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[Preview] Star Trek Online: Delta Rising Expansion Preview
BillMurphy
Former Managing EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 4,565
Delta Rising will expand Star Trek Online into the Delta Quadrant where the TV show Star Trek Voyager took place. It’s been 30 years since the events of Voyager and the Voyager crew made a ton of friends and enemies on its return home. In the intervening years, a new threat has emerged and no one knows who it is just yet.
Read more of Michael Bitton's Star Trek Online: Delta Rising Expansion Preview.
Try to be excellent to everyone you meet. You never know what someone else has seen or endured.
Comments
Ahh, yet more PR propaganda to bolster STO's "dismal" reputation.
The "Intel" ships are nothing more than an Al "CaptGeko" Rivera fantasy. It has no basis in canon, and ultimately does not belong in STO. Just like his "Dinosaurs with freakkin lazers shooting out of their heads".
As Delta Rising is implementing yet more grinds (new Reputation track, upgrade gear, and upgrade ships), there is very little interest for me in this coming expansion pack. I've been playing STO since early Beta, been through the "year of drought" of 2011, and supported them (mostly) through F2P. But at this point, I feel enough is enough. Al Rivera needs to go, and new lead producer put in his place. STO isn't "Star Trek" anymore, as much as it's "Al Rivera Online". Devs claim to value canon, but they keep making decisions that go contrary to Trek canon.
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So, total BS from Cryptic. Season 10 is just Season:Al Rivera and his piped dreams. The game is buggie and will always be. So, instead of fixing them Cryptic decided to make a update that add tons of bugs. Additionally, they release a upgrade system because sales was lackluster when they introduced T6 ships speculating they would be more powerful then T5U ships. Then Cryptic lowered T6 ships to compete with T5U.
The new crafting system is a time gate and dilithium sink. So, basically you have to wait months to get to a decent level and the gear gotten from it any spectular. Really Cryptic!
I play it to support my fleet mates but I spend my money on other games. The Intel ships look like garbage and not cannon looking. Cryptic wonders why players like and accept 1 out of 4 ships. No brainer, Cryptic! Stop making non-cannon garbage fest ships in which the engineers seems high or on vacation.
You poor and invalid argument has been rehashed and redone over and over throughout many years now. And the reason for it being invalid is simple. You used the term "grind" in it, this concept of "grind" is just outright stupid. There's not any game that ever been made that you don't "grind" or for better terms advance while playing.
I for one hardly believe you played this game since beta. I myself am a lifetimer and have been on it back and forth since beta and have seen some very good improvements to the game.
You argue the point on upgrading ships, upgrading gear and reputation. Exactly what IS you point? If you could come back with an example on a game JUST ONE game that you don't see leveling in, reputation, or upgrading something concept then I would see your arguments justified yet this will not happen why? Because there's no such thing as that. It seems as if you want to argue something without a pro side to this con.
And lastly as for your "Intel" officers it's plain to see that you know NOTHING of Star Trek in itself AT ALL. Why do I say this? Is because if you were actually a Star Trek fan then you would know that even though STO started this late in the game "Intel" officers have been around in Star Trek for years.
Here's something to read a little on "Intel" officer (that you say have nothing to do with Star Trek).
An intelligence officer bears responsibility for gathering and receiving intelligence for a centralized organization. This officer can serve aboard starships, space stations or even outposts or colonies.
Starfleet only allows officers with class four or higher security clearance to act as intelligence officers. (DS9: "Soldiers of the Empire")
Worf and Julian Bashir both were intelligence officers aboard Deep Space 9 during their tenure there, with the latter accepting the post for a brief time in late 2373 while the earlier served aboard the IKS Rotarran. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior", "Soldiers of the Empire")
Rota, Kira Nerys's Starfleet persona, was a deputy intelligence officer during her time on Cardassia in 2375. (DS9: "Tacking Into the Wind")
Romulans also had intelligence officers, with failure often punishable by death. (TNG: "Face of the Enemy") These officers were most likely Tal Shiar agents.
Garav ch'Rimosi was the intelligence officer aboard the USS Prometheus. (Star Trek: Prometheus)
Scott Fack served as the intelligence officer of the USS Cantabrian and USS Cantabrian-A. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions)
Christopher Thomas Robinson served as the USS Sovereign's intelligence officer in the middle-to-late 2370s. (Starfleet International)
so say we all
In response to kage71, there are numerous issues that can be fixed &/or improved upon: I don't get worked up if I think they will eventually fix an issue, but one that has been known yet dismissed patch to patch to patch is the Paratrinic Shield Array for original KDF characters. It's currently in the game for Feds & Roms, & that wasn't always the case. A small issue of course but that means it would be easily correctable too. It had been a mission reward for a long time then poof vanish for only KDF months & months ago with no official acknowledgement. I just mention it since you requested one specific example. I wont even begin the litany list of general issues usually found on the STO forums which is usual of any mmo. That being said ...
I still enjoy the game a lot. I also think STO is still one of the more generous F2P games currently. I began as a F2P player, bought a Lifetime during a sale & until recently, Cryptic did something I found suspicious, kept purchasing some Zen time to time as support for the game.
I do fear that Delta Rising might be the beginning direction of a more cash grab pay to win game, but that is speculation right now. I do not think this DR Operation's Pack is as good of a value as they had for the LoR packages versus price but that is up to each player to decide. I find it puzzling though that they began selling this package so early on without all of it's contents details given. Does DR offer STO potential in many facets of gameplay, absolutely. There's a lot of changes so with all changes they could be good or bad or more probable it'll be some of both.
Let me debunk some of your claims:
1. First, Yes I have played since Early Beta, and I have both the time played, and the accolades to back it up if you need proof. Thou why I should provide proof to someone who clearly enjoys licking Cryptics asses, is beyond me.
2. Second, yes canon allows for certain officers to fill the "Intelligence officer" role. And I am quite familiar with the examples you provided (DS9 is my favorite of the 5 Trek shwos). But in each and every one of those cases, the officer in question retained their regular Department Uniform (Worf in Command Red, which in STO is Tactical - Bashir in Medical Green, Kira in Command Red). None of those instances, separated the officer out of the regular 3-deparmtent scheme. Starfleet has an intelligence agency (it's called Starfleet Intelligence), but they employ the same type of officers as exist on Starships. Miles O'Brien (who isn't even an officer, just a high-ranking NCO), acted in an Intelligence Officer role for a limited time as well.
3. None of the above, suggests the existence that Starfleet has specific "Intelligence gathering" ships, designed for stealth roles. Cloaking Devices are strictly prohibited within Starfleet, and the only known cloak to exist (that doesn't belong in an alternate timeline), is the one aboard the Defiant (not the class, just the USS Defiant). And that one was on loan from the Romulans, to assist in "intelligence gathering" in the Gamma Quadrant (thou Sisko repeatedly violated this agreement).
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@Darkthund3r
You are missing a few key elements here. Primarially it is the Khitomer Accords that ban Starfleet from fielding ships with a cloak. Those accords are with the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire. They were broken when the Star Empire ceased to exist and the Klingon Empire declared war on the Federation.
The Federation was no longer held or bound by the declarations of those Accords at that junction, and the production of the Cloak capable Intelligence ships would have begun, we already saw Federation Cloak capable ships begin slowing making appearances with the mass produced versions of the Defiant, Galaxy X, and Avenger classes. The Intelligence vessels are simply a lateral movement along this line of thinking. No motion has been made by either the Klingon Empire, or the Romulan Republic to reactivate the accords, infact quite the opposite in fact as the shared threats have lead to a sharing of technology that is unprecedented between the Romulans and they're new allies.
Also your wrong in your assessment of the cloaking tech from Starfleet, there is also the Pegasus Phase Cloak, (ST:TNG Episode "The Pegasus") in which we learn that a super secret branch of Starfleet Intelligence (gasp, Intelligence, again) is/was devolping supercloaking tech for plug and play into ships within the Federation. (This potentially leads back to Section 31, but that is a discussion for another day.
Long and short, Federation gaining cloak technology has been long overdue in Star Trek Online given the in game lore events, as the Khitomer Accords were violated some 2 years before the game's storyline begins.
Until you cancel your subscription, you are only helping to continue the cycle of mediocrity.
kage71, that right there proves your true ignorance & fanboyism of STO. You either don't know the mechanics of STO or are conveniently overlooking it to suit your statement. You simply asked for (1) specific & I gave you one then you try to discredit it with flawed understanding/reasoning but with ego.
STO allows most storyline missions to be repeated therefore their rewards can be earned up to MK XI of rare/blue quality. The FREE ship that you spoke of was already part of that particular mission reward & still is. The disparity now is that KDF doesn't have access to it beyond your "LEVEL 10" yet Fed & Rom do.
The Paratrinic Shield Array can be a pretty darn good shield at level 50 at MK XI rare/blue. It has a pretty high shield capacity too.
Since functionality might be confusing then how does the purely cosmetic suit you? The Federation Dreadnought Cruiser for example is a staple canon ship, very popular & well known, yet for years they cannot straighten out the laser lance.
Again, simply supplying an answer to your question. I still enjoy & play STO. I played it yesterday, but that doesn't mean I don't want it to get better nor should I ignore mistakes they've made that should be acknowledged & are correctable so it goes beyond mere opinions, mine & yours.
Head to their forums & read them & learn of STO with all it's good points & bad points because it has both. The good outweighs the bad, imo, but I hope it stays that way too. Delta Rising simply could be a crossroads for STO.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey