I would be in favor of a second event 12 hours later/earlier than the current to accommodate players in rough timezones for the current event times. It could be entered in one of two ways that I see. Either a setting in your account for which (say Americas is one, Europe and Asia another) or you simply start the event when best for you at that particular week, and the 2nd begins 12 hours after the first. If they don't do this I would favor a doubling of the tiers. Top 2k would get you the 5*, then double the numbers of positions between rank tiers. The % would be nice but brings too many potential pitfalls as described by another poster already.
Personally, I'd like to see the structure based on % of the whole player base. As the number of players grows and surpasses certain milestones, all reward structure tiers would automatically be revised to reflect the growth.
(Apologies for the length of this post. Started typing and the words just kept flowing. If you bother to read it all - gold star for you. No, not a STT gold star, just a cheap sticky star.)
Given the growth of the playerbase since game inception, and the growth of the capabilities of non-whale players simply via time (slow accumulation of the cards and resources that whales buy immediately) - yes, the reward structure should change to reflect these shifts. But...
In my opinion, It should NOT be percentage based, but some new arbitrary number. Why? Because a) a %-based system would pave the way for each event having different cut-off levels that vary each week depending on how many people play -- i.e., chaos! -- and b) it would provide a week-by-week real-time insight into how many players are actually playing the game. The first issue would just add stress to the players, but the second issue is a business metric that DB/TP would not want to publicize in a clear manner (nor should they). We already have lots of speculation on this forum about the number of players in the game and whether the influx vs efflux is positive, negative, or balanced. Could you imagine the sky-is-falling posts that would happen if the rank tier data suggested fewer participating players in 2 consecutive weeks, even though such an effect could be influenced by a dozen different variables? No thanks.
An unrelated comment about the "ease" of being in the top 1000. It wasn't easy at all - because it required a huge investment in preparation. It took time and/or money to develop our crews to the point where sending 4 shuttles at >90% success was possible. That investment is what made top 1000 finishes easy/routine. Now, players can overcome their crew-development deficiencies with a gazillion speed boosts, rental tokens, 3hr-2x tokens, etc. Doesn't matter if they can only send out 65% shuttles - they'll just send 200 of them and swamp my 100 shuttles. What are skill boosts for anymore? Why bother selecting the 4 shuttles that fit my crew best and get maximum benefit from having repeated skills in multiple seats? Eff it. Just use more speed-boosts. No strategy. No optimization. Just blast 'em out. (Yeah, I'm exaggerating, but just bear with me.) Nearly 2 years ago, I was frustrated by my inability to succeed in faction events. I made it a point since then to develop my crew in a way that enabled me to succeed in them. That development isn't wasted, but it feels like it has been devalued. Just one month ago, I knew that being rank 500 with 18 hours to go meant that the 5* was guaranteed as long as I kept sending shuttles. Now, being rank 500 with 2 hours to go means nothing - I can still miss out on the 5*. That's not an improvement from my perspective. (Full disclosure - I did earn both versions of Spock, so my bitterness is not driven by missing either 5* card.)
I still enjoy the game. This isn't one of those I'm-outta-here posts. I'm just not a fan of the current trend. I suppose I'll keep finding joy in voyages, skirmishes, gauntlet (yeah, I said it), and galaxies (yeah, I said that too). After all, these things also benefit from my multi-year crew development efforts. And of course, the fun of interacting with my fleetmates and my fellow forum-posters. Cheers!
This post reeks of asset entitlement. Not that you're a rich person, but that you have a lot of in game assets and you're annoyed that the advantage that they conferred is being weakened. My position and it seems DBs is that you (and lots of others, like me) having that advantage was detrimental to the game and I tend to agree with this.
I could get top 1k every faction without anything but the kickstart and blue skill boosts whether I particularly wanted the card or not. I have plenty of 1/5s as testament to that. This is bad. Because I wasn't being forced to choose, lots of others who may have wanted that card more were being denied them.
Now I can't just sail through every faction event half asleep. Now if I want a card I have to put in the effort. Effort is now a lot more meaningful relative to in game assets. Consider this a boost for labour and a diminuation of capital if you will. This seems way more egalitarian.
You still have a huge advantage. However you look at it, you have to put in less effort than the person without your advantages to achieve the same score. But thankfully that advantage is being eroded and hopefully faction event prizes will be distributed to those who want them the most rather than just being hoovered up by those of us who happen to have more than others to begin with.
Speaking on behalf of one who just a week ago had a pretty spectacular and public meltdown on this very forum for largely the stated reasons both for and against in this thread, I would like to just add that much like the current political climate where people draw lines, take sides, and argue over the pros and cons of various things, this thread to me seems to mirror that approach. I've read this entire thread (yes, even the "book" put forth by friend @Ishmael Marx ) and to me I do not think we are talking about the real issue.
There are points to be made for and against changing/adjusting the threshold rewards, ranked rewards, etc. There is also a lot that can be said about F2P vs P2W, but above ALL of that, we all have one thing in common, that being we are customers. First and foremost, I would like to urge people to remember that no matter how we feel about these changes, we are all on the same side and despite our differences in opinions regarding rewards, it is important that we remain civil and polite. I think this has mostly occurred in this thread, however there were a few times it felt like the train was getting ready to jump the tracks. So kudos to everyone for being respectful
Getting back to the idea that we are all customers, to my way of thinking everything discussed in this thread have been opining about symptoms, not the "disease". Keeping the rewards the same, changing them, it doesn't really matter. Some people will adjust, some will leave, some new players will come in, and the overall balance will go unchanged.
After my meltdown I literally quit the game for a day, day-and-a-half, not entirely sure. It felt AWESOME! And that tremendous feeling of relief was only possible after reflection because I realized I was removing myself from a toxic relationship, namely that I was no longer paying money to be taken advantage of. I went from a monthly card only player to a moderate spender (so not a whale, but maybe a dolphin? otter?) and actually felt good about supporting a game I enjoyed. But then goals started moving, rewards started changing, various little things kept happening in game to make it just that much more difficult to achieve goals without either tons of effort or spending just a little bit more money.
And I did both, and somewhere in there I started to make sacrifices I now realize were unsustainable. I started spending a bit more money, I started losing sleep little-by-little, I started spending less time with my family, I started spending more time researching ways to farm up items, I started spending more time ob the forums making sure I wan't missing out on anything I needed to know, etc, and as it was happening I didn't notice at first, but then last week a couple things happened at the same time that pushed me to the point where I just had to quit. I was done with ALL of this. And it felt GREAT!
Several of you on here reached out to me to make sure I was OK (thank you to you all, it meant a lot. I am sorry I could not reply, but I had to make a clean break) and most of my fleet reached out to me on social media and rather than expressing disappointment, they were actually glad I did it. At that moment I realized the game itself was not the problem as the game actually provided me a source of making friends and meaningful relationships, so what was the problem exactly?
To me, this ALL boils down to disrespect and lack of communication. If DB/TP want to make wholesale changes to the game, I welcome it, but for the love of BLEEP, tell us about it! When you make changes to pricing structures, event structures, add in rental shuttles, etc, TELL US ABOUT IT! INCLUDE US! We are in a symbiotic relationship!
At least we should be, but at least for me it started to make more sense when I realized this was much closer to a parasitic relationship. And once I got there, I realized I needed to come back to my fleet because on a personal level I owe those people a lot. I am slowly coming back to the forums because you guys are all great, I just hope you realize that it will take me some more time to work it back in in a way I can sustain it in my life. But unless DB/TP reaches out to me or us as a community and is open and honest with us about all these changes, their goals, etc, I just cannot have that relationship anymore.
Communication is the problem, not threshold rewards. Without communication there is no relationship, and as such I am now F2P and don't even watch ads anymore, because that is all I can do to communicate with DB/TP just how damaged our relationship is, and will leave it up to them to see if it is worth it to try and work on repairing it. If not, I'll be happy to just exist and be happy with my relationships I have with people I care about and who I feel care about me.
There is no doubt that DB is turning STT more and more into pay 2 play. They should be careful with this as there are more and more trek games coming out. Too much pay 2 play and people will just play another star trek game.
I think the many changes are getting confused for one another and all have an effect on pushing up scores:
1) Reduced-price early recalls, new 5* reward doublers, and requisition tokens make it cheaper than ever to make a run at the top 1000.
2) Two Faction events in a row have featured highly desirable 5* crew; the combination of more desire to make the top 1000 plus a lowered barrier to achieving that desire increased the number of people willing and able to compete for the top 1000.
3) Higher thresholds give everyone something else to shoot for. The top threshold is close enough to where the top 1000 is to further push that threshold up.
All of these things conspire to flatten out the scoring around rank 1000 and beyond. This is allowing some people to do better than before and some to do worse...unintentionally causing a lot of people to feel screwed out of ranked rewards that were previously attainable. DB was going for more spending and therefore more competition but have instead flattened out the scoring and thus further exposed the problems with how the ranked rewards are set up....while causing a lot of unnecessary customer dissatisfaction.
We’ll see how Faction events with unlikable 5* reward crew turn out. Until then, it will be a rough time for us all.
As a 2+ year, VIP13 player, I am excited about the new rewards structure, specifically the 1500 honor @ 250k. Until now I have been basically Threshold and out for Galaxy events. I now have a reason to play longer. Many of us have been asking for additional sources of honor and DB has listened. With Quark FF for me, this event will provide an additional 3000 honor for me at a minimum. It's a small improvement, but an improvement none the less.
There is no doubt that DB is turning STT more and more into pay 2 play. Too much pay 2 play and people will just play another star trek game.
You should probably consult Google before using terms you don´t understand STT is a free-to-play game. Not a pay-to-play one which is a completely different thing. Obviously - cause why do you think we have so many VIP0´s who play without investing anything.
If you wanted to convey that DB always invents new ways to generate profit of course they do. That is a) normal for any kind of business and b) good for everyone. Well, for everyone who enjoys this game that is.
Obvious yet again: The Star Trek fanbase is limited. Of this limited fanbase many don´t play games or don´t like STT. And from the users who like this game many play free, monthly card only etc. Would that and the returns from watching ads be the only revenue this game would be long gone by now!!!
So DB will always search for new ways to appeal to the users who invest in their hobby. Otherwise no new features, no improvements and most importantly this game would be dead already...
Just speaking from my own experience, the new reward structure had initially made me buy more event packs. Since I already had the 5* as a reward from the previous event, it encouraged me to try to fuse them up. Of course, I got a useless 5/5* Silva La Forge that way, so that was discouraging. Now that the 5* is out of reach for me during shuttle events, I have nothing to fuse, so I am further discouraged. if this makes other people spend more, I guess that works out for DB, but I don't have any reason to resume my own spending.
So I read mostly thru the thread and didn't spot a single post from people who are now doing better in events than they were before these changes, everyones just saying they cant finish in top1k (or w/e) anymore... Just makes me wonder who are these people who have taken all these places :DD Obviously they aren't posting here. Also there seems to be quite a lot of them. And if they actually spent some money doing so that is good for the game and means that all the doom sayers are over exaggerating the financial woes of the company.
Also great to see @ByloBand back in action! Being F2P aint that bad (or even vip0), plenty of grass both sides of the fence.
Captain Lvl 99; Vip0; 552 Unique Immortals; Fleet: Omega Molecules; Base Lvl 134 (MAX); Playing Since March 2016.
There is no doubt that DB is turning STT more and more into pay 2 play. Too much pay 2 play and people will just play another star trek game.
You should probably consult Google before using terms you don´t understand STT is a free-to-play game. Not a pay-to-play one which is a completely different thing. Obviously - cause why do you think we have so many VIP0´s who play without investing anything.
If you wanted to convey that DB always invents new ways to generate profit of course they do. That is a) normal for any kind of business and b) good for everyone. Well, for everyone who enjoys this game that is.
Obvious yet again: The Star Trek fanbase is limited. Of this limited fanbase many don´t play games or don´t like STT. And from the users who like this game many play free, monthly card only etc. Would that and the returns from watching ads be the only revenue this game would be long gone by now!!!
So DB will always search for new ways to appeal to the users who invest in their hobby. Otherwise no new features, no improvements and most importantly this game would be dead already...
I meant exactly what I said. The game is becoming more and more pay 2 play. You used to be able to do very well in events without spending money. This is becoming less and less the case. People often cannot just work hard to get top 1000 in events, they more and more often have to pay money to place. Any game that doesn't charge money to download it is technically free to play. But good luck not being left behind and getting further behind without paying any money, even if just a monthly card. The game keeps getting tougher and tougher and DB is not increasing the reward groups to compensate for tougher conditions and more and more players.
So I read mostly thru the thread and didn't spot a single post from people who are now doing better in events than they were before these changes, everyones just saying they cant finish in top1k (or w/e) anymore... Just makes me wonder who are these people who have taken all these places :DD Obviously they aren't posting here. Also there seems to be quite a lot of them. And if they actually spent some money doing so that is good for the game and means that all the doom sayers are over exaggerating the financial woes of the company.
Also great to see @ByloBand back in action! Being F2P aint that bad (or even vip0), plenty of grass both sides of the fence.
Yes, I've gotten more from the events. I now got 1500 honor, a voyage revive token, and a premium 10x that I wouldn't have gotten before. The extra shuttle rental tokens from the achievement also let me catch up when I had a string of bad RNG setting me back.
Did I have to work harder for those rewards than I would have before, yes. Did I realize that was DB's intention when they introduced extra rewards, of course.
Do I think the extra effort is sustainable? I'm not sure. But the sky is not falling because of DB's changes.
There is no doubt that DB is turning STT more and more into pay 2 play. Too much pay 2 play and people will just play another star trek game.
You should probably consult Google before using terms you don´t understand STT is a free-to-play game. Not a pay-to-play one which is a completely different thing. Obviously - cause why do you think we have so many VIP0´s who play without investing anything.
If you wanted to convey that DB always invents new ways to generate profit of course they do. That is a) normal for any kind of business and b) good for everyone. Well, for everyone who enjoys this game that is.
Obvious yet again: The Star Trek fanbase is limited. Of this limited fanbase many don´t play games or don´t like STT. And from the users who like this game many play free, monthly card only etc. Would that and the returns from watching ads be the only revenue this game would be long gone by now!!!
So DB will always search for new ways to appeal to the users who invest in their hobby. Otherwise no new features, no improvements and most importantly this game would be dead already...
I meant exactly what I said. The game is becoming more and more pay 2 play. You used to be able to do very well in events without spending money. This is becoming less and less the case. People often cannot just work hard to get top 1000 in events, they more and more often have to pay money to place. Any game that doesn't charge money to download it is technically free to play. But good luck not being left behind and getting further behind without paying any money, even if just a monthly card. The game keeps getting tougher and tougher and DB is not increasing the reward groups to compensate for tougher conditions and more and more players.
I have made top 1k every event with the extended rewards so far. I've spent $0 on that. We've had multiple FTP players chime in and claim the same. You need to work harder for the extra rewards and you can't coast as much, but working hard does not have to mean spending money.
No wonder the gaming industry treats us all as brainless cattle.
Having a differing opinion is not denial. This current event I'll spend a little extra time playing a game I like and I'll get some extra loot for it. Without spending a penny. Hell, its a Galaxy Event. You could P2W but its more like P2JeezIHaveToSpendALotOfTimeTapping.
Last event, I spent nothing, used none of the new tokens and still got Spock, Troi and extra honour. I used more 3* Time Boosts than normal but I wouldn't have those if I didn't have AdWarps on Thursdays so I'll call it a wash.
I'd say the game would rougher for new players if it weren't for the Gauntlet, Starbases and Voyages. STT is kind of a cake walk nowadays.
I'm not doing better per se, but I am playing again when I had mostly stopped, so I guess I am taking golds off of someone. I love the new thresholds and sure it's not that much more effort to go get the gold once I've cleared the thresholds and the 2 Spocks were cards I wanted. I am 90% sure that if they put a poor character up as the prize that I'd still go for thresholds but I wouldn't bother going any further. (And in reality that means that I wouldn't use as many speedups and just aim to get to threshold just before the end of the event.)
No wonder the gaming industry treats us all as brainless cattle.
Having a differing opinion is not denial. This current event I'll spend a little extra time playing a game I like and I'll get some extra loot for it. Without spending a penny. Hell, its a Galaxy Event. You could P2W but its more like P2JeezIHaveToSpendALotOfTimeTapping.
Last event, I spent nothing, used none of the new tokens and still got Spock, Troi and extra honour. I used more 3* Time Boosts than normal but I wouldn't have those if I didn't have AdWarps on Thursdays so I'll call it a wash.
I'd say the game would rougher for new players if it weren't for the Gauntlet, Starbases and Voyages. STT is kind of a cake walk nowadays.
I am now transitioning my event play from primarily threshold-and-out to 1500 honor-and-out. DB just gave me an incentive to play the game longer. That sounds like a win-win to me.
Last event, I spent nothing, used none of the new tokens and still got Spock, Troi and extra honour. I used more 3* Time Boosts than normal but I wouldn't have those if I didn't have AdWarps on Thursdays so I'll call it a wash.
The time I was a silent reader only, I read about players complaining living in a region, where they can't benefit from AdWarps at all, because they simply don't have any. In my region it isn't as bad as that, but the cooldown is that high, that I rather use them for extra chronitons.
Fine for people living in a region, where they're drowning in ad advantages. But as long not every player has the same ad condition, this argument for this discussion is a farce, and we still need adjustments to compensate for this new ingame situation.
Unless DB wants lesser players from regions having it too hard to compete with regions drowning in ad advantages...
I was extremely disappointed by Troi being so high in the last event. My group of friends is monthly card only, and none of us could achieve the higher threshold rewards. In fact, a few people in our group have stopped playing at all, because it isn’t fun anymore.
We’re all VIP 4/5 level, and count on the Legendary bonus characters to help build our crew. I was really hoping to level up my 1* Goddess of Empathy Troi a little bit.
I can think of a dozen other games that you can easily spend just as much on, but give far more fun and return on investment for far less.
Would you mind naming those twelve games, please? I'm still enjoying STT, but it's the only mobile game I play at the moment, and I'd like at least a second game for variety.
I tried Marvel Strike Force, and enjoyed it for about a month, but found it was lacking the numbers and planning I'd appreciate for the long-term. I tried Star Trek: Fleet Command for a week, and it was OK, but seemed to be a road to nowhere and with only the most tenuous Trek links.
Sorry, @Captain_Who , I should probably have tagged you like that to get an answer!
So I read mostly thru the thread and didn't spot a single post from people who are now doing better in events than they were before these changes, everyones just saying they cant finish in top1k (or w/e) anymore... Just makes me wonder who are these people who have taken all these places :DD Obviously they aren't posting here. Also there seems to be quite a lot of them. And if they actually spent some money doing so that is good for the game and means that all the doom sayers are over exaggerating the financial woes of the company.
I seem to be placing higher since the changes, and I'm getting more rewards now thanks to the new additions. All that's changed is that I'm using more rare time boosters during Faction Events (about 30 now, compared to 10-15 before), but the ad-warp changes letting me double the Cadet booster packs seems to have already balanced that out to keep it sustainable.
I'm not particularly spendy - I've never bought chroniton packs or booster packs, or even spent on faster shuttle returns (or Gauntlet refreshes, for that matter!). I've had more months without monthly cards than with.
I've been playing for over 18 months, though, so I have a fairly deep crew to make use of. I also apply every smart tactic I can during events to make sure I get the most from my time and my resources.
Overall, I'm pleased with the new thresholds. They haven't cost me any money, and I'm just slightly more diligent about bringing in VP (although that's possibly unnecessary, as I'm placing a couple of hundred places higher than before the additions, roughly!).
I sympathize with those who are annoyed by more prizes being on offer but beyond their immediate reach. I did notice someone say they missed out on rewards because they fell asleep and missed the end of the event during the night in their region. If it's important, I suggest just setting an alarm. (I'm not being flippant - I've set two night-time alarms already this year for Timelines events, and one of them was unquestionably worth it to me!)
So I read mostly thru the thread and didn't spot a single post from people who are now doing better in events than they were before these changes, everyones just saying they cant finish in top1k (or w/e) anymore... Just makes me wonder who are these people who have taken all these places :DD Obviously they aren't posting here. Also there seems to be quite a lot of them. And if they actually spent some money doing so that is good for the game and means that all the doom sayers are over exaggerating the financial woes of the company.
Also great to see @ByloBand back in action! Being F2P aint that bad (or even vip0), plenty of grass both sides of the fence.
I'm doing markedly better. The new play options forced me to re-evaluate my play strategy for factions, figure out some things I was doing "wrong" both before and during the event, and as a result I've gone from struggling to make top 1000 to comfortably in top 1000 (squeaking out beyond the brutally thin spread from 500-1500). I found this fun and a challenge, rather than an affront, but everyone's calibration is different. I think I'm re-discovering the path that VIP0-since-2016 folks have found, and now have even more respect for them for their combination of strategy+patience.
I haven't recently got a bundle of new crew making a difference, and I'm spending what I think is a pittance on new boost types (I've bought one or two packs as insurance and to have some cushion for the end of month faction event which is going to be a challenge with all these Pilots in play - but really haven't HAD to use anything out of them yet.
I have long thought that a percentile based rank reward system with a more smoothed table would be a major improvement. By smoothed I mean the 2/5 comes in at 500-750 if the first stays at 1000.
I like the additional threshold rewards, however Troi was too high.
Aside from the first faction event (Captain Spock) that occurred as the changes were introduced, I haven't really noticed much difference, now that they've been live for a few events. Of course, only time will tell what the real trend is/becomes. Faction events are a little more competitive for top-1000 and galaxy events require a little more playing to clear thresholds, but it hasn't been as painful as I anticipated.
Faction events:
- before the change, I set 3-hour alarms and tried not to miss any, playing throughout the entire event, always finishing well inside top-1000 (after 1 - 1.5 years of playing as monthly card + spender)
- last faction event I barely squeezed into the top-1000 using my normal approach (ie: no rental shuttles, no 2x boosts, no speed boosts after my standard kickstart, no dilithium, no $$$)
- I used to finish in the 300-600 range, and now just squeezed in the top-1000, so definitely a little more competitive around that milestone for the 1/5*
Galaxy events:
- I used to threshold-and-out, which now just takes more time and more chrons
- in the event that just finished, I activated a supply kit and spent 7k chrons to clear thresholds and fully equip both the new 4* (leisure suit Chakotay) and the new mega 5* (Etana Jol)
- It definitely takes more of an 'investment' to clear thresholds, but it still only required a couple hours of grinding, and the additional rewards (ie: 10x premium pull, voyage revival token, honor) seem worth it
This is not the first time DB have made the Faction events more difficult to do well in. Folks seem to be conveniently forgetting that by effectively handing a free fourth shuttle to pretty much the entire playerbase, the advantage those of us who had previously paid for that privilege had had was instantly wiped out, and not met with any way to gain that advantage back (i.e., purchase a 5th shuttle).
That change was an attempt to encourage/force further spending by people who had already spent money on the game in order to do anywhere near as well as they were accustomed to doing, and it was without additional threshold rewards.
This latest set of changes is also trying to make people feel compelled to participate/spend every week (so much for the old "if you don't like this week's event you don't have to play" canard from staff). It's just that now everyone is taking it in the teeth, not solely the players who have been around for longer. At least this time the additional grind has additional incentives in the form of expanded thresholds.
A company trying to make people want to use their product more. Oh how evil they are. How dare we let a company encourage us to play its game more. Scoundrels!
A company trying to make people want to use their product more. Oh how evil they are. How dare we let a company encourage us to play its game more. Scoundrels!
How they do it does matter. I’m not saying that what they are doing here is bad or anything, just that there is a substantive difference between positive and negative incentives. Companies don’t have a blank check to profit however they want.
This is not the first time DB have made the Faction events more difficult to do well in. Folks seem to be conveniently forgetting that by effectively handing a free fourth shuttle to pretty much the entire playerbase, the advantage those of us who had previously paid for that privilege had had was instantly wiped out, and not met with any way to gain that advantage back (i.e., purchase a 5th shuttle).
That change was an attempt to encourage/force further spending by people who had already spent money on the game in order to do anywhere near as well as they were accustomed to doing, and it was without additional threshold rewards.
This latest set of changes is also trying to make people feel compelled to participate/spend every week (so much for the old "if you don't like this week's event you don't have to play" canard from staff). It's just that now everyone is taking it in the teeth, not solely the players who have been around for longer. At least this time the additional grind has additional incentives in the form of expanded thresholds.
I’d consider forgetting a free shuttle to be very inconvenient. What on Earth are you talking about?
I started STT as a free-to-play player. After a few months of playing, I decided to move up to the monthly card. Over the next two years, I purchased a pack here and there, and I recently achieved VIP 13.
I have adapted to the various changes in game play during this time, and with the help of a fantastic fleet, I have been able to achieve some modest successes despite keeping my spending in a range that my budget will allow. I have amassed a reasonably strong crew. I consistently land in the top 10 in gauntlet (and even 1st place when timing and RNG align). My personal best in an event - which I achieved through a combination of preparation, patience, good timing, fleet support, and sheer audacity - is 15th place. Top 1000 in a faction event has been challenging for the last year or so (and quite rightly), but it has been achievable if I was willing to invest the time and boosts into making it happen. Until now.
I have stuck around for this long, and spent a small, but consistent amount on this game because it was enjoyable to me. Much of this enjoyment (beyond the social aspect of being part of an awesome fleet) came from being able to achieve goals and attain rewards through effort, meticulous planning, and appropriate sacrifices to the RNG Gods. For over two years, I have watched DB make additions and changes to the game with greater or lesser success. In addition to the improvements (the Honor mechanic was a welcome addition, as was being able to purchase crew with merits in the Time Portal) I have witnessed many stupid - but honest - errors and screw ups on the part of the developers, as well as amateurish break downs in communication, but people are human, so never before have I felt the need to speak out about an alteration to the fundamental balance of our beloved Timelines. Until now.
The recent addition of the Legendary Reward Multiplier boost and Extra Shuttles move the scales too far in favour of pay to win. Combined with the fact that my time zone is not conducive to rapid starts or mad rushes at the end of events, these new features will permanently rule out faction events as a viable option for me if they are allowed to stay. As a case in point, I was placed strongly in this last event after having spent considerable time over the four days as well as somewhere north of 60 time boosts. However, due to my inability (despite my best effort) to stay awake until 2:30am to collect my final set of shuttles, I dropped 300 places to just outside the top 1k.
The primary appeal of this game for me has always been the care that DB took to maintain the balance between F2P and P2W. Whilst paying for bonuses and crew has always been an option - as it should be - the ability to purchase benefits has never ruled out the option of investing time and effort and still being competitive. I feel that this is no longer the case and my enjoyment has taken a precipitous dive as a result (I’m not sure how much disruption to life and sleep patterns the game designers think is acceptable when someone can simply outspend you at the last minute). I urge DB to restore this essential balance if it wants to keep players like me around.
Whether it does that by removing (or nerfing) the recent additions, or by putting a rolling start time for events to ensure worldwide equality, or by expanding the Legendary rank reward to the top 1500 or 2000 players, or by some other means, there are plenty of options for DB to demonstrate that it is committed to keeping the large community of engaged, non-whale players that it has accrued. Assuming that is something it is interested in doing.
I’ll be watching, in the hopes that it is. But only for so long.
i'm going to jump in here. Since the changes and additions of extra boosts for Faction, it's clearly offset the balance in favor of pay2play players over Free2Play players. Not by just a small margin, but by a lot. I used to be able to do quick starts and time boosts from cadet missions and always land top 1k. Without spending it's a complete struggle to stay under 1k. The last Galaxy even this week, forget it, you needed 10K crons just to make thresholds much less even stay in the 1k finish. I'm just not even going to waste my crons/resources on Galaxy anymore. Thats for pay2play players now. It's a massive waste of crons. Skirmish is worth spending crons at least because you get the items you earn back for the cron investment.
DB, please restore the balance for the Free2Play players. I agree, maybe increasing the threshold for the legendary reward to 1500-2k might be needed. Put a tighter cap on the ability to purchase the boosts for shuttles and crons. Make players plan for and strategize their supplies to compete as it was before. But right now, i'm not going to even play Galaxy anymore. It's a waste of an event for me.
i'm going to jump in here. Since the changes and additions of extra boosts for Faction, it's clearly offset the balance in favor of pay2play players over Free2Play players. Not by just a small margin, but by a lot. I used to be able to do quick starts and time boosts from cadet missions and always land top 1k. Without spending it's a complete struggle to stay under 1k. The last Galaxy even this week, forget it, you needed 10K crons just to make thresholds much less even stay in the 1k finish. I'm just not even going to waste my crons/resources on Galaxy anymore. Thats for pay2play players now. It's a massive waste of crons. Skirmish is worth spending crons at least because you get the items you earn back for the cron investment.
DB, please restore the balance for the Free2Play players. I agree, maybe increasing the threshold for the legendary reward to 1500-2k might be needed. Put a tighter cap on the ability to purchase the boosts for shuttles and crons. Make players plan for and strategize their supplies to compete as it was before. But right now, i'm not going to even play Galaxy anymore. It's a waste of an event for me.
None of these are favoring P2W over F2P. I ranked under 1k in both faction events after the change without spending anything. The increased thresholds made players use more speedboosts so they could clear the threshold, so now there is more competition, but it's all using the same 3* speedboosts you get for free from Thursday cadets.
And this past galaxy event, I just ranked 22 without spending anything. And I know plenty of other people who cleared thresholds and ranked under 1k without spending.
I'm sorry that DB encouraged more people to play, and that makes the events harder for you. But just because people are playing more doesn't mean it is all P2W.
Regarding factions, I have never collected enough boosts between consecutive events to do much more than kickstart and maybe a bit of an early run. After the changes it has become more of an every third faction thing if I want to place decent. Not complaining, just saying that if you are going into every faction event with 60+ boosts you are either spending dilithium or RNG loves you so much more than me.
Comments
This post reeks of asset entitlement. Not that you're a rich person, but that you have a lot of in game assets and you're annoyed that the advantage that they conferred is being weakened. My position and it seems DBs is that you (and lots of others, like me) having that advantage was detrimental to the game and I tend to agree with this.
I could get top 1k every faction without anything but the kickstart and blue skill boosts whether I particularly wanted the card or not. I have plenty of 1/5s as testament to that. This is bad. Because I wasn't being forced to choose, lots of others who may have wanted that card more were being denied them.
Now I can't just sail through every faction event half asleep. Now if I want a card I have to put in the effort. Effort is now a lot more meaningful relative to in game assets. Consider this a boost for labour and a diminuation of capital if you will. This seems way more egalitarian.
You still have a huge advantage. However you look at it, you have to put in less effort than the person without your advantages to achieve the same score. But thankfully that advantage is being eroded and hopefully faction event prizes will be distributed to those who want them the most rather than just being hoovered up by those of us who happen to have more than others to begin with.
There are points to be made for and against changing/adjusting the threshold rewards, ranked rewards, etc. There is also a lot that can be said about F2P vs P2W, but above ALL of that, we all have one thing in common, that being we are customers. First and foremost, I would like to urge people to remember that no matter how we feel about these changes, we are all on the same side and despite our differences in opinions regarding rewards, it is important that we remain civil and polite. I think this has mostly occurred in this thread, however there were a few times it felt like the train was getting ready to jump the tracks. So kudos to everyone for being respectful
Getting back to the idea that we are all customers, to my way of thinking everything discussed in this thread have been opining about symptoms, not the "disease". Keeping the rewards the same, changing them, it doesn't really matter. Some people will adjust, some will leave, some new players will come in, and the overall balance will go unchanged.
After my meltdown I literally quit the game for a day, day-and-a-half, not entirely sure. It felt AWESOME! And that tremendous feeling of relief was only possible after reflection because I realized I was removing myself from a toxic relationship, namely that I was no longer paying money to be taken advantage of. I went from a monthly card only player to a moderate spender (so not a whale, but maybe a dolphin? otter?) and actually felt good about supporting a game I enjoyed. But then goals started moving, rewards started changing, various little things kept happening in game to make it just that much more difficult to achieve goals without either tons of effort or spending just a little bit more money.
And I did both, and somewhere in there I started to make sacrifices I now realize were unsustainable. I started spending a bit more money, I started losing sleep little-by-little, I started spending less time with my family, I started spending more time researching ways to farm up items, I started spending more time ob the forums making sure I wan't missing out on anything I needed to know, etc, and as it was happening I didn't notice at first, but then last week a couple things happened at the same time that pushed me to the point where I just had to quit. I was done with ALL of this. And it felt GREAT!
Several of you on here reached out to me to make sure I was OK (thank you to you all, it meant a lot. I am sorry I could not reply, but I had to make a clean break) and most of my fleet reached out to me on social media and rather than expressing disappointment, they were actually glad I did it. At that moment I realized the game itself was not the problem as the game actually provided me a source of making friends and meaningful relationships, so what was the problem exactly?
To me, this ALL boils down to disrespect and lack of communication. If DB/TP want to make wholesale changes to the game, I welcome it, but for the love of BLEEP, tell us about it! When you make changes to pricing structures, event structures, add in rental shuttles, etc, TELL US ABOUT IT! INCLUDE US! We are in a symbiotic relationship!
At least we should be, but at least for me it started to make more sense when I realized this was much closer to a parasitic relationship. And once I got there, I realized I needed to come back to my fleet because on a personal level I owe those people a lot. I am slowly coming back to the forums because you guys are all great, I just hope you realize that it will take me some more time to work it back in in a way I can sustain it in my life. But unless DB/TP reaches out to me or us as a community and is open and honest with us about all these changes, their goals, etc, I just cannot have that relationship anymore.
Communication is the problem, not threshold rewards. Without communication there is no relationship, and as such I am now F2P and don't even watch ads anymore, because that is all I can do to communicate with DB/TP just how damaged our relationship is, and will leave it up to them to see if it is worth it to try and work on repairing it. If not, I'll be happy to just exist and be happy with my relationships I have with people I care about and who I feel care about me.
1) Reduced-price early recalls, new 5* reward doublers, and requisition tokens make it cheaper than ever to make a run at the top 1000.
2) Two Faction events in a row have featured highly desirable 5* crew; the combination of more desire to make the top 1000 plus a lowered barrier to achieving that desire increased the number of people willing and able to compete for the top 1000.
3) Higher thresholds give everyone something else to shoot for. The top threshold is close enough to where the top 1000 is to further push that threshold up.
All of these things conspire to flatten out the scoring around rank 1000 and beyond. This is allowing some people to do better than before and some to do worse...unintentionally causing a lot of people to feel screwed out of ranked rewards that were previously attainable. DB was going for more spending and therefore more competition but have instead flattened out the scoring and thus further exposed the problems with how the ranked rewards are set up....while causing a lot of unnecessary customer dissatisfaction.
We’ll see how Faction events with unlikable 5* reward crew turn out. Until then, it will be a rough time for us all.
You should probably consult Google before using terms you don´t understand
If you wanted to convey that DB always invents new ways to generate profit of course they do. That is a) normal for any kind of business and b) good for everyone. Well, for everyone who enjoys this game that is.
Obvious yet again: The Star Trek fanbase is limited. Of this limited fanbase many don´t play games or don´t like STT. And from the users who like this game many play free, monthly card only etc. Would that and the returns from watching ads be the only revenue this game would be long gone by now!!!
So DB will always search for new ways to appeal to the users who invest in their hobby. Otherwise no new features, no improvements and most importantly this game would be dead already...
Also great to see @ByloBand back in action! Being F2P aint that bad (or even vip0), plenty of grass both sides of the fence.
Yes, I've gotten more from the events. I now got 1500 honor, a voyage revive token, and a premium 10x that I wouldn't have gotten before. The extra shuttle rental tokens from the achievement also let me catch up when I had a string of bad RNG setting me back.
Did I have to work harder for those rewards than I would have before, yes. Did I realize that was DB's intention when they introduced extra rewards, of course.
Do I think the extra effort is sustainable? I'm not sure. But the sky is not falling because of DB's changes.
I have made top 1k every event with the extended rewards so far. I've spent $0 on that. We've had multiple FTP players chime in and claim the same. You need to work harder for the extra rewards and you can't coast as much, but working hard does not have to mean spending money.
No wonder the gaming industry treats us all as brainless cattle.
Having a differing opinion is not denial. This current event I'll spend a little extra time playing a game I like and I'll get some extra loot for it. Without spending a penny. Hell, its a Galaxy Event. You could P2W but its more like P2JeezIHaveToSpendALotOfTimeTapping.
Last event, I spent nothing, used none of the new tokens and still got Spock, Troi and extra honour. I used more 3* Time Boosts than normal but I wouldn't have those if I didn't have AdWarps on Thursdays so I'll call it a wash.
I'd say the game would rougher for new players if it weren't for the Gauntlet, Starbases and Voyages. STT is kind of a cake walk nowadays.
What I said.
Fine for people living in a region, where they're drowning in ad advantages. But as long not every player has the same ad condition, this argument for this discussion is a farce, and we still need adjustments to compensate for this new ingame situation.
Unless DB wants lesser players from regions having it too hard to compete with regions drowning in ad advantages...
We’re all VIP 4/5 level, and count on the Legendary bonus characters to help build our crew. I was really hoping to level up my 1* Goddess of Empathy Troi a little bit.
I seem to be placing higher since the changes, and I'm getting more rewards now thanks to the new additions. All that's changed is that I'm using more rare time boosters during Faction Events (about 30 now, compared to 10-15 before), but the ad-warp changes letting me double the Cadet booster packs seems to have already balanced that out to keep it sustainable.
I'm not particularly spendy - I've never bought chroniton packs or booster packs, or even spent on faster shuttle returns (or Gauntlet refreshes, for that matter!). I've had more months without monthly cards than with.
I've been playing for over 18 months, though, so I have a fairly deep crew to make use of. I also apply every smart tactic I can during events to make sure I get the most from my time and my resources.
Overall, I'm pleased with the new thresholds. They haven't cost me any money, and I'm just slightly more diligent about bringing in VP (although that's possibly unnecessary, as I'm placing a couple of hundred places higher than before the additions, roughly!).
I sympathize with those who are annoyed by more prizes being on offer but beyond their immediate reach. I did notice someone say they missed out on rewards because they fell asleep and missed the end of the event during the night in their region. If it's important, I suggest just setting an alarm. (I'm not being flippant - I've set two night-time alarms already this year for Timelines events, and one of them was unquestionably worth it to me!)
I'm doing markedly better. The new play options forced me to re-evaluate my play strategy for factions, figure out some things I was doing "wrong" both before and during the event, and as a result I've gone from struggling to make top 1000 to comfortably in top 1000 (squeaking out beyond the brutally thin spread from 500-1500). I found this fun and a challenge, rather than an affront, but everyone's calibration is different. I think I'm re-discovering the path that VIP0-since-2016 folks have found, and now have even more respect for them for their combination of strategy+patience.
I haven't recently got a bundle of new crew making a difference, and I'm spending what I think is a pittance on new boost types (I've bought one or two packs as insurance and to have some cushion for the end of month faction event which is going to be a challenge with all these Pilots in play - but really haven't HAD to use anything out of them yet.
And hear hear on @ByloBand back!
I like the additional threshold rewards, however Troi was too high.
Faction events:
- before the change, I set 3-hour alarms and tried not to miss any, playing throughout the entire event, always finishing well inside top-1000 (after 1 - 1.5 years of playing as monthly card + spender)
- last faction event I barely squeezed into the top-1000 using my normal approach (ie: no rental shuttles, no 2x boosts, no speed boosts after my standard kickstart, no dilithium, no $$$)
- I used to finish in the 300-600 range, and now just squeezed in the top-1000, so definitely a little more competitive around that milestone for the 1/5*
Galaxy events:
- I used to threshold-and-out, which now just takes more time and more chrons
- in the event that just finished, I activated a supply kit and spent 7k chrons to clear thresholds and fully equip both the new 4* (leisure suit Chakotay) and the new mega 5* (Etana Jol)
- It definitely takes more of an 'investment' to clear thresholds, but it still only required a couple hours of grinding, and the additional rewards (ie: 10x premium pull, voyage revival token, honor) seem worth it
That change was an attempt to encourage/force further spending by people who had already spent money on the game in order to do anywhere near as well as they were accustomed to doing, and it was without additional threshold rewards.
This latest set of changes is also trying to make people feel compelled to participate/spend every week (so much for the old "if you don't like this week's event you don't have to play" canard from staff). It's just that now everyone is taking it in the teeth, not solely the players who have been around for longer. At least this time the additional grind has additional incentives in the form of expanded thresholds.
How they do it does matter. I’m not saying that what they are doing here is bad or anything, just that there is a substantive difference between positive and negative incentives. Companies don’t have a blank check to profit however they want.
I’d consider forgetting a free shuttle to be very inconvenient. What on Earth are you talking about?
+1
DB, please restore the balance for the Free2Play players. I agree, maybe increasing the threshold for the legendary reward to 1500-2k might be needed. Put a tighter cap on the ability to purchase the boosts for shuttles and crons. Make players plan for and strategize their supplies to compete as it was before. But right now, i'm not going to even play Galaxy anymore. It's a waste of an event for me.
None of these are favoring P2W over F2P. I ranked under 1k in both faction events after the change without spending anything. The increased thresholds made players use more speedboosts so they could clear the threshold, so now there is more competition, but it's all using the same 3* speedboosts you get for free from Thursday cadets.
And this past galaxy event, I just ranked 22 without spending anything. And I know plenty of other people who cleared thresholds and ranked under 1k without spending.
I'm sorry that DB encouraged more people to play, and that makes the events harder for you. But just because people are playing more doesn't mean it is all P2W.