So, after about a year, I updated my client and took my ship for a spin through the tutorial. Then I went to Earth Starbase and walked around a bit. Whenever some other player would walk past me, he'd look like a blob without any form. Only when they are right next to me, the right texture popped up and he looked like a normal being. Is that common? Is my comp the source of this or is the game just coded in a shitty way?
Also - I leveled up to Lieutenant Rank 2, supposedly I get another ship. But I only have the opportunity to buy another variant of the first ship, right? As all the others cost Zen to buy in the store. Or am I missing something? And how does this work when I level up to Lt. Commander - do I get the next ship for free or at least for stuff attainable ingame, without having to resort to realworld cash?
Check your settings, it's not normal if you're on higher settings, but the curve from high to low settings is pretty severe. Specifically, check detail distance - if it's set too close, moving targets can get right up to you before they switch from low to high.
You don't get a ship at lieutenant 2, you get the next one at lieutenant commander, at which point you get to pick cruiser, escort, or science vessel. You can customize your starter ship quite a few ways, but you're stuck in it for 10 levels unless you buy one of the C-store ships, none of which are really worth it in the long run. Every C-store ship below tier 5 has some bonus you can carry forward even when you stop using it, but the tier 1 ones are mostly junk. TOS Constitution gets blue phasers that level with you, but which are always a bit worse than what you could have at your level. The NX replica has a grappler, which is basically a really bad tractor beam, and the Oberth has a reusable aux/shield battery that takes up a console slot. They probably save you the most leveling time of any C-store ship, but leveling is fast enough that you really need to be getting your worth out of the carry overs to buy a C-store ship before Admiral.
As for free ships, you get them at Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain, and Rear Admiral. If you're a 600 day veteran you get one at vice admiral as well, but it's kind of limited on what you can get with it. There's slightly better ships in the C-store at every point, but the game wasn't rebalanced when they were introduced, and leveling was already easy without them.
Check your settings, it's not normal if you're on higher settings, but the curve from high to low settings is pretty severe. Specifically, check detail distance - if it's set too close, moving targets can get right up to you before they switch from low to high.
You don't get a ship at lieutenant 2, you get the next one at lieutenant commander, at which point you get to pick cruiser, escort, or science vessel.
Ok, I left out part of what I wanted to say. When I logged in, I was an Ensign, I think the account was from the beta or something. When I moused over the XP bar thingy, it said that at Lieutenant I get a new ship - Now that I am Lt. 2 I still haven't figured out if that means I can just buy another one of the starter ships (for about 8.000 dilithium) or if it is a completely new ship. Maybe I misread things or something, just wanted to know as the game wasn't very specific.
So I guess I'll have to level up to Lt. Commander for another ship.
Looking at the level rewards, and I see what you mean. But, no, you're not supposed to get a new ship there, not sure how it got in the list, it wasn't there during S5's beta test. You can't buy a second starter ship, either - the game only lets you have one ship of a class at a time.
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Fleebhas all of the fleeb juiceRegistered Userregular
Is there anything I can do in game that doesn't require any detailed movement (a la crafting in WoW)? I'd like to log in while working to complete trivial tasks, but I'd do it remotely (via VNC, LogMeIn, Teamviewer, etc...) and screen updates would be atrocious.
Check your settings, it's not normal if you're on higher settings, but the curve from high to low settings is pretty severe. Specifically, check detail distance - if it's set too close, moving targets can get right up to you before they switch from low to high.
You don't get a ship at lieutenant 2, you get the next one at lieutenant commander, at which point you get to pick cruiser, escort, or science vessel.
Ok, I left out part of what I wanted to say. When I logged in, I was an Ensign, I think the account was from the beta or something. When I moused over the XP bar thingy, it said that at Lieutenant I get a new ship - Now that I am Lt. 2 I still haven't figured out if that means I can just buy another one of the starter ships (for about 8.000 dilithium) or if it is a completely new ship. Maybe I misread things or something, just wanted to know as the game wasn't very specific.
So I guess I'll have to level up to Lt. Commander for another ship.
During the tutorial you are an ensign, then once you finish the tutorial you get promoted to lieutenant, and you get the ship that you piloted in the tutorial to command. (You were only commanding it because of an emergency during the tutorial).
Is there anything I can do in game that doesn't require any detailed movement (a la crafting in WoW)? I'd like to log in while working to complete trivial tasks, but I'd do it remotely (via VNC, LogMeIn, Teamviewer, etc...) and screen updates would be atrocious.
The doff system doesn't. If you're chasing specific projects or chains it forces you to move around sectors which may or may not be feasible, but with the department heads you can easily fill 20 slots without moving. Park in Cardassian space to get access to the special commodity missions and you can do pretty respectably without needing to move. Same thing with doff recruitment, but parking at the Academy.
Starbase contributions and project management doesn't require any movement. The reputation system is basically that but personal, so once that's out you'll probably be able to manage that as well.
Cool. I think I'm a level shy of getting doffs, so I'll check that out tonight once I level again.
I have limited playtime (maybe an hour a night), so I'm looking to do things that earn me currency (dilithium or energy credits or whatever it is) so I can afford to buy upgrades, since it's unlikely that I'll be able to find them through normal gameplay. Paying RL cash is out of the question (at least for now, anyway).
In that case, Park in starfleet academy. Run doff recruitment to build up your crew (you really can't do much with your initial set), and for currency, run the foundry mission "Easy as Pie." It's one of those one click to win missions, and it has you interact with a bush just outside of the doff recruitment building. Three clicks and you'll net 1440 dilithium and 50 fleet marks.
In that case, Park in starfleet academy. Run doff recruitment to build up your crew (you really can't do much with your initial set), and for currency, run the foundry mission "Easy as Pie." It's one of those one click to win missions, and it has you interact with a bush just outside of the doff recruitment building. Three clicks and you'll net 1440 dilithium and 50 fleet marks.
There are also 3 missions called SFA Quickie 1, 2, 3 that will all complete at the same time where you click on the rock by the lake to earn the same reward faster. :P
Its listed under the Community Authored missions, when sorted by Hot.
In that case, Park in starfleet academy. Run doff recruitment to build up your crew (you really can't do much with your initial set), and for currency, run the foundry mission "Easy as Pie." It's one of those one click to win missions, and it has you interact with a bush just outside of the doff recruitment building. Three clicks and you'll net 1440 dilithium and 50 fleet marks.
There are also 3 missions called SFA Quickie 1, 2, 3 that will all complete at the same time where you click on the rock by the lake to earn the same reward faster. :P
Its listed under the Community Authored missions, when sorted by Hot.
i have leveled 3 alts to 50 purely on doff missions and quick community missions alone.
So apparently I'm stupid, because I can't figure out how to get duty officers. I'm at the correct level, but don't have any doffs. Is there an NPC I'm supposed to talk to?
When you level up to the right level, you'll get access to a mission that'll give you your first bunch. If it doesn't come up or you can't find it, Lt. Ferra in the round building by the water at Starfleet Academy has it, and there's several contacts near that building for additional recruitment.
Starting tomorrow, October 10th, our first set of players will be reaching the 1000-day mark and are going to receive some awesome rewards.
The Chimera Heavy Destroyer is similar to an Escort, but has many qualities of Light Cruisers and Science Vessels. While in its innate Regenerative Mode, excess power is transferred to the Auxiliary System and you gain a bonus to Starship Shield Systems. It comes equipped with a prototype Dynamic Tactical System console (or DTS). This console allows you to transform your ship between Regenerative Mode and Tactical Mode. In Regenerative Mode, your Tachyon Inversion Beam is enabled, which can siphon shields from multiple targets. Activating Tactical Mode transfers power to your Weapon Systems, and increases your ships Starship Targeting Systems skill, granting an Accuracy bonus. In Tactical Mode, the DTS console enables a powerful multi-targeting Lotus, which is capable of piercing multiple targets. However, while in Tactical Mode, your Starship Shield Systems bonus, Auxiliary Power bonus and Tachyon Inversion Beam are disabled.
The Peghqu' Heavy Destroyer is similar to a Raptor, but it is much more versatile. While in its innate Regenerative Mode, excess power is transferred to the Auxiliary System and you gain a bonus to Starship Shield Systems. It comes equipped with a prototype Dynamic Tactical System console (or DTS). This console allows you to transform your ship between Regenerative Mode and Tactical Mode. In Regenerative Mode, your Tachyon Inversion Beam is enabled, which can siphon shields from multiple targets. Activating Tactical Mode transfers power to your Weapon Systems, and increases your ships Starship Targeting Systems skill, granting an Accuracy bonus. In Tactical Mode, the DTS console enables a powerful multi-targeting Lotus, which is capable of piercing multiple targets. However, while in Tactical Mode, your Starship Shield Systems bonus, Auxiliary Power bonus and Tachyon Inversion Beam are disabled.
So, slow escorts with universal LTC and ensign. Not the worst thing ever. Very disappointed they're not 10 consoles.
KDF ship gets a battle cloak with only a small shield penalty, too. That's going to pretty much retire 90% of BoPs. Definitely see myself using that one, but I don't know if I'm willing to give up my Armitage for the Federation one.
I'm not sure if the Chimera's transformation is the coolest thing ever or the goofiest shit ever:
Standard mode:
Tactical mode:
Variable geometry pylons. Like Voyager's, move the pylons to change the warp field geometry. Supposed to be more efficient, less damaging to subspace, and in the novels it's why Voyager was able to maintain slipstream when almost no other Starfleet ship could.
Looking over the pictures again, I notice that's sector space mode - it only does that at warp. I didn't notice the difference between sector space mode and standard until you pointed it out. This is standard mode:
Same nacelle configuration as tactical mode. They only close for warp.
The Klingon one does something similar, its nacelles extend at warp:
Standard mode looks like this, with shorter nacelles:
And tactical looks like this, with the big disruptor... things popping out on the top and bottom.
Not only are we having a sale on Lifetime Subscriptions from now until Monday, November 12th, at noon PDT, but we are also adding a new benefit to the program.
Starting tomorrow, after overnight maintenance is complete, all current and future Lifetime Subscribers will gain instant access to all Veteran Rewards, regardless of purchase date! This includes the 1000-Day ships that were introduced in this blog.
I get variable warp geometry. You don't need to sell me on that.
What I don't get is why it does that during a "tactical mode".
Or are you saying they only change during sector/warp? And not during space/combat?
Yeah. I mislabeled the pictures in my first post, sorry. The closed nacelles is warp only, both combat modes have them open.
I love how many LTS buyers are angry about the instant veteran rewards now. They were the ones demanding they get just this for the last two years so they're set on a nice little pedestal above regular subscribers, but now that they got theirs fuck everyone else.
Considering most of the veteran rewards weren't even in until a few days before (or in some cases after) the first people hit the achievement, it wouldn't even have helped before.
Yeah. I mislabeled the pictures in my first post, sorry. The closed nacelles is warp only, both combat modes have them open.
I love how many LTS buyers are angry about the instant veteran rewards now. They were the ones demanding they get just this for the last two years so they're set on a nice little pedestal above regular subscribers, but now that they got theirs fuck everyone else.
Considering most of the veteran rewards weren't even in until a few days before (or in some cases after) the first people hit the achievement, it wouldn't even have helped before.
I can see how people are upset. To some I imagine it's not even about what the exact rewards are; it's about trying to keep customer loyalty. Like give some benefit for people who have been loyal to a game for <X> or supported a game when its future wasn't certain. Give them a chance to show off to others that hey, "Cryptic gave me x, y, and z for supporting them with money beyond the c-store. They clearly love their customers and want me to keep spending money! Yay! I'm happy!"
Instead, they're clearly going the route, "We need money, and we don't care how we get it. We just want to get as much money as possible. Who cares about the idiots who gave us money in the past. All we want is money now."
They've shown this time and time again unfortunately such as exclusive preorder bonuses that get put on the c-store weeks after release, increased c-store costs for things that were previously very cheap, and a decided lack of actual content though there are plenty of additional grinds for zen (see the same "end-game" content essentially since release). And of course the newest, we'll give 1000 day veteran rewards (and all the other stuff) if you just throw money at us!
It's bullshit, but also completely understandable that PWE doesn't want Cryptic to release any significant content for "free" if it can be tied to something else to boost revenue. Somebody in their marketing department probably crunched the numbers and decided they could grab a bunch of new LTSubbers this way.
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SnicketysnickThe Greatest Hype Man inWesterosRegistered Userregular
TBH it makes sense to me, given that there is not much going for being subbed beyond veteran rewards. You can choose to drop a lump sum and get a big stack of benefits in one hit, or pay a smaller amount over time and get a trickle. I can understand some people who ponied up for a life sub early on being a little miffed that "latecomers" can catch up on perks that quickly, but anyone complaining that they have been paying a subscription since launch and abloo bloo bloo can take a hike, they knew what they were getting.
What they need to come up with is some kind of additional benefit for gold members, because I can't say that I feel that I am missing anything as silver and I've been playing since ftp. (That isn't a complaint!)
STO is, by far, the most-free of all the F2P games I've played. You can hit max level and experience all the gameplay content, without being noticably gimped, and not spend a dime. Unless you're one of those crazy people who does PvP, in which case you will be a bit gimped in the free ships.
Even then, it's not so much the free ships themselves as the console powers. A stock sovereign with the right consoles is still a terror - not as good as a Regent or Excelsior with the same consoles, but on par with a Galaxy-X and better than a Galaxy-R.
On the other hand, the game is a bit more expensive on the microtransaction side than some. But I appreciate that for the price of ships, what you're getting almost counts as a full playable class, since your bridge layout and console powers have at least as much impact on gameplay as your career choice. They're a bit more than a set of armor or Christ forbid one of those damn items most of the Asian F2P MMOs have that upgrades a piece of equipment one level.
They're a bit more than a set of armor or Christ forbid one of those damn items most of the Asian F2P MMOs have that upgrades a piece of equipment one level.
I find this especially amusing, considering that PWE's non-Cryptic offerings are chock full of gambling items which incrementally improve gear/pets, and are essentially required to be competitive in end-game PvP.
Yeah, I was specifically referring to them. They're actually one of the better ones for it, apparently, you can get a full set of equipment upgraded to +12 for under a hundred bucks on average. I know one game where doing the same thing will run you $500 at the low end, and the worst offender is probably an old American game I played back when it was P2P. In that one not only does fully upgrading a set of equipment cost $175, equipment durability can never be fully restored. NPCs can restore 95% of the damage to an item and the rest is permanently lost, and the best player crafters can only get that up to 99%, meaning on average a good piece of equipment will only last a couple months.
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SnicketysnickThe Greatest Hype Man inWesterosRegistered Userregular
Yeah, I was specifically referring to them. They're actually one of the better ones for it, apparently, you can get a full set of equipment upgraded to +12 for under a hundred bucks on average. I know one game where doing the same thing will run you $500 at the low end, and the worst offender is probably an old American game I played back when it was P2P. In that one not only does fully upgrading a set of equipment cost $175, equipment durability can never be fully restored. NPCs can restore 95% of the damage to an item and the rest is permanently lost, and the best player crafters can only get that up to 99%, meaning on average a good piece of equipment will only last a couple months.
Jesus
I am really hoping that Swtor is going for a cryptic-esque model as I would love to finish off a couple of stories there, it looks that way, but more details would be nice. It is good to see that a company can make enough on the big tickets (5k zen ship packs hoho) to make some of the more quality of life items (EC cap increase, char slots) affordable from regular play.
Oh, also it looks like shifting to the more general projects has definitely sped up thier fill-rate, even if they are fewer points per completion.
Just as long as we dont get a Sensor doff project. One of those is currently clogging up the KDF base :?
Also, very tempted by the LTS sale. I have a sub at the moment but it's only a few months in so I wont be losing much.
The rage on the SWO forums from some life timers is nourishing. It's so bad some people are supposedly quitting STF's in a rage if they see a new 1000 day reward ship, assuming that the Captain is some upstart noob who bought their way to the top of the heap, not like themselves, who of course worked hard for it (insert Python skit about walks uphill through snow and eating coal).
The people I genuinely feel sorry for are those who have a sub and been there from day one. They have put more in than just about any LTS'er, and anyone with a sub over 500 days should be automatically upgraded to all rewards.
Thing I can't stand about this rage, as recently as last month, there was a thread asking for lifers to get instant vet rewards. They've been pushing since beta to be elevated above monthly subscribers, and post-F2P to be split off as a higher account level than normal gold. And instant access to vet rewards has literally always been their go-to request on that, and interestingly the counter argument hasn't been "You've got to wait because you have to wait" but "Instant access really isn't going to help you much, we're literally getting each reward set in the week they release." And until now, there hasn't been anything of any real use. The yact/chariot is one of the worst shuttles, and everything else is costumes and pets.
Hell, even the ships have, after the "omg blatantly overpowered pay to win" panic died down, turned out to be surprisingly meh. They're highly versatile but don't tread any ground that isn't already covered. They're slower than escorts, but not more durable. And the lotus beam's crazy-on-paper damage potential is actually kind of sad when you distribute it on all the targets it needs to reach that potential.
If they wanted to make it really pay to win, I'd've made it compatible with all the tier 5 universal consoles, which are otherwise ship locked. But then, that's because I imagine combining it with the Thunderchild and Armitage consoles for some really irresponsible AOE spam.
It's just the latest rage. Honestly, it's the PvP folks for the most part, and at least half the time they spend on the forums is raging. It's just what they do, it's their culture. I don't even care, next week they'll be raging about something else. It's really pathetic, but what can you do. You gave people free stuff!! Raaaaaaaggggeeee! From a PR perspective though, I think they should have given some sort of cookie to the folks that actuall have 1k days, even if it's just a title. Maybe make their name show up fancy in game or something. Just to sooth their precious little egos.
I'm surprised at how many vets and lifers are in the game though, it's *swarming* with 1,000 day ships. And the ships are pretty meh...my Armitage is better than they are, and most of the fleet escorts are noticeably better. They aren't bad though, they're solid. Artistically they are...kind of a mixed bag for me. I like the Fed ship as long as I don't see the bulbous belly. I like the Klink ship except for the nose, which I think makes it look a but cartoony compared to the rest of the fleet. But not bad. They're both decent ships. I ran through some elite STFs last night with the Klink ship and it worked as well as you'd expect. No complaints.
They're actually already ramping up the Vesta rage... and we don't even know what its console will be, only that it'll be a science vessel. And the Wells have kind of shown that even an awesome console can't really make up for the fact that it's a science vessel.
And apparently even the awesome consoles aren't that awesome. The rage over the Temporal Destroyers has already shifted from how badly they were going to kill PVP to how seriously UNDERpowered they are - that photonic fleet/MVAM console has a dirty trick to it. Damage to past versions carries over to future versions. So any damage you take is added to the future version, and any damage the past version takes is added to both the future version and yourself. And PVP being lolAOE, this is all a very bad thing.
They're actually already ramping up the Vesta rage... and we don't even know what its console will be, only that it'll be a science vessel. And the Wells have kind of shown that even an awesome console can't really make up for the fact that it's a science vessel.
And apparently even the awesome consoles aren't that awesome. The rage over the Temporal Destroyers has already shifted from how badly they were going to kill PVP to how seriously UNDERpowered they are - that photonic fleet/MVAM console has a dirty trick to it. Damage to past versions carries over to future versions. So any damage you take is added to the future version, and any damage the past version takes is added to both the future version and yourself. And PVP being lolAOE, this is all a very bad thing.
Posts
Also - I leveled up to Lieutenant Rank 2, supposedly I get another ship. But I only have the opportunity to buy another variant of the first ship, right? As all the others cost Zen to buy in the store. Or am I missing something? And how does this work when I level up to Lt. Commander - do I get the next ship for free or at least for stuff attainable ingame, without having to resort to realworld cash?
You don't get a ship at lieutenant 2, you get the next one at lieutenant commander, at which point you get to pick cruiser, escort, or science vessel. You can customize your starter ship quite a few ways, but you're stuck in it for 10 levels unless you buy one of the C-store ships, none of which are really worth it in the long run. Every C-store ship below tier 5 has some bonus you can carry forward even when you stop using it, but the tier 1 ones are mostly junk. TOS Constitution gets blue phasers that level with you, but which are always a bit worse than what you could have at your level. The NX replica has a grappler, which is basically a really bad tractor beam, and the Oberth has a reusable aux/shield battery that takes up a console slot. They probably save you the most leveling time of any C-store ship, but leveling is fast enough that you really need to be getting your worth out of the carry overs to buy a C-store ship before Admiral.
As for free ships, you get them at Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain, and Rear Admiral. If you're a 600 day veteran you get one at vice admiral as well, but it's kind of limited on what you can get with it. There's slightly better ships in the C-store at every point, but the game wasn't rebalanced when they were introduced, and leveling was already easy without them.
Thanks, I'll check that.
Ok, I left out part of what I wanted to say. When I logged in, I was an Ensign, I think the account was from the beta or something. When I moused over the XP bar thingy, it said that at Lieutenant I get a new ship - Now that I am Lt. 2 I still haven't figured out if that means I can just buy another one of the starter ships (for about 8.000 dilithium) or if it is a completely new ship. Maybe I misread things or something, just wanted to know as the game wasn't very specific.
So I guess I'll have to level up to Lt. Commander for another ship.
http://txchnologist.com/post/32463368168/channeling-star-trek-researchers-to-begin-fusion
During the tutorial you are an ensign, then once you finish the tutorial you get promoted to lieutenant, and you get the ship that you piloted in the tutorial to command. (You were only commanding it because of an emergency during the tutorial).
MWO: Adamski
Sending DOffs on missions?
Starbase contributions and project management doesn't require any movement. The reputation system is basically that but personal, so once that's out you'll probably be able to manage that as well.
I have limited playtime (maybe an hour a night), so I'm looking to do things that earn me currency (dilithium or energy credits or whatever it is) so I can afford to buy upgrades, since it's unlikely that I'll be able to find them through normal gameplay. Paying RL cash is out of the question (at least for now, anyway).
There are also 3 missions called SFA Quickie 1, 2, 3 that will all complete at the same time where you click on the rock by the lake to earn the same reward faster. :P
Its listed under the Community Authored missions, when sorted by Hot.
MWO: Adamski
i have leveled 3 alts to 50 purely on doff missions and quick community missions alone.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
KDF ship gets a battle cloak with only a small shield penalty, too. That's going to pretty much retire 90% of BoPs. Definitely see myself using that one, but I don't know if I'm willing to give up my Armitage for the Federation one.
I'm not sure if the Chimera's transformation is the coolest thing ever or the goofiest shit ever:
Standard mode:
Tactical mode:
They're more aerodynamic, duh.
Looking over the pictures again, I notice that's sector space mode - it only does that at warp. I didn't notice the difference between sector space mode and standard until you pointed it out. This is standard mode:
Same nacelle configuration as tactical mode. They only close for warp.
The Klingon one does something similar, its nacelles extend at warp:
Standard mode looks like this, with shorter nacelles:
And tactical looks like this, with the big disruptor... things popping out on the top and bottom.
What I don't get is why it does that during a "tactical mode".
Or are you saying they only change during sector/warp? And not during space/combat?
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
I love how many LTS buyers are angry about the instant veteran rewards now. They were the ones demanding they get just this for the last two years so they're set on a nice little pedestal above regular subscribers, but now that they got theirs fuck everyone else.
Considering most of the veteran rewards weren't even in until a few days before (or in some cases after) the first people hit the achievement, it wouldn't even have helped before.
SLAP IN THE FACE
etc. etc.
I can see how people are upset. To some I imagine it's not even about what the exact rewards are; it's about trying to keep customer loyalty. Like give some benefit for people who have been loyal to a game for <X> or supported a game when its future wasn't certain. Give them a chance to show off to others that hey, "Cryptic gave me x, y, and z for supporting them with money beyond the c-store. They clearly love their customers and want me to keep spending money! Yay! I'm happy!"
Instead, they're clearly going the route, "We need money, and we don't care how we get it. We just want to get as much money as possible. Who cares about the idiots who gave us money in the past. All we want is money now."
They've shown this time and time again unfortunately such as exclusive preorder bonuses that get put on the c-store weeks after release, increased c-store costs for things that were previously very cheap, and a decided lack of actual content though there are plenty of additional grinds for zen (see the same "end-game" content essentially since release). And of course the newest, we'll give 1000 day veteran rewards (and all the other stuff) if you just throw money at us!
What they need to come up with is some kind of additional benefit for gold members, because I can't say that I feel that I am missing anything as silver and I've been playing since ftp. (That isn't a complaint!)
D3 Steam #TeamTangent STO
On the other hand, the game is a bit more expensive on the microtransaction side than some. But I appreciate that for the price of ships, what you're getting almost counts as a full playable class, since your bridge layout and console powers have at least as much impact on gameplay as your career choice. They're a bit more than a set of armor or Christ forbid one of those damn items most of the Asian F2P MMOs have that upgrades a piece of equipment one level.
I find this especially amusing, considering that PWE's non-Cryptic offerings are chock full of gambling items which incrementally improve gear/pets, and are essentially required to be competitive in end-game PvP.
Jesus
I am really hoping that Swtor is going for a cryptic-esque model as I would love to finish off a couple of stories there, it looks that way, but more details would be nice. It is good to see that a company can make enough on the big tickets (5k zen ship packs hoho) to make some of the more quality of life items (EC cap increase, char slots) affordable from regular play.
Oh, also it looks like shifting to the more general projects has definitely sped up thier fill-rate, even if they are fewer points per completion.
D3 Steam #TeamTangent STO
Also, very tempted by the LTS sale. I have a sub at the moment but it's only a few months in so I wont be losing much.
The rage on the SWO forums from some life timers is nourishing. It's so bad some people are supposedly quitting STF's in a rage if they see a new 1000 day reward ship, assuming that the Captain is some upstart noob who bought their way to the top of the heap, not like themselves, who of course worked hard for it (insert Python skit about walks uphill through snow and eating coal).
The people I genuinely feel sorry for are those who have a sub and been there from day one. They have put more in than just about any LTS'er, and anyone with a sub over 500 days should be automatically upgraded to all rewards.
Hell, even the ships have, after the "omg blatantly overpowered pay to win" panic died down, turned out to be surprisingly meh. They're highly versatile but don't tread any ground that isn't already covered. They're slower than escorts, but not more durable. And the lotus beam's crazy-on-paper damage potential is actually kind of sad when you distribute it on all the targets it needs to reach that potential.
If they wanted to make it really pay to win, I'd've made it compatible with all the tier 5 universal consoles, which are otherwise ship locked. But then, that's because I imagine combining it with the Thunderchild and Armitage consoles for some really irresponsible AOE spam.
I'm surprised at how many vets and lifers are in the game though, it's *swarming* with 1,000 day ships. And the ships are pretty meh...my Armitage is better than they are, and most of the fleet escorts are noticeably better. They aren't bad though, they're solid. Artistically they are...kind of a mixed bag for me. I like the Fed ship as long as I don't see the bulbous belly. I like the Klink ship except for the nose, which I think makes it look a but cartoony compared to the rest of the fleet. But not bad. They're both decent ships. I ran through some elite STFs last night with the Klink ship and it worked as well as you'd expect. No complaints.
They're actually already ramping up the Vesta rage... and we don't even know what its console will be, only that it'll be a science vessel. And the Wells have kind of shown that even an awesome console can't really make up for the fact that it's a science vessel.
And apparently even the awesome consoles aren't that awesome. The rage over the Temporal Destroyers has already shifted from how badly they were going to kill PVP to how seriously UNDERpowered they are - that photonic fleet/MVAM console has a dirty trick to it. Damage to past versions carries over to future versions. So any damage you take is added to the future version, and any damage the past version takes is added to both the future version and yourself. And PVP being lolAOE, this is all a very bad thing.