Ideas and Predictions for Massive STO Expansion/ New Seasonal Content

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.

Bumping this and reminding myself that I want to reply when I'm home :)

You've pretty much summed up my thoughts on the state of the game given it's history and storyline. I'm reserving judgement for season 11 because it is Star Trek, but I also have to be honest and say that i am not too hyped with what it's expected to bring.

As for an Exploration System: I agree, i would love to see something new... Sure the star clusters of old with "random" missions and the occasional away mission got stale and repetitive, but while exploring in those days I still nonetheless managed to find my away team literally wandering through strange new worlds, from beautiful forests overlooking huge canyons to towering crystalline structures that dominated the landscape and overhead. Even missions involving first contact had some decent stories about the culture of the new race we were meeting.

They had the right idea, but it didn't get much attention as the game and story arc developed through the seasons. It was a wonky system for sure, but it was something. Instead of improving upon it, they just removed it entirely from the game... While I get that the majority of players don't prefer the more mellow gameplay, it still does not bode well with Star Trek fans that the franchise's flagship game doesn't feature the exploration aspect of Trek much. Sure, there's the Foundry, and while it's a powerful tool and Stonewall is fortunate to have some talented authors, it simply should not be the player's role to create content for a game, IMHO.

At this point, I'm doubting whether or not Cryptic has the resources (or is willing to devote much) to building a new exploration system. But with respect to your post, I too wonder what is next for STO now that the war is over, and I strongly feel that DOFF'ing and timegated point-and-click gameplay can only go so far.

BUt that's just my own assessment, I am also curious what other folks think of STO's road ahead post-season 11. I love your suggestions.

Steve

PS: So this big update coming up with extended downtime, is it believed that improvements to the game or the engine are expected? I figured they may just be upgrading hardware and services to address the lag/network issues. Either way, it wouldn't hurt. ;)

I looked into it and it's just standard maintenance, more geared to refreshing hardware and such. I over sold it.

As for new content updates, I spoke with a friend of mine about this while carpooling home. It's MMO fatigue: companies building and hosting MMO's never really update the game system, just create 'new content' which is just reskinned versions of existing content.
Take the reputation system for example. They are all basically the same. Every other update might have some build in missions and such, but it's nothing more than grinding through the same kind of battles for gear that is only marginally different. The only value is maybe either esthetic or novelty for some players... but there is nothing new or exciting.

Star Trek could offer so much to build variable game play, especially since this is the only Trek we really get (aside from fan made content) and it's sad that Cryptic would rather stick to the same tired MMO methods instead of building in fun and challenging new aspects to game play. As I said, all the pieces are there... but instead of organizing them into something interesting they just keep churning out more of the same.

Season 11 is coming though. There'll be new feature episodes (released as per the last few on a monthly basis with new rewards weekly). At launch there will be a new lockbox, new rep, admiralty system and some STFs.

But see that is my issue with this. The new episodes might be fun and all, but the new lock boxes, rep system, and updates are all the same. Carbon copies of what we already see where there is no variety or challenge. It's just going to be more grinding through repetitive missions (dependent entirely on random luck in what groups you're stuck with) for gear that isn't much different than what you already can get. It's just a re-skin, that's all

Engine limitations though. The game is almost six years old. There's only so much they can drag out of it.

By now an updated game Engine could be integrated

100% agree with you, though sadly its STO is aimed at DPS players,
This is why im so looking forward to "No Mans Sky" .. (when its released in 50 years time... :p )

But your idea of Stealing the mass effect idea in going from system to system, and running your scanner over the planets surface to find minerals or R&D stuffs at random could also be interrogated.. but tedious for some.. and a bit like dil mining.. but it gets you around the galaxy.
Like EvE has a lot of exploration elements.

I fear that wont change.. excitement will be raised at new PVEs and rep systems.. but as said before me.. its just remodled respeced things that we will be bored with in 3 months.
its just this game is heavily geared towards being the best killer .. but thats what makes them money, they wont make a living if they put in to much exploration stuff in, as its free to do and will make them no money.

I just stay in the game for my friends and the fleet really, to avoid the monotony of log in.. pve pve pve.. refine dil, reached limit.. do again tommorow.. log out.

I'll make no pretense that I've been among STO's fanboys - that is to say, a certain subset of the playerbase that will cheerlead for any new developments.

There are things Cryptic chooses to do that are great, and others, less so.

I can speak only for myself, but I'm reasonably certain I'm not alone in the opinion that the essential narrative thrust of 10 seasons worth of content has generally not been strong. Individual episodes certainly stand out - and the remastering process clearly indicates that Cryptic has an ongoing commitment to elevating the quality of its content.

That doesn't take away from the superlative talents of writing staff and other content development staff that Cryptic's employed over the years, Kestrel and Tacofangs most notably.

I'll be frank, and go ahead and say that 10 seasons worth of content - taken as one extended narrative told as gameplay - I would simply not recommend to either the most casual gamer, the most hardcore gamer, the most passing fan of Trek, or the most dedicated Trekkie.

Which is a shame, since (particularly later in the development process) there are clear elements of quality throughout the game.

At a narrative level, it boils down to one of the most classic arguments since the first announcement pre-Alpha days, before Cryptic even picked up the license: the divide between gamist and simulationist gameplay. It's an argument that extends beyond STO into other licensed properties, and even into original franchises.

That tension could perhaps be described in two directins: as elements of the Trek premise and universe that may not translate very well into game mechanics (like say, the old diplomacy or exploration systems), or gameplay that doesn't quite fit or sometimes outright controverts established Trek canon (like, say - the extensive player economy).

In a hypothetical ideal, the game can apply both gamist and simulationist ends in a synergistic manner - and there are game systems that do a pretty good job of bridging that tension - like, say the Doff system. But that's not the real world of deadlines, limited capital and resources, and a demanding playerbase from both gamist and simulationist viewpoints. So, Cryptic's herculean task has been to prioritize largely gamist gameplay, with tip o' the hat respect to simulationist gameplay.

If I had to synposize a critical opinion of STO - it's a reasonably good pair of space and ground games, with a passing resemblance to the Trek universe.

But I'm not alone in being of the opinion that the principles of diplomacy and exploration are key, central elements of the Trek premise have been woefully underserved by Cryptic's development priorities.

The point of New Dawn seems to be the most direct answer to that problem that Cryptic has offered since they essentially extracted the exploration and diplomacy elements of gameplay. It could be great, or possibly the opposite of that - but most likely, given the constrained resources Cryptic has available - probably somewhere in between those extremes.