Good day fleeties! In light of the upcoming big changes to the game for season 11, I’d love to open a discussion about change in STO. I’m approaching this from a logical standpoint of how game companies work and how priorities are determined by cost assessment and general player commitment. But if what I propose is just nonsense feel free to call me out on it! ☺
The Story: (SPOILERS! [River said flirtatiously to the Doctor])
So the setup for STO (whether or not this was the intended purpose of the original writing team) was to set all the major events of the past 25-30 years as manipulations by the Iconians. In a story that – in the end- felt like a Doctor Who series transition between one doctor to the next (I’m ok with this!), a predestination paradox sets the major players of the Alpha/Beta quadrants to an unavoidable war with the Iconians. The Fed/KDF, Romulan, Undine, Voth reputation systems and their associated story arcs all play into this event; culminating in a story apex where all the major powers are facing certain defeat. With this story line coming to a close, Cryptic/ Perfect World could put up an emotion evoking ending cinematic and say that the servers will soon be shutting down… Thankfully it doesn’t look like that is what is happening. So with 7 years and 10 seasons of STO story telling and toon building… what the hell is next?
The next coming adventures in the STO world are set to focus on exploration, the cornerstone of the Star Trek universe. With this we will see the total shut down of game servers for a massive overhaul. The nature of this I don’t know (need to research) but it certainly isn’t unusual for any MMO hosting game company to do this time to time. What we might see is a launch of an updated game engine and modernized components… hopefully. And while some of these have already been put in place, this major overhaul is most likely a needed update for –what could be- a launch of a deep and complex exploration system. Now for us long time players (well… left and came back) we remember how that started: go to a small area, find sensor blip… maybe it’s a system and maybe it’s a random item. If it is a system you might fight a few ships or just drop off some commodities… it SUCKED! The introduction of features episodes, expanded story arcs, and the reputation system helped alleviate that nonsense. There is also the possibility of the new ‘rebuilding’ campaign following the war. Something we already see a bit of with the Romulans. But if we are going to update, here are MY suggestions:
Improved use of ships/ interiors, crafting:
I admit I’m beating a long dead horse on this one… but I can’t help it. Clearly the size, scope, and logistics of the game have grown tremendously. The new system for space exploration and travel is BEAUTIFULL. Having a big wide map where you really have to travel was great, and given the massive increase in level size for feature missions it’s clear that game capacity is more than it was. So I propose this: Use these advanced features to flush out and improve ship interiors and starbase capacities. Not even for the esthetics, but for good gameplay:
1. For the sake of the games need to entice purchases, aspects can be ‘pay-to-play’ when it comes to customizations
2. Taking advantage of Doff, Boff, and crafting accessibilities, utilize this space for specialized missions or point-building exercises for reputation/crafting systems.
a. Exp: reputation points for the Voth or Undine missions can be greatly limited by player participation… it’s hard to get caught up if everyone has already moved on to something different. Develop a means for a captain to use his/her own resources to build up points and access reputation-based features.
3. Advances to the Foundry system, greatly increasing player content
4. Further development of the crafting system allowing for a more intimate and (potentially) rewarding payoff to this new “rebuilding” campaign
a. Exp. Personal tweeks to some crafted items based on player capacity. Nothing crazy, but allow each player to work on strengths or weaknesses they pay special attention to
5. Greater feel for exploration without having to construct more game components (in the same way that the show limited scenes to staying in the ship and only speaking of what is happening outside for the sake of lower filming budgets)
Solar system exploration and possible restoration following War:
I’m taking a beat here from Mass Effect (and some app games I’ve seen). With the expansion of the travel maps and the inclusion of full solar systems… why not go for broke? Exploration of planet surfaces in large quantities might bring back reminders of that awful randomization system from the early days (than again if they can do a fraction of what No Man’s Sky is doing… just sayin’). How about they through in the ability to sensor sweep and see a whole (simplified) solar system. Multiple applications here:
1. Planet – to – Planet sensor sweeps to pic up info on potential scientific or exploration surveys (Doff Missions) that can uncover crafting items, hidden missions, or potential adds to the reputation system (can be randomized by algorithm).
2. Easy but rewarding missions harkening back to classic and TNG episodes. Scan for and divert meteors, find hidden enemy threats, solve fun puzzles, ad these can be built in much easier or even randomized to greater effect!
3. Fleet support missions to help rebuild or colonize entire systems (have ideas on this that could warrant an entirely new discussion)
4. Potential for entire subsection of astrometrics that could be a huge growth potential for STO in-game and as an app expansion!
Actual Buildable Settlements:
If we are rebuilding (as a fleet or individually) let’s actually see the fruits of our labor. Lets build a system where we actually see and take part in the reconstruction of worlds, creation of colonies, and the development of infrastructure. Hey… it works in Elder Scrolls ☺
Shuttle away missions:
This speaks for itself. Something more than just those few missions or fleet actions where they make you use a shuttle occasionally. I would LOVE to see Main Shuttle Bay as a massive expansion to any ship!
Conclusion:
The point of all this is simple (if not lengthily): for 10 seasons we have had a great Star Trek themed war game, and its been a huge success for its developers especially when general player tastes are limited and available technology only allowed so much. I think a new direction – especially in an age of greater competition for gamer’s attention – would be beneficial to the developers commercially and more rewarding to the fans playing.
