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State of the Game 2/25/10
Rocketeer
Member UncommonPosts: 1,303
Warning this might get some haters riled up. Do not read if you cant deal with references to people "not getting" STO and cryptic not caring. Original is easier to read, quote is easier to pick apart, take your pleasure.
by Executive Producer Craig "zinc" Zinkivich
Welcome, you noble purveyors of Federation policy and fierce warlords of the Empire! Welcome one and all!Wait now... Let's just take a moment to de-cloak, disarm and drop our shields, shall we? This State of the Game is of interest to you all.
So very, very much has happened over the last few weeks! It feels like every single time I began to write a new State of the Game, we'd have to quickly douse live shard fires, juggle major play tests and push critical late night patches. By the time the dousing, juggling and pushing was done, the outline of my State of the Game would be hopelessly out of date.
Given how tirelessly we've been working, if some ethereal, omnipotent resident from the Denorios belt hadn't stepped in and considerately put the breaks on space-time with a bit of temporal wizardry, I might have found myself eternally rewriting this single State of the Game.
Thanks to you, oh great wormhole-y one!
Support:We. Are. Live. And so, supporting you -- yes, you, specifically -- is an effort that consumes us night and day.
Ask any bedraggled MMO developer about launch and they will inevitably assure you that it never, ever gets any easier. Crunch all you like, friend, it only gets harder after the game actually ships. STO is certainly no exception. Supporting a user base as large as ours requires dedication -- no, devotion! Our crew is, thankfully, more than up to the task. We are pushing the workplace warp core to maximum in an effort to better address any and every bug and issue that comes up in-game.
Our objective: Implement as many of the stability and gameplay adjustments you asked for as soon as humanoidly possible (as safe practices allow, of course). To this end, Community has put more effort into moderating the boards and CS has recently staffed up in order to get through your tickets quicker. The idea being, "we can hardly fix what we can't see."
We've also thrown a metric ton of hardware and man hours at getting the server capacity up. Our Network Operations crew has been performing admirably, to say the least. I won't begin to count the times I've heard, "Sorry, Captain! I'm giving it all she's got," come out of their work area, only to be quickly followed by a confident, Scotty-like, "It's done." Beautiful. Almost makes me want to demand them to, "fly her apart, then!" I might just because I know those boys and girls will hold it together in the end, whatever I say.
Bottom line: When -- if -- you see Queues, they should be much shorter and stability will be much better.
Game Adjustments:Now that the game is out and in your loving hands, we're taking long, hard looks at everything each and every one of you is interested in seeing changed. Cruiser turn rates? Death penalties? More open auto-fire? All those topics and more are being scrutinized by the all-seeing eye of... um, us!
Some of the few things on the way:
* Respec
* Death Penalty
* Difficulty Slider
* More open auto-fire
* Replayable missions
* Improving Memory Alpha
* Fixing those Commodity missionsAnd there are a bunch more. Weve heard you and are working on all these issues, but we want to make sure that they come out clean and finished. We hate rushing out features it inevitably leads to us accidentally breaking things we didnt have time to test. I dunno like the Red Matter Capacitor or something
Tribble ComingIn order to better accommodate our players during the Head Start weekend, we merged the physical machines dedicated to our Public Test Shard (Tribble) into the live Shard (Holodeck). It has since been difficult to find viable hardware to test new patches on before pushing them out to you.
Well, we've got more hardware now and Tribble will be up pretty soon. Problem solved.
Once Tribbles up and running (insert whatever tribble joke youd like to here) well be able to start releasing those core game adjustments to you guys for deeper testing and feedback.
Special Task Force: Infected
We're in the final stages of testing the first STF (the five-man raids we internally referred to as "Raidisodes"). STF: Infected is just about ready to release.
You know, I might actually record one of our internal play sessions. The excited cries for more shielding and healing get the blood pumping. Although, once our testers reach the end room and the action really heats up... Well, it's not exactly "family friendly" in there. Definitely going to be an exciting, thrilling mission for our players, though.
After Infected, we'll roll out more STFs. "The Cure", "The Khitomer Accord" and "Into the Hive" are all coming along nicely. We look forward to regularly releasing these and seeing what everyone thinks.
Update 1: Classy Marketable Name Coming SoonThe first major update is receiving a final coat of paint, too.
There's quite a lot of genuinely cool stuff in Update 1: Classy Marketable Name Coming Soon. Expect to see it pushed to the newly revived Tribble Public Test Shard over the next couple weeks.
New Klingon ships? Oh, my yes. And they look...awesome. Re-specs are also coming, of course. All of Cryptic can't wait to see that particular feature out the door. New PvP maps and Fleet Actions are rather nice, too.
Beyond Update 1?Right now, we're planning it. We haven't set the future of STO's content into stone because so much of it will be determined by you, but we're laying out what we'd like to focus on for the next 6 to 12 months.
* Who are the Undine and what drives them?
* How can we better exploit the Genesis System to create even more compelling content?
* Where can we boldly go next? Where shall we take exploratory missions, as there's so much potential there?
* Which faction should be playable next? Romulan? Cardassian? Pakled? Dominion? Horta? Okay, not so much the Pakleds.And thats not even the start of it! Ship interiors, more bridges, crew quarters, First Officers, Fleet advancement... You have subscribed to a service that delivers a universe unending, and we shall see that universe populated with compelling content or, by the Prophets, we will die trying.
Some people get that. Some people don't. We're here for those that do.
Throughout development, we guessed Star Trek Online might be polarizing. Some people don't get it and some people simply don't like it... But, others fall in love with their ships and captains and bridge officers. Those are the ones who can't live without beaming down to strange, new planets and participating in lively stories.
We guessed this and still we made a conscious decision to not water things down and go "mass market". Frankly, I think that's perfectly OK. Because, no matter what, there will be one single thing, now and forever, that drives everything we do: you.
We have a very healthy -- and healthily testy -- core community that gets it. And there's nothing we look forward to more than working together to make STO better.
Sad part is, you may not even know it. Far as I can tell, there're no hidden cameras and mics scattered about Cryptic's office. So, how would you know that we refer to our community almost as if it were an absent developer?
"Well, The Users think that we need to do more non-combat."
"Guys, I'm sorry to interrupt, but The Players really want ground auto-attack back. Drop what we're doing."
"We already know what you think about a death penalty, Craig but The Community really thinks it's a good idea and their opinion is more valid than yours because they probably don't own goats."
Its a little unnerving -- sometimes feels like we work with a giant multi-headed feedback monster that simultaneously loves and hates us. It whips even as it hugs! It rages even as it cries! And it fumes even when it's happy. It's unnerving, yes, but pretty freakin' rad, too.
What you guys post and say and do in-game and on the forums is the biggest factor we consider when making our decisions.
I am sorry if it ever appears that we're not listening to you or trying to make the game better. Because that is pretty much all we ever do.
-Zn
Comments
WoW... So the top man continues the arrogance at cryptic.. Did everyone working there go to the same "Dale Carnegie" class and fail? I have to agree with one of the major post on the official forums .. I don't get it.. What is it that I don't get Mr Zn? Can you talk down to me a lil more and help us all "get it".. As much as he tried to sound funny, I also read a lot of snippy remarks like "those that don't get it" to excuse all the negative post..
I wonder if all the 3rd party reviewers didn't get it either?
The line line between confidence and arrogance!
If you have to ask, you obviously didnt get it.
SCNR
Maybe im the only one who actually likes seeing people with some backbone instead of ... well wimps. And i never got whats up with this groveling thats expected from people cause you bought something from them. The guy is the executive producer of the game, thats not the same as the toilet lady calling you out.
So yeah if steve balmer points a finger at you and laughs you do what? Nerd rage a bit? Worst you can do is take your 50 bucks(or in the case of mr balmer probably a lot more) and go to another buisness. And mr balmer looks like he would gladly offer you to help you shoving that 50 bucks where the sun doesnt shine
.
So yeah i find it funny, but then again, nothing worse for me than a grown man groveling even though he knows he is in the right. I cant respect people that dont talk up once in a while, and seemingly innocent remarks which could be insults, or well not, its good drama.
I have 46 words that show you how bad your analogy is: "Developers! Developers! Developers!! Developers...
Developers! Developers! Developers! DEVELOPERS!
Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers..."
I'm curious how that death penalty is going to be implemented but I'm really looking forward to the respec and improvment of Memory Alpha.
Far as the "don't get it" thing, I think he could have used a better choice of words. A lot of games championed around here as being all that (or in some cases, USE to be all that) I wouldn't ever consider paying money for. It isn't because I don't "get" them, it's that I just don't care for those games after trying them out. Video games aren't very complicated to begin with so I don't see the need to act elitist.
Currently Playing: World of Warcraft
I have 46 words that show you how bad your analogy is: "Developers! Developers! Developers!! Developers...
Developers! Developers! Developers! DEVELOPERS!
Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers..."
I just loled in real life upon thinking back to that vid. God i almost like that freaking guy just for that(and i hate microsoft with passion), takes balls of iron to jump around like that in front of an audiance armed with camera handys and stuff
. Say what you want, but thats not a wimp.
Then again, it might have been drug abuse, still good vid.
Yeah but really, who again said there is no such thing as bad press? The more people talk about something the more other people get interested in it, even if its negative.
Edit: If bad press was working we wouldnt have smokers, or people eating fastfood.
I'm not excited at all. The respec thing, sure I could put points in better places I did, but it's not like my gameplay will change much, if at all. It's not like in other games, where a respec could pretty much redesign your whole character with new powers/abilities/powersets/spells/whatever. Here, you just do more or less damage, or abilities last more or less. Sure, I get how the min/maxers could be screaming inside by not having a perfect build, but to me, it's almost irrelevant.
Now, the main thing I do require to play the game again (since I already canceled) is the difficulty selector, and it was only mentioned as "something we'll do someday". So this 'State of the Game' only served to confirm my decision to leave.
Huh are you serious? No company ever releases details about anything but the next upcoming patch, or some big expansion down the road. Pretty sure cryptic has plans for years ahead, telling us about them is something else altogether.
Just as an example take blizzard, who are very open with previews and stuff concerning upcoming content, but they still dont release a plan for like 1+ year after cataclysm, we have no idea where they go after that.
That being said they told us they would introduce the next playable faction, which imho implies there will be more than one faction added. Thats plenty of future talk for me.
no plan past 6 to 8 months, hopefully cryptic was palnning to grab the cash and run. sell the sto title to a studio that might actually make it a playable game. and they still owe me a new spacebar. best description ive heard of sto so far is still " whack a mole in space"
IF THE ONLY DEFENCE FOR CRITICISM OF A GAME IS CALLING SOMEONE A TROLL OR HATER, THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE GAME
Huh are you serious? No company ever releases details about anything but the next upcoming patch, or some big expansion down the road. Pretty sure cryptic has plans for years ahead, telling us about them is something else altogether.
Just as an example take blizzard, who are very open with previews and stuff concerning upcoming content, but they still dont release a plan for like 1+ year after cataclysm, we have no idea where they go after that.
That being said they told us they would introduce the next playable faction, which imho implies there will be more than one faction added. Thats plenty of future talk for me.
The "State of the Game" address read like "we don't know what we're doing, we want you to tell us what to do!" to me too. If they do have plans for years in the future, then a "State of the Game" address is exactly where they'd tell us a vague outline to those plans, isn't it?
Another case in point: they don't even have a name for their first content release yet! By contrast, I'd bet that Paragon Studios has the names of the next 5 or 6 issues for City of Heroes already firmly in mind.
Agreed X...
I sense that Cryptic is doing damage control and trying to salvage what is left of the customer base.. The game has dropped $10 everywhere before the first month was up.. IMO all I'm reading is carrots being tossed around in hopes of keeping some paying subscribers to follow them.. This is not a good sign and I'm glad I never spent a dime on this game..
MMO's are so disappointing anymore.. Someone make me modern day version of Elite to play on my PC..
This information isn't even relevant to you guys.
The playerbase have STO, you have MMORPG.com.
Im starting to be put off these forums. If I play a game, I don't like it, I leave it and thats it. I don't stalk the forums and trash the developers at every corner. I hope they have thick skins lol. This sounds like an emo board at times. On a brighter note, Perpetuals other unfinished child Gods and...heroes? (I think) has resurfaced. Maybe you should put your hopes into that one.
What I hope happens from this 'disapointment' to fans who set themselves up for a fall with huge expectations, is that a small 'garage' project is made that sims live on a starship, and you can play with a select group. Kind of like that elite force voyager RPX mod.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
I thought it was really well done. It addresses pretty much everything people want right now (with idle promises and "soon", but it still addresses them meaning they are aware of what's needed), it subtely stakes sides with the fanbois against the ones that "don't get it", and it heavily plays on the emotions of fanbois, constantly saying how much Cryptic cares about "you", even "You 'specifically'" and what "you" think. Playing to emotions like this is perfect considering there's not much in the way of a rational argument that can be made, such as a statement like, "We launched the game without any endgame content in a casual game that's easy to reach level cap in a week or two because..." He also comes across as very confident and excited, which is great. Many PR people in games that have had a very rough start can come across as defensive or ragged.
All around very well done. I think it's pretty much all BS personally, and the game is going to crash and burn, but still, a good PR move here.
I disagree, this address wasn't very subtle at all. It's very obvious that Zinc is trying to pit the fanbois against those who "don't get it" or "simply don't like it" (in other words, everyone but the fanbois.) In a way, this address is a huge insult to those who bought the game and were thinking of not renewing their subscription. The purpose of this address should have been to retain as many subscriptions after the first month as possible, not burn their bridges with those possible subscribers.
Ok so if you don't think the game doesn't capture the Star Trek feel, it is in NO way the fault of the game, but the player's fault for not getting it? Lol.
The problem with that reasoning is that it not only doesn't address the problem (the problem he admits to being some don't think Star Trek Online doesn't capture Star Trek) but also that they have no intention of addressing it.
Smooth
I disagree, this address wasn't very subtle at all. It's very obvious that Zinc is trying to pit the fanbois against those who "don't get it" or "simply don't like it" (in other words, everyone but the fanbois.) In a way, this address is a huge insult to those who bought the game and were thinking of not renewing their subscription. The purpose of this address should have been to retain as many subscriptions after the first month as possible, not burn their bridges with those possible subscribers.
It's not subtle to people critical of the game, but it should come across as subtle to a fanboi. They can still maintain the claim that they value critical threads and posts on their forums while siding with the fanbois with this comment. And to be fair, they do leave way more critical threads open then I've ever seen on a new MMORPG launch.
Maybe Z man should of titled his address "State of my mind"... Only I get it
Good read.
They actually seem to adress the most pressing issues there (group content, death penalty, difficulty, non-combat related content aka exploration)...
Also ship interiors, additions to officer capabilities (first officers etc) and new playable factions as long-term goals look like a healthy focus.
BTW this thread is a nice example of how you could write a 'State of the Game' worth a nobel peace prize and some people would spit and bite like little girls. Could one of you guys tell me what you expect from a state of the game post? Something along the lines of "We're terribly sorry we screwed up so badly and hurt your feelings so much. We're shutting down the game in 2 weeks and give the IP to developer XY for free"...? Would that make you happy?
M
I don't get it....... were we just insulted? LOL
"...we made a conscious decision to not water things down and go mass market."
....... omg
I guess you didn't read all the insane parts then. I don't blame you, it was a very long letter.
Try to wrap your brains around the simple fact that there are people playing the game that like it and that dont care much for your tinfoil head future predictions, because nothing is more ridiculous than someone trying to explain to you why you cant really have fun, even if your having fun.
Also i love how people dissing this ignore 90% of the actual content announcements, while jumping straight to the part they can flame. The guy wrote like several pages, and you manage to get hung up about 1-2 sentences just because they contain flameable material.
What about the deathpenalty getting addressed, this was complained about in this very forum.
What about the difficult slider, it was complained the game is to easy in this forum.
What about respecs? Groupcontent? Autofire on ground and in space? More diplomacy? Better crafting and exploration? Communication? Dont you see they are really putting an effort into making this game fun?
This is a good State of the Game, it not only proves that the guys are actually paying attention to what we want, but that they actually try to address our problems in a timely manner. And thats damn rare in mmorpgs.
herald.warhammeronline.com/warherald/NewsArticle.war This is an example of fail State of the game, and it reads nothing like this one.
I hear you Mav. I never read the forums on MMORPG.com of games I actually play and like. I stick to the official forums of those games.
I hear you Mav. I never read the forums on MMORPG.com of games I actually play and like. I stick to the official forums of those games.
lmao good luck.. I been to those forums too.. they are just as ugly and LONGER in post then mmorpg.. and biased yet to boot..