't even very good. Sometimes they are just better than you (used in the general, not as you specifically) and the sooner we get over ourselves the sooner we can get down to the important part. As was said, just ask what's up! ^^
All of this is absolutely true. (o_o)b
Posting amusing PvP chat in a new thread?:p
LoL. Noooooo. That only leads to infractions...
yes this is possible by a lower level person doing a challenge invite on a higher level player or vice versa. I know cuz an Ltc once invited me a VA to a 1 on 1 cap and hold..:p
Lemme guess, He soon learnt the meaning of the word "Owned"... LOL
99.999% of the people playing this game have actually zero clue how to play properly and are just plain bad or average players, due to either lack of skill or lack of time to learn the game properly.
So when they meet that person that makes up the 0.001% of people that actually knows their stuff inside out, has played every class and almost every ship in both factions, has fought countless battles both solo and teamed both with and against the best players in the game and has well over 1000 hours of playtime in STO. Oh and then add to that that said person has pretty much dominated everyone in every other video game they every played in because they wanted to be the best.
Yes when they meet this 0.001% they get owned hard and cry cheat, when there is no cheat at all.
When you run into this player he is not playing for fun, he is playing to own you as hard as he can and make you cry. This player type exists in all games, do not confuse them for cheater and most certainly don't throw accusations around without proof.
To my knowledge the only supposed "cheats" in STO that affected space PVP, where abuse of known broken skills like DBB FAW and tac buffs & APD buffing SCI powers improperly. All of which has been fixed.
The ship classes are balanced fine atm, they each have their roles, pros and cons and work depending on any given situation or combination of allied or opposing ships. Sure some ships are much more effective than others and work still needs to be done, but every ship can't be perfectly balanced against each other. The game is balanced around a 5v5 team setup not 1v1.
Oh and word of advice, you want to win in PVP then build your ship around your team and work together. Even when i dont fly with my fleet in pvp's and just do pug matches. All my ships are designed for some purpose to benefit the team, whether it be healer, science debuffer or damage spiker. If you run with some selfish build designed for PVE solo play you will die fast.
As players, we definitely do not "see" the big picture. From my perspective, most of the questionable aspects of pvp in STO are designed features and items working synergistically for those players who have either learned through experience, or benefitted from another players knowledge.
Sadly, there are a number of pvp'rs who enjoy "pwning" less experienced players and then tossing out the perjorative mantra "Learn To Play" (that's L2P...for the really l337 playaz...:) While such poor conduct makes for a bad gaming experience, it doesn't constitute an unfair advantage, becuase, presumably, anyone would be able to acquire the same items and employ the same tactics.
Personally, I have chosen to abandon regular pvp in sto, as "keeping up with the joneses" requires a lot of play time and game currency . When I do engage in casual pvp, I find myself praying for a pug team that knows how to cooperate, as that can sometimes offset a pvp "ringer" on the opposing team.
As for your suggestions regarding the Klingon faction...I second that thought. Of course, I am in support of anything which improves the non-federation experience for the STO community...:)
I have no ego to crush....that's why I can enjoy PvP,win or lose. That said.....I like to win,but I can enjoy my defeat when that defeat was hard earned by my enemy.
lolz oh really that happens to me every time, usually it takes 3 of them to take me down and even then it takes a while
anyways there allot of cry-baby's out there that mistake "SKILL" for "CHEAT". like many people said be fore L2P (learn to play).
i can't Imagen someone cheating in this game. i say even more every report of a "cheater" is made by someone that don't fully understand the situation he was in!
Ok but that is not really open pvp because you have to accept the challenge first and technically you can see someone rank before doing so...
There are people that just say L2P and are dicks and revel in their win over an enemy they considered inferior.
But there are also people that say L2P and mean: Hey, if y ou got questions, ask them. Come in the OPvP channel. Go to the forums. Send us a tell (not a hate tell, please, a question). Join one of our teams, even join our vent.
Unfortunately, there are some people that don't listen. Some can't, because they don't have the required time to do all that, and are just glad to squeeze off a few hours of PvP a week. But a lot don't seem to because they don't seem interested in learning and prefer changing the game instead.
IF you want to change the game, fine - but first learn how it works. If you don't, you cannot reason well about why your changes are neccesary. People will just assume that you didn't do your homework, that you got pawned and see only fault in others.
There is stuff in the game that is not perfectly balanced, stuff that could be revised. That doesn't mean the state is horrendous, though, and it doesn't mean you actually need to bring good arguments in a debate.
However...
The flashpoint of the cheating is Kerrat. There are 3 players - which I will not name because of the forum rules, but every regular Kerrat visitor knows who I am talking about - that heavily abuse the instance. Yes, I know the instance generally has many ways how it can be abused and exploited, but that still doesn't make it cool to do that. I like Kerrat - I like open PvP in general - and I have been watching these same players do the same "tricks" for more than two months now. I reported them myself several times and I am sure other players reported them too.
The exploits they are using are blatant and obvious (again, I won't go into that here, but ye olde tag the hulk exploit is one of them), yet there was nothing done about that. How is that possible?
They continually remake a toon and prowl the lower lvls.
If it takes so much time to learn to play or learn special builds then there is a serious game inbalance.
Inregards to "what may look odd" wiping out a whole team of experienced players singlehandedly and taking fire from all 4 without going down is alot more than "being an expert pvp'er". I have seen this quite often, and the reporting is less than useful. As to naming and shaming, if theyre caught something needs to be done, some punishment needs to happen. Also if a combination of weapons so inbalances pvp then maybe you need to standardize equipment in pvp.
I disagree.
One does not have to pvp to enjoy STO. PvP is a side distraction for those looking for combat against a living opponent and such contests of skill always require a learning curve to compete on a competant level.
PvP always gravitates towards a FOTM set-up that is adopted and used by the majority due to its proven effectiveness in said combat. Fotm can not be "balanced" out of pvp as there are those whom will always do the legwork to discover what works best and there are those whom will always adopt said techniques into thier own builds once siad information goes public.
Casual PvP is a mythical beast, as nothing is every causal when playing against other living opponents.
As i have stated before, a balance of team/classes is not always Q'd for a match so the team will always be uneven. The only way to correct htis is to balance the classes.
This isnt a matter 'of getting over ourselves" its a mattter of game inbalance and cheating in pvp. I find the ones who fight thge changes the hardest are usually the ones cheating or exploiting game inbalance.
If palyer volunteers were used I'm sure strict guidlines would be established also as i have said they would have the software/means of detection so if you weren't guilty of anything you'd have nothing to worry about.
I'd be interested in hearing your examples of cheating in PVP since there really doesn't seem to be any. Some people play only for PVP. They work hard to get the most out of their ships, builds and abilities. Anyone can play this game but there are always going to be those who work harder than anyone else and raise the bar.
I don't buy this bit about people camping the lower levels just to give people a hard time. There are at this point 6 different captain types between the two factions and each provides different game play options. Everyone can buy more character slots so it's more likely that you are just seeing people leveling their alternate characters. Personally, I enjoyed some of the lower levels.
It is a team game. One can not effectively balance a team game around 1 on 1 situations. The fact that the queues allow us to queue up individually may be misleading but ultimately the side that teams up and works together the best (or at all) is going to win. If you or anyone else is troubled by this perceived imbalance perhaps you should attempt to organize beforehand. It's actually quite fun when people work well to support one another.
The game itself is quit balanced. It is unlikely that there is cheating. If you provided specific examples I'm sure there are people who could explain why what you are seeing isn't cheating. The game doesn't play itself (in spite of what some people seem to want). You have to play it and there is always going to be someone else willing to play it harder. That's not an imbalance that the game itself can correct for. If you are getting stomped, learn what they are doing and work on countering it.
I would also like to point out that while I realize not everyone is cheating there are issues with cheating on the game as well as severe game imbalance in pvp. So rather than sarcasm more affirmitive action is required.
Fix 1 Make it so shields have to be activated by clicking an icon in the action bar, once activated the shields will drain power from all systems at a set speed until clicked to deactivate. This will prevent anyone from flying around with shields always on and still enable the advantage of cloak. With these changes The Fed ships would have to wait till they were attacked to raise shields because leaving them on would put them at the same disadvantage or worse. To offset the cloak Fed ships need a better hull rating and the ability to detect the cloak; this could be a Fed specific sensor skill where the more adds the better the chance of detection. Once detected all Fed ships in the area could see the cloaked ship (Its assumed the info will be circulated) and be able to fire on the cloaked vessel whose shields are down. Cloaking could be handled the same way by making it a sensor skill where its cloak skill vs detection skill.
Fix 2 Eliminate the powering up of systems upon decloaking and give Klingon ships the ability to mount more weapons. Klingon ship warfare consists of ambush and then overwhelm your opponent with fire power. Klingons give more attention to offense than they do defense in space combat, mounting more weapons that take energy/power away from shielding. So Klingon ships have less powerful shields than their Fed counterparts, this should balance the factions out with some tweaking.
This is going to be a balancing act I dont envy anyone attempting. Not only do you have to balance the ships with each other in their factions but between the factions themselves. I didnt say it was going to be easy, it just needs to be done.
Flight Controls The flight controls are difficult for some people to use. You have to remember Star Trek has been around for a long time and you have fans from all ages. A friend of mine who is over 60 tried playing the game but had so much difficulty controlling his ship (His arthritis prevented him from pressing both mouse buttons while steering ship with the mouse) that he finally gave up trying to play. I imagine he isnt the only older player so it would make sense to alter the game controls so they are easier to use (And yes we tried altering the controls through the game but the feature is limited). This would open the game to a broader audience/subscribers not to mention an increase in revenue. My elder friend likes space games and still plays the older Microsoft game Freelancer. He is able to manipulate the controls for this game even with his arthritis. The Devs need to get their hands on this game and take a good look at it; it has other features that they might find useful. I have played Freelancer and find it to be one of the best space combat games made. If youre going to copy a feature copy one that works and is from the same genre.
Grenades Grenades would be better served if they could be bought and replenished as hypos and other consumables are.
Human Player Race The racial traits for humans are very tame for a race that dominates Federation Space. I recommend adding a 3rd trait that represents why humans dominate, Versatility. This a space/ground combo trait that gives humans a crit/dmg bonus chance to space combat and expose/crit/dmg bonus to ground combat.
Klingon Faction Costumes The Klingon Faction really needs more costume selection. Ive seen Klingons on episodes wearing robes so I know they wear clothing other than armor. For Klingon attire I would look at Mongol garb and design from there. Egyptian/Spartan attire would work nicely for Orions and shirtless/pantless Gorns that you see the NPCs wear/not wear could be an nice feature. As for the other races I have no suggestions other than get creative.
That sums up the things I wanted to suggest/complain about, for now at least. Its quite a bit to sort through but I know these are definite problems/flaws that need to be taken care of. As you may have noticed most of the flaws I pointed out are with PVP, thats because thats where most of the problems exist. Anyway I hope this information is useful and the Devs heed some of the suggestions. For those who dont like change and like to bleat with the flock probably will not like my suggestions. To them I say Too Bad, change needs to happen in order for an organism, idea, or anything else you can think of to grow. So bleat somewhere else and follow the ram over the cliff.
This is primarily due to sneak attacks from klingons sitting in cloak while on routine patrols....the loss of ships due to this tactic has brought about the requirement of yellow alert.
Of course when in sector space....not required...as you are at warp......
Hows that?
You have some good ideas though.....wouldnt mind trying them out myself.....
I disagree.
1 vs 1 is not a realistic pvp balance concept in that not all vessels are realistically able to go toe to toe in combat. This is best represented by the fact that a single BoP can't easily take down a single cruiser, but several BoPs can do so with less difficulty.
In PvE this level of balance is suspended to give the playing persona the joy of being abkle to play thier favorite vessels. Since no one is hurt or has thier egoes bruised when they lose in PvE it seems fair and balanced to me.
As to PuGs, thats the downside to pugs. You do not have the luxury of having a good team everytime your que up and must make due with what you have to work with.
What imbalance?
What vessel is so heavily handicapped or under supported as to be imbalanced when stacked against the others?
What class is so over-the-top in capability that it is the obviuos advantageous class to play?
Is it the Cruiser, in that a cruiser can tank very well and survive hellish onslaughts of firepower?
Is it the Escort, in that a escort can deliver devastating damage when used by a competant player?
Is it the Science, whom can shutdown, stun or otherwise delay your vessel in an deluge of crowd control?
I hear complaining but see little evidence to what specifically is the issue that you have problems with.
Enlighten me and others in this thread.